AN: I should notify those reading that I update these chapters monthly since I'm in school right now and also writing is very hard.

Fun Fact of the day: zinnias symbolize endurance! E.g. lasting friendship, goodness, and remembrance.


Sitting in front of her oldest granddaughter, Himiko couldn't help but enjoy the poor girl's misery. She took small pleasure in her little snake's annoyance with her, it seemed like the presence of her classmates made her feel more comfortable with outwardly presenting her dissatisfaction. They were in one of the many conference rooms dedicated to Shinoda Hospital residents' and other hospital staff. Though usually open, Himiko closed it off just for today. There were plenty of other rooms available, this one wouldn't be missed. "Is it really right for you to hold me hostage like this? You told Chief Tsuragamae that you were taking all of us in for volunteer work. I should be with the others. Working." Himiko watched the little snake poke at the water balloons she put together for this exercise. "It's not it's really a punishment anyway. I'm always here doing something."

"Remember, the spirit of heroism is service to others, you foolish girl. You're lucky Shinoda Hospitals have allowed you to wander through these halls for someone so young, gaining precious experience." She waited until Miko would return her gaze, but the girl kept on refusing. She could imagine the thoughts spinning in her head, could practically see them forming above her head. Holding back a sigh, Himiko continued, "This training will help you serve our hospital, and therefore its patients, the citizens of our country. You should be grateful you're allowed here at all instead of county jail with the rest of your unruly friends. Besides, it'll make you a better hero."

Miko observed the tub full of small water balloons. "What will you have me do with these?"

Himiko grabbed one from the bin with delicate fingers. "Simple," she said before revealing a hidden needle from the sleeve of her kimono. "Keep the water from flowing."

She pricked the balloon, immediately causing water from the balloon to leak all over the table and floor, before carelessly tossing the object to the flustered girl and walking out of the room.

Miko was still juggling the object when the door shut and narrowed her eyes at the thing. She grit her teeth, she got off easy if this was all she had to do to make up for Hosu. Even the talk they had over tea wasn't as horrible as she anticipated.

Miko sat with her legs tucked beneath her in a tense seiza, sipping at her tea to avoid looking at her grandmother who pierced her with a ruby gaze."Did you even think of administering aid, foolish child?"

She winced. "No, grandmother, I did not."

"I should think not. From the police investigation, it would seem that events leading to the Hero Killer's capture is to be credited to your mentor Endeavor. You were foolish to let his son drag you into an unknown situation."

"I disagree, grandmother."

Her grandmother said nothing, her silence and the minuscule upturn of her brow was her only indication that Miko should explain herself. So she spoke.

"While the details of the situation were unclear, Todoroki and I decided that should our classmate be in need of help, it was our duty as heroes in training to respond as there lacked any pros or first responders who could aid."

"…."

"See to it that you make time for training with me once a week at the completion of your exams, little snake. It's high time you return to practical lessons with me."

Grandmother sent her to pray. She thanked Benten for keeping her safe and asked that she watch over her friends.

The water ballon exploded in her hands. Frustrated, Miko let out a long, heavy sigh as she hung her head. She could leave if she really wanted to. The thought was tempting. Without someone there to breathe down her neck, her motivation to get the task done, especially when she wasn't immediately good at it, tanked. Miko looked to the door. No. No way she'd risk something so stupid, especially in her grandmother's own hospital. Even thinking about slacking off was like a summon, she'd know immediately. Glaring at the torn balloon in her palms, Miko flicked them off with a snap of annoyance, before picking up another, and set to work.

She worked for another three hours, still standing in front of the table that held the tub of water balloons, completely soaked. With a sour look on her face, she took in the scene around her. Her grandmother had left the needle before she left, and Miko copied her actions with each balloon, pricking them and then trying to keep the water from leaking without damaging the balloon itself.

It was surprisingly much more difficult than she thought.

