IX.
"You did what?!" Kirishima spits out his boba onto the steering wheel. He's been cruising down the HOV (heroes-only vehicles) lane since we got on the expressway, speeding past backed-up traffic in the other lanes. It's the third time in two days that I'm in his passenger seat, crossing the Greater Tokyo Area. First, we drove from the airport because I was coming home. The second time we were whipping towards my birthday of bad decisions. Now, we're racing over the speed limit so as not to miss our flight.
I'm beginning to have second thoughts about being in the air again. And flying with twelve dumbasses will only make me burst even more blood vessels; as if I'm not already dealing with a rebound headache and withdrawal thanks to...
Bitch!
After glimpsing at who's calling, I silence my buzzing phone and stare out the windshield, leaning my head on my window. "I kissed him," I repeat, unfazed— at least, on the outside. Internally, I'm a sleep-deprived wreck. I don't know why I'm so cranky. That is, apart from the comedown from the endless New York, pro hero hustle, a fourteen-hour flight, a fuckass splitting hangover, and that murky, sluggish, siphoning experience of coming down off of multiple controlled substances.
But if I were to guess, it's because I didn't expect to fuck up so soon. Months of stockpiled stress over moving back for so long erupted in less than two days of being back in Japan. Now, I'm burning out and making rookie mistakes all over again. My phone buzzes a second time. This time, it's a distinct rhythm. I ignore the call without checking. I'll send fake apologies to my sponsor later.
"Dude, seriously! You can't sound so chill dropping a bomb like that on us," Kaminari shouts. "You didn't really kiss Deku, did you?!" He pulls my hair back from directly behind me.
"Right, man! Say it ain't so!"
"Don't make me repeat myself, twerps," I grunt, winding the window down to get a better view of the cherry blossoms blurring past us. Storm clouds were moving in behind us, but Kirishima's riot-red 1969 Ford Bronco was perfect for long highway drives on beautiful spring mornings— away from the rain. He restores vintage cars as a hobby now, and the Corvette he picked me up in is too small to hold four dudebros and our carry-on bags comfortably. This was, he said, his newest baby.
"Stop being such a dudebro to us, Katsuki! This is a big deal. This is a huge deal!" Sero chimes in, panicking. "We are on our way to a weeklong class event. A wedding, if you recall?!" He leans between the driver and passenger seat to address me. "So, what do you mean you kissed Midoriya?" I look down at him.
Who the fuck does he think he's talking to?
"Exactly what I said. Also, who invited this spy?"
"Hey! I'm not a spy. I secured my seat on Eijiro's airport shuttle six months ago. You're the one intruding, Mr. Shows Back up Without a Word in the Group Chat."
"Well, I mean, I knew," Kaminari mumbles.
"Hey, man! There's more than enough room to love in Redden Thee Stallion," Kiri said, wiping down his steering wheel.
"Anyway, why would you do that? When did this happen? Didn't you just come back yesterday?" Sero presses me.
An American true crime show I binge-watched during a winter snowstorm last year comes to mind. It shut down Hell's Kitchen and the rest of New York City for almost two weeks. The snowstorm was said to have been the cause of someone's Quirk going haywire. Many unhoused civilians froze to death that week. Villains and petty criminals who survived couldn't be bothered to do crime, so they stayed in hiding. I did, too. It disrupted my Quirk and my gauntlets couldn't store up enough sweat to resist the cold. So, I stayed inside biding my time in bed watching true crime TV shows. It was the first time I'd seriously rested in years.
"A lot can happen in forty-eight hours," I nostalgically reply.
"Hold on," Kami snaps an electric spark between his fingers. "Don't tell me this is what you did after we left you two alone? I mean, we were rooting for you two..."
"Yeah, to reconcile asfriends," Kiri yelled. "Not as friends-to-ill-fated-lovers. Bakugo, c'mon bro. So not cool."
"We're the ones that have to be on a four-hour flight with the three of you, you know?"
I crane my head back at Sero. "Aw yeah... You're still doing that clout-chasing thing where you brag online about being Shoto's righthand man, right? How's that 'Third Best Friend' title, working for you, loser?" My tone is flippant, but my point is sharp.
Anger leaks out of Sero. "Excuse me?"
"Aw, have I wounded your weak ego?" I mock, putting my shades on and scratching an itch on my arm. It was useless trying to reason with Shoto's unrequited lackey. "Listen, Tape Worm. It's not a big deal. Shoto doesn't even know."
