It's been a month since Kanami started sitting with the third years at lunch and she still can't believe how nice everyone is. She'd officially met everyone in the class, except for Shinsou, who always happened to be missing whenever she was around. They were more than willing to give her advice on her fighting techniques and help with her homework, all remembering struggling through it themselves. What surprised her the most, however, were the looks Eijiro would send in Katsuki's and her direction. For the life of her, she couldn't figure it out. She made up her mind to ask him about it the next day at lunch when she sees him again.
Katsuki walks her to class after lunch, as he had every day for the last month or so, before stalling at the door. She had come to notice that, despite his brash and somewhat erratic behavior, he isn't the best at coming right out and saying the things he wants to most of the time. So, she gets out of the way of passing students and leans against the wall next to him, waiting for him to assemble his thoughts. It takes several minutes, she's almost worried about being late to class, before he finally looks at her.
"Sato, it's been really great hanging out with you this month." She smiles up at him, trying not to laugh as he immediately averts his gaze. He's uncomfortable about whatever it is he's trying to say, she realises.
"Yeah, I really appreciate you letting me sit with you guys," she replies, voice soft, wondering where he's going with this. Katsuki clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck.
"Listen, I'm not so good with this sort of thing." She smirks at the statement but remains silent, waiting. "I just wanted to ask if maybe you'd wanna grab dinner or something sometime." Kanami's eyes widen and her eyebrows raise practically into her hairline as her hear beats faster. Surely he isn't asking me out… is he? Biting her lip, it's Kanami's turn to look at the floor.
"Like, with everyone or…?"
"I was kinda thinking just you and me," he hesitantly replies, "if you want to of course, obviously you don't have to." Kanami runs a hand through her hair, trying not to smile.
"So, would this be like a…" she trails off, hoping he fills in the blank.
"A… date… yeah." Katsuki feels his ears burning from embarrassment and nerves. So not cool dude. Finally allowing herself to smile, Kanami stands up straight and looks right at Bakugou, who still can't look at her in return.
"I'd love to." Now he turns to face her, surprise etched into his every feature.
"Yeah?" She nods her head, a light blush dusting her own cheeks. Katsuki cracks a smile and rubs the back of his neck. "Awesome, can I pick you up tonight around seven?"
"Seven would be great." Her cheeks hurt from smiling, but she doesn't care. "You know where to find me?" At this, Katsuki outright laughs.
"Sato, I was in the first group of people to live in that dorm. I think I can find it." Blushing deeper in embarrassment, Kanami rolls her eyes at herself.
"Right, duh. I knew that." Smirking, he tucks some hair behind her ear watching her eyes go wide in shock once more.
"Cute," he chuckles. "See you then, first year." He turns to walk away, but just before he rounds the corner, he feels a tug on his arm and looks down to find Kanami holding on to his sleeve.
"Kanami," her soft voice barely reaches his ears before she takes a deep breath and looks him in the eyes. "Call me Kanami." His red eyes seem to glow with surprise and happiness as he nods his head once, stretching out his hand for her to take.
"Katsuki." She chuckles, already having known his name for years before she met him, but shakes his hand and nods just the same. "See you at seven, Kanami." And then she lets him go to class while she returns to hers, practically skipping. The day seems to go by in a blur for the two students. Eijiro is beyond thrilled for his friend and can't believe he'd had the guts to ask her out without his interfering. Before either of them really had time to think about it, seven o'clock had rolled around and Katsuki is right on time picking her up. Just as he'd raised his hand to knock on the door, it swings open, revealing a startled Kanami. She smiles up at him, closing the door behind her.
"And here I thought you were the sort who's too cool to be on time," she teases, sticking her tongue out. Katsuki smirks, rolling his eyes.
"This isn't exactly something someone should be late for. Anything else and you've got me." She laughs, looking at the floor. He takes in her cherry red Doc Martens she always wears, sheer black tights, black skirt, and grey sweater before helping her into her black coat. She tucks a piece of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear and smiles sheepishly at him. "You look really nice, you should dress out of that uniform more often," he comments, sending a wink in her direction. Her cheeks flare a bright red and she is completely unable to meet his gaze, mumbling a quick thank you. Chuckling, the older boy reaches for her hand, waiting for her to give him the okay, before grabbing it and leading her towards the city center.
