"This hoodie is so soft…" You admire, pulling it on. Akaashi smiles lightly, watching you thoughtfully.

            "So when you are asked, just say we went to the beach. Technically it's not a lie." He tells you as you both near the dorms.

            "Alright… I can't wait to put those pictures on my phone… Your folder is about to get much bigger." You smile. He hums, leaning towards you thoughtfully.

            "If you want pictures of me you could just say so. I'll spoil you with some nice ones." He whispers. You blink a few times and blush heavily. "... Straight to the gutter huh? You know, I have morals." He teases lightly. 

           "I-I… It was your tone!" You hiss.

           "Pull yourself together. It's almost time." He chuckles.

           "Wait. Wait. Wait." You stop, grabbing his arm. He blinks at you and hums, turning to you. "Ah… I'm not ready to part with you…" You pout.

          "... I see. Then how about we go get into trouble again soon?" He smirks, bringing your hand to his lips. "It's not like I'm totally going away." 

          "Okay. Sounds fun." You breathe looking down with a smile and blush. He watches you smiling warmly.

          "I want you to kiss me. Right now." He tells you. You blink and look at him blushing more.

          "Y-You make that sound easy." You stammer.

          "Come on, do it. You know you want to." He pulls you closer. You swallow blushing more before cupping his cheek and looking into his eyes, leaning in and kissing him deeply. He hums against your lips, holding you as close as he can for a few long moments. "It sure feels different when you make the move." He breathes against your lips. 

          "Is… Is that good?" You ask lightly.

          "I certainly like it." He chuckles. "Come on. If we stay out any longer I'm sure they'll come looking for us." He hums, pausing when you hug his arm as you both walk on. Soon you both enter the dorm, pausing when you find Oikawa waiting in the lobby, looking menacing with his arms folded.

           "Good evening…" You and Akaashi greet carefully.

           "Oh hey guys, welcome back. Don't mind him, he had Sakusa paralyze him like that to scare you when you came back. Sakusa says he still has an hour before it wears off." Iwaizumi informs, poking his head into the lobby. You and Akaashi look at each other at that. 

           "We're sorry Dorm President. We brought you a gift. See?" You hold up a new alien documentary. Akaashi was prepared for the wrath of the jealous Dorm President. "I'll just put this here. I had a lot of fun today, but I still couldn't help but miss you." You hum sheepishly, wedging it between his arms and chest.

          "He'll be sore once the paralysis wears off, we should put him in a seat." Akaashi says lightly. You both move Oikawa to a chair and you kiss his forehead. "We're very sorry Oikawa." He adds before you both start upstairs. Both stopping to check around before kissing again and continuing up, going to your room as Tendo stretches, getting up from your bed.

           "Hm? You're back!" He chimes and pauses, blinking at your hoodie. "Ooh! You had so much fun!" He grins hugging you and Akaashi cheerfully. "Akaashi you have good taste." He comments, pulling back with a grin. 

           "Tendo… You…" You blink in surprise. 

           "I don't know what you're implying." He says putting a finger to his lips, and closing an eye. You and Akaashi pause at that. "Anyway I should get going, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe since you left your phones." He pokes both of your noses. He gives a small smile before heading out. You and Akaashi watch him go.

           "You know, that best friend of yours is really cool. But at the same time he terrifies me." Akaashi breathes. You glance at him and he smiles a bit. "It's late, I'm going to bed. Goodnight ___.” He kisses your cheek before going to his room.

           "Goodnight." You say after him before smiling and looking down. You pause and look to the staircase to find a few heads peeking around the corner unhappily. "Ah… Hey guys…" You greet awkwardly. Ushijima comes up, looking at them in confusion before pausing and spotting you. 

          "You're back, did you enjoy yourself?" He asks coming over to you.

          "Yeah. We went to the beach." You smile.

          "No fair! I want to see ___ in a bathing suit again!" Atsumu bursts.

