Chapter Text
Eijiro is beside himself with excitement. Yamada-Sensei, his homeroom teacher, had told them they were getting a visit from this year’s Big Three: Deku, Shoto and DynaMight. They’re arguably the strongest Big Three to ever come out of UA, including the year All Might graduated.
The three of them were vital in taking down the League of Villains as well as their leaders All for One and Shigaraki, despite the retirement of All Might.
Deku was the protegee of All Might. His quirk is a marvel of biology. It started out as a volatile but potent strength enhancement, which is likely what drew the at-the-time number one pro hero to the teen. But, as he’d progressed through UA, his quirk stopped breaking the poor kid’s bones and started to more closely resemble All Might’s feats of strength. But after a while, his quirk seemed to evolve, slowly gaining more features. It was fascinating, something that had garnered the attention of many a reporter.
But Deku was far from the only impressive member of that year’s Big Three. It also boasted Shoto, the number two hero’s more powerful son. He’d gone from only using one side of his quirk to using both, which had made for a gripping Sports Festival battle. Since then, he’d quickly gained control of his flames, rivalling even his father, Endeavor’s quirk. His powerful quirk, combined with his good looks and awkward but charming television personality, made him a heart-throb throughout Japan, who would have an easy time transitioning into the Pro-Hero realm.
Finally, there was DynaMight. Katsuki Bakugo. The explosive hothead who had been kidnapped by the League of Villains, much to their detriment. He was the first UA student ever to win the Sports Festival all three years, owing to his determination and frankly quite frightening competitive streak. His quirk was clearly inherently powerful, albeit less so than the other members of The Big Three. But that didn’t make him any less of a powerhouse. If anything, the control he had over his quirk made him potentially a better fighter than the other two. He had an… interesting relationship with the media. His personality was not what one would typically consider befitting of a hero, but his good deeds showed otherwise.
They were amazing and had made an impact from their first year, forcing the media to pay attention to them. Watching them on the television had been the last push Eijiro had needed to encourage him to actually apply to UA. Seeing how much they were able to help other people was one of the most manly things he’d ever seen, and Eijiro wanted nothing more than to follow in their footsteps.
He has to make a good impression. With his lackluster performance in the Sports Festival, this is his last chance to get a recommendation for a work study. Deku, Shoto and DynaMight’s class had paved the way for first-years to participate in work studies, though it still wouldn’t be easy to get one. And considering he’d barely been able to get an internship, which he hadn’t really shone at either, and had come unsettlingly close to being the ninth student in his class to fail the provisional license exam, he was one of the many students in his class without a work-study offer. But he really wants one.
So, when Aizawa-Sensei and The Big Three came into their class to talk about internships, provisional licenses (for those who had unfortunately failed the exam), work studies and what it was like to work in the field, Eijiro was excited and determined.
“Hey guys! I’m Deku,” he says, the first one to introduce himself, which takes none of them by surprise. He’s known throughout the school, and the public as a whole, for his outgoing and bubbly personality. “This is Shoto and Kacchan–”
“It’s DynaMight, you fucking nerd,” DynaMight grumbles, cutting him off.
“Right. Sorry. Shoto and DynaMight. We’re here to talk to you about some stuff. I’m sure Present Mic has probably already told you about why we’re here. I know not all of you have gotten your provisional licenses, which is totally fine! Most heroes don’t get their provisional licenses until their third year. The most important thing is that you don’t ”
“Shut the hell up, Deku,” DynaMight yells, ending Deku’s notorious ramble. “Who here’s brave enough to take me on?” he challenges.
“Kacchan. Is that really necessary?” Deku asks. “Aizawa-sensei?” Behind him, Eijiro can see Aizawa roll his eyes but shrug anyway.
There’s a lull over the class. DynaMight is… terrifying is putting lightly. And that was before his red eyes seemed to light up with a sadistic excitement. No one in their right mind would take him up on the offer.
“I’ll do it!” he volunteers, clearly not being in his right mind.
