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[blastedass]

« Great Explosion Murder God » 💥 Dynamight 💥 TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION Katsuki Bakugou ✦ My Hero Academia
RESIDENCE ✦ Bakugou / Midoriya Residence
GEMBOND ✦ Ruby
"Katsuki Bakugo. Make it fast or hang the fuck up."

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[heir_conditioned]

Bakugo is right, as usual and Shoto doesn't care if he pulls something. However, he knows he would care if Kirishima heard about it, or the blond bitched at him rightfully. It'd just make him more upset for not having done this right. Whatever 'this' is, it has to be done properly. He settles down what little he has with him, threading his jacket through the arms of the bag while he gets the growled response.

From his pocket he picks out a small, circular hair tie and places the black holder up in his hair to keep it from the back of his neck and out of his face. Going through the motions helps more than he thought it would and he rolls his shoulders first, working those while he speaks. "If Midoriya claimed to love you," which might be an odd start, but he continues right away, "Then proceeded to date someone else. You would be upset, right? That's justifiable anger. He would be cheating on you at that point." It's said as a statement that's more of a question in the hypothetical he's trying to figure out.

[blastedass]

Bakugo's certainly not going to deride Shoto for trying to do something 'right' when he tries it. He's a perfectionist as well, even worse than the other boy. But whatever's going on with Shoto at the moment is distracting and bothering him more than he can really deal with by simply walking along and shrugging it off. He's not going to do anything 'right' at this rate if he doesn't stop and fucking address what's weighing him down.

Bakugo's not one to accept this kind of help or prompting himself, but there comes times when even he has to explode (pun intended) and vent things. You just... need someone you trust to both listen and be able to handle the oncoming angry outburst.

Wait-- what?! Bakugo jolts up and stares at Shoto for a second. Oh, "if" and "claimed". A hypothetical question (that apparently jolted close to home, but that's on him, fuck off). Real fucked up start.

"Technically he wouldn't be cheating if we weren't dating." The blonde makes a face at the topic, but he did just bitch at Shoto to open up, so... "You can love someone and still date another person for whole bunch of fucking reasons."

No comment on the 'upset' part of that hypothetical comparison.

[heir_conditioned]

Shoto stretches his shoulders downward, turning his head from side to side to get the creaks and cracks out of it before bending them and pulling them back. This is certainly about Shoto trusting Bakugo with not only his safety and sanctity in a spar, but with the emotions he's trying to drain because of it.

The sudden startle at what he's said doesn't register to Shoto, even well after Bakugo considers it hypothetical. As far as Shoto knows, and as far as his and Izuku's conversation goes, he's actually pretty convinced that Izuku does love Bakugo but that's for another time. It's also not his to imply here and he's already moving on to his back and waist. It may be an expedited routine, but at least he's doing it at all. "Can you be married to someone and be dating and in love with another person without it being cheating?" Yes. He is asking. And the reason he's asking is how fucking sheltered he is.

Shoto is convinced he knows that it's wrong, but maybe it really is him that needs to shift his world views. "Isn't that infidelity?" His feet stand at shoulder length apart and he leans down his leg, one hand on his ankle and the other straight back out, holding it for a moment and then back up to do the same down the other side. "Maybe telling you more directly is better." He says, remembering every other time Bakugo's told him to stop being indirect. "My parents are still married and my father has decided to pursue dating Hawks. I'm certain that's infidelity. Am I wrong?"

[blastedass]

Bakugo tugs his head to the side, cracking his neck once or twice, then leans off in another lunge to stretch his calves and thighs. Not sure he's the best person to "trust" when it comes to emotions, in that he's not a really respectful or tactful person, though safety and sanctity are usually decent offerings for his keep. Caveated that he's still gonna try and blow Shoto's ass up. Multiple times.

Good thing for the blonde he ducked Shoto's notice on the faux pass. Sheesh. Don't start with that kind of shitty example, idiot! He's not ready to talk about that kind of thing... even if he's probably just being stubborn about what's been there for a while. Either way, they're not here to talk about Bakugo; they're here to let Shoto vent shit. And apparently pop his back a few times as well. The blonde's not gonna bitch at him for doing improper stretches, since he's fast-tracking his own, but hell if he's gonna hamstring himself for someone else's mood. Warm up first, then work out. This is not one of those exception times.

Ah, so that's what Shoto's getting at. Bakugo makes a slight face as all the piece immediately fall into place. Endeavor's married back home, and here he's fucking Hawks. Apparently dating him too (which Bakugo's long-since figured was the case). It's not a comfortable question and you can bet your ass if he were able, Bakugo would be shoving Shoto off to the nearest adult going "fuck that, you're up" and walking off.

But there is no adult nearby and he's left with himself fielding the damn question. "Yeah to the first half, no to the second. Fucking or loving someone who's not your SO is cheating." That's the technical definition of it at least. Bakugo scowls at Shoto for the double. He got it the first fucking time. Ugh, he didn't need the musing question and then the direct line addressing.

"Hell if I'm gonna say what Endeavor's doing is wrong or right, but I don't think our marriage laws took into account getting kidnapped to another dimension where you're encouraged to bond with other people with a shitload of fucking enticements or risk turning into a goddamn rock and die."

TL;DR he has feelings whereas I'd have been more like "k" lol

[heir_conditioned]

Bakugo, if anyone, is the one Shoto would trust with emotions and realism in them because he's the one that won't conflate them with what Shoto wants to hear. That's the truth of it through the mismatched eyes that are laid on Bakugo as he speaks and as the other boy listens while they stretch.

Okay, at least he knows he was right. He couldn't have gotten it that wrong but who knows. "I know it can't be an exclusive measure here, but I think we both know that you can engage in intimacy with someone and it not be about dating or under a certain set of rules." Yes, he's talking about them. Even if they haven't exactly been finding dark corners, "But that's where the line should be drawn. That's where he kicked the line out and started dating someone while he was married, professing he loved the woman. You take vows." Which is the problem here, he promised something so deeply that it's a vow.

