Aizawa is the embodiment of what this year has started off as.

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His skin was boiling so fervently his sweat felt like ice rolling down in cascades. He tried and gasped for the slimmest sliver of oxygen yet every attempt only rushed in a new wave of heavy sludge into his throat. Tears brimmed the corners of his eyes as he felt his lungs shrivel...

His chest jolted for one last gulp of air but it was the final gate opening as the thick, burning liquid consumed his body and his consciousness....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katsuki bolted upright with a hoarse shout. His hands immediately latched onto his throat. An immeasurable sigh of relief washed over him as he could feel the clearness in his airways. Once his rattled heartbeat began to slow and his heavy panting settled he realized that it was just another nightmare.

He grit his teeth in frustration. Why was this happening to him? The dream had been plaguing his sleep like a ghost. It wasn't a nightly recurrence but it was just familiar enough that he could remember every detail with vivid memory. His limbs still trembled from the chaotic adrenaline coursing through him.

However, Katsuki wasn't able to linger on the terrors for long as he heard an audible thump come from upstairs. He frowned and cautiously stood up to inspect the odd noise.

Bakugou made it to the base of the stairs when he caught a glimpse of something looming a top. His vision was impaired from just waking up but he recognized the person's frame as your own.

It had to be around 5AM, what the hell were you doing up so early?

"(y/n)...?" He whispered.

You either ignored him or didn't hear him because you proceeded. You sluggishly sauntered forward in a trance as your heel nicked the steps and slipped. You stumbled and in an instant were pulled down by gravity.

Instincts clicked like lightning as the kick drum of his heart was once again ignited. Bakugou flung himself at you just in time for you to narrowly miss your head making impact with the stairs. You collapsed in his arms much to the relief of Katsuki.

"Jesus fucking Christ... what the hell are you doing?" He scolded with a hiss. He glanced down at you but found that your eyes were closed shut. His gaze instead shifted to the nearly dim fade of your freckles and your knitted eyebrows.

You tried to stand up but he could tell you were weak. Katsuki recalled what you had told him about your quirk. He had almost completely forgotten about it.

"Alright, up we go," He murmured, scooping you up by your legs and back. You softly hummed and rested your head against his chest.

It was still a little early but the sun would be out soon and he knew the perfect spot for that. At the end of the hallway was a balcony his family used mostly for decoration but it wasn't off limits. Katsuki slid back the glass door and carefully brought you two outside.

In the corner was a lounge chair which he used to seat you both. Unfortunately, it was a little too small for two bodies to share so he improvised and gently laid you over his lap your head still pressed against his torso. Bakugou hoped you wouldn't mind but you seemed pretty comfortable since you were snoozing away unaware.

Katsuki sighed, the rush that had frightened away his sleep earlier was gone now because he could feel his muscles begin to relax. His breathing deepened as his senses were beginning to come to a mind-numbing halt. His heavy eyes flickered down to you briefly.

Your face was serene, no longer was it struggling to inch towards its objective. You had probably already realized you were safe. Your hand lightly grasped at Katsuki's bare chest for comfort and murmured incoherently.

Bakugou groaned in exhaustion as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder bringing you closer. The warmth of your body and the soft chitter of insects finally sealed the slumber weighing down on him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever you woke up in the mornings you felt like a 90s desktop computer booting itself back to life. It also didn't help that you usually awoke on a cold floor. Today, however, was different. The drowsiness remained but your body was enveloped by a soothing heat. It was so inviting that you snuggled closer to it blissfully unaware. You could feel the warmth of the sun shining against your back but you were quite sure that that wasn't what was shielding you from the cool breeze.

Curious, you cracked open an eye. Your bliss was shattered in seconds when you came face to face with the softened features of Bakugou Katsuki.

If you weren't awake before, you were now.

You went rigid, gulping nervously as Katsuki's quizzical brows furrowed and he tightened his hold on you. Your hand planted against his hard, bare chest.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.... Your mind screamed as it tried to come up with an escape plan. You weren't uncomfortable with the blond's grasp on you, but the way your heart nearly jumped out of your chest made you a little uneasy.

