Very quick artwork done by myself. 

Welcome back to this feel-good story. I hope this chapter will fill you with fluff and sweetness.

This chapter is dedicated to WattPearl on Wattpad for her muse-igniting fanart. Please check them out!

Beta: emplatinum

(Sorry for the long author's note at the bottom)

◟(◕◡◕❀)

I didn't learn about what had happened to my friends until the weekend after the internship.

When I returned from my patrol with Mirko and saw the message, I immediately called Izuku to see what was happening. When I was met with a voicemail, I called Shōto—since I knew he was in the same area as the location Izuku sent—but also got voicemail. I called Ochaco next, and she confirmed that she had gotten the same message, but since she was a city away there wasn't anything she could do. We both promised to let the other know as soon as we knew what was going on.

Roughly an hour later Mirko started letting out a stream of curses about how Endeavour had stolen her mark: Hero Killer Stain.

I knew Shōto was with Endeavour for the internship, but I didn't think for an instant Endeavour would let Shōto near such a dangerous opponent.

Still, a sense of worry and unease started to eat at me and I was half-tempted to teleport straight to them. The only things that prevented me from doing so was 1.) Nezu would undoubtedly tell me if my friends were in danger and 2.) I was sure to get in trouble if I abruptly left my internship just to check on some friends. Given how much of a hassle this whole experience had turned out for me, I was anxious to simply be done with the whole ordeal and pass with exemplary marks.

(I refused to give Mirko the satisfaction of giving me anything less than perfect.)

So, I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, when the internship was done and I was home I finally, finally, finally got a call back from Izuku.

"What the heck was going on?" I demanded as soon as I answered, throwing my backpack on my bed and starting to pace around my bedroom. "Why haven't you called me back? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Ah—Ah—Sorry, Kiyo-chan! A lot of things happened, and, um, we had to sign a bunch of privacy contracts, and, um," Izuku stammered, clearly flustered under my onslaught of questions. "W-Well, we sort of ran into Stain—"

"You what?" I half-screeched, feeling my heart momentarily stop. "I'm on my—"

"We're fine! Don't worry, please stay at home. You just got back from your internship, right? Please don't worry," Izuku hastily said, before he hesitated. He took a deep breath and started to explain what had happened.

I unintentionally stopped him multiple times with my startled squeaks of oh my god and what.

When he was finished he apologized one final time.

"But you're all okay now?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

"You'll be at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Izu-chan—Izu-chan I'm so sorry I didn't come."

"Oh, don't worry about it—"

I fell silent at that, guilt still churning in my stomach. "Izu-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Please be safe, okay?"

"Yeah, I promise."

We said our goodbyes, and I sent a text to Shōto asking him to call me when he got a chance. I called Ochaco next and gave her the rundown on what happened. She, of course, was horrified to learn what had happened to our friends. She ended the conversation more quickly than usual so she could talk to Izuku herself.

Then I texted Katsuki to let him know what was going on.

He responded back with an ever so brief K.

Not that I expected much else. Katsuki wasn't one to display concern, and as long as everyone made it out okay he wouldn't dwell on it.

(Well he very well might be annoyed he missed out on such a fight, but he wasn't going to bother putting that in a text message.)

After a brief hesitation I texted back, Do you want to spar?

Katsuki: Okay.

After a quick change in clothes I teleported to Katsuki's room, unsurprised to find one of my oldest friends deeply involved in a fighting game.

I sat on Katsuki's bed, watching my emotional friend try to furiously defeat a level on his game. When he successfully vanquished the boss he let out a whoop, "EAT SHIT YOU BASTARD."

"You sure showed him," I said, kicking my legs out. "You ready to spar now?"

"Yeah, let me save."

With that taken care of, he hopped up and stretched out his arms, red eyes glancing over towards me. "Hey, Bubblegum."

"Hey, Bocchan."

"At the festival," Katsuki said, turning around, "you remember our fight?"

I gave a small shrug. "Bits and pieces."

Katsuki jerked his thumb towards his television. "I rewatched it. You were still standing when Midnight called it."

Once again I could only shrug. "I lost consciousness when I hit the ground. I don't have an answer for you."

He stared at me for another minute then snorted. "Fine. Let's go, Bubblegum."

I saluted, and stretched out my other hand for him to take.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

A few hours later...

I sat down on the grass, out of breath and covered in sweat. Katsuki was leaning over his knees, panting heavily and dripping sweat. "How are you that damn flexible, Bubblegum?"

"Estrogen," I deadpanned, then groaned and leaned back. "I think you bruised my ribs."

"Feeling's mutual!" Katsuki snapped out before he fell back on his butt.

The two of us laid back in the grassy field we used for sparing, exhausted. There was a comfortable silence between the two of us; a shared thought of how damn tired we were.

It wasn't until our breathing evened out that Katsuki was the first to break the silence with, "I need a bath."

"I need a new stomach."

"I didn't kick you that hard."

I turned my head towards him to give him a look of disbelief. He smirked cheekily for a moment before breaking out into a rare grin and chuckling. Then he winced. "Fuck my ribs. Fuck you for that kick."

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this when we have school tomorrow."

"You fucking think?"

"But, um... thanks. I needed this. I was anxious about—"

"Shut up," he grunted.

