The girls try to work out the upcoming problems with training. Classes are still out. Izuku remains a hero nerd. All Might does All Might things. And the girls meet Mitsuki...and instantly regret it.

Himiko sighed as she took off her shoes. Ochako had gone straight back to the bedroom, refusing to look her in the eyes. The lunch had been nice, the four teens had been able to move past the awkwardness earlier, but the moment the boys went to pay the bill she saw Ochako sink into her seat once more, her expression falling again.

It didn't go unnoticed by Izuku and Katsuki when they returned, but per her request at the beach, neither one brought it up. In their own ways, they tried to cheer her up: Katsuki started making snarky commentary on the people they passed, mocking their fashion choices, while Izuku had simply bumped his shoulder against hers, smiling brightly at her and dragging her into another one of Katsuki and Izuku debates (read: bickering) that they seemed to have every half an hour.

But all good things come to a close, and while the boys were happy to walk them home, Ochako and Himiko had broken off before getting to their neighborhood with an excuse about how it was the opposite way of where the boys were headed. Which wasn't entirely untrue, it was at least not directly in the same path, but it was enough of a twisting of the truth that Himiko was entirely sure both Kats and Izu knew the girls weren't being upfront. But they left well enough alone, and allowed the girls to wander off to their tiny apartment.

With a determined stride, Himiko walked to the bedroom, stepping inside the dimly lit room. The window was open to let the air in, getting some breeze to help clear out the perpetual musty smell the apartment had. Ochako was laying facedown on her futon, her head buried in her pillow with her arms beneath it.

Himiko sat down beside her, one hand gently rubbing Ochako's back. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," Ochako replied, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I really don't think they'll be judgey. You told Kats your family doesn't have a lot of money already."

Ochako rolled over, glaring up at the ceiling blankly. "Yah but there's a difference, Himi. We're living offa instant ramen, rice, and dreams 'ere," she muttered, letting her accent slip out.

"'Chako-," Himiko began quietly.

"Himi, you know what it's like! You know how people treat you different! I don' want no pity and I don' want no handouts! I worked hard to get 'ere!"

"Sweetie…remember who we're talking about. Izu has something in his past he's ashamed of. Kats is missing a leg. He never talks about that either…honestly I didn't notice till they pointed it out today. I feel like they understand what it means to be ashamed of something."

"...I thought tha same about the kids at our old school. And lookit what happened! They all started mockin' me…"

"Do you really think the boys are like that? The only thing Kats gives a shit about is how strong you are! He didn't even flinch at me drinking Izu's blood! And Izu? The only person he makes fun of is Kats, he's too busy hating himself to be mean to someone else."

Ochako closed her eyes and threw her arm over her face, sighing. "I know yer right. I know. But I just…I don' wanna ruin what we got!"

Himiko lay down next to Ochako, resting her head on her arms and looking up at the ceiling. "It might already be ruined. Toshinori wasn't wrong, 'Chako. If we want to get into UA, we have to be fit and tough. And that means food. I just don't know how we'll pull that off."

"Ugh I know!" Ochako grumbled. She turned her head to look over at Himiko. "And don't think I didn't notice."

"Notice what?"

Ochako arched an eyebrow. "You're out of blood packs in the fridge. What happened?"

Himiko looked away from the brunette. "Dad told me yesterday. There was a major disaster on the coast, and a lot of the blood banks ran low on blood because they had to send it away. So he couldn't send me any, and the nearby ones are also too low."

Ochako thrust her arm in front of Himiko's face. "Okay well, drink up then."

Himiko shook her head. "I can't. If we're training, you can't afford to be fighting off blood loss."

"And you can't afford to not drink!" Ochako sat up, glaring at the girl beside her as she shoved her accent back down.

"I'll be okay!" the blonde replied back hotly, sitting up and mirroring Ochako's pose.

"We're not even going to actually do training for a week, Himi. I can handle a little blood loss till then. And I bet if you asked the boys they'd be fine donating some too."

"Oh so it's okay for me to accept charity from others but not you?" Himiko shot back.

Ochako sputtered. "It's entirely different! You need blood for your Quirk!"

"And we both need food to live!"

