#because a large chunk of the audience desperately needs it *cough*

[chandralia]

we’re getting 4 recap episodes before season 7 officially drops and at least one whole episode better be dedicated to just bkdk

[qitwrites]

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The thing that doesn’t make sense is the onigiri.

The Bakusquad are currently sprawled all over the common room couches, taking turns playing on the PS5. This is a normal sight, one that Ojiro has walked in on several times. There’s yelling, screaming, fingers poking ribs, and Bakugou kicking anyone that dares to touch his hair. The whole group is in a mad tangle of limbs, the audience yelling profanities while the people with the controllers (in this case, Sero and Kirishima) have a look of sheer determination painted on their faces as they race each other in an all too intense game of Mario kart.

And, in the midst of all this chaos, is a large plate filled to the brim with onigiri- perfectly shaped, delicious looking balls of rice wrapped in shiny seaweed.

When Kirishima loses to Sero a few moments later, the tape hero whoops victoriously as the redhead visibly deflates, groaning loudly and seemingly melting into the floor. Bakugou laughs out loud at the sight and pulls the plate right up to Kirishima’s face and says, “Take your pick, Red.” He sounds gleeful, and it makes a shiver run down the length of Ojiro’s spine.

Kaminari finally catches sight of him and waves him over, “Oji! Get over here man.”

Ojiro makes his way to the couch and sits at the very edge, watching as Kirishima sighs deeply and pulls out an onigiri at random. For someone that loves food, and especially rice, with a fierce sort of vengeance, Kirishima looks deathly pale and completely unwilling to eat. Ojiro waves at Kaminari to get his attention before pointing at Kirishima and going, “What is happening?”

“Just wait,” the electric blonde smirks, his eyes dancing with delight.

Ojiro watches the redhead inhale one last time before taking a large bite. He chews the onigiri for a moment before his face contorts in absolute horror and he yanks what can only be described as a spit bucket from the other side of the couch to his face, coughing the rice out violently.

“Oh fuck,” Bakugou gasps out in between peals of laughter, “he got the mayo banana. Fuck me, he got the worst fucking one.”

Kirishima’s gargling some water while the words Mayo-banana swirl around Ojiro’s head. Kaminari takes one look at him and giggles.

“We’re playing onigiri roulette,” Sero finally explains. 

He points at the plate of food. “Before we started, we filled a bunch of rice balls with the weirdest fillings we could think of. The only rule is that it has to be edible-“ “BARELY edible” “- yeah, well, if you need recovery girl at the end of this, you’ve probably gone too far. So, we play each other one-on-one, and the winner plays the next person while the loser eats an onigiri and sits out till everyone else has had a go.”

“So,” Ojiro says, his mind still stuck on what he just heard Bakugou say, “Kiri just ate a rice ball filled with mayonnaise and banana?”

Ashido giggles at that, and Kaminari turns to the redhead and asks, “How was it?”

Kirishima takes another generous sip of water before saying, “The texture is what screwed me. It was just, god, it was mush and then more mush, and so slimy, and then the rice-“

“Ok,” Kaminari squeaks, throwing his hands up in surrender, “That’s enough, thanks man!”

“You wanna join?” Ashido beams at Ojiro, offering him her controller.

“I’m good watching,” Ojiro says, scooting back subtly. Sero sniggers and makes room for Ashido to join him on the floor.

“You’re going down,” he taunts, and Ashido burns a small hole in the sleeve of his shirt before they start up the next game.

Pinky puts up a good fight, but Sero is a master at the game, and even with her well-timed kicks at his face, Ashido loses, and Bakugou is positively glowing.

Ashido picks another unassuming looking onigiri and takes a bite. She looks so confused for a moment before her face scrunches up in agony. She perseveres though, and even as Kaminari cries from how hard he’s laughing and Sero is recording the whole thing with shaky hands, Ashido flips them the bird and makes it a point to swallow thickly.

Kirishima leans in and takes a sniff, his own nose wrinkling as he asks, “Toothpaste?”

