Misfit High School!

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 10: Time to Hit the Books (on your head, if you slack off again!)

Midoriya was sweating bullets when the tryouts for the science bowl team reached the final few minutes, and boy was the pressure on! Coach Toshinori Yagi had volunteered to act as the host, and while his booming voice was great for asking questions, the classroom seemed to shrink around Midoriya little by little. He was just one of fifty students in here, all using buzzers to ring in and answer the questions rapid fire. Any minute now...!

"Next question!" Coach Yagi drew a card from the thin stack (hundreds of cards lay around him on the floor, which the janitor was bound to disapprove of). "Into what acid is glucose broken down in the first stage of carbohydrate metabolism?"

Shoto Todoroki buzzed in. "Pyruvic acid," he said calmly.

"Yes! Very good, young Todoroki!" Coach Yagi gave the boy a quick salute and flexed his pecs again. "You're on fire today, and not from that quirk of yours!"

This would take half the time if he didn't keep throwing in comments like that! Midoriya complained in his head. But he dare not disrupt things at this stage. He had answered some solid questions, but there were only eight slots for the team. He'd have to get at least the lowest one, or...!

"Next question! We're almost there, boys and girls!" Coach Yagi read the card. "Resolution of any microscope is ultimately limited by what?"

Momo buzzed in. "The wavelength of the light."

"Yes! Wonderful, young miss Yaoyorozu! I think we might also be thinking along the same wavelength!" Coach Yagi said genially, while Bakugo actually slammed his head on his desk in frustration.

We're almost there, Kacchan, Midoriya thought. He felt his palms sweating and he fought the urge to take another peek at Ochaco to see if she looked as nervous as he felt. He had to trust her to handle himself. And trust himself to not have a panic attack and fry his brains from pressure.

"Okay! What living creatures is most likely to have evolved from the trilobite?" Coach Yagi asked. "Sound off, kids!"

"Oh!" Kirishima buzzed in. "Is it spiders?"

Coach Yagi's dazzling smile widened. "Are you asking me or telling me, buster?"

"Uh... spiders! Final answer for ten thousand yen!"
A few people giggled.

Yagi shook his head. "I'm sorry, young Kirishima, but that answer was wrong."

Toru buzzed in. "Oooooh! I think it's sea stars!" she cried.

"What a creative answer, young miss Hagakure!" Yagi boomed. "I like the way you think."

"So was that it?" Toru asked eagerly.

"That answer was..." Yagi drew a breath. "Wrong!"

"Then hurry up and say that!" Bakugo roared. "Damn old man!"

A few students gasped at that, but coach Yagi didn't look bothered. "Why not buzz in and try it, young Bakugo?"

Bakugo nearly snapped his buzzer in half and he bared his teeth. "It's millipedes!" he grated.

"Millipedes... that is the..." Yagi took another breath, then did a dramatic pose. "Absolutely correct answer!"

"Hurry up and move on!" Bakugo snapped. "I gotta get the next one too!"

"Very well. Last question!" Coach Yagi looked over the card. "Drumroll, please!"

There was none.

Coach Yagi shook his head. "Then we'll end this with a whimper... ladies and gentlemen, whose principle or law states that each point on a wavefront may be considered a new wave source?"

This time, Bakugo actually snapped his buzzer in half in his haste to answer, but meanwhile, Tenya Iida was just a millisecond faster, and the class rep actually stood up and saluted coach Yagi. "Coach! It is Huygen's Principle!"

At that, Coach Yagi tossed the card aside and struck yet another pose, and Midoriya could have sworn he saw a shaft of heavenly light shining on the man. "That answer... it stirs my very soul! Oh, young Iida, how magnificent you are!"

"WAS IT RIGHT OR WRONG?!" everyone cried at once.

Yagi flashed his most dazzling smile yet. "That answer was... CORRECT!" He did a stage bow. "And with that, the tryouts are complete! Allow me to now check the scoreboard!"

He sat down to check the laptop positioned on the desk (all the buzzers were connected to it) and he studied the screen, nodding and going "mmmhmmm" to himself a few times as though contemplating a wine list.

Bakugo, meanwhile, was trying to put his broken buzzer back together. "Uh... does anyone have any super glue?" he asked meekly. "I don't want to have to pay the school back for this hunk of junk."

