#as expected from the same man who was all 'goddamn I hate u.a. and their stupid motto'

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 190: Standing Tall

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor died! But it’s okay because then he got better! In the meantime, the High Definition Noumu managed to destroy a whole lot of the city, to the point where it reminded a lot of people of the Kamino attack three months prior. There was a lot of meta about why Endeavor couldn’t quit. Part of it is because the world still needs a Symbol, and he’s what they’ve got right now. But as Hawks and Fuyumi also observed, Endeavor is also just really bad at giving up. As Hawks observed, back during All Might’s heyday, Endeavor was the only one who even attempted to try and surpass him, despite knowing he had no chance. And that’s exactly the kind of bullheaded tenacity that allowed this crazy fire man to force himself back up, use his flames to propel himself, and chase after the Noumu while the world (and his son, who’s watching in the U.A. common room with his classmates and Aizawa) looked on. Then Hawks finally showed up to help out, and lent Endeavor some of his feathers to aid him in his speed and movement. And with that little boost, Endeavor launched one final flaming fist attack. Hopefully it’ll be enough.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor punches the High Flying Noumu with his flame fist and tries to burn it from the inside out. Somehow it still doesn’t work. Everyone watching is like “AHHH” and Shouto is like “DAD D:” and Hawks is like “dude you burned all my feathers, I can’t help you out anymore.” But Endeavor is all “it’s okay we good” and he grabs the Noumu and blasts way up into the sky where he can unleash his full power without having to worry about hurting anyone in the vicinity. And then he unleashes another Prominence Burn attack, but this time with Plus Ultra. Everyone is like “holy shit” and it’s fucking tense as hell, and then a moment later Endeavor comes plummeting down from the sky still on fire and goes splat on some random car. And then he stands up and does the All Might victory pose. Goddamn. So everyone is all “YESSSSS”, and Hawks goes to help him because he’s still barely fucking conscious, and for just a moment it looks like everything’s going to be all right. And then Dabi shows up. And is all “hey there Endeavor. it sure is nice to quote-unquote ‘meet’ you, lol.” Oh fucking snap.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 209 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

lol

for a solid moment there I read this as “the beginning of Horikoshi Kouhei” and I was like oh no my man you did not just pull a goddamn Steven King and insert yourself into your own fucking manga

so here’s the full dramatic first page

poor Hawks, caught in the crossfire

oh for fuck’s sake, now we’re moving on to page 2 and Endeavor’s fist is still rushing toward this fucking Noumu. just die already please

okay it looks like it is indeed dying

this is actually pretty anticlimactic after all of that. but okay

aaaaaand it’s still regenerating. even though Endeavor has his fucking hand inside of its skull and is burning it from the inside out

shit you guys

so they are being burned up, then. not good, not fucking good at all

Endeavor is shouting Hawks’s name!

and now he’s addressing the Noumu

idk what’s going on, he’s just describing the Noumu in his mind I guess. saying shit we already know. “modified human, manufactured one, holder of multiple quirks, obsessed with the pursuit of strength”

like, what is the point of this

oh I see, it’s simply to be as dramatic as possible so as to build up to this moment

Shouto. that’s very sweet. but. he can’t hear you, honey

he doesn’t actually address him as “dad” very often though does he? in fact, I don’t recall him ever directly addressing him by “name” at all. in the handful of face to face conversations that they’ve had with each other, he’s avoided using any sort of title and has been really brusque. and whenever he talks about him, he simply refers to him as “my father” (I forget which word it is he’s using in Japanese, but it’s something fairly casual and borderline disrespectful, I’m sure)

(ETA: so he normally uses the word “oyaji” (which does mean “father” but has more of an “old man” connotation though) when addressing Endeavor, and apparently that’s the word he uses in this scene too. so there was actually no change there. I’d be annoyed at the translation being a bit misleading, but I guess “old man! I’m watching” wouldn’t have quite the same emotional impact, so that’s fair.)

anyway, so yeah, that makes this outburst even more meaningful than it initially appears to be

Hawks says his feathers are all burnt up now so he won’t be able to help any more

but Endeavor says it’s enough

and he’s flying up higher, somehow. not sure if that’s the remainder of Hawks’s wings boosting him or if he’s just using his fire again somehow. that still makes no fucking sense but okay

he’s trying to put some distance between them and the people and buildings below so as to not cause any further damage

okay here we go. one more time

odd that he would hate that motto given how obsessed he is with strength. maybe it just never clicked with him. or maybe he resented it because no amount of “plus ultra” was ever enough for him to catch up with All Might

but at any rate, this is certain some plus ultra shit right here

looooooool Horikoshi you sneaky little shit

SO THIS SHIT IS REALLY ALL BUT CONFIRMED THEN, HUH

damn it just what exactly is the story behind this. I want to know already

so now Endeavor is plummeting from the sky presumably unconscious and still very much on fire

and the guy with the air gun hands says he’ll catch him. and he’s shooting his hands out toward him

and his buddy with the chopped up floating limbs is helping too. gross

eeesh

I winced

and now there are more reaction shots, with Fuyumi’s hands over her mouth, the people from the newscopter looking on in shock, and Shouto still standing there with that same frozen “oh shit” expression as before

can anyone give this poor kid a hug or even a hand on his shoulder or fucking something already. jesus. Aizawa you’re right fucking there. what happened to all of your dad instincts

Hawks is running over now

ahhhhh yes here we go!

I expected there would be a slower, more dramatic build up to this, but he just like bounced back to his feet and fucking did it right away lol

well whatever. he earned it. he earned this

all right, Enji. I’ll admit it, you are making some great strides here. none of this is gonna get me to actually forgive you, mind. but I have done quite a bit of essaying on redemption at this point, and I gotta say, you meet those criteria. you are learning and trying to be better and actually succeeding. it doesn’t undo any of the shitty things you did, but that’s up to those characters whether they’re okay with moving past it or not. in the meantime you seem to be doing what you can to make up for it now, and while it would have been preferable for you to have learned this lesson some 25 years earlier... better late than never

and now everyone is cheering!

goddammit, they really needed this. a victory like this. something to help restore their faith

All Might’s sitting and looks kind of blown away. like his hair is literally blown away. did someone turn the fan on in this room or

ohhhhh my god

oh my heart. whoa there. I wasn’t ready for this

is he praying?? is this a thank you? or is this just relief and he just kind of slumped for a second and just happened to clasp his hands like that for lack of knowing what else to do

either way it’s giving me a lot of feels

although even now they’re all just standing around him hovering like they want to comfort him, but they’re afraid or there’s some invisible force field there or something. JUST PAT HIM ON THE DAMN BACK ALREADY. jesus he was so tense. that was so intense can you please give him some support please and thank you guys

by the way they seriously need to turn up the heat in the dorms it looks like. holdover thought from the previous chapters that I forgot to remark on because I was binging the rest of this arc. but they’re all bundled up quite a lot for being indoors

awwwwww

what is this. I thought I was supposed to come out of this arc shipping Dabi/Hawks?? I have yet to understand that? but Endeavor/Hawks (or more like Hawks/Endeavor) is certainly coming off very strong

(ETA: to be clear I don’t ship this romantically, because Endeavor is old enough to be his dad. which is kind of the point, actually. Endeavor fucked up with all four of his actual kids, but now with Hawks he has miraculously been granted the chance to make a new start with someone who’s disconnected from all of that. basically this is the first bond Endeavor has ever formed that isn’t fucking toxic, and I think it’s important for him on his path to making amends in whatever ways he can. this is a chance for him to actually try and be a good father to someone, and better late than never. 

because Hawks is also someone who has relatively few close connections with people, because he keeps all his true feelings bottled up for self-preservation reasons, and keeps people at a distance by being casual and aloof with everyone (though in a friendly way). and yet for whatever reason, he’s gone and adopted Endeavor. maybe it’s just that he sees Endeavor as the best hope the world’s got right now, and so mentoring him to be less of an ass gets him closer to his goal of one day not having to do this job anymore. or maybe something about Endeavor’s asshole nature makes Hawks feel more at ease being open with him, because he doesn’t need to worry about making Endeavor worry, because Endeavor will just keep on not giving a shit no matter what, so that’s nice. except that Endeavor does perhaps give the tiniest of shits, shockingly. and I think that’s something that came as a surprise to them both and caught them both off guard.

anyways. so somehow this relationship between a hot pile of garbage and a character who was only introduced six chapters ago became one of my favorites in the series in a staggeringly short amount of time. sometimes life is strange like that.)

LMAO

I USED THE OTHER ARM. SO IT’S NOT THE SAME. SHUT UP

(ETA: also would you fucking look at this fucking fanboy knowing which arm it’s actually supposed to be and still bothering to be all “HMPH!” about it. how does it feel to be a 45-year-old chuuni, Endeavor)

damn he is harsh on himself

jesus christ Horikoshi. I keep thinking this, but it really is like a textbook study of how to redeem a character. he ticked off every single box. give them everything they wanted only for them to realize it wasn’t what they wanted at all. make them remorseful for their past actions. make them strive forward with new purpose. make them suffer but refuse to give in. give them an eyepatch. (ETA: dammit.) give them new relationships that aren’t tied to all of the horrible shit they did in their past, so we can see them interact with someone without that for once and get a glimpse of who they could have been and maybe just maybe still could be with a lot of hard work

like, I know when I’m being manipulated, but damned if it isn’t a masterful fucking job

anyways. Hawks says that he still did a good job and this will definitely be huge

and he says that first off “we have to do something about your injuries” and lol, duhhhhh though

SJSLDFKLSKHGK

YOU HOLD UP!!!! DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE

I FEEL LIKE I SUMMONED HIM LMAO

okay Dabi. meet Hawks? unless you already know him? I don’t know, actually and I’m very curious as to what’s going on here

because it now occurs to me that my earlier suspicion of Hawks still could be right on the money and it’s possible that he was even working with Dabi. because idk but people ship this something fierce so there must be some connection, either past or future. and that attack was no fucking coincidence, and it certainly was no coincidence either that it ended up doing exactly what Hawks wanted it to do

but anyways. I’m getting ahead of myself now and I’m sure we’ll find out more about this shortly!

and look at Dabi greeting his old man like he’s never met him before, too. you think you’re so fucking smooth, huh

(ETA: so the “I guess” part here is actually very significant. I’ll just let Viz’s translator Caleb Cook explain:

basically, your two options are (1) Dabi is a fire-user whose true identity is still being deliberately withheld and whose physical appearance (hairstyle, eye color, approximate age) just happens to match up near-perfectly with the missing Todoroki sibling who was coincidentally mentioned in this same arc for the very first time, and who has apparently met Endeavor before, but in spite of this he somehow is not Todoroki Touya; or (2) Dabi is Todoroki Touya.

I don’t know about you guys, but I know where I stand with this one lol.)

shit. what an ending. what a fucking arc this is turning out to be

[ashleyh713]

Bewitched Chapter 1

Bakugo X OC fanfic

The first day Bakugo met her started out like any other.

 He was forced by his mother to go to the store for some groceries on his day off even though the boy insisted that they still had plenty in the cabinets. But just like everything, his mother didn’t listen in the slightest. 

Stomping into the store, Katsuki groaned, not understanding why he had to do such a stupid thing. He had far enough on his plate as it was, seeing that his entrance exam for U.A. was coming up next week.

The boy shoved a couple items into the basket before aggressively crossing them off on his list as fast as possible. The sooner he got this done the sooner he could go home.That’s all he cared about right now. 

Moving to another aisle, the boy stopped when he found a display of his favorite spicy noodles a couple feet away from him. There seemed to be some kind of sale happening so the majority of the shelfs were barren and empty, with only one bowl on the center shelf. Perfect. 

Bakugo stomped up to the display before licking his lips, already feeling the warm heat that the noodles would bring and reached forward, fully intending on grabbing the last pack. 

Although as his hand touched the plastic coating, his fingers bumped into another who was reaching out as well. Frowning at the action, Katsuki looked up to find a girl staring back at him. 

She was wearing a black oversized jacket with the hood covering her eyes, although Bakugo could just barely make out her long light purple hair hanging out of the sides in a half ponytail. It was like she was trying to hide her appearance, although Bakugo didn’t really care about that now. This girl, she had a lot of nerve. 

He expected her to pull back and apologize like most girls used to do at his middle school. It didn’t help that Katsuki always wore an unpleasant expression which scared most of them away. It’s not like he minded though, Katsuki had more important things to worry about then frivolous girls. 

Although strangely enough, her reaction was not that at all, watching the girl instead grip tighter to the bowl and try to shake his hand off. Was this girl itching for a fight? “Hey! Hands off extra! I saw it first so get lost!” 

He slapped her hand away only for her to clamp down on his arm before smirking under the hood. “Who are you to tell me what to do? I think it’s you that should get lost.” 

Narrowing his brow in annoyance, Bakugo pulled back then, reaching for the noodles as the stranger blocked his advance. “What did you just say to me?! You wanna fight?!” 

She only shrugged her shoulders though. “Bring it on angry porcupine boy.”

Gasping at the insulting nickname, Katsuki felt his palms grow in heat as he threw an explosion in the middle of the store, causing the display behind them to explode. “Do you think I’m playing around? Just give me the goddamn noodles before I set you on fire!” 

Although she only seemed amused. “Ooh touchy. Go ahead and try, if you can catch me.” 

Then before he could register it, the girl quickly grabbed the last bowl of noodles before running off through the store, causing Bakugo to shout. “What the...Get back here you little..!” 

He set off then, chasing the girl through the aisles and throwing explosions in her direction as the other shoppers begged him to stop. Although Bakugo couldn’t stop, he needed to show her who he was messing with. “Stay still so I can kill you!” 

The girl stopped before jumping onto one of the displays and smirking. “Now what fun is that? You better step up your game porcupine boy. I’m not really impressed.” 

Growling in response, Bakugo put his hands out before letting off a giant explosion and blowing up the entire display she was standing on. “How’s that for impressive?” 

