Kuri woke with her hands clenched at her sides. What a terrible nightmare!
Oh man she was late for the bus! Kuri got her stuff and headed for the door. Today was graduation.
She grinned at Izuku next to her but he seemed preoccupied.
"Hey cmon, this is supposed to be the best day of our lives. What's got you so serious?" Kuri asked.
"No kidding he's been grumpy all morning." Reiko said, already in her gown with Shoto. "Today's my first day at Oscorp. Mr Todoroki is taking me there after graduation."
"Yeah Dad sure does love you." Shoto said laughing.
"Oh yeah! It's my first day at the new job too." Kuri said.
"You have a new job Kuri?" Izuku asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm like a police psychic." Kuri laughed. "That's what they're calling it, though I prefer consultant. I've already helped out in some missing persons and murder cases, so they want me on full-time. As long as it doesn't get in the way of my writing career."
"What writing career?" Reiko laughed.
"Oh come on you know. I wanna be a novelist. But I did see an ad in the paper; they're looking for an advice columnist...that could be fun." Kuri said.
"Hey that's right up your alley! You understand emotions better than anybody!" Izuku gushed.
"Aw...thanks." Kuri said. "I think I'll do it."
Xxx
Meanwhile Reiko just stared dejectedly at Bakugo. "You don't mean that Katsuki. Stop pushing me away!"
"Listen, you're-you're better off without me, ok?" Bakugo cried, his hands in tight fists.
"K-Katsuki please…you have to trust me—"
BOOM! Bakugos hand exploded!
Reiko caught herself just in time, before anyone saw anything, she blinded them with light, making the illusion of the sun hitting the mirrored cars.
Bakugo stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time.
"We…we have something to discuss, huh?" She said sheepishly.
Bakugo, bewildered, managed a smile. "Sure."
The four of them graduated together, and had dinner together at the Olive Pit.
Xxx
Reiko went home with Bakugo. She tried to hold his hand, only to have him pull away every time.
When they entered his house, she was shocked. On the outside it looked fine, but on the inside it was shambles; burned and scorched everywhere.
"Bakugo what's—" She had grabbed him too fast!
BOOM!
Bakugo leapt back so the blast didnt touch her. "Don't DO that! Ya can't surprise me or nothin dammit!"
Reiko came over carefully. "So your hands explode, huh?"
"…yeah."
"Did you consider talking to other meta humans?" Reiko asked. "I mean, there are people like you. SpiderMan for one. Lots of people can help you."
"Heroes." Bakugo grunted. "Using their powers to save people. How the hell can this destructive power do ANYTHING but KILL?!"
Reiko grabbed him in an embrace. "Super strength can kill right? But all the heroes usually have it. It's about…tempering your strength, control, precision."
Bakugo sighed. "That's from martial arts."
Reiko smirked. "Black belt in Tae Kwon Do."
He smiled at her. "Ok senpai, how do I learn control."
"Practice." She grinned. "You need to learn more about your power. You can use it for good, and your a good person Bakugo. No part of you is evil. But if your gonna be good—go all in."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Bakugo asked.
"It means. Patch things up with Deku. He's the kinda guy you need right now." Reiko said. "He can help, he's a guy. No way are you gonna go 100% blast on me—you'll be too worried about killing me. In short, you need a sparring partner."
"Your nuts. I don't even like Deku, and I wouldn't subject him to that."
"I think we're beyond that. You need more help than I can give. You don't want to hurt anyone, right? You wanna be a hero, right?! Do the right thing!"
Bakugo groaned. He knew she was right. He'd been thinking about it a lot lately since he got this power. Back when they'd been friends, Deku—Izuku—had been a moral compass.
When he dropped Izuku, he'd just gotten steadily worse, until he felt himself traveling the villain path. If Reiko hadn't discovered him; he would've—he shuddered. Don't think about that.
So Bakugo got up, shoved some gloves on and headed over to the Midoriya home.
What transpired there was quiet, private, and solemn.
All Reiko knew was, Bakugo had gone in that house confused, broken, dark, and he came out with a smile like a great weight had been lifted.
But it was just one step in the marathon that it took to be a hero.
Xxx
"Somebody get me a decent shot of that vigilante!" Jameson said.
"I know someone who can do it," Kuri said.
"I don't wanna hear from you, you're just a ghost writer for our advice column." Jameson said.
"You should listen to her sir." Robbie said. "The Ask Annie column was dead before she started, and now she gets a million letters a week. People eat up her advice. Plus she works for the NYPD, so she probably knows where Deku hangs out."
Kuri giggled. "Hangs out."
"Well then girl, who can get me a picture?" Jameson said.
"I'll bring him tomorrow. Give him a job." Kuri said.
Xxx
"Cmon Izuku you need a job!" Kuri said pulling him in.
"Are you sure this is a good place?" Izuku said.
"Yeah I do a lot of ghost writing here." Kuri said.
"I didn't know you had a second job." Izuku said, concerned.
"Well yeah. The police job is what Grams wants. This what I want." Kuri said. "Mr Jameson! This is your photographer! He can get shots of Deku!"
"What?!" Izuku said.
"You better pay him $500 per, got that? Or we BOTH walk!" Kuri demanded.
"Cmon Kuri you can't quit! Your my best writer...dammit alright kid. You got a job—freelance." Jameson conceded.
Kuri grinned.
Rescue?
Kuri was heading home from her job at the NYPD when she was surrounded by a group of men. They pulled her shirt, ripping it, and yanked at her skirt. One of them pinned her too the wall, and his dirty lips were pressed against hers when he was pulled away against the wall.
All of them were pulled, then yanked into a bundle, and beaten up by SpiderMan.
"We do not hit women!" Deku said.
The Thugs roared in anger and lunged across the street toward him.
"We hit the men who hit women." Deku said.
He dropped into the middle and threw each of them against the walls. They got to their feet and ran away.
The Thugs all scattered, Deku stood there, chest heaving. He looked around for Kuri. She was gone. Why didn't she wait to watch him be a hero? He was crushed.
Miko shimmered into view, a pout on her face. "Aw, you didn't leave any for me."
"I'm not in the mood for you right now." Deku replied to her, annoyed.
"Trying to impress your girl?" Miko said, eyes shimmering silver, a tell-tale sign she had been using her powers to spy on him.
"Why did she leave? Did I scare her?" Deku was upset.
Miko shrugged. "Nah. She was probably just embarrassed that she had to be rescued. Ladies these days, we wanna be tough."
"She...wants to be tough?" Deku said skeptically.
"Don't underestimate this 'Kuri' girl. You go on and on about her. If the great Deku is in love with her, Kuri must be able to hold her own in a fight. Mark my words." Miko grinned, and vanished again, just like always.