A/N: apologies for a shorter chapter, it was going to be much longer but I decided to split it as I wanted to get something uploaded – crazy time at work and been working on other projects as well. The next chapter is mostly written, just needs fleshing out. So hopefully, it won't take as long to get it to you! Please visit the adjacent Instagram for connected art mayhata_copycat – hope you enjoy!

My Dear Copycat
Chapter 11
8 Years Later

8 Years Later

To the surprise of the employees and other heroes at his agency, Katsuki Bakugo, explosion hero Dynamight, currently, number five in the rankings had taken on a rather mundane job as soon as it came through. A job that the other heroes would have groaned at or left to the interns. It was a simple job to watch the area and keep an eye on the crowd of a Meet & Greet of another hero. Which, due to the nature of the event, would get all the publicity – leaving the hero on duty with little to no attention, not a good career booster. There were no monsters, or villains with dastardly plans, just paparazzi and rowdy fans gushing for an autograph and photo. Dynamight's least favourite things, and yet, here he was stood atop the roof of a six-story building watching a nauseatingly excited crowd after having pulled strings to ensure it was his agency hired to patrol the event.

He had been pacing the rooftop for hours, hoping for a sight of her. He had arrived too late and had missed her entrance, so he was damn sure he was going to see her leave.

May Hata, or Copycat as she was known to the rest of the world, had left the country to become an international relief hero – and in a short time, she became one of the most sought after and popular heroes in her category. Her quirk allowed her to adapt to each disaster situation, her knowledge and skills leading relief efforts had saved many lives and after years of training and growth since their first year at UA, she could hold her own in combat. A far cry from the scared little thing he saved that night, or the terrified girl that cried at the sight of him. Now she was back in Japan, seemingly for a rest period but he wasn't really sure why. As she had filled her calendar with a tour across Japan for meet & greets, giving lectures and training wannabe-heroes. Not much of a rest. Doing all of this publicity seemed so out of character for her, she was a hero that was adamant about keeping her identity a secret. He never did find out why, he just assumed that she was not one for the limelight. But here she was, back touring the country that made her.

Bakugo had hoped that their friends would arrange a get together to celebrate her return, but it had been over a week now and radio silence. He didn't even know if the others had heard from her. He knew he wasn't going to make the move to find out. He already had a hard time making the others believe that he was over her years ago and organising a party would most certainly ruin that façade.

He sighed and shook his head, slumping down on the rooftop edge. He felt silly pining over a woman who would have forgotten about him a long time ago. He had tried to move on and every relationship he had ever been in had failed, just not mounting up to what she had given him. No woman had ever made him feel the way she did. No woman infested his mind as she did. No woman felt so perfect in his hands like she did. He had tried and tried. Nowadays, a reputation stalks him as being a playboy, a womanizer. Going from woman to woman and never being satisfied. Whether they were a hero, a CEO, a supermodel, a leading actress – he had them all.

It was mid-afternoon now, and the sun was high in the sky threatening to burn his skin. Dynamight was sat lazily on the roof scrolling through social media on his phone with a foot under him and the other dangling off the building. He yawned. It had been a very uneventful day. He had not so much as needed to just glance down at the crowd below and they behaved themselves. He was bored out of his mind, but he had to see her. He had to know it was really her. Just catching a glimpse would make taking this dull job worth it. He couldn't just walk straight in and demand her time, confronting her with what she did to him. That would ruin her reputation, and no doubt cause an immense headache with paparazzi that want all the juicy details of their history. What the hell is wrong with me? "Tch," his lips curled and his fingers tightened on his phone. "Why am I even here?" groaning, he opened up his email to send a message back to his agency, requesting someone come to relieve him. He was done torturing himself.

Before Bakugo could press send, a flurry of cheers and excited screaming of fans pulled his attention away. He closed the app down and put his phone away, jumping to his feet. Eagerly watching the ground below for a sight of her. Just a glimpse. And there she was. In full costume and gear, helmet and all. She continued to greet her fans, the ones outside had been here for hours hoping for something – even though they had not actually booked tickets to partake in the event. But, Copycat being the gracious and loving hero she was, still signed notebooks, took selfies and shook hands with many of them despite clearly trying to leave. She always was a people-pleaser. A smile pulled at his lips. It really was her. There had been a few instances of imitators claiming to be her, as is the nature of having a hidden identity. But he knew her mannerisms, her stance, her costume and body better than anyone. This was her. She truly had come home this time.

It had been three years since he's seen her. In-person anyway. Stood by the very edge, he peered at her, everyone else seemed to disappear, "look up…look up…" mumbling to himself. How he must look to everyone below. But Bakugo did not care if he looked pathetic. He knew what he wanted, and now he was getting it. Just as he always did. Now he just needed to talk to her again.

He watched her as she entertained the crowd and humoured their needs for her attention. But he could tell that she was starting to get flustered and overwhelmed as the demands just kept coming. He felt his feet twitch as he made a move to jump down and assist her to escape. Only, as he prepared himself, just moments away from rescue, Copycat launches herself into the sky into a jump so exaggerated that she was able to land on the roof of the opposite building. That jump must have been part of a quirk that he was unfamiliar with and picked up from somewhere on her travels. She stood close to the edge and gave an embellished full arm wave to the crowd below. They roared in love and awe in response, calling up to her and now him as well.

