Hello everyone, I have decided to move the lunch scene to the beginning of this chapter so If you already read that you can skip to Bakugou's P.O.V. I'm sorry for the last minute change, I thought the last chapter was a bit long.
Kyo P. O. V.
Twenty-one haggard bodies stumbled from Gym Gamma after the lunch bell finally sounded. Freeing them from their unrelenting training at Kyo's merciless hands. Every student was covered in burns and bruises, which made them look like the survivors of a villain attack. Their rundown appearances, coupled with the half-crazed look in their eyes, frightened the other students. Other departments gave them a wide berth as they entered the cafeteria in search of food. A wise decision since the future heroes had definitely worked up an unholy appetite.
The whole class had towered their trays high with an assortment of food courtesy of Lunch Rush and then proceeded to devour it all in record time. The friendly banter and laughing that usually filled the two cafeteria tables that Class A frequented, was replaced with the sounds of loud chewing. None cared in the least of what passerby's thought. They hadn't lived through the hell they just did.
Kyo and Tohru took a seat between Kaminari and Mina. He worried they might hold his teaching methods against them, but they didn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, they seemed used to it. The explosive shinobi absently ate his salmon while he looked over at the class, which slowly began to eat their meals at a respectable rate. Some of them recovered enough strength to engage in little conversations.
Kyo had to commend them for their resolve. Even though most didn't grasp the importance of the training yet, they weren't hopeless by any means. They did put effort into improving themselves and worked diligently to accomplish that feat. And they were incredibly fast learners. Kyo didn't hit them nearly as often as he anticipated he would.
Maybe, they'll be okay after all.
"Ahhh, much better!" the bubbly girl sighed happily after she finished her sixth bowl of plain white rice. She smiled at them both from across the table. "Nothing like a good meal after a day of training, am I right?" There were some nods and grunts of agreement from her still eating classmates.
"You did a remarkable job with the martial arts drills," Kyo praised in between bites, which surprised some people. "I didn't even need to correct you once."
Her face brightened at the compliment. "Thank you! I interned at Gunhead's dojo earlier this year, so I learned a lot of these moves already," she explained with a bubbly smile.
"That explains how you got the drop on my brother earlier," Kyo smirked, shooting Tsubasa a smug look where he was sitting beside the green-haired boy. He didn't appear to enjoy the teasing but tolerated it. It was the first time Kyo acknowledged his presence willingly for the first time in weeks.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to make the lessons harder for you to make sure you're getting the best out of them," Kyo observed, returning his attention to Uraraka and the rest of the students. There was a chorus of complaints with this announcement.
"Quit your bellyaching. Some of us have real problems to deal with," the shinobi announced, effectively shushing them all into nervous silence.
"What could possibly be troubling you?" Kaminari asked nervously.
"Well, Aizawa-sensei entrusted me to figure something out, but I'm at a loss of what to do to accomplish it," Kyo admitted his cheeks a little pink with embarrassment. His uneasiness immediately got everyone's attention. Before anyone could ask what it was, he pulled something from his pocket and set it on the table. To everyone's disbelief, the item was the average smartphone.
"Aizawa said I have to have one, but I hate these kinds of things, let alone have any idea how to use it. Can someone please help me out?!" Kyo whined, banging his head on the table in defeat. He and Modern technology had a mutual hatred of one another.
Everyone blinked at him dumbly, before a familiar angry voice broke the silence. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. You don't know how to use a fucking phone?" Bakugou yelled, slamming his hands on the table. The force of it clattered a number of the tall stacks of plates and bowls violently.
The copper-haired teen lifted his head slightly. "Phones aren't allowed at Binoshi, so I never needed to know how to use one before now," Kyo answered without missing a beat.
It wasn't a complete lie.
"Why does Aizawa want you to have one?" Midoriya asked.
"Aizawa is acting as our guardian while we attend U.A.~" Tohru answered for him. Her voice was as sweet as always. "He wants to make sure he can get a hold of us at any time, so he gave us each a cellphone. Tsubasa and I have already figured out how to use them, but Kyo has always resented modern technology. But I think it's because he has a tendency of breaking them with his quirk~" she finished the last sentence with a laugh.
Kyo immediately jumped to his feet. "It's not because of my quirk!" he hissed at no one in particular. His hair standing upright a little bit due to his angered state. Making him look like an angry cat. "I just blow up stuff I have no use for!"
Kaminari took pity on him. "Fine, hand me your phone, and I'll try to help you figure it out," sighed the blonde. His hand held out expectantly for the device.
Feeling a glimmer of hope, Kyo placed the phone in his hand. Their fingers grazed each other for a split second, which caused a couple things to happen simultaneously. The motion created static from Kaminari, which set off Kyo's Detonation ability in his hand. This results in a small explosion that, of course, torched Kyo's phone beyond salvaging. There were few moments of shocked silence before the whole table erupted into a fit of laughter at the shinobi's expense. The copper-haired teen sunk back into his seat in utter disbelief.
"Kyo, can I ask you something?" The green-haired boy inquired when everyone calmed down. He sat further down the table and as always was right beside his little brother. The future hero looked nervous, but his matching green eyes sparkled with an overwhelming amount of curiosity.
"Sure thing, Freckles," Kyo urged. He would never dissuade a person's curiosity. Especially when you could learn so much about an individual by the questions they asked. "Ask away."
The boy was momentarily taken aback by the nickname but carried on. "Well, I was wondering why your powers are so different than your brothers. Can you explain why that is?" he asked hesitantly. The area around them quieted down as the question caught the interest of many of their classmates as well.
"Well, it's actually pretty simple," Kyo began, with a genuine smile. In his peripheral vision, he could see his brother shift slightly in his seat. Though everyone's eyes were too busy focused on him to notice. "You see, my brother got his wings from our mother, and my detonation abilities stemmed mostly from our father. He had a dual quirk of fire and lightning. Adding a little of our mother's air manipulation created an unstable amount of conflicting energies, which had to be released somehow. Thus my Detonation quirk was created," Kyo explained for his new classmates.
It's not a complete lie, but definitely not the whole truth.
"So that's why my quirks been acting up these past couple days!" Kaminari exclaimed, his hair standing up a little and staticing due to his close proximity to the shinobi. "I thought a thunderstorm was approaching."
So he hadn't noticed before now, Kyo thought in bewilderment. Is he just a complete idiot?
Pushing the thought aside, the explosive shinobi continued. "Your quirk was probably responding to the electrical traces within mine. It's the sudden discharge of electricity that allows me to detonate my explosions from a distance after all," the copper-haired teen further explained. His crimson eyes carefully studied the levels of curiosity about his abilities in everyone's eyes. So far, it looked like Kaminari, Bakugou and Midoriya were the most involved with his explanation. "Maybe if you learn to master your electric quirk, you could replicate a similar effect by overcharging technology?" Kyo suggested with a laugh.
The blonde looked excited by that prospect. "Really? You think so?" he practically begged, grabbing hold of him. Like Kyo could grant him the ability right then and there.
After freeing himself from his clingy grip, Kyo responded, "I don't see why not. You just need to train hard and use your brain a little." This statement made the blonde deflate. Kaminari sunk into his seat in a sudden onslaught of depression, while his close friends laughed at his expense.
So he is an idiot, Kyo concluded.
"This is so unfair!" Kaminari whined with his forehead resting against the table. "Why did I have to get stuck with this difficult to control electric quirk? Why couldn't I have gotten one that's easier to deal with, like Kyo's?"
The shinobi could only blink his eyes in confusion before the tall back haired boy carried on where his friend had left off. "That and your quirk is completely overpowered. Already placing you toward the top of our class. Must be nice," Sero stated bitterly.
