For Naoko and her group, so much had changed over the last few months, but they were taking it in stride. It was just another day in the office for them with how much shit that had happened to them, so they were moving on with the help of forced therapy and coffee.

For class 1-A? Things weren't moving quite as smoothly.

Like... They'd been attacked by the LOV enough this semester alone to feel their mortality twenty times over. Bakugou had been gone mute since they finally moved into the dorms, and Naoko was gone.

She was normally quiet in class, but everyone could feel the space she left. It was... Unnerving, to say the least.

Most normal people would look at this group and realize that it was no wonder they were silent, like... PTSD was a thing, and they were all traumatized, they needed therapy.

UA, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. Aizawa himself felt that ever-pressing need for therapy that he tried to push down, but Nezu argued that these were heroes in training, they had to get used to this kind of thing eventually. Which everyone could agree was a terrible idea... Even Aizawa recognized was a good way to fuck these kids over in the future.

The lack of mental health services was something about hero work he detested... But he couldn't do anything about it now. Right now he had to worry about how to handle his class. Bakugou had practically hissed at Aizawa when he suggested therapy for almost getting kidnapped.

And now Naoko had left, which was going to throw everyone off even more... Like... He hated sympathy, but fuck. These poor fucking kids.

Class had been unbearably silent since it started up again, classes worked basically like normal, except a lot quieter, which was somehow worse for him. He thought he'd be happy to have a quiet class, but this was so much worse than he could've imagined.

What was he going to do?

"Aizawa-sensei?" A hand shot into the air, breaking the silence like a shot. It was Mina today, They'd been taking turns asking this question.

He nodded for her to go ahead and she stood up. Oh god, she was going blow this up, wasn't she?

"Why did Naoko leave?"

Of course... Just dive in headfirst. Where was his sleeping bag when he needed it? "I think that's something you should ask her." It was a non-answer, but he could hardly tell them that she had lost faith in the hero system and was probably getting ready to do something stupid.

Mina shook her head, "We did, but she brushed us off." Several heads around the room nodded, "Then when I went to ask her about it again, their apartment was empty."

What did he expect him to say? Did they want him to make Naoko materialize so she could answer their questions?

He shrugged, which was not the right answer, apparently. There was no right answer.

"Sir," Mina's eyes showed rebellion, which was not something he wanted to deal with right now, "We both know Naoko was way too stubborn to just give up! Leaving because she didn't like the villain attacks doesn't seem... Well... It doesn't seem like Naoko."

To anyone else, this statement would've been so weird. Normal people would leave in a backward situation like this, where their lives were threatened every other week. It wasn't normal to push through this. But... this was class 1-A we were talking about, and it was Naoko Fujimura. A girl who faced the wrath of multiple major villains and simply shrugged.

Midoriya shook his head, "I don't know... Her aunt didn't seem thrilled about UA, maybe Naoko left for her."

How close he was... So close, yet so far.

Mina shook her head, "We met Hasame, she wouldn't pull Naoko out just for that!"

I mean... Yes, she would've. Aizawa had to suppress the shudder that went down his spine at the thought of Hasame's anger.

The bickering continued for the rest of class, any possibility of learning had been lost at this point, so Aizawa just pulled out his sleeping bag (which he'd been hiding under the podium) and called it. Learning could start up again tomorrow, he'd let them have this.

One person listened to all this, frowning. That idiot was way too stubborn to just leave... And moving so suddenly? It just didn't sit right with him. And why the fuck was Icy-Hot just sitting there staring into the distance. Wasn't Todoroki her friend or some shit? Why wasn't he paying attention?

Bakugou's jaw popped slightly as he ground his teeth. Something wasn't right here, and he was stuck here in class listening to this stupid conversation... Ever since the forest, he hadn't been able to sleep. He could feel the warp fucker taking him, he could vividly feel the heat of the hand around his throat. Every night he saw the bar that Naoko had saved him from before waking up in a cold sweat...

Now, Naoko was gone. He... Something in his brain told him that she was dead. He knew she wasn't. He'd seen her with his own eyes, she was fine, but his brain was still telling him that she wasn't here because of him. Maybe if she'd let him be taken, she would still be here.

No, this wasn't going to help.