Ochako froze for a second, letting out a huff as she flopped back down again. "And what are you expecting us to do about it?"

Himiko sighed. "I don't know. But maybe we should talk to the boys about it before it becomes a problem…or just ask to speak to Toshinori privately? I mean, maybe he can adjust his training program or something!"

"I don't want them to look at us different…we just met them! We're new to this! I don't wanna just drop a bunch of crap on them at once!"

"You already told Kats that your parents don't make a lot of money and that we're sharing this apartment out of budget concerns. We just…didn't tell him the extent is all."

"And what about your blood problem, hmm? We gotta deal with that too! Which reminds me, drink!" Ochako shoved her arm in front of Himiko's face again.

Himiko weakly batted at it. "Stop that!"

"We're not training for a week! So just…accept it!"

"Dammit 'Chako, fine, you stubborn-" Himiko didn't bother finishing her sentence, glaring at the other girl as she chomped down on the brunette's arm. Her annoyed expression vanished into bliss as she took her first sips of that lovely warm liquid, her tongue slowly moving over Ochako's arm lovingly. The brunette squeaked for a moment, feeling her face flush as it always did when Himiko did this, before schooling her expression back into one of nonchalance.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Himiko broke off Ochako's arm, licking her lips slowly with a sigh. Quickly, the blood ceased its flow after only a moment, but Ochako already had grabbed a small wipe to wipe off the excess and began trying to lay a bandage on her arm one handed. Himiko snatched up her wrist, her amber eyes nearly glowing in the low afternoon light as she gently lay the bandage down. Leaning down, Himiko gave it a quick kiss, making the brunette snort with flushed cheeks.

"You taste yummy as always, 'Chako," Himiko remarked, a satisfied hum leaving her lips.

"So you tell me every time."

Himiko lay back down next to Ochako, spreading her arms out wide and nearly smacking Ochako in the face with one. Said brunette pushed it away, giggling lightly as the blonde grinned. As she lay there, Himiko sighed and spoke without looking at Ochako. "We still haven't figured out what to do about the food situation."

"...should we just, I dunno…decline the training?" Ochako asked quietly.

"...I really don't want to do that 'Chako. The boys will just be more curious if we do that, and I…I don't want them mad at us. I didn't like snapping at Kats today. And Izu wasn't happy with me. I don't like that."

"I don't think he was happy with Katsuki either. I wasn't very happy with you. You didn't need to jump to attack like that Himi."

"I know I know, but it just made me think of back home! I just reacted…"

"Ugh, this is so much!" Ochako practically wailed, covering her face in her hands. "Why did today have to be…today?!"

"Cause nothing goes right in our lives?" Himiko drawled.

"Nuh-uh. I got you, and we made new friends too. That's one thing that went right. And, I mean…training with All Might? That practically guarantees we get in, right!...right?" Ochako's voice trailed off softly.

"Nezu said we still had to earn it, but if anyone knows what we gotta do, it'd be the Number One Hero."

Ochako sighed. "Maybe…maybe you're right. But I'm really scared they'll start treating us differently…"

Himiko rolled over, laying on her side as she stared at the brunette next to her. She propped her head up on her hand as she spoke. "If they do, they aren't the guys we think they are and it wouldn't be worth it to spend time with them anyways. And no matter what happens, you'll always have me. I promise."

Ochako let out a small, soft smile. "Yeah. I got your back too, Himi. Okay. I guess…we'll talk to them about it tomorrow?"

"Okay. Well, speaking of food…" Himiko trailed off as Ochako rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Can't let you do it, you'll set the kitchen on fire somehow."

"That was one time!" the blonde protested.

"That was seven times you little liar!" Ochako hissed as she clambered to her feet. She glared down at the blonde on the floor, the vampiric girl smirking cheekily with her fangs glinting in the light. Unable to hold the serious expression, Ochako giggled and rolled her eyes once more as she headed to their little kitchenette area.

"Class out again?" Ochako asked as Himiko and her ran into the boys standing on the corner they normally met up at before school. Katsuki shrugged as Izuku nodded.

