The first thing you heard when you approached the courtyard outside of the dorms was a loud shriek of relief from none other than Mina Ashido.
"(Y/NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN)!" Completely bypassing Katsuki by your side, you were brought into a rib-cracking tight hug by the pink Alien Queen. Her curly wiry pink hair was brushing against your cheek, her body pushing Katsuki away from you. The red-eyed boy looked grumpy if not completely miserable seeing Mina just grab you away from him. "I was so worried about you! You were in the hospital and I saw you were on TV and you got STABBED?! Like didn't that HURT?!" She continued rambling but you were losing track of each word as you struggled for air.
"She can't breathe Pink Bitch." Katsuki commented in an annoyed guttural tone. Mina simply turned her head towards him and stuck her tongue out, still holding you to her but slightly loosening her grip. You decided to return the embrace, enjoying the feeling of a genuine connection with real friends. These students worried about you and cried for you. The fact that just a few months ago you didn't know a single person here at UA really stumped you sometimes.
"Thank you Mina for worrying about me. But Kacchan and I are safe. It's all okay...and yes getting stabbed hurts. Zero out of ten would not recommend." You chuckled at the end of your sentence as you slowly pulled away from her. She wiped her eyes and gave you a cheesy grin. She then turned to Katsuki, the boy with a deep frown etched upon his lips and glaring scarlet eyes.
"We were worried about you Bakugo. Ease up my dude. We're so happy you're back!" Almost as quick as the wind, Mina gave him a fist bump on the shoulder and a thumbs up. "No need to pout. And if you call me Pink Bitch one more time, I will spit acid on your hair." Mina threatened with the same pearly grin. You couldn't help but smile while seeing Katsuki roll his eyes, but his frown was a little less severe.
"Yeah, whatever." Thank you.
"BAKUGO! (Y/N)! MY MAN I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE BOTH OKAY!" Kirishima was next to approach the two of you, bringing you both in a tight hug. Katsuki tried not to react, but you took notice that he slowly placed a hand on Kirishima's back. This was how the first ten minutes of seeing everyone was like. Kaminari, Momo, Sero, Tsuyu, Jiro, Tokoyami...they all approached you and Katsuki with cheery expressions. Mineta tried to hug you and Katsuki threatened to shove his balls up his ass...which was hilarious but terrifying. Iida was rambling with lectures, his hand making a chopping action the entire time he ranted about who knows what. While Katsuki was locked in conversation with a few of his friends, you noticed Shinso, Todoroki, Ochaco, and Midoriya standing together in silence. Ochaco's eyes were red and puffy as if she were crying not a moment prior.
Your gaze locked with Todoroki whose eyes held nothing but relief and love. He missed your fight against All for One and didn't know you were hospitalized until his father told him when he came home at five in the morning. For the first time in his life, he sat down with his exhausted father in the living room with his sister Fuyumi and his elder brother Natsuo to watch a recording of your fight against All for One. The three of them sat in complete silence as they watched the news while dawn approached, Shoto shedding silent tears as he watched your broken blade pierce your abdomen. Enji Todoroki turned his turquoise eyes toward his three children, watching as Fuyumi caressed Shoto's hair just like his mother used to and Natsuo placed a hand on the younger brother's shoulder. He silently thanked you for your sacrifice, that even though his children still hated him...at least he knew that they were all caring and loving siblings.
You approached Todoroki and Midoriya who both smiled at you, Midoriya's expression a little more relaxed. Since you've seen Midoriya during the break, neither of you felt the need to reconnect. Katsuki's eyes burned a hole in your back as Shoto embraced you, tucking your face in the crook of his neck like one would a lover.
"I'm so happy you are okay. You...had me worried." You peaked your head out of his neck enough to give him a pearly grin that made his heart swell three sizes. His hands caressed your hair and smoothed out stray strands in a soothing manner. It only riled up Katsuki more who was stuck with Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima.
"And leave you without my annoying jokes? I would never." Shoto's gentle expression was one that would make any woman swoon, and if you didn't have such a loving boyfriend, you probably would have been one of them.
"They make my days that much brighter," Shoto spoke genuinely until a pale hand gripped his shoulder.