Kyo let out an exasperated sigh. He wanted to chastise them for already forgetting what he tried to beat into them earlier about powers not being everything. But decided on a different approach. Maybe, changing their view of what they believed to be an overpowered ability would have more success.
"My quirk's not as overpowered as you think," he admitted, taking some by surprise. "I'm sure you all probably have a vague idea of how my quirk works. Probably thinking something along the lines that anything I touch can detonate if I wish for it?" Kyo summarized. There were a few mumbles of agreement from everyone.
This made him smirk, "Well, you're wrong."
Kyo raised a hand to dissuade them from interrupting. "You were close. It's not that anything I touch can detonate. It's that everything I touch will detonate. You see, I can't turn my quirk off like most of you can. It's something I've had to deal with ever since my quirk manifested."
"But, that means-" Midoriya mumbled.
"That's right. Everything I touch, every step I take, hell even the air I breathe could be turned into a bomb if I concentrate hard enough," Kyo replied through bites of his food.
The table looked horrified. Students glanced all around them at all the potential bombs that surrounded them. All of which just needed the tiniest of sparks from Kyo to activate them. It was a scary thought when you took a moment to think about it. It was a powerful ability, but one that didn't come without its drawbacks.
"We're friends, right? I'll let you in on a secret," the shinobi offered. "You're all focusing on the potential destructive power of my quirk, but not on its obvious weakness. The fact that I can't turn my quirk off is an incredible weakness of itself."
You could practically see all the lightbulbs go off in their heads. "So, your weakness is stamina?" Freckles theorized hesitantly.
Kyo nodded. "Every quirk has a limit. A point where it started to put a strain on the body. For me, I exert energy every time I touch something. So the more object I touch without detonating anything, the quicker I run out of stamina," he explained, while taking another bite of his salmon. "Because I'm constantly using my quirk, I get incredibly tired fairly easily. When I'm fighting, the adrenaline in my body allows me to power through my fatigue, but it's still there in the background. If I slow down for too long, I risk my fatigue catching up to me, which would prevent me from moving or worse falling unconscious."
Bakugou spoke up for the first time. "Earlier, you said, 'touching without detonating,' made your stamina deplete faster. What does that mean?" he demanded in what Kyo was beginning to understand was the usual "Bakugou" tone.
Kyo smirked at the question. "My quirk is called Detonation for a reason. My quirk wants to release the pent up energy radiating off of what I've "marked" in a sense," he answered honestly.
The copper-haired teen finished the last of his orange soda and held up the can for everyone to see. He focused his energy on the can, willing it to charge up with his conflicting elemental abilities. The temperature around them steadily began to climb, and while the can started to radiate warmth, it was actually Kyo's body, which emitted the majority of the heat. He handed the can to Bakugou, who studied it for a moment before placing it on the table for someone else to examine.
"As you can feel with the raised temperature, it takes more energy to hold back my quirk than it does to detonate it. While Bakugou might feel the physical recoil of his explosions while they're released, I feel fatigued from the pressure of holding my makeshift bombs from exploding. If I go past my limit, the pressure increases until I either fall unconscious or everything I've touched within the last hour detonates all at once. To combat this, I tend to detonate things I've touched at a harmless caliber or take cat naps to regain stamina," he finished while wiping the sweat from his brow. Kyo then harmlessly detonated the can in Midoriya's hands so that only a hint of smoke was released.
"Does that mean you're always tired when your not fighting?" Midoriya asked, his pencil quickly jotted notes in his singed notebook. The act reminded Kyo of his brother. "I can see how it might get in the way of everyday life."
The shinobi took a moment to ponder the question before answering, "Well, I like to take naps, but I wouldn't say that I'm especially sleepy all the time. If anything, I'm stockpiling stamina for the future. This way, I won't have to worry about it in the event of an emergency." He took another bite of his food, reflecting how he usually felt mugged down if he couldn't release his quirk. Kyo looked at the electric user beside him.
"Yo, Sparky, I assume you also have to release built-up electricity to prevent overcharging?"
"Original nickname dude," Kaminari muttered while crossing his arms. His quirk staticing ever so slightly in his hair, though Kyo wasn't sure if it was because of their close proximity or because of the hero's emotional state. "But to answer your question, yeah, I do. I usually charge people's electronics or shock people for the heck of it."
"Thanks for the warning," Kyo muttered awkwardly. Making a show of scooting closer to Tohru. Silently grateful that he wasn't forced to bunk with him. "My quirk works the same way. If I don't release my quirk, my stamina could get sapped to potentially dangerous levels," he explained, hinting that the energy needed to keep so many bombs took its toll on his body, which could cause him to pass out or die if he pushed himself too far. This also reduced the potential threat of blowing everything up if he totally lost control out of fatigue.
To himself, he added, Emotions also play a key part with my powers. Honest, pure emotions made them stronger and easier to use, while complicated conflicting emotions made them weak and harder to control. Generally, Kyo had reliable control over his demonic abilities. The only exceptions being if he were drugged or badly hurt since the pain or being inebriated made it hard to focus. The resulting flurry of conflicting emotions made it difficult for his powers to work effectively.
The table was silent for a moment as they digest everything Kyo revealed to them. Hopefully, starting to understand that quirks weren't as all-powerful as they currently believed. That if you studied them enough, they would reveal a glaring vulnerability you could exploit.
Come on, get it through your thick skulls. Before you all become Nomu food.
The redheaded Ball-of-Sunshine was the first to recover. And just as fate would have it, said the opposite of what Kyo was hoping to drill into their heads. "Well, Kyo's abilities are manly and all, but I really like Tohru's Transformation Quirk," he announced happily. The rest of the table instantly agreed, which caused Kyo to sigh in defeat. He should have known better. Tohru was too adorable for her own good. No wonder everyone was infatuated with her and her powerful abilities.
"I love Tohru's quirk!"
"It's so strong! So unfair!"
"Did you see how she used it against Momo? I didn't think another quirk could compare with hers!"
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Midoriya interrupted, flipping through his notebook until he found the right page. "Tohru, I know you gave a brief explanation of how you quirk worked on the first day of class, but could you elaborate on how you transform other objects? Specifically, how you transformed one of your ribbons into sai during class?"
"Oh well...umm...you see…~" she started clumsily. Her face turned a bright shade of red with everyone's attention fixed on her suddenly. Her sapphire eyes jumped from person to person before settling on Kyo's. He offered her a reassuring smile. The simple action gave her enough encouragement to begin her explanation.
Tohru quickly summarized her abilities for their classmates. How her "quirk" allowed her to turn anything in her immediate vicinity into any form she imagined. Meaning she not only needed to have a vivid imagination but ample knowledge of the new forms physiology to keep up its integrity. Similar to how Momo used her creation Quirk. For example, if Tohru were to imagine someone with wings, she would need to know the anatomy of the wings and how large to make them to actually get the person off the ground. The kunoichi would need to understand how the joints moved to become airborne, or the wings would crumble under the weight, resulting in a painfully broken form. Because she required anatomical knowledge to fully make use of her powers, she needed to do extensive research before she could attempt a new transformation safely. To accommodate this, Tohru studied for many years to become a medical ninja.
"As for your earlier question about how I transformed my ribbons into a sai," Tohru started, as she gently untied one of the long ribbons from her hair and held one end of it in her hand while letting the other end dangle in the air. "Your statement was actually backward~."
Just as she had done during class, she gave the ribbon a little flick where it quickly transformed into a silver sai. After watching the action up close, some of the students noticed the difference. The change was quick but not instantaneous as her transformations usually were.
