Mika woke after lunch to find she was alone. She wasn't upset, nor disappointed. Hawks had been very clear on his concerns, and she needed to respect them. It was odd staying in his apartment without him though.
She got up and dressed, sporting a black midriff tank and faded, high wasted jeans. She still needed to drop by Bakugo's agency and fill out paperwork. Hopefully he wouldn't be upset she'd slept in. Her body was still getting used to working in the field again. Muscle memory was a blessing. She had regained the muscle mass she had lost during her captivity, plus some. However, her body was still tired and sore after patrol.
"Here," the blonde flopped down a stack of papers, "Read it and fill it out."
Mika nodded, grabbing a pen. She paused for a moment, "Um, I don't have a hero license number..."
"I know," he plopped down across from her, "Leave it blank...I'll take care of it." He watched her for a few minutes, "I hear Hawks is MIA."
"Something like that," she worked quietly, "I can handle his area though."
"I know," he tilted his head, "why didn't he stay?"
"He was worried he wouldn't be able to keep a level head," her grey eyes met his briefly, "After what happened, he doesn't want to put me in a difficult situation."
"I promised I'd keep an eye on you. Don't do anything risky."
The silver haired woman chuckled, "That's like someone telling you to keep your voice down."
He scoffed with a smirk, "Then let's have an agreement: you get into trouble, call me first."
"Sounds like a plan, boss," she smirked when his eye twitched.
Hawks currently laid back against the bed, staring at the ceiling. He wanted to peel his skin off. Everything irritated him and felt uncomfortable. He was thankful Mika offered her bunker space for him. It was both a blessing and a curse being so close. Her scent comforted him, but, he also had to remind himself to stay put.
Bakugo promised to look after her, even with his bratty remarks. He knew she was in good hands...not his hands, but trusted ones. Just...not his. "Fucking hell this is annoying," he glared at nothing, "it's going to be a long week..."
"Nice," Bakugo blocked the hard kick, "do it again."
Mika nodded and repeated the pattern he had shown her. It had been a few days. Hawks would check in here and there, but for the most part he was radio silent. Bakugo wanted to train before patrol this evening, and Mika did not want to turn it down.
He was excellent in hand to hand. Surprisingly he was a great teacher. She could probably thank Tobi for that, teaching his father patience.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched his movements, blocking carefully as he sent a jab to her side. Using her momentum, she twisted and swept at his legs to gain some distance. Once she was back far enough, she felt her new quirk kick in, making her pause, "Wait."
Bakugo skidded to a stop, "You good?"
"Yeah I just felt it kick in."
He noticed her uneasiness, "We need to call it anyways. I have to pick up Tobi."
She let out a king breath and nodded, "Yeah I should get ready."
"Mika," he grabbed his bag, "Eventually you have to not be afraid of it. I can't have a hero who doesn't trust themselves out there making drastic moves."
"I know," she sighed, "I promise I'm working on it."
It was a cloudy night as Mika sauntered along the rooftops. She had met up with Aizawa before their shift, her mind drifted back to their conversation:
"Mika," he leaned forward, "Bakugo's right. We have to be able to have full confidence in our quirks. Us second guessing ourselves could be the difference between life or death."
"I know," she sipped her coffee, "I've had my blood quirk since I was what, five? Now this new...thing is forced on me. It's only been a few months."
"That's fair," he sighed, "Just use what's comfortable to you when it counts the most." His dark eyes looked at her, "I'm proud of you, I want you to know that."
She smiled slightly thinking back on those words. Mika would never let him know it, but his opinion meant a lot to her. He was the only family she had left.
Pausing, she pulled the hood from her head and looked around. She felt eyes on her, from where she wasn't sure, but it made her uncomfortable enough she moved behind a rooftop, making it look as though she jumped down.
Heavy footsteps made their way across the roof. Her grey eyes watched the shadow moving closer as she hunkered down. His voice was low, "She's gone...no I don't know where...I'm just supposed to observe...yeah we'll you don't give me orders..."
His form slowly faded, but she didn't dare move. Anxiety rushed through her as her mind reeled. She needed to change patrol areas tomorrow night. Somewhere safe and away from everyone.
Not long afterwards, a familiar set of footsteps made their way to her ears. Mika stood and walked around to see Bakugo's red eyes, "Have they been following you?"
She blinked, "This was the first encounter I've had...how did you know?"
"I was following them," he frowned, "Maybe this was a bad idea."
"Let me take the edge of the city tomorrow. I'll confront them there," she cleared her throat, "away from so many citizens." Her steely eyes looked at him, "I'm tired of hiding."
