Sexism? Not on my watch! [Bakugatsu Day 6]

The class was divided when they heard the news, torn between excitement and dismay, between nervousness and anger. Some of the students thought it would be great fun! Others thought it sounded like torture. It was going to be a ride, at any rate, that much was for sure.

“Relax, they'll be switching around different classes.”

Katsuki let out a sigh of relief. At least he'd get some kind of reprieve from the snot-nosed brats.

“Remember your job is to make a good impression, make them want to come to this school. That might be by asking intelligent questions, it could be showing sportsmanship, or it might be by putting on a good show with your quirk. It purely depends on which class they come to see. Use your best judgment, I am reluctantly putting my faith in you all.”

With that, Aizawa left the room, leaving the class to dissolve into excited murmurs and frustrated complaints until their next teacher arrived. 

Denki leapt from his chair, almost knocking it over in his haste as he rushed to the window, pointing and making incoherent noises.

“What is it, boy?” Mina asked, wrapping an arm around his neck. “Is Timmy stuck in a well?”

“That's them!” he bleated. “They're so small!”

“They're middle-schoolers,” Katsuki snorted. “What did you expect?”

“Middle-schoolers are jerks,” Izuku mumbled, getting a few surprised looks from his friends. “This is gonna be rough.”

“Just punch them,” Katsuki shrugged, meeting the nervous green gaze for a moment. “It's not like they can hurt you.”

“I'm not going to punch anyone!”

“Maybe you should. Could have helped you in the past.”

“Yeah right,” Izuku snorted. “Would have gotten me burned and thrown out a window.”

Katsuki cracked a smile at that, catching a tiny one from Izuku in return, and held out his fist. Izuku bumped it with his own, the moment quickly gone as the next teacher arrived and they turned to gather their books from their bags. They were good now, had been for a while, and the peace between them was actually oddly comfortable. Katsuki hadn't expected it, but they were almost friends now, and that was kind of nice in a weird way.

The moment the textbooks came out, the class lost its buzz of anticipation, settling in to familiar routines. By the time they went outside after lunch, Katsuki had almost forgotten about the collection of middle-schoolers ready to ogle them, ready to criticise their every move like teenagers did. The school had insisted that it was important to show these kids that U.A. was still the best and coolest school to go to, but Katsuki couldn't care less if the kids enrolled or not, so why did he have to be involved??

For once in his life, Katsuki was actually having fun in class. They'd been given free reign for the day to practice in the massive concrete arena prepared for them, whether it be sparring, teamwork, or building new skills – Katsuki knew it was just to impress the dumb kids when they showed up, but that didn't mean it wasn't a blast to let loose against Eijirou for a while, while Shouto and Izuku did the same nearby. 

He didn't notice the kids until tjhey were sent for a water break, when he heard the hushed whispers and turned to see peering eyes watching over the walls. He smirked when he saw the people watching him, pointing, whispering about his quirk. Even from children that was still a damn good feeling.

“Look at all the shitty pink costumes,” one of the boys sneered. “Why do they even let weak girls into U.A. anyway?”

Katsuki took a step forward, but immediately Ochako was grabbing his arm, shaking her head as she pulled him back.

“It won't help,” she warned him. “Just leave it, they'll learn eventually!”

“But those little shits are-”

“I know, but I'm used to it. Thank you for caring about us though!”

Grumbling all the same, Katsuki conceded, downing his bottle of water and pushing hair back from his sweaty forehead.

“Oi, floaty,” Katsuki called, when Ochako began to step away. “You and Deku against me and Shitty Hair?”

“Sounds fun!”

─────

“I need your help.”

Mitsuki dropped the pot she was washing, staring at him with wide eyes, and Katsuki growled as he folded his arms stubbornly.

“It's no big deal! Don't look at me like that, for fuck's sake!”

“S-Sorry, Katsuki!” she stumbled, still treading lightly through the situation. “What can I do for you?”

“There were some dumb kids at our school today, and I need to prove a point about sexism.”

“Well, I can fully get onboard with that! What did you have in mind?”

As Katsuki began to detail his plan, Mitsuki's smile slowly grew wider, nodding emphatically by the time he looked back at her for confirmation.

“Yeah, little brat, we can do that!”

─────

Katsuki could already hear the whispers by the time he reached homeroom, but instead of scowling at the speakers, he instead found himself smirking.

“What do you think, losers?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest. “Looks fuckin' cool, right?”

“Bakugou! Language!” Iida insisted, gesturing toward the group of younger students surrounding them. “Set a good example!”

“Oh, I already am.”

He dropped into his seat, immediately swarmed by the kids just as he'd anticipated, catching a little giggle from Izuku at the next desk as they began begging him for autographs.

“Yeah, of course,” he smirked, plucking a neon pink highlighter from his pencilcase. “Hand 'em over.”

He signed every page with massive pink letters, getting through a dozen kids before one of them dared to ask.

“Why is your hair pink?”

“I dyed it,” he answered simply, scrawling his name across another page.

“Why pink?”

“Because pink is fuckin' cool, nerd.”

“But pink is a girl colour.”

“Colours don't have genders,” Katsuki snorted. “Don't you know anything?”

There was silence for a moment, then his classmates turned on him, elbowing the boy in the ribs as they sneered at him.

“Yeah, dude! Obviously!”

“Y-Yeah! Pink is awesome!”

“My hero costume is gonna be pink! Didn't you know that?”

Katsuki smirked as they continued, still signing autographs and snapping selfies with kids who requested it, but when he looked up he caught the entire class looking his way with varying expressions of confusion and respect. Mina and Ochako both smiled at him with a surprising warmth, and Katsuki shrugged it off when their eyes met.

“Girls are cool too,” Katsuki said softly, when the offended kid sheepishly asked for a photo. “You should learn that before you start here, it'll make your first year a lot easier.”

“Y-Yeah. Okay.”

The crowd slowly dissipated, and Katsuki sighed as he leaned back in his seat, jumping when Mina leaned over him all of a sudden.

“Hey Pinky,” he smirked, getting a bright smile in return. “Whadda you want?”

“Can I have a selfie too?” she grinned. “We match.”

“Yeah,” he laughed, surprisingly genuine. “Sure.”

He leaned in, pulling faces with her as she snapped pictures, even letting her lean in and ruffle his hair, only stopping when the door opened and Aizawa stepped through into the classroom.

“Bakugou, what did you-? You know what, I don't care.”

“It washes out,” he assured them, smirking. “Eventually.”

“You should do blue next,” Mina informed him, as he slid off the desk. “It'll look cool.”

“I'll keep it in mind.”