Time to Relax

Uraraka couldn't believe it. Somehow they were able to pay of next month's bill…early? Was that possible?

But she stared at her account, knowing full well that it was true. The money for next month had been given in a week before their deadline.

It took Uraraka to realize that the reason her cheeks were hurting was because her smile was so wide. "EEE!" She couldn't help but squealing while falling back in her chair. Somehow, she-no, they had done it. With Bakugou's help they had managed to pay off the month's bill early and with money to spare. Jiro was right, Uraraka really should have started renting out rooms.

Uraraka was so excited, she sprinted out of the kitchen and to the backyard. Bakugou's ship was looking much better, though it didn't look much like a boat. The bottom half was nearly complete, completely filled with no holes and showed a masters workmanship. He had metal wings lying next to each side but not attached yet. And there was a large, transparent dome at the side that Uraraka guessed was supposed to be the top. It looked more like a tourist submarine than it did a boat. Where the heck did he learn to make that? Uraraka wondered.

Ignoring it for the time, Uraraka rushed around the back where there were rough wooden stairs made for an entrance inside. Bakugou was, of course, working on the control area. There were a lot more wires, a number of screens around and some systems that looked like they were old sound machines or video game parts. Uraraka hoped he got these from the dumpster and didn't steal any of them. As she walked closer, she noticed in the corner was a pile of old parts. Only the wooden box was identifiable as the record player. Looking closer, she could tell that all the parts were from the record player. There were signs of an attempt to put it back together, but no victory. One part actually looked worse than before, as if out of frustration Bakugou had gone on a rage and broken part of it. Seeing the sight of her record player destroyed was disheartening…But the fact that Bakugou had tried to put it back together again lifted her spirits.

Some people she loved were gone…but new relationships were being created.

Smiling, Uraraka strolled over to Bakugou. He was working with some metal, sparks flying around him as he worked. He probably had a blowtorch or something. If that was the case, she was worried he wasn't wearing any safety equipment. "Bakugou!" she exclaimed happily. Her companion was so startled he whirled around, eyes wide open at the interruption.

"You-" Spinning back around, Uraraka assumed he cleaned up what he was doing and shut off the blowtorch before turning back to her, face turned hard into a glare. "Don't f #$%%g sneak up on me! I could have been untransfor- You could have made me slip up!"

"You make mistakes?"

"NO!"

"Then why are you worried?" Uraraka teased with a giggle. Bakugou snarled again, but couldn't think up a comeback in time. Instead Uraraka tried to see around him to the desk. "Where did you get a blowtorch?"

"A what?" He asked, confused.

"To fuse the parts together! You…." But when Uraraka looked around him, there was no blow torch on the desk. Had I just imagined the sparks just now? "Where…where did the fire come from just now?"

Uraraka wasn't paying attention enough to notice Bakugou look disturbed. "There was no fire. You're seeing things." He couldn't blow his cover just yet. He needed her to think he was just an ordinary human so she wouldn't cause a panic.

While she was confused, Uraraka decided there was no point in dwelling on it. Instead she focused on Bakugou again and showed him one of her biggest smiles ever. Bakugou thought it was so wide, perhaps she was secretly an alien to. "I just finished paying off the house bill for this month~" she told him in a sing-song voice. Bakugou blinked, clearly wondering why this concerned him.

"…You interrupted my work for that?" Uraraka huffed, though there wasn't much malice behind it.

"Bakugou! This is the first time I've been able to pay off the monthly house bill early! I'm that much closer to owning the house!" Again, Bakugou just stared at her, waiting for her to get to the point. Sighing, Uraraka tried again. "…aaand it's thanks to you that I was able to pay it off this month…"

"Get to the point round-face." Ah, round-face again. He must have been really busy with whatever he was working on.

"I wanted to thank you!" Uraraka explained. "I mean, I promise I will pay you back for everything when I can." Bakugou's scowl depend when she said that. He didn't give two craps about her paying him back. What did he need human money for? If she was going to promise him anything, her undying servitude and an oath of loyalty would be better. "So I was thinking that we should go do something! To, you know, celebrate! Maybe use a bit of the extra money to see a movie, or we can walk around town, maybe go for a hike…"

Bakugou's eyes lit up at that. Ah, so she wanted to return the favour through physical means. He doubted that she would be able to help build the ship…and there wasn't that much he wanted to see on this measly planet…On the other hand, if she was offering to do physical actions… "Learn to fight."

Uraraka drew back when Bakugou interrupted her listing off ideas. "What?"

"Learn to fight. Or at least as much as a human can fight," He added for good measure. "You have the body of a fighter, so learn to fight back against stupid humans like that man at the bar." While crossing his arms Bakugou added, "And maybe after getting stronger yourself, you would be able to see just how much of a weakling Deku is." Bakugou sneered at that.

