"Up next, an update on yesterday's incident at the U.A. rescue training center where hero course students were attacked by a gang of villains. According to new police officials, the criminal forces called themselves the "League of Villains". Investigators have reportedly uncovered that this group has been plotting to kill U.A. teacher and popular hero All Might since the spring of this year. Police arrested seventy-two villains at the scene, but the League's leader escaped. His whereabouts are unknown."
"Wow, Thalia, you fought seventy two villains!?" Exclaimed Ivan. Thalia laid across the couch, nestled comfortably in blankets and pillows and animals- all four of them surrounded her. Ivan was leaning on the couch above her, looking at the TV screen with wide eyes. On the intricately-carved wooden coffee table before her, four vases of colorful flowers stood, accompanied by a bouquet and several handwritten cards with blessings and wishes for her mental and physical healing.
"No, Ivan, I only fought like, four. There were nineteen other kids and three pro heroes! Plus... There were definitely more than seventy two villains there. A few got away." Thalia responded matter-of-factly.
"I probably would've been more worried if you weren't a badass shapeshifter," Said Nash from his reclining seat at the far end of the living room. "I'm sure you kicked their asses." He stated confidently. His proud smirk looked similar to Bakugo's. Thalia supposed they might like each other. Or they would hate each other, with mutual respect. Only one way to find out, Thalia supposed.
She looked back at the TV from Nash, clearing her head. Her thoughts about Bakugo for the past day were confusing. He was confusing. Thinking about him made her head hurt. She really didn't want to think about it much. She wasn't like this before, but she really wanted to focus on school and healing her injuries.
"We sure did. Hey, I'm going upstairs. I'll be back." Thalia assured, standing up with a quiet groan and ascending the steps with little difficulty, Trjegul and Bygul at her heels.
Thalia's physical wounds had healed, thanks to Recovery Girl. However, her mental health wasn't as good. She'd gotten drastically better at hiding it, though.
Admit it, Thalia. You're at your most powerful when you are what I gave to you.
Thalia gritted her teeth. She hated it. She hated her dragon form. She hated her father. She hated the fact that if Thalia hadn't shifted into her dragon form, the results of the USJ incident would've been much more dire.
The horned girl climbed into the safety of her bed. The cats climbed into her lap, looking up at her and purring, as if they were attempting to ease her ranging thoughts. Sometimes, Thalia wondered if they really were guided by Freyja's hand sometimes.
"You guys! Did you watch the news last night?" Exclaimed Hagakure the next day at school. The class, fully healed up and ready to go, were all seated in Class 1-A. Thalia still had a big bruise, but no skin was broken, all the bleeding was internal.
"Yeah." Ojiro replied, looking in her direction.
"It's so cool that we got a few seconds of screen time! Though I bet nobody noticed me hanging out in the background." She continued shyly.
"Probably not." Said Shoji bluntly. Ojiro sweatdropped.
"Well, it's just difficult to stand out when you're just gloves." Ojiro said uneasily.
"We're totally big deals," Said Kaminari confidently, leaning back in his seat, looking at Kyoka beside him. "Those news channels love us, we're basically celebrities!"
"Yeah, it's kinda crazy, right?" Kirishima responded.
"Get over yourselves. The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked, and that's what they care about." Kyoka said, catching the two boys off guard.
"Who knows what woulda happened to us if the teachers didn't show up?" Sero said.
"Please, Sero, we're plenty capable. We're hero course students. We just would've had a much harder time getting done what needed to be done." Thalia spoke up, her foot on her desk and her arms crossed, looking down, giving him a side look.
"Did you guys see All Might fighting the bird guy? That dude was super strong, and he still destroyed him!" Said Sato, punching the air with a grin.
"Yes," Said Tokoyami, lowering his beak, "his strength is truly a thing of wonder." Thalia looked at the clock, putting her legs down, resting her head on her hand and her elbow on the desk.
"Attention! Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone stop talking and take your seats!" Thalia heard Iida shout as he ran into the room, standing behind the podium, holding out his arms. Alas, everyone was already seated.
"Uh, we're already sitting." Kirishima deadpanned.
