windfall | 04 — i just wish you'd open fire on me

04 — i just wish you'd open fire on me

[when aizawa dumps the whole motley lot of them in the middle of nowhere for a day-long wilderness exercise, uraraka half-expects it to go just as well as last year's summer training camp. which is to say, not at all.

one, it's the dead of winter. there are already a couple million ways someone can die while roughing it out in the woods, why not heap an avalanche of snow on top?

two, they were all arbitrarily distributed throughout the forest. they'd have to tough the climate out on their own, unless they chanced upon one of the others at some point. not exactly something she'd hold her breath for.

it's not all bad, though.

before being dropped in snow hell, the students of class 1-a were given the small kindness of a pack, containing the bare minimum of equipment needed to survive: some flares in case of an emergency, water, and one randomized item. for uraraka, it'd been a single multitool. a lot of good that'll do her when the hypothermia sets in.

that's how she finds herself in the back of a cave, knowing full well that her attempts to light a fire won't give because the only kindling she could scavenge was damp wood and clumps of dead grass. she persists!]

Alright, let's try this again— [cue the sounds of stones hitting against each other, but not quite with enough friction cause a spark] Rrrgh. Come... on...

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[ bakugou is actually a little at home in the outdoors, he likes mountaineering and... all right, winter is a pain in the ass when he gets cold easily, but you think he'll let a little something like cold get the better of him?? hell no. a little task like surviving a night out in the wild should be a piece of fucking cake. aizawa can try to airdrop him in the middle of some frozen tundra or something and he would claw through tooth and nail to survive and maybe kill a bear out there or something just to prove himself, because of course. he's just like this. in any kind of practice or scenario or anything, he'd aim to come out on top.

night is starting to fall and he's on the look out for decent shelter for the night, he follows the edge of a ridge where some opening in the rock face would be good defense against wind and snow. something about the wilderness like this is... nice, calming. he likes being alone, he likes being out in the environment. this is decent rescue and survival training for being a hero in the future but he doesn't mind just exploring like this, focusing on the task and just staying out here in the chill, staring out at the trees and rock and listening to the silence without any of his friends or classmates around. in some ways he's still pretty solitary, he's more relaxed by himself.

so of course, that's why he finds the little grotto in the rock face and ventures in and comes face to face with uraraka hard at work in the back trying to light a fire. for a moment he just stares at her, it's been a good few hours out there in the snow, a good few hours since he'd seen another living thing. ]

Oi, round face.

What are you doing? [ all right, rhetorical question. come on girl, you can start a fire...! maybe. ]

—woah!

[maybe she'd been too engrossed in her pitiful fire-making attempts to hear bakugou saunter in like he owns the place (he doesn't! she found it first!). maybe it's because it's the first voice she's heard for awhile that isn't her own. whatever it is, she completely jolts, and in her fright, slams one stone down against the other with the exact force needed to get the tiniest flame going—]

[that, of course, immediately extinguishes in the next moment. maybe she should have spent more time searching for drier wood, after all? but did such a thing even exist with that blanket of snow out there?

a slight, despairing laugh leaves her throat, and she numbly looks up at him.]

Oh, um... Hi, Bakugou. I'm not sure anymore.

[ if she wants to own the place they could fight for it, he is always 100% down to fight...! but, all right, there's no reason to provoke uraraka now. maybe if deku or icyhot were in here it'd be a different story, maybe not, but hell. he doesn't have any beef with her.

he helps himself to the space, the cave is a decent size and good shelter from the wind and cold. of course, it's still cold. better get to fixing that. ]

Is that some trick answer? You're making a fire. Come on, get to it.

[ yes, he could help. but he can't make things too easy, probably. ]

So pushy...

[and yet she doesn't protest or urge him to leave, instead returning to striking the stones against each other, the motion having become muscle memory by now.

while she's about ninety percent sure that she could have toughed it out on her own for the rest of the night, fire or no, she'd been starting to miss having somebody around to talk to. although, she's not quite sure she'd been desperate enough to wish for bakugou's company... oh well, beggars can't be choosers, right?]

I'll keep trying for a bit longer, but I'm probably going to have to head out soon to find better stuff to burn. [the prospect of having to wander around in near darkness, looking for flammables, puts a dismal lilt in her voice. what if she runs into a yeti...?!] I don't think what I have right now is going to cut it...

