TeruTategami, this is my entry for your seventh writing contest. Hopefully you'll enjoy the story!

Theme: Some Kind of Glitch (Katsuki Bakugou x OC). This is a part of a book draft that I never finished.

Word Count: 5,287
______________________________________

        Only twenty percent of the world's population is born without the ability to develope a quirk. Then there is the percent of children born with quirks that never experience any problems with their new developments. While she didn't fall within the first percent, Airi Tsukino was very envious of the second percentage group. When the time had come for her quirk to manifest, she lost everything and had to take care of herself from then on.

        Airi had been a normal child with somewhat above average parents. Her mother had a memory erasing quirk, and her father had a quirk that allowed him to slow down time in short intervals. The result was her, a black haired silver eyed bundle of joy. She was a child who could travel through time itself, but she held very little control over it. Because of this, she lost her parents and her very way of life. Her joy vanished just as she herself did. "Why wasn't I born quirkless?" she'd ask herself on several occasions.

        Despite her time jumping capabilities, she still aged normally. Lately, she had been stuck in this particular point in time, but it kept her mind at ease to know her quirk wasn't acting up for the time being.

        It was a Friday afternoon, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was a little worried since she had changed her path today. Since Airi wasn't required to go to school, she would go near the gates of the infamous U.A. to admire and envy the many students who entered and left the building. It was mostly just their quirks that interested her since she practically hated her own. Airi would stand across the street from the school gate and hope that some of the students would show off their quirks to their friends while she could see them. The occurrence was rare, but when it happened, it always brought a smile to Airi's face.

        Currently, classes were about to dismiss, so Airi was hurrying there to catch a glimpse at the aspiring heroes. School had been in session long enough for her to have memorized a general routine. Not only that, but there had been an attack on the school a few weeks prior. Airi had taken in all of the changes to the school's activity. She knew everything about its schedule.

        "Good. I made it," Airi sighed in relief as she arrived at her destination. The students were leaving just when she got there. No one in particular caught her eye as usual, but she did hope that someone used their quirk for her to see. After a few minutes, a feeling of unease settled in out of nowhere. Someome was staring at her.

        Airi looked around the area until she caught the gaze of an ash blonde boy in the school yard. From where she stood, it wasn't hard to tell that he was glaring at her. "Crap...not good," she muttered to herself. If someone went out of their way to take notice of her, then she was being too consistent. Another bad part of time travel was that Airi had to be careful who she let see her. In this case, she decided that it would be best to leave before the boy approached her. "And I just got here too. No fair," she complained as she pulled the hood of her jacket over head.

        The only thing she could do now was head towards home. It wasn't anything to be proud of especially since it was already hard enough to get by in life without parents for support. "Hey, extra! Where the hell do you think you're going?" a unfamiliar voice brought her from her thoughts.

        Airi turned back to see the same student now approaching her. The ash blonde from U.A. was being too curious for her liking. "I don't have time to deal with this," she thought. Instead of acknowledging him, she looked forward again and took off into a dead sprint. Running was her only answer since her quirk was incapable of defense. Airi didn't like to stick around when things took a rough turn.

         Residential areas were the easiest to get lost in, so Airi entered the first one she came across. There weren't many people on the sidewalks, so it was easier to run. She quickly hid in an alley to catch her breath. "Doesn't seem like he had any physical enhancement quirks or else he would have caught me. Thank goodness."

        Her sense of security vanished when she heard someone quickly approaching. "I wasn't done talking to you," he seethed. The boy had actually caught up to her, but that wasn't too much of a surprise. He was likely a hero in training after all.

        Before Airi could get too far, he had caught her by the arm and trapped her. "Hey, let me go! Can't you see that I don't want to talk!" she hissed.

        "You don't have a choice. Who are you? Why are you always standing outside of U.A. watching us like that?" the boy growled.

        "What does it matter to you? Mind your own business, and let me go!" Airi snapped. Of course, he didn't listen to her.