Groaning lowly in her throat Miko let herself drop and slowly twisted in the rolling chair she caught herself with. After learning how to control her quirk from turning her into a puddle, it was easy controlling water, any kind of water. Not being able to do the same with a water balloon of all things, discouraged her, not to mention soaked her and the entire room she was in, and in her annoyance, she was not keen to clean it up.

"I'm taking a break," she called with caution, waiting a few moments before deciding the coast was clear and pushing away from the table, eager to get away from her failure. As she walked out, she pulled the moisture out of the carpet and off the floor, collecting it in a sphere that kept getting larger as she added the water she pulled from her clothes to it as well. I can make literal water balls, but I can't keep water from leaking out of a balloon?

Feeling only the slightest bit pathetic, the silver haired girl strode out of the conference room with her head held high and her shoulders back, nodding politely to the staff that recognized her and barely acknowledged the sphere of water she was carrying in her hands.

She cut through hallways and familiar stairways until she reached one of the ground floor's emergency exits. Nearing a very familiar garden, she slowly relaxed her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been here, as always it felt like she never left. Taking her usual path, she ended up at Riko's shrine. Almost like the one at their compound, it was a large grey limestone rock with her name written on a plaque. Kneeling over, Miko carefully watered the jasmines around the memorial with the water from her grandmother's balloons. "I'm selfish and cowardly. But I think I get it now, Riko."

Attending UA had been nothing like what she expected. First, the attack at the USJ and now everything that's happened at Hosu…being a hero became so much more than keeping a promise to Riko. It wasn't enough to go through training, sit through lectures, nor was it enough to simply want to score the best. Facing those villains was a terrifying reality check.

She wanted to do something with her quirk, to help, to protect, to do more than keep a promise for the sake of keeping it. Or, she really meant, was to actually do as she promised with a real conviction, because Miko didn't really mean it when she told Riko that they'd walk out of her hospital room one day when she was better and become heroes together. She was only trying to lift her sister's spirits when she began to realize that her stay in the hospital bed was beginning to last longer and longer, and she wasn't going to get better, meet her favorite hero, or become one herself.

So Miko did everything she could to keep her sister happy while she suffered, even, and especially, lying.

Miko didn't have any grand ambitions like Riko did. She just liked showing off and honestly, couldn't be bothered to pick one thing to excel at because she was afraid someone else would be better. It was easy giving up her time and energy to keep Riko happy because even on her sickbed Riko was always braver than her pathetically craven older sister. She couldn't even get a response from the multiple letters she penned to Riko's favorite hero begging him to please spare some time to see her little sister because he was her idol and she wanted to grow to be just like him. So to make up for the fact that Riko was never going to meet him, Miko made the promise that they would be the greatest heroes that ever were.

She was a poor excuse for an older sister, but at least her sisters would forever remain ignorant of her façade.

In the distance, unbeknownst to the angsting silver haired teen, a green haired boy shuffled the items in his grip to lift a hand as he called to the girl, startling her from her thoughts. "Tsukikawa!" He called to her.

Straightening her back, Miko turned to greet him politely, though she still felt rattled. "Oh! Midoriya. Did my grandmother put you out here?" It was pathetic how often she got distracted with thoughts of Riko, but she couldn't really help that she saw her ghost everywhere. Especially here of all places.

He rubbed a dirty hand behind his neck. "Yeah, since we don't have any hospital experience she put us in the least demanding positions. Iida's inside at the call desk and Todoroki just left to grab some snacks."

She nodded quickly, rapidly blinking her suspiciously wet eyes, as she gradually returned from her depressive thoughts. "That makes sense," she rasped.

An awkward silence surrounded them and both teens shuffled nervously while they tried to decide the next best course of action. Taking note of their surroundings, Midoriya quickly pointed out the flowers around the small memorial he saw Tsukikawa tending to before he called out to her. "Um hey were you watering those flowers there?"

"Oh…yeah I was." Miko stiffly straightened once more, trying her best not to tug at the hem of her skirt as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Your quirk must be useful for gardening." He watched her face crunch minutely and panicked at the motion. "Not that that's all its good for!" He tried to salvage. Tsukikawa was a terrifying individual. "You can do a lot with it! It's just that I noticed you can make water appear out of air since you did that crazy move back at the sports festival…Speaking of, can you pull water out of anything? Even plants and stuff?"