Although he couldn’t help but be surprised as the girl jumped off the table before completing a backflip over his hand and landing gracefully with a light tap. “Nah, I’ve seen better. Ah well, see you. Thanks for the fun.” 

Not fully understanding, Katsuki raced forward only to be pulled back by one of the store owners, obviously very upset that the boy had destroyed everything. “Hey, you! Come with me! You better be willing to pay for this, you hooligan!” 

Pulling against the man, the boy grumbled only to hear another employee grab the girl that was trying to escape. “And where do you think you’re going?” 

Bakugo smirked at that, knowing that girl would be in just as much trouble when he watched her lean toward the workers ear before whispering something out as his eyes grew dull for a moment. 

Then a second later, the man loosened his grip and bowed as she headed towards the exit. “I’m very sorry about that. Have a nice day.” 

Katsuki’s brow turned to confusion as the girl then waved him off before turning to meet his eyes, a knowing smirk now on her face. Wait, they were letting her go?! What the hell, she was responsible for all this! 

Then to dig the knife in a little deeper, the girl pulled out the last bowl of noodles from her pocket before showing the boy and waving it around as if to heckle him. That bitch, she was messing with him! 

Turning on her heels, she then walked out of the store causing Bakugo to go after her, only to be stopped by the employees. “Wait, let me go! She’s the one that started all this bullshit! Don’t let her go assholes!” 

Although the workers didn’t seem to listen, instead pulling the boy into their office so that they could call his mother. 

All throughout the process, Katsuki had one thought in his mind. Who even was that girl, and how did she get out of this so quickly? 

Katsuki one thing for certain though, she was going to pay for messing with him. 

---------------------------

A couple hours and one long phone call later, Bakugo walked out of the store even more angry than ever. His mother was beyond pissed at him for destroying that store but every time he tried to mention that girl, the store workers didn’t believe him for some reason. It was like she was never there in the first place. 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he made his way down a side street only for a soft chuckle to echo above him. “Took you long enough. What were you even doing in there?” 

Widening his eyes at her voice, Bakugo looked up only to find that very same girl sitting above him on the fire escape ladder to one of the apartments, eating his noodles. “You..get your ass down here so I can kill you! How in the hell did you even get away, you brat?!” 

She thought for a couple seconds before shrugging her shoulders and jumping down from the stairs. “Now that’s a secret. Okay, I’m here now, so what are you going to do to me Mr. Scary porcupine man?” 

At the sound of his nickname, Bakugo frowned before grabbing the girl by the collar and pushing her closer to him. He needed to show her who she was messing with. “How dare you try to make an ass out of me back there! Do you have a death wish?!” 

Although the girl could only laugh though, obviously not intimidated in the slightest. “I hate to break it to you but I think you did that all on your own.” 

Her words only made his grip tighten though, already over her behavior. “Why you..!” 

Suddenly a gust of wind tore through the space, causing the girl's hood to fly backwards as Bakugo locked eyes with her for the very first time, his own gaze growing large at the realization. 

Her eyes looked so unique, so different from anything he had ever seen before. They seemed ominous yet somehow hypnotizing at the same time. They were light purple in color to match her hair although her pupils didn’t look human. They were small thin black lines that only filled a quarter of her eyes, kind of like a snake or a lizard. Just staring at them brought a sharp shiver of uncertainty down his spine.  It was like they stopped him into utter silence, drawing the boy into a trance. He had never seen anyone like her before.

Looking down at the floor, the girl spoke back, this time slower. It seemed she understood the power her eyes had. “You know it’s rude to stare.” 

Blinking back in surprise, Katsuki felt his hands loosen of her collar before falling to his sides as she spoke again, desperate to change the subject now. “Say, are you always this touchy? Oh wait, I know who you are. You're that kid that got kidnapped by that sludge villain the other day, right? Talk about embarrassing..” 

At her words, the boy's chest lit up again, his time in anger, snapping him out of his past delusions about her eyes. “Shut up! Who even are you anyways?” 

Thinking about his question for a moment, the girl only smirked. “Oh come on, you’re gonna have to do a whole lot more than that to get my name. How about we start with yours first?” 

Katsuki noticed the deflection of the question and huffed. “No way in hell am I giving some random extra my name.” 

This caused the girl to frown though. “Alright then, I guess I’ll just have to keep calling you angry porcupine boy then. Hey by the way angry porcupine boy, have you ever thought of anger management classes? I think they’d be good for you.” 

Bakugo balled his fists in annoyance then, shouting back. “Would you stop with that!” 

Although she only kept going, knowing that the name was bugging him. “I’m sorry, you won’t give me your name so angry porcupine boy it will have to be until then. I know it’s a bit long but what can you do, right? Also I really was serious about those anger management classes. You know if you want, I know a guy that...” 

Bakugo cut her off then, already reaching his boiling point as he shouted in her face without thinking. “Fine goddamn it. My name Bakugo Katsuki, aka the new future number one hero. You got that?!” 

He then realized that he had just played into her hand, swearing back as the girl saddened for some reason. Katsuki thought she’d be happy to learn his name, so why did she look damn depressed all of a sudden?

Speaking back in utter boredom, the girl then turned from him “Oh, so you’re one of those. How generic. I thought you were way more interesting than that.” 

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Bakugo stepped forth. “What the hell, do you have something against heros or something?” 

This caused the girl to stare down at her feet, thinking for a moment before bitterly laughing back. “Yeah, or something. Why on earth do you even wanna be something like that anyways? It’s so boring.” 

Her words choice was strange, it was like she had some kind of hang up on heros for some reason. Too bad Bakugo wasn’t going to be just any hero. 

Puffing his chest out, Katsuki replied. “And what the hell is wrong with that? I’m not just going to be a hero, I’m going to be the best!” 

Although she still didn’t seem impressed, just waving him off and yawning. “Yeah yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before. Well good luck with that. Lemme know how that works out for you.” 

His eye began to twitch then, held up on her words. “Hold on, are you saying I can’t do it?! Screw you asshole, you watch. I’m going to be the best, even better than All Might!” 

She stood there silent for a couple minutes before curling her lips into a small smile, laughing back, enjoying the declaration. “I take it back, turns out you are interesting Bakugo.” 

Taking a step closer then, Katsuki narrowed his eyes in confusion as she reached a hand up to touch his face. Did she want to fight again? “W-What the hell are you doing?” 

Just then, his eyes locked onto hers and that uncomfortable hypnotizing feeling washed over him again, causing the boy to be unable to move as she shushed him. 

Tracing her fingers across his face lightly, Bakugo shivered as she hummed back. “It’s a shame you want to be a hero Bakugo, you could do so much more. Ah well, I guess it will still be fun to watch you struggle.” 

Not really understanding, the girl then placed her slender fingers to his lips before smiling. “This was fun, so let me give you a parting gift.” 

Then before he could register it, the girl leaned forward, pressing her lips against Katsuki’s roughly as the boy gasped in surprise. What the hell was happening and why couldn’t he pull away? No, it was like he didn’t want to pull away. 

Grabbing onto the sides of his face, she pushed deeper into him causing the boy to groan, her body brushing against his and causing a sharp shiver to course through him all at once, now somehow hungry for her touch and confused at the same time. 

He gasped again when Katsuki felt her tongue brush the top of his mouth, a soft gasp of surprise echoing through him as his whole body began to shake with anticipation. His breath grew shallow as he reacted to her kiss, her tongue reaching a bit further and causing the boy to let out an unexpected moan. Suddenly it was like his body was begging for her, following her whims and desires with no resistance. 

She pulled away then, Bakugo still completely in a daze as she licked her lips and winked seductively. “By the way, my name is Sienna. Maybe I’ll see you around Katsuki.” 

Then, just as quickly as she arrived, that mysterious girl was gone, leaving Bakugo by himself, not really knowing how to process what had just happened. 

Placing two fingers up to his lips, he could still feel the warm heat from her, Katsuki’s nerves waking up all at once as he let out a loud and confusing scream. “...WHAT THE FUCK!” 

The boy then paced back and forth as he ran his fingers through his hair in confusion. He was just kissed, that crazy ass girl just kissed him! What the hell even was that?! Who just kisses someone randomly without knowing anything about them?! That was his first kiss too..

Although he still couldn’t stop himself from placing his fingers back to his lips, remembering the sensation and the feeling he had pressed against her.  She said her name was Sienna? Who even was that girl? Katsuki knew he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to see her again though.

Shaking his head, Bakugo’s confusion quickly turned to frustration, now balling his fists into the air and shouting. “I’m going to fucking kill you when I find you!” 

-------------------------------

The U.A. entrance exam came and went rather quickly although the only thing Bakugo could think of during the entire time was that crazy girl that kissed him. He wondered what the hell she was even thinking. It had been a week since then and every time someone that remotely passed by him, the boy couldn’t help to turn, expecting it to be her. 

Although he had no luck in his search and everyone around him didn’t have the faintest idea the girl existed. It was like she wasn’t real. 

Sighing to himself, Katsuki roughly greeted his mom before slumping up the stairs to his room and slam open the door, fully ready for some damn peace and quiet. 

Although that’s not what he got. 

Sitting at his desk was the very girl herself, swirling around on his black spinning chair like there was nothing wrong with the fact she was in his house. “Oh, there you are. Took long enough.” 

Widened his eyes in confusion, Bakugo slammed his door shut before shouting towards her. “What the hell are you doing?!��� 

Shrugging her shoulders, Sienna replied calmly. “Waiting for you.” 

Although the girl was missing the point. “I mean, what the hell are you doing in my house?! How the fuck did you even get in here?!” 

Sienna thought for a moment before pointing to his open window, causing the boy to gasp. “You broke into my house by climbing through the window?! What is wrong with you?!” 

Standing up from her spot on the chair, the girl shrugged again. “It’s your fault you left it unlocked. You know, you should really do something about that. I mean, who knows what kind of crazy people could break in….” 

Totally obvious to her own irony, Bakugo hissed. “You mean like you?!” 

Sienna only frowned then. “Okay, now that’s just rude. Do you know how long I waited for you?” 

Although Katsuki wasn’t amused, already grabbing the girl by the arm and pushing her back towards the window. “I don’t care, get out of my house you damn woman!” 

Moving her back a couple feet, Sienna pushed back only for the two to trip on their own feet and tumbling onto the bed roughly. 

Grumbling, Katsuki propped himself up only to find them in a suggested position, now practically sitting on the poor girl. She didn’t seem to mind though. “Oh how forward Katsuki. You know, if you wanted to do this all you had to do was ask.” 

The heat started to rise in his cheeks when suddenly, Katsuki’s mother called up from downstairs loudly. “What the hell are you even doing up there Katsuki?! Quiet down would you!” 

Sienna opened her mouth to speak when Bakugo gasped, clamping his hand down on her mouth before echoing back. “Shut up you old hag!” 

They remained silent for a minute until his mother's voice was no more and Bakugo sighed. Who knows what kind of reaction she would have to seeing a woman in his bed like this? She’d totally misunderstand.  

Now turning his gaze back at Sienna, Bakugo leaned closer. “Now tell me, why the hell are you in my house, and don’t give me that kind of bullshit like before!” 

She muffled underneath his hand causing Katsuki to let go, Sienna now staring up at him. “You had your entrance exam today, right? I wanted to see how it went.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened then, not expecting that response. “Why do you even care about that? We don’t even know each other, you extra.” 

He sat up, allowing the girl to do the same as she brushed off her black dress. “I already told you Katsuki, you’re interesting, that’s why. You’re not like any wannabe hero I’ve met before.” 

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Bakugo replied. “Is that some kind of insult?” 

Although Sienna just shook her head before smiling.  “Not at all. In fact, very few people have caught my interest like you have. So you should feel special.” 

Yet Katsuki didn’t feel special. “I should feel special that you broke into my house and attacked me? If that’s the case, I don’t wanna be goddamn special. I want you to leave me alone!” 

Sienna frowned at that before crossing her arms over her chest. “Attack you? What are you talking about Katsuki? I thought we had a nice conversation before…”  

This caused Bakugo’s face to rise in heart, recalling the kiss. “You call punching my face with your face a nice conversation? Bullshit, that’s harassment you crazy woman!” 

Thinking about his words for a minute, Sienna then gave a sly smile, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “What, do you want me to do it again? All you have to do is ask..” 

He saw her lean forward only for Katsuki to panic, not knowing what he wanted. Then he pushed her backwards, his reply not sounding fully convincing. “No...Hell no! Get the hell away from me! This is what I’m talking about! Why did you even do that in the first place?!” 

Falling into the mattress at the rejection, Sienna answered calmly. “Why did I kiss you? Simple, cause it was fun.” 

Although Bakugo couldn’t accept that. “So you just go around kissing people for fun?! What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

She thought about that for a minute before shaking her head. “You’re wrong Katsuki. You’re the first person I kissed like that. I just wanted to show you how entertained I was when we spoke. I wouldn’t do that to just anyone, only those that interest me.” 

Her words were strange and broken. That wasn’t how normal people were supposed to react. Well then again, breaking into someone's house wasn’t how anyone was supposed to react. There was something strange about this girl. 

Looking at her nails, Sienna spoke again. “So are you going to tell me how the entrance exam went or am I just going to have to assume?” 

He knew he probably should’ve kicked her out of his house but somehow, Katsuki didn’t want to, just sighing back and giving up. “What do you think happened? I dominated the competition of course. It’s only a matter of time before I get my acceptance letter.” 

Sienna listened to his words before frowning. “Oh, that’s nice. I was kind of hoping you’d fail and not go to that godforsaken school but also on the other hand, U.A. would be blind not to have you in the hero course, so I guess that’s good. Congratulations.” 

It was almost like she was disappointed that he passed which was odd. It was obvious she had something against heros. “There is no way I’d fail. I already said it before, I’m going to be the number one hero and that’s final! I won’t let anyone else surpass me.” 

Blinking in surprise, the girl's expression then turned from sadness to amusement, now letting out a small laugh. “Of course you’d say that.” 

