Katsuki moved across the room to turn on his bedside lamp, casting a warm glow around them, before easing himself onto the floor beside Kuri. She nervously combed her bedhead with her fingers and tucked the locks behind her ears before drawing her arms over her chest to grip her shoulders. Katsuki crossed his outstretched legs and bumped his elbow against Kuri's as he glanced at her disconcerted mien. The touch prompted Kuri to uncross her arms and exhale.

"Sorry for waking you up," Kuri said, her hands resting on her lap. "I just needed to see you."

"No need to apologize," Katsuki said, trying to hold back a yawn. "What was your dream about?"

Considering it was a nightmare, Katsuki wondered if it could be associated with her trauma. Kuri told him a while back that she had "scary dreams about the past," which Katsuki assumed pertained to her kidnapping. If he were correct, it might really be time for Katsuki to share the advice he'd gathered.

"Well, at first, I was running through a house, getting away from something. Then, I ran into a dark room, and you were there, tied to a chair," Kuri said slowly, her breathing slightly unstable. "Then this creepy-looking person—some sort of tall, void monster—came and attacked you. And I couldn't move."

Kuri stopped, biting her shaking lip. Katsuki furrowed his brow and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Bunny—"

"It was really scary," she broke out in a quiet sob. "You were screaming so much, but I couldn't save you before you died. Then that thing tortured and killed me too." Kuri clenched her fists and drew her knees up to her chest. "When I woke up, for a second, I really thought you were dead. I knew it was just a dream, but I couldn't go back to sleep, so I came here."

As her tears began to fall, Katsuki slid an arm over Kuri's shoulders to embrace her. Kuri tilted her body toward him, and Katsuki let her arms encircle his waist.

"I'm right here, alive," Katsuki whispered, hugging her close. He leaned his head against hers. "We're safe."

Kuri was silent for a second before squeezing him with her hug and piping up in a weak voice.

"I wish I wouldn't have nightmares," she whispered. "It's been almost two years, but I've had them for the last week. Before that, too."

"I'm sorry, Bunny," Katsuki muttered into her hair, not knowing what else to say.

"I just want to be done with it and go back to normal," Kuri said, a sob catching in her throat at the end of her sentence.

"You will," Katsuki said, hoping this promise would ring true.

They continued holding each other for a few minutes as Kuri cried softly. Once her breathing normalized, Katsuki gave her some tissues, and Kuri sat on Katsuki's bed while he stayed on the floor.

"You know, I thought hero stuff was growing on me," Kuri mumbled, dabbing her eyes. "Going to work was kinda fulfilling, even though we had to do annoying things like run in the rain."

But the mission changed things, Kuri explained. A singular kidnapping case reminded her of all she hated about their job and her unfitness for this line of work. There was just too much stress involved in being a hero. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't be what her parents wanted. The dilemma was that she also couldn't stomach disappointing them.

Not to mention, she didn't even like violence. Kuri confessed she feared the person she became when she was afraid during battle because it usually spurred her into brutal action. Though she usually used her power for defense, it could be lethal, and she opposed killing anyone.

As Katsuki sat on the floor before her, silently listening to Kuri spilling everything on her mind, he wondered what prompted her speech. He didn't think it was her nightmare in its singularity; rather, her pent-up emotions had reached a boiling point on this late night, and she couldn't bottle things up any longer.

"Also, forget my kidnapping—I didn't like hero stuff to begin with," Kuri said, bringing her legs up to sit criss-cross. She folded Katsuki's sheets over to cover her bare knees from the chilly air conditioning and began motioning with her hands while she talked. "I've seen enough from being exposed to hero society since I was a baby to know about its dark side. I didn't realize until I was older, but hero society is corrupt, exploitative, and doesn't care about us."

Kuri's expression grew furious as she ranted about older heroes' disregard for the healthy development of heroes-in-training. Mentors glorified toxic training regimens and pushed students to injure themselves, only for many hero school graduates to not become pro heroes as adults.

While Kuri spoke, Katsuki mulled over her claims and saw truth in them. As with any other societal institution, hero society had its fair share of internal problems. Still, that made him want to be a better hero than all those shitheads. Katsuki had ideas on the subject but didn't want to interrupt Kuri when he mostly agreed with her anyway. He knew she spoke so passionately because she was describing her own experience. Kuri had been stretched thin with hundreds of training methods just so she could reach the pinnacle of ability and become the capable hero her parents wished for. Of course, she had a lot to say about hating hero stuff.

"Besides that, I hate getting hurt all the time. Do you remember how many times you've been seriously injured?" Kuri asked, suddenly slowing her rambling into a conversation again.

