Shinjitsu told them that if they wanted to rescue their friends, it would be best to wait until the next day.

"The Commander will expect you to come quickly. All your rescue attempts have been swift," he said, "If a full day passes, he may believe their story that no one followed them. In the meantime, I can try to find out who'll be on watch. They would never let me talk to them, just in case it could break my conditioning...but I might be able to look through the data as a matter of record keeping. It would be even better to wait two days, though...but I get it if you don't want to."

"I still think it's a big leap trusting you," Mirko said, "Why would they let you stay alive just on this off chance?"

"I don't know. I know that one other of the people who turned was left alive, but she was relocated, and I don't know if she is still alive now," Shinjitsu said, "They probably had a plan to use us for leverage if they could, but I swear I'm not lying to you. If I wanted to trap you, I wouldn't tell you to come back tomorrow. It gives you a chance to get away and come up with another plan."

"That's true," Aizawa said, "but you could have your own reasons for that."

"And we have no other options." Miss Joke was practical. "We're not that much worse off if he is lying. They'll expect us either way. I'm only worried of what they will do to our friends while we wait."

"You know, if all that God stuff is true," Compress said, leaning on the wall, "I wonder why He doesn't just snatch them out of the lion's jaw, so to speak. Perhaps He really doesn't care what they go through. I don't know where they get that power, but in all my life, I've never seen any sign of a Divine Being that cared about anyone, let alone people like us."

"Have you looked?" Miss Joke said.

"No, I think a man can solve his own problems," Compress said.

"Then it's not surprising you've never noticed a God out there," Miss Joke said, "I can't say I've looked much for one either, Mr. Magician, but I can't deny the signs. If one has come to you directly, and you still don't accept it, isn't it on you, not them?"

"And why are they caught, then?" Compress said.

"But they walked into that trap on purpose," Momo said, "for us..."

"Yeah, don't you dumba---s get it?" Bakugo said, "They're trying to save our sorry a---s, and that's why they pull this s---, which we asked for, or you did. I never asked for this."

"Me neither," Shoto frowned, "I wouldn't have asked them to do this. But they don't say no to you anymore than they do us."

"And, like, that's cool, fahm," Camie picked it up, "That's just who they are, but who the frick are you kidding? I guess they don't care about being captured. I mean, you ask Shine, she'll tell you it's happened to her, like, a  billion times, and she's got out every time. This is just another Tuesday to them."

"It's Monday," Spinner said.

"Whatevs, the point is you're being all negative about it," Camie said, "I think we should trust this dude. I mean, he literally walked up, looking for a sign, and we're looking for one, and maybe we're each other's signs. I think you big brain people just think too hard."

"Ha, that's true," Medea laughed.

"While I'm not sure I followed all of that, I do think we're being a little thick if we don't take this chance," Monama spoke up, "I know I'm new to this group, but,isn't this the sort of thing they would do? They trust people, and maybe that isn't always safe, but it's worked out."

"They trusted us," Aizawa said, "and that may have been their biggest mistake. For all the trouble UA has put them through, this would only make up for it a little."

"They wouldn't ask you to make up for it, Aizawa," Miss Joke said.

"I know. That makes it worse," Aizawa said, "So, putting it that way, I think we'll have to do as he says. We'll come back tomorrow."

"It's not even a full 24 hours," Kayla said, "Counting how long they've been in there already, you only have about 15 hours."

The group exchanged looks.

"I hate to get this far only to have to come back," Mirko said, "I've never done that in my life."

"That is literally all we do," Shigaraki realized with some actual sense of irony for once, "I guess it makes sense. It's not that much time."

"Great," Shinjitsu said, "I'm off now. I'll be working again tomorrow morning, if you could be here around 10 am. It's when my shift is over, and I'll have a chance to talk to you. I can't risk calling you, so can we just meet at that little cafe down the street? This is too close."

"Fine, deal," Hawks sighed, "I'm taking off so much work for this."

"If we're waiting, I think I'll go home," Shoto said, "if that's all right , Mr. Aizawa... I want to talk to my siblings. We never get the chance to do that before these missions, but this one is particularly risky..."

"Go ahead. I'll write you a pass..." Aizawa sighed.

