Chapter 4
Morning broke; bringing the day of Mari's big test with it. It was scheduled for after the lunch period; giving her plenty of time.
She hurried downstairs after getting tea for the day; and grabbed her regular cup of coffee and after some debating, she also made herself some toast.
"Morning Oshiro! How'd you sleep? Are you ready for your test today?"
Mari turned to see Kirishima and Bakugo; toast hanging from her mouth. "Morning! I slept well; I think I'm ready, just going over my notes before we head out."
She shared a look with Bakugo over Kiri's shoulders. The truth was; she'd had an anxiety attack last night; panicking about today's test. It had been Bakugo who noticed something was wrong, and came to check on her. He had helped her calm down and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
"Glad to hear! You're not; nervous are you?" Kiri asked.
"No; I think I got it."
"Damn straight you do! You've been studying your butt off."
Mari finished her toast. "Yes, Bakugo. This is what I'm eating. Be glad I'm eating breakfast at all."
The blonde huffed. "Wasn't gonna say anything. Just glad to see you're taking care of yourself." He walked to the other side of the counter and to the fridge.
He pulled out a few lunch boxes; and placed one in front of Kiri and one in front of her. "There was extra omurice from last night, so I put it away for you two. Since you seem to be incapable of feeding yourselves."
Mari and Kiri shared a smile. They knew this was the closest they'd get to Bakugo admitting he cared about them; at least while someone else could hear him.
"Thanks; Bakugo. Omurice always tastes better the next day!" Kiri exclaimed; Mari nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, well…you're welcome. Don't make a big deal out of it."
Kirishima and Mari laughed. They knew Bakugo cared, and that's what mattered.
The day passed quickly and too slowly at the same time. Mari kept looking at the clock; anticipating and dreading lunch period at the same time. Ultimately the bell rang; heralding lunch.
Mari stood and started making her way to the lunch hall. She tried not to think about the upcoming test; determined to enjoy her lunch.
She sat down at the regular table with the rest of the Bakusquad, taking her place between Mina and Kiri.
Mina smiled at her. "Hey stranger; how you holding up? I swear I never get to see you, you would never believe we're roommates."
Mari stuck her tongue out at the pink girl. "You saw me last night; Mina. Besides, you know most of my time has been taken up by studying. After this afternoon; I'll have much more time on my hands, except when I'm interning with Edgeshot; of course."
Kaminari and Sato perked up. "That's who you got? That's awesome!"
"Yeah; I guess they thought our Quirks would work well together." Mari unwrapped her lunch box.
"Is that a genuine Bakugo lunch box? You must be very special!" Mina said, giving her a smug smile.
Mari nudged her. "Oh hush; Kiri's got one too!" Mari leaned back so that she could see. "Besides, it's just leftover omurice…"
She took the lid off. It wasn't just omurice. There was also vegetables, some sushi rolls and even some grilled chicken. "Kick ass" was written on top of the egg in what appeared to be ketchup.
"Yeah; Kiri's doesn't look like that…" Mina remarked.
Sure enough; Kiri's lunch box was missing the vegetables. In their place were some extra sushi rolls. His omelet was also missing the message in ketchup.
"Stop making such a big deal out of it!" Bakugo exclaimed loudly. "I just knew Short Stack had a lot on her mind and would probably forget to eat on her own today!"
He huffed and went back to his own lunch; a mix of spicy noodles and tofu.
Mina gave Mari another look. Mari stuck out her tongue. "Alright; just let me eat." She started digging into the vegetables; eating first some broccoli and then a carrot.
Silence fell over the table; until Mina spoke up again. "Are you excited for girls day tomorrow?" She asked Mari.
Mari nodded, wiping her mouth on a napkin. "Oddly enough; I am. I think it'll help me unwind after all this stress."
She could tell Kiri was watching her. She took his hand in hers and squeezed; a silent signal that she was okay.
The bell rang soon after; signaling the end of lunch.
Mari stood up, brushing herself off. "Well, that's my queue. I guess I'll see you later." She waved to Kaminari and Sero, and gave Mina and Kirishima a quick hug. Then she locked eyes with Bakugo; they nodded to each other, a silent understanding. She handed her bag to Mina.
"I can't take this with me; so can you please put it at my desk?" Mina nodded.
"Okay; guess I'm off."
A chorus of "Good Luck" and "Break a leg" followed her as she left the lunch room and made her way to the testing area.
The test was a breeze; and before she even realized it, she was done. She brought the paper up to the proctor and handed it in. "Here you go."
"Thank you; Ms. Oshiro. We should have your results by the end of the day. They will be sent to your dorm."
Mari bowed. "Thank you; ma'am."
She made her way back to the classroom. She could hear Mr. Aizawa in the middle of a lecture. When there was a break in talking; she knocked on the door and walked in.
