A/N: Everyone! Cheez :) It's finally the time... Our Masha has her "first date". I'm so excited! Lol, I really hope you guys will like it and I hope it's not too out of character for both, Masha as well as Katsuki. I really tried to make it as MHA logical as possible. Please enjoy reading!
Chapter Seven: Byakko Has A Date!
Masha sits in a café with Bakugo for some time now and is actually very surprised at how calm and focused he can be. Drinking her third milkshake through a colorful straw she watches the light blond boy reading her notes about Eraserhead that she wrote the evening before at the last moment. His usually angry face looks neutral for once and his red eyes aren't fiercely glaring but... yeah, pretty. Once again the young tigress realizes how attractive this guy looks against her own will. She restrains an annoyed sigh and just hopes that she won't blush sitting so close next to him. And he smells nice. Like really nice. Most people would think that remark is weird unless a certain perfume is meant, but for Masha liking or disliking a human's scent is very common. Not that she's ever gonna tell him!
With a thoughtful expression he switches his attention to his own notes biting down on his pencil in concentration. "Where the hell did ya find all that crap?" Bakugo grumbles displeased. The cat girl shrugs her shoulders and puts her empty glass on the table. "That's just everything I know from personal experience. Since Eraserhead is an underground hero who hates being on TV or giving interviews there's nothing much you can actively research. I'm quite surprised Present Mic took him as an assignment to work on"
Now his eyes go back to a scowl again. "Whaddaya mean personal experience?" Masha tries to hide her disappointment seeing his red eyes hardening again. "Uncle Shota is my godfather. Or guardian or however you want to call it. And I had quirk training once a week with him before I entered U.A. since the age of nine. Also with other voluntary pro heroes, but that's not relevant for our argument", she explains and Bakugo furrows his brows even more at her in disbelief. "Why would a damn lil' loser like you have quirk training with pro heroes and even have one as a guardian?!" he suddenly erupts and the former peaceful atmosphere is gone for good.
The teenage girl exhales wearily. "That's actually absolutely none of your business ya know!" she shoots back at him but goes on with her story anyways. "I'm an adopted child with a quirk that's classified as dangerous and uncontrollable, so I have to take therapy sessions and quirk training and someone has to monitor our family on a regular basis. That someone is uncle Shota for my mom and me, so of course I have a bit more information about him than other people do" With gritted teeth he stares into her amber eyes. "Tch!" Abruptly he breaks eye contact and turns his head away from her. "We can't use that, idiot! We'll need evidence for information used for a school project" The light blond boy says that sneeringly, but he has stopped shouting at her, much to Masha's confusion.
She looks at the clock on her smartphone briefly. "You've got some time left?" the cat girl asks Bakugo who started to read over his own notes once again. "Yeah, of course, I want to finish this stupid project today, why?" She smiles at him and gets up from her seat. "Perfect" Stretching her body she turns around to go and pay her milkshakes. "If you want evidence, I'm gonna show ya" But before Masha can actually pull her purse out of her backpack she gets pushed from behind and stumbles towards the door. "Go wait outside", Bakugo grunts still looking somehow displeased and Masha wonders if this is just his usual expression. "You don't have to pay for me. We're only doin' schoolwork", she reminds the blond, but he avoids her eyes and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Wait. Outside!" he repeats now clearly pissed, but still not yelling at her. "Uhm... okay, thanks then"
The young tigress leaves the café and sighs. That guy honestly is confusing as hell! Is he actually trying to be nice or something? Or maybe rather containing his temper? And finishing the project today? A school assignment that is supposed to take several weeks to be completed in only one day? He's just crazy! That's beyond being perfectionistic. Then again he's the one calling poor Izukyun a nerd...
As Bakugo exits the café shortly after her, the blond spiky haired boy eyes her up from head to toe skeptically. Masha looks down on her outfit as well, but can't find anything strange about camouflage shorts, a black sleeveless top and black boots, so she returns his intense gaze calmly until he starts walking. "So, where are we goin'?" he questions her with his dark and raspy voice. "First to the bus stop and then to the so called Psychological Institute for Quirk Traumata or short P.I.Q.T.", the young tigress informs him. "Or as I sometimes also call it, my second home"
The blond suddenly stops walking and raises his eyebrows. "Why the hell would I go to a freakin' therapy center with ya?" he barks demanding an explanation. "To get rid of your anger issues?" the tiger girl suggests innocently and only snickers at the dead like glare he shoots at her. "Die!" Bakugo deadpans while waiting for her actual explanation. "Because they have documents and video files of my fights and lessons with the pro heroes. And since it's an official institution..."
