Eiji rubbed his sore face while he listened intently in his English class. Man, ever since that fight with Meiwaku his jaw had been throbbing like crazy and it didn't go away!

"Dude, do you need to see nurse Eri again?" Kaminari stopped his lesson and drew everyone's attention to the uncomfortable teen.

"I-I'm fine! She fixed me up yesterday, so I should be alright..." Should be. But he was not alright- whole face was pulsing! Denki shrugged and turned back to the chalkboard.

"So which one of the sentences above should you *not* say in a job interview?" Kaminari asked the painfully quiet class. Eiji's hand slowly raised. "Anyone else have an idea?" He called out. Nobody else wanted to speak. Sighing in defeat, Denki asked, "Come on, Eiji isn't the only one learning English here, right?"

Silence.

"Fine... Eiji, which one is incorrect?"

"Umm, sentence number three, because you don't want to call your potential boss 'sweetie'." He mumbled as he massaged his sore jaw.

"Correct! Seriously, is anyone else paying attention?! I'm giving you easy stuff here!" Kaminari deflated. Suddenly, the bell rang, and everyone left without one second of hesitation. But before Eiji could leave, his personal favorite hero called out to him,

"Hey dude! Come here a minute!"

"Y-Yessir!" Eiji tensed up.

"Relax! You're not in trouble, I just wanted to say good work on the test! You got all the questions right!" He smiled and handed Eiji the papers.

"Umm, then how'd I only get a 98/100?" He looked it over.

"You forgot to write the date."

Eiji smacked himself in the forehead.

"But that's calm, you scored the highest in the class! So how are you doing at your other studies?"

"Hehe... well..." Barely passing. Eiji sucked at math and science and history and literally every subject except English and Heroics.

"Want some extra credit towards your overall GPA?" Kaminari suggested with a point in his fingers. Eiji's jaw dropped.

"Yes! Yes please!" He bounced excitedly.

"Cool! I have someone who is still learning Japanese and could really use a tutor!"

"A Japanese tutor? I thought you were going to say-"

"Oop! Look who just arrived!" Denki pointed to the doorway. A little girl, about eleven years old, was standing next to Mirio-Sensei with a worried look in her eyes. She looked half-American or European or something.

"She wanted to see you, and I have to teach class now, so... see you next time!" Mirio playfully waved his arms around, leaving the little girl with the two.

"Lilly! Meet my friend here!" Kaminari gestured her to come over, and she nervously did so. "Eiji, this is Lilly. She got here from the States just a few days ago."

Eiji blinked a few times. Not that he minded it, but why was there a little American girl here in Yueei?

"Lilly, this is my dude Eiji! Can you say hello?"

"Kon... Kon'nichiwa?" She tried her best, and it was adorable.

"Very good! But in the morning we say ohayōgozaimasu!" She had a blank look in her eyes as she tried to remember such a complicated word.

"Oh-hay-yo-go-zay... erm..."

"It's okay, I speak some English!" Eiji smiled and squatted down to her height. "My name is Eiji, nice to meet y-ACK!" As he shook her hand he felt a surge of electricity spasms through his muscles and tense up his already pained jaw.

"Aahh!" She curled away and leaned on Denki's arm. Whatever her quirk was, it didn't seem to affect him at all. With his hair standing up on end, Eiji shook away the aftershock.

"Sorry about that, my dude. Lilly is still learning how to control her quirk." Kaminari apologized. "She doesn't know any Japanese. If you would be willing to teach her even the basics that would be totally legit!" He threw a punch in the air excitedly. Eiji flattened his hair and smiled once more at the little girl, ignoring his throbbing jaw.

"Alright, Lilly! You ready to learn Japanese?!" Eiji asked determinedly. She was sheepish and quiet, and practically hid entirely behind Kaminari's chair.

"...Hai?"

"You ready to go Plus Ultra?!" Eiji asked dramatically with a fist in the air. She giggled some and gave a single nod.

"Plus Ultra? Hehe! That's silly!"

Kaminari smiled as the two with warm, bubbly feelings in his chest. Yeah, Lilly was going to fold into the family just fine.