Just as you tried to push away Katsuki stirred from his sleep. Your wide eyes locked onto his sleepy ones which regarded you with frown.

His face was so close you could feel a heat rise in your cheeks. But he wasn't completely present to realize this yet. He instead shifted his vision over your burning face which was glowing with brightly lit speckles. This gave him peace of mind seeing as your quirk had recharged.

Bakugou's next drowsy inspection landed on your slightly parted lips. They looked soft to the touch making him wonder if his assumption was true.

Right as his brain started to rewire on that strange thought he noted your wide awake expression. His face immediately flushed and he glanced away with a not so subtle cough. He released his hold on you muttering something about how it was cold and he didn't realize he had grabbed you.

You shyly laughed it off and sat up, forcing your gaze away from his muscular arms. "Um, how did we get out here?"

"Oh right. Your dumbass tried to fall down my stairs," Katsuki scoffed.

You were momentarily perplexed but it hit you after what he meant. You groaned, slapping your hand to your forehead. "Crap, I forgot about that. I probably should have said something."

"Yeah, no shit."

"My bad. Lucky you were there, huh?"

The teen rolled his eyes. "How many times am I gonna have to save your ass?"

"Until you lose count." You stuck your tongue at him, but that was quickly replaced with a yawn. "Man, what time is it?"

"Let's go see."

You two both headed back into the house which was deserted of adults as his parents had mentioned it would be. You went to his room to get your phone but as soon as the screen flickered on your eyes were drawn to the wall of notifications. They were all missed calls from your mother.

Fear shot through you and it must have shown on your face because Katsuki inquired. "What is it?"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." You squealed, snatching your gym bag from the floor. Glancing around the room for the speedier option, you resigned to hightailing it out of the room and shutting the door behind you.

"(y/n)!" The blond called and followed after you. But as soon as he opened the door he quickly slammed it because you were throwing your tank top over your head exposing your bare back. A rush of blood invaded his face as he pressed his back to the door and tried to forget the image before his imagination could take over. While you were still his friend, he was also a guy. And a guy waking up in the morning no less.

"I'm done!" You answered for Katsuki to come out. Once he did, he found you in the wrinkled version of your school uniform from yesterday. "How about a warning for next time, dumbass?" He barked.

"I'm sorry, but my mom's gonna beat my ass! She doesn't know I was here! She must be very worried and very pissed," You replied as you continued to shove your other clothes in your bag. "I've gotta go."

You turned to head for the stairs and instead ran into Bakugou's toned chest. You breathed in sharply realizing he was still shirtless from earlier. His red eyes pulled yours to him like magnet in the dim hallway.

"Let me take you home."

He seemed so earnest you wanted to say yes, but you knew that if you showed up with him it would only look worse to your mother. "I'm sorry," You bit your lip nervously. "Not today. I appreciate it, but my mom's gonna chew me out. I need to explain myself to her."

You gave him a quick hug, surprising the blond. "Thank you so much for everything! Tell your parents I said thank you too!" You waved a hasty goodbye and scrambled out of the house leaving behind a slightly disappointed Katsuki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were halfway across town when your phone rang and it was none other than mummy dearest herself.

"(Y/N)!? What the hell are you thinking!?" Your mother's shrill voice pierced your ear. You winced, pulling the device a little ways from your face. "Where are you!? Do you have any idea what day it is!? I came home last night at 3 in the morning and you were nowhere to be found!! And it's just now that I'm hearing from you!? After I sent you a barrage of voicemails and text messages!?"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry—"

"Sorry doesn't even begin to cover what you did, (y/n)!! What are you doing!? Where are you!!?"

"I'm sorry! I know I messed up, but I didn't mean to! I forgot to tell you I was staying over at a friend's house," You apologized, stopping along the sidewalk. "I didn't want to be alone at home anymore. I'm sorry..."

There was a slight pause on the other end. "What do you mean? Is there something wrong?"

"No...I just....it's a little unsettling to stay in a dark empty house every day. My friend offered to let me spend the night so I took them up on it."

You heard your mother sigh. "Oh (y/n)...why didn't you at least tell me?" She scolded.

