Chapter Text
URARAKA
The dorm smells amazing. Ochako's mouth starts watering immediately as she steps out of the shower, puts on comfy clothes and heads towards the kitchen. Since Ocha had been responsible for getting Dreamer here, Deku had offered to handle the cooking and of course, he had recruited Bakugou.
Ochako can hear them as she gets closer.
"...No.."
"This?"
"NO"
"Which one--"
"The one I'm POINTING TO!"
"Woah!" She ducks under a swinging, sizzling pan and into the kitchen. "Smells amazing guys!"
"Thanks!" Deku beams.
"Fuck you, she's talking to me." Bakugou steps forward with a smirk and grabs whatever implement he'd needed from Deku's hand.
"I helped!"
"Cutting up random shit does not count as cooking." He tosses over his shoulder, back at the stove and stirring, though Ochako can hear the slight smile in his voice.
Deku plants his fists on his hips. "Admit it, I'm getting better."
Bakugou actually barks out a laugh, glancing back "'Course you're better. You had the culinary skills of a fucking rabbit when we first started."
Deku opens his mouth to protest but Ochako interrupts him.
"You really did, sweetie." Ochako hopes the endearment will lessen the blow and make him laugh and she's not disappointed. Deku blushes and splutters and mutters something like 'I wasn't that bad' while Bakugou chuckles over the spicy chicken dish they've prepared.
"Listen, Cheeks" He says seriously, suddenly, turning off the stove for a moment and setting the pan aside before turning his fierce red eyes on Ochako. "When you talk to her tonight, see if you can find out how she met All Might."
"That was on my list, actually. Though I'm not sure we'll get there tonight..." Ochako squints at him. "Why do you want to know?"
He grunts, shooting a glance at Deku. "It's important," They share a heated look. Nothing out of the ordinary there, these two almost always have beef, but especially when it comes to All Might. For his part, Deku just stares Bakugou down, a contemplative look on his face.
Ochako takes a deep breath. "Alright, I'll see what I can do, but i'm not gonna pressure her. Tonight is about make her feel safe. " She blinks, blushing a little. "And getting information."
Dreamer had practically challenged them to use all the resources they had at their disposal to learn more about her. So here they are.
"That's right." Bakugou says with a firm nod, "So do the feel good bounding shit, and then ask."
"I will, Bakugou." Ochako sighs as he starts making final additions to the meal. "But it's--"
"Yeah, I fucking know it takes time and patience or whatever. I'm not saying rush her , I'm just saying don't pussy out of asking the hard questions." He hits her with his Serious eyes and Ochako knows he understands how delicate this situation is which is why he hasn't marched up to her already and started demanding answers. No matter how much better he's gotten at expressing himself over the years, it still isn't his strongest suit and he is trusting Ochako to go in his stead.
"Okey," She says slowly, a small, crooked smile turning up her lips. "You can count on me, Bakugou."
He snorts, a confident, content look in his eye. "Yeah, I know."
CORINA
"Wait, so you are going to go hang out with your students... who you've already seen for approximately twelve hours today and also see everyday , oh! and also they're curious as fuck and are absolutely going to hound you with questions, and you're willing subjecting yourself to that, but you won't go out to the bar with me ? I'm I getting that right?"
"Nemuri," Cori can't help but laugh a little helplessly as she wanders about her room getting ready. "They offered me free food. I wasn't about to say no to that." Cori half jokes as she rubs lotion into the dry skin of her arms, moisture from her recent shower still clinging to her skin. The new suit is awesome but she'll have to ask the support department about the chaffing. Midnight leans casually against her doorway, managing to look both sexy and approachable in her soft, well fitted winter garb. "Besides, they may be curious but they're not new , ya know? Meeting new people is the last thing I wanna do after a long day."
Midnight gives her a contemplative look. "So do you never go out then? What if it was a small, private place?"
Cori nod-shrugs while pulling on a pair of socks, "That would certainly be better. And I do go out sometimes. If I have to. But that usually means "muting" my quirk or shutting it off completely, so I don't get overwhelmed, and that's really not ideal, so." She shrugs again as she stands. "I really don't mind, honestly. Nightlife has never been my thing." She offers Midnight a grin and the woman returns it.
