A/N: If you've seen my last chapter before I deleted it, Mineta got expelled. Now let us live in peace and pretend he never actually existed. Also, incoming major spoilers for anime watchers. I'm gonna limit it and change it up as much as I can, for the people who haven't read beyond season 3.
And also, all of this happened after Mirio kicked their butts. YES A VERY LONG TIME INTERVAL BUT BEAR WITH ME. THIS IS ANOTHER TIMELINE. This chapter might also be extra long.
----
(Name) had woken up before Bakugou had, having the natural habit of waking up at 4 am. She looked up to see his peaceful and calm face. Quite a rare sight, if anyone asked her.
She smiled, still feeling his arm on her waist, hugging her close to him.
Having decided that they should go back inside, she brought her hand up to his face and poked his nose. The small action had woken the ash blonde boy, fluttering his eyes open, frowning and creasing his brows as he stretched.
"Morning, Katsuki." she greeted. Bakugou hummed and went back to his initial position, making the girl laugh a little. He was a light sleeper then. She kept on poking his nose until he scowled with his eyes still closed and held up his hand to swat hers away.
"Come on, we have to go back inside or the others are gonna start looking for us soon. It's a school day." (Name) sat up, and shook him. "Alright, alright. I'm up, I'm up." he followed her, rubbing the sleep off of his eyes for a moment.
"Jesus, what time is it?"
"Maybe 4:45 in the morning."
"Why the fuck are we so early?"
(Name) slugged the arm he was using as support, almost making him fall back on the blankets. "Why are you swearing so early?"
Bakugou humphed and stood up, telling the girl to get out of the fort since he was going to take it back inside. "No, wait. Keep it there." she stopped him from untying the ropes, and took the blankets and pillows inside. "I want to visit this place again, and maybe it'll be better if we leave it."
He nodded, and rubbed the back of his neck. Bakugou took the pillows and blankets from her hands along with her speaker and let her take his phone and shut the lamp off. They then walked downstairs together, silence accompanying them as well.
Yawning, he stretched out his arms, then draped one over (Name)'s shoulders, making her laugh again. "Smooth." she cooed, making him smirk.
Once they reached their floor, she kissed his cheek and thanked him again for last night, then they parted ways, not noticing they had each other's things.
"Oh, this is Katsuki's phone."
She mumbled, seeing the charm she bought for him the other day, aside from the nuke bag charm. Opening the phone to its lockscreen, she noticed that it was low on battery, and being the nice person she was, she charged the phone while she took her things to get ready for another day of school.
----After School, Heights Alliance 3rd year dorms---
"Holy shit, Rekishi asked for (Name)?" Tomoe turned his head towards his brother, who had just gotten off of the phone. The pro hero Rekishi who was situated in Tokyo called him, looking for their little sister.
"Yeah. She wanted her to work under her since she did get a bit of experience working with eomma." Takae shoved his phone back in his pocket, and flopped onto the cushions scattered around their shared room, wrinkling his uniform. "Umph! I didn't believe it too. But she said she needed extra help and since internships are on for them, she thought that she should take her."
Tomoe fell silent, thinking about her as he scratched his (hair color) hair. "If we sent her to Rekishi, do you think we could give her the training Principal Nezu advised us to do?"
They glanced at each other, shrugging. "I dunno, Tomoe. Yeodongsaeng needs to learn them right away, but it's only for a short while. Besides, if we do send her, she's gonna get the exposure she needs."
The older twin groaned, rolling on his back, falling next to the younger. "Okay, yeah. Let's do it then. Phantom's gonna have us working our butts off this week, anyway. More interns are coming in since his tie in the tenth place of the hero rankings last year and we probably won't have the time to train her."
"Well then," Takae pushed himself off of the cushions and smoothed down his shirt. "Let's change into more comfortable clothes and tell yeodongsaeng."
--
"Really?"
They nodded their heads and pat hers. "Imo Hannah called just for you."
(Name) whooped and danced around them, throwing her fists in the air. "I'm going to be with Imo Hannah! I'm going to be with Imo Hannah!" She kept on chanting, making her brothers laugh.
'Good, they don't suspect a thing.' (Name) felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck as she pranced around her brothers, sighing in relief.
The young girl liked the woman a lot, since she and Inhyeong kept on visiting each other with them tagging along, and they would get spoiled by her when they were children. Hannah taught the siblings lots of things, and they valued it, as if she was their second mother.