          "Eh? He snuck you out to go to the beach?" Kuroo huffs.

          "He didn't want you guys to interfere." You respond.

          "Tch." He huffs. 

          "..." You glance at Bokuto as his eyes narrow. "It was supposed to be my turn…" He grumbles.

          "S-Sorry Bokuto. It was his price." You frown. "Don't pout." 

          "... Spend the night in my room." He murmurs.

          "Yeah okay." You relax.

         "At least you've had a sort of date with ___." Atsumu scoffs. 

         "Shut it Tsumu. You're usually the one that follows ___ everywhere and hogs ___ to yourself." Osamu deadpans.

         "I-I do not!" Atsumu snaps and the twins start to argue.

         "I'm going to take a shower and change, I smell like smoke." You hum going into your room and picking out some clothes. 

         "___?" Ushijima scratches his cheek, coming over.

         "Yeah Wakatoshi?" You ask, looking at him.

         "Can I take you on a date too?" He points to himself.

         "You… Y-Yeah sure. How about after the tournament?" You smile lightly.

         "Even though I'm going to win?" He tilts his head.

         "That absolute confidence you have is sort of endearing." You chuckle turning to him before lowering your voice. "But I hope that doesn't mean you're underestimating me. Sweetie." You add huskily. He shivers slightly, blush coming to cheeks. 

         "That… Would be rude…" He shakes his head looking to the side.

         "Good. Excuse me." You hum going into the bathroom to shower. He touches his cheeks, rubbing them slightly.

         "I feel weird…" He mutters before changing to go out for a jog. 

          You soon come back out and head to Bokuto's room, giving a knock on the door. You hear him tell you to come in and do so, finding him sitting dejectedly, turned away from the door. 'Akaashi warned me this would happen….' You think, closing the door behind and going over, climbing onto the bed behind him.

           "I'm sorry…" You touch his back. He grumbles in response, folding his arms with a huff. You blink and frown, pressing against his back. "I loooove you…" You hum hugging him from behind. Still no response. You pout and kiss his neck, making him shiver. "Kotaro~ Pay attention to me when I'm loving on you." You grumble into his neck, making him chuckle slightly, trying to move his neck away.

           "Aha! I found a weak point." You breathe, nipping his neck. "Om nom nom!" He laughs at that, trying to free himself from you. "I'm not letting you go until you say it." You chuckle moving to the other side of his neck to nip and kiss it. He was laughing more now.

          "I-I love you!" He chuckles, squirming a bit. You pause and hum, not releasing him. "_-___?"

          "Nope nevermind the laugh of yours is too cute to let you go now." You start to tickle his neck with kisses again.

          "N-No! Babe stop!" He laughs, reaching around and pulling you around to his lap, covering your mouth. "I get it… I love you too." 

         "Do you get it Bokuto? Really?" You raise an eyebrow. He removes his hand from your mouth and smiles.

         "Yeah… Sorry, I got jealous…" He breathes. 

         "You were right though, you keep getting skipped…" You rest your head on his shoulder. "When's the trip for the first years?" You ask.

         "In two days…" He hums before pausing. "Wait, how did you find out?!" He gasps.

         "Don't worry about it. And let's go on a date the day before that. When we get back from the trip we'll have to get ready for the tournament so…" You draw hearts on his chest with your index finger. "Let's go then."

          "Alright. I already know what we're doing. We'll be gone for the day too. Oh, and you'll need a bathing suit ready." Bokuto grins rocking with you and holding you even closer, nose brushing yours. "I'm excited now. I can't wait." He breathes excitedly. 

          "You're so damn cute. But we should get some sleep." You chuckle kissing him. 

          "Right," He falls over with you, reaching over and turning off the light in the same motion. He holds you to his chest, nuzzling your temple. "I love you."

          "I love you too. Cute owl."

          "Hoot!"

*_*_*_*

          "Hm? What's this?" Tendo hums as Death sends him a video.

