AN: Four months ago, I had written 23 chapters for this story. I had no plans to post anything, but threw it up on this site anyway just in case someone found it and found joy in it.
Today marks the 24th chapter.
This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has followed, favorited, and especially those who have reviewed to this point.
Thank you for your support!
Chapter 24
Us
"God damn it, Momo. You're lucky I like you."
"Isn't this wonderful? I'm glad that we have access to the pool so that all of us could get together to do something fun!"
The rest of the girls chimed in, cheering excitedly. Only Rei wore a deep scowl on her face, lips pouting as she folded her arms over her chest and looked around. Almost the entire class was present, Midoriya gathering the boys for some endurance training that had happened last minute. At least they seemed like they were going to train on their own. She muttered half to herself, but just loud enough so that Momo could hear her. "This is stupid."
Time was passing by faster than ever. It was difficult to believe that Rei had been with Class 1-A for one term already, although she was clearly progressing and changing in so many ways that marked her rapid growth. She still could say that she wasn't quite buddy-buddy with everyone in the class yet, or that she even wanted to get to know everyone (God forbid her mind ever change about Mineta), but she was slowly merging in with the fold. What was even more strange was that everyone for the most part seemed to accept her with open arms; they all seemed to accept her as she was and not ask any further questions.
Change was often hard to accept. This was no different. But Rei found herself relaxing in the fact that there were people upon whom she knew she could call upon in her moment of need. They didn't need to be best friends. Their entire class had been subject to events stranger than most, and that was enough to pull them together in at least some ways.
But of all the people that she had expected to tolerate by the end of the first term, the top three on her list would certainly have made her laugh if she knew in the past what she knew now. From the first day of school - no, from the entrance exam, when he had stood up in the middle of the auditorium and bellowed his demands from on high - Iida Tenya was a boy Rei detested. Of course, that wasn't strange; Rei didn't like many people. But Iida had swiftly taken the top of her list with his loud voice, mechanical and choppy movements, and his rich boy, know-it-all attitude that had immediately shut Rei down mentally on the first day. He was the embodiment of almost every single thing Rei hated in the universe, a walking-talking match that was sure to light Rei's fuse and make her explode. Now he was tolerable. There was no way Rei would consider him a close friend yet at all, or even a regular friend, but he was an acquaintance that she no longer wanted to tear his head off in order to get some peace and quiet. And that in itself was a feat worth noting.
Iida had gained Rei's slow, grudging respect, ever since the incident in Hosu City. Or perhaps she had begun to respect him after the sports tournament, where he had conceded defeat in a rather honorable way, catching Rei by surprise. Growing up, Rei could count on one hand the times where her opponents had respectfully backed down from a lost fight. In fact, she didn't even need any hands to count that. But Iida was nothing but honorable, and for that she had to respect him at least a little bit. Seeing him completely broken down and stripped to the core of his emotions in Hosu City had also made Rei soften just a bit, enough to acknowledge and realize that he wasn't a good for nothing, ball of annoyance that threw himself into Rei's path willingly. He was a good person, and for all the irritants and times that he rubbed Rei the wrong way, he would make an honorable and good hero. That alone deserved respect.
A close runner up was Momo. Yaoyorozu, Momo, Yaomomo. the fact that Rei called her friend by such endearing terms was enough to make her reflect upon all the negative feelings she had harbored for the girl in the first week of school. Back then she had been just another rich girl, surely entitled and thinking of herself as better and more advanced than her classmates. Sure, there was a bit of truth behind those statements; Yaoyorozu was rather genius like, was well trained, and there were times when things came out of her mouth that only served to remind everyone just how big the difference in incomes between her family and their own was. But never in a million years would Rei have thought that she would have befriended the gentle and thoughtful girl that had rescued her from a dark place that one day in March. Rei was incredibly thankful for their friendship, the way that Yaoyorozu simply accepted her as she was, the way that they worked and joked together in a natural way. Even if Yaomomo hadn't understood Rei's thoughts and history, she took the time to be sympathetic, and that was moving in and of itself.
And Bakugou. Where did Rei start? The antagonistic, self-centered, stuck up, self-righteous, irritable boy that had attempted to single her out from the first day had somehow wedged himself into her heart as well. Where Iida and Yaoyorozu were the wellbred upper class kids that Rei had learned to hate simply because they lounged in their money and prestige, Bakugou had been the rough, fight starting kid that Rei hated simply because they had picked on her all throughout elementary and middle school. Angry and always looking to start something, Rei had been wary. But she had also been curious.
But there was little time to muse over these facts now. She had been watching the class from the back corner on the last day of school, when all the girls in their class had crowded around Rei and Yaoyorozu's desks, a gaggle of chatter that Rei was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to. Far from the first month of school where she had lingered on the periphery, she was now actively included and participated in their conversations, even if she was the most quiet out of all of them. Almost all of them had been complaining about the school's requirement that they remain in the area during their summer vacation, most likely not wanting another accident to happen to their precious U.A. students who seemed to have the worst luck, especially Class 1-A. It was Hagakure who had the next best idea, unsurprising since her suggestion for a class shopping trip had been fairly successful. She had suggested they meet at the pool, to which there was a resounding chorus excitement.
Save for Rei. Water still gave her the chills, for obvious reasons. But the enthusiasm of the other girls had her reluctantly caving, all the while mentally telling herself that she would just stick to the sides and maybe dangle her legs in the pool. Now that they were on site, it was impossible to stick to the sides and relatively out of sight. Yaoyorozu especially seemed adamant on getting Rei to enjoy herself, even as a black and brooding rain cloud lingered over her head.
Damn Hagakure and her ideas. At least the idea of shopping with others was palatable.
A hand rested on her shoulder, making Rei look up in surprise. Yaoyorozu wore an energetic, yet patient look on her face as she smiled down at her friend. "Tsuki-chan, do you want to learn how to swim?"
"Eh?" That caught her off guard. Golden eyes bugged out in response. "Teach… me?"
"You haven't learned how yet, have you?"
Leave it to Momo to remember everything. Rei scowled again, but this time there was less of a bite to it. At least her friend had bothered to remember the source of her own discomfort. Still, that wasn't enough to make Rei start skipping up and down the poolside and singing about butterflies and rainbows.
"I don't like this."
"The pool isn't that deep over here," the class vice president reassured her, looping her arm around Rei's and guiding her to one of the corners of the pool in the shallow section. "You'll be able to stand, and I'll be with you the entire time to help."
With every passing moment it was looking like Rei had less and less of a choice in the matter. But Momo's reassurance had helped her, and Rei found that her resistance was slowly declining. Slowly. It wasn't anywhere near gone, but Momo had a point; now was the perfect time to learn. Besides, what if she found herself in a situation with water again? She couldn't let herself be dead in the water (pun totally intended) and wait for someone else to save her. Wasn't she a hero in training?