On the other hand Uraraka had to hold back a sigh when he insulted her best friend. Again. "Bakugou, I can fight," Uraraka reminded him. "I helped knock that guy down, remember?" After a moment to think about it, she lit up. "Oh! But we can go sparring! Do you know any martial arts or forms of boxing? We can head down to the gym next to the firehouse! I'm allowed to use it whenever I want, and it would only cost you ten dollars to get in for the day." Maybe not even that.

Bakugou on the other hand raised an eyebrow. Sparring? There was no way the human had any chance of even making him break a sweat. "Sounds like a stupid idea."

After a pause Uraraka pretended to not be paying attention to Bakugou as she spoke. "I used to train there with Todoroki sometimes…"

"LET'S GO! MOVE YOUR A # I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW TO FIGHT BETTER THAN THAT HALF-AND-HALF B #$%D EVER COULD!"

Inwardly, Uraraka beamed. Easier than stealing candy from a baby.

"This is where the human works?"

Kirishima pretended to laugh when they got a few odd looks. "Uh, Aizawa? I found out pretty quickly that humans get confused when you refer to them as only…humans."

It had taken a while before Aizawa agreed to come to the firehouse. Most of the mission he would groan at the idea of visiting the human villages. He'd much rather work on the data they'd found or take a nap in his pod. The only reason Kirishima had been able to convince him to come was because he'd said it would help him find Bakugou. The only reason Aizawa claimed he would go outside was if they had information on Bakugou. When he realized they were just going to find more information on his human, he wasn't too happy. But after the first few weeks of no hope, Aizawa was just grateful they had finally found him.

Well, sort of. Kirishima had. And so far, they had only found more questions.

When Kirishima had returned saying that his human friend knew Bakugou, Aizawa was skeptical that she'd found the same person. Then Kirishima had been able to meet with him.

"Well?" Aizawa had asked. "What happened?"

"…First off, he didn't recognize me."

That had made Aizawa raise one eyebrow. "What?"

"As an alien. He thought I was another human. That's why I didn't realize it was Bakugou until he gave his name. I thought he grew up learning about other alien lifeforms! Shouldn't he be able to identify another one?" Kirishima had looked so perplexed that it was like teaching him to use a sonic engine all over again.

"I don't know the full details of Bakugou's life. But its possible Overhaul didn't think that Bakugou recognizing whether someone was disguising themselves or not was important. Besides, a majority of aliens can't disguise themselves to look human and earth is the only world where it would even be necessary. He probably thought the odds of it being useful were slim, so he wasn't trained for it." Strange. In the military, they were trained to spot the signs of any alien who may be disguising their features. Only a few species could actually do it without technological help, but it was still important to know.

Kirishima remembered the first words Bakugou spoke to him. "Who the F#$k is this f #$$#r?"

He blinked in surprise. "Um…Kirishima?"

"Name doesn't ring a bell," the blonde man had said before grabbing the door. "Go away."

"Hey!" Jiro kicked at the door before he could close it. "Don't be rude! Just because you helped pay off one month doesn't mean you own the house now!"

"Eh? And who are you?" the man sneered, leaning forward to leer over Jiro. As he did, Kirishima caught sight of a few things. Present Mic had told him a number of traits that could be used to identify Aliens on earth. One, the red eyes, an easy way to identify an alien since human eyes didn't come in that colour. Two, the grid-like designs on his arms that were likely the indents of his true body. The smile was a bit two wide, but Kirishima couldn't be sure about that. Three though, and the most important one, was that the belt around his pants was clearly not a belt. Any human wouldn't have noticed, but it was clear to see that it moved with Bakugou, not the clothes.

Definitely an alien.

"Jiro!" A voice from behind the man called before a shorter female human popped out. "It's great to see you! And-Kirishima right?" The girls smile became almost suggestive when she glanced back at Jiro. Subtly Jiro had been shaking her head no as her body temperature raised, but Kirishima never figured out why. "I'm Uraraka, so happy to meet you! Jiro has been talking all about you."

"She has?" Kirishima perked up. Jiro groaned while Uraraka contained a giggle.

After noticing the man-alien was still glowering, Uraraka rushed to save them. "Ah, right." Uraraka moved around the alien so she could see them all. "This is my house guest- Bakugou Katsuki! He's really much nicer than he looks."

Kirishima really doubted that. Bakugou? The one they were looking for? Even though Jiro had told him where he was, a part of him didn't believe it. Aizawa had said it was impossible that Bakugou could somehow be living peacefully with a human. What Jiro said before confirmed that the metal he was gathering was for a ship, but that didn't explain how he was living with…a human? And that apparently he'd done work to help them keep their house? Why? Aizawa had said he would probably think more about destroying a house than helping them keep it. The behaviour was so out of character for what was supposed to be a deranged criminal that Mic wondered of Bakugou Katsuki happened to be a popular name. Aizawa on the other hand had showed the first signs of hope that Kirishima had seen in him the whole trip.

