Chapter Text
Cicadas chirped outside of U.A. as students prepared to start their final round of classes before the summer break, grateful to be indoors away from the sweltering, oppressive heat of the impending day.
The students of 2-A milled about in their classroom, waiting for Aizawa to make his appearance. The conversation had turned to the summer internships they would all be embarking on as soon as the break started.
“Yeah, I’m interning with Kamui Woods, can you believe it?” Sero asked, eyes shining, “I’m super pumped!”
“Ah, that makes a lot of sense, Sero-kun!” Midoriya chimed in, “He specializes in capture techniques which would be a good fit for you!”
Sero nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I jumped at the chance, to be honest. It was too good to pass up!”
“Who are you interning with, Midoriya-chan?” Tsuyu asked, cocking her head. The frog-hero was interning with a hero on the coast who specialized in flood rescues.
“Ah, I’m working with Edgeshot. It’s a really great opportunity, and I’m excited to learn from him.”
Ochako was only listening with half an ear, and had the majority of her attention focused outside, watching as students entered the grounds, most likely running late.
“Ochako-chan,” Tooru asked, her hands rocking back and forth, signaling the fact that she was probably swaying cutely, “you’re so quiet today! Remind me where you’re interning again?”
“Oh! Ryukyu’s Agency…” Ochako said.
“Wow! Again? Lucky! And with a top 10 hero!” Kaminari exclaimed, eyes wide. “Her rank went up again, too! She’s up to 7, isn’t she? After that big rescue a few months ago?”
Ochako awkwardly scratched the back of her head, blushing. “U-Um, y-yeah? I think so?”
“Yup” Tsuyu confirmed, “and Ochako is being modest. Ryukyu actually requested Ochako-chan!”
“Apparently, there was some tug o’war over where she would intern,” Todoroki added.
“H-Huh?! No fair! How would you know that?” Mineta whined.
“His father is the number one hero, you idiot. I’m sure Todoroki hears things,” Jirou said, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah. He mentioned it in passing because he knew you’re my classmate,” Todoroki said, his attention on Ochako, “Ryukyu, Gunhead, Mirko, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot… they were all at least interested in you interning with them.” He sent her a small smile. “Apparently my dad even thought about making you an offer, just to ‘see what the damn fuss was about.’ His words,” Todoroki said, rolling his eyes, “not mine.”
Ochako felt like heat creeping up her neck, and her hands flew up to cover her face, causing her to start floating toward the ceiling. “Ahhh, no way, no way! They’re just being-“
“Nice?” Todoroki asked, skeptical. He looked like he had eaten something sour. “I can assure you that my dad wouldn’t do that to be nice.”
“No, it’s amazing, Uraraka-kun!” Iida said, gently tugging her elbow to bring her back down to earth, “Truely, it’s a great accomplishment to have so many distinguished pros asking after you! Think of the difficult rescues and cases you’ve helped with recently! It makes sense!”
“I-I guess…” Ochako murmured, releasing her quirk. “It feels like a lot of pressure, though.”
“It’s great that a variety of pros are showing interest, Uraraka-san!” Deku said, beaming at her. “It really shows how versatile you are as a hero!”
Ochako ducked her head and smiled, feeling bashful. “Th-Thank you, Deku-kun. That’s so-”
“Uraraka!”
Ochako turned to see Kirishima, who was leaning over his “Bakubro’s” desk.
“Did I hear you say you’re interning with Ryukyu again?”
“Uh-huh! Why?”
The red-headed hero jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Bakugou, who was staring out the window with a surly expression on his face. “This one is interning there too! Can you believe it?”
“Huh? Kacchan is?! Really?!”
Bakugou whipped his head around in an instant. Ochako couldn’t help but picture the blonde as a hissing cat.
“What about it, you damn nerd?!”
“Triggered,” someone snickered under their breath.
“Ahhh, nothing!” Deku waved his hands in front of him, clearly erecting a barrier between himself and his childhood friend. “It’s cool, I’m just surprised!”
