The doorbell echoed loudly throughout the Bakugo household.
"Katsuki! Get the door!"
"Get it yourself, you old hag!"
"Don't make me come down there and kick your ass!"
"Calm down, you two. I'll get it," an exasperated man sighed, mostly to himself, as he padded towards the front door, the other two still yelling back and forth behind him.
Masaru glanced through the curtains as he approached, and his weariness soon melted into a grin. Moving quickly, he shuffled to unlock the door.
"Good morning, sir!" a girl greeted with a bright smile. Her raven hair fell straight to her mid-back with one side tucked behind her ear, her deep brown eyes were hidden by a cheery grin, and she waved so sweetly that images of flowers almost seemed to manifest around her.
"Naoko! You've grown so much! I could have sworn you were a baby just yesterday!" the man grinned with the same enthusiasm. The shouting match behind him lapsed momentarily as an irritated blonde boy pushed his way into the doorframe.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, scanning her irritably, glaring down his nose at the stranger in front of his house.
"I'm Ito Naoko- it's nice to meet you!" Somehow, her grin didn't falter as the boy glared daggers at her.
"Katsuki, don't be rude. Naoko is going to be staying with us for a while."
"What?!"
"Naoko!" A blonde woman darted past the pair as she tackled the girl into a hug, beaming brightly, "It's been so long! I can't believe you've gotten so big! Honey, you and Katsuki help bring her things inside," she waved at her husband before ushering the still-smiling girl into the house. "Come, come, let me show you to your room!"
"Hey- hey! What the hell?!"
Behind him, his father bent to pick up the large suitcase he only now noticed was there. "Come on, let's go inside," the cheerful man patted him on the back as he trailed after the two women.
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"Sit down, idiot!" Bakugo Mitsuki forced her struggling son onto the couch, a death grip on his shoulder, before taking a seat beside him. "Naoko, this is our son, Katsuki. Katsuki, this is Ito Naoko; her parents are good friends of your father and I from the old design firm."
"Who cares?! Why the hell is she here?!"
"Don't be an asshole, you little shit!"
"Naoko is going to be attending high school here. Her parents live rather far away, so she'll be staying with us for a while," Masaru explained mildly, quite in contrast with the rest of the little family.
"Thank you very much for having me, my parents send their thanks as well! I brought some small souvenirs we thought you might like," she smiled, brandishing two elaborate-looking gift bags, handing the first to Masaru. "This is a vintage music box from Paris; my mother remembered how much you like classical music, sir. And this one is a volleyball my mother had signed especially for you, ma'am," she smiled, handing the second, squarer bag to Mitsuki.
"No way!" her eyes sparkled at the ball in her hands, growing ever more excited as she saw the neat signature of one of her favorite players, "Ha! Your mother really is living the good life!"
"These are wonderful, Naoko. Thank you very much."
"It's nothing at all- I'm glad you like them!"
"Say, what school do you think you'll go to, dear? I know you applied to a few around here."
"Ah, I was hoping to go to UA for the heroes course, but I'll have to take the entrance exam first. My quirk isn't anything special, but I hope I can get in!"
"That's great! Katsuki here is applying for UA too, aren't you, Katsuki?"
"So what?!"
"It would be great if you kids got into the same school! You used to play together when you were younger, you know- that was back when we were all at the design firm."
"Oh my, look at the time!" Mitsuki glanced at the clock in alarm, "I was going to head out for some groceries to make a nice dinner. I should hurry- it always gets crowded this time of day. Make yourself at home, Naoko, and you'd better watch yourself, Katsuki! If I hear one word about you being rude to our guest, I'll knock your lights out!"
"Shut up, ugly hag!"
Naoko stood by the foot of the bed in the former guest room, having just unzipped her suitcase and begun unpacking when the door flew open with a bang.
"Hi, Bakugo," she greeted with a cheerful wave, "Can I-"
"Listen, dumbass. I don't know who the hell you are, but this is my house," he glowered menacingly, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "You'd better stay the fuck out of my way if you want to stay in one piece!"
"Ah, right! I'm sorry I don't have a gift for you, my parents didn't really know what you'd like so-"
"That's not remotely what I was talking about, shithead! Besides, why would I want anything from some snobby rich brat? People like you piss me off, going around flaunting your cash thinking you're better than everyone else. It's disgusting!" he sneered, glaring down his nose at her. "Just stay the hell away from me, loser!"
With another bang the door slammed shut and Naoko was alone again.
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A few days had passed since Naoko arrived at the Bakugo family home, and things were going about as smoothly as one could expect.
"Good morning, Bakugo!"
"Fuck off!"
"Katsuki! Watch your fucking mouth!"
"Good morning, ma'am!"
"Good morning, dear! How did you sleep?"
...
"Naoko, you haven't been around this area before, have you?"
"Ah, no, I haven't."
"You should take the chance to explore a bit before school starts. Why don't we have Katsuki show you around?"
"Fuck no!"
...
Bakugo was furious. That brat of a new housemate was getting on his nerves. These past few days have been absolute hell having to deal with her constant friendly conversation and physical existence. What was her deal?! Her persistence in hanging around him despite his best efforts reminded him of a certain someone who also had the tendency to piss him off. But worst of all was that dumbass smile she had permanently stitched onto her dumbass face. It was almost like she was incapable of not being happy. It made a little sense, he reasoned: she must be some kind of crazy and it was rubbing off on him. He sighed. It was only a few days until the UA entrance exam; at least after that, he'd have something to focus on.