"As some of you just noticed, these ribbons aren't really ribbons after all. I used my quirk to transform my twin sais' into ribbons~" she explained with a smile.
"When you transform us into animals, the animal traits carry over. Does that mean the weapon's qualities carry over as well," Midoriya muttered to himself at lightning speed. It wasn't clear if he actually expected an answer, but Tohru provided one anyway.
"That's correct~" she cheered, clapping her hands cutely. Making some of the girls giggle.
"If I turn and inferior object into a superior object. The transformation has a short time limit before it reverts back to its original form. The transformation is also broken if it takes damage~" Tohru explained. When she fought, she would often turn rocks found on a battlefield into kunai or shuriken to attack unsuspecting enemies. Once these inferior objects made contact, they immediately reverted back into their previous forms.
"However, if I transform a superior form, into an inferior one, the transformation can stay in place almost indefinitely. As is the case with my ribbons. Don't tell sensei, but this allows me to have concealed weapons on my person at all times~."
"You can turn anything into a weapon?" Kaminari asked in disbelief.
"Technically, yes, but it doesn't mean it'll be that effective as one~."
"Uhh.. you lost me," the electric-user admitted sheepishly.
"I'll give you a demonstration," Kyo offered. He grabbed a flimsy piece of spaghetti from Kaminari's plate. Ignoring his complaints. "Tohru, if you would."
"Sure thing~" she replied with a clap of her hands. She gestured toward the noodle in her teammate's hands. In the blink of an eye, there was what appeared to be kunai in Kyo's grip. Without even hesitating, the explosive teen brutally stabbed Kaminari's hand, which rested on the table. A girlish scream escaped the would-be hero until he realized that he felt no pain. Confused, he looked at his hand to find it completely unharmed, and the kunai had already returned to its flimsy form. Though now, it rested on the table in two pieces.
"As you can see, if you turn something into a stronger form than the original, the new form can't hold up for long. The base of its strength stems from its original's integrity, which is why it broke the second it made contact with your skin. It may look sharp and intimidating, but a flimsy noodle can't be used to inflict damage," Kyo explained, flicking the pasta off the table.
"I guess that makes sense," Kaminari mused, rubbing the area he was stabbed to convince himself he was fine. "Even if it has that drawback, Tohru's quirk is still insanely overpowered!" he asserted, followed by more nods of approval. Even Kyo couldn't argue with that assessment.
They all began to talk excitedly about how adorable her quirk was, and it's battle capabilities. All the attention directed at her quickly overwhelmed Tohru, causing her to get flustered by all the praise. This resulted in a pair of cat ears sprouting on top of her head without making any hand movements. This, of course, shocked everyone.
"Hey, I thought you needed to clap your hands to activate your quirk?" Uraraka asked, mimicking the hand gesture Tohru often used.
Tohru shook her head furiously from side to side. Momentarily making herself dizzy from the action. "I clap my hands to focus my attention on my target, but that isn't what activates my quirk. I only need to imagine something for my powers to activate~" she explained a little dizzily.
"The clap is to help me slow down my thinking to help me focus on specific targets safely~."
"Really? That's so cool!" Kiri exclaimed beside the Kunoichi. "I'd love to have a power where I just have to imagine something, and it comes true!"
"No, kidding!" Kaminari agreed. "Hey Tohru, aren't you worried that you might accidentally imagine someone-"
Kyo immediately interrupted the electric user's question by slamming his hands abruptly on the table. Startling everyone and even a few people at different tables.
"Meerkat!" he hissed under his breath, a code word for Tohru to stop listening to their conversation by turning herself into that form, which possessed the ability to turn off their ears at will. A command she obeyed instantly. Satisfied that she was no longer listening, he turned his attention on the sea of confused and concerned faces around him.
"Listen closely, I want you all to never EVER ask Tohru to imagine something dangerous like that ever again," the explosive teen ordered in a low dangerous tone. His menacing eyes stared all of them down, which sent shivers down their spines. All except for Bakugou, who sent his own glare in his direction. "While she's skilled in the use of her quirk, it only takes a split second to accidentally think something that can never be taken back. Tohru goes to great measures to stay positive to avoid thinking about anything dangerous. So do yourselves a favor and don't ask her to imagine anything like that ever again. It's for your own safety. Understand?"
They all shook their heads obediently.
"Good," Kyo muttered back.
He was pleased that they seemed to take his words to heart, but now the mood was awkward between them. This wouldn't help them get closer to the class. They needed a fun distraction. Kyo turned to tap Tohru's shoulder, the signal to inform her that it's safe for her to turn herself back to normal but hesitated for a second. An idea suddenly came to mind.
That will do nicely, he purred to himself.
Much to everyone's surprise, Kyo gave the kunoichi a kiss on the cheek instead. Tohru was caught off guard by the unexpected action. She immediately blushed a deep shade of red, and before anyone could comment, she accidentally turned the entire table into cat hybrids.
That's when all hell broke loose. Everyone started screaming at them, asking if they were dating. Kyo smirked at them while wrapping an arm around the brunette, who was still blushing uncontrollably.
"Of course we are," he announced. His orange tail swished behind him mischievously.
The awkward tension in the air completely forgotten as the class asked about their relationship instead of mulling over how dangerous Tohru's abilities were. Through the chaos, Kyo noticed that Bakugou continued to stare at him with a scrutinizing expression on his face. He alone understood what he had done.
It looks like nothing gets past him. Whatever, it's nothing I can't handle. Just try me, Hero!
Bakugou P. O. V.
Red, orange, and yellow leaves blew lazily in the late November air. The countless UA students bundled themselves tightly within their winter coats to ward off the chilly breeze, as they hastily sought out shelter after the school day had finally come to an end. After the perils they faced during the Heroics and Quikless classes, the rest of Class A's day was very uneventful. Except for the fact that half the class had to spend it as human-cat hybrids because Tohru was too flustered to release the effects of her quirk.
Bakugou wanted the record to show that their female classmates were entirely to blame for this predicament. As soon as it was revealed that Kyo and Tohru were dating, they all but pounced on her like some poor defenseless lamb. Bombarding her with an endless storm of questions. Demanding that she provide in-depth details about their relationship or "Kyoru" as the girls nauseatingly decided their ship name would be from that moment on. Bakugou, of course, didn't care. He just wanted to be turned back into something less fluffy, but considering that any comment about them dating turned the poor timid girl into an embarrassed incoherent mess. It didn't look like that would be happening anytime soon.
In contrast, Kyo seemed to be enjoying the attention of both the overzealous girls and the insanely jealous boys. Either answering questions in extreme detail or poking fun at them by being incredibly vague. All the while, the orange cat ears, and tail he sported seemed completely natural on him, considering his mischievous personality. The explosive hero had hoped that Kyo would be able to calm his girlfriend down enough to release her quirk's effects, but one look at the fanged smirk on his face killed any hope of that. So instead, Bakugou settled for removing him from her side to separate another distraction for her.
"Come on, Copycat," Bakugou ordered, roughly grabbing onto Kyo's tail and forcefully started dragging him toward the exit. Ignoring the surprised yowl, he let out or the low growls they morphed into. "You too, Hair-for-Brains."
The ash-blonde's right ear flicked in annoyance as he walked back to the dorms in between Kyo and Kirishima. The latter had been a purring mess all day and continued to nuzzle against him thanks to the strong cat instincts that infected their bodies along with the new form. It took all of Bakugou's willpower not to cuddle him back when the redhead was all cute. He envied Kirishima's ability to snuggle him all he wanted without getting any strange looks since Kirishima loved everyone. It wasn't fair. But the frustration Bakugou felt helped him keep up his annoyed appearance. Which was great since his emotions could easily be read through his body language. This quirk couldn't wear off quick enough.
