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A cool breeze drifted about the dormitory complex signaling the changing of the seasons. The traces of warmth left behind by the afternoon sun on the concrete balcony chased away by the evening. In times like these Shouto consciously relinquishes control of his quirk in favour of experiencing nature’s own swells. Leaning against the balcony ledge, Shouto closes his eyes.
Inhale goes in. Hold. Exhale goes out.
Oh.
Wait.
He accidentally heated that exhale up.
Wait.
Don’t most people somehow heat their exhales on their own anyways? During a 1A-yoga class, Midnight-sensei emphasized exhaling ‘breaths of fire.’ Shouto didn’t question it much at the time, but isn’t he the only one that should be able to do that with his fire quirk? Do others also mimic some kind of ice breath? That can’t be the case. Most people have to use external means if they want to control their temperature. Now which parts of the central & peripheral systems do what again? Somatic, autonomic... Sweating, shivering…
A frustrated exhale escapes him this time. Shouto had stepped out onto the balcony to take a break from his Quirk Research Report. Essentially, each student was to conduct an academic search of the applications of their quirks outside of hero work. For as long as he could remember, Shouto had been conditioned to associate his quirk with being a hero, with strength, with victory–– of course, besides his own thermoregulation. Now here he stood on the balcony, thinking about his quirk outside instead of at his desk. Seems like he's going to have to review his anatomy & physiology notes later as well.
Click. Below the sound of a sliding door creaked, & a tuft of blonde hair emerged on the balcony a floor below.
“Good evening, Bakugou.”
Katsuki visibly startled, shoulders hitching up in surprise turning his glare upwards towards his unwanted guest.
“Huh? What are you doing out here?”
“It’s my balcony.”
“No shit you Half n’ Half Bastard.”
“So?”
“So NOTHING! Jeez can’t have some peace & quiet out here without getting partnered up with you too,” Katsuki grumbled turning away to look out into the evening.
Indeed. From tests of courage in dark woods, going head-to-head at the Sports Festival, remedial license training, internships, and more, the Two Top have had to partner up on numerous occasions throughout first year. Although technically Shouto has grouped up with other classmates more often, his unlikely alliances with Katsuki have been a source of both exasperation… and humour. Kirishima did mention during the I-Island Incident that they were a good team–– although Bakugo objected. Their quirks allowed for productive collaboration, so working with his explosive classmate became easier over time. Shouto found that executing strategies with Katsuki needed little to no prep. The short-tempered blonde was quite intuitive, adaptable, & understood the flow of battles or exercises well. Well, until the blonde wasn’t the one giving the directions. In any case, Shouto could admit to himself that Katsuki was a dependable teammate. He couldn’t rely on the other to concur, though.
“Bakugou.”
A pause. Then a sigh. “Is my name a statement, or a question? Use your words, IcyHot.”
“How is your research going?”
“Well,” the blonde considered & turned around, a thoughtful expression on his features. Gaze to the ground, an eyebrow quirked up. “Almost done. My nitroglycerine sweat could probably get me into the medical industry. Probably do something with cardiac emergencies, or maybe even become a cardiologist. Save lives. Be a hero in that sense.”
Wow. Suddenly Katsuki’s quirk had more applications than just demolition jobs. “Seems like you’ve thought this through?”
An expression akin to smugness or mischief or both flashed across the blonde’s face. “Hasn’t taken me very long to narrow down a couple topics I wanna talk about. I mean, I’ve been pretty serious about my quirk from the start unlike you.”
Shouto frowned. Ouch. Reminders of his old days. Days when he could hardly see his goals let alone imagine them. Days when he felt like his quirk wasn’t his own. “I’ve been working on it. You have to admit that I’ve developed my efficiency, & output.”
“What are you, an econ text?” Katsuki gives him a mocking eye-roll. Oh? Perhaps an amused smirk? Hm.
“That wasn’t intentional… but I guess it does help to frame some things in familiar concepts? If I’m not focused, my movements become imprecise.”
“Yeah. I get that. Like magic meters & health bars. Your huge ice attacks have a lot of limitations.” Another thoughtful look rests on his face. “But you probably don’t game anyways though.”
“Just the ones that the rest of the class introduces me to.” Shouto smiles softly. This is nice. Talking candidly with a trusted classmate is nice. Not getting yelled at by Katsuki is nice. The breeze feels nice.
“Bakugou, aren’t you going to get cold? Your quirk can produce heat, but only if you’re making the explosions.”
Brows furrowed, the blonde looks at Shouto as if he had said something odd.
“September isn’t that cold. Using your quirk so much that you can’t tell, IcyHot?”
For as long as he could remember, yes, Shouto has been doing so. This was exactly what was troubling him earlier. His inability to relax his quirk use. But if he really let go, would his thermoregulatory system seamlessly take the wheel? Would Shouto be able to sweat enough to cool his skin down fast enough? Would he be able to keep himself comfortable?
... Hm? That's interesting...
“Bakugou, isn’t it contradictory that you need your sweat for explosions? How do you keep them up if your body is trying to cool itself down?”
Bakugou scowled. “HAH? Stick to your own paper! I run around, I sweat, then I make it explode! It’s not even THAT deep. Maybe if you moved your ass more you’d actually be able to get a workout in. I don’t need you thinking about how my quirk works you Half n’ Half Bastard!”
Oh. Wait. If Shouto is a ‘Half n’ Half Bastard’ then…
“Aren’t you a ‘Half n’ Half Bastard’ too?”
No response from the blonde. The evening crickets’ forte chirps punctuated the silence.
“What did you say to me?” A red stare aimed directly into Shouto’s eyes.
“Your sweat is explosive, & then you make it combust separately. We set up some attacks with your sweat that I ignite sometimes. It doesn’t do it on its own,” Shouto rationalized.
“That’s it. I’m kicking your ass.” The blonde scowled, & proceeded to hoist his leg up over the ledge.
“We’ve done that combo a few times since I-Island,” Shouto supplied calmly. “So aren’t they separate quirks?”
“YOU’RE the only Half n’ Half Bastard here, got it!?” Hoisted leg goes back down to meet the other, index finger threateningly directed at him instead. Not worth his energy, apparently.
Shouto smirked. “Does that mean that you have two quirks too?”
“Shut up.”
“Could it be that we have more in common than we thought?”
“I SAID SHUT UP,” Katsuki’s face flushes.
“I thought you were coming up to kick my ass?”
“SHUT. UP.”
This is nice. Talking candidly with a trusted classmate is nice. Getting yelled at by Bakugou is… nice. The breeze feels nice.
Despite the blush on his face, the blonde below starts to shiver.