"Yeah, Auntie got a call late last night saying it'd be a few more days before it was safe to return. I guess the villain had some kind of lingering Quirk that left dangerous residue or something."

"And this nerd wanted to spend all day trying to figure out what exactly it fucking did, I had to drag his ass over here," Katsuki drawled, jerking a thumb to his side to point at Izuku as he did.

"A Quirk that leaves a dangerous residue could be so many different things, I wanted to know what it left behind!" Izuku spat back, waving his hands around excitedly. Katsuki just responded with an eye roll and crossing his arms over his chest.

Himiko shared a look with Ochako, the brunette nodding at her slightly before taking a deep breath. "Hey, um…can we talk about something? It's…kind of important."

Katsuki turned to look at them as Izuku cocked his head to the side. Ochako opened her mouth to explain it as simply as possible, but the stress of the prior day, all the stress over revealing this, and the fact she still hadn't had any caffeine had her just blurting it all out. Her family's financial situation, how the girls were living off the cheapest food imaginable, how Himiko had run out of blood, how their apartment was in the worst part of town, how scared she was that they'd look down on her or pity her and how she wasn't sure which was worse…

By the time she finished, Katsuki was staring at her blankly, blinking rapidly as Himiko facepalmed behind her. Izuku looked poleaxed, eyes wide and expression stuck in a strange place between an attempt at a reassuring smile and a vague sort of fear at her exuberance. She gasped for air, not realizing until now she'd basically said that all more and more rapidly without taking in enough oxygen and now had to catch up.

Katsuki shook his head like a dog trying to dry off, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Alright, let's get this outta the fucking way…we ain't gonna treat you different. You didn't give me shit for my leg, you've left Zu's past well enough alone, we're not about to be hypocritical bastards here. So stop worrying about that shit."

"But we should address your concerns," Izuku jumped in. "We should start with the blood issue. How much do you need to drink a day?" he asked Himiko, his notebook suddenly in his hand to the consternation of the two girls.

She shrugged. "I never really measured…just till I felt full."

"Sometimes I feel a little dizzy right after, but it goes away really fast," Ochako added.

"Not exactly accurate data but we can work with this," Izuku muttered, stroking his chin as he scribbled something down. "Well, it's no problem for the upcoming week since we're not training, I don't mind sharing mine too. If we trade off every other day it should be no problem."

"Every third day. Fangs can have mine too," Katsuki drawled.

"...you guys sure? I know it's kind of weird-," Himiko began.

"Quirks are Quirks, nothing weird about that," Katsuki cut in.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, nothing to worry about there! It'll be fine, Himiko. We don't mind! Just don't use my face to commit crimes," he joked, smiling widely as the blonde girl giggled. "As for during training, well, we'll just have to talk to All…uh, Toshinori about it."

Katsuki nodded at the green-haired boy. "As for the food thing…okay. I'm not good at gentle so just give me a sec and don't get pissed, okay?" He waited for the girls to nod to him before continuing. "Physical training means a shit ton of food, and high in protein and carbs and shit, which yeah, is expensive. That said, and this isn't some handout this is an actual fucking thing, uh…Zu and I are real fucking bad at portioning."

"...what?" Ochako asked, blinking in confusion.

Izuku sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he spoke with a rueful tone in his voice. "We always make too much food. Even when Auntie and Uncle are there, we always have a ton of leftovers. We're not very good at you know…calculating how much people will eat. Honestly, you'd be doing us a favor if you ate with us, because uh…"

"Everyone in that fucking house is a forgetful little shit and we always forget we have leftovers till it goes fucking bad," Katsuki interjected. Ochako visibly flinched at the idea of wasting food, both boys not acknowledging it to avoid drawing attention to it. "Seriously, just…come eat with us, it'll be fine, trust me. Plus the next few months Mom and Pop are gonna be so busy they'll barely be around to eat with us."

"But from what Toshinori said, it sounded like you'd have to change your diet anyways. Are you sure you'd still have extra?" Ochako asked quietly.

"Tch. Trust me Cheeks, we'll have more. The food budget in the house falls under the 'hero' budget. We got plenty. Remember what I said about clothing lines yesterday? It's cause Mom's a famous fashion designer, and she and Pops own their own company. We're not rich, but we ain't struggling either. I mean, this leg was pretty expensive but they managed it for me," Katsuki said, slapping his left leg.

