PUPPET // KATSUKI BAKUGO [1]

Chapter 12 // A Friend

Monday came quickly, and you almost mistakingly went to Class-C. The only thing that reminded you had been transferred was Bakugo passing by you in the hallway, an unamused expression on his face like always.

"Smells like success in here," you boomed as you slid open the door to Class 1-A, gaining everyone's attention. "Actually, nope, that's just me."

"[L/N]?" Uraraka questioned before looking at Aizawa. "Wait, she's the new transfer student?"

"Yes," Aizawa began to explain. "[L/N] has officially transferred to the hero course and will be finishing the rest of her time here in Class 1-A and so on."

"Cool!" Mina exclaimed from her seat. "There are not enough girls in this class."

"I'm glad to see most of you are satisfied with the change," Aizawa began, his eyes trialing over Bakugo, who stared at you with a scowl on his face, "but this doesn't mean anything in terms of class time will change. Learning and training will still remain the same. We will still do squads, trios, duos, and one v. ones in trianing. There will just be an uneven number in some cases."

The man then turned to you, saying, "your seat is behind Momo," as he gestured toward the black haired girl who sat at the farthest seat from the door.

You nodded before heading to your seat. You squeezed yourself through the small spaces in between the rows, and, when you finally sat down, you realized Aizawa had already begun teaching.

You didn't like your seat. Everyone else was connected. There were four rows of five before, but, now that you were in the class, there was an extra desk branching off from the last row, and it was clear you were never meant to be there in the first place. Your place in the class only reminded you of how much you sort of wished you had just stayed in General Studies.

"For those who have been scouted by one or numerous heroes, you'll be given a spreadsheet by the end of the day and be expected to choose who you want to internship with by the end of the week," Aizawa said, and you only realized then that you had been zoned out for the majority of his lecture, "but, today, we'll be doing trios, heroes verse villains," the man rounded his desk and began to walk down the rows, handing everyone a card.

"There will be seven groups of three, so one group will have to go twice. Red cards are villains, blue are heroes. Each is numbered one through seven," Aizawa explained, and you nodded, a silent "thank you" as he handed you a red card with the number four on it. "The objective is for each villain team to capture the hero teams flag, which will be stationed in wherever their base is. Group up with the two people who have the same card as you and then head to ground beta after changing. I expect you to be no longer than fifteen minutes."

As soon as Aizawa left the room, everyone jumped up from their seats and began to search for their partners. You slowly stood up and looked around.

Denki, Iida, Sato

Kirishima, Sero, Jirou

Todoroki, Momo, Ojiro

Deku, Hagakure, Asui

Aoyama, Mineta, Shoji

Tokoyami, Uraraka, Koda

You couldn't help but groan in annoyance when you realized Mina and Bakugo were the only two who didn't have a third memebr. Energetic, hotheaded, and sarcastic wasn't the best trio dynamic, but you couldn't do much about it.

"Looks like you're stuck with me, Poppy," you sighed as you greeted Bakugo from behind by grabbing his shoulders. Mina sat on the edge of the blond's desk, grinning.

"The hell did you just call me?" Bakugo questioned, almost growling as he shrugged your hands off him and stood up.

"Poppy," you repeated, raising your hands and mimicking his typical explosions, almost flicking him in the face.

Bakugo glared at you, and, if it weren't for Mina lunging to hold him back, he would've started something physical.

"No fighting!" Iida yelled, waving his arms around. "We should get suited up like Mr. Aizawa said."

'Oh, so he's one of those guys,' you thought.

"Zip it, four eyes!"

"Shut it, four eyes!"

You and Bakugo yelled at Iida in unison before you looked at each other. You narrowed your eyes in frustration as Bakugo scowled once more.

"Come on, let's get ready," Mina encouraged, moving to grab your arm. She pulled you away from Bakugo and over to the cases displayed on the shelves that extended from the far wall of the classroom. You noticed that everyone was grabbing whichever case coordinated to their seat number, so you quickly located number twenty-one before grabbing it and following Mina to the girls locker room.

"Man, I got no sleep last night," Hagakure stated, starting a pointless yet still somewhat entertaining conversation with the rest of the girls as all of you entered the locker room.

You set your case down on a nearby bench before opening it to reveal a practically perfect replica of the drawing you had submitted to the Support Department.

The pants were black leather yet still stretchy. They were comfortable and flexible as you slipped them on. The boots were obsidian black with a snake-skin design, and, despite the fact that they looked heavy, they felt light when you put them on your feet. The top was an unknown material to you, but it felt soft against your skin as you slipped it over your head. It was a deep v-neck, and you might've gotten dressed coded for it if you didn't have a brown leather patchwork jacket to go with your costume. The fingerless gloves fit perfectly, and the aviator goggles were fit snug over your eyes. They were also blacked out from the outside, so your eyes couldn't be seen.

"Whoa, [Y/N], you look so cool!" Uraraka said, peeking around a row of lockers as she noticed you were fully dressed.

"You look like a badass steampunk!" Hagakure commented, and she startled you slightly as the only thing she was wearing were shoes and gloves, so she was hard to locate.

"I'll take it," you couldn't help but chuckle at the odd compliment. You looked at Mina, saying, "Now, let's go find Poppy."

Mina smiled before grabbing your arm and dragging you out of the room so quickly that you could barely wave goodbye to the rest of the girls as they finished getting ready.

"So..." Mina began excitedly, hugging your arm as the two of you headed toward Ground Beta, "what's up with you and Bakugo?"

"Nothing's up," you replied, looking at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "We have a friendly rivalry," you added.

Mina laughed, saying, "It doesn't seem too friendly on his part."

"Yeah," you agreed, "'cause he hates me."

"Bakugo hates everyone," Mina sighed. "You'll get used to the pettiness soon enough."

You smiled at the ground, grateful that Mina had taken it upon herself to be your first freind in the hero course. Well, was she your freind? Did she only pursue you because she knew you wouldn't instigate anything on your own?

"Mina," you said almost subconsciously, "are you my friend?"

"Uh, duh," the acidic girl answered as if it was obvious. "You walked right into my trap the second you entered the class. I'd be your freind even if you didn't want me to be. You're stuck with me now."

You managed a chuckle as you glanced at her before looking down the hall, thinking, 'that doesn't seem so bad.'

[EDITED]