"It took all of your four minutes to get inside and quiet down. We need to fix that." A gruff voice spoke from the side of the room. Katsuki snapped his head towards the sound, eyes narrowing as he watched a middle aged man climb out of a yellow sleeping bag. He pulled a bunch of uniforms out of nowhere, placing them at the front of the class. "Put these on and meet us outside."
"But what about the ceremony?" A girl with brown hair asked. She looked weak, insignificant compared to himself, so Katsuki elected to ignore her. He had bigger fish to fry than some measly little girl.
He mostly meant the ghost currently floating through his teacher's head.
"In my class, Nedzu gives us full control over how we run things. When I say we go outside, we go outside. You have five minutes."
Katsuki watched as his teacher left the room, leaving them behind. Not a single direction or coddling hand, just orders for them to follow. Katsuki liked the guy.
And it seemed Deku did too, from how he was following after him. Whatever, Katsuki would likely see him outside later anyway. He still didn't like having Deku out of his sight.
"Wow, you must be Bakugou! I'm Ejirou Kirishima!" A redheaded boy stuck his hand out in front of Katsuki, smiling brightly. It almost reminded him of Deku. All bright, all full of fight and happiness. Except Deku's smile was softer around the edges, and he didn't have shark teeth either. "I heard you got first in the entrance exams! How manly!"
Bakugou clicked his tongue as he began to change, slipping quickly into the uniform. He wasn't as toned as he wanted to be, especially compared to some of the other losers here. At least he looked more muscular than that half-and-half bastard he had met when he walked in.
"I think your quirk is super manly, bro! You're gonna be a great hero!"
Kaachan has the best quirk! You're going to be the greatest hero alive, Kaachan! Better than All Might!
"Don't talk about my quirk," Bakugou snapped, slamming his changing room locker shut and making his way out of the locker rooms. He was the first on the field, besides Deku.
Katsuki stood and watched as the green haired boy practically walked circles around Katsuki's new teacher, muttering to himself in the same gravely, demonic voice. Even if it sounded strange, Bakugou missed it. Deku's mumblings used to be his agitation, but now the blonde found himself taking comfort in it. All it took was his death, apparently.
Katsuki silently wondered what would have happened had Deku been alive, if he had gotten into UA. Would the two have become friends? Would he have accused Deku of paying his way into UA? Would they have continued on the same downward spiral, leaving Deku drained and Katsuki thrumming with false entitlement?
Who knew?
"Okay, you're all here. Today we're doing a quirk assessment." Aizawa said bluntly, turning away. Deku followed.
"What? A Quirk assessment test? But what about orientation?!" A girl with pink hair and skin gasped. Katsuki rolled his eyes. If Deku was alive, he'd be rolling his eyes too. Honestly-
"If you really wanna make the big leagues, you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies."
-exactly what the teacher said. Whatever his name was.
"My name is Shota Aizawa, and like I said earlier, here at UA, we're not tethered to traditions." The teacher, Aizawa, suddenly turned to him. He swallowed, not because of the teacher's gaze, but because of Deku's. "Bakugou, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in Junior High?"
"Sixty‐seven meters, I think." Aizawa nodded.
"Right, try doing it with your quirk. Use it however you want, just stay in the circle."
Bakugou moved to the circle a few feet away, steadying himself. Deku wasn't watching him anymore, but Katsuki was going to make sure it didn't stay like that.
I'll add a little heat to my pitch and make Deku's jaw drop!"
"DIE!" The ball shot out of his palm and high into the air, disappearing.
"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero."
"Woah! Sevenhundred and five metres! That's so big!"
"Wooo! This looks like fun!"
"Fun?" Bakugou facepalmed. Fucking idiot. "You think this is fun?"
The class was quiet, and Bakugou struggled to keep his gaze away from Deku, who floated through Aizawa's head again.
"You have three years to become the best hero you can be. You think it's all gonna be games and play time? Idiots." Bakugou seconded the sentiment. "Today you'll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately."
Expelled? What a joke. Makes sense for UA, though. Bakugou thought to himself. A cold hand phased through his shoulder, and Katsuki barely contained a shiver.
"He's lying, Kaachan." Deku whispered, voice crackling in his ear. Lying? Well, if Deku said so. Bakugou killed the kid, the least he could do now was believe him.
Katsuki didn't say anything, keeping his head high and mouth shut as he went through the tests. Maybe if Deku hadn't died, he'd be yelling insults and cursing at everything in sight, but not now. Not after he knew first hand where that behaviour got him.
Time to blow that nerd away, Bakugou thought, looking at where Deku was- not watching him? Who was he staring at?
"Aizawa," Bakugou said, not taking his eyes away from where his ghostly friend was drifting too. "Someone's watching us."
AIzawa's eyes narrowed, and the man seemed to aimlessly make his way over to a nearby bush. A yelp later, and Aizawa was returning, eye's narrowed.
"Good catch, Bakugou. Nothing to worry about, just an…overzealous teacher." His head twisted to the side when he heard a ghastly squeal. Was Deku okay?! What happened that caused him to make such a noise?
Bakugou left the circle, another student filling its place, and Bakugou looked for his dead friend. There, coming straight at him.
Deku passed through Katsuki, making his entire body cold. With a gasp, words filled his head.
Kaachan! All Might is here! Really here! He's going to be one of your teachers, Kaachan!
Bakugou stumbled slightly, but no one seemed to notice. Why did he sound so warm? Why did he sound normal? Whenever he spoke aloud, through that horrible hole in his neck, he sounded demonic and deadly. Just then he sounded…
Alive. That was the only word for it. Deku had sounded alive.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Katsuki paid attention to the rest of his classmates. Half-and-Half, Legs, and Pikachu seemed strong. Though, he noticed instantly how the last two were written off because of their personalities. Didn't those idiots know that Pikachu's quirk would kill them if he used it wrong?
"Runners, on your mark…" Aizawa clicked the button. "Go."
"DIE!"
"Bakugou Katsuki, seven point zero two, good job."
Bakugou disagreed. That was pathetic. Was he nervous? Or maybe he was too calm? He was definitely sweating more earlier. Was it because Deku had' walked through him? He'd need to figure out what was going on.
"Didn't you hear? Someone quirkless got into UA!"
Bakugou felt his body go cold. Thank Kami he was done with all his tests. He wouldn't have a drop of sweat to work with after that.
"Really? That's awesome!"
"Yea! But I think they went to another school."
"Why do you say that?" The girl with the ponytail asked, frowning.
"The quirkless, they wear red shoes, right? To show off they're quirkless? I haven't seen any."
"Oh, well, hopefully we do soon!"
That's why he only ever wore red shoes, Bakugou thought to himself, heart pounding. Because he was quirkless. I just thought…
"You all pass, no one's getting expelled." Aizawa sighed. He seemed…unhappy about it. Had he wanted to expel them all? "Head back inside for your history class. I need a nap…"
See that, Deku? I made it through the beginning of the day. Katsuki looked to his side, where the horrid creature was walking beside him, smiling. It was a nasty, wretched looking smile, but the sight filled Bakugou with strength.
Of course, let shitty Deku be the one who smiles, even when he's dead.