I woke up that morning miserable. It didn't head up from there. After the stress of the night before, I spent the entire night sleeping off and on, and when Ragdoll finally came into the girl's sleeping area to "wake me up", she found me already dressed and laying on my sleeping bag reading. My eyes were stinging with exhaustion, and I was sure if I looked in the mirror I'd seem half-dead.

"Cooking time, kitten!" Ragdoll whispered excitedly, leaning in and staring at me with unnaturally wide yellow eyes. I turned my head just enough to poke my head out from behind my book. Ragdoll giggled. "Well, aren't you a tired little kitten," she remarked.

I smiled bitterly, dogearing my page and rolling to my feet. "That obvious?" I asked good-humoredly, dropping my book onto my pillow. Harry Potter's final adventure would have to wait until later.

"You could pretend to be panda," Ragdoll laughed, and I sighed. Stretching my arms forward, I arched my spine until it cracked. "Ready to start your day?" Ragdoll whispered as I bent down to touch my toes.

"Yeah," I murmured back, padding across the floor to leave the room, carefully tip-toeing around the other sleeping girls towards the door. When I finally exited into the hall, I held the door open long enough for Ragdoll to slip out before quietly closing it. "Do I head to the dining area now?" I inquired, voice still soft.

Ragdoll bobbed her head cheerfully. "Yep!" she confirmed. "And Aizawa told me that he'd have a cup of coffee ready for you once you arrived. I think he said he didn't want you to burn down anything." I smiled affectionately, recognizing my mentor's sardonic attitude behind Ragdoll's cheerful relay. That certainly sounded like Mister Aizawa. Nodding my head in thanks, I turned around and shuffled down the hall, heading towards the dining area.

As soon as I stepped out of the building, I was smacked in the face with a burst of cold air. Goosebumps erupted along my exposed arms and legs, since I was wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt in preparation for training later today. I shivered, scanning the dark dining area for Mister Aizawa. I spotted him sitting at one of the picnic tables, already with the boys. Shouto, Bakugo, and Monoma all looked exhausted and sleep-mussed as well, so at least I wasn't alone.

I strolled over, lifting a hand in greeting. "Morning," I mumbled, dropping down to sit next to Mister Aizawa across from the boys. My mentor slid a styrofoam cup of coffee over to me immediately, and I eagerly picked the drink up, gulping down the bitter, burning hot liquid. I smiled wearily, feeling the heat pour down my throat. It really was way too cold right now.

Bakugo gave me a very grumpy once-over. "You look like hell, Ichimi," he commented insultingly. Still too sleepy to argue, I just nodded in agreement and sipped my coffee again. I knew I didn't have room to argue, anyways. Bakugo eyed me suspiciously at my lack of response, eyes flicking between me and my drink. "The fuck are you drinking anyways? You had a cup of it yesterday too, it smells awful."

"Coffee," I answered dreamily, sighing happily. I took another sip. "It's wonderful. Just watch, I'll be back to normal as soon as I finish this."

That caught Shouto's attention, and if I'd had the energy, I would've laughed at how ridiculous his hair looked, sticking up in different directions and mixing in the middle like bad tie-dye. "I've heard of coffee before," he muttered, staring at my drink. "It's a western drink."

"Yep. It's pure caffeine, works like a charm," I agreed happily, already feeling the drink start to take effect. "It's an acquired taste, but it's like a shot of pure energy. So worth it."

Bakugo lifted his eyes upward, refusing to make eye contact with me. "What's it taste like?" he demanded. I tilted my head at him curiously, relatively certain he wanted something. It took my sleepy mind a moment to put the pieces together, and then I grinned mischievously.

"Why? Wanna try it?" I asked teasingly, and when Bakugo jerked his head back down, hackles raised, I lifted my hands up in surrender. "It should be fine… Mister Aizawa? Is there enough?" I asked, deferring responsibility easily.

Mister Aizawa jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and I noticed the metal pot sitting over one of the open cook-fires. "Grab a cup from the shed, pour yourself some," he said. Bakugo frowned, clearly not knowing what shed was being mentioned, so I stood up.

"I'll get it," I said, looking between Shouto and Monoma. "Either of you want to try some?" I asked. Shouto bobbed his head quietly in confirmation, before returning to looking off in the distance.