A small explosion erupted as he stood, silencing the whole class. They stared as he scowled and walked out of class. Nothing good would come from sitting in that classroom, stewing.

He didn't know whether or not anyone stopped him as he left, he was far too stuck in his head as he walked, his anxiety causing the smallest of explosions to spark between his fingers.

It made no sense that she would leave... Not like this. He'd seen the fire in her eyes before the practical exam. She was a bitch, but she was a determined bitch, one who was going to make a difference. She'd challenged him with her ambition, and now she just quit? It made no fucking sense.

How long had it been since the forest? Two months? Longer? And she wasn't fucking here.

Don't get him wrong. He wasn't... missing her, per se... It was more that he disliked the whole thing. Naoko was a particular person who defied the box he tried to put her into, she spat at his dominance, and Bakugou did want to prove himself to her. She saved him, now she's gone? Fuck. He couldn't even make sense of why this bugged him so much.

In the back of his mind, he heard his dad saying that it was probably trauma from all the shit mixed with that pride of his... But that would be ridiculous.

***

Naoko dodged through the alleys, an entire essay's worth of curses slipping from her as she tried not to trip while keeping her quirk extended.

Why were the god-damn police chasing her this time? She was just doing their job for them again, catching a petty thief that was trying to rob a local florist (who the fuck robs a florist? Idiot), and the instant they showed up, it was all, "Surrender now, Kismet, come peacefully while you still can, Kismet. Keep your hands where we can see them or we'll shoot."

Apparently, gratitude was a lost art now.

With the minimal grace she didn't have, she stopped, about flying into a wall, her breaths coming in short gasps. She pulled the Naruto Mask off, wiping her face (condensation is a bitch).

God, it was a good fucking thing Levi'd been putting her through hell, she probably would've been caught five times over in the last week alone. If becoming a vigilante had taught her anything, it was that she needed to be in shape.

But hey, they were doing good work. The cashier had even thanked her by her code name when she pinned the robber to the ground. Which... Not going to lie, Naoko wasn't expecting how good it would be to have someone recognize you for a good thing.

She grinned as she walked out onto the street, humming to herself, not even looking. Rei and Chris were making a fried chicken stir-fry tonight and some sucker had challenged her to poker. It was going to be a good night.

At least... That's until a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her. It took a moment of fighting her adrenaline to notice just who it was.

"Bakahoe?" She blinked, incredulously, the fuck was he doing over here? Wasn't... Was school still in session?

They stared at each other with similar expressions of shock for a few seconds before Naoko shook her head, "The fuck?" and slapped his hand off her arm.

"The fuck?" He obviously hadn't pulled himself out of shock yet, "I should be saying that! You're the one who disappeared out of nowhere!"

He was yelling, wasn't he? Naoko didn't have to use her quirk to know that. Typical. "I didn't disappear, I left school, there's a difference."

The eye-roll made Bakugou want to hit her, she was such a snarky bitch.

Of all the ways he envisioned seeing Naoko again, this wasn't one of them, her face was red and her hair had... was that a potato chip? No, that wasn't what he should be focusing on now, he was angry that she left without warning, that she fucking moved. The way it all happened made him feel like it had something to do with him, and he didn't fucking like it.

"So why the fuck did you move then, huh?"

This was going to be her whole day, wasn't it? Naoko sent a long-suffering plea up to any gods that might be watching as she stared at the pomeranian... Wait... Was he...

Blushing?

Oh... My... God... Had he been worried about her?! The asshole in Naoko desperately wanted to poke into this more to see his reaction, but she would be nice... for now, that might change depending on how he behaved.

Instead of that, Naoko sighed, as exaggeratedly as she could, "What? Am I contractually obligated to let you know when we move? That awful possessive of you, Bakahoe."

Duel explosions heated the air as Bakugou tried to contain himself, which only made Naoko happier, though she kept up the poker face up. This was great. "Bakugou?" As quick as she could, she morphed her face into the picture of innocence, "Are you okay? you look like you might have a fever."

Heh.

The spikey blond blushed deeper as Naoko called out his internal debate and she could practically see the steam coming from his ears. He said something but that was missed as he grabbed Naoko's wrist and began to storm away. To where? She wasn't sure, but poker could wait, for now, she'd go along with it.

