#the fact kirishima seems to exist only for bakugou's benefit is a waste

[justatalkingface]

I have to say, I've always been a fan of the idea of Kirishima being Izuku's best friend, rather than Bakugo's. I just think the two work off each other as the "extrovert trying to get his introverted friend to come out of his shell more" better than his and Bakugo's "I can fix him" one.

Plus, both have experience dealing with bullies and trying to defend the helpless from said bullies. Hell, Kirishima would commend Izuku for sticking it out all the way through, whereas he needed Mina's help with his. I really think Kirishima would be a great motivator for Izuku to get stronger and to voice his opinions more. If Izuku was having an especially bad day, I see Kirishima being the type to say,

"Hey man, don't put yourself down like that. You're one of the strongest, manliest guys I know. Even up there with All Might and Crimson Riot. Come on, lets head to the gym to get your mind off things. I'll spot ya."

Kirishima would provide so much positivity and motivation to improve, that I feel Izuku would only come out better with him as his main homie. Not to mention it would give Kirishima even more screentime, which I would love.

Though admittedly, my love of Kirishima is also why I hate that Hori paired him with Bakugo. My man deserves a better homie than that asshat.

...You know, when you look at Kirishima as, like, a character that someone put in a story, rather than as a person, there's something weird about him. You know what it is? Kirishima is basiclly Izuku. He's Izuku if he had a 'mediocre' Quirk; a bit of a coward at the start of his story, with self doubt, but he still genuinely wants to help people, and forces himself to grow and push farther when he decides to apply to UA. And when you strip to the bare bone themes like that, it's Izuku's story, without Bakugou and the Quirklessness there making his life miserable.

And, with that in mind, and that one comment Hori (apparently) made, that Izuku was supposed to be sad that Bakugou took Kirishima's hand... it feels like Kirishima was made, or at least given development, for Bakugou. Like, Kirishima and Bakugou is the friend dynamic of Bakugou with Izuku that so many people want them to have, what fanfic stories are written for, what people in story apparently (god knows why) seem to think they have, and when you look it that way it's... interesting. It's a very interesting choice to me.

Like, Hori apparently (I can't cite any of this Hori shit) regrets how far Bakugou went in the first chapter; it makes me wonder if, like, Kirishima is his wish fulfillment in that sense? Like, he's imagining a version of the manga where Bakugou came in with a lot less baggage, and that dynamic is him doing that sort of friendship without actually changing the story?

On the other hand, though, I'd have to be blind to that dynamic seems to exist to soften up Bakugou's image, to show that he's not all that bad, without really making him improve actively.

Regardless, no matter how you look at it, in a meta, 'why does this character exist' kind of way, Kirishima literally seems to be in the manga only for Bakugou's sake. I mean, his friendship (or 'friendship' maybe) with Bakugou, isn't helping him beyond giving him more screen time. And your right, it's a shame, because he and Izuku would get along really well.

Part of it, of course, is that they exist in a similar kind of positive wavelength, both being really wholesome people. Kirishima is really outgoing, and it seems natural that he would try to reach out to Izuku, who canonly is almost pathetically grateful for even the tiniest smidge of even vaguely positive interactions, especially at the start, much less someone just flat out being nice to him. Meanwhile, Izuku is naturally supportive, and would be great for Kirishima in turn, supporting him on his low confidence moments and encouraging him to be more confident about his Quirk and his own abilities.

Overall, it's a firm foundation for a good, wholesome friendship, one that would easily continue to continue on even when both of them eventually grow past their own doubts, and something that'd be nice to see, but by the time Kirishima got any characterization, he was already set up for Bakugou, and of course we could dilute that dynamic with him doing something else.

