Chapter Text
Aldera Junior High is a shit hole. Katsuki couldn’t wait for the year to be over and he can finally say goodbye to this place.
He walked down the hall to class, hands shoved deep in his pockets and signature scowl plastered on his face. His so-called friends were following behind him, and like always he pretended to give a shit about whatever it was they were saying. He was only half listening, having lost interest pretty much as soon as they opened their damn mouths.
As they entered the classroom, his attention shifted. Deku always showed up early, that damn try hard never missed a minute of school. Katsuki supposed that the nerd’s intelligence was all he had going for him at this point. He had no quirk, no muscle on his skinny pathetic body, and spent his days with his face in his books. He remembered the days where they used to dream about being heroes together, but those dreams died pretty quickly when Deku told him he was quirkless, and Katsuki began to hate the sight of him.
Katsuki didn’t give Deku a second glance as he went to his desk. Their homeroom teacher came in shortly after, and the day of classes began. He didn't pay attention to the first half. He already knew all this shit from his independent study. He wanted to get into UA, after all, and to do that he needed to be the best of the best. That started with acing the entrance exams. He wouldn’t accept anything besides a total victory, and to do that he would need to score higher than everyone else on both the written exams and in the practical.
Hearing their teacher mention UA was what made him zone back in. They were talking about their plans for the future, and when the teacher mentioned how Katsuki was planning on applying to UA he couldn’t help but smirk smugly to the rest of his shitty classmates. There was no way in hell anyone else in their class would be able to get into UA. They only accepted the best of the best, and Katsuki was determined to be the only person from this shit hole to get in.
“I know there’s no point in asking you what you all want to do with your lives. You all obviously want to apply to hero courses.” Their teacher said as he threw the stack of aptitude tests away. “And I can see you all have impressive quirks too, even if you are all breaking school rules by using them in class.”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. These losers? Impressive quirks? As fucking if! “Oi Sensei, don’t lump me in with these losers. The only one here who will become a real hero is me!”
The rest of the class began to protest, but Katsuki couldn’t care less. He knew he was right, and those extras were delusional if they thought they were anywhere near his level.
“You think you’re better than us, Katsuki?” he heard someone - probably one of his shitty followers - yell over the rest of the class.
“Damn right I think I'm better than you. I could take all of you on right now!” He kicked his feet up on his desk and rested his hands leisurely behind his head.
“Well, you do have impressive test scores, there’s no doubt you're at the top of the class. Oh, and Midoriya, you’re planning on taking the UA entrance exams too, aren't you?”
At their teacher's words, Katsuki turned his head with extreme speed to look at the nerd. The nerd shrunk in on himself, trying to make himself smaller than he already was. And katsuki was not having that.
He leaped to his feet, standing atop his desk. “Hah? A quirkless loser like you could never stand on the same level as me!”
Deku stammered out a reply. “A-actually, they got rid of the rule that said quirkless people couldn’t try out for the hero course, and I- I’ve been studying-”
Katsuki brought his palm down against Deku’s desk, blowing it to pieces. “You don’t seriously think you’ll get in just by studying do you? Don’t insult me like that!”
Deku tried to defend himself, but Katsuki ignored his pathetic excuses. Before the nerd could finish, the lunch bell went, and Katsuki stormed off towards the lunch hall, followed closely by his band of extras. He honestly doesn’t know why he lets these fuckwads follow him around, but by the end of the year he would never have to see them again anyway. Against his will, he spent his lunch break thinking about the look in Deku’s eyes when he confronted him earlier, and the unpleasant feelings that came with it.
It wasn’t until the end of the day that he had to confront the nerd again. Just like how he was always the first to make it to class, he was also the last to leave. He was still putting his things back in his bag when Katsuki approached him. He caught a glimpse of the cover of the notebook in Deku’s hand, and immediately snatched it out of his grasp.
“Ha!” he laughed darkly. “You’re not still taking these shitty notes are you? You’re more pathetic than I thought.”
“Not to mention delusional,” one of the extras chimed in.
Deku wrung his hands together anxiously. “Please just give it back, Kacchan.”
God. He was still using that childish nickname he gave him when they were kids. Granted, he never told him to drop it, but now he was starting to wish he did.
He didn’t want to confront his feelings and the memories of the past, and so instead he lit an explosion in his fist before punching a hole through the notebook still grasped tightly in his hand.