"Oh come on, it's not so bad," the copper-haired teen laughed when he noticed the blonde's annoyed expression. His laughter increased slightly when Bakugou hissed at him through his slightly sharpened teeth. Kyo rolled his eyes at that and started a conversation with Kirishima instead, "I see you've taken to the form. Are you a cat person Kiri?"
The redhead immediately grinned. "I like all sorts of animals, though I'm more of a dog person to be completely honest," he admitted with a soft chuckle. It was true. Kirishima had a real soft spot for animals. He even beat Koda of all people in animal trivia a few times on their weekly game nights. "My back up plan if I don't have what it takes to be a hero is to work at some kind of animal facility."
"It was your backup plan," Bakugou corrected harshly. His tail lashed angrily behind him at the redhead's unconscious statement. "I already told you that you are going to be a hero, so forget the rest of that crap."
Kirishima blinked in surprise. "Oh yeah, thanks, Bakugou. You know I suck at grammar tenses," he lied behind an anxious smile, which made the ash-blonde's heartache. Bakugou didn't think Kirishima meant to speak in the present tense, but that it slipped out with how lousy he had been feeling lately. Bakugou made a mental note to talk with him later about his growing depression regarding his abilities and qualifications to be a hero. And by "talk," he meant to knock some sense into him-literally.
"Ugh, I hate conjugations," Kyo agreed with his tongue sticking out slightly like he had tasted something bitter. He didn't seem to have noticed the awkwardness the redhead had shown a second before, though Bakugou didn't think Kyo would care enough to show it if he had. They were still strangers for the most part, after all. "Especially in our English class."
"I'm surprised you even knew we covered that today with how you slept through half of it," the ash-blonde grunted. Recalling how the copper-haired teen had passed out almost immediately. His body had forced him to take a nap after expending so much of his stamina during training. Armed with a doctor's note that stated Kyo's sudden naps were an unavoidable side-effect of his quirk, Present Mic. couldn't do anything besides waking him up when his snoring disrupted the rest of the class.
A pair of orange cat ears lowered slightly in what Bakugou guessed was a combination of embarrassment and anger. "Yeah, well, excuse me if I find sitting in a class all day extremely boring. It's not my fault that sitting still for long periods puts me to sleep," he retorted defensively. His body was taking up a casual fighting stance in case anyone wanted to fight him further on the topic.
"Whatever," Bakugou muttered, picking up the pace slightly. Kyo wasn't the only one who could benefit from a nap. Bakugou's own stamina was mostly spent after the rigorous day of training, not to mention the energy lost when Recoverygirl forcefully healed his injuries. He couldn't wait to catch a couple hours of sleep on the couch.
Shit, I forgot that Kyo's sleeping in my room tonight, he mentally groaned.
However, Bakugou's plan to find a quiet place to sleep were quickly thrown out the window. The second Kirishima opened the door to the dorms for both of the explosive teens they found themselves face to face with an angry Jirou. She was already changed into some casual clothes which consist of a "Dead Kennedys" T-shirt and a pair of torn black jeans. Her arms were crossed against her chest, and her dark violet eyes stared daggers at Bakugou.
"Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood," the ash-blonde warned as soon as he saw her. He stifled a yawn as he attempted to walk past her, but she blocked his path fearlessly. "The fuck?!" he asked angrily. Straightening up until he loomed over her threateningly, but she held her ground.
"No way, you need to pay up for earlier," she insisted in a sharp tone.
This confused the blonde, which only served to make him angrier. "Don't tell me this is about your damn headphones. I already told you that I was going to clean them up for you later. You'll get them back tomorrow."
The purple-haired teen shook her head.
"What? No, that's not what this is about," Jirou muttered back impatiently. She took a deep breath before she continued, "You made me lose the bet yesterday, so you need to pay up."
"What are you talking about? Everything happened just like I said it would."
"Yeah, but Todoroki placed a bet about you also getting detention somehow, and last I checked you did end up getting detention with the rest of them due to that stupid stunt you pulled with this Pycho," she finished pointing at Kyo accusingly.
"Hey, I can hear you both, you know!" The copper-haired shinobi yelled beside the blonde but was ultimately ignored.
"That's so cheap, we both know that's not what Icyhot meant. That shouldn't count as a win!" Bakugou protested. His hands were starting to spark to life.
"I tried telling that to Ojiro, but he's siding with Todoroki since his written bet does say "somehow." You know what a stickler he is for rules," Jirou sighed in exasperation. Her stance relaxed somewhat now that Bakugou had another target for his rage. "Anyways, I already had to fork over my winnings. Thought I'd give you a heads up."
Kirishima, who had watched the exchange in confusion, decided to contribute to the conversation for the first time. "Well, I understand why losing a bet due to a technicality would be frustrating. But why were you so mad at Bakugou when we arrived?" he asked curiously.
"Because," Jirou began, pointing another accusing finger at the ash-blonde in question. "If I lost the bet, Bakugou promised to make my dinners for a whole month."
"No way!" the explosive teen snapped. "There's no way in Hell that I'm doing that over something as stupid as this!"
"I agree," the musician responded, confusing everyone. Effectively shutting down the long list of insults from the ash-blonde before he even began. "Instead, I want you to make my dinners for a week. It's the least you could do," she proposed with a smug grin.
Bakugou frowned while he deliberated his options. He had made a deal with her, and she was willing to lessen his debt because the technicality was unfair. Bakugou also didn't want anyone to ever say that he went back on his word. It would ruin his reputation. The ash-blonde also wanted to continue their shared betting on the stupid shit their class did because it helped improve his deduction skills, which he could use in the future. Bakugou adamantly refused to spend his own money on something so childish, and his arrangement with her helped justify getting himself involved. But mostly, Bakugou wanted to continue to be on good terms with Jirou. They had gotten a lot closer during their band sessions, and she had somehow wormed herself into his friend group through him and Dunceface. Bakugou would never hear the end of it from the rest of his idiots if he did something to chase her off.
It does seem fair, the ash-blonde thought begrudgingly to himself. He was just about to accept Jirou's request when CarrotTop spoke up.
"Why don't I cook your meals instead?" Kyo offered out of the blue. The random suggestion caught everyone off guard. "From what I gather, it's kind of my fault you lost the bet. So how about it? I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself."
"That's true!~" a sing-song voice agreed behind them. They didn't have to turn to know it was Tohru-they'd be able to pick out her unique cadence from anywhere- but they did so anyway. Sure enough there she was with Uraraka and the rest of the Bakusquad. "He's an amazing cook~" she finished happily with a little clap that turned all their bodies back to normal.
Bakugou breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his cat instincts fade away into nothing. In its place, a sudden wave of competitiveness washed over him with the declaration of Kyo's incredible cooking skills. Before he even realized what he was doing, Bakugou has his fist balled up in the front of Kyo's shirt.
"You and me, compete to see who's food is the best. Right now!" Bakugou ordered sternly, giving the coppered-haired teen in his grasp a good shake.
"You're on!" Kyo smirked after the initial shock wore off.
Kaminari and Sero immediately perk up from where they stood in the dorm doorway. "OMG, it's a Food War!" they both exclaimed at the top of their lungs.
