Notes: Yep. another week delay. I know. I really hate it too. Just kinda had some writers block with how to start this chapter. literally stared at the screen for a full week and barely wrote a paragraph. But now, I feel like I got through the hump. and I have a very... very special announcement at the end of the chapter.

Writing on the board in front of the class, Aizawa turned to see his students at work on the test he'd prepared for them. The silent teens kept their heads down, pushing through the questions as the timer clicked. To the side, he glared when he saw Bakugo sleeping, his head propped up on his hand. Aiming his pen, he launched it and jabbed the teen in the forehead.

"GAH!" Bakugo shouted in shock and pain, glaring up at his teacher. "The hell was that for?!"

"No sleeping during a test," Aizawa growled, "That's the third time this week you've dozed off. Fall asleep again and I'll be giving you after school assignments."

Hissing, Bakugo rubbed his forehead and looked back at his paper. A few were surprised since Bakugo seemed to disappear to his room earlier than normal every night, assuming he was just resting more. Unknown to everyone, however, he had been staying up quite late every night doing his own thing.

Sighing, Aizwawa rubbed his head as he looked around. It had been ten days since the raid on the Hunters had occurred, and despite everything he was trying to do to help, the tension still hung over the students. Just the fact of the unknown status of their classmate was keeping their focus muddled, with those involved in the raid having barely done any work since. It was the same to the two who were especially close to Katara, with both Tenya and Shoto having probably said no more than ten words in class since they came back from the hospital. Even their school work was slacking compared to normal, something he was letting slide considering the circumstances. As his phone suddenly buzzed, he frowned and walked towards the door. "Just take a break, for now."

As he walked out of the class, many of the students let out a sigh of relief, leaning back in their seats. Exhaling, Uraraka stretched her arms and looked ahead, seeing Tenya sit up in his seat. "Phew… this pop quiz is pretty tough, huh?" she tried asking.

"Uh huh…" Tenya half heartedly replied, causing Uraraka to frown.

"So… you… understood the math? It was stumping me and- Ow!" Uraraka yelped from the eraser flicked into her face, looking over to see Kendo glaring at her and shaking her head. Seeing she should stop trying to force Tenya to talk, she gave a silent nod and sat back.

Huffing out, Kendo rubbed scratched her head as she looked around, seeing the others feeling the same as Uraraka was. While everyone was feeling the pain of what was going on, they all knew it was certainly the hardest for Tenya and Shoto. Turning to her left, she saw Shoto staring blankly at his desk, spaced out as he slowly tapped the pencil in his hand. Even as few in the class got up and began talking with each other, everyone still tried giving the pair of them the space they needed. And Kendo had no right to judge after how she felt. After coming back she had done the same thing, now only talking to the others about what had happened.

And it all began after that night with Bakugo.

Glancing over, she stared at the ash blonde teen sitting alone in his desk. After he got her to confess what had been bothering her, she was certainly surprised to have woken up in her own room the next morning, not remembering how she got there. When she apologized to Kirishima and Momo the next day about her outburst and the bag she broke, she was surprised again to hear he wasn't the one to take her back, for some reason making her blush realizing who did it then.

She'd been hoping to talk to him about everything going on recently, although it just seemed every evening Bakugo would disappear into his room, not coming out for the rest of the night and not talking to anyone. She frowned, determined to make him be the one to talk this time while she looked over to Shoto once more. He looked over to her as well, the red head giving him a soft smile and nodding. The subtle notion made Shoto's breath pause for a moment before giving a small nod back, trying to show he was thankful for the space.

But as he looked over to Tenya, they both saw they weren't helping themselves being like this. They had to be stronger for Katara, just like she would've been for them. Taking a breath, Tenya turned to Uraraka behind him and gave a smile. "Sorry for… not answering earlier." he said to her.

She gave a sheepish smile and waved hands. "I-It's fine! I was just-

"No… I'm sorry." Tenya bowed his head. "You were just trying to help ease my tension. To everyone."

Suddenly, Tenya stood up from his seat, his face very stern and serious before he gave a bow. "I must apologize to everyone!"

"Eh… it's fine, man." Ojiro tried saying. "No need to apologize."

