chapter xxxix.
( just another day )
Keiko decided to take a break from the training, brainstorming, and heroing in general. Today was her rest day.
Well, except for classes of course.
She was well aware that her classmates were trying to approach her again, and she felt kinda bad that she cut off contact from most of them, save for the occasional awkward small talk and groupworks. But because her focus was now more on monitoring the currently inactive League of Villains, her grades started to slip, along with her concentration in class. Sleep also evaded her on most nights, which led to her mindlessly hitting a punching bag to try and tire herself out, but that didn't work. In fact, it just made her even more restless.
But hey, when you can't sleep in the comfort of your bed, try sleeping during class with all the conversations and chaos happening. It helps.
(Kidding, don't sleep in class guys‐)
"Should we wake her up?" Ochaco whispered to Midoriya and Iida as they glanced at the sleeping girl at the back of the classroom. She was leaning forward on her table, her arms cushioning her forehead and her black hair falling like curtains dangling over the table and keeping her sleeping face from other people's stares and judgement.
"I think we should, History's gonna start soon," Midoriya said, albeit a little reluctantly.
"She shouldn't be sleeping in class," Iida said, swinging his arm. "It's disrespectful to the teacher when they see a sleeping student in a class that they prepared for."
Then Ochaco asked the real question: "So... who's gonna wake her up?"
They remembered the last time someone tried waking her up; during the Sports Festival, before one of her matches, Jirou was the brave person who volunteered to wake her up with her earphone jack. If it was an actual person waking her up, they would've been hit right in the diaphragm and suffer breathing problems for a good three minutes.
But since none of the people in the trio had quirks that would be safe to use to wake Keiko up, they had no choice but to choose the (un)lucky one to wake her up.
"Midoriya-kun, you can do it," Iida said, actually looking a little nervous. "You're one of her closest friends, so she is least likely to get mad at you."
A — Ah, fine..." Midoriya sighed. If he was asked to do this almost four months ago, he would've tried to decline it to the best of his abilities. But now he was braver.
At least, he hoped he was braver.
With a deep breath and a quick prayer for his safety, he approached the sleeping girl, hesitating for a quick moment before tapping the girl gently on the shoulder.
"Keiko, it's Izuku," he whispered. "It's time to wake up."
The response was almost immediate.
The next thing Midoriya knew, his hand was grabbed and he was pushed onto the table, his chest pressing on the smooth surface and his arm twisted behind him, making his face contort in pain.
"Keiko-san, please release Midoriya-kun!" Iida said, speedwalking towards the two to try and de-escalate the situation. The ruckus caught the attention of most of the chattering students in the room, and they almost immediately understood what had happened. After all, they all saw that Keiko was quietly dozing a few minutes ago.
Keiko snapped out of her trance, immediately releasing Midoriya as she blinked away the drowsiness that momentarily overtook her. "Holy shit, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I'm still not used to being woken up by other people."
She lifted Midoriya off the table and made him stand up straight as she held his cheeks, checking for any sign of injury on his face.
There was one thing that Midoriya didn't lose over his months in UA, and it was his quick fuse before his face turned tomato red in embarrassment and fluteredness.
"K — Keiko, I'm okay!" He said, scolding himself internally for stuttering. "You didn't hurt me."
Keiko sighed in relief. "Okay, good. The only people I want to hurt when they wake me up are my brother and his friends."
Midoriya laughed nervously, his cheeks still slightly squished in Keiko's hands. "U — Um... can you please let go of my face now, Keiko?"
The girl's hands immediately left his cheeks, no longer hiding the deep red that coated him like his face was dumped in a barrel of red dye.
Thank goodness Midnight entered the classroom to start their next class just in time to save Keiko and Midoriya from the embarrassment of what just happened a few minutes ago.
Ahhh that was so embarrassing what the fuck, Keiko thought, mentally punching herself in the face. Why the hell did you not wake me up?
... I do not exactly have a reason for that.
... you —
▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎
Two classes later, the bell rang, signifying the start of lunch, everyone rushed to the cafeteria in attempts to beat the usual long lines in the school, but they were proven unsuccessful once again.
"Damn, why is there always so many people in the canteen already," Sero complained, his voice barely heard over the chaos in the big room. The ones who did hear him — the Bakusquad — nodded in agreement.
"I'll go find us a table," Kirishima said, looking at Kaminari. "Can you get my order bro?"
Kaminari nodded, giving the redhead a reassuring thumbs up. "Leave it to me!"
"Excuse me, pardon me, move," Keiko muttered to the sea of people that she was attempting to navigate through, careful to not drop the alarming amount of trays of food on her; three on her left arm, two on her right arm, and one balanced over her head, all of them tilting from side to side from Keiko's movements.
Thankfully, Mina spotted her, her jaw dropping at the amount of food she was carrying. "Girl, I don't care about your eating habits, but how are you carrying all that without any of it spilling on your uniform?"
"Help me," Keiko pleaded, almost dropping the one on her head when someone bumped into her.
Mina, Sero, and Kaminari went to help her, taking off four trays; two with the tape dispenser and one each with miss Pinky and the human Pikachu.
