Chapter 25

Bakugou was scowling sitting on the bench outside the changing rooms as Miwako tried on swimsuit after swimsuit that the girls kept throwing over the door.

She was whining that each one made her look stupid so she hadn't even stepped out of the room to show anyone. Tick marks started appearing on his head after the nth complaint that the bathing suit didn't fit right left her mouth. "JUST FUCKING COME OUT OF THE ROOM SO WE CAN SEE ALREADY WHISKERS!"

The girls also tried to get their friend to show them the newest bathing suit that they brought her. They all gave each other looks the second they heard the lock on the door slide open. The bikini they got was chosen with a specific explosive blond in mind.

Out came Miwako looking at the ground with her arms crossed, unintentionally making her breasts come out more, showing off her amazing figure. She was wearing a black two-piece that had orange accents on it. "I don't think my boobs are supposed to look like this." Bakugou just sat there wide-eyed. Sure they spend the nights together, but never had she been in anything less than a tank top and shorts.

The girls crowded around her pushing Bakugou out of the way to confirm that it was actually the perfect fit. Jiro spoke up when the shy look never left Miwako's face. "We can find one that is more modest if you want. There are a lot of designs that we can get that might make you more comfortable."

"No" They all looked over when they heard Bakugou speak for the first time since he saw Miwako. "She looks perfect the way she is. She doesn't need to cover anything."

A small smile made its way onto Miwako's face as she walked closer to him. "Ya really think so?"

"I'd never lie to you."

The other girls felt as if they were intruding on a private scene and looked away.

Miwako and Bakugou walked around the mall for a few other essentials before deciding on heading to the food court. While looking around to see all their options a hand suddenly wrapped around Miwako's shoulders, pulling her away from Bakugou.

The smell of campfire and cigarette smoke registered in her mind and she knew instantly who had their hand wrapped around her throat.

Bakugou whipped around the second her hand left his and his eyes immediately narrowed when they spotted a burnt stranger holding onto her.

"Now now, let's have a civil conversation alright?" Dabi was ecstatic when he saw Miwako. He turned his hand to tilt her face up making sure the other boy could see his hand wrapped snugly around her throat. "Ya miss me dollface?"

Miwako was not amused at all. She attempted to move but the second she did, his hand started to heat up. "I just saw you a few days ago. Is this really necessary?"

Bakugou stomped towards them but Dabi just pulled her backward and heated his hands enough for smoke to start appearing. Leaving red marks on Mwiako's neck. "I wouldn't come any closer kid."

Bakugou stopped his advancement but made sure to keep his hands balled up to collect as much sweat as he could in case this ended in a fight. " What do you want with her, you burnt piece of shit."

"Woah, you kiss your mother with that mouth? Ease up, I'm not here to hurt her. I just wanna talk."

Miwako spoke up. "Talk about what? If you wanted a civil conversation so bad you could've just asked ya know. News flash this is not how you treat friends."

"Ah now, where's the fun in that? Besides, I figured you liked it a bit rough. Anyway, I wanted to see if you had an answer to my proposal?" Dabi finally let her go and Bakugou grabbed her arm to pull her behind him. "She's not doing anything with you, you fucking lunatic."

Dabi raised his hands up in a surrendering fashion, "I wasn't asking you buddy, but if you don't have an answer yet that's alright dollface, I can wait for you. In the meantime though, I left you a little present in locker 209 at the post office off main st. Consider it a preview of what I could offer you for our dream."

He threw a key towards them that Bakugou caught before making his exit. Bakugou wanted to go after him but Miwako pulled him back and took the key from his hands. "Don't fucking tell me you're gonna go there. It could be a trap!"

She put the key in her pocket for safekeeping. "I honestly don't think it is. Either way, I'll be careful when I go."

"Then I'm coming with you."

Miwako opened her mouth to argue but Bakugou beat her to it before stepping closer to her and inspecting her neck. "No fucking ifs, ands, or buts. Either I'm coming with you or you're not going." Suddenly an alarm rang throughout the mall and it was put on lockdown. Dabi apparently wasn't the only villain at the mall that day. All Might was horrified that he wasn't there to help his successor or daughter. He was practically foaming at the mouth asking them a bunch of questions and looking them over for any injuries. When he saw the red marks on Miwako's neck, he almost had a conniption. All Might could guess exactly who left those marks. He didn't approve of her relationship with Dabi, but he understood her need to see his perspective. Even he felt pity for the boy. Never in his years could he have imagined Endeavor doing such atrocious acts to his own children.

He placed a heavy hand on Miwako's head and made sure she was making eye contact with him before speaking. "Miwako, I don't like that you are talking to this person, but I trust your decisions. I just ask that you keep Aizawa and I in the loop."

Miwako understood her father's concern for her well-being and readily agreed. It doesn't hurt to have a backup if needed. All Might took her and Bakugou back home after all the statements were made. She told him about the key Dabi gave her and her plans on visiting the mailbox the next day.