[ all right, he could be a dick and be unhelpful for no reason. or he could actually try to be half-decent about this, out of all the idiots he could bump into out here, uraraka isn’t the worst among them. he wouldn’t say it to her face, but he knows she’s capable.

he rubs a hand through his hair, his scowl is stiff but not genuinely annoyed. ] Hell, I can get it if you need more. You gotta start off trying to get a spark near the light ignitable shit, mosses and whatever. [ little survival techniques they’d learned in summer camp, not that he enjoys thinking about that. but, anyway. he might be an asshole about it but he’s not going to let her freeze. ]

Or I can just-- [ he flexes his hand, fires off an explosion in his palm. he's practically a human firestarter himself. he offers this much, if she gives up on the fire herself. ]

[it's a seriously tempting offer, and uraraka doesn't bother hiding the way her eyes fix on his calloused hand. something she'd spent the better part of the hour trying to make happen—just at his fingertips! she wouldn't have to worry about frostbite or turning into an icicle overnight...

and yet, after a brief moment, she gives the barest shake of her head in declination, dropping the stones atop the pile of burnables as she hops up. relying on him would defeat the purpose of the exercise, wouldn't it? if the objective were to test their cooperative abilities, they all would have been tossed in together to begin with. she needs to fend for herself.]

Even if you just— [her padded fingers imitate his earlier hand gesture, curling and uncurling. sadly, unlike with bakugou's demonstration, nothing comes erupting out.] There's still not going to be enough to keep the fire going for that long. Don't worry, it'll be a quick in and out. I'll fine.

And besides, didn't you just get up here? Kick back. Relax a little.

Edited 2019-01-15 08:42 (UTC)

[ he kind of remembers back at summer camp he'd practically been expecting people to ask him to help out with the fire and he'd smugly blasted at kindling and it ended up...

charred and smoking but not quite setting ablaze easily.

so, that was embarrassing as hell. and then of course todoroki shows him up and lights a fire nice and easy, but whatever. he narrows his eyes at uraraka. ] You're telling me to relax? [ has he relaxed a day in his life?... probably, but he's also a contrarian. ] I'm getting more kindling. [ a brief look around to cave to size it up a little, make sure it's decent shelter and there aren't any bats overhead to crap on them or a bear at the end or anything--and then he makes to leave again. he'd rather be busy trying to be productive. ]

If you don't have a spark or fire going when I get back, I'll do it.

[if uraraka thinks about it, really thinks about it, bakugou going in her place makes sense. he's his own source of light; he'd be able to see out there. plus, he'd have a better idea of what to look for than she does. she knows that she should cooperate.

...

so why can't she stifle this sense of indignation surging in her chest?]

Wait. One game of rock, paper, scissors.

[ he stares at her a little skeptically... all right, he hasn’t talked to her too often ever since their match, she hangs with deku more often and he’s still grumpily antisocial for the most part even if things slowly might be changing, but.

the only thing he can think of is... ] You’ve been hanging out with Deku too much or what? [ because. this seems like exactly the kind of problem-solving thing that nerd would do, or it feels like it anyway. ]

[at first, uraraka's taken aback, blinking owlishly at bakugou, because, well, she does spend a lot of time with deku. not an inordinate amount or anything but that shouldn't make any difference, right?

quickly recovering, she stretches out a closed fist, shaking it lightly in his direction.]

I know I'm being stubborn, but... just one game!

[it's true that he'd left the fire to her, implicitly trusting her, but if there's even a chance that he decided to go instead because he thought she couldn't handle the task...!]

[ it totally matters. no, he doesn’t hold a grudge against deku anymore, yes he supposes he can respect deku’s friends, but...

something about this is just hilarious. fine, he doesn’t leave yet, he approaches her again, crosses his arms, the look on his face bordering on amusement. ]

You know those remedial lessons I went to with half-and-half?

This is kinda reminding me of one of ‘em. [ namely, the babysitting kids part. playing janken. Not going to SAY it's immature, because he’s hardly the maturest person around either, but sure. something about it is pretty cute. ]

[the mention of remedial lessons does stir something in her memory. she vaguely remembers taking part in a conversation where someone or other—maybe deku, maybe iida—had asked todoroki how the lessons had gone. there'd been something about a horde of children... oh.]

Hey! It's not like that! [she sounds positively affronted. um??] This is a perfectly adultlike conversation. Now, c'mon.

[although it'd be even more adultlike if she didn't need to resort to games to make a small decision like this...]

[ yeah, hopefully todoroki didn’t tell them about how he’d been ready to threaten kids or how they’d stolen his gauntlet for a while or how he’d... reluctantly... tried to actually be decent with them, after all.

anyway. ] Fine, janken. Let’s go. [ rock paper scissors...! he chooses rock, because of course. ]

[truthfully, she's a little stunned at his relatively easy agreement to humor her, so when the time comes to make her move, uraraka fumbles and two fingers reflexively jut out. scissors. guhhh.]

Aw, darn it... [uraraka's not particularly down and out about the loss, though. if a fair and square decision was what she wanted, it's what she got. it's just that she feels a little—guilty. like she's wasted their time with her insistence. her arm drops back to her side.]

