? Benevolence ?

Back at the dorms, everyone decides to hang out in the common area. It's nice to relax after the test. At some point, Kouda brings out his rabbit and I find myself cooing over it along with the girls before we all go to bed.

Later that night, I wake up from a nightmare. I vaguely remember some distorted version of the kidnapping, fear and panic lingering. I decide to sit out on my balcony and watch the stars until I calm down. I feel myself slowly relax, the stars twinkling enchantingly.

BOOM.

I flinch, lurching to my feet at the sound of an explosion from somewhere on campus. Listening closely, a few more go off. I struggle to hold myself together but a single thought rings through my mind. We're being attacked again?

My immediate response is to check if Bakugou is still here. I make my way to his room quickly only to find his door ajar, bed empty. I push down a wave of panic and take a deep breath. It might be nothing... I'll check around the dorms first...

I pop into all the common areas and only when I can't find him do I let myself worry. Thinking over the proper course of action, I decide to find Aizawa-sensei. Imagining his image in my mind, I find myself popping into his office. He turns to me, exhausted.

"S-se-sensei! There are e-explosions coming from somewhere on c-campus and Bakugou is m-missing... are we being at-attacked again?"

He lets out a deep sigh, rubbing a hand down his face. "No. Thank you for coming to me rather than doing something reckless but it's nothing. Go back to bed, [L/n]. School starts back in the morning."

Trusting him, I nod hesitantly before focusing on the memory of my dorm. Back in my room, I struggle to fall back asleep. The explosions have stopped but I haven't heard Bakugou come back to his room yet.

I realize I must have passed out at some point as I'm awakened by my alarm. I get dressed and head down stairs to find the rest of the class talking. Following their gazes, I spot Midoriya and Bakugou covered in bruises.

At my concerned look, the explosive blond scowls and looks away. Turning my attention to what the others are saying, I find myself mildly shocked but also relieved.

"T-they got into a fight?"

Kirishima nods. "Yeah. Now they have house arrest for a couple days."

"That s-sucks but I'm glad they're okay..."

On the way to the opening ceremony, Iida attempts to usher us all to Ground Beta quickly. He's interrupted by the kid- mono something? -who tries to mock us as usual.

"I heard the news Class A! You had TWO people fail the provisional license exam?!"

Kirishima huffs. "Were you the only one to fail again?"

"Actually, we all passed!! Looks like we've surpassed you!"

Behind me, I hear Todoroki sigh. "...sorry everybody..."

I turn to him, offering a gentle smile. "Hey, d-don't let him get to you... It's a one sided r-rivalry anyway."

A girl from Class B speaks up. "We have a class together during the second semester. Looking forward to it!!"

Behind them, a familiar voice speaks up. "You guys are holding up the back here..."

Iida immediately begins to apologize and I smile softly. "H-hey 'toshi."

He nods at my greeting, keeping up his reserved public demeanor. "[Y/n]."

Some of my classmates murmur quietly, pointing out his physique. "Huh...? That guy...? He seems a little... tougher now."