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Ok, so I know I was kinda forced to journal after I got hit with that stupid hallucination quirk a month ago, but I’ve been havin some real weird dreams lately, so I figured I’d give this a shot again.
Last night, I dreamt that I was retaking the entrance exam but I wasn’t me…
Ugh this seems so stupid to write down.
I wasn’t me.
I was Bakugo.
And it was amazing!
Obviously, I dunno what actually went down in his entrance exam cuz I just know he’d never tell me, or he’d say something to save his pride and just say that “they were just stupid robots, pink cheeks/ round face/ floaty”, but it just felt like the entrance exam cuz of the robots.
I was sweatin real hard and just like Bakugo, I could just put my hand out and make explosions.
IT WAS AWESOME!
I took down the robots so easily! I literally just ran up to them, put my palm out and BAM! I was like a human bomb!
I even got to fly around a bit by using the explosions as little propulsion explosions.
They were so loud and bright, and I kinda see how he’s always scowling into a squint. I wonder if he has ear plugs built into his costume or somethin.
My dream ended too quickly to really mess around and see how big I could make the explosions, but this isn’t the first of these dreams, so I’m really hopin’ I have some more. Still, though, the explodies I got were solid.
I wonder if he can level buildings with all his practice.
I wonder what I’d look like with spiky hair???
I should call myself Ocha-go LOL.
Bakugo gulped and quickly shut the book. He looked around cautiously, surveying with narrowed eyes to make sure that he was alone. He had just come across the book on his walk back to the dorms after practicing late at Ground Beta. The book was just a plain looking notebook with slightly tattered edges, so he figured it was a training notebook for one of the other students. He was initially planning on just dropping it off at the dorms so that the owner could eventually find it again. It’s not like he cared too much about returning it out of altruism, but he did care that all of his competitors were in the best shape possible when he inevitably beat them. They obviously wouldn’t be able to do that without their training notebooks.
So, when he looked inside to search for a name, he really didn’t expect to find the slightly messy but very round handwriting of one Ochako Uraraka.
Of course, he didn’t exactly know that it really was her handwriting, but he did know that she was hit by a hallucination quirk about a month ago, and the name she’d given herself was a dead giveaway.
“Ocha-go.” He whispered to himself and felt his hands get sweatier. It was the first time he’d actually said her first name out loud, and it wasn’t even her actual first name.
He furrowed his brows and quickly threw the notebook into his gym bag and rushed back to the dorms.
She was dreaming about him.
Or rather, she was dreaming about becoming him?
He exhaled sharply.
What in the fuck could that possbily mean?
He shuddered as he thought about how Uraraka would probably be the only one in the class to actually have the guts to skin him and wear his skin around as a little Bakugo-suit if she really wanted to become him.
But, she was also probably nice enough to not actually do that.
Probably.
He waved his hand in the air as if swatting away a bug to get that uncomfortable thought out of his head. She’d drown in his skin anyways, she was so much smaller than him.
Thankfully, the only people in the dorm common room were Kaminari and Jirou, who were listening to music together, so Bakugo ignored them and ran up to his room. He dropped his bag on the floor and dug out the notebook before falling into his bed.
He knew that he probably shouldn’t have been reading it now that he knew it wasn’t a training journal, but he was the content of the dream diary entries, after all. Didn’t that mean that he was entitled in at least some way to know about it?
Bakugo groaned and ran his hand down his face. There really was no good way to justify his snooping.
He just couldn’t help it.
Someone was paying attention to him. Actually, it wasn’t even just some extra. It was the badass, kind, cute, sharp Uraraka who was paying attention to him. Not only that, but she’d already picked up on the loudness of his quirk.
He made a mental note to go see the support class for some ear protection.
He got up and quickly locked his door and turned on the lamp beside his bed before he plopped back down and turned to the next entry.
Same deal last night. I was Bakugo again, but this time, I was just on patrol.
Turns out people don’t just approach him on the streets when he’s on patrol.
Err
At least, that’s the case when I’m on patrol as him in my dreams LOL.
Now I kinda wanna know if people actually stay away from him on his patrols or if it’s some weird dream thing leftover from that stupid hallucination quirk. Bakugo’s a bit of a grumpy cat, yea, but he’s still a hero.
Anyways, so I was just walkin the streets but, like, I was TALL. Bakugo level TALL. God, it's so cool to be able to see over people’s heads.
Wait. I guess I can see over people’s heads when I float too.
But, Ocha-go doesn’t need to use a quirk for that!
I could just walk around with that feral little grin he’s always got on and nobody even bothered me or told me to “smile sunshine”. Is that what his life’s like?
I can see the perks to that, but I also like the local mochi granny givin me free mochi cuz she said my face kinda resembles it. Bakugo doesn’t get free mochi.
