Ｐａｒｔ Ｔｈｉｒｔｅｅｎ

Uraraka watched as Bakugo said his goodbyes to Kirishima, ensuring that his friend would cover all of his cases for the week they would be away.

She smiled brightly as Kirishima wished them both a good time, but rolled her eyes in mock annoyance when the redhead suggested that perhaps Bakugo shouldn’t go, in the event he might make a new best friend.

“Kiri, we’re going on this cruise. I’m looking forward to a full seven days of rest and relaxation. And I promise to you that I won’t let him make any new friends,” she assured the man, “Though it’s not like people are exactly lining up to befriend this grumpy gremlin, are they?”

It was true that Uraraka was a bit surprised when she learned that she had won two tickets for an all-inclusive cruise, but who was she to complain?

While she didn’t recall entering any contests for this 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 cruise, it just so happened that she often entered many giveaways in the hopes of getting something for free. It seemed only natural to bring Bakugo along.

She still hadn’t met his parents, but a dinner had been scheduled, and she felt it appropriate to offer her spare ticket to him. They had been dating long enough that is just felt right and she was looking forward to relaxing with him by her side.

Sadly, she soon learned after boarding, they had 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 different ideas of what constituted a good time. Bakugo had enrolled them in nearly all of the activities available, determined to stay busy throughout the day.

Uraraka was fairly sure that the man didn’t understand the meaning of relaxation. Rolling her eyes at his detailed schedule, she tagged along anyway knowing it would be best to keep the peace between them.

She also acknowledged that his plan would allow them to make the most of this fortunate, if unexpected, turn of events.

First on his agenda was drinking in a piano lounge, which she begrudgingly admitted wasn’t a bad way to start the trip.

As they grabbed their drinks and turned to join the crowd around the stage, a familiar voice began to echo through the room in tune with a soft piano melody.

It couldn’t be…

Could it?

Uraraka felt her eyes widen as she turned towards the stage and saw the source of the melodious singing.

Momo Yaoyorozu.

Also known as the Sapphire Siren.

Or to Uraraka, the infamous jewel thief she had been chasing for years but had never quite been able to catch.

The two had been trapped in a game of cat and mouse for nearly all of Uraraka’s career, and the few times the detective had been close to catching her, the woman had slipped from her grasp.

But now they were on a ship! With nowhere for her to go. It was finally time for all of Uraraka’s hard work and patience to pay off. She nursed her drink slowly, biding her time and waiting for Yaoyorozu to finish her set.

The anticipation continued to build until Uraraka felt she wouldn’t be able to handle it any longer, rushing over to her target the minute the woman excused herself from the stage. She was relieved to see Bakugo follow close behind, without her having to ask.

“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Sapphire Siren,” Uraraka began.

But something was off.

Yaoyorozu didn’t even look shocked to see her.

“Yes, how are you darling?” she responded, pulling Uraraka in and planting a soft kiss on each of the surprised detective’s cheeks.

Pushing any confusion aside, Uraraka continued through gritted teeth, “I’m doing great, thanks for asking! I won a free cruise 𝘼𝙉𝘿 the chance to arrest you!”

“Oh, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you on multiple accounts, my sweet detective. You see, it’s by no chance that you’re here. I sent you the free tickets, because I’m in peril and I needed protection so I sent for the help of my dearest friend.”

“I’m not your 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 friend,” Uraraka spat out, “I’m your worst enemy. Get that through your head!”

“It’s this kind of bickering that makes us such an adorable pair!” Yaoyorozu laughed liltingly.

She continued before Uraraka could even begin to feel the outrage of being called adorable. “Additionally, my dear, we’re on international waters, which means you have no jurisdiction here.”

Uraraka felt her blood begin to boil. Her plan to finally arrest her longtime nemesis was falling apart at a dizzying pace. “There’s no way that’s true. Katsuki, tell her that we have the right to arrest her.”

She barely heard as Bakugo offered, “She’s right, Cheeks. Technically, this ship sails under the flag of Uzbekistan. But, the captain of the ship does have the authority to have her arrested.”

“Hmm, good luck with that. The captain happens to be a very good friend of mine.” Yaoyorozu attempted to flit away but Uraraka moved faster.

“You’re not going 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 until we figure this out. Since you’re such good friends with the captain, why don’t you take me to them?”

