Hey everyone!
I've been busy cooking up some new chapters for you. Originally, it was supposed to be just one... but it ended up turning into three! (I just can't stop yapping ahhh)
I'll drop the other 2 soon after some edits. This one features Deku, Katsuki, and Ochaco—hope I didn't butcher them!

Enjoy!

Aya's POV

A few days had passed since Toya's unsettling visit, yet his presence clung to my apartment like a stubborn stain I couldn't scrub away. I longed to erase the memory of his intrusion, but he seemed determined to linger. His messages pinged my phone like ghostly whispers in the dark, each notification a reminder that he had no intention of fading from my life. Toya's texts were infrequent yet persistent. Surprisingly restrained in his messages, he lacked the manic energy he exuded in person. I half expected him to flood my inbox, clinging to my attention like the invasive parasite he was after stealing my number from my phone. But no—he maintained a distance that was… rather pleasant.

I occasionally forgot to respond to his missives, but he never made a fuss about it; he simply lapsed into silence himself, which suited me perfectly. After all, Toya was a villain, and I had no desire to make this arrangement any more tangled than it needed to be.

Today was no different. Five messages from Toya had arrived since last night, all sitting unopened, waiting like little traps. I could feel their weight pressing on me, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. The more I let him into my life, the messier this already twisted dynamic between us would become—and I didn't need that kind of complication.

A brief chime shattered the room's quiet, pulling my gaze from the window to the glowing screen on the coffee table. Another message from Toya.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

I glanced back outside, an uneasy knot tightening in my stomach. It had been about an hour since Best Jeanist's call, and the tension hadn't eased. Nomus had been spotted in town again, and of all times, I was still stuck on these damn quirk-suppressing drugs. Like that wasn't enough to ruin my day, the students from Class 1A—the same group I'd supervised during my U.A. internship—were all out on patrol today, running their own short hero internships.

Aizawa and All Might had already warned me: if things went south, they'd send the students to my apartment. Most of them were nearby, patrolling districts not far from Kabukichō. I could practically feel the impending disaster as I stared out at the Tokyo evening sky, a quiet before the storm that only a hero's instincts could pick up. It was just a matter of time before something blew up.

Then, as if on cue, my phone buzzed. The first message from the students had arrived. I pulled my eyes from the window, glancing at the screen. Deku's name lit up with a simple message:
"Hey Aya. We need to come over, Kacchan and Ochaco are with me."

Of course, it had to be Deku pulling Katsuki out of trouble again. I couldn't help but smirk; it was like some cosmic joke how Izuku always ended up saving Katsuki's skin. Not that I minded—there was something undeniably satisfying about watching that arrogant jerk get knocked off his pedestal.

Still, Katsuki had every reason to be as cocky as he was. The kid was a natural talent, strong in ways that made you wonder just how much untapped power he had within him. But did he really have to shove it in everyone's face every five minutes? That was what grated on me. It wasn't the arrogance itself—I couldn't care less about that—it was the reckless attitude that had gotten him kidnapped by the League of Villains in the first place.

A little humility could've saved us all a lot of trouble back then. But Katsuki was who he was, and I didn't hold it against him—much.

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted about fifteen minutes later by the shrill ring of the doorbell. I dragged myself to the door, and before I could even ask who it was, Katsuki's voice boomed through the wood, "Hurry up, bloodsucker!"

I sighed, already exhausted at the mere thought of dealing with them. When I opened the door, the triad stood there in all their awkward glory. Deku, predictably, was a nervous wreck, his face a ridiculous shade of red. Beside him, Ochaco mirrored his flustered expression, scratching the back of her head with an embarrassed smile. The only one who managed to keep his composure—well, his version of it—was Katsuki, looking like he was about two seconds away from blowing something up just for the fun of it.

"Hi! I hope you read my message and we're not just barging in here," Deku stammered, his voice carrying that uncertain, overly polite tone that always made him seem like he was apologizing for existing.

"No, come in," I said, waving them inside. "I saw your message. I just didn't bother replying," I added, settling onto the floor beside the coffee table.

"Oh... okay," Deku muttered, his nervous energy almost suffocating as they shuffled into the living room, awkwardly taking off their shoes at the entrance. They followed me to the floor, where a new red oriental rug now lay. I hated to admit it, but Toya's snarky comments about my "lack of taste" had burrowed under my skin, leading to an impulsive purchase of the rug—and a few paintings now hanging on the walls, as if covering the emotional scratches he'd left behind.