There were some villains on patrol and I got to use explosion again at them! It’s so COOL! I really just put my hand out and just channel my emotions into that intense burst and things just explode!
My hands felt tingly and weird afterward, but at least I’m not throwin’ up after using a quirk.
I love Gunhead Martial Arts, but to just have that power all built in? That’s so wild.
I even got to tell the villains to fuck off. He thinks he’s so cool with his swearing, but construction workers really know how to swear. It just doesn’t go with my babyface.
Definitely goes with his gremlin life though.
Hmm, hold up, the explosion really was tied to my emotions.
Is that why he’s always so on edge? To channel that intensity into his quirk?
That’s gotta get so tiring though. I hope that stress doesn’t actually affect him long term.
I’d ask him but he’d probably scowl and scoff at me.
Also, I decided that I can pull off spiky hair.
Bakugo wiped his sweaty hands on his palms as he set down the journal. He reached over to his desk to take a big sip of his water bottle.
His room felt so warm all of a sudden.
Obviously, he was aware of how the public viewed him. The class had started to go on regular patrol through their internships, and people really did stay away from him. He’d see them huddle and whisper about him every now and then, but he could just frown and walk past them without issue. He’d never actually stopped to think about what other heroes faced when they went on patrol.
It was true that Uraraka was always smiling and her hero persona really pushed that friendly and approachable aspect. Bakugo just didn’t think that was something that could actually bother the gravity hero. She probably got asked for pictures and interviews much more than he did, and even though everyone knew that was just a part of being a hero, she didn’t become a hero to do interviews.
Bakugo had gotten a glimpse of what she looked like without the fake smile plastered on her face, but after reading the journal entry, he wanted to see it more. He wondered what she’d sound like if she swore like he did.
Unlike what Uraraka thought, he figured that swearing would go great with her adorable round face.
He wanted to see Ocha-go too.
Even more than that, there was a part of him that wanted to reach out to her because of how easily she saw through his temper. She figured out the connection between his intensity and his quirk’s effectiveness so easily and she’d just been dreaming about being him. It wasn’t even a real body-swap situation and she had him pegged.
Uraraka had never shied away from his abrasive nature in the first place, but to read about her actually coming to an understanding about how it affected him made him feel both vulnerable and proud.
Then of course, there was the whole thing about picturing her with spiky hair. Or, rather, picturing a small round faced girl with red eyes and unruly brown hair.
What an intrusive thought.
He shook his head vigorously.
He’ll sort out his feelings later.
The clock beside his bed now said 9:30PM. Much later than his regular bedtime of 8PM, but he knew he’d have to find a way to return the book to Uraraka the next day, without letting her know that he was the one who had it, so he exhaled sharply and went back to reading.
I’ve been getting fewer and fewer of the Ocha-go dreams lately, so I guess writing about it is helping? Like it’s gettin’ it out of my system or something.
This time, I wasn’t actually fighting or exploding or anything, which was weird at first ‘cause Bakugo is just always training or fighting or something. This time, I was just sittin’ in class.
I was in Bakugo’s little window seat - he’s like a shoujo love interest or something with that window seat - and I just looked around the class at everyone.
I saw Kiri, Mina, and Kami scribbling down their notes so fast, but when I peeked over a bit to see over Kiri’s shoulders, it was just a total mess.
I got to look at Bakugo’s own notes, and they were like a gift from the gods, I swear. He has his own shorthand and outlines all the main points. He makes like mind maps to connect concepts together??
I knew he was smart, obviously, but it was actually super helpful to see how he organizes his notes. He’s so hard working that I really do wanna be more like him even outside these dreams. So, I’m gonna change mine around to see how it works for me.
Oh yea, I looked at me too, and my hair looked super shiny, my eyes were ginormous and so so brown, and cheeks even puffier.
Probably why he calls me Round Face or Cheeks or Pink Cheeks. Kinda don’t wanna give him Shiny Hair or Brown Eyes to add to the list, but those things kinda check out, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised if that’s next.
I just wonder why I’m even havin’ these dreams. Like, it’s not some weird body or quirk swap quirk or anythin’... Maybe it’s just leftover weirdness from the hallucination quirk?
I mean, I feel like I’m just livin’ his life, not like goin’ to girl’s night as a wall of blond muscle or anythin’.
OMG, now I’m imagining his hair in little ponytails like how Tooru does my hair in girl’s night.
Anyways, it would be really nice to train with him sometime. If gettin’ just a glimpse of his note taking and studying methods can help me in class, then maybe just one training session would help get me stronger.
I dunno how many more of these dreams I’m gonna have, but it’s been so much fun havin’ so much power at my fingertips in these dreams. I get to be big and strong and no one underestimates Ocha-go!
Bakugo blinked and felt a heat creep up his neck and ears. He was glad he was just all alone in his room right now because there was no explaining away the flips his stomach did as he thought about how Uraraka wanted to train with him.
