Having been up late the night before I find myself groggily getting out of bed the next morning. I get down to the kitchen and greet my classmates who are already chatting around the dining tables.
"Good morning, Haruki-chan!" Mina calls out.
"Mornin'," I say yawning. She's sitting with Tsu and Ojiro. I rummage through the cabinets for a mug while I boil the kettle to make a coffee.
The lift to the boys rooms open. Out steps Kirishima and Bakugo. Kirishima is wearing his school uniform where as Bakugo is still in his tracksuit from the night before. The bruises on his face look harsh in the daylight. I watch them walk over.
"Bakugo-kun! What happened?" Tsu asks seeing his bruised face. He scowls.
"None of your fucking business," he growls. I roll my eyes.
"For fucks sake Bakugo-kun. She's just asking a question," I say. He glares at me but I notice he averts his eyes quickly, staying silent.
"I'll answer for him. He got into a fight with Midoriya-kun last night. Now they're both suspended," Kirishima says yawning.
"Ehh. I mean it's no surprise that Bakugo-kun got into a fight but Midoriya-kun? I guess he is reckless..." Ojiro says. The kettle finishes boiling.
"Do you guys want a coffee?" I ask. Kirishima leans onto the bench.
"Yes please, Haruki-chan." He replies with a toothy grin. I look up to Bakugo. He makes eye contact again briefly before averting his gaze. Is he feeling awkward because of last night?
"No," he says shortly. Kirishima looks between the two of us with a questioning look.
"Okay," I say. I pull out one extra mug. I stir sugar into the coffees and pass one to Kirishima. He gratefully takes it from me.
I sit down at the table with Mina, Ojiro and Tsu. Kirishima takes the seat next to me while Bakugo slouches into the seat opposite. I sip my coffee, basking in it's warmth.
"So how long are you suspended for?" Ojiro asks, nervously. Bakugo fumes in his seat lowly.
"Four days because I started it. Deku gets three," he murmurs. I can't help but scoff.
"You guys have a full on fight and get less of a punishment than what I get for punching Iida-kun once in the face? That's such bullshit," I say with pretend anger. Laughter and scoffs are heard from the group except for Bakugo who scowls at me.
The rest of our class make their way down over time. Before I know it we are about to leave for class without Bakugo and Midoriya. The two of them are on cleaning duty for the day.
"We'll see you guys later," Kirishima says waving. I wave goodbye to the two boys. Midoriya waves back, smiling warmly while Bakugo ignores me again. Whatever, he's moody at the best of times. I leave with Kirishima and the rest of class.
A small knot tightens in my stomach. My feelings are mixed. It's still kind of feels surreal to me that Midoriya has this amazing power given to him by All Might. No wonder he was breaking bones at the start of the school year. I guess his body was literally learning to cope with All Mights tremendous strength. I feel awe and anxiety all at once.
We have home room first up. Aizawa stands at the front of the room. He looks tired and pissed off.
"Now I'm sure you've all heard by now that Bakugo-kun and Midoroya-kun are suspended?" he asks. The class nods.
"You're not to tell them anything about whats happening in class until they're back," he instructs. Iida raises his hand.
"Do you mean to say we can't even give them our notes from class?" Iida asks.
"Correct. They are to hear nothing until the end of their suspension. Understood?" He asks. Geez, he seems pretty pissed of about it.
"Yes, sensei," the class replies.
"Good. Now onto more important matters. You should know that those who received their provisional licenses are now qualified for work studies," Aizawa explains. Uraraka raises her hand.
"Is this like the internships?" she asks.
"In essence, yes. It will allow you to conduct hero work off campus. To be upfront, I personally was against the idea of first years being involved. But the school has assessed this as a good opportunity for you to get valuable experience in the current climate. Of course you'll be expected to source your own placements. I'll wait until later in the week to expand on this..." He explains. The door to our room slides open. Through it Present Mic enters.
I lean back lowly in my seat, thinking about this new information as Aizawa apologies to PResent Mic for running overtime. Work studies, huh? I wonder if I could work with Shroud again? Would that even be allowed?
My mind drifts to Midoriya. I suppose with his power he'd be trying to find somewhere as well.
—-
We return to the dorms after class finishes for the day. My mind is spinning. Classes are really starting to pick up. Present Mic had introduced us to a whole new series of sentence structures and grammar that I was struggling to get my head around. I'm going to have to study hard.
"Uraraka-chan, did you understand the new syntax we learnt today?" I ask, stretching out over the couch.
"You're struggling with that as well?" Uraraka asks. I nod.
"My brain's just not built for languages," I whine. Momo sits down next to me.
"I can lend you my notes later if you like," she offers. I look up at her gleefully.