Alright, fine, I'll stay back. If you run into anything [like a yeti...!] just, uh, yell? Or maybe bring it back if we can eat it...

[ well, he likes winning.] What were you gonna do if you win, keep me here like a prize? [ that’s a surreal thought. but even a small silly win like this seems to put him in a slightly better mood as he leaves the cave, pausing just outside the entrance. ] If I find a kill a bear or some shit, I’d drag it back here for you to butcher, how about that?

Since you’re the loser. [ mature as shit bakugou katsuki. ]

We wouldn't even finish eating a bear, Bakugou!

[she calls out after him, against her better judgment. why... why does she have a feeling he's going to go out there and purposefully find something to hunt down now? what if the bear has cubs?

the moment he's completely gone from her sight, uraraka lets out a breath, one that creates a silvery cloud. reluctantly, her gaze dips back down to sorry pile beside her feet. no escape.]

...back to work, I guess.

[ he's gone for about twenty minutes, moves briskly out into the woods with a stronger sense of purpose now that he's found shelter and found company. he'd spent a lot of time being the antisocial lone wolf or whatever for half his first year tenure already but... by now even he's had it drilled into him, he's learned after everything that's happened that it's better not to be alone. and it wouldn't be something he'd say to uraraka but honestly he is pretty glad to have found her. just knowing she's there gives him more incentive to make sure the both of them are all right.

so, twenty minutes later there's a shuffling noise of snow off of the rock face--if she looks out she might see bakugou resting large fallen boughs thick with winter foliage against the entrance. a block to wind and, maybe, creatures who might want to enter the cave. and then moments later he enters again, dragging more fallen branches, the pockets of his loose hero pants seem to be full with more presumably kindling material. ]

Fucking... pain in the ass shit.

Oi, round face. [ HAULS IN more birch or pine branches. ] Got more wood for you. [ ....... ] To burn. [ ... right. though it'd probably have to be broken down. anyway how's progress with the fire. ]

O-Oh, thanks! [there's a forced, uneven quality to her voice, like she's actively trying to keep her teeth from chattering. judging from the way tremors roll off her entire body, head to toe, it looks like the cold has finally been getting to her. probably something to do with the temperature drop that came with dusk fall.

she's in the exact same position he'd found her in, squatting and hunched over, only this time she doesn't look quite as defeated. there, beneath her hovering palms, a small, wispy flame flickers, its tips reaching for her hands. knowing her luck, it would have been snuffed out with a single gust in due time, so bakugou's return and foresight—she never would of thought of adding extra coverage to the entrance—couldn't have been more perfect.]

Go ahead and warm up, I'll take care of the wood...! While you're at it, feel free to toss in whatever you have in your pockets.

[the second uraraka pulls herself up off her haunches and past bakugou, to the pile of branches, she immediately misses the warmth of the fire. if it's this cold in the cave, it must have been freezing out there. geez, it may have only been twenty minutes, but how'd he do it? sheer stubborn force of will? complete spiritual denial of the elements?

...

actually, that kind of aligns with his character. she could believe it.]

All I need to do is just... halve 'em, right? [her hand grasps one end of a branch, bobbing up and down a little to test the weight of it. hm. heavy.]

[ damn... well, this is a start. it could be worse. he could have walked back in here and she might be an icicle--

his eyebrow twitches a little but shittily enough, he isn't even sure what he's even irritated at--the fire progress, her state, maybe even the weather itself for being cold... ] Did you pay attention during those survival lessons or what? [ then again it's not like he's some camping nerd or anything, but-- ] When you start the fire you gotta feed it with the small pieces of bark or moss and shit, then give it the bigger twigs... look. [ he's not some lecturer, it's simpler to just do things himself sometimes. he's independent. he's someone who would still rather do shit himself and rarely rely on people.

he sits down heavily next to her, practically fuming a little. even if he does get cold rather easily, moving about outside and trekking through the wilderness does quite a lot to keep him warm, even at this proximity his body heat is evident. as a person his temperature always runs high.

he tosses her a branch, catch fast...! then takes one of his own, peeks off thin pieces of outer bark to feed to the small spark of fire and coax it into growing. ] Like this. [ almost patient in this as he builds the ember into flickering up, but he's surprisingly intent about it. the priority here is to warm her up. ]

[between the demonstration and the sudden proximity, uraraka's a little thrown. and on any other day, she might have questioned him, asked if he was coming down with something, but right now she's just appreciative of the additional warmth, whether or not he means to offer it. better not look a gift horse in the mouth.

hugging the branch to her chest, she leans in closer to him than is probably necessary, trying to get a better view of his hands and the darkening peels of bark. it isn't as if she hadn't been listening to the lessons. sure, she'd tuned out every once in awhile, but she'd still managed to catch the most important bits! the thing is, application is always different than theory. the former usually requires either practice or talent, both of which—in this case, anyways—she lacks in spades.]

