༉˚*ೃ ¹⁵. 𝐀𝐋𝐋'𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋!

𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈 𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐄'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 really fucking hurt. It was like that time she'd run into that signpost at full speed on the street, knocked herself out cold by humiliatingly smacking face-first into the pole she'd failed to see. Except that had been in early middle school, and then she'd just woken up with ice and a concussion. Now, it felt like someone was rather kindly drilling a hole through the top of her skull, and her left eye socket in particular.

          Something was nudging her shoulder insistently. It felt like a hand, but Tsubame had no idea where she was or what was going on other than she was in pain.

          Who the hell was waking her up?

          Disoriented, Tsubame's eyes cracked open. Blinked a few times through the bleariness. She was staring straight up at a white ceiling, back against a soft mattress. "What the fuck?" Immediately, at her words, the wrinkled disapproving face of Recovery Girl appeared over her vision. "Oh shit," said Tsubame at her swearing slip-up, before her eyes went blown wide. The elderly woman blinked, still not looking pleased. "I mean—! Oh no. Oh... crap. No—! Oh dammit..." She stared up at the elderly nurse, who tutted at her language, pursing her lips.

          Recovery Girl was an old woman with a kind face who Tsubame had heard was pretty much the guardian angel of the school. Someone with a healing Quirk must have been heavily sought after by training heroes. Now, she seemed to be scribbling something down on a clipboard as Tsubame blinked up at the ceiling.

          "Uh... I'm in the infirmary?" Tsubame hadn't been in a hospital for years and years, but she'd recognise the strong artificial scents of cleanliness and anaesthetic anywhere. It always made her feel on-edge and out of place, though that was once again her animal nature talking. Despite herself, she wrinkled her nose, and found it flaring sharp pain through her face. Ah... Still broken.

         Recovery Girl leaned back, forcing Tsubame to tilt her head a little. She gave Tsubame a look like she didn't know what to do with her. There was a smile, at least. Then, her lips went a little thin. "You were brought to me by your friends and Midnight." Tsubame blinked and shifted her fingers, finding that they, too, hurt. Overexertion aches sucked. My friends... Is the rest of class alright? She suddenly found herself aware that she'd only seen a third of her class during the entire attack. Where had Kaminari been? Aoyama Yuga? Tokoyami Fumikage? There were twenty, and most of their whereabouts in the USJ were unaccounted for in Tsubame's mind. Still, the way Recovery Girl looked at her made Tsubame hold her tongue. "In addition to multiple light contusions and a cut on your thigh, you came to me with a broken nose, three broken ribs, a fourth light fracture, and a punctured lung. It was fortunate you were brought to me when you were."

          Tsubame blinked. Three broken ribs? A punctured lung? What the hell?

          The short old lady was sitting on a stool, Tsubame realised, to give her a height advantage of the girl reclined in bed. Now, she pursed her lips. "Your torso was mostly healed by my Quirk, which is why you're likely not feeling the full extent of pain. Unfortunately, my Quirk requires stamina to function—which you don't much of." Tsubame blinked. Oh, her Quirk. Apparently, it making her exhausted would have setbacks on going to the nurse. Recovery Girl continued kindly, "I tried my best to fix your ribs and lung first, as they were the most threatening injury. You'll need to return to me on daily check-ups until I can fully fix your nose and black eye too."

          Tsubame had a black eye? It certainly felt like it. Groaning, Tsubame reached up a sore arm and pressed her fingers to the injury. Recovery Girl might have fixed up her torso, but her muscles were exhausted from all the fighting she'd done. Sure enough, the skin around her eye socket ached, even more tender to the touch. It was no wonder that her gaze through that side was slightly lidded. Everything was bandaged up. "Thanks," the fifteen-year-old uttered, squeezing her nose with her fingers despite the pain and wondering if the rest of her class and the teachers got out alright. She'd held out on unconsciousness for as long as she could.

          Recovery Girl gave her another long look. "Your blood sugar levels are unusually low. Here, have some candy." Several gummies were dropped into Tsubame's hand, the fifteen-year-old who blinked at the small sugary bears lying on her palm. Huh? Shrugging, with her head still on the fluffy hospital bed pillow, Tsubame chucked the candy into her mouth. They delighted her sweet tooth. On cue, Tsubame's stomach rumbled. Oh, she was so hungry.

          Here, she was sheltered behind a pull-around curtain and lying on her back—wrapped up in bandages and safe with the weight of warm blankets over her. She'd just been fed candy. A stream of cosy, afternoon light was dripping through a window somewhere in the room, pooling over the curtain barrier and casting her skin in a mellow glow. It was very, very easy for her cat-like eyes to fall closed. To just let her limbs relax again—those limbs that were still transformed, her body too out of energy to return to normal. A bird sang from somewhere outside. Sleepy... Warm...

          "My, my." Recovery Girl's voice woke her from the rouse of sleep, yellow eyes blinking slowly open. It was so warm, though... "You've fallen asleep again." She was peering at Tsubame with something akin to concern. Her kind, elderly eyes were narrowed slightly, wrinkles in her face deepening. She had a somewhat squeaky voice, in an old, familiar kind of way. Like the old grandmothers that were in the local supermarket whenever Tsubame went to pick up groceries. "I understand if you want to rest here for longer, but I'll have to inform your parents—all the families of your class were contacted to come pick up their children." The rest of the class is here? Shit... my head.

          "Parent," Tsubame corrected in her sleepy haze, without even bothering to consider what she was saying. Her head felt light and empty. "That would be my dad. Oh, crap... They must be worried." In her haze of much-needed sleep, she'd totally forgotten about the total panic that her family must be going through. What the hell had U.A. sent them? Did they know she was safe? In a moment of total determination, Tsubame blinked and rolled her head to the side, peering around through the hospital room. She was surrounded by protective curtains that shielded her bed from anything outside the small proximity, so she wasn't able to see if anyone else was present in the larger room.

          She propped up one of her legs, bending at the knee, in an attempt to get up. Forced one of her sore arms underneath her. "You need to be careful," the old nurse warned, putting her hands out in caution. Damage control. "You have no stamina, you're exhausted, and your body is very weak." It would be very embarrassing if Tsubame passed out on the hospital floor.

          "'s okay," Tsubame said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, head feeling heavy. "I've got it."

          She said the words, leaned forward in an attempt to get up with her tiger claws tangling in the white sheets, pitched forward helplessly, and instantly hit her head on the metal bedframe. Ouch. Fuck. It made a dull clanging noise and Tsubame lifted a hand to rub at the point of contact, as the school nurse clicked her tongue. "Hero Course students..." the old woman muttered to herself, head shaking.

