𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐄 | 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐤𝐮 | ✓

𝔬𝔫𝔢

word count: 649

the song above is my inspiration for this book. bakudeku in a nutshell, really

 I hoist my beloved yellow backpack onto my shoulders. Just months ago, it felt heavy to me. But now, after All Might's training, my body is strong, and carrying my textbook-laden backpack is an easy feat.

"Ohh, Izuku! I'm so proud of my baby!" My mother wraps her arms around me waist and squeezes me into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so proud!"

I smile at her. "Gotta go, mum!"

I leave my house and start the walk to school. Today is my first day at U.A. High! I couldn't be more ecstatic. Even with all the training and effort I put in, I didn't think I'd pass the entrance exam. But, thanks to All Might's quirk, I did.

Before long, I am at the gates of U.A. Here I go! It is a dream come true.

I wonder if Kacchan made it, or that uptight guy with the glasses, or the nice girl with the floaty quirk. Hopefully Kacchan isn't in my class. I haven't seen him since the entrance exam. I can predict how he'll beat me up for managing to get in to this prestigious school.

In the building, I walk along the hallways. They are impeccably clean, and my chunky red shoes squeak on the polished floors.

I find my classroom — 1-A — and push open the dark wood door. My heart sinks.

There, arrogant smirk on his face, sits Kacchan, leaning back in his desk chair, feet carelessly on top of the table. The bespectacled, midnight-haired boy who lectured my mumbling in the entrance exam is in front of Kacchan. He makes wild, rectangular gestures with his hands, explaining the disrespect of sitting like that. It's pointless, though, because Kacchan isn't listening. He just throws back his head and laughs crudely.

But then his mean laughter stops short. His ruby eyes zero in on me, his face contorting in fury. "Deku," he growls.

I gulp.

"Hey!" A friendly voice says from behind me. I turn. It's that nice girl, with the rosy cheeks.

Safe from Kacchan, for now.

"O-oh, hey."

"I'm Ochaco Uraraka! It's great to see that you made it!" She cheers.

"If you're here to socialise, get out." I look around for the source of the voice.

"Eep!" Uraraka squeaks.

A yellow, wormlike creature is lying flat in the hallway. What kind of quirk is that? I wonder. But then the thing unzips itself and a tall man with scraggly black hair and dishevelled features steps out. He looks as if he desperately needs a good night of sleep.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa," he says in a flat voice. This guy is seriously dead inside. "Sit down."

I sink into my assigned seat, in front of a short boy with purple balls for hair, and behind Kacchan.

Later in the day, I am diligently taking class notes in my burnt notebook, scribbling to keep up with Aizawa's lessons.

Bakugo reaches a hand to the back of his head and drops a crumpled ball of paper on my desk without turning around.

I open it under my desk. See me after school, loser.

Eep. I stuff the note in my pocket and look back up at the chalkboard. Oh, great. Aizawa's erased the diagram before I got to copy it.

At the end of the day, I pack my books into my backpack. I wish I could be savouring this moment, this first day of UA. I've made friends at lunch — Uraraka and Iida. But the only thought in my mind is about my unavoidable encounter with Kacchan. I'm mentally bracing myself for the hurtful words and injuries to come. I can't skip it though — that'd only make things worse in the long run. Kacchan knows that he's got control of me like I'm his dog on a leash.

He says jump. I say how high.

That's just how it is.