"You fucking asshole!" You bit, punching him weakly with your only available arm, the other almost toppling with your drinks. "You scared me shittless!"

He seemed unphased by your weak offensive, but apologized again. However his eyes still seemed to follow your surroundings. "I'm sorry (Y/N). I swear I saw someone lurking around after you." He said.

"And how did you know it was me?" You asked.

He hesitated for a moment, then gestured to your scar. You fell quiet, blushing as you felt yourself shrink. "Oh..." you hummed. "Well then, I guess I should thank you then..."

"It's alright. I happened to be out and saw something suspicious. As long as you're unharmed all is well." He reported.

You smiled thankfully. For a moment you just sat in silence, no one knowing how to continue the conversation. For a little bit you gazed out at the lapping ocean and felt your body relaxing. However, the scene was broken when you heard your name booming over the vast beach. "(Y/N)?! Where the hell did you go?!" You heard Kacchan most clearly, but somewhere under that you heard Izuku's more sheepish calling.

Todoroki seemed confused for a moment as he looked at you. "Is that Bakugou yelling?" He asked.

You nodded and laughed. "And Izuku if you listen closely. I better get back before Kacchan blows a fuse and turned half the beach to glass." You teased.

"Let me escort you, in case anyone shows up again." He offered.

"Don't trouble yourself." You said. "I'd hate to make you late to get home."

"Trust me, my father won't care as long as he thinks I'm training. Consider it an apology for frightening you earlier."

You rolled your eyed and smiled. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. I can't save you if you and Kacchan get in a fight." You warned.

"I'll try my best to avoid it." He assured.

You turned briskly and walked back in the direction of your brother and co. "Over here!" You hollered, effectively quieting them. Though it was getting darker, you could tell it was them as they jogged towards you. You stopped at a bench beneath a lamp post and held out a drink to Izuku as he approached.

"Oh! That's where you went!" Izuku mused. "You should've said something."

"I can handle a snack run by myself. You wouldn't be able to hear me over Kacchan anyway. And besides, I found a friend!" You chirped. "Ran into Todoroki on the way back!"

They each took their beverages, eyeing both you and Todoroki. "You still need to be careful (Y/N). You can't defend yourself right now." Izuku warned.

You rolled your eyes and huffed, opening your drink as aggressively as you could. "Izuku you offend me. I can fight without my quirk." You pointed out.

"But you are still injured physically. It's best to be careful." Todoroki admitted.

"Hey! You can't gang up on me like that!" You joked, letting yourself smile warmly. You looked at Kacchan, but he seemed stubbornly quiet, looking anywhere but Todoroki or me. "What do you think Katsuki?" You asked, making sure you took his attention.

His gaze darted to you, as though you had broken his trance. "What?" He asked.

"I could handle myself in my current state right?" You reiterated.

"Well, you handled yourself well enough at the cafe today." He said bluntly. Todoroki's eyes grew as you blushed with embarrassment.

"Kacchan you idiot! Todoroki doesn't know about that! That part didn't make the news! On purpose..." You snarled.

"You and Bakugou were involved in the attack today?! Aren't you still recovering?!" Todoroki nagged.

"I didn't intentionally choose to eat at a heist location! Kacchan and I just stopped by because it was near the graveyard!" You explained.

Todoroki's face fell slightly. "You were spending the day with Bakugou then?" He asked, almost sounding apprehensive.

"Well, sorta..." You muttered. "I started the day following Izuku around because I can't train yet. But then I went to the flower shop to get a boutique for mom. Then when I got to her grave Kacchan was already there, then the cafe thing, he helped me cover up the blood on my clothes so Inko wouldn't see it, then we all came to the beach to train, then the soda thing happened and now I'm here." You sputtered, leaving out details.

For moment he processed what you said, then nodded. "It makes sense."

You sighed, looking down at your phone and checking the time. On the dim, cracked display, the numbers 8:56 blinked at you. Your eyes slid towards the sky.

"It's actually getting kinda late to be training. Why don't we all turn in soon?" You suggested. "And Todoroki, can you message me about the thing that happened earlier?"

It didn't even take a second thought as Todoroki nodded, then hesitated. "I don't have your phone number." He said.

"Oh, then let me see your phone." You offered.

"I don't have it on me." He confessed, and you pouted.

You thought for a moment then smiled. "Give me your arm." You instructed, reaching into your back pocket and plucking from it a random, purple Sharpie.