        "You're always out there for a reason. I made it my business to know, so you're going to tell me. Who are you working for? Who are you getting information on?" He seemed rather determined to get his answers, but Airi was pissed now that she knew the exact reason he had chased after her.

        "You jackass! Did you just assume that I was a villain just because I was hanging around your school? Why would I be allied with that societal group of trash? I'm just a normal person, now let me go!" Almost immediately, she was released, but the boy wasn't done talking just yet.

        "You show up every morning when the school opens and every afternoon when it's dismissed. What kind of normal person does that?" he noted.

        Airi huffed in annoyance. "Have you been watching me every day?

        "Me watching you? Are you kidding? You're the one stalking U.A. like someone's lackey," the boy denied.

        "You know what...I'm not having this conversation. Go bother a real villain. I'm not in the wrong here." Airi was on her last nerve and didn't feel like dealing with this impulsive teen.

        "I said I wasn't done talking," the boy snapped. He had grabbed her by the shoulder when she began to turn away, but it had been a mistake that he would come to regret. In that instant, Airi's quirk activated and the two of them found themselves plunged into the depths of night. The boy was the first to notice as he quickly let her go, but it was already too late.

        "No. No, what did you just do?" Airi panicked.

        "The hell are you talking about?! What did you just do?" the boy snapped. He began to look at their surroundings seeing that the area itself even looked different. "Weren't there just apartments here?" he questioned. The inquiry was more to himself than to Airi. The apartments that were once there had disappeared or been reduced to the process of construction. They were standing on a makeshift dirt path rather than concrete.

        "Okay. Just listen for a minute. Hear me out first. I think my quirk just activated," Airi spoke as she calmed herself down. She had his full attention the moment she finished speaking.

        "And your quirk is?" he asked. Airi could hear the discontent in his voice. He already seemed to know that he fucked up.

        "Time travel. I'm not joking. I can barely control it, so it happens at random sometimes." He believed her, but his reaction wasn't all that great.

        "You just put us in another time? You can't fucking do that! That shouldn't be something you have no control over!" he roared. He had grabed her shoulders and slightly shook her as he had his little fit.

        "Well it is! I didn't ask you to be around when it happened! Now please tell me you have a phone on you right now," Airi said before pulling out of his hold. The boy still had his school bag slung over one shoulder, so of course he had his phone with him. "Well? What time is it giving you right now?" He gave no answer as he stared at the screen. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't ignore me. I'm your only way out of this mess!"

        "How far can you travel with that quirk of yours?" he asked, entirely ignoring her regardless.

        "I can't be sure. I don't always have the chance to check the time before leaving again. Why? What does your phone say?" Airi was beginning to worry. Surely she hadn't gone back in time so far that the time wasn't avaliable on his device.

        "You sent us back forty years. You better know how to get us to the right time," he muttered. Sure enough, the time difference was almost exactly forty years when he showed Airi the date his phone gave.

        "How is your phone even able to tell the time? That's so weird," Airi mused. Their moment to figure things out ended when a flash of light hit their area.

        "Hey! What are you two doing here? This area is off limits," someone shouted. The boy cursed before grabbing Airi by the wrist and dragging her along after him as he ran.

        "Hey, that hurt!" she complained although Airi didn't dare to stop running with him. They couldn't get caught in a time like this. Both of them knew this well enough to cooperate for the time being. "I have no idea where we are, but at least no one is around. We need to talk," Airi spoke once they had escaped capture and stopped down an empty side street.

        "Why? All you have to do is send us back. Just hurry up so I never have to see your ass again," the boy scoffed.

        "I can't. It doesn't work like that. I have only been able to force time travel in dire situations. Right now, I'm not in danger, so I doubt I could pull it off. That means we're stuck here for a bit. If you want to go back home, then we need to stick together. I don't want to be responsible for putting anyone else through what I experienced," Airi said. She put her back to the wall behind her and slowly slid down it to sit on the ground.

        "Fine, but you're going to pay for this later. Don't think you're getting away with it," he agreed.