He ignored Deku’s whines, and instead he laughed as he tossed the charred remains of the notebook out the window, not even bothering to watch as it landed in the koi pond down below.
“A little word of advice, Deku. Don’t even bother trying to get in. You're so weak and pathetic you’ll just end up getting yourself killed in the entrance exam,” he said as he grabbed the nerd’s shoulder with his heated palm. He saw smoke emanate from the gaps in his fingers, but pulled his palm back before he could do any damage to Deku’s clothes.
When Deku remained silent, looking down at his feet in despair, Katsuki turned to walk out of the classroom. He couldn’t bear to look at the nerd’s face any longer.
“That's so sad. He didn’t even put up a fight,” one of the extras jeered.
The other laughed, "Yeah, but at least now he’s realised how hopeless he is.”
Anger bubbled below the surface, and Katsuki turned round to face his two followers. In doing so, he saw the look of defeat on Deku’s face, and felt the anger shift into something he couldn’t put his finger on. But whatever this feeling was, he didn’t like it.
It was then that he opened his mouth to say something he could never take back.
“If you really want to be a hero so badly, then pray that you get a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.”
He said it through a smile to hide the gross feeling he felt as the words left his mouth. He knew he took it too far, but what was done was done. He couldn’t bring himself to face the nerd after that, so he pushed the door open and walked out.
Distantly, he heard the extras following after him, most likely laughing about what Katsuki had said and the way it probably made Deku cry. The nerd was always a bit of a crybaby, so Katsuki could picture the tears in his eyes and the broken expression on his face.
He had to fight back the bile threatening to rise up his throat as he walked out of the school towards the arcade in the city. It was Friday, and he and the extras usually spent a few hours after school fucking around before heading home. He never really enjoyed it, he only joined them to show off how much better he was at the arcade games than they were, but this time he needed the distraction from his last encounter with Deku.
It didn’t work, though. The whole time he was there, his mind kept going back to the nerd, replaying their last conversation over and over again. If it could even be called a conversation. Deku hardly said a thing, Katsuki and the extras wouldn’t let him get a word in edgeways.
Katsuki couldn’t help but feel guilty about what he had said. And he should feel guilty. He let his emotions get the better of him and he said something unforgivable, something he didn’t mean and something he regretted saying as soon as the words left his mouth. He’d told his first and only real friend to kill himself for fucks sake. Sure they’d drifted apart but that was no excuse to be a dick to him.
Katsuki’s face paled. What if he did what Katsuki told him to. He wouldn’t put it past him. Despite the way he had been treating Deku in the past, the nerd still followed him around like he looked up to him. What if he took Katsuki’s ‘advice’ seriously?
He let his feet carry him out of the arcade, ignoring the extras calls, and he sprinted back to the school. He wanted to believe that Deku wouldn’t do something as stupid as throw himself off the roof, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had majorly fucked up. As much as he liked to think he hated the nerd, he didn’t want to see him get hurt. Especially because of him.
When he got back to the school grounds, Deku was long gone. He didn’t pass anyone as he walked through the gates toward their building. He stopped a few feet away from the koi pond, looking up at the railings circling the roof. He didn’t see anyone up there, but something didn’t feel right.
He looked over the wall into the pond and saw that Deku’s notebook was gone. That must have meant that Deku at least came down here to grab it after Katsuki left. Still, he waited. Just in case Deku went back up to the roof to follow through with fulfilling Katsuki’s supposed wishes.
He stayed there for hours, sat on the edge of the wall watching the ledge from below. He didn’t see a single soul as afternoon drifted into evening. With the sun setting, the school gates would soon be closed, and he didn’t really want to get locked in overnight. Not that a gate that small could keep him in, but he didn’t want to get caught on school grounds after hours. Least of all because he was worried about Deku.
And he was clearly worried over nothing. The nerd was fine, and he would see him back in school on Monday right as rain. Katsuki would corner him after classes were out, and he would apologise for all the shit he’d said. It obviously wouldn’t be enough to make up for everything he had done in the past, but it was a start.
He walked back home in a daze, not even greeting his parents as he walked in. He went straight up to his room, took a shower, and was in bed by 8pm ready to continue his training in the morning.