It was a little over a month ago when the Bakusquad was obsessed with the overly competitive cooking show, it even managed to pique Bakugou's interest with the creative recipes. Dishes that their hotheaded friend had actually worked very hard to recreate much to the dorms wonder. It was a blessed time for everyone since even his rejects were terrific. But alas, it wouldn't last. Eventually, they had to stop because the whole class went broke trying to keep Bakugou's "Purgatory Canteen," in business. It only took three seconds for the rest of the class to gather outside the kitchen after the Bakusquad's excited cry. Everyone hoped to snack on the delicious results.
"We need three judges quick!" Mina announced over the chorus of growling stomachs. Already claiming her place as the announcer for this new class competition. Everyone's hands instantly shot up. Some even pushed others out of the way in their desperate attempt to taste the delicious food they knew was coming. There were no such things as friends when it came to the rare chance of eating Bakugou's cooking. A privilege that rarely extended to those outside of the ash-blonde's exclusive friend group.
"Tohru, do you want to be a judge?" Kiri asked the poor shy girl getting shoved to the back of the group. He held a hand out to her and pulled her to safety beside him.
"No significant others, that's cheating!" Bakugou snarled, only to pause awkwardly when he realized what he just said. No one seemed to notice, though the redhead slowly put his hand down with a pout.
I'm going to pay for that later…
"Oh, Tohru!" Kyo began excitedly as if just remembering she was there. He quickly pushed others out of his way to stand beside his girlfriend. The shinobi gently took one of Tohru's hands in his when he made it by her side. "You should compete too! Your cooking is even better than mine," he purred lovingly. It was absolutely sickening.
Bakugou wasn't sure if it was the thought that someone else could compete with him in something he took great pride in, or if he was jealous of the open display of affection Kyo showed to Tohru, but he found himself whirling angrily toward the girl. Dark shadows hid his eyes from view as he towered over her, which earned him a startled yelp. The timid girl curled in on herself to make herself seem smaller. The submissive action from such a formidable adversary ticked him off for reasons he couldn't quite place.
"Ribbons, you're competing too. I'll crush you both under my foot," he declared in his usual threatening tone, but the action was slightly underplayed when he gently dropped an apron from the supply closet in her hands.
She blinked at the light pink material of Uraraka's apron for a moment before meeting his gaze. After a couple of seconds, the confusion melted away, leaving her face bright and cheerful. "Mvto! Uh, I mean, thank you, Bakugou!~" she thanked him in the same accent as the twins. Ribbons then shot him a genuine smile, one that reminded him of Kirishima for a split second.
Bakugou tsked at her before he stomped to the kitchen to set up. He didn't trust anyone but BigLips in the kitchen since everyone else was utterly useless. They couldn't even label ingredients right half of the time. All Might help them if Kaminari was on kitchen duty that week. That idiot loved to relabel things as memes.
As Bakugou took ingredients out of the refrigerator and pantry, he heard his redheaded friend congratulate the brunette on being included in the competition. His tone was exceptionally cheerful. Nothing like the downtrodden way he spoke about his qualifications of being a hero not but 20 minutes ago.
I guess if their presence here made Kiri happy, I could at least try to play nice with them as well, the ash-blonde muttered to himself.
Kirishima P. O. V.
After much debating, a couple heated fights and a high stakes game of rock, paper scissors later, it was eventually decided that Jirou should pick the other two judges of the competition. It was only fair since all this came about to determine who would be making her meals for the next week. Her first choice was a no-brainer. It was her closest friend Momo, though Jirou stated it was because she was a good food critic thanks to her prestigious upbringing. Though not even Kiri believed that blatant lie. Jirou's second choice was Tsubasa in an attempt to have fair representation amongst the judges by having one of their new classmates on the panel.
Together they came up with a challenge for the three contestants to follow as they complete their dishes. First, they had an hour to make a dish with the limited ingredients found in their kitchen. Second, they had to plate three identical dishes for each of the judges, which had to be delivered at the same time. Third, they couldn't hinder or aid anyone else in the competition.
"Does everyone understand the rules?" Mina asked the three contestants with one of the karaoke mics. All three of them nodded, their eyes shining with determination. "Then you may begin!" she announced, while Kaminari obnoxiously sounded a sports air horn.
Bakugou and Kyo immediately bolted for the table with all the ingredients, while Tohru followed behind them at a reasonable pace. The ash-blonde quickly snatched most of the chicken, a jar of his premade curry paste, and a few other odds and ends. Kirishima's mouth already watered, knowing that curry was one of Bakugou's best dishes. However, he hoped the ash-blonde remembered that the judges wouldn't be able to handle his usual level of spiciness.
The copper-haired teen, on the other hand, went straight for the whole salmon, a few vegetables, and a bag of rice. Uh, does he know the fish hasn't been gutted yet? Kirishima thought to himself from where he stood watching in the kitchen doorway. Before he could voice his concerns, the shinobi slammed the fish down on the counter and began to carve the salmon with impressive precision. Expertly removing the gills, head, fins, tail, and removed the slimy innards in a few swift movements. With a couple more flicks of the knife, he filleted it with ease. However, instead of putting it in a pan to fry it or put it in the oven to bake, Kyo left it on the cutting board and made his way out of the kitchen.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Bakugou yelled after him, pausing with his own cooking. There was a frying pan in one hand and a sharp knife in the other, which made him look even more fearsome than usual.
"Don't worry about it. I just need to do some meal prep is all," Kyo explained vaguely. Casually waving off Bakugou's concerns.
He walked past the crowd of confused students to go out in the courtyard. 21 pairs of curious eyes watched him through the courtyard windows to see him walk up to a tree and immediately start removing branches from it. With a kunai, Kyo quickly began to carve off the outside bark and created a long vertical split down the middle of them before returning inside. Only to walk back outside again with his two large fillets of salmon.
After a few minutes, Kyo managed to secure them to the two long stakes he had made by attaching the fillets vertically within the split he created. The salmon was kept steady by wedging chopsticks he had stolen from the kitchen horizontally within the fissure. The stakes were then planted within the dorm fire pit at a 45-degree angle; to smoke over the fire, Kyo
made by sparking the logs already in the hole with his quirk and fanned them to life. The shinobi then casually strolled back inside to begin one of his sides. Winking at a scowling Bakugou as he did so.
Kirishima noted that while Bakugou looked irritated, he continued to work in silence. No doubt determined to beat the shinobi in his second favorite past time. The redhead watched Bakugou's agile fingers skillfully chop an assortment of peppers and other vegetables for his curry. Judging from the smell wafting from the kitchen, his premade curry paste was already simmering nicely in the wok. The judges were lucky that Bakugou rarely put the spiciest ingredients in his premade sauce since that tended to dull the flavor over time.
An adoring smile spread across Kirishima's face as he watched his favorite person work. It appeared that Bakugou was pulling out all the stops for this dish. He usually didn't bother going to such lengths with his cooking unless it was a special occasion, or he had an especially hard day. Something not even the other members of their friend group knew.
The ash-blonde might complain about cooking for others or try to get out of it whenever he could, but Kirishima knew that he actually enjoyed cooking for people. Bakugou desperately craved for others to acknowledge his accomplishments in everything he did. So if he wasn't getting the praise he needed in his heroics training, Bakugou would cook food for whoever was in the lounge in the hope of gaining some praise from them. His vibrant eyes always brightened when someone said it was delicious even if the scowl on his face said otherwise. After the embarrassing loss, their class suffered today Bakugou needed this win to not only validate himself but his fellow classmates as well.
