Chapter Text
It all started with a burst water pipe.
“Sorry, kids,” the maintenance worker said apologetically as he positioned the ‘Out of Order’ sign on the training room’s door. “Looks like you’re gonna have to reschedule for whenever we get this mess cleaned up.”
“No worries,” Kirishima replied, cheerful as always. “I guess we’ll have to forego training this morning, Bakubro.”
Bakugou grumbled and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He could almost physically feel his mood souring as he followed his friend back through campus to the 2-A dormitory building they had recently moved into. It was a cold, windy morning in April, just barely two weeks into the new school year, and already things weren’t going according to plan. First, his favourite limited-edition All Might figurine had gotten lost in the move between the 1-A and 2-A dormitories. Then, he had found a rather nasty-looking patch of black mold growing on his curtains, leading to three nights of being awoken way too early by the sunrise as the school’s staff dragged their feet on replacing the ruined fabric. And worst of all, to top it off, he had somehow gotten stuck in the room next to that fuckin’ pervert Mineta, who apparently had no respect for the fact that the people around him were actually trying to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. More often than not, he found himself banging on the wall and yelling threats to shove his boot up the little creep’s ass if he didn’t stop making so much damn noise.
Kirishima stopped, a frown creasing his features as they approached Heights Alliance. “That’s not smoke coming out of our dorm, is it?”
Bakugou’s narrowed eyes followed where the redhead was pointing. A cloud billowed out of the window that he knew led to the dormitory’s kitchen. “Dunce Face,” he growled under his breath. “‘M gonna kill that idiot.”
“Hey, wait!” Kirishima called out as his friend’s pace increased, marching towards the front door. The redhead could only watch as he practically kicked the door down and stormed into the kitchen. A small group of their classmates were gathered around what appeared to be a burnt-out toaster lying on the ground, small electrical sparks crackling out of the smoking device.
“Okay, in my defense I was trying to fix it,” Kaminari protested, his hands raised in the air.
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, YOU MORON?!” Bakugou snapped, his palms heating up instinctively as his temper flared.
“Relax, man! It’s not as bad as it--” The electric hero was cut off by a large puff of thick, black smoke emanating from the ruined device. He coughed, waving his hand to try to force it to dissipate.
“STOP IT, IDIOT!! YOU’RE GONNA SET OFF THE--” As if on cue, the shrill ring of the fire alarm echoed around the room. Confused yelling could be heard from down the hallways as the students of Class 2-A hurried to vacate the building.
“I was gonna use that damn toaster this morning,” Bakugou grumbled as he trudged next to Kirishima on their way to the cafeteria. “Had a new fuckin’ omelette recipe and everything.”
Fortunately, Lunch Rush was more than willing to accommodate the group, giving them a table near the kitchen so they could scavenge whatever food they could find.
“Here, Bakugou,” Yaoyorozu said kindly as she pushed a box of cereal and a clean bowl and spoon towards him.
“Thanks,” he grunted, grabbing at them without looking over at her. His nose wrinkled at the plain, unappealing flavour of the flax breakfast, but he scarfed it down regardless.
“So, did you guys study for the review quiz today?” Ashido asked in between bites of her apple.
Kaminari looked confused. “The what quiz?”
“That would be a no, then,” Jirou chuckled. She looped a finger around one of her earphone jacks and twirled it.
“I studied for like half an hour or so,” Sero said, shrugging. “But it’s all just stuff we learned last year, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“What about you, Bakubro?” Kirishima asked.
Bakugou dropped his spoon unceremoniously. “Course I fuckin’ studied,” he snapped. “I’m gonna beat all you damn extras and be the undisputed top of the class this year.”
“Aw, c’mon man, quit calling us extras,” Kaminari whined. “We’ve been friends for, like, a whole year now!”
“Shut up, Dunce Face. ‘S your fault we’re in this mess.”
“Someone’s grumpy this morning,” Ashido teased him, poking him in the arm. “Was Mineta keeping you up again last night?”