"Thank you," Keiko sighed, taking off the one on her head and putting it in her hand.
Kaminari sighed, unable to stay quiet for any longer. "Okay, I gotta bite. Why do you have so much food with you?"
Keiko blushed very slightly, but Bakugou — who has been uncharacteristically silent during the entire exchange — picked up on it. "A-Ah, well... most of this is actually for you guys."
.... "Huh????" The other three practically had question marks hovering over their heads from how genuinely confused they sounded.
Keiko was basically part of the squad now, eating with them during most recess and lunch periods, training and sparring with them outside of classes, and just being there for them in general.
But this was new; never had Keiko bought even one of them lunch, but now all of them were getting food from her.
Keiko refused to explain despite the numerous variations of the same question that the three asked: why? "C'mon, let's just go to the table, the food's gonna get cold."
Though the three didn't understand her reason behind her sudden kindness, Bakugou had a good guess.
He thought that he didn't deserve to be the number one hero if he didn't observe his classmates like a hawk, taking note of the changes in their behavior and thinking of reasons why the change happened (his theories were usually correct). How was he supposed to be the best if he didn't excell at everything?
Bakugou noticed that she was starting to feel guilty for suddenly putting distance between her and her closest friends. He suspected that she still thought about what that invisible bitch said back on their first day in the dorms (Kirishima told him), but he also had a feeling that there was more to it.
He knew this because he paid more attention to the black-haired girl than the others. When he found himself staring at the girl for too long when she went around the classroom to communicate with their classmates, he tried to convince himself that he just saw her as a bigger competitor than the other extras in the room, since she had more experience and was much more creative with her quirk, utilizing it in ways that even a pro hero wouldn't have thought of.
Keyword: tried.
He wasn't stupid. He was aware that he felt some kind of feelings towards Keiko, from the way his cheeks would heat up just a tiny bit when Keiko stood a little bit too close, the way his eyes automatically search for her in a crowded room, the way he seeks for her praise whenever he does something he's proud of.
He did, however, consider his feelings pathetic and useless. They made him feel like those highschool male leads in the cringey romance movies that his mom made him watch with her; weak and distracted. And he couldn't afford to be weak and distracted if he wanted to be the strongest hero in the world.
That didn't make the feelings go away any quicker, though.
Either way, Keiko still felt guilty, and that was the best reason for her to suddenly buy her friends lunch.
When they sat down on the table (Mina, Kaminari, and Kirishima on one side and Sero, Bakugou, and Keiko on the other), they sorted through the dishes and were greatly surprised when they found out that Keiko ordered the usual meals they asked for in the cafeteria despite never actually telling Keiko their orders.
"Thank you again for doing this, Keiko," Kirishima said for the third time since Mina told him what happened. "We really appreciate it."
The others on the table (save for Bakugou — though he also secretly felt grateful for her actions) nodded in agreement.
"How were you able to get the food so quickly? You left at the same time as us but got your food almost immediately," Kaminari asked through a spoonful of food, making Keiko stare at him pointedly, which made him remember to swallow his food before talking.
When Kaminari repeated the question with a now empty mouth, Keiko grinned michievously. "There's a loophole in Lunch Rush's 'first come, first serve' policy."
"What is it?" Sero asked, about to put his food in his mouth.
Keiko ate a piece of beef from her beef mami before replying. "He never said that we couldn't order our food beforehand, during recess. I had them made a few minutes before lunch started, so all I had to do was pick it up."
Bakugou grunted from beside her, devouring his spicy meal. "Not bad, northern lights."
His comment made the rest of the tabel gasp.
"Bakugou, complimenting someone else?" Kirishima said, dropping his chopsticks in his rice bowl to wipe a fake tear from his eye. "I never thought I'd see the day. I'm so proud."
"SHUT UP SHITTY HAIR!" Pink.
"Are you sick or something?" Kaminari asked worriedly, Sero nodding along. "Since when did you know how to compliment people?"
"FUCK OFF, DISCOUNT PIKACHU! AND YOU TAPE DISPENSER!" Magenta.
Mina squealed, her heart fluttering from the cuteness. "You complimented Keiko! I knew you had a crush on her!"
"I — N-NO I DON'T! SHUT YER TRAP, RACOON EYES!" Finally, red.
Katsuki Bakugou was blushing.
Keiko wheezed, tears gathering in her eyes as she repeatedly patted Sero's shoulder in an attempt to cease her laughter.
The rest of the table laughed with her, not missing the fact that this was the first time Keiko laughed this loudly since Bakugou's Monoma hairstyle.
"I — can't fucking — breathe!" Keiko gasped, making steam come out of Bakugou's ears. Out of embarrassment or rage, they couldn't tell. Maybe it was both.
"GO TO HELL NORTHERN LIGHTS!" Bakugou roared, his shouting catching the eyes of a few passersby, but they ultimately shrugged and looked away.
His heart took note of something that his brain refused to acknowledge.
That she was quite beautiful when she laughed.
• ~ • ~ • ~ •
After that, nothing interesting happened, which led to the day going by quickly as the last bell rang through the halls of UA, signalling the end of today's classes.
