𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬, ... 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬?
Boba was now a priority, Todoroki trying to get her off the coffee, but the two barely made it to class before the alarms sounded. It was merely a drill about hypothetically infiltrated villains, but she was disappointed she didn't get to finish her drink before suiting up and heading to Ground Beta.
Iida and Yaoyorozu were giving a rundown on the situation, most of the tactical stuff being quite limited. In order to gain more info the reconnaissance squad, those with quirks suitable for the task, got to work.
Asumi was busy fidgeting with the top of her red, fingerless glove that extended over her elbow on her left arm. With her right covered with a white sleeve and the hood over her head, she was... mostly shielded from the chilly weather. She could've asked them to adjust her costume to have a sleeve on the other side to make it an extremely cropped hood, but where's the fun in ruining her original design?
She missed most of the recall, mind wandering, but a small team was sent to extinguish a fire from a fallen down building by the river, and another was sent to rescue someone spotted in the water, the rest, including herself, were supposed to bring up the rear.
Everyone began running since the two other squads took off with a cart and Iida pulled it at full speed, except for the usual four who always seemed to be doing their own thing.
"Bakugo, you're going the wrong way." Kirishima complained as the boy walked in the opposite direction.
Asumi was now messing with the top of her hood, trying to fit it comfortably over both her ears and her support item over her eye.
"What's happening?" Kaminari cried out as Bakugo snatched him by the back of his hero costume and pulled them both behind him.
Soon her hands fell from her costume and then down the street where the others had gone, only to furrow her brows at the street. There were so many cracks from all the training done there, and she couldn't help but shift her boot off the one she was standing on.
"We're looking for villains." He said simply, "Leave the rescuing to the extras."
"Huh? What? Seriously?"
The three boy's conversation and their advancement toward a dead car on the side of the road started to grow quiet the further she got, as did her attention to the actual drill happening. Asumi watched her feet, tip-toeing and taking long strides over the cracks to avoid touching them.
Perhaps the word "hypothetical" was why she seemed to lack any urgency at all. It also seemed like the rest of her class had it handled.
And Asumi Amajiki makes a comeback for next year's competition. Will she step on a crack? Who knows!
The voice in her head became a motivator the faster she got, not even fathoming the growing voices or the fact she was approaching a scene with a "villain" until she got too quick for her own good and misplaced her step.
"Dammit." The girl cursed to herself.
And she loses this year, folks! What a disappointment! Hope her mother's back is okay!
Her mother was dead, but that wasn't the point. Her daydreams had been crushed, and sadly she had to come back to reality.
Asumi moved herself to the side of the street and in between two buildings at the sight of Nejire and Tamaki, both wearing jerseys to signify that they were posing as the villains.
They had caged in some of her classmates, which was why she decided it was best if she wasn't seen even if she had far enough distance.
That was until she watched her brother turn away from the group and walk in the direction she was in, not that he knew that, "I'm going home."
Her class blinked in confusion, wondering if he was really just leaving.
"Tama..." She whispered to herself, shaking her head. She knew he was probably only there because Nejire and Mirio encouraged him to take part in the drill.
It was also because of them, specifically Nejire calling out, that had reminded him why he was there, "Hey! Stop this, Amajiki!"
He turned his head, listening to her, "You can't bounce. You have a big part to play."
"And don't any of you move, either! Or it'd be bad, because I'm a fearsome villain right now!"
It was hard to take Nejire seriously as a villain when she was such a soft-spoken and sweet person, even if she had Ashido as a hostage.
With Hado distracted with keeping the others by the river bank, Midoriya called out while playing the role of hero, "What do you want Amaji–I mean, villain?" He was doing his best.
"To go home."
They all sweatdropped, Asumi slapping her hand against her face.
"Well then, why are you still here?"
"'Cause if I leave, Hado will get mad at me. Not to mention Mirio." He sighed, "He asked me to do what I could to help you become proper heroes as soon as possible. He's counting on me to push you."
At least he was honest.
"So I'll stand and fight." His entire person changed as he readied his quirk, of course just a front to get him through this.
Asumi watched from the sidelines as her classmates struck, looking so well-oriented she wondered if she had missed the part where they planned this whole thing out from her hidden spot. Surely they weren't telepathic?
