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April had just passed into May. Bakugou had just turned 17. He wasn't expecting anything extravagant or even a party, he hadn't had a party in years, not that he cared- they were a waste of time and money anyways. But, there was always something about receiving a gift just for you. His parents usually bought him new clothes and a set of books, often whatever was top seller that year. He'd always read them, just to say he had if asked, regardless of whether or not he was interested. While clothes and books were useful, they weren't for him . But there was always one person, one friend that always gave the best gifts.
Except, he hadn't received anything this year. It was May already and he hadn't heard a word or gotten a letter. But he supposed that living in the dorms meant extra delivery time, especially if it came from Russia.
When Bakugou was 8, his family had moved from Russia to Japan to start up their own fashion line. It had been a huge change for them. Everything was different in Japan, the customs and honorifics, the people, the world wasn't what he'd grown up in. It was disorienting to move away from his home and friends. But, Russia didn't have UA High School, so he supposed he could make do.
May turned into June and still nothing. He hadn’t received a letter or a phone call from her either. But school had begun to pick up in intensity again with testing and extra training, so he’d mostly forgotten about it.
The extra training meant he was out on a run now twice a day, once early in the morning and again late in the afternoon. He often passed the mail carrier bots on his way back from his run and would pick up any mail he might have received. There usually wasn't much, just a few old magazines he’d subscribed to and the occasional letter. It’d been much the same today as well.
He’d gotten back from class around four o’clock and went upstairs to his dorm to prepare from his five o’clock run. Just a few stretches to get him going. He stretched and went on his run through the forest track. It was perfect for running, the trees provided shade when the weather was too hot and the uneven path gave a bit of a challenge. He’d run for an hour through the trees and then jog back to the dorms. He’d just gotten to the turn in the path before he was stopped by a mail bot making its rounds.
“Bakugou Katsuki of Class 1-A, a package has arrived for you, please make your way to the mail station to retrieve it.”
The robot was tiny compared to Bakugou and had no real consciousness, but it still managed to sound annoyed, like the package had personally offended the tiny drone.
“I haven’t ordered anything?”
“The package is addressed to you sir. Please make your way to the mail station sometime within the next few days.
“Eh? Why the hell can’t you deliver it? It’s your job ain’t it, or are you so incompetent that you can’t even deliver my fucking mail?”
Katsuki wasn’t actually annoyed at the bot, but it was entertaining to mess with them, they’d always yell or snark back. He was actually a little impressed with how much personality the robots held despite not being sentient. He could thank Nezu for that one.
“Sir.” How the bot managed to sound eternally exhausted with just one word would have baffled Bakugou if he wasn't focused on riling the bot up, “The package is far too large to carry. It has also been labeled as fragile. Now, Sir, if you please, I have to return to my station.” The bot turned around and drove off in the opposite direction.
“Fragile huh?” Katsuki turned around and jogged towards the mail station. It wasn’t too far from the dorms, for convenience’s sake, but it wasn’t a five-minute jog either.
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Katsuki wheeled the large package to the dorms on the dolly UA’s post office lady had lent him. It was far too large for it to have been from either of his parents. On closer inspection the mailing address said that it had shipped from a store in Russia. Ah, so it was from her .
Of course it was, no one else he knew would go so overboard with a birthday present, or at least he assumed that's what it was. She always went above and beyond for his presents. And everytime he’d call her and yell at her for spending so much money on him.
Katsuki smiled fondly and continued to roll the package to the dorms. He wheeled the package up over a lip on the floor and into the hallway. His plan was to roll it into the elevator and open it in his room uninterrupted. But fortune was evidently not in his favor tonight.
“Oh, Kacchan, what’cha got there?” Kaminari rounded the corner as Katsuki wheeled the package into the common room.
“None of your fucking business Pikachu! And don’t fucking call me that!”
“Oh come on man, I'm just curious! I wanna know what’s in it!” Kaminari whined and tried to throw himself around Katsuki’s neck. Katsuki jabbed him in the stomach with his elbow. Kaminari wheezed, and flopped down to the floor in pain.
“Yeah you and every other damned person here.” The mail lady has asked the same thing, at least she hadn’t whined about it.
“Bakugou, what did you do to Kaminari this time?” Sero asked, poking around the corner.
“I didn’t do shit, but the fucker deserved it.”
