[1st POV]
"So what, are you going to show me where it is?" the bunny girl asked, her face peeking out from her knees as she was sitting. I could see that she was still pissed that I called her retarded.
I was shocked. It was quite an effective technique.
I yoiked it so it's mine now.
"Have you ever heard about the magic words?" I said seriously.
She hung her head to the side, eyes twitching. She briefly glanced at her phone, looking at the time.
She sighed, "P-Please, will you take me to UA High?"
...Well, that was easy.
Something is weird. Why do I feel like helping her?
"No," I said, crossing my arms.
I saw a tick mark appear on her head. "Listen here, you little-"
"Give me your hand," I said, cutting her off.
Confused, she gave her hand. I took out the money I had in my left pocket. The bundle was smaller than I remembered, but whatever.
I placed the money in her hand.
"Take a two-wheel taxi. We don't have time to walk there anymore or in a normal taxi," I said. The written part of the exam was already about to start. "The driver should know where the UA High is. Everyone in Mustafu knows,"
She was indeed incredibly stupid to get lost in the city where she could ask literally anyone, even if she didn't have a map.
She stared at the money in her hand. It was more than enough for her ride. She clenched her hand, grabbing the money before she stood up.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Katsuki Bakugo."
"Rumi Usagiyama," she said, "Thanks for this, Bakugo."
"You don't need to thank me. Take that as an apology for wasting your time," although I'm pretty sure she wouldn't find UA High even if I didn't cause her trouble.
On a different note, I don't think she went to UA in the story of My Hero Academia. Was it because she couldn't find the place? If so, that'd be incredibly funny because it was so absurd.
"What do you know, you're not as bad as I thought," she said and ruffled my hair. I reacted instantly, pushing her hand away, snapping my teeth together as if to bite.
"I'll be going then."
"Good, I was starting to think you wanted to be late."
With a wide grin on her face, which I think I've seen before in the mirror, she went away to catch a taxi.
I remained in place, thinking deeply. My hands went up and rested on my head, remembering how she patted me like I was a dog or something.
I've always thought the guy was supposed to do that.
"...Is this what they call a childhood crush?" I asked myself thoughtfully.
Well, I hate it.
What caused this? Was it because I thought she was cool as shit from the foreign memories? Was it because she was the first to defeat me? Or maybe it was because she was quite similar to me.
How narcissistic and true. Of course I would fall in love with myself.
"Argh," I slapped myself.
Maybe I should go to therapy again. I know what my future is going to look like. I could work on things beforehand, like my attitude. If I could go back, I wouldn't give her such a bad first impression.
From the memories, I was going to change anyway. Maybe trying to change early should not be a bad idea?
Besides that, the main reason for my attitude was because of my quirk. It amplified my jerkish nature and anger. Although my quirk was as awesome as I was, I didn't like to be influenced by such things.
I dunno what's wrong with it exactly, but it sounds like something the weak should struggle with.
And damn it, I wasn't weak.
"What am I even doing?" I sighed.
Definitely a crush. A small crush. Nothing makes you question yourself more than when you want to impress someone you like.
Whatever, the feeling should be gone soon.
...
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[3rd POV]
Rumi thought of the strange little boy she met.
She'd never met such a barbaric and crass child. And that came a lot from her because she grew up and was still in an orphanage.
On a different note, he seemed like a nice kid, all things considered. He helped her after all. Honestly, she would never be able to take the exam without his help.
She had spent half her money coming to Mustafu, and she needed the other half to return so she didn't have the money to take a taxi. The thought of asking anyone for help completely slipped her mind as well. Years of relying on herself alone had made her forget that you could ask for help from others.
She was able to reach UA to take the written exam. She spent the whole day on campus, and she also took the Practical exam later in the afternoon.
She was slightly worried that she did badly in the written exam, but the fact that she absolutely nailed the practical exam made her feel at ease. She was at least somewhat confident that she could get in. Surely they wouldn't hold the written exam in such a high regard that they would reject her for it.
She was proud of her performance. It had been a long time coming.
Her quirk, Rabbit, was not as powerful as one might assume from her performance. An animal-type mutation quirk was one of the most common in the category. Not only was it not that powerful, but she had many competitors like people with a similar type quirk but a better beast.
