Chapter 14: Uraraka or Yaoyorozu?
...
We headed to pick up our costumes, excitement buzzing through the air. Once we were in the locker room, it was like a race to see who could change the fastest. I finished up and sprinted to the bus with Kirishima. By the time we got there, a bunch of our classmates were already hanging around outside, chatting and hyping each other up.
"Field trip!" Ashido yelled, her energy infectious as always.
"Field trip!" Kirishima echoed, grinning like he was about to bench-press the bus.
"Yeah! Field trip!" I jumped in, not about to let them one-up me.
Hagakure bounced over with Ojiro and Sero. Or, well, I think she bounced over… hard to tell with her being invisible and all. Her hero costume didn't help much either. It was basically just a pair of pale blue gloves with pinkish lines and beige lace-up boots, which… uh, yeah, let's just say it didn't do my imagination any favors.
Okay okay, I'll admit it, my brain immediately went to all kinds of indecent places just seeing her like that.
I tried to keep it together, but come on. It's not every day you're practically talking to agirl like her practically naked right in front of you… even if I couldn't see her… was a bit too much for my still-virgin brain to handle.
The carefree, invisible girl was now bouncing up and down with excitement, while Ojiro, being the chill guy he is, was doing his best to calm her down while she giggled and bounced like this was the most exciting day of her life. The two had already become good friends.
I joined in, trying to calm and encourage the cheerful Hagakure for the upcoming exercise.
Well, it was more like a field trip.
Because let's face it, this was totally a field trip.
"All right, get ready to head to the training location," Aizawa-sensei said, appearing out of nowhere like a ninja. "And it is not a field trip"
Kirishima, Ashido, Sero and I exchanged looks. Ojiro stood there with his usual calm expression, and Hagakure… well, who knows what she was doing.
"Oh, come on, Sensei, it's totally a field trip" I laughed, earning a few chuckles from the group. Even Ojiro cracked the tiniest smile… victory!
Aizawa stared at me, deadpan, for what felt like an eternity. I could feel his judgment piercing my soul. Then he looked at the rest who were also laughing.
"Detention," he said. "For all five of you for annoying me"
"What!? Why doesn't Ojiro get detention too?" I blurted, pointing at him. He smiled! I swear he did!
Aizawa turned to Ojiro, who just looked at him like, 'Please don't drag me into this.'
"Fine. Detention for Ojiro too," Aizawa said. With that, he turned back and headed toward the bus, leaving a stunned and bewildered Ojiro standing there. He couldn't believe he'd ended up getting the same punishment as us when he hadn't laughed or said a word.
It was hilarious seeing the usually calm Ojiro with wide eyes, trying to process the sheer absurdity of the situation. Of course, being who he was, Ojiro wasn't going to complain or argue… it just wasn't in his personality.
I couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Hagakure, Sero, or Ashido. Even Kirishima looked ridiculously proud that Ojiro was now part of our "detention crew"... probably because it had something to do with being "manlier" or something like that.
"Yes!" Kirishima cheered, throwing an arm around Ojiro like they'd just won a medal.
"..."
Our fun came to an abrupt end when we heard a whistle blow. Turning around, we saw Iida standing next to the bus.
"Gather around, Class 1A! Using your student numbers, form two neat lines so we can load the bus efficiently!" Iida yelled, followed by another sharp whistle.
Most of us ignored his instructions. Plus, the bus had an open design, which threw his plan of order out the window. Ashido joked, telling him to relax, and I found a seat near Aoyama, Ashido, Iida, Kirishima, Midoriya, Tsu, and Sato. Unfortunately, Sero, Ojiro, and Hagakure had to sit farther away since we were among the last to board and there wasn't enough space for all six of us to sit together.
Once on the bus, we started talking about our quirks. It was fun, especially when Tsu commented that Midoriya's quirk reminded her of All Might's.
Heh, the quirk conversation was getting good when Midoriya, nervous as always, tried to jump in.
"That s-s-so!? Haha, but mine isn't like—" Midoriya stammered, fumbling over his words like usual.
Kirishima, who can't stay quiet for long, quickly cut in.
"Wait up, Asui, All Might never gets hurt!" he said with the same enthusiasm he always has when talking about heroes. "That's where the likeness ends!"
And, of course, he added: "I'm kinda jealous of that kind of simple enhancer-type quirk, though! There's a lot you can do with one, and flashily too!"
As he spoke, Kirishima showed off his quirk, hardening his arm.
"My 'hardening' power isn't bad for punch-ups, but I hate that it's just not that flashy."
That last bit made me chuckle a little—he really seems bothered by the lack of flashiness. Yep, he often comments that my quirk is awesome because it's super flashy, haha.
"Well, I think it's an awesome quirk! Definitely a quirk that'll be of great use to a pro!" Midoriya chimed in, trying to encourage him. And honestly, he sounded pretty genuine and sincere. Yeah, Midoriya's kind of weird, but he's a good guy.