          "Something you'll really enjoy boss, from the concert." Death chuckles.

          "You should've gone boss! You could've danced with ___ as Midnight!" Rakurai chimes. Tendo hums and brings up the video, eyes lighting up.

          "Heh… ___ sure is at ease here, look at that smile… I had no idea…" Tendo smiles watching quietly. 

          "Yeah. Ya can't even tell those two are heroes… Stetson really took a shine to them as well." Death rumbles.

          "Can't believe that wild guy from last year was Akaashi! That's crazy!" Rakurai laughs. "He's so calm and ice cold at the dorm. But when he's at the concert he's like a demon with fire in his eyes."

          "Right? Good thing I went as Midnight then or I would've been caught by now." Tendo sighs lightly.

          "Talk about a close call." Death comments.

          "I wish I had seen this coming though. I would've liked to have been present… And Pyro Mania is just fun as hell." Tendo chuckles.

          "Oh! I got you the new hoodie!" Rakurai holds it up cheerfully. "I got Death-san one too but he took it off already…" 

          "Nice. The new hoodie is so cute." Tendo smiles lightly. 

          "So boss. Any new ideas?" Rakurai asks.

          "Nope. The Tournament is next week so more heroes will be coming here. It's best to tread lightly for the time being." Tendo tells them.

           "Should we leave the area then?" Death inquires.

           "That's probably for the best to be honest… Go have a vacation. I'll contact you when it's time again." Tendo rumbles, sending them both money for the trip. "Be careful though Kobalt. Dagger is coming to town." He adds ominously.

           "Oh.. Fuck that. I'm out before those snakes come lookin." Death suddenly gets up. "See ya later boss, take care." He adds going out.

            "Who's Dagger? They must be strong to make Death-san nervous." Rakurai comments in surprise.

            "Dagger isn't a person. It's a Mercenary group, and a deadly one at that. Kobalt has a price on his head so running into them will not end well." Tendo frowns getting up. "Unfortunately he's not the only person I know on that list…" 

             "Boss, you okay? You seem uneasy." Rakurai frowns.

             "I am… Rakurai… I'm going to need your help tomorrow.." Tendo sighs, rubbing his face. "I shouldn't have done it…. But ___ wants to know so I'll help…" 

            "I-It'll be okay boss…"

+*+*+*+

          You stretch awake, sitting up and immediately feeling sick to your stomach. "Ugh…" You lay back down and curl up. 

          "Babe… You up now? What's wrong?" Bokuto leans over you with a concerned frown.

           "Nothing… Probably just nerves…" You murmur. He tilts his head, rubbing your cheek.

           "I'll talk to Samu and see what he can cook up for you… Stay in bed until you're ready okay?" He kisses your forehead before going out. You close your eyes, you didn't really sleep last night, no matter how hard you tried. A headache rings against your temples. 

           'I know. I know. What do you want me to do? You won't shut off and let me rest…' You sigh quietly, rubbing your eyes. "Dammit…" 

           After a while, Osamu comes in with a tray of food, setting it down to feel your face. "Yeah… You feel fine. But you look like the owl kept you up all night." He frowns softly.

           "No… I kept me up all night… So damn annoying…" You grumble sitting up and rubbing your face.

           "Is it because you're going somewhere with Tendo?" He inquires, placing the tray on your lap.

           "It's the destination really… I'm nervous…" You sigh. "I thought I was fine with it yesterday. But now that I know there's no avoiding it… Im scared." You take a few bites.

           "... Please just tell me where you're going because now I'm worried." He sighs.

           "I'm going to see my mom." You breathe. He pauses, eyes widening.

           "Okay. Now that's understandable… Um… I'll get you some chocolate to take with you to help your nerves." He says before hurrying out. Then Kiyoomi comes in to check on you.

           "Nerves?" He guesses, sitting on the edge of bed.