Ashido and Sero, two of his friends in the class who happened to be standing beside him, look at him as though he’s lost it. Which isn’t too far from the truth. But this is his only chance to make a good impression and he has to take it.
“What you got for me, Shitty Hair?” Bakugo yells, a devilish glint in his eyes and a smirk that sends shivers down Eijiro’s spine.
“Guess you’ll just have to find out,” he responds, feigning a confidence he does not feel.
Eijiro has little time to react to Bakugo’s quick lunge. He puts an arm up barely able to block the right hook. “Not bad,” he says.
“That was dirty. It’s not manly to surprise attack someone.”
Bakugo shrugs. “You got to get used to it. Villains won’t give you a break.”
Eijiro expects it this time when Bakugo swings forward, sending an explosion to his stomach. He’s able to harden in time but the blow still knocks him to the ground.
Eijiro jumps back up, shaking off the hit. “Hardening, eh? Seems useful.”
He’s paid enough attention to know the gist of how his quirk works. He turns his sweat into explosions, meaning he becomes more volatile the longer a fight goes on. And while Eijiro’s hardening was able to withstand the blasts for now, he’s not confident that will hold true for much longer.
Rather than waiting for Bakugo to make the next move, he hardens his body and runs towards him, throwing a punch. Bakugo is able to dodge but not enough that Eijiro isn’t able to draw a bit of blood, leaving a cut on his cheek. Bakugo retaliates with a series of small explosions at Eijiro’s knees and chest. It only takes a few to knock him on his back.
Eijiro raises his head to see Bakugo wipe the blood from his cheek and stare at it with some bemusement. “Not too shabby.”
Taking advantage of his distraction, Eijiro hardens again, swiftly getting back up and charging towards him.
“Not falling for it twice, Shitty Hair. But nice try.” Bakugo grabs his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He lets off a series of explosions that, were it not for Eijiro’s hardening, would certainly have left burns.
Eijiro bites back a yell of pain, barely managing to wrench his wrist away from the blonde. He swings his other arm, which Bakugo ducks to avoid, leaving him vulnerable to a gut punch from the same arm that he’d been exploding. It doesn’t pack as much of a punch as it would have without the injury, but it’s a hit, nonetheless.
Unfortunately, it also leaves Eijiro open to being thrown across the room with two explosions to the stomach.
Their back and forth continues for a few more minutes, every time Eijiro even gets close, Bakugo avoids or deflects and counters with a painful explosion. It’s slowly becoming more difficult to harden enough to prevent injury. The most frustrating thing is the taunting from DynaMight, making it clear that he’s just playing with him. He’s not taking this seriously and yet Eijiro doesn’t stand a chance.
Eijiro is struggling to get back up. He’s been battered down and has barely managed to make his way back to a hunched over position. He can’t stand all the way, but he’s determined to get back up as much as possible.
“That’s enough Bakugo,” Aizawa says. Bakugo looks angry, one palm directly in front of Eijiro’s face, clearly about to blast an explosion that would have knocked him out. Looking past him, Eijiro can see Aizawa’s hair and capture scarf floating and his eyes are glowing. Right. Aizawa-Sensei. Eraserhead. The Erasure Hero. That’s the only reason why Eijiro hadn’t gotten a nasty blast to the face.
“Sorry I’m so weak,” he whispers. He’s not sure it’s loud enough to be heard and he knows the self-pitying words are far from manly, but he can’t help himself. He doesn’t even try to keep the tears of shame from falling.
“You get back up. That makes you strong as fuck. Makes you unbreakable.” Bakugo offers him a hand, helping him stand up fully. “Maybe in a few years, you might make a good sidekick, Red.”
Eijiro meets his piercing gaze. He can’t read anything from them. But one thing he knows for sure: those words, from him, were exactly what he needed to hear. It doesn’t matter whether or not he means them. They mean everything to him.
Once he’s able to stay upright on his own, Bakugo scoffs and turns, making his way back over to where Deku and Shoto are. He’s scowling again, leaning against the wall. “If the rest of you extras can’t even go against me, you’ll never make it as heroes,” he mutters angrily.
