"Sadi, please calm down." Fumikage requested as he watched his sibling rush around their room, going through their bobbles and leaving shiny cloth and other random objects all over the place... mostly the floor.
"How am I supposed to calm down?!" Sadi squawked back utterly besides themself as they threw themself at Fumikage's chest and he wrapped his arms around them, Sadi probably would've been crying if they could.
"Bakugou's friend Izuku got us tickets to the Sports festival and we were going to meet him and his friends for the first time! We can't just show up empty-handed." Sadi exclaimed and Fumikage couldn't argue with them on that point.
He, himself felt both nervous and excited about what was going to happen today.
Bakugou's offer to come with him to watch the first-year's in person was completely unexpected but neither of them would think about turning him down. How often would they get a chance to see the festival in person?
The big rub though?
The reason Bakugou had tickets was because his previous victim and now cautious friend Izuku had offered him some since he knew that they all wanted to be heroes.
So, they would be meeting the now famous boy for the first time and Fumikage would be lying if he told anyone that he wasn't nervous about this.
Because while Bakugou claimed that Izuku would absolutely adore them both, Fumikage couldn't stop a small voice in the back of his mind from saying that Izuku might not be so kind to them as the friends of his best friend turned bully.
Seeing how cold he could be from the interview last week had not helped to disprove the voice either.
And if that wasn't enough to give them anxiety, they would also be meeting Izuku's three friends as well.
Friends Bakugou had only met once before and didn't know that well aside from what Izuku had told him and likely hadn't known what Bakugou had done to Izuku, so that was another layer on top of everything else to worry about.
Because there were three new people to worry about suddenly turning on the three of them, especially ones that probably would not be as understanding of the weird and often tense relationship Bakugou and Izuku had.
Fumikage barely understood it and Bakugou had told him and Sadi everything.
If he had been in Izuku's shoes he strongly doubted he could ever be in the same room as Bakugou, much less give him tickets to the festival or try and rebuild a friendship with him.
Which probably sounded hypocritical since he had chosen to befriend Bakugou even after knowing about Izuku, but as naive as it sounded, it was different.
Bakugou wasn't his bully, and he hadn't been the one Bakugou was cruel to.
And Bakugou was very different from what he used to be like, and unlike most wouldn't go back to his old behavior because Bakugou was constantly berating his old-self's actions.
People rarely self-reflect as hard as Bakugou did, which Fumikage had to admit was warranted and seemed to be helping to keep Bakugou from falling back into 'old habits'.
"Fumi, do you think that this sparkly tie would be too much?" Sadi asked bringing Fumikage out of his head and he realized that Sadi must have gone back to scrounging for 'pretty' things to give Izuku's friends.
Fumikage blinked in confusion at first why Sadi was holding the tie up to their neck before he understood that they didn't mean for the tie to be a gift.
"Sadi... you can't wear clothes." Fumikage gently reminded his twin, and they threw their hands up in exasperation.
"I can dream Fumi!" Sadi replied throwing the tie aside and 'throwing' themselves onto his bed and burying their face in his pillow.
Fumikage sighed and he moved to his chest of shiny bobbles, searching through the items for a bit until he found a charm bracelet and sat beside Sadi on the bed.
"I think Uraraka-San would like this one." Fumikage suggested and Sadi raised their head to see what he was showing and gasped before chirping with happiness.
"She'd love this Fumi! Who could resist the cute panda?" Sadi exclaimed playing with the little pink and white panda charm on the bracelet.
"We should probably stick to a couple bags of marbles for the others, most people like marbles." Fumikage told his twin and Sadi paused to look at him for a few moments.
"Can we at least give them the glitter ones?" Sadi asked and Fumikage facepalmed.
"... Yes." Fumikage agreed and accepted the hug from Sadi afterwards.
Fumikage did his best to keep his breathing even and calm in order to keep his feathers from puffing up, standing in front of the stadium on U.A. grounds was far more intimidating than he thought it would be.
