I'm back bitches

Right after the incident, the school called your mother and reported your punishment. You were suspended for week and would receive further instructions when you returned. As much as you were annoyed by it, you understood that your actions were severe and you reaped what you sowed. You were glad they hadn't outright expelled you since attacking a student very much warranted that kind of measurement.

However your fate was to be, you were still bored out of your mind at home. Yes being there was comforting, but being alone when the rest of the world was going about its business was vexing. The days dragged on despite the occasional texting with the bakusquad.

"What are you fuckers doing?" Bakugou questioned as his camera neared their table in the cafeteria.

"Kaminari fell asleep so we taped his feet to the floor," Sero sniggered.

Mina approached the golden blond with a grin. "Watch this.... Kaminari! Wake up we're late for class!"

The snoozing boy immediately shot up, bleary eyed. "Oh fuck! Not again!" He stood from the bench and made to get out but quickly lost his balance and flipped the table onto himself with a crash. In the background you could hear Sero, Kirishima, and Mina howling with laughter.

Bakugou zoomed into the destruction. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

You chuckled and replayed the video he had sent you. It was moments like this that you missed.

You sighed and got out of bed. Your mom was at work (as per usual) which left you alone in the hollow house you called home. Growing tired of the stale air you decided to head out for a bit.

The sky was streaked with warm tones of orange and yellow as you exited your abode. You made a mental note to not stay out too late. Ever since that encounter in the alleyway and at the hospital, you were weary towards the night time, afraid that someone was out there watching you. You sounded paranoid but you had good reason to be. Yet you didn't want this strange entity to win, so you gathered up your courage and went out.

You had a couple of quarters in your pocket and decided to visit the local arcade to pass the time. It wasn't too far from home which made the trip mercifully short.

The first thing to hit you was parade musical tones and the walkways of glittering coloring. You had practically grown up in the little rundown arcade. You used to go there all the time with your best friend and his brothers. It felt like an eternity since you'd been there.

Your hand glided over the pinball and game machines as you followed the speckled carpet further down the rabbit hole. You were too distracted by your nostalgia to notice that you had just walked up to someone on one of the devices.

You almost jumped in embarrassment. "Sorry! Didn't mean to disturb you."

The man shifted his emerald blue eyes over to you. He had set of black, fluffy hair spiking out in every direction. His under eyes were marred deep velvet along with his bottom lip and jaw area trailing all the way down to where his chest started. The oddly though, there were staples surrounding the skin like it was holding it in place.

Despite all this he still had a quiet air of attractiveness to him.

You glanced over at his screen and immediately recognized the game. "Aw man I love Street Fighter! I used to go whole days just wasting coins on this machine." Upon closer inspection, you noted the digital break between the images. "Is it frozen?"

The man shrugged. "Looks like it."

"Give me a second." You tapped the back of the contraption twice and banged it hard on the last hit causing the device to kick back into gear. The fighters on the screen flickered and began to do their programmed bouncing poses.

"You own the place or something?" The intimidating stranger crossed his arms.

"No, I just used to spend a lot of time here. I know most of the machines kinks by heart."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"(l/n)."

The stranger smirked and extended a hand. "Dabi."

You shook his hand and found that his wrists also had those peculiar burn marks. "Never heard of a name like that."

"Well I've never met a person who practically lives in an arcade," Dabi retorted. "Aren't you supposed to play Xboxes or whatever?"

"What can I say, I like the classics. And aren't you a little too old to be hanging around places like this?" You teased.

This made him grin wider. "Aren't you a little too young to be wandering around without your mommy and daddy?"

"I'm not that young, bright eyes," You huffed with annoyance.

"Of course not, baby doll."

You shot him a glare and rolled your eyes. "Whatever...enjoy your game, old man" You started to walk away but his hand enveloped your wrist. You looked back at him, raising a brow. "Can I help you?"

Dabi nodded his head at the machine. "Play with me."

"Why?"

His mouth quirked into a challenging smile. "You afraid to lose?"

"Oh I'd hand your ass to you for sure."

"Prove it." He gave a gesture towards console. You glanced between them skeptically. He didn't seem bad, but you also just met him so...

Your pride got the better of you and you submitted to his request. You pursed your lips with a 'tch'. "One game."

"Of course."

"I mean it," You warned.

"I know, baby doll."

"Don't call me that." You shook your head at the name and grasped the joystick. "Get ready to be schooled, pretty boy."