"I…I don't know…" the brunette looked away, shame coloring her cheeks. Katsuki chewed at the inside of his mouth for a moment, unsure what to say. He turned to Izuku, jerking his head at her, figuring Izuku understood emotional shit better than he did.

"Ochako, please, trust us. It won't be a burden, I'm serious," the greenette said softly, stepping forward with a smile. "Besides, you guys have helped me a lot, just by being my friends. You're patient with my issues and neither of you gave me any problems nor have you pried, and I really appreciate that. This is what friends do, they support each other, right?"

"And we'll talk to Toshinori. C'mon, he's the Number One Hero, he's gotta have some idea how to do this shit, right?"

"Well of course I was going to pay for the cost of food! The workout plan I was designing for Young Midoriya requires far greater amounts of caloric intake than you'd be used to, haha!" Toshinori's voice boomed over the phone the four teenagers were huddled around. "Not to mention the other three of you! While your diets will be slightly different, due to body type and what we're going to aim for, it's still a similar diet plan! I want my successor and his friends in tip top shape for the exam!"

"Oh…okay," Ochako muttered. It was clear by her expression she still was struggling with the idea of accepting any of this, but she wasn't foolish enough to give up an opportunity like that.

"As for Himiko's blood problem, I'll give Nezu a call and speak to him and Recovery Girl. We need you boys to come in soon anyways, so we'll be able to work something out I'm sure. One of the teachers at UA, Vlad King, also has a blood Quirk which requires some blood consumption. So it's not going to be a bother. You said you'll be alright for the rest of the week?"

Himiko nodded, a look of consternation crossing her face as she realized he couldn't see her through the phone. Izuku and Ochako giggled silently at her as she puffed her cheeks in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, these three said they'll help me for the week."

"Excellent! Then we'll be all set! I expect to see all of you bright and early Sunday morning down at the beach so we can begin! I must be off, good luck zygotes!"

'Zygotes?' The four teens muttered under their breath as the call cut off, leaving them standing together in front of Katsuki and Izuku's house. They shared a glance between each other. Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "Um…so…what do we do now?"

"I guess…we can show them inside?" Katsuki replied, equally as unsure.

"We wouldn't want to impose-," Ochako began.

"It ain't an imposition, it's fine," Katsuki waved her objection off. Without waiting for a response, he opened the door, ushering the two girls and Izuku inside. As he stepped in, he took a deep breath and shouted "Anyone home?"

"Stop yelling in the house you damned brat!" came the answering scream. The two girls jerked back in confusion, looking over to see Izuku in the middle of a deep, long-suffering sigh.

"We brought friends over you hag!"

"Oh, well, that's new," the voice that previously was screaming came around the corner, revealing a tall, young looking blonde woman with spiky hair and red eyes that clearly was where Katsuki inherited his looks from. She was scribbling something down on a small notepad as she approached, placing the pad into her pocket when she noticed the four teenagers before her. She arched an eyebrow at Katsuki. "Well brat? Introduce us."

"These are our new friends Auntie! They are training with us for UA!" Izuku interjected, trying to cut off another screaming match.

"I'm Himiko Toga, but please call me Himiko!" the blonde said, bowing.

"I'm Ochako Uraraka! We moved here to take the test for UA, and met Katsuki and Izuku at school!"

"I'm Mitsuki Bakugo, Katsuki's mother and Izuku's adopted mother," she said, smirking as she ruffled Izuku's hair and squeezed Katsuki's shoulder. "So what made you two bring the girls back here?"

"We had to make a phone call together to our trainer and just ended up here is all," Izuku shrugged.

Mitsuki nodded, having been made privy to the training plan the previous evening. Mid-nod she paused, her eyes narrowing as she looked over at the two girls before her with an appraising gaze. She let out a quiet hum as she looked them both up and down. "Say…what size do you two wear?"

"Oh…oh shit. Oh we are so sorry," Katsuki said, taking a step back from his mother as fear spread across his face.