"It just me or are the teachers giving us — habadoo — more things to do as the days go by?" Kaminari groaned, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulders as he walked with his friends, his head occasionally jerking to the side.
"It's probably to make up for the days where we were out doing hero stuff," Keiko commented, scratching her head. "Wish they lessened the load, though. It's hard enough to balance through everything without additional assignments."
Kirishima aimed to stay positive. "This is also a way for us to prepare and learn to balance our social and work lives when we're all official pro heroes!"
Mina joined in. "Yeah! We can do this!"
"Speak for yourself, Miss '20th place in midterms,'" Sero commented, making Keiko snort and Mina gasp, offended.
Bakugou and Keiko walked beside each other in front of the group, the former still refusing to walk behind "extras."
It was funny, how he was once her bully only a few months ago, and now they were practically friends.
Keiko herself was surprised at how quickly things had changed. Back in their old school, she would rather get hit by a meteorite than walk beside the ash blonde. But now she was close enough to him that she can even tease him without getting blasted to bits.
"Hey, Baku —"
"Sorry."
Keiko's words died in her mouth at the word that sounded so foreign coming from the prideful, egotistical, I-don't-know-any-other-word-to-describe-
him boy.
"Huh? What for?" Keiko finally asked, looking at the boy who looked like he was going to barf from his own words.
He huffed, his cheeks turning pink as he forced himself to not back down and keep contact with Keiko's golden eyes, not wanting the girl to see him as weak. "When... when we were in middle school, I fucking bullied you a lot of damn times, even fucking fought with you. And I'm s-... sorry..."
Keiko was so tempted to make the boy repeat the murmured end of his statement, but she decided not to push her own luck just because she was petty.
"I forgive you," Keiko said simply, smiling at the boy. "You interrupted me with that shitty apology, though. That's kinda mean."
Bakugou glared at the girl's teasing, but she saw how his eyes didn't hold as much anger as they usually did.
It was like he was at peace.
And Keiko had to admit, he looked nicer when he was calm.
"Fuck off," Bakugou retorted, making Keiko laugh slightly. "Fine, since I'm such a nice fucking guy, what the hell were you gonna say?"
Keiko shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal, it's fine."
Bakugou's curiosity rose. "Tell me, northern lights."
"Fine," Keiko huffed, smiling at his pushiness. "I was just wondering why you call me 'northern lights.'"
Bakugou looked at the girl like she was stupid. "'Cause of your quirk, dumbass. It's like the stupid northern lights."
Keiko tilted her head. "But if you look at it, it's the only nickname you use for someone in the class that isn't an insult. You call Kirishima 'Shitty Hair' and Kaminari 'Discount Pikachu,' and they're obviously meant to insult them. But how come you chose to name me after one of nature's beauties."
The previous tint on his cheeks returned, but it was on the tips of his ears this time. "Don't think you're anything special, northern lights. That was the first name that came into my mind when your shitface popped up in the classroom one day."
Keiko shrugged, eyes glinting with amusement. "If you say so."
The boy scowled, his face scrunching up. "What are you doubting me?! You wanan fucking go right now, hah?!"
Keiko laughed, going back and forth with Bakugou until they reached the somewhat empty dorms, where she had to run inside to avoid getting blown up by her friend.
Bakugou, deeming running after her as a waste of his energy, simply flipped her off as she sent him a heart in response.
"Oi, northern lights," Bakugou called as Keiko was about to go to the stairs to get her clothes before she showed. She stopped, glancing at the boy questioningly.
He looked around the dorm. Him and Keiko arrived before the rest of the Bakusquad, and the rest of the class were either on their way to the dorms, or they were already in their rooms. Either way, the two were the only ones present in the common room.
"Don't tell a soul about what just happened," Bakugou said threateningly, making Keiko roll her eyes.
Just as she was about to disappear into the stairwell, Bakugou said one more thing. "And don't forget to eat your fucking dinner, alright? I can't beat you if you collapse from your shitty eating habits."
Keiko popped her head into the common room, said "You're getting all soft on me, Bakugou. You better watch it or else you might be apologizing to Midoriya next" and walked up the stairs, smiling fondly at the profanities that rang through the building from the boy.
It feels nice.
What does?
Keiko sighed, her muscles relaxing a bit time went on in the dorms, chatter filling the common room as the rest of the class arrived.
Having someone be concerned for you. It feels nice.
[ author's corner ]
Woah finally some romance. Sorry for the lack of it, by the way. I realized various love interests is not my strong suit, but it's way too late to change it now. Sorry for the spelling mistakes that are probably in here.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the filler. I just wanted to slow things down a little bit before the fighting and stuff comes back.
Thank you for reading. Plus Ultra !!
- R
[ ua gossip ]
• Bakugou felt like there was always some awkward air around him and Keiko, and decided to break it once and for all.
•• This chapter was supposed to be about that reporter finding out about Midoriya and All Might, but the author got too lazy to watch that episode again and decided to just put some fluff and romance between Keiko and Bakugou.
••• The cafeteria trick is an actual trick that the author's sibling uses in their school (when they actually have their own money that isn't the author's to buy their own food).