You and Bakugou approached the home finally after a long, mostly silent walk. The cool air around you made it feel relaxing, and the soft warmth of Bakugou's heavy jacket felt like being wrapped in a comforting cloud. It even smelled like him. Your cheeks flushed red for a moment but you brushed off the thought as you arrived to the door.

Digging through your pocket, you retrieved a set of keys and unlocked the door. You made sure the jacket was zipped before entering so Inko wouldn't see the blood stains. Bakugou followed behind you as you entered your home with a loud, "Hey Mom! I'm back!"

Inko poked her head from around the kitchen wall and smiled at you. Bakugou closed the door and Inko rushed over to welcome him home. "Oh (Y/N)! You should've told me Bakugou was coming over!" Inko gushed, smiling politely at the boy she still suspected of being your boyfriend.

You rolled your eyes as you marched to your room and waved at Bakugou. Inko didn't hesitate to flood him with questions as you fled.

After closing your door, you threw Bakugou's jacket to your bed and stripped the bloody clothes from your body. Dried blood stuck to your skin and you sighed with exhaust. You took a few face wipes from your dresser and wiped away the rust red hue, disposing the wipes in a trashcan next to your closet. Opening your closet, you plucked out a black tank top and shrugged it on, then layering over it an off-the-shoulder grey knit sweater. You didn't wear it often, but you felt today was as good a day as any to wear it. You shrugged on the jacket once more and left your room, only to see Bakugou and Inko sitting on the couch together.

From the looks of it, Bakugou looked embarrassed while Inko just seemed pleasantly amused. You tilted your head upward, peering over Inko's shoulder and locating a neatly organized set of photos stacked by page in a scrap book. You smiled excitedly as you leaned over the back of their couch and snatched away the book from her hands. "Going over our painfully naive childhood I see? You should have told me. I would have dug Izuku's old All Might costume out of his closet." 

Inko snickered as you returned the book to Bakugou and pointed teasingly at once of his most unflattering pictures. Blue frosting was smeared over his face and hands, chunks of yellow caked squished in his small chubby hands. Izuku was barely visible, shrunken almost completely off the frame to the side. You weren't a part of that friendship of yonder, but you liked to imagine you could have been a part of the trio had Bakugou never gone through such a horrible mood swing throughout middle school. "Izuku used to tell me horror stories about this party. You flew off the handle for no reason and started shucking cake at any person within sight. It's too bad I wasn't around to see." 

Bakugou snapped the collection shut and pushed it away as though the act itself could remove the memory from history. "That was a long time ago." Bakugou muttered. "It's not like I'm doing that anymore." 

"Well certainly your temper hasn't improved." You poked. "Nowadays you throw more people than cake." 

As Bakugou struggled to come to a comeback, you removed his jacket and threw it over his face. Walking about the couch to its front, you sat before Inko on top of the coffee table and moved to change the subject. "Has Bakugou bragged about his role in the upcoming Sports Festival yet, or has he not had the chance to breathe a word between the pages of nostalgia?" You asked with sarcasm hanging to your tone. 

"Oh! I guessed I did kind of just force this old book into his lap. Please tell me Bakugou! How is your training coming along for the festival? I hope you aren't overworking yourself." 

"Don't worry, there's no way I plan on losing out to any of the losers in our class. Especially not that annoying half and half bastard Todo-" 

You slammed your heel into into his foot and growled. Wincing under the hit, Bakugou closed his mouth. Inko seemed caught off guard by his answer, but unexpectedly it turned into a quick warm laughter. "You haven't changed Bakugou." 

'You don't even know.' You thought. 

"So, do you think that you'll be training together once you're completely recovered (Y/N)?" She asked. 

Bakugou looked at you almost instantly, as though he had asked the question himself. Unconsciously you felt heat rise in your cheeks, and you couldn't find the words to explain yourself. "Well. I'm not really opposed to it I guess." You mumbled. "But who knows how long it will be before I'm completely healed? I wouldn't exactly wait up, ya know?"

"Well I hope you will be healed soon enough. The hospital said you would be just fine within a week." Inko reported. 

"That's still a week mom. I wouldn't want to hold anyone back. He could try sparring with Izuku. Or maybe Kirishima is willing to." You suggested. "I'm not really on Bakugou's level anyway." 

"What are you talking about?" Bakugou barked. "You held your own against an actual monster and got away with a scar and some broken ribs. That's pretty damn tough for an idiot like you." 

You laughed quietly and smiled. "Was that a compliment or not? I couldn't quite tell." 

"Of course it was!" He said angrily, making you jump just slightly at his inability to properly convey his intent. Your laughing grew louder and Inko joined in, Bakugou quieting down in an instant and leaning back into the couch. 

As we dissolved into content sighs, the door clicked and a singsong "I'm home mom!" greeted our ears. I checked the clock on the wall and furrowed my brow at the early hour. 

"In here Izuku!" Inko announced. 

As he walked into the room, you instantly noticed his rigid posture and nervous look. He smiled brightly for Inko, easily convincing her that he was okay but years of comforting his easy on anxiety had taught you better. "You're in time to join the gang Izuku! What has you home so early? I thought you were training all of today."  

"I, uh, it got cut short. There was an attack today at that one cafe, and the authorities were sending everyone away until the criminals were apprehended." He bluffed. 

'Liar.' 

Inko frowned. "You were nearby when it happened? You didn't get involved with anything did you?" 