"Nope," Katsuki said. With all of UA's hardcore battles—whether school-sanctioned or against villains—Katsuki had his fair share of injuries. Plus, there was the work study and the years before high school when he picked fights and, though he never lost, got a bit beat up.

"Same," Kuri said. Her history with injuries was probably worse than his, considering she started hero training at four. "Isn't that messed up?"

"Maybe," Katsuki shrugged. "But it's what happens when you're putting yourself on the line to save others."

Kuri paused and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Right… I feel like I sounded selfish just now," Kuri chuckled self-consciously. "I wish I could save people without being grievously injured. But first, I would have to become the strongest person alive, and that sounds like a lot of work."

"It doesn't feel as bad, trying to become the strongest, if you enjoy working towards that goal," Katsuki mused.

"Oh, right, that's your dream!" Kuri said, suddenly smiling. Her spark of joy brought a grin to his face. "I'm cheering for you, Katsuki."

"And I'm cheering for you, too," he replied, gazing at her with adoration. "Whatever you decide to do."


The two of them sat there for a bit, just silently staring at each other like a couple of goofballs before Kuri asked Katsuki if he wanted to sit next to her. She knew Katsuki moved to the floor when she sat on his bed because he wanted to be gentlemanly and give her space, but Kuri just wanted to cuddle.

Since she asked, Katsuki got up and sat beside her, intertwining their fingers when she took hold of his hand. Kuri leaned her head on his shoulder as she thought more about all she said.

Kuri's entire existence was a fight between two sides of herself. The desire to use her power for good versus the desire to claw her way out of this job. The desire to stay with Katsuki versus the desire (or was it an obligation?) to return home. Japanese or American. Please Mom or please Dad. She battled on both fronts for an unending war.

Kuri still hadn't managed, after all these years, to definitively say whether or not she would be a hero. Sure, she said she hated and didn't want to be one, but little things kept her from forcing her way off this path.

"You know, I think I could like hero stuff," Kuri murmured, drumming her fingers against the back of Katsuki's hand while she thought. "Helping people is by far the best part of our job."

"It is also most of our job," Katsuki said. Kuri poked him in the side for his comment.

However, Kuri didn't like seeing civilians in trouble because it distressed and mentally strained her so badly that her brain wouldn't function properly. Saving those little kids especially hurt… Kuri couldn't bear to hear them cry, so she shut down.

"Chasing and fighting criminals can also be exciting," Kuri said, racking her brain for other memories of the fun parts of hero work. Mostly, her mind went to silly moments with Katsuki, Izuku, and Shoto.

"You're not forcing yourself to like it, are you?" Katsuki asked.

Katsuki's question took her by surprise. He cut straight to the point, sifting past her shallow reasoning for why hero work was actually great to force Kuri to confront her truth. She chewed on her lip as she considered her answer.

"When I was little, I dreamed of being a good hero like my parents. Now, I don't know," Kuri sighed. If she diverged from the path laid out for her, she became a directionless teenager. If she remained on track, Kuri would have to convince herself not to be miserable. "The only things keeping me in the hero course are my parents, you, and—"

"Me?!" Katsuki asked incredulously, pointing a finger at his chest. Kuri peeked at Katsuki and laughed at his shocked face. "I'm not forcing you to do anything—"

"I meant I want to stay in the same class as you," Kuri grinned. Katsuki let his hand fall and scoffed.

"That's silly…" Katsuki muttered, his smile indicating her words had pleased him.

"The last reason I would go pro is my quirk. My whole life, people have told me that I should use my strength to help others. As if I'm obligated to be a hero because I have a good quirk."

"You're not, though. You can do whatever the hell you want. There's no point in continuing down this path if you hate it," Katsuki said, his tone suddenly turning serious as he tilted his body toward her. He clasped Kuri's hand between both of his, looking down at them as he continued to speak. "I know you've been suffering. You're strong in every sense, but that doesn't make you invincible. No one is."

"Not even you?" Kuri lightly joked, raising an eyebrow. Katsuki's words were uncannily heartfelt, and it caught her off guard. She thought humor would loosen him up, but his demeanor remained earnest.

"Not even me," Katsuki chuckled, shaking his head. "People have limits, and maybe you've met yours. If hero work is stressing you out, it's okay to quit. There's gotta be a better career out there for you."

Kuri looked down at her hand sandwiched between Katsuki's and placed her other hand on the stack. He had good points, and though Kuri was afraid, she had to admit that she needed to stop. At the very least, she needed a break.

"You're right. I am at my limit," Kuri said, patting his hand. But there was still no way to quit. She would still be a minor after graduation and thus be forced back into her family's clutches. "Ugh, I just want to help people. I wish I didn't have all this extra crap confusing me."