No...
Right?
With Nejire pinned, their efforts turned to Tamaki.
Was she supposed to step in? If so, when?
The girl also wondered if they even knew she was there–probably not.
"Deku, now!" Her emerald eyes followed the flash of green trying to come down on her brother, nearly succeeding, but he chose... an odd path.
Instead of hitting him, Midoriya told him to surrender.
If he was an actual villain, he probably would've succeeded; but, he let the fact it was a drill get in the way. He was easily tossed aside.
Asumi sighed aloud. Damn, she'd actually have to do something, huh?
The girl walked out from her hiding space slowly, eyes set on her brother who had his back to her.
At least one thing was for sure, she'd take this seriously whether it was a drill or not when it came to fighting her brother.
The group blinked in confusion at the way Tamaki stopped his attack entirely, all recovering from the hits thrown at them.
If Present Mic had been there, she imagined him saying something that went like...
Asumi Amajiki! Hero name: Dreamcatcher. Quirk: None, unlike her other half, Yume! Quirk: Nightmare!
He flicked his head around from side to side, behind, back in front, side again, and it just kept going as he seemingly hallucinated a crowd of people around him. They watched, eyes wide open and on him. Nervousness crawled up his throat, making it seemingly swell as he tried to piece together who they were, a rational part of him underneath his fear reminding him that his sister had to have been nearby.
And nearby she was. Her classmate's silent question was answered as they watched Asumi quietly approach him from behind, careful of her footing so as to not give her location away. In reality, it was Yume.
Her hands raised up, getting ready to restrain him before he'd catch onto what was happening only for the hair forced under her hood to fall in front of her face with her movement. She didn't take notice of it, but Asumi sure did as it fell right in front of her support item and blinded her.
Momentarily blinded by her stupid hair that she refused to put him, Yume was without instruction and panicked slightly, causing her to knock a rock in the street with her boot that immediately gave her away.
Tamaki spun around, his hand with fingers for tentacle snatching her up so fast the entire illusion faded away at her shock.
A gasp left her throat, hair swung out of her face as he pinned her to the street, arms glued to her side because of his tight hold. It was much like a snake slithering in a ball around its prey, growing tighter and tighter to prevent their escape–but Tamaki left out everything that came after that.
"Should've been quieter." He corrected her.
She knew that but was also annoyed that she was caught because of her own mistake and couldn't help but mock like an annoying sister, "Should've been quieter."
He didn't get a chance to scold her again when she felt the ground begin to shake underneath her, both their heads turning toward the growing rev coming down the street as well as the red dot becoming bigger and bigger.
What the–
A sudden explosion came from the car coming toward them at full speed, powered by Kaminari, and Kirishima was sent soaring forward.
Tamaki was thrown right off of her, his grip loosening enough for her to only tumble against the street. It was a better fate than her brother, at least.
Kirishima landed, looking up to the smoke with a knowing smirk, "Here he comes. The big bang."
Her eyes rolled, he had to make an entrance.
The drama queen himself blasted off the car Kaminari drove, seemingly coming from the front but using his quirk to surprise her brother from the back.
Tamaki was prepared, turning around quickly, "I see you!"
"Prepare to be murdered!"
He wasn't prepared for that, and the indigo-haired boy whimpered in fear before being pummeled to the ground.
"Yeah! Way to do it, man!"
"You took out Amajiki, that's impressive!"
"I believe that we've cleared the drill."
The robot announcer that sounded like Nezu, likely made by him, announced that they were indeed right and it was over.
Bakugo, however, wasn't done.
"Fight me!" He screamed at Tamaki who he had yet to let get up, "You went easy on me earlier, didn't you?"
"No. I was terrified of your face–"
"DON'T YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME!"
He went on, not noticing the cringes from his classmates.
"Besides, I don't care if you were acting."
Nor did he notice Asumi slowly getting up from the ground.
"Or that you're an upperclassman."
Her hands balled into fists, her classmates' nervous gazes shifting to her.
"Villains have to be taught a lesson. You're done for, loser!" He powered up his quirk, an orange glow coming from his hands as Tamaki closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
"DIE!" He screamed followed by a massive explosion one might've thought someone dropped a bomb where they were.