Izuku's eyes widened as well, taking a step back with Katsuki. His expression morphed to a mournful one, as if he were bearing witness to the final moments of his two friends, the girls both looking at Mitsuki in confusion.

"Um, sorry for what exactly?" Ochako asked, side-eying Izuku. The boy in question merely shook his head sadly.

"We'll…see you two later."

"Huh?" Both girls chorused, before letting out simultaneous 'eeps' as Mitsuki grabbed them by the wrist.

"You two can try out my latest ideas! Come with me to the downstairs workshop! Oh I have so many ideas now!" Mitsuki began dragging both girls with surprising strength, the two teenagers looking back in betrayal at the boys, one wincing and the other giving a mocking salute.

"That…was…exhausting," Ochako moaned, flopped over the kitchen table in the Bakugo house.

"No kidding," Himiko muttered, her head firmly planted facedown on the same table.

Katsuki snorted at the two of them and their dramatics. He wore an orange and black apron as he stood at the stove, carefully tending a pot and stirring in spices with the utmost concentration. Izuku was to his left at the cutting board, his own green and black apron tied around him as he rapidly chopped a pile of vegetables, pushing them over to Katsuki as he finished each one.

"You're being ridiculous, it's not that bad," Izuku protested to the girls, but the smile on his face gave away his amusement.

"Yeah, this was fucking tame for mom. You should see her during a new launch, she's a fucking terror."

"And I look fucking good doing it!" came her shout from the living room, where she was planted on the sofa looking over paperwork on the table before her. "Your father said he'd be out late by the way, so set aside some for him for later, okay?"

Katsuki just grunted in reply, taking a sip of the mixture in the pot and scowling at it. He held a hand out peremptorily to Izuku, the green-haired boy snatching up a bottle and passing it over without looking at the one next to him.

"How could you just abandon us like that?" Ochako asked, lifting her head up off the table and trying to glare at the two boys, but with her exhaustion, she just looked like she was pouting cutely.

Izuku glanced back at her, a little bit of pink staining his cheeks at her expression before he turned back to the cutting board. "We didn't think about it. Besides, at least you're getting something out of it!"

"She's not really going to give us clothing once it goes to the factory, is she?" Himiko asked quietly, her eyes glancing towards the living room as she tried to make sure the boy's mother couldn't hear her.

"Pfft. Oh you best believe you're getting a full fucking line Fangs, that's what mom does. You model for her and give her ideas, she throws fabric in your face and commands you to wear it. She calls it free advertising," Katsuki replied. The blonde in question just groaned and lay back down onto the table.

"Anyways, here! Dinner! It's curry! And don't worry, it's not Kacchan's normal curry, he's got a separate pot for that!" Izuku said as he set two plates down before the girls.

"What do you mean his normal curry?" Ochako asked.

"Let's just say he likes it hot and leave it at that," Izuku replied with a shaky smile.

"I don't like it hot, you all are just fucking wimps!" Katsuki shot back.

"Well I'm no fucking wimp, I wanna try it!" Himiko shot back, staring at Katsuki.

Izuku stepped forward to try and protect her, but the blonde boy simply cackled in return and began spooning out a portion of his curry for her. "Fuck yeah, go for it Fangs!"

Himiko snatched the plate up and dove in as fast as she could. As she closed her mouth over the food, she paused for a moment, her expression contemplative. "It tastes fine, I don't know what you guys are talking about…" her voice trailed off as her eyes went wide, her pale skin suddenly flushing. Izuku sighed and opened the freezer, pulling out a small container of ice cream and sliding it across the table to the blonde girl.

"Is now the appropriate time to say 'I told you so'?" Izuku asked, crossing his arms over his chest as Himiko ripped open the ice cream container and began scooping it into her mouth in a panicked rush.

"Hush you," she grumbled, her voice garbled and muffled by the food in it as she tried and failed to glare at the greenette. Ochako, little traitor that she was, was giggling at the teen beside her, covering her mouth with one hand as if it would stop the giggles from escaping. Himiko stuck her tongue out at the brunette, the girl in question returning the gesture in kind. As the two boys sat down at the table with the girls, they shared a smile. Everything seemed to be in order. They could not wait to get started training for UA.