"Their marriage was arranged by him." Shoto has long since stopped stretching, "He took her from her mother and father to make her breeding stock for his ambitions." That's exactly why he has so many siblings, she only lucked out with Shoto. The more he says, however, the more his breath shows while he speaks, the more an inflection takes tone and the ice under his foot begins to trail thin and spread out in frost around it. "He ruined her and locked her away when she attacked me. Not because she was sick, but because she dared to touch his masterpiece. He hit her, abused her, called her names and degraded her until there was almost nothing left. He drove my brother to insanity, alienated my remaining siblings from me and then when we're in line to forgive him—" He pauses to look Bakugo in the face, "—To forgive him all of that, he adds to the pile of shit because of his whims and wants just as it always has been."

He takes a deep breath and lets it out, then steps out of the frost shape, kneeling down to defrost it. There's no reason for someone to slip and he can pass his hand over it to watch the water shimmer in the direction he's moving his hand. It's all he's capable of with his gem, he hasn't had time to learn. His voice is less influenced by emotion and his breath is steady, expression as deadpan as it always is. "Is that someone worthy of the atonement they keep saying they want? Because I think of him sitting at my bedside and every rational part of me knows why, but every irrational part of me says he hasn't changed."

He stands up, running his hands over his hair. He really needed to just say all that and get it off his chest. "That's why I just want to do something before I explode. I don't care what it is as long as I don't hurt anyone."

well i mean, he does have a point. it's just... unrealistic in this setting.

[blastedass]

He's not going to tell Shoto what he "wants" to hear; fuck he doesn't tell anyone that. Maybe, in a sarcastic way that anyone hearing it would know immediately it's not true. Unless they're a fucking retard and accept everything literally on purpose. At least Shoto's getting some crap off his chest.

Problem is, he has a point. Looking at it from his own eyes and position, it makes sense to Bakugo the other boy would see Endeavor's actions as cheating. They're still both only teenagers. They've never been married and have only seen their own parents, for good and for bad, setting examples reflected by society as well. Just because Shoto's technically right, however, doesn't mean what's "right" is always applicable to every situation. It's "right" that the heroes don't execute All for One. But look at what that "right" choice has done to their world. It's "right" to call Endeavor's decision here with Hawks infidelity. And yet, with the way Noctium operates, as well as the fact Endeavor's wife isn't here and for all he knows, he could be here until he dies, meaning "till death do us part" is kind of coming into play... But then you get into the tricky notion of "love" and "feelings" in a place that actively encourages people to create deep bonds with each other. Simply holding hands will never be "enough" for synchrony. And Endeavor isn't a machine. He's a man, wounded and wrong, but with a beating heart capable of love, even if he's made a lot of mistakes in the past. Yeah, it's cheating, but for all intents and purposes, Enji no longer has a wife here. As much as Dabi no longer "has" to be a villain, Enji no longer "has" to be married. Twisted way of looking at it, but that's just one more facet to look at it with.

All thoughts Bakugo has and opts not to say cause, guess what, not his fucking problem.

"Yeah." He realizes that, hypothetically, if he was dating Izuku, then sleeping with Shoto would certainly be considered cheating. But to bring that up would bring up the "dating" status between Bakugo and Izuku and the blonde's not ready to talk about that yet, so he keeps his mouth shut.

"Is he married here?" Bakugo looks at the other boy with a frown. "I'm not "Japanese" here because Japan doesn't fucking exist in Noctium." Hey, you wanna go down this rabbit hole. Start trying to drag over things from their world into this new one. Sure, you can, Bakugo does and did, but the ugly reality remains. They're not back home. "Some people think we're gonna be stuck here till we all fucking die. Far as Endeavor knows, he's never getting back to your mom. You really think he'd be sick enough to want her to show up here?"

Yeah, you take vows. But vows don't talk about dimensional slice offs. Like losing someone in a war, or if your SO goes missing. He frowns at Shoto. "He's been here over a year, Todoroki. You've seen how this place fucking operates, what it demands and encourages. How long do you expect him to be able to keep himself from feeling something?"

Shoto says it's whims and wants, but it's been a far longer time for Endeavor than it has for his son. His wife is gone, the man he trusted with his life is here, in a place where emotional and physical bonds are strongly encouraged and even pushed. Does it excuse it? Bakugo can't answer that question. He doesn't know.

As for the rest of Shoto venting about Endeavor's marriage, well... Dabi laid that out pretty clearly in his video, but it's still disgusting to listen to it again in this kind of light. Also, Bakugo's taking Shoto's words with a grain of salt, knowing this is emotions speaking these facts. Endeavor's not here to defend himself either and Bakugo doesn't know enough about the man to take Shoto's words as pure truth about the man's intentions. It's obvious Shoto still has a shit ton of issues against his father. So Bakugo's not offering any opinions on all of that. That shit's between the Todorokis.

He's here for Shoto to vent to.

"That's not how atonement works, Todoroki. It's not yours to give; it's his to make for himself." He should know. Bakugo never told Izuku he was trying to atone for his cruelties to him during their youth. He never even told All Might; the man figured it out for himself. Bakugo trained with Izuku of his own decision, viewing it as his own atonement, put upon him by himself. Forgiveness is what Shoto and his family can give to Endeavor, whether he asks for it or not. Atonement is the actions Endeavor takes on himself to show his family that he's trying to change.

"He's changed. I've seen it."

It would be stupid of him to say if Rei showed up, Endeavor would drop all synchrony with others, abandon his whatever he has with Hawks, and return to his wife for monogamous relationships until something changed. Neither Enji nor Shoto would want their mother pulled into this place. Noctium doesn't care about "marriage" or "monogamy" in the end. It wouldn't be shoving vines into dressing rooms to douse two people with amorous pheromones and induce them into drugged sex acts, or sending forcefully-embedded gems into a haywire state where reason vanished in the face of sensation and emotion.

The next time Shoto looks at Bakugo, there's a glowing hand slamming right towards him. No warning, no preparation. He up and attacks him straight out of the proverbial gate with the instinctive strong right hook. Ka-BOOM!! The explosion detonates, blasting the air in front of him, regardless of whether Shoto evades, blocks, or takes it right in the fucking face. He said he wants to "DO" something? Well now he can "DO" while he thinks.

