2
The door slammed open with a kick.
It was Friday.
Satako heard the keys in the door, the metal sliding into the lock, that crisp metallic clink. He looked at the clock, 6 PM. So, his roommate, this Bakugo, waited 4 hours before the dorms closed on the last day of move-in to actually 'move in'.
Nothing spelled out the word 'D-R-E-A-D' like this did. He'd gotten the tone from the emails that his roommate wasn't exactly 'excited' that he'd be sharing a space with another, actually he'd more than got it.
What was awkward to him is that through bitter irony, Bakugo reminded him of someone else. The emails contained nothing but biting sneers and cutting remarks, even slight threats, and Kasaya found himself shaking his head. Deja vu of the worst kind.
He couldn't help but look at this person the way that he'd viewed his own ex-childhood friend, Ashley. Midoriya had mentioned Bakugo was a bully, or at least, had turned into one over time.
So similar.
So... Life wasn't throwing him a bone, not even with this roommate. Kasaya silently acknowledged that this was just yet another page in his unmanageable and treacherous course that he'd lived so far that he'd just have deal with, like he dealt with everything else.
In his mind, he'd just treat Bakugo the same way that he grew to treat her now: Non-directness mostly (directness only when needed), but never with carelessness.
No amount of negativity would stop him from doing things, but there was no way he'd deal with drama.
Ashley was a shit-starter, melo-dramatic. He hoped to the Gods that this Bakugo was not similar to her at least in that way. He was told, from Midoriya, that he was a trouble-brewer...
But wait. So hadn't he been? Before?
Not by his will...
If it wasn't for his older brother getting him away from Ashley, he wouldn't know where he'd be.
He'd come out more rebellious at his age after her. He would of been a shoe-tied, straight-laced prep, on line to academy level had it not been for her.
He didn't resent how he lived now (even after being a by-product of someone else's actions and not his own), his brother helped in his acceptance of that, but at 16 going on 17, he thought for sure as a kid of 8, that he'd be somewhere completely different by now.
It had been a baseball star, set for the Minor Leagues.
But not anymore, he couldn't even remember what it felt like to win.
Immediately, the first thing that the new guy noticed was the hair. Bright blonde, and roughly jagged, it was sheered in such a way, even though it was nearly 3 to 4 inches, that it stuck out all over the place, a biker-cut.
How appropriate. The attitude matched.
Nothing was said as the roommate hauled in 3 tidy duffel bags at once and plopped them down on his bed, on the left side of the room.
The only thing Kasaya did was put the cement block in front of the door that he had stored in his corner to prop the door open. It was a simple gesture, seeing as the guy didn't even look at him, but that was the 'non-directness' that he had decided to take.
He had no intention to not be nice to Bakugo though, he had no reason not to be, unlike with Ashley.
But... he didn't have to talk to Bakugo, and as much as he could recall, Bakugo didn't want to talk to him either.
He heard that familiar rip of duct tape. Undoubtedly, the 'spacial' issues were being addressed. Kasaya didn't even dare to turn around. He already knew. He was sure at his backside that Bakugo was probably staring him down and sizing him up, as he felt tingles going up his spine, and that, he was primarily used to.
Ashley did the same shit.
Like Midoriya, good thing him and his childhood friend weren't friends anymore, especially with all the things she'd said and done to him.
The violence. It was haunting.
A harsh voice came out. Tape dead center on the floor in the middle of the room. Bright silver in color. "This is my side. Don't fuckin' step in it."
He was addressed.
He didn't want to be looked upon as a 'pushover', like how some (if they knew his responses to her), might decide that he deals with Ashley, but the issue was: They had no idea what was going on, and he wasn't about to tell either...
But no matter, he'd be firm, and let Bakugo know he'd heard him.
"Fine." His voice came out.
It was like Bakugo was waiting for a sound, then he snapped loud: "I'll be watching. Don't fuck up or I'll fuck you up."
He heard a zipper and a weight come down on the bed from behind his back. Unpacking.
'Was all he brought 3 bags?' His blonde counterpart must be a minimalist, not that that was a problem, but that's an opposite of Ash, who had every knick knack unicorn statue known to mankind. It made him want to puke. "Agreed."