          "Sorry, Recovery Girl," the student said as she palmed at the new red mark on her forehead, just above her brows. She gave the teacher a lopsided grin. Eyes tired. Face relaxed. "Thanks for healing me up. I'll head off now." The school nurse tutted again, muttering something about the 'cruelty of putting children in the line of fire, especially that green-haired boy', which, Midoriya—? But Tsubame was frowning, focusing on how she was going to get out of bed. She opted just to do it all at once. Swung her legs around so they hung off the side, pressed her hands down into the sheets and hopped. Her bare feet, one of which had also been bandaged up, were icy on the cold tiled floor.

          Ow, ow, ow. A sharp feeling went through the left side of her torso, tiny knives, and Tsubame couldn't help but wince and gasp inwards through her teeth, hands moving to clasp gently at the injury. While nowhere near as agonising as before, it was undoubtedly still there. Forced her to inhale deeply before returning her breathing to normal.

          "Poor thing," commented Recovery Girl with a sigh, frowning. "This should have never happened." Then, she handed Tsubame a white paper bag—with a little pink cross on the front and a smiling chibi sticker of Recovery Girl's face. Cute. "There's some ibuprofen and a care sheet for your ribs and lung in here. Even though I did my best, your energy levels are so catastrophically low that healing you any further could have possibly resulted in death." Tsubame blinked. Death?! "I understand that these were terrible circumstances, but remember to be more careful in the future. Your ribs still need time to recover, and that means no strenuous exercise for at least two days, and lots of rest. Hopefully the tissue of your lung has not been scarred. I'll be in contact to organise times for you to come back in for more healing sessions." Her expression was pinched, as Tsubame stood and swayed. "I recommend you go straight to bed."

          It was nice to have an adult worry about her other than just Tsubame's father. Standing at her full height, Recovery Girl only really came up to Tsubame's waist, a woman of short stature with a bent back—and her tight grey bun pulled the wrinkles in her face back a little. She seemed sweet. U.A. students must come to her a lot, in all kinds of shapes. Though, from what Tsubame could piece together, this must have been the only attack within the school for, at least, a very, very long time. How unfortunate they'd been caught up in it.

          Nodding in agreement, Tsubame rubbed over her face with her hands. "Are— are the rest of my classmates here too?" She yawned once again, but smothered it into her palm, not wanting to be rude. The edge of Tsubame's brows were tight. "Everyone is okay, right...?" Her eyes, heavy, blinked exhaustedly. Knuckles rubbed at them. She was going to fall asleep standing up... Every muscle in her body ached.

          Recovery Girl had a hand on Tsubame's hip, clearly also worrying she was going to pass out. "The children who have been cleared are out in the waiting room. Most have already gone home."

          Gone home... Tsubame had been hoping to see them, just to make sure they were okay. She hadn't known them for long, but they'd be her classmates for the next three years, right...? There was nothing more important to a hero than having a strong set of allies. The idea of growing and maturing into Pros alongside them... It did something to Tsubame's heart.

          Tsubame must have been thinking too long, forgetting to reply in her fatigued state, because Recovery Girl continued, "Ideally, I'd like to keep you here longer. But I understand you want to see your family." Then, she glanced down at the clipboard in her hand—Tsubame couldn't see very well but caught a glimpse of her name at the top of the page—and ticked something off. "I'm sorry, dear, but I need to check on Midoriya-kun." Her hand reached out and pulled the curtain out of the way.

          "Midoriya...?" questioned Tsubame softly, brows pinching and her eyes shutting as she concentrated, trying to remember what had happened in the end of the fight. She'd been half-asleep for most of it. A tender feeling squeezed at her heart. "Is he—?"

          Recovery Girl took her arm and led her past the curtain, into the wider rectangular room where there were several other white beds lining the walls. They were all empty. "I understand your concern, but you need to go home and rest right away. The last thing you need is an injury from passing out in my office. All of your classmates are safe." Safe. It felt like such a lovely word, in that moment. Something heavenly. While Tsubame was in her exhausted stunned state, Recovery Girl gently pushed her forward again. "Make sure to get a full eight hours of sleep, or more. Your body needs time to recover." It got Tsubame walking towards the door, past the empty beds. "You just need to go out that door and head right down the corridor to reach the waiting room. I'm sure there will be people to help you, but your family will be waiting outside of the U.A. gates to pick you up." Then, with her hand on the door handle, she gave Tsubame a serious look. "When you get home, sleep." She spoke it like she was used to healing students and then having them pass out when they tried to push themselves too hard too fast again.

          Tsubame didn't want to embarrass herself and be one of those students. So she just nodded dutifully. "Thank you, Recovery Girl." Midoriya, Midoriya... What happened with Midoriya...?

          Before she could ask anything else, Recovery Girl opened the door.

          And there, standing out in the corridor, were two boys.

          The girl had only just caught a glimpse of a flash of red and blond before she was in someone's arms. "Akatsuki!" Kirishima yelled the words in her ear, wrapping her up tight and almost lifting her off of her feet—the hug strong and warm. She couldn't help but gasp, and then smile, and then laugh, just a little. Threw her arms up over his shoulders and held him back.

          "Kirishima!" Her voice was a bit pathetic, but it gave the same effect.

          And this... Is this what it felt like to be held? That thought would have been embarrassing had she not been so comfortable and warm in Kirishima's grip. Is this what it felt like to be held by someone who wasn't her father or her sisters? She rested the jut of her chin into the crook of his neck, forcing her head to tilt back a little. Her balance was off, and she almost tipped onto her ass but Kirishima caught her. Held onto her tight. "I'm so glad you're okay, Akatsuki-chan!" he exclaimed. Hugs weren't a thing that were freely given to Tsubame. She'd always been a little too much.

          All she could do was hug back. Hugged him back so tight. Gonna fall asleep... "Thank you for taking care of me, Kirishima," she said softly.

          "Hey, don't worry about it!" the red-haired boy barked with a worried kind of grin when he pulled away.

          She was hugged by Kaminari next, which was another surprise, as his arms crushed around her fragile, healing ribs. Ouch. She ignored the pain in favour of shock. People wanted to hug her...? It was a nice hug—tighter than Kirishima's, a little more intense and sharp due to his thinner figure, and he really clung on. Squeezed the life out of her. "I'm alright, Kaminari-kun..." Tsubame offered him. It must have been scary seeing one of your classmates in such a state—before she'd been healed.

          The blond pulled away. Tsubame's hair puffed up from the slight layer of static that seemed to be connected to his skin. "Ahhh!" Kaminari sighed dramatically, throwing his head back. "Of course you are! But you seriously had us worried there for a second."

          "Yeah!" affirmed Kirishima with a determined, clenching fist. "Sero and I almost knocked over the principal trying to get you here."

          She chuckled a little at his words, even though it hurt her ribs. "I take it I slept for a little longer than ten minutes," she grinned sheepishly at Kirishima, rubbing with a paw at her nose.