Monoma eyed me suspiciously, like he didn't believe I was offering honestly. I continued to stare at him expectantly, and finally he nodded. "Yes," he said, "... please." From the way he uttered the words, you'd think they physically hurt him. As it was, I just turned around and walked over to the shed I'd spotted yesterday, hidden against the side of the building. Finding the plastic shed, I pulled open the doors. The shed was dark, and lined with shelves covered in cooking supplies and cutlery. I scanned it for any styrofoam cups, and as soon as I spotted what I was searching for, I grabbed three and slammed the doors shut again.

Rushing back to the dining area, my eyes widened when I saw Bakugo standing next to the table, holding the coffee pot. I walked up beside him, unstacking the cups and laying them down. I held my hand out. "I can pour that," I offered, reaching for the pot.

Bakugo lifted it out of my reach, baring his teeth at me. "I can fucking pour it myself," he insisted, sounding remarkably like a toddler seeking independence. He pushed me out of the way and filled his own cup up with coffee, before roughly dropped the pot on the table and storming off to a different picnic table. I watched him walk away, wondering how he'd react after trying to drink coffee black. I always added milk, and sometimes a bit of sugar.

Picking up the pot again, I carefully filled up Shouto's and Monoma's cups. "Here," I said, offering one to each of them. "You might want to add some milk or sugar, coffee can be pretty bitter." As I spoke, Bakugo made a loud hack behind me, and I heard him growl something unintelligible. My lips quirked upwards, realizing he must've just taken his first sip and proved my point. Perfect timing.

"Thanks," Shouto murmured, looking to Mister Aizawa, who gestured to a small bowl I hadn't noticed next to himself. Reaching in, I picked up several small cups of cream, and then I offered one to Shouto.

Monoma eyed me, and took a sip of his coffee black. His eyes widened and then he spat it back out immediately. I giggled, and Monoma glowered at me. "Oh, so the glorious Class A shows its merit again. Are you trying to make a fool of me?" He ranted, eyes once again taking on that creepy light. "You think you're so much better, hoarding away the cream and not offering any to some poor Class B student. How mighty you are-" I cut him off by shoving a handful of creamers into his face, nearly punching him in the forehead. I then dropped the creamers in his lap, huffing grumpily and stalking over to my seat beside Mister Aizawa. I continued to glare at Monoma over the rim of my cup as I drank, seething. Across the table, Shouto sipped his coffee peacefully, looking entirely undisturbed by Monoma and I's silent war.

Suddenly, Bakugo stomped back over to our table, snatching up a handful of creamers and dumping them into his coffee messily. He then picked up his drink and made a show of gulping it down, and I shook my head at his childishness. Bakugo slammed the empty cup down back on the table and grinned at me viciously. "It tastes like shit," he declared, staring me down. I decided not to comment on how much more aware he was acting, and that even if the coffee had burned his mouth (which was my guess about why he'd spit it out before) it had clearly woken him up.

"That's good, because I was the one that made it," Mister Aizawa interjected dryly, and Bakugo froze. I smirked at him, mouthing 'you're screwed' smugly. Hah hah, Bakugo was going to get himself killed by Mister Aizawa, and I wouldn't have to do a thing.

Looking very stubborn, Bakugo refused to acknowledge his mistake, marching over to his previous seat beside Monoma and dropping down heavily. This disturbed Monoma mid-sip and he nearly spilled his drink on himself. Monoma immediately rounded on Bakugo, and I leaned in eagerly, excited to see the two people I was most unhappy with pick a fight with each other.

Mister Aizawa interrupted before anything could start. "Once you all are done, you'll need to start cooking. You have about two hours to prep enough food for fifty people," he warned monotonously. My eyes widened, and I whipped my head around towards him. All my experience with cooking told me that wasn't near enough time. Surprisingly, Bakugo had the same reaction.

"Two hours for f-fifty people?!" I repeated, shocked. "What are we supposed to make?!" Unless they had premade, microwave meal packages, I couldn't conceive this working out at all.

Mister Aizawa shrugged, gesturing to his side. I suddenly noticed Pixie-bob, Mandalay, and Tiger stacking up ingredients on one of the picnic tables. "Whatever you can make with the available ingredients," he said, and I had another minor heart attack. They didn't have a recipe in mind?!

Ragdoll jumped up out of nowhere between Mister Aizawa and I, and I flinched at the sudden appearance. "You kittens better get to work!" she said. "If you don't finish before everyone arrives, then no one gets to eat, and you know what that means!" My eyes widened in horror, as I imagined how angry everyone would be, having to train all day on empty stomachs. They would blame us too. Ragdoll giggled at my visible terror. "Looks like you get it!" she laughed, dancing off to help the other Pussy Cats stack up the ingredients.