"If my parents weren't out of country again, I'd visit them," Momo sighed, "I guess I could call."

"You want to just come with me, then?" Shoto asked her.

"Okay...maybe visit Dabi too... I mean, you could. I'm not allowed."

"Back to the lair, I guess..." Medea sighed.

"Unless you want to...I don't know...catch a movie or something..." Monama offered.

"Oh, sure... I don't have to train, right?" Medea looked at Mirko. "I mean, either I'm ready or I'm not. One more day won't matter."

"Go ahead," Mirko sighed.

"Oh, Bae," Camie nudged Bakugo, "you should visit your family too."

"Why?" Bakugo said.

"I mean, Baku, you never know when you might not get another chance..." Camie said, "I saw mine just today, so I think I'm good... I wouldn't know what to say anyway. I can't tell them what I'm doing... I think they'd get it though. They've always been supportive...but you know, it's been ages since you saw yours."

Bakugo winced.

"Hmm, I have not called my mother in months..." Miss Joke realized, "I'm not a very good daughter, am I...?" She laughed nervously.

Mirko rolled her eyes.

* * *

The kids did do as they said. Hawks even took Shoto and Momo to Endeavor's house.

Fuyumi was glad to see all three of them, but when she heard what they were up to, she was worried.

"I know you have to save them, but I'm so scared for you." She gripped a duster. "But I know--it's selfish to say that... Just try to be careful."

"We'll look after each other," Shoto said, "We've gotten this far, so I guess we can keep going."

Hawks knew that wasn't really any guarantee, but he was at least smart enough not to say that.

Natsuo only said hi briefly before going off to do homework.

"I guess I could look in on Dad..." Shoto sighed, "He's home, right?"

"He will be any minute," Fuyumi said, "Why not just ask for his help...? I know, he's too visible...but so is Hawks."

"Ah, I'm mostly just helping to keep Mirko from doing something dumb," Hawks said, "and I'm at least a little better at dodging than Endeavor..."

"I see," Fuyumi said. She smiled weakly. "Well, Mirko is lucky to have such loyal friends... So  you patched things up?"

"I guess we did." Hawks was terrible at reading signals. "I mean, you kind of have to. Every battle counts for heroes."

Momo looked from Fuyumi to Hawks.

"Shoto, we should go wait outside for your dad," she said, "I mean, we could feed the koi."

"I guess..." Shoto was clueless as always. "We could wait in here though."

"It's nice outside though," Momo said.

"If you want to go out, we can," Shoto agreed amiably. They both went out.

https://youtu.be/rfTgO9rpqck

[Heat Waves--Glass Animals]

Fuyumi fiddled with the duster. "Thank you for taking care of Shoto..." she said, "It's at least a little comforting to think of a few top Pros being there with him."

"It's the least I could do after everything," Hawks shrugged, "Endeavor would kill me if I let anything happen to his son anyway..."

Awkward pause.

"These ninja seem worse than the Metas..." Fuyumi noted.

"Yeah, they're pretty ruthless," Hawks said, "but at least they mostly do not have quirks. So...uh...yeah."

He wasn't sure what else to say.

Fuyumi wasn't either.

It was a shame, Hawks thought to himself, that things had turned out the way they had. If it hadn't been for the whole Meta thing, maybe he would have been more free to take an interest in the Todoroki family as more than just a co-worker.

He couldn't really think of things like that now, though. That ship had sailed.

[If only the ship would sail, am I right?]

Fuyumi was the type of woman who really made the whole single life thing look kind of sad though. Kind, loyal, cute...smart, even--most guys would jump at the chance to get close to her. Sometimes he really didn't like his job.

Why was all that going through his mind right then?

It couldn't be he'd already started to catch feelings...could it? That was ridiculous... He'd only known her for a couple months...and most of the time he was around her, he was screwing things up even worse. He'd made a terrible first impression.

He didn't deserve to even be friends, really, but she was gracious enough to overlook all that. He would never have the gall to ask for more from her or the rest of the family.

"Are you all right?" Fuyumi broke into his thoughts. "I'm sorry, you're just being unusually quiet."