"Sorry about him," Uraraka said carelessly putting a hand on Bakugou's shoulder. Kirishima instinctively held his breath, preparing for the onslaught. But, to his surprise, all that Bakugou did was snarl at her before turning back to glare at him. Bakugou Katsuki was supposed to be an untameable creature that did not listen to sense, had no recollection of right or wrong and would kill someone just for looking at them weird. This was…not like the villain Kirishima was promised. "Come on!" Uraraka laughed. "We should eat! I ordered pizza!"

"YOU ordered the pizza?" Jiro said, stunned. "I mean- I'm sorry, that came out weird,"

"Its fine," Uraraka laughed. "It's thanks to Bakugou!" She faced Bakugou, and Kirishima was sure he didn't imagine the little sparkle in her eyes.

And, to his utter shock, he also noticed when Bakugou, the merciless killing machine, looked away as if he was embarrassed. "Whatever."

Uraraka smiled like she was used to it. "Come on in! Dinner will get cold!"

Kirishima had reported back to his superiors that day absolutely stunned. "He was…not acting like the villain everyone says he is. I mean, he's still pretty mean, grumpy and ready to pick a fight with anyone. Judging from his strength he's certainly strong enough to take over the world. But dudes, he isn't. The guy is actually not that bad once you get to know him."

The soldier had worried that both his superiors would assume he got bad information and send him back. Luckily, Aizawa eyes shown with a newfound hope and sense of triumph that had been missing the rest of the trip. "I knew he could be good."

"Hey hey hey," Present Mic had interrupted. "He could be putting on an act. Maybe he finds the humans too much of a threat." From the way that Kirishima had seen him acting, he doubted Bakugou was thinking that.

"Or maybe one of them was able to get close enough to show him that he could be good," Aizawa threw back. While cooling down, Aizawa had rested his chin in his palm and gazed into space thoughtfully. "I was expecting that I'd have to bring him to the planet of the Superiors, where they are all trained for emotional maturity. But a human was able to calm him? I wonder what she did…"

It was only the promise of getting more information on this human-and in turn, Bakugou- that was able to convince Aizawa to leave his nest. Aizawa's eyes scanned the setting that humans called a gym, the more simplified version of Kirishima's training arenas. Jiro had showed Kirishima the gym a few weeks back when they decided to work out together one day. He remembered Jiro's face turning red from heat and when he lifted the weights above his head. That had been a good day.

A few humans were staring at the dark heavy clothing Aizawa was wearing. If he cared more he would have tried to dress to fit in. "What are the chances that he will be here today?" Kirishima snapped out of his daydream at Aizawa's question.

"Well, not really likely. But Jiro said that his human works with her and she goes to the gym to blow off steam. I'd bet living with him would mean she is tired a lot." Kirishima shrugged. "It would probably be too dangerous to bring Bakugou to a place like this anyway. I mean, he's still pretty volatile. Keeping him in a crowded place like this with only humans would probably make him mad. I doubt he'd come any time soon."

"He's here."

"Right. We're just here to try and get some more information on his human and through her…" Kirishima trailed off as his mind connected with Aizawa's words. "…What?"

"Move!" In seconds Aizawa had grabbed Kirishima and dragged him into a room Jiro called the 'men's locker room.' they were fortunate it was empty, cause they would certainly be getting odd looks if it wasn't. Kirishima and Aizawa both leaned into the doorway and cracked it open a smidge, just enough so that they could see what was outside.

Sure enough, Kirishima's mouth dropped open as Bakugou followed Uraraka through the door. He was wearing baggy pants and a loose black tank-top that showed off the 'tattoos' on his arms clearly. (Apparently the humans thought they were some form of an inked design.) The snarl was also plain on his face, especially when other humans glanced at him. If he ever caught one of them he'd fix them with a death stare and a growl, usually sending them running back to what they were doing. Uraraka looked like his exact opposite. She strolled through the lobby comfortably, waving hello to friends and smiling at strangers. The human appeared quite bubbly as she went up to the front desk, while Bakugou's movements were tense and frustrated. Just the fact that he was there was the shocking part. What could that human have possibly done?

"Is that,"

"Yeah," Kirishima confirmed. "Her name is Uraraka. He's living at her house. I think she believes he lived in the building he destroyed and offered him a place to stay." Krishima grimaced at the thought. "Kind of sucks that her kindness is being given to the destroyer." Aizawa said nothing. Instead he focused on the two, trying to listen to their conversation.

