"Katsuki." Ayano called after him just as he was about to leave the dorm. The ash blond didn't turn around, only turning his head just enough so that he could see her in his peripherals.
The young inventor observed him. Clearly, he was irritated. As she looked down, she noticed that he was carrying his costume suitcase. "Ah…You're going to your remedial license training course." She realized.
Bakugou clicked his tongue, turning his head back around and continuing through the lounge to the front door. "What's it matter to you? It doesn't change anything for you right? Whether or not I tell you that I'm going to my training doesn't change your daily routine at all right? It doesn't affect you."
Ayano's eye twitched and a small vein popped up on her temple in anger. Oh, so he was planning on being petty today. Well, two can play at that game.
She really shouldn't have, but her judgment was clouded at that moment. "…You're right. I suppose it shouldn't matter to me. Have a nice day." Ayano mechanically spoke as she turned around to walk back to her room.
She didn't see it, but Bakugou's shoulders tensed. He had hoped that she might confront him. When she didn't, an unexpectedly deep sense of disappointment filled him, but it was soon overshadowed by his own anger.
The couple stomped away in opposite directions, not even close to looking back.
Their unsuspecting classmates had been relaxing in the lounge during the whole ordeal. Not a single one of them dared to make a sound with this tense air.
When Bakugou had left the dorm, Midoriya dashed after Ayano. Even after catching up to her, he had to speed-walk because of her fast pace. "Aya-chan! D-Did you and Kacchan have a fight?"
The girl glanced at him but didn't stop. "We had a disagreement." That was all she told him before getting in the elevator.
Midoriya could do nothing but watch as the elevator doors closed. He looked back at the front door where Bakugou had left, and then back to the elevator. Sighing, he hoped that everything would work out for his childhood friends.
Returning from his remedial license training course, Bakugou reflexively went towards Ayano's room. He jolted in place, stopping himself from continuing.
The boy had always gone to her room after his training course. She would ask how it went, or he would just come in angrily to rant about it. Afterwards, he would watch her as she worked at her desk, or he would take a nap on her bed. It had become a habit. A part of his routine.
Given the previous events, however, he stopped himself from visiting her. He was still somewhat angry at her, but he already missed their relaxing interludes.
Did she feel the same way?
Bakugou rubbed at his head in frustration. He wouldn't give in. He wasn't in the wrong here, so there was no way he would apologize first. Having resolved himself, he walked to his own room.
There, in front of his door, was a suitcase. One very similar to the costume suitcase he was holding. Of course, only one person would leave this in front of his room.
Bakugou felt another pang of disappointment when he realized that there was no note stuck to the handle like the last time.
Picking up the suitcase, he walked into his room and slammed the door shut. Flopping onto his bed, he lifted up the suitcase. Turning here and there to examine it, he saw nothing but the metal outer casing. No note hidden away somewhere.
He flipped the locks of the suitcase up, revealing an altered version of his costume. Rather than the normal black, sleeveless tank top, there was a form-fitting jacket with a high collar. It still sported the original orange X design.
Lifting up the costume, Bakugou felt that the material was rather thick. Deciding to try it on, he felt how warm it could keep him. He looked at himself in the mirror, smirking. The changes were definitely to his style.
He looked back in the suitcase for anything else and found the manual. It detailed all the changes and improvements for this winter version of his costume.
He wasn't disappointed in the warmth of the costume but rather, the lack of warmth in the words of the manual.
He knew this was Ayano's work. He could tell from a mile away even if she hadn't left it outside his room like that. He knew that she had written this manual. It sounded very much like her with how formal it was.
The problem was that it was too formal.
She hadn't left a note like last time. There was no loving message or any semblance of it. Her voice just wasn't there.
If their earlier interaction didn't show that she was still upset with him, then this clearly did. Bakugou sighed in frustration.
Despite her annoyance at him, she had still made these winter changes for him. It wasn't even asked of her either. She had decided on her own to put aside her feelings to think of him. To help him achieve his goals.
