Chapter Text
“COME AT ME YOU DAMN EXTRA!!!”
Shitty Hair’s grin didn’t waver, despite the tenacious force of death standing before him. That damn smile was so fucking bright it could burn Katsuki’s retinas. Was that Shitty Hair’s plan? To blind him? It wouldn’t be a bad move; Katsuki wouldn’t want to face himself without a handicap.
Sure, he wasn’t allowed to use his quirk, but even that wouldn’t be enough to ensure Shitty Hair’s win, since the redheaded extra couldn’t use his either. All Might had explained to the class that sometimes you couldn’t rely on your quirk, so it was good to have some quirkless, hand-to-hand combat training under your belt. Whatever. Even if Katsuki didn’t get to blow that grin off of Shitty Hair’s face, he could still beat him into the fucking ground.
“Extra?” Shitty Hair asked dubiously. “Dude that is so rude.”
“FUCKING COME AT ME AND I’LL SHOW YOU WHO’S RUDE YOU SHARK-TOOTHED LOSER! I’LL WIPE THE RING WITH YOU!”
Katsuki was not in the fucking mood today. It was just yesterday that he had lost to that damn celery stick Deku in All Might’s first hero class. He had enough pent up rage to stab a rhinoceros to death with a butter knife. So he charged.
Shitty Hair was too slow to avoid his first punch, or his second, or his third. He put up his arms in front of his face and took the hits like the dumb fucking himbo he was. He didn’t have his quirk to protect him, and Katsuki heard him grunt with each punch. If these losers thought he was only that good because of his quirk, he’d show them. Sure, his quirk helped him out, but it didn’t do all the work. He was naturally fast. He was naturally fucking better than everyone . Fucking Deku knew it long before Katsuki’s quirk manifested.
His next hit landed on Shitty Hair’s stomach, and— was he using his quirk? Nobody’s abs should be that hard. Shitty Hair’s grin didn’t even falter and, in Katsuki’s moment of distraction, he landed a punch squarely on Katsuki’s cheekbone.
Ow.
Ow? Shut the fuck up and beat his ass.
What? He’s strong.
Katsuki told the little voice in his head, once again, to shut the fuck up, and doubled his attack. Needless to say, the shitty-haired extra didn’t land another hit. Yet, as strong as Katsuki was, Shitty Hair took a ridiculous amount of hits to knock out. It was like punching a hippopotamus.
Fucking extra. As Katsuki stood over his unconscious form, that same little voice sounded its mantra:
He’s strong. So strong. Maybe just as strong as you.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Katsuki muttered.
“You really beat up Kirishima good in class today, huh?” Raccoon-Eyes said, draping herself across Katsuki’s desk after the final bell rang.
“Who?” Katsuki asked.
“Kirishima? Spiky red hair? You literally fought him in class today, dude.”
“Oh, Shitty Hair,” Katsuki scoffed, and Racoon-Eyes snorted. “He’ll live.” Shitty Hair had been carted off to the old nurse after their fight and hadn’t returned. Exact opposite of fucking Deku, who for once made it through a whole day of school without having to have his fucking bones put back together. “If he doesn’t, he didn’t deserve this school in the first place.”
“Did you just beat up a kid and blame it on him?” Raccoon-Eyes yelped.
Katsuki ignored her. “Why are you sitting on my desk?”
“Ashido!” God dammit. Now Four-Eyed Lightning McQueen was speeding over to them. Katsuki groaned. “I’ll ask you not to sit on the desks! You’re disrespecting the desks where our esteemed upperclassmen once sat…”
As Racoon-Eyes and Glasses devolved into a scream-fest reminiscent of most of his parents’ drunk arguments, Katsuki gathered his things. If it was his parents, he’d videotape it and use it as blackmail. But man, it wasn’t worth it with these two. Racoon-Eyes couldn’t manage his mother’s colorful insults, and Four Eyes’s sighs of defeat were not nearly as dramatic as his father’s. So instead, Katsuki stalked out of the classroom and made his way home.
***
It was team fighting day, apparently. Again. All Might grinned like a moron as he explained that, now that they had gotten a taste of each other’s fighting styles in one-on-one combat, they would team up with the person they had fought the previous day in a free-for-all battle: the last team with at least one person standing would win. The only difference from yesterday would be that they were allowed to use their quirks.
“Oh, I get it!” Deku said from somewhere within the crowd. “When pro heroes team up to fight a villain, they don’t always know much about each other’s fighting styles. Just fighting each other yesterday wasn’t enough to know more than a little bit about our teammate’s style, plus, we didn’t even get to use quirks. Not to mention we didn’t all get to see each other in action during All Might’s first class either, so a lot of us are still in the dark about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Really, we won’t completely know each other as heroes until the sports festival; until then fighting alongside each other will be like fighting alongside near strangers. So this type of exercise is perfect for—”
Katsuki had had enough. “SHUT THE HELL UP YOU DAMN NERD!!”
“Hey,” Shitty Hair said, gently punching his arm, “chillax a little, Bakubro.”
“wHAT DID YOU CALL ME, SHITTY HAIR?? YOU WANNA DIE???”
“My name’s Kirishima!”