           "Nerves." You nod. "She doesn't know we're coming. I have imagined all of the worst case scenarios over and over since last night. And I am… So tired…" You sit back as you finish eating. "And I didn't taste anything I just ate so… It's bad." 

           "Tendo's on his way. You're not going alone." He takes your hand. "It'll be okay."

           "You can say that all you want but I'm not going to feel it…" You frown apologetically.

           "I figured. But I don't know what else to say to help you feel better about this." He frowns as well. 

           "I know, sorry for being a pain first thing in the morning." You rub your cheek looking down.

           "___, you're what takes the pain away." He states. You pause and look at him in surprise as he takes off his mask. He meets your gaze with a soft frown. "I um…" He frowns more, closing his eyes as his brow furrows. "Why is this so hard sometimes?" He grumbles to himself. He straightens up a bit before opening his eyes and focusing on you. "I never once thought of you as a nuisance or anything like that. I still don't… So don't think like that." 

            "Sorry…" You breathe looking away again. He cups your cheek and leans over, kissing you softly. 

            "I… I…" He sighs and touches his forehead to your shoulder in annoyance. "Dammit…" 

            "Heh. What's the rush? It's fine." You smile a bit, leaning your head against his. Your fingers run through his hair softly as you relax more, peering at his neck quietly before pressing a kiss to it, making him stiffen slightly.

            "... Why?" He breathes. You chuckle and kiss his jaw he rumbles slightly, suddenly lifting his head to give you a frown. You snicker and peck his lips. His brow twitches and you do it again, but this time he kisses you back, cupping your cheek to keep you in place. 

             "Heh… I feel so much better now…" You breathe against his lips. "Thanks."

            "... How? What did I do?" He mutters lost.

            "If I take the pain away. You take the anxiety away." You smile, making him blush. 

            "Alright, I think I understand that." He smiles softly at you. "No matter what happens today… Y-You still have me…" He looks to the side.

           "That's really reassuring." You smile hugging him tightly.

          "Hey! Don't be loving in my room unless it's on me." Bokuto comes back in, pointing at you two.

           "Don't point, that's rude." Kiyoomi tells him, pulling away.

           "Bokuto hugs." You smile opening your arms to him.

           "Oooh you're feeling better babe! Good job Sakusa!" Bokuto gushes hugging you cheerfully, pausing briefly to pull Kiyoomi into the hug.

            "Get off." Kiyoomi grimaces. 

            "Haha this is…." Bokuto becomes paralyzed and Kiyoomi frees himself, taking your tray.

             "Get ready soon. Tendo should be here in a bit." He tells you before going out. You smile and peek at Bokuto's frozen face.

             "You're so cute. I'm going to cover your face and neck in kisses and you can't do anything about it." You snicker before doing so. He soon starts to chuckle as you cover his neck. "Uh oh. It's wearing off." You hum, kissing his jawline. He suddenly moves again, capturing your lips with an amused rumble.

             "I love you." You both chuckle. 

             "Alright. I gotta get ready." You push him down on the bed and give him another kiss before getting up and going out to your room to get ready. You pause, looking at K.K 2.0 on your dresser, and grab it with the canisters. 

            "___, I brought you the chocolate." Osamu says coming in. 

            "Thanks Samu. You're the best." You kiss his cheek, taking the chocolate.

            "You're feeling better." He smiles.

            "Well yeah… It's not like you guys are going anywhere if I get rejected by my mom again. So… No matter what happens I'll be okay. And still happy." You breathe, putting your hands on your hips to show confidence in your statement. Osamu blinks before smiling warmly.

           "Good." He nods cupping your cheek.

           "___! Tendo's here!" Atsumu calls. 

           "Alright. Go time." You breathe, giving him a hug before heading down stairs, finding Tendo waiting with a careful smile. "... You're nervous too huh?" You guess.

           "Yeah." He chuckles. "Let's get going." He breathes and you start out together. "Oh wait. You got your bracelet?" He inquires.