Then, he lifted her arms up in a long stretch before yawning. “Alright well. Now that I know I guess I should leave. Thanks for the chat Katsuki. Sorry I bothered you. I won’t come back since that's what you want.”  

Standing from the bed, Sienna started to move towards the window when Bakugo realized that this may be the last time he saw her, and he still didn't know who this woman was. 

Then, he did something expected, he grabbed her arm, causing the girl to freeze. “Sienna, hold on damn it…” 

Blinking once, the girl turned around towards him in question. “Yeah?” 

Not really knowing what to say or do, Katsuki spoke back. “Listen nerd, you can’t just break into my house and leave when you feel like it! Who the hell even are you and how come no one knows who you are?” 

Looking down at his arm, Katsuki swore he saw her eyes sadden a bit. “You don’t need to know about that. I’m no one. I’m just curious about you, that’s all. You can forget I was even here.” 

Although that’s not what Bakugo wanted, desperate to know more about the mysterious girl. “Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll remember who I want to, damn it!” 

Sienna's eyes widened at that, feeling her chest lighten just slightly as she reached forward. “Oh no, look what you did....” 

Remaining silent, the girl placed two fingers on his cheek as her eyes locked onto his, that familiar hypnotizing sensation returning all at once. “Shit, I really want to kiss you right now...” 

Then, she leaned in closer and instead of pulling away like he probably should have, Katsuki remained still as her body pushed into him, her lips now laying claim once again. 

Grabbing onto his shirt, Sienna ran her lips across his own as the boy groaned back, welcoming back that familiar sensation like a couple days ago. He really shouldn’t be doing this but it was like he couldn’t say no to her movements. 

She bit down on his bottom lip before using her hands to shove him down onto the mattress below them and continuing her claim on his lips, the girl groaning as well from her own pleasure. 

Running her hands up his chest, he felt her tongue brush the inside of his mouth as he let out a quick moan and Sienna smiled through the kiss, happy with the result, now playing with his spiky hair and running her smooth fingers across the top. 

She then ran her mouth across his bottom lip, slowly pulling it up as Katsuki groaned underneath her. “Sienna..fuck..” 

The sound of her name brought a shiver to her own spine, casting her eyes towards the boy playfully. “God, I love my name coming from your lips. Why do you drive me so crazy Katsuki? I wish I knew..” 

Feeling the hot breath in her ear, Katsuki shuttered at the sensation when suddenly, her phone began to ring in her back pocket, shaking the girl out her delusion and pulling away sharply. “What the hell..” 

She then looked at the surface before frowning as Bakugo spoke in short breaths. “What is it?” 

Choosing to stay silent for a moment, he saw Sienna sigh heavily before throwing her phone onto the bed and changing her attitude into something more calm. “I’m sorry, looks like I got carried away. Seems like I’m going to have to end this now. What a pity..” 

Bakugo turned his eyes in confusion as the girl then leaned back towards himself pressing her lips together. “Don’t worry, after this you won’t remember a thing..” 

The boy tried to stand up then, only for Sienna to push him back down before letting her voice return in the form of a beautiful melody. Her song traveled across him as he processed the words, now feeling numb in his entire body. 

Listen to my song and sink 

Deeper into the ocean deep

Have your memories wiped away 

But still to live another day 

A girl with no face and no song

A girl that will never belong 

Little hero, don’t you see

You have been bewitched by me 

So don’t you yell and don’t you shriek

For now you will go to sleep 

With every word, Katsuki’s mind dragged further and further into her lyrics, his body complying to her wishes all at once and forgetting about the girl that had befallen his life so suddenly. 

Once he was unconscious, Sienna sighed before looking down at her phone. What was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be so caught up in a hero. That would just be really bad for her later. 

That boy Katsuki was only a plaything, a means to fool around. She needed to stop thinking so much about him and get head on straight.

 Sienna already had far too much to do as it was. 

-------------------

Walking into the old abandoned bar, Sienna threw herself onto one of her barstools before slamming her fists onto the counter. “One on the rocks.” 

Kurogiri looked at her in confusion before sighing. ‘Aren’t you underage? You shouldn’t be drinking..” 

Although the girl only frowned as she hissed back. “I had a bad day, alright? So give me the damn alcohol Kurogiri. What are you, my mother?” 

He was just about to reject her again when another voice stopped him. “Give it to her, we want her to join us, don’t we? We should be welcoming hosts.” 

Kurogiri sighed in defeat and started to get to work as Shigaraki came up behind her. “What took you so long? I thought you were only going to surveillance the school?” 

Sienna rolled her eyes in response. “Shut up, I did what you asked, I just got a little distracted that’s all.” 

This caused the villain to smirk. “Oh, and what boy toy did you pick up this time? I hope you played around with him well.” 

Sienna smiled at that, nodding her head in approval and thinking what that wannabe hero. “Of course, who do you think I am? How else would I spend my time?” 

Shigaraki seemed satisfied with that, now pulling out a large map and showing the girl. “Speaking of which, now that you finished checking the area, we can finalize our plan to kill All Might. I assume you're still in?” 

Staring down at the plans, Sienna couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, why the hell do you think I’m here anyways?” 

As his eyes grew darker, Shigaraki replied. “Oh I remember exactly why you’re here. You are a villain after all. My little Sienna, or should I say, Enchantress?” 

[emeraldwaves]

Title: What We Lack Part 12 Pairing:  Kacchako, Deku/Melissa, Todomomo Rating: T Word Count: 4,429 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

Quirkless.

They’re the last people anyone expects to have a child without a quirk.

Neither of them can fully wrap their heads around it, but Ochako knows Katsuki is struggling far more than her.

Thank you to @its-love-u-asshole for beta-ing

Full fic under the cut

Adjusting his tie in the mirror, Yuuta glanced over how the U.A. suit fit him. It was clean and fresh, ironed out by his mother. She told him he should keep it looking nice if possible, but he wasn’t sure if he would actually remember to do that. With how much work and training they would have to do, ironing out his suit was a low priority, but for now, he was pleased with how it looked.

He’d seen pictures of his parents in their uniforms plenty of times, but for some reason he felt dorky wearing his. He definitely didn’t look as classy as his mother or father.

First day of school, and he was excited to see who his teacher would be. He also wondered what class would be like; would they be active, or spend most of their time in the classroom? He glanced down at his phone, three messages blinking across the screen.

[Text from: Mom]: Good luck today, Yuuta!

[Text from: Dad]: You're going to do amazing. We're so proud.

He couldn't help but smile at the two texts from his parents. He sent loving texts back, and he hoped Arata did the same. He didn't understand why Arata had been so intense lately, but he couldn't keep trying to figure it out, not when he had school to worry about.

There was a knock on the door and Yuuta jumped. "J-Just a second!" He grabbed his bag and tucked his phone into his pocket, immediately running to go open it.

Shouhei was leaning against the wall, tapping at his phone. "You ready?" he smirked, looking at Yuuta. He couldn't help but blush, partially because he knew Shouhei was looking at him, but also because Shouhei himself looked far better in the suit than Yuuta did!

"Mhm!" he nodded, smiling at his boyfriend. He glanced down at Shouhei's hands; were they supposed to hold hands when they walked to class together? Were they even really officially together? Maybe he should ask?

"Yuu..." Shouhei said, nudging his side. "What are you freaking out about?"

"F-Freaking out!?" Yuuta said, blinking. "I-I'm not!"

"You are! Dumbass, I know what you do when you freak out; you get all nervous and jumpy!" Shouhei teased.

He sighed. "It's just... first day of school jitters!"

"Okay, okay," Shouhei snorted, buying the excuse. "You have nothing to be worried about. You're strong as hell, and we're both in the same class, so who cares! It's gonna be great."

"Who do you think our teacher is going to be?" he asked, the two of them making their way down the stairs and out of the door.

"I heard my Dad grumbling about it," Shouhei said, "so I wonder if it's going to be someone we know."

"Grumbling?" Yuuta asked, opening the door to follow Shouhei outside. "In a bad way?"

"I mean my Dad is always grumbling in a bad way," Shouhei snorted.

The two of them continued to make guesses as they walked to school. Yuuta prayed everything would go alright for the first day. Shouhei was right; they, at the very least, had each other, so even if everyone else was weird, it wouldn't be a big deal.

"A-Are you really not nervous, Shou?" Yuuta asked, staring at the front entrance to the large school.

"Nope! Why would I be?" Shouhei chuckled. "It's just school, Yuu. It's gonna be like middle school."

"I-I dunno," he shrugged. "A lot of people worked hard to get into this school," he said, scuffing his feet against the ground.

"Yeah? And so did you?"

"But we also have... our names behind us. I mean our dads are in the top 3 all the time, and our moms easily make the top 10... Won't people think we got in because of them?"

Shouhei frowned, leaning towards Yuuta. "To hell with 'em!" he said, waving his hand back and forth. "Who the hell cares what they think? The second we start training they're going to realize how serious we are and it has nothing to do with our names! Just because you're Todoroki Yuuta... that means nothing. You're you and you're strong."

Blushing, Yuuta took Shouhei's hand. "Thanks Shou. I wish I was a confident as you."

"Growing up around stubborn parents, you kinda just become confident," he chuckled, squeezing his hand.

"Fair," Yuuta said. He could imagine being around Katsuki all the time wasn't easy. The man was very intense, and apparently he'd mellowed out with his older age? Yuuta found it a little hard to believe.

"You good?" Shouhei asked.

"Yeah," Yuuta nodded, letting his fingers slip away from Shouhei's. If he could've walked into school clinging to him, he probably would have. Not the most adult thing to say, but Yuuta was nervous. He would be fine after a day or two, he was sure.

He walked into the classroom, taking his seat near the back, Shouhei was more near the middle, closer to the window. Yuuta glanced in front of him, forgetting he and Arata were in different classes this time. Normally his twin brother would be seated right in front of him but... not this time.

"Good morning, class!" A familiar cheery voice called out as Kirishima Mina stepped into the room.

Yuuta's eyes widened. The last thing he expected was Mina to be his teacher! No wonder Katsuki had been grumbling about it, Eijirou had probably been talking about it to him non-stop.

"I'm so excited to be here!" Mina said, smiling at the students. "My first class ever! I decided to take a small break from hero work," she began, "to work with all of you! I'm excited to see some familiar faces, and lots of new ones." She erupted into giggles, but then quickly placed her hands down on the table.

"I had the best time here at U.A, and I want to make it the best for you too!" she said. "That being said, I won't hesitate to kick your asses into shape!"

Honestly, knowing Mina, Yuuta believed that.

"There are lots of fun things on the horizon, the training camp, the sports fest!" she said, listing off a few. "But, don't think it'll all be fun and games! " she giggled.

Shouhei glanced behind himself, looking at Yuuta with a smirk. It was shocking, but Yuuta actually felt relieved, knowing Mina was his teacher, it made him look forward to school just a little more..

~~

"So, is it nice being alone in the house?" Kazu asked, pulling out his lunch, the two of them sitting on the roof.

Sayuri puffed out her lips. "I dunno if I would call it 'alone'." She let out a long huff, unfolding the small pouch she put her lunch in. "My parents are still there."

"I meant the only kid," Kazu muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. I just was giving you shit," she teased, reaching forward to poke Kazu's cheek with her chopstick.

"Ugh," he grunted and shook his head. "You know, you can really be the worst sometimes."

"I know," she giggled, shoving some rice into her mouth. "And... I dunno. I mean it's weird not having Shou around, but it's kinda nice, but still weird."

"So you really you have no idea how you feel." Wasn't that the truth? Kazu was so good at seeing right through her confusion and lack of understanding of her own damn emotions.

Truthfully she was jealous Shouhei was away. She did miss him, but mostly she was jealous he was actually getting to train to be a hero. If she had a quirk, she knew she would be the best fucking hero there was. Just like her parents and-

"Sayuri?"

"Huh?" she said, blinking when Kazu called out her name.

"You were spacing out pretty hard," Kazu chuckled.

"Ugh..." She snorted and ran her hand through her blonde hair. "I dunno, Kazu. It's just... it's weird. Like... I miss him, but also I'm just kinda... whatever about the whole thing."

Or at least she was trying to be. She was so tired of constantly going back and forth on her thoughts regarding her quirklessness. Some days she would wake up and feel like she could conquer the world, regardless of her status, and other days it was harder, like she didn't know who she could be.

Useless, and worthless to everyone, even her parents.

It was on those days she seemed to notice the way her father occasionally looked at her.

"Whatever?" Kazu asked, tilting his head. "That sounds like you're deflecting."

Sayuri groaned. "Kazu... can you act like a teenager for like, one second?" she said. "Why are you suddenly my goddamn therapist!?"

"S-Sorry!" he stammered, waving his hand quickly. "I-I just wanted to... make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "I'm fine. It's gonna be another fun school year or whatever. At least at home I can actually focus, instead of listening to Shouhei and my Dad freaking out while they train in the backyard."

"Right-"

The door slammed, and three girls stormed out onto the roof. One of them was a tall blonde with cat-like eyes. The other two were shorter, one with a large nose, the other with long straw-like hair. Sayuri was horrible with names but she knew they were all bitches. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the loser squad. The nerd and the quirkless wonder! Get off of our roof." Sayuri was almost certain her name was Hayami, but she didn't care to try and remember.

"Your roof? Oh boy, mean girls, like I've never experienced this before," Sayuri said, rolling her eyes. She pushed herself up, her skirt flapping around her legs in the breeze.

Kazu blushed, "S-Sayu..."

"It's fine, Kazu," she muttered.

"You don't have your brother or the Todoroki twins to hide behind anymore," Hayami snapped. "You two know this our spot, if you think a new year at school would change anything... I'm so sick of your shitty attitude."

"Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?" Sayuri scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Like what you're doing right now isn't shitty..."

"Sayuri we should just go-"

"Kazu!" she hissed.

"Maybe you should consider listening to your friend," Hayami giggled. "I would hate for you to get in trouble."

"You know if you do this shit," Sayuri began, "you're going to get in trouble too."