"I am sorry, Katsuki Bakugo, but I have no super glue to lend you at this time!" Iida recited, bolting to his feet. "Please forgive me!" He bowed.

Momo giggled. "It's okay, Tenya. You don't have to show off. This is Bakugo's own foolish fault."

Bakugo whirled around with his rage face on. "You really wanna do this, rich girl?!" he thundered.

Coach Yagi ignored the antics and instead slowly stood up. "The results... they're in," he said dramatically.

Everyone's gaze fell on him in a dead hush. You could hear a pin drop.

Coach Yagi rapidly pointed at exactly eight students. "Momo Yaoyorozu! Tenya Iida! Shoto Todoroki! Itsuka Kendo! Izuku Midoriya! Mei Hatsume! Katsuki Bakugo! And Ochaco Uraraka! Congratulations... you made the team!"

Bakugo leaped to his feet and threw out both arms. "Whooooooo! Victory! Kiss my ass, Shiketsu high school!"

A few students burst out laughing. "Dude, they're not even here," Kirishima said with a snort. "And all you did was get on the team."

Bakugo clenched a fist and made his usual I'm-gonna-destroy-everyone face. "Yeah... but now that I'm on the team, the entire country will tremble under my fury! That science bowl is as good as won! No question can stand in my way! Shiketsu will rue the day they -!"

Momo bopped him on the head with her pencil case. "I think I will rue the day you make a fool of our high school in front of our peers," she said trying to look lofty and failing. "You're such a pain sometimes, Katsuki."

Bakugo made a shark-like smile (he made it look so easy). "Hey hey, you can't talk down to me, princess! We're on the same team! I earned my spot!"

Midoriya knew just what to do. "Hey, Kacchan, the new issue of Shonen Jump comes out today," he said. "Let's take our bikes over to the manga shop downtown and get some sodas on the ride home."

Bakugo's fiery aura vanished on the spot and he adopted a calm, cool demeanor as he politely coughed into his fist. "Why of course, my friend."

Momo looked stunned. "Teach me how to do that, Izuku, if you don't mind."

"Sorry, Momo." Midoriya grinned as he took hold of Bakugo's shoulders and steered the other boy to the exit with the other students swarming around them. "That's a trade secret."

"I'll pay you ten million yen."

Green yen signs floated around Midoriya as an angelic chorus swelled up. "Now that's an interesting offer -"

"Deku! Let's go!" Bakugo snapped. "I need some fresh air here!"

"Roger that, captain." Midoriya gave Momo a bracing smile over his shoulder as he escorted Bakugo out of the room before the other boy erupted again.

Twenty minutes later, Midoriya was riding his bike with Bakugo to the manga shop on the west side of town when Midoriya realized something. "Hang on, Kacchan," he said, his eyes widening.

"Huh? What?"

"I never congratulated Ochaco for making the team with us," Midoriya groaned. "She worked so hard to study with us, and I didn't give her a 'hey, great job' for it."

"Oh, right." Bakugo coasted down a hill and Midoriya pedaled to catch up. "Look, you'll have plenty of chances to tell her that in the next few days until the science bowl."

"D'you have an idea, Kacchan?"

Bakugo gave him a wide grin. "Clear your schedule, Deku. Until the 10th of this month, you're all mine."

*o*o*o*o*

"Huh? Katsuki?! You said that you were only bringing a few friends!"
Whack! Bakugo's mom slapped him on the top of the head with supersonic force when Midoriya and the other science bowl team members stepped into the Bakugo household's living room. Midoriya winced; his own mom would never hurt a fly!

Bakugo rubbed the top of his head. "Yeah, and I did! What are you complaining about?!"

Mrs. Bakugo made a fist, her expression just like her son's. "If I knew you were bringing half the class in here, I would have prepared snacks and tidied up the place a little more!"

"Who cares? We only need the dining room! Jeez!"

"Have a little consideration for once, Katsuki!"

"You're totally overreacting!"

By some miracle of strength, Mrs. Bakugo punted Bakugo clear into the adjacent dining room, then turned to her guests and instantly became a warm and inviting housewife. She made a polite bow. "Welcome. I'm Mitsuki Bakugo. I hope you enjoy your stay, kids."

The crumpled heap known as Katsuki Bakugo complained from the dining room floor. "Mom! Daylight's burning. We have to study for the science bowl and beat stupid Shiketsu high school!"