          Kaminari Denki shrugged for him, and there was a line of scratches on his cheek that hadn't been fixed up yet. "Ah, it was only for an hour or so," he sighed, voice high-pitched and quick-paced like always. Fuck, that made sense why she was so tired. Tsubame rubbed at her eyes and resisted the urge to just curl up on the floor and nap. Kaminari rubbed at his forehead. "I got hit pretty bad anyway. Sheesh."

           "Are— are you okay?!" Tsubame fussed, grabbing Kaminari a little too harshly by the collar of his jacket and yanking him towards her so quickly that he was hardly on his feet anymore. Her claws dug in a little. They were practically nose-to-nose, because Tsubame had never really had any awareness of personal space, and her yellow eyes were sharp and narrowed as they frantically searched over him for any outstanding injuries, holding his costume tight. Only his toes touched the ground.

          "Oh, yep!" Kaminari exclaimed with a bright, toothy grin. He practically shone. Matched her energy even though they were right in each other's faces. "Nothing's broken or anything!" Washed over with relief, Tsubame dropped him—his feet landing on the linoleum floor once again. She sighed. Okay and safe. Still, Kaminari seemed to not let it go, because he slunk forward with a cheeky smile. "But you're worried? Huh?" His voice raised further in pitch as he goaded her on, putting an index finger and a thumb in that thoughtful pose beneath his chin. Kaminari's eyes shut coolly as he made a crooked grin. "I bet you would've thought I looked super cool out on the battlefield!"

          "Didn't Yaoyorozu-san and Jirou have to save you?" pointed out Kirishima with a smile.

          Betrayed, Kaminari shot him a pained look. "Oi! Why are you ruining this for me?!"

          Tsubame couldn't help but snicker, yet tugged at the edge of Kaminari's jacket sleeve anyway. It was faux leather, a nice material, and seemed like the kind of thing she'd play with when she was bored. But now, Tsubame pulled on it like a small child to get his attention. She hid a deep yawn in the crook of her elbow. Shit, she couldn't stop yawning. Her eyelids were heavy. Tsubame blinked, looked up at the blond and the redhead. "... You guys have been here the whole time?" Her head was cocked a little, like a lost puppy.

          "Yeah, of course!" Kaminari exclaimed as he pointed an index finger sharply at her. "We had to make sure you were okay!" Light electricity crackled over his hand. Tsubame had not let go of his sleeve.

          Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck. There was dirt in his hair. "Each of us had to be checked up too. And we wanted to wait. Most of the class has already gone home, though—the others are still awaiting medical attention. It's taken Recovery Girl a while to get around to everyone." Everyone... Was that my fault? Or is it Midoriya, Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen too? What about All Might? Her eyes felt so heavy. God... if she could just find a warm pool of sun under a window right now and curl up beneath it... The dream. She'd stretch her back like a cat and everything.

          When her gaze slipped back into focus, she noticed Kaminari staring at her intently. He was blinking at her, like he was trying to figure something out. "Did she even heal you?" It was then that she realised he was looking at her bruised eye and broken nose. They both were.

          "Hm? Oh, yeah, my ribs..." whispered Tsubame, rubbing once again at her eyes. Shit... She really was tired. Her black eye ached. "What... what about..." She tried to gather her thoughts. Neither of the two boys in front of her looked too hurt. Just mostly shaken up. "You guys seem... okay..." She still had the instinctual urge to check them over multiple times. "Are the others...?"

          Kirishima smiled with his sharp teeth, "Some of them are waiting out there!" He pointed down the hall.

          At Tsubame's sleepy blinks, Kirishima grabbed hold of her forearm and tugged her along energetically. "Come on!" He was giving her that lopsided grin again. How was he so energetic even after everything...?

         The moment they pushed out into the small infirmary waiting room, Tsubame was being attacked. Well—attacked as in someone their arms thrown around her middle and nearly bowling her over. More hugs... What the hell?

         "Tsubame-chan!" Ashido Mina practically wailed it, attaching herself to Tsubame like some kind of octopus, clinging on impossibly tight. She was shaking Tsubame by the shoulders.

         Behind her appeared another figure. "Akatsuki-san, we're glad you're alright!" Yaoyorozu Momo's voice was always so sincere and proper, soft-spoken too. Now, she clenched her hands into fists and peered at the shorter girl worriedly. She looked notably less put together than usual. Her hero costume was fairly ripped and torn.

         "Thank you, Yaoyorozu-san," said Tsubame with a smile. "I'm happy to see you're okay too."

         She squeezed Mina back softly, comforting the girl who was babbling unintelligible words and seemed to be on the verge of tears. All Tsubame caught were the snippets of, "Tsubame-chan!" and, "crushed!", and "giant brain villain!" between Mina practically shaking the life out of her. Her arms were crushing around Tsubame with a tight grip. She wants to hug me too...? It was like Tsubame was experiencing several forms of whiplash at once.

         Aside from Mina and Yaoyorozu, and with Kirishima and Kaminari behind her, the only other people in the small waiting room were Jirou and Shouji. The former was sitting on the back of a couch, feet on the cushion and listening to music with her earphone jack lobe plugged directly to her phone. Her eyeliner-framed gaze lifted to Tsubame. The other boy, Shouji, was sitting on one of the chairs like he was supposed to, with his feet against the floor. Both seemed rather reserved compared to Mina's energy. At the eye contact, Jirou hopped off of the couch and onto the floor, walking over to greet her. Tsubame disconnected from Mina, who seemed to have calmed down somewhat and was now receiving head-pats from the DNA Alteration girl.

         "Well," said Tsubame in an attempt to get a positive spin on the frankly incredibly horrible situation, "at least there's kind of a plus side. We've officially had our first bonding near-death experience as hero students!" She slung her arm around Yaoyorozu and Kaminari at either side of her, the latter who grinned brightly and the former who seemed surprised at the sudden contact. Tsubame gave them a toothy smile, a little on the wild side, with flashing yellow eyes that in some lights seemed more animal than human. Her body was a bit sagged—leaned on her two classmates for support. She was tired as hell.

         "Yeah," said Jirou. "You could say that..." She wiped at some of the red face-paint on her cheek and smeared it beneath her knuckles. Still, she offered Tsubame a small smile.

         Shouji also stood, towering over everyone else in the room by several feet at least, but he seemed mellow. She blinked up at him as he approached. "We got your backpack from the classroom, Akatsuki-san," he told her, stretching his hand holding her yellow bag out to her. "Your uniform's in there."

         Something in Tsubame's heart twinged, and her grinning, wild front slipped as her face took on a more tender expression. "Wow, really?" When Yaoyorozu hummed in agreement, and Shouji nodded. Tsubame's heart was squeezing, squeezing as she took the bag from Shouji Mezou. "That's so kind. Thank you so much, all of you." If Tsubame locked gazes with any of them, she might get teary. Her fingers pulled open the zip of her backpack, and, sure enough, everything was there. Even her phone and clothes she'd left in the change rooms. One of the girls must have gotten it for her. This... this... A deep breath shuddered in through her mouth. Then, she abruptly looked up. "Are you— are any of you guys hurt?" she murmured, her eyes glancing over them as her teeth worried at her lower lip. Jirou Kyouka was the closest at her left, and so Tsubame didn't really think when she dashed forward and grabbed hold of Jirou's hands, gripping them tight as she checked her frantically over for any wounds. Then, Tsubame looked around, still holding on as the Earphone Jack Quirk girl seemed to be recovering from shock. "None of you are injured, are you?" Jirou slunk back from the physical contact, but Tsubame didn't really notice. She stared with big, searching eyes.