"Everyone knows whose daughter you are, Bakugou," she snapped. "Everyone knows what your father is like. If I tell them you hurt me because you were jealous of my quirk, who do you think they're going to believe-"

Clenching her fist, Sayuri pulled her hand back and connected with the catgirl's face. Hayami fell backwards into the girl with a large nose, whimpers slipping from her lip, blood trickling down her jaw. "You stupid bitch!" she screamed. "You actually punched me."

"Yeah well, you were being a fuckin' bitch first so... don't dish it out if you can't take it."

Her nails elongated into claws, and she growled, lunging forward. Sayuri leaned back, attempting to dodge the swipe but the girl nicked her chin, a long scratch bleeding down her jawline.

"Sayuri!" Kazu yelled. "Let's just leave... I don't want you to get in trouble-"

"Shut up!" she said. "I'm not going to let these bitches push us around this year!" Yelling, she dashed towards the girl, dodging another swipe of her long claws. "You know," she panted, stumbling back. "You're not supposed to use your quirk at school."

"That must be so difficult for you," the girl purred. "Having to hold yours back... Oh wait!"

"Fuckin' shut your damn mouth!" she said. She tried to punch her again, but completely missed. "Don't you get tired of this shit? NGH!" She gasped when the girl kicked her to the ground, her nails digging into her back. Blood began to seep into her uniform, and she groaned, knowing this wasn't going to go over well with her parents.

Kazu gasped, standing up to run to her. "S-Sayuri!" he said. "Why can't you just leave us alone? We're just trying to enjoy lunch-"

"Because you two nerds need to learn your place. Just because your parents are amazing, doesn't mean you are!"

Helping Sayuri stand, she saw Kazu frown, though she winced at the pain on her back, glancing away from him.

"We have never treated anyone differently because of who our parents are," he snapped. "You're the only one treating people horribly!"

"Well someone has to put you in your place," she said, gently touching over her nails as she retracted them.

Sayuri glared at the group of girls, walking with Kazu back towards the building.

It sure was going to be one hell of a year.

~~

Arata stared out the window as he took the train to his grandfather's house. He glanced at his watch, knowing he wouldn't have as much time as he wanted. Stupid curfew. He wished he could just stay at his grandfather's house and keep training.

Already school was frustrating. He didn't care for the way his teacher spoke, as if things were going to be fun. He wanted to work hard and actually train to be better. If things were so 'fun', he would never get to better himself.

He brushed his fingers over the screen.

[Text from: Mom]: Good luck on your first day, Arata!

[Text from: Dad]: We're so proud of you. We love you.

[Text Mom & Dad]: Thanks.

It was such a short concise answer; he could practically see the disappointment on his mother's face.

He stepped off the train and made his way to Enji's house, stopping outside. After coming here for almost a week, he did feel like he was getting better. Contrary to everything his father had told him, his grandfather wasn't horrible. Admittedly, he didn't know why his father hated Enji so much. He'd never gone into much detail, it wasn't something they liked to talk about.

"Come in, Arata," Enji said, leading him inside to the training room. "You had your first day of school today?" he asked.

"Yeah..." he muttered, looking down at the ground. He gripped his bag in determination. "I want to be ready for the sports festival!" he said.

"Ah... yes... of course," Enji said. "Then you'll have to push yourself even harder. We'll need to train you to be better with colder temperatures. Your quirk sucks away your body heat; you need to be more prepared for that. You always stop when it gets too low. You also need to learn to create your crystals faster. It's too bad you inherited the creation style quirk like your mother."

The way Enji spoke of his mother made him wince. Momo was incredibly strong; for as long as Arata had watched her, she had incredible control over her quirk and utilized it quite well. He wasn't about to argue with the man.

"R-Right," he nodded, his heart thumping in his chest. He knew Yuuta was stronger, even if his brother didn't care to admit it. Despite his natural strength, Yuuta did have poor control over his flames.

"Good," he said. "Warm-up."

Enji was always quite blunt when it came to training, something Arata wasn't used to. When he worked on his quirk with his parents, they were always gentle, never pushing him. But he wanted to be better and this... this was the only way.

He began his warm-up stretches and created a few smaller crystals. They weren't very heated, only slightly warmed in order to save the heat he needed for later.

"We also need to work on you making larger crystals," he said.

Arata bit his lip. He knew he was terrible at that. He could sometimes make them all in a row but they were always small. It would've been easier if he could make them in a row, or flow more like lava... but he had no idea if that was even possible.

Enji's flamed burned so bright, just like his father's. Arata wished he had something like that... or that his quirk was easier to figure out, like Yuuta's. The idea of controlling his body temperature through flames seemed far easier.

"Try and make a larger crystal this first time, now that you've warmed yourself up," Enji stated, folding his arms over his chest.

"Okay," Arata nodded.

Generally he made them from his palm. Anytime he tried elsewhere they looked odd, and occasionally hurt. He held his palm out, allowing for a larger crystal to pop out, though it wasn't much bigger.

"Mmmm. You always use your palm. Use your chest," Enji said.

Arata swallowed. "I-I don't know if I can," he said. "It usually hurts when I try and do it from there."

"Try."

"Okay..." Arata said, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath of air as he allowed the heat to pool forward in his chest, sweat slowly rolling down his brow. His lungs felt tight, pain shooting through his spine as he pushed a large crystal out, panting as he did it. It fell to the floor, steaming and larger than most of the things he'd made before.

Almost immediately, he fell to his knees. "Dammit..." he grunted.

"Good. Better," Enji said. "If you're in pain, push through it. This is how you get stronger."

Shivering, cold began to settle into his body. Arata pursed his lips, panting as he tried to keep his temperature stable. He pulled a lot of heat for the crystal in front of him, hadn't Enji noticed that? "Could you use your flame to warm the room?" Arata asked.

"No," Enji said flatly. "I won't be around to assist you at school or in the field. Plus, you should be able to make things like this with ease," he continued. "This is what you are training for. If you could create these faster, you could trap villains in your crystalized structure. You need to get better at creating various shapes as well."

Swallowing, Arata knew Enji was right. He just wish he had a better idea as to how to do that.

Why was it such a struggle to get his body to listen to him? There was so much to do, and the more he trained the farther away it all felt. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

~~

"Oh, sweetheart. The first day?" Ochako said, standing in the hallway of the school. Sayuri had her gym t-shirt on, after the nurse had wrapped practically her entire body in bandages from the scratch on her back.

"Whatever, Mom, can we please just leave?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest. "I need to get out of here."

"It-It wasn't Sayuri's fault, Auntie!" Kazu stammered, looking between the two girls.

"I'm sure," Ochako sighed. "Are you going to be okay, Kazu? I'm going to take Sayuri home. If you would be so kind as to get all her assignments..."

"Mhm... Yeah..." he nodded, glancing down. "See you tomorrow, Sayu..."

"Yeah, bye," she said, trying her best not to completely snap at the other boy.

Holding her ripped uniform in her hand, Sayuri followed her mother out of the school in silence. She really had nothing to say to her, and quite frankly she knew her parents weren't going to be happy. Knowing them, they'd suggest switching schools again.

She climbed into the car, shutting the door and staring out the window, too embarrassed to look at her mother.

"Sayu... you know you can talk to me about these things."

"Yup," she said.

"Is this about your brother leaving-"

"No, Mom. Not everything has to do with Shouhei," she snapped.

"I wasn't implying that it did," Ochako said softly.

Sayuri almost wished it was her father, cause at least he wouldn't speak to her like she was some pathetic kicked puppy. "I'm fine, Mom."

"You were scratched by a girl at school because you punched her for a reason still unclear to me. You're not fine," Ochako said, far more stern.

"What's there to say!" Sayuri shrugged. "She was trying to kick me and Kazu off the roof. She said we needed to be put in our places because of who our parents are. So... I put her in hers."

"Well she obviously got a good hit on you too. For your own safety... you can't be doing things like this-"

"What, because I'm quirkless?!" she yelled. "Because I'm not... as strong as you and Dad and Shouhei. I tried to punch her and I missed. It was just fuckin' sloppy!"

"Sayuri, you know this has nothing to do with you being quirkless."

"Doesn't it always kinda have to do with that, Mom?" she snapped. "If I wasn't quirkless, those girls would leave me alone. If I wasn't quirkless, I could actually do something about it!"

"It's not all about that and you know it!" Ochako sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't... want you getting into fights at school, but if it's a matter of protecting yourself then we can spar together more. How about that?"

"Gee thanks," Sayuri said, folding her arms over her chest. "I'd love a pity spar."

Ochako put the car in park, pulling into their driveway. "You're just like your father, so damn stubborn! I think it would be good for you to learn better techniques anyway," Ochako said. "It is not a 'pity spar'. I'm your mother, and I want to teach my daughter to protect herself."

"Whatever, Mom," Sayuri said, getting out of the car. She yanked her key out of her backpack, shoving it inside the door to their house as she stormed towards her room.

She was probably being irrational. Wasn't she always? It was embarrassing to talk about this kind of stuff with her mother. Her parents were both strong beyond measure, and while learning from her mother would be amazing... it made her feel even more pathetic.

She slammed her door shut and screamed, tossing her bag against her bed. She thought about her break, and how productive she felt working with Melissa and Kazu. Why couldn't school be like that too? Why couldn’t these fucking extra bitches just leave her alone?!

Crawling into bed, she tried to forget the whole day. She shut her eyes, hoping to doze off, but instead she stared at the wall, wondering how different life would be if she went to a different school. People were assholes everywhere. She couldn't imagine it would make much of a difference. There'd be another bitchy cat girl at a new school too.

It didn't take long for there to be a knock at the door, someone interrupting her peace and quiet. "Go away!"

"Not gonna happen, baby girl."

She froze. Her father.

She certainly hadn't been expecting to hear him. When had he even come home?

He turned the knob, opening the door as he slammed it shut behind him. "What the hell is going on?"

She yanked her blanket over her head, hiding even more. "Nothing," she snapped.

"Then why the hell were you bleeding at school? Your mother called me practically sobbing into the goddamn phone," Bakugou hissed. She felt his weight on her bed, sinking down.

"I don't wanna talk about it!" she yelled. "I think you of all people should understand that! You suck at talking, Dad!"

She heard him sigh. "Look baby girl, you can't be fucking fighting at school-"

"Says you!" she snapped, finally sitting up to glare at him.

"Oi!" he yelled. "I got into shitty fights at school and it sucked. I'm not telling you to let this girl stomp all over you. But your mother wants to help you and I want you to fucking be grateful!"

"Wow!" she yelled back. "Well, I'm sorry for not wanting your pity party!" she yelled. "I get that me being quirkless is pathetic and all to you-"

"Stop," he said flatly, looking down. "Enough of that bullshit."

"See!" she yelled. "You can't even look at me! And when you do I-I know that's what you're thinking!"

"That's never what I'm thinking, Sayuri!" he yelled back. He turned his head towards her, his red eyes glaring.

"Oh yeah? Then what are you thinking, enlighten me, Dad!"

She saw the way his fingers curled around the edge of the bed and his shoulders trembled slightly. Was he really so bothered by this?

He let out a frustrated breath. "I keep fuckin' thinking that I hate this! I hate it so fucking much. I hate seeing you come home with a fucking injury because some bitch at school felt like they had to make fun of you to feel better about themselves. It takes all of my fucking being to not storm over to that girl's house and blow it up! I'm the number one fucking hero and I can't even protect my own damn daughter!"

Sayuri blinked, unsure if she should breathe... unsure if he was actually done speaking. It was rare he spoke so candidly. "Dad..." she said.

"And... I..." he stopped himself. Instead of saying anything else, he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I just want to fuckin' keep you safe, baby girl and the older you get... the more I can't."

She wasn't expecting such an outburst, though she supposed it was her father. She swallowed and stared at him. "Dad... I... I'm sorry-"

"Those girls," he continued, cutting her off. "They should say sorry. For the things they do, and the things they say. Fuckin' shits!" he growled. "You don't ever have to apologize. You're strong and perfect just the way you are!"

"I-I know I just..." she bit her lip, trying not to cry. All of this would've been so much easier if she just had a stupid quirk. Even if it was a small one... then maybe she wouldn't cause her family so much pain.

She reached forward and gently wrapped her hand around Bakugou's, clinging to his fingers. "I'll train with Mom. I'll... talk to her at dinner."

"Good," he muttered. "Your mother is kick ass, she'll teach you how to throw a real good punch."

"Yeah... yeah... I know," she said. She leaned forward to rest her forehead against his shoulder, letting a few tears roll down from her eyes. Why couldn’t she be normal so they could all stop worrying about her?