Having Bakugou beside him admittedly helped to mitigate his nerves, though Sadi seemed to be getting unusually quiet as approached the ticket booth, Fumikage could still feel them twisting around inside of him.
At least he now understood why it felt like he had a small animal squirming around in his chest when Sadi was upset, he was feeling them move around in their little pocket inside his body.
It was a small comfort though as his and Bakugou's turn to hand over their tickets came, the woman blinking as she looked at Fumikage's and tapping at a tablet her face scrunched up in confusion, something that made his stomach drop.
"Oi, what's the hold up?" Bakugou grumbled shooting the woman a glare, who quickly waved her hands in surrender.
"No, no sir, just need to confirm something." the woman told him placating.
Bakugou scoffed "Well hurry it up, we got people to meet." Bakugou said agitated but Fumikage was glad Bakugou had reframed from cursing at the woman so far.
The crowd around them was likely what caused him to be so riled up and Fumikage could only hope that their seats would be quieter.
"Alright, sorry about the delay I just need to grab something from the back real quick." The woman apologized racing off to the back before handing them both a pair of lanyards, Fumikage's being a different color and striped oddly enough.
"Eh?" Bakugou muttered just as confused as he was.
"It's a familiar pass, so the security won't bother your friend dear, run along now." the woman encouraged shooing them away.
With the people behind them already muttering darkly they didn't need more prompting.
Bakugou tsked "Figures that Izuku would make sure you both could enjoy this... You know you can come out now right Potty?" Bakugou questioned and Sadi slid out with their form being small enough to fit in his palm.
Their small head shyly peeking over his shoulder as they walked towards their seats, following the numbers on their lanyards to find the area they were supposed to be in, the people thinning out as they went up to the next floor.
Thankfully Bakugou was calmer without the line of people behind them.
"Bakugou-Kun!" a voice called out and Fumikage jumped realizing that he'd been so focused on Sadi and Bakugou he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, and saw down the hall was a girl waving them over.
Bakugou rolled his eyes "That's the gravity girl, she's annoying." Bakugou grumbled to him as the girl raced up to them and gave them a quick bow.
"Hi you must be Tokoyami-San, Izu-Kun has mentioned you before but it's so good to finally meet you." Uraraka-San cheerfully greeted "I'm Uraraka Ochaco but just call me Uki!" she followed that with her own name.
*Too bright... * Fumikage thought finding himself somewhat overwhelmed by the girl's demeanor, most people he knew weren't this energetic besides Sadi.
Uraraka gasped "Oh my gosh is that Sadi? They're adorable!" Uraraka-San proclaimed and was about to move closer to him but Bakugou put his hand in her face and pushed her back slightly.
"Calm your tits, newton-fucker." Bakugou spat though not unkindly as he grabbed Fumikage by the arm and pulled him along.
"Damn, chill Cat, Uki was just excited to meet your friends." another person, one from inside the box wearing a bandana, said as they entered.
Bakugou flipped them off and Fumikage was glad there was only one other person in the room since most people probably wouldn't be so calm about Bakugou doing that, though he had to admit the guy in the mask was intimidating to say the least.
"Piss off dollar-store hat rack, and I told you to stop calling me that." Bakugou told the boy, and Fumikage shot Bakugou a look.
The boy thankfully laughed it off "Yeah, yeah. I'm Awase Yosetsu, and this is Shoji Mezo, though we just call him Jiji." the boy said introducing himself and the other person who raised one of their six arms, which formed into a mouth.
"Hello." the little mouth said.
Fumikage swallowed a lump "Hello Shoji-San, Awase-San." he replied with a bow just as Uraraka-San had come back into the room looking sheepish, likely not helped by Sadi ducking behind himself.
"Uh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you earlier, Sadi-Chan." Uraraka-San apologized fiddling with her fingers.