"So, where are we going?" She asks, hesitantly. She takes the moment to look him over, from his messy blond hair, to his black t-shirt and denim jacket, his faded black jeans, and high top sneakers. He's so cool and collected, Kanami thinks, blushing lightly to herself, before quickly looking away.
"Well, you hungry yet?" He looks down at her, happy to see she's managed to look up and around them.
"Always," he chuckles again, bumping her lightly with his shoulder.
"Then, I suppose we should get something to eat." She nods her head, allowing him to lead the way. They end up at a ramen shop in the middle of the city center where Katsuki orders a curry ramen bowl and is more than a little surprised when Kanami asks for a spicy tonkotsu. He arches an eyebrow at her but says nothing as he starts digging in his wallet.
"I can get mine at least," she offers, cheeks a little red. He scoffs, handing the cashier the yen.
"Not a chance, I asked you out," he replies a little harshly before wincing and nodding his head towards a seat at the counter. "The girl never pays on a date, surely you have experience with that." He winks at her, hoping to cover up his tone earlier, and notices her blush deepen. He arches an eyebrow at her, leaning towards her a bit. "You have been on a date before, haven't you?" Kanami is quiet for a moment, then slowly shakes her head. "You're joking." Katsuki's eyes narrow in confusion. She's adorable, how could no one have ever asked her out before? He tries to puzzle it out in his head but falls short. She shrugs next to him, pointedly looking anywhere else.
"People don't normally like me like that. I'm just… everybody's friend," she replies, softly, clearly embarrassed. Katsuki can't help but find everything about her even more endearing than he last thought and smirks, bumping her elbow on the counter. She looks over at him, eyes wide and cheeks still flushed.
"Well, we'll just have to make sure this first one is perfect then, huh?" She bites her lip and immediately looks down at her lap. "Thanks for setting the bar low, no pressure now, huh?" He teases. She laughs, rolling her eyes.
"You're the one trying to set the bar at perfect, I don't even know what to expect. I'm going off of books and movies, which I know aren't accurate." She smiles up at him right as their food comes. "I'm not at all worried about it." She hazards a wink at him before turning her attention back to her dinner. Katsuki's heart skips a beat as he bites his lip a bit, shaking his head. Oh yeah, he thinks watching her for a moment, I'm in trouble.
They return back to campus several hours later after watching a horror movie and playing at the arcade for a bit, taking their time on the walk back. Katsuki walks her right up to her door where they both stop and linger. Kanami's cheeks are tinted a rosy pink again and she has a hard time looking at him again. So fucking cute, he smirks to himself.
"I had a really great time, Katsuki," she begins, voice quiet. "Thank you for everything." He leans against her doorframe, keeping a comfortable distance between the two.
"Thank you for letting me take you out." He chuckles to himself a moment. "How'd I do for a first?" She giggles, looking at the ground and crossing her arms over her chest. Kanami feels her heart beating much faster than normal and her cheeks hurt from smiling. She nods her head, still looking at the ground.
"It was perfect," she looks up at him, bottom lip between her teeth, and Katsuki nearly melts right there.
"Think I got a shot at a second?" Her eyes widen in surprise before she looks down at the floor again, pushing some hair behind her ear.
"Only if you wanted to…" Her quiet answer barely reaches his ears. Once it does, he pushes off the wall and pushes a strand of hair behind her other ear.
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to," he teases, smirking at her as she finally meets his eyes, shock clearly shining through them. He thinks a moment before asking, "Can I kiss you good night?" Kanami feels her heart stop and forces herself to take another breath before slowly nodding her head. Gently, he tilts her head up with his finger and lightly places his lips on hers. After a second, her hands find his arms and rest on his biceps. It's over quickly, just a soft, lingering kiss that seems to promise so much more later. A perfect first kiss… She thinks as they part, and she's unable to look at him again, cheeks burning, but they don't back away from each other yet. Katsuki lets her collect her thoughts before smirking, running his thumb across her cheekbone to get her attention. "Another first I'm guessing?" Somehow, her cheeks deepen in colour as she silently nods. He pulls her into a silent hug, once again surprised by how small she is compared to him, her head resting on his chest, just over his heart. Who am I kidding, that isn't mine anymore, he chuckles at the thought before pulling away from the first year. "I should head back." She nods her head, glancing at her own door.
"Right, sorry," she breathes out. "Let me know you make it back okay?" He smirks at her, amusement plainly on his face.
"You bet," he leans down and kisses her forehead before backing down the steps. "Good night, Kanami." She smiles at him, hand on the doorknob.
