A/N: Thanks again for reading this! I thought it would take me longer to write this, but not only did I finish in record time, but this is a longer chapter than usual. It's pretty Bakugou heavy. Thank you for all the reviews and likes. I'm really getting into this story now.

I do have a spoiler warning from the manga in this chapter. It's Bakugou's hero name.

Still don't own My Hero Academia.

...

Bakugou barely slept that night, so the morning of the surprise training session found him in a particularly foul mood that his classmates had not seen in quite some time. Even Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero sensed it was in their best interests to give him space, and for the most part, left him alone as they walked to class, talking in low murmurs between the three of them.

As he pushed open the door, Bakugou thought about going straight to Aizawa's office and showing him the article he'd found, wanting to demand to know what the fuck was going on and how much did UA really know. Like a fucking idiot though, he somehow found himself glancing to the back of the class where she sat, her pale stringy hair framing her face, her shoulders scrunched around her neck. Unbidden, the image of the little girl with the cheeky grin in the photograph popped in his head and Bakugou wondered what her smile would look like now.

Damn it to hell.

He slammed his bag on top of his desk, grunting in response to the nerd's cheerful greeting. Wait, maybe he should show Deku the article and get his thoughts before going to Aizawa. Even Bakugou had to admit that Deku had few rivals when it came to analyzing a situation, and a different point of view might help. No, maybe not. Not that he couldn't trust the damn nerd with the secret, but this somehow felt...wrong. Maybe he should speak to the new girl himself, if she could manage to hold her head up long enough to have a decent conversation.

"Ok class, get out your books-" Aizawa strode in the doorway just as the alarm went off. Red lights illuminated the room.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! CLASS 3-A REPORT TO USJ IMMEDIATELY!"

Chairs scraped the floors as the students grabbed their cases from the shelves that popped out of the wall.

"Kaylee, you'll get to see us in action! How cool is that going to be?" Kaminari called out. "Wait, you are going to be able to observe us, right?"

"Yes, Kaminari," Aizawa stood behind him, startling the boy. "Come with me, Kaylee. I'll show you where we are headed."

Bakugou grabbed his numbered case and followed the others out the door.

The USJ hadn't been used much since the attack in their first year. It was whispered around UA that it was cursed. Bakugou knew that Sero started that rumor in order to find a good make-out spot outside of the dorms. Apparently, there was a second year he was sneaking around with and the USJ had plenty of areas perfect for secluded make-out sessions. Bakugou also heard Kirishima and Ashido talking about it, although it wasn't like those two clowns even gave a shit who saw them together.

Falling back behind the rest of the class, Bakugou watched how close Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were as they walked up the path. They weren't holding hands, per se, but there was definite touching. He snorted derisively. Losers. Even if he was in his late teens, Bakugou felt he didn't want or need the distraction of a relationship, even if it was just a casual hookup. Nothing was going to get in his way of becoming the number one hero. The rest of the school can fuck like rabbits if they wanted. He was not losing sight of his goal.

Aizawa was waiting for them at the entrance. "Today we are going to work on your rescue and recovery skills." He held out a box. "Your teams are going to be randomly assigned, as will the team leaders. Form up in your groups and meet me inside."

Bakugou reached in and grabbed a blue piece of paper and joined up with the others as they marched inside.

"Blue team over here!" Bakugou saw a glove waving around. Great, he was with Sparklepants and the Air-Head. Sero quickly joined them, smiling happily as he adjusted his helmet. Bakugou approved. At least there was someone on this team with some sense.

"If you have a star, it means you're the team leader," said Aizawa. Bakugou smirked as he held up a blue star. A small groan came from Sparklepants. "You are being tested on how well you can communicate with your team. Be sure to use your hero names, or points will be deducted."

"Why are you bastards looking at me?" Bakugou snarled as in unison, the class turned to look back at him.

Aizawa ignored the outburst and handed out tablets with the layouts of each assigned section. "We've changed all the areas around, so this will be unfamiliar to you."

"Oh no," cried Uraraka softly. "I really liked the shipwreck area. Not that I've seen much of it," she added. Bakugou rolled his eyes as she and Deku exchanged a telling look.

