DREAM LANTERN || Katsuki Bakugo

34- Scary Juniors

Akira

Our written exams passed in a flash. It had been a stressful week. I was confident about all the exams except math. Even though I stayed up late studying for math and even had Katsuki tutor me. Well, it was over now, and all that was left was the practical exam.

I was sitting in the cafeteria, eating tempura, zoning out and pondering over what the practical exam would be. I was also lowkey worried about Katsuki since he seemed to be sitting on the edge today. Probably exam stress? Even though I'd spent 11 years with him, I still found myself wondering what was going on inside his head. If Katsuki's worried, he's damn good at hiding it.

"Earth to Akira." Kirishima snapped his fingers in front of my eyes.

"W-what. Hi." I snapped out of my thought bubble, looking at Kirishima with surprise.

"You've been hovering your tempura over the soy sauce for a whole minute straight." Kaminari pointed out. I flushed from embarrassment and dipped the tempura in soy sauce before eating it.

"Something on your mind, Aki?" Mina asked.

"No, I was just thinking about the practical component."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Mina said, laying her head on the table. "I think I'm gonna fail the written component as well."

"Yeah, me too," Kirishima said, brooding.

"What do you guys think the practical component will be?" Sero asked.

I shrugged, hoping it wouldn't be robots. I remembered how my lungs were tortured during the entry test, and a shiver ran down my spine. I teleported robots weighing tons in the air and letting them fall.

"No idea." Kaminari said.

"Man, I'm screwed!" Mina wailed.

Bakugo scoffed, and my attention turned to him. "You wouldn't be wailing like a baby if you studied something."

"Shut up, mister talented," Sero said.

"Hah?!" Bakugo banged his fists on the table, standing up. "Who are you telling to shut up?!"

Sero rolled his eyes and continued to sip on his orange juice. Bakugo sat back down and looked at me. I flashed him a smile. Bakugo's lips lifted up in the smallest smile, his crimson eyes soft.

"Mina," Kirishima said.

"Hm?"

"Look at Bakugo and Akira flirt."

"Bakugo's a big softie!" Kaminari said.

"Mind your fucking business!" Bakugo snapped.

I got up to use the restroom. I was making my way to the restroom when I saw a notebook in the hallway outside a room. I picked it up and recognised it. It was Midoriya's analysis notebook. Midoriya usually came to this room to have lunch with All Might. I usually shrugged it off, but now it just seemed... bizarre. I thought of it many times. Midoriya got his quirk a few months before entering UA. And a few months before we enrolled in UA, All Might came to our town. Do these two events have a relation of some sort...?

'Nah, I'm just watching too many detective movies', I thought to myself, staring at the notebook. I was going to open the door when I heard two people from the other side. Midoriya and All Might.

I couldn't hear much since the voices were muffled, but I caught on to some words like, 'All For One' and 'One For All.'

Wasn't All For One that villain that could take and give quirks by force? I definitely read that word somewhere in the library or something... My eyes widened when I realized something. If taking quirks away is possible... could passing on quirks be possible too? And Izuku didn't have a quirk before. It just decided to waltz in a few months before we enrolled in UA. Could it be that Izuku got his quirk from...