These Stones We Skip

by miraimisu

Uraraka, as a newcomer to the most powerful guild in this forsaken village, had not only one, two; but three responsibilities: grow stronger until she was able to pin the world down, untangle the mystery that her past was and survive under the eyes of a crowd that watched over her as night chased the sun, the charade going on and on until the thread... suddenly snaps. [MEDIEVAL!AU]

7. C h à p ť e r 1 5

[A/N]: /evil laughter in the distance, did u miss me I sure hope YOU DIDN'T BECAUSE I'M SLOW AS FUCK I'm so :c sorry but university life and JUST DRAMA AND FAMILY TAKES MY TIME also not to mention I'm disturbingly uninspired sometimes and I either write 5k or fucking 10 words where's the between section huh BITCH WHERE.

Either way enjoy it and don't forget to donate to my money fund in the depths of hell, you gotta take the tram to get there ok bye

---

"Take that stone."

It was like a hide and seek game, it had always been. She could probably hide for days on end that no matter the chore or the order, Uraraka would comply– meek, maybe, sometimes with more backbone than usual, but in the end his voice made her follow and it still remained a mystery as to why this happened.

It was a familiar voice. But unlike the voice of her past guildmates, it was a cold, empty and heartless baritone. She wondered if once upon a time, he actually held any regard for her. He… probably never did.

Uraraka took the stone and walked to her mentor. The day was awkwardly cloudy, yet held some small clearings in between them to let sunshine seep into the clearing of the forest, making some patches of the lake they were at shimmer. The light was perfectly set to draw a great painting, or to lay down and relax. However, those rights had been robbed from her the moment she stepped away from the village.

She wouldn't regret that decision, nonetheless. "Never knew you were a fan of minerals."

"I never said we'd be inspecting them." then, he pointed at the lake, which she looked at expectantly. "Throw it."

"As in, toss it?"

"Make it leap on the water. Haven't you ever–?" he caught himself in time, and took one of his own from the small pile he had behind him. "Forget it. Of course you never have."

After this, Uraraka threw the stone to the waters. It was a very frail toss, brushing the calm water before skipping once, twice, three times, until it plopped and sadly sunk to the waters, barely making a sound. It was as if the calmness around them wouldn't let any sound escape the clearing of the forest. She could barely remember how they got there in the first place.

Aizawa threw his, and it did some more leaps than Uraraka's. He knew this would irk her a little, and gave her a few more stones so she could play with them. She took them, biting her tongue and her competitive fiber to just go on making them jump on the lake. She knew trying to provoke her mentor would barely do anything to the situation.

The gray and beige clouds were reflected in the water so clearly it was as if the stones were flying to heaven and melting into the metallic canvas. It was so beautiful to see and watch, the waves rippling through the natural painting. She was so engrossed by the image that she only snapped out of her reverie when a breeze and Aizawa's stone woke her up from her reverie, seeing his stone skip and die again.

Right before she threw hers again, a detail called her attention. A few feet away from her teacher lay some fleeting rocks on the water, paving the path to what seemed to be the other side of the lake, zooming into the distance, where she couldn't reach out. The path looked sturdy enough to walk over it, yet it was unassured you wouldn't fall down in the way.

"A pretty path, right?" she tensed up at the voice, but didn't feel scolded at all. It wasn't how their dynamic, their deal worked. "It sure looks like a fun walk."

He wasn't mistaken. While one could step a little more and walk around the actual lake, it looked much more entertaining to jump one's way through the water, on the fleeting steps– above all in this beautiful scenery. With the way the sun was now, her shadow would barely touch the water.

"Would you take that path, though?"

She halted her toss once again to look at her teacher, who was still throwing them to the water as if they were discussing the weather. Something in his voice, maybe how distinctively hoarse it was and how he was avoiding her eyes– it all screamed uncertainty, therefore, fear in her heart.

"Imagine this picture," he threw another stone, continuing his discourse. "you have a bunch of children on your charge– ultimately, their lives depend on you." his stone skipped five times. "You are at this exact lake, and they wanna go to the other side. A bear is chasing you, so you want to get across quickly. The children wanna take the roundabout way, which is the quickest and safest for them, but you know that you won't be fast enough with so many kids, and the bear will catch you– and while you would defend the kids and let them get out alive, there is no reassurance you will get out alive. And it pains your heart to leave the kids alone. It's not an option to leave them alone."

She kept being silent, looking at him in deep attention. He continued skipping stones.

"You want to take the path that goes across the water, knowing the bear won't follow you, and you think you can keep the kids safe, despite the risk of one or two falling to the water and being bit by piranhas. At the end of the day, you think this one is the right path." he looked at her in the eye for a split second. "Maybe not all of you will make it unscathed in the end, but this way you are sure one way or another, everyone will end up making it across alive, scars or without them. It will take longer, and after you all have stepped over, the path will disappear. The kids will have suffered big bites, but it will be over soon."

Uraraka stared at him intently. Then, he looked at the lake again.

"What path would you choose, Uraraka?"

The girl blinked, forcibly pulled out from the story to look at her stone, then curl her fingers around the thing. "I–"

"But there's a twist." that shut her up again. "What if I told you those kids had hurt you in the past?"

"Hurt me?"

"Imagine you had been… mistreated, misunderstood. Imagine being your best, yet being disregarded. Imagine just… not being enough for people who don't value you." Aizawa threw another stone to the lake. "They don't see your true you– and if they do, they don't value it. These kids… they won't see who you truly are. Imagine these kids also hold ill intentions against your dearest people– or those you held dearest in the past."

"Would it be this bad? Why are they with me if they seem to be like this to me?"

"They don't know it, but they got no option but to cling to you. In the end, the relationship between you two is purely tied by power and destiny."

Uraraka looked down to the stone again, seeing the small glimmers carved on it shine at the sun that peeked from between the clouds. Her eyes turned sorrowful, as if the situation was familiar, but the memories within her didn't lie: she hadn't lived this moment before. Still, her heart was gnawed with despair and a hint of bitterness. It was… an unpleasant feeling.

"I… don't know. I guess a bite or two wouldn't be bad to them if they have been this mean to me." she was almost murmuring it because she was almost ashamed of this, she was almost regretting it– but really, could she say she felt remorse? No.

The situation somehow resonated within her, making her look at her mentor and speak again. "Has this situation ever happened to you?"

He shook his head. "But I've seen people in front of me face these people– making their own personal grudge. It always ended the same way though, the judge being destroyed after it."

Uraraka guessed he meant destroyed by the emotional weight of facing and potentially leaving the people you'd give your life for. Caring for people who would bruise you this way… she brought her hand to her heart. She knew it hurt and it wasn't like she had lived it in such extreme ways.

The sun flared in golden against the lake, almost blinding her with heaven's weird sense of humor, and her brow knitted, bringing an amused spark to Aizawa's eyes, which deemed to a memory before he looked at the lake time, he took another stone and threw it to the lake– more like tossed it as high and far as possible, and the stone sunk with a pop in the distance.

Uraraka shuddered, feeling the stone sink to the depths.

"I wonder how much there's left until the final court opens again."

---

Uraraka woke up in her tight, thin mattress with a start of panic– a silent panic, gasping for air, sprawled in the mattress and eyes wide open. This was probably the only time she could fully recollect what her thoughts were, gathering them and realizing it had been little more than a stuck memory, and knowing she could fully remember this, the hand that had shot out for her small notebook out of instinct crawled to her bed again.

She sat up in her bed, hands to her face as she wiped the sweat clean. Looking at her hands, they were trembling, but other than that she was fine. Uraraka felt heavier than she had ever felt in what seemed like years, the bed felt smaller than it should. It was a passable sinking feeling, one she needed to get away from quickly.

She discarded the blankets off from her as if they were monsters, and threw on her uniform, her glove, the hoodie of her shoulder cover only to realize she needed a change of clothing soon. This armor was made to never break but it was getting stained after many travels. She equipped her cloak, pulling it over her head. There was a small array of sunshine peeking through a gap between the curtains, which widened to a great range when she slid them open.

The sun hit her straight on the face, but she only flinched at the sudden change. Afterwards, she stood on her toes to open the window and let fresh morning air burst through. Had their mission with Gunhead gone accordingly and she would have probably stayed at the Council's personal bedrooms, but there was no certainty she'd be well welcomed there after the ruckus they caused.

Besides, the only thing she wanted from this mission was the protection and rewards it guaranteed. The situation with the Jirou clan was something in her mission as well. So for that, she was safe. All she had to worry about was sorting out this business– one that she would have gone for herself even if her master hadn't demanded it.

She breezed through the door and passed by a woman with a basket of bread, and Uraraka greeted her warmly, knowing she wouldn't recognize her with the cloak on. "Good morning, little girl!"

Uraraka waved back and took a small bun of bread from the basket and munched on it, keeping it in her mouth while she shrugged her coat in place. The bread tasted good, gooey and light. "Fhankz fo' da meal."

Her voice was muffled by the bread and by the time Uraraka got it out of her mouth, the woman was laughing heartily. "I think there is coffee and tea downstairs, Marlene was babbling about it all morning."

Uraraka didn't know who this Marlene was but she was always up for a good breakfast. However, she had some things to do, like checking on her prisoner at the Council and looking for new gear in shops around her. Also, if she didn't find any clues as to where the clan could be or Shinsou's whereabouts, she would be running away as soon as possible.

She was mindful of the loose ends she would leave: her guild had probably figured out her identity if Shinsou was to be with them, and leaving her deal with Gunhead undone without talking the future out was risky as well– but she had little options. It was flee or face the Council for being this flashy.

"I'll have to pass. I have some places to be in today." which wasn't a full truth, just a half lie. She passed by the charming maid and waved goodbye at her, going down the small staircase like the breeze, ghostly flying down to the hall of the modest residence, where she had been sure no one would recognize her.

The Purge was an infamous group known among either elite guilds, politicians, or other rogue criminals from the suburbs. Their existence was more of a myth among townspeople who had been told about the "crimes" as, again, another rumor. In short time, their existence had become a legend for their apparent dark tone and mysterious appearance. As Uraraka saw it, they were stirring justice within corrupted groups.

But that was her opinion. Maybe things weren't as black and white as they seemed. Evil wasn't necessarily dark, if anything it was simply a different color than good's sunshine. And she was just complying to indirect orders from the master she had run away from. At least for now.

Seeing so many maids reminded her of a particular village, bringing back cloudy memories of the distant small town. As Uraraka tried to let her mind wander, a woman crashed with her as she scurried around, but the brunette apologized regardless. "My bad, sorry for being in the–"

"No need to apologize! Sorry for the bump!" and she was gone, running around from one place to another– in fact, the whole hallway was buzzing with activity and didn't Uraraka know the small budget of this building, she would say someone famous was dropping by.

Yet again, she didn't know what was the source of the ruckus– until she heard a loud deaf noise coming from outside, near the wide main street the residence was close to. Her head whipped to the window and rushed to it, discovering a mob of guards barricading the street. At this, Uraraka hummed in surprise, frowned, and quickly concluded Shinsou had probably something to do with this.

It's not like the Jirous would make an appearance at plain sight, and the town was relatively peaceful other than that. Wasn't this actually convenient, she could finally get to him and start planning things again with the conclusions she had gotten after interrogating the golem doppelganger. She stepped into the street and tried to listen in to the screams. There seemed to be some people involved in whatever was going on.

Those voices… she frowned. They seemed to be the same ones as those snarky bastards guarding the doors. And people behind them were screaming, despite Uraraka not being able to see them clearly. There was also a familiar sulphur smell that lingered in the air. Something was not right– but the environment around her was fine, so maybe Aizawa hadn't been right? No bent houses, no twisted doorknobs, the waters were fine, what was so chaotic about today?

"Excuse me!" her voice rose and attempted to boom but it was meekly swallowed by the crowds. "Hey! I wanna get through!" of course they wouldn't listen because no one in this entire town fucking listened to a meek little girl like her. "Well then, I'll do it my way!"

Uraraka mustered some energy, and taking two steps back, she ran at breakneck speed through the mob, making them jump out of her way, her feet skidding across the sidewalk as she landed in the center of the commotion. "What the hell is…?"

Suddenly, the crowds started disappearing– as did the actual guards, all dropping to the ground in little balls that make her teeth grit, and looked at the man holding a simple purple anchor on his hand, smirking at her and Uraraka breathed out, as if relieved, and walked to him.

"Knew you'd have something to do with this." stated the sorcerer, walking to him slowly, a hand on her chest with a placid smile. "It's good to see you. I lost you after the tournament. No need to be so catchy though."

He nodded. "Sorry for the show, I literally didn't know how else to call your attention. At least it's too early for people to notice." but the girl frowned at this, because she knew Shinsou better than to be so flashy, and looked around. Her companion frowned. "What's up now?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Where were you all along though? You knew I'd be around the Council, you didn't need to bother being flashy." her eyes still looked around, suddenly suspicious, narrowing her sight. "What was the holdup?"

Something pointy jabbed on her back, and a terrible chill of fear ran down her back– then a hoarse, gravelly voice, one she knew very well that made her heart clap, her knees freeze, and suddenly all she could remember was how warm his arms had once (only once) been around her.

"We finally fucking got you, minx[1] [2] ."

Eyes widening, words rolled out of her mouth without her consent, frantic. "Shinsou, what is th–!"

Bakugou elbowed her on the head in order to knock her out, but held her against him as soon as she threatened to fall – proof that despite treating her as a terrorist, he was also contemplating the possibility of her being his past companion. He frowned at her, but didn't dare take the cloak off from her yet.

"What an easy way to lure someone in. Too fucking innocent to be a criminal." then, he charged her on his shoulder just as if she was a limping sack of potatoes, expression grim in an outburst of seriousness. "Thanks for the hint. Now go get your business done– or go fuck yourself, but we'll be watching you."

Shinsou smirked and tugged the high collar of his cloak to his chin, almost covering his mouth. "I ain't doing this for her, or you, or anyone for that matter. It will just make things easier in the short future." he started walking away then, waving at him with two of his fingers. "See you later, barbarian…"

---

She could hear the rain falling outside her house, and looking out the window, she couldn't feel the warmth of the sun, her hand pressed to the window pane with a grim expression framing her pretty features. The shawl around her shoulders hung loose, eyebrow wrinkled, and the only thing that woke her up from her reverie was Katsuki's steps in the shelter.

He shook a small sheet of jaded paper. "We got this jotted down. All I know is that girl must be somewhere around the mountains, it's where her house was, she must be hiding there." Ochako gingerly took the paper, staring at the blatant circle at a zone with triangles and grass. "Allegedly, that's where she scrambled to when she escaped your people."