"Heh, you want to stay for dinner?"

"Hell no. Take me home."

I rolled over enough to grab his shoulder and teleported both of us to his bedroom where we laid on his floor for another minute. Once I had gathered enough strength, I reluctantly sat up, gave a tired salute, and headed home.

The first thing I did was strip out of my clothes and wash up. I threw in practically half the bag of epsom salt I had into the tub before getting in, whimpering the whole way through.

Of course that's when Shōto chose to call me back.

I picked up with a grumpy, "Hello?"

"Hi. Sorry, my father kept me very busy," Shōto immediately apologized. "I didn't expect it'd take an entire day to get through all the paperwork, though. I'm sorry for any worry."

"It's fine, it couldn't be helped. Izu-chan told me what happened."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I—I'm glad Izuku-kun got ahold of you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said firmly. "Are you?"

"I'm fine. I didn't really get hurt.""

"Swear?"

"I promise."

"Okay. I guess I won't kick your butt too bad for making me worry, then," I allowed.

"My butt appreciates that."

The fact that he said it with such a serious tone made me snort out a reluctant giggle.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your evening," Shōto said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The day returning to school after the internship was one met with discomfort. Ignoring the fact that my internship was less than fun—not that I expected it to be fun going in, but I wasn't prepared for my mentor's brash, clumsy, and rude nature—my friends had been placed in serious life-threatening situations.

When I came into class I fully expected them to be treated with quiet respect, and for my fellow classmates to refrain from asking about what was surely a scary experience.

That did not happen.

Almost immediately they were bombarded by overly excited teenagers with no sense of tact. As Izuku and Shōto squirmed (not that it was easy to tell with Shōto due to his naturally stoic expressions) with discomfort under the invasion of privacy, I felt a part of me snap.

"Enough," I barked out, uncharacteristically sharp. The order seemed to stun my classmates into silence and I continued, "Get back to your seats, and stay quiet. What they went through isn't something to be admired about and they should be the ones to talk about if they want. You never harass someone about a terrifying experience, and so help me if I see you doing so again I'll have you sent straight to the counselor's office so they can explain common decency. Something I would have thought to be obvious enough to supposed heroes."

My—admittedly venomous—words drilled a feeling of shame into each student that had gathered around the victims. There were quiet murmurs of apologies as everyone returned to their seats.

I watched them with narrowed eyes before huffing and pulling out my notebooks from my bag and placing them on my desk. Izuku turned back and gave me a pained smile. "Thanks."

I smiled reassuringly in return. "Don't mention it. This is the kind of thing a class rep does, right? And besides, you guys are my friends."

Ochaco nodded beside me. "Yeah. It must have been really scary. You don't have to talk about it, but if you do I'm here for both of you."

Shōto and Izuku said a quiet thank you at that, but I got the strong feeling neither of them would be taking her up on that offer. Not that I blamed them. Talking about something like that had to be hard.

How did one begin to describe the feeling of fearing for your life? Or maybe fearing for your friends' lives?

It was something everyone in this class would likely have to feel one day. I would have thought they understood a little about it from the villain attack earlier in the semester, but their treatment of Izuku and Shōto spoke otherwise.

'It might be a good idea to have a counselor talk to the class anyway about this kind of stuff. I'd hate to see one of them unintentionally harass a trauma victim.'

But those thoughts would have to wait since Aizawa entered the classroom and it was time for classes to begin again.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Since classes were short that day, Ochaco and I headed to the café afterwards. To be honest my shift actually went by in a blur and before I knew it, it was time for my fifteen minute break.

The day really seemed to have slipped away from me. Some days were like that, it could feel like in a blink of an eye, an entire day had passed by and I only had a vague recollection to go back on.

It had been a pretty busy semester, though, so it was understandable how time flew by. From the entrance exams, to the villain invasion, midterms, Sports Festival, and recently the internship... U.A.'s schedule was certainly filled with events.

It was getting hard to believe that in a month the first semester would be over and it would be time for summer vacation.

For the past couple of weeks everyone in town had been preparing for summer: fixing up fences, repairing roads, tilling the soil, planting the first crops, and so on. Between that, school, and work, it really did seem like all of my free time was eaten up.

Which was simultaneously a good thing and a bad thing. On the bright side it made time fly by, and it was wonderful to feel productive. On the bad side it meant I've had to seriously cut back on my training. Before attending U.A. I had been able to squeeze three to four hours of dedicated training every day, on top of regular spars. Now it felt like I could barely squeeze a couple spars in a week and it was difficult to do my morning katas and yoga before class. More than once I had to miss a day and work twice as hard over the weekend to make up for it.

'I hope next semester will be better,' I thought to myself. 'No, what am I saying? It's my own fault. I need to manage my time better. I can't miss school, farm, or training sessions. Maybe I can cut back on my hours at work? But I need the money. Ugh. I'll talk with Nezu over summer, he's always so organized. He might have some ideas for me.'

'Speaking of Nezu... should I talk to him about having the students see a counselor?'

The question was tricky. It might annoy some of the students, but the fact of the matter was that they should've treated their classmates with respect and privacy—not demanding a detailed explanation of what had to be a very bad experience.