"Night, Katsuki." He watches her let herself in and waits until he hears the door lock behind her before he turns around, heading in the direction of his own dorm. Kanami slides down the door to the floor, head spinning. That put every book she'd ever read to shame as she places her fingers on her lips, still reeling from the fact that Bakugou Katsuki had just taken her on a date and kissed her. She barely remembers making it up the stairs to her bedroom.
When Katsuki makes it to the dorm rooms, Eijiro is up and waiting in the common area. He looks towards the door where his best friend is just strolling in looking more relaxed than Eijiro's seen him in months. He smiles to himself, It must have gone well. Katsuki notices his friend on the couch, shrugs out of his jacket, and silently plops down next to him. They sit in silence for a few minutes, absentmindedly watching the anime show Eijiro had had on before Katsuki got back before he couldn't stand it anymore.
"Well? How'd it go?" Eijiro asks, not bothering to hide his interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Katsuki sigh happily, a soft smirk tugging at his lips.
"Perfect," he chuckles. "Apparently, I was her first date." Eijiro looks over at him in shock.
"Seriously?" He asks, clearly puzzled. Katsuki just nods, keeping his eyes on the television. "Huh." Eijiro leans back into the cushions. "Good night kiss?" He arches an eyebrow, asking. He notices Katsuki's cheeks flush and has his answer. He smiles proudly at the tv screen, holding out a fist. "Right on, dude." After a moment, Katsuki shakes his head and fist bumps his friend. They watch the show for a few more minutes before Katsuki jumps a bit, reaching into his pockets
"Oh shit," he mumbles, pulling out his phone. He ignores Eijiro's confused gaze and quickly pulls up Kanami's text messages, sending a quick,
Made it back a few minutes ago. Sorry, I was getting settled in. He puts the phone down on the armrest next to him, nervously glancing at it every few seconds. After a minute, the screen lights up and he grabs it, quickly pulling up her reply.
No worries, glad you're safe! I was about to send out the swat team for you ;P He chuckles to himself.
What, don't think I could handle any bad guys I meet along the way?
Hey, you said it, not me. He rolls his eyes at her teasing. I'm heading to bed, mind if I text you tomorrow?
Not at all, sweet dreams. Thanks again for going out with me
Thank YOU for asking me, I had a really great time :) Sweet dreams!
Eijiro watches the emotions play across his friend's face in near fascination, still not used to seeing them displayed so openly without any kind of attempt at covering them up. Katsuki catches him staring and quickly rolls his eyes.
"She just asked me to let her know I made it back alright. You're not missing anything interesting." Katsuki barks out. Eijiro raises his hands in surrender, turning his gaze back to the tv. If those facial expressions are anything to go by, that's a load of bull, he thinks, chuckling to himself. Katsuki grabs his jacket and stands up. "I'm going to bed, night dude."
"Night man," he calls over his shoulder as Katsuki is already halfway up the stairs. My boy's got it bad, he chuckles to himself.
Sunday goes by with the students catching up on homework, cleaning, any training they feel they need and, come Monday morning, the third year class is greeted by a rather surprising announcement. Midnight stands at the front of the room, lazily leaning against her desk, waiting for everyone to quiet down at the bell. It takes a few minutes but, when they are silent, she crosses her arms over her chest.
"Alright, kiddies, it has been decided by administration that you need a more well-rounded education. Not all of you are going to be pro heroes and not all of you are going to stay in the field. So, in an effort to prepare you for your inevitable teaching careers, we have decided you will pass on your wisdom attained thus far to this year's first years in one on one training sessions." A few students groan in irritation, but for the most part, the third years are enthusiastic. "The babies have already been assigned to one of you, no picking for yourselves, and are waiting in the training facility. Go get dressed and meet your students, teachers," she winks at her class and sends them on their way.
"I wonder how they divided everyone," Izuku wonders aloud.
"Do you think it's quirk based? Or maybe personalities?" Ochako asks. To her left, Eijiro scoffs, cracking his knuckles.
"It's gotta be quirk based, any personality clashing would just be icing on the cake for these guys. They can't really expect us to help someone we aren't at least relatively compatible with." The others nod their head in agreement, trying to guess who their assigned first years will be. Upon their arrival at the 1-A training facility, they find the first years waiting for them, along with Aizawa and All Might. Katsuki quickly finds Kanami on the outskirts of her class and smirks, sending her a wave and a subtle wink. Almost immediately, her face flushes a rosy pink colour as she averts her gaze briefly, before quickly returning his wave. Eijiro bumps his best friend's shoulder, already grinning.