Ooh, it's really working... Geez, you're good at this. It's like you could be a forest ranger or something!

[tearing off a few her own pieces of bark, probably a little thinner than bakugou's had been, uraraka experimentally slides one into their slow-blooming fire, then another; there's something a little mesmerizing about the way the flame burns through the fodder. maybe it's just how, only a few minutes ago, there had been barely anything there, but with their combined efforts, they'd made something lasting! it's kinda nice.

then, without looking at him, eyes glued to the campfire:] You know, I'm really glad you're here, Bakugou.

[ oh yeah, he's coming down with a bad case of trapped in a cave with a cute girl--

that is, with uraraka. same difference. look he's finally giving this whole be-a-team-player thing a shot especially after that co-op training session, is this worth that much amazement?? better say it to his face if she's that surprised... ]

What am I gonna do being a ranger? I'm a hero. [ probably not interested unless he's out there fighting crime against bears or something. he scowls briefly but whatever offense perks up is mollified somewhat by her admitting... this. this might as well be the rarest damn thing anyone could say to him. being glad that he's there.

in any other situation he'd like to make anyone sorry to share breathing room with him but for a moment he just stares at her in bewilderment like her.

maybe, just maybe, 1% of him is kind of touched by this.

most of him though... ] Did your brain freeze? [ serious question here. ]

[yeah, you're not so bad yourself, bakugou. confusion's a good look on him.

it feels like, for the first time that night, her shoulders are shaking from something other than the cold. she tosses her head back, the sound of her laughter echoing throughout the cave, bouncing off the walls. there's something warm blooming in her chest.]

Of course not! That only happens whenever I drink slushies or eat ice cream too fast!

[did she completely miss the point or just elect to deflect the question? tune in next time, kids...]

[ if he's a suspicious bastard (and he IS) then yeah, he'd just about guess she's deflecting. her laugh takes him off guard, he nearly drops the stick he's holding, she has a... nice laugh... wait, maybe this is another distraction tactic. his eyes narrow, almost sizing her up a little because this is deku's friend after all and she has almost gotten the better of him that time in their fight and he respects her but...

yeah, this is still uraraka. she doesn't know how to be shady.

probably. he scowls a little as he stabs another stick at the fire with embarrased shitty fury. ] Damn, what's so funny... then you're just saying that because I went and fetched all the wood. [ yes, he'd volunteered. still. be grateful already!! or rather, don't!! because apparently he's shit at taking compliments or praise, so. ]

Well, not just for the wood... [although, he had been pretty helpful on that front. but. you know. she still could have done it herself.] I'm glad that we're classmates.

[that's not a weird thing to say, right? she means it. no take-backs.

drawing her legs up to a bend, she rests her chin on the valley between her knees, just watching as their flame gradually begins to resemble the ones that'd been in their camping manuals (before aizawa had ordered the class to toss them out the bus window, that is). bakugou's always been good at that, she thinks. prodding the things around him until they either shrivel up and die—or measure up. it's the same way with deku, even if they're unaware of it. even if they fight against it.]

I feel like I'm always learning something from you.

[ is she in some sentimental mood or what? his glare is skeptical, almost trying to size her up or trying to figure out what her angle is, being this sappy out of nowhere like this. glad to be classmates? what, does she think he's happy to hear that or somethi--

anyway, let's just stubbornly not examine whether he is or not. ]

Guess the first fucking thing you can learn right now is how to at least not die in some survival situation like this. [ but the corner of his scowl twitches like he's trying to hold it. his ears feel faintly warm. god, that better be from the fire. ] What kind of learning are you talking about... [ they don't even hang out that often-- ] You gonna learn how to chop and food prep like a pro after seeing me do it at summer camp?

[ mentioning that summer makes his scowl deepen, just momentarily, before he flicks one last piece of branch into the flames. ]

[maybe it's just uraraka, but, weirdly enough, the mood between them feels borderline... friendly? companionable?

it may be true that they don't really run in each other's circles, but they've been classmates for awhile, and she counts him as a sorta friend, at least. that's probably why uraraka gets a little ahead of herself and. elbows him. playfully, of course! it's more like a light nudge against his ribcage, if he can even feel it through the material of his jacket. eiiither way. take that, bakugou!!! she isn't saying anything strange, okay.]

That's not what I meant! [his scowl doesn't escape her notice, though. a lot has happened since then, obviously, but that summer... everyone tiptoes around what happened. they have to, to avoid a long, deeply uncomfortable conversation. the pout that'd formed at her lips gives way and her expression softens.]

Anyways, I only saw you prep like that the one time... kinda been awhile. You should show me again once we get out of here.

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04 — i just wish you'd open fire on me

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