The boys were doing training. Surely Rei could think of this as a training of her own.
Steeling her nerves, she nodded her head in assent. "Fine. Let's do this, I guess."
"Leave this to me!"
They sat down on the ledge, sticking their legs in first. Momo slid into the pool without hesitation, standing and waiting for Rei to follow her. She hesitated, flinching internally before swallowing hard and pushing herself off the edge, flinching as her feet hit the ground and the cool water made its way all the way up to just below her chest. The other girls began to follow, finishing up their stretches as they began hopping in, Asui and Ashido quite literally jumping into the water as the others followed a bit more slowly. The boys also began to move on Iida's directions, and as everyone's attention split off Rei felt a little less conscious about her inadequacy in the water.
She started with floating, Momo's hands never far from supporting her back as Rei focused on keeping her torso up and her breath controlled. It wasn't so terrible, and Rei found that regular swimming wasn't so bad either. Yaoyorozu was a good teacher, and while Rei wasn't going to match any of the boys or the girls any time soon for that matter she was confident that she wouldn't flail and sink in panic. Eventually though the other girls roped the duo into playing a mock game of volleyball with an inflatable beach ball, wading and jumping through the water as they all worked to keep the ball afloat. Even Rei found herself grinning along with the others, laughing when the ball bounced on top of Hagakure's head or whenever some of the girls fell over in their attempts to reach the ball.
It was a good introduction, and Rei found herself both relaxing and tiring out. Trying to move through water was harder than it looked, giving her a good workout with her core and legs as she tried to move quickly through the space. After nearly an hour they all decided to take a break, climbing out of the pool and letting the sun dry them off.
Rei stretched her arms out over her head and across her chest, muscles demanding some sort of brief respite. Yaoyorozu handed her a cold can of orange juice, another one in her own hands for herself. "Good work, Tsuki-chan. You learn fast!"
"Yeah." Rei smiled. "I have a good teacher."
Her gratitude seemed to fluster the girl as she flushed, hands clasped in front of her chest. Before she could say anything, a shout came from across the complex, drawing almost everyone's attention. To Rei's surprise as well as almost everyone else's, Bakugou was storming across the concrete toward Midoriya and Iida, Kirishima barely appearing in time to hold him back. Rei blinked slowly, taking in their interactions and unable to avoid looking at the boy up and down, eyes lingering just a moment too long on his chiseled chest and ripped arms. She turned her gaze away quickly, but not quick enough.
Yaoyorozu clasped her hands behind her back, her mouth failing terrible as she tried to compose herself. "Tsuki-chan-"
"Shut it." Rei growled while rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest as she looked away. But her ears were still turned toward their conversation, picking up bits and pieces.
Kirishima was trying to hold Bakugou back, a sheepish smile on his face as per usual. "I got your message, but sorry we're a little late! It took some time to get Bakugou to come."
"Hah? I came on my own, shitty hair!"
"Well, not really… I had to tell you that the entire class was gonna be there training."
"Shut it! We're here now!"
Even though the boys were still jabbering away on their own, the appearance of Bakugou and Kirishima meant that the full class was finally at the pool, and the girls began creeping over from their side to encroach on their conversation. Suddenly Iida stood straight up, calling out with his loud voice. "Everyone! Do you want to see which of the boys can swim the fifty meters the fastest?"
With his authoritative calling, it sounded more like a demand than a question. But the boys were clearly motivated by a challenge, everyone standing back up from their break with grins on their faces, refreshed and ready for a new ordeal. Rei simply folded her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. "Boys."
Yaoyorozu stepped forward from the group. "Iida-san, we will help too!"
"Great! Thank you?"
Rei's eyebrows raised. "Huh? We will?"
"Of course!" As the boys began diving into the technicalities of the race, Yaoyorozu turned around as the girls began to talk amongst themselves. The class vice president seemed rather excited, even if the girls weren't participating. "We'll be the judges of each round and make sure everything is fair!"
"Knowing how competitive some of them are, they're gonna want to cheat or fight if the other boys judges, right?"
Yaoyorozu nodded at Ashido, a smile on her face. "Right! We'll need at least two people standing on the end to watch who touches first! The more people we have, the more accurate we'll be."
Everyone immediately began calling out their jobs, leaving Rei on the periphery, bewildered. Was everyone seriously getting this into a swimming competition? Unbelievable, although given everyone's personalities, it wasn't so absurd perhaps to think about. Everyone in Class 1-A tended to get worked up over the slightest bit of competition and the chance to improve their quirks, so logically it did make a bit of sense. It still didn't keep Rei from rolling her eyes again at the dramatics of everything.
Yaoyorozu approached Rei as the girls began scattering around the poolside, a smile on her face. "We'll be watching from the sides to make sure that no one cheats. Do you want to be on this side or the other side?"
"Other is fine. I'll be going now." Shrugging her shoulders and waving her hand, Rei began walking around the pool perimeter to get to the other side. She still wasn't confident enough to swim all the way across, especially with everyone watching, so she kept to the edges and quickly but safely strode to the other side.
As she made her way toward the first group of boys preparing for their swim, Rei's eyes met her neighbor's almost by chance, the two of them staring at one another as Rei raised a single eyebrow in challenge, as though asking him what he was looking at. Red eyes raked up and down her figure slowly, almost enticingly, before raising to meet gold with a suggestive smirk on his face.
Rei only clenched her jaw in an effort to keep her cool and prevent herself from flushing, changing her path so that it brought her closer to Bakugou's location. As she passed him by she smacked him on the back of the head with a solid "whap" sound, making his swim group turn in surprise as Bakugou began to rage. "Oi! The hell was that, bean sprout?!"
"Don't give me that crap! I'll kick your ass!"
"Hah! Like you could!"
But she didn't stop moving on her trek over to the other side of the pool, only turning around and walking backwards as she mocked at him. "Get your head in the game, and don't even think of cheating!"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Her only response was to turn over her shoulder and raise a middle finger, knowing that he couldn't do anything without leaving his position and delaying the race even further. She could hear his grumbling and mutterings, glancing over her shoulder in amusement as she made her way to the midpoint of the long side of the pool. The other boys around him were slowly inching away from the anger activated on his face and seeping from his body, leaving him to stew in peace.
Most of the rest of the class didn't see the full interaction or were engrossed in their own conversations, leaving Rei to wander to the side of the pool in peace. None of the other girls seemed to notice anything, making her breathe a sigh of relief. Yaoyorozu was already being too much today, what with all the teasing about seeing Bakugou shirtless. What would her friend say if she knew that this wasn't the first time Rei had seen him like this?