        "I'm okay with that, but I'd at least like to know your name. I'm sure you've got one. I can't just say 'hey you' every time I need to get your attention." Airi watched him as he sat nearby clearly annoyed but at least cooperative.

        "Bakugou Katsuki. And yours is?" he spoke.

        "Tsukino Airi, but call me Airi. I can't go by my last name. It'll get traced to my family. Even though they forgot I exist, I don't want them caught up in anything I do," she replied. "Now here's the plan. We've got to find a decent place to stay the night at. I've got cash, so I could get us a room somewhere. You're going to need to lose the U.A. uniform. You're a walking target with that on."

        "Walking target my ass. Anyone who bothers me is going to end up dead," Bakugou growled.

        "Not my point. If we cause trouble of any kind or even get too much attention, U.A. is going to know about it since you're flaunting their uniform for all to see. We technically don't exist right now, so it'll be better if U.A. weren't involved." Bakugou didn't argue with her, so she assumed he understood her point.

        "And where do you suppose I get more clothes? If I'm such a big target, then don't you think it would be stupid if I went out in the open?" he pointed out.

        "That's why you aren't. I'll find a store and grab something quick. Just write down your clothing size so I don't get something that won't fit." Airi had already thought up a plan the moment she noticed the problem.

        "Don't tell me what to do," Bakugou growled, but he did just as Airi asked anyway. "This is such a pain in the ass," he muttered as he handed her the slip of paper.

        "Yeah, whatever. Just come on. We've got to find a store first." Airi stood up and waited on Bakugou to do the same. Once he did, she began to head through the backroads hoping neither of them were paid much attention to. They had gone relatively unnoticed for a while, yet there was no luck on finding any nearby apparel stores.

        "Hey," Bakugou called. He caught her arm before she passed the alley they were going across. She turned back to see that he was pointing at a store that conveniently sat in the alley's view.

        "Thanks. I'll be right back. Stay here," Airi said.

        "Don't tell me what to do," Bakugou reminded as she left. The store was practically empty, but that was the preferred setting considering the situation. "Something simple. Hopefully he doesn't care too much about what it is. There aren't very many colors in here," Airi thought. She ended up settling on a plain black t-shirt and matching shorts. The purchase was easy since Airi carried her cash on her from the various jobs she did to survive, but the cashier gave her a strange look. She wasted no time in leaving the store and found Bakugou patiently waiting in the same alley she had left him in. "Here. There should be some place for you to change around here," she spoke as she handed him the bag.

        "How much cash do you have left after getting this?" Bakugou asked.

        "Enough. Why? You starting to get trust issues or something?" Airi tilted her head at him as he eyed her. His crimson gaze was filled with the remnants of his thoughts.

        "You act like a fucking criminal, yet you claim not to be one. Who carries that much cash on them all at once?" he said before walking away with his new bag in hand.

        Airi didn't answer him. They came across a set of public bathrooms, taking the risk of being seen so that Bakugou could lose the U.A. uniform. "Where to next? You seem to have everything planned out already, criminal," Bakugou said to her when he returned in his new atttire.

        "I told you to call me Airi. And I actually don't know where to go next. I don't usually stay in hotels for any reason. We need to be careful. We can't just go anywhere," she responded. Bakugou narrowed his eyes at her.

        "This way," he said. He had begun to take charge of the situation. Airi didn't mind at all and followed him without any complaints. They began to stick to the main streets now that Bakugou wasn't visually affiliated with U.A. "Do you live like this all of the time?" he asked. Airi was surprised by his sudden curiousity, but answered anyway.

        "Yeah, mostly. I can't draw too much attention to myself since I never know what time I'll be sent to without warnin-" Airi was cut off by a sudden explosion nearby. Just ahead of them, a villain had made an appearance. The fiend had broken through a wall and into the somewhat populated area. "Don't," she quickly said to Bakugou. She had grabbed the back of his shirt seeing that he looked ready for a fight. He had to be a hero in training since his natural response seemed to be to take action.

