"Now then," All Might said, beginning his lesson, "the VIPs of our five rounds consists of Bakugo, Iida, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Brief! Can somebody start by telling me how young Bakugo excelled in this challenge?"
"Sir!" Midoriya said, raising his hand.
All Might seemed somewhat surprised, taken back by the young boy. "Y-Yes, young Midoriya?"
"Kacchan quickly incapacitated his opponent while providing minimal damage to the weapon, both quickly and efficiently carrying out his task, regardless of the brutality of his assault. His actions are comparable to that of Endeavor." He explained.
"R-Right! Very good!" He really does watch and admire every great hero, doesn't he? All Might thought to himself. "Can somebody tell me about why young Iida took the VIP spot of his battle?"
"He displayed appropriately displayed courage, both in taking the full force of the villains sneak attack, as well as protecting his teammate while she completed the task at hand. He made the appropriate move, although selfish, as he could have gotten himself wounded and been a liability to his partner." Bakugo suddenly said, once again shocking everyone. "If she couldn't fight, the best course of action for his partner would have been to do what she did, or get out of the way."
"Right... Young Bakugo..." All Might continued. "How about-"
"Sir!" Is it because Tokoyami also took the full force of the attack in order to distract his opponents as well?" Kirishima asked in response.
"That's correct. Young Todoroki, Aizawa will briefly explain an important lesson to you in the morning, but lastly, can somebody tell me why young Brief was the VIP of her round?"
"I can tell you, sir." Yaoyorozu announced, proudly raising her hand. "Bulla was not only able to successfully protect the weapon, but she did in a way that would display her strength and deter the heroes from trying again without reinforcements, which ultimately would have caused a retreat and allowed them to either carry out their villainous plan or relocate in order to remain hidden. This accurately embodies her role as a villain."
"Hey now," Bulla whispered, "you're giving me way too much credit."
Yaoyorozu turned to her new friend and smiled, shaking her head to deny her claims. "That is absolutely correct. Well, class, that's a wrap on the training! Super work today! You all did great, and without sustaining any serious injuries! You should be proud to have an all-around excellent day of training!"
"It's nice to have some encouragement after our homeroom class..." Asui chimed in. "Mr. Aizawa was kind of a buzz kill..."
"I'm happy to bring such staggering positivity to my alma mater! That's all folks, so watch closely at how a pro exits: as if he's got somewhere to be!" All Might yelled as he rushed down the hall to exit Training Ground Beta, kicking up a massive gale behind him as he left.
"He's so fast!" Bulla said to herself, raising her arm to protect her eyes from dust and wind.
"Man, that's a hero!" Kirishima said loudly.
"So, do we return to our class, or are we dismissed?" Uraraka asked.
"I think it'd be best if we go back to the classroom and await further instructions. I'm sure we'll have some afternoon classes." Midoriya recommended. Everyone was still trying to get used to UA's way of doing things, so the group of students returned to Class 1A.
"I'm so happy I was able to help!" Uraraka said. "I was afraid you'd be left doing all the work!"
"I didn't do much, Uraraka, really." She told her quietly. "You did much better than I did."
"Hush with all that, Bulla." Yaoyorozu told her. "How many times am I going to have to tell you how good you did?"
"Too many, I guess, Momo..." The afternoon classes had just finished, and everyone was discussing the results of their training. As she looked down and saw her phone, a message notification appeared. 'Hey! Rdy 2 go when u r! Ill b out front!' Pan had said. "I'm so sorry, I have to get going."
"Hold on, Bulla." Yaoyorozu said. "Let me get your contact information! If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to reach out, alright?" She said as she held up her phone.
"Oh...okay..." Bulla raised her phone, joined by Uraraka, as their systems automatically transferred contact info. "Huh?!"
"Hope you don't mind if I swipe that from you!" Uraraka said with a big smile. "You were wonderful as my partner, so I want to make sure we can keep working together in the future!" She told her.
"R-Right... Thank you, Uraraka..." Bulla could have sworn that she noticed Bakugo glaring at her several times, but decided to let it slide. "I'll see you tomorrow." She waved goodbye to her friends and stepped out into the hall. As she stepped down the stairs, a somewhat familiar voice called out to her.
"Hey." As she turned around, Bakugo stood at the top of the stairwell, looking down on her.
"B-Bakugo!?" She shouted. What could he want with me?!
"What's your deal?" He asked, stepping down the stairs. Bulla looked confused at Bakugo continued to glare at her. "That damn nerd, Deku. He doesn't belong here. I hate the fact that he's here. Quirkless, and terrified of everything. So why are you acting like you have no worth? If you really think you don't belong here, then get the hell out." He told her as he passed her on the stairs.