"I was just thinking." Hawks felt a little warm. Was he actually getting red?

"Oh, I understand." Fuyumi nodded. "It's a lot to take in."

It certainly was... Where were those kids when he needed someone to distract her? That little minx Momo--she'd left on purpose, hadn't she?!

[Whoa, Hawks, you'd better not call Momo that out loud. Shoto will rotisserie you.]

"Do you want some tea?" Fuyumi said.

"Uh, sure." Yes, a distraction!

Fuyumi went to get it, giving Hawks a chance to try to get a grip...but he was one of those people who normally have a grip, so when they try to get one, they only lose it more.

Fuyumi came back with the tea.

"Here. Careful though. It's piping hot."

"Like you," Hawks said before he thought.

"What?" Fuyumi said.

"I mean thank you. That's what I said," Hawks corrected hastily. 

"Oh, of course. No problem." Fuyumi bought it. She already had thought she misheard to begin with.

Hawks mentally kicked himself. That was brilliant! Just say the one thing you were trying not to say! He was probably trying too hard. That was it.

"So...do you have any hobbies other than hero work?" Fuyumi said, "I don't think I really know anything about you, after all this time."

No, no! Small talk was sure to make him embarrass himself!

What was wrong with him? This was a pretty basic part of  communication...

Hawks slowly realized he didn't have any normal friends, and it had probably been months, if not longer, since he even talked about something not related to work...

Crap.

"I...mean, other than binging movies..." he said.

Which sounded completely pathetic...

"Oh, what kind of movies?" Fuyumi spoke politely.

"Uh...well, I like to watch those old kids movies from like 100 years ago," Hawks said, "You know, with the classy animation."

"I think they were better back then," Fuyumi agreed, surprisingly, "I don't like the new ones. They focus too much on quirks... It's nice to not think about quirks all the time, really. Most of us don't use ours often enough to care."

"Oh, I guess I can't relate," Hawks said.

"No, I suppose not," Fuyumi said. 

"I mean, it was a simpler time though..." Hawks said, "Things are complicated now."

He meant that in two ways.

"Yes." Fuyumi might have meant it in two ways too. "Well, do you have a favorite movie?"

"You'll think it's dumb."

"No, no, I'm sure I couldn't," Fuyumi said. Though as a teacher, there was a substantial chance she would.

[Speaking as one myself, we are kind of judgmental, just comes with the job. We have to think certain things are better than others.]

"Well...it's kind of an ironic pleasure, but the one I watch to de-stress is that Rio one," Hawks said.

[Fun fact about me: I actually watch Rio myself to de-stress. Something about the music and animation just relaxes me, and the acting is great too.]

"The one with the birds?" Fuyumi said.

"You know that movie?"

"It plays on the old movie channels. I guess because it was a hit," Fuyumi said, "I've just seen commercials, but I remember it was colorful. It looked fun. I don't really watch a lot of kids' movies."

"You should watch it though," Hawks said, "It's fun. The soundtrack is awesome."

Finally, a safe subject!

"Oh, well, maybe I will." Fuyumi took a sip of tea.

"I think it's in a marathon now, actually..." Hawks suddenly reflected. 

"Really?" Fuyumi looked towards the TV. "Hmm, I could check, record it maybe. I don't want to watch TV while we have company. That's kind of rude."

"I wouldn't take it that way. It's totally worth it," Hawks said.

More importantly, that would get him out of this conversation...

And if he got to watch Rio as a bonus...

[Total mood there.]

"Okay..." Fuyumi actually did look for it...and find it...

The movie was already half over before Endeavor even got home, though the two kids came back in before that and watched it out of curiosity, since Shine had hyped it up as well as Hawks.

"Do you know...?" Hawks said, "I just realized...the two birds in this movie really remind me of some people I know. I just can't figure out who."

"Bakugo and Camie?" Shoto said, "Because they kind of fight a lot."

"Bakugo and Camie don't really fight," Momo said, "I would say more Monoma and Medea."

"No, that's not right either." Hawks stared at the screen. "It's killing me..."

"It's funny you said that." Fuyumi had made popcorn and was eating it. "Because I was just thinking that the Jewel bird reminded me a bit of Mirko."