[kaoru-takaida]

MHA Collab Fanfic

CHAPTER 3: The Meaning of Strength

When the bus stops at the rest stop, two Pro Heroes with cat outfits reveal themselves to the class. Ones Kaoru is very familiar with. Both Kaoru and Midoriya gasp in excitement. "Oh wow! My Uncle is a big fan!" Kaoru tells Bakugou. Bakugou seems distracted however. "Hm?" Kaoru looks over at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Why'd we stop in the middle of nowhere?" He asks. Before they knew what was happening, the other students were bolting towards the bus.

"Eh?" And in the blink of an eye, all of Kaoru's classmates had been swept over the cliffside by a wave of dirt and earth. Even Kaoru lost their footing but before they could stumble over the cliff, Aizawa uses his capture scarf to snag Kaoru. It winds around them and he yanks Kaoru back up, holding them up like a fish on a hook. "Mr. Aizawa?"

"Before you go off with the rest of them, I need to have a little chat with you." He says. Kaoru keeps a perplexed look on their face. He holds up his cellphone showing multiple missed calls. "Your uncle has been trying to call me… consistently…"

Kaoru grimaces nervously, recognizing the number. "He left a message saying he wanted you to come back home. Be honest, should I listen to him?"

Kaoru looks away for a second. "I, uh." They hesitate. "I'm not sure what you're asking." Kaoru replies.

Aizawa sighs. "I'm asking if there's a reason why he'd be worried and whether or not I should drag you back by force."

Kaoru clenches thier fist. Down on the ground as everyone fights a dirt clod created by Pixie Bob in the form of a beast, Bakugou and Kirishima take a second to look up at the cliff where Aizawa has Kaoru dangling by his scarf, talking. He scowls. "Wonder what they're talking about." Kirishima says. Bakugou scoffs.

"Like I care." He says, looking for the next threat. He charges into the fold. Kirishima takes one last glance at Kaoru and Aizawa and follows Bakugou.

Aizawa's eyes are wide at Kaoru's explanation. They give him a look that he can only place as a mixture of concern, sadness, and pleading. "You're kidding me…" He says.

Kaoru's scowls a bit now. "Mr. Aizawa… " Kaoru clenches their fists at their side. "I… want to be a Hero. I want to get stronger, train harder." They look at the ground below them. "I would be on my hands and knees begging you, but…" They look up at him, eyebrows pursed. "Please, sir, let me stay."

Aizawa looks at Kaoru for a good long moment, contemplating what to do. This kid… He closes his eyes now. "Alright. I'll call and let him know you're staying." He looks off at the distance, no doubt where the camp base was in the middle of the forest. "Besides, you're as safe as you're gonna get. Only a select few knows where we'll be." He gives Kaoru one last look. "Not even the League should be able to find us"

Kaoru sighs in relief. "Thank you so much." They say, bowing their head a bit. Aizawa gently lowers Kaoru to the ground below.

"Now get going." He orders.

They nod, giving him a determined smile. "Yes, sir!" They say. Kaoru runs off to catch up with their classmates. Aizawa rubs the back of his neck watching Kaoru a moment.

I'll have to keep my eye on them… He thinks to himself. His cellphone starts to ring and he looks at the number. "Of course."

Kaoru tries to keep their cool, but can't help but feel their blood boil at the thought of their uncle harassing their teacher. They sprint through the forest. I don't care what Uncle thinks. Kaoru spots a huge dirt clod monster as they catch up with the other students. They activate their Quirk, sprinting even faster as energy builds within their fox paw feet. They spring upward and drop onto the dirt clod monster's head. An explosion rings out and a small puff of flames makes the beast's head burst as Kaoru kicks down on it with both paws. I WILL become a hero. No matter what. Kaoru flips backward and lands on all fours with a soft landing. The beast crumbles away. They watch as the chunks of dirt fall. And then I'll find out the whole truth behind my existence.

After reaching the camp a little after 5pm, Kaoru collapses next to Kaminari and Sero. Kaoru pants, exhausted, covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. Sero and Kaminari give them a wide eyed look of surprise. "Wow, Kaoru. You really pushed yourself out there, huh?" Sero asks. Kaoru sits up, tucking their legs under them and their skirt.