"...we can use it as a source for the project", he finishes her sentence. "Didn't think you'd be so useful", the spiky haired boy admits through his gritted teeth as he starts walking again and Masha can't help but to burst out in laughter. "Whoa, that coming from you! The world's gonna end tomorrow!" she jokes. "Be quiet stupid cat!" he claims back angrily but is still not able to look at her properly. Stubbornly he stares at the street ahead of him and concentrates on walking.
Despite feeling kind of awkward in a situation like this, the cat girl smirks and keeps up with his pace spending the rest of the time until they arrive at the institute in silence. However right before the two of them are about to enter the foyer, Masha turns around to face the light blond head on. "Bakugo..." she starts and bites down on her lip. "Please do me a favor and don't yell at the kids, okay?" At his threatening red glare she just raises a hand to stop him. "I'm not trying to mock you", the young tigress clarifies. "I'm being serious here. They've been through a lot in their young lives already. They don't need you to make it even worse. You don't have to interact with them if you don't want to. I can understand if someone doesn't like to hang around children. But if you've got nothin' nice to say to them, just keep your mouth shut or ignore them or something"
Without waiting for his answer Masha finally enters the therapy center, feeling Bakugo's gaze on her back. "It really pisses me off when you do that!" he suddenly blurts out causing her to turn around again blinking in confusion. "What?" She twitches one of her tiger ears questioningly, but Bakugo has turned his head to the side as if she truly offended him. "Surrender to me without putting up a proper fight", he clarifies. "Do me a favor?! Are you stupid? Just tell me you're gonna kick my ass if I do something to those damn brats if they're so precious to you!"
For a second Masha is completely taken aback and gapes at the blond boy with her mouth wide open, but the moment she realizes what he just told her, she starts laughing uncontrollably which of course is only adding fuel to the fire of Bakugo's anger. "Oh boy! Are you serious? Did you even listen to yourself?" the young tigress finally manages to ask and wipes away some tears of laughter. "Surreder? Putting up a proper fight?! Gosh, my ears hurt!" she scoffs. "Bakugo, I was just being polite. I asked you for something because that's what you usually do if you want anything from another person. Just ask, ya know. That's very common. People don't always shout bloody murder to get what they want. In fact, you're the only one I know who thinks that attitude is appropriate" The young girl shakes her head still not able to believe what she just heard. "Besides if I told you I'd kick your ass, you'd also be pissed and shout at me, right? So it actually doesn't really matter what I do or say. Even if I'm not tryin' to annoy the hell outta you for fun, I get the feelin' that you're always mad at me for no reason"
But before Bakugo gets the chance to proof Masha's statement in the middle of the institute's lobby, both of them are welcomed by a beaming young woman in athletic clothes who hugs the cat girl happily. After the young tigress explained the friendly staff member the reason for her visiting the therapy center with a classmate, she takes the two students to the archive and shows them where they can find the video files and some documents which could be used as a proper source.
"Thanks Elina", Masha cheers waving at the white-haired nice lady who disappears into the lift on her way back to the yoga lesson she'll be holding for the kids in a few minutes. The white and black haired girl sits down next to Bakugo watching one fight with uncle Shota after another, starting with the ones right after she moved into the institute at the age of nine years. However she soon begins to notice how his facial expression hardens again as time passes by. Even though the blond boy doesn't take it out on her this time, she feels his restrained rage and Bakugo being so awfully quiet this whole time somehow makes it even worse. Kinda scary. Masha suppresses a sigh and rolls her amber eyes instead. Now what? Actually she already stopped trying to find logical factors causing his aggression, but today the spiky haired teen acts even more strange than she's used to.