"KATSUKI BAKUGO!" Her voice echoed just as loud as the explosion, the entire class watching her figure stomp toward them in the smoke. Her skin was just as covered in soot and smoke as everyone else, but that didn't stop her stride.
Bakugo looked up just as she shoved him off her brother, hard.
No one beat him and pushed him around but her.
The blond boy's glare faltered as he looked up at her, meeting her eyes that seemed to glow red with anger as they stared down at him–looking a lot like he did earlier.
Tamaki glanced between the two, inwardly noting that they were kind of the same person when they were pissed off even if one was more hot-headed than the other.
"Man-handle my brother again and I'll kick your ass!"
Their class deadpanned. Yep, they were made for each other, alright.
☯︎
"Ooo, who are you looking so fine for?" Asumi was bombarded by her very pink friend as she came downstairs, Ashido meeting her stride to the couch.
"You look hot, girl." Jiro complimented, looking up from her phone as the indigo-haired girl sat down on the couch next to her.
The girl wasn't as dressed up as they were making it seem. She simply wore her nice pair of slim, black jeans and a fitted black turtleneck that tucked into it. You couldn't go wrong with a casual black to get you through a insisted dinner.
Their compliments caused any of her classmates nearby to look over, her eyes briefly meeting Sero's and Midoriya who were talking to one another. They both shot her a grin, Sero adding a knowing wink, as they told her she looked great like the gentlemen they were.
She looked down, slipping on the ankle boots that she previously carried downstairs, "It's–"
She was cut off by their gasp as Bakugo made his way downstairs and she didn't have to look to know he was wearing something nice–at least she hoped because she begged him to at least try.
"And why is Bakugo too?" Ashido turned toward her excitedly, "Is it a date?"
To their dismay, all listening ears included, that was not the case and Asumi clarified, "No, my grandparents wanted me and Tamaki over for dinner and our formal dinners mean dressing nicer."
Ashido deflated but asked, "Then why is Bakugo going?"
"He's coming to make up for me having dinner at his home." She answered simply, and it was mostly the truth.
Truthfully, her grandparents, specifically her grandmother, would not leave her alone about meeting Bakugo ever since he was brought up once in their house. The added news of their kidnapping, being classmates, and a number of things Tamaki probably said after she pestered him, they saw this as an excuse to bring him over and treat him to dinner after his family treated her–not that Bakugo had much of a choice in her coming over for dinner.
Asumi was no idiot. This was code for "testing Bakugo" and it was annoying.
She thought she could get out of it when she asked him, assuming his answer, but she didn't think he'd say yes when she mentioned it earlier that morning.
Ashido shared a look with Jiro when she got up, noticing her slight annoyance. It wasn't directed toward them, they knew that but decided not to say anything as she made her way to Todoroki getting ready by the door.
He too had been dragged home by his family.
She grabbed her coat among many hanging on the wall, fitting her arms into the sleeves, "Ready for dinner with your father?"
"Of course not." Todoroki said easily as he adjusted the sleeve of his coat.
She chuckled slightly but added as she pulled the fabric over her shoulders, "It'll be nice to see Natsuo and Feyumi, at least."
"Yeah, she's making cold soba."
Asumi offered him a smile, "See? I think it's off to a good start. Text me if you need anything, though."
His mouth opened to reply but was cut off by the not-so-hushed banter happening across the room. They tilted their heads in sync at the sight of Kirishima and Kaminari pestering Bakugo who looked like he wanted to kill both of them.
"We're just saying, be a gentleman!" Kaminari whined, trying to get through to the boy.
"Shut up! I don't need you telling me what to do. I know how to be a gentleman, dammit!" Bakugo snarled, whacking away Kirishima's hand that was trying to fix the collar of his shirt.
Kaminari deadpanned, "Somehow I don't believe you." He was also swatted away.
Todoroki looked down at Asumi, offering her the same, "Text me if you need help."
Asumi snickered and she lightly whacked his shoulder.
She then interrupted the very loud argument, feeling her phone buzz in her back pocket and knowing who was messaging her, "Katsuki, ready to go? Tamaki and Aizawa are waiting."