To her surprise, Kirishima made his way over to her and came to stand at her side. "Man, Bakugou's really worked up right now. What'd you say to him?"
"Nothing."
He looked at her suspiciously for a moment before letting the subject drop, scratching the back of his head. "Man, for someone who's super worked up now, he really didn't want to come today. Took forever to drag him out of his house. He really isn't a morning person."
Rei snorted in amusement, lifting her eyes to the skies in feigned dramatics. "When is he ever a functioning person?"
"Ahaha, you're pretty funny, Akatsuki-san!"
"Tsuki-chan is fine, Kirishima-kun."
"Right!" He flashed a thumbs up, about to say something else before Yaoyorozu raised her hand and used a whistle she had created.
"Are we ready?"
Everyone seemed prepared, and as soon as Yaoyorozu gave the sign the race was off.
To everyone's surprise, Bakugou simply blasted himself over the entire pool, landing on the other side in a matter of seconds with a smug look on his face as he grinned maniacally back at the rest of the class. "How was that, you extras?!"
Kirishima's jaw dropped as he yelled back at his friend, the other boys yelling as well. "You didn't even swim!"
Rei only blinked, lifting a hand to her chin for a moment. "Technically, everyone agreed that you could use your quirk…"
The redhead turned on her, astounded. "Seriously, Tsuki-chan?"
She only shrugged nonchalantly, as though she had nothing else to say. After much muttering and deliberation (as well as some more yelling from Bakugou), it was determined that his use of his quirk was fair game, since they didn't establish any different rules from the beginning that said otherwise.
To no one's surprise, it was Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya who won their heats, although their fashions and methods were a bit surprising. Contrary to what everyone had expected, Todoroki has simply created an ice floor and slide his way into victory, landing on the other side of the pool with a neutral expression on his face as the other boys tried to call him out. At least Midoriya and Iida had been close in their heat; much to Rei's surprise it was Iida who had also decided to circumvent actual swimming in his determination to win, although Midoriya's Full Cowl proved too effective in the end.
"All right!"
Everyone had crowded into the shade, taking a respite from the bright afternoon sun. Iida stood at the front of the group, with the winners close to him. "The winners of each heat, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya, will now race for first place. Is that alright?"
Todoroki and Midoriya nodded in assent, Bakugou simply tossing his head to the side. "Oi, half-and-half bastard! Don't hold back like you did at the sports festival, hah?" Turning on his heel, he snapped at Midoriya next. "Oi, you too! Damn Deku!"
"R-right!"
Taking their places at the podium, the three boys began to ready themselves for the final race. Everyone began cheering for their classmates, even as Iida raised his hand. "Then, the fifty meter freestyle swim will begin now!"
"Ready… set!"
The whistle blew, the boys leaping into the air immediately. But strangely enough the trio instead flopped into the water unceremoniously, their momentum halting and sending them down into the water rather than forward.
Rei blinked. Their quirks had been cut off. But that could only mean…
"It's five o'clock. Your pooltime use has now ended. Hurry up and go home."
Aizawa-sensei.
Shuddering at his sudden appearance and the way that his eyes activated and glowed a faint red, she watched with faint amusement and horror as some of the other students tried to argue against their teacher, knowing full well that nothing good would come of it. It had been a while since they had seen his quirk fully activated, hair and bindings floating up behind and around him in a mystical fashion. Frankly, she was just impressed that some of their classmates had dared open their mouth when their homeroom teacher had come at them with such intensity like this.
"Aw, come on, Aizawa-sensei!"
"We were just getting to the good part!"
Eyes flashing even more dangerously, he leveled the class with a single look. Silence.
"Did I hear something?"
"Nothing, sir!"
With a final nod and one last glare that dared them to go against his words, Aizawa turned around and left the pool area, the class immediately turning to clean the area up. The conversation only picked up in the changing room as the girls began chattering away, excited at the day's events. But Rei was in a slight daze from the day, not to mention exhausted from all that time in the pool and the sun. Swimming really did make one exhausted from using a bunch of different muscle groups. She would have to consider doing more of it for training.
But her mind continued to run back to Bakugou's look. It had definitely been appreciative, but Rei was horrified that he had the audacity to give such a look when they were around others in their class. What if he had been seen? What would the others think?
"Tsuki-chan, are you alright?"
Looking up in surprise, she turned to see Yaoyorozu looking at her in concern. "I'm fine… why?"
"You just look really intense right now."
Scowling, Rei shook her head. "Just thinking things. I need to talk with Bakugou after this."
At least Yaoyorozu didn't say anything, but she grinned, her back turned toward the other girls. Sometimes Rei wondered if Yaoyorozu knew how to be subtle, but now was a time where she was relieved to find the answer. "Alright. I'll text you later then."
Rei nodded her head, picking up her small duffle bag of materials before giving her goodbyes to the other girls and heading out the door. Now that she was outside, she wasn't exactly sure if she would even find Bakugou until later that evening. What if he had already left, had been faster than her at changing? Or what if he was still changing? It wouldn't make sense to wait though, and she would have to explain herself or come up with an excuse to anyone who saw her.
Her luck was up for the day, however, as she saw two familiar figures in front of her, just outside of the school gates. She had to jog to catch up, but it wasn't impossible, calling out softly ahead of her.
"Kirishima-kun. Bakugou."
"Damn it! Stopping the race like that!"
Bakugou kicked at a rather large pebble that was sitting in the middle of the road, sending it flying into the air and quite a ways down their path as the hill sloped toward the bottom. A trademark scowl was plastered on his face, brows cinched together as red eyes stared forward aggressively. It was clear that he was peeved about having the race cancelled at the last minute by their homeroom teacher, but at least he was smart enough to hold his tongue. Well, it had been more accurate that he had only heard the last half of the conversation and hadn't actually ascertained why their homeroom teacher had been there until he got out of the pool, but at least he had enough sense to know when Aizawa-sensei meant business simply by looking at the man's demeanor. Shoving his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped forward as he brooded, staring ahead at the path before them back to the train station.
Kirishima walked at his side trying to console his friend. "I know how you feel, but calm down. Midoriya and Todoroki are classmates and friends, right?"
"Shut up!"
For a moment there was silence, but only because Bakugou was brooding once more. "No matter who it is, I won't let them catch up to me, let alone get ahead of me!"
The red haired boy blinked in surprise, though he smiled gently after a while. That was what had drawn him to the explosive boy; his determination, his will to stay at the top. More than that, he knew that he deserved to be at the top, and wasn't about to pretend that he wasn't. He was assured in his position, but aware of the structures at play.
He opened his mouth to respond, but another voice cut in.
"Kirishima-kun. Bakugou."