Again, she wanted to tell him it was all lies, knowing her people were better than to kidnap and potentially torture a child just for power. She wants to believe herself but also believe Katsuki, their friendship now stronger, but avoiding a war is more important this once– beliefs buried under the lead of peace, and a tremble ran down her spine.

She really wanted to wrinkle that stupid map and throw it to the ground. But her people's peace was at stake and… she wasn't stupid. She just zeroed her eyes on the triangles and ignored how Katsuki was probably judging her people at the prospect of them torturing a child– if that ever happened. If she saw it with bad eyes, did he see her as someone capable of that, in secret?

She couldn't swallow that truth. It was too much of a hard, big pill for her. "Why this place, though?" she was stammering. "Is this anywhere your people have tried to go to?"

"No. It's allegedly the place your people kidnapped her from. That's supposed to be her prior home."

Home? That was a weird word. It surely was something she had and held close to her heart, but why was it that he said it with such passion? Sure, he was still abrasive and moody, biting like a dog in small doses of blind rage. She ever wondered if he saw her with another kind of negativity.

"Her… home."

He bowed forward the slightest bit, unamused by her emotional shit. "It's where–"

"I know what a home is, stop taking me for another dumb nobody." abruptly, the map was shoved to his chest. "When are we parting?"

He was for once taken aback at her sudden snapping, but as always, acted unfazed. If anything, it took him a little bit more than usual to answer. "We should be leaving tomorrow. We got no fuckng time to waste when there's some wanted brat running around."

Again, did he hate this mage? What was so wrong with her that made him feel so reluctant to leave in the first time? All this whole time, he had been acting enthusiastic to start the journey– but not in a good way. It was as if he was angry at her, at the world for forcing this task on him, yet did it anyway.

Every time this subject was brought up a new thread of questions was opened and he refused to close any of them.

After that exchange, Katsuki sulked off to do something else, leaving her to stare at the pounding rain outside. Her hand was pressed to the pane again, and she wondered how close the rain was to her, why it felt so distant, and why home seemed to be so far away, out of reach.

She wondered… if home had been lost to that mage, too. Maybe, just maybe, she would find the way to her home this time around.

---

Uraraka was tied.

That was the statement of the year. The ropes were somewhat heavy on her pristine wrists, dry and grinding against her pale skin. She could handle ties like any other human being, but considering how inhumanly tight they were – as if they didn't want her to go, which in retrospect made a lot of sense – it made her feel especially uneasy. Adding the dim light that surrounded her and the fact that her feet could barely touch the ground only made the situation more aggravating.

She tried to wiggle her hands free, but didn't accomplish anything but some potential blisters. She wanted to use magic, even made the attempt to do so, but ended up realizing that this was probably her own past guild holding her captive at the moment, and knew they most likely didn't hold any ill intentions.

Unless it was Bakugou entering the door just now. Because someone just entered the room. If it was him, then she was dead.

Fortunately, the lightness of the steps that accompanied the hush of the door made her sigh in relief. The voice that came with it wasn't as pleasing. "You awake? We need to make you some questions."

Uraraka looked up from under the cloak they surprisingly hadn't taken off from her, and saw Midoriya looking down at her with crossed arms, his eyes stern yet as soft as they always were and she fondly remembered. Behind him were Mina and Todoroki, far enough to not be involved in the talk yet close enough in case she decided to spring back. They probably weren't that sure of who she was, and were fearful of her snapping.

She hadn't been exactly soft at the tournament. It was completely understandable. Uraraka nodded, throat dry. She had probably been here for too long for her body to bear– it was getting cold, her legs were numb, hands itching to be free, and that chair was getting harder the more she spent sitting on it. She would rather them make her speak, lest it ended up being unnecessary for her to do so willingly.

"We don't know if you are gonna cooperate, or if you wanna speak. You are lucky my peer is out on a special mission, otherwise he'd be punching all intel out of you and trust me, he was being literal when he said it." and she believed him, she always would. He was too brash for it to be true, yet also too honest for it to be a lie. Bakugou was a complicated man. "Also, it was Shinsou who handed you out. We haven't been chasing you around."

Midoriya was most likely saying that to fool her into thinking Shinsou was the bad one– who he was, for that matter. He hadn't even looked affected, or maybe he did… her memory was fuzzy, but whatever had happened had chilled her bones, made her angry, sad, all at the same time, and all she knew was that he was away and she was the one being tied down. It was… strange. Why would he even do that?

She looked at the ties linked to the chair, grim. It was maddening to see their brief complicity be over so easily. She wanted to think he had a plan to take her out, but if he had been the one to hand her to them – something she sadly believed – then she was on her own again. She was back to square one.

It was her against a guild, once more.

"We won't hurt you, as we think you are a valuable key to find the Jirou's lair– doesn't mean we will be merciful, either." and of course she knew this, but again, she probably had as much information on the matter as they had. "We'd rather you spoke willingly instead of us having to make the questions. You are somewhere safe, yet also far away from the street."

She tried to clear her throat, surprising everyone and putting them on edge, only for her to ask. "How… long have I been here?"

Todoroki spoke next, voice as calm and collected as she remembered. "About a day. You have been in and out of it for the last hours."

She nodded, and struggled against her ties again even if she knew it was futile. "I wish to be untied. These ropes are bruising my wrists." she stated, but of course was met with no answer because it was dumb to ask for release to these guys. If they wanted information, they could have gone for Shinsou, but who knows what lies he had told them. Regardless, considering her current background and her contacts, maybe she could look like someone of help.

Uraraka doubted they had interrogated any shady businessmen in a desert, or had the training them both had had. On the other hand, since they had a different perspective and set of contacts, perhaps it'd be of use for her to know what they knew, exactly. If good and less good could join forces, going after the major evil wouldn't be as hard.

She had been here for a day. All information they wanted from Shinsou, as far as she was concerned, could have been taken from him in a less forced way. She had no problem telling them what she knew, but more with what would happen afterwards. There was no burden in her heart regarding loyalty– she had given it up when she ran away into this undercover mission.

Regardless, she didn't know what they thought of her situation. And who knows if lifting her cloak would help her. When she spoke again, her voice was as hoarse as before. "I want water. And my ties off."

"How do we know you won't blast your way out of here when you are free?" asked Mina, arms crossed. Her shoulders had more muscle to them, it was obvious these people were ready to take her down– whether they'd fail at it or not was another story.

"For the same reason I don't burn my ties off and run away as you say." responded she. "All I want right now is to be free and be minding my business again." a business that wasn't really hers– the mission had been there, read between lines, and Uraraka's sense of justice had done all the rest despite Aizawa wanting this.

Again, she had never been forced to take this mission. He had mentioned he wanted to know where they were, and Uraraka's curiosity and prior encounters with Midnight had sparked the desire to both fly away and sort this mess out. It was the perfect excuse for the perfect runaway. One tournament and a betrayal later, she was being forced to spit out all she knew. Maybe it'd benefit her if they were willing to share their own intel and let her go.

Chances played against her though. "We won't hurt you, torture isn't by no means our methodology, but we are trying to get this done before Bakugou gets here and he gets physical on this matter. He is very involved in this particular issue."

The memory of him on a bed as he shook from the nightmares Midnight had purged into him brought chills down her spine. The blonde had reasons to want them gone, and so did she and probably the rest of the world. That energy she sensed… it was the most frightening sensation she had felt in a while. "Will you… share whatever information you have with me?"

The guild members shared a look between each other before Midoriya spoke again. "We aren't sure how trustworthy you are. It may be dangerous to spread all our investigations with people who are of doubtful origins."

Uraraka gritted her teeth at this. "Then why should I share mine with you? Where's the fairness in this?"

"We will always use whatever you know for a good purpose, something we aren't so sure you will do." Todoroki spoke with a bluntness that edged rudeness, something Uraraka sometimes crossed mindlessly. Whatever mind games they wanted to play with her wouldn't last forever. "We don't–"

"If you are so hell-bent on getting intel out of me, why haven't you even removed my cloak?"

Yeah, she sometimes was overly blunt. And her eyes widened a split second after blurting this dare, this bluff, because if they uncovered her identity she wasn't sure how they'd react. Maybe they already knew who she was– most probably, they didn't, but the sole possibility was frighteningly high and that doubt was killing her slowly.

This would have to happen one day. In the end, it didn't matter when. Regardless, they gave her an astonishing response. "We aren't searching for whoever it is under that hoodie, that's a matter for another day we can skip if you give us the data we are looking for."

"You guys are being awfully peaceful for such an unfair deal."

Her voice cleared.

It suddenly spoke with a clarity she hadn't found in days, probably in years, and everyone suddenly staggered at the familiarity of it now that the hoarse filter was off, breaths simultaneously catching and hitching and a bead of sweat ran down her temple, nervous at how the situation was starting to go downhill and suddenly, Mina had backed off to the door, Todoroki was dumbstruck and Midoriya was slowly approaching her.

Before he got to her, as if she wasn't actually there, he frowned at the rest. Todoroki spoke first. "It… can't be, can it?"

Midoriya knew best though, and… Bakugou had seen her, according to his endless rambling and angry presumptions that it had been her – more accurately, that bitch that was going around town so late in the night – and sighed. "I…" Uraraka didn't even move an inch when he gingerly pinched the hem of her cloak and tried to look underneath. "Uraraka?"

She was a mixture of feelings that she didn't understand. The sorcerer felt shame for being discovered, but at the same time was overjoyed to finally be able to see her peers with them recognizing a familiar face. On the other hand, she was also scared to death of whatever she'd face after this, and what grudges they'd hold on her now that it was all... over– she had chosen a path that led away from her friends, and chosen the lonely life.

This had been what she wanted, to achieve power despite the loneliness. Why did it feel like she had ended up making the wrong decision despite having reached her goal? Why did she feel so small again, in that jail room?

Why had Shinsou sold her in the end? Was it all really over and was it time for her to face the consequences of abandoning a guild so abruptly?

Then, Midoriya flung the cloak behind her head, and Uraraka took her bowed head backwards to look at her guildmates with a expression that screamed both regret yet a strong sense of security. She knew she had made the best decision for herself– but her eyes betrayed her. They always did.

"I can't believe this!" Mina stepped closer, blinking in disbelief. "You were supposed to be– you…!"

Uraraka hunched her head down in shame, ready to take in all the insults for leaving, for deciding what was best for her alone, for not saying goodbye, for dying once and making it without glory, for attacking them at the tournament, for everything–

But suddenly, Mina sobbed, making Uraraka look up in surprise to see her archer friend bringing her hands to her eyes. If she looked closer, Midoriya had small drops prickling at his eyes too. "I am so glad you are alright…!"

Todoroki nodded in agreement and Uraraka felt an invisible weight she had been carrying slowly drop from her back slowly and shatter as she stared at her… what should she call them? Friendship didn't seem like a suitable term just yet, but captors or kidnappers didn't sit right either. However, just the thought of them somehow understanding her made her feel alive again.

"We were so worried about you…" mumbled Midoriya. "When your body disappeared, we could only think someone had taken it away for whatever reason, or that you had run away– which was the correct solution all along but still… we lived in wonder, hopeful for you to be alive and someday come back to us and mourning you at the same time."

Uraraka blinked at this as she had never expected them to actually hold on to her or mourn her and it was so refreshing to see that if they thought she had run away, they seemed to understand why. Curious, Uraraka couldn't help but ask. "You guys aren't… mad at me? Despite teaming up with Shinsou?"

Todoroki shook his head and stepped around the chair. "We had seen how things unfolded around Bakugou. If he hadn't been so hell-bent on not overtraining you, he wouldn't have frustrated you so much." it was as easy as that. "Both of you pushed you into a decision that we don't know if it was best. that depends on you."

His hands lingered on her ties, once fixing to untie her but now, the story was different. The Uraraka he had before him was a grown up girl with no fear of facing them– she was Moon Fairy after all, and had beaten Bakugou's ass pretty badly. He didn't know what she'd do once she was free– maybe this was all a trap and she'd attack them, or maybe she'd just burst through the wall and dig her way up to the surface.

It was the first time Todoroki had a hostage he didn't know whether to freeze or free.

"Todoroki," the knight looked at his leader. "you can free her. She won't hurt us."

Midoriya had always had a good sense to see through this. Even in times of dark mist and clouded judgement, it seemed like that man had the eyes of a panther and the sharpness of a snake. Hell, even when Todoroki himself had doubted his own lineage and the people around him, Midoriya had always been there to convince him otherwise, clear the darkness and walk him down the right lane.

As he did his thing, Uraraka looked back to see Todoroki slowly undoing her tight ties. When they fell to the ground with a slight thump, she tiredly rubbed her wrists and hissed at the red blisters on them. "Sorry for that." said Mina. "I didn't wanna chance it too much."

"It's ok." Uraraka tried to stand, but her knees wobbled and she was sent down to her seat again. Her legs had obviously gone numb after so much time in captivity and she'd have to pay the price now. "Hell."

"You must be tired after so much action these days." said Mina, hooking an arm around her waist and helping her stand. "Let's get you to a bed now that you are back, we can talk about everything later, alright?"

Uraraka nodded and allowed herself to be carried out of the room, Todoroki and Midoriya trailing behind while speaking about something Uraraka couldn't quite comprehend, realizing how tired she was feeling. Maybe her body had gone systematically numb at the pressure on her limbs, or either given in to exhaustion. So many questions plagued her mind recently about her destiny, her past, her present, and it was complicated to handle that when you were supposed to be battling on almost a daily basis.

Besides, she hadn't been sleeping that much with so much side studying in her room at the Council. This would probably be one sleep of a kind considering how tired she was. "Thanks, Mina… and sorry. For… everything."

Mina only regarded with a considerate glance she peeled off from her a second after, sighing. "We'll get to that later, but just know…" she leaned in a little and hugged her closer to her side, offering her a fist. "Glad to have you back, sister… I'm so glad you are okay."

The sorcerer chuckled and smiled faintly, trying to regain her body's will to walk. Her fist shook to bump Mina's and both felt lighter at the confirmation that Uraraka was here to stay– for how long was unknown. "Yeah…"

She couldn't say she was glad to be back after the ways they had used to get her back, and she felt there was less light to the picture than what they were showing her. Regardless, she tried to use her last bits of strength to trust her past guildmates. She didn't know how much she'd be around anyways, with her mission at hand and the fear of her master looking for her.

Staying idle wasn't wise and it was all but her intention, but it'd have to do for now.

