"So Baachu, schools back! We're back in the dorms! Life is good!" Maru smiled as they walked into class after what might've been the worst summer vacation they have ever had. "Things seem to be getting back to normal, huh?"
"Man, I hope so. I am so tired of things going wrong all the time. Can't life just be fluffy and nice again?" Eiji sighed as they walked into the crowded lunchroom.
"So now that things are finally back to normal, I was wondering, um, if you'd like to get boba after school, like we used to do?" Maru smiled with a blush coming into her face. It only made Eiji laugh.
"Don't you work at a boba shop? Do you ever get sick of it?"
"No!" She pouted, "I'll never get sick of boba! Never!"
"Heh! Well lemme see when we could hang out..." He pulled out his phone and mumbled, "After school I tutor Lilly, then on Fridays I get dinner with dad, and on Saturday I have work until five..."
"Geez, Baachu! How do you have time for sleep?!"
"Yeah, I know. I should really stop saying yes to things."
"Yeah? Like say... going for boba after you get off work?" Maru teased. Rolling his beach and sighing playfully, Eiji shrugged,
"It's fine! I have time! Saturday afternoon?"
"Yes! Can't wait! It's been a while since we've caught up and actually talked. Anyways, smell you later, Baachu!" Maru waved as she took her tray to her usual table.
"Heh! Yeah. Oh?" A binging sound caught Eiji's attention. A text from Dalisay! He scrambled at his phone and read it aloud, "Eat lunch with me outside?! Yes! Coming!"
Dashing past slowly meandering third-years, Eiji came up to the courtyard doors and checked his breath before exiting the building.
And there she was, the most beautiful woman in all of UA history: Dalisay.
"H-Hey! Dalisay!" Eiji smiled a goofy grin as he sat next to his girlfriend.
"Hm? You got here fast." She shrugged nonchalantly, still scrolling through her phone.
"Well, I didn't want to keep you waiting!" He smiled.
"Good. Anyways, Ei, I know you're a busy guy with your modeling job and all..." Dalisay leaned in close and tapped her nails across his chest, "But there's been this concert that I've been dying to see, and there's no one else I'd rather see it with than you."
That made Eiji feel real good on the inside. His tummy felt fuzzy with butterflies, and he swayed a little in place.
"R-Really? Me?"
"Yes! And you'll love who's in town: BBS! They're like, the best! Don't you just love K-pop?" She leaned onto his arm.
"Do I?!" Eiji made a mental note to look up whatever K-pop and BBS was later. But saying that sure made Dalisay happy.
"They're playing Saturday night, and I like, know this friend who got tickets but can't go. Last time I checked it was only 6500 yen." She hummed and started texting on her phone.
"That's actually a pretty good price! I can't believe they're so cheap-"
"Oh no..." Dalisay sighed and tossed her phone to the side and gave a big pout.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"My friend just bumped the prices because we're so late getting to them... I guess we can't go..." She gave a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Wha? How much are they now?" Eiji asked.
With the biggest pout he'd ever seen on her downcast face, she sighed,
"21500 yen... each..."
Oof. That was a lot of money now. They really couldn't go... Unless...
"I-I could technically buy us those tickets?" Eiji stammered, "I do have a job."
Sparkles flashed across her caramel eyes.
"Really?! You'd do that for me?" She hugged his arm.
"Yeah! I'm sure it'll be fine!" He blushed crimson.
"Oooh thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed like the happiest girl on earth and squeezed his arm tightly.
"Hehe, you're welcome I guess-"
She gave him a pec on the cheek.
"Gah! Umm, s-sorry, D-Dalisay, b-b-but I technically can't, um, kiss..." Eiji blushed a deep, deep crimson color.
"Well does it matter if I kiss you?" She put her fingers between his fingers. Carefully sliding his hand out of hers, the moist Eiji stammered,
"M-My dad says I can't kiss or hold hands, or he won't let me date you or anyone until I turn eighteen!"
"Whatever. He like, won't find out, and he can't actually do anything to stop you, right?" She didn't like these boundaries one bit. What good was having a cute boyfriend if it wasn't for hand-holding and kissing?
"Oh trust me, if anyone could stop me, it'd be my dad..." Eiji shuttered at the thought.
"Well fine. I don't care. As long as we get to go see BBS together then I'm, like, super happy." She smiled and drank her smoothie. If she was super happy then Eiji was happy.
Now, how to get all that money...
## Saturday morning, Bakugo household
"Alright, so if I take all the money I had saved up, plus my monthly check, then yeah! I can afford the concert and even dinner, too!" Eiji smiled as he looked over the numbers. Flopping onto his bed with a sigh, Eiji whispered to himself, "I love having a job."
