Yuuei (Bakugo x Tsuyu)

𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙮: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤

     Tsuyu Asui was a marine biologist working for her family's animal sanctuary. She was a simple girl who likes jelly, rain, and amphibians. Even so, all the simplicities in the world could not make the current mess in her life any less stressful.

Her family's animal sanctuary was closing soon, and she felt there was nothing she could do about it. Her entire life, and her entire world was centered around her family's sanctuary. She learned to walk there, and it's where she saw her first tadpole, (and promptly decided to protect all things small and green), and the sole reason why she decided to start a career in marine biology.

However, under the strict policy of the Japanese Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) none of that seemed to matter. Even though the name makes you believe it's nice and friendly, the JSPCA is literally evil incarnate.

Asui's father, Ganma, frantically paces around the lobby of the small sanctuary, "They're asking us for two million yen that we don't have. I've never heard of such a thing! These kind of taxes on a sanctuary as small as ours?" Tsuyu is just as hurt and confused as him, but she remains composed.

She puts a finger on her chin, thinking. "A fundraiser could help raise of the money." Tsuyu says. "People would contribute. They know that we do great work here." Behind the counter, she sat on a chair quickly shuffling through papers concerning daily expenses. The more money they could save, the better.

Tsuyu stares blankly at the papers she's holding in her hands. She tries not to let that discouraging thinking get to her. Maybe if she could find a way to cut expenses by 75% and also start a fundraising chapter by evening there was still a cha— Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by her father.

"Tsuyu, honey, I see you're trying to ignore me, but I'm telling you the truth. There is no way we're going to raise the money by that time."

Before she can even get a word in about trying to efficiently reduce spending, Ganma speaks again. "We can't cut corners either. There's nothing you'll be able to cut from our daily expenses that isn't necessary in some way."

Ganma stops pacing across the lobby and looks over at his crestfallen daughter. Tsuyu is looking at him with wide and watery eyes. "But we can't give up, this is our life!"

Tsuyu's mother, Beru finally spoke. "I know, I get it. But there's just no way we're going to come up with that kind of money with the short amount of time we have. Sometimes, you've got to know when to fold with dignity." Beru looked at her and forced a smile on her face.

In an attempt to improve his daughter's mood, Ganma walks over and pecks her on the cheek. Tsuyu is unmoved, and continues to shuffle between budgeting papers. With a sigh, he reaches for his briefcase sitting behind the desk. "Honey, you're a smart girl with a lot of life to live. You've got so much more to offer to the world than," he looks around the small lobby, "this. You're fresh out of college! You're young and filled with so much potential. There are a lot of animal protection agencies you can join. There are more sanctuaries out there. This isn't the end of the world, Tsu. No matter what you think."

She frowns a bit, "we're getting shut down because some rich guy wants to capitalize on running the only amphibian sanctuary for miles around."

"Well, it's a bit more compl—"

"It's not," Tsuyu remarks matter-of-factly. "We're getting fined because the CEO of JSPCA wants to bully us into non-existence, so he can fill his pockets with money and attention."

"Tsu..."

"You know that's true."

Ganma sighs. "I know, honey. But he's being backed by big people. If we fight this in court, we'll just be running ourselves into a meaningless debt because we will not win, Tsuyu." He shakes his head regretfully. "I've dealt with these old money, hotshots before. They've got enough money to hire lawyers who can win cases with just a sentence. We've barely got enough money for a public defender. Get it?"

Tsuyu nods weakly. There wasn't enough explanations in the world to settle the fire in her chest. She wasn't going to let the sanctuary close down without a fight...

She just had to figure out how to even initiate one.

As Ganma prepares to leave, Tsuyu continues to sort through budgeting files in vain.

"I'm heading to the bank to maybe see about taking out a loan," Ganma starts. Tsuyu can tell by the sound of his voice that even he knows that that is a long shot. "You can close early today if you want. I know the stress must be getting to you."

"I'm fine, dad."

"I know, honey. You're always so calm and collected. Just making sure you know it's okay if you're feeling a bit down." As he heads out he throws his daughter a thumbs up.

She returns it with a tiny smile.

Since she doesn't expect any walk-ins, she takes out her phone and starts to read another chapter of her favorite on-going manga. She settles comfortably in her chair and starts another chapter of "Froppy: The Rainy Day Hero."

Tsuyu thinks if she were a different person, she would be embarrassed of her little hyperfixation with the child-targeted manga, but she isn't a different person, she's herself, so she reads it without even as much of a hint of shame. She loves reading the monthly chapters about Froppy's latest tangles with villains who pollute the earth and abuse animals. Also, Froppy herself is part frog, which is a superpower that Tsuyu has begged the universe for every single night since she was six, so she enjoys living vicariously through the fictional character every month.

A few moments before she finishes the end of the last chapter, Tsuyu is alerted to the sound of someone entering the lobby.