         "Most of us got out with just some scratches and bruises," explained Kirishima, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think Midoriya was pretty bad though."

          An instant frown overcame Tsubame's features. "Midoriya...?" Just as she was about to ask him to elaborate further, movement from outside the exit door—the one that fed into the school hallway—caught her attention. A flash of white and red hair. "Oh—" Tsubame's breath caught in her throat, and then she was moving. Took off in a staggering run towards the hall. "Todoroki-san!" Her right knee buckled, completely out of exhaustion, and Tsubame embarrassingly lurched to catch herself on the doorframe. What the fuck?! She was angry with herself, and her own body. Resisted the urge to sink her strong teeth into the wooden frame out of frustration, and then thought, you're not an animal, Tsubamemochi, just keep moving. When she stuck her head out of the doorway and to the right, he was still walking. Hadn't heard her. She stumbled after him, tiredness and pain in her torso forcing her to trip ungracefully. Tsubame caught herself on the wall, and said, "Todoroki-san!" At the sound of his name, the dual-haired boy turned and glanced at her with reserved eyes and a stoic face.

          He blinked at her. "Hello."

          Tsubame grinned. Wow, a 'hello' from Todoroki Shoto! That's cool. It wasn't really anything spectacular, because his expression was void of every possible emotion, but it was something. Progress? The girl let out a pleased breath and smiled. "Hey, we made a good team out there." She looked at him hopefully, trying her very best to beam despite her black eye and broken nose. And, well, the fact she had to lean against the wall.

          "Yes," Todoroki Shoto said, face passive as always so Tsubame could absolutely not decipher what he was thinking. A pause. "What's your name?"

          Embarrassment hit Tsubame like a very small freight car, her stomach doing an awkward flip before dropping. Then she frowned. Seriously? She wasn't the best at remembering names either, but why'd he have to say it to her face like that after they'd just fought a horde of murderous villains side by side? Todoroki could have at least pretended to have known or cared who she was. Crossing her arms over her chest and levelling him with a firmly disgruntled look, she said, "It's Akatsuki Tsubame." Did he not know her name that entire time?

          "Oh," he vocalised plainly. "I'm Todoroki Shoto."

          There was no emotion visible on his expression, even when Tsubame's cat-like yellow eyes narrowed. "I know," she said, blinking. He blinked too. Tsubame tried to brush it off, even though an uncomfortable burr had stuck its way between her ribs, because, really? Had he no respect for her—was that it? That stung, a little. "Anyway, like I said, um, we fought well together. Thank you." She rubbed at her right eye, biting down a yawn, and gazed at Todoroki gratefully. Even despite what he'd just said to her, he'd saved her life at that very beginning. And, well, more than once. But Tsubame liked to think that she'd had his back too.

          He nodded to her, lacking any feeling. Then Todoroki Shoto's eyes seemed to examine her critically. "Just so you know, I'm at U.A. to be a hero, not to make friends." The look he levelled her with was steady and aloof, ice behind his gaze. A little... cold? Tsubame's mouth opened, then shut again. What kind of response was that? Before she could formulate a response—what was she supposed to say?—Todoroki had turned around was walking in the opposite direction. Continuing his journey down the hallway. "I have to go see my sister."

          Tsubame's face made a funny, pinched expression that was a bit between disbelief and a pout, her lips pursing and her brows pulling upwards, as he turned and walked down the U.A. staircase without another word. Just gone. From behind her, footsteps bounded up, and a pink blur hopped to a stop at her side. Ashido Mina seemed excited, glancing up at Tsubame with a smile and then back at where their male classmate had been standing moments before. Bounced on the balls of her own feet and cocking her head with wide eyes. "Was that Todoroki-san? Talking to you?!"

          Tsubame blinked after his retreating figure. "He forgot my name then told me he wasn't interested in making friends."

          A sound left the back of Mina's throat: a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. She stared at where Todoroki had disappeared for hard and long, conspiring eagerly. "You think he's a heartbreaker?"

          Tsubame couldn't help but snort a little, despite being entirely distracted by the messages on her phone. "I don't think so. He's kind of rude."

          Her pink-haired friend pouted, resting her chin atop Tsubame's shoulder. "Ah, that's too bad. He's definitely the most handsome boy in class." Another huff of amusement left Tsubame's mouth. Of course that was where Mina's priorities were after they'd just been attacked by villains. Still, the girl had somehow managed to tangle around her entirely, arms looped around Tsubame's neck and front pressed right up against Tsubame's side. Head resting on Tsubame's shoulder. Mina was all up in her personal space, which Tsubame actually appreciated. It was such a breath of fresh air to not feel like the odd one out.

          Tsubame's family had texted her a total of fifty times in their group chat, from Tomomi innocently sending rabbit kaomojis to Miki absolutely losing her shit, and their father's pleas for her to respond. Now that she was conscious, Tsubame was doing just that. Spamming back a variety of 'I'm fine's and 'Please don't fight the detectives'' back. This was replied to by a lot of angry punctation marks from Miki.

          Mina was watching her type. "Tsu-ba-me-mo-chi?" questioned Ashido over her shoulder, tone curious as she spelled out the syllables, testing them on her tongue. She blinked a few times, with her chin hooked over Tsubame's shoulder, and neither girl attempted to stop her reading of Tsubame's phone.

          "Oh, yeah, it's my nickname," Tsubame filled in, quickly texting back to her family that she was safe and doing alright. Apparently, they weren't allowed to come into the recovery centre to pick her up due to sudden restrictions after the uncertainty in the attack. Tsubame made sure to send loads of love-hearts and happy kaomojis to reassure her father's fretting texts that she was, in fact, alive.

          Ashido cooed, suddenly delighted. "Tsubamemochi! That's so cute!"

          She was clinging to Tsubame's arm extra tight, hands digging into her bicep. Tucking her phone in her pocket to momentarily ignore her family's texts, the brunette girl glanced up. The other classmates present had pooled out into the same wide hallway and were talking amongst themselves, clearly antsy.

          Tsubame, and Mina by proxy, moved into their little huddled circle. "Have you heard anything about Aizawa-sensei?" asked Tsubame with worry painting the edges of her tone. The last thing she'd ever want is someone getting hurt protecting her. And 1-A's homeroom teacher... Well, he'd jumped in there to save them without a second thought. I'll never let something like that happen again...