Well, more importantly, he loved having money. He didn't have a ton to waste growing up, so it was nice being able to do fun things like this now. Yeah, before he could only afford snacks and boba—
"Oh snap! Maru!" He smacked his forehead, "I can't believe I forgot... Welp, better let her know." He groaned as he rang her up.
"Hey Baachu! How's it shaking, bacon?" She chuckled.
"Hey Maru, sorry, but I'm gonna have to cancel our plans tonight."
"What?! Baachu! You promised!"
"I know I know! I'm sorry, but Dalisay asked me to go to a concert with her, and she's kinda my girlfriend, ya know?"
This made Maru's blood boil.
"Baachu. I said it before, and I'll say it again: Dalisay is bad news!"
"Maru! She actually likes hanging out with me! I don't think-"
"Who's paying for this concert?!" Maru snapped.
"Me, but she's paying for parking-"
"How many times has she made you reschedule things with your friends?!"
"Only three or four times! And it's not her fault I over-schedule myself!"
"Baachu!" Maru growled. She wanted to rant at him so badly and show him all the stupidity of his ways. But that wasn't going to fix anything. Inhaling through her nose, she snipped, "When everything falls apart, remember I told you so." And she hung up on him.
"Ha?!" Baachu gasped at his disconnected phone, "What the hell, Maru?! What is her deal?!" Tisking, he tossed his phone in his bag and angrily sifted through his closet. That's what he gets for being considerate and giving Maru a heads up!
But before he was allowed to wallow in his ticked off mood, his phone rang out a loud and obnoxious theme song and he picked it up with a sigh.
"Hello?"
"Eiji!" A familiar and bubbly voice called out.
"Oh? Auntie Mina? I was just about to head on over to the studio." He smiled, still slightly disheartened by Maru's call.
"About that! Turns out this week my cameraman got sick, so you don't have to come in today."
"Eueh?!" A spike of panic struck, "B-But I was hoping to grab my check from you!"
"I know I know, but I will mail you a check and you should get it on the 21st." She stated business-like.
"The 21st?! B-But that's Tuesday!" Oh man. Without this paycheck then he won't be able to take Dalisay to the concert tonight and she was so looking forward to it...
"Hehe! What's with the tone, Eiji? Ya owe someone money? Ha!" She laughed. She laughed because she didn't know... She just gave Eiji the worst idea on the entire planet.
"Hehe. Funny... Welp! I gotta run. I got, uhh, something important to do!" He sweat nervously.
"Sounds good! Stay outta trouble! Oh what am I saying? You're a Bakugo! It's in your blood! Haha!" Mina joked, making Eiji sweat buckets upon buckets.
"Haha. Ahahe... Heh... Don't you worry about me, Auntie Mina. See ya next time..." And he hung up on his boss slowly, nervously staring at the wall.
Slowly getting up, he tiptoed out of his room and poked his head down the stairway.
"Dad?" He called out. No response. He must still be in their gym, and that's exactly where Eiji hoped he would be. Without making a sound, Eiji crawled into his dad's room, opened up the special box in the sock drawer, and pulled out a wad of cash.
"I already have some saved up, I only need 27000 yen more..." He whispered as he quickly shoved the cash into his pocket. "And when I get paid I'll just pay him right back! As long as he doesn't look for it in the next three days then he won't even miss it!" Eiji had this all thought out. It was a bit of a gamble, but how often does his dad even look in that cash box?
What was he so worried about? He was going to go to the concert, have an awesome time, and pay his dad right back! Everything was going to be just fine...
## That night...
"Oi bub, I haveta buy more conditioner and workout clothes, you need anything from the store?"
Bakugo asked as he watched Eiji spray on some cologne and brush his hair for the thirteenth time. He wasn't even listening! Strange...
"Oi bub! You have someplace you gonna be?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. I won't be back until late." Eiji said with a smile that edged on nervous. It made Bakugo suspicious.
"Late? How late are we thinking here? Are you going on a date with that exchange chick? You better not be holding hands or kissing or nothing!" He pointed and yelled.
"I'm not! And, uhm, I'm hanging out with some friends?" He winced. He wasn't great at lying...
"Oh really? Who?"
"Oh just, ya know, Maru, Meiwaku, Tasen, the usual..." He lied again. Oh man, now his stomach felt all knotted with these fibs stacking up and up.
"Hmm..." Katsuki leaned in and stared down into Eiji's soul, "Cologne?"
"Welp! Gotta go dad! Have fun getting, uh, groceries or whatever!" He ran out of the house in a crazed hurry, leaving his confused and suspicious father all alone.
"Hmm... What the hell is that punk up to?" Katsuki shrugged as he snatched his keys off the counter and headed to his garage. That kid was acting stranger and stranger...