"So... what's with the blushing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as they awkwardly took their seats on the carpet.

Deku's eyes shot to the ceiling, his face somehow turning an even deeper shade of red. Ochaco, meanwhile, stared intently at the ground, as if willing it to swallow her whole.

"We got hit on... by the hookers downstairs," Katsuki grumbled, arms crossed and voice dripping with venom.

"Oh... right." I winced. "Yeah, I probably should've mentioned the brothel in the building. My bad." The words came out more annoyed at my own negligence than concerned for their ordeal.

"Well, welcome to Kabukichō, I guess," I added with a wicked grin, the situation somehow managing to entertain me more than it should have.

After the awkward silence had hung in the air a little too long, Ochaco broke it with a quiet comment. "Looks pretty... modern here," she said, her eyes scanning the room like she was trying to make sense of the mismatched decor. Deku followed suit, his gaze drifting with the same curiosity, though his expression carried a bit more enthusiasm.

Katsuki, however, remained predictably irritated. " Rather lame, if you ask me." I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't bother to engage. It was just Katsuki being Katsuki, after all.

Deku tried to smooth things over. "I think the decor suits Aya's style"

"Thanks, I guess?" I mumbled, not really sure if that was supposed to be a compliment.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Deku stammered, clearly trying to dig himself out of the hole he didn't even realize he'd stepped into.

Before I could respond, my phone rang—an irritating reminder of the chaos that never seemed to leave me alone. Instinctively, my eyes darted to the screen, bracing for bad news. But instead, it was Toya. Of course it was him.

What did he want now?

I ignored the call, deciding the students' safety was more important than indulging whatever game Toya was playing tonight. The ringing finally stopped, but my moment of relief was shattered when Ochaco giggled.

"'Dabi', saved with a heart emoji?" she laughed, her innocent amusement quickly spreading to Deku, whose eyes widened in surprise. Katsuki's gaze remained sharp and skeptical, but even he couldn't ignore it.

Ah, shit. I'd completely forgotten to change his contact name.

Ochaco grinned at me like a child with a juicy secret. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend!" she teased, her voice lilting with playfulness.

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I don't have a boyfriend. Just...ignore that." My voice was firm, but inside, I was cursing myself for not thinking ahead.

I stood up, desperate to change the subject. "You guys want a drink?" The words were barely out of my mouth when a message popped up on my phone. It was Toya again.

"We can have a drink in a minute, but first... do you have bad eyesight or something?" Katsuki's voice sliced through the room, sharp and laced with irritation.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

He jerked his chin toward the painting he'd been glaring at. "The painting's crooked as hell, and the nail's bent. It's a damn mess."

I looked at the painting. Sure enough, it was tilted at an odd angle, the nail barely holding. It looked ready to fall at any moment.

"Now that Kacchan mentions it, I can see it too," Deku chimed in, his voice hesitant, as if he were worried about stepping on Katsuki's territory.

Of course, Katsuki wasn't one to pass up a chance to gripe. "It's hanging so close to falling that it's pissing me off."

I sighed, the queasy feeling that had been bubbling up since earlier threatening to spill over. "Okay... and what do you want me to do about it?" I hissed back, my patience wearing thin.

"Well, if you want, we can—" Deku began, ever the helpful idiot, but Katsuki cut him off;

"Speak for yourself, nerd!" he barked, making Deku flinch.

"Sorry, sorry!" Deku stammered, quickly changing course. "I-I mean, if you want, I can hang it up properly for you."

I blinked, subtly surprised by the offer. "Oh, you'd do that for me?"

"Of course," Deku nodded, then he turned to Ochaco, who had been silently observing the whole scene. "Ochaco, will you help me?"

"Sure!" she said, her bright enthusiasm striking me as almost unnatural.

It was... oddly sweet. I wasn't used to people offering help without some ulterior motive. "Well then," I relented with a shrug. "I'll grab the hammer and a new nail."

"Wait, no," Deku said, already inspecting the situation with that calculating look of his. "That won't work. The picture's too heavy for just a nail—that's why it bent in the first place. Do you have a drill and screws?"

