The next day, even with Aizawa informing everyone that there is no reason to come back to another viewing so soon, especially after yesterday, the students insisted that they are ready for another episode. As long as they have each other to comfort and be comforted by, it seems that they'll be fine and able to keep their emotions in check.

After all – good sad emotional movies are still good movies. Even if they make you cry.

Hatada, though. Is not feeling great. Like, physically? Health-wise, a little? She kind of didn't eat dinner yesterday because she fell asleep on her dorm's lounge's couch immediately after entering the building and didn't get to eat her supper. So she woke up in the middle of the night because of an empty stomach and made herself food. And of course she couldn't go back to sleep after that because she had the absolute pleasure of waking at dawn, after the sun was somewhat out and all the birds started to chirp already. It was a nice sound. She's still fucking tired, though.

What she's trying to say is that she's exhausted and with her big, smart, sleep-deprived, General Education brain she came up with a plan:

Eat dinner before the Quirk viewing.

Amazing, she knows. And as much as eating two chocolate bars and a bowl of popcorn for supper sounds amazing at some times of the day, she doesn't feel like getting a tummy ache tonight, so she brought her own, healthy meal for the session. And then she'll promptly fall asleep until some squeaky teenager will wake her up and ask her what cooler has the apple juice in it (There are two coolers and they're both for water. There is a bottle of apple juice, though. Which you will find if you took the time read the damn label.)

This time, Midoriya is back sitting in his normal seat, cuddled up against his friends while Bakugou and his own group of twerps are in their reserved corner once more. The blond is on the left-most bean, facing the screen with Kaminari sitting next to him, on his left, pressing that it's 'his turn to sit with Bakugou' this time. On the bag to their right are Mina and Kirishima and then finally, Sero on the far right.

Soon enough and without too many interruptions, Mei starts up the new universe screening.

Searching the multiverse… 44%

Searching the multiverse… 78%

Searching the multiverse… 100%

Now playing: Mazes.

"So are we taking this figuratively or literally today?" Bakugou deadpans right off the bat.

Sero smiles broadly, "One word in and you're already pissed."

Bakugou tilts his head to give him a stern look. Mina hums, "There is no such thing as perfect in Baku-world. So he might as well start early, right?" She smiles. Well, if Bakugou had to choose something that is perfect, he would choose himself. In this current universe, thanks.

Sometimes, when a person has too much energy, too much determination and willpower, all they need is a goal in mind. A dream, and their whole life is set.

"Sounds like someone I know," Mina drawls.

Bakugou presses his lips in a fine line. All of that seems like a good way to live. He has no idea how these goons see an opportunity to tease in every gosh darn sentence.

All of their time is spent on the little details, planning the entirety of their lives ahead of them so they can accomplish their goal as successfully as possible. What school will you go to? College? Do you have the money for that? Are you going to take a job to help yourself? One that will help you get to the position of your fantasies along the way?

Say this and that so the teacher will take it lightly with you on the test. Do this and that so the smart kid will tutor you. When are you going to sleep? When do you wake up? Do you work better in the early morning or late at night? Schedule time for your friends. Do you even need them?

Everything has to be organized. Perfect. A plan B for anything, just in case. So you can achieve your dreams with little chance of fail.

"That sounds like a headache," Hagakure says, "Like. I get being organized but is time for your friends really something you should be thinking about so much?"

"Schedule time for therapy," Shinsou adds to the list flatly.

"If a person enjoys working so hard for their future, I don't see a problem with it – kero." Tsu admits with her legs tucked against her chest, "Some people do actually like working like that."

"If that's what you're into…" Hagakure utters, possibly side-eying Bakugou.

But sometimes people don't have the chance to accomplish all of that, mostly because of reasons they have no control of. If they aren't wealthy enough, or disabled, or not mature enough at the right time, or because other people just don't seem to like them. Maybe their luck is just really crappy.

Midoriya watches with narrowed eyes. Bakugou can't be serious, right? He has to be self-aware.

He knows that there are people who had it much rougher. But still, even he had his own experiences. He got over it, thanks to his parents' wealth and training – something he will always be grateful for. In the end, he thinks he turned out well.

Bakugou tilts his head with a grimace tugging at his lips. What the hell does his parents' money have anything to do with his awesomeness? It was all him, all the time. Who the hell is implying that because his parents make bank he's where he is today? That's total fucking bullshit! "Hey!" he barks.

Sero, who seems to already notice Bakugou's building distress, waves his hand in the air to try and silence the other, "Blasty, Blasty," he drawls lazily with a faint hint of desperation, "It's a different universe, yeah? Chill."

