Control Your Reality: Katsuki Bakugo

Chapter 14

Hitori was one of the first ten to finish the first stage. A few assistants were directing people to where they would have their targets removed. Afterward, they were given refreshments and could sit anywhere to wait.

After her targets were removed with the magnetic key, Hitori got some water and a roll from the refreshment table. She found a bench on the edge of the room to sit on and wait for the rest of Class 1A. She had no doubt that all of them would find a way to pass.

Yaorashi was making a racket, talking to anyone and everyone who walked into the room. His overenthusiastic voice carried over all other conversation.

A steady stream of examinees was starting to make their way into the reception room. About five minutes after Hitori got there, Todoroki walked in. He scanned the room and made eye contact with her, then started in her direction. He sat down next to her.

"Glad to see someone else from UA has passed," he said.

"Yeah. I'm sure we'll see the rest of them soon enough."

Yaorashi suddenly caught sight of them on the bench. He shut up and glared daggers at Todoroki. Then he spun around and tried to continue his conversation.

"What was that?" Hitori asked.

"No idea. But if he was in the special recommendation exam, then I would've met him during that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well? Do you remember him? There couldn't have been a ton of recommendations right?"

"No, there weren't. And I recognize him, but I can't really remember anything about him. I was focused on the exam itself, I didn't have time for conversations."

"Makes sense," Hitori said. Todoroki had been pretty cold at the start of the year, so it was believable that he was the same way during his exam.

"Anyways, where do I get these things taken off?" He asked, tugging at one of his targets.

Hitori pointed to the other side of the room. "There's a magnet key over there."

"Thanks," he said.

Todoroki got up and walked away. He came back a minute later and sat back down.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"You just did but go ahead."

"Your scars," he said quietly. "How'd you get them?"

Hitori looked sideways at him. "I'll you about mine if you tell me about yours."

Todoroki paused for a second, then nodded. "My bastard of a father drove my mother insane. She was terrified of him, so she was terrified of my left side because I reminded her of him. One night she snapped and poured boiling water on my face."

"That's awful," she said quietly.

"I hate him. He forced me to train all the time and pushed me to be the best at everything. He wants me to replace All Might as number one. I didn't get to grow up as a normal kid."

Hitori looked down at the ground. "Me either. I grew up in a dojo with an abusive master. He forced me to train until I was past my breaking point. He would hit me when I acted out."

"And the burns on your forearms?"

"Bakugo, but it wasn't his fault."

"What happened?"

"It was when he was fighting the sludge villain. The thing forced him to aim his explosion at some trapped civilians. I blocked the blast, and it burned me pretty badly."