           "Mhm. I always do. Why?" You hold it up. 

          "Just checking." He breathes looking ahead.

          "Tendo…" You frown lightly.

          "... You sure you want to go find out?" He asks carefully.

          "Yeah… It's my dad so… I want to know… And it's time to see her." You tell him.

          "Then let's go. If it's what you want I'll help you get it." He says looking ahead. It felt like he was trying to avoid something. You open your mouth to apologize for the trouble. "Don't apologize. I will do anything I need to if it makes you happy. So even if it goes sour. Don't regret this okay?" 

           "Right." You breathe looking down. "You'll still be here if it does. Right?" You murmur.

           "Of course. Being away from you for too long is just hell. So I'll stay with you for as long as I can." He smiles softly. You smile too and focus on the walk ahead. 

          The familiar street comes into view and you remember spots where you and Suna would play. The house soon comes into view, looking rather unkempt as you approach. Your heart races and you pause halfway down the driveway, taking Tendo's hand as he moves to offer it. He shifts watching your face before squeezing your hand and touching his forehead to your temple. You meet his gaze and nod before he leads you to the door and knocks.

           After a few moments a familiar woman opens the door and peeks out, pausing at the sight of Tendo before freezing as her eyes meet yours. You swallow as she opens the door more in shock. "H-Hi mom…"

            "___…” She tears up. "Um… What are you…" She wipes at her eyes. "C-Come in." She says moving out of the way. Tendo squeezes your hand before you both enter the house. "S-Sorry it's a bit of a mess. I don't leave the house often…" She manages, glancing at yours and Tendo's hands. 

            "It could be worse honestly. So don't worry. Sorry for surprising you like this. Melody." Tendo tells her lightly.

          "I… It's okay… I keep going past Raizu since your last visit." Your mom leads you both to the familiar living room, paintings and sketches of you and your father scattered about in a clutter. You and Tendo sit close together on the couch while she takes an arm chair. She peers at you and smiles softly. "You look strong… Do you like it there?"

           "Yeah. I have the best classmates there. We're all pretty close." You answer, rubbing your cheek. 

           "I see… So… Is this your boyfriend?" She gestures to Tendo, making you both pause and turn red. "He's the only one that comes to visit every once and a while. You have a really sweet boyfriend. It's thanks to him I know how you're doing… He gave me a bunch of photos of you last time."

            "I… Had no idea." You blink at her, peeking at Tendo as he turns his head away, still red.

            "Oh… Sorry. Guess I wasn't supposed to say anything about it…" She giggles lightly. "Still it made me happy." You look back at her and shift. 

            "Um… Speaking of pictures…" You pull out the one Kuroo had handed you before you left and show it to her. "Is this dad?"

            "Yes.. That's when Kieru was doing hero work… When he found out I was pregnant with you, he decided to become a hero. Wanted you to be raised on 'honest money'. Is the way he put it…. He stopped when he met a hero from a different country. About a year before your quirk…" She swallows and smiles. "Everything he did was for you in the end." She sniffs.

            "... I don't understand. If you don't hate me then why did you leave me." You ask suddenly. 

           "Because… I promised him." Melody breathes, tears coming to her eyes. "I didn't want to. Not once. But it wasn't safe for you. And it still isn't." She whispers. 

            "What do you-" Tendo suddenly stands and you break off as one of his eyes lights up. 

            "We need to leave now. All of us." He states, pulling you up to your feet. Melody blinks and stands uneasily. 

             "It's them… isn't it?" She asks as he takes you to a door and opens it, leading you into the basement. She swiftly follows. 

             "Yes." Tendo answers, going to a small outlet in the wall and opening it to show a keypad, inputting the numbers.

           "How do you…" Melody frowns uneasily as the wall opens up. 

           "I've already seen this." Tendo responds.

           "Wait. What's going on?" You question in confusion. "Tendo?"