"Yeah." They take a deep breath, wiping dirt from their cheek. "My Quirk only allows me to amplify my output of energy by combining my own strength with the energy I take in. As a result, endurance matches and drawn out battles aren't really my forte."

Kaminari puts a hand to his chin. "I guess that makes sense. Even your Quirk has its limits."

Aizawa walks up behind the three of them. "Kaoru's limit is a bit easier to hit than the rest of you students." Aizawa explains. "Over in the U.S., few schools tailor their teaching of Quirks individually like we do." Kaminari and Sero frown. "Instead they'll focus on what all Quirks have in common and teach in ways that everyone could benefit." Aizawa puts a hand out, gesturing to Kaoru who doesn't look too pleased remembering this fact. "Think about it as the difference between regular school and prestigious academies. Kaoru, having only studied in regular education for a year and being home schooled a majority of their life, is severely behind compared to the rest of you."

Kaoru's ears drop down and they give a bitter and embarrassed glance to Sero and Kaminari. "I had to study like crazy to pass the special transfer exam for U.A." Kaoru admits. "It was the only thing I focused on for months. And my uncle practically beat the lessons into me. And then, I still had to keep in shape and focus on my Quirk for the physical aptitude exam."

Aizawa nods. "In the physical exam, there was a lot of wasted effort and things that could definitely be improved on." Kaoru glances at Kaminari and Sero. Then they look around at the rest of the class.

He's right. Everyone here is ahead of me by a whole semester. They've survived the USJ attack where they had to fight for their lives with villains. Kaoru looks down at their hands on the ground. And then they all proved how skilled and talented they were in the sports festival. I need to catch up, or else I'll be left behind. Kaoru pouts a bit, looking away.

Kaminari looked up at Mr. Aizawa. "That's right. Kaoru mentioned something about taking a special physical practical exam before. I'm curious. What exactly did that mean?" He asks.

Aizawa smiles now with a scary, almost sadistic smile. "They had to go toe to toe with yours truly to see if they were worthy to pass." Kaoru grimaces and tenses, shuddering at the memory.

Sero and Kaminari give them a panicked look. "That sounds horrifying!" They say in unison.

Kaoru sighs to themself, leaving the girl's room. After carrying their stuff in, they were starving. "Hey, idiot." Bakugou's voice says. Kaoru sees him walking toward them, hands in his uniform's pants pockets. Just like them, Bakugou was all battered and bruised from fighting the monster dirt clods in the forest. Kaoru's eyes light up.

"Oh. Bakugou. Got all your stuff in the boys' room?" Kaoru asks.

Bakugou scoffs. "Of course I did. It was a piece of cake." Kaoru blinks as he grows quiet. "I wanted to say that you didn't need to defend me when Aizawa was about to punish me the other day."

Kaoru purses their eyebrows. "But, Bakugou, that was all my fault. You didn't deserve to be punished."

Bakugou sighs. "I did. I acted like an ass. So…" He scowls. "Just take it, okay?"

Kaoru cocks an eyebrow, tilting their head to the side, ears perked. "Take what?" Kaoru asks after a few seconds of awkward silence . "I'm confused."

Bakugou purses his lips into a small frown, looking a bit irritated. "I... didn't need your apology either… Not when I was the one who needed to apologize first. But you went and did it anyway. Just like how you defended me." He says softly.

Kaoru's eyes widened with realization. He's trying to say "thank you", huh? Kaoru smiles a small smile. And trying to apologize, too… What a weirdo. He can't just say it, can he? Kaoru thinks. "Oh. I see." Kaoru gives him a bigger, brighter smile. "Yeah. You're right. You didn't need me to. But I did anyway."

Bakugou's eyebrow twitches slightly and he grimaces. "What's with that stupid look on your face?" He hisses.