Bakugou scowled. “Don’t even talk to me ‘bout that fuckin’ Grape-Headed freak.”
The entire table laughed loudly at that before the conversation turned to trying to help Kaminari review the basics for the upcoming test. Bakugou tuned them out, trying to ignore the irritation that churned in his stomach. If this was how his day had started, he really wasn’t looking forward to seeing how the rest of it would play out.
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Aizawa hadn’t even bothered unzipping his sleeping bag when they got to class that morning. He was still cocooned inside of it, only opening it slightly to stick his arm out and point to the fact that he’d written the instructions on the board. On each desk sat a sheet of paper, face-down. They were to take their seats and complete the quiz quickly and quietly.
Bakugou rummaged around in his bag, his brow furrowing as he realized his pencil case wasn’t in its usual spot. He turned the bag upside down, angrily dumping its contents onto the floor. His notebooks and cell phone came falling out, but there was no pencil case in sight.
“Is there a problem, Bakugou?” Iida asked, glancing over at him.
“Forgot my fuckin’ pencil case,” he muttered.
“Does anyone have a pen or pencil they could lend Bakugou?” the Class Rep announced.
“Ooh! I’ve got one!” Ashido piped up after a brief moment of silence.
Iida nodded at her. “That will do.”
Ashido tossed something at her friend, grinning when it landed right on his desk. Bakugou scowled as he picked it up, scrutinizing it. The writing utensil in question was covered in sparkles, a fuzzy pink ball attached to a spring sticking out the end. “The hell is this?”
“It’s a pen, of course!” she chirped.
“I’m not fuckin’ usin’ this. ‘S for little girls.”
“This isn’t the time to be picky, Bakugou,” Iida scolded him. “You should say thank you to Ashido for her assistance.”
Snickers reverberated around the room as Class 2-A’s attention was drawn to the dispute, and to the ridiculous sparkly pink pen in Bakugou's hand. His face burned as he could feel their mocking eyes on him. He was so tempted to break the offending writing utensil in half, but one glance at the clock and he swallowed his embarrassment and got down to work.
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“One chocolate milk,” Bakugou grunted as he reached the front of the line in the cafeteria. “...please,” he added begrudgingly as Iida, who was directly behind him, shot him a stern look.
“Oh, I think we just ran out,” Lunch Rush said, apologetic.
“What do you mean you--” He forced himself to stop and take a deep breath, calming the rage that threatened to bubble to the surface. “Whatever.” Grabbing his tray, he headed for his usual table. After the morning he had had so far, he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more of his friends’ shenanigans, but unfortunately, it looked like none of the so-called ‘Bakusquad’ was even remotely taking the hint. All it took was one loud belch from Sero for Bakugou to slam his palms down on the table, shove his chair backwards, and make a beeline for the comparative privacy of the bathroom.
Splashing water against his face, Bakugou leaned against the sink and took a deep breath. Though he had gotten significantly better at controlling his temper in the full year he’d now been at UA, he could feel the last threads of his patience fraying and tearing away quickly. All he wanted was to shut himself away in his room or find a punching bag he could do a few rounds on to relieve his pent-up frustration. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door to the bathroom open or close.
“Kacchan?”
Bakugou nearly leapt out of his skin as he noticed Midoriya standing directly behind him, a worried expression on his freckled face. “GAAAHHH!” he shrieked, reflexively stumbling over his own feet at the fright. “Fuckin’ hell, Deku!!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the other boy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Anger quickly overtook the embarrassment that had replaced fear, and Bakugou’s eyes flashed dangerously at his rival. “Get. Out.”
“Kacchan--”
“I SAID GET OUTTA HERE, DAMN NERD!!!”
Midoriya gulped. “Sorry!” he squeaked out, backing up slowly and fleeing back through the door.
Still stewing in his anger, Bakugou left the bathroom and stomped down the hallway, glowering at all the damn extras that dared cast their eyes in his direction. Somehow, on top of everything else, he had now managed to get stuck behind a pair of obnoxiously oblivious first-years, chatting away without a care in the world.