Aizawa ignored her. "In each assigned area there are targets placed randomly that will act as civilians. These are ballistic dummies, so they will approximate the relative size and weight of real humans. You have one hour to save as many of those targets as you can. Here's the situation: A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit an area 60 kilometers off the coast thirty minutes ago. Blue team," Bakugou straightened as Aizawa pointed to them. "Your assigned area is the outskirts of the city."

Bakugou turned to his team as the other teams were given their assignments. "Given the time of day it is, the outskirts of town will probably be relatively empty of people. Most of them will be at work."

Sero pointed to an area on the tablet. "There are two schools and a day care center in this area. And there's an orphanage further up the street. We need to prioritize the children."

"We should divide up and we can cover more area and in the allotted time limit," said Hagakure.

"No," Bakugou replied, shaking his head. "The schools and daycare will be the most packed, we need to concentrate our efforts there."

"Time starts now!" Aizawa spoke through the loudspeaker. He'd moved to the platform above the beach to stand in front of a console. The new girl stood behind him, gazing around in awe.

They headed into their assigned area. "You know there's going to be some sort of extra shit they're going to throw at us, so everyone stay alert."

The task went relatively quick for the first half hour. The targets were just as expected, child sized ballistic dummies with a glowing electrode in the chest, glowing red or green to indicate if the citizen was alive or not. The school buildings were older than expected, and Bakugou wondered if this was because they were actually replicating a real-world area. The streets were relatively empty of dummies, with the occasional few bodies inside stores or in some of the apartment buildings. Each dummy was taken to the agreed upon evacuation point.

By the time they reached the orphanage, the sporadic tremors that normally followed an earthquake were increasing. Street lights and signs were toppling over. Bakugou could barely stand up straight.

"Mon Dieu, this place is already falling apart!" Sparklepants exclaimed in that horrid accent. Fuck, he was right. The orphanage was a dilapidated building, about five stories. Large cracks rose up from the foundation, weaving throughout the cement walls like spiderwebs.

"Yeah, we've got to move. Cellophane," Bakugou pointed to Sero. "Start on the top floor with the kids. You others take the floors below. Be sure to double check under beds and in closets. Kids hide when they're scared.""

"Watch your six, Blue Team!" said the gloves. "This has been too easy so far."

They all left to go to their assigned areas. Bakugou walked around the building, examining it carefully for any major damage.

"Perimeter is all clear," Bakugou told the team through the comms. "Take remaining evacuees to their assigned area."

"Roger that, Blue Leader," chirped Hagakure. A slight giggle followed.

"Who the fuck is giggling?" Bakugou demanded angrily.

"Sorry," came Sero's voice. "We just sound like an American action film. It's kinda bad-ass."

"Top two floors are clear."

"And so is the third floor," Aoyama said.

"And the second!" Their voices were louder now. "We did it!"

Rolling his eyes he met them at the bottom of the stairs. Something glinted at the base of the building, overgrown shrubs covering a window. "Shit, they've got a cellar here. Didn't think Japan allowed these anymore. Place is fucking ancient. I'm going to check it. I bet they've sent some people down there."

Another large aftershock rumbled through, making Bakugou's teeth rattle.

"This whole building is about to collapse! Bakugou, forget the cellar! We've got the last of the kids," Sero shouted.

"Sacre Bleu! We're out of time!"

"No way in hell! Not until we've checked every inch of this building. And it's Great Explosion Murder God DynaMight, you asshole!" Bakugou didn't pause as he busted the window out with a punch. Glass flew everywhere. He dove in.

"But the time-"

"Fuck the time limit! I'm saving everyone here!"

Whatever reply Sero said was drowned out as the orphanage collapsed.

After a sleepless night, the last thing Kaylee wanted to deal with was some sort of surprise training, whatever that really meant. She really wanted nothing more than to just crawl back into bed, pull the covers over her head, and get some rest.

She jumped out of her skin when the alarm went off in homeroom. Frantic, she glanced around to see what was happening. The rest of the class did not seem concerned or phased as they grabbed numbered briefcases that slid out of the wall on hidden shelves.