Her mother, who also had a similar ability, was a prostitute. So she had to put a lot of work into being as strong as she was now. Perhaps she could still get into a hero course with her quirk alone, but definitely not in UA.
She left the massive building of UA with a bright smile on her face.
The moment she left the gate, a breeze swept past her. The wind was chilly and dry, making it feel like summer would never come back. She was in a rather small school gym outfit since she didn't have much else to wear for the practical exam.
The breeze made her turn, and she saw the strange kid once more.
Her ears stood up immediately, her enhanced hearing listening closely to that direction. The kid, or Bakugo as she had come to know him, was standing on a steel trashcan turned upside down. The makeshift platform also had bricks and stone around it, acting as a step so he could climb and also make the platform more stable.
He was surrounded by a bunch of people her age. She assumed that they were also participants of the exam.
"So you can make bubbles that explode loudly upon bursting? Is that why you have a dick on your face?" Bakugo said to the person standing before him. Although he was much shorter, he was towering over him through the platform.
Was that really the whole point of the platform?
And upon closer look at the person he was talking to, she realised he was one of the people who took the practical exam alongside her. She also noted that what came out of his face was not a dick but looked more like an elephant trunk.
"Can you like insert different sounds? Your quirk should not only be about creating weak shockwaves. Maybe you can use it to imitate different sounds too, like gunshots, screams or bombs to cause misdirection. Maybe a way to send a message to allies?" he said thoughtfully before snapping back.
"Okay, I've lost interest. Beyond extra!"
Rumi frowned. She thought he was rather rude. But the person in question just made an exaggerated tragic noise before going away. He joined his friends, and they laughed together about the whole thing.
Although Bakugo was being rude, his saving grace was his young age, and no one really took him seriously as Rumi did. Instead, they seemed to have some type of competition where they tried to impress this crass kid who clearly came all the way here just to see the cool future UA students.
The next person came and stood before Bakugo.
"My quirk makes my tears turn into acid. The stronger my emotion, the more powerful the acid in my tears," he said.
"So you cry."
"Yup."
"That means you definitely can't be a major character," Bakugo sneered. "Imagine not even being able to hold your dying friend as you contemplate the epic tragedy of your journey."
The person in question was left speechless. "...I never thought about it that way."
"Now you do. Go home and think about other disadvantages your quirk possesses. Lose all hope and get depression, that'll make you stronger."
"I guess I could try that," the person seemed genuinely bamboozled.
"Get out of here before I make you cry."
Even though Bakugo was really crass, there was a small crowd around him. It seemed they really wanted to talk to him. It was probably because all things considered, Bakugo was giving genuine advice and offering a new perspective about each of their quirks.
After a few more minutes of watching him interact with the crowd, Rumi made her move. When Bakugo noticed her, his face suddenly went hard. After his eyes landed on her, they didn't move to anyone else.
She wondered if he still harboured ill will towards her.
"It's you again," he said dryly.
"Yup," she gave a smile.
"Do you think you'll get in?"
"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?"
"A bunny."
She frowned. "I'm not a bunny. I'm a rabbit."
"Is there a difference?"
"Of course there is," she huffed, "The names are different."
"...." Bakugo stared at her and shrugged, "Fair enough."
He turned away at last and waved at the crowd, "Show's over, everyone! I ain't talking to anyone anymore."
The crowd dispersed afterwards with disappointed moans.
"Uga- Ugawa.." Bakugo narrowed his eyes as he tried to recall her name, "Ugabuga.."
"Just call me Rumi," she said. Her last name could be a mouthful at first. People often choke on it.
"No. I won't do that because you can't call me Katsuki." he wouldn't allow some stranger he met today to call him by his first name.
That was reserved for special people.
Just because he had a small crush didn't mean that he liked her.
After all, you could like the idea of a person while never liking the actual person.
Just like how you could like a person for who they are without anything else attached. Good or bad, flaws or virtues, just them that had everything.
Rumi waved, carefree, "It's whatever. It's fine."
"Here," she said, bringing out money from her pocket. It was the remaining cash after paying for the taxi.
