Seraph - Katsuki Bakugo

t w e n t y - o n e

The fun ended not long after she had the thought. Soon, Reigen's exhaustion caught up with her and her limbs ached from the exertion she was putting on them. Ever so slowly, the amount of dirt monsters trickled into nothing as they made their way toward the camp. All of the students were breathing heavily, minor cuts and scrapes coupled with the dirt they were caked in making them look quite unruly.

Reigen's white hair was now a dull, patchy brown, as she walked with Ochaco's arm slung around her shoulders. The poor girl had overused her quirk, and had thrown up multiple times.

They came to a clearing, Reigen's eyes focusing in on the adults standing before them. As the students complained, Pixie-Bob walked toward them with a wide smile on her face.

"I thought it would take you kids even longer. But, you did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would! You guys were seriously great. Especially..." She looked in the direction of Reigen, who had let go of Ochaco to stand by Izuku. "The five of you! It seems like you've had quite a bit of experience." Reigen flushed, not really sure why she was grouped in with Iida, Izuku, Todoroki and Bakugo. She felt that she still had such a long way to go before she could even compare to them.

What she didn't know though, was that she had improved significantly since starting at UA. Not only was she physically stronger, but it seemed that she trusted herself more than she had before. Getting to experience real battle, then her training with her friends and with Hawks... It put her onto a path that increased her rate of improvement substantially.

Reigen moved from the boys with a grimace as Pixie-Bob went toward them, obviously thinking some impure thoughts.

Izuku then pointed out the little boy standing off to the side of Mandalay, Reigen's eyes finding him as well. He was very similar to Ren in size and stature, but his eyes bore no resemblance to Ren's pure and kind ones.

"Don't be shy, Kota, say hi to everyone!"

Izuku approached the boy, holding out his hand for him to shake. "Hey there. My name's Izuku. I'm from the UA High School Hero Course. It's nice to meet you!" Kota glared up at him as he spoke, then shifted and punched Midoriya. Right in the sack.

Reigen grimaced, looking away.

"That brat's got spunk," said Bakugo, a slight grin on his face.

"He's like a mini version of you." Bakugo whipped around to Todoroki, yelling at him as Reigen burst out laughing.

"Enough playing around," Shouta said, diverting everyone's attention back to himself. "Get your stuff off the bus. Once your bags are in your rooms we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you can bathe and sleep. Tomorrow, your training starts in earnest. You'd better get a move on."

Several students groaned, and Reigen followed Ochaco toward the bus to grab their things. A finger poked right in between her shoulder blades and she squeaked, turning to see Bakugo walking behind her.

"Nice job."

She looked at him, slightly furrowing her brows. "Yeah, you too."

They grabbed their things, set them inside and rushed back toward the cafeteria. Reigen was buzzing with excitement for her food. They could've given her dry noodles and she would've thanked them, that's how hungry she was.

Sitting between Izuku and Bakugo, she slapped her hands together in thanks for the meal. It looked delicious.

Izuku spoke excitedly from her right in between bites of food, but all she could manage in return were hums and grunts. She couldn't eat fast enough it seemed, and Bakugo noticed.