~

You screamed with delight as Chun-Li landed her last blow. Your opponent swayed for a few seconds until he finally collapsed onto the ground. The giant red 'K.O.' letters marked your victory.

"YES! IN YOUR FACE!" You were grinning broadly when you glanced over at the dark-haired man. His curious pupils lingered on you with amusement. "I admit, you're good." He raised his hands in surrender. "But this doesn't mean I've given up yet."

"One game. That's it," You reminded in a warning tone.

"And what if that was a fluke? How do I know you're not a hack?"

"I had you backed into a corner for a pretty long time. I'm no hack."

Dabi flashed you a crooked smile and dared to inch closer. "Come on, baby doll. You know you want to." Your cheeks flushed with warmth just as familiar ring sounded. You saw Dabi pull out his phone with an irritated snarl. That look was enough for him to sigh and pull away from you.

"I guess we'll have to postpone our rematch, baby girl." He nudged your chin up softly with a finger and gave you a sly wink. "I'll see you around."

"What makes you so sure?" You questioned, slightly annoyed by the way he addressed you.

"I don't know, I have a feeling this won't be the last time we meet. Perhaps it's fate."

"Or maybe it's just the cheesy pick up lines of a sleazy guy," You retorted.

This made the man chuckle. "Oh I'm definitely gonna see you again." And with that, Dabi made his way down the speckled carpet and out of your sight.

Back to square one.

What a strange encounter. You never thought you'd be playing video games with a total stranger today. Life sure was getting weird.

While it was fun while it lasted, you left the station and wandered around the aisle looking for something to pass the time on. You played and replayed several retro games and even some more simple ones like the pachinko machines, but you soon found yourself walking aimlessly around the facility.

The small bulbs of light twinkled like stars above you as flashes of color glared through the machines from whence they came from. You yawned, slight exhaustion settling in. Honestly, you didn't know what time it was. You just didn't want to go home yet.

You thumbed the loose change in your pocket, gauging how many games you had left before you would call it day. Surprisingly, you still had a lot left and you decided to try out a basketball game nearby. You had been avoiding it all night due to your lack of talent at the sport but it was something new might as well try it.

You inserted your coins in the slot releasing a couple of the orange balls from within the unit. Doing your best, you picked up the ball and started throwing.

Miss

Miss

Miss

Miss

OH! Fuck, so close!

Bakugou would probably be laughing at your pathetic attempts right about now. You wondered what he was doing.

Your mind shifted to the last moment you saw him. "Call me Katsuki."

Why did he say that? You thought to yourself. His simple words made your chest feel tight. What compelled him to trust you that much? Not that you'd ever given him a reason to not trust you...

Despite your confusion over his actions, you couldn't help but feel a little giddy at being able to call him by his first name. It was an excellent teasing device but that wasn't what was causing your stomach to do flips.

"Katsuki..." You whispered quietly to yourself. A grin found its way to your lips as you launched another failed shot at the basket. He had such a cute name.

You aimed another basket when a voice burst you from your bubbling thoughts. "Hey! I was looking for another player! This place is so empty—" You threw the ball out of fright causing it to bounce across the wall and back at you. With a loud thwack, you were sent pummeling to the ground.

You groaned and rubbed your nose where the ball had made impact while the perpetrator hovered above with concern. "Oh crap, I didn't mean—wait, (l/n)?"

Your eyes went wide when you recognized the fire red hair and the toothy mouth. "Kirishima?"

"Shit, I didn't mean to scare you, (l/n). I was just looking for someone to play a round on one of the hockey tables," He apologized profusely as he helped you up. "Are you okay?"

You sighed, waiting for the stinging to go away. "Just peachy. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"What's it look like? I'm playing games."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it looks like the games are playing you," Kiri teased.

"Hey, you're the one to blame here not me. I was minding my own business, being the basketball queen that I am, when you decided to scare the shit out me," You retorted.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, basketball queen. What you been up to lately?" He glanced over at your scoreboard. "Besides earning zero points."

You stuck your tongue out at him. "For your information, I've been bored out of my mind at home. School suspended me for a week in case you haven't noticed."

"Oh we've noticed," the red head assured. "Things haven't been the same since you left. I'm glad I got to see you."

For some reason, you suddenly felt self conscious. Like a soft flutter in your stomach. "Come on," You laughed anxiously as you bumped his shoulder, "You act like I died or something."

"It's true! Mina misses her gossip buddy, Sero and Kaminari can't plan pranks without their partner in crime, and Bakugou..." Kirishima drifted off.

