"Bakugou Katsuki"

"Hah?" The boy gave a sound of confusion in that raspy way. Up until he heard his name, he paid very little attention to what was going on. If it wasn't hero training, he wasn't really interested.

Midoriya, on the other hand, had heard everything as clear as day. To say that he was shocked would be a severe understatement. He was looking between Bakugou and Ayano with bulging eyes.

He looked at Bakugou, who was scowling as usual, and he looked at Ayano, who he realized had been looking in front of him this whole time. She was meeting Bakugou's scowl with her expressionless face.

Mummers could be heard from the other students. To many, it made sense that the top scorer of the Support Exam would want to work with the top scorer of the Hero Exam. However, there was a much deeper meaning to Ayano and Midoriya.

At the continued silence from the boy, Junk Master coughed a bit. "Ahem! Well, what do you say Bakugou?" "Why the fuck would I want a shitty costume made by some support student when I could get one from the support company?" He asked rhetorically, not tearing his eyes away from Ayano's.

"I can see where you're coming from, kid. But this is an assignment that us U.A. teachers have already decided on. Of course, if you end up not liking the costume, you can just put in a request to have one made by the normal support company…Sasaki?" The girl had ignored Junk Master's words, slowly walking up to Bakugou's desk.

Midoriya gulped, not liking where this was going. He was very familiar with their confrontations, and he hoped this one wouldn't go too far.

"Perhaps you did not hear correctly with that thick skull of yours, but I was the top scorer of the Support Course entrance exam. If I were to make anything, it would not be a 'shitty costume.' I simply would not allow it." Ayano was not the type to brag. Of course, she was aiming for the top, but she didn't care for bragging rights. She was simply stating it as a fact in order to get past Bakugou's stubbornness. She believed that his desire to be number one would surpass his hatred for her.

"I have absolute confidence that I could make you the best costume out of everyone here, not just because I was the top scorer, but because of who I am." She slapped her hand over her heart, giving pride to her words. "Other than you, I know your quirk better than anyone. I've seen it first-hand since childhood. I've even made support items with it in mind before. Do you honestly believe that someone else, who has only looked at your quirk on paper, could compare to me?"

She placed both hands onto his desk, leaning down to his eye level. "I intend to aim for the top, and I intend to stay there. When we were children, I promised you that I would help get you there as well. The top where the number one hero stands. You said you wanted to be the number one hero, didn't you? Then you should be looking for only the best to accompany you." She stood straight again, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a mocking look.

"Unless, of course…you're all just bark and no bite." Bakugou quickly stood up at that, knocking his chair backwards and leaving Midoriya to frantically catch it behind him. He glared at Ayano, giving her a toothy and malicious grin. He unleashed his quirk in quick pops, further intensifying his villain-like demeanor.

"You better be prepared then! Because I'm gonna run you and your support items into the dirt if I don't like them!" She returned his glare head-on, rising to the challenge. "I'd like to see you try. I, nor my support items, will be so fragile."

Bakugou's quirk suddenly stopped, causing him to look past Ayano and at Aizawa. His black hair was floating about, revealing his fierce bloodshot eyes. The blond clicked his tongue in annoyance, flopping back down into his seat.

Ayano returned to stand at the front with her poker face, as if that whole altercation hadn't happened. Junk Master coughed in his hand again. "So, I take it that you accept, Bakugou?" "Didn't you hear me, you hunk of junk?! I'm gonna make sure to run her ragged because she asked for it!" He glared at Ayano again, gritting his teeth.

This time, she ignored him, opting to sift through some papers instead. She was looking at the requests he sent in and his bodily specifications, giving herself a head start on her work.

Midoriya was also staring at Ayano with a mixture of surprise and confusion. He was almost sure that she would've chosen him. It's not like he was competing with Bakugou, but Ayano acted so indifferent to making support items for Bakugou when he mentioned it in their junior high days. She seemed like she treated him as just another client, so it left Midoriya shocked to see her challenging him so.

Junk Master left the situation be and went down the line of students. "Alright! Now that you're all paired up, you have the rest of the period to discuss with your partners. Familiarize yourself with them and their quirks. The bonds you make now could prove to be invaluable in the future. Plus Ultra!"

Ayano walked up to Bakugou and slapped his request forms onto the desk. He saw that his costume drawings were on top. She had circled the drawing of some type of grenade-like bracers on his arm.

Pointing at it, she asked, "You want an item to help you fire your quirk at a distance?" While most of the other pairs were discussing the capabilities of their quirks or showing them off, there was no need for such a talk between these two. Ayano would much rather get straight to the point.

Bakugou nodded. "Not just that. I want something to hold my sweat and fire it off so that there won't be any drawbacks." He was acting civil now for the sake of his costume.