“Bakugou, you can’t say you didn’t do anything and then turn around and say he deserved it.” Sero rolled his eyes in friendly exasperation.
“Yes, I fucking can. Now move losers, I’ve gotta take this upstairs.” Katsuki hauled the dolly to the side, intent on moving it to the elevator.
“Hey wait! I wanna know what’s inside too. Besides, wouldn’t it be easier to open it down here? You wouldn’t make a mess in your room with packaging either. “ Sero was fairly well versed in the language of Bakugou Katsuki. He could turn almost anything on its head to make Katsuki do it.
By now, Kaminari’s pained groans had died down completely, but a crowd of students had already gathered around them. The extras were either trying to coax Kaminari off the floor or were looking at the large box in curiosity.
It was Iida who spoke up first, having caught on to Sero’s silent need to see what was in the box.
“I believe Sero may be right Bakugou! It would certainly save you some time if you were to open it up down here in the common room. It would be much easier to clean any mess, and you wouldn’t risk any damage taking the rather, um, large package into the elevator.” Iida made a slight chopping motion with his hands, clearly curious as well.
But, if he didn’t open it here, then his classmates would bug him about it later. It was the lesser of two evils to open down in the common room, hopefully anyways.
“Jeez, alright fine. I’ll open it, don’t get your panties in a twist, Prez.” Iida made a noise of indignation at his classmate’s language. Katsuki rolled his eyes at Iida then groaned. He didn’t really want to open it in front of them, it could be anything.
“Do you need help?” Iida stepped closer to the dolly.
“Yeah you're gonna have to help me set it down on the ground.” Iida made his way over and helped Katsuki to lower the box slowly off the dolly and on the ground.
“Do you need scissors?” Iida glanced down at the abundance of tape holding the box closed. But Katsuki had already pulled his hunter’s blade from his pocket.
“Does it look like I need one?” He unsheathed the blade and sliced the box open.
Most of his classmates had crowded around them waiting silently. Tsuyu fiddled with her hands and Deku had started rambling about the possible things Katsuki could have received. Katsuki glanced up at his classmates before shoving his hands into the package. If he felt around he could feel the glossy surface of whatever was in the box. He felt around for the sides and lifted it up.
“Holy shit.” His eyes went wide in shock. “Holy fucking shit, she did not.” The smooth glossy feeling was the outer shell of a cello case. A clean white finish with black trim that circled around the sides. Carefully he lifted the case up and out of the box onto the floor.
“Who is ‘ she’, Bakugou, and why did she send you a cello?” It was Jirou’s turn to speak. She crouched down and ran her hand over the surface of the case.
“Do you play?” Uraraka glanced up from the case.
“I-” Katsuki started to speak but was cut off by Midoriya.
“Kacchan used to play the cello when he was younger. There are some videos of him online, but I think he stopped pretty soon after he moved.”
The rest class murmured amongst themselves in badly concealed excitement. Katsuki was beginning to think he should have taken the elevator like he originally planned.
“ Yes. I used to play, I don’t play much anymore, and even if I did it’s none of your business.”
“Oh come on Blasty, there's no need to get defensive!” Mina bounced on her heels excitedly.
“Well, aren’t you going to open it?” Uraraka, too, seemed unable to hold still.
“Yes, yes, alright fine! Fucking nosy extras, I’ll open it.” Hesitantly Katsuki flicked open the hinges on the side and pushed the lid up. His eyes flew open in wonder and he let out a gasp. The inside of the velvet lined case was a brand new Kohr cello. The rich dark mahogany wood glistened under common room lights.
Jirou let out a gasp when she read the name of the cello’s maker, making the rest of the class lean in to get a better look.
“ Jesus christ. She’s really lost her mind hasn’t she?” Katsuki mumbled quietly in Russian under his breath. Whilst staring at the cello he almost missed the sealed white envelope tucked behind a flap in the case, it was addressed to him. The class glanced between each other in bewilderment at the sudden change in language. Some looked to Midoriya in hopes for an answer.
“Kacchan was born in Russia, his family moved here when he was eight or so,” Midoriya said. The class mumbled amongst themselves about this new information. He gently lifted the mahogany cello and bow from the case and pointed at his classmates.
“Blasty! You’ve gotta play!” Mina called out.
“Yeah Bro! It’d be super manly to see you play,” Kirishima agreed. The rest of the class agreed rather loudly that they too wanted to hear Katsuki play.