They could get away with it a bit more since the victims in question were training to be heroes—undoubtedly they would have to go through a lot more scary experiences—but what if they did that to someone who wasn't prepared? What if their tactless aggression of questions triggered a flashback, or an anxiety attack? Heroes were meant to calm and reassure, never to harm.

'But they're still children. Children will act like children.'

They're training to be heroes. They lost the right to be children—

(They are not soldiers.)

(They are not you.)

I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh. 'One more chance. If something like this happens again, heaven forbid, and they act out again I'll have everyone talk to a counselor. They'd have to do so anyway coming into second year.'

Flipping open my phone I checked my messages. When I came across Shōto's name I couldn't resist texting him.

I'm getting off in a couple hours, I texted Shōto. Do you want to hang out?

I can't. I'm visiting my mom today.

Okay. Give her my best.

I will.

I closed my phone, taking another sip of my soda and relaxing on my break. Ochaco popped her head into the break room briefly, a big smile on her face. "Guess who got the results of her scholarship exam!"

Judging by her big beaming smile, I concluded the results were good. With a grin, I hopped up from my seat and rushed over to her. "Well done! Congratulations! How about we go out and celebrate, my treat?"

"Okay!" Ochaco crowed, preening under my praise. I gave her a brief hug, and kissed the top of her head. She was positively glowing. "I want BBQ."

"Then BBQ is what we'll get," I promised her. "I'll text Izu-chan."

"Oh—and can you invite Iida-kun?" Ochaco asked. "Um, he hasn't really been out much since his brother was... you know."

"Sure thing," I said, pulling my phone back out. I hadn't talked much to Tenya outside of class—not because I didn't want to, but the fella was always so busy I felt awkward interrupting. He still sat with us at lunch, but I didn't always eat lunch with everyone.

I texted Izuku first: Ocha-chan won her scholarship for next semester, we're going out to celebrate. Want in?

I'd love to! Izuku responded immediately, along with a gif of a big smiley.

Then Tenya: Hi, Tenya-kun! Ocha-chan won her scholarship for next semester, so Izu-chan, Ocha-chan, and I are going out to celebrate. We would love it if you came with us.

Tenya responded quickly: I'd be honored to celebrate Uraraka's success, thank you for inviting me!

I looked up nearby BBQ places before finding one with decent reviews. I texted the time and destination to everyone before giving Ochaco a thumbs up and heading back to work.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

After work, Ochaco and I changed out of our uniforms and back into our school uniforms. Since it was a school night, Ochaco and I didn't get off work until late—it was pretty dark outside, so all the streetlights were on. The two of us hadn't had much of a chance to eat dinner, we were starved. We took a relaxing walk towards the hot plate BBQ a few blocks away from the café. By the time we got there, Tenya and Izuku were already waiting for us at a table.

There were balloons with the words CONGRATULATIONS and WELL DONE written on them.

It made Ochaco blush, and she covered her face with her hands. "You guys!"

"Congratulations, Uraraka-san," Tenya exclaimed, grinning.

Izuku clapped. "Yeah, great job. Come on and sit down, you two. Dinner's on us."

Ochaco and I took a seat, the adorable girl still blushing under the praise and attention. She wore a pretty smile, scratching her right cheek absently. "Thanks everyone. I really couldn't have done it without your support."

"Don't sell yourself so short," I said, smiling at her. "You've earned it."

"Now that you have the scholarship, what do you have to do to keep it?" Tenya inquired. "I was not aware U.A. provided scholarships."

"It's not advertised, but if you ask a teacher they'll be able to provide details," I answered. "With a scholarship, though, you have to stay within the top five percent grade-wise."

Ochaco winced. "Urk. The exams will be coming up, won't they? I'm barely maintaining my average as it is."

"The scholarship won't come into effect until after summer vacation, though, right?" Izuku asked, taking a sip of his soda. "So you won't have to worry too much about this exam."

Tenya shook his head. "Don't be so sure. If her average drops too much it may be impossible to pull it up in time. Plus, you probably have to have that average at the start of the term, right?"

Ochaco nodded.

"Don't worry, Ocha-chan," I reassured her. "I'll help you study for the exam."

Ochaco's eyes gleamed and she took my hands in her own. "Ahh! Thank you, Kiyo-chan."

"In fact, why don't we start a little study group?" I asked, looking over at the other two seated at the table. "We can rent out a room in the U.A. library, or y'all can come over to my place."

Izuku's face beamed. "Ooo, will Baba make more of those cookies?"

"Cookies?" Ochaco asked, instantly intrigued.

"Baba makes the best sugar cookies," I explained. "Ah, and other healthy snacks, too."

"I think a study group would be a good idea," Tenya said. "The more people we have, the better off we'll be. If someone doesn't know something, odds are someone else will be able to explain it."

I clapped my hands together. "Then why don't you all come over this Sunday, and next Sunday before the exams? Ocha-chan, if you want to take the train out Saturday you can spend the night. Ah, Tenya-kun, I live pretty far out, will you be okay to come over?"

I gave him my address and Tenya's eyes momentarily widened. "Wow. No wonder you teleport to class every morning. So you must have a provisional license to use your Quirk?"