Suddenly, Aoyama decided to jump into the conversation.
"'Pros,' huh? But you know, heroics has a lot about it that's more like a popularity contest too, right!?" he said, looking at everyone with that strange smile of his. "My navel laser is both flashy and strong enough for the pro level."
Before Aoyama could say more, Ashido interrupted him, laughing: "But it'd be bad if your stomach collapsed!" Her comment made Aoyama lower his gaze, looking a bit embarrassed. And honestly, who could blame him? That's a pretty big drawback. Though, if we're talking drawbacks, mine is probably the worst…
Then Tsuyu decided to speak up, looking at Bakugo and Todoroki.
"If we're talking the double whammy of flashy and strong, you can't not mention Todoroki and Bakugo."
Of course, Bakugo reacted immediately, letting out an annoyed "TCH." There's nothing that bothers him more than being mentioned like he's a given.
And Tsuyu, being as blunt as ever, didn't hesitate to add: "Bakugo's always fuming, so he won't be very popular."
Big mistake. Bakugo was hanging onto every word and, with an explosion of rage on his face, he yelled: "YOU BITCH! I'LL BE POPULAR TOO!!"
"See?" Tsuyu replied calmly, like she'd just proven her point.
Tsu saying Bakugo wouldn't be popular was pure gold. I mean, she just laid it out there, no sugarcoating, and the guy exploded… literally. He started yelling about how he would be popular, which just proved her point even more. Classic Bakugo logic.
I laughed inwardly. This was way too fun not to jump in a little. Let's see how Bakugo reacted to some fancy words to rile him up even more. Over the past few days, I'd gotten to know Bakugo better thanks to Kirishima's relentless effort to befriend him, and I'd come to realize the perpetually angry guy wasn't as bad or intimidating as I'd thought. He just had a terrible personality and was ridiculously competitive.
"It's only been a brief while since our socialization has commenced," I said in the most serious voice I could manage, "and yet already we have been made apodictically cognizant of your personality, redolent as it is of a turd getting steamed in a sewer."
The moment I finished, Bakugo turned to me with a mix of shock and fury. "HUH!? WHAT THE HELL KINDA VOCABULARY IS THAT!?"
"I'LL F*ING KILL YOU!!"** he screamed, shaking a fist in my direction. Classic Bakugo… his default response. I just grinned at him, thoroughly amused. Bakugo always looks like he's about two seconds away from punching someone in the face… or exploding them. Honestly, I don't know how Kirishima handles him. The dude must have nerves of steel… literally.
I glanced over at Midoriya, who was wide-eyed and trembling, like he'd just witnessed the most incredible event of the year.
'Relax, Midoriya,' I thought, finding his reaction hilarious. The poor guy seemed unable to believe I'd actually taunted Bakugo. It's not like the grumpy guy was really going to kill me… well, at least, I hope not. We're at UA to become heroes, after all, even Bakugo… right?
Suddenly, Yaoyorozu's voice cut through the chaos, sounding disapproving.
"What a vulgar conversation!" she said, looking at us like we were a bunch of immature kids.
Yup… Yaoyorozu hit us with that 'mom look.' You know the one. The 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' vibe. And yeah, it worked… I felt like a scolded puppy. At this rate, my chances with her are plunging faster than a rock in water.
'Great…' I thought and I swear my soul left my body. Like, how do I recover from this? Do I write her an essay on the importance of banter for team bonding? Or maybe just drop out of UA entirely and change my name to 'Kaminari Who?'
'The insanely gorgeous girl now thinks the worst of me… I really messed up. Damn it, now it's going to be twice as hard to ask her out. Maybe I don't even have a chance after this' I cursed internally, feeling a little desperate. She seemed completely out of my league now. I'd made an unforgivable mistake.
Thankfully, Uraraka intervened with a big smile and contagious laugh: "But they make me laugh!"
She looked around at everyone with her bright eyes, clearly entertained by it all. I instantly felt better. Well, at least she thought it was funny. Maybe I should focus more on flirting with Uraraka instead of Yaoyorozu. Uraraka's amazing too, and way more approachable than the ever-perfect Yaoyorozu. Yeah, not all hope was lost!
"Damn, Bakugo, you are one foul-mouthed dude"
Just then, I heard Aizawa-sensei's voice from the front of the bus.
"We're almost there," he said loudly. "Settle down already…"
"Yes, Sensei!!" most of us responded immediately, trying to stifle our laughter and jokes.
I leaned back in my seat, feeling content. Sometimes, messing with Bakugo and seeing everyone's reactions is just what I need to relax. This hero training thing has its fun moments, and my group of friends makes the journey totally worth it. I just hope things stay this chill and we don't run into any trouble or danger. I already have enough on my plate dealing with classes I don't understand and the endless lectures from our teachers.
Yeah… I really hope it stays this peaceful.