"You got more to say, Half-n-Half, keep spitting out! That's why I'm here!"

Yeah here it sure is.

[heir_conditioned]

A sharp look is what Bakugo gets for asking if his father is still married here. Yes. Because if they're still heroes, even in training, then his father is still married. What the other teen is saying in those moments doesn't help quell the fire, it's fuelling it. If it's because Shoto agrees or doesn't, he has no clue, but what he does know is that it isn't getting any buckets of water to douse the angry feeling stirring in his gut. Yet again, as always, Bakugo is right in this situation. A year or not, however, there's things he could've done that weren't date someone else. But then again any action is infidelity and he'd condone it as long as there wasn't dating?

Is that really his standard? He has to stand there and think it out while he looks about ready to murder the next person he looks at. Good thing for now his eyes have slid to the floor to contemplate. He's just mad at anything he can be mad at, as it seems and when Bakugo opens his mouth to speak again, Shoto is still quietly listening and staring less deadly daggers at the floor.

"How has he ch-" No time for figuring out how his father has changed, the moment he sees Bakugo move even remotely in a way that he doesn't deem has to be an exercise, he reels back. Lucky for him he can recover easily from it with the deft movement and added familiarity with having to limbo his way through any damn fight. Why does everyone go for his face. He can hear Bakugo barely up above the ringing in his ears. Knowing, somewhere, beyond the annoyance of Bakugo going for his face, he's hear just to help him is a comfort. Not that it stops Shoto's left arm from sweeping out with a wash of flame to put distance between him and Bakugo. Something that isn't ice to be able to tense the muscles in his body as he lets the ice from the bottom of his shoe help him move back with swiftness and the help of his fire.

"I'm pissed off, Bakugo!" He has to yell it above the roar of another flame to keep him back. "How can he have changed when it's nothing but selfishness?" Wherein Shoto doesn't realize it's him being selfish, putting out expectations his father can't match.

[blastedass]

Bite his head off, fuck. You asked, you thick-skulled dumbass! The question wasn't supposed to be completely literal! It was to get him to think about how things might not match up here. Don't make him bring up your shit brother and how you keep telling him he "isn't a villain here" while still holding themselves as "heroes" in the same breath. True, Enji's married state is a bit harder to argue than hero and villain, but then again in their world, "heroes" are as designated as "married", while "villain" is more a slapped on label, but all three are earned, and sometimes even assigned, by actions. To hold on to one as being "required" to carry over to the new world but then not apply the same to the others, you can't be a fucking hypocrite about that shit, Half-n-Half!

Psh, like he ever thought those words were gonna quell Shoto's anger right now. He's stoking him on purpose, saying the shit he needs to hear even if he doesn't want to hear it. While Bakugo isn't going to tell Endeavor what he can and can't do, certainly won't stop him from giving the man a momentary stink eye about it. But unless his wife shows up here, the blonde has little leg to stand on. And probably won't even bother. It's not like Enji should want his wife to be here in the first place...

Oh come on. Does he think his angry murder eyes are going to do anything to Bakugo? Hah! Fucker, he's looked at people with those eyes daily. But he knows what it's like to be mad at everything, raging over the slightest thing and feeling like any simple brush was enough to make him explode. Bottling it up, however, isn't the answer. So of course he kicks the beehive and promptly lashes out at him. Shoto isn't.

Two reasons. 1) Cause the face is the easiest point of attack to end a battle as fast as possible. 2) Cause the face is the best place to get a reaction from the other person and see how they respond, both in reflexive speed and follow up choice. Offense, defense, evasive, combination, that's why he everyone goes for the god damn face!

There's the response. Not the ice, surprising, but a sweep of flame scorching outward that sees Bakugo bouncing backwards via a slam of his foot to the ground and an explosion from his palm for speed. Heh, someone's pissed. It's been too long since he's had a good fight with this bastard. This is the main problem between them... Shoto is a long-range AoE fighter, and while Bakugo's Quirk is versatile in its range, fact is, he's best at mid to close range.

"No shit!" comes to rejoinder. He pissed him off on purpose. Well, pissed him off more, enough to make him rupture. Che. That fucking question. Why the hell does he have to get involved with this Todoroki bullshit? Shoto his classmate, Enji his mentor, Touya his enemy. Each one of them pulling with their own frustrations, pains, expectations, and plans. It's their fucking family problem! And yet he and the others are wrapped up in it as well... But unfortunately, despite his shit attitude, Bakugo has a heart. Stupid thing. He twists to the side, takes aim, and snaps off a targeted AP Shot, trying to snipe Shoto with the explosive line through the flames. "If your mom showed up, do you really think he'd abandon her here?"

[heir_conditioned]

Nobody should want anyone here, but the feeling of wanting someone just out of reach is something even Shoto can't deny he has and wishes at the same time he didn't. He and Bakugo talked about it though, they seem to agree on it and it's all he has. His mother here would be great, and at the same time he wouldn't rest an hour trying to get her home. Come to think of it, he might not even let a grown woman make the decision herself to see her actual husband. Then again he has no clue.

Just like now, he has no clue. All he knows is that he is angry and it is at everything spurred on by his father's confession of infidelity. Another nail in the coffin of what they were, supposedly, all working for. Bakugo might think he's the only OG, but Shoto remembers being this angry and annoyed every day until things started to change. Now? Everything feels for nothing.

Of course Shoto isn't trying to fry one of his best friends, but he's taking it seriously because he knows if he's going to fight Bakugo he's going to have to. The fire was a warning shot, a place that tells Bakugo where he's commanding and where he's going to hold his own and just like his opponent, he has to break right through it in some way. Those shots are something he's familiar with and everything in his right mind tells him to move. His ice might be strong but in these close quarters he'd kill them both trying to get it thicker than cement all the way across.

Now if only he would've thought of it faster. The tension in his muscles piques and he throws himself forward barely out of the way as the blast hits the floor behind him and his hand instinctively reaches for the floor as he rolls across it to shield off from the remaining force. At least that much he can shield away when it comes to Bakugo. However. That's not the problem, the problem is the blond himself who Shoto heard the question of but couldn't answer.