“Oh! You should definitely watch it! It’s soooo good!” exclaimed First-Year Brat #1, toying with her light pink curls that had been done up with a ridiculous amount of ribbons. “I was like, OMG! I totally recognize that actor! He was in that other thing, that I, like, just saw in theatres! If I wasn’t going to be a Pro, I’d sooooo be an actress. That’d be, like, sooo cool.”
“You can still be an actress even as a hero,” First-Year Brat #2 said, her long, lemur-like tail swishing happily as they chatted. “I saw a commercial with Snake Hero: Uwabami in it the other day, y’know.”
“Yeah, but those are just commercials. I’m talking, like, real movies. Like Hollywood. Ooh, I could move to Beverly Hills! That’d be, like, sooo glamorous.”
“Definitely.”
“Ooh, and when I become famous, we could, like, totally have a sleepover at my mansion! And like--”
Bakugou finally lost it. “Oi! Would you damn extras stop fuckin’ yappin’ and get the hell outta my way before I blow you to pieces?!” he snapped, feeling his palms begin to heat up.
The two first-years whipped around, the colour draining from their faces. Lemur Girl’s orange eyes were so large that he swore they were about to pop out of her skull.
“Get. Out. Of. My. Way,” he repeated through gritted teeth, steam visibly rising from his hands.
Ribbons was the first to move. “Eeek!” she shrieked as she stumbled backwards, tripping over her definitely-not-uniform-approved high heels.
“Move!” Bakugou ordered again, curling a fist. He had no intention of actually hurting the two dumb kids in front of him, but figured the newbies could use a good scare so they would know to stay clear whenever they saw him in the hallways from now on. Lemur Girl looked petrified while her pink-haired friend pointed back at him from where she sat on the floor, her lip quivering.
“You… You big mean jerk!” Ribbons shouted as tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. “How dare you, like, threaten us like that! Leave us alone!”
“Leave you alone?” Bakugou said incredulously. “You damn brats are the ones takin’ up the whole damn hallway! Someone oughta teach ya some respect! Now GET OUT OF MY WAY OR DIE!!!”
A panicked squeak left Lemur Girl’s lips while Ribbons sobbed theatrically, both cowering in fear before him. Sparks crackled around the second-year student’s hand as he took a menacing step towards them.
“HEEEELLLLP!!!” the two girls wailed.
“Shinohara? Uyehara?” A different voice, one Bakugou didn’t recognize, spoke up before he could make a move. “What’s going on?”
“Huh?!” He whipped around. Behind him stood another girl-- another first-year, if he had to guess, based on how tiny she was in comparison to his imposing frame-- tilting her head at the trio, curiosity reflected in her magenta eyes. Long strands of burgundy hair draped past her shoulders in pigtails, her straight-cut bangs separated from them by a braid that wrapped around her head. Her voice sounded warm and smooth, tinged by a foreign accent despite the perfect Japanese that rolled off her tongue.
“Help!! We’re being terrorized by this… this, like, total maniac!” Ribbons cried out, waving her arms in the air as if she were drowning.
“Shut your damn mouth!” Bakugou yelled at her before returning his attention to the newcomer, growling out a low, intimidating, “The hell do you want?”
“The hell do you want?” the girl retorted, bouncing his own words back at him effortlessly. She was nearly a head shorter than him, having to crane her neck in order to meet his stare.
His eyes narrowed into an intimidating glare, seething at her words. “I want these damn brats to get outta my damn way!!”
She crossed her arms. “Then just go around them. It’s a big hallway.”
“I can’t if they won’t fuckin’ move! Damn first-years think you own the place already!!”
“You could always try asking politely. That might help, y’know,” she drawled in a sarcastic tone he did not appreciate.
Bakugou’s fists clenched even tighter. This rude little princess was practically begging to be taught a lesson. “You wanna go, brat?!” he loudly threatened, smoke rising from his hands.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure.”