“Hell no I’m not playing for you extras!”
“Please! Please! Please!” Mina whined.
“ No.”
“Oh come on Bakugou. What, are you that bad ?” Sero prodded at him from behind Kirishima. Katsuki glared and snarled in annoyance.
“ You little shit. Fine I’ll play for you. Someone bring me a fucking chair!”
Kaminari quickly pulled a chair from the kitchen and set it down beside him. Katsuki sat and placed the cello between his thighs. He began to tune the instrument, cursing under his breath. He hadn’t played for anyone in a while.
Fucking shit, I shouldn’t be this nervous.
The weight of the cello between his thighs was different from his old Yamaha, but it was familiar. Like visiting a place he hadn't been to in years. His classmates sat on the ground in a circle, waiting for him to start playing. At some point Aizawa-Sensei joined the group, leaning against the wall off to the side. Katsuki glanced up and made eye contact. Aizawa raised an eyebrow and held down his stare.
“This is Nocturne in C sharp, a piece written by Chopin. Its- uh, it's one of my favorites.” Unconsciously a smile pulled at Katsuki’s lips as he glanced up at his class once more. He took a deep breath.
He began the piece with a soft vibrato that built up until it reached a gentle climax, followed by a swaying melody. Then he picked up the tempo into a slow march. The strings felt stiff under his fingers, but didn't cut. The music felt like a gentle tide, sweeping up into a higher one that hit the shoreline with a loud, but light crash.
The class listened with rapt attention, each noticing the deep passion that flooded their friend’s face. His eye brows were furrowed and his lips trembled slightly with the music. Bakugou’s fingers dug into the strings with fervor but his bow was light, ghosting over the gentle notes with ease. He picked up speed in time with the deep tremble of the low notes that shifted to a solemn harmony.
Mina laid her shoulder on Sero’s head, content on just listening. Aizawa had leaned back into the wall, content with the waves of sound rolling over him.
Bakugou’s entire body seemed to be creating music. His body swayed in time with the rhythm His mind and soul converged with the sound, becoming an entirely new being all together.
The music continued on, getting louder with each note, but still holding a pained sadness to them. Bakugou’s eyes fluttered with the music, he too seemed lulled by the music. Each note was filled with a passion they had never seen from him. A gentle push of the waves, dangerous in its own right, but this was soft and sweet with real sorrow.
The deep trembles followed by the crescendo of high notes, like a bird flying up to the very top of a mountain peak and then soaring down again, resonated throughout the room. It blanketed them with sound and sorrow. Bakugou was baring his soul to them in earnest. His life conveyed through music. The soft gentle introduction laced with urgency, the crescendo of notes, the deep tremble of his soul, the very being of the song portrayed through one person.
The calming music had lured them half into sleep, but the urgency of the notes still kept them on their toes. The high E’s keeping them from floating off into the tide.
It ended with a long drawn out crescendo, similar in fashion to the soft intro march. Bakugou pulled himself from the music and lowered his bow, his hand still delicately holding the neck before dropping to his side. The room was silent for a moment as they took in what they had just heard. Then, they erupted into passionate applause. Bakugou’s head jerked upwards and he met his friends’ eyes for the first time since the piece began. Kirishima had tear tracks running down his beaming face, and Kaminari was staring, gawking like a fish. The cheering didn’t die down for a good two minutes, even Aizawa had joined in, a smile dancing across his face.
“What the fuck are you losers looking at?”
“Kacchan, that was amazing!”
“Dude! That was so manly! You can’t hide this stuff man! ”
“That was impressive Bakugou-kun, I didn’t expect that.” Yaoyorozu smiled brightly at him from her seat on the floor. He turned his head and looked away.
“It’s fucking whatever I guess.” Katsuki’s cheeks felt hot. His heart was pounding in his ears.
Fuck, I really just did that didn’t I? I played for them, and they liked it.
The sound of Jirou’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Bakugou who the hell sent you a cello and why?
“Ugh, a family friend of mine always sends me shit like this. Always wasting her money on me. Like I need any of this shit,” Katsuki grumbled halfheartedly. He actually really enjoyed receiving gifts from her, they always managed to be the right thing. It was the amount of money she spent that annoyed him.
“That's quite the gift Bakugou. If I were you, I’d call them and thank them.” Aizawa mentioned from his place on the wall.
Fuck, the call.
