Cussed (Kacchako)

TWO

Artwork: https://www.deviantart.com/sayuttan/art/Ochako-Uraraka-Ver-2-735652356

Ochako glared at the man in front of her. Her head hurt. She was angry that she had been surprised, and embarrassed that she wasn't wearing any dang pants. At least her underwear was a nice blend of fashionable and covering. She hadn't been told that there would be another teacher playing chaperone in this building and had figured she had the place to herself until next week. She definitely never thought she'd run into a cranky, damp, shirtless Bakugo Katsuki.

She hadn't seen him in years, and since he was overseas for most of her career post-graduation, she hadn't even seen him in the news much until the last year or so. He still had that ridiculous unruly ash blonde hair and those angry, crimson eyes. And, apparently, that equally ridiculous filthy mouth.

She held the glare for a moment more and then sighed. She had never managed to perfect her glare. She was just too short to pull off any sort of effective visual intimidation. Not that she minded, it had its own benefits in battle, after all. She had ignored a call from Mina and somehow, she knew that the voicemail the woman left her would be about the man staring at her from across the room.

Sighing again, Ochako turned back to fridge and grabbed another bottle before shutting the door. She activated her quirk and sent the extra bottle sailing over to Bakugo. He let it bounce against his chest, still just staring at her. "Take the beer, Bakugo-san." He didn't move. She shrugged and released her quirk.

His hissed "shit" and lunge to catch the bottle before it crashed against the floor was more satisfying than it should have been. She had made the decision to leave her agency and become a teacher. She should be mature. Watching as the dour man in front of her bobbled the bottle before getting a good grip on it, she decided that that was going to be more difficult than anticipated. Uraraka! You need to take your job more seriously, you're too wishy-washy and it's holding us back! The smile slid off her face as the voice resounded in her head. She had her own reasons for being here.

She twisted the cap off her beer and took a long drink. With yet another sigh, she leaned back against the closed refrigerator and tried again. "Bakugo-san, I wasn't expecting anyone else in the dorms."

"No shit. Otherwise I'm sure you'd be wearing pants."

"I'm not the only one half-dressed here, ya know."

Bakugo actually flushed and broke eye contact with her. He didn't, however, leave to grab a shirt. Though, it's not like she had left to get pants. He twisted the cap off his own beer and took a drink. "I wasn't told that there would be another teacher in this building either. It was a...busy night. I don't think they bothered to give me all the details before dumping me here."

So, he wasn't thrilled to be here either, Ochako mused. It wasn't too surprising; the man had never struck her at the type to enjoy children. Or teaching. Or dealing with other people, really. She heard a clink and glanced down at the hands holding Bakugo's beer. The bottle rested in the palm of one hand and the first two fingers of his other hand were tapping against the neck of the bottle as he stared down at it. Fidgeting really wasn't like him, he definitely was uncomfortable being back at their old school.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

"None of your damn business," Bakugo spat out and then grimaced. "Look. The situation isn't great, ok? I'd...I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you."

Ochako took another sip of her drink and took the pause in conversation to really look at him. He had matured somewhat. The Bakugo she knew had very little control of his temper. Sure, he had been able to direct it extremely well, but like his quirk, he was real easy to ignite. He still seemed to have a short fuse, but she guessed that having to be a functional adult reigned him in a little bit. He also looked tired. Not like he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, but the type of exhaustion that went down to the soul. A busy night indeed.

"Finish your beer," she said, pushing away from the refrigerator and walking past him in the doorway. She fought back a blush as she brushed past him. He smells clean, she thought, and then shook her head. "Finish your beer," she repeated, "and then get some sleep. It's been a long day for me too. In the morning there's a teacher's conference and I'm sure we'll get more information then." She paused and turned back to looked at him. "Sleep well."

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Ochako-chan! Eijiro just came home and you won't believe who is going to be joining you at U.A.! Bakugo-kun of all people! Eijiro won't give me all the details, but apparently there was some dust up between the police and Bakugo-kun, big surprise there. Nezu-sensei apparently showed up and smoothed everything over by offering some kind of compromise. Let me know when you run into him! It's been awhile since he's been over for dinner, and I want to know how he's doing! Bye~~~~~"

Yep, the voicemail had been about Bakugo. Mina and Kirishima had gotten married a few years ago, and since Kirishima and Bakugo have been pretty tight since they first years, it wasn't a big surprise that Mina found out almost immediately what was going on. She'd reach out tomorrow and find out what else she knew, or was able to coerce out of her husband. From what she said, it sounded like teaching was some sort of probation for the most explosive pro hero the area had seen in a while. That made a lot more sense than Bakugo choosing to be a teacher, and it could explain why he was so bent out of shape about the whole thing. She finished off her beer.

Ochako sighed and flopped down on her bed. She had enjoyed high school, but she had been hoping for new faces. She didn't want many reminders...not that that had been realistic from the start. She dug her palms into her eyes. It was stupid how much she still hurt. After graduation, she had ended up going to Gun Head's agency as a side kick for a while, and there she did pretty well for herself. Then Ida had come to her with a request.

So many hero agencies had one main hero and then a slew of sidekicks. Ida wanted to try something new: an agency made up of independent heroes who would work their separate cases, but also work in conjunction on any projects or areas of concern one hero wouldn't be able to handle by themselves. They would have a pool of sidekicks that they could all enlist for different projects. The idea was to have a more cohesive unit than a lot of the other collaborations that would happen on the fly. This way, the theory went, they would be able to identify related problems more quickly. He had invited Kyoka and Midoriya. Deku. She squeezed her eyes shut hard, hoping that tears wouldn't squeeze out.

Things had gone so well. And she and Deku, well, they got on well too. She had been so happy. She had always admired him, and she felt so lucky to be someone he chose. Ugh. She threw her arms down by her side. People had to make choices about what was important to them. And what was important to Deku had always been his work as a hero. It created a tunnel vision, and he felt he had to cast off anything that got into the way of him becoming number one. It had gotten worse when Bakugo returned.

Ground Zero had never seemed to care about the "official" rankings. He wanted to be the strongest, so all he cared about was how good he was at working. Deku, on the other hand, became obsessed with the number one spot. He felt that he didn't have enough energy to focus both on that and a lover. He sounded so apologetic when he explained that he was doing this for his dream.

Ochako couldn't help but wonder how weak their relationship had been if he could so easily toss her aside for a different, albeit non-human, love. She sighed again, and hated herself for it. Just to feel better, she tried a growl, similar to what she remembered Bakugo doing back in school. She couldn't help but giggle through her tears. Bakugo would be a constant reminder of Deku, so many of her memories of him were tied up in the rivalry the two boys had had in school.

He was quite a character though, so maybe he would be able to be a bit of a distraction.