Protecting You (Katsuki Bakugo x Reader)

Chapter 58- Testing the Waters

This chapter has mature content. Viewer's discretion is advised. Keep an eye out for the section marked with a bold "~~".

You and Hawks blinked a few times at each other before turning back towards Whiz Kid and Natsuo. Did he really say his full name...in front of assumed mercenaries?

"I'm Shinobi," You introduced yourself with a light bow...not giving away who you actually are. Hawks caught on immediately to the fact your real name was not spoken here.

"I'm Hawks. Ya know, you should probably be careful to who you tell your name to...there's a lot of people out there that hate your Dad." With a bright smile, Hawks placed a new toothpick between his peach lips, chewing lightly on the wood. Natsuo sweatdropped and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"R-right. Well, it'd make two of us then." The room was quiet for a moment before you decided to pry into Natsuo's life a little further. Maybe if you got to know him, you would be able to see what Dabi was like as a kid...and maybe what weaknesses he might have. He abandoned the name Toya Todoroki for a reason. He swore vengeance against Endeavor...so why did he cut himself off from the rest of the family? Shoto was raised separate from Toya, Natsuo, and Fuyumi, so he wouldn't know his siblings too well. 

But Natsuo...he was raised right in the middle of all of this and felt the same hatred that Toya did.

"Alright, Mister Librarian. Let me show you around while Hawks gets familiar with my favorite inventor," You smiled under your mask but Natsuo couldn't tell you were friendly. He tensed up while holding stacks of papers and turned to look at Whiz Kid as if asking for permission. Whiz Kid adjusted his glasses before shooing Natsuo away and turned to address Hawks privately.

"O-Okay," Natsuo mumbled nervously as he followed you to the main hallway. You walked him down to an empty office room, one that you used to use when you needed to study for a mission. In the past, you had to stalk your prey and their whereabouts, patterns, and relationships...so having a place to sprawl out all that work was lifesaving.

"You need a place to put your work down right? Here...take this room," You pressed a numbered code into the door, hearing a quiet beep and the latch unlocking. Natsuo's jaw all but dropped onto the floor.

"A-are you sure? Woah! This is a huge office! I-I'm just an intern Miss Shinobi! I didn't expect this!" He followed you in regardless with his messy mop of snowy hair sticking out in random stuffs behind the fat stack of papers and books. The room was rather large with two tall filing cabinets whose contents were now either scanned in the mercenary databased or burned, a full-sized desk and office chair, and a desktop that has been wiped clean since your mission started at UA.

"It was my office but I don't really need it anymore. Feel free to use it during your internship. Whiz Kid will set you up with a computer profile and a new number code to get in the room. Something you need to understand is that you picked a dangerous internship to work with. Telling me your name could lead to not only your death but could kill your siblings and parents too. It could lead to an attack on your college, your job, your friends. There's a reason that my name is Shinobi. It's to protect the person I am without the mask...to protect what really matters. Just because Whiz Kid, Hawks, and I are on the side of good, does not mean everyone who comes down here is your friend." Natsuo was listening to every word that you said and was quiet in thought. His face was surprisingly serious as he placed his pile down on the desk, rubbing his sore muscular arms through his Adidas tracksuit. He looked like any other nineteen year old...

...like any other kid that just wanted to do something with his life.

"Thanks. I'll remember that. I'll think of a new name." His gray eyes glossed over the tall pile of things he now had to organize while his masculine hands ran through his ruffled locks of hair.