The thought of it makes him grimace and he stands just as quickly, stomping his foot forward as the flames on the other side of his body rage on. The fire that's steaming off the water falling from the ice around him isn't as hot as the angry sound in his answer. "Yes!" is that answer in the same tandem as he sends out jagged spikes that amplify with the anger he feels over being certain that his mother would be abandoned. He did it once, why not again?

[blastedass]

Bakugou doesn’t want his mother here. He doesn’t want his classmates here. He doesn’t want anyone here! Because being here means being imprisoned and forced to do things they normally wouldn’t, with a healthy dose of manipulation and threat to safety as well. Of course he’s human, of course there’s some relief to being with someone from your homeworld. He can’t ignore that. But if his mother was here, he’d… be really fucking pissed and not want her to do anything like what he’d done. But then again, could he really tell her she couldn’t? Bakugo’s already slept with over five people, multiple times. And he’s dating.

So…

He doesn’t judge Shoto too harshly either, since he can see where the guy’s coming from. It’s just, Bakugo doesn’t have the ‘right’ answer for him. On the one hand, yeah, Endeavor’s married and should remain faithful to his wife. But on the other hand, his wife’s not here, she’s likely not going to be, he’s been here a year, this place encourages bonds both platonic and romantic, strongly, between people, and the man’s only fucking human. To say nothing of aphrodisiacs and other shit. Sex is sex, sure, but sometimes feelings are going to happen. Cause sex… is sex. Can Shoto really condemn his father for falling in love with another man in this kind of situation? Some people will jump ship and start dating two months after losing their spouse.

He is the only OG. Fuck you, Ice Prince. HE’S ANGRIER THAN YOU!!

Better not take this easily. Bakugo has every intention of defeating Shoto in this spar as he did back in the tournament finals. So the other hero’s locked down that place over there? Well good. Thing is, he knows Shoto’s got limited tolerance for his opposing sides. Even if he alternates, those large attacks are going to take his stamina, while Bakugo’s stamina runs out slower due to his smaller Quirk usage. Attacking Shoto head on isn’t the best idea. Not while he can see…

Judging the other boy’s reactions from the AP Shot, he keeps his distance and begins charging, gathering sweat in his palm to build a blast. If he had his Grenadier bracers, this would be easier, but… It’ll work. The chimeric teen’s on the floor and Bakugo smirks as he rises and immediately attacks. Yep. Shoto doesn’t leave himself open after getting hit. Gonna have to bait him. Slamming his hand down, Bakugo launches himself out of the way of the ice glacier, ripping towards him in one-handed burst. Using Cluster for extra power and speed, he zips right in, glowing right hand reaching forward, almost white hot.

“What of it?!”

And detonates the Howitzer Impact. Not point blank, but it’s aiming to hurt. Or force him to use his ice again, right after just using it for that big ass attack. Preying on his weakness cause that's what he does.

[heir_conditioned]

Besides that anyone would want anyone here, both boys could agree with one another on that and likely have before. That people being here isn't what they want, but anyone who is becomes someone that they're glad they are in the most bittersweet way. This place, however, is a walk in the park for Shoto where encounters are concerned and people leave him alone kindly in his apartment where he wants to be while he plans his house. That and Shoto is happy his friends found happiness, that's at least a plus to having been in this place for Bakugo and Midoriya.

No one has the answer for him, but Bakugo's done the only thing anyone could as it turns out. Yet again he's done more for him than anyone.

Even if Shoto isn't so sure that's the truth right now with how angry he is, how angry Bakugo is making him and once he settles down and thinks about it, he'll realize that it was for a reason. If only he wasn't too busy thinking about the angry portion of it right now, maybe he would've been able to react faster hearing what he parses out to be 'it doesn't matter'. It's projection. Speaking of projection, Bakugo knows best Shoto's weaknesses and he's caught him in two of them. The lack of ability that he's still making up for with manna and the lack of focus enough that he has to take the brunt of that impact full on.

It does take him back, Shoto's arm over his face and the regulation of his fire versus ice take the heat of the blast just fine. The force of it? That leaves him off balance only for a split second and he knows damn well that's what Bakugo is looking for. A secondary attack right now is exactly what he's not going to give him. Ice isn't his go to, not like this when he knows that there are very few people capable of getting close to him when he ramps up the temperature enough that his icy spikes almost instantly start cascading into puddled water. Though the heat is impressive, and the orange flames burn the entire room bright colours marked out by the crystalline light shine of fire off the quickly melting ice, what he doesn't remember is that rubies aren't susceptible to heat. Maybe if he would've been thinking instead of feeling sorry for himself.

It's obvious on his face when it hits him and he has precious little time to try to figure out where Bakugo is and let loose a barrage of smaller shards of ice with a wind up and fling of his right arm. An arm he's noticing is the only side keeping this tank top on. Right. Not everything is fire proof and he'll sacrifice this just to kick Bakugo's ass. The blond is purposefully going to push him to his limit and he knows it. It's what happens after that which'll dictate just what Shoto does, he's trying, his best, to poise to block, to take any impact or meet it head on if he has to use his body. Close range isn't his forté.

[blastedass]

It is a bittersweet reality. Not wanting someone to show, but if they do, being unable to prevent the human relief from showing up. It’s you. Could say that about many of them, though Bakugo certainly wouldn’t put voice to those thoughts. Refused to express the sweep of surprise and horror when he first saw Shoto on the station, but then the twisting wave of relief at his familiar presence and the disgust he felt it at all. Between Kirishima’s jaunt in the Pokémon world and Shoto’s time in the Nameless City, Noctium was certainly one of the “easier” places to be of the three as far as everything averaging out. And Bakugo’s at least satisfied (happy) the others are finding places to settle down. Guh, stop it. He still gets flustered over that.