          "The detective on the scene told us that both of Sensei's arms, and his face, suffered severe fractures where the bones were fragmented into more than two pieces," said Shouji, speaking from one of the mouths that had opened up at the end of his many arms. "His eyes were also damaged, but they're not sure of how that will affect his vision." Tsubame's insides felt like they were suddenly filled with ice, or like she'd taken a swan dive. All of that...

          Sighing with pursed lips, fingers clasped together tight, Yaoyorozu Momo's elegant and poised composure slipped a little, when she replied solemnly, "No one's seen him yet since the attack." Her mouth was a thin line, and there was even still a smear of dirt across her cheek that she didn't bother to wipe off.

          "They took him off really quickly in a stretcher," Jirou answered. She looked troubled—was clacking the ends of her earphone jacks together in front of her face. Eyelinered gaze was tilted down towards the floor.

          "I have no doubt that he'll recover quickly," Yaoyorozu assured them, but her arms were wrapped tightly around her chest in a manner of uneasiness and nerves.

          And now Tsubame's own stomach felt queasy. Just thinking about it, she could practically still smell the thick stench of blood that had permeated the air. Even now, it seemed to clog her nose. "He was bleeding a lot..." murmured Tsubame. That was right—she'd been the only one to really see him up close, along with Midoriya, Todoroki, Tsuyu and Mineta. She'd been the only one to hold him. Her eyes squeezed shut momentarily in an attempt to rid the image of her teacher's bloody beaten face from her mind. The way it had run red with crimson even as he gritted his teeth and used his Quirk to protect her classmates. God, Tsubame had been so wrong about him in every way. And how he'd felt in her arms... Her molars clenched together tight. Tsubame felt a sudden hand on her shoulder and found it to be Shouji's when her eyes slid open and she glanced up. Wow, he was tall. She'd been wrong about a lot of things, it seemed. Despite Shouji Mezou's hulking size and intimidating appearance, his silent but reassuring hand was so gentle. His eyes were soft, kind. "I hope we can go see him soon."

          Thoughtfully, Yaoyorozu pressed a knuckle against her lips, brows stitched lightly together in consideration, "We should bring him flowers."

          "We could deliver them to the infirmary," agreed Shouji.

          Tsubame had never seen Mina be so mild before, but now she was twisting her hands together and holding them out in front of her while stretching her arms in a mannerism that probably indicated stress. There was a deep cut across her chin that had been plastered up with a colourful, orange and green Smile Hero: Ms. Joke Band-Aid. "Do you think he'd like if I left him a box of chocolates?"

          "I'll come buy them with you," offered Tsubame to Mina, nudging her encouragingly with a light elbow to the side.

          "We could make him a big thank you card." That was Kirishima's voice, their group huddle radiating so much anxious energy that even he wasn't smiling. It was jarring. "You know, one that everyone writes and draws on and signs. From Class A." The circle mumbled soft words of agreements.

          Jirou nodded along. Her earphone jacks were still clacking together nervously, one wound around her index finger a few times. "That sounds like a good idea."

          Even Kaminari looked afraid and ashamed. He ran a hand through the front of his blond hair, frowning. "He really saved us." The energy was so off. To see Kaminari Denki not smiling was bizarre. Everyone must have been tired, and scared, and shaken up—just like her. It was just supposed to be a normal Wednesday afternoon. Instead, some of them had stared the prospect of death right in the face.

          There was silence.

          Tsubame's phone kept buzzing in her hand, message after message pouring in from her family group chat. Her yellow gaze glanced down. "Shit, my dad and sisters are about to murder me," Tsubame murmured, watching the texts roll in. "They'll accomplish where the League of Villains failed." Her head turned back, glanced down the small U.A. infirmary's hallway. Eyes blurry with exhaustion craned for the sight of anyone else. She'd hoped to see Midoriya and Aizawa, and the rest of her classmates who hadn't showed up yet, but Tsubame was pretty sure that if she didn't go out and prove herself to be okay then Miki was going to break through U.A.'s defences instead. Or she was going to fall asleep on Shouji. Which would be equally as embarrassing.

          And, even though Tsubame had bagged an hour of sleep, there was really nothing she wanted more than to hold her family and fall asleep at her kotatsu with them like she did on a daily basis. She needed rest. So. Much. Rest. And maybe hot chocolate with honey. Ramen. Mochi. Kiki's Delivery Service on their small TV with shitty audio. Miki's hands in her hair and Tomomi in her lap, their father humming along to the main theme every few moments. That sounded like the best thing in the world.

          Her eyes, filled with exhaustion and one still swollen shut from the black bruise, lifted from her phone back up to her classmates. "I have to go," she told them, somewhat mournfully, slightly slurred at the edges with sleep. Pathetically, her knuckles rubbed at her right eye, trying to rid herself of the fatigue for just a moment. Their solemn gazes turned towards her. "I'll text you guys, alright?" She squeezed Ashido Mina's fingers, and touched Shouji's hand that rested on her shoulder with her own light one. "We should, um, make a group chat to fill each other in. I want to know how the others are doing."

          "I'm on it," Ashido promised, nodding along firmly. There was a lack of enthusiasm to her voice that was jarring. She fluffed her hands through her own pink hair to try to lift her mood. Then she threw her arms around Tsubame. Her shampoo smelled like coconut. "Stay safe, Tsubame-chan!" It was her attempt to be her peppy self, as she squeezed Tsubame softly. Really squeezed. Mina was just a little bit shorter than her, so Tsubame had the chance to rest her nose in her pink cloud-like hair. "I'll, uh, be sending you memes or something tonight, 'kay?" It took Tsubame a moment to remember that it was Mina who'd screamed her name when Tsubame had been crushed by the Nomu—who had probably seen the whole thing (the splintering grip, Tsubame struggling to crawl) happen to her new friend.

          Tsubame barely knew the girl, really, but she hugged her back tight. She smiled at Mina when they each pulled away. And, well, she'd almost died. Tsubame couldn't stop at just one hug.

          Kirishima had seen it coming and opened his bare arms wide so she could slot inside, snug against his chest like she had been back during the attack. His hugs were very warm, and he was at the perfect height to just scoop her up. When they broke apart, Tsubame bumped her fist against his knuckles a little.

          Yaoyorozu Momo seemed to not be expecting the embrace, but Tsubame hugged her anyway. The other girl was tall and lithe, with an athletic build that startled when Tsubame wrapped her arms around her. Jumped a little. "Oh," said Yaoyorozu, eyes widening. Then she lifted her arms and put them around Tsubame too. It was just the slightest bit awkward, but Yaoyorozu smelled like really, really nice floral perfume that was probably way too expensive for Tsubame to even be smelling, and she rubbed her hand along Tsubame's back a little.