"Oi? You're seriously a jackass if you believe Shoto doesn't know you kissed his partner by now." My body stiffens at how incredulous Sero sounds. It's embarrassing to admit that it never occurred to me that Izuku would say anything. Back at UA, everything we did stayed between us. At least, I thought it did. Did that mean Shoto knew about all the other times? Did Sero? He shook his head at me like I was the fool between us.
Am I?
"Bakugo, I've been around them as a couple a lot in your absence. They've grown into, like, a supremo-married couple. They hide nothing from each other. So I can say with one-hundred-percent certainty that Shoto already knows."
"Deku wouldn't dare..." Hm. My brain starts whirring out memories and future scenarios. "Eh. I'm not worried about it. But nice of you to look out for your main bitch, though."
"He is my best friend. Just like he used to be yours. But unlike you, Bakugo, I'm unashamed to admit it." Sero shifted his eyes between Kiri and Kami, adding, "But you guys are my dear friends, too and I love you very much."
"Yeah, yeah. You just like bragging that you're on speed dial with the Number-Two Hero," Kami cracked. "We see you, you dickrider! Being at an embarrassing fifty-five in Hero Rankings gotta hurt."
Kiri moans, "Aw, c'mon! Everyone is taking things too far!" And I don't even try to suppress my evil laughter. Sero's mouth drops.
"Wow, so that's how you guys see me, huh? Just because I'm closer to Shoto than you three?"
"Nooo…" Kiri tries to make it land better, glancing into the rearview mirror at Kaminari, then to me on his left with a face. But I can tell he's cracking at the edges to hold back a terrible laugh. "No, we know you're a real man's man."
"Lies. He's lying to you, Tape Dispenser. That's exactly how we see you," I clarify, peering over my shoulder with fire in my eyes at the tall, lanky man with built-in shoulder pads, relishing the rude truth at the tip of my tongue daring to slip.
"What Bak means is, we've always seen you as Sero, Shoto's Second-in-Command," Kiri rushes in to do damage control. "We just like it when you can come around and hang out with us when he's not there." Sero nods but still looks skeptical.
"WRONG. No, I don't. Don't speak for me, Eijiro, if you're just going to lie to him. I said what I mean. We've always seen you as Shoto's bottom bitch." Since leaving Japan, it wasn't every day I got to throw a two-for-one grenade at Shoto's expense, and here I was with a second opportunity in two days. "Look, I didn't plan to kiss Deku, I swear, and I may even feel a little guilty about it. I don't know, hindsight is twenty-twenty." Are there serious conflicts of interest? Sure. Have I made matters worse for myself? Possibly. But, more importantly, I know what I want.
"But it happened and nothing can change the past. So, let it go and keep your mouth shut, loser!"
So I'm going after it. And I'm doing this my way.
"WOW. You guys forgot to remind me how nostalgic I'd feel being around this dickhead again!" Sero mocks me with slow applause.
"Anyway..." Kiri shuts us up while smoothly wrapping around the private airport's spiraled exit ramp. "I feel like we've gotten way off track here. Bakugo!"
"What?!"
"So…"
"So, what?"
My friends yelled back at me, "Did Deku kiss you back?"
I lean back and close my eyes. I'm also dog-tired because I couldn't stop replaying that whole exchange long enough to sleep. I just kept seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing Izuku's...everything. Not to be dramatic, but the kiss was explosive. A chemistry that bubbled over and into making total sense. "I don't feel like sharing anymore." I smugly cross my arms. Kiri pierces a stern look into my periphery and drops his voice above a whisper, for my ears only.
"Seriously, Bakugo. Sero's right, man. Deku and Shoto are locked in. Like... Locked. In." His strong brows harden. "For life."
I got the message. It quickens my breathing and activates my sweat glands to hear the unspoken. My Quirk shuts down. "Yeah, well, I'll believe it when I see it," I mutter.
In the back seat, Kaminari's dramatics cut short our conversation. He's cooing like a parent consoling a fussy baby. "Aw, Sero, don't listen to mean ol' Bakugo, okay!" Kaminari pitifully pats his back. "While it is true that we've often found you to dick-ride Todoroki a little bit too much...hey! What're friends for if not to be your biggest cheerleader, right?"