Midoriya was in the group watching them leave, and he was the only one who audibly gasped, turning toward Sero, "Kaachan and Asumi are on... first name basis?!" The boy seemed to malfunction, knowing the boy for a long time and being shocked by this revelation. Seemed he was the last to know about it.
Asumi pretended not to notice, simply sighing as she waited for the three boys to finish up impatiently.
Todoroki was the first to brave the question amongst her friends, "You seem upset."
"Huh?" She looked up at him, brows raised.
"Since training." He went on.
The girl sighed again before venting, "My stupid hair was in the way of the visor and Other didn't realize, and it messed us up." Was that all of what was bothering her? Of course not. But something one thing can unwind all your pent-up annoyance, and this happened to be the trigger.
Todoroki, didn't understand this, but nodded at the one thing she revealed as the "main cause" and offered her a solution, "Put your hair up so it doesn't get in the way."
Her hand reached up and brushed her pointed ear.
"Look at those ears!"
"They're as weird as her."
"Right? Who runs away from a butterfly?"
"My dad says she was in a hospital, so maybe she's crazy."
"Crazy and those ears? She must be an imp or something."
She recalled being a child, the teasing over her ears that often looked red and irritated from tugging when she came home. Kids were mean, the understatement of the year, but kids were also the reason she stopped wearing her hair up
Unconsciously she moved her hair slightly to cover her ear that had been poking out, covering up her feelings with a fake smile, "I'd rather not."
He squinted at her, but Asumi noticed his eyes shift next to her causing her to look over, nearly jumping as she realized Bakugo was there. When did he come over?
Her emerald eyes scanned his appearance up and down, seeing if he had dressed up as she asked. Her lips turned up at the fact that he had, noting his black pants, red shirt, and a black button-up with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, not a single button done so it left it entirely open.
He arched a brow at the fact that she was obviously sizing him up, but was taken aback when she looked up with a closed-mouth smile, "You clean up nice.
"Don't forget a jacket, it's cold." Asumi added as Todoroki opened the door, the girl ready to follow him out.
She failed to see Kirishima elbow his friend, turning to see if he was coming only to note the faint flush of red on the tips of his ears before saying, "You don't look terrible either." It sounded awfully forced, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Words weren't his forte, after all.
"Don't hurt yourself, now." She joked before following Todoroki out the door.
Bakugo turned his head to glare at his friends with a murderous glint in his eyes, but Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero only gave him forced grins, more of a cringe than anything, and a thumbs-up.
He flipped them off before going outside, slamming the door behind him.
☯︎
As their teacher, Aizawa drove them. He dropped Todoroki off first, but the drive to her house was short since the boy lived a short walk from her own.
She was thankful to arrive at her home, feeling awfully awkward in the silent car while squished between Bakugo and Tamaki who would die before saying the first word.
The quietness prevailed as they reached the door and she rang the doorbell, only for it to be broken by her grandmother shouting loudly behind it, "TAIYO, GET THE DOOR!"
On cue, the door swung open to reveal an older man she called her grandfather. He didn't look seriously old, but his black hair and stubby beard had begun to turn gray and the wrinkles were prominent around his purple-colored eyes.
"Hi, grandpa." Tamaki and Asumi greeted each other, but the man said nothing. The siblings could do nothing but stand there awkwardly as they glazed between their grandfather staring down the boy at her side with an intensity they were used to and Bakugo who didn't falter.
Eventually, their grandfather spun around and told them to come in, leaving the door open as he walked away.
Tamaki walked in first, leaving her with Bakugo who gave her a look.
She batted a dismissive hand, "It'll be fine..." The uncertainty in her voice was hard to hide.
The two walked inside, closing the door behind them before slipping off their shoes and coats. She took his coat, hanging it up on their rack as the boy looked around her house.
It was modest, but he noted that it was still rather nice. Perhaps what made it modest was the elderly touch. If not for the countless picture frames of her and Tamaki around the house, he wouldn't ever have assumed kids had lived there with the type of patterns and furniture owned.
He followed slowly behind the girl as she walked further into the room, not wanting to be left alone in this house.
His hands fell into his pockets, one framed photo under the TV catching his eye and causing him to lean toward it.
Bakugo noted the little girl who was clearly Asumi, her hair done up into a ponytail adorned with a few small braids. The smile she had in it wasn't one he saw often, spread ear to ear that he noted wasn't covered.