          Tsubame half squeezed the life out of her by the time she'd pulled back. But, well, Tsubame had almost died and had three people hug her in the same day so she was feeling overly optimistic now. And, so, she tackled Jirou, who was apparently another unexpecting victim. Jirou squeaked a little at the tight hug, before her face went red and she just kind of let it happen. Her body went stiff and one of her legs shot out, arms trapped and frozen at her sides. Even her ears were flushed.

          Kaminari was next, not even waiting for her to come to him. He was leaping onto Tsubame in a staticky hug that swept her off her toes and swayed her around a little. "Don't get hurt again, Akatsuki-chan! The school said we have tomorrow off."

           "Ah, really?"

           "Mhmm! Friday's back, though." He placed her carefully back down onto her feet, steading her as she swayed. And then, there was only one classmate left. He saw it coming and opened his arms for her.

          It was a bit strange, hugging someone so tall and hulking, considering Tsubame was already fairly short compared to all the boys in her class. But it was actually incredibly tender. "Thanks, Shouji-kun," she told him as he wrapped her up in his dupli-arms, engulfing her entire body in a warm blanket. He was so... gentle. She almost, nearly, didn't want to leave.

          But she had to, because her family was out there somewhere probably worried about of her mind, and so she forced herself to draw out of his many, strong arms. She gave him a gentle smile, and while Tsubame couldn't see his expression beneath his face-mask, she just assumed he was doing the same. Her feet took a few steps backwards, Recovery Girl's paper bag in one hand and backpack in the other. "Well, I'll, uh, see you all later." She gave them a short wave, leaning on the wall as she offered the group of six a signature Akatsuki Tsubame grin—wild and confident, canines shining, all sharp-toothed and brash. But her safflower eyes were soft and crinkled at the edges. Her spare hand tapped on the edge of her phone. "Text me." 

           Mina gave her a big thumbs up, trying to smile wide despite the way her eyebrows were worriedly pulled together, and Kirishima and Kaminari waved. Yaoyorozu smiled brightly while Jirou did so in a bit more of a reserved manner. "Make it home safe, Akatsuki," said Shouji with one of his other mouths, and all Tsubame could do was nod and wave goodbye as she turned out of the high school infirmary.

          Walking down the staircase was surprisingly tough—an annoying complication since she usually sprinted up and down stairs whenever they were present—and she was forced to grip the railing with one hand in her descent. Despite Recovery Girl healing up her bones, there was still a sizeable amount of pain that hugged at her side. Pinched every time Tsubame took a step. Ow. It became an aching cramp by the time she'd made it out of the building and started her trek across the U.A. grounds, towards the entrance gates. Her bare feet padded over the grass with a slight limp.

          There were police and detectives alike blocking off the U.A. gates, but they let Tsubame pass without much of a hitch. After all, she was in a bloody hero costume and had a high school backpack tossed over her shoulder. That, and an obvious beat-up face.

          Tsubame was aware that many pairs of eyes were on her, but when she saw two girls and a man standing worriedly on the lawn, Tsubame couldn't help but break into a run. Well, as well as she could. She was tired—tired—and still sore, but Tomomi squealed, "Onee-chan!" and suddenly all was right with the world.

          She did not have the energy to heft Tomomi up into one arm like she usually did, and so instead she wrapped her little sister in the world's biggest hug. Pretty much a tackle. Even just the slight bend down caused an ache to flare through her torso, but it was all worth it for Tomomi delighted shriek and the bright look that overcame her face. For the giggles that bubbled out of her lips when Tsubame held her on one arm and bit down, not hard, on Tomomi's forearm—imitating the kind of games she used to play with her younger sister when they were kids, when Tsubame was always forced to be the dog. When Tomomi squealed with laughter and tried to shake her off, pushing at her face with her young hands, that was worth it too.

          "No, no, Tsubamemochi! Tsu-nee! Stop that! Stop, Tsubamemochi! Nee-chan!" They came out in high-pitched giggles, as she struggled against Tsubame's sleepy form, kneeling on the grass.

          "Be careful, Tsubamemochi. You shouldn't be exerting yourself at all." The voice was vaguely distant, but had a clear twinge of emotion to it, as Tsubame looked up to her older sister's face. Miki stared down at her stoically. She was clutching her phone so tight with her right hand it looked like it might break.

          A strong, male hand came down on the nape of Tsubame's head and just stayed there, as her father solemnly drew in close and rested his forehead against her skull. A silent admission of fear, guilt and care all at the same time. "Tsubame," was all he said, before his voice choked in emotion and she pulled at his sleeve. Don't make them worry, Tsubame kept telling herself.

          "Aw, it's fine, Onee-san!" exclaimed Tsubame around Tomomi's arm, her teeth still lightly squeezing. Tomomi had taken to biting the skin of Tsubame's hand, suddenly the two little rabid animal girls they became whenever they played. "I'm not hurt that bad." Her eyes were heavy with sleep, gaze lazy. Tomomi chomped at one of Tsubame's fingers and the older girl yelped. Messed Tomomi's hair up with her free hand, rubbing the top of her skull hard. Their father looked so, so tired. He had not moved from where he was half-holding her.

          Miki levelled her with a straight look. "You were in the hospital," she said, and Tsubame straightened.

          She let go of her younger sister and scrunched her face up at Miki, nose and black eye hurting equally in tandem. Swallowed a yawn. Her father was listening too—the silent observer like usual—and Tsubame tried her best to puff herself up and hide in every way that her ribs were currently killing her. "I'm fine, Nee-chan! Really." The last thing Tsubame's ever wanted her family to do was worry. She turned half between Miki and Tomomi. "I kicked their asses!" exclaimed Tsubame with a grin, flexing her biceps. Shit, it hurt. But once again, it was all for Tomomi, who was beaming wide, her hands flapping with excitement. "Like Miruko!"

          "Miruko!" crowed back Tomomi happily. There—good. Not worrying.

          "No, you did not," said Miki flatly, giving her sister that look again. She hadn't even been there, and yet she could see the purpling across Tsubame's face; the bandages that plastered over her broken nose. "You were the one who got your ass kicked." She was being serious.

          "Bad word, Nee-chan," murmured Tomomi with a cheeky grin spread across her face, still chewing on Tsubame's arm—which Tsubame couldn't blame her for because she was probably the one who taught the little girl that biting was an appropriate expression of excitement or anger. The biting in the Akatsuki household, all started by Tsubame and her God forsaken animal Quirk, was a phenomenon that was unstoppable. She'd liked biting things, usually Miki's ankles, and then Tomomi had been born, and had learned, and now it was pretty lucky if you didn't get bitten in an argument with either of them.

          But it was clear that Miki was finding no amusement in the situation. Her purple eyes bore into Tsubame's face to the extent that it made Tsubame physically squirm under the intensity. The eldest Akatsuki sister had never been one for beating around the bush. "We already know everything that happened in there." Her arms were crossed.