Miko froze, reassessing everything she thought she knew about the boy standing in front of her. How did he come to that conclusion so quickly? He took her silence poorly. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't wan—"

"You're right," she found herself saying before she could stop herself. She thought back to their first day of classes and how much he's improved since then. No longer was he recklessly breaking his bones just to prove a point, he had the same stupid courage Riko did and had somehow managed to control his quirk the way she couldn't.

Her mind drifted to the promise she made to Fuyumi, tempted to hit herself. She's been making too many promises, she always had, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to indulge him, if only to make up for hating him so fiercely when they first met. "I can technically control water from any source. It's harder with people, but I can." Kinda. Inconsistently. Almost never. Not that I'd want to.

She was almost blinded by how bright his eyes got with her simple reply. "That's amazing! That would really increase the number of locations you could use your quirk if you can draw water even from living things; although, that also means that you'd be at a disadvantage in drier areas—"

She closed up a bit thinking about it but he went on his own tangent, excited to write it all down in his hero analysis book. She frowned a bit when she noticed he already had a page on her. "Are you going to write this down? Don't you think maybe it's a little intrusive?"

"Ah! Sorry if it's a little creepy. It's just— you've got such a great quirk! I haven't seen anyone with a water quirk use it quite like you before!"

She smiled at the praise. He blushed, a bit embarrassed, for more than one reason. Tsukikawa is an intimidating person just like her grandmother. Just like Kacchan. But he could see that despite her tough demeanor she really did flatter easily and cared deeply.

"A great quirk, huh?" She looked away at the group of zinnias they stood over. "Water type quirks aren't exactly rare though. Most of my family has some type of version of it."

A sudden thought struck the green haired boy as he took in her words. He put a finger to his chin, "Now that you mention it, is that what you did before?" She raised a brow, almost daring him to continue his line of questioning. Miko eyed him, once more reassessing the boy as he squirmed under her turquoise gaze. With a sigh, she released him from her stare and nodded solemnly. She knew what he was asking. "Yes."

"Wow that's amazing!"

"I've only been able to do it one other time." Gesturing to the garden around her, and vaguely pointing to the spot where she froze the little boy in his steps with her quirk, Midoriya looked around the garden. "It was here, actually."

Sensing her discomfort, Midoriya went off another tangent about water quirks and quirk theory, explaining why it must be so dominant in her family. It stunned Miko a bit and she caught both herself and Midoriya (who blushes a little more) off guard by laughing. "You know a lot about quirks, Midoriya. Maybe you should quit the hero course and work for my mom instead. I'm sure she'd love having your enthusiasm around."

"Oh, does your mom do quirk research or something?"

She smirked knowingly, teasing him with the information he didn't have. "She's the department head of rare quirk research." Her voice was proud.

"O-oh! That's amazing! But then again your family owns this hospital, right? There are probably way more people better suited to work here and besides, I'm more interested in hero work. That's not to say that I wouldn't like working here! It's just that being a hero is my dream and while quirk research seems interesting, I—"

"Relax, Midoriya, I'm not offended. Just teasing," the corner of her mouth lifted the slightest bit.

Said boy hunched over as he deflated. "You seem way more at ease today Tsukikawa…"

She looked again to the flowers around her. "This garden was my sanctuary way back when. I guess it still makes me feel better."

"Did you spend a lot of time here as a child?" Her gaze darkened a bit. "Ah, sorry! I don't mean to intrude!"

"…Yeah, I did." She kept her gaze away from him, and then abruptly, "You remind me a lot of my sister."

Surprised by the sudden change of topic, Midoriya gently asked, "Oh really? How come?"

Miko gazed almost wistfully at the memorial stone on the ground. "She was just like you, always thinking about quirks and heroes. I promised her we'd be heroes together once she got better."

Hovering near her shoulder, he continued to probe gently. "She was sick?"

