Wednesday.
She woke up at 5 AM.
Couldn't sleep anymore.
Lay there staring at the ceiling and replaying every second of last night until her brain felt like it might actually combust from the mortification.
Because I love you.
She'd said it.
Out loud.
To his face.
Then tried to backtrack with the most transparent lie in human history.
As a hero. Obviously.
Obviously.
She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
At 6 AM she gave up on sleep entirely.
Got up. Showered. Made coffee she didn't drink. Stared at her hero costume like it had personally wronged her.
The briefing with Sero was at 8 AM.
She had to go in.
Had to face him.
Had to have the "talk" he'd mentioned.
We'll talk tomorrow.
Tomorrow was today.
She was going to vomit.
She arrived at 7:30.
Early. Too early. But staying home meant more time to spiral and she'd done enough spiraling.
The operations floor was quiet. Just a few early arrivals. Hana wasn't even at her desk yet.
She went to her workstation.
Opened her laptop.
Stared at the screen without seeing it.
At 7:45 her earpiece crackled.
"Tsukino. When you get in, stop by my office."
His voice.
Professional. Neutral.
Giving nothing away.
She pressed her comm. "I'm here. I can come up now."
A pause.
"Give me ten minutes."
"Copy."
She sat there.
Watched the clock.
Longest ten minutes of her life.
At 7:55 she stood up.
Walked to the elevator.
Got in.
Watched the numbers climb.
Top floor.
The hallway.
His door.
She knocked.
"Yeah."
She opened it.
He was standing by the window. Not at his desk. Just standing there with his hands in his pockets. Looking out at the city.
He turned when she came in.
They looked at each other.
She waited for it.
The speech. The boundaries conversation. The this-can't-happen talk.
"The operation's moved up," he said.
She blinked.
"What?"
"Lemillion called this morning. They've got new intel. Three additional targets. We need to move today instead of the weekend."
"Today."
"Tonight. 11 PM. Briefing at six."
She stared at him.
"That's—that's what you wanted to talk about?"
He looked at her.
Something moved in his expression.
"We're going to talk," he said. "Just—not right now. There's too much—" He gestured vaguely. "After the operation. When we're not on a deadline."
She nodded slowly.
"Okay."
"You good to run point on this?"
"Yeah. Yes. I'm good."
"Good." He moved to his desk. Grabbed a folder. "Updated target locations. Sero's already been briefed. Coordinate with Hana on transport. I want team assignments locked in by noon."
Back to business.
Professional.
Like she hadn't confessed love to him twelve hours ago.
She took the folder.
"Understood."
She turned to leave.
"Amaya."
She stopped.
Didn't turn around.
Couldn't look at him.
"We will talk," he said. "I just—I need to think about what to say."
Her heart did something violent.
"Okay," she said quietly.
She left.
The day was a blur.
Coordination. Logistics. Three new target locations meant complete restructuring of the operation plan.
She worked with Sero. With Kamiko. With the transport team.
By noon they had assignments locked.
By two they'd run the first tactical simulation.
By four the final briefing materials were ready.
She didn't stop moving.
Didn't let herself think about anything except the work.
The briefing at six was packed.
Both agencies. Lemillion. Tamaki. Mirio looking serious for once. Bakugo running through the tactical approach with brutal efficiency.
She presented the logistics plan.
Smoothly. Professionally.
Mirio nodded approval. "Solid work, Tsukino-san."
"Thanks."
She sat down.
Avoided looking at Bakugo.
The briefing wrapped at 7:30.
Four hours until go time.
She ate something. Forced herself.
Checked her gear.
Changed into her costume.
At 10:30 they loaded into the transport vehicles.
She was in Vehicle Two. With Sero and Kamiko and three others.
Bakugo was in Vehicle One with Mirio and the assault team.
The drive was quiet.
Everyone focused. Pre-mission energy.
They arrived at staging at 10:55.
Five minutes.
She stood with her team. Evac again. Same role as last time. Get the civilians out. Don't engage unless necessary.
Mirio came over.
"Remember," he said to the evac team. "Clean and fast. We've got a narrow window."
Everyone nodded.
Amaya's comm crackled.
"All teams. Sync check."
Bakugo's voice.
Each team called in.
"Alpha ready."
"Beta ready."
"Gamma ready."
"Delta ready." That was her. Evac team.
"Copy. Operation is go in sixty seconds."
She breathed.
Focused.
The work.
Just the work.
It went sideways at minute thirty-two.
The hostages were out. All seventeen. Clean extraction.
But the assault team had encountered heavier resistance than expected.
Reinforcements. Quirk users they hadn't accounted for.
"Delta team, this is Alpha. We need support on the third floor. Now."
Bakugo's voice. Strained.
She looked at her team lead.
Kamiko nodded. "Go. We've got evac covered."
Amaya ran.
Into the building. Up the stairs.
The sounds of fighting got louder.
Explosions. The smell of caramel.
She burst through the third-floor door.
Chaos.
Bakugo was in the center. Fighting three at once. His gauntlets smoking.
Mirio was phased through a wall. Dealing with someone on the other side.
Two villains were trying to flank Bakugo from behind.
She didn't think.
Crystals shot from her hands. Formed a wall between them and him.
They hit it. Stumbled.
Bakugo glanced back. Saw her.
"Tsukino—"
"Behind you!"
He turned. Took out the frontal attackers with two precise blasts.
She trapped the flankers. Crystal restraints. Quick. Efficient.