Bakugou scoffs, crossing his arms as he readjusts his position on his bean, accidentally elbowing Kaminari in the process who simply whimpers, clutching at his own side before speaking to the louder blond rather timidly, "Yeah, it's a different universe…"

But of course, if you ask anyone in his position how it was to get there, they would say some generic explanation like that. He worked hard but is lucky, thankful for all the good and bad and so on yadda yadda.

But if you ask a cashier, for example, the same question… they'll most likely barely hide their scowl and repeat, "Cash or credit, sir?" while glowering.

Even with all this knowledge, Yuuga has to hold himself from walking right to the cash register and ask that exact question.

"Oh." Satou simply lets out as the rest of the class sit straighter, sputtering.

Bakugou sneers, though it's more of his BRF than anything. Who the fuck is Yuuga.

"So this was Aoyama?" Jirou asks incredulously.

Bakugou keeps on poutin'. Oh, alright. Sparkly Extra, okay.

Aoyama almost chokes on his soda he's drinking from a metal straw tucked into a sparkly cup he for some reason had. He places a hand on his chin, the three middle fingers pressing against his skin in shock, "Oh, bonjour!" he says while blinking.

"Hi…" Shinsou murmurs quietly, "Wait, so. If he's talking about a cashier – does that mean that Bakugou is—?"

"Oh god no." Bakugou grunts, dragging a hand over his face. If he was wearing a hoody, he would pull the strings until only his nose was visible.

"Maybe another Quirkless AU?" Midoriya suggests.

"But a cashier?!" Bakugou groans, voice slightly breaking.

"I'm interested to see how Aoyama thinks," Tsu lets out with a soft smile.

The mentioned blond smiles his typical triangular smile. "As you should."

Yuuga is already a pro hero. A new one, maybe, with the rest of his class, but he is nonetheless. He's aware that some of his other classmates have been quick to make themselves known – well, it was pretty easy for all of them considering they're the class 3-A and all that. Another thing he's grateful for.

But still. His amount of followers and fans might not be as big as Todoroki or Midoriya or Yaoyorozu…

The three flush, Todoroki clenching at the fabric of his pants, Midoriya rubbing the back of his head and Yaomomo playing with her fingers as the last two chuckle nervously and the rest of the class watch them with amusement.

Bakugou sighs again. Of course. He's a cashier in a world of Quirks. Maybe this universe he's currently living in is different from the others because he is a pro? Or will be? Maybe he fucking won't. The universe where Bakugou is a pro hero for more than a month. Wild, they will all say, in another universe where he is just some random bully from Midoriya's past. Some fucking cashier in a shitty band.

There's a cough, beside him. "Just an alternate universe!" Kaminari reminds in a high pitched voice, half grimacing. Bakugou rolls his eyes.

But he knows that the fans that he does have are all hardcore. Love him to bits. They're great, really. Which would make it a little harder to explain to them why he's shopping in a dinky mart, stuffing his hold with snacks, staring at the cashier from behind a shelf – if any of them just so happen to spot him. But right now it seems the pair are the only ones there.

"I bet it feels like you can't do anything in public after graduating." Uraraka mumbles, "Even without doing the hero work, it's gonna feel like a challenge…"

Iida nods, "For now, let's take advantage of the security the dorms and school give us, before we graduate."

Yuuga sparkles with wonder and light excitement as he stares at the cashier that's chewing on a zipper of a hoody they aren't wearing, looking bored out of their mind as they stare at a random point on the counter. Yuuga places the candy bag back in its place, obscuring the view of the front of the store.

He knows that he walked past the cash register when he entered, but he was more concerned on making a performance, entering like the prince he is, head held high and eyes closed peacefully. If anyone saw him in his casual clothing, they might not recognize him – and he can't let that happen.

"So you really just sparkle twenty-four seven?" Ojirou asks with a shudder, "Even when no one is watching?" That must take up way too much energy.

Aoyama shrugs elegantly – which is a thing now, the rest of the class guesses, "It est not something I can control, Ojirou."

"Amazing," Yaomomo breathes in amazement, placing a palm on her cheek, sparkling herself with obliviousness to her own shine. A wonder of nature, a blessed spirit. Truly amazing, she thinks.

"Merci," Aoyama replies with the last of his breath a little awkwardly yet still trying to retain his glimmer-ness. He's not exactly used to people complimenting him.