          Suddenly deciding it was appropriate to gang up on her, Akatsuki Kazuo nodded solemnly—Tsubame tilted her head back to watch as her father's face scrunched a little. He'd come straight from work... Dressed still in his green and khaki chef uniform. The bags under his eyes seemed to have gotten darker since the last time she'd seen him. "U.A.'s Recovery Girl already sent us the full report of your injuries." For a second, he looked remorseful. "If only you'd been given my Quirk..."

          Which, no. No. The last thing she could let her family do was feel guilt for what had happened in Tsubame's first week of high school. It had been no one's fault except for the League of Villains—if that was really what the new villain organisation was called. Kurogiri and that bastard Shigaraki Tomura. Her heart seemed to hurt as she looked at her father's downcast face. "Dad, don't say that," whispered Tsubame. She put one arm around him, her hands clenched tight and her face in a sad frown. "I'm happy with my own Quirk."

          "Still..." He rubbed at the scraggly five o'clock shadow on his chin and looked terribly guilty. Over something as random as genetics?

          "It was just a one-time thing," Tsubame promised them. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The villains aren't coming back." U.A. High is still safe and I'm fine. And yet, the faces of her family didn't look any more at ease. Miki was still staring at her with a stoic, scrutinizing expression: lips pressed hard together, brows held firm by tight muscles, light wrinkles forming on her young forehead and her purple eyes cutting into Tsubame. Her dad looked like he was very much going to cry—like he was beating himself up on the inside. Except for Tomomi, who seemed a bit clueless, and was currently playing with the end of the bandages wrapped around Tsubame's torso. It sucked seeing the people who raised her looking at her in that way. "You guys, I'm fine, really—"

          Miki made a 'tch' sound and marched forward, feet stomping, until she reached her younger sister and threw her arms around her, crushing Tsubame's face into her collarbones. "You're literally the worst liar in the world. What happened to your morals of always being truthful?"

          Miki's hugs always came unexpectedly. She was a bit of an enigma, really, to everyone other than Tsubame. That was probably because Tsubame had so much of herself in her. They had the same face shape, and the same brows, and sometimes Tsubame didn't know what to say either, and sometimes she wished she could be less expressive, like Miki was. And Tsubame loved her older sister. So much. Even if other people didn't understand. Some people would never understand. She was squeezed, and squeezed, until Tsubame was sure Miki was crushing the air out of her lungs all over again.

          A grunt left Tsubame's mouth. "I am telling the truth—" Tsubame argued, because she was safe now, and that made her perfectly fine. Even if she had broken her ribs for the first time—three of them—and could possibly have a scarred lung. Her nose hurt against Miki's chest. "I really am okay."

          "Then don't scare the shit out of us like that again," argued Miki, refusing to let Tsubame out of her hug. She was trapped. Extra trapped when Tomomi latched herself onto Tsubame's side, hugging her warmly with her face squashed above Tsubame's healing ribs. And then their father was wrapping his arms around all three of his daughters as best he could and holding them tight.

          "Sorry I haven't been around a lot, recently," he said, and, just, no, she could not have her family blaming themselves for anything that happened. Tsubame did not want to cry because her dad started crying, because apparently he always thought everything was on his shoulders. "I know I should be present in your girls' lives more. But work has been so busy these last few weeks." And as if that was fair, because he worked so much specifically to keep his family together. Ten hour shifts every day to keep their house and buy groceries—more exactly, to pay for so much of the food that Tsubame needed for her Quirk, and for her enrolment in U.A.. He had done so much. Did he seriously expect her to be angry? "You got me worried. When I got the call from U.A., I—"

          "Stop that," Tsubame said softly, tugging at his apron trapped between the mass of her three family members. "'m okay. Not your fault." He was always so guilty.

          The Akatsuki family stayed like that for a long time, just clinging to each other. Tsubame had no idea how long they were in that position for. All that she knew is she began to doze again, finally, fully allowed to. Surrounded by her blood family and out of the dangers of the USJ.

          "You're falling asleep," said Miki, patting Tsubame's back lightly, at which the shorter girl mumbled something unintelligible into her sister's shoulder. Her sister smelled vaguely like lilies, and it was nice. Lilies, and... that supermarket disinfectant smell... Oh, she'd come straight from work too, had she...? Tsubame's train of thought was meandering. I interrupted her shift...

          "Tsu-nee." Tomomi was tugging at her hand, waking her up. "You're sleeping."

          Tiredly, Tsubame raised a hand to ruffle at her eleven-year-old sister's head. "Mhmm," she agreed, cracking an eye open. Brushed Tomomi's dark hair away from her forehead. "Cheeky." She squeezed Tomomi's cheek, to a giggle.

          "Let's get you home, Tsubamemochi," said Miki, pulling back from Tsubame's embrace along with the rest of them.

          Tsubame yawned deeply, scrubbing at her eye with the back of her hand, and when she blinked again her father's back was facing her. "Piggyback?" he offered. And Akatsuki Kazuo was much too old, and run-down, and aching to be giving his middle daughter a piggyback ride when she was fifteen years old and probably a lot stronger than he was, but there was no other way Tsubame would possibly be getting home. She'd held out... out... out. Pushed it all back during the USJ attack, because back then it was fight or die. She'd just wanted to come home. Now, she just didn't have that fight in her anymore. And Tsubame was too tired to protest.

           She nodded, on the brink of passing out, and raised her arms up like a child as her father bent down. Let her arms latch up over his shoulders, loosely around his neck. He picked her up, not without struggle, but just like she was a little kid again. Kazuo's back cracked. He was probably going to be stiff and in pain tomorrow. But Tsubame was barely conscious of it at all—had pretty much fallen asleep standing before he'd even lifted her. She, in a thrumming doze, smiled and tucked her face away when her father started walking.

          Tomomi grasped onto Tsubame's hand that was hanging down, clasping her clammy fingers in her older sister's as they walked. Seemingly unbothered. Just wanting something to cling onto. That was Tomomi.

          "Sleep on the train, too," Kazuo said. Miki squeezed Tsubame's shoulder. "And the bus." And Tsubame wasn't about to complain. Knew her family would take care of her. They always had. There were blurry images in her mind of a nine-year-old Miki cooking dinner on the stove and packing their bags each morning for school; their father stumbling home from work past the hours of midnight and collapsing to sleep on the couch; Tomomi first discovering Miruko's hero debut on TV at age four and immediately latching on, because God knows she'd needed something to latch onto. All of them came to her hazy now, easily slipping into her sleep-filled mind, because that was all she needed to really know that she was safe from the villains.

          And so, as she slept on her father's back like a child, all thoughts of Shigaraki Tomura gone—Akatsuki Tsubame smiled, and murmured, "I'm so blessed."

༉*ೃ༄

𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 text as she was falling into a third or fourth snooze during Kiki's Delivery Service, surrounded by warmth and familial figures, stomach filled with mochi and honey hot chocolate—it buzzed against her hand.