"Oh, I don't know. To tell you when you're being a dumbass. Obviously," I snark under my breath.
His eyes narrow through the rearview mirror. "What about an asshole?" Sero snipes back. His beef with me was inherited from Shoto, so it doesn't move me how he wants it to. Sero's all bark but no bite. The worst he could do was use his tape on me like a muzzle, but let's be real— Shoto's minion stirring trouble in my life is the least of my worries.
"Anyway! Bakugo's only trying to deflect from talking about how he's only been back home for fifty-six hours and has already royally fucked up Iida's bachelor trip by being a sexual deviant again." Kaminari suddenly acting like he knew what he was talking about was not on my BINGO card. "Also, Iida's gonna be hella pissed at how late we are, guys! He created a very time-sensitive itinerary, and...I don't put it past him to leave us." I dismiss his spot-on, previous assessment with a flick of my wrist.
"No, Four Eyes won't do that." I yank his shirt. "So shut up talking about this shit, moron! I don't give a fuck about your microwave-brained armchair psychology." I'm controlling the aux and press play on shuffle. The hit new hip-hop diss track from a rapper out of Compton, California plays. It's triggering. I switch it to Kiri's heavy metal playlist and turn up the volume.
Kiri shuts off his sound system. "I don't know, let's hear 'im out, Bakugo. He may be on to something. He took an Introduction to Villain Psychology continuing education course with his new pro hero agency last month, and he's been pretty insightful recently. Last week he did a pretty good job explaining why I'm such a loyal friend to a disgraced pro hero." He winks at me. My head spins on its swivel.
"Wait, is that a shot at me?"
"Thank you, Red Riot," Kami interrupts. His smug voice, fingertips tapping together like a sage clashes with his unbuttoned Hawaiian beach shirt of lightning bolts and musical notes. "And, uh, yes. It is. Another sign of deflection is defensiveness."
"Makes sense why he's skipped 'Not Like Us.' You see yourself in Drake, huh?" Sero agrees.
"See? I know things. And all I'm saying is this is textbook deflection and sleight of hand. You casually drop a homewrecking bomb like that right before we're all together and you're acting like it's no big deal because you know it's a huge fucking deal."
"Like I said," Sero nods, pridefully spreading his arms. I rip off a piece of tape hanging off his shoulders and smack it square across his ugly mug. Quiet as kept, Sero's fierce defense of Shoto was him merely holding a candle for Shoto, just like the one I was holding for Izuku.
Except, I'm nothing like Hanta Sero.
His affections are unrequited. He's chosen to be a supporting character—no, worse yet—an extra in his own love story. "I've heard enough from you. So, tell me then, you quack, how have I already fucked up something that has yet to start?" I groan rolling my neck out the window. I'm getting irritated and sweat is starting to prick my forehead. I could still feel Izuku's lips on my mine. That kiss…it felt like...
Sero cut into my thoughts. "But, wait. Isn't the sleight of hand a magic trick?"
Kami shrugs like it's obvious. "Well, the course is taught by Gentle."
"Gentle?"
"Gentle Criminal, the villain who tried to infiltrate the School Festival during our first year at UA and saved the Coffin in the Sky from crashing? Ring a bell? Okay, anyway, he's an Understanding Villainy lecturer at the Hero Public Safety Commission now. They started a prison diversion program for former villains who want to re-enter post-war society and get their lives back on track. It's become something of a successful new career track for a lot of former criminals who want to remain Quirk users."
"Why do you know all this, and why do you keep droning on about it? You hated school." I groan. But a new career, a fresh start doing something didn't sound half as bad in action as it did coming out of Kaminari's mouth.
"What? A young hero can't grow and mature for the betterment of his life-saving craft?"
I stared at him with confused disgust and flicked my eyes Kiri's way for the truth.
"It's because pros get a sizable stipend for every continuing education course in the Whole Hero program they take and pass through the Commission."
Kaminari charges his hair to stand on end. "And an even better pay bump if you complete the entire training program. Can you say ca-ching, ca-ching?!"
.
Tenya Iida was a planner among planners. As was his soon-to-be bride. So when we pulled up at the private airport and saw two private jets sitting on the tarmac emblazoned with the Ingenium logo and the Yaoyorozu family crest respectively, I knew the trip would be a long week of curated chaos.
