"…really…here…night?" "…that's…scandalous!" "…know…they…together!"
Ayano was drifting into consciousness, faintly hearing the murmurs of the Class 1-A students slowly growing louder.
"IF SHE WAKES UP BECAUSE OF YOU EXTRAS, I'LL BLOW YOU ALL TO PIECES!"
Now, she was fully awake. "Even if they failed to wake me, your shouting certainly did not help the situation." Ayano sighed.
Bakugou stiffened as she sat up, looking away with a scowl and small blush on his face. He had wanted to let her sleep in longer, not only for her own health but also because he had strangely missed her warmth.
He had looked away out of slight embarrassment, but his eyes couldn't help but shift over to Ayano anyways.
When she sat up, she took the blanket with her and it now pooled on her lap. She rubbed at her eyes to fully awaken herself. They were somewhat puffy from the crying that she did last night. Her hair was always a bit unruly since she rarely cared for appearances, but she had a few cowlicks which were telltale signs that her head had laid on his chest the entire night. He looked away again, blushing.
"Oh? What's with that blush, Bakugou?! Don't tell me you guys were doing other things last night?" Kaminari teased.
"Whaaaat! No way! Aya-chan, did you guys really?!" Mina questioned excitedly.
"Oooohhh! The smell of Aya-chan…Let me get closer!" Mineta drooled, inching towards the couch that they were on.
"PISS OFF, YOU PERV! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Bakugou shouted, fully preparing to use his quirk if they annoyed him any further.
Mineta gasped. "Bakugou! Don't tell me…you couldn't get it up last night!?" With that, the blond finally snapped. He lunged at the small boy, eliciting a terrified shriek from him.
"What the hell is going on here?" Everyone stiffened at the deep and menacing voice of their homeroom teacher. They slowly turned towards him, cowering under his ferocious gaze.
"The dorms separate boys and girls for a reason. So, care to tell me what the two of you were doing?" Aizawa demanded.
Ayano immediately got up and walked in front of him. She gave a deep bow. "I deeply apologize for our misconduct. Last night, I…had trouble falling asleep and came to the lounge. In his concern, Bakugou came to comfort me and the two of us wound up falling asleep here. I will assume full responsibility."
"I came down here for myself! Not because of you!" Bakugou shouted, not wanting her to shoulder all of the blame. Ayano lifted her head, continuing while ignoring him. "Please feel free to assign whatever punishment you deem fit." "DON'T IGNORE ME, DAMN IT!"
Aizawa studied her carefully. Her voice and her face held their usual robot-like qualities, but he could tell that certain features of her face were worn. The slight puffiness of her eyes revealed that she had been crying last night. The bags under them disclosed just how little sleep she was getting. Her hollowed cheeks showed her rapid weight loss due to a lack of appetite.
She was struggling. She was still struggling.
The man sighed. "That won't be necessary." Ayano's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Sir, are you sure about that?" She questioned. "I really think it would be more appropriate if you gave me a proper punishment. To set an example, even."
Aizawa almost chuckled. "So rule-abiding…I think you and Iida would be the only type of people to actually ask for punishment like this."
Mineta began drooling again. "Oooohh! She's begging to be punished! She's an 'M,' huh?! Bakugou, you lucky dog!" "SHUT UP!"
Ayano and Aizawa both ignored the explosions going off behind them. "Clearly, you haven't fully recovered. That can be seen as the result of us teachers failing to properly look after your mental health. You didn't do anything that bad, but you're right: rules are rules. I want a written statement of regret by the end of today." He turned around and walked away.
Ayano relaxed, smiling gently. She bowed once more even though he was no longer looking. "I greatly appreciate your consideration. The statement will be finished and delivered to you in a timely manner."
The girl turned around, seeing Bakugou nearly choking Mineta. "Bakugou." She called out, gaining his attention. He looked at her, but one hand was still firmly wrapped around the grape boy's neck with his other hand held above his face, his quirk activated in quick pops.
"Thank you." She said quietly, but it was incredibly impactful with that gentle smile of hers. Without waiting for a response, she walked off to the bathrooms to go about her daily morning routine.
His classmates were also shocked, seeing as they had never really seen Ayano express anything but her poker face. Mineta was the first to break the shocked silence, just barely managing to choke out a comment. "Were you really that good last night, Bakugou? Damn you! So lucky…"
Those were his last words, as the blond promptly beat him to near death.
Bakugou exited the elevator, about to go to his room when he took a brief glance down the girls' side of the floor. Midoriya, Mina, and Uraraka were all crowded just outside of Ayano's door.
"What are you fuckers doing?" He growled out. The three of them flinched, turning to him with sheepish looks.
"A-Ah! I-I just wanted to come talk to Aya-chan and check up on her. Uraraka-san and Ashido-san noticed that I was just standing out here since they live on the same floor." Midoriya quickly responded.
"Then why are you just standing here, huh?! You got some sort of problem!?" Bakugou snarled. The green-haired boy flinched again, waving his hands about. "N-No! I-It's just…It feels really hard to go in there right now…"
Mina nodded, backing him up. "Yeah! Yeah! Aya-chan's emitting a super scary, murderous aura!"