"Well that was adorable," he teases. To his surprise, Katsuki chuckles, shaking his head a bit.
"Yeah, she is." Before the boys can converse further, All Might calls everyone's attention.
"Good morning students! I'm so glad everyone could make it today to our first student training session. It is our hope that, through this exercise, third years will learn patience and a better understanding of working with others while first years receive a different kind of instruction that will help in their own understanding of their abilities. We don't expect much from you all today, mostly just get to know your partners and start forming a plan on how you're going to be helping your personal student. The real work starts the day after tomorrow. That's not to say you can' use your quirks today, but there is to be no formal training, understood?" After receiving verbal confirmation from both classes, All Might nods at Aizawa who pulls out a clipboard no one had noticed before.
"Alright, listen up cause I'm only gonna say this once. We'll be going alphabetical from the first-year class, listen for your name, grab your partner, and find a place to talk," he begins running down the list of names, a bunch of people the third years hadn't remembered from the games. Fujiwara, the girl that had fought Kanami in the first round of the games, is paired with Yaoyorozu Momo, the two happily chatting as they walk away from the slowly dwindling crowd. Katsuki gets paired with Sekiguchi Tatsuya, a boy with a geyser quirk, and a bad temper. Upon hearing their names called together, Kanami barely manages to suppress her own laughter as she can imagine how well that's going to go. A hand lands on her shoulder and she jumps in surprise, turning around to meet violet eyes.
"You're with me, first year," Hitoshi informs her, nodding his head in a direction away from the others. Kanami shakes her head and quickly follows the tall third year, catching up just as he finds a secluded corner near the back. He turns around to face the small girl, hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face, even as she smiles up at him.
"I'm - "
"I know who you are," he interrupts. She bites her lip, looking down at the ground, more than a little embarrassed and feeling extremely shy. Shinsou Hitoshi is the only one she had yet to meet from Katsuki's class. She thought he had been avoiding her or didn't like her. Now they're paired together and she doesn't even know if he can tolerate her. Sensing her inner turmoil, Hitoshi silently curses himself for being so gruff with her. She seems so delicate, he can't help but think, despite remembering the fight she put up at the tournament. Definitely not as fragile as she seems though. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "You made quite the impression at the tournament." She looks up at him in shock. He'd noticed her? She had never thought he, of all people, would pay attention to her. "Guess we know why we got paired up at least." She nods her head, picking at the skin around her fingernails. She's nervous, he realises.
"Yeah, it makes sense since both of our quirks are a bit more subtle than some of the others." He chuckles a bit, forcing her to look at him in surprise again.
"Sure, we'll go with subtle. Not sure I'd call splitting a stadium in half subtle though." It takes her a moment before she realises he's teasing her. When she does, she giggles a bit, looking back at the ground. A fresh blush has taken over her cheeks.
"I didn't mean to - "
"Never apologise for your quirk," he interrupts again. "You're pretty good with it already. Not sure what I can do to help, honestly." Kanami's eyes widen again as she bites her lip. He's going to use that as an excuse not to work with me, she thinks, he really doesn't like me. But what did I do? "Guess I could use some of the stuff Aizawa's taught me, focus on your hand to hand in case of any physical confrontation." She looks up to find him seemingly deep in thought, despite his bored expression. His eyes betray him, she realises. With this new information, she tries harder to keep her gaze on him, and not on the ground. "What do you wanna use your quirk for?" He asks, leaning against the wall nearby.
"I figured I'd be most useful in intelligence or recon type of missions, but I'd like to be useful in any situation," she admits. He ponders her words for a minute, looking her up and down. His stare bores into her very soul but she refuses to look away. He's quiet for several minutes and she starts to shift on her feet, uncomfortable in the quiet.
"Why?" She jumps at his sudden voice, even though it's quiet, barely heard over everyone else's yelling, explosions going off in some far corner. At her confused look, he pushes off the wall and stands over her. He's so much taller than I thought he would be, she finds her breath catching a bit and forces herself to take a deep breath, not unnoticed by Hitoshi. "Why are you doing this? Wouldn't it be easier to do something else?" All of the people who suggested he be a villain come rushing to the front of his mind as he stares down at the first year. Their quirks are similar enough that he's sure she's heard her share of cruel comments. Even more probably suggesting she go into entertainment, It would be easy money, he thinks to himself.