"Well maybe that's because you've never been able to do it right. " The older woman says, eyes thoughtful in a way that betrays the casual smirk on her lips. "I'll think on this and get back to you." She says shoving off the door and walking away.
"What? No this isn't an assignment!" Cori calls after, sticking her head out the door, mostly joking but also a little terrified.
Midnight just laughs and looks over her shoulder to wink, "Have fun with the kiddo's, babe." Then saunters off down the hall to presumably go have a fun night on the town with her other sophisticated, probably normal, lady friends.
Cori huffs something that almost a laugh and almost a sigh. The teachers dorms are nice. Communal in a way thats comforting, not stifling. A loud gurgle from her stomach angrily reminds Cori why she was so keen to get over to 3-A's dorm tonight anyway and Cori quickly puts on a long sleave and heads out into the fine february snowfall.
MIDORIYA
"How's the sound, Midoriya?"
Momo's voice doesn't even crackle as it comes through the expertly designed mini speakers of the woman herself. Midoriya presses on a button on the panel in front of him, looking at the screen that shows the girls milling around the living room and kitchen. "Perfect, actually. How many mikes did you manage to plant?" he asks, a little awe in his voice. He and Uraraka had brought Momo in on the plan yesterday , and because the school already had its own surveillance equipment in place she would have had to be super careful and speed--"Oh you recruited Tooru." He answers his own question which draws a smile from the Momo on screen as she helps Jirou set up the music.
"That's right," She answers at a much lower tone, almost a whisper. "Still picking this up?"
"Yep. You guys really outdid your--"
"Yeah, yeah just make sure you actually get information out of her that's worth listening too." Bakugou cuts him off as he settles into the seat next to him and Midoriya shoots him a look, then rolls his eyes with a little snort when Jirou mutters a scathing, "Obviously."
"Who wants to bet that Bakugou's mike gets muted within the first ten minutes?" Kaminari asks with a shit eating grin that gets more than a few laughs and one angry glare from the boys assembled in Shouji's room.
"Well we'll all be muted once Dreamer arrives." Midoriya clarifies, fidgeting nervously. Once he and Uraraka had started putting their plan into motion most of the class had ended up getting involved and then it felt a little more wrong to be spying on her this way but it had been Momo of all people that had pointed out that Dreamer had encouraged them to use "unconventional means" to investigate her background if they were curious and well... They are definitely curious and this method is far from conventional.
It still leaves a sour taste in Midoriya's throat. The whole thing feels sneaky.
"That's because it is, dipshit." Bakugou had said, rolling his eyes. "That's literally the point."
Iida had surprised Midoriya by adding, "Aizawa was rather adamant last week that we show more initiative in covert intelligence operations." Though he was sweating a lot and looked as nauseous as Izuku about the whole thing. "It's almost a class assignment at this point."
So here they were, in the room farthest from the communal kitchen so as to avoid Dreamer picking up on their emotions, crowded around the various screens and camera angles. Notepads and pencils at the ready to jot down their teacher's facial tics and body language in response to the predicussed questions. With twenty eyes on her, Midoriya was confident they'd learn something , and while a part of him still felt a little guilty about their tactics, the fact that Dreamer had already agreed to be under constant surveillance as a caveat to living in the dorms, set him at ease just a little bit.
That doesn't stop Midoriya's knee from bouncing continuously when a knock to the main lobby door sounds over the speaker system.
"All mikes muted on our end." He mutters to the room of boys who all nod in agreement.
Dreamer walks in, smiles, jokes around, nods appreciatively to the little spots of individuality in the living room and kitchen, laughs when the reason behind the dent in the kitchen ceiling is revealed and Uraraka blushes. Everything is going smoothly. Midoriya's knee is still bouncing. There are literally thousands of ways the could go wrong, if one of the girls loses their cool, if one of the mikes makes a funny noise, if--
"Midoriya," Todoroki's quiet voice cuts through the noise in his head and Midoriya's eyes immediately jump to his mismatched friends. "Take a deep breath." He does. "And focus." He lets it out in a little frustrated huff and Todoroki leans forward, eyes calm and serious. "Worrying now is only going to hinder our operation." Midoriya can't argue with that, now can he? He takes another fortifying breath and nods. Todoroki nods back and sits up to refocus on the video feed.
