Chapter Text
The lingering smell of that dirty burner invaded my nose again for the fifth time this week. Someone spilled some non-toxic substance on it and now it reeks when turned on.
I tried to ignore it as my work included close attention. The cracked specimen in front of me was getting prepped to spin so the contaminants would die.
This wasn't even my responsibility, I was their boss. But I would not have any work under my name to be half-assed. With their degrees, you'd think these biologists wouldn't waste a second in the lab—but I was proven wrong time and time again.
My nose couldn't help it, the smell was pissing me off.
"Can someone clean that damn thing already?" My head spun to look at them, but they were too busy looking online at some random article. Todoroki was sitting, staring at the computer and Mina stood behind, reading.
"Oi, Half and half, Raccoon eyes—I'm talking to you!" But neither of them paid any attention to my matter. Instead, my body got up and walked over to the hot pot. I twisted the knob on the Bunsen and matched their eyes.
"Hey! We're using that man." Mina yelped, placing her hands on her hips like I did something wrong.
"It needs to be cleaned, don't you know that's the first rule in lab safety?" I asked, questioning her position.
She scoffed, "I'm only using the water to dilute another substance, I'm not an idiot."
"Then it wouldn't be dirty, do better!" I walked away, not turning it back on but she knew I was right.
Todoroki simply watched this whole interaction. His only use in the lab right now was to watch as things got done—he was new. His dad owned a company that allowed us to get our hands on expensive specimens and chemicals. So, he pretty much got a free ride in here, unless he proves himself worthy.
Mina, on the other hand, did work her way to get in to this lab. She was top of her class, pretty young, and loved being spontaneous. Unfortunately, my boss had me be put in charge of them.
My brain needed a break, and bad. The smell was getting to my head. I had already placed my project in the centrifuge, so I'd have at least 20 minutes to take a breather and come back.
"I'm leaving for a bit, don't ruin anything." I slide open the lab door, "And clean that burner!" My hands slid-shut the door, hoping they'd listen to me.
As I walked out, I viewed the sky through a nearby window. My eyes drifted up, looking up at a shimmering star that appeared to have a teal hue. I wish light pollution would just die already. Maybe then we'd actually be able to see more than just a broad number of stars in the sky.
I caught myself looking up for an unusual amount of time—maybe it was the curiosity that flooded my mind, or just the way it was positioned in the sky that hooked my attention.
My stomach growled. A snack may take the nausea that was churning in my stomach away. I peered my head to the long corridor that stretched to the vending machines.
Thinking about it, I hadn't eaten almost all day trying to cut off the last minute work and deadlines.I headed down the hall and approached what looked like a pitiful catalog of snacks. Food was food, I guess.
Making my selection, I clicked it onto the keypad beside it. As my eyes shifted back up, they focused on a smudge in the glass of what looked like a tall figure. It was distorted on the smudged reflection but I could make out that it was a man. Turning around, I was met with some random pale, lanky guy.
"Katsuki Bakugou," He spoke, not questioning who he was talking to. He had a pristine suit that spoke more about his job than his face did. His eyes began scanning me, but I wasn't intimidated.
"That's me." The drop of my chips fell behind me.I ignored it.
"Aizawa, from NASA. I'd like to interest you in an offer." A small strand of his hair covered his right eye when he spoke; he didn't seem troubled by it.
My eyebrows furrowed, confused by his proposition. Was this guy messing with me right now? I couldn't deal with another nuisance.
He reached for his pocket to pull out his registered badge, displaying it to me. His name was starting to sound familiar; my colleagues may have mentioned his work in the latest space probe mission.
Was he NASA's director?
"What's the offer?" I asked, curiously.
He retrieved his ID from his pocket, stuffing his hands along with it. He tried to act all carefree but I could see through that facade; he had to come from some sort of authority with that time of manner.
