Recommended song: Nandemonaiya- by RADWIMPS
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"I think it's time we go big," Shizuka announced as he entered Kiyoshi's room to see him and Makoto playing chess.
"About damn time," Makoto looked up from the board.
"We need more power," Shizuka clicked his tongue, glancing at Kiyoshi, "We need that girl."
"It isn't going to be easy acquiring her," Kiyoshi said, removing Makoto's pawn and replacing it with his rook. "She's surrounded by heroes at almost all times. Plus, she's a ticking bomb."
"Which is exactly why we're going to wait for the perfect opportunity." Shizuka said, "You're not the one going after her, by the way."
Kiyoshi looked up from the game, raising an eyebrow in question.
"That's Makoto's job," Shizuka stated.
"Weird, but okay." Kiyoshi snorted. Makoto made a chopping motion on his head, sighing, "I told you to keep the attitude elsewhere while talking to Shi."
"Shut up, or I'm flipping the board over." Kiyoshi hissed.
Shizuka gave Kiyoshi a long stare, watching him argue with Makoto. He didn't seem to have any unusual reactions to the mention of the girl, "On second thoughts, you're allowed to join Makoto."
"Can't make up yer damn mind once, can ya?" Kiyoshi gave him a sour look, to which Shizuka laughed.
"Langauge!" Makoto yelled.
"Who are you again?"
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Yoshiko found a box lying on the counter with her name on it. She put the toast in between her teeth and picked up the letter on it. It was by Tano, the girl making her wrist brace.
Hey, Akimitsu!
I was looking all over the dorms for you yesterday and found out you had your work-study with Hawks (lucky you!!) Your wrist braces are ready. I've used high-quality metal and paint. I hope you like them! They should fit snugly around your wrist. They're not supposed to feel uncomfortable, if that's the case, don't hesitate to contact me. I've left my number in the back.
xoxo
Yoshiko quickly finished eating her toast and opened the flaps to find two thick, bangle-shaped braces inside. She clicked them around her wrist and moved her hands in circular motions. They felt snug and comfortable. She made a few explosions, making sure they could withstand them. She heard footsteps and looked at the entrance to see Bakugo come in.
"Thought I heard explosions." He said.
"Yeah, just me. See, the wrist braces are done." She hopped over to him, holding her hands out. Bakugo took her wrist, bringing it up to inspect the new support item.
"Not half bad." He said, letting her hand drop.
"Just say they're good." Yoshiko rolled her eyes, giving his chest a playful push that had little impact on him. Bakugo smirked at her and gave her cowlick a tug before going over the stove to make his breakfast.
Yoshiko bit her lip as she watched him rummage through the shelves, her heart picking pace. They were interacting normally, but she was itching to shake him by the collar and ask him what to do with their confessions. Sighing, she went back to the box, picked up the letter and added Tano's number to her phone to thank her for the support item.
She looked up from her phone in confusion when Bakugo set rolled omelettes in front of her after a while. He sat across from her, already munching on his omelette.
"What?" He asked when she kept staring at him.
"I already had breakfast." She replied, setting her phone down.
"Whatever. I already made it now. Eat it."
"I ate four slices of toast. I can't."
"Toast is all you ever fuckin' eat for breakfast." He rolled his eyes, "Now shut the fuck up and eat it before I spoon it down your throat."
"You're so romantic." She snickered. He scowled at her, his cheeks red.
Yoshiko picked up the chopsticks, took a piece of the rolled omelette and brought it to her mouth. She noticed his omelette was a little more redder than hers. He kept the spice to a minimum just for hers. She grumbled to herself, looking down at her plate. Why was he so stupid and caring at the same time.
"Is it spicy?" He asked. "Don't tell me it is. I literally put less than half a spoon in there."
"No, it's perfect." She replied, not looking up from the plate.
"Then why is your face red like that."
She looked up into his crimson eyes, her stomach swirling with warmth and butterflies, "It isn't the omelette. It's you." She couldn't help but smile when Bakugo's mouth hung slightly open, his ears going pink. The other night, she told him she liked him, but the emotion she felt was too strong for it to be just that.