While he had been with Bakugou, he had done his best to try and advise him, get close to him. He hoped he had given a good start, shown Bakugou something different. But during the passing days Aizawa had realized that he needed more. His personality gave him something different, but just one person wasn't enough to convince a man who had seen cruelty from hundreds. Bakugou needed to see a kind of person he had never seen before. Not another soldier like Aizawa, or another scientist like Overhaul. He needed someone completely different, someone who could show him kindness in a way he would never expect it.

Had the human become that person? Or was this just a temporary fix?

The sound of laughter shocked both of them out of their thoughts. "B-Bakugou, that's a vending machine! How have you never seen a vending machine before?"

"Shut up! What do I care about some weak piece of human technology? It looks useless!" The human giggled before slipping a few pieces of metal into a slot on the machine. She pressed a few more buttons, there were whirling sounds, then the sound of something banging, making Bakugou jump in surprise. With a smile on her face the human reached down and put her hand through a slot at the bottom. Bakugou hissed, probably thinking she was going to pull out a weapon.

Instead he came out with a plastic bottle filled with a red liquid. "See? One strawberry juice. Not so useless, huh?" She tossed the drink to him and he caught it easily. For a moment it seemed like he was carefully surveying the drink. Making sure it wasn't poison or an explosive material.

Then, to Aizawa's shock, Bakugou carelessly opened the bottle and took a quick gulp. "Tsk." He didn't bother arguing with her or proving her wrong. The human grinned happily. "Wipe that f ##$*&g smirk off your face!" Aizawa tensed, ready for the human to run screaming or for Bakugou to tear her face off for disrespect. Instead his human laughed-actually laughed- before easily turning away and guiding Bakugou towards the gym. Aizawa was sure his mouth had dropped open when Bakugou followed without a word. Two things Aizawa was certain of? Bakugou did not trust anyone enough to drink something they gave them right away.

Two? Bakugou HATED being proven wrong.

Yet right before his eyes, he had not only taken a drink someone had given him without complaint, but did not fight back when she said he was wrong about the human machinery. Had Aizawa's first initial analysis of Bakugou been false? No, that couldn't be. He was certain of that.

But his theory on the other hand was also being proven right. All Bakugou needed was a chance to change.

"See? He's nothing like what everyone- Aizawa?" Kirishima only noticed after he was gone that Aizawa had sprinted through the locker room to the second entrance that went to the gym. From there he watched closely as Bakugou followed the human to a large bag. Judging from what other humans were doing, they were punching bags. Leaning into the door, he pulled out what humans would assume are headphones and a small box. In reality the devise were made to amplify sound and record visual settings. When Kirishima caught up to him and saw this, he drew back in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Recording," Aizawa started flatly. "Make sure no humans come." Confused, Kirishima followed orders and made sure no one came their way. Aizawa focused on Bakugou, especially his interactions with the human. In court he had no way to prove Bakugou would change. But if he could send video footage of Bakugou's different behaviour, the court would have to at least consider repealing their verdict.

It was a long-shot. But seeing Bakugou gave Aizawa hope.

"Do you know any martial arts?" Over at the punching bag, Ochaco allowed Bakugou to stretch a bit while she grabbed them some boxing gloves. While she had changed into her workout clothes- tank top and sweat pants- Bakugou wore the same black shirt as always and a pair of dark sweats. That was fine, but he insisted on keeping his belt around his waist. Why? It wasn't even holding his pants up. Well, as long as he's comfortable, Ochaco told herself. This was his idea.

At her question, Bakugou scoffed. "I can fight better than any f #%*%g person on this planet could ever dream."

"If you say so," Ochaco sighed, deciding not to put on a fight. She'd already decided not to ask too many questions that day. For some reason, ever since she had changed into her workout uniform Bakugou kept sneaking glances at her. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her clothes, and if she tried to ask he'd start sputtering and yell at her. Perhaps he was having an off day. Uraraka decided not to risk annoying him.

"What, you don't think I'm strong?" too late.

"I didn't say that! I know you can fight Bakugou, remember?" She rolled her eyes when the bar fight was brought up. "It's just that I'm used to sparring with a number of different people so I wanted to know what experience you have!" before Bakugou could remind her that he was the one who wanted to make sure she could fight, she went on ahead and listed some names. "Most of the time I spar with Jiro, though she knows more karate than boxing…Momo knows some jujitsu…Todoroki once in a while…but mostly Gunhead, Midoriya and Shinsou!" She added, the memories bringing a smile to her face. "You know Shinsou, right? He works with me at the fire house! He trained me a bit when I first got here. Sometimes when his partner is late he and I work out here together…"

Uraraka continued on excitedly praising her friends, ignorant to the growing seed of hatred that was boiling in Bakugou. Momo, her old teacher she talked about and Jiro didn't bother him to much but Todoroki? Midoriya? Another freaking guy? Who the heck was Shinsou and why was she working out with him? Was she actually suggesting that they could teach her to spar better than he could? "You actually think those f#$%*s are stronger than me?" Bakugou growled. "Get f$%*# g ready, I'm going to blow your puny human mind!"