## The grocery store
Katsuki wandered the isles slowly, eyelids half-open in unamusement. Cringeworthy music played on loop overhead, and Bakugo wasn't sure what he was going to do with his evening all alone. It was fine. Hanging out with friends is important, so Eiji should do that—
"Gah!" A familiar figure nearly crashed right into his cart, "Uncle Kacchan! Didn't see you there..." She tried to hide her groceries. Bakugo squinted at them and grumbled,
"Buying ice cream for the party or something, Maru?" He asked, because she definitely had enough to feed a whole party.
"N-No... no parties, just buying this for myself..." She blushed.
"Huh? I thought Eiji said he was hanging out with you?" He was getting confused. With a long, drawn out groan and a roll of her eyes, Maru nodded,
"Yeah. Until he bailed on me to hang out with his *girlfriend*..."
"He what?" Bakugo snapped, anger sparking behind his eyes. "He told me he was hanging out with friends tonight!"
Maru winced and hissed.
"Baachu's getting himself in trouble, isn't he?" Growling and wringing his sizzling hands on the shopping cart, Katsuki cracked his neck.
"Big time."
"Ooh boy. Don't tell him I snitched, okay?"
"Who told me what will be the least of his worries when I'm done with him..." Katsuki grumbled a deep, disappointed grumble. Storming his way to the self-checkout, he restrained himself from blowing up his un-purchased groceries. That punk was in so much trouble...
## Bakugo household
Katsuki slammed his bedroom door closed! He threw his conditioner into the bathroom and began stuffing his clothes into their drawers.
"Stupid kid, tellin' lies at me for no reason! Damn punk-ass— Wait..."
Something in his sock drawer was different. Carefully pulling the box in the back out, he peeked into his place of savings.
It was almost empty.
"THAT PUNK-ASS LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP!" Bakugo slammed his drawer closed, shoving the entire dresser aside! "What the hell, Eiji?! First the fucking lies and now this?!" Bakugo pulled out his phone like a whip and just about dialed his son's number, but then a better idea came to him.
"No. Better not scare off the prey. I should just lie in wait..."
## 11:24 PM...
Eiji exhaustedly slid inside the household in his disheveled, sweaty clothes and slid against the wall. That music wasn't bad, but it was strange being the only dude in the crowd, watching famous guys more talented and hotter than him. But he had never been to a concert before, so maybe that was normal? Whatever it was, Eiji was excited to slip off his shoes and take a nice warm shower—
The lights flicked on. And his dad sat across the room, looking very disappointed.
"..." Eiji wasn't sure what to do in this situation. He didn't want to speak and say anything out of turn, so he just stood like a frozen deer.
"Have a nice party?"
"Huh?"
"With your friends?" Bakugo asked very smugly.
"Oh! Yes! I told you I'd be home late, but I still got here before midnight—"
"Quit the shit. Where were you?" He ground his teeth. Sweat sprinkled Eiji's forehead.
"W-What do you mean? I don't know what—"
"Eiji!" Bakugo was getting red with anger, "I know you went on a date with that exchange chick!"
"Ack!" Eiji winced, "Dad, I swear! I didn't kiss her or anything! We were just hanging out!"
"Just hanging out my ASS!" Bakugo snapped.
"R-Really! I mean it! We just went to a concert, that's all—!"
"Oh? Is that where my money was spent?!" Steam flumed off of Bakugo's head, and sparks accentuated his fists.
Eiji gulped. He was really in for it now...
"You thought you could just take my money?!" He scoffed, "YOU CAN'T SPEND MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE!" Tiny explosions echoed throughout the household.
"I-I-I was gonna pay you back! I swear!"
"Oh really?! And how were you planning on doing that, smart ass?!"
"Once I get paid I—"
"Get paid?"
Eiji's heart stopped. Oh no. The twitch in his dad's eye only proved he had already made the assumption:
"You got a job?!"
"..."
Baachu looked side to side. He tried to think of something to say, but his mind was blank. There was no way he could save himself now...
Gritting his teeth so hard they threatened to break, Katsuki mumbled,
"Don't make me ask twice: Where the hell. Did you get. A fucking job?"
"..." Biting his lip, there was nothing else for the poor boy to say but the truth. And he knew how his dad was going to react...
"I... model clothes... for a fashion magazine..."
And, as expected, Bakugo threw shit.
"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU MEAN?!"
"..."
"A FUCKING MODEL?! SWEET CHRIST! NO SON OF MINE IS GIVING INTO THE FUCKING SYSTEM— EIJIRO!"
With his words caught in his throat, Eiji grabbed his coat and left.
"Eijiro! Eijiro! Get your ass back here! EIJIRO!"
Explosions littered the nighttime air, setting off car alarms and waking poor neighbors. But the last thing Eiji was going to do was go back home. Not until he figured out some way to fix this...
