Bakugo's summer had not gone the way he had hoped it would and it was damn irritating. So far, all he had to show for his training efforts was some extension of his quirk, but he was struggling to get in any combat training in. Kirishima was always busy, claiming he was trying to pick up girls and his parents were always trying to get him out of the house and off his gaming consoles. In an attempt to do so, they would annoy him to no end until he couldn't take it anymore and would eventually leave.
He'd taken to hanging out in a nearby park to pass the time. It was a large and wooded park, a great place for him to train and have the privacy he wanted. For the most part, the entire place was unpopulated with the exception of some primary school kids that came by every so often to bother him. It wasn't very long before they had picked up on Bakugo's famously short fuse and had begun messing with him nearly every day. They were a nuisance that whittled away at his patience and sometimes brought him to the brink of his sanity.
He laid back in the grass with his hands tucked behind his sweaty hair. He scowled through the tree tops at the blue sky and tried to ignore the giggles of the school boys hiding on the top of the hill to his right. They had been lurking for an hour or so, thinking that they were sneaking up on him undetected. Unbeknownst to them, Bakugo had noticed them the moment they turned up and had continued to train in ignorance of their antics.
Their excited whispers and suppressed giggles were grating on Bakugo's nerves and he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block them out. If he could just think of something less annoying, then he could certainly tune them out.
Thump!
Bakugo's eyes snapped open as the pebble hit the ground near his right arm. 'They're back to doing this shit again?!' The blonde growled warningly, allowing the school boys to know that he was aware of them.
A stifled giggled followed after the pebble's throw along with a whisper, "Shh!"
Bakugo grit his teeth in annoyance and begrudgingly shut his eyes once more, willing the children to go play elsewhere. There is a playground on the other end of the park, why don't they go find someone to bother over there?
A whooshing sound whizzed through the air and Bakugo opened his right eye in time to catch the second pebble before it landed on his chest. He clenched an irritated fist around the rock before he finally sat up and cranked his head toward the poorly disguised boys. "Don't you little shits have someone else to annoy?!"
Three sets of wide eyes peered through a bush a few yards away. They froze, unsure if Bakugo could see them or not.
"I can see you brats!" Bakugo snapped at them once more. "Quit hiding like a bunch of pansies!"
The three boys slowly circled around to the front of the bush. Two looked at their shoes and the third simply grinned like the idiot child he was. Bakugo was beginning to learn that this kid was their ring leader.
Bakugo gripped the pebble until his knuckles turned white, "This shit isn't funny anymore! Get lost, or else!"
"Or else what?" The grinning kid spat back, flipping his tousled orange hair.
"Tatsuo, we should just go," One boy with black hair urged his orange-haired friend.
"Then go, Hitoshi! I'm not scared of this guy."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the pompous orange haired devil-child in front of him. Were all children this obnoxious? "If you know what's good for you, you'd better hightail it out of here, brats."
"I can take you on, easy!" The boy that Bakugo assumed was named Tatsuo held up his tiny fists and grinned.
"Is that right?" Bakugo snarled back and rose to his feet, "I'm going to kick your ass, kid."
The teenager and the boy stared each other down while the two other boys looked on with terrified expressions. The tension in the air built as Bakugo waited for the obnoxious child to make a move.
"Tatsuo?" A woman's voice echoed from atop the hill, "It's time for lunch! Where are you boys?"
Al three boys suddenly looked scared and glanced at each other before turning to leave. As they retreated, Tatsuo turned back to the irritable blonde, "This isn't over, ugly!" His stuck out his tongue childishly and ran off after his friends.
Bakugo grimaced at the children as they disappeared over the hill. 'That little shit is going to get it!'
Once he was alone again, he felt like his plans to continue training through lunch were soiled and he was finding it hard to argue with a hungry stomach. He began to exit the park, albiet angrily, and hoped to find something fast to chow down. Bakugo had eaten at the park's only food cart nearly every day all summer and he was sick of eating hot noodles in the baking sun, so he decided to try the town. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his baggy sweats and left the park behind him.
...
The market was busy in the early afternoon. Merchants were selling knick knacks in covered stalls and vendors were offering a variety of foods. People bustled through the narrow streets, bargaining for goods and standing in line for lunch. Bakugo chose a simple bento box stand and joined the line, hoping it would move quickly so he could leave the dense area. He neared the front and ordered, begrudgingly paying the cheerful woman working and turning away to wait for his food.
"Bakugo!" A happy voice called from behind him.
He turned sharply to see the person he least expected.
"How are you?" Uraraka bubbled and smiled. "Funny that we'd run into each other here, right?"
He took a step back and found himself completely unprepared for this kind of situation, "What do you want, round-face?"
She didn't break her smile and used her thumb to point behind her, "I just got into town yesterday, so Yaoyorozu invited a few of us to go shopping today. It's great seeing everyone!"
He glanced over her shoulder to see the black haired girl, acid freak, frog face, and -ugh- Deku all browsing a merchant stall. They pointed at a few items, not noticing that Uraraka had run off. "I don't give a shit. What do you want?"