Dreamer and their female classmates are eating casually, talking, they ask a few questions about food in America which she seems happy to answer, even going so far as to tell them her favorite thing to eat is actually a Mexican dish called tamales "with lots of salsa".
"My mom and I lived in a rural area in the southern part of the country, and there's nothing quite like mom's cooking." She says with a happy, maybe a little wistful smile.
"Yeah I know what you mean, since we came to live in the dorms, I didn't realize how much I was going to miss my parents cooking... Well mostly my dad." Tsu says thoughtfully. "My mom can't cook at all ." She says it with such a strait face that even some of the boys frantically taking notes snort with laughter.
"So do you still get to eat your mom's cooking often?" Jirou asks casually taking a bite.
"No." Dreamer answers just as casually, "Though I do make a point to go south and get outta the big cities at least twice a year." Everyone nods politely but it's obvious their waiting for a little more and Dreamer sighs, rolling her eyes. "I don't have contact with either of my parents and yes I miss my mom's cooking. Happy?"
"Very!" Uraraka chirps with a big smile, as she pushes the rice bowl closer to Dreamers plate "For that you get an extra serving."
Dreamer throws her head back and laughs, grabbing the bowl, "Is that how this works, then? The food isn't really free after all."
"Think of it more as incentive. No stick, just carrots." Jirou clarifies with a smirk.
"I feel like a science experiment." She gumbles through a mouth full of food and a small smile.
"Well, you did tell us to be unconventional." Momo says with her own huge serving of food. "Food has always been an excellent motivator for me ." She adds with a little blush and they all laugh.
Midoriya shifts a little in his seat, excited more than nervous now. "They're doing great." He mumbles with a grin and Bakugou snorts.
"'Course they are. They're not fuckin amatures."
Midoriya's grin widens.
On screen, the women continue to talk and eat, eventually spralling on the living room couches. They learn that Dreamer likes all kinds of music, cut her hair because a villain with an acidic quirk had almost melted her helmet into her skull (ouch, that explained the scars on the side of her head), and that she'd dated only one person before and that they were also a pro.
"Oh office romance? Did you meet on the job? Did they save you, did you save them? Details!" Mina crowds into Dreamer space but the other woman just laughs, weakly kicking Mina away and reclining into the couch with her knees drawn up.
"Yeah we met at work and I just, I don't know, I was super into her right away but she didn't really like me at all." Dreamer smiles as she recalls. "I won't tell you her name, but she kicks ass, man. She's so strong. Things didn't really work out between us but we still get along. I even worked a case with her last year." She shrugs as if this isn't the most personal information she's ever revealed in one sitting.
"Well that's wonderful that you both can be so mature about it." Momo says and Dreamer smirks.
"Well we can now." She chuckles, "It was a little rough there for a while... you'd think being able to read your girlfriends emotions would help with the whole communication thing but by the end it just seemed to piss her off."
Midoriya eyes frantically search her expression for any indication that she's hiding something but all he really sees is the humour and resignation that match her tone. Maybe a little residual hurt mixed in there but that's really not unexpected for the subject matter. Dreamer says she's an open book and the more Midoriya observes her the more he thinks that might be true. As long as her words continue to match up with her expressions, they might actually learn a lot here.
Midoriya's knee threatens to start bouncing again when the subject changes slightly to other Pro Heroes she knows.
"You had already met All Might before you came to work here, right?"
She hesitates for just a second before saying, "Yeah we met in America."
"Oh it had to have been a few years ago then, were you already a Pro?"
Dreamer squirms a little in her seat, "Umm no, actually, I was still pretty young. All Might uhh." she cracks her neck. A nervous tick Midoriya has noticed before. "Rescued me. And a bunch of other people. But I remembered him and found his dreams later so,"
Her speech patterns often devolve like this when she's trying to skirt around a topic.
"So as a kid you were rescued by All Might and then were able to find him again through his dreams... " There's no judgment in Mina's voice but the question is obvious. Minors often used their quirks accidentally and there were other exceptions, but it was generally illegal in most countries to use your quirk on someone without some kind of license and consent. Not to mention the kind of power, at such a young age, she would have implemented to accomplish it.
Dreamer shuffles her legs, sitting up. "Yeah my mom was kind of a... what's the word.. a hippy? She didn't believe in quirk suppression or standardized quirk education, so she just kind let me run wild."
Keeps referring to her mother in past tense.