Copycat had not noticed him until now, her cheeks blushed crimson at the sight of him watching her. She was frozen of the roof edge, as was he. How long had he been there? She was glad for the protection of her helmet, to shield her burning face from his view. He had matured a lot in the few years they were apart, his body was even bigger now, he had his hair different and more manageable, his hero costume was more streamlined and less flashy while still representing his hero persona and style. The thought of getting a closer look made a lump form in her throat.

The crowd below was hushed now, observing the two popular heroes above. Wild mumbles of work partnerships, their potential history and a hot romance took them over.

Dynamight's breathe caught in his throat and his chest refused to move. It was definitely her. Those curves of her round hips, wide thighs and hip dips partnered with a narrow upper body in an irresistible pear shape were unmistakable. His mind trailed back to their last days together before she left Japan seemingly for good.

He heard the news as he walked through the quiet campus, it was all but dead save for a few heroes and official personnel still in process of leaving. The school had been officially closed while it was being used as a base of operations during the Second Meta War. He was queuing up in the unusually empty canteen for some lunch, there was only himself and a handful of others in line, with only a few tables occupied. The girls in front of him -who all he knew about them was that they were in the first year of the hero course when the campus had been taken over as a base- were gossiping about May and Mirio no longer being a couple, and how they had split amicably just that morning.

After lunch, he found her in one of the many gyms, working out alone. The gym was empty except for her and now him. Her expression was as dark as her outfit. She wore black high-waisted leggings with a sports bra, leaving her toned midriff bare. Her hands were wrapped as she vented her frustrations on the punching bag that kept going away from her. God, he could watch her for hours.

He makes a move towards her, making enough noise to alert her of his presence. She glances at him and rolls her eyes before returning her focus to the punching bag. Bakugo goes around and grabs the punching bag, holding it in place for her to hit and kick. "What do you want?" not even looking at him.

"I heard you were having trouble in paradise."

"News spread fast. What's it to you?" she hit the bag so hard that Bakugo stumbled a bit, having to realign his grip.

"Just thought I'd see if the rumours were true," with a smug look that only gave him a dark glare in response. Their attitudes towards each other had improved over a couple of years, following Bakugo's revelation that May was innocent of what he thought back in the first year. But their close friendship had not returned to what it was. Instead, she was just like everyone else in his class, friends and colleagues to fight alongside him on the battlefield. This was partly because of her relationship with Mirio, he thought it was best to keep his distance but remain civil and harmonious. But he knew was clear to everyone around them that he still held a torch for her, to which his friends would gladly remind him that losing her was entirely his fault. "Seems they are. I thought you two were forever. Guess not…"

May stopped training, her hands dropping loosely by her sides as she scowled at him. Sweat glistened on her brow, her face pink and her breathing heavy from the workout. With an aggressive look that wanted to punch something other than the bag. "Have you seriously just come here to gloat? Because I don't need this." His gaze found its way to the freshly healed pink scars on her arms. Her right had a deep long singular gash going down her forearm while her left arm was decorated by three claw marks along the width. These scars that she would bear for the rest of her life. Because of him. Because he had been weak. He had been doing too much and relying on stimulants instead of sleeping or eating. He had fallen for a trap hunting the missing Deku, Iida and Monoma. During the fight his body gave up on him, it refused to move no matter how hard he tried. He was going to be taken prisoner or killed by the enemy, but Copycat had come to his aid just in time and won. Only she got seriously hurt in the process, and still managed to get him to the safe zone. Something he had never been able to forgive himself for. She was now marked for the rest of her life due to his weakness.

"I'm not gloating…"

"Whatever. I can't be bothered dealing with your ego right now."

"Hey! You were pissed before I walked in here!"

"I noticed your bloody hair walking by the window that's why!"

"Tch! Don't blame, it's not MY fault you got dumped."

"Woooow…really?" May's mouth dropped and she shook her head. Not at all surprised that he would say something so callous. "You're unbelievable. Goodbye Bakugo…" she grabbed her towel and water bottle off the ground and made her way to the door but Bakugo called after her.

"I came to see if you were okay…alright?" with much less snark to his voice. He sounded almost…sincere?

"Oh fuck off!" she stared back at him now.

"It's true! I know how delicate you are with these things."

May scoffs, her fingers twitching in her attempt to battle the adrenaline. "If you keep talking I will show you delicate I am," her eyes narrowed with the threat.

He laughed, "like you could take me on. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to do anything you'd regret…like that over there." He pointed to the dark scourge mark on the wall.

A look of angry confusion washed over her, "what are you on about? That's been there years."

"Where you do think it came from? I did that…the day I figured out you manipulated me." She gave him a sour look, "okay the day I thought you manipulated me."

"It is so embarrassing that you bring that up now. But why we are on the topic, I never manipulated you beyond what was agreed. I only wanted to help you. But you suddenly found it so hard to believe that we just got on so well. That it was impossible we might've liked each other. I know you had this whole grrr-macho self-image thing going on but really. As if you believed I was that kind of person," she shook her head and sighed in defeat. "Whatever, I'm not going to argue with you about what happened today or back then. I'm fine, I don't need you right now. So please…just leave me alone."

With her energy deflated, she left. Leaving him there alone in the gym questioning himself. "May…" he muttered before releasing an exaggerated sigh. "GAH! What the hell is wrong with me?!"