"Yeah, you're the only one standing." Sero deadpanned along with him. Iida took his seat, embarrassed and angry at himself, shaking.
"Damn. It!" Iida grunted.
"Don't sweat it!" Ochako comforted him.
"Hey, Momo!" Thalia said, turning behind her. Momo looked up. "Do you know who's teaching class today?" She asked, frowning. Momo did the same, putting a finger on her lip.
"I honestly don't know. Aizawa-san hasn't been discharged yet, as far as I know." As if on cue right after Momo finished her statement, the door scraped open. Thalia turned around to see... Aizawa?
"Morning, class." Aizawa said, his voice drained. His face was covered in bandages...
"Aizawa-san, what are you doing here!?" The class chorused, alarmed.
"Did you sneak out of the hospital?" Thalia asked incredulously, a wide-eyed confused look on her face.
"Woah, what a pro!" Said Kaminari, half shocked and half irked.
"Aizawa-san! I'm glad you're okay!" Iida said, raising his hand.
"You call that 'okay'?" Ochako said from behind him, her brown eyes shining with worry as she watched Aizawa limp across the room.
"You've seen me worse." Thalia told Ochako. She glanced at her worriedly.
"Sure, but you were in the hospital for wee-"
"My well-being is irrelevant," Interrupted Aizawa, standing at the podium, facing the class. "What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet." Thalia perked, tensed. What could he mean by that?
"Our fight?" Bakugo questioned lowly.
"Don't tell me..." Midoriya said shakily.
"More villains?" Thalia asked cautiously.
"The U.A. Sports Festival is about to start." Aizawa told the class, releasing the tension but building it up all at the same time.
"You have a terrible habit of misleading us." Thalia muttered.
"Yes! Let's go kick some ass!" Kirishima near-shouted, grinning.
"Wait a second." Interrupted Kaminari, putting a hand on Kirishima's face, pushing him slightly.
"Is it really a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Kyoka said, seeming to have the same idea as Kaminari.
"They could all attack once we're all in the same place." Ojiro agreed, facing Aizawa.
"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at U.A. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains." Aizawa responded, no emotion evident in his voice.
"Uh, I'm sorry, but why not? It's just a sports festival!" Kaminari protested. Thalia gave him an incredulous look.
"Excuse me, just a sports festival!?" Thalia exclaimed. Midoriya turned to Kaminari.
"Huh? Kaminari, don't you know how important this competition is?" He questioned calmly and curiously.
"Of course I do! I just don't wanna get attacked again!" Kaminari shot back.
"Our sports festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world. In the past, everyone obsessed over the Olympic games, but then quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cares for competition, there's only one tournament that matters. The U.A. Sports Festival." Aizawa explained. Thalia paled as she felt a massive firework rocket of nervousness explode in her chest at that. Millions of people would be watching Thalia and her class, and there was no way she could opt out- even if she could, her pride wouldn't let her.
"That's right! Top heroes from everywhere will be watching. This is where you get scouted." Momo said, clenching her fist. Damn, I never even thought of internships, yet...
"Sure, unless you're dead." Kaminari commented worriedly, sitting down.
"She's right!" Said Sero, sticking up his thumb. "After graduating, a lot of people join pro agencies as a sidekick."
"Yeah, but that's as far as some people go." Kyoka commented pessimistically. "They miss their chance to go indie and stay eternal sidekicks." She looked at Kaminari. "Actually, that's probably where you're headed. You're kinda dumb." Kaminari gave her an incredulous, insulted look, his eyelid twitching.
"It's true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you experience and popularity. That's why the Festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event could open a path for you." Aizawa picked up. "One chance a year. Three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training." Thalia gritted her jaw, a determined look in her eye. "Class is dismissed."
"That villain stuff sucked, sure," Said Kirishima just as Cementoss walked out of the classroom, "but I'm pumped for these games!" He cried, pumping his fists.
"We put on a good show, and we're basically on the road to bein' pros!" Exclaimed Sero, nudging Kirishima's side.