"Is that okay Momo-chan? Thank you!" I say. I see a twinkle in her eyes. Other students chat around us. I smile and listen, enjoying the atmosphere. It's lively and warm. The community homes I once lived in were never as wholesome as this.
My relaxed disposition changes suddenly when I feel a hand push my shoulder roughly. I look up from my spot on the couch to see Bakugo standing behind me. He looks angry. My smile falters upon seeing his expression.
"Hey dude," I say nervously. Why does he look so pissed off?
"You, me and Deku are having a chat," he says coldly. My stomach tightens. I sigh. I think I know what this is gonna be about. I stand up and stretch.
"Sure," I reply. I catch Kirishima looking at us strangely. I push it out of mind.
Midoriya is chatting with Iida and Tokoyami by the kitchen. Bakugo grabs Midoriya by the collar as we walk passed him, dragging him along with us.
"We've gotta talk," he growls. Midoriya looks from him to me curiously. I shrug, feigning ignorance.
"O-okay," he says. I apologise quietly to Iida and Tokoyami who simply nod with curious expressions. Bakugo lets him go and leads us outside around the side of the building. Here we're out of earshot of the class.
I lean up against the wall. Bakugo looks pissed off, shoving his hands in his pockets. Midoriya looks between us.
"What's this about?" Midoriya asks nervously. I sigh, resenting the upcoming confrontation. I figured this would happen.
"Nakashima-chan knows about you and All Might," Bakugo says. I scrunch my face. Midoriya's face drops.
"Y-you told her?" He stutters. Bakugo glared at him.
"Like hell I did," he spat. I pull on the sleeves of my shirt nervously. He never gives enough of an explanation.
"He didn't tell me. I... I kind of followed you guys last night. I went to make sure you didn't do anything stupid but ended up overhearing," I explained. Midoriya's face cycles through a range of emotions. None of them look good. I can't blame him. I know I won't tell his secret but how could he know that? We've barely known each other a few months. It can't be reassuring to know that his classmate found out.
I push away from the wall and bow towards Midoriya.
"What are doing, Nakashima-chan?" He says. I stay bowed.
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping. I know we haven't known each other long and it might be hard to trust me but I promise you my mouth is sealed," I explain. I feel my heart pound. Bakugo pulls my head up by my braids. I wince as he does this but don't make an effort to stop him.
"K-Kacchan!" Midoriya cried feebly attempting to stop Bakugo from pulling so hard.
"You're being an idiot. We know you won't say anything," Bakugo growled. I glared at him. He let go of my head.
"You're the idiot! You guys have known each other for years. Even with your differences you trust each other right? But me... what do you guys actually know about me?" I cut back. I stand up straight and rub my head where he'd pulled. Bakugo stares at me incredulously.
"You wouldn't say anything," Bakugo repeated simply. I groan. He's such a genius but he's being real fucking dumb right now. I turn to Midoriya.
"I'm trying to explain that I understand that me knowing is a problem for you. It's really shitty. I don't know what I can do to make you trust me. So if there's something I can do please tell me but otherwise I can only offer my word," I say. Midoriya clenches his fists.
"You're right," Midoriya responds. I feel my stomach clench. It hits differently when Midoriya acknowledges my concerns.
"Deku... you fuckin..." Bakugo starts to say but is cut off by Midoriya.
"I haven't known you long Nakashima-chan and under normal circumstances I wouldn't have told you. I can't deny that. But I've seen you be a hero," he says. I stare at him speechless.
"Midoriya-kun..." I start but I can't find the words I want to say. He has me speechless. He shifts, scratching his cheek as he expands on what he means.
"..And you value loyalty more than most people. So my feelings of trust aside, rationally speaking if anyone else in our class is to know about this I'm glad it's you," Midoriya explains. His expression is determined. I hear Bakugo mutter something to the effect of 'that's what I fucking meant.'
I feel my chest ache and my eyes sting. I step forward pulling Midoriya into a hug. My whole life it feels like people have assumed the worst of me. So to hear him say he's glad it's me, even if it's with some reluctance, strikes me in a way I didn't realise I needed. He tentatively wraps his arms around me.
"Midoriya-kun, I'll do my best to support you!" I say. I pull back and wipe my eyes. Midoriya smiles warmly at me. I hear Bakugo 'tch'. I look up at the explosive teenager and grin. I step towards him pulling him into a hug as well.
"Thank you for not exploding me to pieces when I told you I'd overheard," I say. He stands stiffly for several moments, not returning the hug. I suppose I shouldn't expect anything more than that, huh?
"The way you say that pisses me off," he growls lowly before pushing me off him.
Midoriya beams are us. Bakugo shoves his hands back in his pockets and begins walking away.