Mina took her to an actual room in the building they were. She couldn't bring herself to care about where this was, but judging by the lack of noises around her from outside, they probably weren't as near the city as she had been. In fact, it was all silent except for the chatter somewhere around her, places where she came to the awkward conclusion that Bakugou wasn't there. The fact that his absence sat with her so weirdly made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

Why did she care?

She shouldn't care.

But she cared. She always had. Maybe a bit more than necessary. But that was something she wasn't willing to deal with right now. Thinking of the very few gentle interactions they had had in the past wouldn't help their situation… if they had a situation, that is.

A door was swung and she was introduced to this small room with a window to its left, very similar to the one she had had in her past days, sans Edgar sitting on the small of the windowsill. Mina awkwardly helped her walk into it, and Uraraka zeroed her eyes on the comfy duvet and how fluffy the pillows looked, unlike the ones at the Council that were not as welcoming.

This place looked like a home. Whatever she had been doing before this and wherever she had been at was centuries away from this, and her shoulders sunk as the archer let her pad to the bed, stumbling slightly.

"I'll get you some water, and we can talk a little, I bet you are a bit shaken up." she turned to leave the room and fetch the glass, but turned when she remembered something else. "I'll also get you some…"

Her words died in her throat because Uraraka had limped to the bed and fallen face-first onto it, fast asleep with the gracefulness of a pigeon that had fallen from the sky and plummeted to the mattress. The hair was sprayed on the blanket, hands by her head and knees a bit bent, yet her boots weren't even in the bed. She must have been frighteningly exhausted, yet held onto it for the sake of duty.

Mina shook her head with a small smile, grabbing her feet to put them on the mattress, and covered her with a spare blanket that lay on a chair nearby. "Working yourself over the limit. Same old Uraraka…"

But she said this with a hint of fondness she could only use with her, knowing how rough she had had it and guessing she could wait for later. With that and a last glance in her direction, Mina walked out of the room and let her rest. Perhaps when she woke up everything would be the same as before, with covered issues and a peaceful dawn.

She wasn't as foolish as to really believe it. But it had been so long since she had dreamed and, maybe everyone was unaware of it, but the suffering this guild had gone through after her departure or apparent death had been as real as day.

For once, Uraraka found peaceful sleep. And for once in her life, she curled into herself and breathed in, breathed out, and finally got her deserved rest.

---

Uraraka slept for 3 days straight.

There was no disturbance in her sleep, nobody came to wake her up. However, when she finally rose from the bed, she knew it was morning. The birds chirped as happily usual, the sunshine streamed as lightly as usual, if anything brighter, the air felt light and she felt rested within the blanket bundle. It had always been the same before, yet somehow she had expected to wake as tormented as she had been these weeks.

The fact that she felt so weightless in a sea of old guildmates, the natural feeling, it was gnawing at her. Nights on end waking up exhausted and in a pool of sweat, it somehow came as strange to chase peaceful sleep that easily. Sleeping in that lavender bed had made a silver thread pop up, and her grabby hands couldn't help but chase it and fall asleep in dreamless slumber.

Of course when she woke up, she for one moment felt she was in her old guild, but the feeling was gone all too soon, both to her pleasure and dismay. She was stronger now, but also… alone in a crowd of faces, and she didn't know how to swallow that hard pill. Confusion marred her features and honestly, she didn't know how to get out of it. How was she supposed to accept the warmth again after being kept in the dark for so long– a darkness she had plunged herself into willingly?

She was terrified. In the calm of the storm and the moonlight of the night, she couldn't help but feel alone, out of the shadows of the self-seeked comfort and wondering what was in store for her out the doors of these four walls. Could she trust her surroundings again in this ever changing world to know she'd be okay?

Uraraka knew better than to trust again, not knowing for how long she'd be able to stay around her old friends, unaware of Shinsou's whereabouts– most importantly, unaware of that beastly barbarian's whereabouts and also his thoughts on her coming back because she still remembered he had been the one to actually trap her with Shinsou's help. Again, why had they fooled her this way? What was the point on them splitting up this way of all forsaken methods?

She knew her team work with Shinsou was solid despite their differences, and how their work was far from done told her this was done for an ulterior reason, that they'd meet again, and she fisted her hands, bunching the blankets with want. She was overcome with the need to both stay and nestle in the sheets forever. Why was her heart like this?

She couldn't hear rain in the sunlight anymore. No static, no demons, just silence, birds, and the calm after the storm. Or maybe before it. What was the truth if it wasn't that she didn't know where she was anymore?

Living in blissful darkness used to sound appealing. Right now, the silence and calmness sounded only like a trap, claws, some kind of anomaly, and she wanted to run away. The remains of her loyalty were what pulled her to stay. She could cooperate with them and make her mission culminate faster.

She now had to find where to begin to build her path back to normality after the rush of battles and harsh truths– from there, she'd decide what to do.

Yaoyorozu came in sporting a gentle smile and a glass of water, reminding her of old days where the overwhelming ruined times were at stake, and she couldn't help but wonder – as if it hadn't been important, which it had been and still was, in the back of her mind – if everything had been fixed when she destroyed RampAge despite the little sense she found in Bakugou's reasoning. The comforting relief that his words could bring had settled in her heart for a second, then vanished, knowing it all needed to be more complicated than just defeating a monster.

At least no major havoc had happened after the battle timewise, which was her main fear and what clicked on her to be strange if Bakugou's actual analysis had been right. The fact that nothing noticeable happened made her think that the issue was far more complicated for their understanding than she had expected, and she hoped everyone had noticed this. The world went on and on without taking notice of the beast being defeated, and she had a hunch this was not something they could eradicate that easily.

Her kind automatic smile had fallen into a thin line when the warrior got to her, a bit troubled with her thoughts to really pay attention to her kindness. Yaoyorozu dragged a chair to sit beside the bed and gave her the glass, shaking it a little so her focus would land again on her. "Drink up. You have to get that sore throat of yours into shape."

The girl gladly chugged the contents down and then held the glass in her seemingly weak hands, hands that could weave the world into whatever shape she desired. Her pads didn't touch the glass in fear of making it float away in her reverie. "How long… have I been asleep?"

"A pair of days. You clearly needed the rest– how long has it been since you had some good sleep like that?" the knight shook her head adamantly with an easy smile. Uraraka didn't realize she had missed those gestures in the emptiness of her caverned heart.

The girl looked at her dim reflection in the water and let her shoulders drop. "I don't even remember… not all beds are as comfy." she wiggled her shoulders a little, trying to shift the dull ache on her blades after days of ceaseless moving. Her companion took note of this and cocked her head.

"You could use a bit more of rest, it seems." she let out a little chuckle of surprise, then trailed her eyes over Uraraka's patches of skin that could be seen. Her skin was littered with little cuts like galaxies, some properly healed with what she deemed to be her own dexterity after Asui's lessons. Wherever she came from, it didn't look like a caring ambient. Who knows the wolves Uraraka had had to fight while she was gone.

She wanted to ask. She wanted to tell her everything that had happened while she had been gone, that they had missed her, that she wanted to hug her and that small dose of sadness out of her system. Something within her tingled to ask, to have her answers solved, to just– to know what was going on in that round head of hers.

Yaoyorozu was almost sure of where she came from. Those bruises, that serious expression– she had seen it before, not in her, but in someone else she couldn't quite recall. By the way Mina had spoken so worriedly about her and so leisurely, it was as if she also felt the shift in her personality. It was as if the girl had been tilted to a side, fallen down, and didn't know how to get up. The darkness of mystery that always surrounded her clear eyes had only gotten bigger, almost consuming her.

Something was plaguing her mind. Yaoyorozu wondered if this was also her when she had her days of reflexion, thinking, alone in her library with little people to actually trust while she broke down in a corner. She thought of the time, of how fast it was running – was it running out? would they someday not be able to see the sun anymore? – and how dimly it all seemed after the storm.

Uraraka had never left the storm.

It had probably just begun for her, as if a curtain of rain was surrounding her and not letting her dream or breathe, suffocating her pleas for help. Where had this girl been to harden her features and eyes so badly? What kind of storm was her mind going through that no one could see?

She was almost sure of where she had been and at the same time so unsure of what to think. "Drink the rest. Everyone wants to see you."

Uraraka blinked her eyes off from the water and drank it all in one go, but not forgetting to ask again. "Everyone? So soon?" because she knew it was morning and not everyone was a morning person. "I know this is a major issue but…"

Of course she was intimidated. It wasn't the same kind of intimidation like when she had faced against Pyrox for the first time and she had acted on instinct despite the fear she felt– no one noticed her trembling voice, the scarlet of fear in her eyes. She had at first felt tremendously intimidated by the brash leader, because she wasn't anyone special in this world other than for her powers, and her feet had staggered in her way to him at first. She hadn't felt this feeling in a long time, and she had no way to tackle it again.

How would she look at her guildmates knowing and admitting she had abandoned them for power and something else? A sick part of her argued they had only kidnapped her so she would own up to it. She made that feeling bite the dust as soon as it surfaced, but she didn't feel any less queasy.

It was literally making her stomach lurch uncomfortably in a fashion she had felt sometimes when Bakugou finally shone for his true and inner earnest self. Not like he was dishonest and not like she cared. Because she absolutely didn't. Not at all.

She actually kind of did and it was irksome in countless ways, but it'd take a bit of time before she came to this conclusion. For now she focused on what would be endless eyes looking at her as soon as she stepped out from that forsaken room and goodness forbid her for being so nervous about the whole ordeal. She didn't even know for how long she was going to stay and she didn't know what plans they had for her.

She was just a piece of floating information for them when she had been an anonymous face, why was she so important again after running away when she was, again, just memo? "There's no need to make a huge deal out of this…" Uraraka tried to pacify but failed at it spectacularly.

"We won't eat you. Most of us don't hold ill intentions against you."

"Most?"

"Well…" the black-haired girl's eyes turned dejected and her hand landed on her chest. "you know."

The sorcerer understood at a frightening speed that gave away how much she knew about these people, and looked down as it dawned on her. "Oh."

Of course Bakugou wanted to kill her. He had probably saved the glorious revenge for, in his eyes, betraying them for when she got to them. She hadn't stopped that much to think of what had happened when they had found her almost dead body among the debris. Surely he had just scoffed at her and maybe ordered her to get up and face him– which didn't happen. If he had ordered something back then he must have had a bitter time swallowing her silence. Had he missed her? She wanted to believe he hadn't, but also wanted her selfish side to be quenched and think he had.

She was a traitor in his eyes, she knew. He had given her his scarce trust and she had used it to get to an enemy and leap away for more power– a power he hadn't been willing to give her, true, but because he allegedly didn't want her to be so brash, to feed a beast that could overpower him someday… did he really think holding her down so he'd be king would stop her from blooming?

Her fist clenched, teeth gritted in anguish and frustration. "Is he here?"

The knight was quick to shake her head. "He's got some business to do out. But he knows you are here." of course he did, he had been the one to catch her in the first place, and he wasn't stupid. He would tie the dots after seeing her with Shinsou, something the others hadn't witnessed and surely not fed about. "I'd be quick and help before he comes back."

There she went with the sharp edge to her voice, making Uraraka straighten her back because it was true, she wasn't here for lullabies and games, she still had a mission to fulfill and they would help her now, she hoped. If she didn't use her time wisely while the beast was away, she'd get into trouble fast. Besides, she knew this day to face them would come, despite what the grim future held and her fixation to mend it.

There was no other way around this, was there? "You're right." feeling brave again, for a little, Uraraka hopped off the bed and immediately stumbled to Yaoyorozu. "My legs ain't working very well."

"You've been sleeping in a fixed position for too long, of course you can't walk well now." she flung the sorcerer's arm around her shoulder, and helped her walk. "I'll get you to Shuzenji for a quick fix later. You could use some food too." the girl pinched her cheek, affectionate once again, to which Uraraka whined. "You still seem as roundy as ever, though."

The girl finally let go, and Uraraka rubbed her cheek while trying to step on her own, failing at it. "I had enough of Kirishima and Bakugou calling me out on my cheeks, don't fall for it too please."

There was a chuckle from the knight. "By the way, don't get too worked up if everyone kind of swarms at you. Let's say that there are mixed feelings on this issue in general." she tried to play it off as a very light issue but still persisted on being mysterious about it. If she was going to act in any way maybe she could decide on a single attitude.

"Are they… mad at me?"

There was an awkward silence for what seemed like minutes but only were seconds, in which Yaoyorozu bit her lip in hesitation. Some people were excited to see what she looked like now, how she was, as if forgetting the fact that she had abandoned them no matter what the reasons were. Others were skeptic about her, deciding to judge from the distance and wanting to see what her intentions were.

Uraraka knew some wouldn't welcome her with open arms– hell, if someone had done this to her, she would have preferred to be guarded and not the fluffy happy mess she'd end up being. She had less emotional resistance than she let on, even more so now that she was dizzy, confused, fleshed out against her team after so long, feelings flourishing and god, she was overcome with the feeling of hugging some of them after so long.

It was as if repressing them had done the exact opposite effect in her, and they were threatening to burst at the seams if she didn't run away. Which she wasn't going to do. So for now, this nostalgia would have to swallow her whole.

"Some will hug you." Yaoyorozu said curtly. "Some might have their weapons at reach."

Uraraka could deal with a few daggers to her throat. She had had her leader's sword to her neck and chin more than once – had an alarming amount of accuracy when it came to pointing stuff at people, sometimes deadly, sometimes threateningly – she wasn't afraid of pointy things near her skin anymore. Not that it wasn't alarming how many times she had been almost dead.

In other ways than humans willing to end her life. Man, wasn't this being a ride. "I can deal with that."

Yaoyorozu tried to let her walk on her feet, but still kept an arm secured around her frame just in case anything happened. Uraraka could barely remember the path to the main hall of the residence, or wherever they were. She doubted they had had time to carry her far away from the Capital, so that was a start. Uraraka also came to a staggering conclusion as she let Yaoyorozu carry her through the corridor, doors closed.

"The energy… from before." she tried to level her feet and made them still for a moment, focusing her attention on her feet. "I can't feel it. There's no darkness enshrouded in this place… what floor are we on? There's no speck of weird energy here." "Where are we, by the way?"

Should have asked before. She really should have asked before.

"Gunhead provided us with a residence in the outskirts of the city for some days until we move forward in the Jirou chase." explained the girl. "Since we are the winners of the national tournament and we are working on an issue of national interest, it's only fair we get somewhere to work in for some time."

That did sound fair in Uraraka's mind. "You guys did great, at least during the part I watched." mumbled Uraraka, but tried to be clear and convey how proud she was and amazed at the skill they had showed even if it wasn't based on team work. "No wonder you guys got to the final."

