The Tinker

Chapter 4 - Flashbang

Bakugou wasn't stoked about lose his gauntlet.

He'd had them for years now, and though he didn't want to admit it, he felt a bit of an emotional bond. His blood boiled with anger towards Kirishima, even though he knew it was a smart move to break it. After his spar with Kirishima, All Might had called him into the hall to talk with him.

"You're going to need some new gear, my friend," He said. "Think of this as an opportunity for a new beginning!"

"Can't I just get this shit fixed?" Bakugou retorted, raising the broken gauntlet.

All Might put his hand on his chin, rubbing it quizzically. "I suppose that's up to you. You should feel satisfaction with your gear... If you'd be happiest having it fixed, then by all means, but I encourage you to think about it more. If they broke in the first place, it may be a good idea to reevaluate."

Bakugou frowned. He didn't want  new gear, he wanted his old gear. 

"Think on it. Either way, you'll need to get some work done. I recommend visiting miss Y/N. She's the youngest in the field you know-- and easily among the best. Try visiting her after school-- hopefully her workshop will be up and running by then." He ruffled Katsuki's hair. "Get to class now, young one. Only a few more hours."

Bakugou didn't like asking others for help, especially with something as important as his gear, but he realized he didn't have much of a choice. After the last lecture of the day, He picked up the broken gauntlet from his locker and made his way to the room Kirishima had given him directions to.

Opening the door, his nose was met the stinging smell of rusted metal and dust. The room was well lit from the sunset outside. In the middle of the room was a tall worktable where Y/N was hunched over a project wearing a welding mask. He realized what she was doing too late. A white flash blinded him and he hissed, stumbling backwards.

Y/N pulled up her mask and gasped, realizing she had company. "Jesus Christ! What the hell are you doing?" She cried, setting down her tool and rushing over. Bakugou was on the ground, his back against the wall, his hands pushing against his eyes.

"I came to get my gear fixed, shithead! A little warning next time you plan to fucking blind me!" He snapped. 

Y/N grabbed his wrists and yanked them away from his face. "Let me see."

"Fuck off!"

"Let me see, dumbass! I need to know if you need a hospital!"

Begrudgingly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, adjusting. His eyes fell on Y/N's. She was squinting at him, studying his pupils. It made him want to squirm away.

"Am I blurry at all?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and using her fingers to open his eyes wider. Her hands were warm from working her machinery, he realized. Why did that matter?

"No," he grumbled, pushing her hand away. "I'm fine." 

She didn't listen and pulled a small vial out of her backpack. "Eyes up, sunshine," she said, holding his chin and tilting it upwards to get a better angle. "Don't close 'em yet." 

Bakugou didn't like being this close to someone. He wanted to push her hand away from holding his head, but stopped himself. Eye drops sounded nice. She put a few drops in each eye and he blinked them back, shaking his head. It was unpleasant at first, but then relief washed over them. 

"Don't enter a workshop without knocking from now on, got it?" she said, letting go of him and standing up. "Welding light can seriously fuck up your eyes."

"I didn't expect to get fucking flashbanged," he mumbled, getting to his feet. He watched her walk back over to her table and unplug the tools.

"Aside from new eyes, what do you need?" She set aside the project she was working on and began scribbling something down on a loose sheet of paper.

He set his broken gauntlet on the table in front of her roughly. "I need this fixed."

"Cool," she deadpanned. "Put 'em in there." She pointed to the trashcan.

"What the hell?"

"I'm just gonna make you a new set. Those ones are obviously shitty if they broke."

He sighed in frustration. "I don't want a new set. I want this set."

Y/N swiveled around in her stool to look at him, putting the pencil she was holding behind her ear and crossing her arms. "I can guarantee you better gear. I know the engineer who made those, and trust me, you don't want to hold onto them."

Bakugou wanted to argue, but didn't know what to say that didn't sound childish. His only reason for wanting to keep the old ones was sentimental value, and he knew that. He eyed the busted gauntlet.

Y/N seemed to know what he was thinking. "I get it. I'm attached to my shit too. Just let me--"

"I'm not attached," he grumbled.

"Whatever. If it means that much to you, I can use some of the old material. That way you can keep some of the... meaning," Y/N said apprehensively, grabbing the gauntlet and looking it over. "I can't keep all of it, though. This material is actually pretty shitty. I'm surprised it lasted this long." 

"Fine, fuck it. Do what you need. But I'm gonna check up on this, and if I don't like it--"

"If you don't like it, you can get a new engineer to repair these. But that won't happen. I know what I'm doing, and I know you'll like my work," she said, turning back around. Bakugou could tell that her words weren't meant to brag, but to reassure. She got up and set his gear off to the side. 

"When will it be finished?" 

"I dunno. I've got a lot of orders. A week or two, probably."

Bakugou snorted. "That long? I thought you were 'the best in your field'."

"You aren't the only person I'm helping, Bakugou," she retorted. "Your whole class seems to have shitty gear. I've got a lot I have to work through, and it's looking like first come first serve at this point."

"There's gotta be something you can do to speed this shit up," he demanded. "There are agencies coming in a few weeks, and if I don't have my gear by then--"

"I don't exactly have help here, dude. This is a one-woman show." She rubbed her eyes, and Katsuki felt a small sliver of guilt creeping up his throat. This girl was obviously exhausted. She looked exhausted yesterday, too. Why wasn't this dumbass getting sleep?

"Whatever," Katsuki grumbled, shoving the guilt down into his gut as he walked out the door. "Just let me know when it's done."