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"Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet."
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Bakugou had settled in for a miserable night of being drenched to the bone and shivering his ass off, but when he awoke the next morning, that wasn't the case. It was still pouring but he felt nor saw a single drop. In place of cold was warmth, and what should have been wet was high and dry.
A surprisingly neat pile of clothes topped off with a familiar pair of boots next to his legs caught his eye. Bakugou was surprised by the care she showed for the things he had given her, and again, without them, their deal of her coming into the city with him today would be off.
The rain finally seemed to fade, but by then Kirishima's deep, steady breathing had attempted to lure him back into slumber, and he found himself losing the battle. He managed to shake it off and pry himself away with great effort on his part. Well, partly.
Kirishima was in her larger form, and she had managed to coil around him in a sealed-off cocoon of sorts. Bakugou tried to shift the spread wing that had acted as a shield from the elements but to no avail.
"Oi, get up, damn it," with growing annoyance, the blonde shifted what he could of her tail to find the tip of her nose peeking inside, "don't you fucking dare crush me." Bakugou lined his foot up and, with perfect aim, nailed her right in the centre of her nose.
Immediately her nose disappeared out from under her wing, and Bakugou felt her shift into a more upright position, probably reeling from her rude awakening. A moment later, the red dragon cautiously lifted her wing and peered underneath. Kirishima narrowed her eyes slightly before folding her wings back and releasing her 'captive'.
"Finally."
Kirishima rolled her eyes before recoiling her tail, swiping his legs out from under him, and beginning to change to her other form. The blonde's indignant cry kept her company as she did so, closely followed by the usual colourful language.
She grinned and said, "It's going to be a good day.'
The redhead practically skipped as she collected her clothes and shoes, on full display as usual, much to her companion's displeasure. (A/N: sureeeee) Though to his surprise, she dressed quickly and, even more surprisingly, correctly, and when she moved onto her boots, Bakugou nearly choked.
"The dragon winds around the mountain, through the cavern, then pulls tight." She looked so serious while reciting it and then suddenly broke out in a wide grin. The blonde felt the corner of his lips twitches slightly before frowning.
Damn it, why did he have to teach her that? He just hoped she wouldn't continue to say that out loud every time, and certainly not in front of the others. He would never hear the end of it. Though even so, Bakugou felt no need to correct her otherwise; he was so going to regret that choice later, he just knew it.
"I'm ready; let's go!" Kirishima was practically glowing as she bound off to the tree line.
"Oi," Bakugou raised an eyebrow when she spun on her heel to look at him before pointing in the opposite direction, a tick mark beginning to form when she laughed sheepishly.
He sighed "This is going to be a long day..."
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Excited didn't even begin to describe Kirishima at that moment. She was surrounded by so many new things and smells. Some were pleasant, some not so much, but they were all new, and she had the feeling she could spend days on end and still not explore all there was.
This place that Bakugou had called "the capital" was like a whole new world, and to her it practically was. She couldn't believe this was the place he called home—oh, what a wonderful home it was! They had come a very long way, yet she felt as if she would traverse a million miles more for the chance to experience even a fraction of this.
Kirishima spun around to look at the slightly annoyed-looking blonde, and, oops, she had done it again. From the moment they stepped foot through the towering city gates, she had been lured by anything that moved, and the poor man had been left to trail after her for once.
Bakugou had scoured every corner of the city in his younger years, and this was all familiar to him. Seeing the way Kirishima seemed to light up at every turn had him wondering if perhaps he had become desensitized to the sight. He decided he could afford to take it slow today—because of the long, tiring journey, not because he was drawing anything out.
Nonetheless, he would soon be forced to reign her in; they were coming closer and closer by the minute to his true objective that day: the guildhall. It had been quite some time—nearly a month and a half over his set return—and he had to wonder how things were doing. More specifically, if he still had a guildhall or if it had been reduced to a smouldering crater.
"Wow, what's that?" Kirishima tugged on his sleeve.
Bakugou pushed her hand away from "The beginning of the winter festival. They hold a city-wide celebration for three days and three nights."
"What for?"
"Some stupid fairy tale I can't be bothered to remember."
"O-oh?" Kirishima scratched her cheek.
That was a lie; he knew very well what it was for, but it was too sappy, and he refused to spew such nonsense. She would eventually find out anyway; it was everywhere that time of year, so there was no need for it to be him.
Eventually, they drew closer to the city square, and, as he had predicted, Kirishima became enchanted by the music and decor. A lively tune was performed by bards and musicians alike, and they would continue to do so for the entirety of the event. People of all kinds were known to come from all over to perform, and even more to partake in the festivities. It wasn't something he would usually partake of by choice; this time of year, he tended to spend his time in bars or the Guildhall drinking.
They wandered around and spent the next half of the day hopping from place to place—Kirishima bouncing about like a bunny and Bakugou following her. They were less than a few hundred meters from the guild when they were finally discovered.
"K-kacchan!?"
"See, I told you I wasn't seeing things!"
Bakugou instantly felt his mood plummet—a wired reaction since childhood. Despite most of that being water under the bridge, he was never quite able to shake that habit. Just his luck, he just had to run into Deku and his chatty girlfriend. He was never able to stand to be around them when they were together; they were the type of sweet that was almost sickly.
The blonde crossed his arms. "Deku, Round-Face, still alive I guess."
"H-hey!" Uraraka fumbled indignantly.
"Don't mind him; he's just saying hi, kind of." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Ahem, anyway, where have you been all this time, Kacchan? Denki and Sero are currently out on another search; guess we'll have to send someone to let them know."
"Tch, who told you to worry about me?"
"W-well, Monoma said you just disappeared, and-"
Kirishima finally tuned into the conversation after hearing her companion's voice, though she wondered about the strange name the green-haired one had called him. She guessed it kind of sounded like a reference to his given name, Katsuki, and it sounded kind of personal, and she didn't see him as the type to like nicknames.
Scratch that; he's the type to let anyone call him by a nickname.
The conversation between the blonde and the other male seemed to have suddenly become heated, and Kirishima had a feeling she was missing something important again.
The brunette with large brown eyes noticed her gaze and inched to the side to try and get a better look at her.
Bakugou realized what the brunette was doing and called out to Kirishima, "Oi, we're picking up the pace. Keep up, or I'll leave you behind." And just like that, their roles had shifted from leader to follower.
"Wait, who's that—oh, silly me, I should introduce myself first, huh? I'm Ochaco Uraraka; what's your name?" The bubbly girl waved slightly, attempting to make her way over before she was cut off.
"We don't have time for this. Hurry up, or I'll blast your asses there myself." Bakugou took hold of the redhead's wrist, a habit he seemed to be forming, and pushed past Uraraka and 'Deku," if she heard that right?
"Right, we'll be right behind you then!" Deku called out as he and the girl scurried behind them.
Kirishima found their interactions very interesting; she had yet to see him interact with someone in a way other than violently.
It was fun to see another side of him.
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