I paused to think. "Yeah, I think I've got that stuff somewhere in the cupboard."

Before I could move, my phone rang again, piercing through the conversation like a persistent insect. Toya. Once again.

What the hell was his deal today?

I ignored the call and headed toward the cupboard with Ochaco and Deku.

"I think it's urgent, Aya. Maybe you should answer it," Deku murmured, concern lacing his voice as we knelt to rummage through the last drawer. "He could be in danger with those Nomus around..."

My patience was wearing thin, and Deku's cautious tone didn't help. "He's certainly not in any danger," I muttered, rolling my eyes as Katsuki tossed my cell phone at me before I could even ask for it.

But just as I was about to answer, a thunderous explosion rocked the street. The sound wasn't distant; it shook the very walls of my apartment. The four of us rushed to the window, our eyes scanning the dark city. Smoke curled up from a nearby alley, twisting like a serpent through the dimly lit streets.

I glanced down at my phone, and of course a message from Toya flashed across the screen: "Call me back or I'll set the whole street on fire."

Typical.

I sighed, frustration mounting. "Excuse me for a second," I said, already feeling anger bubbling up inside me.

"Is everything okay?" Ochaco asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, don't worry," I said, more out of reflex than sincerity. I strolled into the kitchen, dialing Toya back. He answered immediately, as if he'd been waiting for this moment to pounce.

"What is it?!" I snapped, working hard to keep my voice from rising too high.

"'What is it?'—you really have the nerve to ask?" Toya's voice crackled through the line, edged with frustration. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you," I muttered, already fed up. "I'm busy right now."

There was a pause, then his voice slithered through the phone. "Oh, you're busy? What's got you so occupied?"

I walked back into the living room, the phone pressed against my ear, trying to ignore the simmering tension in his tone. "Let's get back to work," I called to the students, gesturing them toward the cupboard. Katsuki followed this time, clearly irritated by the interruption.

"Who are you talking to over there?" Toya's voice was sharper now, tinged with an edge of jealousy.

I knelt down, phone wedged between my shoulder and cheek as I rummaged through the drawer. "I have guests over," I replied casually, trying to suppress the flicker of unease in his question.

"There it is," Deku announced, triumphantly holding up the larger of my two drills. "Look at this beast!"

"And who are these guests?" Toya asked, his voice dripping with a thinly veiled snarl.

"There should be another one around here... somewhere. Use this if we can't find the smaller one," I said to Deku, who handed the heavy drill to Ochaco, who struggled to keep it steady.

Toya's tone shifted again, sharper. "I asked you a question."

"It doesn't matter who's here," I shot back, striving to keep my voice even despite the rising pressure. His little League of Villains had already stirred enough chaos, and the last thing I needed was for him to discover the students were with me. The less he knew, the better.

"Wow, this thing is massive," Ochaco marveled, her hands trembling slightly as she held the drill like it was something prized.

"It'll tear down her walls. Take the other one," Katsuki remarked, his voice dripping with his usual scorn.

"What?—What's going on over there?!" Toya's voice surged through the phone, fury bubbling beneath the surface.

"Why do you care who's at my place? Just tell me what you want," I retorted, annoyance creeping in. His bizarre suspicions were getting under my skin.

In her excitement, Ochaco accidentally activated the drill. The loud buzzing echoed through my phone's microphone. "Oh, this thing vibrates like crazy!" she giggled, almost overwhelmed by the sensation.

"Maybe we shouldn't use that one to dig in holes," Deku suggested innocently, oblivious to how that sounded.

"That's exactly what I said, you idiot," Katsuki hissed, his patience wearing thin. "Why do you even own a monster like that?"

Before I could muster a proper explanation, Toya's anger snapped. "You—" he faltered, his voice thick with rage, "I'm coming over now."

Oh, this was going to be a disaster.

"What? No, why the hell would you come over now?" My voice cracked with panic as I clutched the phone, my knuckles whitening around the device.

"Seriously?" Toya's voice oozed with exasperation, as if my protests were nothing more than a minor annoyance. "I've heard enough. I'm on my way. Ten minutes."

"You're not coming over!" I snapped, frustration turning my voice sharp. "Stay where you are. Better yet, turn around and crawl back to wherever you came from."

