Responding to reviews:

FanofThisStory: Her relationship with Todoroki will be complicated, but I doubt that it will ever go over in the romantic spectrum. A reader has asked me before if there will be a live triangle between Bakugou, Rie, and Todoroki, and nothing like that will happen, really. Also, about Uraraka being Roundface instead of Angelface, I took 'Angelface' from the manga (though I heard it was a mistranslation.) I decided to use it anyway though, as it has a nicer flow to it and I imagine that Bakugou uses it mockingly, in the context of this story.

TaskRabbit: Thank you for your honesty, really! I decided to place more focus on their interactions instead of their fighting, which is why the fighting seems lackluster. As suggested, I did go back and add in more explanation as to how Rie was using her quirk on Bakugou, and I apologise for not making it more clear in the first place. However, that part you mentioned about Rie not landing a single hit on Bakugou or not even trying to hit him, in any case was intentional- I was hoping to highlight that her passiveness when fighting is a problem, and it will be brought up again later. I was quite surprised that you compared her fight to that of Shikamaru's as well, but just to clarify, what she did accomplish was get him close enough to use her quirk on him, even if only for a few seconds.

BluePainter: It's interesting that you brought up Memento Mori haha, since it cam be used as an artistic symbol for mortality, which ties in with the BNHA-verse and with Rie being an artist well! I don't mind your influx of reviews at all, I really enjoyed reading your views on the chapters; I'm thankful that you enjoyed the little details I added in!

Moving on to the chapter now-

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Chapter Fifteen: Chatterbox


Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day, she thought, letting out a sigh as she pushed through the door wearily, feeling the exhaustion following events of the day catching up with her.

It was relatively late in the evening, and Morie was more than glad to reach home at last. The whole glamour of the Sports Festival had faded away some time ago as she stumbled home, feeling tired yet oddly at peace.

"I'm home." She spoke softly, shutting the door behind her as she peered around with a small frown, dark almond eyes squinting a little at the lack of light. Normally, her house would be filled with noise- be it the clunking sound of pots and pans, or the relentless explosion-slash-screaming noises which often could be heard from next door.

Hence, the silence that hung through the house set her on edge- now where on earth was her father? Not to mention, shouldn't Mom be home from work by now? The kitchen was dark and empty, not only that, the pink apron her father usually wore was neatly folded, hanging on the side of a chair.

'That's strange, ' her eyebrows furrowed a little as she continued surveying her empty surroundings, moving to on the lights. 'Dad made dinner, but he's not here? Last-minute grocery shopping, maybe.'

It was at this instant did a loud ring echo through the halls, and feeling a bit startled, she hobbled over to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Morie spoke unsurely, ears perking up however at the familiar light-sounding voice that responded to her. "Where did you go, dad? And where's Mom?"

"The television broke (or rather I broke it so don't tell your mom), so I went over next door to watch the Festival, Mori. Your Mom's here, too- she just got home ten minutes ago. Could you bring over the pot of soup? We're having dinner with the neighbours. Careful though, it's probably still a little hot."

Recalling the untouched pot in the kitchen, Morie raised an eyebrow. "By 'neighbours', you mean Masaru-san's place?"

"The one and only." A silent sigh escape her as she could practically picture her father giving a shameless wink.

"You can wash up first, if you'd like. There's no hurry at all." Chika stated cheerfully, before hanging up the phone. For a moment, she could already see him polishing his glasses with a glint to his eyes as he said that- he was clearly baiting her to try taking her time. Staring pensively at the phone for a few moments, Morie shook her head and shifted towards her room.

That sounded awfully passive-aggressive. But hell yeah, I'm definitely showering first. Whatever, dad. At the thought, she cringed, suddenly aware of the blood and filth that lined her limbs.

Gross.

(Showering was more painful than expected, as her body was more sore and beat up from the competitions. Recovery Girl hadn't managed to heal all of her injuries without risking her passing out again, for example the bruise on her twisted wrist- she was just lucky that it was on her nondominant hand.)

I need a proper hair cut, Morie remarked as she glared at her reflection, tugging at a few ends of loose hair. The brown strands stuck up at weird angles, yet her bangs were longer and hung in her face. Her face scrunched up instinctively- somehow she thought it wasn't surprising that people often mistook her to be a girly boy. Not that she minded that much now, but somehow her short locks managed to be as stubborn and untameable as her previously long hair.

Towel-drying her hair, she didn't bother pinning or gelling back her bangs, instead sweeping them to the side of her face lazily as she threw on a loose shirt and shorts, before grumbling somewhat as she hoisted up the gigantic pot of soup with her healthy arm before proceeding to saunter over next door.