Uraraka tried to hide a smile as he stomped over to the punching bag. Shaking her head she let it go and followed him to the punching bag. "Alright…but let's do some warmups before we actually get star…" Uraraka trailed off as Bakugou grabbed the ends of his shirt and slipped it off. She hadn't seen him working out much around her house, but he must have. He was almost, if not more fit than many of the fire-fighters she worked with. It wasn't like she hadn't seen another guy without their shirt, since again, she worked at a fire-house. And technically, Bakugou's muscles weren't as defined as some she could mention. Yet when he turned back to her, she felt her mouth was a little parched. "O-Oh," Ochaco stuttered, eyes widening as her cheeks started turning red.

Bakugou noticed the change and raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you broken?"

Ochaco snapped her mouth shut. "N-No! You just…ah, y-you, ah…I d-didn't know you had tattoos on your back!" Bakugou seemed to flinch at the comment.

"None of your business," he scowled before turning away. Uraraka frowned, but let the topic go. Instead she decided to spend her time trying to focus on warming up instead of continuously glancing at Bakugou as he fought.

…It was harder than she cared to admit.

The two of them worked side-by-side warming up themselves. Uraraka tried to get a few glances in to see how strong Bakugou really was, but she kept getting distracted by his figure and had to force herself to look away so she wouldn't get caught. From what she saw he was only doing basic warmups, push-ups and sit-ups, throwing a few punches at the punching bag. After a few minutes he didn't look tired at all. He actually looked rather annoyed, as if he wanted to break a sweat but hadn't. "W-we can warmup some more if you aren't ready to spar…"

"I've been maintaining my energy to prepare myself for battle," Bakugou told her. "Don't you f $$*%g take this from me."

"Right…" Uraraka replied. Once there was a space free the two of them jumped into a spare ring. There weren't many people there, so Uraraka had to use her phone as a timer. "We'll just spar until either one of us is too exhausted to continue or we tap out. You know the basic rules right? No cheap shots, no broken bones, and we stop fighting if there is any blood." Bakugou twitched in annoyance at the last few rules, but otherwise let it go. "Alright!" Uraraka jumped up, bouncing on the edges of her feet. "Don't you dare go easy on me! I'm stronger than I look!" She flexed to show off a bit. Bakugou wasn't sure why he continued to stare at her arm even when she pulled it back down.

"Wasn't planning to," Bakugou stated, his blood starting to boil as his smile began to grow. He'd been missing a real fight in a long time. His human had showed good instincts before when they fought the human weakling, but did that really mean she was tough? He hoped so. And he wasn't going to let his guard down until he was sure that was true. A primal level of excitement coursed through him at the idea of finally fighting Uraraka and seeing what she was made of. "I'm gonna f (#*$g overwhelm you."

Unwillingly, Memories of the bar fight flashed through her mind. She remembered how terrifying Bakugou had appeared in that moment, when he smiled over his victim like he enjoyed the power he had over him. Uraraka couldn't stop the shiver that went over her spine imagining what it would be like if Bakugou looked at her with those eyes.

As soon as the idea shot through her head, she shook it away. No. She was not weak. She was strong, she knew how to fight, and she most certainly wasn't…okay, she was a little scared. But that didn't matter. Bakugou was her friend. She trusted him. No matter how the battle went, she hoped-no, she believed Bakugou would not treat her like some criminal. "I…" She gulped unconsciously, making Bakugou raise an eyebrow. "I won't lose!"

Unknowingly, her response shot her up in Bakugou's approval ratings. "We'll see about that," he sneered. "So when can I,"

Her phone let out a ding.

"Now!" Before Bakugou had the chance to respond, Uraraka launched herself at him. With a snarl Bakugou pulled backwards to narrowly avoid Uraraka's punch. Unfortunately for him, Uraraka used his distraction and kicked the back of his legs. Bakugou felt a jolt of surprise when he hit the ground with a bang. Uraraka had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. "I-I thought you knew how to fight!"

"OF COURSE I F #$$%G KNOW HOW TO FIGH S $$%&$(D! YOU CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD! I'LL DESTROY YOU NOW!"

If Uraraka had more self-control, she would have known not to roll her eyes. "If you say sooo," she sang. Under her breath so Bakugou couldn't hear her she whispered, "Actions speak louder than words though."

If Bakugou was human, he wouldn't have heard that. Unfortunately for Uraraka, he wasn't. "You are going to be begging me for mercy…"

Nearly two hours later and Uraraka regretted ever talking back to him.

For what had to be the 13th time that evening Uraraka slammed to the ground with a huff. Groaning, she rubbed her arms as Bakugou leered over her with a grin. "What? You're not done are you?"