"Yoshiko..." Her name slipped out from his mouth, his voice soft, "about that night-"
"Mmmmmmm, my neck hurts so bad." Mina sleepily stumbled into the kitchen, hand behind her neck, eyes half closed. She glanced at Bakugo and Yoshiko, a grin making its way to her face, "Oh, hey! You guys are eating together. Did y'all make up?"
"Yeah," Yoshiko muttered, pissed Mina had to come in at the wrong time.
"So, are you guys...?"
"No," Yoshiko replied.
"You guys are taking things so slow. It's killing me." Mina stole a piece of rolled omelette from her plate.
"That aside, wanna explain that thing on your neck?" Yoshiko gaped at the purple bruise just under her ear. Mina's face went through ten shades of red, "Me and Kiri are going out now."
"HUH?" Bakugo and Yoshiko exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah, while you two were too busy being mad at each other, Kiri and I were making out." She smirked.
"Good for you, girl." Yoshiko smiled at her pink friend. Mina winked in response.
"Anyway, back to the point. Where do you guys stand now." She asked, opening her mouth for Yoshiko to put another bite of omelette inside, making Bakugo's eye twitch in annoyance.
"Oh, wow, look at the time!" Yoshiko shoved a bite into Mina's mouth and got up from her seat, "I have to get ready and fill Bear's food bowls."
Yoshiko went up to her room and stripped, changing into her school uniform. She wore leggings with her skirt since it was slowly getting too cold for her legs. While she was in the middle of brushing her hair, she heard a notification on her phone to see 'Rabid Pomeranian.' She picked it up and clicked the notification to see the text.
Rabid Pomeranian: Where do we stand?
Solar Panel: We're in inbetweening.
Rabid Pomeranian: Why are we like this?
Yoshiko giggled, letting her head fall on the bed. She sighed, staring at the text, "I love you, Katsuki."
Solar Panel: Beats me.
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The next day, early in the morning, Hawks had called Yoshiko and Tokoyami to come to the agency. That meant skipping school. Yoshiko was surprised to see Bakugo, Todoroki and Midoriya standing with Tokoyami, who waited out in the front for her. "What're you guys doing here?" She asked as she put her hair up.
"Endeavor told us to meet up at Hawks' agency," Midoriya explained. "I suppose we have a joint operation."
"I have a feeling this is about the quirkless people that are going missing and being killed," Tokoyami said.
"It's possible," Yoshiko replied.
Once at the agency, they were greeted by Endeavor and Hawks upstairs. They took a seat at the circular table, Yoshiko sitting beside Tokoyami. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Hawks' siren eyes giving Bakugo a cold glare. She kicked his leg under the table, gaining his attention. He smiled at her and went back to sending golden daggers at Bakugo.
Bakugo noticed this and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He felt like a sheep that was going to be hunted by a hawk and get thrown to its death, "What're ya lookin' at, chicken?" He scowled.
"Hm. Nothing." Hawks plainly stated, turning to Endeavor, "Shall we start?"
"Yes." Endeavor gruffly replied.
"Alright. As we know, there has been a rise in the number of people with weak quirks and no quirks going missing, with some of them found dead. The police have confirmed the death of twenty-seven people and thirty-two that have gone missing."
"Why doesn't the media know this?" Midoriya asked.
"In order to not raise any panic. They've only given out bits so people can take some precaution." Endeavor said.
"I'm working closely with the police to find out who's behind all this, but it's a little difficult since there are barely any traces left behind." Hawks went on. "All we can do for now is strengthen security around places where we know the quirkless are a majority. Take universities, schools, colleges and workplaces with a greater number of quirkless people.
"So today, I've called you guys here because I'm aware there's a big college here in Fukuoka with quirkless students hosting a cultural festival. It's an open event, and people from outside are free to join as well. So you five are going to patrol the college while Endeavor-san and I work on tracking the people behind this in the meantime. Any questions?"
Hawks took their silence as no, "Good. I've sent you guys the location, so off you go. You're staying there till the event is over."
That's one long shift, Yoshiko thought to herself.