She came to him for this reason.
Without a thought, Bakugo took the money. Now his pockets had different size bulges in them. He smiled slightly seeing that before his smile disappeared and he turned to her.
"Have you eaten?"
Rumi shook her head.
Of course, she hadn't. She had a limited budget after all. They sold food in UA, but she didn't buy any of it.
Bakugo jumped down from the higher platform. Rumi was glad she no longer had to look up at him as if he were a benevolent god.
"Come with me,"
"???" Rumi's head tilted, "Where are we going?"
"To a restaurant."
"No," Rumi said fast, "You've helped me enough. You've already paid for my ride. I can't let you pay for my food too. I don't need more handouts from a child."
"Don't worry about it," Bakugo said, not stopping as he waved his hand, "I was planning on letting you eat my leftovers. Most restaurants serve more than a kid could finish."
Rumi blinked, and then she grinned, "You little bastard."
She followed him to a restaurant.
It was not a big restaurant. It was small and tucked away between the streets, but it had a cosy vibe which was quite unlike the rest of the city. Bakugo put a large amount of order, which Rumi silently appreciated.
"Don't forget the large bowl of Nuclear Fire of Hell Overlord Ramen. Do better than last time," Bakugo said casually to the cook who was also a waiter.
"Last time was not enough spice for you?" the cook, a thin man who looked starved, asked Bakugo with a faint smile.
"Not even close. Give me your actual worst,"
"You're call," the cook shrugged before returning to his kitchen.
"Do you come here often?" Rumi asked, seeing the casual interaction between them.
"Every now and then," Bakugo answered. The time period between now and then was his stomach's recovery time from the insane amount of spice in the food he ordered.
A very fun fact. When Bakugo first came here, he ordered the spiciest food they had. But that was not enough for him, and he requested the cook to make it spicier. Every time he returned, the spice level only increased, and eventually, the cook made a whole entirely new dish and put it on the menu for Bakugo.
And as one might suspect, yours truly was the one who named the food.
While they were in the restaurant, Rumi and Bakugo shared a proper conversation despite their age. Bakugo was curious about what the entrance exam was like and Rumi was more than happy to tell.
And as Bakugo said, Rumi ate his leftovers. Well, it was not really leftovers since Bakugo took one bite and said he didn't like it and gave it to Rumi. It was an act to preserve the mask of dignity Rumi had.
Since Rumi was hungry, especially after taking the test, she was content with keeping up the act.
"Are you sure you really like spicy food?" Rumi asked with a deadpan as he watched Bakugo suffer with his order. He looked like he was genuinely fighting, and there were empty glasses of milk all around the table.
"No," Bakugo said, his eyes full of rage as he felt pain whenever hot air from speaking touched his mouth.
"Then why did you order spicy food?"
Suffice it to say, Rumi could only see the act as the height of stupidity.
After downing another glass of milk, Bakugo answered.
"I like food that fights back!" he said proudly, "Getting food is so easy in the modern world that we are getting soft. And I can't hunt my own food in the city or work for them yet. But spices develop their flavour to ward off mammals from eating them. Meaning they are the only food that fights back when eaten."
"...."
"I enjoy the act of eating them regardless of their resistance," he said with an evil grin, "In all our battles, they've never won. Imagine millions of years of evolution down my throat and into my toilet like any other shit."
You don't want to be eaten? Too fucking bad. I decide to eat you and so I will eat you anyway. You're nothing.
That was basically the whole idea.
But of course, such a petty reason wasn't the only thing Bakugo was after. He was a genius after all.
He sweat profusely whenever he ate spicy food, so this was a form of training for him. A way to train his sweat glands.
In his infinite creativity to invent a form of training, he had figured this out.
It was still unknown if this form of training was harmful or not. At the very least, one could say he fulfilled his petty sadistic tendency and trained his pain tolerance. One could also say he was developing a stomach ulcer at a young age.
Was it advantageous or not? That remains to be seen.
For now, Rumi could only stare at the kid who seemed to thrive in the line between genius and stupidity, while his character stood at the border between a nice kid and a jerk.
"You're the single strangest creature I've ever met."
For what it's worth, she liked the kid for who he is.
...
...
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