The small uplift of her mouth dropped slowly as the girl relived the memories of her sickly sister's last days on earth. "Yeah, yeah she was. She was kinda like you. She had a quirk that hurt her too. If it weren't so severe I'm sure she would've gone on to be a hero, same as you. Consequences be damned. She was strong like that."

Despite the weight of her memories, and her own previous self hating thoughts regarding the subject, Miko felt oddly calm after confessing those private thoughts to Midoriya. Taking pity on the boy, she kindly changed the subject. It was enough for the day. "Anyway, I think no matter what you choose to do, you'll be great at it. You're obviously driven. You didn't even break a bone in Hosu," she teased.

Said boy smiled bashfully, humble as always. "I've been practicing a lot. My internship with Gran Torino was really helpful."

Miko nodded approvingly, "That's good at least. Well, I should get going. See you later Midoriya."

"Right!"

She left him there and when Todoroki returned to the garden, he noticed Midoriya standing in a daze. "Midoriya. Are you okay?" He mentioned Tsukikawa had just been there. "She seemed more at ease."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She mentioned these gardens were a sanctuary for her when she was younger. She looked nostalgic."

"Hmm." They got on with their work.


Midoriya was nervous, exceptionally show. What made it worse was that neither Todoroki nor Iida seemed uncomfortable in their tailored suits. They didn't bat an eye when they were all handed matching, made-to-measure, black suits.

It wasn't only the fact that it was the nicest suit he'd ever worn, or that it seemed to fit like a glove even when he never stood to get fitted for it, or even that they were told to keep them after the fact. He kept pulling at the collar of his dress shirt because these suits were the nicest things he'd ever work and he was supposed to be serving and mingling simultaneously as he wore it. Between keeping himself from ruining the expensive fabric of these very esteemed guests as well as his own and keeping up with their conversations without stuttering over himself nonsensically he felt way out of depth.

Searching for solace in his friends proved futile as neither of the boys were visibly flustered and seemed successful in weaving between conversations when the investors noticed the pins that labeled them as UA ambassadors.

(He went over the talking points Tsukikawa gave them before the start of the banquet in the back of his mind.)

It was easy to spot the Shinoda family. He didn't know much about hospitals, save for the checkups and his quirk assessment when he was a kid or the rich family that controlled them, but it was plain to spot them. They all had the same, attractive, aristocratic faces, though they varied a bit, it was easy to spot the familial relation. Silver hair and red eyes. In a crowd of powerful, influential people, they managed to stand apart from their peers, something good he imagined, considering this was their event. Tsukikawa was dressed in a beautiful kimono, her family in modern formal wear. They looked like they were born to run in these circles and watching Tsukikawa chat and socialize he thought that yes, perhaps they were.

She was flitting between tables amiably, flashing a charming smile he'd never seen from her before, pausing briefly to glance at the small silver haired girl who joined the rest of the small ensemble at the front of the room behind the podium.

Eventually, he was introduced by both Tsukikawa and her grandmother to important staff, including most notably her uncle and his son who were spearheading the whole support items with medical applications endeavor. He stuttered over himself occasionally but the guests were easily distracted by talk of All Might once they knew he was a UA student.

He just wished it would end a little faster.

Miko was grateful when the night was finally over.

Completing their 'punishment' that really was just training for Miko and a few extra hours of work at the hospital— something she already did on a semi-regular basis, less now that she was in high school— went smoothly. The girl was harshly reminded of her purpose and her place by her grandmother but remained confident.

The banquet went smoothly and she was told by her uncle that her chat with the support item company CEO worked in their favor. He told her that they were even invited to some big expo happening in a few weeks.

Being a young hero in training with limited knowledge of support items gave the man free reign to discuss his business and chat her ear off about the subject, working as an excellent way for her uncle to swoop in and discuss the possible use for medical application. Her job done, Miko politely excused herself and schmoozed other donors and investors to dig into their pockets. Kohaku did a fine job during her performance and Miko was quick to use her to leave early. Her sister was still young enough to use a fake yawn to get away from the stuffy company.