"Yeah, this is why I'm even here in the first place." Sato said determinedly, punching his hand. Thalia sat with the group, sitting backward on a chair, one leg bouncing up and down.
"We get so few chances. We have to make the most of this." Tokoyami agreed.
"Shit, I remember watching this on TV, even back in Norway. It's so weird that I'm actually gonna be part of it." Thalia said, her tone modulated.
"Thalia! Deku! Iida!" Thalia turned her head, and blanched when she saw Ochako's intense face. "Let's do our best in the Sports Festival!" She growled, akin to Bakugo. Thalia had only seen her like this a few times- and it caught her off guard, but she loved this side of her. Ochako's energy affected Thalia's, and a similarly intense grin grew on her face. Thalia and Ochako's hands slapped together, and they gripped each other's hands hard, shaking from the force.
"Let's do our best!" Thalia growled gutturally, causing nearby students to look disturbed.
"Uraraka, Dragomir, what happened to your faces?" Midoriya said, horrified.
"Seriously, what's up?" asked Mina, popping up between the two boys ahead of her. "You're usually like, the most laid-back girl ever. Dragomir, I can expect that out of. Maybe she's infected her." Actually, it was the other way around.
"PMS?" Asked Kaminari. Tsu slapped him in the face with her tongue like a whip without another word. "Hey! Ow!" He said, rubbing his face. Ochako lowered herself, raising her face.
"Everyone!" She shouted, her voice rough, "I'm gonna do my best!"
"We're gonna do our best!" Thalia raised hers and Ochako's fists as she shouted, and some of the students cheered.
"I said I'm gonna do my best!" Ochako said, louder. The two of them started stomping in a circle, connected by their hands.
"Let's do our best!" Thalia shouted.
"Got it... You okay? You kinda look like you're losin' it." Said Kirishima apprehensively.
"We're gonna do our best!" Thalia and Ochako shouted in Kirishima's face, causing him to cringe and others to laugh and whoop with cheers.
Later, at lunch, Thalia was sitting down with Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima and Bakugo. Ochako, Iida and Midoriya were nowhere to be seen, so Thalia sat on the outside across from Kirishima, and Sero sat next to him and Bakugo on his other side. Kaminari sat next to Thalia. Sero and Kaminari were arguing about something, and Thalia and Bakugo were peacefully eating their rice.
"So, Dragomir! There's been something I've been meaning to ask you." Kirishima said. Thalia's head perked, putting the chopsticks she was about to raise to her mouth down.
"Eh? What is it?" Thalia asked casually.
"Why do you wanna be a hero?" Kirishima responded, tilting his head to the side. Sero and Kaminari stopped arguing to look at Thalia, and even Bakugo had raised his eyes to look at her. The question caught her off guard. After USJ, she felt like she could divulge this information to them, but a voice in her head was keeping her mouth shut, suddenly nervous. "Hey, you don't have to say it if you don't wanna. I wanna be a hero because of Crimson Riot. It's why I dyed my hair red and style it like this now. He's a true manly man, the very symbol of chivalry. I wanna be like that." With his token of trust in spoken form, Thalia felt ready to tell them. She would just leave her daddy issues out of it.
"That's noble... I have other reasons, though. Religious reasons, actually." Thalia set her elbow on the table, and all the boys were staring at her as she shoveled another bite of rice in her mouth.
"Religious?" Kaminari questioned, confused.
"Y'all know I'm from Norway, right?" They nodded. "My mom's family and I follow Norse religion. I worship Odin, the All-Father, and the Norse pantheon. We believe that when you die, there were several different realms your soul could be sent to. If you were a shitty person, you went to either Helheim or Niflheim, depending on how shitty you were. If you were a warrior who died fighting with an axe in hand, you went to Valhalla, the All-Father's hall of heroes, to forever drink mead, talk with the fallen and be forever either partying or fighting or training to one day fight during Ragnarök. Warriors who didn't die fighting or with an axe in hand or normal, average humans went to Fólkvangr, a place similar to Elysium in Greek mythology. I believe the Fates have weaved Valhalla into my future. It's why I have an axe, Kirishima, to answer your question from a few days ago." Thalia's accent got more and more prevalent as she spoke and got more passionate. The boys looked intrigued, all frozen, not even eating. "There's a little more to it than my religious beliefs, but that's all you are getting." Thalia ended her speech with a big bite of rice and chicken.