"I have clean up duty today, but if your family says it is okay we can meet tomorrow-" Eiji's jaw felt an excruciating pain that was so bad he had to stop talking. "Shit..."

"Shit?"

"GYAH! Don't say that! I- OUCH!" He held his face in pain once more. Kaminari couldn't help but laugh.

"Looks like my little dudette's already learning Japanese! In Bakugo fashion, I might add... Want to go home and watch cartoons?" He smiled and teased.

"Go home?" Eiji mumbled. Wait... was Uncle Denki babysitting Lilly or something? Or doing an exchange student type thing?

"And Eiji, my dude! You look like your face hurts."

Eiji stopped cupping his puffed cheeks and winced deeply.

"Maybe go see Eri one more time?"

"...Yeah okay..."

## Eri's office

"Your jaw hurts? Again? But you came in yesterday!" Nurse Eri gasped sweetly.

"Hai. Think you can heal it again? It felt better for a little while after last time."

"Oh, but my quirk isn't healing!" Eri explained as she moved some equipment around her office. "I only reverse someone's body's state, which means if your face hurts again already then..." She hummed a bit to herself and tapped her horn in thought. "Hold still, I'm going to take a scan of your jaw."

"Huh?"

Eri clicked a special camera and looked over it with a furrow in her brow.

"Oh dear... I don't think I can do anything for you..." She sighed.

"What? Why not?" He deflated. Handing him the camera to show what she was looking at, Eri explained,

"See that? You have some impacted wisdom teeth back there. I might be able to reverse the damage, but inevitably this will happen again."

"Wisdom teeth?! But I'm only fourteen!"

"It happens sometimes. I suggest you get oral surgery as soon as possible."

"SURGERY?!" Eiji yelped in horror.

"Today, even! I'm going to call your dad and let him know the situation..." Eri said as she looked up Bakugo's number. Eiji felt a tad dizzy as the thought of surgery weighed heavy on his mind. Suddenly cleaning duty didn't sound so bad anymore...

## Musutafu Dental & Oral Surgery

"Geez kid, you'll be pulling me away from work for two days!" Bakugo groaned with exasperation as the two sat in the waiting room. He was reading through the post-surgery care pamphlet as they sat around doing nothing. "How am I s'posed to look for those escapees while you're being so needy?" He teased.

"I'm going into surgery! You could at least pretend to have a little sympathy..." Eiji pouted and looked over the magazines with a sigh. Suddenly, a fashion magazine lay open in the table in front of them for the world to see its contents.

It was him! Eiji was the model on the page!

"Eep!" He slammed the magazine shut and slid it under some others.

"What that magazine do to you?" Katsuki asked, not really paying attention.

"Uhh... there was... people... in bikinis?" Eiji winced. Bakugo huffed proudly. What a good, trustworthy kid, covering up inappropriate pictures like that.

"'Atta boy."

Eiji looked at the time. They could call him away for surgery any minute now...

"Are you nervous?" Katsuki asked with a tired squint.

"N-No~" Eiji lied, an uneasy gurgle resting in his stomach.

"You sure, bub?" Bakugo laughed and plucked off a few leaves that Eiji must've accidentally grown. He smacked the sprouting leaves off his shoulder and breathed,

"Yeah... yeah I'm fine~" He sank into his chair.

"It ain't all that scary. It's real simple. They're just gonna slice an ex in the gum and drill away at the-"

*"Hurk."* Eiji looked like he was going to be sick. "Could you please... not tell me how they're gonna cut open my face...?" He mumbled greenly. A sweet looking nurse came and called,

"Bakugo Eijiro?" Gulping loudly, Eiji left the room with shakey legs.

"You'll be fine, bub. You'll survive... probably." Bakugo smirked. Eiji's face looked pale and distant. The dad was not instilling one ounce of confidence in the terrified teen. But that's alright. He'll be out of it any minute now...

## One hour and a half later...

"Mr. Bakugo?"

Katsuki snorted awake from the waiting room chair.

"Huh?"