"It is alright, Sadi is unused to much attention." Fumikage assured her "They were quite excited to meet you all." Fumikage commented and Sadi popped their small head up and over Fumikage's shoulder again.
Awase-San's eyes widen "Oh hey there, damn I didn't notice them before but fuck their adorable." he said leaning in but not moving closer to them.
Sadi gave an embarrassed squawk and hid their face in Fumikage's neck.
*Fumi... * Sadi whined in his head.
Fumikage groaned internally realizing that he wouldn't be able to rely on Sadi to help him through this complex social situation, then again they probably wouldn't be able to help much either way since this was a rather alien situation for both of them.
And Bakugou had the tact of a brick so he decided it likely wouldn't be the best idea to rely on him and chose to take out the gifts he had.
"Sadi wanted to give you these, they didn't think it would be proper to meet you without giving you something." Fumikage explained as he offered the two bags of marbles to the boys, to their apparent pleasant surprise.
"Thank you, Sadi-San that was very kind of you." Shoji-San replied carefully examining the marbles through the clear baggie.
"Yeah, these are fucking awesome but now I feel bad we didn't think to bring either of you something." Awase-San commented rubbing the side of his neck.
Fumikage began to have second thoughts about giving Uraraka-San the bracelet, even if it was just a step above costume jewelry if this was how they reacted to the marbles.
However, Sadi took the choice out of his hands and in a larger form came out with the bracelet and floated over to Uraraka-San offering it.
Uraraka-San gave a soft gasp and gently took the jewelry happily putting it on, admiring it "Thank you! This is so nice of you both. After this what do you say to us all going out and buying something for you in return?" Uraraka-San suggested and Sadi perked up at the thought.
"Hey yeah that sounds like a perfect idea Uki, Zuri probably knows a good place nearby to get some nice shit." Awase-San said, and Shoji-San nodded in agreement.
"Oh, for fucks sake, are you numbskulls done playing meet and greet yet? They're going to start the festival soon and I don't want to listen to you shooting the shit." Bakugou spat having lost his patience and probably ready to drag Fumikage to his seat regardless of their answer.
"He's right." Shoji-San commented showing the time with his phone "We should go sit down." the tall boy added.
"Eh? If it's that close to opening shouldn't there be more people here by now?" Uraraka-San pointed out and Fumikage found himself agreeing with her confusion.
Bakugou tsked "This is a private box Cheeks, we're the only ones going to be here unless Izuku invited someone else to join us without saying fuck all about it." Bakugou answered the girl.
"Private box!? But regular tickets are expensive enough, I never would've agreed to come if I knew he'd-" Uraraka-San sputtered only for Bakugou to, very lightly, smack her upside the head.
"He's a part of the faculty Cheeks, the rat principal gave him the spots free of charge you idiot, these faculty boxes are usually empty or given to high-ranking heroes who donate money to the school. Us being here means those rich assholes actually had to buy a seat here like everyone else." Bakugou corrected gruffly.
"Oh." Uraraka-San lamely muttered as she ducked her head to hide her red cheeks and ducked into Shoji-San side.
Before anymore could be said they all heard a loud jingle blared and turned to look out to the field.
*Hey, hey, hey Everybody!* the recognizable voice of Present Mic rang out throughout the whole area followed by the loud cheer of the crowd.
"Welcome little listeners to U.A's sports festival, whether you're watching with us live at the stadium or joining us over the air-waves we're happy to have you all here today."
"I'm your host for the first years Present Mic, and for the first time in over fifty years folks we have one of the top ten here with us to give their opinions live with me, please give my lovely co-host Hawks a warm round of applause." Present Mic's words almost drowned out fully by the next roar of the crowd.
Fumikage winced at the sound only to jolt when he felt a pair of hands cover his ear holes and turned to find Shoji-San's secondary limbs had split off to multiple different limbs which all ended in hands that covered everyone's ears.
Awase-San beamed up at the boy and gave the boy a thumbs up "Thanks Jiji." Fumikage faintly heard Awase-San say, the hands being an effective tool for damping the noise around them.