"I forgot! I'm really sorry, it slipped my mind."

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about that any longer."

You frowned. "What do you mean?"

"My hours got cut. I mean, they were bad before, but I'm afraid this time they really might affect us," Your mother conceded, dejected. "It's okay though we'll make it through like we always do. I'm sure work will pick up soon."

She was trying to keep a hopeful outlook but your heart still felt heavy. You laid your back against a concrete wall and slid down to bent knees. "Are you sure?" You whispered. Your voice threatened to crack.

"Yeah...we'll be okay," You mother responded, although her tone hid a hint of uncertainty to it. "Just come home, please. I don't want you out anymore."

"Uh, sure, yeah. I'll be home soon. I'm just gonna grabbing some things from the supermarket," You reassured her.

"Okay, honey. I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

You hung up the phone a let out a deep exhale. It might be a while before you got home, but you'd rather get yelled at than not try at all. With new found courage, you slung your gym bag tighter to your shoulder and stood up.

It'd be going against your mother's wishes but you just couldn't stand by any longer watching her struggles to make ends meet every day. As you went into town you noted several help wanted signs posted outside of certain stores.

There was a variety (lucky for you) and you went into each and every one of them to ask about their positions. Most if not all told you you needed to apply online. That process took a lot longer than you'd have liked to get a job but you still jotted down their websites. Others told you you were too young for the job or that you needed more experience. Both answers irritated you thoroughly.

You walked block upon block and still came up empty handed. You were starting to get closer to home and with each step your initial boost of energy was spiraling to abysmal levels.

Your mood was also joining it as you fell deeper into the solace of your failure. You were idly pacing down the sidewalk when your eyes spotted a person walking directly up to you. You scanned them up and were met with a pair of turquoise irises. They looked at you in surprised amusement.

"I knew I'd be seeing you again, baby girl," The dark haired man smirked.

You peered at him with fake annoyance. "Baby doll, baby girl, why don't you just pick one and stick with it?"

"Which one do you prefer?"

"Neither."

"Both it is then."

"Aren't you the least bit worried you'll be arrested for hitting on a minor?" You raised an eyebrow.

"Hitting on a minor..." His smile suddenly dropped. "Wait, are you saying that—"

"I'm in high school, old man. Why do you think I thought it was weird you were tugging on me at the arcade?"

"Ar-are you serious?" He stared at you in disbelief. "I mean you look young, but I didn't think you were that young." His vision then focused on your unkempt uniform and he slowly began to understand.

"Oh chill out I'm not a baby either. I was just poking fun at you. Didn't think you knew how old I was," You teased playfully. "You gonna be wary of me now?"

He glanced you up and down, sizing you up. "Hmm, no, I don't think I can. There's something I can't quite put my finger on with you."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's very good," He grinned, stepping closer to you. "Alright then, clean slate, let's start over." He offered you his hand which you took with a strong grip. "Hey there, baby doll, I'm Dabi."

"(y/n)," You corrected.

"Oh no, doll face, the name stuck. That one I can't change."

You crossed your arms and rolled your eyes. "Fine, old man, what are you doing here anyway?"

Just then your stomach decided to chime in with a rumbling growl. You went tight-lipped with embarrassment. "Same as you it looks like," Dabi replied with a chuckle.

"Well whatever you think that may be I'll leave you to it." You began to walk off but the blue eyed man backtracked and caught up to you.

"Hey, hey, hold on a second!" He laughed, matching your speed. "Why in such a rush?"

You glanced up at him trying to determine if you could trust him. Your answer wasn't anything private but was it okay to be bringing up such matters to someone you had only met twice?

You shrugged with a sigh. If anything did go wrong you'd kick his ass for it later, right now you were pretty bummed out. "I'm looking for a job. It's important."

Dabi raised an eyebrow, and somehow that made his lax demeanor just a bit more attractive. "A job, huh? Hmm, what if I told you I could help with that?"

This made you halt mid-step and turn to watch him curiously. "You own a business and want to hire me or something?"

"Or something," he cocked his head playfully.

"Dabi..."