"Iida. there is nothing to apologize for." Momo added, Clutching her hands. "It's… been hard for all of us. Especially for you, and…" she paused before looking at Shoto sitting there and a quick glance at Bakugo and Kendo.

Tenya took a breath before nodding. "I know… but that is no excuse for being like this. Katara would want us to be strong like she is, so we should not just sit around moping when we know she will be okay!"

"Hell yeah!" Kirishima yelled in agreement.

"You bet your ass she will be!" Mina sternly shouted.

As others yelled along in support, Izuku clenched his fists and nodded himself. "She's as strong as anyone we know. She will certainly be coming back to us very soon."

Despite his emotions still all over the place, Shoto couldn't help but feel his heart warm to the support coming from everyone else, looking around to see everyone else knowing she would be fine. He then saw Tokoyami looking back at him, the bird headed teen grinning his way. "She's far too strong to be taken down by some random villain. I know she'll be coming back very soon."

Shoto didn't even realize it, but his mouth formed a small smile at those words he was hearing. "Thanks, guys…" he quietly said.

"We need to show that we are all strong and waiting for her return!" Tenya announced to everyone. "We need to-

"Why are you out of your seat?"

Tenya's body froze as Aizawa came back into the room, everyone going silent as the teacher scratched his chin. "I just received an important call…" he himself couldn't help but give a smirk to his students. "Katara will be returning to school later this evening."

…

…

The scream of excitement coming from class 1-A was heard down the hallway, causing a few students walking by to yelp in shock. Inside the room, many like Mina and Toru leaped out of their seats in unison. Shoji, Kaminari and Tsu cheered in support as many others couldn't contain their excitement. Izuku and Momo both sighed and smiled seeing she was okay, along with Kendo clutching her hands in front of her face and taking a deep breath in relief. Even Bakugo who remained silent felt his body ease its tension, sitting back in his chair and looking up to the ceiling.

Tenya's mouth hung open as he took in what was announced, feeling as if the weight on his shoulders suddenly vanished. His hands shook for a moment before he stepped back and leaned on the desk. "She… she's alright?!"

Shoto himself couldn't even move for several moments, his body in a mix of shock and relief that he didn't know how to react. He pressed his fingertips together as he leaned his face into his hands, struggling to keep himself from breathing too hard in hearing she had now woken up. "You… you're sure she's alright?" he asked.

"The doctors confirmed it," Aizawa answered, "They are doing the final checkup with her before the clear, and she will be here tonight."

"Ah yeah, now that's what we wanted to hear!" Kaminari pumped his fist up in the air.

"It's such a relief knowing this." Shoji sighed and rubbed his neck.

"Alright, alright, settle down," Aizawa grunted. "Now I understand this has been a troubling time, and I had been letting you guys ease up on your school work with all of this. Since school ends in a few minutes anyway, just head on to your dorms if you want. But after your little get together, just know I'll be giving a real test tomorrow."

"Wait… then what was what we just took now?!" Kaminari cried out.

"Just a mock test to take up your time." Aizawa admitted as he walked out the room, "And I certainly won't be taking it easy anymore."

While a few in the class frowned at his antics, most were too excited to even worry about the test tomorrow. Immediately, many jumped from their seats and swarmed in a large circle discussing the news.

"This is such great news!" Uraraka cheered. "I can't wait to see her now!"

"Phew!" Sero chuckled as he scratched his head. "I feel a lot calmer now. I'll be honest and say it was getting a bit scary."

Kendo felt a hand on her shoulder, looking over and seeing Momo smiling at her. Smiling back, she exhaled and gripped her arm. "It really is a relief hearing this."

"This is what we've been saying was going to happen. She'd be fine!" Kirishima laughed and threw his arm over Shoto's still stunned shoulders. "I bet she's excited to see you!"

Shoto took several breaths before smiling himself, grunting as Kirishima gave a friendly shove. "It's… it's more than a relief."

"Relief? This is spectacular!" Tenya shouted in excitement as he chopped the air. "This is what we've been knowing would happen!"

"And he's back!" Uraraka cheered seeing him so excited once more.