Ochako smiled. She could, in fact, believe the news as she recalled a phone call she’d had with the number 7 hero just last week about Mr. King Explodo Kills.
”What can you tell me about Bakugou Katsuki, Ochako-chan?”
“Huh? Bakugou-kun?”
“Yes, he applied for the summer internship, and I’m curious about him.” The dragon-hero paused, making a ‘hmmm’ noise over the phone. “I remember his performance at the sports festival, and I have to admit, I’m intrigued, especially considering he likely could have chosen a top hero with a higher rank than myself.” She chuckled, “I was a bit surprised to see his application! What do you think of him, Ochako-chan? I value your opinion, doubly so since he’s your classmate, and you likely know him well.”
Ochako had a brief moment of panic. Was the fate of Bakugou’s internship in her hands? Was it possible that whatever she said could haunt him for the rest of his career?! She didn’t need that kind of pressure!
Ryuku must have sensed her shock, because she chuckled. “Don’t be nervous, Ochako-chan. I’m sure Bakugou has already received numerous offers from various pros, including others at the top. I just want an honest assessment from someone who knows him well.”
Ochako let out a shaky breath. She wondered why Bakugou had decided to apply specifically to Ryukyu’s agency, but that question would have to wait.
Honesty, huh? That was easy to say until she thought about the possible repercussions of this seemingly-innocent phone call. But she trusted Ryukyu-san, so she squared her shoulders and considered her angry, but admittedly talented classmate.
“Well… Bakugou-kun has a big personality, But he’s also really driven. His goal is to be the number one hero, and his training and studies reflect that.”
Ochako paused; that was safe, right? Okay, so it was kind of generic, but also true. There was no doubt that Bakugou’s training was intense; he put his all into everything hero-related- not unlike Deku-kun, really. She would see him pushing himself to the limit in training, rain or shine, injuries or no. No matter the roadblocks, Bakugou always seemed to know what he needed to do next to achieve his goal; it was like he had no doubts at all.
She was envious of that sort of confidence.
The brunette took a breath and continued, an image of the blonde boy appearing in her mind’s eye. “He can be, um, aggressive-”
Ryuku laughed here, likely recalling the conclusion of their first sports festival, with Bakugou chained to the podium and screaming like a banshee,
“-but he really does care, and he works on himself all the time. He actually failed the rescue portion of the provisional license exam the first time, but-”
“DID he now? That’s interesting.”
SHIT. Should she not have said that? That makes him look bad Ochako you utter IDIOT-
“Well,” Ryuku continued. “it was unusual that U.A. even had you all take that exam as first-years, so I suppose it’s not too shocking,”
“W-Well,” Ochako rushed on, trying to rectify her blunder, “he and Todoroki-kun didn’t pass the exam, but they didn’t let that stop them. They took a course to work on their weakness, and then passed the second time with flying colors! He didn’t let it slow him down at all!”
“It sounds like you really admire him, Ochako-chan.”
Ochako stilled.
Admire him?
She stopped to think about it.
When Ochako thought of someone she admired, Deku-kun was usually the first image that appeared in her mind: standing tall and proud, his shoulders squared, eyes to the future… but always just out of reach; like she’d always be a few steps behind him.
When her thoughts turned to Bakugou, he was always facing her, no hesitation in his eyes. She pictured their fight during the sports festival and how, despite the clear difference in their strength, he never underestimated her. He pushed her to her absolute limits; No matter how many times he blew back her attempts to touch him, he never once laughed at her.
Despite her weakness, he never listened to the critics cries that Cementoss end the match. Bakugou continued to stare her down, never taking his piercing, blood-red eyes off of her.
No one had ever looked at her that way before. It made her feel-
“Ochako-chan?”
“Ah, I do! Admire him, I mean. It’s hard to explain, but during our fight at the sports festival he… I know how the crowd viewed our fight.” The shame and embarrassment over hearing those shouts still made her fists clench, over a year later. “It was obvious how much stronger he was than me, but Bakugou-kun, he-”
“He treated you like an equal.”