Someone had left the gate unlocked, so she simply let herself in. Heck, since they were expecting her, no one would mind, right?

The main door swung open before Morie could rap on it, and she gaped, greeted by the sight of an impressive-looking woman. Somehow, she looked disturbingly familiar, what with the way her light ash blond hair stuck up in a prickly fashion and the flicker of red in her irises; not only that, she was dressed with a dark cardigan over a blouse and a skirt, pulling off a casual yet dignified image. Under the scrutiny of her red eyes, Morie couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Ah. Bakugou. They reminded her of him.

"... hello," she greeted softly. "I was asked by my father to come over?"

Hesitantly, she lifted the pot of soup and shot the older woman a small smile.

Something shifted in the woman's eyes, and she could've sworn that she saw them gleam for a split second.

"So you're the kid, huh?" The lady threw back her head and laughed. It was a contagious, good-natured laugh, albeit a little loud, but she was relieved the hear the sound nonetheless. "Morie-chan, was it? Those parents of yours told me about you."

Her parents talked about her? Since when? About what?

Shit.

(The impression she had about what the older generation did when they got together was that gossiping was not an act restricted to teenage girls, and that mere thought terrified her. Geez, who knew how many embarrassing baby stories had been leaked out to the likes of strangers.)

Making a vague noise of agreement, Morie nodded.

"Yes, that's me," she was caught off guard, but surely she should just act like she normally did? "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

The blond woman's eyes flashed, and the corners of her lips suddenly lifted in a grin.

"Finally a kid who knows some respect," the woman barked, giving her a hard thump on her back. She could've sworn that the woman also muttered something along the lines of 'the brat has a thing or two to learn.' "Call me Mitsuki. Come on in, will you?"

"Thank you, Mitsuki-san." Morie smiled, feeling very much like she pulled a Kirishima* in that moment.

"Goodness," Mitsuki commented offhandedly. "Aren't you just adorable?" At once, Morie sputtered in denial as she could practically feel her cheeks warming. Why the hell does everyone keep saying that?

Stepping into the house, she slipped off her slippers and followed the older woman into the house. They turned into what she assumed was the dining room and-

Oof!

Did something just tackle her?

The small-sized girl looked up to take in a wide grin and twinkling hazel brown eyes.

"Hey, dad," Morie beamed as she returned the hug, though she protested slightly when he suddenly hovered her over his shoulder and into the dining room. The pot of soup was hovered out of her grasp before landing on the table ahead of them with a soft thud.

"Dad, you're embarrassing me." She protested, squirming a little, and finally she was set down on her feet. Blinking, her eyes refocused on her new surroundings as she regained her balance.

"Mom!" She beamed, catching sight of the brown-haired woman seated at the dining table. Fū had obviously just ended work- she was dressed formally, light-brown hair twisted up into a bun. While many heroes had opted to take the day off in favour of watching the Festival, Fū and her sidekick had taken it upon themselves to do rounds around the city.

A smile spread across the older woman's face as she pulled in the younger girl for a hug gently, hands ruffling her hair as she did so. Morie couldn't help but note the roughness of Fū's calloused fingers as they brushed across her forehead.

"Hey, kiddo," her mother's eyes crinkled, the way they always did when she smiled. "You did well today."

'We're proud of you,' went without saying..

A tinge of pink flushed across Morie's face at the praise as the corners of her lips lifted in joy; yet she was shaking her head out of habit almost immediately- it was like she was ashamed of allowing herself to feel even a bit of pride towards her performance.

"Ah," she half-shrugged. "I could've done better. And I will do better, next time."

'I still can't live up to you and Dad.'

Her reply was met with a small scolding flick in the forehead, and Morie scooted away a little, hands held up in protest. A shout from outside the room shattered the brief silence, and she identified the voice to be that of Bakugou Mitsuki.

"Oi, brat! Get your ass down here, we have guests!".

For a while, there was nothing to be heard. Then suddenly, a disgruntled and obviously pissed off voice was yelling right back. "The hell are you shouting for, you hag?!"

"Don't you fucking swear!"

Morie let out a nervous chuckle, fiddling with a stray marble in her pocket. Eyeing her parents, she began to ponder: was she the only one who found this situation extremely awkward? And hell, now she had an excuse to talk back to Chika should ever berate her for was a loud slam (because dramatic exits were necessary to prove a point-slash- show your anger) and Morie couldn't help but stiffen at the sight of Bakugou Katsuki stomping his way down the stairs. Somehow, her eyes were glued to him, even though she'd seen him only hours ago, being strapped to the podium and biting onto his medal with a feral ferocity.