All Might laughed. “That’s the spirit!” he said, giving the class a grin and a thumbs up. “Take that fiery attitude to training and you’re sure to win!”
“DAMN RIGHT I’M SURE TO WIN I’LL SHOW THESE LOSERS, DON’T YOU DARE GET IN MY WAY SHITTY HAIR!!”
Shitty Hair did… not get in his way? In fact he (dare Katsuki admit)... helped? If yesterday Shitty Hair had been a hippopotamus in battle, today, with his quirk, he was a hippo in Kevlar armor. If hippos had shitty hair and a puppy dog grin they wouldn’t drop through fire and fury. When that Edgar Allen Poe bitch’s bird thing attacked from behind, Shitty Hair pressed his back to Katsuki’s and raised hardened arms to block the strike. When Katsuki yelled at Shitty Hair to get out of his damn way, Shitty Hair didn’t hesitate to move out of the trajectory of his blasts. And when the damn nerd and his big-lipped teammate were the only ones left standing, Shitty Hair understood Katsuki’s plan with nothing more than a look. Shitty Hair took on Sugar Daddy alone, while Katsuki beat the living shit out of Deku. It felt so good after his defeat. By the time Deku was unconscious, Shitty Hair had Sugar Daddy in a choke hold. Katsuki wasn’t sure whether to be impressed that Shitty Hair didn’t get a scratch on him throughout the whole battle. After all, he already knew he was strong.
No he’s fucking not, shut up.
Admit it. You’re stronger working with him.
No I’m fucking not . I’m the only strong one out of all these weak-ass bitches. I’m fine on my own.
If you say so.
“Eyy Bakubro, why are you scowling in my direction?”
“Mind your own business Shitty Hair.”
Sugar Daddy went limp.
***
Jesus fuck. God fucking dammit. Who let these motherfuckers into the school? The purple swirly bitch, the bird-for-brains, the hand fucker, and all the other scum of the earth they brought with them? Wasn’t UA supposed to be the most secure school in the goddamn country? Fuck this. Fuck all of them. Katsuki was gonna blow them into the fucking sun. Then he was gonna sick the Old Hag on administration.
So Katsuki didn’t hesitate to throw himself at Purple Swirly the moment the bastard appeared. What he wasn’t expecting was Shitty Hair to be right beside him.
“Don’t fucking copy me, bitch!” he yelled. Then, an explosion, and the next thing he knew, he and Shitty Hair were deposited on their rears in a dilapidated building.
They sprang to their feet. “Were you trying to fuck that up?” Katsuki yelled. “I had it under control! I was gonna blow that fucker to bits! We’d be scraping bits of purple from the walls right now if it wasn’t for you!”
“Well you clearly didn’t have it under control!” Shitty Hair said. “You missed!”
“I only missed because you were in my way!”
“Aww, were you trying not to hit me? Do you care about me?”
“I’LL HIT YOU RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!” Katsuki ignited his palms.
A thump , and Shitty Hair put a hand on Katsuki’s wrist. “Shut up!” he hissed. “Did you hear that?”
Katsuki grinned. “I bet it’s some of those villain shitheads. COME OUT AND SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT OR DIE TRYING!!!”
The villains appeared, nearly popping out the woodwork. Yet, when Katsuki ignited his palms and Shitty Hair hardened his fists, grinning right back at Katsuki, he knew the villains didn’t stand a chance.
“We really do make a great team!” Shitty Hair said after the last villain had his face blown off.
Katsuki could only grunt. “Let’s find the others. The rest of them are probably still in the USJ too.” Katsuki had a purple Cool Aid Man to rematch, and he wouldn’t mind Shitty Hair at his side when it happened. As expected, Shitty Hair grinned, and the two charged off to find their classmates.
***
Katsuki wasn’t scared. No matter what All Might said. He wasn’t scared of Hand Fucker. He wasn’t scared of any of the Stain wannabes, or fucking Marble Mouth, or the mime bitch. And he sure as fuck wasn’t scared of Swirly Purple Cool Aid. This wasn’t the fucking sludge villain all over again. He was strong now. He wasn’t some puny middle schooler anymore. He could have fought them all.
So what was this feeling, when he was fighting them? This closing of his throat, as he watched All Might exchange blows with… whatever that thing was? As All Might paid him furtive glances? Katsuki knew that those looks weren’t for reassurance. All Might was calculating: how hard could he hit without endangering Katsuki’s life? How long could Katsuki hold up against half a dozen low-life villains? It was pathetic that Katsuki hadn’t blown any of them up yet. It was pathetic he had been taken in the first place. Fuck this.
Katsuki could cry.
Katsuki wasn’t scared.
Fuck.
So what was that feeling, when ice pierced the sky? When a jumble of intertwined bodies shot into the air? A weight off his chest, when he saw that shitty red hair holding out a hand to him, voice clear as a bell: “Come!”
It wasn’t even a debate. Katsuki didn’t think before blasting into the air, grabbing that warm hand in his own, matching that mesmerizing grin with a rare smile. Shitty— no, Kirishima squeezed his hand, and Katsuki squeezed it back. Yeah, fuck the villains. If Kirishima had his back, nothing like this could ever happen again.
He’s strong. I can respect that.
I want him by my side.