"I'm more than people think I am." Her voice is barely a whisper, but they're so close he has no problem hearing her. "I've grown up with people telling me I'd be better off using my quirk to become famous, or that I'll go bad, that I wouldn't last in the hero world. I won't let them be right." He searches her eyes, finding only determination, and the smallest of smiles tugs at his lips. Kanami feels her eyes widen in surprise at the micro expression, before he pulls away, once again looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Good. You'll need that to get through training. Hold onto it." She nods her head, smirking a bit to herself. I gave the right answer. "Got any questions?" She thinks for a moment before shaking her head. Hitoshi quirks an eyebrow at her. "Not a one? No concerns of any kind?" She shakes her head again, looking a bit confused.
"Not that I can think of," she admits.
"Not even worried I'll quirk you into doing something?" He asks, a bit too harshly. Her eyebrows draw together, more than a little offended at his insinuation.
"No, why should I? You're in the hero course for a reason. You wouldn't take advantage if it wasn't necessary." If he's at all taken aback by her statement, he doesn't show it. She can almost feel his surprise, but his carefully schooled features lead her to believe she imagined it. "Are you worried I'll use mine on you?" He barks out a short laugh with a roll of his eyes.
"Hardly, first year." Her eyes narrow in annoyance. "You've got decent control over your quirk, there won't be any accidental control. And, despite your taste in company, you've got a good head on your shoulders, try not to hurt people or quirk them unnecessarily." My taste in company? She wonders. Who could he have a problem with? He doesn't even know her, and everyone she hangs out with is in his class, Surely he likes them, right? As she's trying to puzzle out whether that was a compliment or not, he shakes his head, that small smile in place. "So no, I'm not concerned. We'll go ahead and wrap it up for today. Make sure you're ready for our next meet up." And with that, he leaves her in the training facility. She's going to be interesting, he smirks, entering the changing rooms.
As Kanami makes her way to the front of the training room, she sees the other kids from her class demonstrating their quirks for the older students, explaining their strengths and weaknesses, problem areas and the like. She can't help the slouch in her posture or the disappointed expression that takes hold of her features. She had thought that he would at least want to get to know her a bit, not just keep it all business. She had heard he was a man of few words, but this is ridiculous.
"Sato, look out!" Kanami comes to her senses just in time to dodge a fireball heading directly for her. Once safely out of the way, she looks towards the direction it came from to find Matsuoka Misaki, a girl from her class, grinning sheepishly while she scratches the back of her head. "Sorry about that, Sato! That one kind of got away from me," she admits. Todoroki Shouto is standing just to her left, rubbing his forehead with his hand. Kanami grins, waving off the other girl's apologies. Misaki is known for having a lot of energy and not a lot of control over her fireball quirk. Todoroki's sure going to have his hands full this semester, she laughs to herself.
"Hey!" Kanami looks up to find a concerned looking Katsuki quickly closing the distance between them. "You okay?" He asks, checking her up and down for any injuries. She smiles up at him, nodding her head.
"Yep, all good. I've got pretty decent reflexes, ya know." He looks at her in shock, a bit surprised at her easy teasing, before chuckling to himself.
"Fair enough. Just looked a little close is all." He looks around, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Where's that brainwasher? Aren't you supposed to be with him?" Kanami shrugs, running a hand through the ends of her hair.
"He decided to call it early, not much to talk about I guess." Katsuki quickly picks up on the disappointment in her tone and makes a mental note to kill that purple headed jerk later. "I think he's upset about being stuck with me." Her voice gives away just how upset she is, and when Katsuki grabs her shoulders, forcing her to look at him, he doesn't miss the slightly glassy sheen to her dark grey eyes.
"Hey, nobody could be stuck with you. He's lucky to have you." Her eyes widen a bit at his words, surprised at the sincerity behind them. Katsuki surprised himself and quickly tries to cover it. "Look who I got saddled with, idiot sets off a water bomb anytime he gets irritated." This time, Kanami laughs outright.
"Look who's talking. I seem to recall a certain first year that did something very similar but with real explosions, picking a fight with anyone that crossed his path." Katsuki smirks at her teasing tone, glad she doesn't seem to be upset anymore.
"And how would you know? You weren't here yet," he reminds her, at which point her cheeks blush again.