Beside her, he noticed Tamaki and, strangely enough, a green-haired child who appeared older than the two. He recognized her, only meeting the girl once before.
Who he didn't recognize was the woman wrapping her arms around Asumi, long black hair that was more of a deep shade of purple cascading down over both her shoulders and shaping the frame of the little girl. Her eyes were as purple as her brothers and her grandfather's, and she also had pointed ears.
Beside her, with a single hand set on Tamaki's shoulder, a man stood with slicked back and neat green hair, his eyes matching those of Asumi.
These were her parents.
He had not heard a word of them since what he overheard Todoroki reveal, and he knew better than to bring it up unless she brought it up. He just had a feeling it wasn't as simple as Todoroki laid it out.
"It smells good, grandma!" She called out in the direction of what he guessed was the kitchen.
"Aren't you going to offer to help her?" The voice of her grandfather, made the boy whirl around with his heart skipping a beat. He couldn't help but wonder how he just appeared there.
He was flustered by the surprise and the words spoken to him, "I–"
"Oh, quit scaring the boy." A woman's voice came to his rescue, his eyes shifting to an older woman offering him a kind smile as she wiped her hands on a red and white checkered-themed wash rag at the entrance of the doorway.
Her hair had gone just as gray, but he could tell by the dark purple, almost black, color that they had to have been the parents of Asumi's mother. Unlike the rest of the family, she had warm, brown eyes and the common trait of pointed ears that passed through generations–and likely more to come.
Asumi changed the subject, choosing to introduce them, "Bakugo, this is my grandmother, Rai. And my grandfather, Taiyo."
"It's just Mister Amajiki to you, boy." Her grandfather grumbled.
She elbowed the blond before he could snap something back. She'd never hear the end of it.
"And this is Katsuki Bakugo, my..." The girl glanced at the boy who had yet to take his eyes off of her grandparents, ".... Friend."
"Oh, Bakugo, I've heard all about you." Rai began to go on and on, fussing over the boy who got too much of an ego boost knowing she talked about him.
Asumi, on the other hand, dragged her hands down her face.
As she continued to rant about how Asumi had told her that he was being kind to her, something that was supposed to stay behind them, she looked toward her brother with a look of desperation. It practically screamed. Do something, please!
Tamaki sighed, but interrupted as he gave into her silent pleas, "Grandmother, your food is burning." That wasn't just a ploy. They all could smell the rising smokey scent creeping from the kitchen.
"Oh, shoot!" She cursed politely in comparison to the two, running back into the kitchen. Tending to her food, she called out, "Well you thee just hang out or go up stairs! I'll let you know when dinner is ready!"
"Thank you." Asumi muttered to Tamaki who only nodded before she began to lead Bakugo upstairs.
"Door open." The boy flinched again as her grandfather mysteriously appeared beside him at the bottom of the stairs, Asumi was unphased as she was used to it.
"Got it." Bakugo practically choked, restraining himself from any kind of curses–which she gave him props for.
He followed her upstairs and to her room, muttering, "What the hell is your grandfather's problem?" He looked behind him, just to be sure he wouldn't appear there too.
"Oh, he's just protective." Asumi dismissed as she cracked the door behind Bakugo.
"He got a warping quirk or something?" He arched a brow at her.
Her head shook, "No, he blends with his surroundings so he looks invisible. Little creepy, really, but if you know where to look he's easy to find. He was Chameleon before he retired."
Now both of his brows were raised at her, "Chameleon? As in the pro-hero?"
The girl nodded, "Yeah, and my grandmother was Bullseye. They met when they were new heroes because their agencies were near one another and they always ended up at the same missions. It's cute, really."
She couldn't help but notice the look on his face, one that caused her to smirk, "You really are a fanboy."
His expression hardened once more, "Shut up."
Asumi mockingly zipped her lips and threw away the key, walking toward her mirror. She tried to just ignore Bakugo as he grew just as invasive as she was when she first saw his room. He touched things, had to look at everything, asked what certain things were, and made fun of other things.
She just let him go on as she bunched her hair up into her hand and lifted it up. She frowned at her reflection, emerald eyes lingering on the pointed ears.