Again, the other girl pondered what to say next. It hadn't happened in a while that she had to be this precautious and think if the words she wanted to say were adequate or too trusting. It felt odd. It didn't feel natural to be so tense around someone you used to trust– yes, it wasn't blind trust, as Yaoyorozu and Bakugou had long discussed the risk of having her around and how they had to be careful. However the fear had somewhat faded and given into a beautiful blossoming friendship that was abruptly interrupted by fate.

She wanted it back. She wanted all that trust back.

It was hard to get it back and change the colors of fate into what it used to be. But Yaoyorozu wasn't a weak woman– everything but weak. She swallowed spit, took a step forward, and dragged her companion a bit further. "It shows you have been doing a lot while you were gone. You've gotten a lot better."

Uraraka's eyes snapped to her friend, startled. "Huh?"

"I'm not…" she staggered the littlest bit. "I don't know where you went exactly, what you did, and while I wanna know, I'm aware it's not my business. Regardless, it had done good on your combat skills– you seem to know what you are doing, now."

The sorcerer looked at the knight which, by the way, was adverting her gaze, and smiled a little. While she knew people would inevitably ask after seeing her in partnership with Shinsou – Bakugou's enemy, it seemed, but she knew she'd have to keep some things at bay to not let them into her secret life too much. Some dark secrets were better kept in secret… she wasn't proud of any of it.

It was true that she had learned lots though. It had all happened so fast yet so slow, finding confidence in her skills and exploding the roughest edges after being denied her development for so long. It had all been strained to the worst yet best limits. At least it had all been pushed to a stop while Uraraka found solace in this mission.

An unwanted yet pleasant solace, maybe risked by her guildmates now that Shinsou had left to mind his own business. "Let's say I've had a lot of practice."

Yeah, that would do the trick. "It sure looks like it. Midoriya wants to speak to you about it, actually." of course he would, he'd come mumbling about it if she knew the leader good enough. Which she prayed for. "I'd tell you all about it, but I'm sure he'll make whatever questions he wants better than me." Yaoyorozu let her go to see how much she could walk, feet tapping on the bland of the red velvet rug, and saw the girl start walking steadily. "Will you be able to…?"

Nod. "Yeah, sure. I was just a little numb, but I'll be fine." her hearing was a bit off too, but the general aftermath of her short coma was slowly fading. It was hard to get used to such massive sleeping spree. "I could use something to eat though."

"You slept for so long, you must have been travelling a lot, have you?" they slowly walked a bit faster, but Uraraka wasn't excited for this exchange at all. She gulped when a big ominous and very telling brown door came into view. "You fell asleep right after seeing the bed. How are you even still alive?"

Uraraka could tell Yaoyorozu was all cautious she wanted, serious and collected, but some excitement was seeping into her voice and she couldn't help but smile at her genuine enthusiasm. "I've been everywhere lately. I needed that rest though. I was running out of stamina."

"Well, it didn't look like it at all." the girl frowned, somewhat feeling intimidated at how powerful this small woman was now. There was this nagging impulse to wait for Bakugou and tell him about this development, but knowing his unadmitted interest on Uraraka, whatever everyone knew was already a long old story for him. She let it go this time. "Regardless, here we are."

Indeed, there they were, in front of the big door and she could make out low chatter from the other end. There weren't many people in there at the other side, which put her at ease, but the feeling of dread was still settled as she didn't know what she'd be confronted with. For some she was a traitor; for others, she was an old friend. For some she had screwed up, others were happy for her overall.

She didn't even know what to feel anymore, and just encouraged the meeting with a hand to the wooden surface, making an attempt to push it open. "Let's do this, then."

The door was suddenly pushed open and while Uraraka was certain she had prepared herself for it she was also suddenly aware that no preparements for this event would have put her on guard for the faces that greeted her as she entered the lobby, finding Midoriya, Asui, Kaminari, Jack and god, it looked like the people she was closest to was purposefully there to make her feel the guiltiest being in the planet. They all looked at her as if a crossing star had shooted the sky and her eyes were sprinkled with little spots of water.

She wasn't going to cry because she had missed them, deep down, the warmth of a family and the way Midoriya's face shifted into a warm welcoming smile, or how Jack's eyes turned somewhat hopeful, a rare trait in her. They were all looking at her as if she was the universe while she stared back in absolute loss, torn between running away and embracing these feelings that were coming back.

"Guys…?"

Midoriya got up from the red comfy armchair he was sitting on and offered her a hand. "It's good to have you back, Uraraka." the girl shuddered as he beckoned her to come closer. "We are so glad to see you alive and well."

Uraraka was shell-shocked. Startled. Frozen. She couldn't move a single inch from the ground, seeing the world spin then stop, as if struggling to go on after the sunshine in the horizon had sunk to the depths of hell, but she had been somehow brought back to heaven and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to take this piece of light back. "I'm…"

Yaoyorozu have her a good push so Uraraka would stagger to her friends' side, taking a place behind Asui's sofa. Midoriya held his hand eagerly to her above the backrest, and Uraraka was urged to pull him to a hug. Her hands trembled to take his and when she eventually did shake his hand, she felt him pulling her slightly to his side. Feeling he was eager to have her closer, she stepped around the sofa while everyone got up from their seats, and Uraraka almost threw herself to Midoriya after so so long.

This definitely felt much more right than whatever business she had done before. There was no way she didn't deserve this after so long.

"Uraraka…" the boy's arms were easy around her middle back, while Uraraka's curled around the boy's slightly thicker neck. He was taller than she remembered, his hair trimmed inches and his eyes were alarmingly tired. She wondered if this Jirou mafia issue was taking too much of a toll on him. She could take a few days without sleep, but could he? "So glad to see you are okay."

His words were muffled into the hair curled on her neck but they held an astronomical amount of truth to them even if they were muffled messy and emotional– it was raw, it was true, and Uraraka wouldn't have Midoriya any other way. "I'm so glad to see you again." which was a bit of a lie. She wasn't overly glad, mostly afraid for now of what was going to happen to her, knowing she was mostly weak and powerless. She'd be happy later.

Asui got up as well, and tapped the girl's shoulder when Uraraka had finally let Midoriya go. The alchemist didn't go for a hug though, just offered her usual blank stare that didn't really convey harsh feelings, just an empty sensation of pleasure. "Good to see you. You gave us a horrible scare back there."

Of course Asui would be as straightforward as always, and Uraraka couldn't help but gulp at that remark. The creeping feeling of guilt that was coiling in her belly a few moments ago came back, clenched, curled, and contorted Uraraka's expression into one of mortification. Did she mean to actually make her feel guilty? Was she maybe preparing her for a long talk on treason and forgiveness?

The sorcerer couldn't tell. However, when the brunette looked to her side, Jack's eyes looked kind enough to look at them for a minute and feel calmer. No one had shared looks or made any remark about Asui's sudden commentary, no one seemed to take it into consideration and Uraraka didn't know if it was out of habit after hearing it for too long or just plain ignorance. Maybe she was overthinking it too much.

"We're sorry we had to use such ways to get to you. Shinsou kind of gave you away." said the leader almost apologetically, but anyone could tell whatever pain she had gone through had been worth it for them so they'd see her again, even if Shinsou hadn't really told them it was Uraraka under the disguise. Everyone had the suspicion yet… how do you even theorize your dead mate could be alive and working for a potential enemy?

It had been too convoluted for anyone's liking. Even Uraraka's, at this point. "I can't understand why he'd do that…" everyone wanted to ask that but maybe it was too early to understand what their bond was even built on. That was one of the issues they'd get to discuss today. "But… it was kind of good in the end. I'd have liked it better if it happened in basically any other way, though."

She wouldn't have probably gone willingly to this meeting due to fears and doubts regarding where she stood with them, but it's not like she was going to tell them that.

Jack, however, chuckled and, "Would you have dropped around though?"

Well, fuck. "I would've probably taken longer, that's for sure." nervously laughed the girl, her hands unconsciously combing through the back of her hair. "I have been everywhere lately."

"We can tell. You've gotten way stronger since we last saw you fight." spoke Asui, and Jack nodded appreciatively. Everyone seemed to be agreeing on her being stronger, which should elate her, but why didn't it feel that rewarding to be stronger as it did to be back? It felt much more right to be back than to be stronger, above all with the ways she got down to the chase.

And she had so many ties to untangle. Why was life so complicated? It was as if she was living in a dream full mishaps and mistakes, in a deep slumber from which she couldn't wake up as much as she reached for the stars above her head, like a ceiling without a window. She felt like she was suffocating, dying slowly, her brain tricking her to believe there was no countdown to an apocalypse, no danger, just bliss and tranquility in front of her.

Everyone had a demon inside. Maybe hers would end up ruling the world in ashes and fire.

"I have grown a bit more into my role." spoke Uraraka lightly, as if this role wasn't important. Or as if she hadn't destroyed a whole beast with her sole tiny body. "I intend to grow even stronger than what you have witnessed. That is, if I won't be stopped again."

She meant this as a joke but as soon as the words escaped her throat she realized it was a pretty misplaced and badly timed thing to say. Her hands clasped on her mouth in realization and her eyes rounded on her peers who, if offended, didn't dare say it outloud. Nobody seemed to realize Jack had silently stalked away, and only Uraraka realized this when Kaminari followed after her.

"I didn't mean to–"

"We know what you mean." spoke Asui, unfaced. Midoriya and her shared a kind look. "And we... let's just sit down and talk about it. Where did Jack and Kaminari go?"

Midoriya looked at the parted door with a startled gasp, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression of worry. "They must have stuff to do. Jack's been awfully busy lately, so it'll have to be the four of us. Take a seat, please." Uraraka sat down on the red sofa behind her, and Yaoyorozu didn't take long to sit as well, right by her side.

The silence around them felt distinguishably empty. "Where have the others gone?"

The knight by her answered her. "Some are in a mission with Bakugou, they should come back later today or tomorrow. We have sent some others to a recognition mission with the stealth team to Orange Forest. They should join the others when they are on their way home if there's nothing new."

Orange Forest… she had heard that name before, hadn't she? In fact, she could loosely recall having seen it in a library somewhere before. "Orange Forest… rings a bell for some reason."

"Yeah, we've been digging for some stuff around there for a while." said Asui, and offered her a cup of tea that Uraraka hadn't even noticed lying there. She wanted to believe it hadn't popped up suddenly like… other stuff had– she rejected the tea. "We believe some Jirou refugees are there storing the items they steal, but that's just a random scoop we got from one burglar."

"You've been doing your homework then, too."

"We've been investigating this for some time, but it was now when Gunhead called us to work on it that we took this as a serious deal." followed Midoriya, his chin on his entwined fingers, mumbling as if talking to himself. "Also when they tried to raid you all when you were headed to one of our main stops before the Capital. They are following our steps too, we know they are lurking… somewhere."

One of the flames on a candle flickered, then blew off to nothing but smoke. A shiver ran down Uraraka's spine. "Gunhead told us about the issue with not much depth. It was more us sharing information than him providing with that much help."

"So you do know something."

The brunette arched an eyebrow. "I don't know much more than you guys know, but I might know different information than what you have discovered. I have been fed information, whereas you guys have looked for it yourselves."

The leader looked at her with a small frown. "I'm curious about who gave you the information and how, can't lie." that got Uraraka growing tense. "But I can't really mind that right now. Bakugou can ask all that when he comes back, I am not as worried for what you've been doing as much as I am for the issue at hand."

That made sense, but she got this feeling that it had been Bakugou who actually imposed himself to be the one to kill her for being a traitor. There didn't seem to be any kind of betrayal in her peers' eyes, why was Bakugou possibly feeling that, then? She couldn't help but feel that everyone was pushing the matter under the rug, discussing the weather but still looking at the little bump with needy eyes.

"Right." nodded the girl, letting the little fear sink for later and focus on the pertinent problem. "I guess you should ask the questions. I am sure we share the same grounding as to what they do and such."

Asui took the lead. "We've been following some of their people. If they wanted to be cautious, they've been suspiciously outspoken when it comes to stealing stuff from merchants. It's as if they knew everyone knows they exist and just didn't care about it anymore."

"We've gotten several burglar reports from some places. I can get a map or something if you all want me to." Yaoyorozu looked at Uraraka specifically, who nodded eagerly as she knew these things had happened, but she had only been given vague clues as to where from Gunhead.

As Yaoyorozu stalked off to get the document, Uraraka thought that perhaps Gunhead had been vague on purpose. He had been awfully skittish and ambigue in certain points, and whatever she was about to discover from this trustful and earnest source made her giddy with excitement, but also slightly peeved that she had had to get this deep to find answers.

As she thought about all of this, Kaminari came back, and Midoriya spoke. "The stealth team is pretty fast when it comes to this. Few guilds have subteams of this kind, and it comes in handy when we have official jobs to carry out and they are of great importance." hence why Shinsou had mentioned some times that Yuuei was just the Council's spoiled brat by now. So damn mean. "We've been trying to figure anything out, but we don't have a clue on where their headquarters could be since it's impossible to see them coming or follow their steps home."

"They kind of come and go, like the wind." pointed Asui out. "We only pinpoint where the attack has been, and jot it down."

The door closed behind them and Yaoyorozu appeared with a big map on hand. The alchemist took the tea tray and stalked off to place it somewhere else as Kaminari sat down near Uraraka, offering her a kind smile. There wasn't much commotion about her arrival – something she was thankful for, she didn't want to be a big deal – just a simple acknowledgement that she was there, and that all was alright for now.

"They usually occur at night or dawn, near merchant trades and usual trading routes." the black-haired girl took the map and extended it on the wide table. As Uraraka had expected, the map didn't cover much more than the actual Capital, and maybe some other places in villages nearby. Wherever the Jirou clan was, they didn't go too far from home.

Uraraka leaned forward a little to place herself. Most of the attacks occurred near the Capital or inside of it– but it was as if all attacks gravitated to the edges of the Capital's barriers, as if trying to avoid it excepting the few times they had landed inside the barriers. The gates were flooded with dots and crosses where they had managed to steal and run, yet the points where they had attacked inside the Capital were scarce and considerably scattered.

"They don't seem to attack inside the actual town as much." concluded Uraraka, but she knew everyone knew this, so she decided to say something to add on. "It ain't like security is that good, though."

Kaminari lunged his arm on the backrest of the sofa. "What do you mean?"