They went down.
The room cleared.
Just her and Bakugo and the sound of their breathing.
"I told you to stay with evac," he said.
"You needed support."
"I had it handled."
"Your six was exposed."
"I was aware—"
"You could've been hit—"
"I've been hit before—"
They were yelling at each other.
In the middle of an operation.
While the building was still potentially hostile.
Mirio phased back through the wall.
Looked at them.
"You two good?"
They both turned to him.
"Fine," Bakugo said.
"Fine," she echoed.
Mirio grinned. "Great. Let's finish clearing the building."
They wrapped at 1 AM.
Thirty-four arrests. All hostages safe. No hero casualties. Minor injuries only.
Clean operation.
The adrenaline was still high when they got back to the staging area.
People were talking. Laughing. That post-mission energy that came from everything going right.
She was standing by Vehicle Two. Drinking water. Trying to come down from the high.
Bakugo walked over.
They looked at each other.
"Your evac numbers were good," he said.
"Thanks."
"You shouldn't have broken protocol to support Alpha."
"You were exposed."
"I was fine."
"You can't know that."
"I know my capabilities—"
"So do I."
He stared at her.
She stared back.
And then—
She didn't know what came over her.
The adrenaline. The exhaustion. The fact that she'd already humiliated herself so many times what was one more.
She reached up.
Ruffled his hair.
His expression went completely blank.
Shocked.
She'd shocked the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.
"I'm going to marry you," she said.
Out loud.
To his face.
In front of half the assembled heroes from both agencies.
His eyes went wide.
"What."
"I'm going to marry you," she repeated. "One day. When I'm good enough. When I'm ranked high enough that people won't say I didn't earn it. I'm going to marry you."
"Tsukino—"
"It's a declaration of intent," she continued. "Professional intent. I'm going to keep climbing and getting better and eventually I'm going to be someone you can't ignore. Someone who's actually on your level. And then I'm going to marry you."
Silence.
Total silence.
Everyone within earshot was staring.
Sero had his mouth hanging open.
Mirio looked delighted.
Kamiko looked like she was trying not to laugh.
Bakugo looked like his brain had short-circuited.
She pulled her hand back from his hair.
It was soft.
She'd known it would be soft but actually touching it—
Focus.
"That's my goal," she said. "Rank sixty now. I'm going to break fifty by end of quarter. Top thirty by next year. And I'm going to keep going until I'm someone you'd actually consider."
She stepped back.
"I'm going to get some sleep now. See you at debrief tomorrow."
She turned.
Walked to Vehicle Two.
Got in.
Sat down.
Put her face in her hands.
What had she just done.
What had she just—
The vehicle started moving.
Someone sat next to her.
Kamiko.
"So," Kamiko said conversationally. "That happened."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You just declared your intention to marry Bakugo in front of approximately thirty witnesses."
"I'm aware."
"That was either the boldest or the stupidest thing I've ever seen."
"Probably both."
Kamiko was quiet for a moment.
"He looked like you'd hit him with a flashbang."
"Good."
"Is it good?"
Amaya lowered her hands.
Looked at Kamiko.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I've lost my mind. I should probably quit and move to Osaka."
"You're not quitting."
"I ruffled his hair."
"I saw."
"In public."
"Very public."
"And declared marriage intentions."
"Very clearly."
Amaya put her face back in her hands.
"I'm going to die."
"You're going to be fine."
"He's going to fire me."
"He's not going to fire you."
"How do you know?"
"Because," Kamiko said. "If he was going to fire you, he would've done it already. You've slapped him. Cried on him. Confessed feelings. And now this. And you're still here."
Amaya was quiet.
"That's not—that doesn't mean—"
"Doesn't it?"
She didn't have an answer.
The vehicle continued through the city.
Back to the agency.
Back to reality.
Where she'd have to face what she'd done.
Again.
Still.
Always.
She got home at 3 AM.
Too wired to sleep.
Sat on the couch.
The plushie was on the pillow.
She grabbed it.
Looked at it.
"I did it again," she said.
The plushie waited.
"I ruffled his hair and told him I was going to marry him in front of thirty people."
Silence.
"And I meant it."
She lay down.
Held the plushie to her chest.
"I actually meant it. Not as a joke. Not as—I meant it. I'm going to keep climbing and getting better and one day I'm going to be someone he can't dismiss. Someone who's actually worth considering."
She closed her eyes.
Felt the softness of his hair under her fingers.
The shocked look on his face.
The way he'd said What like she'd spoken a language he didn't understand.
"Rank sixty," she said to the ceiling. "Going to fifty by end of quarter. Top thirty next year. Top ten eventually."
The goal was clear now.
Not just climbing for the sake of climbing.
Climbing toward something.
Someone.
"And then I'm going to marry Katsuki Bakugo," she said.
Out loud.
To herself.
To the universe.
A promise.
A commitment.
Probably insane.
Definitely insane.
But hers.
She smiled.
Into the darkness.
And for the first time in weeks—
The tightness in her chest felt less like pain.
More like purpose.
...
Tomorrow's debrief was going to be terrible.
But she'd survive it.
She always did.
And then she'd keep going.
Keep climbing.
Keep working.
Until the gap closed.
Until she was someone he couldn't ignore.
Until she was someone he might—
Maybe—
Possibly—
Consider.
...
It was a long shot.
She knew that.
But she'd built her entire hero career on long shots.
What was one more?