Villains are getting bolder day after day.
Magenta clouds fill the alleyway, Camie trapping the runaway arsonist like prey. After all that bark and no bite, he really let her down when the battle was kept to a minimum. She was actually feeling energetic today, too.
"Man…" she sighs as police bolt past her and apprehend the criminal. "The one time I feel better during work. Least you could do is entertain me a bit longer, y'know."
She gives a sly wink to the handcuffed man. He only scoffs and tries to spit at her feet, which is probably the first thing he's tried against her. What a joke. Camie lets her illusion quirk fade away into the sky, the residue floating like fairy dust.
"Nice job, Maboromi," says someone, Camie turning to find out it was Tentacole. He shows a grin on one of his extra limbs, and for a second Camie is sent for a loop—she forgot how tall Shouji really is. He aided Uravity and Cellophane with evacuations, tailing after Camie only when the culprit bolted. "They've got the fire taken care of."
"Sweet," she replies, fixing her hat and sauntering by. The attacked building is devoid of life, all survivors safely outside unscathed. Another successful rescue mission. Though Camie had barely gotten here in time, she managed to clutch her timing and get the glory today. She remembers Shishikura screeching into her ear through the phone, demanding she get here, "ASAP!"
Not that she minded coming here, since Bakugou made an appearance…
Only briefly at her arrival, she caught wind of him rushing into the first floor entrance, spotting him later with several people in his grasp. It amazed her, really. How he's able to just lift people like that. It makes her wonder, how much can he lift? Can he lift her? How much can he lift before he starts struggling, sweating, muscles straining just to—oh! There he is! Camie sees him again, talking with another fellow hero! She doesn't care who it is, they don't matter!
She can see them again, his muscles! She doesn't hesitate staring long and hard at them, and it doesn't even occur to her that she's staring long and hard at them until she feels a hand on her shoulder and she outright yelps at the sudden contact. Shouji's there, looking at her with a mix of concern and… something else. Something hidden.
"Tentacole," she says, breathless, embarrassed at the thought of getting caught red-handed staring at Bakugou. "What up?"
Shouji hesitates, as if he wants to say something, stuttering out a sentence before changing the topic completely. "Wanted to ask if you knew about Lemillion returning from America next week, before the festival. I wasn't told until today, so…"
"Yo, fr?!"
Camie hasn't heard that name in a long time. The last time she even heard a lick of him was years ago, when Togata apparently completed a huge mission in America that had to do with trafficking.
"Dude, that's wack. Is he moving back here or somethin'?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself. I do know he's bringing Eri with him. Deku told me the details this morning, that's all I know. I think he's just visiting for the festival."
"Eri?"
"You don't know her. She's an old friend of my class and me. I'll have Midoriya introduce you if you'd like."
Grinning, Camie shows a thumbs up. "Totes down for it. She sounds sweet, can't wait. Btw, if Lemil's only comin' for the fest, he's not partnering up with anyone then, right? Like, with Deku?"
"I don't think so. Though that would be an interesting idea."
"Right?" she chuckles.
She wouldn't be surprised if he decided to do it regardless. Lemillion was always known to be a huge inspiration for the quirkless. Camie's heard tall tales of the ol' Big Three of UA, if she remembers correctly, Nejire was part of the trio. Shiketsu never had talented students dubbed tacky nicknames like that, though Camie preferred it that way for different reasons. She mostly regrets not being able to see Togata's old permeation in action, especially once she heard of Shie Hassaikai.
Partnerships are becoming the latest trend now, though! There's a chance Togata has grown a sweet spot for the media's demands, which equals a good chance of a long-time-no-see return accompanied with a partnership with another agency!
That's just her getting her hopes up, though.
Thanks to Shouji, Camie lost sight of Bakugou, but she'll save the cursing for later, because he's not done talking yet.
"Would you consider a partnership?"
It takes her by surprise, really, hearing that question coming from him. The illusionist looks him in the face and dwells on the inquiry, several questions of her own racking her. What a straightforward way to ask, Shouji.
"I mean…" she starts, calculating, "I'd, like, hafta run that by Gale Force, but it's totes cool w/ me. I can stop by and ask if we can arrange somethin'."
"I didn't mean us."
"No?" Her head tilts.
"No," Shouji scratches the back of his neck, like he's nervous to say the following. "It just occurred to me that lots of agencies are open for candidates. A couple of my friends are currently seeking partnerships. Would you mind?"
"…That depends. Who's askin'?"
"Well, I know Froppy is taking a few recruits. Tailman and Anima, too. Oh," for some reason his voice decides to ascend in volume, "Ground Zero as well."