Ochako smiled to herself, thankful the pro understood.
“Yeah, he did. I was-” Ochako’s throat closed up, and she was shocked to find herself keeping tears at bay, “I AM still grateful for that. That he took me seriously. To be honest, Bakugou-kun is the reason I first interned with Gunhead-san’s agency. He made me want to be more well-rounded so that I could be more comfortable in combat situations. I’m really glad we fought that day. ”
Ryukyu made that ‘hmmmm’ noise over the phone again.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Ochako-chan. Thank you for sharing all that with me.”
Ochako felt like she needed to do more. She owned it to the person who stared her down like she was just as dangerous as Deku-kun or Todoroki-kun; like she had just as much of a chance of keeping him from first place as they did.
He looked at her like she was a threat.
It was an odd thing to be proud of, but here she was.
Her heart swelled.
“It’s true that Bakugou-kun can be very, uh, passionate-” Ochako winced, knowing a euphemism when she heard one, but she soldiered on. “But it’s a good quality to have, I think. I know he’s going to make an amazing hero, Ryukyu-san. Really.”
“Thank you for your input, Ochako-chan. I’ll consider what you’ve told me. Have a nice evening.”
Ochako closed her old, somehow-still-functioning flip phone and prayed she hadn’t just screwed up Bakugou’s 10-point plan to be the number one hero in Japan.
No pressure.
“Uraraka?”
Ochako blinked and focused on Kirishima, realizing she hadn’t answered his question.
“Oh! Yes, I heard!” She turned to the blonde boy, beaming. “Congratulations, Bakugou-kun! Ryukyu-san’s agency is great; I learned loads when I was there last year! I think you’ll really like it, and it’ll be fun to work together!”
During her daydreaming, Bakugou had turned away from Deku to stare out the window again; he didn’t turn his head, but slid is ruby-red eyes in her direction. He shrugged.
“Tch. Yeah, I guess. She’s a strong pro.”
Ochako opened her mouth to ask more about why he picked the dragon hero over other options, but the door to class 2-A slid open and their perpetually exhausted teacher entered. The students all dashed to their seats.
Wasting no time, as per usual, Aizawa rattled off their plans for the day.
“The second half of the school day will be your orientation at your summer internships. Please conduct yourselves professionally, and pay attention to what they have to tell you. You might actually learn something. Just a reminder that the UA dorms will be shut down during your summer break so that we can perform security upgrades.”
Ochako’s heart fell.
Ah yes, a place to live. Her next immediate concern. Ochako mulled over this dilemma, uncharacteristically distracted during lessons for the day. Her mind refused to focus on academics when her future was potentially on the line.
The reality was that not having access to the dorms left Ochako virtually homeless; it was simply too expensive to find an apartment solely for the summer break, and she refused to become even more of a financial burden on her parents.
Ochako had been too embarrassed by her situation to bring it up to Aizawa, which left her in a bind: if she couldn’t find a place to stay before the dorms closed, she’d be forced to return home to her parents for the summer and take whatever work study opportunities she could with a local hero. And that was assuming she could find any at all in her small town-
“Oi, Uraraka.”
Ochako startled as she whipped her head up from where it had been staring at her blank notebook.
Bakugou was standing in front of her desk, hands in his pockets, bag slung over his slouched shoulder while looking bored.
Clearly waiting for her.
“Oh! Right!” Ochako burst out, flustered. She started throwing things in her bag as quickly as she could, not wanting the blonde to start yelling at her in his haste, “Orientation! Sorry to keep you waiting; let’s go!”
She expected Bakugou to snap in his impatience, but he just turned around and headed for the entrance of school. Ochako quickly fell into step beside him as they headed toward the train station.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The two heroes-in-training got off the train near Ryukyu’s office. Bakugou had been prepared to be bombarded by conversation the entirety of the ride. It’s not like he couldn’t deal with it- Uraraka was one of the more tolerable people in his class, after all- but the normally chatty brunette had been oddly silent.