        "Quit telling me what to do! I'm not doing anything, so calm your ass down," Bakugou snapped. His outburst caught the villain's attention. It was a beast hardly recognizable as human. Bakugou may have been accustomed to situations like this one, but Airi had no defensive capabilities other than running.

        Again, her quirk activated and the two of them were sent through time. They were plunged into cold weather with snow assaulting them the moment they were aware of the scenery change. "You put us in a fucking snow storm!" Bakugou yelled over the wind.

        "I'm sorry!" Airi yelped. She hugged Bakugou's frame to keep herself from being separated from him in the harsh weather, but that didn't stop the cold. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

        Bakugou led them into the street to get to the alley he spotted on the other side, but he made it no further. Cold meant potentially freezing. Freezing meant death, and Airi did not want to die. Once more, her quirk went active and sent them to another time. All they noticed was headlights and a car horn. Airi's quirk took action again before they could even fully move out of the way. The two of them fell to the sidewalk, startling a few people by their sudden appearance.

        "We almost got hit by a car," Airi noted as she slowly stood. Bakugou picked up his school bag, which he had miraculously kept up with, and pulled Airi along with him. The two of them made a small scene in the area, but people quickly started to ignore them once Bakugou began shooting threatening looks at them.

        "Don't do that shit anymore. You almost got us killed," he ordered. They were both still cold, but the current time period brought warm weather to balance their temperatures.

        "Check the time. The further away from where I need to go, the harder it is for me to get there." Airi expected Bakugou to snap at her for bossing him around, but he did just as she said without a word. Letting her go, he pulled out his phone, and the screen came to life.

        "Closer than last time at least," he said as he held the screen out for her to see. About twenty years from their goal.

        "I hate my quirk so much. We wouldn't be in this stupid situation if it weren't for me. I should have been born quirkless," Airi complained.

        "Quit whining you damn criminal. Being quirkless isn't something you should just wish for. There's no way you can become strong that way. I don't know how he did it, but quirkless people don't just get strong," Bakugou said. Airi got the notion that he wasn't entirely talking about her.

        "I could care less about being strong. That's what heroes are for. They're the strong ones. My quirk can't be used like that. I can't defend myself and it does nothing but cause trouble. I'd much rather be quirkless and depend on someone than have a quirk and still have to depend on someone." She meant every word.

        "You trust in heroes that much?" Bakugou asked.

        "Sure I do! I bet most heroes grew up with perfectly functioning quirks that they tailored to their needs. Those that weren't at least made it past the uncontrollable phase. They were able to overcome whatever their quirk threw at them. That's what makes heroes so awesome. They exploit their quirks for others because they can and want to. It's admirable. I could ever only dream of such a life," Airi remarked as they walked. "And you must be pretty great to be training to become a hero. What exactly is your quirk? I don't think I've ever seen you use it before."

        Bakugou smirked before speaking. "I'll let you see for yourself," he said. He raised his hand with the palm facing up before activating his quirk. Tiny sparks increased to crackles until Airi could see the small explosions within his hand.

        "Bakugou, that's amazing! I've never seen a quirk like that before. That's so much better than mine!" Airi praised. "Do it again! Do it again!"

        "I'm not some circus attraction. Quit treating me like one," he growled. Regardless of his words, he performed the show again. Airi reacted just as enthusiastically as the first time she witnessed the small display of power. "You really like my quirk that much? You haven't even seen all that I can do with it."

        Bakugou continued to brag about his quirk and how he would become the greatest hero. A hero even greater than All Might. Airi was only somewhat familiar with All Might. There was a hero like him before Airi got her quirk. That hero had been a woman and she was just as cool as All Might in her opinion.

        "Hey, Bakugou. I don't mind hearing everything about your quirk and all, but where exactly are we? There's hardly any people over here," Airi noticed.

        "It's past midnight thanks to your quirk throwing us everywhere except where we should be. You really need to learn to control that damn thing. You'll get yourself killed," Bakugou said. "There's a subway station up this way. We'll take it to where my place should be. You're going to get us back to our time when we get there. No excuses. I'm going to make your quirk work myself if I have to."