Now that they thought about it, nobody still claimed custody for them. They were still minors, as they had just turned 17, and their sister still 15. They had the deed to their house, but they couldn't claim it as their own until next year, when they'll technically be adults.
But that didn't matter right now.
"Slow down, squirt. You'll be doing internships, not having fun. And after, we're going to train you to learn new moves. Don't forget that Eomma told us to take care of you properly, and that includes helping you practice and gain new skills. " Takae grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, (Name) almost falling backwards. "I know, I know." She frowned, realizing that she hadn't conversed with the person she had in mind.
She had to talk to him now, or else their time would be occupied so much with hero related things.
"That's it. You want anything from the stores near the school? We're going for a small grocery shopping for our dorms." Tomoe pinched her cheek lightly, making her groan. "You already know what I want. Oh, and can you also buy me a slushee?"
--
"Tenya?"
The blue haired boy turned around, and was met by (Name) who was holding a slushee and a bag full of ice cream cakes. She looked a little sad, and that concerned him.
"Yes, (Name)-chan? What is it?"
"Can you come with me for a sec? I wanna have a word with you."
Iida nodded slowly, following her out the door. He also wanted to ask her a question, regarding what he saw last night. His heart beat with jealousy just recalling how she looked at Bakugou, as he wanted that too. He was being selfish, and it was wrong, but he couldn't help it.
Outside, a cool breeze blew their hair up, forcing them to fix it as they sat down on the grass.
"What did you want to talk about?"
(Name) took one last sip of her slushee and packed it in the plastic bag beside her, then opened the wrapper of a fish-shaped ice cream cake treat.
"You and your brother. Tensei, was it?"
Iida's brows creased at her words. Why was she interested in his brother? Was it because she liked him? Is he assuming things again?
"Yes, what about him?"
She sighed and took a large bite out of the cold treat, wincing from the temperature.
"You said that you were going to inherit his hero name and uphold it, as well as retaining your family's name and reputation." She chomped on her treat again, fighting off the pain that accompanied it. "How do you deal with that amount of pressure on you? How do you do it? How should you do it?"
He looked at her in disbelief, having to blink twice to see if he was just imagining things. Did he hear that right? She was unsure and uncertain? Not knowledgeable of what she has been doing ever since her mother passed?
'This must be a hallucination, I'm sure!' he yelled internally, opening his mouth to say something. 'She has been doing so well, I doubted that any difficulty has come to her.'
"Well, I only do what I am capable of for the time being, I suppose." He cleared his throat, watching her open another pack, taking a large bite again. Beads of tears were collecting in her eyes, something was wrong, that was for sure. " But I also push myself to exceed my limits, and work harder than before. My brother has made quite the impression in the hero associations and to the citizens of Japan, so I have to keep up. I know that I'm not as good as he is, but I'm working to do so."
"But you're not him!"
Bite
"How could you be so assured that you'll be able to surpass his expectations of you? How do you rest easy knowing that one day, you'll fail, and you might not get back up again?"
Bite
Tenya shivered, looking at her. What was going on inside her head that troubled her so much? 'I was wrong. She's still human. Of course she's going to have her weak times.'
He grabbed her shoulders, and made her face him then looked straight at her glossy (eye color) orbs. He can't handle the feeling of knowing that the girl that held a special place in his heart was feeling uneasy.
"(Name)-chan, what is this all about?"
(Name) shook her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she averted her eyes from his kind blue ones. "Nothing, I-"
"It's not nothing if it makes you cry!"
Iida gasped, and retracted his hand to his mouth, covering the frown on his face. "I..I deeply apologize for yelling. I shouldn't have overreacted."
"It's fine." She murmured, and went back to taking another bite from the ice cream cake she opened.
"It's just that you and I have been passed the same fate. A relative close to our hearts unable to serve the people gives you the responsibility of their name and their reputation so you do well, and I on the other hand have no idea what to do with it."
(Name) opened another one, wincing after she chewed on it. "I admire you, you know."
Tenya's heart raced, the words ringing inside his head. She admired him. She admired him! He fought back a triumphant smile as he listened to her elaborate on her statement, he should be giving his attention to her, not him.
"I saw how determined you were even after your brother couldn't continue with his hero duties, and you were so confident, too."
Bite
"I just want to know how you do it. I'm being pushed down by it and I'm jealous that you have the will and strength to push back. I don't want to disappoint my mother, I really don't. But I need help too. Will you give me what I need?" She murmured the last part, unnoticeably leaning to his side.
He then sat there with her, watching her eat more ice cream cakes, going through packs faster than she was before. Something's up with those treats.