[isthemedia]

Ao3 Link

Chapter 1 NSFW

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 NSFW

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7 NSFW

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 NSFW

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

~~~~~~

                                                Chapter 12

He hated this. Hated it! He didn’t care what those reports said. Ain’t no way this villain was some type of saint in disguise!

Snipe scowled behind his mask. He KNEW what the blonde was capable of. He remembered helping Shouta try and trace the blonde after a heist. Managed to funnel the whole lump sum of donations from a function right under their noses--

Alright, sure Snipe know the guy who was putting on the function would weasel out of making sure every cent went to charity he claimed he was supporting...but since HE managed to drain it all, that meant that it weren’t going anywhere but the blonde’s own pocket!

He was a crook. A thief. A villain. And there was no way he’d keep playing this game with him.

“YAMA-SAN!” He tried to ignore, just how happy those kids sounded when they arrived at Wings of Refuge.  

How could everyone be so blind? Oh yeah sure he didn’t notice him at first either, but...come on. He stuck out like a sore thumb! The guy was WAY too noticeable.

He watch as Mic picked up one of the kids and carried them inside. Snipe was just counting the seconds. This was a waste of time.

HE was making THEM waste their time.

Mic greeted and gave a soft kiss to the top of one of the caretakers head. An older man with prominent wrinkles around his eyes, who just seem just too goddamn happy to see the blonde.

Villains were villains. And heroes were heroes. No acceptions. It was a clear black and white matter. There were no grey areas in this.

--

Mic sat with the boy on the bench seat at the piano. Ahhh, he remembered how hard it was to get them one. Took a hell of a lot of work. But so worth it...and it wasn’t all that bad if he was being completely honest. Had to be the most time he spent with HIS hero before all this. He held back the laugh as he remembered.

Ahhh...good times.

Even though with all that’s happened, and he’s now under this...protection program, he had to admit that he did miss those times. He felt like he was getting lazy a bit. He needed to get back out and just do something!

Maybe he could convince the kids to help him sneak out?

No...no he couldn’t do that. They’d be in more trouble than they already are.

He felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see the boy grinning, waiting patiently. He gave a soft chuckle. “Alright, what do you want me to play kiddo?”  

--

As the kids were getting ushered into the to mess hall, Snipe roughly grabbed the back of Mic’s shirt. The blonde could hear seams pop some as he was roughly hauled up against a wall.

“Listen here,” Snipe drawled. “I don’t know what ya did to get Thirteen and Cementoss ta trust ya, but it won’t work on me.”

“Tch, they’re adults they can make their own decisions,” Mic huffed. What was this hero’s deal with him. Alright he didn’t like him. Did he have to be such an ass about it?

“You’re making us waste our time with all this,” the homing hero hissed. “We could be doing something more important, but instead we’re babysittin’ your ass!”

“If it bothers you so much than why not leave?” Mic sneered. “If it’s OBVIOUSLY that annoying to you.”

Snipe scoffed as he shoved the blonde aside. “I don’t have time for this. I don’t know what your game is, but I sure as hell ain’t playing it.” He turned away and headed out. If he left, and then there was a distress call, then that would just prove this guy was jerking their chains. It would PROVE that he was just playing them.

Give them the chance to just haul his ass to jail where he could just sit and rot! He grumbled and kicked the door open...flinching as he remembered that probably wasn't the best thing a hero should do to an orphanage.

Fucking Voice villain.  

Mic huffed as he watch the hero leave. Jeeze, what had him so uptight? Not like he MADE the hero come with him. It was Princi-pet’s idea. And nobody else seemed to have a problem with it. So what the actual fuck?

“Yamada?” the elderly man asked as he stepped out. “Is everything, alright out here?”

“Ah yeah Atakita-san,” Mic jumped a bit, shit did he hear? How much?!

“Hmm? Where did that hero fella go off too?”

“He, ah, g-got a call! Ya know, hero work and all,” the blonde explained. “No worries...come on, bet the kids are starvin’!” He continued as he ushered the elderly man back into the mess hall.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a set of eyes were watching the orphanage from afar.

--

“There’s a distress call coming in,” Thirteen stated.

“Ah from where?” Ishiyama asked.

“...Wings of Refuge,” the space hero said.

“Ah, M-Mic-kun was suppose to be there,” Toshinori said as he stood up and went over to the other two.

“Wasn’t Snipe suppose to be with him?” Thirteen asked.

“What’s going on?” a voice asked as the door slid open. Shouta stepping in, sleeping bag tucked under his arm.

“And incoming distress call from...ah, Wings of Refuge,” Ishiyama summarized.

Shouta’s eyes widened some...Mic was there. Did he do something?

Or...did something...happen?

‘He’s in trouble,’ the voice urged. ‘Save him.’

“Ah Eraser-san,” Thirteen called after. Shouta faltered some, realizing he was already rushing out of the faculty room and down the halls.

It was, almost like instinct. He...needed to go find the Voice villain.

--

Oh...oooooh! This was going to be fun. Mic covered his mouth trying his best to hide his grin, to muffle his laugh.

Ah fuck! It has been too long since he’s had any action like this! Even if they weren’t heroes--he just HAD to do it! It was an itch he just couldn’t scratch himself. Couldn’t get the same relief.

He just...couldn’t help himself.

--

Snipe’s phone went off. When the homing hero answer he was greeted by a curt tone.

“Where are you?” Nedzu asked sharply.

“Patrolling the center of the City sir. Wasn’t needed to just keep babysittin’ our guest,” he stated.

“That’s NOT what you were assigned to do,” the principal stated.

“We’re just wasting our time! Sir, you should know that there’s something he’s hiding! I know he’s up to somethin’. Eraser and I had to deal with his crimes before. Just ‘cause he can act like he plays nice doesn’t me he actually does.”

There wasn’t an immediate response from the high spec user. In fact the silence stretched for about a minute. “Is that why you left your post?”

“It is.”

There was a heavy sigh. “We’ve gotten a distress call.”

“I can take it sir!”

“...at Wings of Refuge.”

He fucking knew it! He called it! That blonde bastard WAS just using them! When he’d get there he was going to make sure the Voice villain was locked up for good! Snipe hung up without any further explanation and ran off.

--

Seems that the villains didn’t expect somebody to fight back. Let alone ACTUALLY be able to fight back. They were all so slow. They were sloppy with their moves too.

Ahhh, so boring. Nothing like when he fought Eraser.

God he wanted to fight his hero again. Fuuuuck to just feel that weapon around him...tightening. Maybe he’d gag him again? Just glare at him with the eyes. Look at him with disgust.

Dammit he missed that. And this poor fight wasn’t helping him in the sligh--

“You fucker!”

Mic laughed as he sidestepped. Too predictable. Just too, too predictable. He grabbed the wrist of his attacker, about to toss him when...he suddenly couldn’t move his hands. “What?”

Green eyes took a quick look and saw where his hands were on the other’s wrist, were now hidden under what looked like a metal coating. Shit! A Quirk user!?

The other laughed. “Metal Coat. Sure can’t cover my full body...but I can cover any area and anything that fucking touches it.”

Fuck! He fucked up. Mic was too busy reeling that he didn’t see the coating retract, and reform about the user’s other fist…

Until the blonde was met with a hard and near devastating uppercut.

He royally fucked up.

--

“I tolja the guy couldn’t be trusted!” Snipe yelled.

“We don’t know if he’s the one behin--”

“Are you hearing yourself Cementoss!? Do you really think a villain would do this stuff in his off time!?” The homing hero argued.

“H-he just doesn’t seem to be the type…” Thirteen stated. “He seems to be very much against hurting kids.”

“Villains are villains! It’s as plain as that!”

Shouta couldn’t take it. The arguing between the three, he rushed to the door and kicked it in. ‘Your villain is in trouble. He’s YOURS.’

--

Mic gagged as he threw up from to a strong kick to his abdomen. Shit, that metal coating quirk.

His vision blurring slight...shiiit he saw blood in it. Another swift kick had him rolling across the floor.

Kids were screaming...crying...the caretakers were pleading and trying to calm them down.

Fuuuuck he couldn’t use his Quirk. Too many risks. Everyone would be affected. He could end up bringing down the roof. HE’D be found out, and this place would just forever be a target. Purrs and Paws….Open Doors Open Hearts...his old apartment--

U.A would be in another fucking scandal--

He struggled as he tried to push himself up...a laugh bubbling out of him. Dammit...where was that fucking hero? Did he REALLY up and leave? What a judgemental ass.

“You just don’t know when to quit do ya!?” A villain sneered as they knocked Mic down again. A sick grin split the metal coat user’s face as he kicked him in the side.

The Mic gasped as he clutched his side.

Shit shit shit! Fuck shit!

The villain stomped on his left hand, it wasn’t enough to break anything, but mother fucker it still hurt! Mic bit his lip. It was getting harder and harder to hold back his Quirk.

But he had to.

He HAD to!

The sound of the door being kicked in stuttered the blonde’s thoughts as sunlight poured in. He had to squint his eyes--

And felt his right arm suddenly getting grabbed and pulled up. Eyes widened as he felt a foot placing itself along the outside of his elbow.

--

The sound of bones cracking was the first thing Shouta heard. It was deafening. It had him freeze in place...in fact, everything just, slowed down for him. Eyes widening as he saw Mic bite his lip to prevent himself from screaming as his right arm, now bent at an angle that was unnatural, as it flopped useless to the blonde’s chest.

‘Help him. Help him...he’s yours. Don’t let anyone touch him!’

The blond curling in on himself. The villain that stood over the blonde laughed as that metallic coating shifted and covered the base of his foot as stepped down on side of Mic’s face.

“Just gotta play hero doncha!? Well look at where it ge--” He was nearly thrown off the blonde when Shouta’s capture weapon wrapped around him.

The Eraser hero only saw red. All he could hear were the pained muffled whimpers of the Voice villain.

He yanked the villain to him, and delivered a punch to their gut as he came down.

--

Thirteen rushed to the kids and caretakers trying to calm them down and direct them out of harm's way.

Snipe stood in shock inside the doorway. What-what was this? W-wasn’t the blonde suppose to be the one causing the trouble? Why was he lying out all battered and broken?

Just what the hell--

A pained howl left the metal coat user as Shouta elbowed him hard in the face. Breaking his nose. The villain was already pleading. Surrendering.

Stop stop stop! I give up! I give up!

He had no problems dishing this out to Mic. He thought, he ACTUALLY thought that if he begged that would make him stop!? Shouta scowled as pulled the cowering villain up and gave another punch to their already brushing face.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

And--

Cementoss had to forcefully pull Shouta away from the villain, as he snapped out of his blind fury. The villain’s face was battered, bruised, and bloodied.

“SONNUVA!” Snipe swore. “He tried to bite me!”

Shouta looked over and saw the homing hero kneeling besides Mic. He felt his blood boil again as he shrugged off the other’s hold on his shoulder. He marched over. “Maybe it’s because YOU left him here.”

The underground hero glared at the other before he knelt down. His heart was racing. H-he didn’t know what was going on. B-but seeing Mic...seeing him in such pain.

Usually the blonde would laugh when he was in pain. But...he wasn’t. He wasn’t laughing now. He wasn’t grinning.

Carefully he rolled the other onto their back. He could see small trails of blood down the blonde’s chin from biting his lip to keep him from screaming and activating his Quirk.

“Mic,” he called softly.

Slowly, glassy green eyes opened and looked over. “Era...ser.” His voice was choked and cracking some.

Finally the extent as to the blonde’s injured started to crash down on him. The reason why who didn’t use his Quirk. The fact he put the lives of the kids and the caretakers ahead of himself, That fact that he--

“H-hey,” Mic began with a choked laugh as he reached out with his left hand and touched Shouta’s cheek, causing the man to jump. “Breathe, Eraser.”

Shouta didn’t realize he already reached up to cover Mic’s hand with his own. The blonde hissed at the contact and he pulled back. His eyes studying the hand. It was...black and blue, possibly fractured.  He opened his mouth to say something. He wanted to ask how he was. But all that came out...

“I...thought you...liked pain.”

Mic gave a wet laugh. “Oh...baby,” Shouta watched as the blonde’s body hitched as he tried to take a deep breath. “I-it onlys feels good…” he hissed and bit his lip again. “W-when you do it.”

‘Only you...only from you.’  Shouta felt his heart race a bit. J-just what was this villain...doing to him?

--

“--so you’ll just need to rest up until you’re fully healed,” Recovery Girl instructed.

“...do you wanna see a man with a broken arm climb the walls? Cause that’s what gonna happen,” Mic huffed. He couldn't believe this…He was going to lose it. He knows he would!

He could barely stand staying at his apartment for more than a few hours before he started to go stir crazy. How the fuck could he handle bed rest for...however the long this whole fucking thing would take?!

He had a lot to do still! Who was going to pick up his slack if his couldn’t get to his volunteer shifts?

Who was gonna make sure Girly didn’t over do it when she practiced her Quirk and got sick again?

And Shining Girl! He was gonna show them simple things they could do with their hair since they didn’t feel comfortable growing it out yet.

Not to mention there was--

FUCK! He was not going to be able to just lay here!

Recovery Girl just laughed. “I could bring in Eraser Head to tie you down.”

The blonde perked. “You promise?”

The healer only giggled slightly. “He was insistent that you rest up, and to call him as a last resort. His direct orders, according to him.”

Mic felt himself grinning as he laid back again. Eraser...Aizawa...his hero’s orders. Goddamn, he just knew how to get him to do anything. Though part of him wanted to disobey. His hero tying him up? Oooh, he was sure that would make him feel so much better than he did now.

The sound of the door sliding open drew the blonde from his thoughts.

“I-is, he awake?”

Recovery Girl nodded. “But please try to keep it down.”

Kirishima grinned as he stepped in followed by several other students. “Yama-san!”

“Oh fuck, ah RockBoy? What are you…” he trailed off when he saw all the kids. “The hell?”

“Well, um,” Kirishima began. “W-we heard that you got pretty hurt...and so ah--”

“Well we know you don't like getting bored so we-we came up with something!” Uraraka finished. “I-I mean it-it’s not like your volunteer work...but we hope it’s something!”

“Lay it on me, ya got me curious,” Mic said as he gave a small grin.

“Well, ah,” Ashido held up a notebook. “Um...I...I kinda suck at English. And I...well since I feel bad asking A-All Might for help…”

The blonde stared at the kids. Homework? Th-they wanted him to help them with their homework? He...he couldn’t help as he chuckled a bit. He saw the looks on all their faces fall--fuck! “No no, don’t take it like that,” He assured as he tried to get himself to stop laughing. “I-it’s a fucking great idea!”