"You never take anything seriously, do ya damn cat?!" the light blond finally asks after he's put down his pen and the young girl shifts her attention from the video file to her angry classmate. "Where the heck does that suddenly come from?" she shoots right back at him expressing her annoyance in her tone. "'Cause ya never give it your all. Not while fighting that lazy teacher, not during our sports test and ya even missed our first hero training takin' a goddamn afternoon nap at the infirmary. You're not afraid to dare challenge me, but you avoid starting a real confrontation. Watching someone being so half-assed drives me crazy. Makes me wanna beat the crap outta ya! Yet I've had a very short impression of your true powers, but can't help but to think they're completely wasted on a stupid lil' loser like you! Just couldn't stand it seeing you cowering down in that corner being afraid of yourself. That was so damn pathetic! Why the hell are you even tryin' to become a hero like that? It's an insult! And there you were telling me off claiming I'd be the one who couldn't make it with my attitude?! Don't make me laugh! You can't be serious! If you dare to continue lookin' down on me like that you're gonna die!"
After Bakugo's explosion Masha exhales very slowly while he's still glaring at her with his red eyes. That was... unexpected. It surprises her that he's taking all that so seriously and that the blond boy even cares about what she does or rather doesn't do. The young tigress never thought about him watching her so closely and suddenly her heart jumps after noticing he paid that much attention. The cat girl scratches her neck not sure if he actually expects her to answer or if he was just ranting. "You really don't know how to be sensitive or a bit considerate, huh? I wasn't living in the therapy center and still have to take sessions every week for no reason. At least try to think about stuff like that too!" she scolds him, but soon grins at Bakugo again as he raises his eyebrows after her comment.
"You see, my past and also my own attitude are kinda really messed up. I've been through a lot in very early years of my childhood and I've done many things I'm not very proud of. Then there's still that issue of my bad temper and that I have problems to control my quirk powers, so maybe you're right. I've never seen myself as a hero and it wasn't me who wanted to enter U.A., but there are some people who believe in me that I'd be able to make it as a hero, so I kinda want to answer to the feelings of those who are most important in my life. Sometimes I think maybe they wanted me to enroll into U.A. to make sure that I wouldn't end up as a villain because they're also afraid of my powers, but even if that's the case I can't really blame them. I thought about it so many times. Is it actually okay for someone like me to try to become a hero? Could I even be called a hero if I made it through U.A.? And do I want to be considered as a hero? To be honest I'm still not so sure about all that. My top priority at the moment is to learn self-control, to be able to use my quirk at my own will and to not hurt any people ever again. That might sound weird for anyone who doesn't know about my background story, but for me that's essential. After that I can start thinking about upgrading the idea of not hurting people myself to saving people's lives with the help of my powers, but before I'm able to do that I have to be sure I'm not a threat myself. I think if everyone else in our class is starting at zero, then I have to start at minus ten or something, because I'm already having problems with the most basic kinds of things. Same goes for Izukyun who has to learn not to break his own body. The two of us will have to put in a lot more work and effort if we want to achieve our goals and unlike him I'm not aiming for the top. I don't want to be number one. So just let me clarify one thing here, I'm not lookin' down on you! I never was from the beginning! I'm just not challenging your dominance. I think you could say I already know my place. That has nothing to do with surrendering to you, 'cause I would never do that even at the cost of my life, it's more not being competitive and dealing with my own stuff instead. However teasing you is still kinda fun, so don't expect me to stop that. And I can promise you that much: if you ever dare to hurt Izukyun again, you're the one who's gonna die! Besides you honestly need to do something about your aggressions, they're not healthy!"
With that much being said, Masha begins to search for the next fighting video. "Shut up! Don't tell me what to do, stupid cat! And don't always start talkin' 'bout that damn Deku! He's makin' me sick!" Finally Bakugo's back to his usual self and yelling again and the cat girl giggles about the fuming teenager next to her. "That's not funny! Whaddaya think givin' me that crap about knowing your place?! I've seen your true self! You're way more than what you're tryin' to make me think and I already know that, so start acting like it for God's sake!"