He furrowed his brows and reread the end of that entry.
Sure, Uraraka wasn’t exactly big, but she was strong and Bakugo had never underestimated her. Who in their right mind would underestimate someone who could rip up the ground and make the sky fall on them?
One way to see more of Ocha-go would be to just train with her.
Bakugo wondered if he’d had said yes to training with her if she’d asked him before he saw the journal.
He groaned in realization that he probably would’ve turned her down. It wasn’t that he thought training with her would be a waste of time - she was on his very short list of worthwhile opponents after all. It’s just the case that if he’d willingly agreed to train with anyone, then they’d see through him. They’d see through the shield of anger and brusqueness he always put up.
But, didn’t the journal entries make it pretty clear that Uraraka had already seen through him?
He swore out loud and slammed the journal down onto the floor before angrily pulling the covers over himself and willing himself into a restless sleep.
---
That night, Bakugo dreamt he was flying.
Or rather, he dreamt that he was floating high enough to touch the stars.
He looked down on the world and saw the twinkling lights of cities and people moving along, and he looked up and around him to be encased in the calm night sky.
He had been perfecting his aerial moves for years and could blast himself quite high up at this point, but this wasn’t him just exploding himself upwards. He was actually just floating. There were no fears of his sweat suddenly drying up and there was none of the bracing he needed to do to cope with the noise and shoulder strain of using his quirk. He could just lay back and exist in the slow and soothing feel of weightlessness.
He looked at his fingers and saw the power that rested in the cat-like toe-beans.
He blinked furiously as parts of his waking memories invaded his subconscious dream-world. Reading Uraraka’s dream diary must have been the primer needed for this type of a dream. He wondered briefly whether Uraraka always dreamt of floating before she started dreaming of his explosions.
Well, she might have had Ocha-go, but he had…
He furrowed his brows trying to think of a portmanteau with their names.
Katsuraraka? Bakucha? Kacchako?
He groaned and shook his head, relaxing back into the floating view. He might have had a knack for nicknames, but he’d have to concede to Uraraka’s naming system in this situation.
---
Uraraka groggily walked into the classroom just minutes before the start of the lecture. She had tried to find her dream journal that morning right after waking up because she had the oddest dream of actually teaming up with Bakugo. She’d dreamt that she was him before, but she’d never actually dreamt of working together. In this dream, they were zooming through the air because she used her quirk on him and he propelled them across the sky.
With practice, they could probably cross oceans that way.
But, Uraraka searched her entire room trying to find her dream diary. She was concerned that she might have dropped it somewhere and that someone would have picked it up and read it. She really didn’t need the contents of her dreams out there in the world for everyone to scrutinize.
Her hair was a mess and her brows were pinched together when she sat down at her desk. She barely even greeted Iida and Deku before she started going through the contents of her desk. She couldn’t even hear the lecture start as she dug through candy wrappers, half used pencils, and preliminary sketches for rocket boot additions on her suit as she searched for the notebook. She let out a deep sigh of relief as she found the book stuffed in the back of the desk. Uraraka was fairly confident that she didn’t leave it in the desk, but she was just happy to have found it, so she didn’t think too hard about how it got there.
The day passed by in a blur until they were dismissed for their afternoon team training session.
Uraraka quickly got dressed in her hero outfit and started to warm up as she thought about who she’d ask to train with her.
“Oi.” A gruff voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find the familiar grumpy blond half avoiding her gaze.
“Oh! Hi Bakugo! Did you need something?” She asked cheerily.
He grit his teeth together and tensed before working up the courage to look her in the eyes. “We’re teamin’ up today.”
Uraraka’s eyes went wide in surprise and excitement. “Really? I’d love to!”
Bakugo scoffed. “No shit, and I wasn’t askin’.” He peered down at her as they walked side-by-side to the training area where they can use their quirks fully. He nudged her to get her attention and handed her one of the grenades off his utility belt.
Uraraka looked at it curiously.
Bakugo sighed and put it in her hand. “You can pull the pin, float it, and drop it for explosions. It’ll be like you have my quirk.” He let out a small grin. “Think you can handle that, Brown Eyes?”
Bakugo had to stifle a full on smile as her eyebrows shot up to her hairline and her cheeks flushed a deep red at the new nickname.
“Please, I can handle a little explosion.” She grinned up at him in excitement after recovering.
He gulped and looked away from her beaming face as he remembered the feeling of floating free of all the burdens and worries he usually carried by himself.
“Also,” she continued, “if I float you, you could explode yourself across the sky like bein’ fired out of a cannon!” She pumped her fists cheerfully like she hadn’t just suggested he become a human nuke.
Yeah, he should have made the Kacchako cannon happen months ago, but now is better late than never.