"What?! Of course not!" Izuku laughed nervously. 

"Mom, we're in the hero program. At some point we'll be taking turns out in the field." You pointed out. 

"I know that! I just don't want to see you getting ahead of yourselves. You're students after all. And after (Y/N)'s run in with the villains I don't want you all to risk your lives before you've been trained properly. I can't imagine loosing any of you." Inko confessed. 

"Aw, mom..." You hummed, standing and wrapping your arms around her. Izuku smiled in his adorably, gentle way and joined the embrace, leaving only Bakugou out of the awkward group hug. He leaned away from it, averting his eyes as though he weren't allowed to see group affection. Rolling your eyes, you pulled his arm and tucked him against your side in the hug, wrapping your free arm around his back so he couldn't escape. 

Inko giggled as she returned the hug and looked from one to another, one by one. "I have nothing to worry about with you three. You'll have each others' backs." 

"Yep!" You chirped without missing a beat. 

Izuku released first, then Inko released us and we stood. I removed my arm lock from Bakugou's back but he seemed to linger at your side just a moment longer. You looked up at him and a light dust of pink brushed his cheeks. You elbowed him playfully and snickered. "What? Affection not really your strong suit?" You teased. 

He didn't say anything, only turning away slightly and leaving it silent. You looked to the clock one last time and sighed. "Well,  it's only about 4, so Izuku, do you wanna go out with me and Kacchan?" You suggested. 

They both looked at you in confusion and Inko seemed panicked about the idea. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Inko asked. "What about the attack today?" 

"Like you said, we'll have each other's backs. And I had plans to run by the beach anyway. Rumor has it that a bunch of heroes ganged up and cleared all the garbage that piled up. And if the water is clear, then I can at least train that aspect of my quirk." You explained. 

"You're injured though." Izuku said. 

"You know water is my easiest element, and I promise I won't blend with it completely! Just a hand or something. I need to practice to some degree." You began to plead, focusing your energy on Bakugou since he seemed more likely to give in. "Pleeeeeease?!" 

They didn't respond instantly, but eventually Izuku sighed and gave you a brief nod. You beamed and darted to the door. "Thank you guys! I'll race you there! I'll see you later mom!" 

"Hey wait up! You said we'd stick together!" Izuku called, racing after me. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You sat quietly in the sand and watched as your brother took yet another fighting stance. With your knees pulled up against your chest, you watched as Bakugou stood opposite to Izuku and lowered himself to the ground. You barely processed as they shot into action, their bodies moving so quickly it seemed like they were almost teleporting. 

You could hear the grunts of effort they gave as they clashed, and you watched impatiently from the sidelines. You wanted desperately to get up and dive into the sparring but the limp you still had was enough reminder for you to know you were still in recovery. Upon arriving you had been excited, and Izuku was even excited to see if  you could actually manipulate the water in your state. But the instant you started to adapt you almost lost control of your arm completely and you had to pull it out. So for the few hours extra you had, you watched Bakugou and Izuku train. You checked the time on your phone and looked over the horizon as the sun started to lower itself. 

"It's starting to get late you guys!" You called. "Try to finish up soon!" 

Neither one responded, but you took no offense to it. They each would get so in to the zone that it was like they didn't even understand language at all. You sighed, shaking your head as you grinned beneath your bed. Pushing yourself up and standing, you stretched your legs and yawned. Looking up at the boardwalk, you glanced back at your companions. "They're going to be exhausted..." You hummed. "I should go grab some refreshments for before we go home." 

After a quick glance back, you started your way towards a long row of vending machine and dug your wallet from your pocket. Plucking out a handful of coins, you slowly collected a few drinks to bring back to your friends. Your ears twinged at the sound of the coins falling down the machine slot, but in an instant goosebumps covered your arms. As you selected your third can, you could hear footsteps approaching at one side of you. Looking up, you easily located the culprit. 

There was a figure approaching quickly, their build obviously masculine. He wore baggy black sweatpants and a overly-big sweatshirt that concealed hood. You couldn't tell anything about his features, but something felt off about him. Turning away, you tucked the drinks within your arms and started to head back to your friends. The hairs on your neck stood on end with your back to him, and you picked up your speed. 

However, as you picked up speed, so did they. His footsteps hastened and you started into a good jog. He did the same and you growled. You couldn't truly run on your limp, but you moved as fast as you could. It wasn't fast enough however. 

You felt a hand close around your arm and yank you aside, another clamping over your hand as your back hit a wall. You squirmed about violently, trying to escape their grasp and dropping the drinks you had purchased. His breath was uncomfortably cold, and you shivered. "Be quiet. Trust me." He whispered, sounding familiar but being to hushed to distinguish. "You were being followed." 

'What?!' 

The moment passed and you slowed your breathing, listening intently beyond the body that pressed you to a wall. You couldn't quite tell anything from the sounds of the ocean and the city not too far away, you suspected you'd die soon. Finally he removed his hand with a seemingly frustrated growl. "Where did they go?" He asked. 

"Um, excuse me, but uh, WHO ARE YOU?!" You snapped angrily. "Why the hell did you follow me?!" 

He seemed confused for a bit, but seemed to have an realization and shook his head rapidly. "Oh. I'm so sorry (Y/N), I forgot I was still wearing my hoodie." He explained. You opened your mouth to make a witty remark as you picked up the fallen beverages, but fell quiet almost instantly as he lowered his hood. 

"Todoroki?!"