Their return to normal school days was a welcome one and yellow irises that followed Miko and Todoroki as they walked into the room together went unnoticed by the pair. Mina Ashido turned to Kaminari. "Have Todoroki and Miko always been that close?" Kaminari perked up at her question. His gaze moved to follow the pair as they separated to get to their own seats. "Now that I think about it they've been a lot closer since their internship." He tossed his hair flippantly. "Though I guess that's to be expected after spending a week together interning for Endeavor."

Mina hummed thoughtfully. "How lucky are they? They got to intern with Endeavor!"

After the events of Hosu, she was glad to return to a semi normal routine. She spent most of the weekend catching up with her neglected coursework, an internship was apparently not a good enough reason to lighten their load. Though she supposed that UA wasn't the greatest hero track in Japan because it went easy on their students. Miko knew she really wasn't all that intelligent. Her area of expertise lay in how she controlled her body, her strength and endurance. The only reason she managed to do well so far was through sheer force of will and determination.

Their midterm results weren't too shocking but they stung. She got herself in sixth place, right behind Todoroki. She tried not to feel to bad about it. She consoled herself with the thought that at least she was in the top 10.

She was only half paying attention when the others began to beg Yaoyorozu to tutor them until Jiro called out to her, "Tsukikawa, why don't you join our study group?"

Glancing at the rest of their newly formed study group, Miko winced internally. She was never fond of studying in large groups (not that she ever really had the opportunity), but Jiro's presence in the group was only slightly compensated for that fact. They'd been texting semi-frequently since their internships and the silver haired girl was pleasantly surprised that she considered the taller girl a friend. A fact that she regretted since it made it harder for her to decline her invitation.

A heavy hand clapped onto her shoulder. "Sorry, but I think Tsukikawa might like a smaller group instead." Miko nodded apologetically to the dark haired girl, grateful for Kirishima's save. Like Jiro, she'd been exchanged text messages with the boy throughout their internships and she was happy to say that she also considered him a friend and a rival.

"Thank you for the invitation, Jiro, but I work better in small groups," Miko agreed.

Jiro waved her off easily. "No worries. Maybe next time?" Miko nodded easily with a small smile on her face before turning to Kirishima, who lead her over to a scowling Bakugo. Considering the fact that she respected the boy's smarts (how the hell was he the first year representative with such a repulsive attitude) and knew for a fact she'd need his brain to improve her scores, she remained civil. "So what were your scores?" She asked politely.

Kirishima was 15th and Bakugo was third. She tried not to let her surprise show on her face. She liked Kirishima and didn't want to hurt his feelings and Bakugo ranked higher than both of them so it was a good opportunity to use him for her benefit, it also didn't hurt that she tends to work harder when there's competition involved.

"You two better not hold me back," Bakugo growled.

"Like you're one to talk, rank three." She and Kirishima both knew third was an extremely respectable spot to rank in, but Bakugo didn't take the slight easily.

"Shut up, princess. We both know your scores suck. How'd you get in this school anyway?"

They bickered back and forth for a few minutes, with Kirishima caught in between, before they were silenced by the entrance of their math teacher entering the room.

Still annoyed with Bakugo's earlier taunts, Miko decided the best way to take her mind off it was to buy some snacks from the cafeteria, but Ectoplasm stopped her before she walked out the door. "Tsukikawa, wait a moment." Miko braced herself. "Yes, sir?"

"I've already had talks with some fo the other students in your class, but with midterms coming up, I have to insist you find a tutor." It was embarrassing to have to be pulled aside like this, but she really only had herself to blame.

Lifting her chin a bit, Miko tried to escape as quickly as she could. "Actually, sensei, a few of us have already made study groups to prepare for finals." Sweat started forming under arms.

He nodded appreciatively. "Glad to see my students taking initiative. Who's in your group?"

Miko cleared her throat, "I'll be working with Kirishima." She saw the math hero get ready to interrupt her, but cut him off. "And Bakugo," she added quickly.