Before he knew it, Monday had rolled around again, and he was still a little sore after his workout the evening before as he pulled on his uniform. He still had a few months until the entrance exams, and he needed to make sure he was prepared.
It was a little earlier than usual when he made it to school, and he saw Deku enter the building a few feet ahead of him. He’d decided he was going to talk to the nerd after school, so there was no need to catch up to him now. He followed at a distance, and watched as Deku entered the classroom, none of their classmates giving him a second glance. It was weird that they were ignoring his presence, but he supposed it was better than the snide comments they usually threw the nerd’s way. They were probably waiting for Katsuki to throw the first punch, which used to piss him off, but today he was grateful for it.
The day passed the same as any other, and Katsuki found himself looking over at the nerd more often than usual. He would never admit to another living soul that he was worried about Deku after what happened on Friday, but he was worried about Deku after what happened on Friday. The nerd wasn’t acting all that different. He still had his nose stuck in his notebook, still muttering away as he took notes during class. He still sat alone during lunch, and Katsuki felt himself watching as he sat down with his homemade bento - that he assumed was made by Auntie Inko - at a table in the corner away from everyone else.
No one spoke to him, as per usual, and Katsuki still couldn't shake the feeling that they were waiting for him to start bad mouthing the nerd before inevitably joining in. Seriously it was like no one in this god forsaken school has ever had an original thought.
He wasn’t going to, though. He had already made up his mind that he was going to apologise to Deku after school. He regretted the way he's been treating the nerd, and if he’s honest with himself he doesn't know why the aggression even started in the first place. Sure, Deku was quirkless, but Katsuki would choose being quirkless over having the quirks of half the kids in their class. The guy that sits next to him can turn his face into a wooden clothes peg for fucks sake, if that was the quirk Katsuki was cursed with he’d rather not have one at all.
So what could have possibly triggered his hostile feelings towards his best friend. Was it that he thought they couldn’t be heroes together anymore? It would make sense for his younger self to think having a strong quirk was essential for becoming a hero, but Deku had said it himself that UA got rid of the quirk requirement for applying for the hero course.
And as much as he hated to admit it, Deku has the heart of a hero. He thinks about others, cares about their health and wellbeing, and certainly has enough intelligence to become a hero. If it wasn’t for the fact Katsuki could snap him in half with one hand tied behind his back, he would think Deku actually could be a hero.
But now that he thought about it, he’s never seen Deku put in the effort to train. All he does is follow heroes around, writing shit in his notebook. Taking notes wasn’t going to help him become a hero. Maybe that was what pissed Katsuki off so much? He was so determined to become a hero, but he’s not even trying. Does he really think he’s that much better than everyone else?
If Deku was serious about becoming a hero, some things needed to change. For one, he needed to learn how to fight back. Not just to Katsuki and the extras, but he needed to learn how to hold his own in a battle. He would also benefit from learning how to use a weapon of some sort. He overheard Deku muttering about another hero - Eraserhead - a few weeks ago, and the guy practically fights quirkless with the help of his capture weapon. If Deku could train with something similar he might stand a chance against some lower level villains. He obviously wouldn’t be on Katsuki’s level, but if he actually tried he might come close.
It was a wonder why the nerd had never thought of that himself. And that was sure to irritate Katsuki. The nerd wasn’t going to have this shit handed to him because the world felt sorry for him. If he wanted something that badly then he’d have to work his ass off for it, and if Katsuki had to be the one to tell him that then so be it.
As predicted, Deku was the last to leave the classroom again. None of the extras waited on Katsuki before they left, which he was grateful for. That meant he would be able to talk to the nerd in peace.
“Oi, Deku.”
The boy in question looked up as he stuffed the last of his belongings into his gaudy yellow bag. “Y-yes Kacchan?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “No need to piss your pants, I'm not gonna hurt ya.”
“R-right. Sorry,” the nerd stammered.
“Whatever. Look, I wanted to apologise.”
Deku’s eyes widened in surprise. “You- what?”
Katsuki huffed, trying not to lose his patience. He supposed he could understand why the nerd was so shocked. Katsuki never apologised. “Apologise, nerd. For what I said on Friday. I took it too far. I didn’t mean it.”
The nerd wrung his hands, clearly a nervous tick of his. “I appreciate the apology, Kacchan. But what you said wasn’t ok.”