Bakugou stood up and walked his cello back to its case and set it down gingerly. He moved to grab his phone, but something white caught his eye. An envelope was tucked between one of the flaps of the case. He grabbed it and carefully pulled out the letter. It was handwritten in a neat cyrilic print.
Happy Birthday Katsuki, you little shithead.
I really wished you’d call more often. Maybe on the weekends? We could video chat, maybe play together again. I’ve missed your playing, even if it was a little somber at times. I was pissed to hear that you hadn’t played for anyone in nearly six years. You used to love playing, what happened Kat? Surely you're not that busy. You can’t throw yourself into training all the time. It's not healthy. You gotta take a break, especially after what happened.
So, in my dastardly plot to get you to play with me, I bought you a new cello! It's a Kohr brand, they're really nice and I thought it might suit you. So happy birthday asshole, come play for me soon. Otherwise I’m coming down there myself!
-Love,
Anna.
*PS, If you complain about me caring about you, I’ll hit you over the head with a spoon, or so help me God.*
He cracked a smile at the end, she really would hit him with a spoon. He huffed out a sigh and looked at the letter once more before looking up at his classmates. He’d forgotten they were still there. Folding the letter in half again, he slipped it back into the envelope.
Before he moved to Japan, his family was close friends with the Morozovs, a neighboring family that owned a chain of hotels. The Morozovs had two children, two years apart, Anna and Losef. The three of them were often set on playdates together. Anna and Katsuki, especially, had grown up glued to the hip. When Anna decided she wanted to learn the cello, Katsuki had followed in her footsteps.
They took to the cello like a fish took to water. They were young children at the time, but both far beyond their age in skill.
However, when Katsuki moved away, he'd stopped playing. It wasn't any fun to play without Anna there. They played together, competed together, learned together, they were each other's half in music. It had disappointed his parents greatly, and they often chided him for being lazy and not practicing. But in Japan, heroing had taken precedence over music.
It wasn't until recently that Katsuki had gotten back into playing. After the events at Kamino, he had needed a way to unwind. And while drums were fun and a good stress reliever, they didn't satisfy him the way the deep tremble of a cello did.
“Kacchan,” Deku, the fucking nerd, decided to ask first. “Is everything alright? You were quiet for a long time there.”
“Fucking peachy, just- ugh, she bought me a cello get me to play with her again.” That wasn’t a lie, she had bought him a cello to get him playing again. But she also bought it because she was worried about him. She hadn’t found out about the kidnapping until two weeks after it happened. They talked for hours that night about little things. It had mostly been her talking but he didn’t mind. It kept him from thinking about that bar and those people.
“Well, weren’t you going to call your friend? They seem like they might need a really nice thank you.” Yaoyorozu interrupted his train of thought.
“Yeah yeah, whatever.” He stood up to leave the room to call in private, but was interrupted by Kaminari, apparently he hadn't learned his lesson the first time.
“Oh come one man, don't leave yet. We wanna hear about this mysterious girlfriend of yours! Put her on speaker man!”
“What the fuck? She’s not my girlfriend, and I’m sure as hell not putting her on speaker. What’s the point, it's not like she speaks Japanese.”
“Ooh, a foreign lady, I bet she’s really pretty Bakugou! How the hell did you get a girlfriend and a foreign one at that?” Kaminari continued to tease.
“Pikachu, she can and would judo flip your ass into the sun. And she’s not my fucking girlfriend!”
“Okay okay, leave him alone Kami. Although I am interested in hearing more about this friend of yours. Why haven't you mentioned her before?” Sero questioned, only lightly teasing.
“Oh- do you think she’d like us? Does she know about the Bakusquad?” Mina threw herself onto Sero’s shoulders.
“Tch- whatever, you wanna hear about her so bad, fine.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number. Kaminari looked far too excited for his liking. Katsuki debated hitting him again, but with Aizawa there, he decided against it. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up. There on the other line of the phone was Anna, yelling through the speaker in hurried Russian.
“What the fuck Katsuki!? You can’t just ignore me for three months and then call out of the blue! You asshole! Did you even get your present?! You better have fucking liked it asshole, I told you I would come down there if you didn’t listen to me!”
“Yeah yeah, sorry about that Anna. The cello got shuffled around in shipping, I only just now got it dumbass. What do you think I would ignore you for being an idiot? Hell no, and what the fuck Anna! That shit must have been fucking expensive, and here’s your idiot ass spending it on me! Should have bought yourself a new cello.” He shuffled on his feet.