"She should be greeted properly when she arrives! A large meal should be made and-

"Actually, Iida…" Izuku said, "Maybe, we shouldn't do too much. S-she may be tired after everything."

While he was so excited, Tenya frowned before crossing his arms. "I know… It's just… I've been thinking so much about what happened and have been so worried."

"Ribbit. It has been scary, but we know she is okay now." Tsu added.

"Well let's do a fun greeting then!" Mina suggested. "Nothing crazy, but we gotta show we are all there for her!"

"She needs a large group hug from all of us!" Mineta tried adding. "I will initiate it, followed by the ladies and-gah!"

No one paid attention as he screamed out from Jiro's earbud jabbing him in the ear, instead listening as Izuku began talking about maybe doing a small meal for her and getting something ordered.

As she listened to everyone talk, Kendo could see the look completely change on both Tenya and Shoto's faces, seeing the dark cloud hovering over them gone now. She herself felt a wave of relief had washed over her body, wanting to say so much to Katara once she got back. And while he wouldn't say it, she knew another in class would be relieved as well. When she turned to see his face, however, her smile vanished in confusion.

Bakugo had silently left the class without anyone noticing.

"That asshole!"

Kendo growled as she stomped through the hallway of their dorms, walking past her room and heading towards Bakugo's room. With everyone going over their excitement about their classmate coming back downstairs, Kendo was determined to figure out what his deal was.

"I can't believe him. He just took off like that?" she hissed and came up to his door, pounding it several times. "Bakugo! Get your ass out here!"

Kendo tapped her foot several times before hitting the door again. "You want to get that stick out of your ass and open up?!"

"Shut up!" Bakugo shouted from inside. "Get out of here!"

"Oh no, open this up!" Kendo glared and pounded it a few more times. "You've been brooding here alone every day since we came back from our mission! And now we hear Katara is coming back and you just take off?! What the hell is your problem?!"

"Just mind your own business, alright?!"

Feeling her eye twitch, Kendo looked down at the handle and grunted, clenching her fist and expanding it to half its full size and punching the door, busting the lock free and slamming the door open. Inside, Bakugo jumped up from his desk in shock before glaring at the intruder. "The hell are you doing?! You just broke my door!"

"Yeah I did," Kendo sneered as she walked in, pushing the door closed and crossing her arms. "So tell me, what the hell is your deal? We find out Katara is alright, and you just left like that?"

Glaring, Bakugo looked away from her. "Just get out of here, alright?"

"Wanting to be alone, as usual," Kendo taunted him, "I honestly don't get you sometimes. You can be a total shit head to deal with sometimes, then others you actually aren't bad to work with. Especially after…" Kendo suddenly blushed as she remembered grabbing onto him when she broke down before huffing out and scowling. "You actually did seem a bit frustrated with all that was happening, but this…"

Cracking her knuckles in frustration, Kendo shook her head. "Could you at least show a hint that you are happy for her? Or do you not even care that she's okay? Or are you…. You…" her words faded as she caught a glimpse past his shoulder, noticing the blue pieces across his desk. It didn't take more than a second to pass before she realized what it was, her breath catching in her throat at the sight. "Is… is that…?" she muttered, looking up to him in utter shock.

Bakugo frowned and looked away, rubbing his head before sighing to himself. Kendo slowly moved by him as she came closer to the desk, looking at the many fragments of the necklace everywhere. She then noticed in the center of the small stand behind the magnifying glass and super glue the single larger segment, her eyes widening as she saw nearly half of it put back together. She almost gasped in shock as she covered her mouth, never expecting this to be the case.

"You… you've been putting her necklace back together?"

Bakugo remained silent as she observed the table, huffing out and popping his neck. "Was trying to get more done before she got back…"

Kendo moved out of the way as Bakugo sat back down, grabbing at the pieces in front and staring at them through the magnifying glass. The redhead was certainly never expecting to see this be the reason he had been locking himself in his room every night. She now understood why he had been so exhausted in class recently, obviously staying up late to work on this secret project without anyone else even knowing what he was doing. She almost felt like laughing from how shocked she was, staring at him fiddling with a small piece before putting it down and grabbing another shard.

"This is what you've been doing? Why haven't you told me or anyone else? I'm sure many of us would help you." She said, earning a sigh from the other teen.