"O-of course not," Uraraka said with enough bite to make her think Bakugou may have been influencing her more than he should be. Bakugou had won almost every single match! Uraraka had gotten a few good hits in to give her some advantage, but Bakugou was much faster than she thought he was. Where exactly had he gotten his training? She'd been training to fight for years and then some with Gunhead, yet Bakugou made it look like all that training was for nothing. Maybe he was secretly with Midoriya in the CIA or where ever he worked…

As Uraraka pulled herself to her feet, Bakugou had crossed his arms and was mumbling to himself. "At least you're stronger than most of these weakling humans."

The statement was such a shock Uraraka's mouth literally dropped open. "Bakugou Katsuki, was that a compliment?"

"SHUT UP!" Without any warning, Bakugou dove for Uraraka. She barely had time to yelp before he had her pinned to the ground face first, holding one hand down and the other twisted around her back. She could practically feel his smirk on her back as he kept her down with one knee while the other was up to keep his balance. At first Uraraka was shocked by his speed. Then, to Bakugou's shock, she started laughing. She laughed so loud that a few people turned to look in their direction. Bakugou was careful to keep her pinned down while he leaned over to get a better look at her face. "Oi, what's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing! Nothing I'm out, I tap out!" Bakugou snarled. For a moment, she worried that he wasn't going to release her. Then, thankfully, Bakugou loosened his hold enough for Uraraka to sit up, still laughing. He knelt beside her, eyes searching hers for any signs of brain damage. "S-stop looking at me like that Bakugou," She giggled, waving him away. He growled again at the laughter, but was too confused to do anything other than push her arm away.

"What are you laughing at? Are you looking down on me? I beat you!"

"I-I'm not looking down on you," Uraraka explained, taking a few seconds to calm down. "I-It's just…You're so strong Bakugou!"

He puffed out his chest. "F**k yeah." He looked so proud, Uraraka almost felt bad interrupting his thoughts.

"For a moment there, when you moved as fast as that and had my arm behind my back, I was so scared." Bakugou immediately tensed. Uraraka wasn't sure what Bakugou's thoughts were to people fearing him. She assumed that he liked it, since he always wanted others to know he was the strongest. But even if he didn't like it, Uraraka felt she had to say it. "A-and before we fought," She continued, oblivious to how Bakugou was reacting to her confession. "I remembered that time at the bar…you looked absolutely terrifying." Again, Bakugou said nothing. He was eyeing her curiosity with those big, dark red eyes. They could have been the eyes of a killer. The eyes of a monster.

But those weren't the eyes that Uraraka saw.

"But then I thought that was so silly of me!" Uraraka laughed again, startling Bakugou. "You'd never hurt me!"

"What?" Uraraka wasn't sure what Bakugou found more incredulous. Her revelation, or the way she was reacting to it.

"Of course! We've been fighting for nearly two hours Bakugou! We've been living together for a few months now!" Waving to the ground she added, "You even had me pinned to the ground, completely defenseless. You could have really hurt me. But even though I now know that you can, I know you won't." Once the laughter had worked its way through her system, she finally faced Bakugou again. He was stunned at the wide, honest and open smile, full of emotions that he had never seen directed at him before.

"You won't hurt me Bakugou. I know that! I trust you."

He froze. Bakugou stared at her, the shock so great that he couldn't even look away when she stared back. She smiled, warm and gentle under his harsh gaze. Through his shock she could feel him studying her, searching for answers to questions Uraraka couldn't name. Was he surprised that she trusted him? Did he think she was crazy for trusting him? Maybe she was. But despite telling herself this, she just couldn't stop. He'd become a part of her life, one way or another. A piece in her life that she was happy was there.

A whole minute must have passed before Bakugou spoke up. "You…might be right." Those weren't the words he wanted to say. He wanted to protest, call her crazy, and deny it all. There was supposed to be laughs and jeers at the human's stupidity. Instead all he could do was agree. As he stared at this weak, defenseless, insignificant human, he realized that somehow she had wormed her way into her life and was holding on with a strength that he could not comprehend. She was stuck with him. And for better or for worse, he refused to let her get away.

The two of them stared at each other. Uraraka noticed as Bakugou's eyes softened just a fraction, enough so that only she could see the crack behind his cold eyes. Bakugou caught Uraraka's eyes slowly waver, studying his nose, cheeks, then mouth. Only then did the two of them realize just how close they were really sitting, only a hairs-breath away from each other. When they realized this however, neither of them moved. Both were too focused on the other, waiting for them to move. Waiting for them to run away. But neither did.

Slowly, Uraraka tested the waters. She tried leaning closer, just a bit. Just to catch his reaction. Bakugou did not move away. He also leaned closer, perhaps more out of curiosity than understanding. Uraraka's eyes slowly drifted close-

When her phone started ringing at a high volume.