True, in this mess Shoto’s worked himself into, there’s no one who can give him the answer he wants. No one’s going to condemn Endeavor entirely for what happened and no one’s going to tell Shoto he’s 100% correct in his emotion-laden accusations towards his father. Bakugo has his own misgivings about passing judgement, because he can see it both ways. Yes, Endeavor’s married. No, his wife is gone. If she came here, of course he’d give the man a glare for dating Hawks behind her back. Or in her face. But she’s not here. She’s not been here for a year. She likely never will be here. Endeavor’s allowed to move on… Probably stuff he should say to Shoto, but give him some time to work out his own arguments before he throws the hard truths in his scarred face.

He wants Shoto to be angry, to work out those frustrations and feelings, because stuffing it’s not gonna help him. Truthfully, his “what of it” wasn’t a “doesn’t matter” argument, but more enticing Shoto to talk about the reasons behind his enraged “Yes” from before. But hell if he’s gonna go easy on the other boy during the fight, forcing him to focus on two things at once: his own emotions and words and the battle raging into his life. Bakugo will keep hammering those weaknesses to reveal them so Shoto can address their presence and work on them however he sees fit.

The world goes hot white from the intensity of the explosion before everything rips apart in a burning rending of whiteyelloworangesmoke. Blasting through the icy walls Shoto can put up, ripping open the frozen shell of defense, so he can get to the real target inside. The heart of the matter. All hot and beating and red. Bakugo’s already got a second attack ready to go, a whole clustering of carpet bombing soaking his palm. But instead—Fucker actually countered that?!

His eyes widen when flames pour out from the icy wall, but his single-minded focus on getting to Shoto counters the instinctive desire to throw his arms up and block his face. Nope! Goes right into it, slinging his hand forward with every intention of nuking his whining ass right there in the middle of his self-made inferno. (Yeah rubies are far more resistant to heat and flames, but doesn’t meant he’s completely immune to burns.) Sparks pop and crack on his palm, but what comes through the flames isn’t more fire, but instead shards of ice!

A solid yelp of surprise and anger precedes a few fabric rips and he jerks his head to the side as something lacerates across his cheek, another few spines glancing off his arm. Not enough to stop him, but enough to send his blast askew. Explosions cluster in the air like a horizontal burst of grapes travelling out over Shoto’s head and to the side one explosion after another. Bakugo launches backward with the recoil, flipping over and landing on his feet with a harsh skid of his boots. Shit… back to square one… Long range. He snorts and wipes the blood off his cheek with his thumb, giving his arm a clench and a shake. Nah, just some nicks.

“He’s married back home, Todoroki. But he’s not home. He’s not been home for over a year. Far as any of us knows, we’re not going home unless we can fucking take down that asshole and put this planet back together or we die.” Bakugo straightens up, charging another blast in his hands. “His wife is gone. He can’t go see her, can’t hear her voice, can’t even leave those flowers.” Eyes narrow and he watches the other boy with a focus. “I’m not gonna say what he’s doing is right or wrong, but last time I check, infidelity required your partner to fucking exist.”

He didn’t wanna open this box, but… “If you dated the other “me” from the Nameless City, would you consider being with me or Kirishima or Juuzou here cheating on him?” Bakugo doesn’t actually know just how deep and far those feelings for his other self went in Shoto’s mind, but he knows they were strong. And this is more a hypothetical question, wanting to put Shoto in a similar situation. Damn, this is a serious enough conversation Bakugo’s actually using names, not the normal nicknames.

[heir_conditioned]

The explosions that go off over his head jerks his attention to them. One hand going over his head to shield with his arm alone. Even if he knows that Bakugo won't hurt him, he knows full well that both of them are capable of going to an extreme where there are going to be injuries. Ones like, once he stands up and sees Bakugo eyeing the situation again, the ones on his cheek and his clothing. The sight of Bakugo's blood makes his own boil because yet again his angry tirade ended up hurting someone. It's not the first time he's drawn blood in a fight, but it doesn't sit well.

He's speaking and Shoto is listening. The more he talks about his mother, however, and right up to her not existing the more obviously and overtly angry Shoto looks. Enough that he looks like he's about to sweep his left arm until it hits him what he's being asked. The raging fire on his left side dies out slowly and maybe if he weren't so lost in everything, the fact that Bakugo used their names wouldn't have been lost on him. His shoulders sag and while his expression shifts from angry to slowly back into his deadpan look, it's clear that he is being forced to comply to listen and adapt.

"We never dated." Alright, he can be honest here. If Bakugo's the one that brought it up-- his eyes don't move from somewhere on the floor where small pools had been forming. "I don't know how he felt and wouldn't pretend to, I made a lot of mistakes with him, too. But..." His eyes slowly track up Bakugo's form, "If what you just said about my mother stays in play, it doesn't matter. He doesn't exist."

Shoto runs his hands back through his hair and closes his eyes, gripping into the dual coloured locks to cleanse his mind before letting them go and sighing as he opens his eyes to retain the look at his friend. "It doesn't matter." What matters is at least not letting Bakugo down he came here for a fight.

[blastedass]

Oh he'll fucking hurt him. If he gets close enough, Shoto can expect a full strength slug in the face or punch to the gut. Punishment for letting his opponent get into his weak space. No villain's gonna pull a punch if they get in there. But thing is, Bakugo's currently out of that space and his eyes narrow on the other boy, focusing on how to get back in there. What he says to Shoto doesn't feel like it hit much a mark, so much as pushed the chimeric teen into a more painful reality decision. Well, the blonde never professed he was good at comforting people. More the "bitch slap, wake up" kind of person. That said, Izuku also zoned into an "it doesn't matter" notion about things, as if that's supposed to suck the emotions out and put a cap on how they feel. Gives the blonde a bad taste in his mouth. That defeatist attitude isn't the same as accepting and acknowledging.

But at least he gets the long-resting curiosity sated about Shoto's relationship with his other self. The fact Shoto's not looking at him pisses him off. "So you made some fucking mistakes. You know what you do with mistakes?" He should. They've had fucking classes on it. Bakugo slams his hand back and another explosion roars into the room, blasting him forward in a rush. Other hand's almost glowing from the gathered cluster of sweat. Not one big boom this time, but instead he throws his hand forward, igniting the droplets into a bursting galaxy of explosive stars flung right towards Shoto's space. Blind him, pin him down, distract him.

