"Senji," Tsukauchi sighed. He peered over a set of forms, at the girl seated across from him. Her hair was shorter now, and her left arm had a lot more metal than before. He had seen her on many occasions, and Eraser gave him a very brief summary of her position in previous events with the League. Hawks had been working closely with him after said events, avoiding any questions the detective had.

"Sorry. Guess I should have reported stuff the first time," the girl apologized in earnest, softening the tired man's expression significantly.

"Right. So you were forced, by someone's Quirk?," he continued, working through the questionnaire.

"Yeah. It's…the guy explained before but I missed part of that. He can stick people together, as long as he can see them I think? It definitely breaks if he-um. If he looks away," she just barely caught herself before admitting to smacking the guy around. Tsukauchi's face indicated that he sussed her out, but he let it go for now and moved on.

"Can you describe what he looks like?"

"Uh. He's older, and bald. Has weird horns like…this," Senji sketched out a rough caricature of the man on the back of the form she had. She handed it over, and Tsukauchi shuffled into another stack of papers.

"That's…pretty helpful actually. If it's accurate. Alright, I have what I need here, so you can go."

"Um. Thanks. And…good luck, with stuff," Senji stood up slowly, carefully sliding the chair under the table and turning toward the door.

"Senji," the detective called out just as she reached the door. She paused, not looking back, with her hand on the handle. "Thanks, and be careful. For both our sakes."

"Right," she nodded her acknowledgement and left. Shinso, who had been waiting with Eraser outside, traded places with her. Her tail brushed his arm as he passed, and he flicked it gently with his finger.

"Am I good to go now?," Senji asked Eraser, her hair hanging over her eyes and blocking her expression.

"Sure. Try to get some rest for tomorrow's class."

He let her go without any fuss, much to her surprise. She was certain he'd have more to say about this situation, after the fit he threw when she convinced him to approve their outing. He started to reach out, to ruffle her hair, but pulled back. Senji didn't give any indication that she noticed his hesitant movements, slinking past him and down the hallway. She was lost in thought, or trying not to think more specifically, and was back in the dorm's common room before she registered even leaving the other building.

"Hey," Kirishima stood up as she entered the room. He snapped her out of her head, and she glanced at the TV screen. An image, of her and another student, flashed briefly over the screen as a reporter detailed the alleged crimes that Tsukauchi was now investigating. Seeing the image took her right back to that moment in time, and she stepped backward.

"Huh? Kiri?," Mina, who just stepped into the room, was greeted by Kirishima scrambling for the remote. Sero got it first, turning the TV off and tripping over the table. Kirishima recovered quickly, and made his way over to Senji.

"Hey, Senji?"

He spoke quietly, standing between his classmate and the now dark television screen. The girl was trembling, and held her tail in her hands tightly. Her eyes were fixed forward, but it felt like she wasn't seeing the room she was in. Like she was looking at something far away, and her breathing was ragged. She flinched when he reached out to her, then looked at him confused.

"Uh. Sorry, I'm probably not the one for this," he pulled his hand back, rubbing his neck and looking down sheepishly. His hair was down, and fell over his eyes for just a moment before he recomposed himself. Senji's breathing at least was calmer now, and she fidgeted in a similar manner.

"Sorry," she whispered. Her voice was more like a squeak.

"No. Um," Kirishima floundered again. Mina started arguing with Sero and Mineta, startling both of them. That snapped him back to his initial goal, and he again reached out to her. Slower this time, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"You're probably tired, yeah? Come on," he smiled, and pulled her down the hall and up the stairs to her room. Kaminari and Ojiro were inside, arguing over a game again.

"Yo, beat it," Kirishima dragged them out, while Senji tilted her head at him. He shoved the other two out, with some pretty strong protesting from Kaminari. Then he turned back to Senji, wrapping her in a big hug. Only then did she pull fully out of her dazed state, clinging to his shirt at his sides.

"I…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'd rather someone else be here than me, anyway," Kirishima cut off her apology. Senji wanted to argue with his self-deprecating comment, but didn't have the strength left for that. She instead leaned into his embrace for another moment, resting her head on his shoulder and letting her feelings take over. She pulled back eventually, wiping her eyes with one arm while facing away from him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Uh, thanks," Senji answered him with a weak smile. Kirishima felt his cheeks flush a little, and started to fidget with his hair.

"Right," he placed a hand on her shoulder, and Senji brushed her fingers over his for just a second.

"Really. Thanks."

"Yeah. It's nothin'," he muttered in response. Then he booked it out of her room, pulling the door closed behind him.

"The hell was that?"

Senji heard Kaminari shouting from the hall, and a brief scuffle. She laughed to herself about that situation, shaking the last of her nerves away. She kicked her shoes off, then sank into the large bean bag in front of her own TV. Checking her phone, there were a few missed texts. One in particular caught her eye, from Bakugo.

Hey, saw the article. You good? Want me to head over for a bit?

She smiled at the text, choosing not to worry about how far that picture had spread for now, and gave a quick response. Her arms fell to her sides, the phone thunking onto the floor. She fell asleep sprawled across the bean bag like that, curling into a ball as her feelings took shape in her dark dreams.