Mitsuki sighed. "That's all you've been talking about, Katsuki. Shiketsu this, Shiketsu that! When I was your age, I got along with others a little better. That's how I met your father."

"Where is he?" Momo asked politely.

"Upstairs in his study, working on a big project for work," Mitsuki said fondly. She put a hand over her heart. "Bless that man."

"How'd you meet him?" Mei Hatsume asked eagerly. "Is he like Bakugo or totally different?"

"My Masaru is the gentlest soul," Mitsuki said, now with both hands over her heart. "I met him while I interned at the clothing shop where he worked. Some time later, well, we made a household together!"

"That's not how dad tells it," Bakugo-heap grumbled from the floor. "You nagged the crap out of him until he finally went out with you."

Mistuki's fiery aura snapped back into place. "I'm trying to be romantic here, Katsuki! Do you have to ruin everything?!"

"Maybe I do!"

"Uh..." Midoriya stepped forward and motioned with both hands, a nervous smile on his face. "Mrs. Bakugo, sorry there's so many of us, but I promise we'll be quiet. We just want to study for the science bowl, and Bakugo invited us here to work on it."

Mitsuki cooled off again and made another little bow. "Of course, my dear boy. The dining room is all yours. I'll bring tea."

"Thank you!" Ochaco clapped her hands together and smiled. "Let's do this, guys!"

Midoriya scraped Bakugo off the dining room floor, and the eight of them settled in for some serious study time. And Bakugo wasn't kidding about getting serious; he unloaded not one, but four massive encyclopedias, along with science textbooks and even brochures and pamphlets from local museums.

"Okay, it's 3:46," Bakugo said, checking his smart phone's clock feature. "I don't care if you're tired from class today. It's time to absorb every scrap of data into our brains. And to do that..." A wicked grin crossed his face. "We're splitting into pairs, and the winning team gets this." He pulled out a wallet and slammed a 1,000 yen note on the table.

Momo blinked. "We're competing for a prize? Katsuki, that's a bit tacky."

"No! It's fun!" Mei dug around in her purse and also slapped down a 1,000 note. "C'mon, guys. Feed the pot."

Feeling kind of silly, Midoriya reluctantly joined in, and now, 8,000 yen beckoned as the prize.

"So. The teams." Bakugo rubbed hands together. "Itsuka, you're with me. Shoto, pair up with Mei. Momo and Iida, you're a team. And Deku, you're with Ochaco."

Nice! Midoriya caught Ochaco's eye and smiled. He felt himself go pink. "L-let's do our best!" he said awkwardly. Whoa, did Mrs. Bakugo turn up the thermostat to 90? It was hot in here!

"Very well! I shall do all I can to support my team!" Iida barked, snapping into a rigid pose in his seat. "Momo, let us compete with great vigor!"

Momo giggled and hid her mouth behind her hand. "Tenya, it's all right. I just want to study my hardest with you. Partner..."

Midoriya wasn't sure, but it looked like Momo was making a wide smile from behind her hand, and she was definitely fidgeting in her seat.

Iida relaxed and dragged the nearest science book closer. He cleared his throat. "All right, partner. Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready."

"Great." Bakugo flipped to a random page and book a deep breath. "First question: an open-ocean community is also known as a what?"

"I brought tea!" Mrs. Bakugo burst onto the scene, carrying a tray of eight tea mugs.

Bakugo winced. "Mom! Busy here!"

"A 'thank you' would be nice!" Mrs. Bakugo roared, and she set Bakugo's mug down pretty hard in front of him.

"Fine! Thanks!"

Midoriya avoided everyone's eyes and instead took a sip. This tea was pretty good.

"Okay, have a good time, kids!" Mrs. Bakugo was back to friendly as she left the room, waving to everyone.

Bakugo got right back into battle mode. "So! Who's got the answer?"

Iida's hand shot up. "A pelagic community!"

Bakugo nodded. "Got it! One point for Iida-Yaoyorozu team."

"All right!" Momo blushed and clapped a few times.

Iida gave her a sidelong look. "It's just one question."

"Oh, I know." Momo pretended to look lofty as she checked her book for a good quiz question. "Which energy source does not originate from the sun: wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, or ocean thermal energy conversion?"

Shoto casually raised his hand. "Geothermal."

"Very good, Shoto." Momo smiled. "One point for you."