Today had really bothered her, and she couldn't help but think about it.
"It looks good, stop worrying."
The girl dropped her hair quickly, eyes moving from herself to Bakugo who met her gaze in the mirror. He was deadpanning, completely serious about what he said.
She took a little less serious of a response, practically in her nature to start banter with the boy, "I'll stop worrying when you stop calling me an idiot." That and it was also an attempt at veering the subject casually.
Bakugo arched a brow at her, but she was confused as a smirk fell upon his own lips. He came up behind her, scooping her hair up into one hand and holding it high on her head, not letting her change the subject like the stubborn ass he was, "This looks good, moron."
A flush reached her skin that she tried to hide with her narrowed eyes, snapping back with a voice that lacked bite, "Synonyms included."
Her glare met his smirk in the mirror, but she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine as his other hand came up and brushed her exposed pointed ears that radiated her skin with warmth.
Her glare faltered as Bakugo told her lowly, yet honestly, "And I also mean these."
Bakugo was no idiot, and you'd have to be a blind one to not notice that she always hid them–not to mention what he overheard at the front door that confirmed it.
Everyone had their insecurities, but he thought they truly looked good on her and this was his way of telling her that.
A silence lingered, neither able to remove their gazes from one another. It was as if a thread strung them together, even through a reflection. His hand had yet to fall from her hair, showing him everything about her face that was often hidden behind her unkempt locks.
Her skin was adorned with faint freckles across the bridge of her nose that stretched all the way to her hair-line in a scattered manner, the curve of her jaw he had brushed with his fingers, her lips that were perfectly shaped and perfectly annoying every time they opened yet–
"Dinner!"
A strange feeling of disappointment was felt as the warmth of his hand and his body behind her left as he pulled away, but both cleared their throats awkwardly.
"Let's, uh... go downstairs."
"Right..."
☯︎
Dinner... went as well as it could've in Asumi's opinion. The interrogation was unavoidable, and her grandfather was relentless, but she was grateful her grandmother had put an end to it as she tossed the butter knife with pin-point accuracy in his direction. He was silenced as it stabbed into the table scarily between his fingers. It was her quirk after all, and he always listened to her when she got serious.
The rest of the dinner was... actually nice. Both she and Tamaki told them about school, even asking Bakugo. And, if she wasn't mistaken, she thought she noticed her grandfather begin to warm up to the boy she brought home once he went on about all his hero dreams and things he had done with his quirk.
Her grandfather was just as insane, in all honesty.
By the end of the dinner, he couldn't help but jumpscare the boy one last time on their way out. Hugs were exchanged and Aizawa drove them back to the dorms after picking up Todoroki.
Bakugo would've just called it a night, stuffed with pretty decent food and following after Asumi talking up a storm to Todoroki about dinner as they went inside; however, he was stopped by her brother.
"Huh?" He looked back, confused as to why Tamaki had stopped him.
The indigo-haired boy glanced over his shoulder, making sure Asumi was still occupied before turning to the blond seriously, "Listen, I just needed to tell you... Well, Asumi used to confide in me about... you know."
He gave him an unsure look as to where this was going but nodded, knowing he meant everything with her nightmares and the horrific reality she had lived.
"But it was never enough." He admitted with his head lowered slightly.
Bakugo scoffed, "Yeah, right." He didn't think that was true at all, but before he could argue, he was stopped by what was said next.
"I haven't seen her like this in a long time."
They turned to the girl in question who turned from Todoroki, smiling over at them and waving for Bakugo to follow them up since she had already said her goodnights to her brother. There was a little confusion about what they could've been talking about, but she didn't voice it.
He held a finger up at her, telling her one second; and she mocked his finger with her middle one jokingly.
"Like what? An ass?" Bakugo said, mostly joking as he gave her the finger back.
Instead of his head lowered, Tamaki offered a soft smile at the boy who turned back to face him with a small smile on his face from their antics. "At peace." He clarified.
Bakugo's smile fell, a shocked expression washing over his face as his upperclassman set a hand on his shoulder and told him wholeheartedly, "Thank you."
☯︎
KASUMIIIIII AHHHHHAH VAOBOSNOSDNO
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{ 5340 words }
1.21.24