If he were honest with himself, Bakugou would admit that it was a bit unsettling. He wasn’t sure he had ever known Uraraka to go this long without talking; she was always at ease in filling in the gaps of a conversation, and seemed to find talking with others effortless.
It made her stark silence seem heavy, oppressive.
She’s probably just focused on the internship, he thought to himself, like you should be.
Still, he couldn’t help but think that her furrowed brow didn’t suit her. So he decided to do something about it.
“Oi, Uraraka-“
“Ah! We’re here!”
Bakugou let out a testy “tch” as he followed Uraraka into the agency of No. 7 hero Ryukyu. Numerous sidekicks began excitedly greeting Uraraka, welcoming her back with smiles and hugs alike as they slowly made their way down the hall. Just when Bakugou was about to snap at the next person who interrupted them, they finally walked into the dragon hero’s office.
Bakugou was ready for some real hero experience, and he was here to prove it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ryukyu smiled at Ochako and Bakugou as they entered the room.
“Ah, my U.A. heroes! Welcome to the agency; we’re all glad you’re joining us here.”
Ochako couldn’t help but smile. Ryukyu had always made her feel welcome at her agency, and Ochako reveled in the feeling of familiarity and warmth as she looked at her mentor.
“Ochako-chan, since you’ve already worked here before, do you mind going to help out in the office while I chat with Bakugou-san for a moment? I want to give him a run-down of what to expect, just like I did with you last time. Once we’re done, you can show him around, if that’s alright with you?”
“Yes, of course!” Ochako bowed before turning toward the door, smiling at Bakugou before she left. “See you soon!”
The blonde inclined his head ever so slightly toward her in acknowledgement. Ochako headed out into the main office and was immediately put to work. The gravity-manipulator was oddly thankful it was a busy day, as it kept her from obsessing over her housing situation like she’d done on the trip over. She felt bad for ignoring Bakugou, but she hadn’t been able to muster up any fake cheer, so she just kept quiet. As a general rule, Bakugou seemed to prefer silence, but that didn’t keep Ochako from feeling guilty about ignoring him.
Before she knew it, Bakugou had finished with Ryukyu, so she gave him a tour of the office, pointing out where they’d keep and change into their costumes, view their patrolling schedule and partners, eat, file reports… not exactly the most exciting stuff, but all necessary parts of the work study.
Their designated orientation time came to end rather quickly, due to it still technically being a school night. The two teens headed back to the train station to spend their last night in the dorms before summer vacation officially started.
Ochako and Bakugou stood in an uneasy silence for the entirety of the trip, though Ochako was sure Bakugou had a lot on his mind, based on his furrowed brow. She supposed that was normal though, as he had to adjust to a whole new office and pro, and probably had a lot to think about.
For Ochako, her looming housing crisis once again reared its ugly head, and she couldn’t fight the instinct to withdraw into herself. What would happen if she had to back out of this internship to return home? It would be both embarrassing and terrible for her career! Aizawa was always saying how critical work studies were… these circumstances could permanently damage her chances of making it as a hero!
Ochako had about two more calls she could make out of desperation, but the prognosis wasn’t looking promising. Ochako clutched her school bag keep herself from crying.
As the two approached the entrance to the dorms, she wished she had an idea of what to say beyond “let’s work hard this summer,” especially consisting she might not even be working with him come tomorrow…
“Uraraka.”
Ochako turned away from the doors of the dorms to face Bakugou, who had apparently stopped a few feet behind her.
Bakugou’s posture was the same as it always was: hands stuffed into his pockets, bag slung casually over his slightly hunched shoulder, looking completely unconcerned with the world around him. The only oddity was that his red eyes were lowered, like he was weighing something in his mind. The setting sun was behind him, and Ochako would be lying if she said the red and orange glow of the dying light didn’t suit him.
Not unlike the hues of the explosions he made with his hands, he looked both powerful and beautiful.
Ochako blinked to clear the odd thought and found her voice.
“What is it, Bakugou-kun?”
Bakugou slowly raised his eyes to hers, staring at her for a good moment before clearly coming to a decision.
“Come live with me.”