"No." Toya's tone was cold, unyielding. "You've confirmed my suspicions. I'm not going to sit back and let you keep... doing this to yourself." I could almost hear his determined footsteps echoing through the speaker, each one closer than I wanted him to be.

"What the hell are you even talking about?!" I demanded, finally locating the smaller drill and shoving it into Deku's hands along with a handful of screws. The students sensed the tension. Wordlessly, they rose and busied themselves with the task at hand, fixing the painting to avoid getting roped into my "problem."

Toya sighed, a long, drawn-out exhale, his frustration bleeding through the phone. "I told you before, didn't I? I don't like it when other people get too close... to you. But that's over tonight." His voice was a mix of jealousy and resolve, like he'd been pushed to the edge.

"But what are you putting an end to?" I shot back, barely keeping my irritation in check. The way he talked, it was like he believed he was saving me from some kind of moral collapse.

"That you're selling yourself out of loneliness," he said flatly, the pity and disgust in his voice hitting me like a slap.

"N-no! I'm not—" I stammered, but the line went dead before I could finish. The nerve of that idiot! How did he even come to such an insane conclusion? I'd made it clear that I wasn't a prostitute.

And yet, here I was, with a serious problem on my hands. A member of the League of Villains was coming to my apartment—again—and this time, I had three U.A. students to worry about. Worst of all? No quirk. No powers. Just me, stuck in the middle of this madness. It couldn't possibly get any worse.

I cast a glance at the trio, who were completely absorbed in their task, drilling screws into the wall, blissfully unaware of the storm about to crash through the door. The hum of the drill buzzed through the room, almost peaceful.

"We're having a guest," I announced, my brow etched with worry.

Deku didn't even glance up, too focused on making sure Katsuki didn't turn the job into a demolition project. "Maybe it's not so bad, Aya," he said, his voice dripping with that infuriating optimism, like things might somehow miraculously work out.

I shot him a look, irritation prickling beneath my skin like an itch I couldn't scratch. "Mhm," I muttered, knowing full well this was wishful thinking at best.

"No, really," Deku persisted, finally turning to face me. "You don't have a quirk right now. If something happens, having someone else around might actually help."

I snorted, my voice tight as I tried to suppress the growing unease. "I wouldn't count on that."

"Why? Is that guy weak or something?" Katsuki scoffed, stepping back as Deku carefully hung the picture.

I pressed a hand to my face, dragging it down slowly, as if that might somehow block out the absurdity of this entire situation. "No," I muttered. "Worse."

And then it came.

Not a knock—oh no, Toya wouldn't bother with something so mundane. No, it was more like a battering ram hitting the door.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Each strike reverberated through the walls, as if announcing his dominance in the most obnoxious way possible. Why didn't he just use the doorbell like a civilized person, you ask? Because that would be far too reasonable. No, this was a calculated move, his twisted attempt at a power play—a not-so-subtle way to assert dominance over my so-called 'clients.'

Toya was going to drive me insane.

"Well, there he is," Ochaco muttered, squinting at the wall to judge whether Deku had managed to hang the picture straight. Her focus on the trivial task was almost absurd, given the rising tension in the room.

Deku, momentarily distracted by the increasingly aggressive pounding, murmured, "Your boyfriend seems… kind of mad," his voice edged with nervousness as the banging continued, each thud angrier than the last.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I snapped, the sheer absurdity of the suggestion making my skin crawl.

"I'll get it," Katsuki grunted, already moving toward the door like he was ready for a fight.

"No, no, no," I cut him off, stepping in front of him and spinning him around like a toddler on the verge of a tantrum. "Not a good idea. I'll handle this." With a firm nudge, I guided him back toward Deku and Ochaco, who were now staring at me with equal parts confusion and concern—but wisely kept their mouths shut.

"He'll calm down," I lied, forcing a confidence I didn't feel as I hurried down the corridor, my steps quick and deliberate. Toya could already sense my approach, his voice slicing through the thick door.

"Open the fucking door, Aya!" The banging intensified, shaking the frame as if he intended to tear it off its hinges. Seriously, did he have to be so dramatic?

I paused just shy of the door, taking a deep breath. Great. Nothing like a deranged villain at your doorstep to spice up an already perfect day.

Thanks for reading!
Hope you enjoyed it—Catch you in the next one!