So he can drop and go around to the side to try and get him in a flank while he's focused elsewhere. The conversation's not easy and he doesn't have the "right" answer for him. There is none. Bakugo isn't sure how he'd react if his own mother showed up here and started being intimate or dating another man who wasn't his father. Would he be angry? Yes? Especially if she up and started immediately. But if she was here for a year, in this place shoving "bond bond fuck bond sex bond relationship bond!" in her face so many times... He doesn't know. Perhaps it's easier for him to separate things because he knows when they go back home, all of this will be as if it never happened. But it's not like Bakugo feels comfortable opting to become a villain here simply because it'll get erased when he goes home. He can't--and won't--expect Shoto to be happy for Endeavor and Hawks. That'd be fucking stupid. But he also can't expect Endeavor to... not date after being separated from his wife for so long.

Rei does exist. In Endeavor's heart and mind, as cliche as that is to say. He's married in his heart and mind as well. But in Noctium, sad truth is, he's "not" married as far as anyone outside their world would know, as far as this world cares. It does matter. It matters to Shoto. It's not something he should brush under the rug to fester until he pulls a Dabi and blows up at someone from all the repressed irritation and disappointment.

INCOMING FROM THE SIDE!!

The dice hate Shoto today.

[heir_conditioned]

"Learn from them." He replies easily enough to Bakugo's question, not at all put off by the concept that he has to and had to learn. It doesn't make having mistakes on his mind any easier or the idea that his mother 'didn't exist', or that nothing else seemed to matter in the inbetween of that. Even if Bakugo is right.

The bright explosions go off and even with Shoto raising his hand to try to stem some of the bright damage, there's no way to avoid something as quick as Bakugo's clusters. Blinding him temporarily is just as effective as any other technique the boy has used at this point. Shoto certainly can't see, but he can hear and that's all he's got at the moment. He shuts his eyes to let them try to recover, he knows it's not forever but it certainly is for a few, blurred vision seconds enough to give Bakugo the upper hand. It just depends on where that upper hand is coming from and if he's fast enough to--

No, not fast enough at all and if Bakugo isn't quick, the only thing Shoto can do is directional semi-circle and even those are getting weaker in thickness. Maybe not weaker in strength, but he's freezing too quickly in an attempt to defend, knowing he damn well has to if he wants to try to avoid getting Howitzered somewhere from all points instead of using the haphazard ice. Even still, without being able to see it and with being so distracted, Shoto has no defense and Bakugo is going to be easily able to break through that ice and right at the waiting pearl inside it.

Poor Shoto. Needs love!

[blastedass]

It's not the main reason he's yelling that question at Shoto. "You're not wrong to feel the way you do!" Before the other boy gets the idea that Bakugo's telling him that. Of course Shoto can feel angry and confused, frustrated at his father's actions. "But shit's different here and we can't help that!" They let kids drink before they're 18. Hell, fucking happens between whatever age, and lets not even go into the dangers that are posed by "gods" powers going awry or some aphro plant drugging people. "I'm not telling you to accept his choice, not fucking telling you to forgive him!"

Because Bakugo's not Izuku and won't be saying that to Shoto. Truthfully, he's not even sure what he's telling Shoto. That he shouldn't hold Endeavor to the same standards here he does back home? "But you should think of what he's gone through as well." Because that's really all he can do. Look at the facts. Look at how long Endeavor's been here, look at what it means to be separated from his wife, look at what this place is asking of people, and the two-way street of trying to tell someone they don't have to be what they were back home. No, he doesn't think Endeavor's abandoned Rei. But... he does think the man has developed feelings for Hawks due to the circumstances the two of them are in.

Talking while attacking and dodging is stupid, and hell if he knows if Shoto can hear him over the sounds of explosions breaking the air, ice crackling into the field, and fire roaring across the expanse. The second one comes through this time and Bakugo's split second decision is this: 1) dodge away. 2) power through.

KA-BOOM!! Slams right into it. Blasting the ice, jerking his shoulder and legs to avoid the spikes as best he can, and crashes into the attack to clash explosion with ice. Shattering the spines and wall, noting the weaker state of them due to Shoto's distraction and anger. It's similar to their fight during the tournament, but he's not AS pissed at it due to this being a way for Shoto to vent rather than win. Bakugo breaks through the wall and hits the ground right in front of the other boy, swiftly fisting his shirt and hauling him close, one hand bursting and sparking a palm-sized explosion within his fingers.

"Feel what you want to feel, Todoroki."

Tell the D20 that, I rolled it a few times to see outcomes lol (called him Todorokiiiii)

[heir_conditioned]

Neither of them are wrong and everything that Bakugo is saying, despite the violence around it isn't either. Maybe, then again, even Bakugo couldn't have said these things without the distraction. It's not that Shoto doesn't think he's capable of it, but even above the blazing heat and the exchanged blows with little regard for either recipient over this short time, sitting down to have this conversation was never in the cards. Shoto needed this out of his system and Bakugo offering him that had been cathartic as it is. What he's saying, or at least what Shoto can glean off of the loud environment of what he's saying is both infuriating to listen to and bolstering in the way that he's allowed to have those feelings.

Quite literally the things he needed to hear. The only place they differ is that Shoto knows better. His father has thrown away his mother now that she's inconvenient. Or at least, he won't be changing his mind on that any time soon. It's what he does to people who aren't useful to him, or powerful or for 'the cause' whatever his cause might be.

If he could stop distracting himself, he could absolutely give Bakugo a run for his money. But no, the force of the explosion throws him to the side and it's only another wall of ice, small and person-sized that stops him from being tossed any further. Which is his mistake as Bakugo takes advantage of his situation and grabs him by the shirt. While he calls him by his name. It's only when he hears his name that Shoto's face twists into something that's akin to his actual emotions.