"Yeah, I got it when I was ten," I said. "Just the transportation one, I don't have a hero license or anything like that."

Tenya gave a brisk nod. "I will be able to make it. What time should we meet?"

"How about nine?" Izuku guessed, looking over at me. "That's about when you're done with farm work, right?"

"Yeah, that'd be perfect."

Ochaco raised her hand into a fist. "Then it's settled! Kiyo-chan, I'll come out on Saturday and spend the night, okay? I expect lots of sugar cookies."

I saluted her. "Yes ma'am!"

"Then this Sunday we'll study," Tenya concluded.

And with timing that could not have been planned better, our waiter arrived.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Saturday at around ten Ochaco hopped off her train to find me and Papa waiting for her. She waved at us, a big smile on her face. Thankfully a train stop wasn't far away from our town, so Papa and I could head out there in the truck (which we borrowed from Uncle Takashi) to pick Ochaco up. She headed over to us, swinging a bag over her shoulder. "Hiya!"

"Hello there Ochaco-chan," Papa greeted, "you can call me Dan, Papa, Uncle, or Old Man."

"Oh, ah, Dan-san, then?" Ochaco tried out with a shy smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Papa returned. "Why don't you hop in the back with Kiyo-chan. It'll be a bumpy ride, so hold tight."

Ochaco and I climbed in the bed of the truck, while Papa hopped in the front and started the truck. As we took off, I asked Ochaco, "How was the trip down?"

"Not bad. I fell asleep," Ochaco said, rubbing the back of her head. "Ah, I can't wait for your wand to get used to me so you can teleport me around."

"It shouldn't be too much longer, I think. My wand really likes ya," I said. "Maybe next term."

"That's awesome! Oh, wow, so this is where you live?"

"This is the town," I confirmed. "The farm's a bit further out I'm afraid."

Ochaco looked around the heavily forested area. The town was more trees than buildings, and none of the roads were paved. There was an abundance of flowers around, though, and as we passed by people they waved at us. Ochaco watched everything with wide eyes. When we finally reached the farm she let out a quiet gasp. "Wow. This is kind of like in all those movies, isn't it?"

I looked over at the farm, wondering what she was talking about.

It was an average farmhouse. Two stories, all wood and stone. There was a big front porch with a swing, and many flower pots scattered about. You couldn't see much of the actual fields or garden when facing the front of the house, but you could see the stretching wooden fence on either side of the house. It was painted white with pastel colored shutters.

I thought it looked nice. We all worked hard to maintain the yard and building, half-expecting visitors every hour.

"You think?" I settled on, climbing out of the truck.

"Yeah, it's a bit romantic," Ochaco confirmed.

'Romantic? How?'

"Alright, girls I'm going to give this back to that annoying brat," Papa told us. "Head on in."

"Okay, Papa," I said, motioning for Ochaco to follow me. "Are you hungry? You said you didn't eat on the train."

"Starved," Ochaco confirmed, the two of us walking up the front porch steps. I opened the front door, unsurprised to find the smell of bacon and eggs assault my nose. Ochaco's stomach immediately growled, and the two of us laughed at that.

"Ah, is that you Kiyo-chan?" Baba called out from the kitchen. She came out a few moments later, wiping her hands on her apron and beaming. "Oh, hello, Ochaco-chan! You can call me Baba."

"O-Oh, hello Baba. It's very nice to meet you." Ochaco gave a short bow.

'Is Baba like in the movies, too?' I wondered, looking over at my dear grandmother. She was a small woman, barely 4'10" (1.47 M). Her silver hair (which was once bubble gum pink like mine) was pulled up into a messy bun. She didn't wear makeup, except for the occasional chapstick. Despite being small in stature, she had quite the biceps. She was every bit as muscular as Papa—something that came with working on a farm—and had wide, calloused hands.

I got my red eyes from Papa—and my mother, I supposed—which usually meant I got Papa's—or mother's—Quirk.

Not that I tested it out to confirm, of course.

Baba's eyes were a pale shade of gray, and almost always filled with a gentle warmth.

Unless she was mad.

Then there was a fiery anger in them that Papa and I learned to run from.

As Ochaco straightened out, Baba waved her off. "Ah, such a polite girl. Come in, you must be hungry. I have breakfast ready, so please don't hold back."

"I never turn down free food," Ochaco declared with another one of her pretty smiles.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The day was pleasant. I showed her around the farm, and we had burgers for dinner. The two of us stayed up a little later than normal to binge watch some movies before we went to bed. I warned her I would be getting up before her since I had to work the farm, and she offered to help.

"Don't be silly. It's your first night here. Just enjoy being a guest, okay?" I told her, handing her another blanket. I had pulled out the extra bed mat that Shōto or Izuku used when they stayed over. Ochaco, dressed in her cutesy PJs, was sitting on it crisscross. She accepted the blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders.

She pouted. "But I'd feel bad if I slept while you were working hard."

"You need to save your energy for studying," I told her. "The exams are only in a couple of weeks, you know?"

"Ah! I know, I know."

Ochaco gave a sigh before she flopped backwards on the bed.

I crawled into my own bed, pulling up the covers. "Get some sleep, Ocha-chan."

"Okay, okay. Nighty night, Kiyo-chan."