"Now that's fucking over and done with I'm going to bed," he grumbles. I smile as we watch him leave.
"Sure, g'night." I say. He ignores me as he typically does. I'd thought maybe he was avoiding me after last night but it seems I was mistaken. He's had a lot on his mind I suppose. I turn back to face Midoriya.
"I suppose you'll be telling All Might about this as well, right?" I say. Midoriya nods.
"Mm, I will. Thank you for being so understanding Nakashima-chan... And I'm sorry for the burden," he says. I pat him on the shoulder as we start walking inside. I hear the thump of the front door as Bakugo enters ahead of us.
"It's not a problem. If anything it's kind of exciting," I say. I'd be lying if I said the knot in my stomach had completely dissipated though. We head up the stairs to the front door of the building. I open the door, holding it as Midoriya steps in.
"By the way, if you need help with training at all let me know. You're way stronger than me with your quirk and all that but my hand to hand combat is pretty good. I can probably help you with technique if you need it," I say. We walk into the kitchen.
Suddenly we hear a loud bang. Our eyes fly to the lift. Standing there we see Bakugo's hand raised to Kirishima who is now crouched clenching his head. Bakugo looks enraged. He steps into the lift and ascends to his floor. Momo runs over to Kirishima. Midoriya and I stand mouths agape.
"W-what the fuck just happened?" Kaminari asks. I raise my eyebrows. I smell burning. Bakugo had just set and explosion off in Kirishima's face.
"What's going on?" Midoriya exclaims rushing over to Kirishima. He waves Midoriya and Momo off.
"You tell us," Kaminari says, looking between Midoriya and I. There's an edge to his voice.
"I'm fine. I activated my quirk before he did any damage," Kirishima says. Momo produces an ice pack and holds it to his head.
"I can't believe Bakugo-kun set an explosion off on you!" I say incredulously as I approach him.
"But he was fine just a few minutes ago," Midoriya said. We're all confused. What the hell turned him to such a rage so suddenly.
"I dunno. Whatever you guys were talking about out there apparently really pissed him off," Kaminari said. I sigh as I crouching down next to Kirishima. I confirm that he truly is mostly uninjured. It looks like there's some bruising and redness on the side of his forehead.
"What a fuck head. He's such a fucking child," I mutter. I stand up and press the button for the boys lift. I'm going to confront him. What he did is not cool.
"It's actually kind of my fault," Kirishima said quietly back. I roll my eyes.
"You think it's your fault he set off an explosions in your face?" I ask incredulously.
"You might not want to go up there," Kirishima advised. He looked away guiltily. The doors open.
"Don't worry. I'm not scared of him," I say as I enter the lift. The doors close behind me. He's such an idiot. Why does he let himself get into these situations. Did he not learn anything from his punishment after fighting Midoriya?
The lift arrives on the 5th floor. I storm out and head straight to Bakugo's room. I knock loudly.
"Dude let me in," I call out. I hear nothing in response. I frown and knock again.
"Why the fuck did you set off an explosion in Kirishima-kun's face?" I shout through his door. He still doesn't answer. I try the handle. To my surprise the doors unlocked. I push it open and step into the room. Bakugo is sat at his desk, he looks up at me and scowls.
"Fuck off Nakashima-chan," he growls but doesn't make a move to stand up. I ignore him and close the door behind me. He's pissed me off. Why can't he see how self destructive this behaviour is?
Not that I'm much better I guess. I step over to him. I lift my fist, swinging it into his face. He makes no attempt to dodge. Instead he clasps the desk at impact, small explosions crackling at his hands.
He's soon at his feet, lunging towards me. I move to defend myself. He catches my arm with one hand, my neck with his other. He pushes me against his door. I struggle but he's got me pinned. His grip on my neck is firm but it seems to be more a warning than an actual attempt at harm.
"Why the fuck did you do that to Kirishima-kun?" I ask him, finally pushing him off me.
"None of your business," he says coldly. He rubs the side of his face where my fist made contact. I frown.
"Do you have a fucking problem? One minute you're being a nice, reasonable person and then next your trying to explode my friend," I shout. He averts his gaze.
"He pissed me off," he replied flatly. Silence sits between us for several moments as the intensity cools.
I sigh exasperatedly. I slip off my shoes next to his door and step around him to sit on his bed. His eyes follow me. This is so fucking typical of him.
"You need to learn to control your anger. Didn't you learn anything from the exam?" I ask.
"I know that," he growls. He walks over to me, sitting next to me on the bed. His expression his pained.
"What the fuck happened then?" I ask more softly this time. He grips the duvet below. He inhales and exhales in what I'm sure is a rare attempt to calm himself down.
"He... he implied that my fight with Deku was over you," he says. I stare blankly at him for several moments. Finally, I groan annoyed with the revelation.