“R-really!?” Uraraka asked as her eye sparkled slightly.

“Yeah,” he nodded and grinned.

Shit these kids...he fucking loved them.

He...almost forgot that...when he was younger how much he wanted to be a teacher. This wasn’t quite the same but, fuck it. It was close enough.

-------

A/N: No I'm not trying to vilify Snipe. Snipe's personality and just how he carries himself has this notion that there is no grey area. To him there is no in-between. Yes he's stubborn for thinking this, however in the series in general we really haven't seen a character that is completely morally ambiguous (haven't had a chance to read Vigilantes so I don't know how they handle moral ambiguity there); so the idea of Mic being just that is something that's a new concept to him and a lot of other people.

The kids are more accepting because they're young enough to see and learn that sometimes life just puts people into these boxes because it's just easier to keep them separated that way then.

(Also we're getting more looks into Mic's more illegal acts)

[oni-kiri]

U.A. (Unexpected Annoyances)

Uh...I didn’t sign up for this...but it happened...So I guess I’ll throw this up here.  Have some Bakushima as my first fic contribution to this fandom. 

Ao3:  Here

*************************

Katsuki Bakugou expected a lot of things when he entered UA.  Difficult classes.  Brutal training regimes.  Long study hours.  Hell, there was even a part of him that secretly knew that one way or another Deku-Midoriya- would be there.  It didn't matter where Katsuki went. Deku was always there, ever since they were kids.  Just one more thorn in his side.  Still, he'd expected thorns.  The road to becoming a hero would be strewn with them.  The one thing he hadn't planned on, however, was Eijirou Kirishima.

How the hell had he ended up here?  Looking back...

He was used to people being afraid of him, of his explosive power.  Sure, he had always been able to pick up a few “followers”, kids who liked to act tough and show off.  But they were hardly what you could call friends, and sure as hell not what you could call equals.  What those guys had been looking for was someone to hide behind.  The second things went wrong, they'd vanish like smoke in the wind.  Who needed friends, anyway?  Most people were like Deku, staring at him with wide eyes and fragile bravado.  Below him.  It hadn't bothered Katsuki one bit.  Why should it?  He was strong, and the world would know it one day.  He didn't have an equal now, and if he had any say in it, he wouldn't ever.

The first day of school?  No.  He'd been too arrogant, too caught up in his own rage.  He'd only barely taken notice.

Stepping through the gates of U.A. had forced him to change the lens that he'd been looking through his entire life.  Katsuki suddenly found himself surrounded by people much stronger than he'd ever encountered in his little hometown.  Yeah, he could still freeze Deku with a glare, but the others... That lighting brat got on his nerves, so did the half-and-half bastard, and that guy with the glasses.  Out of all his new classmates, though...one had stood out in his mind that day, just a little.  Red hair, red eyes, and a sharktooth grin.  That guy.

It was probably the dumbass hairstyle that caught his eye.  Trying to be flashy?  Still, Katsuki had filed him away mentally under “Possibly not a Complete Wuss.”  It was the shortest of his lists, unlike “Probably Even More Lame than Deku.”  The rating was confirmed the first time he'd  seen Kirishima in action, though the whole Battle Trial had been something of a blur thanks to his own humiliating (and admittedly self-inflicted) defeat.  That day, the redhead was just another thorn, mocking him along with the others in front of the one damn guy that he looked up to.  A thorn, but someone to keep an eye on.

Was it the day of the rescue training?  Maybe.  It had certainly forced Katsuki to take notice.

There was that time on the bus.  Kirishima didn't think his own ability was flashy enough.  Katsuki remembered overhearing him on the bus ride to their second trial.  What the hell did it matter if your power was flashy or not?  Someone who knew how to use a boring quirk to the best of their ability was way better than some moron with a flashy quirk who didn't know what to do with it.  Not that Katsuki cared enough to voice his thoughts.  Who would listen anyway?  They were all too busy driving him up the damn wall.  They didn't know a fucking thing about him, or his goals.  Whatever.  Busload of assholes.

He didn't need anyone to care, or to stand beside him.  His own fists were strong enough.

Or so he'd always believed. That day, when the villains launched their sneak attack, he found himself side by side with Kirishima.  That was the day he discovered there was at least one guy that could keep up with him.  Time after time, enemy after enemy.  With a Quirk that let him withstand Katsuki's blasts, the two of them had really cleaned up.

“I'm with you now!”

The words echoed in Katsuki's mind, delivered with that damned confident grin.  When the hell had he asked for that?  He didn't need Hair for Brains, or anyone else, to be with him, but no matter what he just couldn't shake the redhead.  Insults and threats alike rolled off Kirishima's armored skin like water droplets.  In this way, they continued to fight, watching each other's backs.  He could trust Kirishima to pull his own weight.  After a time it had almost...almost... been fun.  At least until Hair-for-Brains opened his dumbass mouth.

In the end, if they hadn't worked together, then he might not have made it in time... to that battle, to All Might...

Yeah, that was the day he first truly took notice.  Kirishima went from a thorn to...an equal?  Yeah.  They even trained together sometimes in the following days.  Damn.  And after that...

The Sports Festival.  The day he'd got to face down that guy one on one.

He'd made a fucking fool of himself in the first round, again.  Somehow, that didn't stop Kirishima from approaching him for the Calvary Battle (after trying to get on fucking Half-and-Half's team. What the hell?)  The difference between Kirishima and the others that day...He hadn't begged.  No, the bastard had an actual strategy that played to their individual Quirks.  Once again, Katsuki found himself working in sync (mostly) with the other, and he'd felt fired up to do so.

They still fucking lost...but...shit...looking back, whose fault was that?  Not Kirishima's...

Maybe if Katsuki had just listened...

He'd watched the battle between Kirishima and that...second rate copy from Class B.  A tie?  What the fuck.  He should have done better than that, Katsuki knew he was stronger.  If Hair-for-Brains didn't crush that moron in the tiebreaker, Katsuki was going to have to kick his ass.

Of course, he got to do that anyway, even though the redhead totally owned his opponent in the arm-wrestling contest.

They'd watched the next few battles together.  He didn't really mind talking to Kirishima, going over the other battlers' strengths, weaknesses, and strategies.  It was one of the few times he could remember holding a normal conversation with someone without being forced to. Weird.  But not...bad.  What the hell was this feeling?

The next battle had been between the two of them.  For the first time, Katsuki faced head-on the force he'd been fighting alongside.  There was no doubt in his mind.  Kirishima was fucking strong.  A shield and a spear.  Even going all out, that armored skin was damn hard to crack, and he had to respect that. Finally, a fucking worthy opponent.  This was fun.

He'd gone all-out that day, they both had.  But in the end, Katsuki had been the one with more stamina.  He knew Hair-for-Brains had been training that full-body armor, but it hadn't been enough.  When the moron came to, Katsuki would have to chew him out for it, he should have been better.  He was going to have to do something about that.

That bastard wasn't just an equal.  He was...a friend.  One of the only times Katsuki had ever found himself thinking that about someone.  He didn't need any friends...and yet.... Goddamn it.  He actually enjoyed having Kirishima around, even if there was something about the guy that made him feel...whatever the hell it was he was feeling.

They'd gone separate ways for a time, with the internships and training. Apparently they'd missed out on some crazy-ass villain action, and Katsuki had to suffer through the most traumatizing hair experience of his life, but soon enough they were all back in Class 1-A.

That brought him to today.  He seated himself at his desk, the same as any normal morning.

Aizawa-Sensei had announced the end-of-term test.  Two parts, written and practical.  Written assessments were boring as hell, but he'd pass them, just like any other test.  Whether a battle with fists or pens, if it was an obstacle in his path to becoming a hero, he'd overcome it.  But damn, studying sucked.  Katsuki listened to the others bitching, his face set in a scowl.  Yaoyorozu had just agreed to help a bunch of the others study.

“Talk about a gap in virtue.”  Kirishima smirked, glancing from her to Katsuki.

“I'm plenty virtuous too, fuckmunch.  Why don't I tutor you until you're a puddle of blood?”

“Ooooh, I'll take you up on that.”

Damn that guy.

Katsuki hadn't expected Kirishima to take the words seriously, but when he stormed out of class at the end of the day, the redhead was close behind.

“So hey, about tutoring me...”  He grinned sheepishly.  “I placed 15th last time.  If I don't get my act together soon it's gonna suck, and I know you're better at this stuff than you look.”

“The hell that supposed to mean?  Buzz off,”  Katsuki grumbled.

“Come on, man.  Study buddies.  We'll suffer together.  A man keeps his word.”

Damn it.  He should have kept walking.  Should have said no. Instead...

That was how the hell he'd ended up here.

“I didn't give you my-You know what, fine, dumbass.  I'll be your goddamned tutor if it means you'll stop blabbering.”  God, what was he getting into?  “The old farts'll be out tonight so I don't have to listen to their whining.  Show up on time or I'll kick your ass.”

“You got it, Blasty.”

Katsuki clenched his fists, a wordless growl escaping his lips.  Kirishima just laughed, heading off with a wave.

How did that guy manage to get under his skin this badly all of a sudden?

He spent the next few hours sulkily on his own.  Maybe Kirishima would bail. Not likely. Bakugou pulled out his textbooks, laying them out on the table.  Honestly, having someone to study with might not be so bad. He didn't hate Kirishima as much as everyone else.  No, that wasn't right...he didn't hate Kirishima at all, actually.  His fingers closed around the edge of one of the textbooks, nails digging into it.  It wasn't just that...Damn.  The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was kind of looking forward to this.  What the hell?

“I brought KFC!”  Katsuki glared as a red-and-white-striped bucket was thrust in his face.  “Brain food!”  There was that damn sharktooth grin.  What was it about this guy...

“...” Katsuki rolled his eyes, allowing the other inside.  “Just don't get grease anywhere, Hair-for-Brains.”  His stomach growled, and it occurred to him he hadn't eaten in some time.

“Sounds like I made a good choice, even the great Blasty McSplode needs food now and then.  I thought maybe you just devoured souls or something.” Kirishima plopped down next to him at the table.

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Katsuki asked himself what the hell he was doing.  Why he felt so different around Kirishima. Why he didn't shove the redhead to the other side of the table. Why..was he enjoying this?

“Alright, look.  Most of this crap isn't as tough as it seems.  You just have to focus your mind on it for a bit. Not everything is punching shit with your fists.”

“Not something I expected you to say.”

“Yeah, I'm just full of fucking surprises.  Gimme a piece of that chicken, damn it.  It smells good.”

The other boy was a surprisingly fast learner.  He had a short attention span when it came to overly wordy readings, but was able to grab the gist of most information.  If Katsuki could give him some kind of practical example of how a math or science fact could relate to battle strategy, the other's eyes would light up in understanding. Hell, this really wasn't as bad as he'd expected.  

He didn't know how much time had passed.

“Uaaaah, we've been at this forever.”  Kirishima banged his head against the table.  “I mean, I got some of this junk now but how am I gonna remember it all until the test?”  He raised his head, glancing at Katsuki.  “It just seems like so much.  I know you say I'm getting it but like, for how long?  I get one thing in my head and then I feel like if I learn something else it's just gonna replace the first thing.  Man, I suck at these kind of tests.  I always did. I don't even know how I got this far, to be honest.”  He rubbed the back of his neck.

He was rambling.  Kirishima always seemed so full of confidence and bravado, it was strange to see him falter like this.  Katsuki hadn't expected him to feel so negatively about it, especially since he'd been doing so well.  Was he really that insecure?  He was more exhausted than Katsuki had realized.

“Hair for Brains...”

“No, I mean it.  Like, you don't know.  You've always been at the top, or close to it, right? Strong and smart, damn.  And here you are trying to help out a guy like me.  I just-”

Katsuki grabbed the collar of Kirishima's tiger-print shirt, pulling him into a sudden kiss.  He didn't even think about it, he just...moved.  It was a quick thing, over almost as soon as it had begun.  Katsuki pulled back, his heart pounding.  What. The. Hell.

“...” Kirishima blinked, body rigid.  He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out as he stared at Katsuki.

“There, fuck.  I thought you'd never shut up.”  Katsuki managed to find his own voice, even if it was a bit breathless.  “Stop saying stupid shit like that.  It really pisses me off.  You're goddamned smart, so just shut your face and realize it already.”

“Bakugou...”

“I swear, Kirishima,if you ever fucking tell anyone,”  Katsuki grabbed a chicken leg from the bucket, holding it out in front of him and incinerating it with a small boom.  “I will turn you into Kentucky Fried Fucking Dumbass.  And just...call me Katsuki ok?  But only when we're like...here.  Fuck.  Damn it.”

Kirishima blinked at him again, before sighing and running a hand through his spiked red hair.  “Aww, man.  Did you have to do that to a drumstick?  I was gonna eat that.  Why not a wing?  Or that weird gristly bit that fell on the floor.  Why didn't you make an example out of the floor gristle instead?”

Katsuki's facepalmed.  How the fucking hell... He glared through his fingers, just in time to catch that damn sharktooth grin.  Was there really a point in asking how, or why, or when?  He couldn't deny it now.  He had a goddamned boyfriend.  

“Hey, Katsuki.”

“What. I swear, if you start putting yourself down again, I'm gonna murder you with that textbook.”

“Call me Eijirou.  Or just Ei.”

“That's the dumbest fucking nickname.  I'm calling you Hair-for-Brains because that's what you are, so deal with it.”

“Fine, fine.  ...Blasty McSplode.”

No, this was most certainly not what he'd signed up for when he entered U.A.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 307: The One With Shindou