"Sweet dreams, Ocha-chan."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The following morning I snuck out of my bedroom to do the farm chores, and help with breakfast. By the time everything was said and done Ochaco stumbled out of the room, bleary-eyed and hungry for bacon.

After breakfast we got cleaned up. While Ochaco headed out to the train station with Papa to pick up Tenya, I teleported Izuku and Shōto over. When everyone had arrived it was time to study.

The five of us took a seat at a table Baba brought out in the living room. In addition to Baba's sugar cookies, Papa had made us some spring rolls with a homemade dip. The table was filled with textbooks and workbooks, and the five us worked diligently with minimal conversation. Occasionally we would get off topic, but for the most part it was a very productive study session. We took a break for a late lunch—and we ate watermelon on the porch—but got right back into it afterwards.

Tenya and Ochaco were the first to head out, since they had to take the train back home. Shōto, Izuku, and I saw them off before we returned for a delicious dinner.

Once dinner was done Izuku gave a big yawn, stretching out. "Oh boy. I could eat your Papa and Baba's cooking my whole life, Kiyo-chan."

Shōto nodded in agreement, leaning back on the couch.

"Ya'll want to spend the night?" I offered. "I can take you home in the morning before school."

"Ah, I'd get a chance to eat Baba's breakfast, huh?" Izuku murmured, half to himself. "I'll take you up on that offer."

"Me, too," Shōto said.

"Okey dokey. Did you guys finish your homework?"

"Yeah," they both said before glancing over at one another.

Izuku sported a big grin. "Do you guys want to go for a walk?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Shōto said.

"Yeah. Let's head up the mountain."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Grass crunched under our shoes, soft and springy. This spring had been good for us so far, with plenty of light rainfall to keep the wilderness lush and full of life (not to mention saving us a penny on watering our plants). The cool night air tasted of trees and running water. The three of us had left the designated path a while ago, meandering further up the mountain on our own. The path didn't make it too far up, since not a lot of people trekked up here.

It was good for training, though. Walking on an uneven path for so long, and semi-frequently made for good coordination and balance. Coupled with the trek being uphill, occasionally forcing us to literally climb up a rock sheet, it was good exercise.

Not that we were doing this for training specifically, mind you.

Izuku enjoyed it for the feeling of accomplishment when he reached the top. Every time he wanted to go camping, he demanded we camp at the highest spot we could climb to. When he reached the top, no matter how long it took us, he wore this brilliant victorious grin and a gleam took to his eyes.

Shōto on the other hand enjoyed the journey more than the end. He liked the solitude found in the wilderness, and he appreciated the white noise it could create. The forest was hardly ever silent (unless in winter), but he took comfort in the peaceful song it created.

On walks like these we didn't typically talk.

We didn't need to fill the silence with idle chatter.

We walked beside one another, quietly conquering the mountain once again. We took turns holding the flashlight, and a couple times we stopped to appreciate a rare find (such as a couple of does grazing lazily away from us, or some playful foxes chirping at us). We walked on into the night, steadily climbing the mountain until we reached the familiar tree we had marked long ago as the top of the mountain.

Izuku walked over to it, reaching out a hand and placing it on the large base of the tree. We had painted over the bark a few years ago to use it as a marker. "Wow. I can't believe I used to be exhausted when I reached this point."

I looked over at my friend, noticing he only had a thin line of sweat over his forehead. "Heh. You've come a long way, little Izu-chan."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, looking over at Shōto. "How about you, Shōto-kun?"

"Mn. I was the same way," Shōto said, shining the flashlight on the mark. "Ah, we should probably head back, though, since we have school tomorrow."

"Yeah it's already ten, and we still gotta take a bath."

"I can hose you down out back," I offered teasingly.

"Yeah, no," Izuku said.

I giggled, holding out my hands towards my friends. They each took a hand and I teleported them back home. Baba and Papa were, unsurprisingly, already asleep.

"You can have the first one, Izuku-kun," Shōto offered, gesturing towards the guest bathroom.

"Ah, thanks, Todoroki-kun."

"Then I'll head off to my own. Y'all know where the extra clothes and towels are," I said, waving my hand and heading off towards my private bathroom.

All in all it was a lovely weekend.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The next week was largely the same, with the exception of Aizawa announcing that the exams were the following week at the end of class.

He ended that with a dry, "You all are studying properly, right? I'm sure you already know but it won't only be a written exam. There's also a practical component. Make sure to train your minds and bodies at the same time." He gathered up his papers and walked out of the classroom. "That's all."

As soon as he left there were two shouts of horror, namely from Mina (Rank 19) and Denki (Rank 20). "I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL."

While Mina laughed it off, Denki clutched at his head and cried out bitterly, "With the sports festival and internship I didn't study at all."

Fumikage (Rank 14) quietly agreed, "It's true that we had one event after another, but..."

"Th-Th-The previous exams d-didn't cover m-much s-since it was early," Koji (Rank 13) shyly added

"It'll be tough since there's a practical exam, too," Mineta added, a smug look on his face (Rank 11).

"You scored 11th?" Mina and Denki cried out in disbelief.

"Guys like you are only likable when you're dumb. Where's the demand for this?"

"The world, I guess," Mineta toted.