"Why do you have a Sharpie in your pocket?" Izuku asked.

"Why don't you have a Sharpie in your pocket?" You retorted as you scribbled your number on Todoroki's arm, emphasizing it with cartoon-esque hearts and stars, with a little neko smiley face.

Todoroki stared at his arm for a moment then smiled, pulling his sleeve over it to ensure it wouldn't be rubbed away. "I'll try my best to remember." He assured.

You smiled at him and waved briefly before turning to lead the boys home. "Bye Todoroki!" You chirped. "Make sure to train hard so I get to fight you in the tournament!"

He chuckled, nodded before turning as well and jogging away. His gaze flashed towards Kacchan for a moment, but it quickly passed.

Izuku walked to your left side, Kacchan flanking you on the other. "What was that about?" He asked, seeming irritated.

"What? My phone number?" You asked. "He thought he saw something earlier that concerned me. I just wanted to know what he saw." You shrugged. "Just normal stuff."

"You think you may have been targeted by someone?" Izuku pondered, making you giggle.

"Of course not. The only time the public ever really saw my quirk was when the villain attack occurred and I got caught up. But the entire class was broadcast and I looked like a victim more than anything. If anyone was going to be targeted by mysterious people, it would be one of the stronger students." You observed.

"Still, what if it was someone targeting you?! You should be careful, just in case. At least while you're recovering." Izuku pled.

"Relax! I promise I won't go all vigilante while I'm healing. You just focus on your own training.  The sports festival will be a great chance to impress some candidates." You elbowed Izuku playfully, then switching to Kacchan. "You too! I bet the festival will get you a lot of good spotlight."

"Why should I care?" Kacchan growled. "I only care about proving I'm not some sorry excuse for a hero. I wanna prove I'm the strongest of class 1-A!"

You rolled your eyes, flicking his nose as you shook your head. "Kacchan, this will kickstart your career if it goes well. Don't throw that away on petty things like that." You lectured. "Besides, you'll have to go through me anyway. Don't think you'll defeat me so easily."

You smiled at him and he hesitated to reply. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut and turned violently down a new road. "This is my stop. See you losers later." He muttered.

He stomped off stubbornly, making you smile in a childish way. "Goodbye Kacchan!" You yelled, making sure he heard. "Have a wonderful night darling~!"

Before he could react, you took Izuku by the wrist and fled, jogging away in a hurry. Izuku chuckled, pulling away his wrist and easily matching your crippled pace. "Your leg is doing better then?" He guessed, glancing down at your disappearing limp.

"Better, but I still need a few days to recover my quirk. I'm scared I won't have any time to train it before the festival..."

"Don't worry." Izuku cheered. "You'll recover quick! You always do."

You beamed. Soon after you returned home. After eating a quick dinner and finishing the remaining dishes, you retired to your room. You looked at your bloodied clothes from earlier and cursed yourself mentally, realizing that the blood would more than likely be too stained to save.

You collected them in a tight wad and checked all the crevices to make sure you hadn't left anything valuable among the pockets. After retrieving a few wadded up receipts and some small coins, you closed your hands around the soft head of something and gasped. Fishing your hand closer, you plucked away the objects and looked at it sadly. It was the rose you had fawned over so affectionately. The stem had fallen victim to the blood, but its petals seemed miraculously unchanged.

You sighed a breath of relief and shoved the remaining clothes into a trashbag. Creeping from your room, you collected an old mason jar and fill it with water from the tap. Bringing it back to your room, you plopped the crimson bloom into the water and left it on your dresser. 

After turning out the lights, you flopped into your bed, eyes still on the flower. You couldn't help but smile at the fond memories of you childhood you had earlier taken. To some degree, you still mourned the fact you never knew Kacchan before you met Izuku, before he had his quirk, but in the back of your thoughts you didn't care. There was no use milling around a past you couldn't change.

Your eyes fell shut and you soon drifted to sleep, greeted by an empty, and peaceful slumber. 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You didn't see Kacchan again over the break, his presence disappearing almost immediately. Izuku tried to calm your nerves by telling you he had put his everything into training.

Though you felt disappointed, you ignored the fact and followed the example. Soon after you recovered your quirk, and bit by bit, your strength. Some days alone, some days following Izuku, you put yourself back into the swing of things with intense training. Your wounds faded away, the scar on your cheek fueling your determination to do become stronger.

"I'm gonna win." You muttered. "Or do my damnedest trying."