…
A warm excitement flutters in her chest. Butterflies are going wild in there.
Bakugou is open for partnerships…?
She heard that right, right?
She didn't use her quirk on accident just now, did she?
"Bakugou…"
"Yes." She doesn't see his grin.
Camie buffers, pulling some loose hair back behind her ear as she averts to the ground below. This is… this is great…! Maybe she can… she can totally ask Inasa… like, right now! She has to call him! Where's her phone? She fumbles with her pockets, desperately searching for it—no, wait, what is she doing, Shouji's still here—
"I-I'll totally consider it," she barely gets out. "Thanks for letting me know, dude, I'm, like — just, thanks! Thanks!"
The flooded excitement in her voice is enough for him. "No problem. Hope everything works out for you. And him."
"Who?"
"No one."
Shouji stalks off before Camie can decipher what he meant.
"Partnership with Ground Zero?"
"Yea."
The squeal that racks her voice isn't taken note of by either of them. She clutches her phone tightly, plugging her other ear with her finger. In the background there's a creaking noise, Camie assuming Inasa must've just got back at the agency. He hums, considering her suggestion, until eventually he laughs and says, "Trying to get what you want, huh?"
The fact she can hear his smirk makes her cringe. "Dude, don't. Please. Can we just, y'know, try it out? Your ratings will skyrocket, y'know? And I can, uh, y'know… y'know."
…
Camie doesn't even know what she just said.
"Well, y'know," Inasa echoes. "Normally I'd say we'd have a better chance partnering with someone in the lower ranks. Ground Zero has a huge following, Camie, and a lot of low levels want to get a chance to get the spotlight through him. It's like a one-way ticket to the top. Him picking us out of that many is like winning the lottery."
No…
She deflates hearing the news. She's never been good with scratch tickets…
"But…"
…!
He sighs. "But since you like the guy… I'll see what I can do. I don't like seeing you depressed because of it, Camie. Shishikura's been on and off about it, and I won't lie, it's kind of annoying."
No way…
No way!
Inasa, you're a hero!
She might as well scream, because her heart's literally leaping for joy! Hypothetical tears run down her face, several different voices in her head cheering in glee. A shaky grin overwhelms her. It blooms like a flower. At this point she might as well start sobbing in ecstasy.
"Dude…" her elation starts making her tremble, "thank you so much. Preesh…!"
This time, the author is certain they used that word correctly.
Her eagerness didn't end there. Throughout the remainder of her day she was light on her feet. Walking on air. Patrolling the streets of Musutafu with a giddiness like no other, thinking of the day she'll work hand-in-hand with Bakugou. She's already thinking of special moves to combine with his for an all-out team attack!
Yet.
And yet.
The truth of what she's gotten herself into hadn't dawned on her until mere hours after she returned home.
She lazes in bed, idly scrolling through her phone, a towel wrapped around her head after a refreshing hot shower. Her yukata hangs on the door of her closet. Every now and then she takes a few glances at it, imagining events that'll probably not take place at the festival. Wonder what Bakugou's going to wear…
Partnering with Bakugou… ooh, this is going to be so lit! Camie giggles like a teenage girl, legs kicking as the butterflies in her chest go wild. Bakugou's going to be so cool looking, as always. A conjecture of him formulates in her head as the girl gazes at his social media. There's hardly anything, since he posts almost once every three months, yet that doesn't stop her from plucking the good selfies out of the advertisements on his page.
Oh, here's one about when he got ranked #3! And this one, a simple picture of him in a hoodie with the caption, 'bored.' Ooh! This one, it's… a picture of Chargebolt's face broken into a hideous grin with the caption 'HACKED'.
…Camie dismisses that one.
She isn't sure how, but she soon finds herself scrolling through their past messages. The last time they talked through the phone was during the puppy mill raid, and all they said that morning was:
yo
What
ya ready to get dis shiz done? 😛
Yeah
epic 😎
The exchange makes her self-esteem nosedive.
Most of the messages prior are sort of the same thing. The only unique one out of the few is when she asked him to deliver a message to Kirishima, back when she hadn't received his Line yet. Something about thanking him for the backup. Let's see, she sent that one particular message…
…Two… years ago.
Holy damn.
It occurred to her, just now.
We don't talk much at all, do we…
Hardly at all. To say they rarely talk is an understatement, they almost never text each other. Glaring, the pure statement puts her in a foul mood, thinking of all the times she could've been texting Bakugou instead of Ashido, or Shishikura, or, hell, add Hagakure, why don'tcha. She rolls onto her stomach, pouting as she scrolls back up to reread the messages they've sent back and forth.
yo
What
ya ready to get dis shiz done? 😛
Yeah
epic
God, that's so cringeworthy!