Both of them snapped out of their trance. Uraraka yelped and fell back while Bakugou shot to his feet. "A-ah, sorry Bakugou! I need to take this…" Blushing, flustered, and as bright a shade of red as humans could turn, Uraraka rushed away to pick up the phone call. Bakugou watched her, frozen, not sure how to react or what to do, for what felt like the first time in his life. He'd reacted on instinct, but not his battle instincts. What…was that?

Two aliens over in the locker rooms had reactions that were pretty similar. "Did…all that just happen?" Kirishima had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. "Even in a battle, he…she's fine? I-I knew he wasn't like what you guys were telling me, but he had every chance…" Aizawa said nothing. He had watched, even recorded, the entire transaction. Though they weren't able to catch what exactly they had said, just the sight of it was enough. The human and Bakugou fought for nearly two hours. Nearly two hours of sparring, and Bakugou hadn't destroyed her. He could, Aizawa was certain. His body was still in camouflage, which meant that his general power was about the same as the average humans. But if he wanted to, Bakugou could transform back and kill her in an instant. But he hadn't.

"That's enough footage," Aizawa stated. Kirishima was startled as Aizawa packed up the recorder and stood from his spot. It was lucky that Bakugou hadn't sensed them, and Aizawa didn't want to press that luck. "We've got all we need."

"Uh, pretty sure our mission was to capture Bakugou and bring him back to headquarters, right?" Aizawa said nothing. Obediently Kirishima followed, watching as Aizawa carefully put the stored video in his pocket while keeping a hand over it for safe-keeping. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Send it to Midnight," Aizawa stated, not bothering to ask what 'it' was. "Maybe she can show it to the council. Convince them to give him a second chance."

Kirishima whistled softly. "That's a pretty big risk Aizawa. If they don't change their mind, they'll know we can find him and order us to capture him right away." Aizawa was silent. They walked for a bit in the quiet, ignoring the humans around them. Kirishima wondered what his actions should be. It was his duty as a soldier to report back if a mission wasn't being fulfilled to the fullest, right? But Kirishima found the honour behind Aizawa's actions worth a potential lecture. "You're risking getting in trouble to give Bakugou another chance?" Kirishima's insides heated up with excitement. "That's real manly of you! I'll follow you through that!"

Despite his annoyance at Kirishima's energy, Aizawa kept a small smile. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"No problem!" Kirishima boomed. Then, much quieter, he reminded Aizawa. "Endeavor won't like the idea."

Aizawa kept his eyes trained on the path in front of them. "Good thing Endeavor isn't here right now."

Back at the ring, Uraraka tried to ignore Bakugou who was cleaning himself off as she spoke into the phone. "Officer Tokoyami? What do you need?" Bakugou didn't visible react to the name, but he had already honed in on the conversation to overhear what was so important to interrupt their fight.

"I'd like to speak to you about Bakugou," the gravelly voice on the other end of the phone told her. "…Is he there with you?"

Uraraka glanced over at Bakugou. He hadn't turned to her or even acknowledged her presence, which she thought was a good sign. "Yes, he is. How can I help you officer?" Uraraka didn't know much about Bakugou's job, but she was fairly certain that he worked under Tokoyami. What would his boss have to talk to her about? She certainly hoped he wasn't being fired. Just after they celebrated being able to pay the rent early….

There was a pause before he continued, probably debating how to continue knowing Bakugou was in the vicinity. "…A man named Monomo visited yesterday," he stated. Uraraka immediately went into the defensive. Monomo had no reason to go to the police unless there was an issue with his properties. Was he going to try and take the house? Had something happened with the apartment building investigation? "He reported that the first time he went there, Bakugou allegedly threatened him if he ever returned to your property and that the man was extremely violent."

He'd said that? During that time Uraraka hadn't been there? Why? It may have been true, but Monomo had no reason to worry since she'd managed to send the money in on time. Was it another way to try and get the house by attacking Bakugou? "Officer Tokoyami, I'm sure Monomo is overreacting,"

"I don't know about that," Tokoyami stated. "I've heard a number of cases around town Uraraka. A man beating citizens up then taking old bikes, computers and phones. Most of the stolen objects were from dumpsters or the trash, but there were a few that caused suspicion." Her mind flashed to the metal ship Bakugou was building in the backyard. She'd assumed he'd gotten those pieces from a scrap heap. Taking them from an old dumpster wasn't that different, but attacking people? Was that what he was doing when he was…?

"B-But if you really thought it was him, you would have arrested him," Uraraka whispered, hoping that Bakugou couldn't hear her. "Doesn't he work with you? Why don't you talk to him yourself?"

