in the shadows - Bakugou x reader

25 - preparations

Y/N's POV
Once we had finished up, I was strapping my gun back onto my torso when Katsuki asked, "what the fuck is that for?"

I was pulling my jumper back on as I replied, "you can never be too careful, there's always going to be someone who wants you dead."

We walked together for a bit, and after a while Katsuki asked, "you and Surge... were you close?"

I nodded, "yeah, she was kinda like a second mother to me."

"So, do you know why she-"

I quickly cut him off, "no."

He quietly nodded, as we continued to walk in silence back to his office; when we got there, he nodded at the motorcycle parked outside, "need a ride home?"

I raised an eyebrow, "you have a motorbike? I've never seen that here before."

He shrugged, "lent it to shitty hair, he's been doing work out of town for the past few months."

"Shitty hair...?"

"Red Riot."

I nodded, "oh, right. I see. Well, uh- thanks for the offer but I have somewhere else I need to be, can't have a hero knowing my every move now, can I? That'd ruin the surprise of it all."

—

"If it isn't number two, back to see me already?"

I rolled my eyes at Dabi and made my way over to the room that I knew Shigiraki would be in. I didn't bother knocking and barged right in.

He immediately snapped his head in my direction, "do you have absolutely no manners? You're meant to knock before you barge into other people's rooms."

"You're not my boss yet, so I'll do as I please."

It was hard to read his expression behind the severed hand on his face, but at the mention of the word 'yet', his expression definitely changed.

"Where's Lightning?"

"I came alone, I'll speak on his behalf. We've given thought to your offer."

"And?"

I strolled over to him, drawing the knife from my thigh and sat on the bar, right in front of him, pointing the blade in his direction, "and we have a few conditions that'll need to be met."

He rolled his eyes, "go on..."

I grinned, still holding the knife towards him, "Lightning and I will both need to be provided with equipment upgrades and regular maintenance. On top of that, we'll need to have our costumes patched up when need be."

"Fine."

"Good. On top of that, we were looking over your proposal and 60/40 doesn't cut it for us, you're trying to recruit top ranked villains, make it 75/25."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

I raised an eyebrow, "do you want me to answer that?"

He scoffed, "65/35."

I held my blank expression "70/30."

"Fine."

Idiot. That's what I was aiming for in the first place.

He continued, "anything else?"

"There's on more thing... I see that you have this plan to kill the top ranked heroes or whatever- Ground Zero stays out of it."

"What?"

"I'm not repeating myself. And, yes, before you ask, it's non-negotiable."

—

As I made my way through the front door, Rina was just leaving the kitchen, "where have you been?"

"I paid the league a visit, negotiated some terms- we've got a 70/30 guarantee now."

Hirou's head popped out of the kitchen and he grinned, "and the equipment?"

"Approved."

He pumped his fist into the air, grinning even wider, "yes! You're awesome, Y/N!"

"I know, oh, and I have a couple of apartment viewings lined up for this week- I'll be out of under your feet soon enough!"

Rina rolled her eyes jokingly, "you know it's not a big deal; but, anyhow, do you want one of us to accompany you? Actually, Hirou, I think you should go with her. You know how landlords like to take advantage of women."

Hirou nodded, making his way over to the sofa and slumping down, looking back at me, "yeah, okay, send me the times and addresses of your appointments; I'll be there."

"Cool, thanks."

Rina slumped down beside him and he slung his arm over her shoulder before she turned back to me, "there's dinner in the microwave."

—

The next few weeks were pretty packed, Hirou and I started doing work for the league; I had barely avoided combat with the pro hero, Shoto, who definitely had an unfair quirk advantage; and I had fought side-by-side with Lightning, Dabi, Toga, Spinner and Compress against a ton of pro heroes like Charge Bolt, Red Riot, Uravity and Phantom Thief.

On top of that, I was meeting up with Katsuki for training sessions four to five times a week, Hirou and I were looking at a new apartment for me and I was trying to help Rina and Hirou with their last minute wedding plans.

The wedding was just under a month away, so I was trying to get myself moved out in the next week or so.

"Y/N! What the hell took so long?"

I had just been training with Katsuki, but I hadn't told Rina or Hirou about our meet-ups, and I didn't plan on it, either.

"Sorry, Spinner needed my help with one of his jobs, you ready?"

Rina and I went to her final dress fitting to make sure everything was perfect for the day, before getting my bridesmaid dress taken in a bit.

"Hirou tells me that you're coming to the wedding with Levi as your date."

I shrugged, "yeah, what of it?"

"So, are you two...?"

I rolled my eyes, "obviously not."

She was giggling to herself like a little kid- she had this absurd idea that Levi and I would end up together, which would never happen in a million years.

"Anyway, let's get moving, I'm sure you have an appointment with the florist in like ten minutes."