Bakugou laughs again, an ugly, grating sound that’s so unlike the boyish smile on his face. Ashido sticks her tongue out at the rest and says, “I happen to love mint, so joke’s on you.” She still slam dunks the rest of the onigiri in the spit bucket.

The next to go against Sero is Bakugou, who sits beside him heavily and snatches the offered controller. Gone is his carefree smile and ugly laugh, and in its place is his usual fierce competitiveness, except the stakes are so much higher than they’ve ever been in hero training.

The game is nail biting, to say the least. Bakugou doesn’t yell while he’s playing, and his concentration is so intense, it almost seems like he’s being sucked into the game. Even Ojiro finds himself cheering and yelling as the two desperately try to beat each other while trying to stay on the track in the first place.

When Sero wins by a margin that’s thinner than a strand of hair, Kirishima, in what can only be described as a move perfected after many recurring experiences, grabs the controller from Bakugou and hardens himself against the tiny explosions in the blonde’s palms, saving the controller. Bakugou lunges at Sero, a litany of curses tearing themselves out his throat. Sero has the biggest shit eating grin on his face, and Kirishima can barely hold Bakugou back as he shakes with laughter of his own. The blonde ends up with his back to Kirishima’s chest as he huffs something about assholes that cheat and the redhead gives him a pat on the shoulder before picking up the plate and offering it to Bakugou.

The blonde makes it a point to inspect each rice ball carefully before picking one up and giving it a sniff. He wrinkles his nose and finally takes a big bite, because he might be a sore loser but Bakugou is no coward.

He chews through his bite quietly and swallows, expressionless. And then he smiles, a wicked, horrible turn of his lips.

“Ha, assholes, I fucking win.” He turns the bitten side of the rice ball to face the group, and out pours a stream of red liquid.

Hot sauce, Ojiro notes just as the spice hits him in the eyes with enough force to warrant immediate tears.

“Shit, that’s actually hurting me,” Kaminari yelps, blinking rapidly.

“Yeah man, what the hell?” Sero says, sitting back on his elbows to get away from it. They all watch in horror as Bakugou takes another bite and smirks. Ojiro can see the sweat dotting his brow and they don’t miss how he rubs his nose with his clean hand, but all in all, hot sauce for Bakugou feels unfair, especially after the diabolical mayo and banana monstrosity.

“Man, how does he win even when he loses?” Kirishima whines, butting Bakugou’s shoulder with his head. The blonde sniggers again and sits back comfortably just as Kirishima tosses the controller to Kaminari.

Ojiro watches them takes turns and suffer. Kaminari, by some turn of fate, beats Sero in a game that just refuses to go in Sero’s favor. Sero ends up choking down a rice ball stuffed with a slimy squid and peanut butter mixture.

When Kaminari loses to Ashido, he happily eats a rice ball soaked in malic acid because his taste buds are immune to sour apparently. Ashido nearly throws up when she has to bite into a rice ball filled with jello and meat chunks after losing to Bakugou, and Bakugou turns an alarming shade of green when he eats one with durian and mustard. Kirishima had watched that one unfold in a mix of horror and fascination, torn between laughing and holding the spit bucket out for the blonde.

Midway through, Ojiro finds himself playing with them and he has to experience the hell that is jelly beans with cheese sauce and another onigiri that is filled with nothing but wasabi. So much wasabi that he feels fumes of heat trying to escape his nose as his eyes water for the rest of the evening.

When they finally call it a day, Ojiro somehow finds himself promising them that he’ll join the next time too, and he watches Bakugou stalk away, brainstorming more terrible food combos under his breath. He laughs and heads to his own room, nose still tingling from the wasabi, his own thoughts clouded with the worst foods he can think of. That’s when inspiration strikes.

Ojiro pulls his phone out and dials a number he’s known since forever. She picks up after 2 rings.

“What’s up kiddo?”

“Hey mom.” Ojiro’s smile turns wicked. “Talk to me about your pregnancy cravings.”