The duo looked behind them, Kirishima's face brightening up at their classmate's appearance. "Oh, Tsuki-chan!"
Rei smiled at the acknowledgement, slowing down as she finally caught up to the two. "Heading back to the station?"
"Yeah! Want to join us?"
"Just don't get in my way!"
A single eyebrow raised at his prickly personality as Bakugou stormed ahead of the two. Kirishima leaned over a bit apologetically, a small smile on his face. "He's just mad that the race got called off at the end."
"I see." Rei smiled back. "Well, you had it easy today. You missed most of the training that Midoriya and Iida put everyone through."
"Yeah! I'm pretty bummed about it. Did you take part in it?"
"Me? No. Yaoyorozu was teaching me to swim."
"Oh, I see!" A moment. Then it clicked. "Wait, you don't know how to swim?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Rei looked to the side a bit sheepishly, though the corners of her lips were downturned from having exposed one of her weaknesses. "Had a bad experience as a kid. Haven't touched water since."
"Oh, sorry." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly for a moment before brilliantly smiling again, perking up and grinning down at Rei. "But that's really manly of you! Facing your fears and learning how to swim!"
Rei smiled genuinely, appreciating the sentiment. "Thanks."
From there the conversation shifted toward the training camp and preparations that the duo had made. Strangely enough, Bakugou seemed to not care about what they talked about, staying out of it and not even making any wry or catty remarks over his shoulder. It was the first sign that Rei knew something was off, although she didn't want to bring it up with Kirishima around. No, she would wait until a later time when they were more alone.
At the train station the trio became a duo, with Kirishima cheerfully parting with a grin and a wave before disappearing into another sector of the train station and out of sight. Rei barely had time to keep up with Bakugou as the boy strode off purposefully, making Rei work hard to catch up with him as he threatened to disappear as well.
"Bakugou?"
He didn't reply. Fortunately the train was relatively empty for the time of day, only a few other travelers in the cab with them. The two managed to find a seat, Bakugou immediately sitting next to the window and staring out as Rei tentatively sat next to him. She wasn't sure if he wanted to be around her, what with the strangeness of his attitude, but he said nothing as she settled down at his side.
Silence. It was not the kind of silence that left one feeling comfortable. Rei wondered if Bakugou felt as anxious as she did. She pulled out her phone, tapping away at things in an effort to keep herself busy, but eventually she ran out of things to do.
"Why don't you use any suffixes with my name?"
Startled, Rei had to blink at the suddenness and seemingly randomness of his question. But eventually she caught on, lowering her head. She had tacked on a harmless "-kun" on Kirishima's name, but nothing onto Bakugou. In fact, with most of the people she was familiar with, especially the boys, she had begun changing the suffixes to signify how she was growing more comfortable. It was almost ironic how the person she was most comfortable with hadn't experienced that change yet.
"I'm sorry," she formally apologized, head still low. "I didn't realize. I didn't think you cared."
He scoffed, though it was softer than usual. "Of course I do. You of all people should know."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize."
"Then, what do you want me to call you?" A grin came over her face as she looked up to her seat partner, a teasing light in her eyes. "Kacchan?"
Rolling his eyes, he snorted. "Don't ever say that name ever again."
"Any other preferences?"
For a moment he fell silent, staring out the window in contemplation. His face was thoughtful, and Rei found herself openly staring at the angles of his facial structure, golden eyes roaming freely and greedily drinking him in. Eventually he turned back toward her, red eyes surprisingly soft as they tended to be when it was just the two of them.
"Katsuki."
Rei's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"Not when anyone else is around, idiot."
Scowling, Rei folded her arms over her chest. "I know that much, stupid."
He snorted, rolling his eyes in feigned exasperation. Relaxing her shoulders, Rei's voice was quiet as she mused. "Then, call me Rei."
"Rei."
The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine, and she had to adjust her seat so as to hide the fact that she was slightly unnerved by the intimate and reverent tone of voice that had emitted from his chest. Clearing her throat, she settled back down, looking back up tentatively into red eyes. "Katsuki."
It was the first time she had seen his eyes sparkle like that, his face genuinely lighting up although he hid most of it well. Still, his lips were quirked up in an endearing smile, and he leaned his head on his hand as he propped up his arm on the windowsill of the train. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Don't be such an ass."
"You first."
Rei chuckled, shaking her head gently. For a moment silence fell in between them once more, but Rei found that she had something to say.
"I've been thinking."
She paused, unsure if she herself wanted to continue, but red eyes were on her already, encouraging her to speak. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, she found the courage to continue. "About… this," she gestures to the space between them. "And I think… I like you."
If she could melt into the floor from the look that he gave her, she would seeped from the train and into the core of the earth itself. It was overwhelming, but he remained silent, waiting for her to continue. She had to catch her breath before continuing, swallowing hard. "But I feel like an… actual, formal, relationship, just isn't really…"
"Us."
"Yeah. Us." A ridiculously big smile spread across her face as she began to giggle, lifting her hands to her mouth in an attempt to smother the action. Bakugou only raised his eyebrows in response, curious but still waiting patiently. "Us. It's… funny. I mean, not funny, but… you know?"
He shook his head, the smallest of smiles on his face. "Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, as though embarrassed. "But, it's not us."
"Right." Returning to the task at hand, Rei still couldn't help but smile. "Like, with our class, I don't think I would say anything. Not even to Momo." Bakugou quirked an eyebrow up at that, but said nothing else about it. "But I don't know what else… we would be."
"Idiot," he said softly in an endearing tone of voice, hand still on his neck as he looked away for a moment. "We'll just be us."
Rei exhaled a sigh of relief, all the tension dispelling in a moment at his words. Nothing formal. Just them, carrying on as they always had. Of course, that wasn't to say that they wouldn't be communicating boundaries and other things, but they were on the same page already. Of course they were; they were such similar people, even with all their differences. They worked, for some strange reason, and Rei wasn't one to question it.
It simply was.
They would keep the boundaries up, so that their classmates wouldn't pry. They wouldn't try to inspect what they couldn't see. And the world would continue to spin.
Even if, in that hazy afternoon, the world had slowed down for just a moment as Rei dropped her head onto his shoulder, tentatively, but relaxing as he slouched to adjust his height so that she would have an easier time. A smile on her face even as she looked forward, she missed the smile on his own face as well.
No one would need to know, not for a while.
For now, Rei could be content in the fact that her biggest fear had been erased; they wouldn't change at all, but instead continue to be as they were before. Things would carry on as always.