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Hawks said, "They're, like, the same person!"

"Actually, I see it," Momo said, "She's very...uh...bold."

"I think you mean aggressive," Hawks said,  "fierce, violent... I mean, she attacks Blue in the first 30 seconds, and she's, like, mean to everyone."

"I thought you liked Mirko..." Shoto said.

"That's what make her funny," Hawks said, "I mean, Jewel is funny, right? That's how I like Mirko. She's like cartoon character to watch. I do wonder how she takes herself seriously sometimes."

"I don't know if she does. She jokes about things," Momo said.

"But their dynamic specifically is reminding me of something..." Hawks said.

"The nerdy guy and the jock girl is a common trope," Fuyumi said, "Any number of movies come to mind. And anime."

[Let me tell you, after I watched Rio again after years, I started to realize how often I watched stuff with that specific couple type in it, and it was scary. I seem to have a certain taste in ships. Strange Magic, Darling in the Franxx, Sinbad, certain ships from RWBY...just to name a few. Comment if you have any other examples.]

"It's gonna kill me..." Hawks sighed.

"The cockatoo reminds me of something though..." Momo said, "Like Compress mixed with some of the other villains we've fought... It's a little unnerving."

Shoto took her hand, which was so cute Fuyumi had to hide her smile at it.

"I wonder how Bakugo's visit went..." he remarked.

* * *

Bakugo and Camie had actually gone to his house, though to the last Bakugo denied he was going to do it. It took Camie finally saying he was just afraid to make a scene to get him to give in.

"I really think this is a bad idea," he said in an oddly calm voice, when they were outside.

"Why? I have to meet you family sometime," Camie said, "We're freaking dating. And you should meet mine--but don't sweat it, they'll love you. Literally all they'll hear is top student at hero school and you'll be in. They don't care about your personality."

"The frick is that supposed to mean?!" Bakugo said loudly.

His mom opened the door right then. "KATSUKI, I SWEAR IF YOU CAME HOME WITHOUT LETTING US KNOW JUST TO STAND SCREAMING OUT HERE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU--"

She broke off, staring at Camie.

"Who's this?" she said in a completely normal voice.

That whiplash just about sent Camie.

"This is...Camie Utsushimi..." Bakugo said, staring at the ground. 

"Yo." Camie waved. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Bakugo... Wow, you look just like Baku."

"Eh, way to insult me," Mitsuki said roundly, "Well, don't just keep her standing out there, Katsuki, like a moron, bring her inside. Your father is getting dinner. We have room for one more."

"She seems...nice..." Camie said as they went in.

Bakugo looked like he was entering a war zone. He was being really quiet too--for, like, a minute.

"Katsuki, are you gonna explain why she's here or just stand there sulking?"
his mom yelled at him.

"Oh, a girl." Masuru looked out of the kitchen.

Bakugo looked ready to die of shame.

"Of course she's a girl. You think I can't see!" he said loudly.

"Don't talk to your father like that in front of a guest." Mitsuki smacked him. "Sorry," she said normally again, "My son has no manners... So are you a friend from his school? I don't recognize you. Are you in another class?"

"Uh, yeah, actually I go to a different school," Camie said, "but Baku and I met in extra classes."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm Mitsuki. This is Masuru, my husband," Mitsuki said, "This is Camie Utsuhimi," she told her husband, "He's brought her here for some reason."

"Are you here to study?" Masuru said.

Camie glanced at Bakugo.

Bakugo didn't say anything.

"Uh, actually, we're just here to visit," Camie said.

"I freaking brought her here to meet you because we're dating." Bakugo said this with the air of someone ripping off the band-aid.

Both his parents looked shocked.

His father less so. Mitsuki looked incredulous as well as shocked.

"You're kidding," she said bluntly, "Katsuki, you actually brought home a girlfriend? You?"

Bakugo glared. "What, you think I can't get a girl?"

"Uh, yeah, I never thought any girl would ever have the patience to tolerate you," Mitsuki said, "If you're dating my son, you must have a high tolerance for bulls---. In that case, you're welcome to stay to dinner."

Camie assumed this meant she liked her.

