"Remind me again how you ended up at my house?" Bakugou leaned further back into his couch.

He was sitting across from Miku in his living room, with her on a large gray armchair and him in a comfy green couch.

"You left before I could perform the health checks on you, but they're 100% necessary. You agreed that I could do them at your place, since I pestered you so much about it, but you haven't let me yet," Miku said.

"Tch. As if I need a health check," he scoffed.

Miku blinked. "Well, it's the law. Heroes have to perform basic first aid checks on any victims of villain attacks."

"I'M NOT A VICTIM! I COULD'VE EASILY KILLED HIM!"

He doesn't give up, does he? Miku thought, ignoring the boy's tangent on how he was obviously stronger than that 'stupid sewer sludge' or whatever.

"'Mkay, then." Miku sat back and waited for Bakugou to stop yelling so she could do what she was supposed to.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT, BITCH? YOU THINK HE'S STRONGER THAN ME?" Bakugou stood up and clenched his fists. "I'LL KILL YOU, TOO!"

How do you even respond to that? Miku wondered. I mean, he's obviously going to be traumatized from the whole experience. This has gotta be some sort of anger response to all of it, since there's no way someone can be this angry all the time. But how do I help him?

She took a deep breath. "There's no doubt that you're strong. You managed to endure all of that when even I could barely stand it, even though I have been trained by officers in the HPSC to withstand situations just like that. What do you want to be when you grow up? Because you'd make a really good--"

"A hero, of course." Bakugou rolled his red eyes like it was obvious. "What else would I be?"

This piqued Miku's interest. She'd been about to suggest he become a hero, and he'd beaten her to it. It was habitual for her to recommend becoming a pro to anyone her age with a fairly strong Quirk, since she'd been trained by the HPSC to do so, but this was the first boy she'd met who Miku genuinely believed would be a good hero. As shown by the sludge villains, he had a very powerful Quirk, and he showed little to no fear throughout the whole situation.

The side of her that subconsciously checked everyone who was vaguely her age for signs that they could possibly become the next Symbol of Peace was no longer subconscious around this boy. It was the exact opposite, blaring in her ear that he'd be a perfect candidate. 

"I think you'll be a great hero with that amount of raw talent," Miku said truthfully. "But all heroes have to take time to heal themselves up after combat. Please just let me do a health check."

Bakugou shook his head. "No. I'm better than those damn weaklings."

He's got a bit of an ego, doesn't he?

"Even All Might checks for injuries on himself after battle," Miku coaxed. "Just please let me."

She was lying through her teeth. Her Uncle Tori didn't have enough respect for his well-being to perform constant health checks on himself when he could instead be searching for the next villain. That was another reason she felt he may make a good One-for-All user: he reminded her of All Might. But Bakugou didn't have to know that.

The blonde squinted at her. "You're lying. You looked away from me the second you said that and started tapping your toes on the ground faster than you already were."

Dang, okay, then. Miku hadn't even realized she'd done either of those. I really need to get better at lying if I'm gonna be a hero.

According to Keigo, Miku's truly dreadful skills at lying were the only reason the Hero Public Safety Commission wasn't training her to become an agent, as well. Well, plus the fact that her parents would be livid if she got turned into another one of the HPSC's 'child soldiers', or whatever. Miku didn't quite see the big deal about it. Keigo had turned out fine, hadn't he?

No, no he hadn't. But still.

"Yeah, okay, I lied," she admitted. "But All Might isn't exactly the best example. He cares too much about the civilians to worry about his own 'minor' injuries."

"And how do you know this?"

"He and my mom are close." Miku shrugged. "Heroes, y'know?"

That wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the full truth. Toshinori and Elle were really close, but that was because they were siblings. Thankfully, Bakugou didn't seem to notice Miku withheld more information from him.

"Now, can you just let me do my job so we can move on with our lives?" Miku held up the first aid kit pointedly.

She wasn't quite certain that she wanted to just move on with her life, though. If she was truly right about him being a good candidate for One-for-All, it might be better to stick near him for a bit. See if his personality matched up to the role as much as his powers did, so to speak.

"No."

"It'll take, like, two minutes! I just gotta check your eyes and throat. Please?"

"No."

"Bakugou." Miku crossed her arms.

"Weird wind girl." Bakugou mirrored her position.

"It's illegal not to do this when you were in a situation of that scale. It's a part of the job description."

"You aren't even a proper hero-in-training, much less a pro hero," Bakugou retaliated. "How are you even allowed to fight villains at your age?"

He was obviously trying to distract Miku with the change of subject, but she'd all but given up on the check-up, anyway. May as well strike up a conversation before going back into annoying him into letting me help, I guess. Plus, maybe talking about hero work will help me figure out if I should introduce him to Uncle Tori or not.

"As I got older, I got recognized as Cyclone's child more and more often," Miku started to spew the usual lie. It was so simple, even she was able to say it with a straight face. "I started to get unwanted attention from villains. The usual--attempted hostage situations, failed murders, et cetera. I'd already been training with my par--I mean, with my mom--to be a hero, so it was pretty easy to convince the Commission to let me get a provisional hero license."