Short 1, 2 or 3 word responses, so much like the military high school his brother went to. His brother, he'd spoken with him about this. Through text they'd had a discussion about course of action:
Kasaya: Bakugo is quite an asshole according to his old ex-childhood friend who's also in Hero Class.
Hisashi: Really? Similar to Ash?
Kasaya: I hope not entirely. Not the same quirk obviously.
Hisashi: Nobody has that quirk, the closest person to it... is you.
Kasaya: So, what do I do?
Hisashi: I'd suggest treating him like how I've helped you learn to treat her.
Kasaya: Okay. I'm just happy I can be as open with you about Ashley unlike a few years ago.
Hisashi: You've made it a long way.
Kasaya: Without you, I'd be lost.
Hisashi: That's what a big bro is for. Seriously, short-worded sentences with him only, unless he requires a more detailed response/asks a direct question. If a conversation gets negative cut it off as quickly as possible, like how we deal with the Sergeants here. Do that, and you'll be fine. I bet after awhile you'll realize he's different than her.
Kasaya: Let's hope to the Gods.
Hisashi: Stop being sarcastic! It's true, each person's different you know.
'Each person's different you know.' He could just hear that chime in his head in Hisashi's low-spectrum-ed voice. Truly, he knew he was right. But dealing with this roommate, it's going to be like an extension of his childhood that he thought he'd finally escaped... for the most part.
He coined the 'live-in' in his room 'Blue Balls', a pun grotesque, and secondarily: because he thought of him as literally a ballsack.
He hated him.
Not that he'd pestered him, or drove him insane in any sort of way, or even locked himself out, (as Bakugo had previously thought he'd have to be bothered the fuck out of with).
Living with him actually was quite easier than expected.
It'd been a week. Classes had started, and Bakugo realizing that he was in 1-B, didn't have to deal with chit chat or fake friendliness with him. It was a breath of fresh air, they didn't take the same classes. It was like Blue Balls, outside of being a 'blob' of navy hair sitting on the other side of the room, because he never allowed his eyes to fall on him, was virtually non-existent.
The more this weak idiot stayed away, and stayed invisible, the easier his life was.
He was just a shit 1-B'er who probably possessed a weak quirk, and knew it, and wanted to stay out of harm's way.
He was Bakugo after all, and many feared him for just his temper alone, and boy, did he revel in it.
Sitting at lunch, not in the cafeteria, as it was always too crowded on campus mid-day, the lunchroom packed full like cows in barn, everyone talking loud about their days so far, their crushes, what they were doing after school.
It made him sick. People. Too many of them.
He'd bought a lunch and chose to sit outside with himself. Alone. The usual. A fine day solo he'd been having, sitting under a Japanese Cherry Tree shading himself from the sun, he realized he'd forgotten his earbuds to tune-out all the retards around him at the noon hour.
That bought a nerve to come to the surface in his forehead, and that's when he heard a voice.
Immediately he knew it was an idiot on his phone, and that made it worse. He wanted to blow the moron to kingdom-come, but they weren't allowed to use their quirks outside training classes. That he at least followed, sort of.
He just wanted to eat, but he couldn't pick another spot, many other benches were taken outside as well, and this place had the best shade. Pissed, he had no choice except to sit and listen to some moron on a bench on the other side of the cement divider spat on about shit.
He tried droning it out, but the conversation peaked his attention. It was the tone, rough and loud-mouthed.
"That's bullshit. Just step the fuck off."
He heard a breath being taken in and let out. This dude was close, somewhere. Bakugo took a bite of sushi.
Maybe this would be some afternoon entertainment!
"You know the reason you're attracted to dramatic relationships is because your attracted to drama like moth to a flame."
Bakugo rolled his eyes. Here we go. One trying to speak on another's ego. So similar to the many others; the 'let me tell you how to do things' talk.
"I can tell you this, but I don't give a fuck. You know that, because I can recognize now the difference between you creating drama by being infatuated with it and me walking the hell off of it and saying screw it! I don't care."
That surprised the blonde a bit. He put another piece of tuna roll in his mouth.
"Fuck you bitch! Stop calling. Unlike you, I stop and think: Does this really fuckin' matter in the long run?"