You raised an eyebrow. "And Bakugou?"

"Hm, let's just say it seems like he misses you too."

"He misses me?" You chortled. "He's constantly calling me a brat and prim princess."

Kirishima shrugged with a witty grin. "Doesn't mean he doesn't miss you."

"With that logic anything he does isn't what it seems. That boy is a puzzle."

You inserted some more coins into the basketball game despite you being really bad at it. At this point, you were just having fun talking to Kirishima.

"So what's going on with you, Kiri? How's school?" You asked, shooting another ball. Fail

"Same old boring classes." He slumped against the machine. "Aizawa gave a lecture that I slept right through and he assigned homework on it so I'm screwed."

"It can't be that hard, right? What's it on?" Miss

"The fundamentals of hero strategies."

"Oof, that sounds terrible, but maybe I can help. We were learning about that right before I left school." Miss

Kirishima tried to muffle his laughter from your last attempt but your ears were too attentive. You shot him a glare.

"How about this?" He said, wandering over to you. "I'll teach you how to shoot baskets and you can tutor me?" He took the ball from your hands and easily swooped it into the net.

You rolled your eyes. "Show off."

"What do you think?"

"I think you're the one benefitting the most out of this partnership," You hummed, crossing your arms. "What else do you have to offer?"

Kiri smirked playfully. "That depends, what would you like from me?"

You clicked your tongue as you thought about that question. "Hmm, what do I want?" You hadn't seen it right away but you and the red head had significantly closed the gapped between you two. And yet you didn't back down from those challenging eyes.

"Be my sparring buddy," You finally spoke.

He seemed surprised by this. "Huh, how come?"

"I doubt anyone will be willing to spar with me after the incident at school. I also can't use my quirk for the time being and I don't want to lose any physical practice."

"Say no more. I'll be on call as your battle dummy," Kirishima chuckled.

"Don't say that! You're good to spar with!" You swatted his arm.

"Last time we fought I landed on my ass."

"Then maybe you'll be getting two lessons in one," You teased.

"Alright, alright miss basketball queen, is it a deal then?" He extended a hand. You clasped it in your own with a firm shake. "Yes, it's a deal."

"Okay, let's see what we can do about this basketball arm you got," Kirishima grinned as he rounded you. "Go ahead and grab the ball."

You took the basketball and positioned yourself as if you were going to throw. The red head immediately responded with a slight frown. "Okay, so what you're doing here is keeping your elbows too far apart. Try angling them like this." His hands skimmed down your arms, pulling them in. Your back was pressed against the hard surface of his chest you could feel the soft thumping of breathing. You suddenly grew conscious of how close he was.

Since you were a bit shorter than him, he leaned in towards your ear to direct you some more. His breath sent a tingle down your neck that made you shiver. "Now open your feet just a little....that's it. Make sure you got your eye on the target and..." His hands guided your motion and the ball soared across the angled platform and flushed into the net.

"That was awesome! Nice job!" Kirishima's genuine praise made your lips turn up into a smile. You could practically see his toothy beam.

"Well I did have a great teacher showing me the ropes." You nudged an elbow into his stomach as he laughed ceremoniously. "What? What happened to the queen?" You hushed him but that only made him chortle harder.

You looked up to give him angry pout but the happiness on his face stopped you short. There was a softness to him that you had never noticed before. You felt your heartbeat quicken when he cast his gaze down at you.

Kirishima's eyes flickered over your features. "Something wrong, your majesty?"

After regaining your composure, you huffed and bumped his hip with your own. "I will now only respond to your majesty."

"Ohh, I see why Bakugou says you're pretty, prim princess."

"I never said those comments weren't warranted."

"Of course, your majesty." Kiri bowed deeply but you smacked his arm. "Stop," You giggled. "Anyway, it's getting kind of late. I should probably get home."

"I'll walk you. It's gotten dark outside."

"Such a gentleman," You smiled at him sweetly. Honestly, it was a huge change from the usual 'Shut it, brat' and 'you're so fucking annoying'.

~

You and Kirishima followed down the dimly lit sidewalk. Around you everything was quiet. Windows glowed bright but not a soul could be found on the empty streets. It brought on a sense of uneasiness.

"So, Kiri, what could have possibly compelled you to come down to the arcade?" You asked, trying to cast away your nerves.

"I was bored. I'd never gone to that place before so I thought I'd try it out."