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor and Hawks (and Jeanist too, although he didn’t really do anything, but BY GOD, WHAT IS UP WITH HIS NECK) held a press conference and were all, “everything you’ve heard is true, so we would just like to say, from the bottom of our hearts... our bad.” U.A. opened its doors to the public as an evacuation shelter. Deku and All Might told basically EVERYBODY about OFA, which is absolutely wild, and yet somehow we hardly paid any attention to this at all. Mostly because the chapter ended with Deku being all “I WALK A LONELY ROAD, THE ONLY ONE THAT I HAVE EVER KNOWN” and peacing out of U.A. to embark on a solo journey of angst. So this is either gonna be the best or the worst thing that ever happened to this series, so TIME TO FIND OUT WHICH IT IS.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “so who do you guys want to see next? Deku? Bakugou?? Well how about SHINDOU?” Shindou is all “hi :) I’m Shindou :) :) remember me :) :) :)?” Horikoshi is all “I’m so sorry for depriving you guys of Shindou for so fucking long, how about an ENTIRE CHAPTER ALL OF HIM” and then he REALLY FUCKING DOES IT because, I don’t know?? Did we make him mad?? Am I being punished for something I did in a past life?? It really is, honest to god, seventeen whole goddamn pages of Shindou, punctuated by a few pages of Muscular, and topped off with one (1) whole appearance by Deku at THE VERY END. And we don’t even get to see his face. I am beside myself lmao I’m sorry you guys, you can skip this recap if you want. Or just skip straight to the end, because movie 3 promo.

“long time no see” now what could this mean?? can’t think of too many characters this phrase would apply to right now. although I can think of one big one, and I know that fandom has been trying to manifest his deadbeat ass to finally show itself for years now. could it finally be that time? if Hisashi shows up and debunks DFO a big chunk of the fandom is probably going to riot lol

(ETA: why oh why did I get my hopes up like that lmao. I’m pretty sure Hisashi doesn’t actually exist and Deku was either immaculately conceived, or the stork really did bring Inko a lil green baby from the cabbage patch.)

anyway, so the chapter is opening on this random scene of CRIME and DISARRAY

was this all done by that big villain from the previous chapter? utility poles knocked down, random holes in the sides of buildings, and it looks like this one car pulled over in a hurry and the driver just hopped out and ran

who are these people talking

OH NO, OH GOD

I am immediately struck by the urge to push Shindou off of this ledge. is that mean? probably that is mean, but also fuck this guy lmao. every year you cheat someone out of their well-deserved spot in the popularity poll, and every year I want to punch you in your stupid face for it

bah. and how are you doing, Tatami. love that hero name even if you do have arguably the dumbest superpower in the entire series

listen, though. here I am shitting on these Ketsubutsu kids for no good reason, and I’m sorry about that, and truthfully it’s mostly because I just want to see Deku and/or Kacchan and so it’s hard to give a fuck about anything else right now. BUT, I will immediately cease and desist ALL of my complaining if this means we also get to see my best girl Ms. Joke, omg. Horikoshi please

sdlkfjlskalk

FUCK YOU SHINDOU OMG. I’M SORRY GUYS I CAN’T HELP IT, EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS SO EMINENTLY PUNCHABLE AND DETESTIBLE. IT’S LIKE SOMEONE COMBINED WESLEY CRUSHER WITH JEAN RALPHIO

but LSKJFLEK at this random reminder that Bakugou refused to shake his fucking hand. like, that’s his “fun fact” apparently lol. it’s what he deserves

also living for this “cringe” here, too. fuck you Shindou. I am so, so sorry to any Shindou fans out there you guys because I’m just going to be like this the entire time he’s here. the hate is flowing through me

how has it been three whole pages and I still have to look at his stupid face

anyway so it seems like the kids are having to pick up the slack for Old Man Samurai and all those other assholes who retired. I’m guessing the U.A. kids will be seeing a lot more action as well

but in the meantime let’s hope no villains attack here all of a sudden, because all Tatami can do is make herself shorter while Shindou creates an earthquake to bring the entire building down around them dflkjslk

these guys don’t particularly want to go with them and I can’t say I blame them

so now Shindou is saying that yeah, they can probably handle the looters and such by themselves, but it’s a different story when it comes to the Noumu and the escaped Tartarus prisoners. Shindou how dare you make a reasonable point that I can’t immediately argue with

he says that one of the escapees was sighted in the area, so that’s why they’re trying to evacuate everyone

and the guy disagrees and says he doesn’t trust the heroes and thinks they’re pompous

fdskljk. fucking...

ME: Horikoshi can we please stop and get Deku HORIKOSHI: we have Deku at home THE DEKU AT HOME: 

Horikoshi. please. we get it, the civilians don’t trust the heroes anymore. I UNDERSTAND. I COMPREHEND THIS. so unless there is some other point to this scene I respectfully ask that you hurry things along because omg

did Tatami always have this habit of speaking in meme language and such? I thought that was Camie’s thing but hey

listen, I’m here for anyone who’s willing to drag this man down into the depths of the earth. I would just also rather not spend the entire fucking chapter on this oh my god. Horikoshi do you have any more of those chapters where things happen in them?? those are good, I like those

YESSSSSS FINALLY

so whoever’s on the other end of the call (ETA: it’s that rock-looking guy who can harden anything that he touches. why does BnHA have so many hardening powers) is telling them to run because there’s apparently a villain heading right for them, oh my

WHO IS HE

depending on who it is I can’t promise I won’t be rooting for them over you, buddy

ohhhhhh shit

huh. well that’s... hmm... but on the other hand...

okay lol no, I know it’s bad. Muscular fucking LOVES murdering kids. not even Shindou deserves that. I’m sure he has a family that loves him and stuff. and Tatami seems like a sweet girl. they don’t deserve to be murdered

that is the question isn’t it? are we really going to spend the entire chapter with Limbs-Retracting-Girl and her boyfriend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt from (500) Days of Summer??

YES OMG

YES PLEASE CALL YOUR SENSEI. my god do you know what I would give to see Ms. Joke take down an S-class villain??

(ETA: all I’ll say is that we were robbed here, you guys.)

now Tatami is running away while Shindou stays behind omg

Horikoshi I know I said I hate the guy, and I do, but my god. seems I don’t hate him half as much as you do you. been nice knowing you Shindou my man

are you serious Tatami really ran all the way back up here to try and evacuate these guys one more time

SHE’S SUCH A GOOD PERSON omg if you assholes don’t listen to her you deserve to get murdered

BRO

HORIKOSHI DID YOU REALLY FUCKING DO IT I CAN’T BELIEVE IT

LOL OKAY NO, SO FAR HE’S ONLY MESSED UP HIS FACE

WHAT A SHAME WHAT A TRAGEDY. THE WORLD MOURNS

okay but seriously, now he has to be dead

r.i.p. Shindou. he died doing what he loved, talking a lot and being utterly useless

then again, damn Shindou are you really gonna come out here and be a badass?? gonna make me eat my words there kiddo?

I have absolutely no idea if I should expect this to work or not. all I know is that this is page 14, and so it would seem we really are going to spend the entire fucking chapter on fucking Shindou. this beautiful chapter had so much potential, Horikoshi. and now look at it. I hope you’re happy

nope it didn’t fucking work at all lmao

IT’S JUST LIKE I SAID. r.i.p. you pretentious handsome lump

OHHHHHH SNAP

DEKU YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO LOL. anyway but it’s good to see you!! it’s good to see ANYONE other than these guys sob but especially you

FINALLY SOMETHING COOL OMG

somehow Horikoshi actually made the bunny mask look badass?? I don’t think this is sustainable, but I am here for it while it lasts

Shindou should by all rights be nothing but A HANDSOME PASTE at this point lol but WHATEVER. it’s BnHA; getting smashed into walls and cliffs has more or less the same consequences as being set on fire. slap a band-aid on it and you’re good to go

we are REALLY ENDING IT HERE huh

well. and that’s it. I just did not care about any of that lmao. a rare dud of a chapter. well, but we’ve had something like ten in a row that ranged from “pretty good” to “amazing”, so I guess that’s fair

anyway I feel like I owe you guys something other than endless bitching and moaning, so! BONUS:

now this is more like it

first of all, I’m absolutely living for this promo’s “YEET THE CHILDREN OUT OF A HELICOPTER” vibes. FUCK YEAH WE’RE HEROES BITCH

is Deku wearing a jetpack/parachute?? let’s hope he is because I’m assuming he doesn’t have Float yet, so if that’s not a jetpack then it is a LONG WAY DOWN kiddo

these maniacs actually got Deku to wear something other than his red shoes holy fuck. I’m speechless. are we sure that’s not an imposter??

Shouto has the funniest falling position I’ve ever seen. I’m assuming his left arm is not in fact tucked under his leg like it appeared to be at first glance?? like, wtf is the outline of your body right now Shouto

this is what I think it is after careful analysis, but at first I thought this kid had some hidden contortionist abilities

and then there’s this guy

I MISSED YOU YOU BIG GOON. loving the new gauntlets!! and he’s changed up his impractical metal neck thingy into arm thingies! but most importantly, ARE THESE WHAT I THINK THEY ARE

ARE THOSE WEENIES. KACCHAN. KACCHAN HAVE YOU GONE NATIVE OMFG

and meanwhile, look who’s with them! Endeavor makes perfect sense of course, but Hawks is a very welcome surprise. does this mean we can expect to see Tokoyami too? because I would fucking love that

lastly, so this confirms the whole “world heroes” thing! which we all pretty much guessed anyway lol. I wonder if this movie will take place in another country (fingers crossed). the city in the background doesn’t look particularly familiar, but this image probably wasn’t meant to be analyzed in that way lol. anyways, looking forward to this so much, PLEASE GIVE US A TRAILER SOON omg

[emeraldwaves]

Title: What We Lack Part 9 Pairing:  Kacchako, Deku/Melissa, Todomomo Rating: T Word Count: 3,905 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

Quirkless.

They’re the last people anyone expects to have a child without a quirk.

Neither of them can fully wrap their heads around it, but Ochako knows Katsuki is struggling far more than her.

Thank you to @its-love-u-asshole for beta-ing

Full fic under the cut

"Are you nervous, sweetheart?" Ochako asked, cupping her son's cheeks.

"Nervous?" Shouhei smirked, pulling his face away from her hands. "Fuck no!"

"Shouhei!" she said, and lightly bopped him on the forehead. "Language!"

Sayuri bit her lip, watching her mother dote over her older brother. It was an important day, one Shouhei had been practicing for his whole life.

The U.A. recommendation exam.

"The twins will be there," Ochako nodded. "So at least you won't be alone-"

"Oi! None of that matters," Katsuki hissed. "He's going to pass with flying fucking colors!"

"Katsuki," Ochako growled, gritting her teeth. "Language."

"What? I can't tell my fucking son he's gonna kick ass during his goddamn exam?" Katsuki snorted, folding his arms over his chest.

"Guys. I'm gonna pass, there's nothing to worry about!" Shouhei sighed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, unless Yuuta is in his group," Sayuri finally spoke up. "Then he'll gladly step aside and let his ass get fucked!"

"Sayuri!" Ochako gasped.

"Who even invited you to come?" Shouhei asked, glaring at his sister.

"I would ask where my children got such horrible mouths from but we all know from where!" She whipped her head around to glare at Katsuki. She rubbed her forehead. "We all came here to support Shouhei."

"Yeah, yeah, Shouhei is going to pass. Like U.A. wouldn't let in the child of Ground Zero and Uravity," Sayuri snapped and turned her gaze away. Her parents’ names didn’t necessarily guarantee entrance to the school. It wasn't like U.A. hero class would ever take her even if she put her parents’ names on her application...

"Sayuri, our names don't matter. Shouhei, you're going to be great all on your own love," Ochako said, kissing his head again.

"Okay, okay," he said, pushing her away. "I really gotta get going."

"I know, I know."

"You fucking got this, kid," Katsuki smirked, punching his arm against Shouhei's, and he nodded, dashing into the school.

Sayuri let out a long breath of air. She didn't care what her mother said, their names did matter. It was why Shouhei was taking the recommendation exam instead of the regular one. She scraped her teeth across her lip; she knew their names would never help her, only hinder.

"Ooo... I'm so nervous!" Ochako bounced up and down. "I think I'm more nervous for his exam than I was for my own."

"Calm your tits," Katsuki snorted, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he pulled her close to kiss the side of her head. "Both our kids are fucking champs," he smirked, glancing back towards Sayuri.

The last thing she felt like was a ‘champ’.

"Of course they are!" Ochako agreed, turning to smile at her daughter. "But I'm still nervous!"

Sayuri swung her hands back and forth and stepped forward, gently placing her hand on her mother's back. This day wasn't about her, it was about her brother. She probably would never have a day like this, and that was fine. She'd come to terms with her quirklessness a long time ago.

Mostly.

She wished she could attend U.A. She wished she could've been a hero right alongside her parents. She still had their action figures posed in her room and when she was a little girl, she always thought one day her and Shouhei would have figures right next to them. She supposed she could add Shou to her collection one day.

Sometimes she wondered what it must be like to have a quirk. She saw the way her father's explosions lit up the globe. She'd witnessed her mother rescuing people, moving insanely large debris with such ease. Even watching Shouhei move things around his room when she was a little girl had been thrilling.

Admittedly, she loved their quirks. She loved quirks in general, and she hated how much it sucked not to have one.

But most of all she hated the way people looked at her, especially her father. Sometimes quirks of new pro-heroes would come up at dinner, and her father would look over at her like she was some fragile creature who would start crying at even the mention of the word.

If she ever did feel the need to cry, she'd do it in her room, away from Katsuki's watchful eye.

And really when it came down to it, she was happy for her brother and she wanted him to succeed. Hell, if she became an engineer like her Auntie Melissa, she would help out heroes so much, she would almost be more important than the heroes themselves.

She prided herself on that fact. She didn't know why her father couldn't too.

Sayuri watched Katsuki's hand gently stroke down Ochako's arm, comforting her while she continued to panic about Shouhei. It wasn't that she didn't think her father was proud of her; she knew deep down she was basically his entire world.

She just never understood really why he looked at her like that.

"Okay, okay. It's silly to stand outside and wait, the exam takes a few hours. We should all go have lunch!" Ochako said, clapping her hands together, always certain not to let her pinkies touch.

Sayuri raised her eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to eat, Mom? You look really pale."

"Oh, I'm plenty used to being nauseous," Ochako said, waving her hand up and down. "Let's go."

"Idiot. I wouldn't mind treating my girls to a nice lunch." He huffed, wrapping his hand around Ochako's as he pulled her away from the school.

It was probably for the best, Sayuri didn't feel like staring longingly at the building for any longer.

~~

Yuuta wasn't ready. He wasn't ready at all.

Next to him Shouhei bounced up and down from foot to foot, and Arata looked like he was ready to murder someone.

Last night he'd decided he'd take the exam, but now, he wanted to hightail it out of there.

When Shouto sat Yuuta down the night before, his heart sank because he knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.

"Are you sure you want to take the exam tomorrow?"