'Oh. A girl.' Bakugo raised an eyebrow. That was a standard he lived by. By nature, he was a loud, and spouted things off, because people irritated the crap out of him, their pesky-natures and stupid statements or questions really set him off, so he'd scream to set the mood, because he wanted the control, but all in all, he just hated the being 'involved'.
He didn't want to be a part of anything, he didn't want to hear about other's catastrophes, he didn't want to give people a window of time to listen, because he didn't care.
He wasn't here for friends.
He was one against the world, and he didn't pity anyone.
This guy was giving zero pity to this girl.
"You're quirk doesn't work through the phone, so I'm not falling for more of that. I've learned you're the biggest idiot on the planet."
'Damn.' Bakugo smirked. There was so much deep hate and angst, it was vile. The voice was rude and dark.
"I'm not giving you chance to step in and fuck up more of my life. My motivation isn't you anymore. Is your life seriously that dull?"
Bakugo napkined his mouth, and popped a tab on his soda.
"You've never even had anything sad happen to you to cause you pain, you spoiled rich bitch. I'm not entreating you to anymore conversation. Do me a favor. Lose my number and go burn in hell."
'That's that.' It had been a fine afternoon indeed! He wanted to stand up and applause in lue of a man being an actual man (standing his ground against perhaps an evil witch), but he figured a silent non-ovation-ovation would be more appropriate (more less just being quiet and taking a quick look at who it was.)
But as he stood and peeked over the divider to the other benches, he slammed himself back down, as if not to be noticed.
It was Blue Balls!
'That dipshit!'
He'd just been screaming at someone!? More less telling them straight how it was?
'Balls.' He had 'em on this one.
He heard him mumble again as he walked off: "That bitch is just bored."
He didn't tell that navy haired idiot that he'd overheard him chewing someone out on the phone, as mildly entertaining as it'd been. It wasn't his place, nor did he care.
But... it did make Bakugo realize something.
Hints of that conversation, made him understand that the live-in really wasn't as much of a 'retard' as his mind called him, because he could draw some lines between how similarly he didn't mess around with allowing other's to live rent-free in his head, like he did himself.
Sometimes, things would seep in. It was just a matter of taking care of it before it got out of control. It was a work in-progress.
And as long as the navy dork kept to his side, that 'elevated light' that he seen him in wouldn't change.
It was just an observation.
Bakugo entreated himself to one passing glance at the guy he named Blue Balls. Bakugo's mind wanted clarification that it was in fact the guy lounging on his bed reading quietly 25 feet across the dorm room that had said those words.
No, that was what it was. He wanted a good look.
And sure enough, as his eyes motioned just above his laptop's top edge and traced across the tiled floor over to the dark comforter he sat on, that was all he needed.
It was him.
He had said those words.
His navy hair, it's length mostly was unmistakable, even if it was pulled back into a crappy bun in the back of his head currently.
It didn't baffle him at all, it was clear now, it was him.
He raised an eyebrow and moved his eyes back down into his studies for chemistry, he literally 'laid someone out' with verbage, and he won the pissing battle as he'd had the last word and cut the line with the 'bitch'.
"Satoko?"
"Yeh." He answered the door. He knew he'd ordered pizza two weeks ago, but he was in the mood for it again. A rough day it was.
He'd passed an exam, but realized he'd missed the most important questions. It was the true/false statements that saved his score, he'd completely f-'ed up two collective paragraph ones, and then, he also learned his brother wouldn't be able to visit until next week because he was currently cramming for a test in military school, a visit he was much looking forward to, and to top it off, a certain someone called him... again.
This go 'round, he made sure to turn his new phone off the 'auto answer' which got him in trouble the other day.
Cut it short. His brother's words. He should of cut it even shorter with her than what he allowed! He sighed.
Bad shit. It always comes in 3's. As they say. It was odd how wistful he was allowing himself to be with it now.
The conversation kept coming to mind.
He mentally cursed himself. He hated when he thought about her, he tried not to think about her at all!
His new phone had been in his pocket, and he had no idea how Ashley had even got his number.
Who the hell gave it to her?
He had just recorded his new voicemail message, afterwards, it gave him a message box that said 'OK?' or 'NO'. He pressed 'OK?' under the cherry tree in the courtyard without listening to it and it auto-ended the voicemail set-up. From there he'd just put it in his pocket.