"Naoko, dear, could you lend me a hand downstairs?"
"Of course! I'll be down in just a second!"
He sighed loudly.
When will she stop ruining his life?
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The day of the entrance exam was finally here, and Bakugo and Naoko were headed to UA together. More specifically, Bakugo stomped the whole way there, upset about having to "look after that dumb stupid baby" while Naoko followed a few feet behind him, smiling as always.
The school building was more than a little impressive. The all-glass exterior gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and the interior was no less grand; the classrooms where they took the written exams were modern and well-kept, and the auditorium they were brought to next was nicer than any they'd seen in school before. Even still, the practical exam area was on a whole other level: an entire city owned by UA, and apparently only one of many. Naoko was assigned to the same group as Bakugo, much to the latter's annoyance, and next thing they knew, they were being released into the simulated city.
It didn't take long for towering robots with big numbers painted on their sides to start appearing, jumping out from behind buildings and attacking anyone they came across. The perspective students competed for the chance to take down each one before scattering in search of more. Pieces of stone, concrete, and parts of defeated faux-villains were thrown around haphazardly, often sending some unlucky participant tumbling to their feet or knocking the wind out of them.
"Careful!" Naoko called to a green-haired boy upon noticing a large chunk of metal barreling towards him. He turned just in time to see the detached shield abruptly slam into the ground, hard enough to crack the road beneath them.
"Uh, t-t-thanks!" he shouted back shakily.
"No problem- be careful!" she grinned in return, offering a small wave before disappearing down a different street.
A few dozen metal villains later, the ground began to rumble, catching everyone's attention when an enormous robot, almost larger than the rest put together, erupted from the earth, sending everyone nearby into a panic. Most turned on their heels and fled in the opposite direction, but one student seemed to have a different idea.
It was impressive how he managed to utterly destroy the so-called "Arena Trap" with a single blow, but less so when he apparently had no idea how to land afterward. Fortunately, he was saved by a brown-haired girl who seemed to be something of an ESPer moments before he could hit the ground.
Time was up after that.
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"Katsuki! Naoko! Come downstairs- quick! They're here!" Mitsuki hollered anxiously.
Katsuki came running first, snatching the envelope addressed to him before speeding back up to his room. He passed a smiling Naoko on the way; she waved at him as usual, and for the first time since her arrival, he didn't have any curses to throw back at her. Instead, he merely tossed her a halfhearted glare and hurried past.
"Thank you," she grinned as she took the remaining envelope from the very nervous Mitsuki.
"Go on and open it!" she encouraged, shooing her away, "Good luck!"
Naoko nodded cheerily, thanking her once more before making her way back up the stairs and into her room, softly shutting the door behind her. She sat on her bed and leaned against the headboard, carefully lifting the wax seal and removing its contents. A folded letter and a little gray disk fell into her hand. The strange-looking disk began to glow, and a projection soon flickered to life before her.
"Hello, Ito Naoko! I'm here with your UA entrance exam results!" a white mouse in a suit waved at her enthusiastically as a chart appeared beside him. "You scored above average on the written exam and placed 18th on the practical exam, totaling 19 villain points and 21 rescue points. You've shown great promise as a hero-in-the-making, which means you've earned a spot here at UA's hero course! Congratulations! We very much look forward to having someone of your background join us this coming school year, and further details are provided in the letter enclosed. Thank you for choosing UA, Ito Naoko! Goodbye!"
Naoko stretched lazily before slipping the little disk back into the envelope. Setting it aside on the nightstand, she stepped out of her room and was quickly met by Mitsuki pacing anxiously in the hallway. The woman froze when she heard the door open and whipped around to face her expectantly.
"Guess what?" Naoko beamed a close-eyed smile.
"You got in?!" she gasped, instantly tackling her in a tight hug and shaking her vigorously, "That's fantastic! I knew you'd do great! You'll make such a great hero!"
"Can you shut up?!" The door next to them burst open to reveal the ever-angry blonde, still glaring menacingly at the pair.
"Katsuki! What did it say?" Mitsuki asked eagerly, tensing in anticipation.
"Obviously I got in! What else did you expect?!"
"Yes!" Mitsuki cheered as she grabbed him roughly, pulling them both into an ecstatic- if not a bit aggressive- hug.
"Hey! Let me go, you hag!"
"I'm so proud of you kids! Now you're going to be heroes! This is fantastic! I have to tell your father! And your parents too, Naoko! They'll be thrilled!" she squealed, releasing them and hurriedly dashing downstairs to make the call.
"Congratulations, Bakugo! I saw you placed first in the practical exam," Naoko grinned.
"Yea, and you didn't even make it into the top ten, loser! You must have barely qualified at all!"
"It's nice we'll be going to the same school now, huh?"
"Nice my ass! I'm going to crush you and everyone else who gets in my way!" And with a bang, the door slammed in her face.
Naoko merely tilted her head, smiling cheerfully to herself before turning and slipping back into her own room, the door clicking shut behind her.
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...
...
...
'This is tiring.'