He seemed pleased with the boy's addition. "He'll be good help for you both. Study hard."

Miko walked away with her tail between her legs. As much as she tried to pretend that didn't sting her pride, it absolutely did. After a brief chat with the boys, they decided they'd be meeting tomorrow to give them all the time to figure out what they each needed to focus on before meeting up. Most obviously, Miko needed a heavy focus on math this semester. Groaning internally she prepared herself to face the one body who agreed to tutor her.

They began meeting after school everyday, diligently reviewing and/or completely learning something new. By the time the weekend hit, Bakugo was thoroughly fed up with the both of them. Their exams were divided in Written and Practical tests, which was further divided into combat, rescue, and basic training. While most of their time was spent on math, for Miko and Kirishima's sake, Miko and Bakugo tag teamed whilst helping Kirishima with Japanese literature and hero laws/ethics. Ultimately, however, Bakugo ended up helping the pair of them more than they helped him. Kirishima stoked his ego to help tide him over and Miko bought him snacks to make up for it. He never said thank you.

Despite their diligent work, it wasn't enough to please him. Bakugo was relentless in his teachings and if they couldn't reproduce his methodical process of solving derivatives he'd yell the mistakes they hadn't realized they'd made right into their faces and smack a book on their heads. The first time he did it, Miko tried arguing back, but he quickly shut her up with a brutal reminder of their scores as well as a name drop of the math teacher who cornered her about finding a tutor while Bakugo was in the vicinity.

Strangely, this actually helped both Kirishima and Miko improve their results. Kirishima was an unyielding force, determined to pass these exams, and Miko simply refused to allow continued humiliation by the blonde bomber. His strict guidance staunchly reminded her of her grandmother's own training and she suppressed a shudder whenever she thought about it, praying they would never be introduced.

Still, every time she left their study group with more knowledge than she came with, she cursed Bakugo's talent for being good at everything he did. Though her respect for him grew, she couldn't help but envy him just a little.

The day before their finals, Miko was late. They had agreed to meet early in the morning to give them an evening off, and the blonde of their small group was impatiently waiting for the mouse haired princess to show up. He shouldn't have been as surprised to see her considering what he knew about her. Then again, he practically knew fuck all except the fact that she squirted water from her hands and was rich. She was a shitty hero compared to him but after she returned with icy-hot from their internship with Endeavor they both seemed different.

He should have expected that when she walked into the cafe Kirishima suggested studying in with her hair up in that mouse ear hairstyle she always wore that she's a damn princess and would also walk in wearing a dainty ass fucking dress. He was aware that she packed some power in those legs, but he could see the muscles from her forearms to her traps whenever they took a break to beat the shit out of each other to "prepare for the practicals". Now that she was more confident after her internship he could see her posing a threat and he sure as hell wasn't gonna let her think she stood a chance, he would always be king.

Never let it be said that he was petty. He didn't put up much of a fight when Shitty Hair dragged her into their group, even beat his notes into her soft skull until her practice sheets had a passable amount of red marks on them, so she could have the damn decency to show up on time.

"Morning, Tsukikawa!" Kirishima grinned.

Bakugo sent a scowl her way as she neared them. "Bout time you showed up. You suddenly grow enough brain cells you don't need to study anymore, princess?"

It was still too early for Miko to develop quick rebuttals, so she settled for a nasty glower and an apology. "My sister asked me to help her with her homework last night. Sorry." A lie, at this early hour, she wasn't.

Bakugo continued to grill her. "Few days of studying and you think you can tutor someone else?"

Indignant, she made a face. "It was middle school material. I'm not so incompetent that I can't manage that." Another lie. Kohaku was better off solving her math problems on her own without Miko there to confuse her even more.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Now hurry up, you've wasted enough of our time."

They settled easily, and having worked so hard all week Kirishima decided they'd done enough to warrant a small break. "Man, these exams are pretty tough. I've never studied this hard in middle school."

"That explains your shit scores," Bakugo snorted.