"I'm just messing, baby girl," the dark haired man raised his hands in defense. "But I do know of some odd jobs that pay....very well."

You frowned. "What kind of odd jobs?"

"Y'know, regular stuff like running errands or completing tasks."

"What's the catch?" You pried.

"No catch, doll face. What do you take me for?" Dabi gave you a crooked smile as if to convince you; and by the deadpan expression on your face he could tell it didn't work. He gave in with the roll of the eyes. "Alright, alright....they're anonymous. They give you an assignment, you finish it, and you get the money wired to you automatically."

"I knew it sounded too good to be true," You hissed as you crossed your arms and continued down the street.

"Hey! I know it's not ideal, but it sounds like what you're looking for is a quick buck, am I right? This seems like that perfect opportunity," He tried to reason but you were adamant.

"What you just described is sketch marker levels of shady! The scented ones too!" You retorted with a pout. Dabi chortled softly at your comment. Yeah, you were a dork and he loved it. "Listen, I've done it before. It's legit. Here, I'll let me buy you lunch and I'll tell you more about it?"

You were staring at him whilst in debate with your conflicting conscience when all of a sudden screams erupted from across the road. You both whipped your heads to see various civilians fleeing in terror. You watched as several were knocked down by thin pale spears the size darts. It wasn't until one flew past your head and struck into a concrete building that you noticed it looked like an extremely long nail.

"Out of the way, you cowards! Or get impaled!" A woman with jet black braided hair smiled viciously as she extended her hand. Her fingertips elongated and she sent another array of spikes at the crowds.

"Quit messing around! We've gotta move before a pro shows up!" A short man beside her scorned. He appeared to be carrying a travel bag which seemed to be weighing him down. Most likely stolen goods you concluded.

"Relax, all the action is in the center of town! Even if these simpletons reported us we'll be long gone from here!"

She was right. It would take a pro hours before they could get there, especially with all the narrow streets around.

They would need to be slowed down.

"Here!" You snagged your phone from your pocket and shoved it into Dabi's chest. "Call the police!" You dropped your bag and quickly rummaged through it searching for your brass knuckled gloves.

His turquoise eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Someone needs to stop them."

"Yeah, isn't that a hero's job?"

"Do you see any around right now!?" You shouted exasperated. You pulled on the gloves and immediately felt them light up with energy. "I'm gonna keep them distracted until someone arrives on the scene."

"Are you nuts? You can't take on two motherfuckers at the same time," Dabi reprimanded.

"Look, I'm not asking you to fight with me, but I am telling you to call the damn police!" You let out a huff. "I won't attack unless I have to. I'm going to stall for time or else these people will get hurt!"

You started off towards the street, but Dabi caught you by the wrist. "(y/n), don't be stupid! You can't protect everyone!"

"But I sure can try," You smirked with determination. With a rough yank you shook the dark haired male off and sped off headfirst in front of the enemies; leaving behind a stunned Dabi.

Once you were out in the open you noticed the majority of the civilians had either fled or hid in nearby buildings and cars. Glass from shattered windows littered the street and several wounded victims lay on the ground in pain. The woman continued to laugh maniacally as she flung her arrow-like nails at anyone who happened to be in her midst.

One such nail zipped past you barely missing your upper arm. "Whoa, looks like someone needs a serious manicure," You quipped, trying to get their attention. It worked because the man and the woman's ears perked up.

"Little girl, you should be running for your life if you know what's good for you," the woman growled.

"Ignore her, Delilah! We need to go!" The stout man urged.

"I'll do better than that!" The woman replied as she readied her blades. Her arm swung like a rubber band as the lethal objects went charging.

A small gasp escaped your lips as you conjured up a bolt of star matter and used it to deflect the incoming attack. Unfortunately, your brain reaction was slow and it incinerated mid-impact. You yelped through grit teeth, holding your palm which contained a single sharp fingernail going through it.

"You done playing hero now, girlie?" The male barked with a snigger.

You inhaled sharply as you wrenched the nail out and threw it aside. "You kidding? The fun is just starting."

"Just because you took one little hit? You should've listened to Maku's advice and gone home, little girl. Now you're dead!" The lady, Delilah, threatened and ran at you.