The door to her room was cracked open a bit, so Bakugou took the liberty of peeking inside with them. True enough, Ayano was sitting at her desk with a dark aura around her. One could almost physically see the menacing and gloomy aura around her.
Bakugou frowned, deciding to take action. He harshly kicked the door, forcing it to open all the way and causing the other three students to shriek. With all the noise, Ayano finally noticed them. "Can I help you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
Upon entering, Bakugou kicked the door closed before the other three could tag along. They could hear Mina protesting and Midoriya trying to calm her down. Eventually, the trio left.
The blond walked over to her perfectly made bed and plopped down onto it. He didn't say anything, just waited for her. Seeing his expectant eyes, Ayano heavily sighed. "I can't do it…" She said, disgruntled.
Bakugou tensed, thinking that she still wasn't over her nightmare from last night. She saw his tension and immediately placated him. "Relax. The feeling is different from last night. It is not that I do not want to."
His brows furrowed in confusion. "What's stopping you then?" Ayano frowned, her hand rubbing her temple. "A mental block, most likely." She responded.
"You have heard of writer's block, right? It occurs when an author becomes unable to continue with their work. Some people say it is not actually a real condition and that it is something that exists only in your head. A sort of pre-emptive defense against judgement, if you will. I have a feeling that I am experiencing a mental block of the same caliber." She placed a hand on the grenadier bracer on top of the table. "It is not that I do not want to…I just can't…"
She had a completely different look from last night. There wasn't a shred of terror in her. Only frustration. It was the same kind of frustrated face she always used to have when they were younger. When she couldn't get one of her creations to work like she wanted them to. When she was having trouble tweaking her gadgets.
Bakugou felt a small sense of pride in him, seeing her like that.
He abruptly got up and tugged at her wrist, forcing her up with him. He dragged her out of the room, not letting go. "Where are we going?" She asked. "Out." Was his only response.
She blinked. "Out? Could you be a little more specific?" He just continued pulling her along. "Just follow me, okay?!"
Ayano decided to just let him have his way until she realized that he was leading her outside. Not just outside, but completely out of the U.A. campus. "Bakugou, I do not believe this is a wise decision." She voiced her concerns. He scoffed. "It's fine! It's before curfew, isn't it?"
She sighed at him. "Be that as it may, I do not think it wise for specifically us to just waltz wherever we please. I am sure that out of everyone in the school, the two of us are the ones that should not leave the school the most."
"Will you stop whining already?! It's not like we'll be doing anything dangerous, and those fourth-rate villains have another thing coming if they think they can mess with us!" After they had made it past the gates of U.A., Bakugou let go of Ayano's wrist.
She felt a strange sense of disappointment at that.
Bakugou continued walking, so Ayano followed after him. She fell into place beside him, matching him step for step.
Neither of them spoke, but they were both content with the comfortable silence that settled between them. They walked in no particular direction, simply following the roads and listening to the sounds of the bustling city.
She greatly appreciated Bakugou's actions. She knew that he deliberately took her out just so she could clear her head.
Suddenly, a young boy's voice shrieked, "Look! Look! It's Big Sis Aya!" Immediately after, a flock of children excitedly tackled the girl. Not having expected this sudden force, Ayano was unable to brace for the impact and she fell back while breaking the fall of the children. "HEY! BRATS! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"
Ayano raised a hand to silence him. "It's fine, Bakugou. These kids are just excited to see me is all." The children bounced around her eagerly.
"Yeah! Yeah! We missed you Aya-nee! Where have you been!?" "Yeah! You promised to visit us a lot but then you stopped!" "We thought something happened to you!" They cried out.
"Was it because of him?! This scary guy!?" One of them pointed up at Bakugou. The blond exploded. "HAAHH!? WHAT'D YOU SAY!"
This prompted crying from several of the kids. "It's because of him, isn't it Aya-nee! Is he bullying you?! He's trying to take you away from us!"
Ayano glared at him. "Bakugou! Apologize!" "Wha—Me?!" At her deadly gaze, he relented, although begrudgingly. He mumbled an apology.
Turning to the crying children, she addressed them. "Everyone! You should apologize too. Bakugou is a friend of mine. I have not been visiting because of all the school work I have to do. It is not because of him."
At her reassurances, they stopped crying and turned towards the blond. "Really? Then we misunderstood…" They all gave him a respectful bow. "Sorry!" They shouted in unison, a couple of sniffles still slipping through.
Bakugou just clicked his tongue, mentally remarking on how well trained Ayano had them.
He watched on as the children talked animatedly, trying to catch Ayano up on everything she had missed. He stared at the scene as she gave rare, cute smiles while interacting with them.
As he was observing, he realized something peculiar about these kids. All of them had some part of their body modified with a prosthetic.
Eventually, the children said their goodbyes to Ayano. They left, waving and smiling at her until they were no longer in sight. "Who the hell were they?" Bakugou gruffly asked.
"Children I worked with during my internship. It was during the same time that you and all the other Hero Course students were doing your internships." The children had already left, but Ayano was still staring at the spot they were last at.