She shrugged and pulled on a strand of her hair, "I saw you, so I thought I'd come say hello."
His order number was called and he ignored her to retrieve his lunch. "I have training to do." He went to leave but was stopped when she grabbed the back of his black v-neck.
"You're going to train?" She asked dumbly.
Incredulously, Bakugo replied with a short, "Yes, now fuck off." He pulled himself from her grip and began walking again.
"Hang on!" She called once again, grinding on his final nerve. She followed after him, "I need a training partner super bad, so maybe I can come with?"
He tried hard to ignore her as he pushed through the crowded street, praying that she would lose interest.
"Please, Bakugo!" She whined with a slightly higher pitch. "It would help me out a lot!"
He stopped to face her, "Why the fuck would I help you?"
She paused and curled her arms in a bit, "Because I need to get stronger, so I want to train with someone strong." She figured giving him a compliment might help her case. The way to Bakugo's heart was certainly his ego.
He dropped his eyelids a bit and looked completely unamused, "I don't have time to babysit your ass."
Uraraka ignored the people bumping shoulders with her and tried hard not to pout, but she couldn't hide her bottom lip from puffing up a bit, "It would be the least you could do to make up for being such a jerk to me at camp."
With that annoying statement, Bakugo felt his last nerve slipping away, "Are you fuckin' kidding me? I don't owe you shit."
She touted her hands on her hips and bucked up, "That is such a lie."
"I don't lie," Bakugo felt a furious rant coming on, but was interrupted by Uraraka's companions.
"There you are!" Ashido called happily and ran up to the brunette. As she swung an arm around Uraraka's shoulders, she noticed the tenacious blonde. "Oh, hey Bakugo! Long time, no see!"
He bristled at her friendliness, working up one of his textbook insults. Just as he opened his mouth, Yaoyorozu, Asui, and Deku joined them.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya smiled at the blonde.
"Fuck off, Deku." Bakugo warned in a low tone.
Midoriya shrunk back a little while Yaoyorozu took the lead on the conversation, "Are you ready to move on, Uraraka?"
Bakugo figured this was his best chance to leave but as he turned, he heard that annoying brunette pipe up.
"Actually," She started with a tone of mixed optimism and sorrow, "I think I'm going to go train with Bakugo for a little while. I really do need to catch up on my training, you know?"
Bakugo froze at her audacity. Did she just invite herself?
Yaoyorozu and Midoriya glanced between the blonde and the brunette cautiously, "Are you sure?" Midoriya asked slowly.
"Of course!" Uraraka beamed at her friends. "I'll call you when I'm all done, okay?"
Uraraka's four friends reluctantly released her and she took off after Bakugo. The four remaining students passed concerned looks among each other for a few moments as they watched Uraraka disappear into the crowd.
"This is weird." Ashido finally offered up.
Midoriya nodded slowly, "I think she just really wants to get stronger, so she probably thinks training with Bakugo is her best bet."
Yaoyorozu frowned, "I don't know what she thinks she could gain from training with a homicidal maniac."
"Kacchan isn't always like that," Midoriya replied. "Uraraka is just determined, so I'm sure it'll work out for her."
Everyone warily accepted and they all hoped that Midoriya was right in his assumptions. They'd hate to see Uraraka let Bakugo's senseless insults get the best of her.
...
Bakugo was racing through the crowd now, pleading with himself to escape her sight. He'd be damned if this stupid girl thought she'd get her way so easily.
"Wait up!" She called from a distance behind him, but he coldly ignored her.
She pushed through the crowds, trying to chase Bakugo down but she found it much more difficult to stay on his trail than she thought. He was much taller and more intimidating, so people naturally avoided his path, but she was being swarmed with everyone and their dog. She certainly felt like a salmon swimming upstream.
Finally, she broke the crowd and looked around wildly but didn't see a single spiky blonde head. 'How could he have disappeared so fast?' She wandered down the street, assuming his direction of travel and didn't see a trace of him. 'Well isn't this just my rotten luck? I lost him!'
She found herself on the edge of a playground with a few children swinging on it's bars and playing in the grass. She sighed and plopped down on a park bench. She wondered if it would be worth texting Bakugo about his whereabouts, but she already knew he'd ignore it. She rolled her head back glumly. 'This sucks. I really need a good combat partner to train against.'
"Aito! Hitoshi!" A child with loud orange hair called to two other boys, "I just saw that stupid explody-face loser walking that way." The child pointed across the park, "Let's go mess with him." A cocky smirk graced the child's features and Uraraka's attention was caught by it.
The smallest of the three boys shuffled his hands in front of his shirt, "Do we have to, Tatsuo? That guy is scary."
Tatsuo laughed aloud with a cocky demeanor, "I'm not afraid of some stupid high schooler! I can definitely beat him up with my quirk!"