START

A few weeks passed, and it was time for the holidays in a flash. Bakugo had started some extra training with Izuku and All Might, so his sessions with Senji slowed to basically a crawl. The class had put together a Christmas party, and decorated the common area with tons of bright decorations. They went all out and got Santa outfits for everyone, too. Based on measurements for the culture festival outfits. Senji had compromised on a sort of sweater dress, with thigh highs underneath and fuzzy slipper boots. Her's was green, matching half the class's suits. She had hoped that would be enough to satiate Mina's sadistic side, but she quickly found out otherwise.

"Come on, you two~," the pink girl prodded Senji and Bakugo, pointing to the ceiling where a very dubious holiday decoration hung. Mistletoe.

"Huh?! Fuck no!," Senji and Bakugo yelled at her in unison, their faces both contorted into hilarious expressions with a tinge of red in their cheeks. Some of the boys took this chance and slammed a personalized Santa hat down on Bakugo's head, redirecting his attention. There was some commotion at the other side of the room, announcing a special guest's arrival.

"Oh, Eri! Merry Christmas!," Senji called out as she shuffled through the crowded room.

"Boo, her big sister mode engaged," Mina pouted for a moment, before Hagakure and Jiro pulled her attention elsewhere.

"Oh wow, you really did paint eggs," Uraraka spoke to Eri a while later. The child, wholly unfamiliar with holidays, had prepared several things related to various other holidays. Eraser leaned against the wall at the edge of the room, chatting with All Might and Present Mic.

"Yeah, it was hard to turn her down," Senji replied to Uraraka's observation.

Izuku talked excitedly with Eri while they had this side conversation. Senji joined in, and after a while took over playing with Eri while Izuku enjoyed the party atmosphere. There was a secret gift exchange, but Senji had opted out to keep the numbers even. She carried Eri toward the end of the evening, with the child falling asleep in her arms.

"I'll take her," Eraser noticed and Eri was passed to him. He left with the other teachers, cautioning the students to not stay up too late. Senji mingled with the others, helping herself to the massive amount of food that had been prepped in advance. Mina had channeled her energy into teasing Izuku and Uraraka, to Senji's relief. After a while, Senji found herself leaning against the wall by the hallway upstairs with Kaminari and Jiro. She was only halfway following their conversation, when she felt herself getting pulled into the darkened hallway.

"Wh-!"

She was backed into the wall, and a hand quickly covered her mouth. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the lighting change, and she blinked a few times in surprise.

"Quiet!," Bakugo stood in front of her, slowly uncovering her mouth and glancing toward the other room. Senji's eyes narrowed, and his mouth curled into an uneasy shape.

"What are you doing?," Senji finally asked. The tension was building high, and her confusion. Bakugo released his grip on her shoulder, holding his hands up defensively for a moment. He stuffed one into his pocket, the other raking through his hair.

"Now who's being weird," Senji chided him.

"Just..gimme a minute!," the boy's voice almost rose above a whisper, and he glanced nervously back toward the light again. Senji sighed and slumped down a little, trying to ignore how anxious she was starting to feel because of his shifty movements. His red eyes met hers, for just a moment, before he looked away again.

"I don't know what you're doin', but we can save it for another time if you're not ready to-"

"Huh? No, I-it's," he struggled to form a sentence, eventually giving up and letting out a frustrated growl. He ruffled his hand through his hair, then moved in closer and leaned against the wall.

"Huh? W-wait, here? Now?," Senji's mind raced toward one conclusion with his sudden shift. Her tail curled up and around her, pressing against his chest. She glanced to the other room, praying for a miracle that no one would notice she was gone. Bakugo didn't respond for a moment, his other hand hovering over her tail.

"Don't," his voice croaked. He carefully wrapped his fingers around her tail, holding it to his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder, and she could feel the heat off his face. "I can do more than that Icyhot bastard. Stop gettin' so cozy with him. And that purple-haired little shit"

"What," Senji blinked down at him, stunned. Sure, she had shared some pretty intimate moments with the boy practically pleading in front of her. But she had never considered that he would be jealous of her interactions with anyone else. Her brain went completely blank, with an extremely late realization dawning on her.

"Wait. Wait wait wait. Are we-?"

Her mouth worked faster than her brain, and her hands reflexively started waving around while she tried to process this information. Bakugo caught her left hand, pulling his around it and freezing her in place. Her right hand found its place on his shoulder, and he could feel her shaking. With what emotion, it was hard to tell. He wanted to ask, but was afraid of the answer as well.

"Idiot," he spat out quietly as he lifted his head. His pouty expression lasted for only a moment, and Senji felt her own face growing as hot as his hands. That confirmed Senji's revelation, and her mind was completely clear for just an instant. At that moment, the nearby sounds were both distant and painfully loud. The two stared at each other, breath heavy and hearts pounding in their chests. That moment felt like an eternity, and Senji was just about to snap from the pressure building up.

"Sorry, blame raccoon-eyes," Bakugo whispered, pulling his face closer to hers.