"I don't like owing people anything. She kicked that spider's ass for us and got her necklace broken. So this will make us even."

For some reason, Kendo could tell there was more to what he was saying than that, as if he was claiming this to cover up the rest of his thoughts. She couldn't help but smile, leaning in and playfully hugging him from behind making him grunt in confusion. "You know, despite you being an asshole a lot of times, you actually wouldn't be bad to hang out with if you just showed this side more often." she teased, making his face burn slightly.

"Get off me!" He shouted and shrugged her off, his cheeks burning as she laughed and walked towards his door. "And you owe me a new door lock!"

"Aw, but then I can't come and hang out with my new buddy whenever," she joked, laughing more when she saw his face blush as she exited. "Just be ready later. I'm really good at putting things together myself."

As she left his room, Bakugo growled and turned back around to fiddle with the necklace, gritting his teeth as his face continued to burn. "Stupid big fist! Just barging in without permission!" he barked, fiddling with a piece before grabbing another. The fact she actually stood up to him like that surprised him, and now she was going to try and just make herself a guest whenever?

"Who said I needed company?!" he shouted to himself, jamming a piece into the necklace as he tried distracting himself.

Later that night

The chilly evening air hung over Japan, the nights growing longer every day in early October. A single squad car drove down the road, pulling up to the entrance to UA before parking. Walking out of the police car, Katara stared up at the gates leading to UA high, the school feeling so different from the last time she was here, especially after everything that happened. She took a deep breath, feeling the bandages over her stomach stretch slightly. She was told to leave those on for another day or two still.

After getting checked out by the doctors, Katara had learned just how close her life had come to ending that day, and certainly wasn't short on receiving comfort from Tensei and his parents. And after finally getting out of their hugs, it was time for her to return back to school, just after telling the police her account of what she could remember. As she recalled everything she could, there was only one thing however she didn't say, something she just couldn't tell them.

The real name of Dabi.

As she walked down the path through the school grounds, the waterbender rubbed at her arms as the memories of his laugh echoed inside her mind. She almost didn't want to believe it, but it was impossible to deny what had happened. She actually became worried about what would come from the news of something like this, and how Shoto would react to the news of this. She almost was afraid to tell him, to keep something like this to herself and hold onto the burden on her own.

But she knew she couldn't do that.

This was something that had to be confronted, and he would have to know the truth.

"I'll have my chance…" she said to herself, walking up the sidewalk towards her dorm building. She was also smart enough to know right now was not the best time, for she knew he, Tenya and everyone else inside would be waiting for her, and she was certainly excited to greet everyone after what happened as well. She needed a night of comfort, and to show she was alright. And that certainly happened, when she came in sight of the dorm building, when she saw a familiar face with glasses pacing back and forth in front of it.

Tenya froze moving when his eyes caught movement to the side, slowly turning his head before locking eyes with the waterbender. He felt his throat tighten seeing her standing there, breathing quicker as he turned his feet and began running towards her. "Katara!"

Katara didn't even say anything as she dropped the bag off her shoulder and her case, smiling as she threw her arms out and hugged the incoming speedster, Tenya practically picking her off the ground as they embraced. The strength of his squeeze caused a bit of discomfort to her chest, but she didn't care, taking in the warm feeling from him and squeezing him back.

"Katara…I… I was so worried about you!" Tenya muttered out, gripping her shoulder as his body shook. "You have no idea what it's been like!"

"I know…" Katara whispered as she hugged him, laying her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry for-

"Don't you be apologizing for anything." Tenya cut her off, sniffling as he held onto her. He remained silent for a few minutes as they sat together, not moving as they held onto one another. Finally, Tenya pulled away, moving his glasses as he wiped his eyes dry. He took a few breaths before smiling. "You really know how to make me freak out sometimes, Katara."

"I try not to…" Katara chuckled as she rubbed his shoulder, feeling her own eyes moisten from seeing him. "When I woke up, Tensei and your parents were there. They told me how frightened everyone's been."

"We all have been here," Tenya paused when he heard the door open behind, turning and smiling at what he saw. "Everyone here."