Kasaya had only had the phone a week, sent to him in the mail, pre-activated and everything. Had Hisashi to thank for that one!
He'd only texted up to that point of the dreaded call. His number he'd sent out to all the contacts in his old phone he wanted to keep. A couple hundred.
Hisashi: Any of them could of given it to another person, then to another person who gave it to her. Seriously Kasaya... you've GOT TO BE CAREFUL.
His brother was always right.
His phone had buzzed in his pocket, but it stopped. Navy blue hair dropped down over his gray eyes. He pulled it back out. He'd just finished eating lunch, whoever it was, they had perfect timing. It was dark-screened, did that mean that the call ended?
"Hello?" He had confusedly said into it.
"Kasaya. Hello." An odd voice poked. A girl.
"Hah? Whose this?" 'Where are the call buttons?' He took the phone away from his face, to try to make it light up, and it wouldn't. The girl on the phone said something while he had it away from his face. "Hang on."
He heard a mumbly "Okay."
Kasaya moved it up and down and the smart phone's buttons still wouldn't light up, he shook it. He knew he probably looked like a complete ape the way he was manhandling the newest version from Mogron. People were probably just envious that he even had it. That's how it was with technology. It was a rat race when the newest versions came out, everyone wanting to have the newest of the new, the best of the best. And those who couldn't get it were envious in vain of those who could.
His brother was too generous sometimes. What money did he have? NONE... to be precise.
He sighed. "Son of a bitch. What a pain in the ass." He'd figure it out later, he bet that it being 'dark-screened' on call had something to do with the settings.
Kasaya sighed, it didn't even show the number this girl had called from. "Sorry. Who is this?"
"You know who it is." The line was kind of crackly.
"No I really don't. Sorry." This person was playing around.
The line got a bit clearer. "Come'on Kasaya, stop being so lame."
Instantly his tone changed. "You." He instantly held his phone out, waving it around to try to get the phone's buttons to come on, somehow. There was no way in hell or high water that he would talk to Ashley!
"Yep you got it." She mused. "I spent all day trying to decide if I should call you or not. I missed you."
"Whatever you bitch, no you didn't." He had been confused. This new phone's speakers were a bit more bassy than his old one, and that's why he'd had the veil thrown over his eyes in thinking it was someone else. But it was just a simple sentence, and that was all she had to say for him to know it was her.
"Everyday I think so much about how I'd LOVE to see you again." She enhanced a word. It was her establishing that she was all-about using her quirk still. "I just want to play with you."
"That's bullshit. Just step the fuck off." He said as quietly as he possibly could, but loud enough to get his point across.
"This new guy, he's just... no good. I don't have as fun of a time as I do with you."
'DO'. That struck a chord, as if she viewed their 'relationship' still as in-the-present.
"We can't go out and do the same things." He heard a pouting sound on the phone, her current 'boyfriend' aka 'lackey' probably didn't have as unique a quirk as him, but Kasaya didn't feel bad for lying to the trio in his room about it.
It was for their protection.
But... for what she had put him through, that he still struggled with, he did feel sympathy for the lackey. He wished he could get close enough to her to drag the guy away, but that was just the thing, he couldn't get close to her, not with the quirk she possessed. "I heard you were doing fine without me, that's a shame to hear. So many pretty girls at that school you go to. I bet you'll have a new flame within a week. You always were such a looker, before you met me at least!" A snarky laugh. "But I still made you look fine, even though secretly you were a mess. No other will do that for you, like I can."
He mumbled. 'Bitch'. She ruined his life. "You know the reason you're attracted to dramatic relationships is because your attracted to drama like moth to a flame."
"Oh am I? Or am I just sad that my poor plaything went away to a different school than me?"
That burnt fire under his seat, he earned the right to get into UA last year, and he earned the right to move up in the classes! She was just trying to stir shit up like normal, his brother's words always in his head about dealing with her. End the conversation. Non-directness, almost un-caring, nonchalant in attitude in response when being provoked/spoken to:
"I can tell you this, but I don't give a fuck. You know that, because I can recognize now the difference between you creating drama by being infatuated with it and me walking the hell off of it and saying screw it! I don't care."
