Firefly (BNHA)

"You're not there anymore"

Hitoshi is dozing in the hanging chair in Hotaru's dorm room when he jolts awake. Hotaru sits up gasping before clawing at her throat in terror. He quickly crosses over to her grabbing her hands to prevent her from clawing at her throat anymore. However, unlike normal she doesn't realize her surroundings are different and tries to pull her hands away.

"Firefly, you're not there anymore,"
He utters in a soft tone causing her breathing to slow down.

"Toshi?"

"It's alright, I've got you."

She latches onto him like a koala with sleepy eyes, but he can see that she's debating about staying up. He absentmindedly runs a hand through her hair as she leans into him completely exhausted from her episode earlier. He lays down and she curls up to him almost like a cat causing a hint of a smile to touch his face. He's about to drift off to sleep when she speaks up.

"They were wrong about you. You're a kind soul Toshi," she mutters before drifting back to sleep utterly peaceful.

It's just a few minutes later when a soft knock comes at the door before it opens up to reveal Aizawa who has just come back from patrols. He stops in the doorway with a raised eyebrow causing Hitoshi's cheeks to go bright red.

"She woke up a few minutes ago and was contemplating going to make coffee. I knew she'd go back to sleep if I kept her from making the coffee."

"And she has latched onto you. At least she went back to sleep this time around. They are less frequent now, but they seem to be more intense than the original ones. It's a surprise Todoroki didn't magically appear," he mutters the last part as a knock comes at the door.

"You spoke too soon," Hitoshi mutters with a hint of a smile.

He sits up knowing they are going to have a whole conversation before shifting her into a more comfortable position. Aizawa opens the door to show Todoroki rubbing his eyes in the doorway. He lets him pass and Todoroki sits on the floor next to the bed as Yuki slinks over to him. He absentmindedly pats her catching sight of how Hotaru is already asleep before letting a yawn slip out.

"It was a bad one," he mutters knowingly causing Hitoshi to stare at him.

"I wanted someone besides the two of us to be aware of the fact that she's having nightmares if we were unable to help for some reason. I gave her the choice of who it would be and she chose Todoroki without any hesitation."

"I asked her about it and she said she chose us because to her we mean safety. Something about the three of us means that she is safe and no one can harm her. Not even herself it would seem."

Hitoshi flushes at the words causing the ends of Todoroki's lips to quirk into a smirk. Bakugo and he were correct in their thoughts in the day of the cultural festival seeing his reaction to her. Todoroki gently pats her head before leaving with Aizawa trailing after him. Hitoshi lays back down before drifting off to sleep.

Hotaru wakes up a few hours later going bright red before carefully getting out of her bed leaving Hitoshi to sleep for a little longer. She heads into the kitchen sensing someone at the table before making four cups of coffee. She puts one in front of the person that is at the table ruffling his hair causing him to look up. Aizawa walks in and she holds out the cup before taking a seat. She holds out a third cup of coffee that Hitoshi grabs before sitting in the chair next to her as she sips on her own cup.

"What was your nightmare about last night?" Todoroki softly asks causing her head to turn his way.

"Nightmare? I don't remember having one last night. Was it bad?"

"One of your worst, but your quirk never activated which is good progress." Hitoshi answers causing a look of relief to flash across her face before biting her lip.

"It worries me that I don't remember it though. Why would I forget having the nightmare?"

"It's your subconscious trying to protect you kid. Don't think on it too much or you will have a reaction from remembering."

She nods before heading to go make breakfast since her class should be getting up right about now. Aizawa sighs before shaking his head as he heads to his office to get the last few things for class today passing by the first student. Bakugou narrows his eyes seeing his teacher in the hall before heading to the kitchen already smelling food cooking. He grumbles knowing it means Hotaru was already up for the morning before seeing Todoroki and Shinsou at the table.

"Are you both just letting her cook?"

"She refuses our help each time we offer it and refuses to not make breakfast for everyone. She's already got coffee made if you want any."

"You two must not be able to keep up with her then. Isn't she supposed to come back to class today?"

"Yep it'll be her first full day since everyone moved into the dorms. Nezu has been working with her during the last half of the day since we came back. I've walked in sometimes and they're just sitting there not talking, but you can tell a conversation is happening."

"Nezu-Sensei is teaching me about my empathy abilities which is why it's been utterly silent when you come in. It's a way to keep me from being overwhelmed on the battlefield by all the emotions going around." She shouts from the kitchen causing Bakugou to stare that way with a frown.

"I can feel your disapproval all the way in here Katsuki. If you want to help then bring your ass in here if it bothers you that much."

He huffs before heading into the kitchen to help her out fully aware that she's careful and precise so she has a low chance of hurting herself. Being in the dorms for two weeks before everyone else has made her hyper aware of everything in the dorms and she can usually tell when something is grossly out of place.

Once they finish making the food and laying it out, the other students start filing in to sit at the tables and islands to eat. After everyone eats, they head to change into their uniforms and Hitoshi heads back to his dorm to get ready for classes as well. When Hotaru comes out with a full backpack instead of the small bag she's been carrying her friends give wide grins. Her head shifts their way as she is pulling her hair into her customary bun to give them a wide smile.