Katara looked past Tenya, feeling her heart tighten when she saw Shoto standing on top of the stairs. The two stared at each other for what felt like an hour, unmoving in both shock and relief. For Shoto, he felt like the weight that had been crushing his spirit for the last ten days had vanished, the wave of joy seeing her okay causing his heart to nearly burst from his chest. He slowly walked down the steps towards her, once again lost in her deep blue eyes he was afraid to never see again. He felt his throat tighten, unable to speak as he came closer to her.

For Katara, it was different; her heart fluttered seeing the boy she had grown so close to, someone she had come to call even more than a friend. But her mind also replayed a dark truth that she had come to learn inside that mountain, a truth that changed everything she thought she knew about his family. She wasn't even sure what was going to happen once all of this came out, and it somewhat frightened her, knowing that being with someone like Shoto meant her life would be changed even more now. That the threats on her life would continue being close to him.

And as she stared at him there… She didn't care.

The pair of them ran at one another, Katara throwing herself into his arms and latching onto his shoulders. Shoto's hands encircled her back and held her for dear life, afraid of losing perhaps the most important thing in his life now. His breath came in small gasps as he squeezed her, clenching his eyes closed and burying his face into her thick brown hair. They sat quiet as the light bright swept over them, the chill not overcoming their bond.

"I'm so happy to see you…" Shoto stuttered out, his body shaking as he held onto her. "I was so worried this whole time."

"I know…." she whispered, her hands clutching at his shirt and pulling him close, loving the warmth radiating from his core. "I'm sorry to have kept you so worried."

Shoto took several deep breaths as he rubbed his cheek against her head. As he did, he didn't even realize, but even her wonderful scent made his heart shutter, another thing he didn't know he had been missing. He leaned back and faced her once more, not even waiting before pressing a strong kiss to her lips. Katara was surprised at the sudden forcefulness from him, but immediately melted into his grasp and kissed him back. After a moment Shoto backed off, his face blushing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-

Katara silenced him as she grabbed his head and pulled him into a deep kiss of her own. Shoto gasped for a moment, but quickly closed his eyes and returned the action. For nearly a minute, the pair of them didn't let go of one another, only breaking to catch their breath before kissing once more. Once they finally did, they pulled each other into another warm hug, Katara resting her head against his shoulder and sighing out.

Once they finally broke apart, the pair of them smiled at one another and laid their foreheads together. Stepping back, she turned to Tenya standing there, seeing him smiling at her before nodding. "Come on. Let's get you inside and rest up."

Katara nodded as Tenya picked up her bags and carried them for her, allowing her to hold onto Shoto's hand as they walked up the steps. As they pushed the door open, however, she was surprised to find the lights inside off, the whole house seemingly deserted. She wasn't expecting-

"WELCOME BACK!"

Katara gasped at the loud shout as the lights flicked on, stepping back in surprise before realizing she wasn't felt her heart jump when she saw everyone from her class standing there. In fact, even a few from class B were there as well, including Setsuna, Shiozake and Tetsutetsu.

"There she is! Our class rep!" Kirishima shouted out as he laughed, fist bumping Tetsutetsu.

"God damn, it's about time she's back!" Setsuna laughed and whistled with the others.

"Please do not use the lord's name in vain." Shiozake exhaled in frustration to her friend's mouth.

"It's so good to see you alright!" Uraraka cheered as many of them quickly made their way to the waterbender.

"Woohoo! Glad to see she's back!" Kaminari added in.

Katara looked around as everyone came up to her, chuckling to herself as they began patting her shoulder or stepping in for a quick embrace. "You guys were all waiting for me?" She asked, looking over as Tsu's hand gripped her shoulder.

"You freaked us all out. Of course we've been waiting. Ribbit," the frog girl said.

"We've been waiting for any news and were very happy to learn you were coming back." Tokoyami admitted, happily grabbing Katara's shoulder in comfort.

As many of the others threw in their condolences, Katara looked over to Momo misty eyed and smiling. Smiling back, the two gave a hug to one another, the black haired teen sighing out to her good friend being alright. "We were all so worried." Momo muttered out.

"Sorry. I… had a crazy time." Katara answered as they separated, looking to see Izuku standing beside her.