It was finally time to begin the U.A. summer training camp, and they had finally arrived at the campsite.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
She didn't say this out loud. Of course, it probably wouldn't have mattered if she did anyway. Everyone was definitely thinking it as they hauled their broken asses to the campsite, beaten and broken from their trials through the forest of horrors. Disheveled and fragmented, they limped, staggered, and clasped their nauseous stomachs as they made their way into the clearing. It didn't help that the pussycats were waiting for them, congratulating them in a mocking manner that made Rei want to tear her hair out.
As Iida was infamous for saying, "As expected of U.A.!"
Ugh. Gross.
Rei was gross. She was sweaty and covered in scratches and dirt. Frankly, she was about to take a shower over eating dinner, her skin crawling and back aching for a hot, steamy respite. Nose twitching in disgust, she couldn't help but notice they all smelled terrible now that they had been through the first part of training camp hell.
It didn't help that this was only the beginning, and Rei was certain it was only going to get worse from here on out.
Pixie Bob began to leer at a particular group of four boys, notably the strongest of their entire class. Bakugou, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki all seemed uncomfortable and uncertain as the blonde woman began to prance around them with a sinister grin on her face, the rest of the class looking on in pity. Rei didn't care. She wanted a shower. Her mind drifted to how their morning had begun, in relative chaos after a sudden dive.
"It's 9:30 AM right now. If you're fast… maybe around noon?"
As the rest of the class began to scramble back toward the bus, Rei found herself looking at Aizawa, who looked relatively unperturbed by the turn of events. Golden eyes narrowed. So he was in on this. If that was the case, then none of them were given a choice to get out of this. The ground began to rumble and rise, shifting under their feet before suddenly erupting upwards, transforming into a massive landslide that carried the entire class away. Sweeping them over the edge of the cliff, screams filled the air as most people found themselves off balance and unable to recover.
Rei breathed steadily, moving with the ground and keeping her balance as she shifted through the air. As the dirt began to fall she began surveying her options, finding that she had been pushed further out than the rest of the class since she had been closest to the edge. The treeline was close, encouraging Rei to jump forward and use the foliage to slow her descent. Landing in front of the class and dropping to her feet, she looked back at the rest of her peers. Everyone had landed, for better or for worse. Most looked fairly scratched up, brushing themselves and their crinkled and dirty shirts with looks ranging from fear to annoyance.
Of course this would be their luck. They had run into Class 1-B that morning, the two classes boarding separate buses that would take them to the training camp. Even with the competitive and antagonistic nature that some of them showed (actually, only one person showed; it was that blonde fop of a boy), everyone seemed agreeable and amenable to the turn of events. But clearly Aizawa had different plans for his own class, dumping them into the fire before it had even reached its highest temperature.
"Since it's private land, you can use your quirks as you wish!" Mandalay's voice echoed down from the top as she shouted to their group. "You have three hours; come to the facility on your own two feet! After getting through… the Beast's Forest!"
Mineta ran off into the woods, muttering something to himself, but Rei's ears picked up something first. She took a step forward, then another, before she broke into a sprint. "Stop! There's something there!"
It was Midoriya who stepped up to the plate, quickly realizing what Rei herself had seen. He dashed forward using his quirk, swooping Mineta out of the way while Rei went head on. Blasting through the air she delivered a solid kick to the creature's face, sending it reeling with a screech as Rei continued through the air. It was less solid than she had anticipated, the face partially crumbling from her blow. But before she could retaliate to land the finishing blow, four figures bolted forward to finish the job for her.
Bakugou landed next to her, the two of them standing side by side and sliding into defensive stances. His hands crackled, but Rei extended her arm in front of him, making him look at her in irritation and confusion. She only lifted her other hand to her face, a solitary finger in front of her lips. "Shh."
Even as the rest of the class moved forward to catch up with the vanguard and began to talk, Rei's ears could pick up the sound of mud and dirt squelching, rising and forming to creature new monsters and atrocities. Her brow furrowed as she dropped her hands to her sides. "That's not the last of them."
"Oi, you're great, Bakugou!"
"Not yet!" Bakugou growled, cutting off Kirishima and drawing everyone's attention. The group stilled as the forest stirred in an unnatural manner, Rei's eyes darting around and catching unearthly movements, quite literally. There was a winged monster that had leapt from the ground not far from where the two of them stood, Rei's eyes able to catch the dragonesque details even in the dim lighting.
So their enemies would be varied. That would make for an interesting challenge.
"Hey, come on now."
"How many of them are there?"
"What should we do? Run away?"
"Man, this is no joke! If we want lunch, we gotta go!"
Yaoyorozu stepped forward. "Then we have no choice but to get through here and take the shortest route."
"Alright, let's go, Class 1-A!"
Rei darted forward even as Iida cheered on their class, rallying them and raising their spirits. It didn't take long for Bakugou to catch up to her, the two of them leading the way and racing ahead of the group. Their actions provoked little dissonance; there was no stopping the two of them at this point, and so long as their actions helped destroy those creatures there was no point in complaining or attempting to direct them. Bakugou would do what he wanted. And Rei…
Well, Rei always had a plan. Who was to tell her otherwise?
"You gonna stay outta my way?"
She couldn't help the competitive smirk that covered her face as she grinned back at the blonde. "You're more suited for the vanguard with how fast you move. Just leave some for me."
The wicked grin she received in return was more than enough, even if it sent a shiver down her spine and lit a competitive fire within her. "No promises."
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
That had been hours ago, when they had been slightly more optimistic about their arrival time. Now that the sun was setting and a golden orange light had been cast over everyone, they couldn't help but feel slightly beaten, even if they had arrived at their destination in relatively one piece. Keyword: relatively. Iida in particular had been dragging his legs behind him, engines completely exhausted and muscles cramping up. Rei herself was tired to the bone, the muscles in her legs screaming from the strain. Her arms simply weren't strong enough to take down those mud creatures, so she had to settle for delivering powerful kicks to send them crumbling back into the earth. She was completely exhausted.
"Enough with this charade." Aizawa called everyone's attention back. Midoriya was still reeling from the blow that that small child, Kota, had delivered swiftly into his crotch, as everyone else was in a state of disarray. "Get your stuff off the bus. Once you've put your bags in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you'll bathe and go to sleep. We'll start for real tomorrow." Rei sighed in relief even as everyone else groaned from Aizawa's message, but she was relishing in the first bit of good news. As long as she was guaranteed a bath some time soon, she could suffer through the rest of the abuse.
Moving as a horde of hungry and grumpy students, Class 1-A slowly made their way to the bus and began pulling their belongings off, sorting through the messes and working together to pass around their luggage. Rei walked onto the bus first, determined to get her backpack off before struggling with everyone else to get their luggage from underneath. To her surprise Bakugou followed closely behind her, the two of them moving in silence as they boarded the bus and moved toward their seats.