She woke up to her phone ringing and groaned as she rolled over to try and grab it still half asleep. "The fuck do those extras want?" Bakugou grumbled. She opened her eyes and squinted at the bright light. "Apparently the girls are all going to the pool."

His phone started to buzz next and he grunted as he had to move and scowled at the screen. He threw the phone back on the bed, not bothering to see what it was about. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his phone next to see the boys wanted to get together at the pool too for extra training before camp. "We should go and have fun with everyone." She said as she started to get out of bed.

"Why would I want to hang out with those bastards?"

She pulled the blankets off the bed and slapped his legs. "Get up, you can't be antisocial forever." He grumbled to himself as he got out of bed and started getting ready for the day before they left for the pool. Once their bags were packed they left, letting All Might know where they would be for the day.

They decided that they would go out for lunch first and to swing by the post office before meeting up with everyone else. They got there later than everyone else and Miwako noticed that they were all wearing school-issued bathing suits. "Should I change into that too?" She asked as she set her bag down next to Bakugou's.

Jirou ushered her closer to them as she whispered. "We found out that Mineta and Kaminari were only planning on coming here to stare at us so that's why we changed." she glanced over at Bakugou, "Though I doubt you would have a problem with your guard dog here."

Miwako chuckled as she stood back up and took her clothes off. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She sat down at the edge of the pool, swinging her legs back and forth enjoying the cool water on the hot day.

Bakugou made his way toward her as the other guys started to stretch and work out. "Why aren't you getting in the damn water?" Miwako scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment and mumbled out a response. Bakugou raised his eyebrows and leaned in closer. "Talk louder whiskers, I can't hear shit." Miwako mumbled again.

"Hah? Speak up damn it!"

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!" Miwako slapped her hands over her mouth and turned beet red. Bakugou looked at her for a second with a blank face before turning over and laughing his ass off. "You-You can't fuckin' swim? That's precious."

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"

Bakugou slowly stopped laughing, but a few snickers still made their way out. He hopped into the pool by her feet and held his arms out. "Come here. I'll teach you how to swim. What kind of 16-year-old doesn't know how to fucking swim?"

Miwako pouted as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She whispered, "You know I always just walked on water so learning to swim was never really a priority."

"Shut up and focus"

Bakugou adjusted her hold on him until her body was floating on the water belly down. He was holding her hands and helping her keep her head above the water. "Start kicking your legs but keep the splashing to a minimum. Don't bend your knees too much either"

They stayed like that while Bakugou walked slowly around the pool until he had her stand up to show her the arm movements. The whole class was watching them and everyone thought about how soft Bakugou was with Miwako. He never seems to really be angry or annoyed with her at all. By the end of the day, Miwako successfully learned how to swim. Not great, but passable in Bakugou's eyes.

Bakugou and Miwako sat on her bedroom floor staring at the manila folder that was left in the mailbox. Miwako finally reached out to open the folder and pulled out the papers. The first two pages were profiles of a girl and a boy.

Akane Hikari was the first profile and she had a tracking quirk. She was taken by the commission when she was only 8 years old and was apparently killed at 18 when her quirk didn't develop the way they wanted it to

The second profile was for a man named Daichi Cho. He had a quirk that identifies other people's quirks, including any and all weaknesses. He was bought when he was 11 years old and executed when he tried to escape at age 24.

Bakugou took the papers out of her hands to look them over. "Why the hell did he give us papers on dead people?"

Miwako spotted writing on the back of the papers when Bakugou took them. "Wait, turn it around."

There were addresses on each of the papers and a quick search later they found out they both lived in the same area, Deika City. Only their names are changed now and they appeared to have gone through plastic surgery. The last page, however, made Bakugou's blood run cold. It was Miwako's own profile. Her quirk was listed as energy manipulation. The commission has her name on the high-profile danger list. They would pay 2 million yen for her alive and 1 million for her dead.

It raised questions about which hero has access to the hit list and just who executes them. Nothing like this is ever on the news. No one has ever heard of the Hero Commission putting a hit on anyone, villains included. The profile contained her address and information on her family and friends. Her daily routine was even in the profile. Bakugou stood up "You have to tell someone about this. We need to tell a pro."

"How would we even know which pros are in on this and which aren't? I know we can trust Mr. Aizawa and All Might though. I'll give them a copy of this tomorrow when we go camping. For now, I'm going to make a clone to go to Deika City to talk to the other two people. They might be able to give us more clues." Miwako made her clone and had it transform to look like Ino. It would take the clone two days to make it to Deika City by train.

With that plan in mind, they both went to bed. Miwako fell asleep easily but Bakugou couldn't fall asleep. He was worried about what they were starting to uncover and the dangers that Miwako was putting herself in. He tried to reassure himself that she was strong and she could handle it, but the doubts kept piling up. Bakugou pulled her closer to try and comfort himself a little. She's here and safe with me. I won't let anyone take her away. I'll kill them.

