Act Two

Katsuki Bakugo felt like a mess as he stared into the bathroom mirror. The new grey and green U.A. uniform shirt fit him nicely… but the collar secured around his dark red tie was already darkened with sweat. Try as he might, Katsuki couldn't stop the substance from oozing through his pores, and the moisture-wicking shirt he had worn beneath the uniform didn't cover all the way up to his collar. As a result, he looked almost as though water had been splashed at him from the front. The bags under his eyes and overall feeling of nausea from lack of sleep didn't help make him any more presentable, either. No matter what he did, Katsuki had a feeling that at least for day one of classes, he would look awful.

The other few boys still in the bathroom continued their morning routines as Katsuki tried to dab at his sodden collar with paper towels to no avail. He was growing increasingly frustrated by the second until he was at the point of nearly growling. Suddenly, a stream of green, visible wind wrapped around his neck, rushing quickly in a circle and tossing the flaps of his collar about.

"The hell…?"

"Hold still," Daisuke suggested as he continued combing his unruly, bright-red fluff of hair at the mirror next to his friend. "I can dry your collar out pretty quickly… I think. You'll probably need a workout shirt with a neck-high collar to keep that from happening in the future."

"I don't… I sweat a little bit almost constantly because of this fucking Quirk," Katsuki let on as he watched the flaps continue to dance in the unnatural wind. "But not like this. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me this morning…"

"Nerves," Daisuke said simply as he finished brushing. "Seems obvious to me. Just breathe, my man. We've got this, and you've got no reason to doubt yourself. Anything happens, we'll get through it as a team."

"Aw, you two are cute," Minoru quipped from behind the pair. He clapped his arms around both of their shoulders, though he was slightly shorter than them both. "And you have been hanging out quite a bit. Something going on there?"

Katsuki glared at Minoru in the mirror, only to immediately wish he hadn't. The smaller boy had a towel draped around his neck… and nothing else on. Going by the water droplets clinging to his skin, he had exited the nearest shower stall completely nude and strolled on over, his flaccid manhood proudly on display… and dangling quite close to Katsuki's leg.

"What the hell!?" Katsuki asked as he ducked to get out of Minoru's grip and backed away. "Put your goddamned towel on!"

"Pff, relax," Minoru said with a wave of his hand as he kept the other on Daisuke's shoulder. The tailed teen seemed entirely unbothered as he began to tie his tie, not even looking at Minoru as he focused on his task. "We're gonna live together for years, Bakugo. Only a matter of time before we see each other's junk, and it'll probably happen more often than you think. Why not start getting used to it now?"

"Put it away," Juzo said through his filtered mask as he stood at the mirror farthest from the others. "Not all of us are comfortable going to bath houses and lounging around in public places while indecent."

"You guys suck," Minoru complained as he took down his towel and began drying himself off. "As if it isn't nice to just air out every once in a while. Doesn't have to be weird- it's just natural, and we're all guys. Not like you haven't seen dick before, and the girls are absolutely parading around with their tits out through the wall."

"Be that as it may," Daisuke began as he secured his tie and pulled it side to side to tighten it, "it's unnecessary, makes some people uncomfortable, and you know what you're doing. People already have reservations about you, Mineta. Put it away for your own sake. Please."

"Fine, fine," Minoru relented, wrapping his towel around his waist. "Sorry, alright? I just thought we could all be bros. Don't act like you're not all at least a little curious to see each other naked. Bodies are interesting, and you can tell a lot about a guy with a quick glance…"

"I'm leaving," Katsuki announced as he stepped away from the sink and turned his back on Minoru. "Leave me out of all of this, and don't take your dick out again when I'm around."

"Hold up," Daisuke called as he took his brush from the countertop, turned, and moved to follow Katsuki. "I'll join you."

"…seriously, look at them," Minoru tried again as he leaned against the counter and looked over to Juzo. "You can see it, can't you? They'd be adorable together… but who do you think tops?"

"…don't bring me into this," the other boy warned as Katsuki and Daisuke exited the bathroom. "Keep your fantasizing to yourself."

Just outside of the bathroom door, Katsuki let out a noise of frustration as he scooped his waiting backpack up from where he had left it leaning against the adjacent wall. Daisuke did much the same, stashing away his brush and securing his pack over his shoulders as his friend began to speak once again.

"The fuck is wrong with him?" the blond asked. "If he keeps it up, maybe you'll end up with a solo dorm, too."

"At the rate we're going, maybe," Daisuke considered as the pair began their journey to class by heading for the elevator. "But seriously- he's not all bad. He's just… if I'm being honest, I think he's lonely, insecure, and has no idea how to start making friends and gaining popularity. If I had to guess, he's probably halfway decent in bed, a rumor or two got started back in school, and he was probably getting pussy pretty easily and often. That got to his ego, and now that he's back at ground zero, he has no idea how to claw his way back up to where he was again."

"…and what do you know about getting pussy?" Katsuki asked as he followed his friend into the elevator.

"…more than you'd think," Daisuke answered. "I didn't figure myself out immediately… or even quickly. Let's just leave it at that."

"Hey! Wait up!"

