Chapter Text
"Look, why don't we just ask someone for directions?" Mina declared after about ten minutes of arguing.
"From who? I'm not seeing a whole lot of options here," Sero countered, gesturing at the nearly empty street.
“I can’t believe all of us are out of data,” Kirishima complained, looking at his phone with a forlorn expression.
“This is why you all need to switch to unlimited,” Mina said smugly.
Katsuki snorted as Sero scathingly said, “Fat load of help your ‘unlimited data’ is right now, Miss I-Forgot-to-Charge-My-Phone-Last-Night.”
Mina opened her mouth to respond but Kaminari interrupted by asking, "What about her?"
He pointed to a woman seated in front of a storefront. The woman was reading a book, enjoying a cup of tea. "She looks nice. And if she's nice, she's probably helpful!" he reasoned.
“That’s the dumbest fucking logic I’ve ever heard, Pikachu. You go around judging everybody based on looks?” challenged Katsuki.
“Obviously not, or I wouldn’t be friends with you, Kacchan,” teased Kaminari, expertly skipping out the fiery blond’s reach.
"Regardless of higher thought processes,” Kirishima said as he activated his quirk and stepped between the two blonds, “it’s still not a bad idea. I say we go ask her. Nicely," he emphasized, careful not to look at anyone in particular. Not that it mattered. They all knew he was talking about Katsuki.
“Fuck you, I’m always fucking nice,” the surly blond muttered under his breath. Nevertheless, he fell in line behind the others as they crossed the street.
The woman in question happened to raise her head and see them approach. Her eyes were guarded but she gave them a friendly smile before bringing her purse to her lap and searching for something.
“Hi!” Mina chirped as they reached the table. “My name is Ashido Mina, and these are my friends. We’re visiting and a little lost. Can you give us directions to the new arcade?”
The woman had apparently found was she was looking for in her purse and held it up for them to see. It was a large laminated card that read I’m sorry, I can’t hear you speaking to me.
Mina’s face filled with confusion. “What-”
“If she can’t hear then you need to be louder, Mina,” Kirishima interrupted, turning to the woman. “HELLO!” he bellowed with a manic grin. “MY FRIENDS AND I ARE LOST, CAN YOU-”
“Jesus fuck, you’re all so embarassing,” Katsuki said, shouldering his way to the front of the group. He shoulder checked Kirishima and shot him a glare that clearly said shut up. Snatching the card from the woman’s hand, he flipped it over to show them the other side, which read I am deaf. “She’s deaf, you idiots.”
The self-proclaimed Bakusquad looked sheepish. Heaving a deep sigh, Katsuki turned back to the woman. She looked a strange mixture of embarrassed and confused. Katsuki sighed again and handed the card back. Then, to the surprise of his friends, he raised both hands and began signing. Sorry about that, they're idiots. They mean well, though.
The look of surprise on the woman’s face was nothing compared to the shock on the faces of the Bakusquad. The woman recovered quicker, though. That's alright, she signed back. I'm used to it.
Katsuki grimaced in sympathy. Would you mind giving us directions to the new arcade? We're not from around here and got lost, he signed.
The woman gave Katsuki a soft, embarrassed smile. I wish I could, but I don’t know anything about a new arcade. I don’t go, personally.
Katsuki nodded in understanding. Can you at least tell us how to get to Sakura street from here? We know the closest cross streets are Sakura and Fourth but our phones are being particularly difficult for any other directions.
Of course! the woman beamed. Just head north for three blocks and then turn west for five. That will take you Sakura street. The Fourth street intersection will be north of you.
Katsuki bowed to her and signed a quick thanks. “Come on, idiots. We gotta get moving if we still want to get some decent gameplay in.” Still in shock, the other teens could do no more than bow and wave a quick farewell to the woman- which she returned- and follow their appointed leader. The group walked in silence for three blocks before Katsuki finally stopped and turned to face his friends.
“Alright, I can literally feel you fuckers staring at me and it’s fucking annoying so listen up, I’m not fucking saying this again.” Drawing his shoulders up to his ears in defensive reflex, the blond continued, “Yes, I know sign language; yes, I know it fluently; no, I will not teach you, I teach you losers too damn much anyway at school so you don’t fucking fail.” Red eyes glared down at the ground. “I’ve known sign since I was a brat, my quirk is fucking loud and when I was learning to control it I fucked up my hearing pretty good. The stupid doctor told my parents it was a good idea to learn sign language in case one day my hearing goes out for good, especially if I use it frequently. And because I’m gonna be the best fucking hero to ever grace this fucking planet, I agreed. So I don’t want to hear another goddamn thing about it, okay? It’s not a big deal and I can still kick your asses, got it?”
Katsuki finally looked at them and to an outsider, it may have appeared that he was trying to activate a dormant laser-eye quirk. But the four U.A. students that comprised the body of the Bakusquad hadn’t made it this long as friends of the explosive blond on pure luck. It was clear that Katsuki was nervous about how this information was going to change the dynamic of the group.
Kirishima was the first to speak. “We know, dude. Bakubro is the toughest motherfucker out there.”
Mina nodded in agreement. “Nothing can ever change that.” Sero and Kaminari bobbed their heads in support of Mina’s declaration.
Katsuki’s shoulders relaxed. “And don’t you fuckers ever forget it.” Turning away to hide the smile on his face, he headed down the street again. “Come on, guys. It’s this way.”