"Shinsou and I got into the tournament with extreme ease… Gunhead hadn't really told anyone from security that we were getting in and had permission to enter the tournament out of date, so we were treated as enemies after all– and it was piece of cake to get in. The security force didn't put much of a fight." explained she, remembering how easy it had been to take out all the guards at the entrance. "The Jirous aren't weak. If they had wanted to get into the Capital, they would have. There must be a reason as to why they haven't really gotten in."

"That's interesting." interjected Midoriya, getting up to look at the map. He probably thought that looking at it from a higher view would give them all answers. "To begin with, why didn't Gunhead tell his guards about you?"

That was a curious question that Uraraka had no answers for, only theories. "Maybe he simply forgot to, or just wanted to keep the operation secret and didn't tell anyone about us going there undercover. I am not that worried now." she discarded the topic for another moment. "Again, why wouldn't they get in? The Capital seems more profitable than the actual outskirts."

"Perhaps because it's more inconvenient?" asked Kaminari. "Like, going to such a crowded place may be risky for their organization. I wouldn't go there if I was the one in the game."

"That's highly unlikely." responded Yaoyorozu, mimicking Midoriya and looking down at the map from a higher point of view, scrutinizing the points with a narrowed stare. "They are already aware that people know of their existence. They attack at random times during the day, and risk anybody seeing them like we have. If being anonymous was what mattered to them, they'd actually seek for better hours."

She was completely right on that, it didn't look like they were too shameful about what they did. And Midnight hadn't been that subtle about her identity. There had to be a reason as to why they didn't attack the Capital. "Why are they staying so close to it, though? It's as if they were patrolling the area."

The dots were enmeshed together and tangled. Asui's statement could very well be true… but why patrol it? During the numerous times Uraraka had been there, she hadn't seen any kind of guarding route making sure there wasn't any kind of suspicious activity. It had always been calm and pacific unless her and Shinsou stepped in. This theory about the dark clan patrolling it all was something that the government would already know about.

Unless…

"When Shinsou and I went around the wall, there wasn't any special security measure going on that gave away this kind of attacking pattern from such a danger like the Jirous. If this was a thing, the Council would know about this and the area of around the walls would be stronger– which was a thing we didn't see. Security was just regular." started Uraraka, gulping, and starting to stand to see the dots join together. "And it's not like the guards around the city are in any case weaker… I have patrolled around there and encountered countless soldiers."

"It's as if…" followed Yaoyorozu. "it's as if they didn't know of this map, or their patterns, or just didn't know anything about all of this–"

Uraraka was quick to interrupt her. "Or maybe they actually did."

Everyone went quiet at this, unable to react because suddenly Uraraka had said something that didn't make sense at all– if there was no guarding around the barriers where the highest rate of crime was, yet there was a higher or equal amount of guards inside the town where there was less or no crime… what did that mean? How could they know about this if the security pattern was so inconsistent?

"We already know this government's administration is… lacking, at best." stated Midoriya plainly, as if tremorous, but everyone knew it was the truth. "It wouldn't surprise me–"

"That's not what I mean." said the sorcerer, and suddenly, she wasn't looking at the map anymore. Everyone looked at her in dire curiosity. "The clan… hasn't attacked very far away from the town, either." while saying this, Uraraka got a sinking, dreadful and terrifying feeling. "And they aren't usually seen appearing into attack. It's been reported it's impossible to see them coming."

"That's what we got." followed Kaminari, tilting his head. "What's the point?"

"Maybe they aren't attacking the outskirts out of convenience." she leaned down, a hand slanted on the table, following the dots in her head as she followed the endless ones on the map. "Maybe… they are doing out of time."

"Time?" asked Midoriya.

"I had an encounter with a mafia member a few days ago." explained Uraraka, her eyes zeroed on the map, frowning. "He said the gang's lair was placed near the Capital… but he never specified where."

"We had reached that conclusion ourselves." said Yaoyorozu, following her own track of dots. "It's impossible for them to attack and disappear so easily… then that must be because their lair allows them to fade out of sight, and must be located somewhere around the town."

There was a blanket of silence in which everyone tried to reach a conclusion, one that was absolutely horrifying to think about and only Yaoyorozu, Midoriya and Uraraka started to thread and knit. The only one who dared speak was the brunette. "The location… it's not around the town."

"What do you mean?" asked Asui, looking at Uraraka with a finger to her cheek, brow creased in worry.

"Their headquarters… they aren't around the town."

Everyone looked down at their feet. Uraraka felt a shiver run down her spine, dread and mortification, chill and thunder sinking into her being as silence blanketed the room, everyone feeling that very same dark energy tickling their toes from underground.

"Their headquarters are in the town." whispered she, trembling, her hands twitching as that dreary feeling of darkness and sorrow expanded under her feet, under everyone's feet– under the whole Capital's feet. "Their headquarters…"

The faces of everyone in the Council spun, turned dark, evil, everything was covered in mist, darkness, smirks, blades, corruption, and at the top of everything… stood Gunhead, looking out the window with the door to the basement of the town open.

"Their headquarters are…"

A guard at the wall of the town took a gem out of his pocket and made it shine to the sun, smirking, blood marrying his hands, then returning to his position in the guard line as if nothing had happened, everyone snickering as a small body rotted near the wall, all their goods stolen. The smell of death and metallic despair would never taunt their dreams, collected the deed and done the reaping. Incorruptible soldiers of death consumed by darkness and greed.

When Gunhead had fed them information, he had never lied. He had never been dishonest, he had never talked like a force of evil… yet he had behaved nervous, skittish, if somewhat unsure of what to do– and it dawned on her, Gunhead had never actually expected her to discover this, therefore acted like a leader, and told her all information he knew. He had always acted like the president she expected him to be. All he had been doing was act like the honest view she had of him.

In the end, the general had been acting like an spectator all along when, in reality, he had been another puppet on top of the discordia chaos under their feel. He acted just exactly as she had expected. And, in return, everything had been destined to act as he had expected as well.

But that was over now.

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened, the corruption spreading like a blanket through the circular town, and suddenly, all pieces fell together into a sole conclusion.

"Their headquarters are… the whole town." everyone shuddered, trembled. "And what we feel underground is…"

Uraraka gulped, and looked at her feet again. She could finally understand everything– everything she had been told, everything she had felt– "It's… their golem factory. That where they are breeding the gems to create the monsters. It's..." shudder. "it's the havoc upbringer."

There was a thick duvet of silence permeating the room until Yaoyorozu found her voice to speak, digesting the revelation. "The colossus that appeared during the tournament."

Uraraka interpreted it as a question and responded to it right away. "The Jirous have been working on a breed of artificial monsters. It's probably why they have been getting so many gems– they encase energy. It's something that Gunhead very briefly told us about." and for a reason, realized she now. "This weird feeling from underground… it's probably the high concentration of power fighting against the souls of the dead people they use as vessels."

The way Uraraka didn't even quiver to mention the vesseled people made them all see she had been through some rough stuff during the time she had been gone. "The guards inside the town… are making sure the townspeople don't rebel against them. And the guards at the wall… are the ones abducting the merchaders, aren't they?"

Uraraka nodded mourningly. "I'm afraid so." and it was bone-chilling and terrifying, but she didn't let it show. "They are using everything to feed the Jirou clan… whether the Council is a separate entity from the clan or is simply just a corporation of the clan, everything still works under the clan's hand. That's why a colossus camouflaged as somebody so plain in first sight got into the final rounds of the tournament… they wanted to shake our grounds and warn the people."

Kaminari was actually alarmed by this and jumped from his seat. "That's too convoluted, to make the Council be in it all of a sudden–"

"It makes sense, ribbit."

The blonde looked at Asui as if he had been betrayed. "The hell? Why are you siding with this nonsense?"

"I remember how ambigue and looming Gunhead appeared to be at our meeting with him before facing RampAge. He seemed pretty reluctant to do anything that benefitted us, and only gave us enough leeway to do stuff just to keep his appearance as long as we didn't mesh with the Jirous' benefit."

"Do you guys think the Jirous had any interest in RampAge?" asked Uraraka, hands still splayed on the map as she tried to shake away the vibrance of the power under her feet. It came and went, and it just made her remember when she had stopped and stared at the ground when she first felt it.

Midoriya, observant as ever, quickly remembered a small detail. "The mountain RampAge lived in was full of minerals on the walls. I wouldn't be surprised if it was gem-rich considering how RampAge's body was an ice-element powerhouse, seeing a bit of the steam he seemed to issue and the quantity of ice around it–"

Asui slapped his neck with her tongue and didn't even offer an apology. If she did though, Yaoyorozu was lost in that minor detail to hear it. "Hold on, ice-gems! Those could hold forbidden power."

"They are forbidden unless they are for self-defense, just like our weapons are." the leader tapped the sword on his hip, the little jewel shining to the light. Uraraka wondered now if it was any issue that her staff had been lost in the river when they were stranded. "And the colossus at the tournament… it didn't feel warm at all. It wouldn't be senseless to say that one was made out of ice."

"Forbidden power…" this one question had been one that absolutely no one actually answered. When she had, long time ago with Jack in front of the shrine, she had been awfully ambigue about it being forbidden, jinxed, damned, everything about it being haunted. "Why is this power so… forbidden? I never understood why."

Definitely not because she had used it once and she had been almost killed by Yaoyorozu afterwards. Not at all.

There was no big problem on them telling her, so Yaoyorozu started the tale. "It's mostly all religion lost in the warps of time. It's said that a long time ago, a monster made of ice destroyed the world and stopped time with its powers, but was then forgiven by the gods and melted into the oceans we know today, It's all very ambigue and foggy." the girl wanted to laugh it off but something in Yaoyorozu's eyes told everyone she was still pretty impressed and maybe even intimidated by the story.

Midoriya continued the tale. "Others are just afraid of what it symbolizes. It's rumored that the monster is coming back and devouring all timelines; other believe the timelines are already solved as RampAge is dead; others just believe it symbolizes the end of the world as it's the only element that can make the whole world go still in a second." his arms crossed, frowning, so uncharacteristic of him when Uraraka knew he wasn't focused, but actually worried.

He went still. "There's more, isn't there?"

Sigh from the green-haired knight. "Us guild members are more versed in these things. While we do contemplate the religious point of view, we are also fearful of the god-like capacity of ice power and therefore despise it– it can do too much damage in too little time, it's like a blessing... from the gods, or from the devil, if such exist." explained the man. "Those who practice it are like preachers to destruction and chaos."

It was now understandable why Yaoyorozu and Jack had come across as stern and fearful respectively for that element, and her hands twitched because she knew she could handle this power– did it make her sinful? Jinxed? Damned? Probably everyone knew she could handle it…

Bakugou's words of not wanting to form her into a destruction beast seemed more logical now. "Does it have anything to do with RampAge?"

"It does from a certain standpoint, considering this religion I told you about considers RampAge to be the son of this… beast that froze the planet." Yaoyorozu smiled, making Uraraka feel relieved that she wasn't being judged now that the issue was brought up. "But that doesn't matter now. RampAge is dead, but the Jirou clan isn't."

Yet Uraraka had something else to say. "Wait, but then how does Todoroki manage to be even in a guild if he can use this power?"

"That's not your business."

The door was slammed shut and behind her appeared Todoroki with a expression of not anger, not sadness, just pure indifference at the matter– but it had been so aggressive, his words, that is felt like he was forcing himself to be passive about it all, making Uraraka shut up and understand that was a story for another day. "My apologies. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine." and that was it. The knight walked to his leader and gave him a roll of paper. "Father gave me this for you and Bakugou. He said it had important stuff in it– don't ask me."

Midoriya looked at the papyrus with an arched eyebrow before removing the loop around it, and then reading it briefly. Uraraka was still threading the Jirou issue to notice he had called the king father. "I'll tell Bakugou about this, it'll be good news for him I bet." the green-haired leader patted Todoroki on his shoulder with a proud smile. "Thanks for this. I am so thankful for this, Todoroki."

The way Midoriya held this and how Todoroki was beaming at the praise had Uraraka feeling remorse for being out of the loop. She suddenly felt awkwardly left out of the issue and she wanted to groan in annoyance. For now, she could only hope it wasn't about her and Shinsou… it'd be terribly tense for them to be investigating them while Uraraka was teaming up with them. Suddenly, the sorcerer felt aware of their eyes on her and she couldn't help but feel watched.

This would be harder than she had expected it to be.

"What is it you got there, Midoriya?" asked Asui.

The boy smiled, not beaming, but smiled in acknowledgement of her interest. "King Enji gave us this report from the stealth team. He's been pretty interested in our activities lately, maybe a bit more than the Council, even."

In a way, it made sense considering the Council was just a corrupt vessel from a dark clan, so of course any other entity from any government would look more interested and more real in their intentions. However, "Wait, King Enji from our lands? Why go back there now?"

"He was making a visit after the tournament, just an act of presence, and we decided it'd be good to see if the higher powers from our village had actually picked something up from our team, or if something had happened in the village." spoke Todoroki. Uraraka didn't pick up the resentment in his voice, but it was there. "He just gave me this thing and tried to derive the conversation into personal stuff."

Uraraka had never met the king, she didn't even remember meeting him once, but he seemed like a pretty strict man. "It must be pretty important stuff he gave you then, he's the king himself."

Midoriya knew best and decided not to dwell on the matter and looked between the naïve girl and the cold man. "Regardless of who the king is, he gave us what we asked for, so that's it about him." but everyone could see that the way Uraraka looked into the void in deep thought that this wouldn't be the last time this would be brought up. "We should be able to at least narrow our search ratio a little with what information they gave us. We'll know where to lead them. I don't think such a powerful clan would only have their headquarters down there."

The black-haired knight nodded in agreement. "If this information we just concluded is true, we must examine whatever that lies underground and search for their second headquarters. This town might be their base of operations, but we know they come from somewhere else and have a home somewhere in the forests.

Asui looked at the map and nodded with an empty expression. "Our stealth team can't be wrong, there have been reports on fishy activity there and we'll find them."

Yaoyorozu diligently took this information down and looked at the map with a somber expression of worry. The fact that such a big organization was actually acting deceivingly under the appearance of a professional corporation was absolutely maddening, mostly because she knew they had the public's favor after many years of well-doings– but would anyone but them ever see that whatever good they did to the town also benefited the clan? After all, they wanted to keep their house and town clean… and whatever that lay underground.

"Do you guys really think that… they are actually creating an army?" it wasn't Yaoyorozu who spoke, but Kaminari. "I also saw the big colossus guy in the tournament… but it's just too much to digest right off the bat."