           "There's mercenaries coming and we need to leave." He tells you going forward as a tunnel lights up.

           "What? Why? Did you do something?" You look at your mom as she makes sure the walls closes before following swiftly.

           "... Yes." She nods uneasily. "I'm sorry." 

           "Don't worry. I'll protect you." You tell her before looking at Tendo. "You saw this coming."

           "Yes. I didn't sleep last night going over the routes." He responds, looking at the ceiling as a trimmer shakes the area. "Sorry Melody. I should've warned you so you could've grabbed anything important before they destroyed your home."

            "That's okay. You're holding onto the only important thing I have left." She responds, glancing back. Tendo's hand squeezes yours at that. 

            "___, I need you to burst that whole area there. They'll discover the wall soon." He tells you, pointing at the spot. 

            "Okay. Leave it to me." You breathe, pulling off your glove.

            "Where did you get that glove?" Melody asks carefully.

            "An antique shop from a friend. Why?" You ask stopping in the spot as they pass it.

            "Oh.. N-No reason." She shakes her head, stopping to watch as you burst a section of the tunnel. Tendo pulls you into him as the earth and rock soon blocks the tunnel behind you. 

            "That will barely slow them down. Let's keep going." Tendo states quickly continuing with you both. He comes to an iron door, inputting a code before getting it open and looking back as you and Melody go through. A trimmer shakes the tunnel and Tendo swallows, not following and moving to close the door back.

           "Tendo! What are you doing? Come with us!" You gasp stopping him. 

           "___, trust me, this is the safest route for you." He tells you. 

           "What about you? Tendo…" You plead. He searches your face before kissing you deeply.

           "I love you." He whispers. He moves to pull back but you grip his arm.

           "Promise you'll come back to me. I want you to come back." You tell him, tearing up anxiously as the trimmer grows stronger. He pauses and presses the button on your sos bracelet.

            "Get your mom to the agency." He says, carefully pushing you back before closing and locking the door between you two. 

            "Tendo!" You hit the door, starting to shake. 'Focus on what needs to be done.' Kiyoomi's voice sounds in your head. "Let's go." You grab your mom's hand, running for the ladder and climbing up after her, pausing to look back at the door before hurrying up.

            Tendo sighs quietly, taking off his backpack and hoodie before removing his helmet from the backpack, putting it on before turning to the group that was coming down the tunnel. 

            "Holy shit. Aren't you Midnight? What are you doing down here? And why does it feel like you're standing in our way?" The young leader asks, tilting his head fluffy blond hair swaying slightly. 

           "Because I am. This is my territory Dagger. I'd appreciate it if you didn't hunt on it." Midnight rumbles.

           "Sorry Midnight. This is Dagger's law. And we've been waiting a long time for this head. We'll leave as soon as we get it." The blond smiles, before pausing as Midnight's blades come out. 

           "Sorry. Normally I wouldn't care. But my beloved is involved. So I'm not budging." Midnight says getting ready. 

           "I see… That's too bad." The blond's blue eyes start to glow orange. "Guess we'll just go through you then."

            You rush down the street with your mom, glancing around uneasily. A large man suddenly comes through a building, charging at you both. You swallow, removing your glove and holding your hand out to him, but lightning crashes between you and black chains knock him back.

           "Sorry about that! He's mine!" Rakurai waves you on, smiling. "Hurry honey!" His blue eyes starting to glow, the black chains glowing white now, flickering like lightning, crashing into a few others that came into the area. You hesitate in confusion before continuing on for the agency. You were getting close now. 

          "___! What's going on?" Hibarida calls landing in front of you both.

          "Take my mom! She's in trouble! I need to go back to Tendo!" You tell him swiftly, pushing her into him. You swiftly turn, starting to run back.

          "They're not after me!" Your mom calls at your back and you stop.

          "What do you mean? Why are they attacking us?" You turn back in confusion.

          "... Because they're after you."