“Huh?!”
“You wanna fight, yeah? Well, then. Let’s do it. A big tough guy like you shouldn’t have any problem beating a little first-year like me.”
“No!! Don’t do it!!! He’ll kill you!!!” Ribbons cried out from her position on the floor.
“He can try,” her classmate retorted.
The nerve of this brat… “Don’tcha know who I am?!”
“The poster child for Jerk of the Year magazine?”
Bakugou was ready to strangle this child. “Are you mocking me or are you really just that stupid?!”
“I dunno. Which would you prefer?”
“That’s it!! I’m gonna beat your--”
DING-DONG DING-DONG!!
As soon as the bell rang, signalling the end of the break period, the girl sidestepped him, her attention instantly shifting to her classmates as if he wasn’t even there. “C’mon, we should get going. Thirteen-sensei wanted us to meet at Gym Gamma after lunch, remember?”
Ribbons stopped crying and gave her classmate a weak nod before letting the burgundy-haired brat pull her to her feet. Lemur Girl broke out of her terrified trance as her obnoxiously bold classmate touched her shoulder. Without another word to the second-year student, the three first-years navigated their way past him, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway with an expression on his face that had become more confused than angry.
The hell just happened? Bakugou thought as he watched them retreat, none of them giving him another glance. Was that some kind of quirk, or is she really just that annoying? Who the hell was that brat?
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“Bakubro! There you are!” Kirishima slapped a thick hand on Bakugou’s back once he entered Classroom 2-A. “We were looking all over for you at lunch!”
“Go away, Shitty Hair,” Bakugou grumbled, shoving him off.
“Apparently we’re training in Gym Gamma this afternoon!” Ashido announced, bouncing excitedly. “What do you guys think we’ll be doing?”
“Maybe another one of Ectoplasm’s crazy routines?” Sero suggested, leaning back in his desk chair, his tape dispenser elbows propped up behind his head.
“Nah, we had Ectoplasm last week. I bet we’re working with Cementoss this time,” Kaminari disagreed. “I hope so, anyways. I have this awesome new move I’ve been dying to try out that’s gonna blast right through any barrier he can conjure!”
Ashido giggled. “Are you sure you won’t end up immediately frying your brains again?”
The Stun Gun Hero made a face at her. “Hey, that was, like, one time, okay?”
“More like fifty,” Jirou said with a snicker as she passed by the group.
Bakugou turned away from his friends, a frown creasing his face as he shoved his hands in his pants pockets. Gym Gamma, huh… Hey, wasn’t that where that first-year brat said she was heading? Ugh, she better’ve been mistaken, cuz if I cross paths with that little shit ever again, I’m gonna blast her and her stupid friends to hell.
The sound of a zipper unzipping brought the students’ lively chatter to a halt, cuing them to return to their desks. “Alright, class, listen up,” Aizawa said tiredly as he emerged from his sleeping bag. “In case you haven’t heard, this afternoon there’s a special training session at Gym Gamma. Principal Nezu will explain more when you get there, but for now, go change into your gym clothes. Dismissed.”
Iida immediately stood up, his Class Rep instincts taking over. “This way, Class 2-A!” he directed, extending an arm pointing to the door. “Single file, please!”
“Move it, Deku,” Bakugou hissed, shoving the smaller boy out of the way. Ignoring Iida’s shout of “No pushing!”, he fell into line behind Kaminari.
“Kacchan, are you okay?” Midoriya asked quietly.
“‘M fine,” he mumbled.
“You seem… off. I was just wondering if--”
“Shut up, Deku. Don’t need ya to worry ‘bout me, you damn nerd.”
Fortunately, Midoriya took the hint, turning around to talk to Uraraka instead. Bakugou tried to tune out all of the irritating extras around him, chattering away without a care in the world. Though he wasn’t particularly superstitious, he wondered if his shitty morning was somehow a bad omen of things yet to come, but he pushed that thought down. After the day he’d already had, there was no way it could get any worse.