He flopped back onto his bed, laying on his back as his arm covered his eyes. He grit his teeth.
…Was he wrong?
Even after all that, she only thought of him and what she could do to help him. Should he set aside his own feelings? Should he just leave her to her own devices so that she could achieve her goals? Should he just wait for her to tell him what she had decided on?
After thinking about it, of course he was happy that his girl got invited to study abroad at the prestigious I-Island. Underlying that happiness, however, was a feeling of dread.
If she wanted to go, then he obviously would let her. Then again, a reason why they fought was because deep down, he didn't really want her to go.
If she accepted, when would she leave? This month? At the end of the school year? How much longer would he have with her?
How long would she be there? They were still first-years. Would she study there for a year? For two? What if she got offered a job or a research position there? He didn't doubt that she had the capabilities to garner such attention. If that happened, wouldn't she end up staying longer than intended?
Would she be able to visit and come back to Japan? How often would she be able to? I-Island wasn't even open to the public yet, only hosting families of the researchers and scientists there. The island's security system is even on par with that of Tartarus Prison. Surely, it wouldn't be easy for her to just come and go as she pleased.
Would she even want to come back? Would she want to stay on I-Island after experiencing what they have to offer? She said that she wanted her career in the future to stay in Japan, but feelings change.
…Would her feelings for him change?
Bakugou furiously shook his head, throwing all thoughts of the idea out. There was no way she would do that. If there was one thing he wouldn't let her do, it was that.
Still, everything else scared him whether he wanted to admit it or not.
If she chose to accept, he wouldn't be ready for it.
He wasn't ready for her to leave his side, to not be able to visit her room whenever he pleased, to not have her leave a cute note with an improved costume, to not go on walks with her, to not hold her hand and have her complain about his sweaty ones.
He wasn't ready for it.
He wanted her to talk to him about these things so he could mentally prepare himself. He wanted to know what offers she got so that he would know beforehand what he was getting himself into.
He needed time, and much more of it.
Time to think. Time to prepare. Time to spend with her if she wasn't going to be by his side for much longer.
Bakugou closed his eyes and easily fell asleep, the fatigue from his remedial license training course kicking in along with his worries about Ayano.
Class 1-A, 1-B, and several students of the support course gathered for a joint training battle at Ground Gamma. Class 1-A and 1-B were to go head-to-head in a 4-on-4 battle. The team to capture four members of the opposing team will win. If, after twenty minutes, neither team has captured four members of the opposing, then the team that has captured more will win.
Many of the students were wearing winter versions of their costumes and had other improvements as well. As such, the support course students who worked on such costumes were here to observe the battle and see if any further improvements should be made.
Of course, Ayano was no exception. She, along with her peers, came to see the fruits of their labor.
Her eyes travelled to Bakugou's figure, and she stared at him. The winter costume suited him just as well as she had hoped. Perhaps even better.
Bakugou felt a pair of eyes on him. As he turned to face her, Ayano immediately looked away and started talking with Fujiyoshi Yuudai.
A large vein appeared on his temple as he grit his teeth in anger. Oh, so she was giving him the cold shoulder. Well, two could play at that game.
He had thought about going to her several times to thank her for the costume. Whether or not he was actually going to do it wasn't determined yet, but now it most certainly was.
She'd rather talk with that preppy prick than him?!
The blond whipped his head back around, a heavy scowl on his face as he walked off.
Midoriya watched as Bakugou stomped away. His head turned to Ayano as she was still talking with Fujiyoshi. His brows furrowed, the concern for his childhood friends growing. He had no time to think on it though because the joint training battle was about to start.
After they drew lots to decide the teams, the first group jumped right into it. Ayano watched in admiration as she saw how vastly everyone had improved, Class 1-A and 1-B both.
When the third round had ended, it was finally time for Bakugou's group to go. Ayano knew that he had improved, but she needed to see just how much.