Feel how he wants to feel? He feels pissed off. "I want to not feel helpless, anymore." There. He said it. Go ahead, crackle at him all Bakugo's hands want, he's not backing down even if he is beaten, technically. "I don't want to be angry anymore." The grip of Bakugo's hand in his shirt is a good indicator as the fabric starts to curl and find holes baring into it from the heat of his body, small fires starting on the fibers. "I'm tired of feeling everything." Which if Bakugo doesn't let go, he's going to get fried along with the use of his own shirt to fuel the angry out burst of his right hand against the floor to create a monument of ice around the room. The grinding sound of it building on itself from Shoto's touch is almost deafening and he doesn't say anything else.

It'll take Bakugo not moving for Shoto to actually not just explode whatever's left of his energy for fighting right there. A last ditch attempt because he won't go down without every ounce of fight in him. Not against anyone.

Gonna call him Broody McFrustrated Backed-up Shit for Emotions No Shirt Face

[blastedass]

He's got that right. Bakugo's rarely one to up and offer advice like this. He's given some to Izuku, in the form of a backhanded compliment and some begrudging, curt suggestion, and some to Kirishima to pull him out of his depressive doldrums over his Quirk (ironically he finds the redhead's Quirk to be as fascinating and variable as Shoto's, despite Kirishima's personal struggles with Hardening). But those are rare times, and hell yes he would've given his bestie's words of advice over a good hard beatdown, raged at him about looking down on his own Quirk. Would've been the preferred way. But that hadn't been the case.

Not like Shoto, who he's telling hard truths to while forcing him to vent his own frustrations via a dangerous, intense battle. Two parts, making him listen without protesting so much, and making him act to seep out the pent-up feelings Bakugo knows he's got inside. So long as he gets those two results, frustrated at the hard truth, but accepting of his own freedom to feel, the explosive blonde will consider his work here a success. There's no right answer both father and son will agree on. Hell, they aren't the only ones who've dealt with shit like this in this world. Families have broken, couples have separated, friends have vanished, teams have reconfigured. People don't have the people they used to have in their lives anymore in Noctium. Some of them, like Bakugo, Shoto, and the rest, have been lucky, but...

He can't see inside Shoto's head, can't hear the thought he has towards Endeavor about how he believes the man views his wife. But if he had, Bakugo wouldn't have agreed with it. He doesn't think Endeavor has "thrown away" his wife. Though they disagree, the blonde still thinks that if Rei came to Noctium, Enji would be with her instead. But that, unfortunately, is a topic too raw, too personal, and too "your fucking issues" for Bakugo to want to stick his stupid face in. Bad enough he's already got this involved!

And no, he's not going to take this "win" as a victory to replace the one Shoto cheated him out of at the Sports Festival. This quickly revealed itself to be nothing like that fight. It's simply a very intense stress reliever. That said... landing the explosion still feels fucking satisfying! Tosses that fucking pearl right out of his control seat and leaves his splattered on a wall of ice of his own making. Stepping in, grabbing his shirt in a flashback to before, and hauls him up to deliver those final words. Not sure what he's really reaching or going for here, but... whatever. He wants Shoto to at least get some closure.

"Join the fucking club." Helpless. Angry. Overwhelmed. Bakugo knows those feelings, despite hating to admit to them, and swiftly gets his ass out of there. In a normal fight, he would've bashed Shoto in the face the second he felt his temperature rising. Knocked his ass clean out before shit happened. But this isn't a normal fight, he's not here to tell him "round over" or "give up"; he's here to push him and prod him and piss the other hero off until he's all vented and exhausted and ready to think more logically than emotionally. Still retreating with several fast bounds and explosions to get himself out of the conflagration that swells up in a flare as bright as a sunburst alongside a towering sculpture of glacier. The entire construct of fire and ice is the embodiment of all of those emotions. Frustration, rage, exhaustion. Bakugo recognizes it well enough. When he turned a neighborhood of Espera Village into an empty blasted crater after everything got too much for him.

They've probably all done it...

So he stands where he is, far away, watching Shoto deplete his reserves or do whatever he has to in order to pour his emotions into his Quirk. Ironically, for all their relationships and interpersonal skills and the rest of that social shit... their Quirks are the one thing that are (should be) completely theirs. Ready to go through everything with them.

LMAO longform of Broody Face?

[heir_conditioned]

It's true, for someone who was trying to stay out of it, Bakugo's got himself embroiled in the information about it. Again something that Shoto appreciates that he's doing and understands why and what 'staying out of it' means. It doesn't mean that he's not going to be there when Shoto needs him, it's just not his business until he makes it his business. If they agree or not on the way his father handles anything, he hopes that Bakugo is the right one, then, because he already knows she's going to get shoved away into a corner like he did the last time.

Things like that only fuel the anger and it's true that everything they do in their lives, including super hero work, or including emotions or situations, all include their entire body. Right down to the quirk and while he heard Bakugo say 'join the club' that only pisses him off more. There's really nothing to say that isn't angry and in his last ditched attempt at something more protective shoves a wall up in front of the other boy before an angry, loud growl overtakes him and he turns the other side on. It's a bit of a smaller scale, much, much smaller scale but the result is at least most of the ice gone from the room save (most of) what's protecting Bakugo from his lashing out.

Icey crystalline sounds burst out around the room along with the echoing sounds of a small rush of water for the parts that are melting all around them. Thankfully, the water isn't an issue of running under the door with the walls lined partially from the floor up by the time Shoto's done his toddler-tantrum.

It leaves a knelt, balled up-fist-to-the-floor teen panting in place and looking to make sure nothing got through. Does he feel better? Yeah. Does he still owe Bakugo something that isn't going to be derailed because of a building full of people? Fuck yes. Then again, if Bakugo likes it or not, he owes a lot of things to the other boy. "I need a minute." The other teen can walk around the side from the wall, but if he doesn't want to Shoto will bring it down for him. Somehow. Just let him catch his breath.

Something like that!

[blastedass]

Hey! He got dragged into it! First you invite him to intern under Endeavor, then you have to gall to invite him over to your house for dinner spouting all that "friend" crap, then your brother turns out to be the shady fucker who kidnapped him, so of course he's embroiled in all this! That's also not counting the fact Bakugo's Shoto's classmate and thus is involved simply by proxy. Though he won't say it, Bakugo's going to be here for Shoto when he needs it. Whether it's to vent against the blonde's rolled eyes and snarky blunt responses, blow off steam through combat or something more carnal, or whatever. Caveat being the explosive hero would have to judge it as really needed. He's not the guy you invite for a casual hangout.