"But the license doesn't mean you can just be a hero," Bakugou pointed out.

"Yeah, but having connections to almost all of the top pros in Japan helps. Hawks, Mirko, Gang Orca, all the teachers at U.A., Ryukyu, All Might, et cetera. They take turns taking me on patrols with them. My Quirk is really helpful for those because the wind sort of communicates with me and leads me to where nearby villains are," Miku explained. "This was one of the first times I openly fought a villain around so many spectators, though. I usually help behind-the-scenes, or do damage-control. Or fight minor villains while on patrol."

"There was that other time you were openly fighting villains, though," Bakugou remembered. "Against that guy with the lightning bulb head or whatever. You were on the T.V. for months because of how young you were, how heroic it was of you, blah, blah, blah." He pulled a face that vaguely resembled Miku's expression when she accidentally ate sour candy.

"Yeah. In reality, though, I've been training for longer than most new heroes, so I really don't need all that credit," Miku admitted. "I'm not any more impressive than any of them, really."

"Tch. Sure you have." Bakugou rolled his eyes. "As if."

"I'm being serious! I started when I was five, and I'm fourteen now," Miku said.

"Whatever."

Just then, the front door swung open, revealing a man with brown hair and concerned-looking brown eyes. "Katsuki, my coworker saw the news about those sludge villains and told me I should--wait, who's this?" He closed the door behind him without looking at it and walked until he was in front of Miku.

"Hi, I'm Kazen Miku," Miku introduced herself with a polite smile. "Also known as Cyclone's daughter, but that's not too important. Right now, I'm here just to try to do a health check on your son, since he was just attacked, but he won't let me."

"Oh... well, are you at least okay, Katsuki?" the man asked, turning away from Miku to face Bakugou.

"Yes, of course I'm fine. That damn girl just won't believe me," Bakugou muttered the last part of his sentence.

Deciding to ignore the jibe, Miku decided to try a hand at convincing the boy again. "Y'know, the sooner I perform the health check, the sooner I'll leave."

The immediate interest shown in Bakugou's face almost hurt Miku, though she hid it by inspecting her nails. The red polish she'd done with Keigo, Inasa, and Airi was already starting to chip. Dang, he really wants me to leave that bad?

She shook the feeling off. "Is that a yes?"

"Fine," Bakugou muttered. 

Even though Miku tried to draw the inspection on for as long as possible--if she was going to be serious about him possibly becoming the next Symbol of Peace, she really had to scope out how he might react to that information, and if his ego would be as much of a problem as she was beginning to think it would be--she was done within ten minutes.

"There." Bakugou leaned away from Miku. "You're done. Now get out of my damn house."

A flare of panic rose up within Miku. She had to leave now, possibly to never see the boy again, but she wasn't sure if he'd be a good fit for the job or not. If she left, she'd surely never see him again, and then she'd spend the rest of her days wondering if whatever other Symbol of Peace she approved was really better than him or not.

"Katsuki," Masaru--which was the first name of Bakugou's dad--chided. "That's no way to speak to our guests."

"SHE ISN'T OUR GUEST, OLD MAN! SHE CAME IN AGAINST MY WILL TO DO THE DAMN HEALTH CHECK, AND IT'S OVER NOW!" Bakugou yelled. 

Miku noted that his dad didn't look surprised. Did that mean Bakugou yelled like that often? Maybe he wasn't a good choice. After all, how is someone supposed to be called the 'Symbol of Peace' if their nature was the exact opposite of peaceful?

Don't jump to conclusions, Miku, she warned herself. He may be a good option, and he may not. You've only known him for, like, an hour or two. You can't be sure of either one quite yet.

"She was nice enough to help you, so please don't be rude to her." Masaru's voice was gentle yet firm. "Now, your name is Kazen, right? Would you like anything? Tea, water, soda... I believe we have some curry, as well."

Now, Miku wasn't normally the type to sit down at someone else's table and visit with them. Don't get her wrong, she was definitely an extrovert, but she didn't like sitting still for long periods of time. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, so she requested tea and followed Bakugou's dad into their dining room.

Their entire house felt very modern, but also homey. The dining room was no different. It had a table for six in the centre, with an abstract painting overlooking it. There were a few other decorations as well, but Miku was focused on the one thing that seemed out of place: a bulletin board full of what looked like certificates for something. Upon further inspection, she realized they were school awards, all addressed for Bakugou Katsuki.

So he's academically smart, too. I should probably start making a list of the pros and cons to him being Uncle Tori's successor, Miku thought. Pros: he's strong, he's intelligent, he actually wants to be a hero, and he doesn't show fear. Plus, he's kinda attractive, in some lights, so he's got pretty privilege. Cons: oh, where do I even start?

"Oi, what are you staring at?" Bakugou frowned.

Realizing that she'd been looking at the awards for too long, Miku apologized, then moved away and sat down at the table. It felt a bit awkward to sit down when the other two were standing, but Bakugou immediately pulled up a chair and sat across from her. 