He cleared his throat and didn't give her a chance to answer.
"Fuck you bitch! Stop calling. Unlike you, I stop and think: Does this really fuckin' matter in the long run?" He fummed with the sides of his phone, the small nearly invisible buttons there.
"Oh come now, I can sense your ANGER of being without me." She mocked him.
But he knew: "You're quirk doesn't work through the phone, so I'm not falling for more of that. I've learned you're the biggest idiot on the planet." And she was, he'd been good to her, then she made him her slave. She threw all of it away, and for what? He knew the 'what' all too well. "I'm not giving you chance to step in and fuck up more of my life. My motivation isn't you anymore. Is your life seriously that dull?"
"Ah, Kasaya. You hurt me. I'm so DEPRESSED without you."
That sent a sick chill up his spine.
Depressed? She could kiss his ass! "You've never even had anything sad happen to you to cause you pain, you spoiled rich bitch. I'm not entreating you to anymore conversation. Do me a favor. Lose my number and go burn in hell."
He finally figured out how to make the screen come on. And in the that, an unmistakable laugh sounded as he cut the line.
He grr'ed under his breath. What an annoying, vile piece of work! As if what she'd done wasn't enough! The one last tie he still had to her, that he was trying to work through each day because of her strong quirk... it was crippling, if he allowed it to be.
For the most part, being inside UA's protective walls, away from her, smoothed it over, made it bearable.
He stood and texted his brother. Who instantly responded. He mumbled as he walked off: "That bitch is just bored."
Satoko Kasaya threw open the lid of the pizza box and put a few slices on a plate. Pepperoni. Cheese. The easiest simplest pizza on the planet to treat himself to the bad day, and even though knowing that it wouldn't make that replaying conversation in his head entirely go away, it would at least feed his face, stuff it to the point where maybe he'd feel tired or something.
Bakugo had a bad habit of throwing the door open. He was in his hero costume minus his arm grenades, completely covered in mud, mostly clay, as they'd been on the training field all afternoon. Hero Class' 3 hour block of Weapons Training went a little chaotic as Bakugo doesn't work well in groups and was forced to be paired with Todoroki, who since the tournament, he'd despised.
Not that he didn't despise him before.
But now.
He really despised him.
Needless to say, Bakugo kept pushing Todoroki around, running off without working together, and blew up half of a faux high-rise skyscraper inside a course. It literally looked like a crane had busted it completely apart.
Bakugo kept screaming at him, 'USE IT YOU PEICE OF SHIT!'
Todoroki was only using ice.
And rather than capturing the flag of the other team, Bakugo instead, ended up blowing half the shit up trying to fight one on one with Todoroki who'd called him a 'child' for his behavior, and wasn't using fire because of the tournament itself and things Deku made him think about.
Deku was a little shit! What a ruiner!
The 'Half n' Half Bastard' as Bakugo called him, easily was more powerful using both elements, but at the tournament forfeited before using both in their entirety to fight against him.
Bakugo ended up knocking him out, and that was what won him the medal, that he felt he didn't earn.
Because he hadn't.
He did nothing but lash and spit inside that muzzle they'd put him in on stage.
He swore the next chance he got, he'd destroy that half crimson haired asswipe! He'd force him to use both his quirk's against him full power, because he was due that!
But that hadn't even come today, as the guy just used ice, mocking the 'win' to his face.
Bakugo would never admit, he wanted the fight so bad... because his pride was wounded.
His face moved to pizza on the desk.
Normally he'd still be kicking and punching the walls by this time, trying to manage thoughts and push out the person living in his headspace, but instead, he'd just hauled it inside the room and slammed the door shut, loamy soot and all, and smacked his fine ass down into his desk chair, crossing his leg over the other, crossing his arms.
Death Fire Explosion, or whatever he wanted to call himself, looked like an adult kid that had just been told his video game privileges had been suspended, or that he was grounded.
His bottom lip stuck out and he growled.
It was the fact that the live-in was here.
He'd come to possess a sense of calmness in association to the room, and in regards to Blue Balls himself.
At least that bastard left him well enough alone! And... hadn't done anything to piss him off, unlike everyone else!