"That would also be the purpose of the grenades then." She pointed to the circular objects that he drew on his belt. She held her chin in thought with her index finger and her thumb, supporting that arm with her other.

Bakugou frowned at her. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want this shit so I can pussy out. I'm strong enough to deal with the recoil of my quirk, but I want these things just in case I end up in a drawn-out battle." Ayano nodded in understanding, not at all thinking that he was requesting the items to 'pussy out.'

"A test of endurance then." She confirmed. Contrary to popular belief, Bakugou was much smarter than he looked. His attitude needed to be worked on, but his fighting and tactical knowledge were definitely a cut above the rest.

"The grenades are simple. You can store your sweat in them beforehand. It is the bracers that are the problem. In order to fire your quirk at a much greater distance, it would need to hold much more of your sweat. In other words, you can't just store your sweat in them prior to a battle. It would have to be over time…" Ayano added her own drawings to his.

"You would need gloves to help you absorb the sweat from your palms and then transfer it into the bracers." She made a face at that, but kept to herself. Bakugou growled, "Is that a problem?" She looked at him briefly before focusing on the drawing again.

"Yes, it is. With the way your quirk is, I need to create something to absorb the sweat. However, given the force of your explosions, nearly any type of glove would be ripped to shreds at the first use." She grew silent, putting her hand to her mouth in thought again.

The blond was unsure if he should feel proud or frustrated at her statements. Proud because the strength of his quirk was giving her problems. Frustrated because…the strength of his quirk was giving her problems.

Her eyes suddenly widened, her hand slowly moving away from her mouth. "Sorbothane…" She mumbled. "Sober-what?" "Sorbothane." She repeated, slower this time.

"It's one of the most efficient shock-absorbent materials out there. It could withstand the force of your explosions and could absorb the recoil! It can withstand the heat as well, since it can operate at high temperatures. It has a long fatigue life, so it will last you a while before you need repairs or modifications!" Ayano was waving her hands frantically, looking for room to write down everything she knew about the material.

She was speaking quickly, almost too fast for him to understand. A wide, excited smile was beginning to grow on her lips. She gasped, the smile disappearing. The girl snapped her head up to stare at Bakugou with wide eyes, causing him to slightly flinch and wonder what was wrong with her.

"Sorbothane will convert the energy of impact into heat…" She muttered in understanding. Bakugou joined in her shock, his eyes widening with realization. "Warming up the gloves every time I use my quirk…" Ayano nodded at him and continued. "Which will make your palms perspire quicker and more frequently…"

"Making the explosions stronger every time!" The two nearly shouted to each other in unison. The wide smile of excitement returned to Ayano's face. She quickly wrote down and drew a draft on a new set of paper, as well as inputting the information electronically through her projection wristband.

She was typing quickly on her arm, more and more information popping up on the holographic screen. Though her face was slightly obscured by the static screen, Bakugou could easily see the glimmer in her eyes and her broad smile. She hadn't noticed that he was now staring at her, and not with a scowl.

He wondered just how long it had been since he'd seen that look of passion and exhilaration on her.

Just as he was about to get lost in his thoughts, a derisive laugh was heard beside them. It was Fujiyoshi Yuudai. "Look at you, Miss Top Scorer. You gave me a lot of shit yesterday about wanting to find the 'biggest client,' and now look at you with Mister Top Scorer. See? You're no different from me after all."

Ayano scowled at the boy, surprising Bakugou even if he didn't exactly show it. In all the years that he knew her, it was very difficult to make her show such anger. In fact, it was hard to make her show any emotion at all for something other than machines.

It wasn't anything near rage, but it was much more than he ever saw on her. She didn't even direct that much anger at him when he threatened Deku. For some reason, her anger seemed to transfer over to him, causing him to glare at Yuudai.

Ayano had stopped typing in order to address the boy, a very rare thing. "My intentions and motivations are completely different from y—" "Listen here, shithead." The two support students snapped their heads to Bakugou.

"No different from you? Stop screwing around. She's on a completely different league from you. You think I'd let just anybody make my costume? Why don't you get to the top and at her level before you talk shit." The blond was met with a tense silence. Seething, Yuudai had nothing to say and turned back around to his own partner.

Seemingly satisfied, Bakugou slouched and crossed his arms, mumbling more insults. Ayano wasn't sure what she should be feeling. If anything, she just thought that all of this was…unexpected.

In the end, there was a tiny smile on her lips. "…Thank you, Bakugou." "I didn't do it for you! I can't have people thinking that my costume is going to suck. You better make it good, otherwise you'll make me look like an idiot."

The girl chuckled. "Well, there is no fear of that. You are already an idiot." "THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?!"

Ayano just chuckled, ignoring him and returning to her work.