Tokoyami decided it would do no good to mention he only gave the job because Midoriya had requested it. "He does. And we haven't had a single prisoner acting out since he was put on guard. The higher ups love having him here because of that. But the prisoners haven't suddenly acting this way out of respect or a sudden change of heart. They are terrified of him. More terrified than prisoners have been of anyone before Miss Uraraka. And many of these people are hardened criminals who have faced many charges. I don't know what he does to scare them, but they do not question him. They find him dangerous. And I'd have to say I agree." What exactly was he getting at? Uraraka heard something along the lines of a sigh come through the phone. "Miss, while none of this proves anything, it is clear that Mr. Bakugou is…I think it would be best to terminate his stay with you." For a moment there was silence along the phone, both expecting the other to speak but nothing came out. "You live quite a ways from town, alone, with just him. Until we can clear this situation, it may be dangerous to have him stay with you."

"He's not dangerous," Uraraka stated bluntly, catching Tokoyami off-guard. Her voice had a determined tone, unwavering and dark. "I know he won't hurt me.

"Miss Uraraka, what do you really know about your friend?" She opened her mouth to answer, but he continued. "Where is he from? How come he doesn't have any friends or family? Did he have a job before the one here? How come no one in the city recognizes him? Where are the records of even his existence Uraraka? We have found none! Miss Uraraka-" He paused, leaving Uraraka to sweat for a moment. "How come we can't find any evidence that he actually lived in the apartment building?"

Uraraka had no answer.

No evidence? None? But she had found him in that building, she found him herself. He had to live there. Where else could he have lived? Where could he have come from?

Midoriya had told Tokoyami to let it go. But Midoriya had also not sent over the files proving his involvement. Whether Midoriya really had the information or not was questionable- but what was even more suspicious was that Apparently, Midoriya had been looking into him beforehand. "I have no proof to confirm my suspicions," Tokoyami admitted. "Even the citizens who claimed they were attacked and stolen from cannot identify him. They are all too afraid of angering him or having to meet him again. My superiors refuse to chase the matter since nothing of value was stolen and no one was seriously injured. But Miss Uraraka, there is no denying there is something wrong with his story. That the man himself is extremely dangerous. I have read your files, I know you are capable. But as far as I am seeing, the man is as close to a villain as they come. Are you sure you can keep yourself safe with someone who is barely human?"

Barely human?

Some time ago, she may have agreed. When he snarled at everyone just for looking in his direction. When he seemed to go about his life without a caring for anyone around him. She herself had told him that he would get nowhere without realizing the value of others. But then he had shown he cared. He'd gone out of his way to prove to her that he cared, clearing his name of anything other than human in her books. Maybe he would never be a saint. But she knew who she could trust.

"…I trust him officer."

"Miss Uraraka,"

"I understand him," She said. "I know he's not the nicest person in the world. I know he's strong. But I understand that he won't hurt me. Ever. I need to go," Uraraka told him. "I thank you for the concern, but Bakugou has proven to me that he wouldn't hurt me. He's my friend. And he hasn't lied to me once."

"How can you know that?"

Again, she did not have an answer. But she would not turn her back on her friend. "I just- I do. Have a good evening Officer Tokoyami."

"…Good evening Miss Uraraka." Uraraka hung up the phone before Tokoyami could say anything else. Not that she thought he would. It sounded like he had relented- with obvious disapproval. Ochaco huffed indignantly. It was her decision who to be friends with. She wasn't naïve, she knew Bakugou's story didn't add up. But she had faith in her friend.

Turning back to Bakugou, she found that he had already put his shirt back on and was holding her bag. When she trudged over to him, he was watching her with a raised eyebrow. "...who was it?"

"Oh, not important." She tried to brush it off, but Bakugou glared at her. It was a little disturbing how he was able to tell whenever she was hiding something. "Just Officer Tokoyami. Your boss, right?" Uraraka expected some flicker in his eye to show his surprise. But Bakugou just nodded, as if he had expected that. Ochaco was tempted to ask Bakugou about what Tokoyami had brought up.

What do you really know about him?

Not now, she thought to herself. She'd already worn herself out for the day. If it was her friend, she could take a leap of faith for a while. "Let's go," Uraraka stated, wrapping an arm around his without a second thought. "Do you think you could make that chicken-apple-thing that you made a few nights ago? It was delicious!" She cooed happily. Bakugou said nothing. He didn't even put up a fight at the skin-to-skin contact. Instead he turned away from her, and refused to meet her eyes. Not sure why he was acting different, she tried nudging him playfully. "Or, you can pick whatever you want," Uraraka said. "I trust you!"

Before Uraraka's revelation had filled him with warmth.

If he had the regular hearing of a human, he may have felt the same thing.

But since he was able to overhear every word that passed in their conversation, her second revelation did nothing but weigh on his heart.