"Wow... I didn't know people still believed in Norse mythology." Kaminari said, surprised.
"I thought only Vikings from hundreds of years ago practiced that." Bakugo muttered.
Thalia swallowed her food. "I was raised like this. My mom was raised by my grandma like that, and my grandma was raised by her mother like that. The reason why it's so uncommon is because-"
"Back in the day, Christians tried to eliminate every other religion." Sero piped up, a finger in the air. "I think it's awesome that you can keep the practice going, despite all that's been done to try to erase it." Thalia felt surprisingly touched, and put down the bite of chicken and rice she was about to put in her mouth.
"...Thanks, Sero." Thalia muttered. Thalia never liked hanging around boys before, in her experience they were always rude, offensive, stinky and hitting on her. But she couldn't sense any sort of intention like that. Even sitting next to Kaminari held no awkward tension, and for once, she wasn't thinking about every single little movement she made with her body in hopes that she wouldn't make them think she was coming onto them. These were her fellow classmates, and they all saw her as a fellow classmate. It made her smile.
"U-um, why the heck are you all here?" Ochako nervously asked the amassed students blocking 1-A's doorway. The students in 1-A all had their backpacks on, and were ready to leave, if not for the crowd that blocked their way.
"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" asked Iida, sticking out a hand.
"Why the hell do y'all think it's okay to block our doorway? We all have places to be!" Thalia said angrily, sore from training and craving iced coffee.
"They're scouting out the competition, idiots." Said Bakugo, walking toward the doorway with a glare. "We're the class that survived a real villain attack."
"Let's just hope he doesn't explode anybody." Said Midoriya nervously.
"Or she doesn't rip anybody's face off." Worried Ochako.
"If we do, they deserve it, 'cause I don't touch anyone that doesn't deserve it." Thalia said, irate, standing by Bakugo. Midoriya and Ochako exchanged pale looks when she said that. Thalia and Bakugo stopped at the doorway. The students there flinched from their glares of equal energy.
"At least now you know what future pros look like. Now move it, extras." Bakugo said scornfully.
"Do y'all really have nothing better to do? Really? Do you wanna fuck around and find out what a zoo animal looks like up close, or do you wanna move?" Thalia said, miffed. Behind the two, Ochako and Midoriya looked mortified.
"Neither of you can just threaten people like that just because you don't know who they are!" Shouted Iida, making aggressive chopping motions.
"So this is Class 1-A." Said a condescending voice from behind a few students. Thalia whipped around, her dull headache fueling her annoyance. A boy with messy purple hair and eye bags that combated her own sifted through the crowd, stepping ahead, making eye contact with Bakugo.
"I've heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like assholes. Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or is it just you two?" He said. From behind her, Ochako winced, knowing that would probably trigger Thalia- and she was right.
"Excuse me!? Do you have something to say to my face, Grimace?" Thalia snarled, her nose crinkling and her eyes narrowing in anger. Bakugo growled.
"It's sad to come in here and find a bunch of ego-maniacs. I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here, I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life. I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us do well in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room. Scouting the competition? Maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot from right under you. Consider this a declaration of war."
Before Thalia could respond, another voice piped up.
"Hey, you two!" Shouted a silver-haired boy, "I'm from Class 1-B next door to you! We heard you fought some villains, and I came to see if that was true! But you're just a bunch of brats who think you're better than us! Talk all you want, it'll just be more embarrassing when you're K.O.'d."
"Tch." Bakugo said. Thalia just about exploded, putting her hand out in front of Bakugo- stopping him from leaving, causing him to look down at her arm and raise his hands slightly. He flinched when he saw her expression, her glare shooting claymores ahead of her.
"A declaration of war? Don't make me laugh. None of us asked for your fucking sob story." Thalia looked directly in the eyes of the messy-haired bitch on front of her, getting closer to his face.
