I don't own anything except any original characters (including the Reader's concept) and/or any original plot

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Chapter Nineteen - A Kiss Stolen

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The UA Culture Festival was a showcase for the teachers and students at UA, and pro-heroes if they wished to drop in. You knew they'd have tight security surrounding the building, so you simply went through the front gate with a grocery bag in your hand. You were a normal student coming back from a last-minute shopping trip. The flicker at the gates was so quick that Snipe didn't notice the system shutting down long enough for you to step through without an ID card.

Despite the fact that the public wasn't allowed in this year, it was still lively. Unsure of where Katsuki and the rest of his class were, you were content just wandering until you figured it out. The food stalls were giving out free samples so you gladly ate some good food, and then went around looking at the advertisements for the performances.

1-A was doing a concert in one of the gyms, and soon too, so you hurried through the crowd to get a good spot. And if you were conveniently near a tall blonde carrying a silver-haired girl then who could you blame but fate?

The performance was incredible. You could tell they poured their heart and soul into the work. You could feel the music. Katsuki playing the drums was a nice touch, but you wouldn't say that out loud. The best moment, however, was when Eri smiled.

You remembered when she tried to do it the first time. The awkward stretch of her lips on her face. You also remembered telling her that she'd smile for the first time when she was truly happy. Helping the heroes save her was the right choice and you didn't care about anything else but her at that moment.

After the performance, you struggled to keep track of Lemillion and Eri as they were swept away by the crowd as it surged out of the gym. Sighing in disappointment, you resigned yourself to having only seen Eri from a distance.

But then there was a tug on your pants. Glancing down, your eyes widened when you saw Eri staring up at you.

"(Y/n)-chan?"

"Eri! Where's Lemillion?"

Eri looked sheepish, "I ran away. Just for a minute! I saw you and well..."

"That's okay. I'm happy to see you too, Eri. Are you happy now?"

"I smiled! Aizawa-san and Lemillion-chan are taking care of me, and Deku visits when he can."

"I'm glad, Eri," you smiled, crouching down to pull her into a brief hug, "We should get you back to Lemillion. He's probably worried-"

"Wait, (Y/n)-chan!" Eri pulled you back down, "(Y/n)... you're still my hero. You said that I'd see what a real hero was, but..."

Blinking back tears, you gave a shaky smile. Standing again, you looked out to the crowd for Lemillion. Distantly, you saw him and Suneater searching through the crowd.

"Will I see you again?"

Not wanting to tell her no, you sighed, "Maybe, Eri. I promised we would see the mountains together, didn't I?"

"Eri!" Lemillion scooped Eri into his arms and held her close, "Thank you for finding her!"

"Of course," you smiled innocently, "She probably just got swept away by the crowd. It was nice to meet you, Eri."

Looking up at Lemillion, you paused when you saw him intently staring at you. Shit. You forgot he got a glimpse of your face when you switched masks at the Shie Hassakai raid. He took Eri's hand, and gently guided her over to Suneater, "Tamaki, can you watch Eri for a second?"

"Yeah," Tamaki took Eri's hand and they walked a bit away, just out of hearing range considering the chatter of the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" Lemillion asked bluntly, his smile much smaller than before.

"I'm a student," you laughed, plastering on a confused look, "I'm here for the Culture Festival like everyone else."

Lemillion crossed his arms, tilting his head, "A student? You look the age I guess. I just sort of assumed you were short when we were in the compound."

Eyes widening, you looked around to see if anyone was listening. No one was, but your heart was still pounding in your chest. It confirmed Lemillion's own suspicions, but you had to choose either being complicit and risking someone hearing or guarding your back and keeping the secret between you and Lemillion.

"I'm not here to cause any harm, nor am I here to disturb the peace," you said lowly.

"I know," Lemillion shrugged, "You would have done something by now if you were. Stolen Eri, caused a big show at 1-A's performance, something like that. So what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see someone. Not Eri- I didn't know she would be here. Someone else."

"Are they dangerous? A traitor?"

"Not to UA. They're determined to stay a hero. I can't do much against that. I'm just here to talk with them, and then I'll leave."

Lemillion sighed, "I should arrest you. You're part of the LOV- a key figure. It'd do a lot of harm to them if you were gone."

"I know."

Lemillion looked at Tamaki and Eri a small distance away, his eyes glossy, "That bullet was meant to take away my Quirk forever, wasn't it?"

"We haven't tested another one, but Overhaul seemed confident that they were the final product he was looking for."

"Then why do I still have my Quirk?"

"It's hard to explain. I don't really understand it. Um... each Quirk gives off energy, right? So before the bullet could hit you I absorbed that energy and transferred it back to you after you should have lost your Quirk. Because the energy came from your body, it acclimated back and gave you your Quirk."

"It doesn't work all the time."

You shrugged, "I wasn't trying to give all of it back. I was trying to do enough to save Eri. Be thankful that it worked at all. You could be quirkless right now."

"You really did all of that for Eri?"

"She smiled for the first time today because she finally feels happy. I wanted that for her. Wanted something more than being a science experiment for the rest of her life."