"I would gladly give you advice," He starts, and places his hand on hers, pulling the treat that she was wolfing on down to her lap "If you tell me why you keep on eating these sugary and icy treats. It's never an indulgence now, is it?"
"I have also noticed that you've been trying to run away from schoolwork by asking your other peers to spend time with you, rather than focusing on the task given. What's happening with you (Name)-chan?"
(Name) visibly flinched at his words, then whimpered, her shoulders reaching her ears as she scowled, her hand shooting up to her head.
"F-fine."
"I wanted to distract myself from the impending doom of the expectations and pressure would give me, and the indulgence of the ice cream cake...?"
She rubbed her eye and threw the last pack into the plastic bag, and secured it tightly.
"It's hasn't been for the longest time. Do you know that thing when people get really sad and they start hurting themselves with blades? Those are mine." She aimed her index finger at the bag beside her, and back to her head. "I can't really handle seeing blood, especially if its mine. So I just get a non-bloody but still extremely painful alternative."
"Brain Freeze.." Iida muttered, eyes filled with worry. "How long have you been doing this?"
"Since my papa died." She turned her head, hugging her knees close to her chest. "That's six years ago,"
Drip Drip
Her tears dampened her pants, painful memories recollecting in her mind, looking back to when she found out that her father had died because of a villain attack. She had wandered off from the room full of anguished screaming and wailing from her mother, crying silently as she walked away. Nurses saw her and assumed something had happened, and one of them gave her a frozen treat straight from the freezer.
Once she took a large bite, she experienced a terrible headache, momentarily distracting her from the current situation she was suffering from. Later, she became obsessed with it, the brain freeze the only other way aside from smiling to divert her attention from her hurt, using the excuse that she loved the treat.
"Do your brothers know about this?"
"...aniyo...."
She spoke in another language, shaking her head and looking at him with her teary eyes. She was feeling tempestuous grief and sadness yet again, being reminded of her mother and father who have passed, leaving them alone for themselves.
She didn't look so well when she cried so much. It hurt him just looking at her like this.
"(Name)-chan, please let me give you a means of comfort, just this once." He faced her, opening his arms wide, gesturing for a hug. Another act of kindess, just to be wasted later on. She sobbed, breaking down, prompting Iida to go for it himself.
She weakly hit him, shoulders shaking every time she hiccuped. "Why are all of you like this?"
"Because we care about you, (Name)-chan."
"Are you really doing this because you care or you feel obligated to?"
Iida's eyes widened at her question, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Did he really? Which one?
What should he say?
What could he say?
"I.."
"You don't have to answer that."
She released herself from his arms and stood up, taking the plastic bags with her. As she passed him she ruffled his hair, and brushed her hand along his cheek. Stopping at his chin, she brought it upwards for him to look at her face, now bright and smiling.
"Sorry I was a bit rude. I know you care. I know you feel obligated. You're the class representative and my friend. I apologize for trying to push you away. You're just trying to look out for me, and trying to be nice." She leaned down to kiss his forehead, which made him blush profusely.
"I'll just ask for the advice later, I need some time for myself. Thank you, Tenya."
The blue haired boy sat there blushing, bringing a hand up to his forehead, which the girl he likes had just kissed.
---
BONUS PART
"Oh, that's a way of saying a person cares about you without actually saying it out loud. Why do you ask, Iida?"
He turned, a big smile on his face. It didn't take Eijiro long to figure out what happened to him that triggered him to ask the question.
"Really?!"
Tenya nodded, pushing up his glasses as he placed his hand on his hip. "I have gained the affection of (Name)-chan!"
"Not quite. It's platonic, m'dude." Kirishima pointed out, the taller male wilting from the sudden dejection.
"Well, I just have to try harder!" He sprung back up, and smiled. "I'll make sure of it!"
"Don't get yourself too carried away though, Tenya. I heard from Kaminari that Bakugou had the hots for (Name) as well. And don't forget Todoroki. He can be a real hurdle to jump over. Especially that third year. I heard he likes her too." Kirishima scratched his head, seeing the other slump again. It made him confused as to how one girl could have three people wrapped around their little finger.
Then again, with a kind hearted person like her, it might not be impossible. Though he has eyes for someone else.
"I knew something was happening between them when I saw them on the roof! No matter! I will have to win her heart, even if it means risking my friendship with Todoroki-kun!"
"Wait, what happened on the roof?!"
---
Ten points to Gryffindor if you figured out why I chose Brain Freeze.