The woman simply shrugged and began leading the way.

As it turned out, Yaoyorozu was indeed good friends with Captain Asui, who was rather hesitant to arrest her best performer.

Despite Urakaka’s attempts at pleading and cajoling, the small, fierce woman insisted that she would sooner throw herself into the sea before taking any action against Yaoyorozu.

Feeling defeated, Uraraka turned to leave, only to be stopped by the source of her ire.

“Actually, Detective Uraraka, if I could have a word in private with you and your paramour?” Yaoyorozu asked quietly.

“What, you need a witness for your gloating?”

“No, not quite. I actually need your help.”

“I’m rather disinclined to help you, Yaoyorozu.”

“Please, call me Momo.” Grumbling to herself as she just 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 she was being pulled into another one of the woman’s schemes, Uraraka lifted an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. “Remember, your winning the tickets wasn’t by coincidence. I bought and sent them to you.”

“And why would you do that, 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙤?”

“As I said, I need your help. There is a hit woman that has been sent after me.”

“Shocking, I can’t imagine why anyone would want you dead,” Uraraka noted sarcastically, thinking of all the dangerous people the woman had stolen from.

“Yes, well, you’re the best detective I know, and I’d like your help in this matter.”

She heard Bakugo grunt in protest at the accolade and rolled her eyes. Now was no time for their petty competition. Especially when the Sapphire Siren was just about to elude her 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.

“Well, thank you for the tickets. But you’ve made a fool of me every opportunity you’ve had and you’ve made many false claims before. I think this is just another one of your ploys to evade being taken into custody the minute we dock.”

“Is there anything I can do to gain your trust?”

“No. But I’ll be tailing you the entire time we’re here, so I guess if someone does try to kill you I’ll be forced to act. But only because it’s my duty as a sworn officer! Not because I care about what happens to you.”

“Oh my dear, I’ll take whatever help you’re willing to give! I’ll even offer up my deluxe accommodations for any ‘celebratory’ activities you two may want to partake in!” Yaoyorozu said enthusiastically, trying to bring Uraraka in for a hug.

“Yeah, whatever. Where is it you need to be next?”

“I have another performance at the lounge in an hour. Perhaps I can treat you to a drink while we wait?”

Bakugo responded then, grumbling, “All of our drinks are free.” He then turned to Uraraka, “Cheeks, a word? In private?”

They stepped a few paces away before he pulled her close and whispered, “Are we really going to spend this entire vacation with this woman?”

“I know your schedule is important-”

“It’s not even that, I just was hoping to spend the time with just you.”

“Katsuki, you know how important this arrest is to me. I’ve been chasing her for years! I promise I’ll make it up to you once we return. I’m just asking that you please do this for me,” she begged.

“Fine. But don’t think I’m above cashing in on that favor you offered,” he smiled impishly, “Let’s go get that drink, I guess.”

She kissed his lips softly, smiling against them. “You’re the best, baby.”

Flitting away before he had a chance to respond to his new nickname, she chuckled to herself imagining how red his face must be. As if in a show of good faith, Yaoyorozu was waiting exactly where they’d left her.

The remainder of the hour passed by relatively uneventfully, as Uraraka rebuffed any attempts at conversation made by the other woman. The time to return to the piano lounge finally arrived and Uraraka let out an audible sigh of relief.

She watched as the beautiful woman took her place at the grand piano and heard a lilting voice as Yaoyorozu introduced herself to the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the all-ages piano lounge ‘adults only’ show. My name is Ophelia Charmeuse and this is a little song I wrote myself, called ‘Mina, Mina, Mina.’ It goes like this...”

A soft piano melody filled the room as Yaoyorozu began to sing.

♪ 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢 ♪
♪ 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢 ♪
♪ 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 ♪
♪ 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 ♪

Uraraka watched as the crowd began to sway to the tune, before turning to Bakugo and whispering, “Katsuki, it’s too crowded in here, and the lighting is way too dark and sultry to see anything... We need to get closer to the stage.”

She saw him nod in response before turning her attention back to the stage as Yaoyorozu made eye contact with her and continued.

♪ 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 ♪
♪ 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 ♪

♪ 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 ♪
♪ 𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 ♪
♪ 𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 ♪

Uraraka realized then that the woman was giving her clues through the song's verses.