When were we friends with the Bakugou's, again?

"Geez, your mom and I have social lives too, you know?" Chika deftly remarked, raising an eyebrow.

... touché.

Turning away from the direction of the staircase, Morie couldn't help but feel immensely out of place before the guy who kicked her ass just earlier that day.

"I'll bring out the rice," she stated out loud, sending Chika a mock glower when a bowl began to hover in the air."No. No using your quirk, dad."

Bakugou sauntered into the room then, hands tucked into his pants pocket, his slouched posture plain screaming that he did not want to be here. As his head jerked upwards to survey the intruders in his home, her dark eyes briefly met his gaze before hastily turning away a mere few seconds later.

"Hello, Masaru-san," Morie walked away, approaching Bakugou's father who was gathering chopsticks. Nope, totally not avoiding him for no reason. Nope. Refusing to look in the aforementioned boy's direction was a dead giveaway but she just couldn't bring herself to look at him again. "How is Kuro-chan?"

(That's right, she and Bakugou's father bonded over stray cats.

Sue her.)

That was how she survived the rest of the evening; at times she made small talk with Mitsuki- though she had no idea why, since she couldn't stand small talk as it made her bored and restless. Most of the time, she kept to herself, eating her rice contentfully as she listened in on the adults' conversations. Either that, or she occasionally glanced at Bakugou when she hoped he wasn't looking, noting his overall sour expression and feeling just the slightest bit concerned.

After another (entertaining) series of yells, Bakugou, now forbidden from locking himself in his room upstairs like a recluse, was currently seated at a sofa in the corner of the spacious living room. His brooding demeanour reminded her of the time she had bumped into him outside her house more than ten months ago, though Bakugou was almost certainly different from how he had been back then.

It was when she turned away to use her phone (Ren sent her somethinb) when she was rudely interrupted by Chika's voice speaking over her shoulder (and not in her head, for once.)

"C'mon, don't be anti-social, Mori." He mock-lectured, an expectant look was clearly imprinted into his expression. A strong surge of reluctance flowed through her as she opened her mouth to protest- yet another semi-stern look from her father shut her up. Ultimately, Morie relented, sighing as she begrudgingly stuffed her phone back in her back pocket. Replying to Ren's message would have to wait- for now, at least.

"Yes, dad, I'm going." She replied, using The Tone that all teenagers used when placating their parents. Then she pushed up from her comfortable spot on the sofa to join Mr Spiky Hair in his remote corner, who she might add, looked particularly irritated this fine evening. Nodding in satisfaction, Chika turned and reentered the kitchen, where the adults were catching up of sorts.

Anxiety, at this point no longer a stranger to her, bit away at her as she made her way towards him with small, tentative steps.

"Hey, Bakugou," Morie called out softly. One could even say she sounded cautious, as if she was trying to avoid provoking him. Sitting down a safe distance away from him and huddling her legs close to her chest, the brown-haired peered at him from the corner of her eyes.

The said boy was eyeing warily her now, suspicion lined in his features.

"... the hell do you want," he muttered, obviously in a less than sunny mood. However, truth to be told, she was surprised that he had even bothered answering her at all.

A period of silence ensued as she pondered about what to say. Then Morie swallowed.

"My dad didn't want me to use my phone, so here I am. How are you feeling?" She stated, and almost immediately she could feel that she had provoked his ire as his gaze hardened into a glare.

Bakugou scowled. "I got a fucking headache, how do you think I'm feeling?"

Ah shit. I did that.

Torn between wanting to apologise for the effects of Pressure and wanting to continue living, Morie folded her fingers together and shrugged.

"Ah, that sucks. Hope you'll feel better soon." She stated lamely. Silence ensued, and inwardly she was beginning to freak out a bit- after three seconds, silence had a tendency to become awkward. Not that any normal guides to making conversation would apply to Bakugou Katsuki.

So Morie blurted out the first thing that came to mind, a.k.a she signed her death contract.

"Why were you so upset about winning yesterday?"

Feeling slightly alarmed at the sight of Bakugou's knuckles tightening, his teeth clenching, she got the vague impression that she had just stepped on a landmine. He turned upon her in an instant, a bolting look flashing within his red eyes. Without warning, a hand reached up and seized the front of her shirt, forcing her forward. Her eyes widened.

"Listen here, dipshit," his lips pulled up in a sneer, baring his teeth, and she found that she could do no more than stare at him. "That's none of your fucking business. Now leave me alone."