After turning the kettle on, Masaru made his way back to the dining room. "So, Kazen, how did you become a hero? You look to be around the same age as Katsuki, but you mentioned fighting off those sludge villains."

"Honestly, I just got lucky enough." Miku shrugged. "I was born to the right family, with my mom being a hero and all. I inherited basically the same Quirk as her, too. I actually started training to be a hero when I was about five, though I didn't actually get my license until I was eleven. I would've just waited until I went to a hero school to get one, but villains had started to recognize me and tried to take me for ransom and all of that. Since the rules regarding using Quirks for self-defense are very vague and don't always hold up in court, my mom managed to convince the Hero Public Safety Commission to let me get my provisional hero license early, under the condition that--"

She cut herself off from oversharing. The comforting aura of the house made her feel so secure, Miku had almost told two strangers a secret that she'd sworn not to tell anyone, not even her family. It was a bit concerning how quickly she'd let her guard down. Even Windsweep had backed off a bit, her extended senses becoming lax and maybe a bit untrustworthy

"Just under a few conditions," she finished with a hopefully-nonchalant shrug. "They're fairly easy to meet, so I don't mind."

How did I almost tell them that? she scolded herself. I've gone three whole years without spilling it to Mom or Dad or Aunt Aki or Uncle Tori or anyone, yet the moment I talk to someone my age who isn't my cousins, I almost go spilling my secrets. 

At that, Bakugou gave her a very suspicious once-over, probably not believing a single thing she'd said. Though it was annoying in this particular situation, Miku made a mental note to add 'perceptive' to her list of pros.

Before he could comment on it, Miku's senses--which she'd extended more than she usually would, just to make up for earlier--picked up on a disturbance in the kitchen. "Oh, I think the water is boiling now."

Once Masaru exited the room, Bakugou crossed his arms and glared at Miku. "What the hell are you hiding?"

Intimidating, as well, though I can't tell if that's a pro or a con, Miku mused. Depends on the situation.

"Nothing." Miku did her best to keep her gaze even, periodically reminding herself to blink while she stared directly into his red eyes.

"You're a shitty liar."

Miku huffed. "Well, it's none of your business."

Before Bakugou could retort--he looked ready to kill something, namely her--Masaru walked in and placed a mug of green tea in front of her.

"Thank you." Miku blew a steady stream of air across the top of the mug, attempting to cool it down. Of course, she could use her Quirk, but she wasn't too keen on leaving just yet, so she didn't want to speed up the process. 

To her surprise, Bakugou's tea bag had the word 'Chamomile' on the end of the string. Maybe he was more shaken than he seemed. 

The three of them sipped their drinks in silence for a moment before Masaru spoke up. "Your mother will be here in a few minutes, Katsuki."

This piqued Miku's interest. She really wanted to see how Bakugou's mom handled him as opposed to his dad. Masaru didn't appear to have much success in calming his son down, but maybe she'd have some luck. Or maybe she was just a carbon copy of her husband. There was no way to tell until she got there.

"That old hag," Bakugou scowled. "I bet she'd love her, too." He violently jerked his head in the direction of Miku.

Did he just call his mom an old hag? Miku was a bit shocked, to say the least. If she called her mom that... well, she couldn't even imagine how she'd react, as she had no reason to ever refer to her mother that way. 

"What's that look for?" Bakugou's brow furrowed even more than it was before, somehow. 

"Huh?" Realizing she'd been staring at the boy with disbelief written all over her features, Miku quickly fixed her expression. "Whoopsies. Just... staring into space again, y'know?"

"You're weird," Bakugou decided, taking another sip of his tea.

Could be worse, I guess. I'd rather be called weird than, say, an old hag. Miku still couldn't believe that's what he called his mom. It was a level of disrespect she'd previously been unaware existed. Who would call their own mother that? Unless she's an awful parent, I guess... but his dad is so nice! I guess you never know what goes on behind closed doors, though.

When Bakugou wasn't looking, Miku discreetly checked him for any injuries. She already knew there wouldn't be any, as she'd literally performed a health check twenty minutes earlier, but she just had to be sure he was okay. Maybe all of his anger stemmed from childhood trauma?

He seems to be pretty close to that Midoriya kid, right? Maybe if I can find where he lives, I can ask him. Dad should know, since he walked him home. Subconsciously, Miku's eyes drifted over his face again, searching his crimson eyes for any signs of sadness. 

"Stop staring at me!" Bakugou slammed his hands on the table, spilling his chamomile in the process. "Damnit!"

Before Miku could attempt to defend herself--she was currently a stuttering mess--the front door opened. 

That must be his mom, she realized. Well, let's see what this woman is all about. If she's abusive...well, there's a reason I have a hero license.

Hii, how are y'all? 

Sorry I haven't updated in forever btw I'm a lot more busy now

Not Miku jumping to conclusions over 100 times in this one chapter-
That's why she reminds me of me tho tbf

QOTD: What's your favourite colour?

A: Indigo

Anyways, thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a good day!

~Aspen<3