"Ms. Oshiro; good to have you back. Is your exam over already?"
"Yes, sir. I should have my results by the end of the day. They'll be delivered to our dorm." She made her way to her desk and sat down. She put her head down on her desk.
Mr. Aizawa must have taken pity on her; because she opened her eyes to see that class had ended. "Did I fall asleep?" She asked; rubbing her eyes.
"You sure did; sleepy head! You even snored a little!" Kiri smiled.
"I don't snore." Mari said; leveling a glare at him.
"If you say so. Come on; let's head back. Your test results should be ready, right?"
Mari gasped. "I almost forgot! Let's go!" She grabbed Kirishima's hand and ran out the door.
They arrived at the dorms and were immediately set on by Mina.
"Mari! Your results are here! Hurry, open it!" She waved an envelope in her hands.
"Alright; Mina. Good grief. You'd think that you were the one that took the test!" Mari laughed; taking the envelope from her friend. She stared at it. "I can't open it. I'm too nervous."
"I got you. Let me see." Kirishima took the envelope and slowly opened it. He pulled out a piece of paper. "Well; I don't see why you're nervous! You aced it!"
Mari lit up. "Really? I did?"
The redhead smiled. "Here, see for yourself." He handed her the paper. Sure enough; there at the top as a large red 'A+'.
"I really did it. And it's thanks to you and Bakugo and your fantastic tutoring!" She hugged Kiri.
"No; it was all you, we just gave you a little nudge." He frowned. "It feels like there's still something in here…"
"Let me see." Mari took the envelope and peaked inside. She pulled out another piece of paper. "Huh; wonder what that is…" She opened it up and her eyes widened.
"This is to signify that Class 2-A student, Mari Oshiro; hero name Freezeframe; has met the requirements needed to earn their provisional license."
Mari gasped and reached into the envelope. Sure enough; there at the bottom was her very own provisional hero license. "I have to be dreaming…"
"Is that…?" Mina and Kiri asked. She nodded then turned back to the letter; looking for an explanation. She laughed.
"Apparently someone has been logging my sparring hours. The council decided to count that as my physical portion, especially when they saw who I was paired with." She smiled at Kiri. "They counted this test as part of my consideration as well." She could feel her eyes welling up.
"This is awesome!" Kirishima exclaimed; wrapping the smaller girl in a hug. "Hey everyone! Oshiro passed! She got her provisional!"
There was a clamber from the main room as the rest of her classmates rushed into the kitchen.
"That's awesome! You deserve it!"
"Way to go!"
"We'll have to plan a celebration! Ribbit"
Mari smiled. All the attention was nice; if overwhelming. "Thanks everyone! I'm just glad it's over with."
Denali came up to her, pretending to hold a microphone "Mari Oshiro; you just got your provisional license! What are you going to do now?" He pretended to stick the microphone in her face.
She laughed. "Honestly; I just want to veg out on the couch and watch movies."
"That sounds fantastic! Everyone; movie night!"
They all made their way back to the common room and proceeded to split into their various groups on the couches. Mari found herself sitting between Kirishima and Bakugo as per usual.
"Okay; what movie are we watching?" Midoriya asked.
"Nothing scary; please." Mari said.
"Oh stop! You have two big strong men on either side of you. You're perfectly safe." Kaminari teased. Apparently he was taking pages from Mina's book. Mari smirked.
"What's wrong; Sparkplug? You jealous?"
He wrapped his arm around Jirou' shoulder. "Nah; I'm good. Besides; you're not my type."
"I never asked if you were jealous of them; did I?"
The room erupted into laughter.
"Alright; since we can't decide. I'll pick. I say we watch Suckerpunch. It's one of my favorites." Mari volunteered.
"That is a good one." Kiri agreed.
"Do we have a copy; because I can go grab mine." She volunteered.
"No need; we'll just find it on streaming. Who has the remote?"
"I've got it!" Ochako exclaimed. She tossed it to Mari; who quickly found the movie and turned it on.
She finally let herself relax. Her head started to bob; so she rested it on Bakugo's shoulder. She felt Kiri lift her feet and put them in his lap.
"Don't my feet stink?" She whispered.
"Nah; they're fine. Trust me, Bakugo's smell much worse." Kiri whispered back.
She giggled.
"I can hear you; you damn nerds. And my feet don't stink." The blonde growled. He shoved Mari lightly, pushing her into Kirishima.
"Dude; they totally do. You forget not all of us sweat literal volatile chemicals." Kiri snickered.
"He's right; Bakugo. I've been in your room; and I've smelled your boots. They smell like a chemical plant." Mari laughed.
"Why are you smelling my shoes?!"
