Mind Over Matter

𝐈.𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ━━━━━━

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￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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The IC prompt this month is jocks and nerds. When I was thinking up what I wanted to write, I immediately wanted Hatsume and Inasa, but couldn't find good art of Inasa in casual clothing for the edit. It's a good thing, because Kirishima works out way better. The art used in the edit can be found here and here.

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━━━━━━ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏.𝐒𝐈𝐒 ━━━━━━

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Kirishima is a jock with a kind heart. Hatsume is a nerd with a skeptical nature. Maybe a friendship can blossom.

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:

              Eijirou Kirishima

              Mei Hatsume

              Katsuki Bakugou

               Hitoshi Shinsou

              Vlad King

              Denki Kaminari

              Kyouka Jirou

➥ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞:

              Quirkless AU

              Slice of Life

➥ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2449

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 14004

Kirishima frowned as he stared at the model volcano, willing it to erupt. At it's base were small erasers, the kind you'd attach to the end of a pencil, to act as houses that were meant to be buried in lava. His hopes were lifted as a bubble formed over the crater, but when it popped, nothing followed. "Told you we need to use more baking soda," Bakugou growled, prying the box from the redhead's hands. He tore off the serrated opening.

"Wait, Katsuki-" Kirishima tried to protest, but could only watch as Bakugou poured nearly the entire box in. Kirishima instinctively stepped away from the volcano as it rumbled. Sure enough, it erupted, but the mountain itself was lifted off the table as the lava began to seep out from under it. Kirishima lurched forward again in an attempt to catch the excess lava before it could fall to the floor, but the liquid escaped through his fingers like egg yolk. He watched as the mess only became larger and larger, eventually covering the entire table.

"Now that's an explosion," Bakugou smirked, seemingly satisfied with the result. "Our volcano could bury your guys' any day." He glared around the classroom as if challenging any of the other students to contest him. Most of the students had either already lost interest in the event, or were staring at the growing puddle on the ground.

"Bakugou, Kirishima," a gruff voice huffed from the front of the room. They both looked up as a muscular man with an underbite approached them. His hair way turning gray, and his bushy eyebrows and set jaw made it look like he was in a permanent frown. "I could not have made the rules any clearer. You're cleaning this up, and staying after class until you can figure out how to follow basic instructions."

"Bullshit, your instructions didn't do anything!" Bakugou protested. "You can't keep us here forever!"

"Keep pushing it, and you guys are getting detention," the teacher warned.

"What? I didn't say anything," Kirishima pointed out, but he only got a glare. "Yes, King-sensei."

"At least it seems like Hatsume and Shinsou understand what they're doing," King said, changing the subject. All eyes turned to the back of the class, where a tired-looking purplette adjusted the barriers they had set up to prevent a mess, and a pink-haired lady added drops of dye to the incoming lava. It was clear that the lady had already added some dyes, for the lava that had already started spreading in the confined area was like what Kirishima could only describe as a puddle of oil; colors mixing together into a mesmerizing prismatic pool. "Oh? The dye is an interesting addition. What made you two decide to do that? It could have ended up a disgusting brown, but you two managed to add the right amount of dye at the right moments. Impressive."

"That was all Hatsume," the purple-haired boy spoke up. "I was happy to live and let live. She kept going on about aesthetics."

"Of course!" Hatsume huffed, puffing her chest in pride. "Why do something if you're not going to be the best? Besides, anything I make has to be pleasing to look at, too. It was really too easy."

"Brownnoser," Bakugou called to the two students. Shinsou didn't spare him a glance, but Hatsume frowned and threw him a quick glare.

"That's it, Bakugou, detention on Saturday," King said. "Everybody who's succeeded, please clean and pack it up. You decide who's gonna keep the volcano. If you haven't finished, please pack it up and return it to the cabinet."

Bakugou's indignant protests were drowned out by the chattering that broke across that classroom as students cleaned up. Kirishima looked at the mess they had created, then back at the controlled explosion. While Bakugou was still complaining, Kirishima slipped away to approach the other volcano. The other two were already cleaning up using paper towels and rags. "Hey," Kirishima greeted them. Shinsou nodded in greeting, while Hatsume just glared at him contemptuously. "Sorry about Katsuki. He's a bit...much, but he's not that bad of a guy. Just another high schooler trying to stand out, yeah?"