Masha's lighthearted smile fades and she locks her amber feline eyes with his. Her look has nothing playful anymore. "Bakugo, you've never seen only the slightest bit of my true self and you better be very grateful for it. Because I'm praying every day that no one of our classmates will ever find out about who I really am. My true self wouldn't hesitate to kill you and I mean it literally. On the contrary, it would want to hunt you down and slice you. I'm just a predator in human shape and I'm workin' my ass off to somehow be able to change or at least control that"
The light blond boy returns her strong and serious gaze. His red eyes only widened a little bit, but it's enough for the young tigress to realize that her words have reached him, so she goes back to smiling at her classmate again. "Wow, that's actually the longest, smoothest, calmest and most serious and honest conversation we ever had up until now!" she states making it sound very special causing the spiky haired boy to grimace in disgust. "Tch", he sneers and breaks eye contact. "Yeah, whatever..." Bakugo says as if he wouldn't care at all despite glimpsing at the cat girl from the corner of his eye.
"You call me Katsuki in future!" he commands much to Masha's surprise. She stares at him and shows him a genuine smile. At first Bakugo doesn't really know what's going on as he starts to feel somehow uncomfortable looking at the beaming girl, also noticing a slight sparkle in her beautiful amber eyes. Wait...! Beautiful?! Hell, no! "So, we're on first name basis now?" the young tigress asks sounding so awfully excited. "You can call me Masha, too ya know" Only the thought of it makes his damn heart skip a beat. "In your dreams, stupid cat!" the blond claims back trying to remain calm on the outside but is easily distracted by Masha's high laughter. "Hearing my family name from you is just ridiculous. I can't even imagine you talkin' formally if you wanted to. It sounds dumb!" Not that he's the one to talk. Knowing that the teenage girl's laughing grows more intense and Bakugo, no Katsuki, scowls at her with furrowed brows.
The two U.A. students go back to work on their English project in silence, watching videos, checking documents and taking notes until the hot head is satisfied with the amount of information at last. On their way back to the entrance of the institute Masha and Katsuki take the lift back to the first floor, but as soon as the doors open automatically, they run into a whole bunch of kids who recognize the white and black haired girl right away. "Masha! It's Masha!" they begin to squeal, surrounding her in the hallway excitedly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Did you have your therapy session today?"
"Who is that?"
"Do you know him?"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"Did you come over to greet our newbie with us?"
Tons of questions are asked at the same time and little hands begin to pluck on her clothes and her fingers. "Hey you guys, calm down a bit. Not everyone at once, please!" Masha smiles and ruffles the hair of the boys while most of the girls group hug with her. Meanwhile Katsuki keeps his distance. Putting his hands into his pockets and leaning against a wall he watches the cat girl interacting with the brats and is quite surprised that she seems to be very popular. Her facial expression is soft, her amber eyes look at the children affectionately and she talks to them with a calm and friendly voice. Like a completely different person, he thinks. Doesn't suit her at all that wimpy-ass bullshit. The question is, why on earth does he even care about it?!
In the end they're both dragged along by the kids to a big and empty room with mirrors covering one wall and with several yoga mats on the floor. Masha tries her best to explain why she's paying a visit without having a session, who Katsuki is and what her school project is all about until the group arrives at the gym where the white haired Elina from earlier is already waiting with a small boy.
The young tigress gasps in shock and also Katsuki stares at the little kid in disbelief. The tiny and rather thin boy has light blue messy hair, big adorable eyes in the same color and his freckles spread not only over his cheeks, but also over his little snub nose where big round glasses are placed. His hair is a bit shorter and the color is also different, but altogether he looks so much like Izukyun at the age of about six years that Masha has to hold her breath for a second. Just then she notices the child's insecurity, sadness and fear while seeming calm and neutral on the outside and her tiger ears and tail droop in sympathy.
"Everyone, please stop causing trouble for Masha and her friend. They have to do homework for school!" the young staff member scolds softly and gives the two students an apologetic look. "Let's greet our new buddy together. This is Isamu-kun. His name can be read as courage or bravery, isn't that cool? And we will try our best so that he can feel comfy with us" As the other kids start clapping their hands and shouting friendly greetings, the small Isamu fixes his blue eyes on the floor and holds on to the fabric of his own too big T-shirt tightly. Elina asks them to sit down on their mats and calm down for a moment for the last evening meditation before preparing to go to bed and comes over to talk to Masha and Katsuki.
