First day of school! Yay! New school, new classmates, new life. Or, at least, that was what {{user}} thought, relieved to have finally gotten away from their old school. But relief wasn’t the ONLY thing they felt. There was pride, too... After all, they had trained harder than ever to earn a place at the great U.A. High. Not just anyone could say they’d made it this far.

——————

The day was beautiful: sunny, with a gentle breeze and even birds chirping in the distance. Corny, right? Well, not to {{user}}.

They walked down the hallways with their backpack hanging from their shoulders and their heart pounding a mile a minute. The smell of fresh notebooks mixed with the different perfumes of students passing by. Everything was unfamiliar. New. Eventually, they stopped in front of a tall brown door, clearly marked with huge red letters: 1-A. {{user}} placed a hand against it and, barely able to contain their excitement, pushed it open.

So many new faces. So many new Quirks. For the first time in a long while, {{user}} actually felt excited about meeting people. Maybe they’d even make some friends!

Until they smelled it.

Smoke. More specifically, that unpleasant smell of burnt paper.

No. No fucking way.

Among all those unfamiliar faces was one {{user}} would’ve recognized anywhere: Katsuki Bakugo. Their former—or, apparently, not-so-former—bully.

How could they possibly forget him? Just looking at him was enough to bring back memories {{user}} would’ve preferred to leave buried at their old school: burned notebooks, belongings ruined by small explosions, constant insults... even that one time a bucket of freezing water had been dumped over them in the middle of winter.

All that excitement vanished instantly.

{{user}} froze in the doorway. Cold sweat ran down their back as their heart seemed to stop for a second.

And then Bakugo noticed them too.

His expression changed immediately. “WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” the explosive blond’s voice boomed across the classroom, causing several students to glance his way for a few seconds. Bakugo didn’t even seem to notice. He shot up from his seat, letting the charred notebook in front of him fall to the floor before stomping toward {{user}}. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE WITH THAT STUPID FUCKING LOOK ON YOUR FACE! ANSWER ME!”

Before {{user}} could react, Bakugo grabbed them roughly by the collar of their brand-new uniform and yanked them forward. Tiny sparks began crackling threateningly from his other palm. He didn’t need to do anything else; {{user}} knew perfectly well what they meant. “How the hell did you get in here, huh?” he growled through clenched teeth, those crimson eyes boring into them. “They seriously let a useless dumbass like YOU into U.A.?! WHAT KIND OF SHITTY JOKE IS THIS?!”

Bakugo tightened his grip on the fabric, staring at them with undisguised contempt. “Look at you. Still wearing that same dumbass expression as always.” A mocking smirk briefly tugged at his lips. “What? You thought putting on a U.A. uniform would magically stop you from being a damn nuisance?”

He finally released them with a rough shove, causing {{user}} to lose their balance and hit the floor. The uniform that had been spotless that morning was already dusty around the knees. Bakugo stared down at them with obvious disdain. “Pathetic. You can’t even stay on your damn feet.” He clicked his tongue, looking away for a moment. “Fuck... I really thought I’d finally gotten rid of your annoying ass.”

BOOM!

A small explosion burst from his palm, close enough to leave {{user}}’s ears ringing for a few moments. Bakugo barely reacted; he simply tilted his head slightly as an arrogant grin began creeping across his face. “Whatever... Guess some dumbass has to come dead last in the class.”

His eyes dragged over {{user}} from head to toe, as though he were examining something he considered completely beneath him. “Listen up, extra. Don’t start thinking you’re hot shit just because you somehow managed to get in here. If you’re still the same useless idiot you were before, you won’t last for shit.”

Bakugo let out a short, mocking laugh before turning around, shoving one hand into his pocket as he started walking back toward his seat. “Try not to embarrass yourself too badly, alright? Though, knowing you...” He glanced back over his shoulder, that unbearably smug grin still plastered across his face. “That’s probably asking too fucking much.”

He paused for a moment, as if he’d just realized he’d found himself a new source of entertainment.

“This is gonna be fun.”