To be completely honest with himself, Shouji wasn't sure how he'd stumbled upon this situation, nor was he entirely sure how no one was dead yet.

Standing in Lunch Rush's cafeteria, he wondered if everything wrong with the world happened around this time, from brawls to hurtful gossip and even a sniper attack of all things. All of it happened most frequently in the cafeteria or around lunchtime in general, and he would love to be in with fate as to why. Right now, for today's incident, he was sure that he was about to witness U.A.'s first case of student-on-student murder, though he wasn't entirely keen on interfering.

After all, it wasn't every day that a hero would side with the murderer.

He didn't talk to Sero as often as some of the others, but as his classmate, he trusted him and viewed him as a good, though snarky individual and friend. Shouji had been in line directly behind him, and seeing as the tape quirk user's usual group was nowhere to be found, he'd decided to say hello. They struck up a short conversation, though it must have been particularly mundane, because thinking back, Shouji couldn't even remember what they'd been talking about. Trays in hand, they'd gone to part ways when a familiarly annoying voice called out.

"Hey, Tape Guy."

Shouji didn't miss the way Sero's posture slumped as he released an exasperated sigh at the sight of Class 1-B's Monoma. To be fair, Shouji wasn't all that thrilled either, but he was at least capable of being polite.

"What's up, Droopy Eyes?" Sero drawled.

Monoma faltered, his eye twitching in annoyance. "Oh, so you're calling me that stupid nickname, too, are you? Has that barbaric delinquent...infected you?"

"Yep, and you called me a nickname first." Without missing a beat, Sero spun on his heel and began to walk away, but Monoma, ever-persistent in his pestering, followed after him, and Shouji couldn't help but wonder why he was so dead set on being more of a pest than usual.

He then remembered he'd overheard that Kendou was sick and thus absent today.

"Why are you ignoring me, Tape Guy?" Monoma whined.

"Because you're obviously trying to get under my skin." Sero huffed back. "I'm not sure why me, but you are."

Monoma's lips twitched upward. "What do you mean? Can't we just be friends?"

"That's cute." Sero responded. "You think that I can't beat you like any of my classmates could."

"Wha-" Monoma gasped in mock offense. "I would never! Why would I believe that the guy whose quirk is nothing but sticky paper shooting out of his elbows can't hold his own? Gives a whole new meaning to being a tool, honestly."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, what's the matter?" Monoma laughed. "Did I hit a sore spot?"

Shouji's multiple limbs were fists at this point, dangerously clenching and unclenching with the strong impulse to defend his friend. Monoma, however, decided to just keep trucking along. "I really don't see how you even got into class 1-A when you're supposed to be so much better than us. At least everyone else's quirks are flashy and maybe kinda cool, but you could be found in someone's desk drawer. You're just so plain. It's a little bit sad, actually. I feel sorry for you."

It was the barest movement, almost entirely unnoticeable, but somehow, neither Monoma nor Shouji missed the way Sero's shoulders grew tense. Monoma laughed, knowing fully well that no giant hand was coming to karate chop him unconscious. "Is something wrong?" Monoma asked mockingly, and Sero looked away, his face contorted in frustration.

So, he almost missed the tray that was flung right into Monoma's face.

It was so sudden and so violent that none of them knew what had happened at first, students around them jumping in surprise at the unexpected act of malice. Out of the corner of his eye, Shouji saw him first, stepping in front of Sero with practiced ease and glaring daggers at the other blonde, too busy wiping wasted food off of himself to notice the new arrival.

"Who in their right mind...!?" Monoma complained as he looked back up, more than a little annoyed. "What was that for-?!"

Sharp red eyes were inches away from his face, and it looked like Monoma had to suppress the urge to scream as he jumped back in surprise. He may have had freedom from Kendou to do as he pleased today, but it seemed that he'd completely forgotten to account for the beast of class 1-A himself.

Bakugou snarled. "What do you fucking mean what was that for, Droopy Eyes?"

Monoma looked like he really, truly wanted to snap back, consequences be damned. At the same time, it was obvious just by the glint in his eyes that he was fighting his own self-preservation instincts desperately screaming back at him.