The students all left to change into their costumes, so Kaylee followed Mr. Aizawa as they got into a small black sedan. She raised an eyebrow at him as he held the door for her.

"I don't think you get just how big the UA campus is. It would be a 30 minute walk to the USJ if we didn't take transportation. The students change first, then take a separate van," he told her as they set off.

It was a basic black sedan, but Kaylee could tell from the toys scattered around the back seat and empty soda cans that this must be Mr. Aizawa's personal vehicle. There was a small figure of Present Mic on the floor at her feet. Kaylee leaned down to pick it up and spared a glance at Mr. Aizawa.

"Eri's," he said plainly. "Damned thing. Present Mic gave it to her just to mess with me." She smiled softly. Present Mic was her English teacher. He was loud, noisy, and Kaylee more often than not left class with a raging headache, but he was fun.

"What does USJ stand for?" she asked.

"Unforeseen Simulation Joint," came the reply. "We haven't used it much since the attack two years ago. The teachers occasionally catch students making-out in there." He grinned. "Mic calls it the Ultra Secret Make-out Joint."

"What do these training sessions normally look like?"

"Oh, it could be anything that a pro-hero might expect to encounter. Hypothetical villains, rescue situations, ethics…"

"Ethics?" she asked curiously.

"Part of being a pro-hero is to understand the concepts of right and wrong behaviors. We make sure they have a good understanding of these concepts even before they step foot on this campus," Aizawa said determinedly.

"Even Mineta?" Kaylee couldn't help but ask, thinking about the pint-sized pervert. He seemed mostly harmless, but Kaylee wasn't sure. She overheard him comparing the breast sizes to every girl in Class 3-A to Class 3-B.

"Even him," Aizawa smiled. "We're here. You go on in and I'll wait for the other students."

Kaylee got out of the vehicle and gazed around. It was an immense concrete and glass dome, the largest building she'd ever seen. On the inside, the place was just as vast, and Kaylee couldn't contain her squeal of surprise. It was absolutely enormous! A rocky mountain stood in the back of the structure, with a large lake complete with a beach just in front. A small sprawling city was perched just to the other side of the lake. Giant trees grew in a jungle area. Kaylee swore she saw birds flying through the branches.

To the right of the entrance, there was a huge platform overlooking the beach area. A stadium sized TV screen rose above the platform. Leaning her bag against one of the giant columns, she ran to the platform to get a closer look at the area. Gentle waves lapped at the shores of the beach while tiny schools of fish dotted the light blue water. She could hear insects humming in the trees of the jungle nearby.

The large doors opened again, and Kaylee rushed back to her spot against the columns. Mr. Aizawa walked through followed by…

Oh wow.

If it wasn't for the cheerful, freckled face of Deku chatting happily with Uraraka and Sero, Kaylee wouldn't have known who they were. They looked unbelievable. They looked like heroes. Scanning the group, she saw Tsuyu in her green costume, and she shyly waved to her when she saw Tsuyu look in her direction. Kirishima was easy to spot, not only because he was talking animatedly to the pink toned Ashido, but his spiky red hair and nude torso. Wow, was he really built or what? Kaylee may not have had any interaction or exposure to boys her age before, but even she could appreciate the rippling muscles of the boy. Just behind him was Mezo Shoji, one of the quieter of the students in her class. He was friendly and soft spoken, which she appreciated. Next to him stood Tokoyami, with his distinctive raven-shaped head and beak. He was dressed entirely in black. Kaylee's eyes widened at the costume that Yaoyorozu wore-it was so revealing! She was standing so close to Todoroki, whose costume was rather simple looking compared to some of the others, especially as Aoyama was posing just to his right. Sunlight glinted off the shiny metal, reflecting rainbows on the columns in front. Even Mineta looked different, although she wasn't sure how much of a hero he was planning on being.

Biting her lip, Kaylee stretched out on her tip-toes, scanning the crowd looking for the one person she wanted to see the most. As though he could sense her, he stormed through the entryway, slamming the doors behind him with an echoing bang.