        "I don't like the sound of that, but I'm too tired to argue. Lead the way," Airi spoke with a shrug. Their original plan was a waste now that her quirk had ruined things. Not only that, but Airi had hoped not to have shared a room with Bakugou even though she had offered.

        Getting to the subway took hardly any time. It was relatively empty, and the trip was rather quick. "I'm starting to get really sick all of a sudden," Airi informed as she and Bakugou left the subway station.

        "Not my problem as long as you can use your quirk to get us to where we need to go." Airi rolled her eyes at his rudeness.

        "And you're supposed to be the next greatest hero," she saltily mumbled. She didn't think her words were heard.

        "Damn right I am. You'll see. You think I'm great now, but I'll be even better then. I'll get rid of all of those villain bastard!" He was most certainly committed to that goal too. Airi could tell without a doubt.

        "Well I'd love to see that day. The world needs good heroes for those who rely on them. I get into so much trouble that I could use a hero myself," Airi said with a laugh. "I think you'd be a cool hero."

        "Regerdless of whether you think so or not, I'm going to make it a reality," Bakugou said.

        "You jackass. Can't you take a compliment?" Airi joked.

        "Shut up, criminal. I don't need your compliments...but I don't mind them at all," he said. He glanced at her to catch sight of her response. Airi almost forgot to rebuke his nickname for her as she looked at him in awe.

        "I told you to call me Airi." It was all she could say cosidering the sudden awkwardness she felt from being around Bakugou.

        "I told you to stop telling me what to do," he shot back.

        "Fair point. That's still not a good enough reason though," Airi muttered. They fell silent as Bakugou led them to where he believed his house should have been. It was during this time that Airi's feeling of sickness worsened beyond tolerance. She began to have a throbbing headache and stopped walking.

        "Hey, Bakugou. I really don't feel too great right about now," Airi informed. They probably weren't far now. They had made it to the sidewalks of Bakugou's neighborhood without any incidents. She didn't want to ruin things, but there was nothing she could do about her symptoms.

        "You dumbass. Don't you know when you've overused your quirk," Bakugou hissed as he caught her. Airi hadn't even realized that she was falling until she was resting safely in Bakugou's protection.

        "Overuse my quirk? That's not possible. I don't even have control over it," she reasoned. Her headache worsened in retaliation of her statements. "My head hurts a lot though," Airi whined as she began to cling to Bakugou who was keeping her upright.

        "What am I supposed to do about it? You're the one that overused your quirk. You'll just have to wait for this to pass. You can't take us back in this shape," Bakugou spoke. He was holding on to her shoulders contemplating whether or not he should allow her to remain in such a close proximity of him.

        "I didn't overuse my quirk. That's never happened before. What if it starts acting up again. At this rate you'll be lost in time just like me," Airi panicked. She knew what it felt like to lose her entire family because of a mere time displacement. It wasn't something she ever wanted anyone to experience.

        "Calm your ass down and listen to me!" Bakugou practically yelled. Airi went still and waited for him to speak. "You're absolutely pathetic. It's really pissing me off. It's obvious why you can't control your quirk. You're afraid of it. And now your denying what you know to be true. You overused it, so now your suffering through the consequences. You said yourself that you're my only way out of this mess. Pull yourself together." His words broke the mentality Airi had been living under. Was she really afraid of her quirk?

        Silence settled in with them as they stood there on the sidewalk. Airi began to take notice of the little details she had been ignoring. Bakugou smelled really nice and he wasn't being the jackass she had met not long ago. That wasn't all she noticed, but she forbid her thoughts from going any further. "Then...I think I can manage one last try. If that's really the reason, then I can probably do this," Airi mumbled. Bakugou was protesting within seconds of her declaration.