Heroism wouldn't have been her pursuit if she didn't have hero parents. Something else had to be her true calling. She just hadn't discovered that "something" yet.

Kuri let go of Katsuki's hands and flopped onto her back. She uncrossed her legs and extended them over the edge. Katsuki glanced at her, and she stared back.

"Can I sleep here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with a teasing smile. Katsuki rolled his eyes at her trying to make him flustered, but he still blushed.

"You should go back to your room if you're going to sleep," he said. "If people see you coming out of my room in the morning, they'll be hella annoying."

Kuri let her head loll to the side and looked away from him. She knew it was a bad look to spend the night together (although her friends already knew she slept over at Katsuki's house), but Kuri couldn't leave his side yet.

"I don't want to have another nightmare, though…"

Neither spoke for a minute since Kuri had nothing else to say, and Katsuki was presumably forming a response. She rolled onto her right side and began tracing the seam on Katsuki's sheet, drawing her finger back and forth along the straight line. When Kuri talked to Katsuki, she had control over her thoughts. In dreams, she had no power over the narrative, and her fears would manifest against her will. At least if she slept beside Katsuki, she would wake up and immediately feel safe.

"Hey, Bunny, have you… considered therapy?"

Well, that was a question Kuri didn't expect.

"I did, right after it happened," Kuri answered after a beat. "But I was kidnapped while preparing to transfer here, so I didn't think I had time. Plus, it felt weird to bring it up with my parents. They never asked if I needed it, so I just decided to get over it and go to school."

"Are you okay with that?" Katsuki asked, to which Kuri shrugged, still facing away from him. He sighed and flopped down beside her. "You should make it a priority to find a therapist. I've been looking into stuff, and I think you might have PTSD."

"PTSD…?" Kuri rolled over to face him, quirking up an eyebrow.

"Post-traumatic stress—"

"I know what it stands for," Kuri said, waving her hand to stop him. "I don't think I have that."

"Doesn't hurt to go to therapy anyway," Katsuki rebutted. "Maybe I'm a hypocrite for telling you to get therapy to process your kidnapping when I haven't had therapy even though I also was kidnapped, but—"

"Yeah, you are a hypocrite," Kuri interjected with a laugh. "You should go too!"

"I will once you do," Katsuki said. "Your situation is more urgent than mine; I don't get night terrors or anything. I just have other issues…"

Kuri stared at her boyfriend for a few seconds. He silently pleaded with her, his cute gaze making it too hard to refuse. It wasn't like Kuri was avoiding therapy; she just felt it was a lot of trouble. But Katsuki's ardent desire for her to get help moved Kuri's heart. He wanted her to heal, so Kuri would take the first step toward a better life.

"Fine," Kuri breathed, closing her eyes. "I'll try to ask my parents later."

"When's later?" Katsuki asked. Kuri shrugged in response, but that didn't satisfy him, so he suggested a time. "You can ask when we see them in a few weeks."

"Eh… We'll see," Kuri conceded with an unsure grin. "Thank you for worrying about me, though. I wish we had talked about all this before the mission."

Maybe talking earlier could have circumvented her tumultuous emotions in response to the case.

"At least we talked now," Katsuki said. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. Kuri smiled back at him and brought their joined hands to her lips as he asked a question. "Are you looking forward to summer training?"

"Well, I'm not excited to have aching muscles for two weeks," Kuri said. Otherwise, she was looking forward to the end of exams. She had enough stress in her life without school.

"At least we're going off campus this year."

"But our first week is at school, and it's supposedly gonna be super intense…" Kuri complained, rolling onto her stomach. "Why is the second week's destination a mystery?"

"To be weird," Katsuki shrugged.

"Well, wherever we go, I hope it's relaxing," Kuri said, closing her eyes and loosening her shoulders. "Being a third-year is so tiring."

"Must be time to go back to sleep," Katsuki said, suddenly pushing himself into a sitting position. Kuri sighed and did the same, rubbing at her eyes.

"Alright," she said, stretching her back and hopping to her feet. She glanced at the clock and widened her eyes because it was nearly two. "I've kept you up for long enough."

Kuri hurried to the door with Katsuki behind her. She turned to give him a hug before he could reach for the doorknob.

"Good night," she said. Her cheek pressed against his t-shirt, and she could feel the warmth of his skin underneath.

"Sleep tight," he replied, patting her back before sending her on her way.

Kuri crept quietly through the hall back to her room and threw herself into bed, exhaustion hitting her harder once she wasn't distracted by Katsuki. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, a smile on her face.

She slept soundly for the rest of the night.