The only true way to know if Endeavor was speaking the truth or not would be to bring his wife here. And Bakugo knows fora fact neither Enji nor Shoto want such a thing to happen. So until that time comes, they're going to have to agree to disagree and likely not bring up the topic much.

Fuck you for getting pissed off more that a lot of people here share the "helpless" sentiment and also hate feeling it. Bakugo scowls at the wall of winter in front of him, not liking the idea that Shoto thinks he needs his fucking protection from his flames. Room's big enough, Bakugo's fast enough, to avoid getting caught in that conflagration. But unless he wants to bust the ice down and shove a middle finger into those fires, the blonde's going to have to sit here and roll his eyes at the tantrum going off behind the ice. There's a small part of him that's at least satisfied to know and see Shoto's not so stoic he can't be caught venting emotions like this.

Bakugo's left standing his ground, arms folded across his chest, impatiently tapping his foot and irritably drumming his finger on his upper arm. Is he fucking done yet? Doesn't know if this renders the rest of their battle a moot point, now that he's had his chance to pour it all out. Hell, Bakugo's not sure this solved anything asides from giving Shoto the chance to yell about it.

Red eyes narrow on the other hero revealed through the steam, listening to his panting breaths and runner's start position to take a knee. You bet there's a part of Bakugo that wants to "HEAD'S UP!" and crash right into him. No villain's going to give him time for a fucking breather! But again, that's not what this is about. They can talk about what they owe each other later.

"Take it." Bakugo turns his back on him and walks off to the far side of the room to go stand in the corner and think about things on his own.

[heir_conditioned]

He most certainly isn't any better than Dabi, except Shoto's friendship traps come with one caveat. That he actually enjoys the person he wants to be around. Inviting him out, taking him with him to his father's agency, and any other time, it's all just been an elaborate trap. Sure. That and he believes Bakugo is someone that his life benefits from and in turn doesn't just want it to be that. He wants to be someone Bakugo can believe in and trust with the same sort of things if the roles were reversed. In reality, he'll never forgive himself for letting Bakugo slip literally through his fingers.

Bakugo most certainly could've just rushed him in his weakest point but instead he's going to have to deal with the sounds of Shoto's heavy breath getting closer to him. It's the only indicator aside the small slushy sounds of the floor that he's approaching and at no particular speed. "Turn around." It's not a demand as such, even if the connotation could be taken in kind and the deadpan sound of the heavy turn of his voice is enough to indicate that if Bakugo doesn't turn around, the consequences are on him.

[blastedass]

Thing is, it's no fault of Shoto's, but Bakugo simply doesn't operate like that. To express his frustrations and true anger towards someone else, to admit he's in a vulnerable area of confusion or emotional fraught, those things he doesn't ever want people to see, much less offer to "help" him with. He's always striven to deal with his weakness and vulnerabilities on his own, working on them privately with no one's help, so when he stands at the top, he doesn't have to share his victory with anyone else. While he does trust Shoto and certainly believes in his strength (without saying so cause his pride means he's still gonna say he's stronger and better forever), trusting him to help him handle emotional burdens... not fucking likely.

That said... he never thought he'd voluntarily live with Izuku either. Spending more time with Shoto is in order. And he trusts the other boy enough to be with him when Shoto's the one feeling vulnerable, trusting Shoto to trust him to keep his mouth shut and his attention on him.

Leaning against the wall, arms folded and his eyes closed, he listens to those heavier breaths coming towards him. Dude, get a fucking drink or something. Why are you moving when you're out of breath? No one's making you walk all the way over here, dumbass. It's the sudden demand, however, that opens his eyes and gets his attention.

"You wanna fucking repeat that?" He doesn't turn around, but instead turns his head and looks over his shoulder with a mixture of glare and arched-brow challenge.

[heir_conditioned]

It's not easy to be vulnerable in front of someone in any way, shape or form. Not for most of these heroes who have their entire life to learn to be vulnerable at the right time, too. There's something to be said about not being able to do things with human emotions attached, but there's also so many more valuable lessons from learning the hard way that doing them like that is fine, too.

Shoto would love to spend any time with Bakugo, with or without other people involved.

As for getting a drink? He can do that when he's ready to use his quirk in his own mouth. It's a matter of urgency that he stands behind Bakugo and lets him look over his shoulder. "I can, yes." Because he's assuming Bakugo just didn't hear. "Turn around."

[blastedass]

Bakugo has spent his entire life focusing himself to be the best. To be the best, you must be perfect. Strong, correct, focused, intelligent, able, competitive, determined. Mistakes and vulnerability aren't thinks that allow someone to be the "best" in his mind. Or had been for a long time. Even now, the idea of showing someone he wasn't the best, that he could be vulnerable, feels like weakness and impedes his determination to win. To win is to be a hero; to be a hero is to win.

Failure is not heroic...

Things he can deal with on his own. When he's not getting all bristly because Shoto just told him to turn around and he's taking umbrage at being ordered around. His eyes narrow at the repeat. Not out of anger but annoyance this time. Seriously? He thinks he didn't fucking hear him?

Ugh, sometimes you're so fucking dense, Half-n-Half.

But he turns around, glaring at him. "What?"

[heir_conditioned]

Failure is how you recognize mistakes. Shoto has made a lot of those and like he said, he has to learn from them. Sometimes, he doesn't learn from them at all if only because he can't recognize the failure, or the mistake. To him, Bakugo is amazing. Everything about him is incredible in its own package. However, he wouldn't give up being the way he is so that the hard lessons are hard lessons and learned through every situation, even this one. They may not agree on everything but Bakugo has done one thing that he appreciates more than anything to its fullest, so, he's here to express that.

The sharp 'what' makes no difference to him, not when he can offer a small, barely there, but at least proper bow. "Thank you." Shoto just wanted to say it to his face.