The sound of something sizzling loudly stole his attention. Kirishima turned his head toward the rapid popping to see Tohru frying something in a pan beside Bakugou. Her tiny frame almost completely hidden behind Bakugou's broad shoulders. Tohru tended to keep to herself, so her quiet presence was easily overshadowed by the two explosive teens crazy antics earlier. Kirishima felt a pang of guilt for momentarily forgetting about his new friend. Still, after seeing her cute little face scrunched up in concentration in such an adorable fashion, those feelings melted away.
Maybe it was for the best. Tohru tended to get stage fright when people were watching.
The brunette hummed a cheerful song under her breath as she cooked. Her head bobbing ever so slightly to the rhythm every now and then. It was an adorable melody, and Kirishima wished he knew what song it was. He noticed Bakugou give her a few quizzical looks at her odd behavior, but let her be. All the while, Tohru carried on completely oblivious. Too focused on her task to pay any attention to her surroundings. It never ceased to baffle the redhead how different she acted when she wasn't in full battle mode. It was difficult to believe that the adorable girl humming in a frilly pink apron covered in pastel planets was the same person that ran circles around them during class.
There's a lot more to these guys than I originally thought, Kirishima mused to himself as he watched the contestants cook for the remainder of the competition.
"And that's time, utensils down!" Mina exclaimed into her karaoke mic after an hour had passed. She held a muted yellow box with the number 800 written on it. The same one she used for the Best Room Competition and reached a hand inside. "Alright, everybody! Without further ado, I will now reveal who will present their dish first in the First-Ever Best Food Dish Competition! Drumroll, please!"
Kirishima did the honors of playing a short drum solo on one of the Guitar Hero drums. A few other students joined in by drumming their hands on their legs or nearby objects. With a small giggle, the pinkette unfolded one of the pieces of paper. "Looks like you're up, Blasty!"
"If I'm going first, then we might as well not even bother judging the rest of these losers because my dish is going to annihilate the competition," Bakugou smirked as he expertly carried six plates from the kitchen.
The wondrous smell of his curry wafting behind him as he pushed his way past the crowd made everyone's stomachs growl. As he passed, Bakugou handed a plate to Mina, Kirishima, and another dish for Kaminari and Sero to share, before he set the remaining plates in front of the three judges. A not so subtle fuck you to the rest of the class who hadn't earned a place in Bakugou's small group of friends. The envious muttering heard from the crowd only served to widen Bakugou's smirk as he stared down the judges who sat in a line at one of the tables. His posture was perfectly relaxed as he stood confidently before them.
"Bon appetit, Motherfuckers."
Jirou didn't take much offense to the ash-blonde's words. She had more or less gotten used to his way of speech along time ago, but the other two judges looked less than amused by it. Regardless, they each picked up their utensils and took their first bites. Kirishima followed their example. Taking a moment to blow on a piece of chicken before biting into it hungrily.
A blast of flavor immediately filled his mouth. This is the best thing I've ever eaten! He practically moaned.
Bakugou had made a milder version of his Katsu Curry or "Victory Curry" as the explosive hero called it. Bakugou sure loved puns, Kirishima laughed to himself, knowing full well that was one of the reasons he picked the dish since it played off of Katsuki and his need to triumph over Kyo and Tohru in this competition.
The curry featured a crisp fried chicken cutlet served on a bed of rice and doused in his thick, bright orange curry sauce. Kirishima was delighted to discover that the sauce was reasonably spicy, nowhere near its full potency. Instead of pickled horseradish, Bakugou served thinly chopped green, red, and orange peppers on the side as well as mixing them into the sauce, which enhanced the flavors with each bite. Truly one of the ash-blonde's best dishes thus far. Though if he were completely honest, Kirishima missed the spiciness it usually had. It was designed to feel like you were dying every time you ate it, but you always felt like you could take on the world itself when you survived a plate of Bakugou's Victory Curry.
"OMG, This is amazing!" Mina praised cheerfully, sharing her plate with Uraraka and Tsu. She momentarily handed her plate off to them to continue with her commentary. "What do our judges think? Remember to score the dish from 1-10 after your feedback."
"Your cooking was astounding as always, Bakugou," Yaoyorozu praised wholeheartedly. "The way you've matched the flavors and tailored your dish to the judges was absolutely marvelous. I give it a 10."
"Damn right, it was," the ash-blonde agreed shamelessly.
Jirou rolled her dark violet eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get that you're full of yourself, Hotshot," sassed the Hearing Hero. She took another bite of her food before she continued with her assessment. "I agree with Momo, you really stepped up your game for this, but I'm only going to give you a 9."
To Bakugou's credit, he didn't explode immediately. He showed excellent character growth by holding his anger back...for 5 seconds before exploding. "WHAT THE HELL EARS?!" He boomed, slamming his hands on the table. The sparks coming off of his palms stained the pretty white tablecloth they decorated the judge's table with dark, grimy scorch marks. His teeth ground together violently as he held back the string of insults he wanted to sling at his friend, but better judgment kept his mouth clamped tightly shut.
"Your food was great, don't get me wrong. It just felt a little off this time around. Call me crazy, but when I eat your curry, I expect to cry my eyes out. It just lacked its usual Bakugouness," she explained as nonchalantly as she could, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. Her words were so sweet that it actually brought manly tears to Kirishima's eyes at the realization that someone else noticed the missing element to Bakugou's meal.
Bakugou's expression was unreadable as he studied her face. "Tsk, whatever," he finally replied, crossing his arms defensively. The explosive hero turned toward the final judge. "Well, give me your verdict Birdbrain," Bakugou prompted. A finger tapped one of his crossed arms impatiently.
Tsubasa shifted in his seat. "Your food was excellent, Bakugou," the brunette began with a kind smile. "I see now that you usually prefer to make a spicier curry, but decided to tone it down for our benefit. That explains why you mixed peppers into the sauce as well as place them on the side to ensure everyone can have the level of spiciness they pleased. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to side with Jirou. I prefer a spicier curry, so I'm going to reward you with a score of 9 as well."
The winged student hadn't even finished speaking before Bakugou turned and kicked a nearby chair into oblivion. "I FUCKING TOLD YOU ALL WERE A BUNCH OF WEAKLINGS!" Bakugou shouted at the rest of the class.
While Class A paled at the blonde's terrifying display, Mina laughed it off. "Looks like Blasty earned himself a total score of 28. Now for the next contender!" Mina announced, holding her yellow box to the nearest classmate, who happened to be Todoroki.
The dual quirk user reached into the box unenthusiastically. "Kyo," he stated flatly. Complete and utter disinterest reflected in his bicolored eyes.
"About time!" the copper-haired teen called from somewhere in the kitchen.
A moment later, Kyo reappeared with the three plates for the judges. As well as a long wooden board, he had balanced on top of his head. It was quite an impressive sight to behold, but Iida immediately offered to hold it for him just in case the shinobi tripped to avoid unnecessary messes. Kirishima didn't think that was likely, but the sentiment was sweet nonetheless. Kyo must have felt the same because he allowed the class president to take the board from his head and carry it for him as he set the plates in his hands in front of the judges. After which he took back the board from Iida and placed it on a nearby table.
"My dish is smoked salmon with a huckleberry marinade and a creamy parmesan spinach orzo. Everyone dig in, I made enough for everyone to try."
Intrigued, Kirishima walked over to the other table to grab a small serving of Kyo's food. After the shinobi's bizarre behavior in the courtyard, he and many of their classmates were already curious to try the salmon he prepared. The small paper bowl the food was placed in was warm to the touch. A testament to how hot the food inside still remained. The redhead gave it a couple blows to cool the food off enough to eat. As he did wafts of delicious new scents tickled his nose. This combination of food was entirely new for him, and Kirishima had no idea how the flavors would measure up against his established tastes.