"I may have watched you guys on tv… and online," she admits, embarrassment lacing her tone. He smirks down at her, draping an arm around her shoulders, and escorts her to the front entrance where Aizawa and All Might are waiting. They share a knowing look with each other, All Might trying to suppress his own smile.
"Can't say I blame you, I am pretty fantastic to watch." He winks down at her, loving the fresh shade of pink dancing across her cheeks. Confidence certainly isn't an issue for him, Kanami muses to herself. "See you at lunch?" She nods her head, gasping a little as he kisses the top of her head. "Try to stay out of trouble until then," he advises before running back in the direction of his first year. Kanami stands there for a few minutes, shocked, before shaking her head and making her way up the steps. All Might is standing at the top of the stairs, grinning widely down at her.
"Done already, Miss Sato?" She blushes again, knowing he saw her with Katsuki, and nods her head.
"Yes sir, Shinsou left a few minutes ago." Aizawa rolls his eyes. Of course he did, he thinks. I'll have to talk with him later.
"Alright, go ahead and get changed. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Sato." Kanami smiles widely at the retired hero, waving her goodbye, and exits the building.
Hitoshi has already changed into his school uniform and pulled out a notebook, turning the pages until he finds a blank one. He writes down a few notes about Kanami's quirk based on what he had seen during the festival and their brief interaction today. Skipping a line, he begins forming a vague training plan, similar to the one Aizawa had used on him when he started his secret training to join the hero program. Shortly after, the sound of doors opening and slamming catches his attention, alerting him that the rest of his class is on their way in. Before he can escape, a small explosion goes off just to his left.
"Hey, brainwasher!" Hitoshi turns around to find Katsuki glaring at him and quirks an eyebrow in response. "What the hell's your problem?" Hitoshi suppresses the urge to roll his eyes and merely meets the hothead's gaze with a bored expression of his own.
"You'll have to be more specific," he informs his classmate, "I'm not sure what you're talking about." By this point, they have started to attract a crowd. Eijiro stands at the fringes next to Denki and Sero, Izuku on the other side of Katsuki.
"You don't have to be such an ass to her," Katsuki begins, positively fuming. "She's a nice girl who just wants to use her quirk to help people, you of all people should understand that." Hitoshi's eyebrows lower as realization settles in. This is because of Sato? "You make her cry again, and you better switch schools, cause I will kill you." With one final glare, Katsuki goes to find his own clothes to change into and everyone disperses. Hitoshi, meanwhile, remains in place, stunned into silence. I didn't mean to upset her, he thinks, shaking his head and finally exiting the locker rooms. Her smiling face pops into his head as he goes over their brief interaction together.
"I'm - "
"I know who you are," he interrupts.
Her face had fallen, she had been excited to meet him and he was rude to her right off the bat. That didn't seem something worthy of tears, though.
"You made quite the impression at the tournament."
She had looked at him in complete astonishment. Why would she be that surprised? Surely she knows she put on a pretty memorable show. Reaching his hallway, Hitoshi runs frustrated fingers through his hair. The image of her picking at the skin around her fingernails flashes across his memory, how difficult it seemed for her to look him in the eyes. She was nervous, he remembers, but why?
"Never apologise for your quirk," he interrupts again. "You're pretty good with it already. Not sure what I can do to help, honestly."
She had looked ecstatic at his praise. Surely she had heard that from plenty of other people, why did it matter that he had said it? He hadn't noticed it at the time, as he was thinking of how to handle her training, but her face had fallen instantly after he had told her he wasn't sure he could help. It wasn't just disappointment, he realises, it was complete dejection.
"Why?" She jumps at his sudden voice, even though it's quiet, barely heard over everyone else's yelling, explosions going off in some far corner. At her confused look, he pushes off the wall and stands over her. "Why are you doing this? Wouldn't it be easier to do something else?"
"I'm more than people think I am," her voice is barely a whisper, but they're so close he has no problem hearing her. "I've grown up with people telling me I'd be better off using my quirk to become famous, or that I'll go bad, that I wouldn't last in the hero world. I won't let them be right." He searches her eyes, finding only determination, and the smallest of smiles tugs at his lips.
She had looked at him with such determination, he had seen himself in her. Growing up being told you were bound to be a villain, it tended to make or break people. She had clearly heard some of the same stuff, people pushing her in another direction, but she was determined to do this. He feels his lips quirk up into a smirk again at the memory.