Normally, Morie thought that she would have stammered out an apology, or remained silent. Yet a strange defiance was possessing her, just as it had possessed her during the Classroom Incident. She thought that she would have been scared witless, but examining his features, she once again got the feeling that his anger wasn't all directed at her.

A strange calm descended upon her as her dark eyes met his red ones in a silent stare.

"That was an innocent question," she responded, "I was knocked out-" From our match, remember? " -would you fill me in what happened, Bakugou?"

'Would you', not 'can you', 'please', or 'what happened'. She was very much giving him the choice to deny her if he wanted to- which wouldn't be that big of a deal, anyway, since she could always request for recordings of the matches.

Morie glanced up at him, refusing to lose their silent staring match. Miraculously, Bakugou's hold loosened and relief flooded through her like a broken dam. She didn't move from her position near him, simply inclining her head to face him.

He didn't speak for a while, but when he finally did, he sounded was far from pleased.

"That bastard," Bakugou snarled. "he held back on me. What the hell is with that? He used that goddamned fire even when he was fighting Deku." He spat out that last bit venomously like it was a painful admission, biting into each syllable with a nameless fury.

Morie frowned. "Todoroki probably has his reasons- "

"Stop mocking me," he bit out. "Do you seriously think I don't know that, dipshit?"

"I'm not mocking you," Morie sighed, fidgeting a little with her hands as she was deep in thought. "But I do get where you're coming from- "

"- shut the fuck up, you don't know anything!"

Fists trembling, Bakugou growled, and she could feel his glare boring through the side of her head aggressively. Swallowing, Morie sent him a sharp look, holding up her hands in surrender.

"Hear me out. I felt like a piece of shit when Kiri lost our match because half of his foot was out of the line- it wasn't a satisfying march for the both of us at all," She scowled a little at the bitter remembrance of that not-win. "What I'm really trying to say is I understand that you don't acknowledge your win, but you did turn out on top this time. Hell, it sucked that the guy didn't go all out for your big match- he has issues with his quirk, but it was nothing against you in particular. No one in their right mind would think that you're not worthy, or that you're weak or something."

Mr Spiky Hair looked about a second away from erupting, from pouncing at her throat and murdering her.

"I told you to shut up," there was an underlying edge to his voice with every word he spoke, one that warned her to back away or else. "I don't need your goddamn counselling- who do you think you are?"

(She didn't.)

Morie was staring back at him, panic drumming away at her nerves.

How would she explain to him that she wasn't offering support to be superior than him? How does one make someone as prickly as him understand that as terrified as she was of him, she just couldn't help worrying about him- heck, not just him, but everyone?

"For one," she began her descent into dangerous waters before she could lose her nerve all together. "I'm your neighbour, your classmate, a lunch buddy, a friend of Kiri, who's your friend - "

He said nothing to refute that, and Morie swallowed. She knew that she was helplessly rambling ('why oh why was she even addressing a rhetorical question?') yet she couldn't do anything to stop it.

" - I'm also the person you beat up a couple of hours ago. As much as I hate to admit it, you've been popping up in my life quite a bit. I guess you're right in saying that I don't know anything about you but really, why are you so against the idea of accepting the support of those who actually give a shit about you?"

Silence. If there was any indication that he was listening at all, she couldn't see it.

Running a hand through her hair, Morie sighed. Then the gravity of the situation fully hit her, and she lost her cool.

'Ah, shitshitshit I've said too much.'

The brown-haired opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again- her throat felt dry, and she felt like ripping her hair out. Why had possessed her to say something like that to Bakugou?

"Sorry," she managed to speak. "I was being stupid, it's not my place to say that at all, I- "

"Shut up."

Bakugou was glaring determinedly at a point on the floor, his posture screaming of hostility; yet his voice bore no actual malice.

"Just- shut your trap, Minamoto," his teeth gave a sharp click of annoyance. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd imagined the bitterness of his gaze, the gritty edge to his voice. "I never asked to be fucking cared about, did I?"

That shut her up at last. Not one word was spoken, not even a farewell when it was time to leave.

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A/N:

This chapter sort of got heavier than expected. Just Rie trying to get Bakugou to cheer up and somehow getting him pissed off- at least he remembers who she is, now. Things are going to get more awkward now.

After this, I'll be updating Kerosene Hearts a bit- do check it out haha!

Do tell me what you think about this chapter. What was your favorite part of it? What would you like to see next? Would especially like to seek your feedback about my take on Bakugou as a character.

Thanks for reading! And before I forget, we hit a hundred reviews and I only have you to thank for that.

- C