Incredible.

Kaylee fell back against the column as her heart slammed into her throat. Large black and orange boots laced up tightly over dark green trousers with metal knee pads. A utility belt cinched his waist and came down to encircle each thigh. What looked like grenades hung from the belt, matching the much larger gauntlets with their oversized levers on his arms. A tight black sleeveless t-shirt stretched tightly across his torso, an orange X criss-crossing the front.

So that's what a six-pack is. Whatever muscles that Kirishima had paled in comparison to what Bakugou sported. Kaylee had to fight the urge to fan herself.

Around his neck was some sort of metal guard. A black mask covered the upper portion of his face, with orange and black flames framing his head like a dark halo. As he moved, the orange paint reflected the sunlight, making it seem as though he really was on fire.

"Come, Kaylee. Let's get you settled up on the platform. I want you to take notes on the teams as a whole and five individuals, including their pros and cons. Don't be afraid to be critical, these guys can take it."

Kaylee flinched, but recovered quickly. She'd been so mesmerized by Bakugou that she'd forgotten the teacher was even there. She grabbed her book bag and followed.

"They're dividing up into their teams now. Each one is wearing a small communication device, so we can hear them. The screen will be divided up into five sections. They've got an hour to get through their assigned tasks, which in this case, is rescue and evacuation." Mr. Aizawa pointed a remote at a corner of the platform. A large console rose from the floor. "I'll be controlling the environment from there." He shot her an evil grin. "This might be rocky, so get ready."

Kaylee moved back a few feet to get a better view of the screen and knelt on the floor, trying to keep the ridiculous short skirt tucked under her.

At first, it was hard to keep track of everyone on the screen, especially as they all talked at the same time. However, Kaylee got the hang of it quick enough, and was able to focus on the individual teams separately. Cameras must be hidden all over the place, with Aizawa controlling the angle from the console. Tremors occasionally shook the platform, although Kaylee knew it was much less than what the class was experiencing beyond.

Kaylee tried so hard to focus on the other teams as they made their way through the exercise, writing down notes here and there, trying her best to remember their hero names, smiling at some of the friendly banter over the comms. However, she just couldn't prevent herself from glancing over at the image on the far left where Bakugou's team was, her ears attuned to his deep booming voice.

While she didn't know how many students were in their area, it seemed his team was the quickest at getting the dummies out and moved to the evacuation area. The orphanage was the last building to be cleared.

"Kids hide when they're scared." Kaylee's head snapped up. Oh God, the images flooded back in her mind, as if someone had flipped a switch on an old film projector.

She remembered.

Her mom and dad had just returned from a Christmas party. Kaylee and Simon had stayed up past their bedtime, and snuck down the stairs to see them. The children received hugs and goodnight kisses, with promises to check on them once the parents got settled.

Glass shattered. Her mom screamed. Gunshots blasted. Before she could think about what she was doing, Kaylee grabbed Simon and pulled him under the couch in the living room. She was too big, she wouldn't fit, so she hid behind it instead, crouching down to keep the toddler silent. A massive gloved hand yanked her up, more gunshots. Pain in her neck as something cold pierced her skin.

A large tremor snapped Kaylee from her reverie. Her cheeks were cold and wet, her hands were shaking and it wasn't just from the simulated earthquakes. Heart racing, she quickly tried to do her grounding techniques.

Somewhat calmer, she turned back to the screen, needing to see what was going on. She couldn't see Bakugou, but heard his voice on the comm.

"Fuck the time! I'm saving everyone here!"

Kaylee gazed in horror as she watched the entire orphanage collapse. Bakugou was still inside.

…..

"Stop your bitching, Elbows! We saved all the brats, so what more do you want?" Bakugou was pissed as hell. One of his gauntlets got busted beyond simple repairs. Blood poured from a gash above his eye, and he'd be damned if he was going to listen to that whiny asshole the entire walk back to the entrance. He blasted out through the wreckage of the orphanage, the two kid dummies stuffed under each arm, and other than some slight injuries, everyone was fine. Everyone was saved.