“I said that was enough, Bakugo.”
“That was badass, Kiri!” Ashido squeals when he gets back to the group.
“You have a death wish,” Sero says, chuckling.
“He was pretty brutal.” Sero’s not entirely wrong. Accepting DynaMight’s challenge had been a reckless and fairly stupid move. Everyone knows just how intense and merciless he can be, even during practice. He had a reputation for a reason.
“Hot too, right?” Ashido teases.
Eijiro can feel his cheeks heat up. He hadn’t missed it. And they’d both fawned over Bakugo’s Sports Festival recordings. In-person DynaMight didn’t disappoint. The camera really didn’t do him justice. “Maybe. A little bit.”
“Kirishima,” Aizawa yells at him before he’s able to settle in. He looks over to him, dread settling in. “Go to Recovery Girl.”
He nods. Despite how much he wants to stick around and hear what they have to say, he knows better than to disagree with Aizawa-Sensei.
It hurts to move. Aizawa-Sensei had a point. He really needed to see Recovery Girl. His scrapes and bruises scream and burn with every step he takes. Part of him wants to turn back to his friends and ask one of them to help him make his way to Recovery Girl. But his pride won’t let him. He doesn’t want to show any more weakness, especially not in front of DynaMight.
“Hey! Kirishima, right?” Deku calls after him before reaches the door. He turns toward him and nods. “You did great.” He hesitates slightly before continuing. “Kacchan never knows when to stop. Sorry about that.”
He shrugs. “It’s okay. I needed it. He was right. Villains won’t give you a break.”
Deku frowns slightly. “Sure but he just always goes too far.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Kacchan was really impressed by you.”
“Wait. Really?” He’d been sure that would have been the furthest thing from the truth. Sure, he’d gotten what seemed to be a border-line compliment, but he wasn’t confident that it hadn’t been purely his imagination. And even if it hadn’t been, it didn’t seem like anything more than kind words for someone he’d taken pity on because of how easy it had been to kick his ass.
“Yeah. Anyway, you have your provisional license, right?” He nods. “Good. I know Fat Gum’s hero agency is taking students for work studies. I think you’d be a great fit there. I mean, unless you already have one lined up or something?”
“No. I don’t. Thank you. That’s amazing. Thank you. Are you sure?”
“Of course!” he says, beaming. “You’re going to make a great hero someday, I can tell. Now go see Recovery Girl! Sorry for keeping you.”
Eijiro is practically on cloud nine (despite the pain) as he shakily makes his way to the nurse’s office. Not only had he made enough of an impression to get himself a work study but he’d also impressed DynaMight of all people. All the pain he’s feeling is absolutely worth it.
******
A week after The Big Three came to their classroom, Professor Midnight is holding a guest lesson: hero name development.
His group of friends had all already decided on what their names were going to be. Class B had this lecture the day before. Jiro went with the practical Earphone Jack. Honenuki’s Mudman was the perfect balance of intense yet approachable. Sero went for a great pun in Cellophane. And Mina’s Pinky won over the hearts of not only the class but Miss Midnight herself. And it wasn’t just his friends. All of his other classmates had great hero names.
But he was still on the fence. The last person in his class without a hero name. And considering he only had a few more days until he started his work study with Fat Gum, it was of the utmost importance. The pressure was far higher than seemed reasonable.
“And you, Kirishima. What’s your hero name going to be?”
Crimson Riot is still Eijiro’s favorite hero. But the controversial new star, DynaMight, is a close second. The way he’d fought without mercy to help Eijiro become a better hero was one of the manliest things he’d ever seen. It didn’t hurt that he was… easy on the eyes. And the quippy nickname he’d given as he was helping Eijiro up had been bouncing around his mind for the past week.
All of these things are running through Eijiro’s brain as he walks up to the front of the classroom and writes down what his hero name is going to be. He takes a deep breath, looking at Midnight for validation, as he turns the board around and reads out his new name.
“Red Riot.”