Kaoru laughs lightly. "Oh. It's nothing."

Bakugou scoffs again. "Whatever, dumbass." He turns and waves for Kaoru to follow. "Anyway, those weird cat ladies are serving dinner. Let's get some food before there's none left, moron."

Kaoru catches up to him. "You know what! To make it up to me, why don't you let me call you Kacchan?"

"What?! No way in hell!"

"Aw. Please?"

"I said no."

"Pretty please?"

"Ugh. If I let you, will you leave me the hell alone?"

"Probably not."

"Then the answer is still no!"

"Nah, I think I'll call you Kacchan anyway."

"Do it and I'll kill you!"

"Haha!"

"So, why do you want to be a Hero?" Kaoru asks Bakugou. He stops eating, halting his chopsticks.

"Huh?"

Kaoru smiles. "I'm curious. What made you want to be a hero?" Kaoru takes a sip of their tea. "I can't really imagine you wanting to be anything else. So it makes me curious."

Bakugou scoffs. "Why would I tell you that?" He says, taking another bite, clearly dodging the question. Kaoru shrugs and takes a bite of their own rice. Bakugou looks over, chewing his food quietly. He swallows and then very nonchalantly asks. "What about you?" Kaoru looks up at him, mid chew. They point to themself. "Why would you want to be a hero?" Bakugou asks.

Kaoru considers it a moment before swallowing their food. "I… can't really explain it." Kaoru begins. "A part of me just yearns to be a hero. And then another part of me wants to be strong." Kaoru places their bowl onto the table. They look around to double check if any of the other students were listening. They were all going about with their meals. It was just Kaoru and Bakugou at this table, so Kaoru sighs a bit before looking at him. "To be honest, this is a secret, but I've been running from something big for as long as I can remember." Bakugou's eyebrow clenched into a concerned scowl. Kaoru looks down at the scars on their hands. "A group of people are after me from what my uncle told me. I… actually have no memory of my childhood. The first memory I actually have is of the night my uncle found me."

"Found you?" Bakugou asks.

Kaoru nods. They smile a sad smile. "My uncle is actually my adoptive parent. My guardian." Kaoru closes their eyes. "I guess he found me in a very very dangerous situation, and saved me before I could be killed." Kaoru clenches their fists. "I don't remember much. But he took me in and took care of me." Kaoru smiles a sad smile at Bakugou now. "I want to be a Hero who can save people. The way my uncle saved me."

Kaoru leaves the girl's locker room at the hot springs. They'd decided to turn in early, but is caught by surprise as Mr. Aizawa walks up to them. "Teacher…" Kaoru says.

He points behind him with his thumb. "You have a moment?" Moments later, Kaoru and Aizawa are seated in the lobby area. Aizawa hands Kaoru a canned coffee with milk and sugar from the vending machine.

They give a little bow with their head before taking it. "Thank you, teacher." They say. Aizawa pulls a chair back and sits across the table from them. He opens his own can of black coffee and takes a sip. Kaoru opens their own can and takes a sip.

"The other students have a general idea of how to progress their Quirks." Aizawa begins. "I pulled you aside to ask you how you'd like to improve yours." Aizawa sets his can down on the table now. "It's important because what you do to improve your Quirk here will greatly impact how you use it in the future. And coming from a schooling system that lacked individuality, you're far behind in the progression of your Quirk compared to the students here." Kaoru rubs the side of their coffee can with one finger, looking rather discouraged. "I'm not saying this to make you feel inadequate. U.A. accepts only the best and brightest. And you got in with flying colors." Kaoru doesn't respond, looking very upset. Aizawa lifts his eyebrows slightly. "Do you need help finding a way? Or…" He then gives them a concerned look. "Was there something bothering you?"

Kirishima walks away from the boy's locker room towards the lobby. He stops, hearing voices. "I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble." Kaoru's voice says. Kirishima stays put, just around the corner, curious. "It seems like that's all I've been doing since I transferred to U.A."