"Ashido-san, Kaminari-san! Let's all do our best. We want to all go to the training camp over the summer, right?" Izuku tried to cheer them up (Rank 5).

"Yes!" Tenya (Rank 3) added, "As a class rep I also have high hopes that you'll all be moved to action!"

"It's pretty hard to fail if you just pay attention in class," Shōto (Rank 6) muttered.

"Good luck," I (Rank 1) added with a smile.

Denki fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. "Be careful with your words."

"You two, I may be able to be of assistance with the class lectures," Momo (Rank 2) offered with her usual gentle smile.

"Yao-momo!" Mina and Denki cheered.

"I can't help with the practical at all, though," Momo muttered dejectedly to herself.

Kyōka (Rank 9) approached the trio-as Mina and Denki had rushed over to Momo's desk. "I'm not one of those two, but can I join, too? I'm having some trouble with quadratic functions."

Hanta (Rank 17) clapped his hands together over his head in a mock-praying fashion. "Sorry, me too! How are you with classical Japanese?

Mashirao (Rank 10) approached them the group next. "I'd like to join, too. There's a bunch of stuff I don't get."

"Please," the group added.

Momo's face brightened like the dawn after a stormy night. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and her cheeks tinted red. "E-Everyone!" She stood up from her desk with joyous energy. "Yes, of course. Then, let us hold a study session at my residence this weekend."

"Seriously?" Mina excitedly hopped over. "I can't wait to see your house."

"Oh, in that case, I must tell Mother and have her open up the hall." Momo was giddy with excitement, she was bouncing in place. "What kind of tea are you all partial to? In my family we always drink Harrod's or Wedgewood, so if you have any preference, let me know. Of course, you can trust me to help you study, too! I will definitely show you how I can help."

The group that had gathered by Momo's desk seemed at first taken aback by her words, but soon they were all swept up by how adorable she was.

Denki said, "What was that? Harry's? That's fine."

"Harrod's, right?!" Momo excitedly exclaimed.

While that was going on Eijirō (Rank 16) looked over at Katsuki with a sly grin. "Look at the difference in virtue."

"I can do it, too," Katsuki (Rank 4) snarled. "Want me to beat it into you?"

"Yeah, thanks!"

Yuga (Rank 18) laughed on the other side of the classroom. "Everyone's panicking now, even though it won't do any good to cram this late in the game."

Mezo (Rank 12) gave him a brief glance. "Shouldn't you be panicking now?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuga inquired, his face perfectly serious.

"Well, I'm glad we have a study group going," Ochaco (Rank 7) said, looking over at me. "I'm actually feeling really good about the upcoming exam. It can't be that much harder than the scholarship, right?"

"The scholarship should have been way harder since it tests with third-year stuff too," I reassured her, patting her arm. "You'll do great, Ocha-chan."

She beamed at that.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The following week and the written exams went by rapidly. I found Ochaco frequently studying during her breaks at work, and she came over again on Saturday for even more studying. By the time the written portion came around we both had faith she'd score in the top five.

And then came the practical exam.

As it would turn out we would be partnered with another classmate and then have to either escape, or capture, a teacher inside a simulated zone.

Finding out that I was to be facing off against Cactus-sensei himself wasn't surprising. Being partnered with Momo, however, was. Since we were the top two students I would have thought they'd spread out the partnership to make it a little more fair and balanced for each team.

Oh well. It meant an easy victory for us.

Momo gave me a pained smile—which was odd, as I would have thought she'd be happy to be partnered with me rather than Mineta at least—but I let it slide for the moment. Since we were one of the first teams up and our zone was a good fifteen minute drive away, we were shuffled off to a bus within minutes.

"Momo-chan?" I inquired, taking a seat beside her on the bus and smiling. "Would you like to go over some plans?"

Momo looked up at me in surprise, then looked down, fiddling with her fingers. "Oh, yes. That'd be a good idea, wouldn't it?"

"Momo-chan?" I inquired, peering at the oddly subdued girl. "Are you okay?"

"I—um, yes," Momo answered quietly.

"You don't seem okay," I observed. "Are you nervous?"

"N-No. I—" Momo's brow furrowed and she bit hard on her bottom lip. "It's nothing, Kiyo-chan."

"I can clearly see it's something," I said, starting to feel worried. It was one thing to be nervous, or anxious, but something seemed to really be bothering her. I may not have been as close to her as I was to Ochaco, but she was still my classmate and a genuinely sweet girl. I hated to see such a kind soul upset. "Momo-chan, you can talk to me. If it's something I can help with at all—"

Momo shook her head. "I—" She fell silent again.

Definitely worried, I moved to sit directly beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. I rubbed her back in a soothing manner like Baba would do for me when I was upset. "It's going to be okay, Momo-chan. Whatever is bothering you we can get through it."

I felt Momo tremble briefly, and she rested her forehead on my shoulder. "Th-Thank you, Kiyo-chan... I'm sorry, I know I should be better composed for our exam, but—"

"Hey, it'll be okay," I soothed, patting her back. "It's only an exam, and you can't control how you feel. If something's bothering you—"

Momo let out a soft sigh, pulling back.