*Aww... You guys are all too kind, save some of that zest for the kids, they have put a lot of training into giving you all a heck of a show today.* Hawks told the crowd in an attempt to calm them.
*Speaking of, I think it's about time we introduce you little Listeners to our lovely students this year* Mic said just as the larger doors in the stadium walls opened up, and Fumikage leaned forward to get a better look at them.
*We have our colorful cast of students of 1-A ready to break out into every single branch of heroics.* Mic proclaimed and Fumikage had to admit that Mic was right in calling them colorful, Fumikage couldn't remember the last time 1-A, or any U.A. class could have looked like a rainbow embodied by just fifteen people.
*Then we have 1-B, not as cheery as the last lot but I am quite sure they'll make a more than a mean opponent for their sister class, even if there's only the three of them.* Hawks said drawing attention to the smallest class Fumikage could recall seeing in his time as only three people walk onto the field.
*And of course we'd be quite remiss to forget about our favorite classes of troopers. Gen Ed classes 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E. Make sure to give them their due since they'll be the everyday heroes you'll rely on one of these days.* Mic exclaimed as the three doorways opened and students poured out of them.
*Or forget to give an ado to our ever-tireless support course students, I know I'll be keeping an eye on them, we heroes could always use another good tech-wiz on the payroll, perhaps even one of the kids in 1-F, 1-G or 1-H will join the crew I have one day.* Hawks added and Fumikage's eyes became locked on the support course's gear, all of which practically gleaming once the light hit them.
"Shiny!" Sadi happily chirped moving to balcony's edge and Fumikage couldn't blame them, if he wasn't sitting with friends he likely would have joined them to preen on the gear.
Distanced by both the shiny metal of the support course and Sadi's re-found cheer that Fumikage must have missed the introduction of the business course and was only had his attention taken by the loud gasp of Uraraka-San.
"Oh my gosh!" she cried pointing towards the risen stage in the middle of the arena, where a familiar looking green-haired boy stood adjusting a microphone.
Fumikage's own mouth fell an inch as he stared down at the boy, Bakugou hadn't told them that Izuku would be one of the umpires this year, and judging by the look on everyone else's faces, none of them knew either.
*And last but not in any way the least allow me to introduce the one to watch over our fledglings on this major day in their lives, the one and only, Midoriya Izuku the T.A. of our beloved teacher Bullet-Jacker.* Mic introduced and both Uraraka-San and Awase-San immediately shot up to their feet and began cheering and clapping for their friend.
Fumikage clapped for the boy as was polite and Sadi was a bit louder with their clapping though they didn't cheer.
But after Fumikage stopped noticing that something was off and it took him a moment to understand just what.
Aside from the people in their box the stadium was almost dead silent.
After a few more seconds both Uraraka-San and Awase-San's cheer trailed off and they similarly felt an unease build up in their box, Bakugou's clenched jaw and dower demeanor wasn't helping the tense atmosphere.
Because as bad as complete silence would have been Fumikage realized there was something worse than that.
Since without the previous roar of the crowd they could hear everyone muttering to each other about Izuku.
From the disbelieving of Izuku actually being the umpire, to more malicious tones Fumikage couldn't believe were coming out of the mouth of actual heroes.
Saying things that frankly, would've been more at home in the comment section of those QTP videos of Bakugou and Izuku they watched so long ago then in U.A's sports festival stadium.
A fact that made Fumikage's guts twist in on themselves.
He had dreamed about being down there in the arena, but he couldn't imagine standing beside Izuku down there with a crowd of thousands of people like that staring down at him whispering the things they were.
Izuku however merely smiled up at the crowd, without any hint of discomfort.
As their eyes briefly met Fumikage couldn't help thinking, or wondering really, if he would ever one day have the same level of confidence in himself to face such an overwhelmingly negative crowd without wavering in the slightest.