"Whatever," Hatsume sighed, continuing the effort to clean up. "Like I care what a simpleton cares about me anyway. Couldn't even build a model volcano. What do you want?" Kirishima's smile faltered. She had to have known she indirectly insulted him too, right? He was part of the party that hadn't succeeded. He quickly recovered, pushing it aside.

"I just wanted to say, I think it's really cool how you managed to make this look," Kirishima said, watching as the last streaks of the liquid were wiped off the table. "Like what King-sensei said, it could've ended up looking terrible, but it didn't. That takes some planning."

Hatsume head her chin up as her ego inflated. "No, it couldn't have ended terribly," she proclaimed. "Nothing I make fails. And I actually had a competent partner this time."

"You can keep the volcano," was the only response Shinsou had. With the cleaning over, he slung his back over his shoulder and quickly fled the classroom to lunch.

"Hm, I'll be going too," Hatsume said, collecting the project. She began to lift the volcano, but some of the excess liquid that had been trapped in it began to seep between the openings between the mountain and the base it was glued to. With a frown, she quickly lowered it again. "I'll have to carry it by the base." With this in mind, she placed her books on the table. She didn't seem to have a bag with her, instead  carrying around whatever books she would need until she could next visit her locker.

She took the volcano model by the base and tried putting it on top of her books, but it was too big. It would be impossible to carry the books and the model without dropping and spilling the model. "Let me help," Kirishima offered, seeing the struggle. "I can carry the volcano to your locker."

Hatsume threw him a glare. "I don't need help," she protested. "Besides, I'd never let you touch my work."

"Okay, then I'll carry your books, and you carry the volcano," he offered. She kept the glare on him, but it softened as she considered the proposal.

"Fine," she huffed. She slid the books out from under the volcano, lifting up the project as Kirishima collected the textbooks.

Hatsume lead the way to the door, but they were interrupted by King. "You're not allowed out of here until you do as I say," he called to Kirishima.

Kirishima turned to him with an innocent smile. "I'm just helping Hatsume take things to her locker. I'll be back, I promise," he said.

"Bullshit, you're trying to leave so I'm the one who cleans this up!" Bakugou accused. Kirishima held back the urge to remind him he's the reason there's a mess. King looked at Kirishima pointedly, agreeing with Bakugou.

"I'll make sure he returns," Hatsume spoke up. "I just needed help carrying my books, and my partner already left."

King's expression softened a little. "Fine. If you're not back in ten minutes, you're getting detention too," he warned. The two high schoolers nodded and headed out of the room. Hatsume's locker wasn't far, and they didn't speak at all during the short walk.

Hatsume put her project on the floor to enter her locker combination. Upon opening it, Kirishima was shocked to find all the walls covered in papers. The pages were covered in designs and drawings, all things Kirishima didn't recognize. Well, except for the lunch schedule on the inside of the locker door. Today they were serving orange chicken. "Orange chicken? Awe man, I hope Bakugou doesn't make us miss lunch."

At first, Hatsume wore a confused look, but followed Kirishima's eyes to the menu. She was silent for a few moments, frowning in thought. "Hey..." she mumbled, her voice suddenly quiet. Her eyes darted up and down the hall as if she was searching for any potential eavesdroppers. "If the recommended baking soda isn't enough to please Bakugou and King, what would the natural solution be?"

Kirishima stared at Hatsume, confused. "Uh, stop Bakugou from interfering?" he asked. "He was just too impatient to wait for the reaction."

"No, you idiot," Hatsume hissed. "You increase the baking soda. Just by one tablespoon, not by an entire box."

"Uh? Wouldn't King-sensei notice we're not following directions?" Kirishima asked.

Hatsume rolled her eyes. "What, you think he's gonna jump out from behind his desk to stop you? Just do it. He's the kind of teacher who cares more about the result than the process."

"But he seems to hate Bakugou and I," Kirishima said sheepishly.

"That's because you're imbeciles," Hatsume snapped at him, before closing her amber eyes and taking a deep breath. "Sorry. Just, trust me. You need to go back. I'll see if I can get some extra orange chicken, just in case they're out by the time you return."

Kirishima beamed. "Thanks, Hatsume! I'll see you later!" He rushed back to class to find Bakugou trying to clean up the mess, but just spreading it around.