"Woah." Mina's jaw is hanging open. "Dude, that's so illegal."
Dreamer grimaces and nods, "I know. Once All Might found out, things changed though. No more unsupervised Dream hopping. I worked with some specialists who helped me understand emotions better and ended up graduating early and getting my license." She grins. "I owe it all to Toshi. Without him I don't know if I ever really would have learned how to control my quirk."
Wow there was so much to unpack with that, Midoriya has so many questions. Did All Might act as a advisor for her as a child? What happened to her mother? How early did she get her license? His knee starts bouncing again.
"So is that why you.. I mean, do you mind if I ask what happened to your mom?" Mina is earnest but more gentle than usual.
Dreamer swallows. "She's not, uhh. She." Dreamer takes a deep breath. "I loved her but she was also a little unstable. I don't really want to say more."
"That's ok," Mina says, reaching out and patting Dreamers knee, "We appreciate that you're talking at all."
"It's nice that you're spending time with us as a person, not a pro." Tsu croaks and Dreamers eyes seem to well up slightly before she quickly blinks the moisture away.
"Thanks, Tsu." She says quietly.
"Sooo ok, tell us something easy, like All Might rescuing you, that must have been crazy!" Mina throws her hands up and smiles but there's something off about Dreamer's smile in return.
"Well," She licks her lips. "Umm I was kidnapped, actually"
Everyone freezes, their eyes going wide. Tsu's mouth drops open and Uraraka's hands ball into fists. At Midoriya's side, Bakugou's body stiffens automatically.
Dreamers brow wrinkles slightly, "It's alright, All Might came... and..." Suddenly her expression blanks out, the way it does when she's focused on someone else's mind. Then her tawny eyes go impossibly wide and without warning, she leans over the side of the couch and vomits directly onto the carpet.
"AH!" The girls nearest yelp and jump out of range.
Mina who's closest puts a hand on Dreamer's shoulder, "Sensei? What's wrong--"
Dreamer gasps in a few breaths and her eyes flutter closed and this would seem like a normal reaction to nausea if Midoriya didn't also notice how her body goes intensely still, like she's listening for something.
"Oh no." He whispers right before her eyes snap open and she twists her body over the back of the couch, landing in a crouch. The assembled women exclaim and call out to her again but Dreamer ignores them in favor of racing off down the hallway. Directly towards Shouji's room.
BAKUGOU
Fuck
The image is imprinted on the back of his eyelids. Seared into his mind like a brand.
" Kidnapped... All Might came ..." Her words trigger his memories.
All Might, standing between him and All For One.
Protecting him.
As soon as the ugly memory surfaces, Bakugou shoves it away again. That time is over. No need to fucking dwell on it--
On the screens in front of him, Dreamer goes rigid. Then she pukes.
"Fuck" Bakugou hisses.
Then she's coming straight for them.
"Fuck. Shit. She felt that!"
"Kacchan?" Deku shoots him a look, panicked and questioning.
"I, fuck, I-I thought about." The words get lodged in his throat and he has to swallow past them. "I thought about Kamino." He forces himself to meet Deku's eyes. "She must have felt it."
"Quick." Deku moves fast, grabbing Bakugou's arm and hauling him towards the door. The others rise silently, fear and questions in their tense bodies. "We might be able to meet her half way and expl--"
A series of thuds and grunts are heard from the hallway Deku glances back at him with wide eyes before he quickly grits his teeth and opens the door, the others coming in close to see past them.
Dreamer has Round face in a choke-hold while effortlessly tossing Mina off her leg with one powerful shove while Momo tries to reason with her with words. "Please just let us explain!"
Then Dreamer catches sight of the open door. Her eyes widen then dilate like a cat spotting prey when her eyes lock with Bakugou's. There's a trippy moment where she drops Uraraka and takes a step forward and Bakugou can almost feel her do it. Like he's seeing himself through her eyes for a moment. Then she stumbles into the wall and hisses and the feeling evaporates and he's left blinking at a very pissed, very strong pro hero. At least he thinks she's pissed. It's hard to tell with her eyes take up his whole vision like this.
The sweat on his palms beads and Bakugou clenches his fists, crouching slightly, more than ready for a fight. Odds aren't good but they weren't great that night either--
She pukes again, still leaning against the wall. She's sweating and shaking and Deku reaches out a hand, concern in his every movement but she dodges him with a fluid grace that shouldn't be possible with how shitty she looks and then she's there. Right in front of him panting, sweating.