"He's waking up now." The cute, soft nurse waved him in. As soon as Bakugo entered he suppressed a wheeze. Eiji's face was as round as a dodgeball, and his droopy eyes were blinking out of synchronization.

"Damn he looks so stupid!" He coughed away a snicker.

"He's going to be loopy for the rest of the day, have you read through the care pamphlet?"

"Yeah yeah. I know the drill-"

Suddenly, Bakugo was interrupted by a teenager who really shouldn't be talking right now.

"You... have been noffing but nicesh to me..." Eiji called out to the sweet nurse.

"Oh, why thank you! What a sweetheart-"

"You are sho... sho nice... You'd make a real... shweet mom..."

"Hehe. Well I'm a proud mom of two dogs-"

"My dad'sh shingle. And he'sh got noffing but time on hish hands!"

Bakugo's mind shattered. Was Eiji trying to set him up with the random nurse lady?!

"Ei! Bub! Shut your yaps-"

"He might look like a shmelly, ugly, old... little boy... but if ya look deep down, like deep, deep, deep-"

"Oi kid! Quit it!"

"-he'sh actually... perfectly adequate..."

"Perfectly adequate?!" Katsuki gasped in offense. The nerve of this punk! "Stop blabbering! Keep your lips shut or your stitches are gonna pop!" Bakugo demanded and tried to shoo away the embarrassed glow in his cheeks. Eiji's eyes went wide and brimmed with tears.

"My lipsh are shtitched togeffer?"

"God! No, you're fine! That's it- We're getting your dumb ass home!" Bakugo sighed and helped Eiji up to his feet.

"Woah... I'm really high..." Eiji wobbled and tapped his toes on the ground.

"Yes. Yes you are." Katsuki sighed as the amused nurse held the door open for them.

"Bye, silly! And remember, no foods for the rest of today and only soft foods tomorrow like ice cream and pudding!" She hollered to them with a wave.

"Icesh cream?" Eiji pleaded with Bakugo.

"You heard the lady, not today."

"But I thought you loved me..." Cried the boy as his dad buckled him in like a two-year-old.

"This kid..." Bakugo growled before hopping into his seat and driving away. The teen stared blankly out the window with drool pooling in his cheek.

"Let'sh play eye shpy..."

"Ugh..." Bakugo groaned. If Eiji was reverting back to his childlike ways, then this game could take a couple hours at least. "What do you spy?" Bakugo begrudgingly asked.

"I shpy wiff my little eye..." Eiji tapped his window and whispered to himself, "The Jolly Green Giant... attacking a car lot... "

"What in the actual hell?" Katsuki cussed as he kept his eyes on the road. The Jolly Green Giant? The character on green bean cans? What sweet hell of a hallucination was Eiji having? "I swear I have never heard such crazy nonsense before! What are you even looking at?"

But Eiji was fast asleep, snoring quite loudly. Bakugo supposed he may never receive an answer to the mystery of the Jolly Green Giant. Some things are better left unsolved...

## The Bakugo household

"Alright, bub. Go nap on the couch. You can barely stand on your own." Bakugo sighed as he cracked his neck and tossed his keys onto the counter. But Eiji was not heading to the couch. He was just staring at himself in the mirror.

"Oh no!" He cried and he squished his puffy face.

"What? You need pain meds or-"

"I'm fat again!" He cried crocodile tears. They were ceaselessly streaming down his inflamed face and nothing was stopping them. "I-I-I worked sho hard- *SNIFF* -but it wash all for noffing! *Sob...*"

"Eiji, look- you're not fat. You never were, what are you talking about-"

"Yesh I wash! I wash sho fat! I washn't that shtrong, an' I couldn't do anyffing!" He wailed. Bakugo never heard this side of Eiji before. He never thought Eiji was chubby, maybe a bit soft, but it was apparent how the kid saw himself back then.

"First off, you weren't fat! Second off, nobody said nothing about chubby people not being able to be heroes! We come in all shapes and sizes! And thirdly-"

"If I'm chubby then I can't be a hero, an' if I can't be a hero then I can't be like you, an'-" Eiji sobbed a few more times as he stared at his reflection.