"It's good to see you alright. After hearing what happened, we know though you'd be okay," he smiled, "You're way too strong for that."

Katara smiled and was going to respond, but yelped as Mina suddenly grabbed her from behind and squeezed. "God, quit scaring us like that, please! You're going to give us a heart attack!" she whined out, her eyes widening when she heard the wince from her friend. "I'm sorry! Are you still-

"It's okay," Katara rubbed at the spot below her chest. "Just, a little sensitive at times still." Some of the students quieted down at her statement, having finally heard what had happened from someone that was there. As if on cue, a few moved out of the way as they let a single red head through, causing Katara'a eyes to widen when she saw her. "Kendo…"

Kendo took a breath as she stood in front of Katara, smiling seeing her friend back. "Been waiting for you this whole time. How are you feeling?" she asked.

Katara huffed out and shrugged. "As good as I can be," she chuckled, seeing the scar on Kendo's palm similar to hers. "How's your hand?"

"Really?" Kendo chuckled as she rubbed her palm. "I end up with a few scratches and you are still worried about me after what happened?"

"You know what I meant," Katara shook her head and laughed, her own eyes widening when she saw Kendo's eyes watering. "Hey, it's okay. I'm fine-

Kendo simply leaned in and gave Katara a strong hug, holding onto the waterbender as she happily let out a few tears. "You have no idea how scared I was that day. I'm so glad you're okay. And I never got to say thank you for what you did."

Katara smiled and hugged her back, herself feeling better knowing she was okay after everything that happened. "You don't need to thank me for anything. I'm sorry for scaring you so much. I'm glad you're okay too."

As they separated, Kendo quickly dried her eyes as she laughed, pointing behind her through the crowd of students. "We both have been waiting for you to get back here."

Widening her eyes, Katara looked over and saw Bakugo walking up towards her with his hands in his pockets, the pair of them staring for a few moments as they analyzed one another. She took a breath before he was actually the first to speak. "So, you got the all clear to come back here?" he asked.

Katara gave a small nod. "Yeah. I just have to take easy for a few days still." As her hand patted the spot below her chest, she noticed Bakugo's face tense up, him and Kendo knowing more than anyone since they saw what happened. "I'll be fine. You ended up alright as well?"

"Hmph…" Bakugo grunted as he rubbed his neck. "I'm good. Those animals sure were a pain to deal with."

"Yeah…" Katara muttered, before giving a small smile to him. "Hey, despite us kind of butting heads a lot, it's good to know you're okay."

Bakugo sat silent for a moment before sighing and stepping back. "Just rest up. You better be ready for our rematch later."

"What?!" Tenya gasped out at the comment, chopping his arms in confusion and anger. "Bakugo, what are you trying to do?! She just returned from the hospital and you are trying to fight!""

Before Shoto could say anything as well, Katara stopped him and shook her head. "It's okay. Trust me, he doesn't mean anything bad."

"No, especially since he's been so worried this whole time." Kendo teased, giggling when she saw Bakugo tense up. "He's been so sad everyday since then being worried about you."

"Hell no I wasn't! I didn't worry about shit!" Bakugo barked out, growling as a few others began snickering. "You were the ones all crying!"

"Then why have you been so broody lately?" Mineta snickered from the side, "You've been acting like you were part of a funeral service."

"The hell did you want me to be? All jolly while everyone was down in the dumps?!"

"Aw, look. I think he's blushing." Sero laughed as Bakugo gritted his teeth and stomped away.

"Say another thing and I'll blow your head off!" Bakugo shouted and stomped into the kitchen and grabbed a soda, chugging it.

"Haha! This class is pretty damn lively, I gotta say." Setsuna laughed while watching all their antics. "Well, You didn't know, but I was there that day when everything went down. And I let me tell you that was one hell of a crazy thing to show up to."

"You were there?" Katara said in surprise.

"Yeah, I got there in the end with my boss Majestic when everything was going down in the end." Setsuna exhaled as she remembered the sight. "Gotta say, was pretty freaky seeing what you all dealt with."

Shiozake nodded. "We talked to Kendo afterward about what happened. When we heard you were coming back, we wanted to say congratulations on your recovery."