━━━━

'━━ ashido-chan! (つ✧ω✧)つ created the chat ━━'

'━━ ashido-chan! (つ✧ω✧)つ added TSUBAME (*¯︶¯*) , bastard ((╬◣﹏◢)) , KIRISHIMA-KUN (≧▽≦)/ , tape arms (－‸ლ) , charging port ٩(× ×)۶ , #### ### #60 , #### ### #52 , #### ### #46 , #### ### #01 , #### ### #22 , #### ### #93 , #### ### #44 , #### ### #78 , #### ### #29 , #### ### #18 , #### ### #30 , #### ### #84 , #### ### #31 , and #### ### #77 to the chat ━━'

'1-A THE DEFEATERS OF DEATH'

20 members.

New messages: 7:19PM

ashido-chan! (つ✧ω✧)つ

welcome to the almost-died-in-hero-school squad

this is ashido mina

seriously though, hope everyone is okay ᵔદᵔ

#### ### #78

Your suggestion for a class group message was very insightful, Ashido-san! Thank you for the idea.

ashido-chan! (つ✧ω✧)つ

oh it was actually tsubame-chan who thought of it ๑ˊૢᵕˋૢ๑

TSUBAME (*¯︶¯*)

hey

#### ### #78

Brilliant innovation, Akatsuki-san. As 1-A's class representative I'm regretful that I did not think of it sooner. You've been very helpful.

charging port ٩(× ×)۶

dude you actually type like my 74 year old grandma

#### ### #01

bonjour (。•̀ᴗ-)✧

˚* ੈ✩‧₊˖*°࿐

☆

#### ### #31

i'm getting out of the hospital later tonight !! :)

bastard ((╬◣﹏◢))

DEKU YOU BASTARD

#### ### #31

:(

#### ### #18

this chat was such a terrible idea

━━━━

          Even with her torso wrapped in bandages and ice held against her eye, Akatsuki Tsubame smiled.

༉*ೃ༄

the start of tsubame's bestie era

tsubame's love language is biting

also sleeping on people

👀👀

Y'ALL, DON'T BE MEAN TO TODOROKI, HE'S JUST BEING GENUINE,,,, ALSO 1-A GROUPCHAT GUESS WHO WAS WHO !!

ahhh i came up with all these headcanons of how mha characters would hug n i'm determined to incorporate them all into this fic !! i will stand by hugging headcanons until the day i die. mina being physically clingy bc she watched tsubame almost die,,, i just,,,, "akatsuki" became "tsubame" and "ashido" became "mina" after mina saw her get hurt during the nomu fight god bless  ૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა  also mina is black idc

i really love the akatsuki family's dynamic sm UGH. i tried to put bits of tsubame in all of them and vice versa,, the mosaic effect again. honestly, if i catch anyone being rude to the akatsuki family it's on SIGHT and a reminder that all three girls are autistic they just experience it in different ways okkkk

POOR TSUBAME LITERALLY NEVER RECEIVING ANY AFFECTION,, NEVER PREPARED FOR HUMAN KINDNESS,, god bless i love her

tsubame: "i'm so blessed". me: *screams*

^^ manga readers wya 😳☝️☝️

the usj attack is the moment i got truly invested in mha so i hope i did it justice ₍^⸝⸝> ·̫ <⸝⸝^₎ once again, this is just my first draft, so it won't be perfect, but i'm really hoping that everyone enjoyed reading it! there's a lot more i have in store for tsubame's character and her story, so keep coming back !!! one more chapter until the end of act 1, and then we head into season 2 territory  ୧꒰*'꒳'*꒱૭✧  (and, yes, i will be doing all seasons!)

I AM HERE to remind everyone that even tho this is a shoto fic, in my stories i always focus mainly on the character so this is all going to be about tsubame's development and primarily her emotional journey <3 that's why everything is so long. so if you're here for a quick shoto fic then this might not be for you (i'm sure you know that by now), i prioritise making my ocs feel as real as i can and really putting them in this canon world so !!! her romance with shoto is going to be a MASSIVE part of the story but it'll be a while! (he's really such a side character in season 1 omg). luckily, i think most of my dedicated readers (you guys <3) seem to really like tsubame and actually enjoy that this story is focused on her, so yay! i'm trying to make it as original as possible. there's a lot of good non-canon 1-A content that i have planned and i'm hoping to make characters who don't get a lot of focus/development (like the girls and side characters like sero) much more in-depth and important. so, yep!! cannot wait for tsume to be besties with the 1-A girls i am literally DYING for it,, and bakusquad omg,,, BASICALLY JUST ONCE THE DORMS ARE IMPLEMENTED I'M DYING FOR IT

also, random, but i'm wondering if ppl already ship tsubame with anyone? ik shoto's the obvious choice but ppl from my zuko fic rlly ship my oc with suki and i have a lot of ppl from my steve harrington fic who ship my oc with nancy or robin so i'm just curious?? i always really love it when ppl ship my ocs with other characters jkshdfkjdhf it's so fun and i love how it shows that ppl are genuinely invested in my ocs <3 idk just randomly curious ??  ꒰ ˘꒳˘ᐢ꒱

AND OH MY GOD I FORGOT TO MENTION UP UNTIL NOW BUT I DREW TSUBAME IN HORIKOSHI'S SKETCH STYLE AND PUT HER IN A HORI SKETCH !!!

HOW CUTE IS SHEEEEE I'M SUPER HAPPY WITH HOW SHE LOOKS IN HIS STYLE !!

(i'll be doing more of those sketches, lmk if ppl wanna see them in these author notes! i have so much art of tsubame sitting in my procreate folder ahhh)

(also feel like i should put this disclaimer here for anyone who's unaware: that sketch with mt. lady, bakugou, mina and sero is not mine, it's one of horikoshi's weekly bnha sketches, however the addition of tsubame in there IS mine. i presumed most ppl would have recognised that, 'cause it's a canon sketch, but i figured i needed to clarify that anyway !! also don't use my artwork anywhere thanks)

i hope everyone is having a good day !! sorry for the long author's note — since my chapters are so long i typically have a lot of thoughts SKDHKSHDFSDH. next act, i will split chapters so they're shorter, but i'll keep the same amount of content overall! there will just be more chapters <3

also this is unrelated but i feel like i should put the fact that i came out (i'm bi) on my irl instagram story yesterday and i'm proud of myself  ( 。>﹏<。)♡

THIS IS A SIGN TO FOLLOW ME ON MY TWITTER @ uhmmmoonmaidens BC I POST ABOUT MY FICS AND TSUBAME ON THERE OK GOODBYE

just thinking of 1-A after the usj attack  ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄  .  ˂̵͈᷅ ₎ა 

word count: 10,421 (this was longer than i anticipated. if this was next act, i'd split the chapter down the middle, but i want to be done with act 1 as soon as possible! also, i'd rather not dwell on the infirmary for more than one chapter)

03.07.2021.