No one had followed them on, most of them too tired to make the mental connection to retrieve their belongings from the top as well. The air was stuffy and warm, a side effect of the bus being turned off for so many hours in the summer heat. Rei moved as quickly as she could, even though it felt like she was dragging her limbs through jello. Reaching up to the upper compartment, she frowned as her fingers barely grazed the latch, growling under her breath from her failure. She dropped her hands to her sides, settling on glaring upward for a moment in distaste. She had forgotten that she had Shoji help her place her bag in the storage, her measly height nowhere near enough to access. Just about to stand on the chair and balance herself, a new hand reached up with ease to open the compartment, pulling out her backpack and handing it down to her.
Gold eyes met red once again, and Rei felt her heart flutter. They were both exhausted, but he still looked at her gently, not seeming bothered at the fact that he had gone out of his way to help her. Swallowing hard, she held the bag to her chest. "How are your arms?"
He scoffed, though it wasn't at her. Lifting his right hand up, he flexed his hands, clenching and opening his fists. "Fine. Stiff."
"I'll massage them out after dinner, if you want?"
Grunting in assent, he turned his back toward her. "This bus is too damn hot. Let's go."
She couldn't disagree with that, the air seeming to get more humid the more they lingered in the stale space. By the time they disembarked the air outside felt cool compared to the stifling interior, Rei inhaling deeply and greedily sucking down breath after breath. Now that most everyone's luggage had been sorted out the other students seemed to remember that they still had belongings on the bus, making their way into the crammed space. It was easy to find her duffle now, a nondescript black bag that stood out now that everyone else's bags had been cleared away. The first two ready to depart, Bakugou and Rei made their way into the camp, following the directions and eventually parting to take their bags into their separate rooms.
Nothing had changed, at least on the surface level. But she could see the softness in his eyes now as she was growing accustomed to reading the messages within that he would send when others were around.
It was exactly her hope, and though there was hard work ahead, Rei couldn't help but feel satisfied.
Being the first girl in the girls' room, Rei had first pick of where she wanted to sleep. Lining herself up next to the window, she lugged a futon over to her luggage and began setting herself up, trying to be careful to not touch the clean sheets too much since she was still filthy. Slowly the other girls began to pour in, chattering away now that the day's trial was over and a meal was closing in on them soon. They all gravitated toward Rei, setting up their beds around her, Yaoyorozu pulling up right next to her.
"This is so exciting!"
"Too bad we're not with the Class 1-B girls…"
It was inevitable that Hagakure would come up with a new idea. "Hey, we should have girl talk tonight after the baths!"
"Oh, that sounds fun!" Jirou had a grin on her face. She had set up at Rei's head, the two of them separated by their bags but putting their pillows toward one another. "But honestly, I'm ready for dinner."
"Everyone, are we ready?" Yaoyorozu called out to the girls, everyone chiming in assent. They moved as a group, temporarily forgetting their new room and belongings as they marched out together toward the cafeteria. The last ones to arrive, they scattered a bit to find open seats. Rei snuck off and sat in a spot between Midoriya and Bakugou, the two of them looking at her in surprise but neither seeming to disagree. Now that there was someone in between them, Rei acted as a physical barrier to put a temporary peace between the two boys' competitive nature.
"Ah, Akatsuki-san!" Midoriya brightened at Rei's appearance, drawing her attention as she blinked owlishly at him. "I feel like we haven't talked with one another in a while."
"Ah. Sorry."
He waved his hands in front of him. "No, it's not a problem!" An idea crossed his mind, though the smile never left his face. "Now that I think about it, I never got to ask about your final exam."
Before Rei could even respond, trays of food began to rapidly appear in front of them, Mandalay and Pixie Bob running around quickly as the students began to dig in. Momentarily distracted, the two of them began to pick at the food and add to their plates, Rei eventually picking up her rice bowl and digging in energetically. Conversation could come later. Food was first. The first bit of rice and katsu seemed to melt in her mouth as she chewed quickly, too hungry to find time to savor for now. Even as she managed to restrain herself a bit, almost everyone else seemed to dig in rather energetically, scarfing down food like ravenous wolves. Trays of various meats and vegetables made their way around, along with miso soup and more rice.
It was a wonderland, after the physically intensive day that they had gone through.
Midoriya picked the conversation back up after a minute, speaking through his chews, although carefully. "You were up against Black Panther, right?"
The conversation moved back towards Rei's final exam. Of course Midoriya wouldn't have seen it; he had been out of commission from his practical portion. She was transported back into the moment where she had stood outside of the gates of Field Gamma, Present Mic's voice yelling last minute directions concerning who she could call upon for her test. She could remember the distinct feeling of dread and horror when she had found out that both Midoriya and Bakugou had been down and out for the count, the feeling so visceral that it made her pause in her eating, swallowing hard. "Yeah. I was at his agency for the internships."
"Oh, that's right, huh?" Midoriya paused to shove another bite of food in his mouth, words muffled as he spoke through his chews. "Dat musta've been hard."
"Mm." Sipping her soup, Rei looked over to the boy next to her. "He doesn't pull punches. Especially during that test. It was… personal."
"I see." Swallowing a mouthful of food, Midoriya looked excitedly to Rei, eyes sparkling in anticipation. "So, what kinds of strategies did you use? Black Panther was an undercover agent that works to bust drug and trafficking rings, so he has to be stealthy, but he's also physically powerful. His quirk-"
"Oi, shut your mouth and let her do the talking, if you want answers."
Bakugou was clearly in a foul mood, but his voice was lowly instead of shouting above the din of the mess hall. Cut off mid sentence, Midoriya looked more surprised at Bakugou's interjection than he was at being cut off, but Rei simply shook her head, taking the lead. "It's fine. Our quirks are actually fairly similar in nature."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Mm." Chewing thoughtfully, Rei finally swallowed her bite down with a gulp of tea, wincing as the hot liquid seared her palate. "That's what made my test so difficult. He's basically a better, stronger, and faster version of myself."
"So, how did you win?"
It felt strange to be talking about herself so much, but Rei couldn't help but give as much information as she could to the green haired boy sitting next to her. He watched and listened to her attentively, soaking in every word as the two ate slowly, Rei trying to balance between talking and divulging what she could while trying to be at least slightly polite. She knew that he would be taking mental notes furiously, committing them to memory until he could write them down later. It was the best time to be doing so; who knew exactly how much free time they would have during this camping trip?
If Rei had to take a guess, it would be next to none. U.A. had a tendency to push the students to their limits. Free time meant time that could be used to get better and increase proficiency as a future hero, and thus was meant to be spent accordingly.