♪ 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 ♪
♪ 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵 ♪
♪ 𝘕𝘰, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 ♪
♪ 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵 ♪

♪ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 ♪
♪ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 ♪
♪ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 ♪

Finally setting her sights on the woman that Yaoyorozu was referencing, Uraraka tugged insistently at Bakugo, “I see her. Follow me.”

The two detectives began to make their way through the crowd and when they finally reached the spot where the woman had been, Uraraka frantically realized she was no longer there.

“Wait, where’d she go?” she asked Bakugo before a commotion on stage caught her attention.

Yaoyorozu was being held with a knife to her neck.

“Well, that ends my show. You've been a great crowd. Thank you very much,” Yaoyorozu addressed the murmuring guests before looking directly at Uraraka, “She's taking me to where I suggested you two 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚.”

Uraraka pressed forward, intent on reaching them before the two even left the lounge. As she and Bakugo came upon them near the back, ‘employee only’ entrance, Yaoyorozu spoke, “Detective, please help me! I’m not ready to die, I'm still on the first season of ‘Game of Thrones.’”

“Ooh, sorry not sorry to disappoint, but everyone dies in the end,” Uraraka responded gleefully before turning to the assassin, “Okay, how about you put the knife down? There's no murder in the all-ages piano lounge.”

The woman sneered, “Screw you, bitch!”

Bakugo scowled as he approached the woman from behind, effectively disarming and apprehending her. “Tch, that isn't a very all-ages thing to say. You clearly don't get the vibe here at all.”

In the excitement and distraction of the moment, Uraraka realized a minute too late that Yaoyorozu had once again slipped away. Leaving Bakugo to turn the assassin over to the custody of the crew, she ran down the walkway of the ship before reaching one of the outer decks.

Seeing a speedboat following from a distance, she realized that she had once again been outplayed by the Sapphire Siren. She screamed in frustration, only stopping when she was interrupted by the now familiar voice crackling over the speaker of a megaphone.

“Darling, I hope you won’t be too cross with me! But you understand it’s all business! I still consider you to be my most trusted friend!”

“Like hell we are!” Uraraka screamed in frustration.

“Now, of course, I know you will be a little angry with me, but I did leave the key to my suite for you and your handsome beau to use! It’s quite the upgrade if I say so myself!”

“I don’t want your stupid upgrade!” she shrieked.

“Yes, you’re welcome! I love you too dear!”

Now Uraraka was just confused.

“You know that I can’t hear anything you’re saying, right?” Yaoyorozu apparently sensed it and laughed, “Until next time, my dear!”

Uraraka flipped the woman off with both hands, but didn’t assume the gesture was seen as the boat was already speeding off into the distance.

She felt her irritation bubbling over when she dragged Bakugo to the Royale Suite, only for it to be driven away when she realized just how fancy their new accommodations were.

Bakugo kissed her softly on the cheek before settling into the space and she knew how she could begin to make up what had been an entirely unexpected turn of events.

Desperate to return the trip to some sense of normalcy, she picked up the schedule he had created and saw that the next event would be salsa dancing.

Before she could suggest it though, he began, “I know you’re disappointed about the Sapphire Siren, so if it would make you feel better we could lounge in bed and eat desserts.”

She closed the distance between them and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “That is incredibly sweet of you, Katsuki, but we have too many activities to do!”

They soon found themselves on the dance floor of one of the ship’s many ballrooms, following the simple steps shown to them by the instructor.

As their eyes met, Uraraka held his ruby gaze, her trust in his ability to meet implicit.

“Thank you for following me around all day, even though I was acting like a crazy woman. I love you, Katsuki.”

He coughed at her confession, nearly choking as his face began to turn red.

It wasn’t the response she was hoping for, but she knew that he had a hard time with emotions so it was about what she expected. Thankfully, he pulled her closer once he had regained his composure.

He may have difficulties in processing and expressing emotions, but apparently he wasn’t 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 dense.

Still, her heart beat faster when he leaned in close, pressed his lips softly to hers and murmured, “I love you too, Ochako.”

She already sort of knew it to be true.

But it was still pretty damn great to hear it anyway.

Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ Ｐａｒｔ Ｔｈｉｒｔｅｅｎ