Smiling, Katara gave a small nod in return. "Thank you, guys. I appreciate it." Looking around the large room, Katara couldn't help but take in all the faces around her. The laughs, the few tears, and the many smiles scattered through everyone brought a comfort to her that she couldn't even explain in words. The warm atmosphere as her classmates continued showing their relief just confirmed to Katara that she really had found a place amongst them all, something she had come to truly hold onto.

"Everyone, thank you all. I… I can't tell you how good it feels to be back after what happened." She took a breath as she placed her hand on her chest once more. "I've done so many things in my life, so many dangerous situations. Things… I still haven't told some of you. Just this last year here, we've all dealt with so many crazy situations together. And this…" her hands squeezed at the shirt she wore, feeling the tenderness of the wound underneath. Her heart began beating faster as she recalled the last things she remembered, and the feeling she felt before everything fell into darkness.

"This was probably the most frightened I've felt that I can remember." As the class fell silent to her words, some of them tensing up. Shoto rubbed at her arm as she took a breath and smiled, "But… When I finally woke up, you guys were all here waiting for me, just like you were the last time I was hurt. That means more than you can ever know. And I want to thank you for that. It makes me know that when we are all together, we will continue to get stronger together and face anything that comes our way."

"Hell yeah! Let's hear it for our class rep showing those villains what she's made of!" Kirishima shouted out, gathering several others to happily joined in.

Mina suddenly ran into the kitchen and brought out a large tray of cookies. "Alright, some goodies for everyone!"

As some of the class was distracted by the pinkette, Katara sighed as she and Shoto moved to the side of the room, sitting down on one of the couches relaxed their nerves. Immediately he placed a hand on her leg, seemingly needing to keep in contact with her, something she certainly wasn't arguing against. Smiling, she leaned her shoulder against his and looked up at him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

He gave a slow nod as he rubbed her leg. "Having you here, yes. It has been beyond terrifying not having you here." he admitted as he looked at her, his eyes noticing it for the first time. "Katara… you're not wearing your necklace?"

Grimacing, Katara's heart tightened as her hand reached up to her neck, rubbing at the bare skin. "It… it got destroyed in the battle."

Shoto's mouth fell open in disbelief, "What? It got…?"

Katara gave a small nod as she squeezed his arm. "The villain who broke it, she was the one who did this to me…" she answered as her other hand rubbed her chest.

The pain inside Shoto began to rise, knowing exactly how important that was for her. "Katara, I'm so sorry. I… If I had been there, I could've…"

"Shoto…" Katara stopped him, gripping his arm as she stared at him. "Do not blame yourself for what happened." she took a breath, knowing if she didn't control it, she would be crying. "And tonight, I want to just enjoy being back with you and everyone else."

Laying her head on his shoulder, Katara breathed in and out, letting the tension of everything that had happened slowly wash away. As the others gave her the space she needed to unwind, they turned their attention to Mina and Tenya debating why they should and shouldn't be having dessert this late. The scene made Katara chuckle, the sense of joy of all the friendly faces around her helping ease the sadness in her heart from her necklace being gone now. She tightened her grip on his arm as she took in the happy feeling she had being back with everyone close to her.

For tomorrow, she knew that would not be the case when she talked with Shoto about what happened.

Notes: She is back at school! finally, and getting a warm welcome from everyone. decided to make this a nice breather chapter after everything that happened recently... and to save the talk for it's own chapter. the talk that will shock Shoto to the core.

and now... the special announcement.

It's here. the first manga page of the story has been made. you can find it on my deviantart page or in the link on my profile. I cannot wait to see your reactions to it! I want to thank the two who have already donated $120 to the go fund me for the manga. I truly appreciate you. in fact, you can do it another way as well.

I have launched a pa tr eon page as well for the manga. you can sign up if you are interested in helping with even more future chapters, and in fact can see the current progress of the second page before it gets published. and can also gain access to the discord page as well.

p at re on awaterbendingquirk

I truly appreciate any help from you fans, whether it's this or simply the wonderful comments I get to read everyday. your support in general is what's made this story so popular.I cannot wait to see your thoughts on this chapter. please leave your reviews/ comments.

Till next time!