Were these common foods at Binoshi? Kirishima wondered absently as he took his first bite.
The first bite was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. The salmon was cooked perfectly, making the fish incredibly tender. The redhead thought the smokiness of the salmon would be overwhelming, but the sweetness of the Huckleberry sauce balanced it out perfectly. It was delightful. And that was impressive considering Kirishima usually didn't like fish. It was the least manly of the meat category. The orzo, however, was a bit much for Kirishima's simple tastes. It was delightfully creamy and subtly cheesy with pieces of spinach mixed in to make it a little healthier. It actually paired very well with smoked salmon, but Kirishima preferred regular white rice over this fancy side. Though that was only his opinion.
Mina, on the other hand, had scarfed her helping of orzo down instantly. "Wow, that rice is the best! What do our judges think of Kyo's meal?"
The vice-president raised her hand to speak first. "Actually, that isn't rice. I believe it to be Orzo, which is a small rice-shaped pasta," Momo gently corrected her friend. She then gently placed her hands on the table in front of her. Careful to keep her elbows off the table since that would be considered bad manners.
"The meal was wonderful, and I agree with Ashido that your side was exquisite. However, I didn't care for the smokiness of the salmon or the barbarous-" she momentarily trailed off before she found a politer way of stating her point, "for the use of force shown to the poor tree in the courtyard. I'm going to have to give your dish a 7."
Kyo stewed in his disappointment silently. The Ball-of-Sunshine half expected to at least feel the room's temperature spike with the activation of his quirk, but nothing happened. The shinobi simply nodded and turned to the next judge.
"Well, I liked it a lot," Jirou praised casually. "I give it a 9."
"What kind of explanation was that?" Kaminari complained on the sidelines.
She shrugged. "Hey, I'm not a food critic. I don't know how flavors are supposed to go together. I just know what I like and what I don't."
"Then why not give it a 10?" Uraraka asked curiously.
"I feel like a perfect score should be saved for the best thing I've ever tasted, and this wasn't it."
"Makes sense," the acid hero agreed. She turned her attention to the final judge. "What do you think of your brother's food?"
On the sidelines, Kirishima overheard Kaminari whisper to Sero, "That's kind of cheating. You know he's going to give his twin brother a great score."
"I give it an 8. The orzo's slightly overdone," the brunette stated bluntly.
"Or not…" Sero snickered under his breath.
That's when Kyo finally lost it. "Well, who asked you!" he roared at his brother. His thunderous voice shook the plates still on the table.
"Well, I am a judge for this competition," Tsubasa reminded, his tone slightly bitter. This only made his brother angrier, which caused him to yell even more. Everyone joked that Kyo was another Bakugou, but his personality always came off as more mischievous than short-tempered. That was until now. Seeing him lose his temper and shout at his twin was like watching Bakugou yell at Deku.
"That gives Kyo a total score of 24, which puts him behind Bakugou's current score of 28 points!" Mina summarized. Her voice was struggling to stay above Kyo's yelling. "Our final contestant will be miss Tohru!~" she announced. Playfully adopting the kunoichi's adorable way of speaking for her intro. The copper-haired shinobi's yelling finally trailed off.
"Coming!~" called a sweet voice from the kitchen. A few seconds later, Tohru was seen exiting the kitchen with a rolling cart. The redhead was immediately relieved to know that she wasn't attempting to carry her meal in a showy manner like the two explosive teens. Especially when he saw that she had prepared some kind of soup. The cart was decorated with a matching tablecloth to the judges' table. On top were three bowls for the judges, a large pot, and a stack of bowls for the rest of the class. Tohru gently set the three bowls in front of the judges before starting to dish up the rest of the class herself.
"My meal might not be as fancy as you're used to, but I hope you enjoy it. This Kitsune Udon is one of my favorite comfort foods~" she explained as she handed a small bowl to Kirishima.
The Udon was everything you would expect from Tohru. It was absolutely adorable. Kitsune Udon was usually a noodle soup with a dashi broth, topped with seasoned fried tofu, narutomaki fish cake, and scallions. Typically, the most pleasing feature was that the fried tofu on top resembled the bright orange coloring of a fox's coat. Tohru, however, took it a step further in her presentation. She cut the tofu into the shape of a fox and added more vegetables, which she cut to resemble flowers. The bright colors were breathtaking, which made the comforting dish even more appealing.
Kirishima wrapped his hands even tighter around the small ceramic bowl. The warmth seeped into his cold fingers pleasantly. With his chopsticks, he regretfully broke a piece off of Tohru's kitsune shaped tofu. Steam immediately wafted from the opening, which made his mouth water.
Mmmm, this is sooo good! The redhead thought as he munched on it happily.
Next, he grabbed a few of the noodles. They were thick, spongy, and soaked the broth perfectly. He made quick work of them, and before he knew it, only the broth remained. Kirishima tipped the bowl back, making sure to drink every last drop. The broth was warming him up as it slid down his throat. You could taste and feel all the love she poured into the dish with each sip. A chorus of satisfied sighs filled the room as everyone else finished the udon at the same time as him. The wonderful soup hit the spot on such a cold afternoon.
"So judges, what are your thoughts?" Mina asked, steam still billowing from her mouth.
"Your udon was amazing Tohru. I give it a 9," Jirou praised cheerfully.
Tohru's face brightened, and her sapphire eyes sparkled. "Thank you so much!~" she thanked happily.
"Your food was excellent as always Tohru," Tsubasa announced. "That's a 10 for me."
"Mvto! Thank you!~" she thanked with a bow.
All eyes turned to Momo. It was anyone's guess how she would score. The rich girl had very refined tastes, which often baffled her classmates. Even Bakugou had trouble tailoring to her sometimes since the littlest thing could turn her off to something. Momo didn't tend to like more straightforward dishes since that's not what she was accustomed to growing up.
The Creation Hero took another sip of the broth with her spoon before answering, "Honda-san, I thought your Udon was surprisingly delightful. It could have benefited with more tofu if you're going to remove some for the design. Regardless, I will reward you with 9 points."
"Thank you so much, Yaoyorozu~" the kunoichi replied with a bow. "And please call me Tohru~" she finished with a heartwarming smile. It seemed she had forgiven the vice-president for her comment in Homeroom.
A small blush colored the vice-president's cheeks. "I-I will do my best to honor your request," she stammered quietly.
"That gives Tohru a total score of 28, which means...wait," Mina began suddenly realizing the flaw in her rules. "Bakugou and Tohru are tied. What are we supposed to do now?!"
A massive explosion shook the room. Clattering dishes and utensils on the tables. "Just have them rescore it or get someone else to be the tie-breaking vote for the finalists," Bakugou roared impatiently.
Before anyone could comment on that, a voice behind them stole their attention. "What seems to be the commotion here?" their homeroom teacher asked impatiently from the doorway.
Aizawa had a stack of papers under one arm and his famous yellow sleeping bag under the other. Trailing behind him was little Eri who he must have just been picked up from her school lessons with Mandalay and Kota. Even though Eri was a year older than him, she missed a lot of schooling because of how she was used as a test subject. So it was ultimately decided she would have several lessons a week with the Wild Wild Pusy cats along with Kota to get her caught up to attend public school next year. Having three Pro-heroes keeping her safe also gave Aizawa some peace of mind when she wasn't at UA.
"Someone answer before I lose my patience," the Eraser Hero ordered impatiently.
"Apologies, sensei. We were in the midst of a cooking competition to raise class moral. We will be sure to clean everything up before bed!" Iida immediately explained, saving the rest of the class from their nerves.