Aizawa shakes his head. "With a school and class like the one you're in, things are bound to get complicated and hard." Aizawa crosses his arms. "Think you can tell me why you're really in U.A.?" Kirishima cocks an eyebrow. "You told me about a group of people who are after you." Kirishima feels his heart sink.

People are after Kaoru? Should I be eavesdropping? I mean in retrospect, eavesdropping isn't really all that manly but…

"But having seen the news about the USJ incident, directly involving our class, why did you choose class A?" Aizawa asks Kaoru.

Kirishima's interest is piqued further by the question. He holds his ground, his back against the wall. He's talking about the League of Villains attacking the USJ. He's right. If people are after Kaoru, why'd they decided to join our class specifically knowing they might be put in danger? Kirishima wonders.

Kaoru swallows hard. Looking down, their eyes hidden in shadow. "I want to get stronger to become a Hero." Kaoru says. They grip their pajama pants now. "My uncle doesn't want me here because he thinks I'm in danger and that I can't take care of myself and that I need protecting. But…"

When Kaoru doesn't finish the sentence, Aizawa presses them. "'But'?"

Kaoru looks up at Aizawa, scowling. "I want to be strong! Like All Might!" Aizawa's eyes widened. Kirishima feels his jaw drop. "I'm tired of not being able to do anything to help or even be able to fend for myself!" Kirishima chokes a bit, those words sinking in and making him see Kaoru completely differently. Someone he could relate to. "I want to save people, and do so without needing to be saved myself!" Kaoru clenches their fists. "All I've ever known is being protected and cared for by Uncle. But I don't want that anymore." Kaoru grasps at their hoodie, at their heart. "I want to be able to take care of Uncle too! To be strong enough to take care of others and save others!" They look away, a bitter look on their face as they clench their teeth, the grip on their shirt tightening. "But I can't do that if I'm weak and need to be saved or taken care of." Kaoru lifts a fist with their free hand. "I want my power to be used to save others and help the ones who need it. I want my power to be used to be a Hero." Kaoru smiles. "I chose class 1A because I saw how your students were in the Sports Festival."

Aizawa gives Kaoru a questionable look. "The Sports festival, huh?"

Kaoru nods. "I heard your commentary and saw how determined Class 1A was. That's when I decided to join this class. I saw this class, and wanted to be right there with them all." Kaoru claps their fist into the palm of their hand. "I want to see them become heroes too! And I want to be a hero!"

Kirishima can't help but smile to himself at hearing this. We're pretty similar in more ways than I thought. Kirishima thinks. Kirishima decides to walk away now, satisfied with hearing Kaoru's declaration and resolve. Hearing Kaoru say those things makes me even more determined to improve. He clenches his fists, lifting them up, looking at them in front of him as he walks. I know they said they prefer neutral or female pronouns but I gotta admit. That speech of theirs was pretty manly. He drops his fists, walking towards the boy's room. I can't let them show me up! I'll get stronger too! I can't wait!

Back in the lobby, Aizawa gives the fox girl an intrigued grin. "There you go." He tells them. "That's the conviction I needed to see from you." He points at Kaoru. "So do you know how you want to improve?"

Kaoru nods. "Yes, sir!" They smile at him. "Thank you, Teacher." They look down at their hands. "I guess saying things out loud like that can help you work through a problem. I'll have to remember that."

Aizawa nods. "Your teachers and I want you and all of your classmates to succeed to become the best heroes you can be. Just remember that." Kaoru nods. He sighs. "For you… that starts with calling your Uncle."

Kaoru gives him a spacey look, completely not expecting that. "Eh?"

Aizawa gives Kaoru a threatening glare. "For the love of God, call that man and get him to stop calling me."

Kaoru shivers, cowering a little, their ears pulled back in fear as their tail tucks between their legs. "Okay. W-Will do, sir."