"A journey to space." His words almost felt imaginative, "There's been a signal coming from a planet called Toshi, circling a close star that we want to take a closer look at. We've received patterns of radio and infrared waves that don't match with any other planet."
"What about your other tech gadgets?"
"Well, the EM spectrum can only tell us so much." He explained.
What a coincidence, I thought. The same star I've been eyeing was the same as NASA's newest project.
"Toshi, huh?"
"We know you've rejected our last few projects, but we ask that you carefully consider this opportunity." Yet again, he pulled something else from his suit compartment. It was a thin card this time𑁋he offered it to me.
I accepted it, reading the fine print of a phone number with his full name: Shota Aizawa. So this dude was actually for real.
"With your expertise in biology and as a Laboratory director, we would appreciate your help."
The card was moved to my pocket before reaching for the chips behind me, "I'll think about it."
I strolled away, not looking back, still processing our interaction. There was no need to have a staring contest with him when I had other stuff to take care of before I left tonight.
But, maybe this would be a good opportunity for me to finally learn something new about the universe rather than researching the same stuff I see every day. I have made discoveries in the past few years, but nothing has caught my attention and been so coincidental before.
I almost turned to see if he was following me or if he was looking back. Instead, my body lingered outside the lab. My lungs exhaled, trying to regain what oxygen I had left inside my diaphragm.
Finally, I slid the door open, hoping that awful stench would have left. But it didn't.
Both of them were actually working on their projects. It was good to see. They do this everyday: work all day and take a break late, just to get back on task. It was one thing I appreciated from them, I only got onto them repeatedly so they wouldn't start getting soft.
Todoroki was waiting for the centrifuge to finish, hovering over it like a hawk.
And for the first time this month, Mina was actually cleaning the burner in a nearby sink. They were being unexpectedly quiet this time, a little strange for them to be anywhere near silent. Their attention moved to me, probably noticing the food that was restricted. I wasn't going to eat inside the lab though; I was only checking in on our lab.
"Sorry for earlier, but we're catching up!" She exclaimed, smiling.
At this point, I didn't care anymore. The specimen was already spinning, so I might as well let them examine it, write their findings and report it to me tomorrow.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you guys are finishing, then I'm going home," I sighed. They agreed to let me leave, promising to take care of the work𑁋and I did trust them that much.
The snack was completely gone when I sat inside my car. I was hungrier than I thought. Driving home felt different, it was like I was leaving something.
When I arrived home, I cooked myself a quick dinner to get my mind off that dumb planet. But everything I did, I was always reminded of that unforeseen space travel ride. My attention peered from my kitchen table to my balcony.
The telescope standing there was uncovered from the night before; I needed to put the cap back on before the lens got dirty. But maybe I could use it one last time tonight.
Without thinking, I pulled the door to the left and stepped onto the terrace to set up the telescope and line it up with the star. Before, I was always admiring the star, but to know there was a planet there had me more intrigued. The telescope logged the coordinates and carefully moved with the sky until it found its destination.
My eye jumped straight down into the lens—my pupils burning from the stars' light—but I didn't think the telescope was strong enough to affect my vision. When my iris focused on the star, I searched the surrounding space for a terrestrial planet. Not like I could see one that easily, but I secretly hoped for a change. I sat down in a nearby lawn chair, pulling out the card I was handed earlier. It wouldn't be such a bad idea, and it may be a good break from my work.
My brain couldn't wrap around the strange way everything was connecting suddenly, and it created a bit of uncertainty inside of me. This could be a ticket to a bigger recognition in my field, or the complete opposite. I could be wasting time and research for nothing. I sighed, pouncing my leg and tightly gripping the card in my hands.
But the way everything was falling into my lap could be something I needed to take advantage of. What other time in the future would an opportunity like this be handed to me? And I'd get to be away from my colleagues for a little bit, depending on the travel time. I wasn't too worried about coming back if I discovered something huge. At least everyone would remember me as the man who set foot on a whole new world. That is, if it's safe to be on.