"Of course he fucking would," I mutter. I rub my temples.
"Why are saying that like it was obvious?" He asks flatly. I laugh dryly.
"You pull me and Midoriya-kun away from some mysterious private conversation the day following a major, violent altercation between the two of you... Let me guess, you then walk back in to the dorms with your usual sour expression. Kirishima-kun being the nice guy he is senses there's something up. He probably thinks I rejected you for Midoriya-kun," I reason. He scowls at me.
"Like you'd ever date that shitty Deku," he growls. I roll my eyes. "The idea of it pissed me off though."
We sat in silence for several moments. I suppose he's had an emotional few days. I guess it's not a surprise he reacted like this in response.
"You know... we could actually be in a proper relationship..." I suggest, smiling at the explosive boy.
"Fuck no," he replies. I roll my eyes. He's quick shutdown is a bit disappointing but I'd thought as much. He might just need some time to get used to the idea.
"Alright then. Let me down gently, why don't you? Don't worry, I'll try again later," I laugh. I catch a small smile from him.
"I'm not going to be your boyfriend but..." he says trailing off.
I stand up and stretch out my arms and back. I turn back to look at him, a light blush dusts his face. Damn, I like the way he looks when he blushes.
"but what?" I ask, amused at the awkward display.
"Nothing" he murmurs back. Whatever. I walk towards his bedroom door and slip my shoes back on.
"I'm going to go let Kirishima-kun know I punched you in the face for him. I'm also going to make up some lie to clear up this dumb fucking misunderstanding if Midoriya-kun hasn't ruined it already," I say. Midoriya, to all his amazing power, is too earnest for his own good. It's a disaster waiting to happen. Bakugo flops backwards onto his bed.
"Do whatever you want," he says. I smile at him one last time. Just before I leave though he speaks up one last time. "But keep what we did last night between us."
"Got it, don't want Iida-kun or whoever snitching right?" I say.
"Yeah," he mumbles.
I head back down in the lift. I catch myself laughing to myself. This whole scenario is bizarre. If I think about it rationally, Midoriya having All Mights power sounds completely unreal. Hell, if it wasn't for All Might turning up himself last night I don't know if I'd even believe it now myself. And now the whole class probably thinks I'm in this perceived love triangle with Bakugo and Midoriya. It really is a ridiculous situation I've found myself in.
The lift arrives at the common room floor. I step out and immediately the whole classes eyes are on me. I scan over to Midoriya who's blushing like mad. It looks like he's heard the other side of the story. I hold back a laugh.
I look over to the kitchen to Kirishima who is icing his head next Kaminari and Sero. He looks over at me worried. I grin as I walk over to him.
"You're a fucking idiot Kirishima-kun," I say laughing as I get close. He flushes.
"I-I'm sorry. That's just what made sense to me though you know? I mean you and Bakugo-kun have been kind of close..." he explains. I hold my expression still. Little does he know just how close we've been but I'm not about to just reveal that. Kaminari and Sero peer at me closely.
"You're not flustered at all? Not even at the idea?" Kaminari asks. I raise my eyebrows, keeping my cool.
"Nah dude. It's fucking hysterical. By the way I totally punched him in the face for you... that was before I knew what you'd said though." I say grinning. The boys look at me amazed. Iida paces over to me after hearing this.
"Nakashima-kun as the class president I can't condone the use of violence against your classmates. Retaliation through violence makes you just as bad as Bakugo-kun," he says sternly.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry Prez, it won't happen again," I say flatly. Iida sighs.
"Somehow I don't believe that. In the very least I was happy to hear that despite them pressuring you, you didn't agree to give them information on today's lessons," Iida said. I look over to Midoriya who is still bright as a tomato. So that's what you told them, huh? That you and Bakugo were using me for information on the classes you'd missed? I admit he's exceeded my expectations.
"For sure. Don't want to make it easy right?" I say. I'll make sure to text that to Bakugo later so we have our stories straight. I hear Mina groan from the couch nearby.
"It was such a boring outcome. We were all guessing who you were going to choose. My guess was Bakugo-kun," Mina says, leaning over to look at me. Toru does the same.
"I thought you'd choose Midoriya-kun because he seems he'd be more of a doting boyfriend," Toru says. Midoriya stands up, flushing all over again. I notice Uraraka curled up quietly on the couch nearby.
"I-I'm going to bed," Midoriya chokes out. We watch him leave. I rub my chin.
"That's not terrible thinking, Toru-chan. However, I assure you that he's not my type," I say jokingly. I see Uraraka stir at this.
All up it's been a bizarre few days. Between the exam, Bakugo and discovering All Mights secret I feel a little overwhelmed