“I know that. And I don't expect you to forgive me for it. For any of it. But I just wanted to say that I- fuck- that I regret it. And I want to make it up to you in any way that I can.” He looked up, eyes locked with the nerd’s.
“You- you mean it?” he asked, hope bleeding through his tone.
Katsuki nodded. “When do I say shit I don't mean.”
“Friday, apparently,” Deku mumbled.
“Smartass.” Who knew the nerd could be so sassy.
Deku’s smile was blinding. “If you’re serious about this Kacchan, then I will try to forgive you. I’m not there yet, but if you can prove to me that you truly regret what you've done all these years, I guess I can learn to forgive you.”
Katsuki’s smile was one of relief. It seriously felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, one he didn’t even know was there. He was about to turn to leave, but Deku spoke up.
“Does this mean you want to be friends again?” he asked nervously.
He thought for a moment, shoving his hands in his pockets before shrugging indifferently. “If that's what you want. I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”
“I’d love to be friends again! Just, gradually. Is that ok?”
“It’s more than ok,” Katsuki gave him a sad smile. “Want me to walk you home?”
Deku smiled as he nodded, and the pair left the classroom together. The Midoriya’s apartment building was only a few blocks away from the Bakugou family home, so it made sense that they make the journey together. They walked in comfortable silence for most of the way, with Deku saying the odd thing about this and that, and Katsuki listened intently.
It wasn’t until they passed the old playground, the one they spent all their time playing heroes in when they were kids, that Katsuki was reminded of his thoughts earlier in the day.
“You still want to be a hero, right?”
Deku paused his rambling, looking up at his maybe friend. “Yeah, I do. And I know you're not happy about that, but it’s just, it's been my dream for so long and-”
“Thats not it. If you want to be a hero I won't try to stop you. But Deku, you aren't even trying.”
“But you said-”
“Who gives a fuck what I said,” Katsuki interrupted. “I didn’t mean that I don't think you can be a hero. I mean that I don't think you can get into UA without at least training for it. Look at you, you probably couldn’t even squish a fly between your fingers.”
The nerd looked down, considering Katsuki's words. They had stopped walking now and were standing by the playground entrance. “Is that why you've hated me all this time? Because I wasn't training?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “What are you, my therapist?”
“Would training be enough though? I mean, I still don't have a quirk.”
“No but it would be a start,” he said firmly. “If you're serious about applying to UA, you won’t get in looking like that. And as for the rest, you're the hero nerd, you could figure out some kind of support item you could use.”
Deku nodded along, seemingly considering the idea. “Why have I never thought of that before?”
Katsuki gave a short laugh. “Because you're a moron.”
“I thought I was the hero nerd like 2 seconds ago.”
“You can be two things, nerd, keep up,” he replied as he continued to walk the rest of the way home. He heard Deku run to catch up with him, and they continued their lighthearted conversation until Deku’s apartment building was in sight.
The pair said their goodbyes as Deku turned to walk up the steps to the door, and Katsuki told him he would meet him there to walk to school together the next morning. He made his own way home then, and he spent the few minutes before he reached his front door thinking about how he had basically just agreed to become Deku’s personal trainer.
God it was going to be a long few months.
—
He regretted his offer almost immediately. Being friends with the nerd again, walking to and from school together each day, was one thing. But having to train with Deku after school was proving to be difficult.
First off, the nerd couldn’t throw a punch for shit. His weak noodle arms had no form, and Katsuki could swear he’d felt more force from a bee landing on his palm. With the entrance exams just a mere six months away, Deku would need a miracle if he wanted to make it into UA.
The second issue was his stamina. While it wasn’t as bad as Katsuki was expecting, Deku was still getting out of breath far too quickly. He suggested a few exercises he could do at home to help with that, but there was only so much Katsuki could do with such little time. If the nerd could actually think for himself and started training for this shit months ago then Katsuki’s life would be a hell of a lot easier, but it was too late for that.
It also seemed that Deku hadn’t given much thought on potential support gear. Katsuki knew he wasn’t naive, the nerd must know by now that he would need some kind of gadget to help him draw level with the rest of the losers applying to UA. Katsuki had a few ideas of his own, but he couldn’t do everything for the nerd. He needed to figure this shit out for himself.