"You ain't shit!" Cried a little boy with purple balls for hair. Thalia whipped her head around, meeting all the contempted glares around her with her own.
"You're probably not in the hero course for a reason. I'd really love to see you try and take our fucking spots. Unlike you, our "egos" are justified. As for you," Thalia turned her deadly glare to the boy with silver hair, who flinched. "I thought someone in the hero course alongside us would be supportive. But you're just another dumbass who wants to make this into more of a god damn competition than it already is. How the hell do you think we got into U.A.? The best hero school in the world? By accident? We're here for a reason. And don't you dare underestimate us. Any of us. Is that fucking clear!?"
They looked taken aback- even the students behind her. Bakugo looked... impressed. It almost looked like he was blushing.
"Get the hell out of our way before I fucking report your asses." The horned girl said. "Shit, I need a god damn coffee." She said, her voice quieter, and walked forward, going through the crowd that nervously made way for her and Bakugo, who hesitated before he followed her. That was a contrast from the class, who was shocked.
"I... Never thought I'd see someone out-angry Kacchan." Midoriya said breathlessly.
"This is actually pretty tame compared to how she was in middle school." Ochako sighed, a hand on her face, causing Midoriya to whip his head around at her in shock.
"Hey! I'm comin' for you!" Called silver hair, undeterred.
"Shut the hell up!" Thalia and Bakugo chorused from down the hall.
"Gosh, Thalia gets so aggressive when she's tired." Ochako sighed, rubbing the back of her head.
"Ya think!?" Some of the class chorused.
"Shit! Now all these people are gonna be gunning after us in the Festival!" Cried Kaminari, waving his hands everywhere.
"God! I hate how that was such a manly exit!" Kirishima said, clutching his fist passionately, earning him a few odd looks.
Bakugo and Thalia walked in silence down the hall, side-by-side. Bakugo kept glancing at Thalia, wanting to say a plethora of things, but he kept his mouth shut. She'd felt comfortable silence many times, and this wasn't it, but it wasn't unbearable.
Thalia, after thinking in this silence, came to regret how she'd exploded on the students. But they deserved it, she thought, if they thought they could just underestimate us and act like we're in the top class by accident. She scoffed, causing Bakugo's head to snap up, then fall down once she offered no further sound.
The rest of the walk was silent. Thalia had managed to calm herself down, and her headache was mostly gone. She decided to stop at a Starbucks on the way back, anyway, and get an iced coffee from there.
Thalia frowned when she noticed Bakugo was still walking beside her on the way to get coffee.
"What are you doing?" Asked Thalia, an eyebrow raised, shattering the silence between them. Bakugo sent her a miffed look.
'What the hell are you talking about? I'm fucking walking." He shot back.
"No, why are you still walking beside me? Are you following me?" Thalia asked with his energy, crossing her arms. He sent her a glare.
"I could ask you the same thing!" He snapped back, elevating his voice.
"I'm literally walking to the Starbucks!" Thalia raised her voice with his, holding her arm out on front of her.
"Well, I fucking am too! Stupid-ass doe!" Bakugo snapped. That caught Thalia off guard. Why hadn't she considered it?
"...Oh." Thalia said quietly, no longer angry. Bakugo scoffed, and they continued walking.
"Let's just go. We're on the same path anyways. Plus, there might be a bastard around wanting a piece of you." Bakugo commented.
"What, you think I can't defend myself?" Thalia jeered.
"We're on everyone's screens, you'd be stupid to not accept some help, at least... Stupid doe." He looked away when he name-called her again, even though he was being weirdly thoughtful.
"...You know, I'm not a doe. I have ram horns." Thalia mentioned as they ambled slowly past the shops on the street.
"Then you're a stupid lamb, you stupid lamb." Bakugo grunted. This time, Thalia couldn't hold back a little laugh. "What's so funny, stupid lamb?"
"Nothing, dynamite." Thalia said cheekily, rebutting with her own stupid nickname.
The Starbucks was, unsurprisingly, packed. Everyone had just gotten out of school or work, and were grabbing a coffee or snack on their way home, some studying, some hanging out with friends. While Thalia was not the biggest fan of crowded, enclosed spaces, the surplus of people would allow them to blend in. In the now comfortable silence and occasional short banter made the time pass quickly, and before Thalia knew it, they were ordering.