"Despite coming in from a recommendation I haven't done anything that stands out," Momo whispered, her voice barely audible on the bus. "During the cavalry battle, I just did what Todoroki-kun said, and in my own fight I lost before I could do anything against you. Compared to you, I—"

I stared at her in disbelief. "You're—you're upset because—because you didn't win the Sports Festival? Momo-chan, you're number two in the entire class! And it's a little unfair to compare yourself to me when—when—I mean how often have you ever sparred before?"

Momo looked at me in surprise. "Sparred? Oh, um—I suppose I remember doing so a few times."

"See I fight Bocchan, Sho-chan, and even Izu-chan at least once a week every week, and I've been doing that since I was, like, ten," I said. "You can't compare yourself to me like that. Wait until you have the same amount of experience, at least, and by that point I bet you'd be more than capable of kicking my butt."

"But—"

"Momo-chan, you're a wonderful student. You absolutely deserve that recommendation. You're intelligent, thoughtful—"

"But I always lose."

"You're still a student. You're still a beginner. You're still learning. Being upset over your lack of—lack of experience is like being upset the sky is blue. You're going to get better Momo-chan. You're going to advance and improve and go to heights other people could only dream of. You're going to be a Top Ten Hero without a doubt."

Momo's eyes widened, her expression incredulous. "How can you say that, Kiyo-chan?"

"Because I know you're going to be a great hero. You think I started off like this? I worked for years to be able to do what I do. I still have to train in my free time as often as I can to maintain my skill. All you need is experience and time. Compare yourself now to a year ago Momo-chan, wouldn't you say you've improved a lot?"

Momo fell silent, her brow furrowing as she considered my words. "I-I suppose."

"How about you from five years ago?"

"Oh! Definitely."

"Good! Imagine how great you'll be five years from now, and then imagine ten years from now. Do you really think you'll still be the same way you are now?"

Momo shook her head, a small smile starting to appear on her face. "No."

I gave a firm nod. "Good. And to be honest, I think you're pretty swell right now. You are number two in the entire class after all; that's not an easy feat."

Momo's smile stretched into an adorable grin. "You think?"

"Definitely! Remember how everyone asked for your help? We all know you're great, Momo-chan. You gotta believe us, and you gotta believe you."

Momo didn't speak for a couple of minutes, but she had a sweet smile on her face. "Thank you, Kiyo-chan. I feel a lot better."

I patted the back of her hand. "I'm always happy to help. I can't not help such a cute girl, after all."

That made Momo giggle and I knew she would be okay.

I gave her a thumbs up. "We got this, easy peezy."

She wiped furiously at her eyes, holding back a sniffle. "Y-Yes. Let's do this!"

The bus rolled to a stop and it was time to head off.

As Momo and I entered the testing area—we were taken to the center—we quietly discussed our plan. We both decided that trying to straight up fight or capture Aizawa would be ill advised. Momo and I had never worked together as a team, so purposefully looking for a fight would put us at a disadvantage. Maybe if I was working with Izuku, Katsuki, or Shōto it would be a viable plan but not in these circumstances.

We did have an advantage of knowing how Aizawa's quirk worked, however, and with that in mind we were able to come up with a plan.

To begin with I, of course, tested my ability to teleport. Unsurprisingly it felt like I was slamming against a brick wall when doing so, and thusly concluded that Magi Dust was scattered around the testing grounds.

That felt like a bit of a cop out since I doubted that every single villain would be carrying around Magi Dust—it was ridiculously expensive—but I understood it was important not to become too reliant on my teleportation.

I summoned a bubble and flattened it out into a bubblegum pink disc. Momo and I both hopped onto it and I began to fly just barely above the rooftops. It was easy to spot the exit sign from that height, and thusly I began to steer us towards it.

Of course Aizawa was probably expecting something like that, so within two minutes of flying towards the exit my bubble vanished as he erased my Quirk.

Momo and I fell onto a rooftop and a grin lit up Momo's face as soon as she spotted Aizawa running towards us.

From her pack she pulled out two smoke bombs she had made. She threw both of them down onto the rooftop and as soon as Aizawa lost vision of me I formed my bubble once again and off we went.

If Aizawa didn't have a handicap he would have most definitely caught up to us well before then. I could move my bubble pretty fast but certainly no faster than a moped. Of course as soon as Aizawa spotted us he cancelled my Quirk and the process repeated itself.

It was lackluster, anticlimactic, and most definitely boring to watch for spectators but that's how Momo and I made it past the gate and passed our exam.

If we had started the exam right beside Aizawa it would have been a different story. All he had to do was catch one of us and our plan would have had to have been seriously readjusted. However, we were put at an advantage with the distance provided between us, his handicap, and our foreknowledge of his Quirk.

As we passed by the gates I held up a hand and Momo gleefully high-fived me. "We did it."

"Of course we did," I said. "Did you really expect anything less?"

Momo briefly looked sheepish at that, but her smile returned soon enough. "No. I suppose not."

Momo and I waited for Aizawa to approach us. He gave us a curt nod and a quiet, "Well done."

Momo's face lit up like a sunrise and she turned around and hugged me in delight. I squeezed her once, and patted her back. "You did very well, Momo-chan."

