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“Bakugo Katsuki.”
Bakugo stood from next to Eijirou, shoulders squared and back straight. From his angle Eijirou could barely see the smirk tugging at his friend’s lips.
“Come forward and state your intention.” Toyomitsu gestured, and Eijirou sat stone-still as Bakugo walked down the slope to the spot designated for hopeful warriors to be tested.
“I intend to be the greatest warrior in this tribe.” Bakugo declared loudly, and Eijirou had to bite back a laugh. Of course Bakugo couldn’t just say he intended to be a warrior, he had to declare his intent to be The Best. Classic Bakugo.
“The greatest, huh?” Toyomitsu didn’t seem upset in the slightest by Bakugo’s deviation from the script, and laid a hand firmly on Bakugo’s shoulder. “Then you would do combat with our greatest Warrior, instead of the one who would’ve taken part in your trial?”
“Absolutely.” Bakugo grinned, all teeth and confidence.
“Yonhon, you have a challenger!” Toyomitsu called with a smile, and a prickle ran down Eijirou’s spine as a hulking man with four muscled arms stood from where the adult warriors of the tribe sat.
“I’ve seen you fight, Bakugo Katsuki.” Yonhon grinned. “You lack discipline. I’ll happily teach you!” on the last words he swung, and Bakugo brought his hands up to simultaneously blast his opponent and lunch himself backwards.
“I’ve seen you spar.” Bakugo’s back was to him, but Eijirou could hear the near-manic grin in his friend’s voice. “I’m gonna wipe the floor with you.”
“You are welcome to try.” Yonhon laughed, striding forward and swinging again. Bakugo jumped back again, staying well out of range of the other three arms, and Eijirou found himself leaning forward where he knelt on the grass.
“Ten laps around the camp says he gets his ass handed to him in the first two minutes.” Ashido stage-whispered to him.
“Twenty says he wins.” he bit back, not taking his eyes off the fight as Yonhon kept Bakugo on the defensive. He must’ve been some sort of shifter, to have arms like that, but Eijirou couldn’t think of what. Not that it mattered terribly much, the warrior gauging the newcomer’s ability wasn’t allowed to use their magic in the trial fight.
“I’ll take that.” Ashido sat back, and Eijirou heard similar agreements from the rest of his peers. Four months and he’d be down there, fighting for his right to be a warrior. He was sure his fight wouldn’t look half as cool as Bakugo’s, though. It’d probably be a lot more visible though, Bakugo’s repeated explosions had kicked up a whole lot of dust on the field. Dust which Yonhon seemed to be having trouble seeing through, now that Eijirou paid attention. Bakugo slipped out of the dust field and began to run around its perimeter, stopping still when Yonhon turned towards the sound of his footsteps. He took a few steps backwards, smile growing on his face as Yonhon stalked towards where he’d stopped.
“Gotcha!” Yonhon lunged, and Bakugo dove forward, latching onto Yonhon’s back with an arm around his throat and a blazing hand hovering over his head.
“No ya don’t.”
Yonhon froze, then began to laugh, raising his upper arms. “Well played, young warrior. Discipline you may lack, but power and cunning are well within your ability.”
“Damn straight.” Bakugo grinned. Eijirou could hardly wait for his turn to become a fully fledged warrior.