But Katsuki wasn’t known to give up. He said he would help Deku train to make it into UA and that was exactly what he was going to do. Rekindling their friendship along the way was just a bonus. He was also glad to get a study partner out of all of this. While Deku’s grades weren’t quite as impressive as his own, they came pretty damn close. A lot closer than the rest of the extras in their class that was for sure, and teaching the nerd the topics he had been struggling with had helped cement the information in Katsuki’s brain too.
Now that the day of the entrance exams had come around, he was sure they would both pass the written section with flying colours. Katsuki couldn’t be too sure how well Deku would fare in the practical, but he had been training his ass off to get here.
He hadn’t picked out a support item yet, but he was confident that the metal baseball bat he had bought in preparation would be enough to help him pass the exam. And if by some miracle he did manage to get in alongside Katsuki he would have plenty of time and a ton of pro hero teachers to help him figure it out.
They entered the building together, and let the automated helper robots guide them to their assigned seats. They were sat in separate areas of the exam hall, which Katsuki could only assume was to stop people from the same schools from cheating their way through.
The written exam was a piece of piss. He finished every section with almost an hour to spare, and he would imagine Deku had finished within the time limit too, though he couldn’t actually see the nerd from where he was sitting. Katsuki spent the rest of his time watching as the rest of the candidates rushed to get their papers finished before the automated robots came to collect them.
From there they were immediately given a rundown of the practical exam, where Present Mic of all people showed them the robots they would need to defeat in order to score points. Score within the top 40 and you were guaranteed a spot on the hero course, provided you passed the written exam of course, and those who didn’t quite make the cut would be assigned gen ed classes based on their overall score across all the written topics.
That last part didn’t apply to Katsuki. Not only did he no doubt score the highest on the written exam but he was about to dominate the practical, too.
They were all assigned a letter, A to G, and were instructed to gather by their allocated bus to be taken to their corresponding test area. He joined the crowd of candidates for group A, and noticed a distinct lack of curly green hair. Just like with the written exam, he assumed they must have split people up so that they weren't sent to the same test area as someone they knew to stop them from working together.
When he got on the bus he sat beside some guy with bright yellow hair with a stupid looking black streak on one side of his bangs. He was talkative, almost as much as Deku, and chose to talk Katsuki’s ear off the whole way to the test area. He was lucky he had gotten used to Deku’s rambling in the last few months else he might have set an explosion off in the Pikachu wannabe’s face.
He got off the bus as soon as the doors opened, and he waited impatiently at the gate for the test to begin. Once all the candidates had filed off the bus, Katsuki heard the mechanical lock in the gate click, and the large doors were pushed open. He burst through the gap as soon as it was wide enough for him to fit through. Villains didn’t wait for anyone, so why should he?
Without hesitation, he blew every robot he saw to smithereens. A voice at the back of his head, that sounded a hell of a lot like Deku, tried to tell him to leave some of the weaker robots for the other candidates. With the rate he was going, he was guaranteed to make it into the hero course, but fuck that. If those losers wanted to get in too then they needed to earn it. It wasn’t his fault they were so damn slow. But he was mindful of where his explosions went. He didn’t want anyone to get crushed by the debris, so he made sure to get people out of the way before they could get hurt.
Once the ten minutes were up, Katsuki was dripping with sweat. He took a minute to catch his breath before making his way back to the bus to be taken back to the main building. But as he stood, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned his head to see the same guy he sat with on the bus, a tired smile plastered on his face.
“Yo dude,” he said while panting, clearly exhausted too, “you were awesome!"
Katsuki shrugged him off. “Of fucking course I was.”
The other boy smiled, clearly not bothered by Katsuki’s attitude. “I’m Kaminari Denki!”
“And I don't care.” Katsuki replied before starting to walk away.
Pikachu ran to catch up, much to Katsuki’s dismay. “C’mon dude, don’t be like that. No one from my school applied to the hero course, I don't wanna show up on the first day without knowing anyone!”
Katsuki slowed down, falling in sync with the other blond, though he didn’t reply to his whines.
“Hopefully we get put in the same class, you seem like a cool dude.”
He stopped abruptly, looking over at the moron walking beside him. “What makes you think that?”
Pikachu just shrugged. “Vibes.”
Completely unamused, Katsuki continued walking away. This guy was fucking weird, but at least he wasnt hanging off Katsuki like a leech banging on about how cool his quirk is. He was sick of the extras at Aldera kissing his ass, he didn’t want that to continue at UA, and this guy seemed confident he made it into the hero course, too, so the chances that he would be in the same class as Katsuki were pretty high.