"Give me some credit, Bakugo. I really amped it up for the UA entrance exams."

"Unlike you two losers, I didn't need the extra help." Bakugo bragged. "I'm the best thing to come out of that shitty middle school."

"Didn't you and Midoriya go to the same school?" Kirishima asked. Predictably, Bakugo threw a hissy fit. Thinking back to their conversation, Miko unknowingly spoke aloud, "He does seem pretty smart…" Turning on her, Bakugo began to hiss something menacingly at her, but Kirishima turn the conversation to Miko's own middle school experience, hoping to distract the blonde.

Taking the out for what it was, she explained. "I was homeschooled during elementary school and junior high to focus on gymnastics. As a third year in junior high, my grandmother started pressuring me to think about the future and make a choice. Ultimately, I chose to apply to UA and become a hero. My cousin helped me make the argument to grandmother since she requires us to contribute to the family business— Shinoda hospitals, I mean."

"No wonder you're a freak. You've been homeschooled your whole life," Bakugo insulted her.

Kirishima ignored him even as Miko bared her teeth at him. "What made you decide on UA?"

"I made promise a long time ago that I'd become a hero. UA happened to be the best place to do that," she shrugged. Kirishima gave her his sunny smile at her tale but Bakugo was already tired of their chit chat.

"Whatever. Just shut up and get this work done. The faster we do that the faster we can get on with sparring," he griped, his notes already in hand.

It wasn't long before he found a problem with her work. "What the hell is this? None of it makes any damn sense!"

"I'm working it out the same way Ectoplasm taught us!"

"Bull. Gimme your notes, you must've taken them wrong." Roughly handing them over, Miko announced she'd be back soon and headed in the direction of the bathroom, he didn't spare her a glance. Looking over her notes to see what the hell the princess was studying to think that her answers were correct, Bakugo understood why she answered her practice questions so horribly wrong.

Her notes were all over the place and only certain sections were actually organized. Marking the parts she'd written incorrectly, he took more and more notice of her script. At first glance, the printed words on her pages were organized, carefully spaced, and easily betrayed her person if you looked closely enough. Some sections were more carefully written than others, but they all remained quietly, unknowingly, traitorous to the girl whose hand created them.

You could learn a lot about a person based on the way they fought, and now looking at her notes he could see it. The only way to accurately and astutely describe the princess was through her handwriting, and she wrote the same way she fought. The letterings were sharp, but clear, legible and pretty enough to impress but carefully practiced strokes, angular and thorny suggested a hint: beware.

It was almost expected considering the girl's most obvious nature, prickly at first glance, but upon closer inspection, her words, honed tirelessly over her short existence, betrayed something that the girl hid from everyone around her perhaps to the point where she forgets it herself. Hidden so cleverly between carefully penned harsh lines, were small gentle strokes between the individual trails of her letters. The softness of her hands, of her person, guarded so fiercely by the thorns of her pen. It was impossible to see with only a single glance.

Just like the way she fought, she was usually on the defensive, only rarely attacking first unless he provoked her into action, and she never fought with the intent to kill.

She came back and he mercilessly drilled his corrections into her head, shouting until she got it right.

It suited her he deemed. There was no way of knowing why she wrote the way she did but he privately against himself relished in being the only one to so easily unravel her person just by looking at her handwriting. Usually, he had to beat it out of a person.

They were done for the day and headed out for a quick spar. Kirishima was already out the door and Miko lingered by their tables. Irritated, Bakugo called back to her. "C'mon Mouse Ears, don't tell me you're ready to give up?!"

"Mouse Ears?!" She screeched, face flushed with anger. What the hell was up with all these people calling her everything except her name? First Kaibara and his childish nickname for her and now this.

No one said anything when she showed up to finals with her hair in a ponytail.


Gathered around a U-shaped table, the teachers prepared themselves for their meeting. They had to sift through each student file in the first year hero course and discuss their progress. They went over the students they had the least worries about, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya before shifting to the students they had minor concerns over.