I scooped up my coffee, finished it off with one gulp, and then darted off towards the table full of ingredients. I scanned it frantically, ticking off the different items on my fingers. "Eggs, flour, vegetable oil, apples, strawberries, granola, milk, salt, potatoes… is there baking powder? Good, there is… that means I can make bread, waffles, pancakes-" I cut myself off, clapping my hands together excitedly. "That's it!"

"The hell is 'it', Ichimi? Stop muttering like fucking Deku," Bakugo commanded, standing across the ingredient table and running his own inventory.

I clapped my hands again, bouncing on my toes. Breakfast was salvageable! "We can make pancakes! They're a western food, quick to cook and prep. We can definitely make enough for fifty people in two hours, and we can use the fruits as sides!" I threw my hands up happily. "Perfect!"

Bakugo stared at me. "You're insane," he deadpanned. I bobbed my head along distractedly, counting up how many eggs there were and measuring how many I'd need for 150 pancakes. That way there'd be three for each person, that would be enough, right? We had about fifty eggs, and I'd need an egg per eight pancakes, so I'd have thirty-one eggs left over. Maybe I could scramble them? If there was enough time- "Ichimi, SHUT THE HELL UP!" Bakugo roared, slamming his hand on the table. I froze instantly, realizing I'd been thinking aloud.

"Sorry," I squeaked, covering my mouth with my hands. I hadn't realized I'd been ranting aloud. My cheeks heated up, and I ducked my head.

Bakugo visibly inhaled, like he was trying to restrain himself from yelling at me more. "Since you clearly have a recipe in mind, what the hell is it?" he demanded, spreading his arms towards the ingredients between us. "Before you go around planning everything, figure out what the fuck we need and how much. It'll make delegating easier."

I blinked in surprise at Bakugo's reasonable, intelligent suggestion, wondering if I'd misheard him. Then, I shook my head and refocused. "Okay," I said. "We'll make 150 pancakes, three per person. We'll need 19 eggs, 28 cups of flour, 65 and a half teaspoons of baking powder, 18 and three quarters a teaspoon of salt, the same for sugar, and-"

Bakugo held up his hand, cutting me off. "Wait for a fucking second, Ichimi, and let me grab the shit," he ordered, before turning around towards Monoma and Shouto, who were still at the picnic table with Mister Aizawa. "Are either of you dumbasses gonna help here?! Or are Ichimi and I the only ones fucking cooking?!" Bakugo shouted challengingly. Surprisingly, Monoma and Shouto reacted quickly, leaving their drinks on the table and heading over. Bakugo tapped his foot impatiently, and when both boys caught up, he started talking immediately. "Half n' Half, you have no fucking idea how to cook, so I'll give you the obvious shit. Get 19 eggs, and all the baking powder and flour you can find. Go stick it over there," he pointed at one of the empty tables, and then turned on Monoma. "You, dumbshit, are going to go to grab a bunch of bowls and spatulas from the shed Ichimi went to. It's that way," he pointed in the direction I'd headed earlier, and then rounded on me. "Anything else dumbshit needs to grab?" he asked, ignoring Monoma's darkening expression at his new nickname.

"Uh, if you can get a strainer and some pans or griddles, that'd be great, Monoma," I added timidly, taken aback by Bakugo's aggressive leadership.

"There you have it, pots, pans, spatulas and a strainer. Go, dumbshit," Bakugo declared, waving Monoma away. I shrugged at the blonde apologetically right before he spun around and marched off, looking very offended. Bakugo turned back to me. "Now, what else is necessary for your fucking pancakes?"

I shrunk inwards timidly at Bakugo's new zeal. "U-um… uh, 18 and three quarters a teaspoon of salt, same for sugar… 23 and a half cups of milk… and 56 and a quarter tablespoons of melted butter?" I sounded much more unsure than I was, making my answer sound more like a question.

"Fine. I'll measure out the salt, milk and sugar, you do melt the damn butter, Ichimi," Bakugo decided, turning around. I blinked a few times, still startled, before looking to Shouto in shock. Shouto avoided my eyes, continuing to count out his eggs, so I grabbed several sticks of butter and headed over to the cook-fires, only to realize Monoma hadn't returned yet.

The butter would have to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all left standing in a circle around our table of carefully measured out ingredients. Shouto had a suspicious smear of white powder along his cheek that I was trying desperately to ignore, and Monoma looked gravely aggrieved, glaring at Bakugo irately.