“So, you’re still not gonna tell me your name?” God this guy was persistent.
“You’ll see it at the top of the leaderboard when they release the results of this shitty exam.”
Pikachu laughed beside him, having caught up again. “I like the confidence, dude.” He stopped just ahead of the medical tent off to the side of the arena entrance. When Katsuki continued past, he looked at him puzzled. “Hey, are you not gonna get checked out? Those blasts looked pretty rough, are you sure you’re okay?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, turning to look at the other blond. “I’ll be fucking fine. I’m not some weak ass moron who can’t handle his own quirk. Besides, I've got places to be.”
He continued towards the shuttle bus ready to take the candidates back to the school gates as Pikachu called out his goodbyes. Katsuki gave a disinterested wave over his shoulder and joined the small group of candidates who, like him, didn't need medical attention before heading home.
He sat alone this time, given how empty the bus was on the way back, and the journey felt shorter than the one before. When the bus came to a stop, he was the first to get off just like before, and he opted to wait for Deku by the main gate. The shuttle bus drove off once the rest of the candidates had gotten off, likely to go back to the test area to pick up more students, and those who got off began to make their way home. A few of them stayed behind, presumably waiting for friends from other test areas like Katsuki was, but he watched as most of them left the school grounds through the main gate.
Katsuki had no idea what test area Deku had been sent to, nor did he know when the nerd would be finished, but he continued to wait by the gate as bus after bus returned to send freshly healed candidates on their way. He saw Pikachu get off a bus not long after his own return, and he resolutely ignored him as he waved from the other side of the path.
He felt like he had been standing there all day, and his back was starting to ache from where he was leaning against the wall. If Deku didn’t hurry up he was going to leave without him, his agreement to wait for him be damned. He didn’t expect the nerd to take this long to finish his damn test, but the longer he stood waiting, watching as students left the school grounds in wave after wave, the more he was starting to worry.
He assumed each test centre began at the same time - it seemed stupid to make them go one at a time considering there were seven different groups - and so Deku’s group should have been done at the same time he was. The only people who didn’t leave right away were the people who were waiting on friends, such as himself, or the people who needed medical attention.
And there was no way Deku would be waiting for someone. Besides Katsuki, the little shit didn’t have any friends, and he still wasn’t sure if even he had earned that title back just yet. And even if the nerd had made friends during the exam - which Katsuki highly doubted - he wouldn’t have forgotten how he and Katsuki had agreed to walk home together. That left the nerd needing medical attention as the only remaining explanation as to what was taking him so long.
Which was why Katsuki began to worry. Against his will, of course. Being worried about Deku was a foreign feeling to him, but in the last few months that he’s been trying to make amends it's a feeling he had been experiencing more and more. Part of him, now, was worried that he had been right before, when he had told Deku he couldn’t be a hero and that he would get himself killed in the entrance exam if he applied to UA.
And it would be Katsuki’s fault if something bad did happen to the nerd. It was him that convinced Deku that if he worked hard enough he would still be able to get into the hero course. He looked near enough ready to give up that day that Katsuki said all those things to him, and if Katsuki didn’t have his sudden change of heart and offer to train him he doubted Deku would’ve applied at all. Or if he did apply to UA it would only be to gen ed or one of the support courses.
With every minute Deku didn’t show up, Katsuki felt more and more sick. Every bus that came back was missing the nerd’s distinct curly green hair, and he was seriously considering storming into the principals office to demand him to tell him what group Deku was assigned to before storming over to his test centre himself.
But at the sight of those green curls getting off the very next bus that pulled up, he felt all the tension leave his body. He was worried over nothing, and if he had to guess the nerd probably went over to help the rest of the injured candidates in his group after getting his own injuries looked at.
Katsuki pushed himself off the wall as Deku ran over to him, a beaming smile on his face. “Kacchan! How did you do?”
He started walking towards the exit, assuming the nerd would follow close behind. “The fuck do you think? There’s no way I didn't get the highest damn score.”
“Of course not, Kacchan is the best after all,” he said, finally catching up.
“Damn right I am.” He glanced over at the nerd, “how about you? You clearly didn’t get yourself killed like I thought you would but you took your sweet ass time.”