"We'll get deducted points, Bakugou! And while you may be le meilleur in class, the rest of us needed those points!" Sparklepants protested, tossing his hair back behind his ear. "Mon dieu, don't you think about anyone but yourself?"

"If you'd quit posing so damned much, you'd probably do better, Twinkie!" A high pitched gasp sounded behind him.

"It's ok, Aoyama, we'll be fine," Hagakure consoled the others.

Icy-Hot and his team joined them as they proceeded up the stairs. Bakugou smirked, noticing the way the bastard clutched his left arm. He was limping. Small wisps of smoke emanated from the boy's body. Looks like the yellow team got in a little trouble as well. And if they were late, then Bakugou still had a shot at getting a better grade than that bastard. Not a bad day.

"Get too hot for you?" he asked Todoroki.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," came the cool reply. He took in Bakugou's appearance. "Looks like a building fell on you. What happened?"

"Tch. A building fell on me."

Todoroki rolled his eyes.

Aizawa met them at the top of the platform stairway. "Both of your teams are late. Bakugou, you're eleven minutes over the time limit. Twenty-two points are deducted from your total grade."

"The hell!" Bakugou fumed.

"However," Aizawa glared, interrupting him before he could really get going. "All survivors made it safely to the evacuation point. Five points added."

"Oh yeah!" Hagakure raised up a glove in triumph.

"Todoroki, your team was twelve minutes over. And you melted one of the arms of the ballistic dummies. Twenty-four points deducted."

"HA! YOU SUCK!" Bakugou could barely contain his glee at getting one up over that half-and-half bastard. Even better was the death glare that was sent his way. Todoroki grunted and pushed past him as the rest of the teams followed.

Still grinning to himself, he joined the rest of the class. Some of the students were sprawled around the platform, idly chatting as some quickly bandaged wounds and dusted off costumes while they waited for Aizawa to give them the all-clear. A small group had surrounded the new girl as she knelt, papers scattered about her. She appeared nervous. He leaned against the railings, making sure he had a clear view of her and kept in earshot, but not close enough that he could be considered part of the group.

"Come on Kaylee," pleaded Kirishima, kneeling beside her. "I'd love to see what you got on us. Show us your notes!"

"Please," joined Deku as he, too, assisted her in picking up the pages. "This is the first time you've seen us and I'd love to hear what you think."

"I'm not really sure – I didn't get a chance to write much – there was so much going on," she stammered, blushing.

"Well, you must have seen how excellent I was," Mineta boasted. "We were the first ones back!"

She frowned. "Only because you didn't have any girls on your team to grope," she murmured softly. "And you left two people trapped."

The group exploded into laughter. "Wow, barely even a week here and she's already got your number, Mineta!" cackled Ashido, arms around her stomach as she bent over in laughter.

Even Bakugou couldn't hold back chuckles as Mineta sputtered indignantly. Looks like the new girl found her sense of humor.

Kaminari grabbed the remaining notes and clutched them. "Oh, I gotta know what you said about me now, funny girl!' He rifled through the pages, ignoring her soft protests. "Here I am! Kaminari. Hero name: Spark Plug!?" A new round of giggles erupted through the group. "It's Charge Bolt! CHARGE BOLT!"

"Sorry," she replied, looking down as she scrunched her shoulders around her neck. Damn, why did she keep her hair in her face all the time? Bakugou wanted to see her face. "It's hard to keep everyone's hero names straight."

Kaminari continued on. "Pros: Good leader. Ha! Did you hear that guys! Kaylee said I'm a good leader." He waved the paper around in jubilation.

"She also says you look around too much, like you're more focused on where the team is at than where you are going," replied Jiro as she grabbed the notes from him. "She's right, you do that a lot."

"Only because I'm trying to make sure I don't accidentally give someone shock therapy!" he protested.

"They should be keeping up with you, not the other way around," the new girl mumbled, still shuffling the papers around nervously. "You should trust them to know what you're capable of."

Kaminari rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Huh." He grabbed another page from her, ignoring her soft protests.