Again, Uraraka knew she had something to say about this. "I actually took the defeated vessel of the colossus with me after the tournament, it's… unnatural." maybe she should have explained this before actually diving into this subject. "I examined the body. The body they used was probably too thin and weak to contain the power of the gem it had inside. I don't know if the gem consuming the body is what triggers the transformation we witnessed at the tournament, though– but the vessel's body was basically done for after it happened."

Asui, interested in this as the alchemist she was, asked for more information. "What happened to the body? Was it torn apart?"

"Not exactly– though it was in some places, probably due to general strain after the transformation. The gem seemed to multiply the volume of the vessel's muscles and… just made it into an ugly thing. Gem power isn't that natural when it's used for such artificial purposes." rambled Uraraka, her finger tapping the chin, a part of her feeling proud that she could finally be of use in things she hadn't been able to before.

Midoriya knew zero shit about biology, but still looked interested. "What did you do to the body? Did you bury it?"

"No. I was ordered by the Council to give it back in case there was any development in its health state. I had planned on trying to go and check on it the day you guys got me." the girl let out a frustrated sigh, jaw clenched. "No wonder they wanted it. I sure hope they don't recycle it for another colossus."

She should have probably kept it inside of her just as an afterthought but she wasn't that good at keeping her mouth shut. Some things would never change.

"Well," Midoriya tucked the papyrus under his arm and beckoned Todoroki and Asui to go with him. "I'm gonna go check these out with them. You should get some new gear from Hatsume before we start planning things tomorrow, it's gonna get noisy from then on."

Yaoyorozu and Kaminari looked at Uraraka, who nodded, and the former nudged her on the shoulder. "C'mon, I'll walk you there. Hatsume is going to be euphoric at the thought of making a whole armor."

"Hold on– a whole armor!?"

But Kaminari and Yaoyorozu were already taking her out of the room when the rest waved at them goodbye. Todoroki spoke last. "Try to keep her safe, that woman's a monster!"

Yaoyorozu's voice echoed from out of the room, heard within Uraraka and Kaminari's busy loud chattering. "Will do!"

---

What a great but tiring day. Uraraka could barely distinguish the times at which she had been awake and the times she had actually been lucid and listening.

It had all been a blur of colors and voices, and could only recall various important things that peppered her mind with worry that she absolutely didn't need considering the task she had to carry out in her main mission and other things plaguing her mind.

Walking down the corridor to her room, she knew she wouldn't be sleeping. Her hand cradled her forehead as her body started registering all the weights her shoulders were carrying, how it was making her eyelids droopy and the wish of sleep so sweet. She had been sleeping for a long time but it felt like being awake to witness these horrifying truths truly didn't make life worth living.

A small sigh escaped her chapped lips, and she adjusted her new cloak around her shoulders. Hatsume had truly taken her time to craft a staff for her, one that she gave a tracking gem to so, quoting her, "Will make this baby pop out from space whenever you need it, so you won't have to carry it around! It'll work like a summon, you just gotta keep it somewhere safe!" which was pretty nifty, she'd say.

Uraraka shifted her hand around a little with it. It was rather light, but powerful to a knowledged hand like hers. She was more used to hand-wielded magic, so it'd probably take her a little time to get back in track with this new toy. As for her uniform, it was still as pink as ever, yet the black cloak hung from her frame in case, quoting her again, "you get cold in whatever crazy travels you go to! I wish I had been there to see more mines and blacksmiths, they'd be so impressed with–!"

The rest was just stupid blabbery. But it was still a useful fix. Besides, her uniform had been sown together and made larger so it reached her ankles, the skirt split at the front to show her dark tight pants, and it had been tightened around her torso with some ribbons. It looked maturer. It was as if she was some kind of high priestess from an ancient kingdom.

If only she could go for that holy title, but her hands were too dirty for that. She could only dream of going around kingdoms to heal the wounded and feed the hungry. For now, having a nice outfit and new weapon would suffice.

With stinging eyes and heavy steps, Uraraka went back into the beginning of the day when all was peaceful and through the steps that had made it a nightmare. The government of the very same land she was in was working for the most dangerous illegal dark clan, one she'd have to face eventually and flee to potentially team up with Shinsou again and find a solution for the timeline mishap. Meanwhile, catastrophic actions were going on under her feet and she couldn't do absolutely anything but roll in her bed and try to forget that hell lived just a few feet below.

Not to mention that she was now under the watch of the enemies of her master, one she had begrudgingly joined forces with under the knowledge that he had created the very same monster that supposedly caused the timeline chaos – that was still an opened case – to get stronger, succeeded at it and fled from him without knowing what he'd do about it.

The reasonable thing to believe was that he'd be hunting her down to bring her home so she wouldn't share any valuable information, but his right hand Shinsou didn't seem worried about the matter, and had reassured her a few times. A part of her was terrified of thinking what that man was doing while she was gone, because even when she hadn't seen anything traumatizing in her time there, it was true that the way he spoke was if anything worse than Shinsou's speeches.

The silence was killing her more than the storm that she was expecting. The fact that he wasn't doing anything about her being gone and how Shinsou spoke as if everything was going according to plan following my old man's words made her shudder in new ways, feeling a looming danger dangle above her head, as if it was waiting and waiting to crash in her with something devastating and unknown. This ignorance was anything but blissful.

And she sincerely didn't know if she would survive seeing all these pieces to fix. There was no way she would be able to sort this out on her own. There was a long way ahead of her.

Uraraka heard the closing of a door in another room but didn't make much of it. Mina and Kirishima had probably gotten back from their mission– in fact, she could barely make out them talking to somebody else, probably Asui. She couldn't care, she just needed a moment to digest everything and be alone, on her own.

As she put her hand on the door to her room, she failed to register steps coming in her direction, unmistakable to her trained ear yet now faded due to her mental exhaustion. The world was spinning, the chaos was burning, and all she wanted was to rest and think about it with a rested mind, unaware of the presence behind her until–

A blade struck into the wooden door an inch away from her temple, making a horrifying noise as it pierced through the wood and successfully snapped the sorcerer out of her thoughts and realizing the recognizable laboured breathing, gruff panting, the dry smell of smoke and before she could say anything, the hand on the handle of the weapon was shaking, almost snapping the weapon in half.

"I fucking knew it!" exclaimed Bakugou behind her, looking down with a deep frown, contorted in anger and frustration. "I fucking knew it was you! No one believed me and told me I was spitting bullshit and now look who's back!"

He didn't sound relieved, he didn't sound by far how the others had, knowing her state of confusion and tiredness. Maybe when Yaoyorozu had referred to people having weapons behind their backs she actually meant Bakugou almost stabbing her brains out from behind. She could only stutter his name, still, frozen, unsure of what to do to appease him.

But of course, he wouldn't let her speak.

"How the fuck dare you do all the shit you did, dumbass!?" screamed he with his typical gravelly voice. His vocal chords could snap with all the anger he contained, for when he was told she was actually there, he had been decided on murdering her. "You thinkin' you're the goddess of this nation pulling the shit you did!? How fucking entitled are you to go behind our backs into whatever business you did and making us believe you were dead?"

Uraraka didn't turn yet. Her hands were clenched into fists as the truth she had been dodging hit her in the face. He always made her confront her fears, for better and for worse. This time wasn't any different, and it made her feel so nauseatingly bad. Her teeth were gritted, the silence covered their conversation. The grip on his weapon faltered, he let out a pant, and spoke again.

"I fucking thought you were dead, bitch." mumbled he. He… didn't look angry anymore. If anything, he sounded tired and that made Uraraka finally turn around to face him, cornered against the door. "I fucking mourned for a traitor. I let myself be fucking beaten up because they blamed me, roundface, they fucking blamed me."

If they meant the guild, then a part of her believed him. Another part of her was plenty disappointed they'd blame a mourning leader for the passing of somebody else. She was overcome with the need to reach out and hug him, knowing he probably wouldn't hurt her now– but her hands trembled, lacking the courage[3] to take it a step further. "Bakugou…"

His free hand rubbed his face, and if she didn't know him better – she really hoped she did – she'd say he was close to tears. He was trembling as well, as if too moved by her presence to actually articulate what he was feeling. "You fooled me. You tricked me. You ran away after all that shit… I wanna fucking kill you, y'know."

Uraraka held her breath, and her shoulders were suddenly up again until she was unconsciously covering her neck. She wanted to speak. She wanted to hug him like that time when they had been stranded and he had saved her life. She felt unforgivable as if she had killed a part of him, that small part she foolishly believed she had harvested in him. With time, she had been proven he didn't give a crap about her. Still, her dainty hands had held out for that hope.

This was the worst time to see that hope flourishing. He spoke again, ragged and so, so heavy. "I fucking wanna want to kill you. I wanna feel that shit again, I wanna fucking hate you for what you did because it's the shittiest thing you could fucking do…" he was closing in, protecting his heart again and, in the process, breaking hers. "I wanna feel like you betrayed us."

Which she did, deep down, and everyone knew it. Why was he… so ambivalent about it, then? "I'm… sorry." her voice didn't break, but her heart did. "I just… felt it was the best for everyone."

"How the hell is it best for you to fucking make everyone feel like they had lost a peer!?" his voice rose again. "Fuck! How did you even make it here with a straight face knowing what everyone probably went through!? You ain't stupid, you sure damn knew what happened!"

"Do you think I don't know!?" screamed she back, poking his naked chest with her finger as she tiptoed to face him, an improper frown on her features. "I am not here by will! Trust me that I ain't the fucking goddess you all deem me to be: I make mistakes, I am still resentful for them and I am not even ready to be here!"

He smirked in a truthfully mean way. How he was still clutching the blade was alarming in many ways. "Oh, little miss fucking sunshine can't fucking get her shit together and face us now? I fucking wonder why!"

"Again, I just wanted to stop feeling like a damn mouse under your watch! You aren't being watched or limited or just judged by how you fight!" counteracted she. Frustration brimmed at her eyes. "Do you even know what it feels like to be frustrated with yourself and not know what to do? I was offered a better opportunity!"

"Are you saying we fucking treated you badly now!?"

Uraraka jabbed his chest again with an accusing glare. "You are the one who tried to shelter me because you were scared of my fucking power!" he gritted his teeth at this because he instantly wanted to deny that, but words were stuck in his throat. "If you hadn't tried to stop me and given me the answers I wanted, I wouldn't have looked for them out of here!"

"The fuck!?" he finally took his weapon out of the door's wood after wiggling it a little. "How can you even say the most powerful hunter of this village and potentially nation is scared of someone like you!?"

Uraraka squared her glare and leveled it on him. "I still defeated you at the tournament, didn't I?"

That completely made him shut up.

Uraraka crossed her arms and looked at him daringly, his teeth gritting at her sudden bravado. "I don't care how much you wanna deny my progress, I have demonstrated I can look for it on my own." in a fashion similar to his, she whipped her cloak to a side. A part of her brain was telling her this wasn't her– and she was enjoying it so badly. Exploiting this new, more evident side of her against him was all sorts of enjoyable.

She didn't care if he acknowledged her power, or if he– who was she trying to lie to? Of course she cared. A small part of her had always been seeking his approval, as if her progress needed validation from somebody else but her. Even when she knew this was not correct and her own validation was more than enough, somebody as powerful as him was a good reference… and that reference was more important to her than she let on.

One day, though, she decided to move on from that step. Eventually, she stopped wondering if he'd be satisfied, if he would ever care, because deep inside her heart she knew he would never care about anyone else but him. It had taken her too long to realize he had never been good reference, and now that she had him before her, the realization came in cleaner than ever.

His sneer was so terrifyingly arrogant that it made her stop seeing the softness she had harvested, or the small sadness in his wine eyes. She didn't want to see anything like that when she was busy getting stronger and fulfilling her mission. That was his very own motto, wasn't it?

Maybe she was wrong. Actually, she was wrong. She didn't know this, but Bakugou wasn't as hateful as he let on and it was clearly backfiring spectacularly.

He looked at her, over and over. That small woman, the vessel of a powerful soul that was destined to make people underestimate her like he had done in the past. She had never beaten him to the ground, though she did get awfully close for someone of her caliber. And after she had factually taken him down, the fact that she was special and just fucking amazing seemed to shine too bright to his liking.

So bright he was shying away from the light and giving her a graceful view of his back so she'd know she would never catch up again. Even when his heart knew he felt for this girl things that were unspeakable because it'd make things complicated… he couldn't fathom this. He didn't even need to realize his feelings to know they were there and it was fucking gross.

He hated this. He wanted to hate these feelings if it weren't for the fact that she was a fucking blessing and he was too much of a jackass to admit it was great to have her by his side. And he couldn't lie either: he was relieved as hell to see well and stronger.

Bakugou had always seen her power, tried to not let it go too high, failed and actually probably hurt her. And god, she had always been a patient saint with him when he was a damn nightmare. He'd never understand why she put up with him.

If they talked their feelings out the story would have a happy ending.

Too bad.

"I don't want you to mess with my business. I don't need you telling me what to do with my power." repeated Uraraka, taking a step further so their foreheads were an inch apart. In their banter, they failed to realize they were too close. "You don't need to worry about me threatening you anymore, and don't worry– I won't even try to be with you anymore. I can tell it will be for fucking nothing in the end."

They had somehow ended inches apart and upon realizing this, both their eyes relaxed a little, like they always done. It was almost instinctive to feel a bit loose when they were close to each other, the interest in the other keeping the flame living and thriving when wine and chocolate met in a delicious mix. She became enticing in a way that didn't invite to violence, or arguments, just calmness and the desire to have her closer.

Her skin… it looked so smooth, her eyes so intoxicating and powerful that she could destroy all the towers of his sanity with a sole flutter of her eyelashes and god, he wanted to deny it but this woman had impressed him from the very beginning, how could he deny there was something about her that pushed him closer and closer? They were destined to crash and fall, his brazen attitude doomed to destroy her patience but little did he know, she could wait for him.

She wanted to think she'd always wait. She came to the conclusion now that she could barely stand the tension anymore. However, his wine eyes attracted her like a bee to the honey, his features so disgusted but so annoyingly beautiful– she had never felt this coiling in her belly before at the thought of what having him closer would feel like, taste like.

She blinked slowly, her thoughts suddenly forgotten. But when he lost sight of her eyes and the ocean they brought with them, Bakugou abruptly pulled away and crossed his arms, ignoring whatever that this was had happened. He knew he could go on chasing the flesh he needed, not the one he was currently lusting for. He could survive without the knowledge of what she felt like. He didn't need it.

And for that, he knew that no matter how close they had been, they would destroy[4] each other. And he wouldn't have that skank fucking up his sane and monochrome perfectly fine world.