Deku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, about that. I promise I was being careful! But the robots were a little much for me. I managed to take out a few of the smaller ones, but I don't think I got more than ten points.”
Katsuki frowned. “Thats hardly anything, Deku.”
“I know, but at least I'll still get into one of the gen ed classes? I thought the written exam was pretty easy.”
“Were you hurt? Was that why you took so long?”
He saw the nerd shake his head as he walked beside him. “A few minor scratches, nothing too serious, but I wanted to make sure everyone else got back safely. When they gave me the all clear I offered to help some of the other injured candidates get to the medical tent.”
Oh look, Katsuki was right, yet again.
“But what about the test-”
“Helping the others was more important, Kacchan,” Deku interrupted. “Heroes save people, right? How would I be able to call myself a hero if I ignored people who needed help just because of a stupid test.”
To that, Katsuki didn’t know what to say. Mostly because the nerd was right. Heroes did help people, and it was shit like this that proved to him that Deku would be a great hero if he ever got the chance.
“Besides, if I didn't get in this time, I’ll have other opportunities in the future. Gen ed students compete in the sports festival, don't they? If I do well enough in that, they might let me transfer in,” he gave Katuki a sad smile.
“If you even get into gen ed, that is,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood and cheer the nerd up.
“Kacchan, don’t be mean,” Deku pouted, but Katsuki could still hear the amusement in his voice.
They walked side by side as they approached the train station. The carriage was practically empty when they got on, and they sat next to each other as the train left the station. It wasn’t a long journey, only about ten minutes before they reached their stop and the doors opened.
The rest of their walk was in comfortable silence. Katsuki didn’t want to bring up the test again, wary of Deku’s mood. The nerd was smiling right now, and Katsuki didn’t want to ruin that. He didn’t like it when the nerd looked sad. He always tried to hide it, especially around Katsuki, and the blond didn’t like the way it made him feel.
They passed Deku’s apartment building first, and Katsuki waved him off before walking the rest of the way home - a routine he was used to by now. He pushed the front door open, calling out to his parents as he pulled it closed, “I’m home!”
His dad rounded the corner first as Katsuki began to pull off his shoes. “Hey Katsuki, how did it go?”
“Pretty damn well if you ask me. There’s no way I didn't pass,” he said with a smug grin as he put his shoes away and slipped on his house slippers.
“That's great! Your mother and I are so proud of you.”
Katsuki nodded as he walked past him towards the stairs. “Where’s the hag?”
His father used his thumb to point into the house over his shoulder. “She’s in the kitchen making dinner. It’ll be ready by the time you've showered.”
He grunted in acknowledgement before running up the stairs two at a time, pushing the bathroom door closed behind him before jumping in the shower. The practical exam had been intense, and the hot water was doing wonders on his sore muscles as he washed the excess sweat away.
After shutting off the water, he returned to his room to change before heading downstairs for dinner. He left his towel draped over his shoulders to dry his hair on the way down. Just as his father had said, his mother was in the kitchen pulling the bowls out of the cupboard ready for dinner.
“Oi, brat. How nice of you to finally join us,” she said loudly while opening the rice cooker to scoop even portions of rice into each of their bowls.
“Whatever hag. The exam went well, thanks for asking,” he replied as he dropped down into his seat at the table.
She placed his food down harshly, scowling at him as she did so. “Enough with that damn attitude Katsuki. I thought I raised you better than that. Tell him, Masaru.”
His father sighed as he sat at the end of the table, cleaning his glasses with his sleeve. “Mitsuki, Honey, don’t be hypocritical. Katsuki has been through a lot this last year, let's just be supportive.”
Katsuki chose to tune out the rest of their conversation, instead digging into the bowl of mapo tofu his mother prepared. Hers was spicier than when his father makes it, and it was clear that his love of spicy foods came from her. While he usually makes it better, coming home from a long day at the entrance exams to a freshly cooked meal wasn’t something to complain at.
He ate every last bite, even going back for seconds, before leaving his dirty dishes in the sink for his father to wash. Still exhausted from the day, he went straight back to his room, getting ready for bed before going to sleep, eagerly awaiting the results of the exam.
They came a week later. He was sitting at his desk, white envelope in his tight grasp. Staring at the red wax seal with the UA logo pressed into it, he didn’t know why he was so nervous. He knew he had made it in for fucks sake, there was no doubt in his mind about that, so why were his hands shaking?
