A/N: Yeah so this fic is definitely going on hiatus. Since I'm spending all my time on the Christmas special and I don't know how long this rewrite will take or how much I'll change, updates are definitely gonna stop for a little while. Hopefully not long though, as I'm officially going on winter break today. I prepped so many chapters in advance so this wouldn't happen, but now that we're getting close to the chapters I'm rewriting I have no choice but to stop updating for a bit if I want to give y'all a quality romance 😭

A lot of pictures this chapter. 😉

Art -

[Complete Gallery] Add /21axlkt3bolc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

[Ch. 55] Add /218audq6qp6v to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

"...Midoriya?"

Hitomi approached the curly-haired boy, whose back was facing her. He didn't respond to her call, which was a little odd. He would usually warmly reply, so it threw Hitomi off, to say the least.

"Midoriya? Is everything okay?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. The moment she touched his shoulder, he fell to the ground abruptly, his arms wrapped in splints.

Hitomi blinked, suddenly back at the training camp, in the same clothes from when it was attacked. The thick smell of smoke hit her like a freight train, practically throwing her off her feet.

What?

The panic and distress came rushing back as she stared at Midoriya's broken body on the ground, rushing to help him. "Midoriya!"

The moment she touched him though, she blinked and she was back in America, back in her 12 year old body. Back at the outdoor shopping mall.

Back when Nari got her scar.

Hitomi found herself on the ground, a distance away from Nari and the villain, his claws threatening to slice her.

She tried to will her body to move, but she was frozen. Nari saw her out of the corner of her eye, her head craning to look at the bluenette as the villain's claw poked her neck, blood dripping down her skin.

"H...Hitomi…"

Silver eyes widened in horror as Hitomi finally, finally moved her arm to reach out, desperate to save her friend.

"W-

WAIT-!"

She blinked again to see she was back at training camp, her arm still outstretched. But who was she reaching for?

"KACCHAN!"

Hitomi looked behind her to see Midoriya running in her direction, his arms wrapped in the splints she saw just moments before. She turned to face forward abruptly, realizing Bakugou was right in front of her. The villain's hand was wrapped around his neck, slowly pulling him through the portal as if to taunt her.

Get up, GET UP!

MOVE!

She sprang up from the ground, her legs moving forward as she tried reaching for him.

"BAKUGOU!"

Before she could even touch him, he was pulled through the portal, it disappearing completely as she fell to the ground.

"Bakugou…"

No. No, no, no, NO!

"...Kanetsukabe-san…"

Hitomi paused, slowly turning her head to see Midoriya on the ground behind her. His voice came out strained, Hitomi surprised by the glare on his face.

"You were right in front of him… why didn't you save him?"

Before she could open her mouth, she found herself in a hospital, sitting in a chair by Nari's bed. Her friend was unconscious, the slow beep of the heart rate monitor the only sound in the room.

The door opened, Nari's parents rushing in. Her mother stopped at the sight of Hitomi, looking at her with disdain.

"Hitomi… why are you here? You shouldn't be."

"I-"

"You had the quirk to protect my daughter. Why didn't you?"

"Useless."

Another voice. It was male this time, and Hitomi opened her eyes with a gasp, finding herself on the ground. The forest of the training camp, again. She sat up abruptly, glancing around frantically.

There was a sudden chill and a figure seemed to step forward from the shadows, dressed in black with unkempt chestnut hair. His mask was pulled down to his chin, revealing his face.

The villain she'd fought back at camp. The one who had called himself "Ghost."

He twirled one of his kamas in his hand listlessly, staring down at her. "Just another useless hero," he chuckled with a wry smile. "A quirk like that and you still couldn't save your friends."

"Don't you get it?" a new voice called.

This time, Hitomi found herself standing alone in an endless void, wearing her hero costume. She recognized the voice, it belonging to someone she'd only met recently.

"What can you really do?"

Hitomi turned around, seeing Yoshiho approaching her.

Before she knew it, she was pinned to the ground by Yoshiho's quirk, the gravity pushing down on her like a heavy weight. Yoshiho loomed over her, disgust on her face.

"It's just as I said. Someone like you, with a quirk like yours, is useless. You're never able to do anything."

Tears started to pool in Hitomi's eyes. "You… you're wrong," she stuttered.

"Am I? You can't save anyone.

Not your best friend, not your classmates, no one.