"Oi! Snap out of it!" Bakugo shook his son out of his panic. "Look... maybe I... overfed you as a kid... but that's only 'cause you were nothing but skin and bones when I first found you and-" Bakugo tisked at the ground and hissed, "But you ain't like that now! I mean, look at yourself!"

"Eueh?" Eiji rolled up his shirt and stared at his reflection.

And kept staring.

And kept staring.

With his shirt bunched under his armpits, Eiji turned to his dad, "What wash I doin' again?"

"..." Katsuki sighed at the bleary look in his eyes. "Going to the couch."

"Yokay..." He hobbled over to the tv area and started his face-first plop onto the couch.

"No!" Bakugo grabbed Eiji by his bunched-up shirt and barely saved his face from the painful fall.

"Heh. Hehehe. Hehe- *SNORT* Hehe!" Eiji thought this was hilarious. "I almosht died... heheh..."

"You're gonna give me a heart attack..." Bakugo grumbled as he spun his son around and placed a pillow under his head. "Now don't do anything stupid for thirty seconds while I-"

"OH MY GAWD!" Eiji screamed, spiking Bakugo's adrenaline through the roof.

"What?! What is it?!"

"My tongue fell out!" Eiji cried.

"Your... what?" Katsuki paused. His son shoved a hand towards his face. A bloody, squishy mesh material was gingerly held in his hand. "No bub... that's just your gauze..."

"No it'sh not! It'sh my tongue!"

"Put that back in your mouth! Actually, just- here!" Katsuki pulled out new gauze from a baggy. "Open up!"

"I'll nefer be able to shpeak or shing again!" He whimpered as large tears brimmed in his eyes.

"You aren't having trouble talking right now, are ya?!" Bakugo growled. "Now open up or you're grounded!"

"Hmpuh?" Eiji's eyes looked scared, as if loosing his tongue was less of a problem than being grounded. He opened up his face and Bakugo stuffed the gauze in with spite.

"Kay! Now I'll take that-" Katsuki grabbed the old gauze and tossed it. Disgusting. "-and you! Stay put and go to sleep!" He demanded of the drowsy teenager. Eiji looked like he was fading.

"But I'm not shleepy-" Eiji was interrupted by a clunky purr as a cat hopped onto his lap.

"Murrur?" The Duke cooed as he spun in circles and snuggled in. Eiji felt tears coming on once more.

"It'sh my little boy! My little boy! Oh my God I love my little boy... sho much! I'd die for you... I'd die for thish amazing... little boy..."

"Uhuh. Please don't." Katsuki sighed as he placed a lukewarm glass of water by the table. Turning on the tv for his son, Katsuki opened his tablet and got back to work. "Now sleep. I got shit to do."

"Shwear jar..." Eiji moaned out before completely KO'ing.

"...No."

There was much needed peace the next several minutes. Bakugo finally put his feet up and sank into his armchair as the stressful day returned to... normal? Whatever that word means.

"Finally some quiet..."

"Strange news everyone," a reporter on the tv interrupted his peaceful state, "An attack took place earlier today, on a used car lot in west Musutafu."

"Wait, that's just down the street from the surgeon's place..." Katsuki pondered how he could've missed it.

"A large man used his transformation quirk to double his size and destroyed 49 vehicles. There were no injuries, but because no hero could arrive on the scene, the cost in damage is staggering." The image that blipped up behind the reporter showed a very large and green man taking out several cars in one blow.

"What?! Eiji?! You didn't hallucinate that?! You just let me drive by like an idiot?!" Katsuki blew a fit. But Eiji was still snoring away. "I can't believe I went right past that!" Before Bakugo got too far along in his self pity, a text binged his phone. "Huh? Maru?" He opened it up.

"Yo Uncle Kacchan! I wanna see how Baachu's doing. Is he loopy?"

"Heheheh..." Bakugo laughed a little and smirked a truly evil smile, with the devil himself gleaming behind his eyes. This'll be payback for letting that green bastard get away. Recording the interaction, Bakugo shook Eiji awake.