"You were there." She rasps, eyes darting around his face but not really seeing it. "Kamino Ward."
Then she hisses and clutches her head, glancing around. "You too." She whispers wide-eyed looking at Kirishima. Then her eyes dart to the other four. "Fuck, he never said." She mumbles, swaying on her feet.
"Dreamer! I'm so sorry," Deku starts, taking a step closer, "We didn't mean--"
"Shut up." She cuts him off, wiping at her mouth with a sweaty palm. "I don't want your apology, I want answers. So let's trade." She stands up straight. Bakugou can't tell what story her face is telling because he's facing her back. "One pin equals one answer." She raises both her fists, knees bending slightly in an obvious stance. "One on one."
Then she sends one sharp, almost manic glance over her shoulder at Bakugou. "And I'm not responsible for any damage done to your dorm."
"You can't be serious. You're shaking! You need to see Recovery Girl!" Someone shouts but Dreamer's stance doesn't waver.
There's an odd gleam in Deku's eyes, equal parts frustration and determination and maybe even a little pride. Rarely seen but familiar in a way that makes Bakugou's blood sing. "Fine." Deku says finally, green lightning flashing up and down his limbs.
Before Deku can act, Bakugou decides to trust his instinct and get a hit in. He aims for her legs and she predictably dodges to the side before he even gets his foot raised. Anticipating her reaction to his almost action, Bakugou dives to the side with her, grabs her arm and pins Dreamer to the wall, a nitroglycerin soaked palm pressed to her throat. She stills for a moment, eyes wide, then a smile curves up the corner of her mouth.
"Fast." She compliments, "What's your question." Her eyes are impossible to read.
"Why were you puking?"
She huffs, "Your memories mirror my own. It fucks with my head. Makes my brain think I'm back there, living it again."
"He got you too." Bakugou hears himself whisper as the realization sweeps through him. Cold and certain and horrifying. "All For One."
Dreamer shoves him off. "One question."
Then Deku is there, close but not touching. "Dreamer--" he starts but doesn't get to finish because she tackles him. They roll around on the for, neither having the upper hand for long, Dreamer has more experience and weight but Deku has more power. He almost has her in a headlock but then she somehow wiggles out of his hold without actually hurting him. It lasts for a few minutes, positions changing so fast even Bakugou has a hard time keeping track. Then Midoriya yelps and Dreamer freezes for a moment, just a moment, and Deku has her pined.
"Your shoulder--" She starts, looking up at him with concern that he ignores.
"How did All Might save you?"
Dreamer's eyes widen and her mouth snaps shut.
Deku's grip tightens, "That was how he got his original injury, wasn't it? That first show down with All For One eight years ago. You were there, weren't you?"
Bakugou is certain he's never seen this expression on a human face before but when he sees the anguish in her eyes, he understands it.
Dreamer's eyes clench shut and her jaw grinds as she turns her face to the side. Her face fractures. She says nothing. Probably can't.
Deku gets off her and then pulls her into a sitting position against the wall, propping her up and patting her arms awkwardly.
"When did you figure that out?" She whispers without opening her eyes.
"Just now." He says back just as quietly.
Bakugou feels the adrenaline drain out of him all at once and slumps to the floor too.
Dreamer sighs and opens her eyes, surveying the twenty students slowly lowering themselves to the floor and eyeing her with varying degrees of wariness and concern. "Well that could have gone better." She mumbles, rubbing a hand over her face. "Sorry to freak you guys out. I really wasn't expecting.." She nods her head at Bakugou without actually finishing her sentence and he sneers at her, not really sure why but that just feels like the appropriate response.
She snorts, dropping her head back to the wall behind her. "I can't believe he didn't tell me. Probably blamed himself, the big idiot."
"Didn't tell you what, exactly?" Someone asks.
"Well I obviously knew in general what happened at Kamino, but he never told me it was one of you that got taken." Her eyes find Bakugou's and he isn't at all sure what he feels. Maybe nothing. He's too drained for this shit.
"What exactly happened to you, Dreamer?" Uraraka asks quietly and the woman sighs. Though her lip twitches just a little bit.
"It's a long story, guys."