"You did a good thing."

"Don't say that like I'm redeemable. You don't know everything I've done and this society still disgusts me," you frowned, "You should go back to Eri. I need to go meet someone."

Without giving Lemillion a chance to argue, you turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Maybe Lemillion would tell an adult, or maybe he'd be like Bakugou and hold on to the belief that you'd end up doing more good than bad. Either way, you had plans and you were going to stick to them.

Class 1-A was cleaning up after their performance. You easily caught sight of Katsuki's wild blonde hair and waved to get his attention. You wouldn't yell. Your voice was your most recognizable attribute.

"Take this, Shitty-hair," Katsuki barked at the hero you knew as Red Riot.

"Wait, but-" Red Riot looked over to you and seemed to understand, "I got you, Bakubro!"

With his hands shoved in his pockets, Katsuki walked over to you. The rest of the class noticed as well, whispering frantically amongst themselves. Two boys in particular - a blonde with a black streak and a short purple haired (balled?) boy - looked like their souls were leaving their bodies. You would have preferred to avoid all the attention, but 1-A wouldn't see you again off the battlefield so it didn't matter much.

"You're too fucking obvious and stupid," Katsuki grumbled when he approached, "Coming to UA's student only festival."

"General studies, an exchange student. I wanted to see you," you explained shortly, forcing yourself not to blush, "Plus, your classmates' reactions were funny."

"They'll ask questions."

"You wouldn't answer them either way. Let them think I'm some mystery date and not a member of the League of Villains that should be arrested on sight." The "but has been extremely lucky when it comes to being discovered" was left unsaid.

Katsuki was silent for a few seconds before bluntly stating, "You're (Y/n) (L/n)."

"Yeah. Took you long enough to figure it out. I gave you my first name and face and everything."

"I figured it out after you told me your name. Running away from your family seems like something you'd bitch about."

The two of you moved away from the cleanup and wandered around the festival to observe the other attractions.

"I'm not really upset about them. I loved them and I left them. I wanted to find All for One to give me a Quirk. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd do after that but he had plans for me."

"Why leave in the first place?"

"Childish impulse mixed with a deep desire to change the world that made my life a living hell."

"You couldn't be a hero?"

"A quirkless hero? Ha! Maybe one day someone will make that a reality, but I wasn't meant to be that person. It's a pipe-dream in this day and age."

Katsuki pondered and you took the chance to lead the two of you toward the beauty pageant.

"I made a quirkless kid's life a living hell."

"We'll talk about that in a minute. The show is about to start."

UA's beauty pageant was... interesting. Each girl had unique talents and attributes that lent to their chances of winning. But in the end, the honor of beauty queen went to Neijire-chan, one of the heroes present at the Shie Hassakai raid. Of course she won, because all of your lives were intertwined in the weirdest ways.

"Your morality was skewed from the start. I know it was Midoriya you tormented. I was there when you two fought in the battle zone, but I'm sure you knew that already," Katsuki nodded in response, "I figured that there was something more than jealousy there, add that to the fact that he has All Might's Quirk- yes I know, it's very obvious - and it made sense that he was quirkless up until then. When you were little adults praised you for everything you did, right? They didn't punish you when you did something wrong, either. You were an asshole, someone not worthy of being a hero," you noticed how his hands formed into fists, "And you never had a chance to change because you were praised for bad behavior. Did Midoriya or any of the teachers ever try to stop what was going on?"

"The nerd never stopped seeing us as friends."

At that moment, several of Katsuki's classmates approached. Along with Red Riot, there was a girl with pink hair, a boy with black hair, a boy with yellow hair and a black stripe, and Deku and Uravity.

"The name's Kirishima Eijiro," Red Riot was the first to introduce himself.

"Smith (Y/n)," you greeted.

"Ashido Mina."

"Kaminari Denki."

"Sero Hanta."

"Midoriya Izuku."

"Uraraka Ochako."

The blonde sidled up to you, "So Bakugou, who's your friend?"

"Back off dweebs!"

"I'm from General Studies. I'm an exchange student."

That appeased them slightly though Kaminari and Ashido were determined to keep up the teasing against Katsuki. Uraraka, Midoriya, and Kirishima were quieter and it made you nervous. They were the ones at the Shie Hassakai raid. They would have heard about Energy's involvement in the official reports after.

"It was nice meeting all of you, but I was hoping to see 1-C and their haunted house. K- Bakugou?"

"Back off," Katsuki gave the group a final growl before grabbing your elbow and pulling you off.

"Katsuki-"

"I know."

"Not only were they at the raid, but Kirishima and Midoriya were there at Kamino-"

"I know. I'll dodge all their fucking questions. It's your fault for showing up here in the first place."

"Do you want me to leave, then?" You raised a brow, taking a step away from Katsuki, but his grip on your arm remained strong.

"You're already here. Might as well see why UA is better than the shitty league."

"Good! Let's go see that haunted house then get some food!"