"Looks like Koda is next!" Bakugou glanced over at one of Class 3-A's quieter students. Like him, Koda had also grown over the past few years, and was way more talkative than he used to be, although he would never be considered as outgoing as Kirishima or Ashido. He was kind hearted and gentle. Koda's sharp angled face turned a little pink as Kaminari read from the notes.

"Hero name: Something about animals? Close, much closer than Spark-plug at least. Pros: He can talk to birds and get them to scout for him."

"Not just birds," Koda explained patiently, striding up to the group. "I can talk to all animals and insects."

Bakugou watched her tilt her head in thought. "But you only talk to birds," she said.

"They're the most helpful, and can see things from a distance. Also, they're everywhere, so they're the most available creatures in cities."

She shook her head. "Rats are way more plentiful than birds. They can go places that birds can't. Travel through sewers. Roaches too."

Koda shook his head rapidly, throwing his hands up. "No way! Rats are scary and roaches terrify me!" She quickly bowed her head. "Sorry."

"Now I have to know what your notes are about me, Kaylee," Deku said pleadingly, probably hoping to break some of the tension.

She sighed, jumbling through the pages around until she found the correct one. "Deku. Pros: Fast. Powerful." She paused, hesitantly, throwing him a tentative glance.

Bakugou snorted derisively, earning a reproving glance from a few near him. Sure, the nerd may have One for All, but Bakugou just had a fucking five-story building fall on him. And he was the one who saved the dummies in the cellar. Fuck Deku.

"And the cons?" Deku reminded Bakugou of a dog, eagerly waiting for a stick to be tossed.

"You talk too much."

Dead silence. Deku's mouth dropped. "Sorry, but it's got to be distracting." Her voice trembled as she started down at her hands, clenching them nervously, crinkling the pages she still clutched.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Bakugou roared with laughter, clutching his sides, which were already paining him from the orphanage collapse, but holy hell, the expression on the nerd's face was priceless.

The rest of the class soon joined in, even Deku couldn't keep a straight face for long. "I didn't realize I was that bad," he said, still chuckling.

"We got used to it," said Iida, who had an arm on Satou to support himself as he snickered at Deku. Four-eyes hadn't shown that much humor in all the time Bakugou had known him. "I don't think I even notice it anymore."

She bit her lip, and Bakugou swore she gave a little half-smile. "Sorry," she said again. "I just thought if you're working with unfamiliar people, they may not know it's a thing."

Deku held up his hands, eyes glinting with amusement. "It's fine. I didn't realize I did it that much. Why didn't you guys say anything?"

"Iida's right, we don't notice it anymore," Tsuyu smiled.

"Class, it's time to go," Aizawa glowered over them. "Kaylee, I'll expect your assignment first thing tomorrow morning." She nodded. "The rest of you, get your wounds tended by Recovery Girl if needed, then get back to campus and get changed."

Boots scraped the concrete platform as they all rose and headed towards the entrance. Deku helped the new girl with the last of her notes and she haphazardly placed them in her bag. Together, they walked down the stairs, Deku chatting merrily, not even noticing how she barely said a word in response. Fuck, she was doing that breathing thing again, her hands trembling as she adjusted her bag and followed the nerd.

Unnoticed, a sheet of paper flew out. Pushing off the railing, Bakugou bent down to pick it up. He paused when he saw his name at the top. Her handwriting was a little shaky, either from trying to write during simulated earthquakes or just someone unfamiliar with Japanese lettering. His pulse quickened.

Bakugou. Hero name: Something, Something, Dynamite.

Stupid idiot. Couldn't even get his carefully chosen name right.

He scowled as his eyes scanned the rest of the sheet. Pros: It looked like she had written something, then erased it. He held the sheet up to the light, trying to see if he could make out the words.

Goddamn it. He didn't know why, but he really wanted to know what she thought. It shouldn't even be important, what the fuck did he care what some useless nobody thought of him? He knew he was the best, so why should it matter?

Even so, he found himself carefully folding up the paper and putting it in his pocket.

The rest of the day passed as usual, although Bakugou kept folding and unfolding the paper repeatedly, hoping that the next time he looked at it, he'd be able to make out the erased writing.