"Not even worried I'll quirk you into doing something?" He asks, a bit too harshly. Her eyebrows draw together.
Hitoshi rolls his eyes at himself. Way to go, let her know right off the bat that you think she's just like one of those jerks that used to bully you, he thinks to himself as he walks into his classroom.
"No, why should I? You're in the hero course for a reason. You wouldn't take advantage if it wasn't necessary."
There had been no hesitation in her answer. She had complete faith in him that he would play fair and treat her like a person, not something to be used and bent to his will. He's still shocked.
"Are you worried I'll use mine on you?" He barks out a short laugh with a roll of his eyes.
"Hardly, first year." Her eyes narrow in annoyance. "You've got decent control over your quirk, there won't be any accidental control. And, despite your taste in company, you've got a good head on your shoulders, try not to hurt people or quirk them unnecessarily."
He watched her expression change from irritation, to surprise, pride, and then confusion. Unlike him, all of her emotions play across her face as though advertising how she's feeling at any given moment.
"So no, I'm not concerned. We'll go ahead and wrap it up for today."
Hitoshi's eyes widen in shock, unsure of how he had missed it at the time. Her face had fallen again, back to that dejected expression she wore after he mentioned not knowing how to help her. He feels his eyebrows draw together as he tries to puzzle out the strange girl's reactions, even as the room fills up with his classmates, as lessons go on. Lunch comes and goes, he hears the crowd at Bakugou's table and glances over, briefly, to see her sitting in the middle of them all, smiling and laughing away. If she's still upset about earlier, she's doing a remarkable job of hiding it, he muses before turning back around to his food.
Upon entering the training facility for his session with Aizawa, he is shocked out of his thoughts of his new trainee by Aizawa's capture weapon wrapping tightly around him. Hitoshi looks up at his instructor, glaring.
"Thought we didn't do surprise attacks first thing."
"What did you say to her?" Aizawa question, voice low. Hitoshi looks at him in confusion, not sure what kind of tactic he's trying to use. "Sato, your first year, what did you say to her?" Understanding dawns on the third-year student and he casts his gaze to the ground with a shrug. The capture weapon tightens around him. "Why did you leave early?" Another shrug.
"I didn't have anything to say. She didn't have any questions about the assignment. I didn't see the need to stay." Aizawa rolls his eyes again, recalling his capture weapon, much to Hitoshi's relief.
"You hurt her feelings," he informs the student, noting the smallest bit of guilt seeping out of his otherwise bored gaze.
"I wasn't mean to her, if that's what you're suggesting," Hitoshi counters, not liking to beat around the bush.
"You dismissed her." Aizawa closes the distance between them, looking his student in the eyes. When did he grow this much, he finds himself wondering. "You're a big inspiration to her and you dismissed her like she was a piece of gum on the sidewalk." Hitoshi's eyebrows lower in confusion. "Her first week in the hero course, she was struggling. Her quirk isn't a very physical one, effective, but there are a lot of areas in combat she struggles in compared to the rest of her class. I took her aside, like I did for you, and asked her what made her consider the hero track. You wanna guess what she said?" Hitoshi stands there in silence, unable to voice his suspicions creeping in from the back of his head.
"She said she hadn't thought about it until two years ago. She had resigned herself to the idea of being an entertainer, like her family had always wanted, even though it wasn't what she wanted, because she thought that was all she'd be good for. She watched the sports festival that year, like she had every year, and couldn't believe her eyes when a purple-haired boy with a quirk like her's made it to the third round and almost beat someone like Midoriya. She heard you talking about all the people who doubted you, your determination, and thought to herself, for the first time, that she could be more than someone on the radio. That she could be a hero, like you." The guilt that had weighed on Hitoshi's chest since his confrontation with Bakugou only increased with each word his teacher spoke until he was unable to lift his gaze from the floor. He had done to her what so many had done to him before, and he hadn't even known it. "I know you aren't exactly fond of talking with people, you don't trust easily, and you don't see the point in sugar-coating your words. But maybe you'll keep this in mind the next time someone you don't know tries to make some kind of connection with you. You don't know what other people are going through." Sensing his student isn't going to say anything else on the matter, Aizawa begins their actual training session, satisfied by Shinsou's clear distraction the entire time. Looks like I got through to him, he smirks to himself. After about an hour Aizawa calls it time and send Hitoshi back to his dorm for the night.
I'm gonna have to do a damn good job with her to make up for this.