Katsuki looked up through the closing doors to see a familiar figure running down the hall toward them. Part of him considered simply letting the elevator close before Eijiro could reach them… but instead, he began to search for the button to interrupt the process. Daisuke beat him to the punch by dragging his tail into the path of the sliding metal and successfully holding it back with the weight alone.

"…how the hell…?"

"It has its uses," Daisuke said with a shrug as Eijiro reached the carriage and stepped over the extra limb. "Hey. Got everything?"

"Think so, yeah," Eijiro said as he doubled over for a moment and dropped his bag to the floor of the elevator while catching his breath. "But, uh… can one of you… do my tie? I don't know how…"

Katsuki just stared as Eijiro straightened up, revealing his open collar and bare neck. He had the silk binding held in one hand, which he offered upward to the other boys as the elevator door closed.

"…seriously?" Katsuki spat. "Do I look like your mother?"

"Here," Daisuke offered, taking the implement from Eijiro. "Button yourself first."

"Oh! Right!" Eijiro replied as he followed the instructions. "Sorry, I know I really need to learn…"

"I usually didn't even wear mine in high school," Katsuki grumbled as he watched Daisuke begin to get to work. "But it's not hard. Stop being lazy and find a tutorial online. It would take five minutes…"

"Yeah, I know, this is 100% on me," Eijiro admitted as he stood still. "Why are you wearing yours, though? I don't think it's technically required, but I just want to make a good first impression. Trying to look nice for the girls?"

"I'm not…" Katsuki began, balling is fists at his sides as his pulse quickened. "Why is everything about dicks and girls and getting laid with everyone?"

"Been asking myself that for years," Daisuke said flatly as he finished tying Eijiro's tie, only to summon up another rush of wind around Katsuki's collar. "Don't work yourself up again, you're almost dry. Now I feel like I'm both of your mothers."

"Heh, thanks," Eijiro said as he inspected his freshly knotted tie and the elevator reached the bottom floor. "We appreciate it. You guys ready to pick hero names? It's kind of a big deal."

"I was told we could change it later," Katsuki said. "So… it's not that big of a deal…"

"I mean, sure, but if you pick something lame, everyone on campus is probably gonna call you that forever," Eijiro cautioned. "I'm going with Red Riot, as a tribute to Crimson Riot. He's always been one of the coolest pros, and I've been a fan since I was a little kid. I want to be just like him and end up with my name right next to his… or maybe even surpass him one day. It's a little nerdy, sure, but I want to do him proud!"

Something about Eijiro's enthusiasm for his idol made Katsuki feel sick. It hit too close to home with how he felt about All Might… or at least, how he felt until very recently. Hearing it aloud filled him with anxiety and disgust, and he couldn't help but sneer at the notion.

"Slipstream," Daisuke said nonchalantly as he made his way into the lobby. "It's got a nice ring to it, and I've been using it as an online handle for years. Too used to it to consider anything else, now. Kats?"

"Don't worry about it," Katsuki deflected. "I'm between names. I'll decide in the moment."

"Oh, cool! Between what and what?" Eijiro asked.

"Between 'Shut Up' and 'Fuck Off'," Katsuki snapped.

"Settle," Daisuke said, his tone less than amused. "It was an innocent question. If you don't want to answer it, then don't… though I would love to see a headline of 'Up and Coming Hero 'Fuck Off' Saves Local Animal Shelter…'"

"We have with us 'Shut Up', who would like to say a few words…" Eijiro joked with a grin.

"Why is everyone around me an asshole?" Katsuki muttered. "Maybe I'll change it to 'Death to All Redheads.'"

"That's also a solid option," Daisuke offered upon reaching the front doors and hitting the main U.A. courtyard. "Might lose you points with some demographics, though."

"Yeah, say what you want about Aki and I, but redhead girls? Super cute," Eijiro teased. "Don't limit your options like that."

"Enough," Katsuki commanded. "Let's just get to where we're going. Some assembly or something, right?"

"Name selection's up first, actually," Daisuke corrected. "We're meeting Professor Aizawa in his usual classroom on the second floor of the main academic building. 1-B's headed to Professor Kan, and then we meet up afterward to meet all of the professors."

"Weird," Katsuki remarked as the group turned toward the academic tower looming in the distance. "Why do these people think choosing a name we won't really get use out of for years takes priority…"

"I mean, I kinda get it," Eijiro cut in. "U.A.'s a new start. A chance to take on a whole new identity, make new friends… make a name for yourself. We'll be using our callsigns out in the field and whatnot, so might as well get used to 'em, 'Shut the Fuck Up, Redheads'."

"…I'm making a group chat with that name," Daisuke declared as he took out his phone. "It's too good not to use."

Katsuki rolled his eyes… and let out an amused snort in spite of himself. He had no idea why such a group would be necessary or what he would say to the other boys, but he didn't mind its creation at all. In spite of Daisuke and Eijiro's repeated ribbing, it somehow seemed different from what he had grown so used to dealing with in high school. It seemed less targeted and serious.

It seemed better.

"Whatever. Let's just focus on not being the last ones to class," Katsuki suggested as they finally entered the academic building.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Eijiro agreed. "Here goes everything…"

Author's Note:

Next time- a quick detour before hero name selection. Kirishima is one of few keeping his canon one…

-RD