"Stop flirting, you're hogging (y/n), Prince Zuko." Shoto turned to see a lavender haired boy with deep eyebags address him as if he were bored.
"Prince Zuko=...?" Shoto whispered to himself as he moved out of the way. Shinso approached you with furrowed eyebrows and a taut jaw, his hands were gripping his pockets as if his life depended on it.
"You're a fucking dumbass." Shinso gritted at you. His chest was burning as if it were on fire, his heart pounding erratically in his chest. He blamed himself for everything. In his eyes, it wasn't Katsuki's fault for being captured. It was not your fault for fighting All for One. It was not All Might's fault for losing his quirk in battle. It was my fault. All of it. If I saved (y/n), Bakugo would have never gotten captured, and All Might would have never lost his powers fighting All for One. I joined the hero course to be somebody, and all I did was ruin the lives of everyone else.
"I missed you too Shinso." Your voice broke through his thoughts, the same ones that Katsuki was having. Two different men that hated and blamed themselves for everything that happened...and yet hearing your voice in such a calming way made it seem like everything really was okay. Shinso bit his lip to keep it from wavering, his violet eyes staring directly into yours.
"There aren't many adjectives in this world to effectively describe your idiocy." He continued. You came close to the boy and wrapped your arms above his shoulders, burrowing your face into his warm body and a soft cotton t-shirt.
"I think dumbass does it well." You murmured. He entwined his fingers with your shirt and gripped it tightly to pull you in. His voice was quiet and barely legible compared to Katsuki's loud yelling at his caring friends.
"Don't to that to us again. Please." Ochaco watched the grief pool in Shinso's eyes and the small smile of appreciation on Midoriya's freckled cheeks...suddenly the heat of tears began to overwhelm her and she turned towards Aizawa who was steadily approaching the group. Her hands were shaking and so she tucked them into her pants' pockets to hide it. Aizawa decided it was time to call everyone in to announce to them what the dorm situation was going to look like.
"All right guys, you can hug and love each other later." His gruff voice announced with an annoyed expression on his tired face. Shinso let go of you, and Katsuki walked over with his hands in his pockets, not before handing Kirishima a fat stack of cash.
"Hey, Knuckles. Take this for the binoculars." You turned your head towards your explosive boyfriend who attempted to make his conversation with Kirishima private. Said redhead was blushing profusely, embarrassed.
"H-how did you know I bought binoculars?" Katsuki's patience was wearing thin and you could tell by the way he clicked his teeth with his spiked tooth exposed.
"Just take the damn money."
"Thanks buddy...I really appreciate it." Katsuki didn't say anything back to him but patted Kirishima's arm as he walked towards you. After Katsuki took his place by your side, he wrapped his hand in yours and rubbed his warm thumb in circles against the top of your hand. It was comforting...but it seemed like he was trying to calm himself down more than anything. You were surprised that he didn't say anything about Todoroki or Shinso giving you warm hugs...but you had a hunch that he had a newfound respect for the two after they tried to save you from the League of Villains when they infiltrated the camp. He hated asking for help...but he knew that if something happened to him again that you would be in safe hands...
Now all that was left was to receive a verbal thrashing from Aizawa.
The sleepless adult stared hazily at your class with his 5 o'clock shadow growing darker as he spoke about heroism and breaking the school rules. You peered up at him and noticed there were no signs of irritation in the man's eyes, but a lingering hint of sourness tugged at his chest. He was responsible for every single one of his students and their actions if they complete hero work without permission. The only reason you got off was due to you being considered a 'government employee'. Regardless of this, Aizawa stood in front of the class who took the verbal beat down mercilessly.
"You all are lucky I don't expel you for the stunt you pulled, and the rest of you for knowing about this and not stopping it. Except for Bakugo that is. Anyway, time to get inside and unpack your stuff." Aizawa walked away towards the dorms and headed towards the teacher's segment of the dorm facility. Everyone sweatdropped at the mood-killing speech but thankfully now it was over. Everyone was quiet, and you felt Katsuki tense at all of this. Don't tell me he's blaming himself...
Katsuki snagged the back of Kaminari's collar and dragged him behind the half wall where the rest of the class stared in confusion. Shinso leaned towards you to whisper in your ear.