She dove in with a right claw that narrowly missed your neck by inches, but since she was so focused on landing a hit it gave you the opportunity to plant your heel into her stomach. The air shot out of her in a single breath as she spiraled back into a car with a hard dent.

"You little...!"

"I've gotta say, I'm getting real tired of being treated like a child today," You sneered, waiting for her next move.

And it came, only from the opposite end. Maku launched his fist from where he stood several feet away into your jaw. The impact knocked you down and left a bloody gash on the inside of your cheek.

"Stretching, huh?" You murmured to yourself as you got back up.

"Last chance, brat," The villain scowl.

You glanced between them cautiously. Presumably, the police or a pro was on their way. You thought you could last until someone arrived but you never took into account how beat up you were going to be afterwards. It was either keep defending and be terribly injured or fight them to keep them at bay and have more of shot to not be totally wrecked. And by the looks of the civilians around you it looked like you might have to battle it out despite the illegality of it.

You hacked up a wad of blood and saliva and spit on the ground. "Bring it, bitches."

The woman's eyes flared to life. "I'll tear you to pieces!" She roared and came at you with her claws and dispersed the blades with her other hand. You blocked her incoming blow and just managed to reduce the flying attack with a burn bolt when the woman closed her fist. Her knuckles went crashing into your upper cheekbone with an audible thud.

You were jostled for a second, but it was a second too long because Maku entered the fray and struck you down by pulling your leg out from under you. Delilah wasted no time in climbing on top of you and gripping your neck.

She grinned like a devil as she slammed her fist into your eye repeatedly making you cry out in anguish. Your throat rumbled in anger as you flexed your fingers, charging up your gloves. They enhance your abilities by gathering up your collected solar energy and concentrated it into stronger blasts. It clicked in an instant and you fired at the woman straight in the chest sending her soaring away.

But there was never a moment to rest as Maku jumped to tackle you, but you caught him with your feet and threw him behind you. You quickly scrambled to get up, watching them both.

Now you had a villain flanking your front and back and your mind was going into high alert.

Delilah sped at you with a spray of spears which you shielded yourself from with a burst of matter while Maku grabbed the hood of a car and chucked it. You were able to take some of the impact away with your shoulder but it left your entire right side aching with pain.

The woman re-grew her nails and assaulted you with a vicious clawing of your chest. Blood soaked the fabric of your uniform as you shot various blasts of star matter at her making her fall back. Maku used his flexible arm on a light post and launched himself at you with a solid kick to your ribs.

You screamed and went to retaliate but Delilah took advantage and swung her fists into your gut. Your lungs were violently ravaged and left emptier than before upon each hit while Maku captured your arms and held you back.

Your body was beginning to feel weak with all the bloody bruising on your limbs. You flimsily propped your head up to inspect what you could do when Delilah pulled her arm back and rammed her knuckles directly into your face.

Everything went black for a split second as the blow forced you back and you fell to the ground like a ragdoll.

It took you a moment but you rolled onto your side to try and get back up, coughing up blood as you did. The ragged villains stared you down with sinister grins.

"Had enough yet, girl?" Maku snarled. He kicked you onto your back as you groaned. "I'll admit, you can hold your own. But that can only work for so long..."

"Fuck...you..." You seethed, pressing your palm to the jagged floor and supported yourself. With a hazy balance, you began to stand.

Delilah didn't intend to let you though as she started for an attack but quickly reeled back with a shriek as her hand was engulfed by flames. Blue flames.

The wall of fire separated you from the pair and roared violently, pushing them back. You looked up to where the flames had appeared and were shocked to see that they belonged to none other than the scarred man with the sly smirk.

"I hate to see my girl getting picked on by two wannabe villains," Dabi said in a cool tone. "Why don't we make this fair by letting me roast you two alive?"

"My hand! You burnt my hand!" The woman screamed, nursing her limb which was charred black.

"Oops, 1 out of 2 ain't bad."

"You'll pay for that!"

You frowned. "Dabi, you don't need to..."