Do you really think you have what it takes to be a hero?

You're just fooling yourself."

"You're wrong," Hitomi cried out, covering her ears. "You're wrong, you're WRONG-"

Hitomi's eyes shot open at the sound of soft knocking on her bedroom door.

"Kanetsukabe? You up?"

Bakugou?

"E-Eh? Um, yes…" Her voice came out weak, Hitomi noticing the fresh tears running down her face.

"I'm coming in."

Hitomi took a second to wipe her tears, a moist rag falling off her forehead onto her pillow.

That's right… I'm sick…

The door swung open slowly, Hitomi pulling her blanket closer in an attempt to hide her face.

Bakugou entered her room, placing a bowl of soup on the side table by her bed. Hitomi sniffled, recalling the nightmare she'd just experienced.

"What can you really do?"

I thought…

I thought I had finally moved past that.

...I guess old habits are hard to break, Hitomi thought bitterly.

"I made you lunch, so eat it whenever you're up for it. I'm going back to cleaning."

Right as he turned to leave, Hitomi's body moved before she could realize what she was doing.

"W-

Wait!"

She abruptly grabbed the back of his shirt, tears flowing down her face as Bakugou looked back at her in surprise.

"C-Could you stay here with me a little longer…?"

If you leave, you could disappear again.

Hitomi trailed off as she finally looked up, seeing the dumbfounded expression on Bakugou's face. She quickly let go as she looked away, scrubbing at her eyes in embarrassment. "Sorry… that was silly of me to ask; I just had a stupid nightmare where you got taken away- it was dumb, anyway-"

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bakugou run a hand through his hair as he scoffed, before she heard him say, "It's only for a little bit, isn't it…"

"You don't have to…!" Hitomi stuttered, feeling her face flush. "I don't know what was going through my head, really…!"

"Move over."

Hitomi stared at him for a moment before she flopped back onto her bed, pulling her blanket closer to avoid Bakugou seeing her in such an embarrassed state any longer.

She felt her heart starting to beat faster as she turned so her back was facing him, waiting for him to sit down on her bed.

He laid down next to her instead.

Hitomi went rigid, noticing how close their bodies were to each other on her small bed.

Well, now it's weird to say something like 'I thought you were gonna sit down'! Why'd he even lay down next to me, anyway?!

"Um… don't you think you'll get sick being this close to me…?"

"Like hell I will. My immune system isn't fucking weak like yours apparently is."

"Hey…"

"So? What were you even doing dreaming about me getting taken, anyway?" Bakugou grumbled.

Hitomi faltered, recalling the nightmare. Was she really going to vent to Bakugou of all people about her feelings?

It seemed like she was.

"I just… I was so scared," Hitomi mumbled, bunching up the blanket in her hand. "I watched you get kidnapped when I was right in front of you back at the training camp, and… I'm scared something like that will happen again.

And it wasn't just you I saw. I saw Midoriya when his arms were wrapped in splints, and… and…Nari, back when I couldn't save her and she got that scar..."

Hitomi felt her eyes well up, laughing about how pathetic she could be.

"...I really am just useless."

Hitomi sniffled, wiping her face. Next to her she heard Bakugou growl, his voice rumbling in his throat.

"Stop saying that shit."

Hitomi stopped, turning over slightly to look at Bakugou in bewilderment. "...Huh?"

She saw Bakugou frown, the boy pushing some of his bangs back as he huffed. "That shit you're always going on about, about how you can't do anything. You need to stop doing that."

Hitomi rolled back over, fiddling with the Pikachu plushie that sat on her bed. "...I've been trying," she replied, feeling as if her heart was beginning to ache. "But… it's hard to let go of the mindset you've held onto for years, especially when you keep failing to protect the people you care about-"

Nari.

"-again-"

Midoriya.

"-and again-"

You.

"-and again."

Hitomi closed her eyes, trying to hold back tears as she felt her voice began to waver. "You were right in front of me," she mumbled, "and I didn't do anything."

Ah, the tears were flowing and they weren't stopping now.

"I didn't have any injuries, I was right there, and I could've reached for you, and what did I do? Nothing. All I did was watch, just like I did with Nari that day."

Hitomi covered her mouth, trying to hold back a sob. "I thought I had finally changed… but I guess not." She wiped her eyes, sniffling again. "Sorry," she mumbled. "You probably didn't want to listen to me vent, huh…?"