Bakugo, surveying our work, nodded approvingly. "Now that's over, the fuck do we do now?" he demanded. Shouto tossed the blonde a dark look, clearly upset.

I gulped. Letting Bakugo continue to take charge, while tempting, probably wasn't a good idea. Monoma and Shouto were looking really angry. I glanced to Mister Aizawa for reassurance, but he wasn't even watching, sitting at the same picnic table and watching the sunrise, sipping his coffee. "Right. So, uh," I took a deep breath. "Bakugo, can you crack the eggs and beat them? You'll need to add the butter and the milk and mix them in too," I explained nervously, deciding to step up and make orders directly. "And then… Shouto. I need you to take the strainer and put it in the bowl. You need to pour the flour through it, and then give it to Monoma once its full. Uh, use all the flour we have measured. Monoma, can you mix in the salt, sugar, and baking powder together? Then we'll combine the dry ingredients first, and then at the egg mix," I finished, nodding approvingly. "Yeah, that should work."

"Great," Bakugo said. "And what the fuck will you be doing?"

I pointed over my shoulder at the cook-fires, which were still unlit and unprepared. "I'll set up the griddles and light the fires, and then I'll help Shouto," I said. The temptation was too much, so I added sarcastically, "Sound good, Your Majesty?"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "Yes, it fucking does," he growled, before turning around and snatching the eggs up, along with a bowl.

I sighed in relief. "Okay. So, Shouto, use this bowl. I'll show you how to do it first, so you don't, ah…" I paused, and then waved in the general direction of his cheek. I wasn't sure if he knew already, and if he didn't I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

Shouto stared at me blandly. "Get more flour on myself?" he filled in, and I nodded. "Okay," he agreed, unperturbed. I giggled, and then set the strainer up in the bowl.

I sat in front of my assigned griddle, flipping pancakes. Off to my side, I noticed Monoma having a very easy time cooking his own circles of dough. So easy a time, I was almost suspicious. There was no way Monoma hadn't worked in a kitchen before, I was sure.

"Hey, Monoma," I started, keeping my eyes focused on the cooking pancakes. "Where'd you learn to cook?" This was a good chance for me to try again, at befriending the hostile teen.

Monoma stayed silent for a moment, flipping his pancakes. "My sisters," he said finally. "I have three of them, and I'm the youngest."

My eyes widened in surprise. He had three siblings?! "Wow!" I commented, smiling happily. "That's really cool, you're so lucky! I wish I had siblings." I sighed wistfully at the end. Growing up an only child could be lonely sometimes, and there was never anyone to share your problems with. I envied people with big families that cared for each other.

"It's cool sometimes," Monoma said, transferring his finished batch onto a platter. "Having three older sisters is overwhelming though. I'm outnumbered three to one," his tone didn't fit his words, affectionate and warm. It was very unfamiliar, compared to my past experiences with the blonde.

I nodded along, adding my own batch to the platter. "Your home must be pretty crowded," I added humorously.

"Yeah," Monoma agreed, but he made no more attempts to respond. I shifted awkwardly, not knowing how to continue the conversation. As much as my interactive abilities had expanded over the past school-year, I still was no Ochako.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, when I noticed Shouto standing in front of the griddles holding a turner. Shouto, who we had already confirmed could barely tell the difference between sugar and salt. Shouto, who still had flour on his face from earlier. I held my free hand out desperately. "Wait, no!" I protested, glancing back to Monoma momentarily. "Monoma, I need you to cover for me," I begged.

Monoma side eyed me. "Oh, so once again Class B must cover for Class A?" he drawled, but he reached out and took the plastic turner from me regardless. "I'll take care of it," he said.

"Thanks, Monoma," I said gratefully, before running towards Shouto, who looked very angry and had Bakugo beside him, barking out instructions. I darted in between the two, smiling at Bakugo sunnily. "I'll take it from here, Bakago," I declared, deliberately turning my back on him and facing Shouto. I heard a low growl of "what the fuck ever" behind me, and my smile twitched.

Shouto glanced at me, holding the turner in his hand awkwardly and looking generally helpless. I sighed, reached out, and adjusted his grip on the turner. "Don't hold it so close to the front, you'll have a hard time flipping the pancakes," I instructed, gripping his elbow and forcing him to bend his arm. Spotting one of the pancakes that looked just about ready, I guided Shouto's hand forward. "You slip this under the side, and once the turner is under the pancake, you lift and flip it," I narrated my actions as I made them, and then released Shouto's arm. I clapped my hands together, grinning triumphantly. "That's about it! When you see the dough starting to bubble, and the edges are dry, the pancakes are ready." Shouto nodded, and scanned the various pancakes. Then, slowly, cautiously, he reached out to try himself. I watched his actions carefully, and when he successfully dropped the half-cooked pancake back on the griddle, albeit messily, I pumped my fist. "You got it!" I chirped.