"Really? But it's such a local hotspot!"

The red head frowned. "There wasn't anyone there though."

"That's what it looks like, right?" You grinned. "But in reality the place is so big everyone is spread out. Plus it's a weekday and it's not really busy now." You sighed and glanced bittersweetly at the ground. "I used to go there all the time with some neighborhood friends when I was kid. It seems like it was only yesterday."

Kirishima gave you sympathetic gaze. "Did you at least have fun today?"

"Abundantly," You chuckled. "The time alone and away from all the drama helped me clear my mind a bit." You elbowed his arm playfully. "It also helped that I had such an awesome basketball player teaching me."

His laughter was so contagious. "I'm sure it was all pure skill for you."

You shook your head and crossed the street with Kirishima. "It's never a bad thing to learn a couple new skills, even for a basketball queen."

You were nearing the other side of the street when something ahead caught your eye. Your feet came to a halt as your eyes widened with fear.

In the darkness, you could swear the wretched image of your decaying corpse was lingering in the shadows. Its crooked, snarling teeth made your muscles grow weak, trembling under the creature's dull gaze. You couldn't find the strength to move.

"(l/n)?" Kirishima turned around when he had seen you had stopped. He looked at your frightened face with concern. "(l/n), is something wrong?"

You wanted to speak but your voice was caught in your throat. You wanted to tell him to run before that monster came any closer.

"(l/n)? What's going on? Are you okay?" The red head approached you and tried to follow your line of vision but the dark streets veiled the creature's figure. Just then, bright lights flashed into his eyes. "(l/n), we need to go."

Your heartbeat raced. You wanted to run, but your feet wouldn't move.

"(l/n)! We need to leave now!"

Your breath quickened, lips shaking.

"(L/N)!"

A loud honk shocked you out of your paralysis and you turned in time to see a giant truck a mere foot away from you. You let out a sharp gasp just as Kirishima pulled you away from the edge of the crosswalk and slammed you against a wall. The impact left you sore, but thankfully, alive.

The truck let out another angry honk as it sped past the area leaving you two speechless and dazed. You swiveled your head to where the creepy doppelganger was but unsurprisingly it had vanished. Your thoughts raced wondering whether the thing was a figment of your imagination or a stalker lurking in the dark.

"Oh my god, Kirishima!" You shouted in a whisper. His hands were flat against the wall, towering over your frame protectively. From the look in his eyes, he was shaken up but still okay. "I'm so sorry!" You apologized. "I-I...I..."

You wanted to tell him what you saw, but there was no right way to say it. You would sound insane. The only other person you'd told about that creature was Bakugou and even he had a hard time believing you.

"I just—I couldn't move and I didn't feel well. I'm so—" Suddenly, Kirishima pulled you into tight embrace. His strong arms were trembling ever so slightly.

"You scared me, (l/n)! Damn it, you could've gotten hurt!" His voice was sincere as his grip pressed you closer to his chest. "Please, if something's wrong you gotta tell me. I don't care what it is; I just don't want that to happen again."

You heart sunk at hearing how badly you had frightened him. "I'm sorry, Kiri, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to..." You buried your head into his shoulder and hugged him back.

Reflecting on everything that had happened these past few days, it's no wonder why the red head was so upset. And there you were again making people worry about you.

He let out a sigh and released you. His cheeks held the smallest dust of pink over them. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have burst off on you like that."

"It's okay, I know I've been the cause for a bunch of shit recently and I didn't mean to almost add on to it," You gave him an apologetic smile. "Thank you for saving my life, Kirishima."

"Ahh...Ejirou's fine." The red head's face almost matched his hair. "A-and don't worry about that stuff. It's not your fault all this is happening to you."

"I hope not."

"In any case, what happened right now? You were fine a second ago then..." Kiri drifted off hesitantly.

You frowned and glanced away from him. "I don't know...I thought I saw something..."

"What?"

"I'm not sure," You shrugged convincingly. "I thought I knew but... I guess I was wrong."

The red head's eyes fell upon your features hoping for some kind of hint to your thoughts but your expression was unreadable. He exhaled softly and wrapped an arm around you with a short squeeze. "It's okay, (l/n). Everything turned out alright, right?"

You forced a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." With a final glance back into the abyss of darkness behind you, you shook your head and treaded forward with Kirishima.

I'm alive and I didn't abandon this story like a lot of you might have thought lol. I'll have plenty more time to work on chapters now that school is over and I hope you enjoyed this one!