-Beyond the illusion-

Hes back

As Y/N steps outside the dorms, she spots Bakugo leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his usual scowl softened just a bit. She smirks, sauntering over with her hands shoved in her pockets.

"Aww, were you waiting for me?" she teases, nudging him with her elbow.

Bakugo scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Shut up, I just needed to ask you something."

She raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Yeah? What's up?"

They start walking, and Bakugo's face becomes more serious, glancing over at her. "That thing you told me at the park," he begins, voice low. "About when you touched your mom and ended up in one of her memories... That's not normal. So, how do you wanna go about it? Confront her, or do we try to figure it out ourselves?"

Y/N lets out a long breath, her gaze drifting down the path. "I don't know, honestly," she admits, voice a little quieter. "She's got this way of dodging anything to do with her past, like it's a locked door she's thrown away the key to. But..." She stops walking, glancing at Bakugo with a spark of curiosity. "We could look through the garage."

Bakugo raises an eyebrow. "The garage?"

"Yeah, it's packed with old stuff. My mom never throws anything out, and I bet there's something in there from... you know, before she had me. Maybe even something with her family." She shrugs, a bit hesitant. "We can tell her we're looking for stuff to sell or something. Money for... I don't know, a class trip?"

Bakugo gives her a small smirk. "You really think she'll fall for that?"

Y/N chuckles, shrugging. "Probably not, but it's worth a shot. Worst case, she just thinks we're a couple of nosy kids."

Bakugo nods, a glint of determination in his eyes. "Fine. We'll check it out after class today."

When Y/N and Bakugo reach her house, Larissa opens the door and blinks in surprise, her gaze shifting between the two of them.

"Oh, Y/N, I didn't know you were bringing a friend," she says, trying to sound casual but clearly caught off guard by Bakugo's presence.

Y/N scratches the back of her head, glancing at Bakugo for a second before turning back to her mom. "Uh, yeah... I probably should've mentioned it," she says with a small, apologetic smile. "We, uh... we're actually here to look through the garage."

Larissa raises an eyebrow, folding her arms. "The garage? Why?"

"Well..." Y/N hesitates, glancing at Bakugo again. "We wanted to, uh, find stuff to sell. You know, maybe raise a little money for... a class trip. Something fun."

Bakugo, always blunt, crosses his arms. "She said there's a lot of junk in there. Figured it wouldn't hurt to look around, see what's worth anything."

Larissa seems unconvinced, her expression unreadable as she glances between them. "Alright," she says slowly, though there's a faint hint of suspicion in her tone. "Just... be careful. Some of that stuff is important to me."

Y/N nods quickly, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mom. We won't break anything." She throws Bakugo a quick look, signaling that it's time to head to the garage.

As they walk away, she hears her mom muttering under her breath. "Of all things, the garage..."

As Y/N and Bakugo step into the garage, they're immediately hit with the smell of old cardboard and dust. Y/N sneezes, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Ugh, I think we just stepped into a dust museum," she groans, glancing over at Bakugo, who's squinting at a cobweb hanging dangerously close to his face.