"Fine, I'm going," I spoke to myself, as if the star could hear me.
When I first imagined NASA, I imagined a big, modern-looking place—and it still did look similar—but it was clearly under budget. I walked through the wide doors that had no purpose being that large with one person walking through every few minutes or so. I bet I was their first guest in days.
My eyes steered around the place to try to catch that guy I met the other day, but instead, I met what looked like a launch crew. They had headsets all lined up, matching navy training suits, and people with clipboards discussing where to go.
There was one guy with light blonde hair, a bit darker than mine, who had what looked like a black lightning bolt in his hair. The other beside him had red hair, obviously dyed from the black roots that were peeking from his hair crown.
"One of you live-wires knows where Aizawa is?" I crossed my arms, watching them glance at each other like he was in one of their pockets.
"Over here," I heard that familiar voice call out to me to my left. The way I spun around to meet him may have been a little too fast for my watch; I wouldn't want to let them know I'm excited about this, or else they'll get soft on me.
"I don't see a board asking for my name, so where do I sign up?" My tone moved from slight aggression to ease.
"We're glad to have you join. Interestingly enough, this is the team that you'll be working with." His arms waved to the small crowd of people who were staring at me now.
Just great, I thought. These guys were basically replicas of my coworkers in my lab with their aggravating jokes. Never mind that, I was going through with this. There was no turning back now, and I've already embarrassed myself showing up here.
"I'm Denki Kaminari, nice to meet you!" He lifted his hand, "I am the engineer on this team—you can't get any better than me." He smirked slyly while speaking with confidence and self-assurance. His comfortable attitude suggested he's been with this team for a while. The other guy, on the other hand, looked new as his presentation seemed reserved.
"Eijiriou Kirishima—I am the pilot for the upcoming mission. Pleasure to meet you!" His lips and teeth formed an upbeat smile.
I was already annoyed with their buoyancy in such a short amount of time. How could I survive living with them on a ship for what I assumed may be months? I introduced myself anyway, so they should know my status to know that I don't screw around.
"Katsuki Bakugo, lead biology researcher," I spoke firmly, reminding myself why they chose me for this mission at all.
"That's so cool! So you like messing around with dead things for research?" The blonde cluelessly asked, which I almost laughed from disbelief.
Kirishima barged in, "Dude, you're thinking of some kind of animal pathologist! The things he studies are alive, right?" He glanced over at me to confirm. I was relieved that at least one person wasn't completely oblivious, but he still was off.
"Depends on the research I'm doing," I sighed.
Our conversation was luckily cut short as Aizawa urged us to move into a more private area to discuss the plans of the mission. He migrated all of us, including the large crew, into a small conference room. I would expect a bigger area for the number of people we needed for this project—the number of crew members caused some concern.
The man stood in front of the narrow table, with all of us consuming it. The air inside was a bit stiff and overcrowded, but that wasn't something the fancy man was distressed about.
He had some plans on a whiteboard that stuck with magnets; they seemed like a projection of the launch and the trajectory of the journey. In small font, I could read a small number already compiled in the corner beside the dotted line that connected the earth to the star: 6 months.
Internally, I released a small groan. I could be spending more than a year in space. Not even considering the time difference between the planet and our Earth.
Aizawa began to explain the purpose of the mission, mentioning that they had been following a signal from a distant planet for about two years. Over time, it has pulsed at a quicker speed than it did before.
With scientists worldwide, they have concluded it could possibly be a call for help from another civilization. The patterns, the signal, it was too intentional. It definitely didn't have the characteristics of a pulsar, as it was a planet, and he finally elaborated how nothing natural could explain it.
Only Kaminari, Kirishima and I are going to board the ship. He even suggested it was a risky ride and we could always reconsider our options.
This was my only shot to finally do something huge in my career. Without hesitation, I briefly asked, "When do we leave?"