The haunted house was terrifying. The other General Studies kids may not have had "heroic" Quirks, but they knew how to use them to their advantage. You either kept Katsuki in a death grip or hiding your face in his neck half the time.

The only lights inside the house were meant to keep up the ambiance, so they were either red or dim. In other words, the only chance of Bakugou finding out your face was on fire was if he actually felt it through his shirt.

When the two of you finally stepped out, you sighed in relief, "That haunted house was actually pretty goo- ah!" You yelped when Katsuki suddenly pulled you into the alley in between the horror set and the start of the food stalls, "What the-"

"Shhh," Katsuki put a hand over your mouth.

Between the thin crack of the alley was Eraserhead and Present Mic, looking domestic as they walked. If Eraserhead saw you with Katsuki then it would raise questions, and if he investigated then-

Katsuki smelled like caramel. The scent invaded your senses and lulled you into a calm stupor. You were never this close to him before. Chest to chest, his breath skimming the top of your head while yours hit his jaw. In the haste to get into the alley, your hands had been squashed against his shoulders. You resisted the urge to squeeze and feel the muscle hidden beneath his shirt. God, his waist was so small too-

"Come on," Katsuki pulled you out of both the alley and your thoughts, "They're gone."

Nodding mutely, you have yourself a few seconds to collect your thoughts, "I should go. The team is probably wondering where I am."

"Whatever."

Katsuki waked you toward the gate, stopping at the edge of the festival grounds.

"Our conversation earlier about what happened between you and Midroiya... everyone failed both of us when we were younger. I felt weak and sought out power. You were raised to be nothing but powerful and now you're learning what weakness is. Two sides of the same coin, right?"

"At least I'm not a damn villain."

You smiled, "And at least I'm not going to work for a broken system. I'll visit again when I can. The league is... very busy right now so who knows when that might be. But you have my number so..."

The class was approaching. Whether to snoop or inform Katsuki of something you didn't have the time to find out. Wrapping an arm around his neck, you used his shock to pull him down to your height and press your lips against his.

It took him a second to respond, and when he put his hands on your waist you were actually scared that he was going to push you away. But he just gave your hips a light squeeze and tilted his head to gain a better angle in the kiss.

1-A was close. So you pulled back and gave Katsuki another smile before you turned and walked out the gate. Just a little act of evil, knowing that Katsuki would have to explain what happened.

Yep. That was it. An act of evil... nothing else hidden beneath the surface...

You didn't miss your body buzzing as you hurried off the UA Campus. It felt like you'd sucked up a ton of energy and you were just letting it buzz through your veins.

In reality, you were just feeling the buzz of Katsuki.

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Arriving back at the forest was like getting slapped in the face with reality. Shuichi and Jin must have been on shift with Tomura because you couldn't find either of them away from the fight. Dabi, Toga, and Compress were simply waiting within the trees.

"How's the fight going?" You asked, adjusted your backpack straps around your shoulders.

"Still no changes. At the rate we're going we're all going to die of exhaustion before anything else," Dabi complained.

"Why haven't you removed all of Gigantomachia's energy yet?" Compress questioned.

"From something that big? I'd be like a walking bomb. The larger the amount of energy I'm drawing in, the harder it is to contain it. It's why you haven't seen me doing that to entire cities or something."

Himiko was suddenly right in your face. You took a cautious step back, but she simply stepped forward again. Without warning, she reached up and squeezed both of your cheeks.

"Ack! What are you doing?" You snapped.

"You're in love!" Himi accused, jumping back and pointing a finger at you, "I'm an expert at love, and I'd recognize that look anywhere!"

"We're all fighting a giant and you're off getting laid?" Dabi's eyes narrowed, "I want to meet 'em so I can set them on fire."

"You're one to talk!" You hissed back, "I wasn't 'getting laid' - and you can't meet them, either!"

"But you admitted it!" Himi squealed, leaping forward to latch onto your shoulders, "You are! You are in love! Oh, isn't it the most amazing feeling ever? Who is it? Do we know them?"

"Sort of?"

"'Sort of' seems like a strange answer," Compress commented.

"Well it's not like they're a member of the league or anything, that'd be weird. But we've all... met them before. That's all I'm answering, no more questions! I'm allowed to have some secrets."

"But you already have sooooo many!" Himiko complained. You sent her a deadpan look.

"My face, my name, most of my backstory, and my motivations. You guys know all of that when no one else does," except Katsuki, "I don't keep a lot of secrets from all of you because I trust you. This isn't because that's suddenly changed. It's just something that is for me, just for me."

Pouting but remaining quiet all the same, Himi pulled you into a tight hug and congratulated you on being in love once again.

Love? Oh. She'd been using the word love since the beginning. No. It wasn't like that. Sure, Katsuki was your perfect foil and you loved speaking to him, being with him, and simply seeing him, but it wasn't love. From the beginning, you'd simply wanted to know more about him. That hadn't changed, the concept had just gotten more... personal.

You refused to be the Icarus to Katsuki's sun.

(What no one knows is that Icarus laughed as he fell, because there is something beautiful about setting the world on fire for your love and standing in the center of the flames)