***

After one very awkward subway ride, and at least three old people staring at the two judgmentally, they finally arrived at a place Naoko was sadly familiar with.

"Uh, Bakugou?" This wasn't a good idea... She still had her vigilante mask in her bag and it's not like she'd had time to change her clothes after the whole police thing, "I know you missed me and shit, but this feels like another kidnapping, am I getting kidnapped again?"

The gates of UA stood in front of Naoko and she gulped. It'd been over a month since she'd been here, and somehow the way the building rose up to the sky was intimidating... Intimidating enough to make Naoko want to just not deal with this.

The guard behind the glass at the gate just nodded as Bakugou powerwalked through, his death grip on Naoko's arm not letting up for a second. Naoko half expected the gates to come crashing down on her since she'd given up all her credentials, but that didn't happen. She wasn't sure if she was happy about that or not, but it was too late.

Almost as soon as she stepped foot into the building, a familiar figure greeted her, Present Mic was staring her down as though he was seeing a ghost and it was precisely at that moment that Naoko remembered how horrible of a person she was.

In the months that Naoko had been definitely not dead and establishing her vigilante base, she hadn't once tried to reach out to the teacher who never gave up on her and kept engaging with Naoko no matter how many times she shut down. Mic had been by far the best English teacher she'd ever had. And she never reached out to him to let him know that she was okay.

A tear was running down his cheek and he looked as though he was seeing a ghost, "Naoko."

Oof. It was always the people you least expected to be the heartbreakers. Like, she missed Aizawa, but she knew he was keeping tabs on her, she knew Shinso was his mole, so she hadn't worried.

It was a hard moment, but Naoko smiled the best smile she could muster, "Hey Mic. I'm not dead."

She was fully expecting Mic to rush her, sobbing, and be engulfed in a hug that lasted just a little too long, but that was not what she got.

Mic smiled his usual thousand-watt smile and gestured for her (and Bakugou, who still had a death grip on Naoko's wrist but was mostly forgotten for right now) to follow him. Huh, a surprising twist. Though, she saw why as there were teachers milling around that she definitely didn't know, and all of them were sending some judgmental looks.

Ah well, that was inevitable, especially after the debate that raged for weeks when she killed All For One. Apparently, ridding the world of a menace was not publicly acceptable.

She was led through the halls, right to the place that had been both home and hell not too long ago, Class 1-A. Mic was hovering behind her, and Bakugou released her at some point, now he was just staring at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

"..." Naoko didn't know if she wanted to go in or make a break for it, "Are they mad?"

Such a simple question, but she didn't know if she could handle her classmates and teachers being mad at her. Somehow, in the process of learning and working together, they'd earned her respect. She didn't want to mess this up, and she really didn't want to walk into a room that was hostile towards her.

Arms wrapped around her as vibrations rattled at her skull, but she didn't pay attention to that, Bakugou was simply glaring at her, shaking her head before he opened the door and shoved her in.

It... wasn't the way she wanted to see her classmates again, but the look of surprise on everyone's faces was priceless.

Todoroki's pen had dropped from his hand and rolled off to the floor all while his hand continued to write, his eyes glued to her; Mina was already out of her chair and rushing Naoko before most of the class noticed, Midoriya was practically vibrating himself into another dimension, and Aoyama was... eating cheese with a threatening look on his face... Ok, she wasn't here to rain on his parade.

The others were reacting as well, but Naoko only had two eyes and zero fucks to give, those were the reactions that stood out to her most. Sue her.

Turns out, Mina had gotten much better at controlling her acid when she was emotional, which was good. It made the sudden bear hug Naoko was engulfed in that much better. For a moment or two, Naoko closed her eyes and accepted the moment, wrapping her arms around Mina as well. It was like a hug from Hasame or Rei, fully encompassing and warm.

The class grew silent (not that Naoko would've noticed the difference) at a rare sight. A smile curved at Naoko's mouth and her face relaxed, allowing them to see Naoko looking at peace for the first time.

"What's with the excitement?" Naoko said eventually, her smile dropping into more of a wry grin, "I wasn't gone for that long. You would've known if I died."