## Iida Tasen's house
"Tasen! Could you turn off the TV? Your father and I are going towards bed soon." A voice called out down the hall.
"Yes ma'am!" He cheerfully flicked off their large television and swept some remaining popcorn off of their expensive couch.
Then, out of nowhere, he heard a knock at the door. That was strange. It was almost midnight, who was knocking at his door? He dashed over in a second and peered through the peephole.
"Gasp! Baku—erm, Eiji?" He gawked. Opening the door he came face-to-face with an incredibly downcast teenager, slumped over and depressed. "Hey man, uh... what's going on? You okay?"
"Y-Yeah, umm... Can I stay the night? I got into a fight with my dad..." Sheepishly, Eiji mumbled. Not sure what to do in this situation, Tasen nodded.
"Yeah man. Sure."
"...Thanks." Baachu took off his shoes and wandered inside the large home. It was strange... all of this giant house was just one story, no upstairs or basement or nothing.
"Tasen? Who's at the door?" An older man wheeled from down the hall. Eiji almost forgot Tasen's dad was in a wheelchair, and suddenly the house's layout made more sense.
"Oh dad, this is a friend from school. Can he say here tonight?"
"Huh? Of course! Hello Mr. Friend-From-School, my name is Iida Tensei." He featured a smile so warm and welcoming.
"Hello, Mr. Iida. My name is Bakugo Eijiro. Thank you for letting me intrude your home—"
"Psh! Don't be so formal here! Tea?"
"No thank you..." Eiji was seriously confused. He remembered Tasen had some beef with his dad a while back, but his dad seemed so genuine and nice!
"Well then, you just let me know if you need anything, anything at all. Blankets? Pillows? We got a futon somewhere around here..."
"I'm seriously fine. Thank you, though." Eiji smiled as he followed Tasen into his room. As they prepared a roll-out futon on the floor, Eiji commented,
"Do you and your dad get along now?"
"Oh, umm... well, it's not like we had fights or anything," Tasen shrugged, "But I was kind of bitter towards him, you know?"
"Right." Eiji tiredly said as he finished curled under the throw blankets. "That was about that whole 'not wanting to be the next Ingenium' thing, right?"
"Shhh!" Tasen quickly silenced his friend. Poking his head out the door to if his parents overheard, he closed it and sighed, "I haven't told them that yet."
"Huh? Ey! I thought you said you were going to!" Eiji teased.
"I know I know, but..." Tasen crawled into his own bed and sighed at the ceiling, "I can't tell them until I fix some things..."
"Fix some things?"
"Yeah, like, I dunno..." Tasen rolled over so he could look Eiji in the eyes, "I got resentful just because I didn't express what I was feeling, and now I'm in this mess and I feel like I did this to myself."
"Oh I know how that feels..." Eiji's stomach churned just thinking about it.
"Yeah. So basically... I don't want to tell my parents about how I'm feeling until I have started pursuing another career..."
"What! Come on, man!" Eiji sat up from his futon, "I don't think this is something you can fix on your own! I think you need to trust them with this kind of stuff! You need to do all that you can do to make this right... and... accept the consequences..."
Eiji was just talking to himself at this point, wasn't he?
Facepalming into both hands, Eiji groaned loudly in annoyance at himself.
"Tasen, I really messed up. I messed up big time..." Baachu plopped backwards onto his mat.
"Yeah?"
"I borrowed... no, I stole money from my dad, lied about going to a concert, and he found out about my job I'm not supposed to have!"
"Oof. That really sucks. You really did dig your own grave." Tasen chuckled at the ridiculousness of Eiji's situation.
"And that's not even the worst bit... I lied to my boss, and told her I got my dad's signature when I didn't..."
"...Oh snap."
"Tasen, I—" Eiji nervously rubbed his neck and collarbone, "—I think he might actually kill me when he finds out."
"..." Tasen finally realized how much Eiji messed up. "Bro. What are you going to do? Can you at least pay your dad back?"
"Once I get my paycheck then..." Eiji's eyes went wide in realization, "I shouldn't take this check... I only got the job because I faked my dad's signature. I have to tell Auntie Mina the truth, too..."
"Oh shoot man. How are you going to fix this?" Tasen asked with genuine worry. With a fearful gulp, Baachu silenced his phone that had 43 missed calls and mumbled,
"I have no idea..."
"...Well... maybe you could at least go to your boss tomorrow? And fix things with her before going to your dad?" Tasen suggested and idea not half-bad. Eiji nodded as he covered his face with the blankets.
"Yeah. First thing tomorrow I'm talking to Auntie Mina." He mumbled, turning off his phone as another angry text came in.
"Maybe I can still fix this..."