We hop out of Kiri's truck. I grab my duffle bag from the boot and search the grounds and planes for Iida and the others. "You think we're the first ones here?"
"Knowing Class A, probably not," Kiri said locking his car with its remote. "But the girls should be here soon. They rented a party bus to pick them and all their luggage up."
Kaminari, typing on his phone and then shoving it in his skinny jeans's back pocket, pointed at the Yaoyorozu aircraft. "That was smart of them because that bird is a city with wings! I still don't know why Iida shipped our luggage separately. Jiro packed half my things in their bags just in case I forgot something, or our bags got lost at sea, but still…"
Sero stretched his arms and legs against Kirishima's car. "And since we're fifteen minutes late, we're definitely not." His gaze skates over me. He arches his eyebrow to his forehead. "Why, Bakugo?" His question feigns care. "Are you trying to avoid someone?"
Kami twists my right ear and whispers in my left, "Or, is it two?"
I wring his arm. "Stop touching me!"
"You wouldn't say that if I were Midoriya," Sero points out.
He throws his guitar case over his shoulder jogging towards our ride. "The favoritism, I tell ya!" Kami whines, shaking his head. Purple balls dot a center window on Iida's jet. "Iida! Mineta! I have arrived," he belts out.
"I thought I told you two to shut your asses up!" I push my palm out and let off a couple of explosive warning shots. Immediately, multiple heads popped into the jet windows facing me. A majority of my former classmates blinked my way in shock. "Bakugo! Is it really you?!"
Mineta squealed, scrambling off the plane.
One of Shoji's tentacles morphed into an arm and dragged the grape zithead back onto the aircraft scraping and fighting while another turned into a waving hand. I slightly nodded at the extras on the jet, scanning for the face I feared seeing the most, suddenly self-conscious that I'd fuck up the week, and therein my plans to win over Izuku's heart before we taxied.
Iida marched off the plane. "Fellas! You're thirty minutes late!" The mufflers in his calves rev and I can feel it in my soul that if we didn't move now, Tenya Iida would be skyrocketing us on board himself.
I keep a cautious eye on him and speed up. "...I'm gonna go buy some eczema cream from the airport shop. You losers better not leave me."
"Nah, then I probably shouldn't let you wander off on your own," Kiri sighs and catches up to me.
"No! Don't follow me!" Kiri freezes and instantly I know I've done too much. I sigh and face him, keeping my tone in check. "My bad, Kirishima. I just...I need a moment."
I needed time to compose myself before boarding this four-hour flight. I'm uncertain of how to interact with Izuku now. I know he wasn't pleased when he left my party without a single word, but I still have feelings to get off my chest. Even more now. I had intended to use this week to slowly rebuild rapport and intimacy, to show him how much growth I've made. In all the time I'd spent strategizing our reunion, I hadn't anticipated him surprising me first. And on my birthday?
It was a silly oversight now that I think about it. It's Deku, for fuck's sake! When has he ever met my (low) expectations? Kissing Deku after all those years of yearning, taking that leap, and finally showing and telling him what I never stopped feeling kept me up last night. It brought back a frenzy of old memories, hopeless wishes, and some desperate acts I knew I had in me, but had no clue they had so much power over me. And if the way Deku's lips pressed against mine was any sign, he felt the same.
Tenya catches up to us and grips our shoulders. "The Hard Heads have finally arrived! Kirishima, I thought we agreed to be punctual when you signed up to lead a carpool?" His sharp eyes reprimand my best friend before turning on me. "Bakugo, you look like a dream in leather!" Meanwhile, Iida's dressed like he's on his way to a business meeting and not a bachelor party.
"Ugh, I was going for 'badass' but since it's coming from you…" I tease out my words, turning around to embrace my friend. The pressure in my chest deflates from the rush of oxytocin and I sober up a little more. "Iida, my guy! What's with the three-piece white suit and black tie?"
"Ah, is it too much?" Tenya scans his outfit. "It's bespoke, made to mimic my wedding tux, but it's made from Lycra so that I can wear it for our festivities." Menswear influencers would be proud.
"No way, man! You're the groom!" Kiri slaps Tenya's back and I swear I see Tenya's eyes pop out of his skull. "By the way, sorry about the tardiness, Class Prez. Blame this knucklehead. You know the drama queen has a twenty-step skincare routine." He ruffles my hair. "But congratulations, bro! Commitment is manly as fuck."