"Thank you, Kiyo-chan."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Lyon, France

"Votre gâteau sablé aux fraises, mademoiselle," a handsome young man said, gently placing a delicate looking strawberry cake in front of a customer.

The customer in question gave the boy a smile that would melt hearts. Everything about the woman radiated beauty, from her soft pale pink hair to her dark ruby eyes. The smile that curled her lips made the poor waiter weak in the knees.

"Merci," she whispered.

The waiter took his leave then, and the woman casually looked across the street, watching a very young girl assist her mother at a coffee shop.

The woman took a bite of her strawberry shortcake and licked her lips.

She would watch her targets for a while longer, she decided. What she was planning to do was dangerous and required extreme caution. It was an unspoken rule amongst her kind not to go for another's family, but a contract was a contract.

Still, the woman felt unusually hesitant. While the danger was enough to make anyone back off, that wasn't what bothered her.

"Viens ici, Viola," the mother told her daughter. "Ne quitte pas ma vue."

The daughter rushed over, apologetic for straying too far from her mother's side.

The woman watched them for a little longer.

'A contract is a contract,' she thought to herself. It didn't matter who her target was, such things had never bothered her before—and indeed the actual deed that had to be done didn't disturb her.

No, what made her hesitate was a single uncomfortable memory.

The memory of saying goodbye to her only daughter, and wondering whatever became of her.

She took another bite of her strawberry shortcake.

'What are you doing now, Kiyomi?'

◟(◕◡◕❀)

To address some previous concerns and confirm story canon:

I've spaced out the timeline a bit.

The canonical story moves fast. Which is fantastic when you're watching it as anime, or reading it as a manga but it doesn't smoothly transition into novel-style. Especially since this story is largely told through one person's perspective. So, in my power as an authoress I have decided to add a bit more breathing room between each event. Because I enjoy writing out fwuffy fwuff and relationship development, and I need that breathing room to do so.

Shōto won against Katsuki by using his flames.

In my story Izuku's speech made a direct comparison with someone Shōto greatly respects, Kiyomi. This speech and comparison was enough to move Shōto to stay motivated to continue to give it his all for this competition. I believe I've explained enough of their friendship to justify Shōto's great respect for her, and the fact that he wants to stand as her equal. He wants to be a hero.

(And while this story is OC-centric and thusly did not follow him afterwards he did still see his mother because she will always play a powerful role in his life.)

Katsuki is not as aggressive in canon in this story due to Kiyomi.

Katsuki, in my personal opinion, is not someone who is mentally unstable, nor has a mental illness that prevents him from controlling his anger. I see Katsuki as a very passionate, and emotional young boy who did not have a constructive outlet for his anger and ego. He repeatedly scored above the best, and never dealt with anyone who really went against him. Even Izuku didn't stand up to Katsuki much, or deny him. Katsuki did not even have proper friends (I am not counting Izuku because Katsuki did not acknowledge Izuku as his friend until much, much later). I would likely guess that a lot of people were cowed by his anger.

Kiyomi offered something Katsuki sorely needed: a productive way to get rid of some his anger through sparing.

In my personal experience those with temper issues, or who struggle with powerful anger have an easier time controlling it if they have a consistent outlet for their anger. I had anger issues in high school, and jujitsu provided a great way for me to release that anger in a safe environment. Going off my personal experience, I feel like Katsuki would be much happier (and healthier) if he had a similar outlet.

He's still an adorable ball of rage, but his anger isn't as over the top in the anime as it is in my story due to this.

All first year students at U.A. are 15-16, including Kiyomi.

She was 11 when she first met Aizawa Aizawa, so she's known him for a little over four years. Same for Nemuri and Nezu.

I had to have Kiyo partnered with Momo 'cuz...

Kiyo had to face off against either Nezu, Aizawa, or Nemuri. Nezu was out since he had to be fighting against the less-intelligent students, so it was a toss up between Aizawa or Nemuri. I was originally going to use Nemuri and partner Kiyo with grape juice boy, but I didn't like how the scenes came out. For the purpose of better writing I went with Aizawa, and decided to use Momo 'cause I personally think that Momo's fight has valuable life experience for everyone involved. Shouto's encouraging speech and her own struggle with self-confidence is endearing. I really wanted to keep that in this story. I switched up who was giving the speech, but the lesson is still important.

Think about yourself from five years ago and compare to now. Think about how even better you're going to be in another five years. That's something I want all of you to keep in mind. :)

As much as I wanted a completely epic fight between Aizawa VS Momo and Kiyomi my logical side won out. Once I thought of that strategy it was hard to think of ways for Aizawa to combat it given the canonical scenario. Plus as they stated after the exams "they purposefully left out ways for the students to win."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Answer: I'd want a cat that looked like Cheshire, but wore a witch's hat and a cape. He'd help me make potions, as he'd be able to teleport the two of us to anywhere in all of the multiverses to collect herbs. He'd also be a skilled illusionist.

Question: If you were reborn into the BNHA universe, who would you want to be your best friend? Who would you want to train under?

Reviews are love!

For those of you who have been having a rough time... I really hope this chapter brightens your day at least a little bit. And please remember that you are precious, loved, and valued.

Take the day to treat yourself if you can, even if that means just getting yourself some ice cream or taking a long hot shower.