"What the hell do you know?! When have you ever felt so helpless to do something that it haunts you for what seems like forever!?" Bulla suddenly yelled, gritting her teeth. "When have you ever lost someone, and felt like it was your fault!?" Why am I saying this? It's none of his business!
"Tsk. I can't say I understand what it feels like to lose someone important, but I can tell you from experience what it's like to be helpless. Unable to do anything while you stare death in the face. I won't go into details, since I really hate when people bring it up, but that lingering, nearing cold embrace is never something pretty." He explained, staring down the stares away from his classmate. "But, if you let that cold embrace define who you are, you'll never understand what your weaknesses are. You'll never grow stronger if you let that loss hold you down, and then you won't be able to protect anything. That loss will only extend to everyone you have left, and you'll be left with nothing so sort out your issues or go home, and never come back." He said. Although his words were cold, there was a somber encouragement to them.
"Wait!" She called out as he began to continue walking. "Why do you care?!"
"Frankly, you can say that I don't. But, it's a reason that's somewhere between the fact that I'm here to be a hero, too, and I don't want to train and learn with someone who's just going to disappoint me. Call it whatever you want. I'm going home." He said as he finally left her sight, leaving her dumbfounded. After several moments, Bulla walked downstairs, jotting down in her notebook under his name. 'Katsuki Bakugo. Quirk: Explosion. Very angry, secretly cares? Not like him.'
"There you are!" Pan called out. "What took you so long?!" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"One of the boys from my class stopped me to tell me something." Bulla explained, putting her notebook away as Pan smiled. "What?"
"Ooooh, Bulla is getting popular with the boys, it seems!" Pan teased. "Did he confess his undying love and loyalty to you?"
"Shut up." Bulla told her.
"'Oh Bulla Brief! Although we have just met, I could tell from first sight that destiny brought us together! It was fate, FATE I say!'" She acted out, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Stop." Bulla told her with a chuckle and a slight smile.
"There you go. I hate when you come out here in a bad mood. Every day you walk out here is another day of school that you finished. One day closer to being a hero, am I right?" Pan said, her radiant smile never failing to cheer her friend up.
"Yeah, you're right." Bulla agreed as the two walked home. 'And you won't be able to protect anything.' Bakugo's words bounced around her head in a dull echo.
"Oh, by the way!" Pan suddenly shouted, startling her friend. "Are you okay? You seem a little jumpy today."
"I'm fine, I was just lost in thought."
"Well tell your thoughts to shut up, I have some good news! Ms. Iwase is going to show me how to cook! So tomorrow I'll be cooking our lunches!" Pan told her, smiling with her teeth shown.
"Oh, is that so?" Bulla asked.
"Yep! So that means you'll have to get yourself out of bed tomorrow, cause I'm going to be up extra early to learn a thing or two from Ms. Iwase!" She explained. The two made it back home, where they were greeted by Ms. Iwase. As the two went back to their room, Bulla told Pan about her day. "You had fight training!? That's so not fair! Mr. Kan gave us a crappy delayed orientation!"
"That sounds like it sucks. And that was your Hero Course class for the day?" Bulla asked her.
"Yeah! And it was ridiculous! It was just sitting around in an auditorium with syllabi while they explained how the Hero Course class would be for the remainder of the year. Did you fight anyone really strong?!"
"Kind of. There was this one boy who could harden himself, so it was harder to break past his defenses. It didn't help that his partner would constantly fire lasers out of his belly button." Bulla began reminiscing, thinking back on her training.
"A navel laser?! No way!"
"Way. But even though I didn't personally fight him, there was Todoroki from the entrance exams. He froze an entire building like it was nothing. And then that other boy, Bakugo..." She thought back to her conversation with him, and the words he gave her. "He was brutal, and didn't let up until his opponents were defeated."
"That was a long moment of silence you just had." Pan claimed, putting her chin in the crevice between her finger and thumb as she inspected Bulla's face. "Does my best friend have a crush...?"
"W-Wha-No!" She shouted, her face flushing with a deep red. "Where did that even come from?!" She could feel the heat in her cheeks, and attempted to cover it with her arm.
"Oh my Dende, you're blushing! It has to be true!" Pan shouted, her hands pressing against her cheeks.
"No! Stop being stupid, Pan!" She yelled as she grabbed a towel. "I'm going to take a shower first!"
As she stormed out of the room, Pan sung loudly behind her. "Bulla and a boy, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! HAHA!"
It wasn't until she was finally left alone to her thoughts that the idea crossed her mind. Do I even have time to have a crush? Is it even right for me to have a crush? I mean, this isn't my world. I don't-
'That'll become...your new home...' Her father's words once again played through her head. Although, suddenly she began to hear Bakugo's voice in unison. 'You'll never grow stronger if you let that loss hold you down.'
With a loud sigh, she sat down in the shower and buried her face in her hands. "Dammit..."