"I know," He responded. His eyes never left the two panicked stricken villains. "But it seems these guys need to be put in their place."

You turned back to them, your spirit invigorated with revived anger. You were gonna kick their ass. "Allow me then."

The wall of fire fell and you immediately flew to action. You grabbed the short man with blazing fists and spun him as quickly as you could. You then flung him into the side of a building which his head bounced off with a huge bloody gash. Delilah suddenly awakened from her disbelief and charged at you with her good hand.

You were ready this time waiting to knee her in the gut but before you could Dabi yanked her back by her hair. She yelped as the male grasped her by the throat. He angled her head by the clump of hair he held to make her look at him. A wide grin spread across his features as his hands ignited with those vibrant blue flames. You clamped your hand over your mouth as Delilah's cries of agony echoed down the silent streets.

"DABI!" You screamed, running to him and tugging on his arms. "STOP! STOP IT! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER!" You pulled and yanked for what seemed forever until he finally loosened his grip and the woman dropped to the ground motionless.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" You shoved him back. You stared at him in shock but his expression gave no indication that he saw anything wrong with what he had done.

Dabi sighed and knelt beside the lady, motioning for you to come close. You watched him and then the body. He pressed two fingers to her boiled neck and opened his other hand for you to take.

You gulped nervously and took it which he then placed on the gooey flesh. The smell of charring skin sent bile rising in your throat but you noticed what he wanted you to see.

There was a heartbeat, a very faint heartbeat.

You snatched your hand and shook in disgust. "Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck!"

"Calm down, doll face. It's not like they were trying to kill you," Dabi retorted sarcastically.

"Still! I want to be better than that! I don't want to kill!" You screamed back.

"Well, you didn't. She's alive and won't be committing any crimes any time soon. Day is saved, right?" When you didn't reply because you were staring at the destruction around you he tilted your chin up with his index finger. His beautiful irises skimmed over your features which were swelling due to the blows to the face.

"How are you feeling, baby doll?"

You were rattled by the turn of events, but somehow being tenderly taken care of was making you feel better. Your face trickled with warmth and it wasn't due to the bruising.

Okay, maybe that did help a little.

"I'm fine. I....I'm just..."

"Shaken up, I get it," Dabi nodded. "You took quite the beating. But to be honest I thought you did pretty well. You might have even overpowered them if those sleaze balls didn't get so sneaky."

You rolled your eyes. "Thanks. And I guess I owe you a real thanks too. You saved me back there. You're right they probably wouldn't have hesitated to kill me."

Dabi looked content that you were finally acknowledging the truth in his words when suddenly a storm of people showed up. They were following someone who appeared to have wood-like skin.

"Kamui Woods has arrived on the scene! Many injured civilians lay in the streets and medics are on their way!" A woman reporter stopped for her camera crew to film.

You felt out of place in the midst of the spectacle that you began to step away but the Pro Hero landed in front of you with his hands at his waist. "Hey you, did you do this?"

"I, uh, not just me." You turned to gesture to Dabi but you looked back and saw he was gone. You whipped your head around to and fro but you couldn't find where the spiky black haired man had went.

"Hey I know you! You're the girl from the UA incident!" One reported shouted, alerting the other who watched you with hungry eyes. "Did you beat these villains? Did your quirk go out of control again? Why weren't you expelled from UA??"

In the span of a couple seconds, Kamui Woods was ignored in favor of you. The journalists surrounded you shoving huge microphones in your face and bombarding you with questions.

"IS IT TRUE YOU ALMOST KILLED A STUDENT?"

"WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?"

"IS IT SAFE FOR OTHER STUDENTS TO BE AROUND YOU??"

"Please! I don't want to comment!" You pushed away their mics and tried to get out of their human cage, but they were relentless. The flashing white lights of photographs being taken blinded your vision and your escape.

"WAS THIS CONFRONTATION WITH THE VILLAINS NECESSARY?"

"DID YOU ATTACK FIRST OR—"

All the reporters abruptly pulled away from you as their shouts of surprise rang out. Once again a blue fire blazing brighter and higher than before encircled you and masked you from the crowd. You felt a hand grab yours and you were suddenly rushed away from the chaos.