It was at this time that he started to question his morality. Bakugou knew that it was wrong, that heroes don't kill people, but the person in his arms was a hero to him. So what exactly was a hero? If push comes to shove, he knew he would stain his hands for the rest of his life for her, just as he knew she would do for him.

As Bakugou was showering in the morning, Miwako took the papers and made copies of them, and let her dad know what was going on. She texted Aizawa that she had important information to give to him, but didn't give any details over the phone. When they made it onto the bus, she slipped Aizawa the papers discreetly before heading to her seat. She decided to take a nap while they drove to their destination.

She was woken up by Bakugou shaking her shoulders saying they were at a rest stop. Once they made it off the bus she narrowed her eyes. "Something about this doesn't seem right."

Miwako's gut instincts were on point. Once the wild pussycats made their appearance, the ground beneath everyone started to shake violently. Bakugou and her were able to react quick enough not to be taken down by the sliding mud. The rest of the class however weren't as lucky.

Miwako ended up getting ahead of her classmates and arrived at the campgrounds hours before them. She immediately went to get food and talk to Aizawa about the papers. "So, what do you think about it all?" she asked through a mouthful of food as she sat down on the chair next to Aizawa.

Aizawa frowned and slapped the back of her head. "Don't talk with food in your mouth. The profile on you is concerning. I've never heard of any hits on anyone in my entire career. The other two though, we need to send someone to check them out."

"Already done. I sent my clone last night to go to Deika City to see what they're up to and to see if they have any information. The clone should pop the day after tomorrow if everything goes right." With that, the conversation ended and they sat in comforting silence. Out of the corner of Miwako's eyes, she saw a little kid spying on them by the door. "Hey kid, you want some food?"

Miwako was shocked at how quickly the boy's expression turned from neutral to disgusted. "Why would I want to hang out with heroes?"

Miwako didn't know what to say to that and the boy ran away. She turned to Aizawa and raised her eyebrows. He sighed and put his mug of coffee down. "That's Kota. He's Mandalay's nephew. His parents were pro heroes who died on the job and since then he's hated anything that has to do with heroes."

Miwako could relate to him and so she got up from the table and tried to go find the little boy. She sensed him farther into the forest and went to sit down next to him. Kota was shocked that she found his secret hideout. "What are you doing here?! Go away!"

Miwako ignored his tone and stayed seated. "I heard you hate heroes. I never really understood the fascination with them, still don't to be honest. Do you wanna talk about it?" Kota was confused at her admission. "You don't think heroes are cool either? Then why are you training to be one? Don't lie to me!"

"Well, no one saved my family from being killed. Not one hero was there when I was left all alone with only my twin to watch out for me. We were ridiculed, spit on, and beaten up. He's gone now too. I think some heroes shouldn't be heroes at all, but that doesn't mean every hero is bad."

Kota was enraged at her story. "What do you mean they aren't all bad? You said it yourself, no one helped you."

Miwako gave a small smile and patted his head to try and calm him down. "Heroes are people too. They can't be everywhere at once so people like you and me suffer because of that. I'm training to be a hero to change the fates of kids like us. Don't write everyone off so quickly. You have a right to be upset at the system, you have a right to be upset your parents are gone, but don't push everyone away before you get to know them. "

They sat there in silence for a while until Miwako felt her classmates close to the training grounds. "Let's go, it's almost dinner time and you can't skip dinner." They got up and Miwako bent down to her knees for Kota to hop onto her back. "Hop on kid, I'll show you something cool but you gotta keep it a secret."

Kota was confused at first but was too intrigued by her offer to refuse. Once he was secured onto her back Miwako sent a little chakra onto the soles of her feet and jumped. They flew through the trees and Kota lifted his arms to enjoy the wind. He was laughing in joy still as they landed on the edge of the campgrounds and he slid off her back. She spotted Bakugou and went to go talk to him. "Did you have fun out there?"

Bakugou became enraged and pointed a finger at her as he yelled. "And just where the hell have you been?!" Miwako laughed, "I've been here relaxing for the past few hours. Y'all are pretty slow."

"Who do you think you're callin' slow whiskers? The extras dragged me down!"

Bakugou's tirade was interrupted by Midoriya getting hit in the balls. Miwako had to bite her lip hard to not laugh at Midoirya's unfortunate circumstance. The class was confused when Kota ran to her side and latched onto her shirt while glaring at everyone.

Bakugou had a soft look on his face as he gazed at the scene. "What a precious kid."

Todoroki didn't miss a beat when replying. "He reminds me of you.", which just set Bakugou off again.

Miwako just walked off after picking Kota up to get food for dinner. The rest of the night went off without a hitch besides Mineta's little stunt at the hot springs. The next day they all got up for training. Aizawa decided that Miwako would be best suited to helping the other students since she was already so far ahead of them.

Miwako started off helping Kirishima and Ojiro with their martial arts skills. She stayed near them and helped them fix their forms while also throwing small rocks at them periodically to test their spatial awareness.