"Did you have something to do with their prosthetics?" He questioned. Ayano nodded. "I worked with the Matsumoto Prosthetics and Orthotics Manufacturing Company, one of the leading companies in the production of prosthetics."
Bakugou raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know non-support companies scouted U.A. students from the Sports Festival."
She shrugged. "They don't. I requested them. Just as you suspect, only support companies use the Sports Festival to scout potential interns. It is only logical. If these students are going to U.A., of course they will want to work for a support company in the future. I, on the other hand, felt a bit differently."
"Even if I want to work for a support company in the future, that does not mean I have to restrict myself to only working on things geared towards that goal. Before U.A., I had made many different things. More often than not, they had nothing to do with heroes or heroics. They were just things designed to help people and make their lives easier. I suppose I wanted to…go back to my roots, so to speak. To remind myself why I was doing all of this."
"I received special permission from the school, so long as the Matsumoto Company agreed as well. Fortunately, they did. Those kids all bear prosthetics that I personally worked on. They were all part of this program that the company took part in. It was to make customized prosthetics to children in orphanages who would otherwise be unable to afford them. Even after my internship, I visited them at the orphanage every week. However, with all of the recent events, I…neglected to do so lately."
Bakugou studied her. There was this indescribable emotion on her face. She continued staring at the spot the children were last seen in, a strange tenderness swirling in her eyes. She suddenly shouted nothing in particular, surprising him. It was a short sound of frustration. "What the hell is up with you?!" He yelled.
"I am in a troubling predicament…" She bit the inside of her cheek as she frowned. "Ahhh…I want to go back…Go back and work…" There was a fire in her eyes that excited even him.
He smirked. "What?! Then let's go back!" He said quickly, excited to see her returning back to her old self. He went back in the direction of the school, but stopped when he realized she wasn't walking with him. "What's the hold up!?"
She mumbled. "The troubling predicament…I want to go back but…I also want to stay. I had hoped to continue our walk a little while longer…" "WHA—!" Bakugou couldn't believe what he was hearing! She said something that embarrassing without even thinking about it! He felt his face growing hotter by the second.
Not wanting her to see this, he instantly turned around while pulling at her wrist again. He started dragging her with him to the school. "The answer's obvious, isn't it?! We have to go back! Who knows when you'll be in the mood to work again, idiot! After that, we can go on as many and as long of a walk you want, alright?!"
Ayano just let him pull her forward as she stared at the back of his head. She couldn't see his face, but there was no way she missed the bright red crawling over his ears.
It was the dead of night when Bakugou awoke to use the bathroom. On his way back to his room, he noticed that a light was still shining beneath Ayano's door. Reaching it, he knocked. Although it wasn't all that forceful, the door was already slightly open so the knocking opened it further.
He was about to say something when he realized Ayano was asleep at her desk. She was perfectly upright, but her head drooped slightly. The amazing part was that she was still in the position of working on his grenadier bracer. A screwdriver was in her hand, and it looked like she was in the process of using it.
He laughed. "Pfft! Only you would be capable of this. This is dangerous, you idiot." He remarked as he gently pulled the screwdriver out of her hand, careful not to wake her up.
He had intended to carry her to her bed, but he couldn't help but just stare at her. He squatted a little to be more eye level with her. Despite how worn her features were, she still looked so peaceful.
So beautiful…
Right when his hand was about to touch her cheek, Ayano's eyes popped open. He was so startled that he almost fell backwards, his hand darting behind him to help with his balance. "…Bakugou…?" She muttered, the drowsiness evident in her voice.
"Y-Y-You idiot! What are you doing, falling asleep here?! You're gonna catch a cold!" He hoped that this would distract her enough that she wouldn't remember his hand being so close.
"Ah…" She mindlessly agreed, her sleepiness taking over. "Ah!" She shouted after a realization. "W-What!?" Bakugou shouted back, his heart beating entirely too fast.
"Before I do, I need to take a look at something on the rest of your costume." She demanded.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, sure, but can't it wait until tomorrow!?" Ayano shook her head. "You are already here for me to ask permission, and you are obviously not busy. Besides, was it not you who said that we will never know when I am in the mood to work again?"
The boy clicked his tongue. She got him there.
They went to his room, and Ayano realized it was the first time she had been in it. She waited at the doorway while he went to pull out his costume's suitcase.
While she was waiting, she glanced all around his room. Just like hers, there were not as many decorations or belongings as their original rooms at their respective houses. There was no need to bring everything with them to U.A., so it was normal to see that his room was emptier than his room back home.
His desk, however, is what really caught her eye. On it, were several little gadgets.
They were all things that she had made for him.
The slingshot inspired by the first time they met…the gloves she had made to help him grip the monkey bars better…the flower bulb she made to help him gauge the strength of his quirk from before the entrance exams…
She stared at them, letting a wave of emotions hit her. All the things that she did for him. All the things that he did for her.
And then it dawned on her…
Bakugou pulled out the suitcase and turned to hand it to her when she started laughing. He tilted his head. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing…Nothing…I'm just laughing at myself for not having realized this sooner…"
He raised an eyebrow at her cryptic response. "For not realizing what sooner?" He pressed.
"How madly in love with you I am."