"If he kills Pikachu then we gotta run so we aren't accomplices." You snorted in retort, Shoto looking at you with a fond expression on his face. Suddenly a bright light of electricity shot in random directions from behind the half-wall and Pikachu peaked out with his thumbs up and a dumb expression on his face.
"Yaaaay..." He slurred with a round face as Katsuki walked passed him with his hands in his pockets. Jiro blurted out laughing while the rest of the class followed. You connected gazes with your scarlet eyed lover...but there was something rooted in there that even you couldn't pull out.
"Let's go inside." You muttered to Shinso.
~~
The first few nights in the dorms were interesting. The dorms that you stayed in before you moved in with the Bakugos was a run-down version of the luxury hotel-like place you and your class stayed in now. Before, the dorms looked like mini-apartments that were accessible from outside, but now you had to enter a massive dorm building separated by class and each dorm was inside of the building. Your room was on the fourth floor in between Ochaco and Mina and on the other side of the floor was Katuski, Kirishima, Shinso, and Shouji. You could tell that whoever organized the floor layout tried to put friends together on the same floor...but Ochaco couldn't even look at you while you three girls would get ready in the morning. Mina was basically glued to your side, begging to do your hair or paint your nails...she even laid out facemasks for the three of you to do together but Ochaco always turned it down. It grated at you that she couldn't even say hello to you or pretend to like you.
Katsuki was also acting distant and every time he was around Midoriya, he just seemed to grow even tenser. You knew it was a matter of time before he would burst and ask about One for All or Midoriya's connection to All Might. You didn't think Katsuki would tell anyone but it wasn't your secret to spill. Tonight seemed to be his breaking point, however. You were dressed in All Might pajama shorts and one of Katuski's black tank tops as you wandered through the dorms trying desperately to find your hedgehog boyfriend. He wasn't in his room, Kirishima's room, Sero's, Kaminari's...you even asked Shoto and Shinso if they have seen him but the answer was always a brisk no.
Where was he?
Just as you were about to go downstairs, you heard the sounds of yelling and explosions coming from outside. You ran to the window to see if you were able to spot him, but it was too dark. The sky was pitch black from it being late at night, but a burst of light told you exactly where your boyfriend was.
"Katsuki." You gasped breathlessly as you panicked thinking that the League had come back, but when you turned around only Ochaco was there.
"It's alright...it's just him and Deku again." She stated with a quiet voice. Her eyes were a dull brown, like lifeless soil. A fuzzy pink robe adorned her petite figure, and her cropped hair accented her round face. You were startled by hearing her voice, but hearing that it was just those two going at each other again made your immediate panic subside.
"I should check on them..." You mumbled, eyeing the elevator. You were about to walk past Ochaco when her deft hand quickly grasped your forearm with a lackluster grip.
"Please...just...can we talk for a moment?" She said no louder than a whisper. You swallowed the lump in your throat as your chest burst with icy tingles of anxiety. What does she want to talk about? After weeks upon weeks of isolating herself from me...suddenly she wants to talk?
"Sure..." Ochaco looked around for a moment to see that no one was around or listening, the floor was empty.
"I...I...I'm so sorry (y/n). This is all my fault." She crumpled to her knees on the ground as broken sobs wracked through her chest. You knelt with her, pushing her shaggy bangs away from her watering eyes.
"What is your fault?" You asked, the burn of acid lingering at the back of your throat. Something vile was wrong.
With round chocolate brown eyes and gritted pearly teeth, Ochaco whimpered in guilt and terror. Her body shook with every word that left her mouth and she flinched when you stumbled backward onto the floor in shock yourself.
"I was the one that betrayed U.A."
~~
A/N
Hello everyone! I am back from hiatus! I finished up my college career at Penn State and this August I'll finally have my Bachelors in English! Yay! Thank you so much for your patience as I took a short brain break. I was feeling really overloaded with stress and seeing this story surpass 900k reads (WOW!!!!) had motivated me to stop sitting on my ass and start writing!
This fanart was by shipping_lord !! Give them love for this amazingly beautiful art!
If you have fan art you would like to submit, please send me a DM or email me with your art and Wattpad username at vote4kiba@gmail.com
So how do we feel about Ochaco right now? What do you think happened behind the scenes? Comment your predictions about the next chapter!
-v4k