The journalists were stunned by the sudden burst and turned to their crews to capture the events. Meanwhile, you were safely hidden in a nearby alley with Dabi right beside you.

"I was afraid of that happening," He sighed, peeking into the street.

You were catching your breath before you replied. "Jeez, they're like animals."

He handed you back your phone and your gym bag. "Well there's no use in staying here any longer. I'll take you home."

"No, no, no, I have to go. My mom's gonna have a heart attack if she sees me!" You quickly shook your head as you saw the time flash on your screen. "Thanks for everything, Dabi, but I've gotta run! I'll see you around!" You called after him and sped off into the maze alleys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you got home the weight of your injuries finally dawned on you. Your chest stung severely and was sticky from all the dried blood. Half your face was bumpy due to the bruising settling in and you wondered how you were going to let your mom see you like this. You probably looked like the protagonist in a horror movie.

You walked into your house as quietly as possible and began to ascend the stairs when a familiar voice made you freeze. "(y/n)? Are you home?" You mother's voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Y-yeah, I'm here! I'm just gonna drop my stuff off in my room!" You answered dashing up the steps and locking yourself in the bathroom. You rapidly shed your clothes and began rinsing off all the blood in the sink.

Once you were done you ran into your room and changed into long wear clothing to hide all your wounds. Despite it being the summer, you might be able to pass it off as you being cold and your self-healing quirk could do the rest.

In your flurry of thoughts a knock sounded at your door. "(y/n)? Are you decent? Can I come in?"

"Yep, just a minute," You replied, shoving your red stained uniform back into your gym bag and tossed it into the closet. You looked at yourself in the mirror and thought maybe you could hide the bruises by facing her in a certain direction.

You put on your calm demeanor and opened the door greeting her with a smile. "Hey, mom! What's up?"

"Oh (y/n)!" She cried out, wrapping her arms around you. You internally cried as well, but in pain.

"H-hey, what's wrong?" You grinned, trying to pull her off of you as fast you could.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you didn't feel comfortable staying here alone! Things have just been so tough I thought you'd be okay with it. Why didn't you tell me anything? I would have adjusted my schedule for you!"

"Mom, we both know you wouldn't have been able to do that," You sighed. "And it's okay. I know how difficult things can get and I'm not judging you for it. I just wanted to stay at a friend's house yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't let you know ahead of time."

"Oh it's fine sweetie, just please, little warning, okay?" She gave you a quick squeeze and patted your shoulder. "Here, why don't you come down stairs and eat? I made dinner."

"I'll be right there," You smiled and watched as she disappeared down the corridor. You let out a heavy exhale once she left. Man oh man was it going to be hard trying to hide all your injuries for the next few days. You couldn't let her find out. Not after all this stress she was going through as it was.

Which reminded you....you never found that job you were looking for. Your heart sunk on par with your failure as you tidied up your room of any evidence before you left for the kitchen. When you arrived you found a steaming hot plate of food awaiting you at the table.

You sighed. To ease your mind you suggested going job hunting tomorrow too. For now you hadn't eaten anything all day. Your tummy was due for some grub.

Your mother was putting away dishes in the sink when the telephone rang. You took your first few bites and were instantly plunged into tastebud heaven.

"Hello? Yes? Yes, this is."

You glanced up to see what was going on but your mother had already shifted her gaze onto you first. Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"Yes, she's here....I suppose so." She pulled the phone away from her ear and covered the mouth piece. "It's for you."

You were disappointed at being torn away from your food, but you stood up to receive the call anyway.

"Um, hello?"

A deep, gruff voice responded. "Hello, am I speaking to (l/n) (y/n)?"

"Yes, this is she," You frowned, suddenly more interested than you were before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss (l/n)," the caller said although their tone sounded far from pleasant. "My name is Endeavor."

OwO Oh...oh shit

I say this like I didn't know it was coming. Lol all jokes aside thank you guys for giving me time to keep up with life ^^ I survived, hallelujah, and now we can resume to our regularly scheduled programming.

Hope you enjoyed and let's all try to get through this year together! Happy 2020!