"I never fucking asked you to tend my ass, don't even go around saying I ain't–"

Uraraka, snapping out of her daze, took a step back loudly and growled loudly like he would always do to her. Just now he had, again, ran away from her when they were making progress– this had been one too many times. It was over.

"I already said it!" it hurt to say it, heartbreak was coiling in the pits of her stomach, but in the end, after a pant of mental drain, she yelled it. "I give up on you!"

The corridor was awkwardly silent after that. Bakugou's eyes flickered with startlement, as if the air had been kicked out of his lungs in the most painful way, and his hands twitched. He looked taken aback, offended, maybe angry even, but she couldn't afford caring about a man like him anymore. Not when he had been dedicating his sweet time to demolishing whatever foundation they built for their relationship. She was tired of him staggering– so she'd be taking a step back for good this time.

"Yeah." she breathed out, breathed in, her eyes lazily fixated into his abs but her eyes were unfocused. He could only wish – his arrogant side, at least – that she was looking at him. Bakugou knew better, though. He wanted to reach out and scream at her all he felt because she was stubborn, she was stupid, and he wanted to scream at himself for being even dumber than the damn terrorist. "I... I'm tired of this. I don't wanna hear your rejections anymore. We– I have better things to worry about."

Uraraka didn't stay to see his reaction turn into a speck of mortification she would have seen. Had she seen the flinch and the shift in his expression, and perhaps she wouldn't be dooming their relationship so quickly. Bakugou's thoughts about reaching out for the only person who genuinely saw him for more than his grumpy façade resonated stronger, but no words left his mouth.

Instead, he saw her turn away, in the same way she had done to face RampAge, and it suddenly dawned on him that whenever Uraraka left… it was because in one way or another, he kicked her out and made her walk away. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Good evening, Bakugou. Hope you rest well."

And the door closed with an ominous thud of disappointment and emptiness, leaving Bakugou alone in the corridor, the sunflowers rotting as his back hunched and he took a step to lay his forehead on the door. His expression was serene, exhausted, sad, just so tired.

He didn't want to be strong anymore. He wanted to let go and let his pride die in the corners of this failed story. He… he didn't want her warmth, the last warmth he had ever felt, to leave his side. And he was already weeks late into this realization.

This was the only time grabbing his weapon wouldn't solve anything.

And with a last whoosh of the wind from a window, the candles were blown into darkness and it was now when Bakugou realized he was, once again, alone.

---

"Sister… what's love?"

Mina promptly turned from her lookout position to look at Ochako with a wrinkled set of eyebrows, unsure if she had heard her right. Her eyes sparkled in confusion, but when she tried to lock their eyes together, she found the brunette was looking at the village that illuminated the meadow under the cliff– their village. She could almost hear the fires cracking under her hands.

"Love." the pink girl tasted the word rolling off her lips, as if it was some candy to lick. It left a tingling feeling in her belly, and another in her heart. She knew this feeling, made her lighter and warmth coil in her veins from inside out, dampening her skin. "That's a super duper easy question you're asking."

In her conundrum, Ochako took a bit to realize the sarcasm in her sister's voice. When she did though, her usual expression of animosity had been wiped clean by one of confusion and thought. "I don't need a book definition. I just…" there was a sigh, then a look edging desperation. "what does it feel like?"

Mina took her fingertip to her cheek and looked at Ochako, then at the fire cackling behind them. Behind the fire slept the boys, back on back and snoring lightly. They had taken the hunting turn and had ended up crashing to sleep pretty quickly. Mina giggled at the scene.

"There are different kinds of love, you see." the big sister curled her arm around the smaller's shoulders. "Do you see the stars? You love them, don't you?"

The sight of stars had always gotten Ochako emotional, tears pricking her eyes as the dots sparkled appreciatively, as if giddy for her attention. There were patches of purple and golden stretched across the sky like mist and dust. The thought of the war ever clouding this view of making it disappear made her heart wrench painfully.

She nodded curtly to not let on more than necessary. "You feel things when you see them– wonder, curiosity, and warmth. You told me one day." she had. Ochako nodded again. "Look at me. You feel good things when you look at me, right?"

It wasn't in her attitude to be sassy or joking to her sister as she was to Katsuki or Kirishima, so she tried to shed a smile for her.

In her distress for her impending mission, the question had fallen onto her shoulders like a boulder. She knew feelings, she had feelings– but there had been a certain sunflower falling out of place, a butterfly flying around her and no matter how much she tried to catch it… she never succeeded to put it a name or quench it.

The smile wasn't natural… but it was there. "You appreciate and love me, you want to protect me! We are family, it's sisterly love!"

Yeah, that sounded very fair and realistic. Finally, Mina pointed at the pair of boys peacefully sleeping on the tree's trunk. Uraraka trailed her eyes slowly to them and immediately softened at the view of them so calm when they would always be bantering and screaming at each other. It was out of character for them to look so idle and tranquil. The girl's lips threatened to spread into a smile.

"Look at those two. They are sleeping soundly and looking so calm it's impossible not to smile for them. Katsuki's so invested in the hunt– I had never seen him so intent on getting something done before." and this wasn't by any means a lie.

While Katsuki displayed certain disdain to mundane subjects that didn't concern him, he was sure interested in this, even if it shouldn't be of his interest in the slightest. This was meant to prevent a war, but why was he doing this if it didn't benefit his allies? True, he had shown mercy to the other side of the war all the time, but he was still Ochako's enemy at war. His side could still win the war and have massive benefits from that victory.

Ochako didn't want to understand it because her morality escaped from these dark themes of greed and insanity, but it made sense for them to want to eradicate her kind. She'd never let them, but why was Katsuki helping her stop the war?

"Strange, right?" muttered she, no suspicion in her voice as she didn't mistrust him enough to believe he was a being made of light. She wanted to think she wouldn't be disappointed.

Mina shook her head with a smile. She was just as naïve as Ochako. "You betcha." Mina took a deep breath and sighed. "You also feel it, don't you?"

The other blinked and looked at Mina, perplexed. "Feel what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" another breath, deep and smooth. "The warmth for them, that radiant feeling coiling at your chest. Feels nice, right?"

Right, it did feel nice. She couldn't lie about that. But still, the kind of warmth that Kirishima and Katsuki issued was so different from one another. While good ol' horsey Harold was this human sack of warmth and hugs and laughs, there was something about Katsuki that, while he was the opposite from that, there was something interesting around him that made her attracted to him like a moth to a flame. No matter the danger of being incinerated, she still gravitated around him like the moon around the Earth, probably destined to crash and burn to the ground and be reduced to ashes.

What was it that made his smirks, his snarky comments and just him so alluring? Why didn't her brain seem to have a say in this?

The butterfly in her heart fluttered out of her and twirled to a stop, and like a magnet flying to the metal, it stretched Ochako's heartstrings to Katsuki's slumped body, and the small little interesting bug landed on Katsuki's heart, melting, and making her eyes glow in wonder and surprise as even when the world had never stopped spinning, it was suddenly rotating out of control.

She wanted to smile. Her heart trumpeted inside her ribcage and almost leaped out of her throat, a knot made of her voice tightening uncomfortably yet so deliciously tight. Mina spoke but it was all a distant echo for the younger girl. "You get it now, do you?"

Mina had barely explained anything, but all of a sudden, Ochako had understood absolutely everything. And even when it felt wrong, she smiled– she smiled knowing it would never be, that she was an alien to him, and she'd be lost in his space forever.

"Yeah. I do."

---

Uraraka woke up in the middle of the night and knew exactly what this felt like. She had felt this before, in the past, in a hidden place of her memory that broke her heart asunder just at the thought of how much things had changed from one place and time to another.

Her heart was beating fast, her cheeks were flustered, and she palmed the nightstand by her table in panic. She didn't even remember falling asleep to begin with, just knew she was waking up when a choking sensation filled her heart. There were no signs of rest in her body, though, or any traces of calm in her stormy irises.

Her first instinct after that kind of dream was to jot it down to keep track of the series of images she was being presented, only to realize she had probably left it at the residence mornings ago and had been unable to retrieve it after Bakugou's ambush on her. She was positively scared of both forgetting about the story and somebody discovering it and sharing it with the wrong hands.

It's not like they were forbidden dreams like someone lusting for the devil, but she'd probably be seen that way in some people's eyes. And the way her dreams depicted that little girl was all too familiar.

Much to her startlement, it was still dark outside. There was no sign of the sun appearing soon to start the rough and complicated day she had ahead– because she knew that now cooperating with Bakugou would be even more complicated than it needed to be. She was open to cooperating and then leaving them be so their guild would be traitor-less once more, why did he have to be so stubborn on framing her that soon.

With these thoughts in mind, Uraraka sat on the bed, all blankets ruffled to her lap and rubbed her face with both hands. There was this increasing need to scream into her palms, but it occurred to her there were people sleeping nearby. Still, she knew that she wouldn't be sleeping again any time soon, and sighed because this was probably the night she'd need to sleep the most.

Uraraka jumped off the bed and when her hand reached out for one of the shawls she had been given, a shiver ran down her spine at the memory. Her getting a shawl to cover her shoulder always ended on something good or something bad, but yet again she was freaking cold and whatever beliefs on destiny had to wait their turn.

However, she didn't lit up any candles to not tempt fate that hard. The ghosts of her once good past didn't need to come back and hunt her down.

She wasn't certain of the structure of the building. She missed the moonlight shining down at her back at the village, and the small breeze that was filtering through the mildly closed window that led to a small balcony. Gently, Uraraka padded to the window and opened it. The door opened with a clack and a groan of the hinges after such long time of no use. Not much people must bother taking a moment to breathe out, breathe in, and bask in the glow of the night.

Silence permeated the air around her in a pregnant, everlasting tension. She cast her eyes up into the sky, the view so familiar yet so awfully distant from home, her heart throbbing in nostalgia. The residence they were staying in was far away from the city, on the hills that surrounded the Capital and out of the walls. Knowing this guild, they probably had a way through the walls. They weren't the top tier guild for no reason.

The sorcerer sighed and draped the shawl tighter around her frame, her eyes downcast again in deep thought. She sometimes wondered how it would have been if she had stayed in that village, wrapped in love with the people who whispered a probably plastic love and warmth, striking familiarity, love, admiration… and even when she had tried to run away, she was here. With them.

The awkwardness and irony of the situation only made her wonder if it had been her who had made the decision to leave or it had been some higher entity. Uraraka looked up to the stars. Surely, she couldn't hear the voices and the deities, but they were probably there, mocking her. If only she knew.

She sighed again, looking down at the lights that shone in the city. It was so awe striking to see a mass of lights like that when she knew it was all candles and fire, all rebelling against the starlit sky. There was a mistful breeze blowing her tresses as tranquility washed over her like the rush of the sea, putting her at ease. The Capital looked so beautiful, bathed in candlelights like a crown of lights.

It was a shame somebody was seeking to destroy such a treasure, lurking underground.

"Oi, what's the long face for?"

Uraraka quickly whipped around to be met with a familiar douchebag sitting on the roof of the ceiling, watching her with a bored expression. Whatever he had to do there wasn't anything he was enjoying, anything he wanted to do and he could go to hell for all she cared. "Bakugou! What the hell are you doing here?"

The leader snarled. One of his arms was bent over his knee, looking at her as if she had pissed him off greatly. "The hell? That ain't your business."

"It is when this is my bedroom and I literally told you a few hours ago to leave me alone!" exclaimed Uraraka in a whisper, making her irritation clear as Bakugou leaped over to her level, walking to her side casually. "Were you watching me? Are you being serious right now?"

He growled at her and kept his voice as peeved yet not as low as it should have been. "Have you ever seen me do shit half-assed and fool around?" he didn't wait for her to answer though Uraraka had something to say about that. "Then shut up. I was just on duty. I am still a leader during the night, don't make this all about yourself!"

The lie was so badly explained Bakugou screamed internally at himself for the fake act. Uraraka blinked at him and, while parts of her heart warmed because he was somewhat showing they had had progress since their first encounter, she was too angry at him to see his intentions clearly. "You had enough times to redeem yourself. What even is this for?" her hands bunched at the shawl as his fisted in his pockets. It brought back many faded memories to their minds. "Are you here to tell me I'm a bitch? That I'm a traitor not worth your time, a terrorist?"

She was again talking without thinking but what was she gonna do? Was she supposed to stay put all her life and let him badmouth her unfairly? Of course not.

Uraraka crossed her arms and looked ahead. She was well aware of the rustle of his clothes as he walked closer. Only now did she notice he didn't have his cape on, making his figure all the more enticing and… she gulped, remembering the thoughts prior to her sleep, and blushed in a small shade of pink she immediately shook away. Her feelings weren't fleeting leaves, she would stay mad at him and give him twice of his attitude back to him.

"Leave me alone, Bakugou."

He let out an angry noise of disapproval. Expected, yet still sickeningly disappointing. "Uraraka–"

"I said leave me alone!" she let out, defensively, starting to build up her walls to start telling herself that her kindness had been taken for granted once, criticized, and that she wouldn't let herself go so easily as she had done with him. "I just wanna–!"

"Fucking shut up already! How many times do I have to tell you to not interrupt your leader?" his arms tensed, shook, palms outstretched and small curtains of smoke steaming from them. He was ready to attack her if she didn't shut up no matter the unbreakable tranquility of the night. Only Bakugou could dare jeopardize a sanctuary like this. "I have shit to say and I ain't gonna repeat it twice. So you can sit down, pout all you wanna or pretend I don't exist but you are gonna hear it anyway."

Uraraka promptly crossed her arms even tighter yet, just as a bow of respect, decided to listen carefully. The man watched her curiously and as many times as he tried to catch her glare with hers there was no way she'd acknowledge his attempts. He had expected her to be more understanding, but also knew that after so many tries on her part to fix their strained and chaotic friendship she had grown tired of his shenanigans.

And now here they were, standing beside each other at a loss of words. After so much time of wasted bonding, bantering, and explaining, they seemed as if they had run out of words to say to the other how much they felt for the other, whether it was love or hatred. There was a hint of defeat in his unbeatable wine irises. After so much time of her being gone he still respected her, he still admired her, she was still a valuable asset.

And as time had gone on and he had come to the tragic realization of his feelings, Bakugou had sank into utter despair and confusion. Many scenarios of him making things right no matter how much she walked away, dreams in which he caught up to her and her kindness hadn't been thrown to waste. Many scenarios in which he could bring her back to his side.

Bakugou felt for the ghost of her, mourned the thought of her, but now that he had her in front of him he was at a loss of what to do to bring her back to the shore.