A fist dropped onto Naoko's head and she looked up at Mina, who looked half relieved, half irritated, "-You serious? One day you're in class, the next you're gone and your apartment's empty and there's a bunch of really sketchy people standing out front looking like they're in a bad yakuza movie."

Huh, that was incredibly accurate...

Naoko nodded her head as Shoto resisted the urge to jump out of the window. Too accurate.

Thankfully, Naoko had been prepared for this moment, "Eh, Hasame didn't like the weirdos that kept hanging around. We got some money from the government, so we decided to move."

Kirishima was standing next to Bakugou as he nodded, "Paparazzi? Yeah, I could see it."

Kaminari was next as he winked at Naoko, "That's what happens when you go all badass and kill a bitchin villain on national news!"

Bitchin... That was a word Naoko had never seen used right before, and she still wasn't sure if that was the way to do it, but she had to respect Kaminari for trying.

The next to approach Naoko was one she wasn't expecting, but hot damn it was good.

"You sure took your time coming back." A mop of wild purple hair that somehow stood straight up greeted Naoko, who didn't match on quite as quickly as she should've.

It took three hard blinks and at least one glance at the teacher staring at her from the sidelines to believe it, "Shinso?" Oh lordy, this was amazing. The grin on Naoko's face stretched further as one of the oddest kids who popped up everywhere like a damn cockroach smiled back at her. "I fucking knew it."

The whole class was grinning, especially the girls. "Yeah, Naoko," Ururaka chimed in, "Shinso here replaced Mineta!"

Wait... What? Then the class was one short?

Her confusion must have been obvious because Mina laughed and tapped Naoko on the head to grab her attention once more, "He was hiding in my locker to watch me change."

Fuck him. Naoko could feel her blood boil at that. Of course, he fucking did that, no one told him no, so of course, he escalated to that point. God, she was going to make it her mission to hunt down that fucking perv and make him regret his lack of self-control, that little bitch. "Please tell me he didn't walk out unscathed."

If he did, he was dead.

Mina smiled, "I don't think I've ever seen Mic that mad. Mineta was wheeled out on a stretcher with both ears bleeding... I might have gotten some acid on him, but I really don't remember."

Good. Naoko nodded, satisfied, and looked back at Shinso, "So... The class is just one down then? Did anyone replace me?"

Aizawa was the one for this question, as his capture weapon tapped her on the side of her face, "No. The spot will stay open for you until the end of the year if you want it." Aizawa was staring at Naoko intently, "Please reconsider."

No, he wasn't playing fair. He was looking at her with those serious eyes that expected so much of her yet had consistently let her know how proud of her he was, and he was begging her to come back. And the worst part of it all? Naoko wanted to take him up on the offer. She didn't want to be a hero, but she really liked the people in this room. They were good, and they'd be great heroes.

But... it was a little too late, she had about twenty things on her plate, putting school back into the mix would kill her.

Not to mention what Overhaul would do if he found out where she was staying now. There was just no good option here, either return to a place she didn't love but still respected or keep fighting and probably become the enemy of most people in this room. What a sucky choice.

"Mr. Aizawa, you know why I can't do that."

She turned to see the rest of the class staring at her with a mixture of curiosity and sadness, "Besides, Hasame and I started a cafe, if I leave now she'd kill me."

Midoriya grinned widely from his seat, Shoto blanched, and the rest of the class about died, this was good fucking information and they were only getting it now?! At least three people were about to ask where and what and how and why, but Naoko cut them all of with a shake of her head.

"I'm not telling you, you have to figure it out on your own. And you can't ask Shinso, Shoto, or Midoriya for help. Find me, and I might give you more information."

The whole class died as Naoko did something no one expected, Naoko tilted her head as she smiled at them and she winked.

"Now, I think we have some catching up to do."

~~~~~

Alright, here we go! I'm sorry it took so long to get to the chapters again, but I'm out of training and I have plenty of time to write without the depression kicking in. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back to my old pattern of a chapter every other week before too long, but hey, you never know when the good old depression will kick back up! I'll be here as long as I can, though I'm not going to lie, my latest idea for fanfiction has been consuming me... So that might be in the works not too long from now!

Anyways, Happy reading and thanks for sticking with me!

klypso01