Kendou wasn't there to stop him.

Kendou also wasn't there to protect him.

Monoma suddenly smiled creepily, though the effect was ruined by the wasted food running down his face. "You would think that it'd be common knowledge that throwing things at people is juvenile and rude, but I guess a delinquent like you wouldn't understand that."

Bakugou gave a feral growl in response. "Are you trying to pick a fucking fight with me? Because I don't care. I'll throw down."

And here Shouji was, watching the world hang in the balance for what felt like hours as the two glared at each other with enough venom for either of them to drop dead at any moment. Sero hadn't said a word the entire time, watching the staredown in mute astonishment. Around them, the world had gone unnaturally still in anticipation.

And then Monoma's self-preservation instincts won out, the copy quirk user giving an annoyingly pleasant smile and briskly walking away as he cursed the name of class 1-A with vigor. Bakugou huffed in irritation. "That's what I thought."

Sero chuckled. "I guess having the kind of reputation you do can come in handy, after all."

"It has its perks." Bakugou muttered humorlessly, still eying the offending class 1-B student before he completely disappeared into the crowd. "Acting out like that is probably gonna bite me in the ass later today, but I really couldn't care less."

Sero shrugged, looking down at his shoes with a dim smile. Shouji internally grimaced, Monoma's biting words in the back of his mind as his raven-haired classmate shook his head, starting on his way with his nearly forgotten tray in hand.

"How do you eat that many greens at a time and fuck all else?"

Sero turned, blinking back stupefied as Bakugou stared at his tray with interest. Shouji was honestly just as bewildered, the attempt at what could only be described as 'small talk' both unexpected and confusing. "I like it. I actually prefer it over junk food."

Bakugou hummed. "I make myself eat that shit to stay ahead of the rest of you extras. I wish I liked it that much. Asshole."

Sero snorted. "Just because something comes easier for me, I'm an asshole."

"Yes."

"Yeah, okay." Sero snorted, his smile far less artificial than it had been a moment ago. "Though, to be fair, the fact that you have so much self-control over your diet is more than commendable. Have you seen what the others are always eating?"

"Fucking hell, don't get me started. Half of them are gonna be dead by their forties."

"And lose their teeth by graduation."

Shouji had never heard Bakugou laugh before. It was a strange sound, an ugly, childish laugh that was both absurdly boisterous and strained. It was so alien that he wasn't entirely sure if it made him feel uncomfortable or not.

Sero, however, was now beaming, having completely forgotten about Monoma's searing comments and instead focused on making fun of everyone's poor eating habits, from Kaminari and Ashido downing gallons of candy to Uraraka inhaling mochi to Kirishima and Aoyama's respective obsessions with meat and cheese. They somehow ended up discussing how Satou's quirk was supposed to work and vaguely gave Iida a pass for also doing his best to maintain a balanced diet. Of course, Bakugou would always find other ways to make fun of him, but that was besides the point.

"And they say they want to be heroes. Other than Big Lips, they don't have any fucking excuses!"

"We should totally raid the kitchen and get rid of all the junk food just to mess with everyone."

"That's...tempting, actually."

Sero laughed giddily. "Isn't it!? Replace all the sweet stuff with fruits! Seriously, I could eat oranges all day! They're one of my favorites."

It was at this moment that Bakugou glanced at the clock, his eyes widening before he spun Sero on his heel to reveal that lunch was practically over. With a yelp of surprise from Sero, the two teens rushed off to finish their now cold meals. Shouji also rushed to eat, having spent his entire time watching the rare moment of domesticity from their most volatile classmate.

The next day, when they were all in the common room after a full day of classes, Shouji didn't miss the black blur rushing towards the empty kitchen with a basket of oranges. When Sero noticed him, he smiled nervously, offering a timid wave. Thinking back to yesterday's conversation, Shouji could only guess was the tape quirk user was planning.

As Sero turned to continue on his mission, Shouji grew curious. "Where did you get all of those oranges from?"

"Gift." Sero answered simply, disappearing into the kitchen.

Shouji didn't need him to elaborate.