"Oi! Bub!" Katsuki growled.

"Heeyuh?" Eiji slurred awake.

"Maru wanted to know how you're doin'. Say hi."

"Wha?! She can't shee me here!" Eiji woefully mumbled as he covered his chest with his cat. "I'm shuper shweaty!"

"You're super sweaty?"

"Whath if I grow a tree from my buttcrack?!" He exasperatedly moaned. "It doeshn't matter... she'll be my beshteshts... friend! Even if I fart shoybeans..." Bakugo was dying.

"*WHEEZE!* Y-You're gonna hate me for this!" Katsuki ended the video and sent it to Maru. "Payback." Hopefully she wasn't going to show that to his other classmates.

Spoiler: she does.

"Daaaad? I have... to tell you... shomthing important." Eiji mumbled out incoherently.

"Hehe... oh, what's that, bub?" Bakugo snickered as he rewatched the video.

"I didn't... want to tell you... but..." he looked into Bakugo's eyes and woefully cried out, "I'm a model!"

"Pfft!" Katsuki nearly lost it! "A model, huh?" He wheezed at Eiji's apologetic, puffy, drooling face. "I would never have guessed." That punk must've thought highly of himself if he was calling himself a model.

"Are you mad?" Eiji mumbled softly as he drifted off.

"Livid." Bakugo joked.

"I knew it! I'm doomed..." he wailed before completely passing out. Katsuki couldn't help but snicker at his hilarious son. What crazy nonsense he was spewing out! A model? Ha!

Several minutes passed, and Bakugo was still doing all the research he could do from home. Going through sensitive government data wasn't easy on a tiny tablet. Man- a whole 'nother day of working from home? Not great, but what else was he going to do? Take Eiji into the office with him? Heck no.

"Dad?" Speaking of the devil, it seems like someone woke up.

"Yeah bub?"

"Have you ever been... in love?" He asked with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Oh God..." Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Eiji, you are not in love. You've been dating this exchange chick for three days."

"But... have YOU ever been in love?" Eiji asked. Oh, maybe that faraway look was just how his eyes looked right now. Sighing, Katsuki closed his tablet and shrugged,

"No. I haven't."

"Oh..." Eiji mumbled quietly, "You should try it shometime."

"Thanks for the advice..." Bakugo groaned annoyedly.

"Dontcha wanna fall in love?"

"Ha?" Does he want to fall in love?! "Whatta ya think, punk?! It's not like I'm against it!" Bakugo exhaled and looked at the ceiling, "I tried dating when you were a squirt, but... nothin' worked out."

"Oh..." He seemed a little sad. Maybe Eiji secretly wished his dad was married. Maybe he wanted more than just Katsuki. Maybe that's why he was trying to set his dad up with the closest available person when he first woke up. Pursing his lips together, Bakugo mumbled,

"Look bub, I'm... sorry."

"Huh?" Eiji looked over with some drool leaving his mouth.

"That you grew up with just me. I tried to find you another parent but-"

"It'sh not that, dad," Eiji blabbered, "I jusht can't wait until you fall in love. I wonder... if your eyesh will look diff...erent..." He began to fade away again. His a soft smile, Bakugo looked warmly down at his tablet.

"Who knows."

It was dark outside. Maybe Eiji should be in his bed for the night.

"C'mon bub. You better get to bed."

"Ish it night-night?" The fourteen-year-old asked as Bakugo helped him up to his feet.

"Sure. Uhuh."

Finally, after quite the struggle to get his son into bed, Bakugo flicked the light out and yawned,

"Alright. G'night."

"You're welcome..." He sighed before drifting into a sleepless rest.

## Ten minutes later...

"*GASP!*" Eiji woke up from his slumber, adrenaline flying his system. He suddenly remembered something really, really important that he almost forgot! He stumbled out of bed and crashed against the wall with a thud, but he didn't care- no, *couldn't* care! He had something important to do! "Daaaad!" He called out drowsily, but his dad probably had his hearing aids out.