The two of them had gone through so much together. Did he finally realize that a hero isn't just someone who wins? That it's also someone who can save and protect?
After seeing him save Jiro from Kamakiri Togaru's attack, her questions were answered. Bakugou had saved her by kicking her out of the way, but he had saved her nonetheless.
He had changed, but he really hadn't at the same time. His goal had always remained the same: to surpass All Might and become the strongest.
Seeing him in action today, Ayano was left with her thoughts.
What was she doing here? While Bakugou was getting closer and closer to achieving his goals, she was wasting her time being concerned over trivial things. While he was getting closer to becoming a pro hero and getting his license, Ayano had yet to do anything of the sort.
With that, she turned around and started walking back towards the main campus.
"Eh? Sasaki, aren't you going to at least finish watching your boyfriend's match?" Fujiyoshi asked her. He knew she was going to leave as soon as it was over, but he hadn't expected her to leave in the middle of it. The match had only started!
"Why do I have to watch a battle in which I already know of the outcome?" She asked rhetorically. Monoma from Class 1-B had overheard her and ran to block her path. "Huuuuh!? And what outcome would that be?!" He asked irritatedly as he brought his head close beneath hers to look up at her derisively.
"A perfect 4-0 victory, fit only for the strongest." Ayano responded immediately, staring Monoma right in the eyes.
He flinched at her piercing gaze, but his pride wouldn't let him back down. She didn't explicitly say who would be victorious, but it was obvious who she was referring to. "Huuuh?! Are you saying Class B is weak?!"
Ayano walked around him as she spoke again. "I never said anything like that. Class B isn't weak at all. It's just that Katsuki is stronger." She walked out of Ground Gamma, never slowing down and never turning back.
True to her expectations, Team A ended up with a perfect 4-0 victory with no injuries and in just five minutes. Walking out of the battle site, Bakugou noticed that Ayano was no longer among the spectators.
"Oh! Aya-chan already left, Kacchan!" Midoriya called out to him when he noticed that the blond had been moving his head around, searching for the girl.
"Who said I was looking for her, you piece of crap!?" Bakugou yelled at him, but everyone knew the truth.
"You know, I really thought you two were such a weird couple at first, but the more I see you guys, the more I think you're perfect for each other!" Mina complimented, causing the rest of Class 1-A to nod their heads in agreement.
"Yeah, you should've seen what she said to Monoma before she left! She really put him in his place!" Kaminari laughed, glad that someone finally stuck it to the annoying copycat.
When Bakugou raised an eyebrow in question, Midoriya explained everything to him. "She left in the middle of your fight because she said she already knew the outcome. 'A perfect 4-0 victory, fit only for the strongest' is what she said, and that there was no point in watching if she already knew that."
At that moment, Bakugou was immensely relieved that Ayano had given him a high collar on his winter costume because he was currently pulling it up further in an attempt to hide his blush. "Fuck! If she said all that, she could've at least stuck around to congratulate me or something…" The boy muttered behind his collar, but Midoriya had still heard him.
Hearing Ayano's words and looking at Bakugou's retreating back, Midoriya smiled. His two childhood friends would be okay after all.
It was a Sunday afternoon in early December when Bakugou kicked open Ayano's door and barged in.
Of course, it was without invitation, but Ayano was strangely happy.
This was something she hadn't experienced in quite a while, and she was beginning to miss his abrasive appearances.
Just as she turned in her seat to face him, Bakugou thrust a card right in front of her. She looked up at his face in question, but he was looking to the side in embarrassment.
Slowly taking the card from his hands, she saw the word 'HERO' printed on it. Carefully turning it over, she saw his picture and his information printed on the front.
It was his provisional hero license.
Ayano's eyes almost teared up, but she held them back when the weight of everything fell on her. Seeing him in the joint training battle with Class 1-B and seeing him with his license, Ayano made her decision. She couldn't waste more time.
"I'm going to I-Island."