"Our turn, Deku." Ochaco searched her book. "Okay, guys: in Einstein's universe, what is the fourth dimension?"

Itsuka Kendo raised her hand. "I know this one. It's time."

"Yeah." Ochaco beamed. "Good one."

Now the Shoto-Mei team had to offer a question. Shoto searched a book for a question, but Mei took charge and asked one first. "Hey guys, what are the smallest formed elements of human blood?"

Everyone took a second to think this over. Midoriya thought back to biology class, rapidly flipping through everything he'd learned when he wasn't playing Hangman with Bakugo or Denki. Hmmmmmm...

Oh!

Midoriya shot his hand up. "Platelets!"

"Yeah! Go Deku!" Mei clapped. "You're such a smarty-pants."

Bakugo took a sip of tea. "So, one round in, and we're all tied at one point each. Find some harder questions, guys, and we'll see who has the guts to survive!"

Two hours later, though, it was getting hard to tell which team had the most guts, because every team was tied at 86 points each!

"I'm tired," Mei groaned, resting her head in her arms on the table. "Can't we call it a draw?"

"But we're not done," Bakugo told her. "A team's gotta reach the point limit to win. That's when we find out who's the smartest."

Momo raised her eyebrows. "And what is the score limit, may I ask?"

"Five hundred."

Midoriya nearly had a heart attack. "K-Kacchan! We'll be here until breakfast!"

"Grab a Gatorade, buddy." Bakugo flipped through his book. "Let's see..."

"To heck with that." Mei sprang to her feet, all smiles. She rubbed her hands together. "I got a peek at that awesome home entertainment system you've got, Bakugo. Can we have a party and watch a nice movie? Can we? Please?"

Bakugo blinked. "Uh... what?"

"That sounds wonderful." Ochaco beamed and got to her feet too, pushing her chair back into place. "Bakugo, can we get some snacks?"

"But...!" Bakugo looked like he had a lemon crammed down his throat.

Midoriya got up and patted Bakugo's back. "C'mon, Kacchan, we did a great job. Let's kick back. We earned it."

Bakugo muttered a few incomprehensible things before he finally sighed and nodded. "You punks aren't gonna keep playing anyway. Fine. Take your cash back, and I'll ask my mom if you can stay a bit more."

He took a deep breath. "MOM! CAN MY FRIENDS STAY OVER SOME MORE?"

It took Mrs. Bakugo just a split second to respond. "WHY? IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

"THEY WANNA HAVE A PARTY IN THE LIVING ROOM!"

"EXCUSE ME?"

"PLEASE? UNTIL LIKE NINE O'CLOCK OR SOMETHING?"

"FINE! BUT NOT ONE SECOND LATER! I HAVE AN EARLY MORNING TOMORROW AND I NEED PEACE AND QUIET!"

"OKAY! THANKS!"

Bakugo powered down his industrial-strength vocal cords. "Fine, let's have that party..."

He clearly wanted to study like a champ, but heck, it was seven on one, and not even Katsuki Bakugo could handle those odds. So, Midoriya settled on one of the two leather couches with Momo and Ochaco without even realizing what he was doing.

Midoriya felt himself go totally red. Here he was, sandwiched between two beautiful girls, one of whom was the neighbor girl of his dreams, right here in the comfort of the Bakugo household! He tried not to break into a nervous sweat.

Ochaco made a sympathetic noise. "Deku, you're so warm and clammy. Are you getting a cold?"
"N-no! I'm fine! I swear!"

Meanwhile, Bakugo brought over a bunch of random snacks from the kitchen and Mei ransacked his DVD collection. "Hey, why not this one?" She held up a horror movie's case.

Momo squeaked. "No! Horror movies ruin my beauty sleep."

Mei grinned wickedly. "Is someone a little scaredy-cat?"

"Just pick something else!"

Mei tried out a few more DVD titles that all got rejected, until finally Itsuka Kendo, ever the helpful big sister type, got up and found a simple rom-com movie that no one could possibly dislike. She powered on the DVD player and TV, and once Bakugo brought over a few blankets (how weirdly thoughtful), everyone settled in.

Midoriya had his eyes on the screen when he felt something soft cover his lap. He looked down and saw Ochaco draping a big, checkered blanket across their laps, and Ochaco reclined as she brought the blanket up to her neck. "This is kinda cozy, Deku," she said, her cheeks going pink as she smiled.

