Chapter 33 - Red

Three days had passed, and your mother still hadn't woken up.

Word of her condition spread around the dorm. Yaoyorozu's family sent a giant arrangement of white and pink roses that took up the entire bedside table. Todoroki's family gave an assortment of fresh fruits which ended up being donated to the hospital cafeteria. Books and magazines from other classmates began piling up along the wall, but your mother wasn't awake to read them. Instead when you visited, you'd skim through the magazines and read passages aloud about celebrities, recipes, and '10 ways to lift your booty'.

When you couldn't visit, you developed a bad habit of walking into Kirishima's room unannounced to take a few hits at his punching bag to relieve your anxiety whenever it flared. When you walked in and saw him lounging on his bed in only his boxers reading a manga, you decided to start knocking.

You turned down your classmates' offers to accompany you for a visit. It felt too vulnerable with her lying there. However, each time you left your mother's room you found Bakugou sitting outside the door waiting. He'd take your hand and you'd walk back to the train station together. He didn't need to say anything. It was comforting to just have him near you.

"When my mom wakes up-" Bakugou still held your hand as you stepped off the train and headed toward campus. It was sweaty from his quirk, but you didn't mind- "I was wondering if you'd like to meet her." You gave a gentle but earnest squeeze. In all the stress of the last few days you hadn't been able to talk about your whatever-this-was with Bakugou. But he'd been there for you nonetheless.

"Really?" His question was soft and genuine.

"Yeah, I mean... I want her to meet my-" You puckered your lips to the side trying to think of the right title. Friend? Boyfriend? Guy I kissed a few times? "...you." Your cheeks turned rosy.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"I said sure didn't I?!" His aggressive tone held no conviction and you squeezed his hand once more.

"She'll hate you. So just don't act like yourself," you laughed and pinched his cheek with your free hand. Bakugou scoffed and released your hand.

"I thought you like that I'm myself!" You smirked at his frustration.

"I do. But she'll kill you if you curse in front of her. Just pretend you need to actually win the high heel bet this time." You winked and took two quick skips to avoid the playful punch you would receive.

Your phone rang and you stopped short, feeling Bakugou's body barrel into yours. He stopped you from falling and held you around the waist as you grabbed your phone from your back pocket.

"It's the hospital." The lightness in your tone evaporated.

"Well, answer it Ashtray." He raised his brows, urging you to accept the call. You pressed the answer key. Bakugou listened to your side of the conversation.

"Hello?... Yes, this is [l/n] [f/n]... Yes, that's my mother... She is? She is?!... Thank you. Thank you! I'll be right there!" You hung up and threw your arms around Bakugou's neck. "SHE'S AWAKE!" You beamed up at the boy. He looked into your eyes, the ones that had been cloudy for the last three days and saw the spark of hope that now shone brightly.

"You still want me to meet her?" He smiled down at you, arms still wrapped around your waist. He could kiss you so easily like this. He shook away the thought. It wasn't the right time.

You nearly forgot your earlier conversation but nodded vehemently, feeling tears prick the corners of your eyes. "Please?"

"Let's go." He gently pulled your hands from around his neck and tucked one inside his own. You turned back to the station and waited for the next train.

***

"Wait here?" You had one hand on the doorknob to room 313 and the other in Bakugou's. He reluctantly released you and nodded his head toward the door, urging you to go. You smiled before turning the handle.

"Hey baby girl." Tears stung your eyes and you ran to your mother's bedside, relief flooding through your body at the sound of her voice. You wrapped your arms around her neck, careful not to get tangled in the myriad of tubes and wires still attached to her. "I'm sorry I scared you honey." Her voice was scratchy and weak, but she hugged you back with strength, brushing your hair with her right hand.

You pulled back to look at her face and exhaled gratefully. "I'm so glad you're awake." She smiled at you and wiped the tears from your face.

"I seem to have a lot of books to read," she said. Just like her to try to lighten the mood. She gestured to the piles of books and magazines dotting the walls and chairs.

"They're mostly from my classmates." You picked up an earmarked magazine you'd been thumbing through just an hour ago. "This one tells you how to remove under-eye bags."

"Well, that can't be for me. I just slept for three days," she joked and brushed a stray tear from your chin. She motioned for her water cup and you placed it in her hands. She took a big gulp. Her voice less scratchy she said, "The doctors tell me I'll be on medication and I have to go through some post-care, but it'll be fine as long as I quit blowing smoke."

"But it's your quirk. Can they really suggest you not use it?" You wanted to protest even though the alternative was much worse.

"I don't need to use mine all the time. I'm not a hero like you honey." She smiled warmly and tapped the end of your nose with her index finger.

"I can make fire now Mom," you said after a long pause.

"You've always been able to light your fingers sweetie. But I don't think you should do that here. My oxygen tank might blow up." She jerked her head toward the corner of the room where a series of tanks were lined up.

"Not my fingers. It's like the Sports Festival. I can light my whole torso and arms. I can throw out fire on my smoke." You were talking too fast and your mother's eyes widened at your discovery.

"Safely?" she finally questioned.

"Yes Mom, safely." You wanted to push her shoulder in jest but thought better of it. "And speaking of the Sports Festival, I brought one of my friends with me. Would you like to meet him?"

"Him?" She gave you a suspicious smile. You stood from the bed and gave her a look that said, 'don't embarrass me'. You opened the door. Bakugou was sitting outside as he had the previous days. You waved for him to come in.

"Mom, this is Bakugou Katsuki." Bakugou stepped into the sterile, harshly lit room. "Bakugou, this is my mom, [l/n] Ana." You held your breath suddenly nervous about this meeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you [l/n]-san." Bakugou bowed and then stepped closer to shake your mother's hand. You almost balked at his respectful introduction.