"Always concerned about self-image," Midoriya mutters in agreement, "So admirable. I can't imagine a fan worrying about meeting their icon, listening to all of the people telling them to not meet idols – and meet them by coincidence." He sighs, closing his eyes with a small smile that doesn't particularly reach his eyes, as if remembering a personal experience, "And for them to be just as great as you expect. That would be a moment they'll remember for a lifetime."

Aoyama blushes, a little overwhelmed. "You're too kind, mon amie." What else is he supposed to say…? Maybe he isn't ready for all his great fans. Maybe he's just too good – even for himself.

Kayama sighs through her nose, leaning her head back. "I hate people like that, who are way less cooler than they are in front of a camera." she admits, "Like, being crappy to other pros is bad enough, but at least be kind to your fans, you know?"

"Oh god," Yamada groans dragging a hand over his face, "That's the worst." He grimaces, brows scrunched, "Who knew so many people were such jerks! And heroes, at that."

"If I had a dime…" Aizawa grumbles, "You don't have to like one another," he tells the class, who all listen – doing his best to make this into a learning opportunity lest he explodes from being forced to monitor this bonding experience – or more like doesn't trust the other two teacher to do it, "But you have to respect each other. You'll meet a lot of annoying people you may unlike – heroes and fans alike, but keep a leveled head and don't be petty." He purses his lips, "Unless it's… an extremely nosy media person, or a villain… or you can't help it." He might be a little hypocritical. "Be respectful with your pettiness, in the very least."

"Thanks." Yamada deadpans, "Thanks for the lesson, teacher."

Aizawa scowls, "Shut up, you."

"Respectful indeed."

If he remembers correctly – that is Bakugou Katsuki, his old classmate, from 1-A.

"Here we have it, folks," Bakugou drags, raising a hand uselessly.

"Don't be so disappointed, bro," Kirishima consoles, "Cashiers are pretty manly."

Bakugou narrows his eyes. "What the fuck are you talking about."

"Well," he shrugs, "They work hard, have to deal with entitled people all the time. And it's pretty boring," He wavers, "No offence…"

"But if he was in 1-A then why…?" Todoroki starts.

He was a real hard worker,

Kirishima raises his eyebrows in triumph.

Was determined and loud, the center of a lot of people's attention lots of times. He was out there, and that's a fact, whether you were a fan of his attitude or not. He strived forward, did his darndest and clearly had good things coming his way in the future. Even with only the very few interactions the two blonds had, Yuuga new that much for sure.

Aizawa nods, proud that his student was following his advice of respecting outside of personal feeling, even if he might not have gotten that advice from him directly in that universe.

Yuuga places a fist over his mouth in thought. Bakugou was easy to grab the attention of everyone around him – hell, even now – and that eventually escalated to the villains taking interest in him. And after he got kidnapped from the LOV, he was never seen again from his class.

The students gasp. "So…" Sero trails off as Kaminari trembles, scooting closer to Bakugou who scoffs,

"Obviously I was fine," he says, "I wouldn't be working in a fucking convenience store if I was turned into a villain, which wouldn't happen in a million years anyway." Look. He doesn't like talking about that time, alright? He shakes his head. It was all just so stupid. A waste of time and energy and watching himself and his confidence leak out bit by bit from his body as he was tied to a chair. It was so fucking stupid.

"We're just worried about you, man," Mina informs kindly, continuing before Bakugou can retort, "And it's not because we don't think you can handle it yadda yadda, you're our friend blah blah it's our job."

Kirishima nods, "To put it simply." He bites his lip, "Of course we'd be curious, if something different happened to you after the, ah." He gives a half shrug to Bakugou with a smile that makes the blond look away with a pout,

"Whatever,"

The rescue was a success, thankfully. But even with the students participating coming back, Bakugou never actually did. He was okay and safe, Mr. Aizawa told them, but his parents pulled him out of the school, deeming it unsafe – even with all the teachers' protests and denials.

Bakugou bites his cheek, expression unwavering. Maybe he should be grateful to his real parents.

Nah.

Too fucking sappy. Screw that noise.

He never delivered on any of the classmates' calls or texts. Gone, vanished. One casual goodbye to the students who rescued him, seemingly feeling sure he'll join them soon. Some only saw him last at the camp. Final. It came as a shock to the class, somehow. Maybe they forget how worried a parent could get. Maybe they expected Bakugou's parents to be as stubborn and fearless as him. But that was that.

The only reason they knew what was to happen to him was because of Midoriya, whose mother apparently was friends with Bakugou's mom.

No one was forcing him to not respond to their massages and calls, but it was his choice. His parents signed him up for a different school, as it turns out. And he was just very bitter about it.