Yuuta had swallowed, unsure of how to answer his father. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint him, though he knew his father would never pressure him. His whole life his father had been nothing but supportive and calm... and yet...

He stared into Shouto's mismatched eyes, trying to stay as neutral and confident as possible.

"I..." he swallowed.

What did he want?

"Yuuta... your mother and I want you to be happy, above all else," Shouto said. "No one is forcing you to attend U.A. if there is somewhere else you want to go."

"But... Arata-"

"Just because the two of you are twins, doesn't mean you have to do everything the same," he said gently.

His father's voice was always filled with so much respect for him, and Yuuta almost felt even more guilty feeling so unsure. Shouto smiled, his expression warm.

It wasn't just Arata though... Shouhei was also trying for the exam. It was a stupid reason... to want to follow Shouhei... but Yuuta loved how their hands fit together. He loved how Shouhei sometimes couldn't look him in the eye, and when he did, his cheeks got all red and embarrassed.

"No..." Yuuta had said finally. "I want to try."

But now that he stood at the starting line of the opening race, he had no idea what to do. How could his fire help him in this situation!? Shouhei could levitate himself and Arata could use his fire crystals to make something... but... what could fire do? What did his father do during this exam?! He probably used his ice... was it even the same test!?

The examiner stepped out onto the field and began to explain the rules. They couldn't help one another, the fastest times would be logged... Yuuta tried to pay attention but the asphalt in front of him kept distorting as he looked at the ground. His chest felt tight, stress and panic constricting around his heart, the muscle trying to break free of the squeezing emotions.

Maybe he was doing this for the wrong reasons? Maybe he didn't understand fully what being a hero meant, even though it was in his blood... part of his legacy. As much as his father wanted him to ignore that... it was hard to when Endeavor, Shouto and Creati were everywhere.

He couldn't do this, he couldn't. He wasn't powerful like his father, nor was he smart like his mother. Arata would be amazing... he would get into the A class, number one spot and right behind him would be Shouhei... perfect, talented, incredible Shouhei. How could Yuuta ever compete? He could imagine the whispers now...

 At least Shouto and Creati have one talented son!

His parents were literal perfection and what was he exactly?!

Would he be kicked out of the family?! Would he still be a Todoroki after this!? His grandfather already looked at him as weak. It wasn't like he never overheard his father fighting with the man about leaving him and Arata alone. Endeavor was frustrated Shouto was always "babying" them.

"GO!"

The words hit him, pulling him from his daze as his hair brushed against his eyes when everyone dashed forward, leaving Yuuta standing by himself on the starting line.

"Uh, Go!" the teacher called again, and Yuuta tried to breathe. His feet felt like they melted into the ground.

He needed to move but he couldn't. In front of him he saw everyone rushing towards the finish, Shouhei propelling his body through the air, Arata skating on his crystals...

Could he even get his quirk to work?! The air felt tight...

"Todoroki Yuuta! Do you need assistance?" The voice next to him was distant, far away from where he stood on the end of the line.

He wanted to cry and collapse to the floor, his knees shaking as though they were about to give out. He slammed his eyes shut, shaking his head back and forth. He was an absolute disgrace to everyone around him.

"YUUTA!"

He opened his eyes and met with Shouhei's brown hues staring directly at him, their foreheads almost touching. He was floating, hovering ever so slightly above the ground.

"S-Shou-kun, w-what are you-"

"What the hell are YOU doing!?"

"You can't help me! We're not allowed to help each other!" Yuuta babbled, more panic rushing through his veins.

"Shut up!" Shouhei snapped and bonked his head against Yuuta's.

"O-Ow! I-I just... I can't do this Shou. I don't know why I signed up for this when I knew my quirk wasn't as good-"

Shouhei slapped his hands against Yuuta's cheeks, squishing his face between his palms. "Get moving you fuckin' idiot!"

Shouhei pulled back and swung his finger back and forth, moving his body forward.

Had Shouhei really just jeopardized his own exam to help him!? Did he really turn around just to try and get Yuuta to move? It didn’t make any sense. Shouhei could’ve potentially been number one, and he risked that for him!?

He took a deep breath; he couldn't let Shouhei down. He let the blue flames curl around his arms, the air cool around him. He needed to focus on heating the flames up to push himself forward. He could do it. He'd seen his father and grandfather use their flames with such ease... and though his was different... he knew he had it in himself to at least make it to the end of this race.

He focused his body heat towards his arms, pushing them behind him as he shot forward, leaving a trail of blue flames behind him. With how fast he moved, he soared over the raceway and the finish line, not even finishing last.

Arata stood at the end, arms folded, glaring. Was he mad? Did he think Yuuta was a fool? Probably all of the above...

"Yuu, you big dumb idiot!" Shouhei laughed and wrapped his arms around Yuuta's head, pulling him into his chest. "You're so fucking strong, what the hell were you thinking moron?"

"I... I'm sorry Shou..." Yuuta breathed, looking down at the ground. "Y-You probably won't pass because I... did so horribly...I know I definitely won't pass..."

"You don't know what they grade on!" Shouhei said, trying to reassure him. He always tried to reassure Yuuta when he was too far in his own mind.

"I doubt I'll win points for being frozen at the starting line..."

Arata clicked his tongue and walked away from both of them, heading towards the designated locker area.

Yuuta bit his lip and sighed. "And Arata is mad for some reason... great..." He puffed out his cheeks.

"Isn't Arata always fuckin' mad?" Shouhei snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Not... always," Yuuta said, but more often than not as of late. Something was most likely bothering his brother, but he had yet to talk to Yuuta about it.

"Whatever. You're not giving up on the rest of the test right? We gotta get ready for the combat and written portions," Shouhei said excitedly, obviously unfazed by his potential point deduction.

Yuuta sighed, even with Arata mad, he had to at the very least finish out the rest of this exam. He owed that much to Shouhei, and he prayed he didn't hurt any of their chances.

~~

"The written exam was the hardest part," Shouhei whined once they all sat in the car, heading back towards their house.

"OI! Did you study everything I fuckin' told you to!?" Katsuki snapped, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm sure he did," Ochako said, shaking her head at her husband.

"Oh that's rich coming from you. Your mother is lucky she passed some of our written exams in high school. If I hadn't fuckin' tutored her-"

"I would've had someone else do it! Like Deku-kun or Tenya-kun or Shouto-kun or-"

"Shaddup!" Katsuki yelled, clenching the steering wheel even harder. "It was me who ended up saving your ass!"

"Oh, my hero!" she giggled, turning around to laugh with both of her children.

"I did study," Shouhei said. "But there was so much to remember," he sighed. "I don't have Sayuri's freaky brain!"

"Hey! I'm just smart, not freaky!" she snapped, folding her arms over her chest. "Sucks to actually have to study."

"Maybe your quirk is actually that you're freakishly smart," Shouhei teased.

"Yeah," Sayuri said, her voice growing quiet for a moment. "I think I just work harder than you, idiot!"

"I've been training every goddamn day!" Shouhei snapped, glaring at his sister.

"Alright you two," Ochako sighed. "Let's calm down."

Neither of them wanted to frustrate their mother anymore than they already had. Instead, Shouhei leaned back.

"Who knows, I might not even get in because I helped Yuuta during the race," Shouhei shrugged, looking out the window.

"...What?" Ochako asked quietly, a hint of panic in her voice. She always tried to hide it, but they could always tell when their mother was feeling nervous. "What do you mean?"

"He thought with his dick instead of his head," Sayuri snorted.

"Sayuri-!"

"Fuckin' hell Sayuri! We're not doing anything like that!" Shouhei yelled.

"Not yet!" she teased. "We all know you have a crush on him!"

"No I don't!"

"Enough!" Ochako yelled loudly. "It doesn't matter if Shouhei has a crush or not! What matters is what happened?!"

"They told us we weren't allowed to help each other... y'know like... cheating with each other’s quirks. But when they said to go, Yuuta didn't move from the starting line. I got worried so... I went back and told him to move his ass. Technically I didn't break the rules..."

"Aw sweetheart... that was very kind of you to help Yuuta when he froze," Ochako said. "Heroic even, right Katsuki?"

"Yeah," he muttered, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel. "I don't know why you got a thing for Icy Hot's kid but-"

"Katsuki!" Ochako groaned. "It's not about that. Shouhei helped someone when they were in need. I'm sure U.A. won't look at is as breaking the rules since your help didn't involve either of your quirks."

He always dreamed about going to U.A., any other schools didn't seem as enticing as his parents’ alma mater. He wanted to be as amazing as both of his parents and he hoped U.A. would take a chance on him.

"Yeah," Shouhei muttered, "that's kind of what I'm banking on... Guess we'll find out when the letter comes."

~~

"So!" Momo smiled, placing down the plates in front of both of her sons. "Tell us all about it! How did it go?!"

Both boys stayed silent, looking at their food.

"That well, huh?" Shouto chuckled. "It can't have been that bad. Both of you are working so hard."

"Apparently the recommendation exam is a bit easier than the general one," Momo said.

"I don't know about that, love," Shouto chuckled. "I think you were always just very smart."

"Possibly," she hummed, taking a seat at the table. "But enough about our exam, we want to hear about yours."

"Arata did great-" Yuuta began softly, gently moving some of the rice on his plate.

"Shut up, Yuuta," Arata hissed.

"Boys..." Shouto murmured, not wanting them to fight again.

"Alright," Momo said, looking at both of them. "What is going on?"

"I... I might have..." Yuuta bit his lip, his cheeks flushed. He was holding something back, and the longer he stayed quiet the more worried Momo grew.

"Yuuta fucked it up," Arata snapped.

"Arata, language!" Momo scolded, shaking her head at the boy. "What happened, Yuuta?" she asked gently.

"...During the race portion... the teacher called out for us to start but I... I didn't. Shouhei ended up coming back to the start and snapping me out of it but I..."

"You could've cost Shouhei-kun, you, and me entrance to the school!" Arata yelled.

Yuuta immediately frowned. "What does this have to do with you, Arata?! You were one of the first to finish and you know you aced the other two sections! I only hurt me and Shou-kun!"

"We're twins! If you do things wrong, they're going to assume I suck too!"

"Arata... that's not how it works," Shouto said softly. "They look at you as two different people."

"You don't know that! You're not a twin! They're already judging us based on you two!" Arata said, gesturing to his parents. "And now I've got an idiot brother who can't even start when they tell him to!"

"Arata!" Shouto hissed.

"I promise you, Arata... they wouldn't judge you based on us or your brother. They're judging you based on your talents and skills," Momo said softly. Concern filled her eyes as she reached next to her to touch his arm. "There's no reason to be so angry..."

"This has been my dream!" he yelled, pulling away from Momo. He clenched his hands into fists against his legs. "I've been training to get into U.A. my whole life!"

"Arata," Shouto frowned, "No one said you weren't going to get in. This is about Yuuta."

"Isn't it always?" he hissed. He stood up, pushing his chair out. "I will carry on the Todoroki legacy, not Yuuta!"

He slapped his chopsticks down, storming off to this room as they heard the door slide shut with a loud slam. Momo swallowed, looking towards Shouto. She could see his fists clench, his shoulders trembling. The Todoroki legacy... it was an idea Endeavor often touted, though Shouto worked hard to keep the boys away from any sort of negative thinking like that. Momo and Shouto didn't care what their boys chose to do, as long as they were happy... and yet, for some reason Arata felt a burning need to do exactly what Shouto never wanted either of their boys to do; continue a legacy.

"I think... Arata needs some space..." Shouto muttered.

"I-I'm sorry..." Yuuta said quietly.

"Oh sweetheart," Momo smiled sadly. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm sure you didn't ruin anyone's chance of getting into the school," she continued.

"Definitely not Arata's... but I'm not sure about Shouhei's and mine..." he said. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get in after that."

"Don't worry. Shouhei didn't use his quirk to help get you to start. I doubt they'll take it into account," she said.

"Tch. Knowing them, they'll probably give him extra points for helping Yuu," Shouto chuckled.

"Indeed, U.A. did always do unexpected things like that. See? There's no reason to worry," Momo nodded.

"I guess," he muttered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Momo asked. "Arata probably won't be coming back."

"I-I dunno," Yuuta said softly, swallowing. "It's really dumb. I started thinking about all the things that could go wrong and how my quirk really isn't that great and I thought I was stupid for even going to the exam..." he rambled. "My thoughts just... spiraled."

Momo smiled and gently touched his shoulder. "I used to do that too... it's hard to push past your brain when your thoughts are so loud, isn't it?"

Yuuta nodded.

"I'm glad Shouhei was able to help you," Momo said, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

"You shouldn't think so poorly of yourself, Yuuta. Your quirk is very powerful," Shouto nodded. "I think you should wait until the letters arrive before you count yourself out."

"Probably," he said and picked up his plate, walking to the kitchen. "I'm... going to save this for later. I'm not really hungry," he said quietly, bowing his head to both of them. "Sorry Mother."

"We already said you have nothing to be sorry for," she smiled, "get some rest if that's what you need."

Yuuta slowly walked down the hall, leaving Shouto and Momo alone at the table. Immediately Shouto placed his hand on his forehead, shaking his head back and forth. "I... I don't know what to do about Arata..."

"You should talk to him... he's obviously very upset."

"Did you hear what he said?" he whispered. "Has he been secretly talking to my father? He sounded just like him."

"I highly double that..." Momo said. "But... he did seem very strongly opinionated..."

"No kidding," Shouto sighed. "I think he needs space before I go tell him legacy isn't... important. I just want him and Yuuta to be happy, and right now it seems like Yuuta is terribly sad and lost and Arata is just... angry."

Momo reached out, lacing her fingers with Shouto's. "It's not your fault... think about how frustrating being a teenager was for us."

"I know..." he muttered, but then raised his eyebrow at her. "Was it frustrating for you?" he chuckled. "You always seemed so poised and put together... well minus when you would get in your head. Seems Yuuta stole that from you."

"I know... I'll have to give him tips on how to break out of that awful cycle..." she sighed.

"It seems we both have to talk to our boys," Shouto said, brushing his thumb over Momo's fingers.

"I know. I worry for when those letters come... I hope they both get in."

Shouto glanced down the hallway towards their rooms. "Me too."