"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THIS WRONG?! I JUST TAUGHT IT TO YOU!!!"
"Hey! I'm trying, man!! This is a lot harder than you made it seem!!!"
Bakugou proceeded to smack the top of Kirishima's head with a rolled-up workbook, the agitation clearly getting to him. He was incredibly close to burning the papers in his hands by accidently activating his quirk in anger.
Tutoring the redhead for final exams proved to be a much greater nuisance than he initially thought.
"HEY, BRAT! WILL YOU QUIET DOWN! YOU HAVE ANOTHER GUEST!" His mother shouted. "SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!" The boy yelled back, as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
The footsteps soon stopped in front of his slightly open door. Guest? Who could it possibly be?
If it was dunce face, he'd blow him to hell. If it was his mom, he'd blow her to hell. His dad was at work but if it was him, he'd blow him to hell too.
The unknown guest knocked three times on the door. The force of the knocking pushed the door the rest of the way open, revealing Ayano.
Well, he certainly hadn't expected it to be her.
"Hey, Aya-chan! What's up!" Kirishima greeted, earning himself a glare from the ash blond. Calling her a nickname with that honorific?! Since when had she and hedgehog hair become so close!?
"Oh. My apologies. I was not aware that you were on a date." "WHO THE HELL IS ON A DATE, HUH!??!"
The girl smirked. "You're right. That was a foolish comment from me. I cannot imagine anyone who would willingly go on a date with you." Kirishima unsuccessful tried stifling his laughter, causing Bakugou to hit him again. "YOU GET ONE QUESTION WRONG ON THAT WORKSHEET AND I'LL BLOW YOU TO BITS!!!" The redhead quickly got back to work, though he was unable to wipe the smile from his face.
Ayano raised an eyebrow. "You are tutoring him. That is...quite virtuous of you." He caught onto the hesitation in her voice. "I CAN BE VIRTUOUS TOO!!"
The girl took her seat on the floor, alongside the two boys. "I never said you could not, just implied that it is rather rare of you."
The blond was just about to yell again when his mother burst into the room. "KATSUKI! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO SHUT UP!!" "YOU SHUT UP, YOU COW!!"
The older woman carefully set down the tray of drinks and snacks before throwing her fist down onto her son's head. With her fist still in contact with his head, she flashed a bright smile at Kirishima and Ayano. "Sorry about him! I guess he's just...excited...about having friends over for once." When she emphasized the word 'excited,' her fist ground against Bakugou's head, giving him a painful noogie.
"I brought you kids some snacks, so help yourselves!" Kirishima gratefully accepted, immediately digging in. Ayano slightly bowed her head in appreciation. "Thank you, Mitsuki-san, but this was not very necessary."
The older woman just waved it off. "Don't worry about it! Like I said, it's rare for this brat to have friends over. I was beginning to think he didn't have any!" She laughed boisterously. Bakugou couldn't handle it anymore and forcefully removed her fist from his head.
"Will you piss off already!!" He pushed his mother out of the room and slammed the door shut. Kirishima called out to him with about eight Pocky sticks shoved in his mouth. "Hey, Bakugou! You should treat your mom with more respect!" All he received was a deep glare, prompting him to quickly go back to scribbling on the practice worksheet in front of him.
Bakugou's focus then turned to Ayano nibbling on a Meiji matcha biscuit. "What are you doing here?" She swallowed the bite of the snack. "To study, I suppose."
An irk mark appeared on his temple. Bakugou knew better than that. Ayano was one of the people who needed the least help studying. Pulling out stacks of notebooks and worksheets from her bag, she said, "I believe there is a mistake on one of the practice exams, and I would like to confirm with you."
"Why don't you just ask Deku then?" He didn't mean for it to come out like that. It just did.
Truth be told, he was happy. She came to him when she had a problem. A minor problem, but it didn't take away from the fact that she still sought his help. It was a good feeling, but he couldn't help but wonder why she didn't ask Deku. It just came out snappier than he intended.
Ayano stared at him for a moment, gauging his reaction. "Are you saying it would be better to ask him instead?" Bakugou spluttered, "I didn't say that!!" She continued looking at him, but ultimately decided not to push it.
"For your information, I did ask him. He, however, has yet to finish this practice exam. Therefore, I thought I might ask you." Bakugou frowned.
So, he was right. It wasn't like he was the only person she would come to for help. In fact, he wasn't even the first. He was just the second choice, and probably only because they lived close to each other.
"Why didn't you just call me or something?!" He shouted to hide his disappointment. "I do not have your contact information." She instantly replied.
It was true. They hadn't talked to each other all that much after primary school. They only had cellphones after the fact and never got to share contact information. Bakugou grumbled, swiping the practice exam from her hands.
Kirishima was once again distracted, no longer focusing on the worksheet assigned to him. He watched the entire interaction and he looked on as his two peers discussed the problem in question.
He had always thought something was up between Bakugou and Ayano before. Every time she came into their classroom, it seemed like she would always catch his attention. And not just any girl would dare to talk to Bakugou like she would!