While some students saw Bakugou's departure as a plus – Mineta,

"Minetass," Mina grumbles quietly, the others grimace as an agreement, not even needing to hear her.

The mood of the class has been significantly brought down. Especially from the students who helped with the rescue – mainly Midoriya and Kirishima. And their sour mood brought down their friends' spirit and so on. Even if Bakugou wasn't the most liked student in the class, he was still clearly trying to do his best as a hero. He was a little complicated, but pretty much if you didn't annoy him he was pretty okay.

"See?" says Jirou, "I told you we care!" Thank god she's not the only one admitting this, because that would be embarrassing.

"You idiots," Bakugou groans, "You need to focus on fucking studying to be heroes and shit. Not some stupid fuck like some random classmate."

Many people immediately threw out replies and denials, making his temples throb. Ultimately, it was Iida's booming voice that Bakugou heard over the others, "You're not 'some random classmate', Bakugou! Every and each classmate in our class is important equally and are more important than they could ever know!"

"Except for Mineta!" Uraraka jumps in.

"Uh-ahm," Iida sputters, thankfully getting caught off by Mina,

"Yeah, Bakubabe! You're like, super cool and fun and," she clears her throat obnoxiously, "Our friend and we care about you! Get that through your tiny head."

"Okay, okay, fuck." Bakugou rolls his eyes. "You're all so fucking dramatic, I get it."

"Don't sell yourself short." Shouji explains.

"I don't!" Bakugou hisses, "I'm the fucking best and awesome and obviously all you dumbasses would be sad if I left, but do your damn jobs and get over it."

"Don't tell us what to do." Kirishima says strangely firmly and seriously, sending a shiver down the blond's spine that makes him freeze.

So as much Yuuga never really talked to him really ever, he's glad to find him… not dead, he guesses. He should talk to him.

He peeks out the side of the shelf to look at Bakugou, but finds that the cashier is already staring, glaring in his direction as he continues nibbling on the pull tab of his zipper menacingly. Yuuga immediately cowers back, swallowing.

The class chuckle at the exchange as Aoyama runs his fingers through his hair, appreciating the attention.

Yuuga shakes head. Of course it's hard to miss him with how fabulous, sparkly and eye catching he is.

"I'm surprised by the lack of French words I'm hearing currently, t-b-h." Shinsou says.

"Maybe he grew out of it?" Todoroki suggests.

He twirls confidently right back out of his hiding spot, striking a pose for the only other person in the shop currently – a blessing, for them – at about eleven a.m., dropping the bags of chips in his grasp in the process to the floor, "I wasn't aware that you were aware of my location," he says.

"So I just noticed…" Tsu starts, "This is an exchange between one overly confident blond to the other – kero."

"Yet they're still so different." Tokoyami expresses.

"There is nothing wrong with being confident in yourself," Aoyama voices patiently, "The problème starts with how you treat others."

It's quiet for a little. And then, "Being so sure of yourself while still believing in your friends…" Todoroki mutters loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, looking at his palms before curling them to fists dramatically, "Being so confident in yourself, just as much as you trust your friends… Treating yourself as you'd treat any other, it's really admirable."

He lifts his head and turns to look at Aoyama determinably, who simply blinks back, the rest of the class in full focus on the dual Quirked boy, "A lot of people's troubles and doubts come from within – they're problem tends to be the way they feel about themselves and the way they interact with the rest of the world. To respect others enough to be open to people helping you while giving yourself the benefit of the doubt and consider yourself above average while you can isn't just anything anyone can do.

"I'm not sure how many problems you do actually have and are maybe hiding from the rest of us, but to trust yourself and consider yourself truly magnificent – even when in front of one person, or simply doing something as simple as people watching – even with all these problems you may or may not have, and to still respect others as you respect yourself?" He takes the breath he's been gradually letting out with his rambling, "It's truly incroyable." he finishes, eyes sparkling with admiration.

The room is silent, and Aoyama gawks with his mouth slightly open and cheeks red. That's… the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him? And all he did was twirl and strike a pose? Why the hell are the apparently most popular and strongest heroes-to-be so goddamn nice to him? Are thy like this to everyone?

He gulps before clearing his throat, placing a fist over his mouth like he did previously in the other universe, "Merci beaucoup, Todoroki," he thanks rather awkwardly, "I'll be sure to say anything if. I need any help."

Todoroki nods obediently before turning back to the screen, oblivious to his friends' starry eyes.

Meanwhile, Bakugou scoffs quietly, and whispers to the person who happens to be closest to him – which turns to be Kaminari, "Dork."