As she continued to talk with Midoriya and answer questions he had about her exam, she began to notice that the boy on the other side of her was listening in as well. He was quietly eating his food, but she had caught his expression morphing to react to some of the things that she had said, noting his attention to her story. He never asked questions, and barely made some scathing comments from time to time or snorted or chortled in dry amusement, but he was engaged, quiet as he was on the side lines. It was… comforting, and comfortable. Part of her knew that he was taking mental notes just like Midoriya was, being the strategist he was at heart. But another piece of her fluttered at the attention, when he clearly had options to talk with anyone else.
Well, if he had a conversation with anyone else, he would most likely have a yelling match with Kirishima about something strange, or just overall yelling at the boys for whatever reason.
The rest of dinner passed without much trouble. With stuffed stomachs the class began to split off to head to take a bath before passing out for the night, knowing that a long day was ahead of them after a short sleep. Rei rejoined the girls as they gathered their pajamas and toiletries before heading out to the baths, the girls chattering away as they did so.
For some reason, Rei felt unsettled. Nothing dangerous, but something was… off.
She would figure out what it was soon enough.
Clearly, she had forgotten about Mineta.
So had the rest of the girls.
But as soon as all seven girls had found out that the baths had outdoor hot springs they all had bolted for the entrance. If Iida was there, he most certainly would have yelled at them for running along a poolside where there was a risk of falling, and even Yaoyorozu was careful, one of the last alongside Rei to hop into the pools, but there was no need for concern here. The group was only wet in some spots where the 1-B girls had walked back and forth, and they were easy to distinguish on the ground.
Heaven. Sliding into the hot spring with a sigh, Rei leaned up against one of the walls, tilting her head back on the edge. Yaoyorozu handed her a cool cloth to line her forehead, Rei accepting gratefully with a small smile. "Thanks."
"Oh! I need one of those!"
"This feels amazing!"
"I love that there are hot springs here."
Rei grinned, sharing a look with Jirou. "It'll be rewarding, once we start training tomorrow."
"Ahh, but today was already hard!" Uraraka puffed her cheeks out as she tied her hair back as best as possible, eventually accepting a headband from Yaoyorozu with a grin and a cheer. "I can't believe we missed lunch."
As the girls began to delve into the play by play of the morning and afternoon's activities inside the forest of beasts, Rei began to let her mind wander. Something was unsettling her, her sixth sense going off in warning. It hadn't ever really stopped, and though she could tell that it wasn't something critical it was rather annoying.
That was when she heard it.
It was Iida's voice in the distance, and while the other girls couldn't hear it because of their conversation Rei's sharp ears could pick up the sounds. "Mineta-kun, stop it! What you are doing is both demeaning for yourself and for the girls! It is shameful!"
Oh.
Rei's mind was quick to piece together the pieces. She jumped out of the pool, quickly grabbing two towels to cover herself and making a makeshift toga and section to cover her privates in order to provide some modesty over the things that could be revealed in the process of what she was about to do. "Everyone, cover yourself!"
The girls looked startled as they watched with wide eyes at Rei's sudden jump to action, trained on how swiftly and how creatively she created a makeshift outfit in a matter of seconds, but Mineta's cry was loud enough to break them from their stupor.
"Walls… are meant to be overcome! Plus ultra!"
Giving one last tug to ensure that the robe wouldn't come undone, Rei's face morphed into a scowl as the girls began to cry out in panic, knowing what was coming. Launching herself at the wall she equally began to scramble up the large posts, digging her claws into the structure apologetically. On the other side she could sense Mineta climbing at a similar pace, though albeit less quickly than she, though it wouldn't be for long if she hesitated.
Scaling the structure with ease she popped her head over the ledge first, watching with dark satisfaction as Mineta's face appeared and met her own. She had beaten him to the punch, and he could see that his classmate was less than pleased at his dishonorable actions. The horror froze him in place as she snarled, teeth bared as she hissed over at him in displeasure. "If you go plus ultra, then so will I!"
Pivoting over the top, Rei stood on the thin walkway and turned over her shoulder, delivering a roundhouse kick that Mineta was too shocked to counter. She planted her foot into his face with relatively quick speed, sending him flying back over the edge and back down into the boy's side. With a cry he plummeted down, splashing back into the springs as Rei glowered. She could hear the boys' astonishment, knowing that they could see her foot over the edge.
"I'm dressed, and I'll kick anyone's ass who dares to try some shit like that again!"
The deadliness mixed with pure, unadulterated rage in her voice was enough to silence everyone on the boys' side, not a sound except for that of water and Mineta's sputtering to be heard. Her voice had been thickly coated with danger, the most angry and serious anyone had ever heard her be in quite a while now. The girls back at the bottom began to cheer, chanting her name as they looked up at their heroine high above. Finally confident that no one would dare to try a feat like that again, Rei stood up straight, facing the girl's side before jumping back down into the springs.
The night saved, the girls relaxed once again to have a bit of fun. The only downside that thankfully no one really saw was that Rei had missed her landing. She clipped the side of the barrier on her way back down, the wooden fence snagging on a piece of her towel and changing her momentum as she unceremoniously fell to the ground. Landing on her back wasn't fun, though she had managed to keep her groan to herself and hobble her way back to the springs and slip in before anyone could notice anything. It was more of a shock than anything, and the bruise would quickly heal, but her muscles would be screaming.
Ouch.
That wouldn't be fun for training the next day.
Doing her best to swallow the pain from the fall and how much her back muscles were screaming, especially upon seeing how happy the girls were that Rei had saved the night, she rejoined the group as though nothing happened. For the most part, nothing else did happen from then on. There had been some other commotion on the boy's side later on, but nothing that had concerned the girls. Happy, warm, and exhausted, they eventually dragged themselves out of the springs and on toward their room.
But Rei had other plans. After brushing her teeth and changing into a pair of leggings and a tank top, Rei grabbed her phone from the room and snuck out before anyone could notice her.
Akatsuki Rei (8:45 PM)
Meet you out front?
The response was almost instantaneous, putting a grin on Rei's face as she made her way to the front of the dorm and camping building. Various students from both classes were milling about on their own business, no one really paying any attention to the black haired girl as she snuck out the front of the building and sat on the front steps.
Bakagou Katsuki (8:46 PM)
Hurry up
Not long after, Bakugou made his appearance as he slid through a crack in the door and quickly shut it behind him. Tilting her head backward, Rei smiled at him, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Hey."
He grunted as he sat down. "Hey yourself." Immediately he shoved his left arm into her lap, earning a pointed glare from Rei as golden eyes narrowed sharply in his direction.
"Oi, I'm not a servant!"
"Keep your voice down!" The only response he got was finger digging painfully into his arms as he hissed, turning his glare toward Rei. The two of them stared one another down, all motions halting for a moment as they dared the other to break away.
It was good to know that they were still as childish as always.