The redhead grew more suspicious of there being something between the two childhood friends when Bakugou grew jealous about Ayano talking to Todoroki before. Now, Kirishima was entirely convinced.
When Ayano had said she already asked Midoriya about the practice exam, Bakugou almost looked sad. Almost like he was sulking at the fact. Of course, if Kirishima mentioned anything, he was sure that the blond wouldn't hesitate to blow him up.
Kirishima smiled. Despite Bakugou's less than stellar personality, he thought they seemed like a good match. You know what they say, behind a good man is a good woman! If he had a girl like Aya-chan to back him up, Kirishima didn't think he'd have to worry about Bakugou.
"What kind of dumbass would do that for that problem?!"
"I am telling you that your method is highly unorthodox!"
"Why does it matter?!! Who the hell cares if I didn't do it the way they wanted! I got it right, didn't I?!"
"I always knew you were an idiot in real life. I just did not think that extended to your academics. I sincerely do wonder how you placed first in your entrance exams."
Kirishima smiled sheepishly. Well...maybe it was too soon to think that way. First, those two needed to be a bit more honest with each other, and who knows how long that might take.
They soon settled their debate and the three students studied in silence, save for the occasional instructional yelling from Bakugou and helpful tips from Ayano.
Kirishima didn't have the kind of mental fortitude that Ayano and Bakugou did when it came to studying, so he decided to take a break. As he stretched, he took notice of one of the papers in Ayano's pile. It was slightly poking out, allowing him to see a drawing.
Ayano easily noticed him, seeing as his stretching had stopped in an awkward pose with his arms in the air. She followed his gaze to her stack of papers. "If you are interested, you may take a look."
The redhead flinched. "Sorry! I didn't mean to stare." He apologized. Ayano nodded her head in acknowledgement, but said no further. He took the opportunity and pulled out the drawing to get a better look. "Woah! Is this one of your designs, Aya-chan?"
She nodded again. "It is one of the prototype designs for part of the practical portion of our final exam. My partner and I have been assigned to make a support item for Class 1-B's homeroom teacher, Vlad King."
Kirishima noted the sparkle that seemed to appear in Ayano's eyes as it always did when the topic of support items came up. "That's so cool! His quirk deals with his blood, right? That would explain all the needles and stuff." He said as he pointed to the design. There was an array of canisters attached with wires, presumably where the blood would flow through. There was also a separate design of needles layering the insides of pieces of armor, probably to pierce the skin upon command and collect blood.
"Man, this stuff is so complicated! You guys in the Support Department are super talented! I would never be able to come up with this!" Kirishima laughed. His brows furrowed. "But, thinking about all those needles pricking me is kind of weird. I'm sure Vlad King wouldn't have a problem though, since it is his quirk!"
Ayano looked at the boy with interest. "How curious. Izuku said the same thing when he saw the design. There is something about needles and blood that makes people collectively feel strange. Perhaps it is an evolutionary trait."
Kirishima didn't really get what she was talking about, but Bakugou didn't let him ask. The blond hit him on the head again, demanding that he go back to studying.
Soon enough, Ayano decided to head back home. Mitsuki forced her son to see her off since she 'wouldn't dare have a son with no manners.' As such, both Bakugou and Kirishima said goodbye to her at the front door.
Just before she turned to leave, Kirishima hatched an idea. "Hey, Aya-chan! Do you mind if we exchange numbers? You know, in case I need help with other questions?"
"Of course not." The girl responded as she pulled out her phone. They traded phones and typed out their numbers. "Feel free to contact me about any problems you may encounter. You can also contact me to ask about making you support items if you wish."
Kirishima brightly smiled. "Awesome!" He soon felt a glare at the back of his head, prompting him to move on with his plan. "Bakugou! You should get her number too!"
"Why the hell would I want her number?" He mumbled. There he goes again. Not being honest.
"In case she finds a mistake on another practice exam! That way, you won't have to make her come all the way here! I mean, you asked earlier why she didn't just call you." Kirishima responded, smirking knowingly at the blond.
The boy just growled, not having a good response. He snatched Ayano's phone from the redhead's hands, inputting his number.
"You know, if you wanted her number that badly, you could've just asked. No need to put on the tough guy act. It's manlier to just ask straight up!" Kirishima teased. After so much agitation from tutoring the boy, Bakugou was finally fed up and lunged at the boy, tossing Ayano's phone back to her.
The boys grappled each other, fighting out on the lawn. Ayano chuckled at their antics, looking on and thinking about her conversation with Mitsuki.
"I fear that at that point, he may not know how to take that. He'll realize that he isn't some big fish in a small pond. The pond is much bigger than he thinks and there is much bigger prey than him. I have no idea how he'll react, but I doubt that this will bode well."
She smiled gently. It seemed like she didn't have to worry after all. With someone like Kirishima by his side, Ayano believed Bakugou would be just fine at U.A.
She looked down at her phone, seeing Bakugou's number. Pressing the save button, she walked back home and left the boys to continue their fight.