"...Dump as much as you want."

Hitomi's eyes widened, peeking over her shoulder to look at Bakugou in surprise. "...What?"

Bakugou was looking away, running a hand through his hair. "Keeping all that pent up inside…" he muttered, "until it all boils over, it's a bad idea."

Bakugou stared at the lava lamp that sat on Hitomi's dresser, thinking back to his fight with Midoriya. All that frustration and guilt he'd kept to himself for so long…

It felt awful.

Bakugou wasn't the type to talk about his feelings, opting for throwing punches and relieving the stress through fighting instead. But…

Hitomi wasn't like him.

Hitomi was the type of person who would completely break down.

And that was why she needed to let it out.

"You shouldn't… blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault," Bakugou grunted, turning to stare at the ceiling. He thought for a moment, trying to dredge up words. "You weren't obligated to… save me."

"That doesn't change the fact I could've done something," Hitomi replied.

Bakugou scowled. "I'm not done, Moon Face."

Moon Face? Hitomi thought. That's new…

She heard Bakugou grumble to himself, as if he was trying to think of something more to say.

"...You're so fixated on what you could have done to save everyone else," Bakugou finally said, "that you never stopped to think that maybe you needed saving, too."

Hitomi froze, her eyes widening.

"You were also a victim in that attack," Bakugou grumbled, feeling his eyes narrow at the mere thought of the villains, "so you shouldn't blame yourself for not being able to save me. Nobody could have back there, even I knew that."

"I…" Hitomi paused, thinking it over. "I guess I never thought of it that way…"

"Yeah, so stop believing everything's your own damn fault like an idiot."

Hitomi sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I'll try."

"Trying is enough," Bakugou said, sitting up. "You may think you haven't changed, but you're wrong. The fact you're going to try is proof of that." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, staring at Hitomi's carpet.

"You're not useless, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have… gotten your license, if you really couldn't do anything."

Hitomi's eyes widened, staring at Bakugou's back in awe. She saw him rub the back of his neck, hearing him huff.

"Always spouting off all that fucking nonsense…" Bakugou grumbled. "You are strong, y'know? Your force fields are practically indestructible, not to mention those new moves of yours…" Bakugou rose from the bed, beginning to make his way to the door.

"Quit selling yourself short, it fucking pisses me off hearing you say that about yourself all the time."

Hitomi felt her breath catch, at a loss for words.

Bakugou… thought that way about her?

"Bakugou…" Hitomi called after him, rolling over to look at him. She felt her face warm as he looked back at her, feeling a fluttery feeling in her chest. "Thanks… for saying all that," she said, smiling softly. "It made me feel better, at least just a little bit."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Bakugou turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets as he headed for the door. "...Whatever. I need to finish cleaning, so don't bother me."

Hitomi hummed in response, watching as he left the room, the door closing softly.

Hitomi felt odd.

All those things Bakugou said to her, it made her feel weird.

Her heart was practically buzzing in her chest.

It was a familiar feeling.

And it was happening a lot recently.

Whenever they were hanging out, when she watched him when they were creating their super moves, and now when Bakugou said all those nice things about her-

Hitomi's eyes widened, her cheeks turning red as the realization hit her like a freight train.

Oh my god.

I like Bakugou.

A/N: With her mind tired and hazy, it was hard for Hitomi to keep her feelings of self-doubt from resurfacing. She'd made progress in trying to move on from her self-blame after Nari's speech to her, but Yoshiho's words at the license exam set her back just a tad bit. Not like Hitomi actually holds any resentment towards her though. She's looked past that and has made the effort to be Yoshiho's friend. But the exhaustion of sickness allowed Hitomi's horrible feelings to return and manifest itself in the form of a horrible nightmare.

uwaaahh... Too soon?

I planned from the very beginning for this to be the point where Hitomi realizes her feelings. But looking back on it now, I wish I had spent more time establishing her and Bakugou as friends first. I was able to just a tad from the goof I made incorrectly numbering the chapters, but I wish I'd done more other than just that.

Oh, well. Let's just hope you all will enjoy how she handles this news from here on out. ^^

[EDIT] Also completely forgot to mention! Bakugou's new nickname for Hitomi "Moon Face" came from angelochako on Instagram. They were the one who gave me the idea for that nickname when I initially wrote this chapter, this update with the new art was a good time to finally mention it ^^;