Aizawa called out the name. "Miko Tsukikawa." Midnight was the first to speak. "She's doing fairly well in my class. Her written assignments are usually well thought out, despite her dislike of the subject." Aizawa hummed, he had no gripes over that. "I had worries she would keep herself isolated but it seems she's managed to do well for herself and her classmates tolerate her."

Cementoss spoke up next. "She is a little quiet, and her personality is a little blunt. She has interesting thoughts on the course material that I've felt the need to sate her curiosity by giving her readings outside of class." A fond smile graced his face when he finished.

Ectoplasm spoke. "She struggled miserably during midterm exams but her grades have improved since then. My only concern is without proper motivation, she won't be able to keep it up." Those gathered nodded their heads in agreement, they were all aware that the only time the girl worked hard was when she was pitted against another student. They would just have to wait and see how she'd fair during her practical.

*Ground Beta*

Miko and Kaminari ran through the streets of the battle ground, trying to think of a plan. Their options were to capture Principal Nezu or get at least one of them out of the area in order to pass. Eager to prove that their experiences fighting against real villains had made him a stronger hero, Kaminari was quick to decide, "If he shows up, I'll just zap him with my quirk!"

"Kaminari, even with your sharp shooter, there's still the danger that you could kill me if I have to use my quirk." Killing was a little bit of an exaggeration, but Kaminari's face still paled at the thought. When he requested his new support item, he thought that his chances of not electrocuting an ally with his quirk would be down to zero; but, being paired with Tsukikawa meant that they both had to be more careful when using their quirks. Even though he had more control, his high voltage would be more drawn to her since her body seemed to draw water in constantly. This was not going to be an easy task.

"Shit. This place is a huge maze, there's no way that we'll manage to find Principal Nezu here. Our best option is to escape." They decided that they would search for a way out and started running, remaining vigilant as they dashed between buildings. At this point, she already figured out that heroism is more than it seems. There must be an innate, internal desire to serve the people in order to be a successful hero. Still, even though she knows this now, most of her battles have been with other people taking the lead, so she's never had to make a game plan on the fly because she is not a natural born hero or leader. That is okay. People can learn how to be a good leader, just like they're learning to be heroes.

"Team Kaminari and Tsukikawa v Nezu. They're together, one because Tsukikawa tends to rely on only herself when she can help it. Kaminari on the other hand is paired with her because he's a very social person who glues the class together. Additionally, they were pitted against each other in at the start of term in a battle that ended in Tsukikawa's favor at her own expense. This will be a test of their teamwork, strategy, and quickly thinking especially since their quirks do not pair well together at first glance."

When structures started collapsing around them, Miko searched for the cause. A giant wrecking ball was destroying their way out. Nezu was trying to cage them in. "Kaminari! We have to hurry, Nezu is blocking off our exits and we're running out of time."

Miko's eyes followed the wrecking ball, they had no idea where the exits were and the only way she saw them getting out of this situation was by jumping onto the wrecking ball as it began its attack on the buildings surrounding them.

When she saw the wrecking ball approach yet another building to destroy, she attached herself with water whips and froze her hands and feet on the ball, ignoring Kaminari's cries. Trying as quickly as she could to make her way up the chain and onto the crane itself, while it was swinging furiously across the sky, she eventually made her way onto the cabin where Principal Nezu was nestled. She peered into the cabin and saw Nezu laughing hysterically. "It seems like you've managed to find your way here," he said.

Preparing to freeze him in place, the horn blared. "Too late!"

Miko's head dropped, "Benten damn it all."


AN: This was originally supposed to be a Bakugo/OFC fic, but the story got away from me during Miko's development and it's flown way past that. I'm tempted to continue that idea, *cough* Kaibara *cough*, but Bakugo is a surprisingly difficult character to write (I promise I'll write better insults to truly capture his exquisite assholery TT). Midoriya is way easier to capture lmao. His and Miko's meeting in front of the zinnias is my actual favorite part of this chapter. Wonder if that meant something more?

I've also been thinking about breaking up this story into a series. Thoughts?