Both of the other two boys looked uneasy, but followed as Tatsuo egged them on and led them toward the trees. Uraraka had heard the entire exchange and watched the boys march away with a flicker of amusement in her eyes. If they were talking about the person she thought they were, then she was sure to be in for a treat.
She stood up from the bench and followed the boys as they raced through the trees, the orange haired boy hyping himself and his two friends up. She paused for a moment, wondering briefly if it appeared strange to follow three young kids, but she couldn't rest her curiosity so she continued anyway.
Eventually, the boys veered to the left and began snooping through the trees and bushes, shushing themselves as they went. When Uraraka noticed this, she mirrored their movements to their right side. They clumsily made their way down a hill and into a grassy clearing between the trees and she crouched along the tree line, invisible to the blonde sulking in the grass.
Bakugo was raging as he practiced a variety of combat moves. He twisted himself around, performing well practiced martial arts and withholding the use of his quirk. His meal sat untouched in the grass behind him. When he heard the boys return, he immediately called them out. "Show yourselves, you little shits! I know you're there!"
Uraraka winced at his foul language. Surely even Bakugo knew not to curse at children?
The three boys ducked out of the bushes. Aito and Hitoshi hung back, but Tatsuo took bold steps toward Bakugo, a smug smirk plastered on his youthful face. "What'chu gonna do about it, you big dummy?!"
Bakugo seethed and marched within a few feet of the boy with a clenched fist, "Do you really wanna find out, tough guy?" Bakugo's eyes were lit with a furious fire. Why wasn't this kid afraid of him? Every kid fears guys like him!
The other two boys cowered at Bakugo's advances and retreated to hide in the treeline once again. Tatsuo, the overly zealous one, held his ground and maintained his smirk. "Your stupid explosion quirk is no match for mine!"
A few small sparks ignited in Bakugo's palm, "I don't fight little kids, so get lost you shit. I don't want to send you crying to your mommy."
Tatsuo didn't flinch at Bakugo's threat, but instead held up an open palm like Bakugo. "I'm not afraid of you!"
"Tatsuo!" The small boy with the black hair pleaded with his friend from the bushes, "This is a really bad idea!"
Tatsuo scoffed at the younger boy, "I saw this guy during the sports festival and his quirk sucks! I can totally beat this guy!"
Bakugo sparked his palms again and clenched his jaw, "Just remember that you asked for it, you little snot!" He released an incredibly small scale explosion to scare the boy, but was surprised when it came back on himself. It didn't do much more than stagger him back a step or two, but he was even more shocked to see that the small kid was completely untouched.
The kid pumped his fist and grinned devilishly, "My quirk is called mirror. I can mirror back any attack, so your quirk is useless on me!"
Uraraka had been worried for the majority of the confrontation, but seeing Bakugo's confused face made her audibly snort with laughter.
Bakugo whipped his head to his left the moment a small squeak of giggles met his ears, distracting himself from the orange haired menace. "The fuck...? Who's there?!"
Uraraka knew she'd been discovered and stood from her hiding spot. She covered her mouth to hide her laughing cheeks and waved harmlessly.
Bakugo had never been more ticked in his entire life. His eyes burned holes through her as she stupidly waved and hid her chuckles. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
She was giggling too hard to respond, but she managed to point hilariously at the children.
His eyes glowered at her before he turned his gaze back on the boys, "You little pricks! If my quirk doesn't work on you, then maybe I'll just kick your ass without it!"
The boy cackled dryly with daring eyes.
"Or," Bakugo snarled, "I'll just go find your mother."
All three boys were suddenly afraid. Tatsuo tried to play it off with a smirk, but backed off. "Fine. I'll get you again next time, you big fart!" He ran off with his friends, laughing and insulting Bakugo's appearance until they were out of sight.
The blonde was completely unhinged with frustration and he finally turned his attention back to the snorting brunette. "What the fuck?!"
She walked down the rest of the hill to join him on the grass, "Oh man, Bakugo. That was hilarious!"
"Did you tell them to come here?" Bakugo ignited his palms once again and he tried to give the impression he'd kill her without a second of thought.
She shook her head, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. "I heard them talking about you, so I thought they knew where you were. Turns out, I was right."
Bakugo regretted letting those boys off so easy. He should have whooped their asses for giving away his training spot to this stupid girl. "Why the fuck won't you just leave me alone?!"
His harsh tone sobered her up and she took a defensive pose, "I already told you, Bakugo. I need a combat partner and you're the best there is."
Bakugo didn't blink before charging her, "Fine then! Have it your way, but you better be ready to die!" He was already regretting his decision to agree to her offer, but he really needed to blow off some steam.
Author's Note:
Ahh... It feels good to be able to finally go back to my normal writing routine. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because I really enjoyed writing it!
As I'm sure you can tell, I sort of fast-tracked my story to this. I figured you have already read sixteen chapters, so I needed to speed things up some more for you guys. I guess you could call this the beginning of a new arch for Uraraka and Bakugo. I'm excited for what's to come!
Thanks for reading! You guys are the best!
~NumberSixteen