“Oh. So do you like it or not, asshole!?”
“Do I- ” Katsuki spluttered. “ Yes I like it!” He turned on his camera and put her on video call. He lowered his phone so that she could see the newly opened gift.
“Oh! Katsuki show me your friends! Come on turn me around.” Her face lit up as she caught a glimpse of the extra around in.
“Jesus- fine.” He turned the camera around and propped the phone up on the table behind him. “Here.”
The class gathered around to wave at the girl through the phone, clearly fascinated to see that Katsuki actually had friends outside of UA.
“Alright assholes, listen up! This is Anna Morozova, a friend of mine from Russia. You get one question and one question only!”
The group turned to face each other to discuss what they would ask the new girl. Aizawa looked disinterested initially but stepped forward a bit from the couch and turned to Katsuki and Anna. He glanced down at the cello and then back up at the two.
“It's good to see that someone is looking after him. He hardly leaves his room other than to run and cook dinner.” Aizawa spoke in accented Russian. Bakugou’s eyes went wide and Anna looked momentarily shocked before bursting out laughing.
“ I’m right here asshole.” Katsuki grumbled in indignation. Aizawa gave a shit-eating smirk at Bakugou, but made no move to explain himself. Behind him the class had turned their attention towards the three and looked to be in various stages of shock. Anna was still laughing, but it had died down to a soft giggle.
“Aizawa-Sensei, since when could you speak Russian?” Mina called out from between Asui and Sero. She was practically jumping out of her shoes.
“Hmm, I traveled a lot growing up so I learned a lot of languages.”
“Do you fuckers have a question to ask or not? I’m not waiting all day.”
The class glanced between each other and then pushed Midoriya through to the front.
“Umm well- We were wondering how you know Kacchan?” Deku fidgeted with his hands.
“Really? You’re gonna waste your one question on that ?” Katsuki shook his head and looked back at Anna.
“What’s he saying Katsuki? Is that the Broccoli kid you used to tell me about?” Anna asked, unable to understand the conversation around her. Aizawa’s lip twitched as he held back a smile.
“Yeah, that's him, they want to know how you know me.”
“Oh, well hmm, translate for me Solnyshko.” Anna teased him a little. Katsuki groaned at the affectionate nickname and made the mistake of looking at his teacher, who in turn nearly laughed out loud, but recovered himself by looking away.
Katsuki begrudgingly translated as she told them about how they met and what Russia was like. She told them about the cello competitions they would attend together and a few embarrassing stories about his youth. About halfway through he stopped translating to mess with the new cello and made Aizawa-Sensei do it instead. He complied willingly enough, clearly interested in some of the stupid shit his student got up to a child.
“-and then he fell right on his ass.” It was so strange to hear Aizawa-Sensei deadpan the line that it shocked Katsuki from his thoughts. The class was laughing along with Anna before she turned to look at Katsuki.
“ Speaking of Katsuki, are you going to play for me or not? I bought you the damn thing to hear you play.” She pouted playfully and winked at him.
“I already played the damn thing-”
“Wait-! You played for them and didn’t call me? What the hell Katsuki!” She yelled at him through the screen.
“What are they saying Aizawa-Sensei, kero?” Asui poked her cheek slightly.
“She wants Bakugou to play for her.” Aizawa turned his head towards the girl and smirked slightly.
“Oh hell yeah man! Play it again, none of us mind!” The class gave a chorus of agreements following Kirishima.
“Wait, you want to hear it again? I just played for you! Greedy little fuckers.”
“Oh come on please play it again man!” Kaminari whined from the floor.
“Katsuki, I swear to god, you’d better pick that cello up.”
“Alright, Jesus, I'll play it again.”
“Come one blasty please!” Mina begged with Kaminari playfully.
Like puppies begging for treats. Katsuki chuckled to himself.
“Yes, I’m doing it, Christ.” He gently lifted the cello and bow from the case and sat back down on the same chair he had earlier. He motioned someone to take his phone from the table. Jirou grabbed it and held it so that Anna could see too.
He set the cello between his thighs. It was still odd to hold, but it felt a little more natural now. He glanced down at Anna and she smiled back. He was secretly glad she was here to meet his friends. He’d never say it out loud, but he really did like them.
Damn, I really did miss her.
With a deep breath, he began to play.