BNHA fest prompt //Â bakugo/shindo â in denial; âdonât flatter yourself, i have better tasteâ
as soon as their bus pulled up to the front of U.A, all havoc broke loose. the class was a mix of people worked up in a tizzy about getting to see their âfriendsâ again, or others anxious for a chance to test their skills against the students of 1-A again. shindou, meanwhile, remained indifferent.
to him, coming out all this way for a training exercise was nothing but a distraction. itâs not like he denied the strength of the other school ( far from it ), but surely there was nothing for them that they couldnât learn at their own school. what was the point in working together with people who were so openly praised as better, especially when they were only first years? it annoyed him.
well. not like there werenât a few people he was looking forward to seeing.
they finished unloading everything just as eraserhead came out to meet them, acknowledging their teacherâs excited greets ( although, very awkwardly ) before ushering his own class outside. already donning their hero costumes, coming from the shadows of the archway into the lightâŠ.if his classmates faces were anything to go by, it certainly left an impression.
he couldnât really care less.
the first pair of eyes shindou met happened to be externally awestruck-- midoriya izuku. a nervous smile paired with an awkward wave, shindou fought to keep memories of the heroes exam from straining his own expression as he waved in return. heâd passed, of course, but he didnât exactly love being shown up as much as he had.
thankfully the otherâs attention moved on quickly enough ( suddenly absorbed in something one of his classmates had said ), but as soon as shindou turned away he felt it. sparks crawled their way up his neck, a chill suddenly coming over him as he tensed. someone was definitely staring-- more like glaring, at him.
it didnât take long to find who it was. scanning the crowd quickly, he found the source of the glaring coming from equally as intense eyes. brilliant crimson narrowed, the features of bakugou katsukiâs face contorting into a scowl as he noticed the attention. looked like shindou noticing him staring didnât dissuade him one bit, no surprise there, but what the hell was his problem? their first meeting had been telling to be sure ( the only person to notice his facade inâŠ.forever ), or perhaps it was jealousy?
it was no little known fact that not one, but two of U.Aâs best and brightest had failed the exam. shindou might have too, if midoriya hadnât swooped in to reign in his classmate and the meathead from shinketsu. really though, he has no idea what happened to bakugou. wasnât he supposed to be strong?
maybe it really was just all talkâŠ.though his gaze said otherwise.â did you want something? â shindou asked, lips quirking despite the fact no one was looking at them. â a pretty heated gaze youâre giving me there! â
oh, it just got more heated. it was amazing his face wasnât stuck like that, considering how furrowed his eyebrows were. kind of a waste of a pretty face to be frowning all the time ( or so people told him when he was younger ). â screw off. â bakugou snapped, jerking his head away as if the very sight of him was painful, â your fake ass face pisses me off. take that goody-goody shit somewhere else.â lips curled back in a snarl, contempt rolled from his tongue in waves that sent another shiver down shindouâs spine. i was the first time anyone has spoken to him, or looked at him like that.
something must have been wrong with him, since he didnât find it exactly unpleasant. people didnât usually like being hated, did they?
eraserhead calling for attention stole away his thoughts, shindou listened intently to their instructions despite the tingling of his fingers that would return every so often. at least he had the good mind to look away sometimes.
it was a simple exercise. just some training bots to take out, significantly smaller than ones used in the entrance exam if 1-Aâs nervous chattering was to be trusted. it wasnât anything he considered even remotely challenging, and he sure as hell didnât know why they had to trek all the way out here just for it. what did ms. smile think they could learn from first years that was so important?
they were going to be operating separately, but take the exercise in smaller groups comprised of both classes. he didnât even need to hear bakugouâs name be called to know they were going in together, the feeling returned again so sharply that it made shindou visibly flinch. how was it that it could be so alarming but soâŠ..well.
itâs not like shindou wasnât used to attention. all his life people had been telling him he was attractive-- he had a pretty face, people loved him as soon as they met him. it was as if constantly performing in front of an audience of attentive eyes. but this was so much more. somehow more real, more raw moreâŠ.intimate. that was a scary thought. there was no need for him to pay so much attention to a junior from another school.
meeting bakugouâs eyes in front of the door to their exercise, shindou smiled as warmly as he could. â nice to be working with you! â he said, despite not intending to work with anyone in the slightest.
scoffing, bakugou shouldered past him and through the door before anyone else.
it was a room crowded with small mountains and rocks for cover, shindou made his way to a corner of the room as instructed and eyed his surroundings as he waited. there was no time limit or goal from what he understood, so he could easily breeze through this without thinking. but there was something nagging at him.
crouching into position, he was off running before the signal had rang.
it was almost second nature, ducking behind walls for cover, hands pressed to boulders and making the earth tremble underneath him. enemies fell at his feet with ease. honestly, he could have just stayed settled in a corner of the building and let them all come to him: easy. so why was it that he was going out of his way, following the tell tale sound of rockslides and explosions?
scraps of metal lay in heaps at his feet, gloved hand coming to wipe the sweat from his face. In the groove of a massive crater, his other gauntlet lay discarded and clearly used.
shindou blinked, eyes wide surveying the sheer destructive power. Just how did this guy fail, exactly !?
but in that environment there was a downside. every set of vibrations he used was calculated, just strong enough to cause collapses in convenient places-- Â full power, his quirk would have taken the entire building down and bury everyone in an avalanche of rocks. bakugou wasnât stupid, heâd clearly reined in the strength of his explosions but it wasnât quite enough. earth trembled, a small scattering of pebbles tumbling down in almost purposeful placement. shindou had just enough time to shout before a storm of rubble started raining down.
dust thrown up from the collision parted and shindou could see again, both of them surrounded by a blanket of debris as shindou crouched over him with his palm raised. Looked like the vibrations were strong enough to break up most of the falling rocks-- tremors ran down his arm, jostling him as a result. He rose up on his knees and rubbed his shoulder, â this is why you need to be careful somewhere like this. I guess your power is pretty impressive, but you have to watch it orâŠ.â his voice trailed off, noticing the silence and looking down underneath him to notice bakugou staring at him once more. But not the same as earlier, moreâŠ.soft? Confused almost, bordering on wary but not nearly as intense.
It wasnât a bad look. shindou liked it just as much as the ones from before. maybe that was what compelled him, opening his mouth without thinking. â what, donât tell me youâre falling for me? â he asked with his lips curled into a cocky smirk. it wouldnât be the first time someone impressed with his quirk would, but the idea never excited him until now. usually it was just annoying. â like i said, you need to watch your back or else yo--- â
red light shone in his peripheral- a target.blood rushed in his ears as he whipped his head around, flinging his arm out as he watched the droid a few feet away
explode in a firework of sparks. stunned, he tried to process what had happened, but didnât have the time before he was given a mouthful of dirt with his face shoved into the ground.â - what- â
bakugou stood, dusting himself, not bothering to look in his direction. though he thought to leave a few parting words, scoffing. â donât flatter yourself. i have better taste than that. â before walking off without another word, leaving shindou to lay there stunned.
âŠ. what the hell. he wanted to punch him in the mouth, and swoon at the same damn time.Â
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