Hatsume's plan worked perfectly. King didn't seem to care when Kirishima put in an extra tablespoon, and Bakugou was satisfied with the result. They cleaned up once more before making their way to the lunchroom. There was still a short line for food. As the two of them approached, the lunch lady broke the news, "There's only one serving of orange chicken left. The other will have to get a salad."

"That's mine," Bakugou demanded, stepping forward. The lunch lady gave him the food without much care. Kirishima, slightly upset, grabbed a salad from the cooler, going to sit at the table he and his friends always sat at. Bakugou had already inhaled half of the chicken. Kirishima settled in between Bakugou, an empty seat between himself and Kaminari, and began to poke at the bare salad.

"How come Bakugou ended up with orange chicken?" a feminine voice asked over his shoulder. Kirishima looked up expecting to see Jirou, but instead saw Hatsume holding a tray of food. She leaned over, pouring half her orange chicken into the lid of the salad container. "I payed extra for that. You owe me."

"I already owed you," Kirishima smiled. "Wanna sit here?"

Hatsume looked at the empty seat in disgust. "Never. I couldn't stand hanging around meat-heads all day."

"We don't want you around either," Bakugou piped in. "I don't care if Kirishima has a crush on you, he's not the one in charge. No nerds at my table."

Hatsume rolled her eyes. "How shallow," she sneered at Bakugou before turning on her heel and walking away to her own friends.

"What was that about?" Kaminari asked.

"Kirishima helped bring her books to her locker, now they're in love," Bakugou replied curtly.

It was Kirishima's turn to roll his eyes. "When I helped bring some stuff to her locker, she gave me advice on how to do King-sensei's experiment correctly. And she saved me some orange chicken. She was just delivering them."

"She seems nice," Jirou stated, walking up behind them with an empty tray.

"Where were you?" Kaminari asked.

"Hanging with Tsuyu and Ochako," she replied. "I can't always hang out with all of you. You're unbearably annoying. But, Kirishima, it looked like you and Hatsume were friends. How'd you manage that?"

"Hm? I just helped carry some stuff to her locker," Kirishima explained yet again.

"That's all it took?" Jirou inquired, sitting between him and Kaminari. "She's notoriously aloof. Didn't realize a jock could befriend her."

"You really think we're friends?" Kirishima asked, sparing a glance at her from across the cafeteria.

"She went through the trouble of buying another serving in case you didn't get any," Jirou reminded him. "I would say so."

"Can you think of any way I can repay her for helping me out twice?" Kirishima asked.

"Go hand out with her," Jirou suggested, "and ask."

"Yeah, whatever," Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Go hang out with your girlfriend."

Kirishima grabbed his plastic container holding salad in one side and orange chicken in the other, and made his way over to Hatsume's table. It was full of a bunch of students he was a little embarrassed to say he didn't recognize. Band kids, nerds, and art students. "Mind if I sit here?" Kirishima motioned to an empty seat.

"A jock leaves the pack?" Hatsume teased. "I don't care where you sit." The rest of the table seemed to share the same opinion, so Kirishima sat down.

"I'm Eijirou Kirishima," he introduced himself to the table, but nobody seemed to care. Feeling the awkward silence, he turned to Hatsume. "So, uh...thank you for all the help. I was wondering how to make it up to you. I don't know you very well, so..."

Hatsume looked Kirishima up and down. "Yes, it seems I don't know you very well either," she said, earning a confused stare. With a sigh, she explained. "It's just off-putting to find a jock capable of basic human decency. None of your friends would even think twice about people like me."

"I don't think that's true," Kirishima protested. "I know people can be jerks, like Katsuki, but I tend to make good friends. Kyouka is a band student, she's my friend! Denki is pretty chill. Mina's fun to hang out with, and Hanta is really nice too. I don't see why any of us would disregard you like that unless we were on bad for some reason."

"What do you mean?" Hatsume asked.

"I mean..." Kirishima searched for the words. "We may not share the same skills and interests, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. You seem nice, despite how you like to insult people all the time. We have nothing in common, but I wouldn't mind being your friend. You're a good person, and that's all that matters. Not what you're good at."

Hatsume looked Kirishima up and down once more. "I take back what I said," she finally decided. "You're capable of more than just basic human decency. I mean...thank you. You seem like a good person too."

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ━━━━━━

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￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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I hope you enjoyed, it was a really cute thing to write.

#KiriMei