That was it, Eiji had to take matters into his own hands!

Grabbing his phone, he mumbled to himself,

"I gotta call... Uncle Chargebolt! I can't teach Lilly... wiffout teef!" He announced to himself. He started dialing away at his phone and waited for Kaminari to pick up.

Eventually, somebody did pick up his FaceTime call.

"Bak-Otaku?" Meiwaku's done-with-life face grumbled awake from his beautiful dream. "What the cussing cuss are you calling at this hour for?!" He rubbed his eyes. Squinting at the video, Eiji's puffy face greeted him back. "The heck?"

Meiwaku might've not been the person Eiji was trying to call, but he'll do.

"I... can't teach! You gotta let Mr. Uncle Chargebolt know... I can't teach English clash!"

"Ha?" Meiwaku was beyond confused. "Oh right... you got your wisdom teeth out..." The bully facepalmed.

"I jusht... wanna help a little girl... but I don't have teef! You haveta tell him!"

"Go to sleep, Bak-Otaku! You ain't making no sense!"

"But I don't know who elsesh to call..." Eiji cried out. "*Sigh...* I'm sho lonely..."

Blinking a few times, Meiwaku rubbed his stubbly face.

"I'm hanging up."

"NoOoOooo..."

"Who the hell are you talking to!?" Bakugo groggily spat as he entered Eiji's room. He wasn't asleep yet- but he wanted to be! It was already 8:50! "You should be sleeping!"

"But I haveta help thish girl... for Denki Chargebolt!" He cried out as he fell back onto his bed.

"You're talking to a chick?!" Bakugo snatched his phone. "Who is this?"

"Eep!" Meiwaku froze. He probably looked ugly and tired as hell right now ...in front of Ground Zero!

"...This thing frozen?" Katsuki coughed as he squinted closer at the FaceTime. "Who are you?"

"M-M-Meiwaku B-Basuji s-s-sir!" He stuttered out.

"Wait a second..." Bakugo squinted at the screen, "That sounds familiar..."

Did... Ground Zero remember him?!

"You're the punkass who bullied Eiji in middle school!" He growled. Oh crap! That's not how he wanted to be remembered!

"Wait! W-We're... friends now! I swear! We're i-in the same class!"

"Oh... wait... you were that punk in the Sports Festival who beat the shit outta Maru, huh?"

Meiwaku felt sick. That wasn't how he wanted to be remembered either. Made him feel like a villain-

"Good work. She's a tough cookie. You didn't underestimate her and I appreciate that."

"...!" Meiwaku couldn't speak. So... Ground Zero was paying attention to him! And he... complimented him! This- This was amazing! Was he dreaming?!

"Daaad! You... haveta tell Uncle Denki... I'ma *failure*!" Eiji moaned loudly. Groaning in rolling his eyes, Katsuki looked over to his pitiful son.

"Go to sleep! Sheesh!" And with that, Bakugo hung up on the random teenager Eiji called out of nowhere. "Now I'm going to bed!"

"Butcha haveta tuck me in firsht!" Eiji called out drowsily.

"...Your fourteen. I'm not doing that."

"But..." Eiji pulled the covers over his nose and whimpered a bit, his eyes getting teary, "...Shoon I'll be too big for you to tuck me in..."

"You're already too big."

"Noooo..." He moaned quietly. "I'm shmall... just a shmall... child..."

"..." Katsuki rolled his eyes and looked around the room. Picking The Duke off of a pile of dirty laundry, he placed the cat besides Eiji and begrudgingly tucked him in. "Can't believe I'm doing this..."

"Hey dad?" Eiji called out while all snuggled in.

"Hmm?"

"I love you..." he immediately snored a long and loud snore, but it made Bakugo warm inside. Yeah... there was probably only one person in the whole world Bakugo could say that truthfully back to, drugged up or not.

"I love you too, bub."

A/N: Hey guys! Wanna see some Baachu art? Follow my Instagram account baachu_mha! Updated regularly! I take prompts as well! Might even repost your Baachu art, if you make any (with credit, of course). ;) Enjoy!