My face flattens. "It didn't even take that long! And don't say cheesy shit like that, man. He's already going through with it." Tenya thoughtfully pushes his frames up his nose bridge.
"No, I rather like it. And your glass skin, Bakugo," Tenya chuckles weakly. Warbly. "I know it's not obvious, but I-I'm a bit nervous about the big day, so it's good to be reminded. I need encouragement."
"No, I can tell," I reassure him. Kiri scans Tenya's towering frame.
"You're not having cold feet, are you man? I mean, it's okay to be nervous, but—"
"No, not at all. My feet are duly insulated. It's just nerves of excitement. Momo and I already act like we're married, but on Sunday it'll be official...AH!" He's jittering with kinetic energy. Honestly, I don't blame him. I couldn't be him. Yao-momo is great, the total package, and together they make the perfect hero power couple. But marriage is...a lot to commit to. Good thing divorce exists. "So, add that to the list of things I need from my groomsmen, Bakugo."
I blink as my mind blanks. "Um. What?"
Kiri rescues me. "You got it, man. We'll all send you good vibes. That's what this trip is about, right?!" He pats Tenya's back and walks ahead into the gift shop.
"Thanks for coming, Bakugo." We're not looking at each other, but I can sense his genuineness.
"Well, you kinda guilted me into it, so how could I not?" A small voice cajoles me to tell him about my plan to win Deku, and maybe get his help setting up a play or diversion. But knowing Tenya, he'd dead it faster than his feet ran. It's also probably not the best week to put him in the middle of us. Again.
"And I'm glad it worked," he winks. "I'm really happy you're back, pal. Try to have some fun with the whole gang this week, okay?" He observes me with a dutiful smile, and I swallow my guilt with annoyance. Our four-person run-in two nights ago wasn't the best way to reunite, and that's on me.
"I'll try," I grunt, popping my neck. I'm feeling under pressure all of a sudden. Pressure to keep the peace. Pressure to please. Pressure to perform.
"Good," he cheers, satisfied with my compliance. Tenya snaps his head to the runway. "Hey! Kaminari, do not electrocute Mineta on my aircraft! You cannot afford to cover the damages on your salary!" He speeds off.
"But, no promises!" I shout behind him.
"Lalala! I can't hear you!" He whistles in the wind.
Kirishima and I walked out of the gift shop five minutes later. I'm studying my receipt in the canvas shopping bag. "Yo, they are genuinely extorting the wealthy with those prices! Twenty thousand yen for a tube of ointment?" A brick wall smacks into me. "Fuck, what the hell, Kiri! Why the hell would you stop right in front..." My chest expands with heat. My palms prick with sweat as my intuition from years of experience kicks in. Plus...
That cologne.
His voice sends chills rippling down my spine. "Bakugo."
I'm suddenly nostalgic for the youthful years at UA and the ambient lighting and sleek interior of Vestiges. All from hearing that familiar, grating, crackling baritone bludgeon my eardrums. The way he said my name was too aggressive to be so early. My Quirk kindles in my core to resist the frost spreading through me. My polar opposite.
What does he have to be this upset about so early?
Then I hear Sero's mocking voice in my ear. "Oi? You're seriously a jackass if you believe Shoto doesn't know you kissed his partner by now."
I slowly look up from the navy wool fabric scratching my forehead. Behind a curtain of red and white bangs flowing in the breeze, the devil stares back at me through brooding two-toned irises. He's met his match. A crooked smile slides across my face.
"Todoroki. Long time no see. What's good?"
( ◣∀◢)ψ
a/n: it's been a while. i've been working hard in my absence on this new arc just for you. enjoy. and so we begin the Four Phases arc! i don't know about you, but my tummy tickles in excitement for the drama and bullshit about to ensue. bakugo's ego and internal conflict are central to why he is the way he is, for better or worse. i enjoy writing challenging, morally gray characters. it makes writing through the chaos fun, puzzling it all together until something beautiful enough to be called art has been created into a bigger, dazzling picture.
the friendships, especially within Class A, are also important for me to breathe life into. their strong bonds, conflicts, and relational dynamics are major focal points in this hero's journey, because as an only child, who else does our main boy have to fuss and fight and figure life out with? i hope you agree.
i hope reading this was PLUS ULTRA!
~BKG OUT~ ( ◣∀◢)ψ
[I don't own the rights to MHA.]