When he spoke again, his tone was undeniably soft. His body was present, but his mind had wandered into the depths of his troubled mind, eyes closed and taking a deep breath.

"My mother was another traitor like you."

Uraraka's eyes rose an inch in realization that this was like light being thrown to the troubles of her mind, then shifting to gaze up to him in surprise and amazement, never having heard him speak so slow, so cautious, as if tender for one second and his fierce nature had been replaced with bashful thoughtfulness and reposition. Realizing this was probably a topic too sensitive for him, her hand tingled to reach for his arm and rub it. She didn't, just twitched and bit her lip.

She looked at him in alarm. "Wait, you don't need to…"

"I'm not gonna fucking talk about this again so if this will stop your bitching, you better quit it. I'm not gonna have you whining around my people for a fucking apology or closure. Just shut it and let me talk, roundface."

There he was again with that goddamn awful nickname, but she still closed her mouth and crossed her arms. She felt partly guilty for making him think this would solve their issues– but couldn't he see that spilling some shit about their past would absolutely not help their situation? Above all, she couldn't want this when he was feeling forced to do it. She knew her anger towards him was completely reasonable after how much he had held their progress back with his stubborn pride and unexplainable fury towards her kind. She appreciated the thought, but how would this help?

She wanted to be even angrier. Uraraka couldn't find the heart to be madder at somebody who was opening their heart like that. It didn't make things better, but it didn't make them worse either. She'd at least be polite and listen.

"We lived somewhere far away from this country for all I know. There was no water, no shit, just forests and a small well somewhere around." his gaze was cast at the moon in deep thought. She could tell he was averting her gaze and focusing on the breeze around them. "My mom knew how to do shit like you, y'know. She was one of those people who are either jinxed or born with magic, like Hagakure or you I guess."

Uraraka was dumbfounded at his statement. So his mother was a fucking sorcerer and he had been so hell-bent on hating her kind all this time? What was up with his double standards? She was about to say something but for once bit her tongue and let him go on.

"The Council saw her one day on an expedition. She was fooling around with us and some others when this troop of a fuckton of soldiers came and basically took her away. We were taken with her, just because we were thought to be of use to this shitty government as well." a government full of shadows and corruption. Uraraka hoped this era hadn't been a thing while Bakugou was there to witness it. "Everything is a blur, and I'm not gonna give you a fucking sight of my fucking childhood but I was as lonely as a damn wolf."

Alone? It seemed hard to be alone in such a city, but when he had no family around that was much probably being used for military purposes – or so she anticipated – it made sense he felt lonely. Just imagining a little barbarian lost in the city with no parents and no way to find friends… it made her so sad. Thinking his ego, his fear for people and his trust issues came from such a complex root made her feel bad for thinking him to be just a plain jerk.

She had always known he was more than a hard wall with even harder muscles, but being told it had a story behind made her feel a sense of depth she wouldn't have expected in him– or at least, living to hear about it.

"One day," there was a deep breath taken with staggering pulse. "my mom was sent to explore the area of the north. When the disruptions of RampAge were starting to get serious, those assholes took the hint and sent their elite soldiers there, where my mother and father were included, naturally."

She could tell where this story was going, she could feel pieces already clicking together, but she tried to hold the realization in and listen to the story.

"She got too curious. She knew what her power could do, it was destructive like no other. She got too fucking confident." Bakugou had talked to a point he seemed to ignore her presence and just talk to himself. "She dared face the devil itself, go against it when she was just a fucking worm compared to the monstrosity it was back then. She… paid a fucking hard price for her confidence– everyone paid a hard price for her confidence."

All went silent, a void of no sound where all she could hear were the distant critters and the breeze. Uraraka could suddenly understand many things, see the small and brief glisten of his eyes, the ground opened beneath her feet and attempted to swallow her whole. Grief coated her eyes in realization that of course he'd hate her kind, because– because–

"You sorcerers are just cocky, confident little shits that don't take anything into consideration." Bakugou's heart throbbed inside his ribcage, a fist on his heart as if trying to soothe it after so many years of storm in the ocean of his brave mind. "She betrayed me. She told me she'd be back, but her fucking greed for victory and justice took my parents away, because she wanted to keep us safe from a useless threat. You sorcerers just don't take anything into consideration, don't you?"

Uraraka felt speechless at the pure and absolute hatred he let free in his words despite knowing his fury had lessened lately– not faded, but dimmed considerably. Regardless, she needed a small clarification. "So… you hate us, because you're grieving?"

The blonde, of course, looked at her as if she had gotten the whole story– his whole story, his fucking background, his foundations, completely wrong. "The fuck? No! I just fucking–"

"You just told me your mother betrayed you… because she died, Bakugou, because she left to do what was best for her family and the civilization as a whole." interrupted Uraraka with a soft voice, aware that he'd snap if she wasn't cautious enough. "Because she made you unhappy and went against your wishes, because she abandoned you. And that's why you think I was always bound to betray you, right? Because I was… a sorcerer, too."

That was an awfully basic way to put it but… she was right. His own traumas had somehow given birth to this monster who was still, deep in his mind, hell-bent on thinking that if he cared for a sorcerer again, he'd end up heartbroken again. He could already feel Uraraka's eyes of pity on him and he fucking despised it– he didn't want her pity to solve things, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to solve things seeing what her current status was like: a runaway with no purpose and no ties.

Bakugou knew Uraraka would leave again. The ties of his guild hadn't been enough once, they would very likely not be enough once more. The thought was so misery-striking it gave him a sinking feeling that made him angry, made him know he had made a mistake, knowing she'd betray him again–

"I didn't mean… to leave that way. I can't lie and say I didn't know you'd be pissed that somebody would leave the guild so suddenly or just… go against a big enemy like that. I also wanted to protect you all and find a breakthrough." explained she, and by the way he looked at her in royal annoyance she could tell he was taking her seriously, for once. "I didn't mean to betray you, but that was the price to pay."

Bakugou stayed in silence for a minute, curling his fingers into the stone railing of the balcony. If he said what he was about to say, there were big chances she would get even cockier with him and her sass would show up more often (not that he thought it was bad, he secretly was nuts for it). Still, looking at the situation unlike he had done a few times before, he knew he had to look at the context of all of this and, for once, push it aside for the sake of their operation and her stay.

If he wanted her to stay, even if he would never admit it, then he'd risk being sincere before being a brash liar. However, before he could speak, Uraraka interrupted him softly to explain. She would give him the explanation she should have provided the very first day.

"I know it hurts to have a painful reminder of what your mother did. I know you resent the way she left you behind and how many trust issues it must generate." and after what she said before about giving up on him, no wonder he had come to apologize. The fear must still be rooted deep within him and made him fearful of losing what little genuine care he received. Uraraka had known all along that he appreciated it, even if it was in secret. "I always meant to be kind to you, Bakugou. I never meant to do what I did but I grew… desperate."

"I know."

Uraraka looked up and, to his surprise, he was looking back at her with a genuine gaze that he knew would convey what he wanted to say: he was still angry at her, but deep inside, he understood.

"I don't condone your actions but I can fucking understand why you did what you did. If I had been told over and over again to be just an ant when I can be a bear, I'd grow sick of it too. I know I screwed up big time as well, and while I fucked up by somewhat pushing you out, you fucked up by doing things the way you did and taking the wrong side." seeing him be so cautious and somewhat just peeved made her realize he had been thinking about this. A lot.

However, she was aware of the fact that he was absolutely right. He had a big part on this issue, but she had also played hooky and left without any sort of explanation. If anything, she had acted like a bitch for not even saying goodbye to anyone and pretending to be dead and gone. The way they had done things, overall, was just a mess.

Bakugou was an intelligent man. It was almost impossible for him to apologize due to pride issues, but always found ways to make things right his own way.

Uraraka didn't know for how long she'd stay around (not forever, she knew, because she had another bigger quest to solve against the timelines, and Bakugou probably knew this), but she'd make sure she fixed things.

"I'm… sorry, Bakugou." spoke Uraraka with all her heart, a hand on her chest and a pained expression of sadness and regret. "I can't say my decision was the worst, but I'm sorry for the way it affected you all." her eyes were narrowed in bitter realization. "I was always sure you'd maybe even be glad that I was gone on the long run."

The leader gritted his teeth. "How the fuck do you expect me to be glad one of my best warriors is fucking dead, Uraraka? If you thought I was gonna be throwing a party after somebody I..."

The girl blinked, and looked at him again in confusion, but deep in her mind she had a dim conclusion of what he was trying to convey after tonight. "Somebody you…?"

Bakugou wrinkled his nose and stared at her with a bored yet trademark angry expression."You already fucking know. If I gotta repeat myself after all this you clearly are a dumbass." he looked away into the horizon and into the city, glancing out at the lights

It took her a few seconds to process the information and when she did, her mouth formed a small "o" to then fade into a smile of understanding. He had said it before, there at the river when they were stranded, hadn't he? He had told her in a thousand different stupid ways that he cared for her, deep inside. He was all teeth and bones, but he also had a heart.

In the end, the faith Uraraka had put in him and all the patience she had had with him had blossomed into this development.

Uraraka's heart felt undeniably light after it. "Oi, roundface!"

Felt so light that, in fact, she was absent-mindedly floating up with gone eyes and sprayed hair. Her knees bent, her uniform blowing in the breeze and her face finally one of tranquility with the closure and peace she deserved after being so damn patient with him… and he couldn't lie, the view of the sorcerer in such peace gave him a small sense of pride.

Before he could marvel around it any further her expression broke into one of startlement. "Oh, shit!"

The leader had to grab her wrist before she was gone into outer space, deadpanning. "You gotta learn how to control that shit, Uraraka. I ain't gonna have you floating to the moon every time you get happy about some crap."

He was grabbing her like a balloon, as if he actually treasured her for once, and just after so long of fighting against him and keeping breaking his walls little by little, it was good to pull back and see the progress, even if it had taken a death and a half for her to get there. It looked like they would someday be friends. Maybe, she'd be able to chase his demons away before she inevitably left for good.

The thought had her giddy in excitement for their strengthened bond, but her expression turned mortified at such childish display. Her eyes reflected the glorious shimmer of the moon as she floated some feet above him, looking at her leader with a mixture of embarrassment and joy that not even he could deny her. A part of him knew that he had done the right thing by being honest– a sap, but still honest.

Seeing such a true expression of happiness come back when he had seen in her the very first day, yet had robbed from her made him feel light as well. Bakugou could feel that gross heat branch from his heart to his being and he fucking hated the effect she had on him when she was her true self. Uraraka was a powerhouse, she was kickass, but he liked this side of her better when they weren't throwing punches at the other. His back had wings embedded to it, he wanted to soar and fly into the promises of her eyes.

She wouldn't stay for long. His guildmates, at least the vast majority, thought she'd be there to stay and never leave, but he knew best– he could only try to keep her grounded for so long. But he'd make sure they closed their business before the fated day came.

The blonde looked to his side as a surge of conflicted feelings rose anew, knowing he would only get to see that smile for a limited amount of time, that they'd fight against and alongside each other for just a period of time. But he could live with that. Somebody who had impressed him and made their way into his heart only deserved his respect.

"Tch, stop looking down at me like fucking Deku and get back down." muttered he. Bakugou gently tugged her down, slowly pushing her to the ground once more. "You're ridiculous."

Seconds later, she was down before him. Their bodies were merely separated by a breath, chests a kiss away and his hand still gripping her wrist as if fearful she'd go again. His expression was undeniably molten for somebody who had suffered of abandonment issues so long ago and so badly. He seemed afraid he'd be abandoned once again when he had just experienced what being cared for so passionately was about.

Bakugou was undeniably both soft and stern when it came to her and they were alone like this. But no other person had ever triggered this unknown desire to be by her side. And he didn't want to let go of that unknown feeling that made him weak and human for once in his life.

This feeling… it was impossible to explain, the hidden adoration he felt for this stubborn, strong and sweet terrorist of his. One he fucking hated but at the same time absolutely loved. His body begged to get closer to her, his brain screaming at him for being weak out of character. He couldn't find the strength to care or to let go after knowing this feeling existed.

She didn't want to let go, either. Uraraka could only dare blink and say, "I'm sorry, Bakugou." for having left and before the time came for her to leave him again. "I'm so sorry."

He could see through her as if she was a transparent sheet of water. "I know." he sighed tiredly. She could see the apology in front of her as if it was a damn mountain, and for now, that was enough. There was no pleasure in seeing things be solved this way, but she was glad he was at least sorry like she was. "Trust me… I fucking know."

Maybe it was just a second what transpired with them looking at each other both sternly and kindly, feeling their hearts take a leap to be closer together, and it wasn't until she realized how close they were that unlike he had done before, she wiggled free from his grip and wrapped her arms around his body, palms on his naked back, cheek on his chest listening to his heart throb painfully against his ribcage. He was warm, like a sunny day in spring with a warmth that healed your body from inside out, spraying her with a tingling feeling of euphoria.

And, miraculously, as if this was meant to be, he wrapped his around her waist, another hand pressing her head to his chest as if telling her to listen to his heart, because it wasn't beating that loudly in response to his anger at her– because trust him he was still angry, but he would let it go if it meant keeping her anchored to his side. His digits tangled into her chestnut locks and his nose buried itself on the crown of her head.

Bakugou let a second pass, then his hold on her tightened a notch. "Just…" a growl of irritation, because he never thought he'd be saying this shit to her, of all people. "Don't fucking die again." a second passed and he knew he didn't need to say this for he still did out of stubborness. "Also you better not tell anybody about this or I'm murdering you myself."

A small hearty chuckle was heard from her, which sunk into his heart slowly, like a feather. "Got it. But then… don't push me to the edge, alright?"

His shoulders heavened into a sigh of either relief or vexation, he couldn't know which, for the person he had in his arms made him so fucking angry yet so damn different and just happy with all the fights they had had, all their bickering, all of their everythings he just couldn't see a traitor anymore. It was just Uraraka, his fighting partner, the one who had bathed in crimson underneath his screaming to grow into this miracle of a warrior and a dear, admirably ally to his heart.

But for now he could only feel her body against hers, smile just an inch and say, "Whatever." because he'd have enough time to show her that her faith hadn't been misplaced.

And for her… for now, that was all she wanted.

Because in the wake of a new adventure and after feeling like she had been asleep forever, in the embrace of the beast who howled at the moon, Uraraka's heart beated for the first time in forever and came to an unmistakable, fated conclusion that slapped her in the face. It was so sudden when it dawned on her that she felt like she was choking, dying in the flesh, and held him tighter.

Uraraka was in love with Bakugou and she was suddenly absolutely and utterly terrified.