        "What do you not understand about the fact that you wore out your quirk?" he seethed as he pulled her off his chest where she had been resting and held her at arms length to stare her in the eyes. Bakugou's words were ignored. Airi had already began to think of how she could force her quirk to work without being in a crisis.

        "I want to take Bakugou home. I'm not afraid of my quirk, and it will work. I will send us back to the right time." They were thoughts of motivation, and somehow, they were just what she needed to willingly use her quirk. Bakugou had been saying something to her, but he went silent as night turned into day. Airi didn't get to tell Bakugou to check the time. The moment she recognized the sunset, she collapsed. Her vision faded, and the last thing she heard before losing conciousness was Bakugou using her name properly.
       
        Upon waking up, the first thing Airi established was her sense of hearing. There was movement nearby. Unaware of her situation, Airi jolted awake and sat up from the hospital bed she was in. "No! Not a hospital! I can't be here!" she thought. The scenery was easily recognized as a hospital room.

        "Shit! Don't go jumping up like that," a voice growled from the side of her bed. Airi looked to her right to see Bakugou standing there with his school bag in hand. He looked like he was leaving, and she had stopped him.

        "Time," Airi demenaded. That was all she wanted to know since she quickly remembered the events that got her in her current predicament.

        "Forget about the time. Whatever you did worked, but it landed your ass in the hospital. You're lucky I got you here before anything worse happened. You damn near killed yourself," Bakugou informed. He turned back towards her. "Next time I tell you to do something, you need to fucking listen," he spoke as he sat in the visitor's chair next to her bed.

        "So it worked. That's good I suppose. You're family wasn't worried right? Did you miss anything important?" She would worry about sneaking out of the hospital once she confirmed that Bakugou was repaid for his troubles despite him having been the cause to begin with.

        "Worry about yourself. I saved your life, so we're even now. You've got other stuff to deal with on your own starting with your identity. The hospital jerks couldn't find any records of you anywhere. You don't exist. How the hell do you explain that?" He seemed more worried than she was.

        "That's a long story for another time. You're here to visit me. Why? I thought you never wanted to see my ass again. Isn't that what you said?" Airi quickly changed the subject. Bakugou's aggitation seemed to skyrocket.

        "Quit asking stupid meaningless questions!" Bakugou barked. "You were out for a week. I had no choice but to show up here!" Airi couldn't help but laugh at him.

        "If you say so. Thanks anyway. And thank you for saving me. I hate involving myself with any kind of place that involves documenting. I wouldn't have ever come to this place myself if I were concious," she said. Airi had only one option now that there would be an attempt at filling out a record.

        "It's what heroes do. I wouldn't be one if I hadn't saved you," Bakugou muttered. He kept his gaze anywhere but on her knowing that she was staring at him.

        "So you're my hero now? Is that what you are?" she joked, but Bakugou gave her a look making it clear that he took her seriously.

        "You need one. You said so yourself, right? Well now you've got one. You better get used to it...Airi," he said.

        "It's not like you to actually use my name. What happened to calling me criminal, huh? Did you finally change your mind on that?" Airi noticed.

        "All Might himself showed up here when I explained to the school what happened. You ended up bringing me back a day after we left. U.A. has you under their protection and I don't get why. You don't even know yourself, do you?" Bakugou explained.

        "No, I don't. I wasn't even aware that All Might knew me! How is that possible when I supposedly don't exist?" She got no answer from Bakugou, but he did speak.

        "Now that you're awake, you should be able to leave here soon. " he said. He stood up to leave. "Stay here. Don't leave this place until they let you," Bakugou ordered as if reading her mind. He left without another word leaving Airi in the room alone.

        "Bakugou Katsuki. I won't forget that name. You better become a great hero like you promised," she said to herself. In her mind, she still intended to run as she always did, but that wouldn't be the case this time around. A new part of her life had begun, yet Airi herself did not realize it.

       
. . .

        "The only person who will be able to save her is you, Bakugou. It's not a coincidence that someone pointed her out to you that day. Her quirk is some kind of glitch. In the wrong hands, she could bring the end of peace as we know it."