"Cool," she said, "Thanks, fahm--uh, I mean, Mrs. Bakugo. That'd be gucci."

"Katsuki, get in there and help." Mitsuki shoved him towards the kitchen.

"Why should I have to make your d--- food. Make it yourself!" Bakugo yelled at her.

"You have a guest here. You should cook for her!" Mitsuki said, "You have to impress her somehow. Now go."

"No, go to h---!" Bakugo said.

"Shut up." Mitsuki smacked him again.

"Uh, I'm really almost done," Masuru tried, "if you just want to finish off the sauce. You're better at it than I am anyway. I don't want to screw it up."

"You probably would." Bakugo suddenly gave in and went into the kitchen.

"Sorry about him. He's always like this to us, no respect," Mitsuki said.

"Oh, it's no big. Dinner is way stressful," Camie shrugged, "I can't cook for s--- anyway."

"Really? Good, you should make him do it for you," Mitsuki said, "About the only thing he will do around the house."

"Oh?" Camie hoped Bakugo wasn't listening to this.

"Nah, I make him do his chores," Mitsuki said, "Probably he's let it go to pot since moving out though. At least I won't have to deal with him anymore though." She laughed. "Anyway, how did you end up agreeing to date my son? Lose a bet?"

"Uh, no, actually I confessed to him," Camie said.

"What, he didn't even have the b---s to confess first?" Mitsuki exploded, "That's just weak."

"I kind of just went for it, without warning," Camie said, "so not really about the, uh, the nerve. Kind of just a timing thing. Actually I was really sucky at picking the right time. It was during the middle of a mission, but you know, I kind of had a concussion, so maybe I just went for it because my sense of shame was impaired."

"That would explain a lot," Mitsuki said, "And even after you came out of it, you didn't back out?"

"Oh, no, I was just thrilled he agreed," Camie said, "I like Bakugo a lot. I mean, at first it was just fun to tease him, ya know?"

"Tease him?" Mitsuki said weirdly.

"Yeah, like, wind him up," Camie said, "Tell him to shut up and stuff, but then he ended up being a surprisingly good listener, and I kind of just felt real with him, you know? Then I thought, I have a crush, but he's not gonna like me back, but turns out that was way stupid, because we're like totes in sync. We're that yin and yang thing. It's been going great... I mean, for a week anyway."

Mitsuki regarded her in bewilderment. "We're talking about my son, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Wait, do you have a daughter?" Camie said.

"No, Katsuki is definitely more than enough for us to handle." Mitsuki made a face. "Well...I'm impressed. It takes guts to do that, and a woman without guts could never handle my son. I hope Katsuki realizes he's lucky"

"Aw, thanks," Camie said.

Bakugo and his dad reappeared.

Bakugo looked wary, like he'd suspected what they were talking about.

His dad just looked nervous, like Camie might get spooked.

But Camie navigated her way through the meal with her usual nonchalance, and even them yelling at each other never fazed her. She just checked her phone whenever it got too loud.

Bakugo calmed down a little though, once he saw she wasn't offput, and his mom was surprised to see him be less difficult than usual.

He even laughed at something Camie showed him when he forgot his parents were watching.

Masuru smiled. "Well, she seems to make Katsuki happy," he said to Mitsuki aside, "I approve."

"Yeah...he's acting a little bit more loose," Mitsuki admitted, "'Bout time someone finally tamed him a little."

"Love is a powerful thing, Dear," Masuru said.

Mitsuki nodded.

Bakugo was lowkey impressed that Camie had managed not to have a break down for this long.

As they were leaving, Mitsuki told her she should come by again and not take any crap from Katsuki.

He glared after her but refrained from speaking.

"Really nice meeting you." Masuru was nicer. "We miss you...son. You should visit more."

"Ah, don't give him any ideas. Make sure you don't slack off at school, or I'll kick your a--," Mitsuki said, "Now you better get back there by curfew." She shut the door.

"Your mom is kinda..." Camie began.

"I freaking know," Bakugo said.

"I was gonna say nice," Camie said.

"The frick?" Bakugo said.

"I mean, she's loud, but she was totes welcoming," Came said, as they started walking towards the train station, "Tho, I admit, I thought she was kind of mean to you."