"I'm very sorry you two. Whenever they see Masha, they're just uncontrollable for me because everyone is so attached to you, but I think it's okay for you to go now. I'll distract them with new breathing techniques" The young tigress smiles at the white haired young woman, but before she's able to give her an answer, the little blue haired boy appears at Elina's side, staring at Masha. The cat girl kneels down to be at eyelevel with him. "Hi Isamu, I'm Masha and this is my classmate at U.A. Kastuki. Nice to meet you" He glimpses briefly at Katsuki, who faces the boy with a rather neutral expression which Masha's truly grateful for and quickly shifts his attention back to the tiger girl.
"Is it really true that you killed people?" Isamu asks with a trembling and low voice and Elina covers her mouth with one hand while Katsuki turns around and shoots her a more than surprised gaze with his red eyes. "I heard the other kids talk about you and the doctor said we're all being honest with each other here", the tiny boy adds and the young tigress heaves a sigh. Right, that's the institute's policy. You can talk about everything at any time and no one will judge you. "Yes, it's true", she confirms and tries to ignore her classmate's intense staring. "When I arrived here at the institute at the age of nine, I had killed five people after losing control over my quirk" Isamu just nods understandingly. "They can help you here so that it won't happen again, but it's still something that you'll never forget for the rest of your life, so you have to learn to accept what happened and that it wasn't your fault", Masha explains thinking that something similar must have occurred in the small boy's life after seeing his reactions.
He puts one hand on his chest right above his heart and his cute eyes fill up with tears. "It hurts so bad inside!" he sobs, causing Masha and Elina to put their arms around his tiny body carefully. "Yes it does. And it will for quite a while, but you're not alone. We're all here for you", Masha assures him with Elina nodding along in agreement. And suddenly all the other children get up from their mats to come closer and comfort their new friend. In silence they extend their small hands to touch the body of the crying boy slightly. To prove Masha's words that Isamu's not alone, all the kids put their hands on his arms, his shoulders and his chest to let him feel them being there for him whenever he would need it from now on.
After witnessing a scene like that it's very hard for the white and black haired girl to take her leave with Katsuki. With a very heavy atmosphere surrounding the two students they walk down the road to the bus stop together quietly. "I'm sorry for that, Katsuki. And thanks, I guess", Masha says insecurely when they finally got on the bus and had their seats, but the light blond boy only shrugs it off. "It's a damn therapy center for noisy brats", he states as if that would explain everything. "You better work hard, stupid cat!" he adds after a short pause and the cat girl can't help but to curl up the corners of her mouth.
A little while later Masha wonders about the spiky haired teen still sitting next to her in the same bus. "Aren't you living somewhere near Izukyun? You missed your stop" He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at her as an answer. "Shaddap damn cat! I'm not so stupid! I'm gonna walk you home, it's late!"
As her cheeks are heating up and her smile grows wide again, her playful cat character wants to tease the blond to deflect the attention away from her own pounding heart. "Aw, really? That's so nice of you~", the cat girl coos. "And thank you very much for the date" Katsuki almost jumps from his seat hearing that although he doesn't know why. "I swear I'm gonna murder you and dump your dead body somewhere no one's ever gonna find it!" he screams. "That was no freakin' date!" Masha begins to giggle again. "But you paid for me!" she protests. "You're so cute when you're being flustered" And thus they keep quarreling like that until they arrive at Masha's apartment and since Katsuki still insists on finishing the argument, they agree on pulling an all-nighter at home to write their essays and to compare them in the English lesson the next day and also to hand them in in the same lesson already.
A/N: Many, many thanks for reading you guys! And as always I want to give my thanks and express my gratitude to everyone who's reading, reviewing, following and favoriting! I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you like my story and will keep reading it even though my uploads are not on a regular basis and you sometimes will have to wait for a longer time. My apologies for that in advance. And I also hope that you won't think that the first name basis is maybe a bit too early. I really wanted Masha to call him Katsuki somehow. It fits her better and he does have a point when he says that a formal talking Masha is weird. Anyways you guys, I'm glad for your support!
Until next time! We're gonna start with the USJ arc then. So please look forward to it.
Stay healthy and have fun :)
Greetings and lots of love!