{DEAR DEPARTURE} My Hero Academia

𝟸. 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘

The bass that pounds through the corridor is the only thing that guides Bakugou towards the chaos of the common area. With his hands in his pockets, his eyes scan the scene ahead. Never has he seen the area looking like this- neon lights painting the walls and ceiling, and students filling every single crevice of the space. He has to fight the urge to roll his eyes at the sight.

He'd come down because it was the last night he'll have to put up with the others, but the mixture of the crowd and noise was enough to make him feel as if he was drowning in his own skin.

Just a few more hours, and then he's free.

"Hey, Bakubro!" a familiar voice yells out from the kitchen. Bakugou's head snaps up in that direction, his scowl deepening when he notices it's just Kaminari rushing in his direction. "Glad to see you're joining us! It only took three years!"

"Shut up," Bakugou mutters, looking away. He tries to ignore how his cheeks heat up. "What is all this, anyway?"

"It's a graduation party," Kaminari laughs, slapping a hand against his shoulder. "Yaomomo wanted to do something nice for all of us, and well, it's pretty obvious the others agreed."

"Have you, uh, seen Kirishima?" Bakugou asks, scratching the back of his head as he looks around.

"Oh, yeah, he was over by the kitchen. Actually, I told him if I saw you, I'd bring you over. He wanted to talk to you, too," Kaminari shouts as he begins to guide Bakugou through the crowd, causing Bakugou's skin to crawl in distaste at being manhandled.

He's about to protest, but then he reaches the kitchen. "Huh," Kaminari frowns. "I could've sworn he said he would be here. Well, you could always check upstairs, y'know?"

"Whatever," Bakugou grumbles.

"Hey, wait, before you go we should have a drink together," Kaminari smiles softly. "It is our last night and I doubt you'll ever want to hang out with me again since you won't be forced to."

"Yeah, alright," Bakugou agrees rather easily. Kaminari's only partially right about what he'd said. Bakugou wouldn't be opposed to hanging out with Kaminari after graduation so long as he doesn't try to push his luck.

"Awesome! Here, I'll pour us both some shots," Kaminari grins. He begins pulling random bottles off the counter, glancing back at him as he pours something unreadable in a small plastic cup. "So, uh, have you heard back from any agencies yet?"

"A few," Bakugou shrugs. "Nothing official yet, though."

"Damn. You know, I haven't even heard from any," Kaminari snorts as he slides a shot over to Bakugou.

"You will," Bakugou nods just as Kaminari places the drink into his mouth. However, upon hearing Bakugou's words, the drink ends up spilling from his nose.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Kaminari coughs as he searches frantically for a tissue. "There must be something wrong with my ears."

"What are you talking about, dunce face?" Bakugou asks, looking confused as he picks up the drink he'd been given.

"Are you complimenting me?"

"No," Bakugou snaps, narrowing his eyes. "I was just telling you what I thought, you idiot."

Kaminari lets out a snort of laughter. "Man, all that time with Vlag King's daughter." And then he lets out a shiver. "I really have no idea how you had the balls to go out with her knowing who her dad is. I mean, there's so many reasons why you shouldn't have-

Bakugou feels his entire body freeze at his words. "Y/N and I aren't together anymore, you know that so stop bringing it up. Besides, the only reason why I dated her was because I had a feeling her dad wouldn't like me very much."

"Oh? Is that true?" Kaminari asks, raising an eyebrow. "Cause I can remember clear as day when Y/N came skipping up to me and some of the others telling all of us how you said you loved her."

Bakugou rolls his eyes, looking away. "Look, I was young and dumb back then, okay?"

"You're still young," Kaminari grins. "And-"

"Don't even," Bakugou interrupts, his glare returning.

Kaminari simply chuckles as he shakes his head.

"So, uh, about Kirishima," Bakugou then clears his throat, his words barely audible over the loud music. "Do you think he'll be back?"

Kaminari shrugs. "Hard to say. I mean, if you sit here long enough you're bound to spot him, right?"

Bakugou doesn't say anything back as he turns around and glares out into the crowd. A couple people meet his gaze and quickly disappear before he can recognize who they are.

"Hey, why don't you go look for him," Kaminari suggests, nudging him in the arm. "And anyway, I'm going to look for Jirou so I won't be here."

"Jirou?" Bakugou narrows his eyebrows but doesn't look back.

Kaminari takes that as a sign to begin blabbing about how much he's in love with the girl who doesn't share his feelings. Bakugou can't help but feel a bit bad, however, he's much more interested in finding Kirishima before night's end than listening to the boring details of Kaminari's unrequited love.

"Okay," he says simply once Kaminari finally stops to catch his breath.

"So, will you, uh, be alright?" Kaminari asks.

"Are you saying that I'm unable to handle finding one person in a room with a bunch of drunk extras?" Bakugou grumbles, turning slowly in his seat to face Kaminari.

"N-No," Kaminari gulps, "Of course not."

"Good," Bakugou stands, glaring. "Cause I'm going to sit here until I can find him."

"Right. Good luck, bro," Kaminari nods, giving him a thumbs up.

Bakugou simply sighs as Kaminari walks away from the kitchen for the second time within fifteen minutes. Bakugou, meanwhile, sits as still as a statue in the same seat where Kaminari had previously been before running off to the bathroom with a sick stomach.

Unfortunately, it's not Kirishima who he spots first. Instead, it's Y/N as beautiful as ever. She's wearing the most gorgeous smile on her lips as she and Hagakure hold hands and laugh about something.

Bakugou's heart aches a bit, but he can't look away.

He really did love Y/N. Part of him still does. But after the way things ended, he can't bring himself to ever talk to her again. He should have just been honest with her from the moment she asked.

Instead, he chose the coward's way out. And now he's the one sitting alone at a party, watching his stunning ex-girlfriend shake her hips in the same black dress he once took off of her in his dorm.

Bakugou's hand immediately drops to his lap, quickly covering the tightening in his pants before anyone can notice. And because he's so busy looking down at his erection, he doesn't notice Sero sliding into the seat beside him. "Oh, hey," Sero says, flashing him a quick grin. "What're you doing here?"

"Nothing," Bakugou states quickly as he stands up and turns his back to the tape hero. "I'm going to look for someone."

Sero's head tilts curiously. "Really? Who are you looking for?"

"Mind your own business," Bakugou growls, pushing his way through the crowd.