Bakugo snorted. "That ain't mean, that's just how it is. She doesn't like it when I act like a pansy."

"But you're never a pansy," Camie said, "I think your mom may have this really weird impression of you. Maybe it's all the yelling."

Bakugo gave her a look of disbelief.

"You're right, you're right. Parents are just weird," Camie said, "I'm pretty sure mine think I'm totally clueless..." She laughed nervously. "But you know, that's just how they are. Parents never think we get any smarter."

Bakugo smirked slightly. "Yeah, they think we're dumba---s."

"I liked your dad tho. He was cool," Camie said, "And, like, I think you're kind of mixed between them."

"Everyone says I'm like my mom," Bakugo said, "Like I'm like that old hag."

"Whoa, Bae, you shouldn't call her a hag," Camie said. 

"Why the h--- not? She doesn't care."

"But, like, bro, not cool to call girls that," Camie said, "Though, I mean...not cool also to call your kids morons.... Guess it breaks even, huh? But what I was saying is, I think you're kind of loud and blunt like your mom, but then you've got that more sensitive, shy side from your dad--and surprisingly sweet when you think no one's gonna catch you."

"What?" Bakugo said, "Shut up!" He was red.

"It's okay, Bae, I won't tell anyone." Camie put a finger to her lips. "You can count on me. I kinda like being the only one to know. I can use you to scare away the haters, and I'll be the only one in on the joke."

"Who said you could use me?" Bakugo said.

"You don't want to scare away people who dunk on us?" Camie said, "I mean I thought you were that kind of intimidating guy. Guess if you just want to be chill, that's cool too."

"Like h--- I would!" Bakugo said.

"See, there's no pleasing you," Camie said, "Maybe you should just accept the compliment, for crying out loud. You know, I just realized, I can't get home fast enough without Shine here.... S---, I'mma have to tell my parents I'm working late again and staying over. I'm surprised I'm not grounded for this yet."

"They must be pretty d--- tolerant," Bakugo noted.

"Or they just don't care..." Camie mused.

Silence.

"Well, it's not like anything would happen to you if you were around me," Bakugo said awkwardly.

Camie smiled. "Yeah, I know... See? Sweet."

"Shut the h--- up!!!" Bakugo yelled.

Camie just laughed.

[Aw...]

* * *

Monama and Medea had a fun date, riffing the movie they went to see all the way through it.

"Y'know, I thought it was dumb," Medea said when they left the theater.

"Oh, totally unbelievable," Monama said, "and overplayed. I mean, come on."

"Yeah, bunch of morons," Medea said, "They could have solved all their problems in the first 20 minutes if they used their brains."

"Definitely," Monama said.

"But it was fun to have someone else appreciate the stupidity with me," Medea admitted, "We should do this again sometime."

"Sure," Monama said, "My classmates are too positive about movies. You know, they never think critically about any of it. They say it ruins it or something."

"Sheesh, don't they want good, quality content? Besides, riffing it is half the fun of going," Medea said.

[I'm guessing half of you reading this hate this kind of person, and the other half of you are that kind of person...and so am I, if you couldn't guess.]

"You sure you'll be all right tomorrow though?" Monama said, getting serious suddenly.

"Oh...I'll be fine." Medea bit her lip. "This was coming sooner or later, you know... At least it's not a total shock this time." She brushed her hair back. "You?"

"I haven't felt ready for any of this," Monama confessed, probably the most humble he'd been, "but I guess it won't matter..."

"Nope, we don't get to pick the timing," Medea agreed, "Well...I guess I'll go..."

"You can find your way back?"

"Oh, sure," Medea said, "and the ninja won't be looking for me if they have them already, right? I can still go out pretty easily." She kissed him quickly before walking away.

Monama went the other way... He thought it was strange how he could be happier than he'd been in ages, and yet miserable because he had so much more to worry about now that he was involved in all this.

Why had he ever envied 1-A? This kind of pressure sucked!

[Learning has occurred!

Also, you're welcome. This was your little bit of fluff between the drama: some time on all our side ships as well as our main ones before throwing us back into the action.

Which will be next chapter.

Toodles.]