"A cooking competition?" Aizawa asked, confused. As far as he knew, only Bakugou and Sato were competent in the kitchen. And no offense to Sato, but he would never challenge the Beast of Class A out of fear of his own safety. The rest of the class couldn't even be trusted to boil water without the sprinklers going off.
The teacher turned his tired eyes to the still fuming blonde. "Someone actually beat you?"
"NO!" Bakugou spat, crossing his arms.
"Well, it ended in a tie between Bakugou and Tohru. We're trying to come up with a tiebreaker right now," Deku corrected apprehensively. Flinching slightly when Bakugou's fiery gaze snapped toward him.
"Just clean up after yourselves and keep the volume to a minimum. I have a lot of grading to do," Aizawa started, heading toward his office. "Someone get Eri something other than Bakugou's curry to eat for dinner."
"Wait, sensei!" Uraraka called after him, causing him to look over his shoulder. "Would you like to be the tie-breaking vote! We promise you'll like it," she finished with a heartwarming smile.
"That's a great idea! Please, Aizawa-sensei!" Mina pleaded, followed by other classmates.
A tiny hand tentatively grabbed hold of his black pants before he could refuse. "Please, it sounds like fun," Eri asked sweetly.
It was all over then. Eri's little plea was the last blow needed to persuade him to join in their shenanigans. He reluctantly allowed Uraraka and Mina to drag him to a table while Eri skipped closely behind him. That was how the Eraser Hero found himself seated at a table with the finalist's dishes placed before him with 25 pairs of eyes staring at him expectedly.
Kirishima wasn't sure Aizawa was the best choice to make the final decision since Eraser Head didn't believe in food. He believed in efficiency. The redhead recalled the time he had a talk with Aizawa in his office during lunch after the bed wrecking incident. Kirishima had watched his teacher take juice box after juice box from his little minifridge in the corner instead of eating a typical lunch. When the redhead commented on it, Aizawa simply stated that he didn't see the logic in going out of his way to prepare food for himself or ordering food when it took a ridiculous amount of time to do so.
The teacher had then pointed to his juice box, which turned out to really be soylent. A complete liquid meal that contained all the vitamins and nutrients the body needed to survive. It was as healthy and affordable as it was bland. He ordered the drinks in ridiculous quantities at a time and kept them in his mini-fridge for safekeeping. Aizawa had given him one at the end of their meeting. Curious Kirishima took a small sip and immediately threw up in a nearby trash can.
Tasted like gutter water, Kirishima grimace to himself, sticking his tongue out with the memory. Clearly, the work of villains.
All eyes were on their teacher. He didn't need to score them. Aizawa only had to decide which one was better. Everyone held their breath as he started with Bakugou's curry. The Eraser Hero's face was unreadable as he slowly sampled the chicken cutlet, curry sauce, and rice. Without a word, he moved on to Tohru's udon. First, trying the kitsune shaped tofu before moving on to the vegetables, noodles, and broth. He had actually eaten a decent amount of both dishes, but his favorite was apparent when he poured an extra helping of udon and set it in front of Eri, who sat beside him.
"Both meals were delicious, but I'm going to grant the win to Tohru. Both of your skills were equal, but she outshined you in creativity. Presentation is an important factor in everything you do. Don't forget that Bakugou."
Bakugou clenched his fists at his sides but gave a single frustrated nod at his teacher. While the rest of the class congratulated Tohru for her win, Kirishima made his way to his friends' side. "I thought your food was amazing, Bakugou!" the redhead praised. Shooting his grumpy friend with his best grin.
"Whatever," was his only response.
Kirishima's expression fell slightly. Unable to think of something to lift his spirits with after yet another loss at the hands of the shinobi.
"Don't let the loss get you down. Tohru needs a vivid imagination to use her quirk, so that translates to her being super creative in everything she does. Of course, we lost to someone like her," Kyo cut in beside the duo. By his tone, it was clear he was trying to cheer the ash-blonde up. In his hands was a bowl of udon, which he slurped up nonchalantly. "If it makes you feel better, you kicked my ass in the competition, which was the whole point, right?"
That realization managed to make Bakugou's lips twitch upward for a fraction of a second. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered.
"Oh yeah, since neither of you won the competition, does that mean Tohru has to make Jirou's dinners for a week?" Kirishima wondered allowed. "That's not really fair. If I recall, you both forced her to join at the last minute."
"Serves her right for winning then," Bakugou smirked smugly. Like he wasn't trying to win with everything he had.
"I agree, while I like your cooking Tohru, I wouldn't want to force you took cook for me for something these Hotheads decided," Jirou agreed, already helping to clean up the mess they created.
"I don't mind~" the brunette assured. Tohru's hands were stacked high with the empty bowls used for her udon. "I forgot how much I enjoyed cooking for large groups. I had already decided to make dinner for the dorms while I was here if that's alright with everyone~."
"You mean it!" Mina asked, excitedly grabbing onto her arm. "That would be amazing!"
"U-uh, sure. As long as you'd like me to, that is~" Tohru replied. To Jirou, she added, "Just tell me what you'd like for the next week, and I'll make it for everyone. After that, I'll take suggestions from the class~."
"Are you sure, Tohru? Won't that be a lot of work?" Kirishima asked, slightly concerned. They already had so much going on this term, and the shinobi were acting as part-time instructors. He didn't want her to spread herself too thin.
The kunoichi flashed him a bright smile. Her kind eyes sparkled with nothing but joy and affection. "Of course, you can count on me!~" Tohru cheered, bringing one of her hands up to salute her friend. However, the action jostled the tall stack of ceramic bowls in her other hand. She immediately brought her other hand back to the wobbling tower to regain its integrity, but a few dishes had already fallen from the top. Kyo, Bakugou, and Kirishima instantly caught the falling bowls before they could shatter on the ground. Her face turned an impressive shade of red before she mumbled an adorable apology.
"Well, let us know if you need any help, alright," Kirishima replied, taking some of the bowls from her grasp to lighten her load. "Maybe you can manage to make Aizawa eat something besides that nasty soylent he's always slurping down."
The class laughed at that as they all start to clean up the mess they had made from another one of their random contests. Kirishima even managed to wrangle Kyo and Bakugou into help cleaning by making it into a game to see who could put away the most dishes. He had meant it as a joke, but the shinobi had taken him seriously. A few taunts later and the Explosive Hero was joining in as well.
The competition was intense, but Bakugou managed to come out on top. Though Kaminari wondered if Kyo had let him win. Kirishima didn't think so. The copper-haired teen had kept up with Bakugou until he had passed out from pushing his body too far, which secured Bakugou the win.
When the shinobi groggily roused himself 30 minutes later, he was absolutely livid and challenged the ash-blonde to another contest. This nonsense continued for the next hour until Shinsou finally had enough and used his mind control quirk to force them both to sleep. They both slept on the couch that night. And that was how the story of how the two explosive teens became fast friends.
Can you tell that I'm excited for the next season of Food Wars! In case you were wondering, Food Wars is just a competitive cooking show like Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen in this world instead of an anime. I didn't think Bakugou would like the absurd renderings of people eating food. Another fun fact, Kyo's meal was the traditional way to cook salmon in the northwest Tribes where I'm currently living. If you couldn't tell, I've done it since I was a kid. So, the Hitsuzen twins will exhibit a lot of tribal knowledge from the language the speak (Mvskoke) to their favorite foods.
I apologize if you felt this was a filler chapter. I felt another chapter was needed to establish everyone's personalities and where they fall in the class. The plot will begin moving forward from this point on.
Like always, I hope you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you continue to keep reading.