"You're the young man who nearly killed my daughter in the finals. You were her partner, the one my baby girl called an angry punk," she said still holding onto his hand. It was a declaration, not a question. Bakugou looked over his shoulder toward you, trying to glean how to handle her statements. You shook your head trying not to laugh.

"Um... yes ma'am?" he finally answered. You could tell Bakugou was reigning in his temper at being addressed so callously.

"[y/n], why are you bringing the boy who sent an explosion at your head to meet me?" She dropped Bakugou's hand and looked around his body toward where you stood. Bakugou curled his hands into fists by his sides.

"We're..." You looked into Bakugou's eyes for a single heartbeat, "...friends mom. He's been coming with me when I visit you."

"And why is that?"

"Because I like your daughter ma'am." Both you and your mother were caught off guard by his candor. He continued, "She's strong and smart and will make an amazing hero. And I have no intention of nearly killing her again." A gentle blush crawled up your neck at his words. Your mother stared at Bakugou for a long moment. He didn't blink.

"I'll hold you to that." She grinned. Bakugou visibly exhaled. "But beat it kid, I'd like to talk to my daughter alone for a while." Bakugou gave a tight-lipped smile and bowed again at your mother before locking eyes with you. You gave him a small nod and opened the door for him to leave.

"He's cute," your mom said before the door was even fully closed.

"Mom!" Bakugou heard you whine as the lock clicked into place.

***

With your mother now awake and actively engaging in her after-care program your focus shifted toward the fast-approaching final exams.

You weren't worried about the written portion. You'd scored fourth in the midterms, only behind Yaoyorozu, Iida and Bakugou, even with all the new literature and history material you had to learn. But a knot tightened in your gut every time you thought about the physical exam. What would it be? Were you ready?

The uncertainly plagued you even as your lessons with Aizawa and Todoroki were progressing. You'd managed to not only break out of his ice cocoons, but melt them before they even reached your body. The flames around your tendrils were getting thicker and denser, no longer a single weak spiral. And while it still took a lot out of you to keep the fire turned on, you no longer had to concentrate as hard to get an initial flare.

"Todoroki, you need to shield and attack at the same time. If she gets past your long-range moves, you're too exposed." Aizawa stopped your fight. You hopped from foot to foot, not wanting to lose your momentum. Smoke swirled around the whole mat, causing your eyes to water slightly from the constant irritation.

Todoroki nodded and Aizawa resumed the fight. You threw out a dense column of smoke, breaking apart Todoroki's oncoming ice attack. Your eyes went red and you lit your left arm, shooting out a flaming tendril. It missed its mark as Todoroki dodged and fired a flame attack in the air, anticipating you'd try to jump with your boots. Instead, you ducked and ran low.

If only I could get behind him.

In the next moment, you were. The back of Todoroki's red and white head was in front of you. You numbly tapped the boy on the shoulder and were met with wide eyes. You both stood frozen.

"You did that during the Sports Festival too. How are you doing that?" Aizawa stepped between you and Todoroki on the mat, pushing you apart.

"I don't really know. I was thinking 'I wish I could get behind him' and then I was." You looked up at your teacher stunned. Aizawa's eyes thinned. He was thinking again.

"Send some smoke to the far side of the gym," he commanded, gesturing toward the opposite wall. You raised your brows perplexed but sent a pillar to the spot. A dense blob of smoke hovered over the point. "Now think about going there." You concentrated on the now dissipating smoke.

I want to be over there. I want to be over there. I want to be over there.

Nothing.

You looked up at Aizawa and shrugged. He hummed quizzically. "Create a smokescreen then, from here to there." You did as instructed. "Try again." You once again focused on the farther spot. Still nothing.

"Do it with your eyes," Todoroki finally spoke. You looked at the boy. It took you a moment to understand his meaning, but then nodded. At the Sports Festival your eyes had already been red when you shifted behind Bakugou.

You took a deep breath and focused as you did when lighting your fire. You saw the familiar flash that you now associated with your more dormant power. Your eyes were red. You zoomed in on the far side of the room, a smoky wall separating you from your destination.

I want to be over there. I want to be over there. I want to be over there.

You blinked, and Aizawa and Todoroki were on the opposite side of the room.

"Very interesting," Aizawa finally said, smiling.

"You understand what just happened?" You physically walked back to them.

"What are your parents quirks [l/n]?" You were slightly taken aback by his question.

"My mother can blow out smoke from her mouth." After all the doctor's tests, they said [l/n] Ana had a burning coal within her, which lead to the production of her smoke. "And my father could teleport short distances. He called it 'jumping'." Aizawa's smile grew a bit larger.

"It seems that you can jump, as you called it, through your smoke [l/n]. You need a complete path, but it's possible."

"Are you saying I could have jumped to capture my flag during the Sports Festival and not have had to climb into and leap out of a burning building?"

"Yes," he answered matter-of-factly. You looked exasperated at the knowledge.

"How many quirks do you have [y/n]?" Todoroki asked, finally coming to terms with your newfound skill.

"I think it's more of a quirk-set than many individual quirks," Aizawa answered before you could say anything. "They're all tied to your smoke but tapping into each element makes you that much stronger."

"I guess I'm just full of surprises." You threw up your hands, overwhelmed at everything that had changed in your quirk in just a few short months.

"Well, no time to get hung up on it." Aizawa's tone was back to its cool, disinterested affect. "We still have twenty minutes of training." He waved each of you to your respective sides of the mat.

Your eyes glowed red.