The five of them met out of the agency. Before Yoshiko could approach Bakugo, Hawks dived from the roof and swept him off his feet. "Eh?" The remaining four watched in confusion as Hawks carried a struggling Bakugo onto the roof where they couldn't hear them.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Bakugo yelled when Hawks let Bakugo fall out of his arms. He got up, wiping dust off his pants.
"Listen, here, blondie." Hawks was looming over Bakugo, making him sweatdrop, "I'm basically Yoshiko's brother, and since Pyro isn't here to tell you this, I am." Bakugo moved back as Hawks kept creeping in closer, "You hurt her once the other day, but if I ever find out you did it again, my feathers are going to rip you into atom-sized shreds. Do you understand?"
"Hah? I know what I'm doing! Keep your fucking death threats to yourself." Bakugo growled.
"Just a warning." Hawks smiled, golden eyes glowing dangerously.
He put some distance between himself and Bakugo when he heard an explosion that did not belong to him. Yoshiko landed on the roof in between Bakugo and Hawks, facing the latter, "It's not very heroic to kidnap people, Kei."
"I just had to give Bakugo a word of advice." Hawks smiled.
"Word of advice, my ass." Yoshiko scoffed, turning to Bakugo. "What'd he say?"
"Nothing," Bakugo replied, giving Hawks a death glare before going down again with the help of his explosions. Yoshiko stuck her tongue out at Hawks and went after Bakugo.
"Idiots," Hawks smirked.
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It wasn't an easy shift. Yoshiko was feeling tired by the time evening fell, and they still had a few hours till the event would be over. Luckily, the weather was in their favour, and someone had been generous enough to bring them crepes and a few snacks to munch on while they patrolled the campus and its perimeter.
Yoshiko stood on the roof of the building, eyes darting over the crowd gathered around a stage play. She moved on from there and to the stalls, where she again made sure nothing was out of the ordinary.
She looked up, where she could see streaks of black clouds in the starless sky, a cold but pleasant wind blowing through her hair. Cheers down below caught her attention, and she looked down to see a bonfire, a smile creeping up to her face when everyone got into pairs to dance. She spotted a girl trying to get Todoroki to dance with her. He rejected her offer and went away to patrol another area.
After the bonfire, the event was over, but Yoshiko and the others still had to stay until they wrapped things up. She sighed in relief once everyone was out of the campus. She sat there on the edge of the roof, stretching her arms behind her when she heard footsteps and looked back to see Bakugo approaching her.
"That was so fucking boring." He brooded, sitting beside her.
"Yeah," she had to agree. "But then again, we weren't here to have fun. At least we got to eat some yummy food."
"Nah, the food was shit too. It was all just sweet crap."
"Come on, the crepes were good."
"No. There's this place near my house and-" The rest of his rant fell on deaf ears as Yoshiko's eyes lingered on every feature of his. His hair was pushed back by his eye mask that had been pulled up to his forehead, his crimson eyes a few shades darker due to the lack of light. Her gaze lingered on his lips as he spoke. He looked so kissable.
"Oi, are you listening?" He bonked her head.
"Huh? Yeah."
"You weren't. Your head was in the clouds as always." He rolled his eyes.
"Kat, stay still." She said.
"Why-" His question was left hanging when he felt her lips ever so gently brush against his. Her hand was intertwined with his behind them, her eyes closed. She slowly pulled back when the pager on her chest cracked to life.
"Akimitsu, are you still in the area? We're looking for you and Bakugo." She heard Tokoyami's voice. She got up, pressing a button on the pager, "I'm coming to the gates."
"Alright."
Before leaving, she glanced back at Bakugo, who was still blankly sitting there, staring at the place where she once sat, his face and ears the same colour as his eyes. She smiled to herself and left.
Bakugo's fingers came up to his lips. He felt like he was on a high, with his body floating and his mind racing. Even though she left, her whisper of a kiss still lingered on his lips, making his heart dance. He glanced back at the door through which Yoshiko left.
He got up to go and do things properly for once.
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It only took 56 chapters. I'm so happy!!