Eventually it was Bakugou who broke away, muttering something about how stubborn Rei was as he looked out toward the forest. With a triumphant grin on her face Rei began to analyze his arms, delicately prodding this time as she quickly assessed where he was after the long afternoon. Eventually her lithe fingers began pressing down with a moderate pressure, rubbing up and down as they massaged the knots out, being careful to not dig too deeply. His arms weren't quite as overexerted as they had been during the sports festival or after the final exams, but they were still fairly battered. Still, it wasn't anything that a good night's rest wouldn't solve for the most part.
Upon completion, Rei stretched her arms up lazily, wiggling her fingers to relax them from their hard work. She winced, forgetting just how tense she was from her fall in the baths, back muscles still tense. She was certain that the bruising was almost gone, but the muscles in her back still hurt, cramped up and terse.
"What's that look for?"
Blinking, golden eyes turned toward her companion. The look on his face was reminiscent of concern, making Rei shrug her shoulders. "I fell after knocking Mineta back down. My back muscles are still tense."
He moved instantly, shifting to sit behind her on the steps and placing his legs on either side of her. Rei looked back at him nervously, but immediately relaxed as soon as his hands began working away at her back, looking forward so as to not strain her neck any further. Strange. She never would have imagined that he would be a good masseuse, but his hands and fingers were strong from training, digging into her back much like she imagined her fingers dug into his arms. With a sigh she tried to refrain from slouching or wincing whenever he dug into a particularly painful part, but there were occasions where she couldn't help the grunt of pain every so often.
But by the time he finished Rei couldn't help but admit that she was already feeling better. Shifting to sit back down next to her, Bakugou skirted around her figure and settled down, hands in his lap. Rei rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms and back out before grinning widely at Bakugou. "Thanks."
All she received was a grunt in response, but it was enough. For a while the two simply sat in companionable silence, looking out at the forest beyond. The night sky above twinkled with a thousand glittering stars, devoid of the haze that city life brought and revealing a canopy of twinkling lights that shone even from billions of years away. Trees rustling in the background, a soft wind blew through the camp grounds, as soft as a sigh and barely enough to rustle their hair.
Peace. Rei's heart was finally at rest.
Eventually Rei's phone buzzed, a text from Yaoyorozu coming in and asking her where she was. Tucking the phone into her pocket without responding, Rei stood up, earning Bakugou's attention.
"Yaoyorozu's asking where I am."
He only nodded once, instinctively understanding what was implied. Rei hesitated for a moment, simply looking down at him before licking her lips nervously.
"Good night." She paused. "Katsuki."
"Night."
Sneaking back into the building, Rei opened the door a crack before sliding through. So focused on her stealthy reentry, she nearly missed the way Bakugou whispered her name, almost as an afterthought. Her heart stuttered, making her pause for a moment as she relished the sound before making her way back inside.
It was enough for now.
AN: I have a lot to say in this AN, so I apologize ahead of time.
Holy hell. We're getting there, folks. Honestly, I wasn't going to add that bit after the pool episode, but it just... worked. Writing this chapter was such a nightmare. Originally I was just going to skip from the last chapter straight to the training camp, but I ended up readding the pool episode (I wrote it, but then I took it out). Somehow, it just felt right to add back in, but damn, I wasn't thinking about Rei finally confessing her feelings! But okay! I can work with this!
Honestly, now this makes future edits a little easier going forward. Also makes some later events easier for me to write.
I mentioned a while ago that I was stuck on chapter 31. The good news is that chapter 31 is finally completed, and I'm concurrently working on 32 and 33. Additionally, I've also been working on that AU that I mentioned a while ago; I've decided to add it after chapter 33 some time, since we're going to need some fluffy stuff later. On another note, I've also started a second AU which is also fun, so that might get inserted earlier? Who knows.
I'm exhausted, and I need a break. I'm seriously burning out life wise, and I've decided to take a break on writing for at least another week. When I say break, I mean that I'm not sitting down and chunking out 11k+ chapters in one sitting. I'm still writing bits and pieces (this chapter only released on time because I forced myself to write at least 100 words per day in order to reach my goals), but it's not going to be as intensive for a while now. The good news is that I'm still sitting pretty on a pile of chapters that have been prewritten, so don't worry about being devoid of content for a while.
One last thought. I mentioned this at the beginning of the story. When I started this story, I wrote 23 chapters in the span on one month. Today we officially move to the twenty-fourth chapter. Here's to growing and improving, and to the creation of a story which has surpassed my greatest expectations. There's a lot to edit and check, but I never imagined that more than a dozen people would read this story, let alone review, favorite, and follow. Thank you everyone so, so, so much. Seriously. I cannot thank you all enough.
[on a small side note, just thinking about going back and editing from the first chapter is already making me apprehensive... Lord help me get back on my bullshit]
Reviews! Beautiful, sweet, reviews.
chibi-no-baka: Hahaha, honestly, idk when they'll kiss? I'm terrible at writing romance. Eventually though, I promise! Please don't hate me for dragging things out T_T
Blackenflames: At some point, I think the class is gonna figure it out. That's definitely going to be a moment that I write about! Imagining everyone's reactions is too good.
CocoaFirefly: Thank you! I am doing my best to make sure that the characters stay as true to themselves as possible. It's kind of hard to figure out just how soft Bakugou can go, but it's like... kneading dough? My dough-y boy... I'm laughing to myself now, because I'm thinking of that time he was turned into a nugget. I can't.
yaoi4adollar: Yay! Many cute things to come! I hope this was a cute chapter as well. Unfortunately, things probably won't be so cute from here on out...
XSophophobiaX: Sorry that the I-Island chapters won't be coming out for a little while! To be honest I had plans to include them, but I got stuck in a writer's block and the only way I got around it was by removing the I-Island chapters. They'll probably be 3-4 chapters when they do come out, and I do have plans to eventually finish them, so I hope to release them in the future! Stay tuned :D
Waterdragon1123: Bless up for the GrumpyCat ship :D
Anseo: Aaaahh I'm so glad you look forward to these updates! I do try and keep them consistent now; I seriously wasn't feeling like finishing this chapter but I did feel motivated to post by tomorrow (I upload these chapters on Friday nights so I can upload Saturday morning before class for me). I hope you're excited to see what happens in the training camp arc! Hopefully not too angry either... Hahaha
Dear Apollo: Thank you! I'm so glad this makes you happy. Hopefully this chapter made you happy as well! Cute fluff.
dragontamer64: Hope you are doing okay! Take care of yourself. I hope life is treating you well!
Have questions? Comments? Artwork?
Leave a review or send me a message!
I will be taking a small writing break, but I will continue to update as regularly as possible.
Thank you all!
Get ready for the pain!