"Grande hot chestnut cappuccino." He stated after the cashier asked what he wanted.
"And you?" The cashier with tentacles for hair turned to her.
"I'm separate." Thalia raised a hand.
"Shut it, you're probably too poor to pay for your own coffee anyways, just tell her what you want." Bakugo said gruffly, crossing his arms. Thalia looked at him, confused.
"Bakugo, my family's rich." The girl deadpanned. "I'll be fine... Thanks, though. That was nice."
"Tch, whatever!" He grunted, a blush on his face, leaning against the counter. Thalia smirked. She liked teasing him. The cashier looked at him, a timidly surprised look on her face as he scanned his card and paid for his coffee.
"I'll have an iced peppermint cold brew coffee, please. Venti." Thalia smiled at the cashier, and she paid for it.
"Your orders will be out soon." She smiled at her and turned around to make the coffee. Thalia felt bad that it was so packed, so she put a 5,000 yen bill in the tip jar and turned to lean against the counter with Bakugo, browsing her social media. It took her a moment, but she noticed Bakugo's hand extended by her arm, as if he were asking for something. Thalia frowned down at his hand, then at his face, that was looking into her eyes.
"...Huh?" Thalia asked cautiously.
"Your phone. Give it." Said Bakugo bluntly. Thalia's confusion deepened and an eyebrow rose. She held her phone away.
"What? Why?" She asked almost incredulously. Bakugo scoffed.
"We're classmates, right? I'm putting my god damn number in your phone, you idiot." He replied scornfully. Thalia gave him a surprised look, but opened up a contact template and gave her phone to him.
In return, Bakugo handed Thalia his phone. She tapped her number in, and made the contact name 'stupid lamb', referring to the nickname/insult Bakugo called her. She also decided to add a picture to top it off. She snapped a picture of the upper half of her face, cropping it so only her face from her cheekbones, and the ends of her horns were visible as well.
When they exchanged phones again, it seemed Bakugo had the same idea. The picture was the upper half of his face as well- although his middle finger was present- and his contact name was 'lord explosion murder'. Thalia frowned, pursing her lips and squinting her eyes at the name.
Yeah, that's Bakugo alright. Don't think I'm changing it, though.
"Bakugo?" An employee said shyly. Bakugo pocketed his phone and walked away to get his drink. Thalia looked down at the picture again with furrowed brows and a smile, saving the contact in her phone.
edited 11•10•21
edited 11•20•24
i hope i made bakugo & thalia's closeness seem natural. i feel like there isn't a lot of explaining on bakugo's part, mostly because i want to keep it to a third person limited point of view for the most part, but i'll state it here: bakugo essentially respects her because of the way she refuses to accept any sort of disrespect, but seems to handle it better than he does, and because of her actions working with him at USJ, plus he feels guilty that she got badly hurt defending him. he's never met a woman that will shout back at him like his mom does, so he feels a certain way about it, but he also has no idea how to express any emotion other than anger. i'm just trying to lay foundation for a strong friendship and eventually romance :)
reviews
iwannagotomars: m*neta is in general studies, im glad.
NOW WE GOTTA RESCUE SHINSOU
agreed, absolutely. i love shinsou, hopefully he'll forgive thalia for being an asshole lmfao
M: Love this! Great chapter! Glad we found out more about Thalia's father. Love that Kirishima, Sero, Bakugou and Kaminari comforted her. Glad she confronted the other students declaring war! Happy her and Bakugou are going to train together. Hope they make up. Nervous for the next chapter!
thank you so much, M. :)
TheSmartOne: Thank and since you updated that means a give you an animal fact but only since you had 5 chapter you get it
Electric eels can't see what they're shocking. They're mostly blind and use a radarlike system of electrical pulses to navigate and find food. So like sonar only with electricity the can also contain 600 volts witch could kill a crocodile so you can imagine how much of it was bigger
i love you and your animal facts man, i hope they come back and you see these edits.
word count: 5,090