"I'm not doing it on purpose. I smell them whenever I walk past your room. You leave them in the hallway, and the smell gets in my nose!"
Mina leaned around Kirishima. "If you three are done arguing like an old married couple; we're trying to watch the movie. Unless you'd like to share with the class." She winked.
Mari blushed. She slowly sat up; removing her legs from Kiri's lap. He stared at her.
"My feet were falling asleep." She lied gracefully.
He didn't push it; but she could see he didn't buy it.
Bakugo stood up. "I'm going to bed."
Mari blinked at him. "Dude, it's nine o clock. On a Friday. What are your; forty?"
Kirishima and Mina both snorted.
"We're the same age; idiot!" Bakugo exclaimed, bristling.
"Could have fooled me…" Mari retorted.
"Heh; whatever. Sleep is important; and I would think you'd want to turn in early too, especially since you were up so late last night."
He walked off and Mari huffed. He was right of course; which she hated.
"What does he mean? How does he know you were up late?" Mina asked, giving her a look.
"Oh; I guess he just saw my light on later than normal. I was trying to cram before bed." Mari explained.
"I can't tell her about him helping me through my anxiety attack. She'd never believe me; and if she did, I'd never live it down."
"He is right though; I should get some sleep. Especially since we have girls day tomorrow."
"I'll walk with you back to your room." Kirishima volunteered.
"Afraid I'll get lost?" She joked.
"Nah, I just need to stretch my legs." He said, smiling.
Once they were in the elevator; Kiri turned to her.
"Be honest with me; what's going on?"
Mari stared at him. "What do you mean? Everything's fine…"
His brow furrowed. "I can tell you're lying. So just level with me. Why did you move your feet? And how did Bakugo really know you were up late?"
She sighed. "Alright; you caught me. I guess there's no lying to you." She pushed her bangs out of her eyes; tucking them behind her ear. "I had an anxiety attack last night; and Bakugo came to check on me. He saw that I had left the common area while everyone was talking; and I guess he figured out that I wasn't okay."
Kiri nodded a little. "That makes sense. He helps me with that too. But what about moving your feet? I know they hadn't fallen asleep."
Mari pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're right. They weren't. Mina's been…well she has this idea that something's going on between the three of us. Can you imagine what she'd do if I told her what happened last night? I'd never live it down."
"That's if she believes you." The redhead added. "So let me get this straight…Mina thinks the three of us are in some kind of secret relationship?"
"Apparently!" Mari exclaimed.
"We could have fun with this.." Kiri said; a mischievous grin on his face.
"What? Like let her think it's true?" Mari asked.
"I mean; I can't speak for Bakugo, obviously. But you and I could mess with her a little. You know, casual flirting; that kind of stuff."
"Would you be okay with that? You won't be uncomfortable?"
He laughed. "Nah; Mina and I mess with each other all the time. Besides; it'll be fun to see her face."
"Okay… but only if you're sure."
"Oh; we're doing this. In fact; hand me your phone."
She took it out of her pocket and handed it to him.
"Alright…and here." He handed it back. "Oh wait; I forgot!" He took it back and threw his arm around her. "Smile!"
Mari took her phone back. She saw that he had changed his contact info. He had added red hearts to the front and end of his contact name; and set the portrait as the picture they took.
"Alright; your turn. It won't look real if just one of us does it."
She took his phone and found her contact info. "Ms. Minutes? Really?" She glared at him; but there was no real heat behind it.
"What? It suits you." He smiled.
She sighed and added two purple hearts by her name; then she changed the photo.
"Here." She said, handing it back. They reached the fourth floor.
"Well, this is me. I mean technically us; but I imagine you'll be heading back downstairs."
"Yeah; probably. Someone has to make sure Denki doesn't hurt himself."
They both laughed. Then Mari said "I guess I won't see you for sparring tomorrow."
"Yeah; but it's fine. If you want, we can do something together tomorrow night."
"I'd like that. Maybe we can pack some food and go stargazing or something."
"That's oddly specific." He laughed. "But if that's what you want to do, we can totally do that."
She smiled. "So it's a 'not date/date'?''
He smiled back. "Definitely."
Her face flushed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night."
"Good night." He gave her a hug.
As Mari got ready for bed; she wondered if they were doing the right thing. But then she got a text from Mina.
"Did Prince Charming get you home safely? ;p"
Mari rolled her eyes; she debated ignoring it but then she texted back.
"You bet. He's such a gentleman. Opened my door and everything. ;)"
She put her phone down; not bothering to check Mina's response. She'd deal with it in the morning.
A/N: Okay; I know I said that there wouldn't be any Kiribaku/Mari romance in this fic; but I never said there wouldn't be copious amounts of flirting. What do you think? Will it backfire? Only one way to find out!