Shouto looked away from the griddle for a moment. "You… enjoy this," he observed. "A lot." I blinked in surprise, shocked he was actually trying to start a conversation with me.

I bobbed my head, smiling a bit shyly. "Yeah," I confirmed, feeling the awkward tension in the air. "My, uh, grandmother taught me how. It was how we spent time together," I elaborated, shifting my weight backwards. I noticed one of the pancakes was ready, and pointed at it. "You should flip that one now," I advised.

Shouto flipped the pancake carefully. "That's… good," he said finally. "My sister normally cooks, she's very insistent that I stay out of the kitchen. She's paranoid about…" his voice dwindled off, but I got the general memo. He'd been permanently injured in a kitchen once before.

I giggled despite the morose memory, imagining Shouto getting forced out of the kitchen by his concerned sister. "She must care about you a lot," I said, and then brightened. "Y'know, Monoma has three older sisters. He was just telling me about it. His family is so huge!"

"I had two brothers and a sister," Shouto said quietly. "It's pretty uncommon, I guess."

I nodded and smiled, fidgeting nervously. I didn't know what else to say. "That must be cool," I responded. "I wish I had that many siblings." I decided not to comment on his use of the past tense.

"Yeah," Shouto agreed, flipping another pancake. "It was."

"There's the last of 'em," Bakugo grunted, lifting the last platter of pancakes onto the picnic table. There were three sets of steaming pancake platters stacked high, surrounded by bowls of fresh fruit and a very large canister of maple syrup. Bakugo walked over to stand beside Shouto, Monoma, and I, crossing his arms and nodding approvingly. We'd finished just in time.

I grinned, stretching my arms forward. "We did it!" I cheered, and then noted how the sunrise was almost over. "And just in time, too!" Shouto nodded in agreement, hands in his pockets, and I saw Monoma look away to hide a grin.

"You finished cooking just in time, kittens!" Ragdoll sang, dancing out of the building again. "Good for you, you passed your second trial!" I froze with the boys, caught off guard.

"The second trial?" I repeated, shocked. "But I thought this was a punishment!"

Mister Aizawa chuckled, finally turning away from the sunrise. He was grinning toothily. "You all were going fail the first trial no matter what," he said, and my mouth fell open. "The real test was if, even after a massive failure, you all could work together to achieve a task. Congrats," he said, pausing to sip his drink. "You passed your Cooperation Trial."

"The fuck are you talking about?!" Bakugo snarled, palms extended towards Mister Aizawa in a way that would've been a clenched fist for anyone else. "We could've slept in then, this whole shitstorm of a morning was unnecessary!"

Mister Aizawa's grin only widened. "It was a logical ruse," he said. I suppressed the urge to scream in rage.

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Quick question for all of you: How have I been doing with the canon-characters? Have they been pretty accurate? Do I need to start adjusting their behaviors?

Prince Bakugo is talented in many things... fighting, cussing, delinquency. Sadly, he's a social-dunce. And yes, Monoma needs to take a DEEP BREATH and meditate on his mistakes XD Hopefully, this chapter has added a little more to his character. There isn't a lot about him in canon, so I had to make some stuff up and add some depth. Hope it worked! Also, about why they didn't help catch Ichigo: Bakugo and Monoma weren't paying attention XD Shouto is always good about keeping an eye on his surroundings, so he was ready, but Bakugo and Monoma just didn't want to admit they hadn't seen Ichigo get booted off. Monoma was actually sort of right though - Ichigo is so tiny, she really only needed one person to catch her.

xenocanaan Thank you, hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Ichigo is a very unlucky awkward duck. She no talky well. She probably would've thanked Shouto, but their relationship is still rocky after the final exams. Fortunately, as this chapter shows, they've been putting themselves back together. Their friendship will return to normal soon, maybe even improved a bit!

EVA-Saiyajin Thank you, I hope the story continues to deliver well :) I have put a lot of thought into Ichigo's development as a character, along with her influence on the story line, so I'm glad you've appreciated the changes she's created. I've read a lot of stories which just repeat the canon storyline, and that's always frustrated me. I can't imagine inserting an entirely new person into a plot and not seeing any differences, y'know? Anyways, thank you, your comment means a lot to me!