"Y-yeah! Very! Thank you! This is very comfort! I mean, feel good! Blanket!" Midoriya felt like he'd stuck a fork in the wall socket as his panicking brain fired off whatever relevant phrases it could think of.

Ochaco giggled. "I've seen this movie before. Watch this next scene closely, Deku. In the back, you can see..."

Ochaco made a few comments as the movie played, and Midoriya barely noticed what he was eating or what anyone else was doing as he tried to think of some cool, manly thing to say or do. This was like a movie theater, right? He was sitting next to the best girl ever in a darkened room while a lovey-dovey movie played, and this evening was bursting with opportunities! Did he dare take one?

Maybe not. Midoriya felt frozen with excited indecision as the movie neared its end (Shoto looked incredibly bored, while Momo and Mei were enraptured and Iida made a few approving comments about "the sublime camera work and dramatic angles."). It was a total bummer when the movie was over and Bakugo hit the lights.

"Whew. It's 8:58," he said, checking the wall clock. "Better run, guys. Or you'll find out why everyone in this neighborhood calls my mom The Gorgon."

"She's the nicest person I ever met," Momo said indignantly as she stood up and stretched. "You're just a brat."

"Am not!" Bakugo erupted.

Momo actually took Iida's hand in hers as she led him to the front door. "Thank you for having us, Katsuki," she said over her shoulder with a wide smile. "See you all at school tomorrow..."

Iida looked flustered but didn't say a thing as Momo led him outside, his hand clasped firmly in hers.

"8:59. Last chance, guys," Bakugo said. "Run!"

Shoto, Itsuka, and Mei got up and thanked Bakugo for having them over, and they also left. Which left...

"Ochaco, we should leave... oh." Midoriya wondered what that weight on his lap was. He had felt something warm and heavy settle on his lap during the movie, but he figured that Bakugo owned a cat, and it had sat down on his lap.

Nope. Ochaco lay across his lap, fast asleep.

N-no way...!

Bakugo grinned. "Damn, Deku, you already got more action than I did on my date with her."

"K-Kacchan! Don't be crude!"

"Sure thing, love maestro. I'm sure guys will show yourselves out..." Bakugo wandered off and went upstairs. At once, his mom's voice rang out.

"KATSUKI! DID YOUR FRIENDS LEAVE YET?"
"THEY JUST LEFT! DAMN NAG!"

"DON'T YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED YELLING FIRST!"

Ochaco blinked awake and rubbed her eyes. "Deku, I..." She realized her position and let out an embarrassed squeak. She sprang to her feet, her face red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... was that too forward of me? I just got so tired...!"
"It's totally fine." Deku smiled as he got up. "C'mon, I'll walk you home. It's dark out."

Ochaco nodded, clearly flustered. "Oh. Sure."

They didn't say a word as Midoriya escorted Ochaco to her house, but the whole way there, he found himself relaxed, and in fact he wished this evening would never end. He breathed the cool, slightly damp October air as he passed under a street lamp. This felt like a scene from that rom-com he just watched, but this was a million times better.

"Okay, um... this is my house." Ochaco pointed at her house as she walked up the front steps. "B-but you knew that, right? I mean, we live right next door! There's your house, too." She pointed at it.

"Yeah. Home sweet home." Midoriya scratched the back of his head, his mind racing for something cool to say. He came up empty. Darn it!

Ochaco went a shade redder and hurried to her porch, waving. "G-good night, Deku! See you at school!"

"See you!" Midoriya waited until Ochaco went inside before he wandered over to his own porch. He blinked when he recognized a certain face watching him from between the window curtains, so he was ready when he stepped into the living room.

Inko was all smiles. "You walked the Uraraka girl home? That's my boy! And I thought chivalry was gone."

Midoriya nearly hit the ceiling. "Mom! I was just being nice!"

"You can't fool me, Izuku." Inko made a sly face as she waved a finger. "A mother knows just what her boy is thinking. I'm so happy for you."

"I'm not here!" Midoriya fell back on his default phrase as he raced to his bedroom and hastily shut the door. He leaned against the door and gently slid to the floor in a seated position, sighing slowly. He was really walking a tightrope here, and he did not need more distractions!

Still, it least Inko was on his side, even if she was super nosy about it...