𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

XI

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"How are you feeling about the Sports festival tomorrow?" Aeri asked, dodging a right hook he'd thrown at the side of her ribcage. She flipped and landed a roundhouse kick on his chest. Bakugou grunted and stumbled back, panting heavily. They'd been sparring on and off for nearly two hours, long enough that Aeri's brothers and Kirishima had all gone to get changed and shower and left them alone.

"Fine. I'm gonna beat your ass." He bent down and sat on the floor. Aeri crouched down in front of him, knowing if she sat down she wouldn't want to get up and her brothers would have to peel her sweaty body off the ground.

"You wish," She replied.

He smirked and pushed his body up so he was on one knee, eye to eye with her. Aeri raised an eyebrow at him about to ask what he was doing when he tackled her. She landed on her back with his knees digging painfully into her thighs and her wrists pinned above her head.

Aeri gasped dramatically. "That was a dirty trick, Bakugou." She almost blushed at how close his face was to hers.

Almost.

"No one said we had stopped the match, I was just picking up where we left off" He smirked and adjusted his legs so that so he wasn't hurting her anymore. This was the first time he'd managed to disable her in the two weeks they'd been training together.

"Fine, I'll let you have the win just this once, but i promise it won't happen again." She huffed, smiling up at him. "You're gonna have to pull me up though, I'm too tired to move." She whined.

Bakugou scoffed and slid his hands down to her forearms as he pushed himself up into a crouch. He stood and pulled her up as if she were nothing. "Anything else? need me to carry you home too?" He said sarcastically.

"Only if you're offering," She shot him a dazzling smile, leaning into his touch. She stopped her teasing when he suddenly turned serious. "Are you okay?"

"Did you mean what you said on that bus? When those fuckheads were talking shit about my personality and you said you don't mind it?" He looked away awkwardly though his hands remained on her arms.

"Bakugou if I didn't like your personality do you think i'd be around you so often?" She reassured him. "I don't know why you are so angry and I don't know your history with Midoriya but I'm sure you have a reason for everything, you just don't go about dealing with it in the right way."

Bakugou nodded, his face unusually soft in contrast to the usual angry scowl he wore.

"Come on, let's go. They're gonna come back wondering if we killed each other any second now"

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"These P.E. uniforms are so damn ugly. It's embarrassing that the heroes have to see us in these," Jungwon huffed as they stood in the centre of their classroom, waiting out the 15 minutes they had before they had to report to the sports festival venue.

"I know right? And you know who's gonna be laughing at us from the stands?" Aeri paused, her face grim. "Jinyoung and Hyoseop. They flew over from Korea to watch."

"They're never gonna shut up about it. I can hear them now," Jungwon cleared his throat and began mocking his older brother's voice. "I can't believe you had to wear that abomination, If only you came to Seoul Hero Academy, then you would've had the nicest uniforms you could've ever hoped for."

Aeri sighed. "At least it's not just us wearing them, the whole school will be."

"You don't like the sports uniform?" Kaminari asked as he skipped over to them with a bright smile. "I think they're cool!"

"Yeah, you would." Jungwon grimaced.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaminari narrowed his eyes playfully. Kirishima clapped him on the shoulder.

"I think they're trying to say we have no taste."

"STUDENTS PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY OVER TO THE ARENA." A voice called over the speaker phones. Aeri heard Mina squeal excitedly as she rushed out of the door, dragging Jirou with her. The rest of the students prepared themselves to leave the classroom except for Todoroki who pulled Midoriya aside to talk.

"I may be one of the strongest in this class but you have the number one hero backing you. I will beat you Midoriya. I'm here to become number 1, not to make friends." He said monotonously.

"Oooo drama," Aeri whispered to her brother, who was listening intently to the conversation at the back of the room.

"You may be stronger than me Todoroki, but I'm aiming for the top just like everyone else." Midoriya frowned.

"Let's all just chill out and go down to the arena," Kirishima chuckled nervously, approaching the two boys. Todoroki said nothing else before he turned and walked out of the room.

The twins finished strapping their blades to their bodies and ran after their classmates who were already halfway down the corridor. The arena was immense and Aeri couldn't help but look around in wonder. The part there were in now looked like a stadium, with towering walls and stands that held the second and third years and the pro heroes. The students lined up in accordance with their classes as they waited for the festival to begin.

"Welcome to the first-year sports festival!" Midnight called, garnering cheers from the students. "Before we start, I'd like to invite the student representatives from both the entrance exam and the recommendations exam to the stage to take a pledge. Bakugou Katsuki and the Moon twins, please make your way up to the stage!"

"Since when were we student reps?" Aeri asked her brother, eyes wide. He shrugged and pulled her to the front of the crowd. They both reluctantly trudged up the steps to the stage where Bakugou had already taken the mic from the pro hero.

"I pledge to beat you all." Was all he said, earning a number of 'boos' from the other students. He threw the mic to Aeri who caught it in one hand, trying not to laugh at his so-called pledge.

Aeri looked around nervously before she brought the mic up. The boos quietened as she began to speak. "This is a chance to prove yourselves, good luck everyone." She said shyly. Addressing this many people at once was terrifying. She almost laughed when she heard Hyunjin scream her name from the stands. The students clapped, deeming her pledge acceptable. Aeri tried to hand the mic to Jungwon but he refused and was sidestepping towards the stairs. Midnight took the mic back and ushered the twins off the stage.

"You're such a snake," She shoved Jungwon's shoulder and he laughed.

"You're better at public speaking than me!" He said.

"No, I'm not!"

"No that's over... onto our first event! The obstacle race!"

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