Muffled groans of pain assault her pillow. She hates looking at it, wishes she could go back and fix it, say something less stupid and more coherent. If time travel exists, sign her up. The butterflies in her chest have died.
Although there seems to be a lone straggler.
A thought pops into her head — redeem yourself.
That butterfly carried a huge message. Too big for its size, yet it got the job done. A tiny light at the end of a dark corridor. Hope.
Her fingers hover above the digital keyboard.
There's a chance Bakugou doesn't know about the partnership yet… knowing Inasa, he must have forgotten, or something like that… that's totally plausible. Might as well make sure he knows what's going on, right? Bakugou always likes being told ahead of time, too!
So…
Go ahead!
Tell 'em!
Let him know the plan!
A machine gun starts firing in her chest. Messaging him after so long like this isn't weird, is it? No, it's not, right? She's just letting him know, nothing too fantastic…
Yet her fingers have the slightest quiver in the bones. She types with bated breath.
Hey did Gale force tell you ab
No, she can't start with that…
Hi, ik we haven't talked in a wh
What kind of intro is that?
Think… this shouldn't be that hard…
…
Camie's heart can't take much more, and before she realizes it her fingers are moving on their own.
Hey bakugou. I just wanted to let u know that we're willing to partner up with ur agency. Idk if inasa called u yet but I just wanted to let u know
The exact second she sends it she hurls her phone into the bed, crushing herself with the weight and fear of what she said being the stupidest thing she's ever done. She opens her ears, listening for that little ding of her phone while hiding her face in the pillow, not wanting to see his response first hand.
Time moves like molasses. A perfect opportunity for her to relish in regret. Maybe she shouldn't have sent it. Inasa probably told him already, that message wasn't necessary, was it? No, probably not, hah! She'll just quickly unsend it's before he can—
…
Ah.
Her phone dinged…
And again.
Two dings? What is this, Hell?
As if it were a nuke Camie handles her phone with extreme caution. The girl's experienced fear before. Like when Bakugou got flung back in a wild battle in which luck wasn't on his side. Or when she witnessed him bleeding from his abdomen after a fight with someone whose quirk specialized in knives. And that earthquake a long time ago…
…But none of that compares to this one text message.
She flips her phone to check the screen—there's two notifications, both from Bakugou. They are read like ancient encryptions.
Oh
Both of you?
The sigh of relief is like a breath of fresh air. The figmented fears are tossed aside for now as she fires to conjure her next sentence, one that somehow has her trying to find out how she normally acts.
Idk about both of us but
Oh god. Is she really going to say it? It's not weird, right? No, no, it can't be weird. None of this is weird. She's just suggesting something.
Say it.
Idk about both of us but I'm totes down to partner up w/ you
The nuke explodes—Camie feels like suffocating in embarrassment as she slams the send button, and it occurs to her now just how hot her face feels. Like an ice cube in one-hundred degree weather! Her legs kick wildly on the sheets once more, the percussion getting more and more strained each time as the machine gun beat of her heart throws her off balance.
She really said it…!
She managed to tell him!
…But, her phone dings once again, and this time, the illusionist feels like disappearing. Quickly she skims his message:
I'm fine with it.
Get to the agency on Friday and we'll work from there.
And Camie simply replies with,
Kk :)
But in real life she's howling! She really did it! She's going to possibly have a partnership with Bakugou, for reals! Oh, she has to tell Ashido! Momo-chan! Uhh, who else? Oh yeah, Inasa! Wait, he knows already…
Whatever! Ashido's going to be absolutely stoked hearing this!
…
…
Or…
On second thought…
It wouldn't hurt to keep chatting with him for a while…
yo btw, saw u go in that building earlier, u didn't get burned did u?
After all that, she can finally… how to put it… wind down. It's like she's talking with an old friend now. Yet that familiar party of butterflies rock on in her chest, the warm and fuzziness of it reminding her of when she'd worked side-by-side with him during that raid. It's… nice.
Camie decides she likes this feeling.
"So? What'd she say?"
"She's fine," Shouji affirms. "She said she'd consider it. Which was an obvious yes."
He grins at Ashido's little squeal of joy on the other side of the phone. "Oh, perfect, Shouji! We're finally getting a move on! At this rate we're sure to reach the deadline."
"I agree."
One and a half weeks remain.