Was he worried about Deku? Why would he give a single fuck whether or not the nerd got in. And it's not like he would know without hearing it from the nerd anyway. This was his acceptance letter.
With that thought, he ripped the envelope open. He pulled out the folded letter and out with it came a small metal disk. Setting the paper down, he looked at the strange object for a moment before a bright light emanated from the centre. He followed the beam, looking up at the wall where a projection was displayed on his wall.
All Might, to his surprise, came into view and began speaking through the speaker built into the device. “I am here,” he said in his signature voice, “to announce that I will be joining the UA faculty team. I also have the honour of sharing with you hero hopefuls the results of the UA entrance exams!”
Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was seeing, or hearing for that matter. All Might was going to become a teacher at UA? The nerd was gonna freak the fuck out when he finds out. He had been their idol since they were kids, and they both dreamed of being like him one day. But for the man to teach them heroics at the greatest hero school in the country? Katsuki couldn’t wait.
“Bakugou Katsuki.” Upon hearing his name, Katsuki looked back up at the projection, "I can confirm to you that you passed the written exam with a score of 97, the highest of any candidate! And regardless of your score in the practical exam, you have earned yourself a spot at UA.”
Katsuki was smiling ear to ear. The highest of any candidate huh? He liked the sound of that.
“And now onto the practical exam. Before I reveal the results, however, I am required to inform you of the secret category you were being scored on.”
Hold on. Secret category? What the fuck was he talking about?
“Alongside the villain points you were earning by defeating the robots roaming your test areas, we were also watching how you interacted with the other candidates. After all, how can a hero course reject someone committed to helping others, no matter the consequences. That is why we implemented rescue points!”
He watched as All Might gestured to a leaderboard behind him, and on it were the names of the top ten students, as well as their villain points and rescue points totals, all blurred out. Katsuki waited with baited breath as All Might come back into view to the side of the leaderboard.
“And with 77 villain points and 10 rescue points, congratulations Young Bakugou, you have made it into the hero course with the highest combined points score of 87!”
The leaderboards shifted to show the names and points of the top ten scorers. And there he was, at the top, a whole 13 points above the rest. He quickly scanned the rest of the list, looking to see if Deku was in the top ten as well, but the only name Katsuki recognised was Kaminari’s. Pikachu had placed 10th, with 35 villain points and 20 rescue points, which meant he had made it into the hero course too. He seemed alright when he met him. A little talkative but he clearly attracted chatterboxes if his friendship with Deku was any indication.
But Deku wasn’t on the list. That didn’t mean he had failed. There were 40 places in the hero course, after all. But it would mean that he would have to wait to hear his fate directly from the boy himself. Although, with the addition of rescue points, it sounded more likely that the nerd had made the cut. He had said he helped people out during the exam if they had been injured, and he even stayed late to make sure they made it to the medical tent without doing any further damage.
There was no point in worrying over it now. He would see the nerd at school tomorrow, and he could ask him then if he passed or not. With that plan in place, he took the letter down to show his parents. They of course had no doubt that Katsuki would make it in, but they appreciated the confirmation regardless.
The next day, he met Deku outside his apartment building to walk to school together. As soon as the nerd was in view, Katsuki saw the bright smile stretched almost painfully across his face.
“Kacchan, I got in!” he exclaimed in lieu of his regular good morning. “And I saw the leaderboard, too! That's amazing Kacchan!”
Katsuki preened under the praise. “Told ya I’d be the best. And what about you, did it tell you where you were ranked?”
Deku shook his head as they walked. “No, it just told me my score in each section. I got 93 in the written exam, and then 8 villain points and 45 rescue points. I couldn’t have been that far off the top ten though! I'm so glad they added the rescue points else I never would've made it in,”
After that Deku began to ramble about the exam, and Katsuki was happy to let him talk his ear off as they approached the school building. This was how their mornings typically went. Katsuki wasn’t much of a talker, and so the most the nerd would get in reply was a hum or the nod of his head to indicate he was listening.
They hardly spoke at school. Deku was still wary around the rest of the extras, but now that they had both passed the UA entrance exams it was only a matter of time before they could leave this shitty place behind and begin the next, more exciting, chapter of their lives.