Fuck it. He was just going to talk to her.

The right opportunity finally presented itself later on that evening. She was sitting at what he thought of as her usual corner of the common room, books and notes scattered around her. He slouched on the sofa, pretending to be interested in some stupid movie that Koda and Ojiro had turned on. Most of the others had gone upstairs, which suited him perfectly. He'd been watching her long enough now to know that the fewer people around her, the less nervous she would be.

After the last footsteps faded up the stairwell, he finally decided to make his move.

Her work area was more of a disaster than he thought. It was complete chaos. Multiple textbooks were scattered all over the table, some precariously perched on the edge, others were laying with their spines split down the middle. A large English/Japanese dictionary was set in the middle. Multiple pencils in various lengths were strewn about. Stacks of notebooks, some with the pages torn out filled in the gaps left by the other debris – very little of the actual table could be viewed.

"You dropped this earlier." He tossed the folded paper, still warm from his pocket on the table. It landed perfectly in front of her.

A small intake of breath was his only acknowledgment she heard him. Interesting. She didn't twitch like she usually did, so that must mean she had been aware of his presence. The soft light from the windows illuminated the pale skin of her arms, making it seem like she glowed. She was so still she looked like a marble statue. She was hunched over a book, her face concealed by her hair. As usual.

"Oh, thanks." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but in the silence of the room, it might have as well been shouted. She unfolded the page and placed it before her.

Turn and look at me. Fucking turn your head and look at me!

"You erased it."

"What?" Her head cocked slightly to the side, but she still didn't look up.

To hell with this shit. He pulled out the chair next to her, ignoring the books and pencils that fell to the floor. "You wrote something about me, then you erased it."

She took a deep breath. "Oh, I had a hard time with the words."

"You had a hard time?! I had a fucking building fall on me!" His voice thundered through the room. Oddly enough, she didn't even flinch, but her eyes never left the page in front of her. He literally wanted to shake her, anything to get her to notice him.

Look at me.

"Hurt." Could she not say more than one fucking word at a time?

Look at me.

"Yeah." Two could play this game.

She took a deep breath. "Multiple abrasions and contusions to upper and lower extremities. Blunt force trauma. Large laceration above the left eye. Right gauntlet sustained major damage."

Bakugou's mouth fell open as she listed out his wounds as if she'd read them from Recovery Girl's report. Ok, so she may have missed the few bruised ribs and some internal bleeding, but it was oddly exciting to think she'd noticed that much detail about him. And just a little creepy.

"Does it hurt?" Still looking down at the page.

"Tch. As if something like that could hurt me. I was barely with Recovery Girl for thirty minutes." Maybe an hour. Or two. He let out a small chuckle. "Icy-Hot had to stay overnight."

"You saved all the children."

"They were just ballistic dummies. And I was eleven minutes over." He fidgeted with one of the pencils, rolling it between his hands while he studied her. Shit.

"Time doesn't matter if someone needs saving. Eleven minutes. Eleven years."

Eleven years. It was how long the girl in the article had been missing. The girl in the article that was now sitting next to him. The question was on the tip of his tongue, nearly burning with the need to ask her. He shrugged instead. "Whatever."

This was a bad idea. Granted, Bakugou didn't have many bad ideas, but this was definitely one. He moved to leave, to say fuck everything and just go to bed, but he glanced at the page still in front of her.

"Tell me what you wrote about me."

Another deep sigh as though talking this much was painful for her. "The words were too hard. There were too many. I tried to find them, but they hid from me." She stammered, rambling out the words as she clenched and unclenched her hands. She made no sense. "I thought I found one, but I don't think it was good enough."

"Tell me."

Please, look at me.

Thank the fucking heavens and everything in it, but she finally, finally raised her head and looked directly at him. She tucked her hair behind her ears and he could finally get a clear view of her face. Her eyes were large and round and deep set. Her skin was so fucking pale. She had her father's nose.

The tiniest smile stretched her lips, and for a few seconds, Bakugou forgot to breathe.

"Perfect. I think you're perfect."