The only thing he did was leave a lot at night, after they'd both went to bed, around midnight-ish, when all the hallway lights darkened to a low-light, and only the scones on the walls were lit.
Yet again, that didn't really bother him.
He was quiet about it and respectful. He knew he was leaving every night, but it didn't matter, he didn't have a problem with a crack of light coming into the room for a brief second while he exited, for the night owl to slip off to do night studying or some shit.
The blonde's stomach growled. That pizza. He'd forgotten to eat on accident. He was too wrapped up in his head to stop on the way back, stomping all the back to the dorm pissed.
The desks in the room were long oak desks, and barely a slit of an inch separated Bakugo's and Kasaya's, each side of the room having a window above the desk that brought in the sun. That inch area was 'the duct tape line' for the desks, as no tape had been put on any furniture.
His stomach growled again. 'Damn it.' What would he do? Shower first? Then run down to the cafeteria? Was it even open right now? He knew it was 8 PM.
'Fuck.' It wasn't open.
He'd have to go out into the town then to get food, which meant putting on nice clothes, which he felt he'd rather just pull on some sweats and a tank and call it a night, but he knew if he went without food, his body would be mad at him in the morning.
That's when he seen the pizza box slide over, not onto his side, but to the leftmost edge of the live-in's. He had pushed it over just a bit as he was reading a book at his desk aside him.
"HAH?" Bakugo said in a loud questioning tone. He didn't want a hand out. He wasn't that low!
But to his surprise, what was said didn't imply that: "If you want." He'd given him a choice.
His reddish eyes narrowed as he turned a chin ever slightly to look at the blue haired moron, who didn't look at him in return. He almost yelled for a second to 'STOP sitting so CLOSE, fucking idiot!' But that was something he'd yell at that mumbler Deku about, not this one. Not this moron.
He hadn't quite found a reason to yell at him... just yet. There will eventually be something that'll bother him, it was only a matter of time.
"Why?" The blonde untied the mask from his face and tossed it across his desk angrily. It smacked the wall, and flopped down lazily on the desktop, which revealed a lingering smudge of dust over his eyes where the black fabric had been. He was hoping for something like 'You hadn't eaten yet, I can tell.' or 'You look so famished.' He'd love to have a yelling match right now as he was still steamed up from the bland fight with Todoroki.
Kasaya knew that this was getting a bit out of check. Maybe he shouldn't of offered him the food. Kasaya was just trying to follow his brother's advice, and keep it simple. Just being nice-ish, he didn't expect anything in return. He didn't even want Bakugo's favor. He was just doing things to do things.
He responded in the plainest way he knew how, shrugging. "Whatever."
Satoko swore out of the corner of his eye he watched a jaw slightly unhinge as if that had somehow unnerved him. 'Uh oh.' He was just waiting now for a punch in the head. But the action following put that thought at ease.
The Hero Class student snapped his jaw shut and grabbed the pizza box with finesse, just barely going over the 'line' with his ring finger to snatch it up, sliding it to his desk top.
He didn't like feeling like he was in-debt to someone. As he munched he clarified without a thank you: "I don't owe you shit." If the loser 1-B had a response that pissed him off he'd blast him right now!
The gray eyed teen got it. He didn't like feeling like he 'owes' other people.
That was something he felt also.
He hated when people did nice things and expected niceties in return. That type of 'nice' wasn't actually 'nice', but more so selfishness. That was so much more annoying to him than someone who was just plain selfish as Midoriya had described about Katsuki.
He'd much rather choose to live with a selfish person, who is at least honest in their selfishness than a closet selfish person that hides their intent with gifts only to expect shit from you in return. That was an Ashley bullshit that he hated. One of her worst qualities.
With his words he hoped he'd put the thought into his roommate's brain that that wasn't the intent. "No big deal."
All he, the dirt-covered blonde did, was just stand up from his desk and huff over to his bed, sitting down there, pizza box across his lap.
Perhaps the words, or maybe the spacial proximity made him uneasy? It didn't really matter. His huff though made it sound like he didn't believe him.
Honestly why would he?
Bakugo didn't know him. And Kasaya didn't know him.
There was no trust, and words between them were meaningless because of this.