Red and White, Black and Blue

Chapter 10: Sports Festival, Intermission

Kaminari balls up the wrapper from his hamburger and starts idly picking at the pile of fries on his tray. "So, explain this to me again... I'm totally with you on Todoroki, but Bakugo..." He trails off, pointing a fry at Ryumi sitting across the table.

Ryumi snatches the fry out of his hand with her chopsticks and eats it. "I thought I was pretty clear before..."

Kaminari looks wounded over the stolen fry and pulls his tray an inch closer. "I'm slow, alright? Just explain it again."

Yaoyorozu shakes her head as she pokes at her salad. "It's impolite to talk about others when they aren't around."

"Well, one of them is a big jerk and the other totally ditched us after the match - he could've been here if he wanted to be." Kaminari asserts, dipping a fry in ketchup and munching it. "So I say it's fine. Besides, I'm just asking her opinion. It's not like we're gossiping."

Yaoyorozu still looks displeased and carries on eating, trying to stay out of it.

Ryumi swirls her ramen with her chopsticks. "Well, the short and simple version is I dealt with a lot of people like Bakugo when I was in middle school. In my experience, the guys who have to yell the loudest about how great they are, how much better they are than you... They're really nothing special." She pauses to slurp up some noodles. "So, it follows that the people who are clearly strong, but don't constantly talk about how great they are - they're the ones to watch out for."

Kaminari tilts his head to the side. "But Bakugo is super strong too. Maybe he's not on Todoroki's level, but he's still way powerful."

Ryumi just shrugs, tapping the end of her tail against the leg of her chair. "You don't have to believe me. Bakugo is powerful, sure, and probably a little unstable, but at least you can tell what he's thinking most of the time."

Kaminari sinks into the table and lazily noms another fry. "Yeah, usually it's 'die!' or, 'get out of my way, extra!'..." He performs a passable impression of Bakugo, and pokes his tongue out.

"Exactly. He's predictable." Ryumi swipes another of Kaminari's fries while his guard is down. "Which makes him easy to manipulate. Remember in the combat training, how Midoriya caught his right hook and threw him?"

"But he improved and changed his strategy after that." Yaoyorozu adds, without looking up from her salad.

"Oh, now you're not too good for this chat, huh?" Kaminari jokes, grinning at her.

Yaoyorozu sighs, turns to the girl next to her. "Actually, Ryumi... I wanted to ask before, but there hasn't been much of a chance..." She lays down her chopsticks, having finished as much of the salad as she intends to. "Were you really serious about that, back in the locker room?"

Kaminari suddenly sits upright, looking like a lightbulb just flashed on in his head. "Oh yeah - I was wondering about that too. I mean, I get you don't like the guy, but that felt super aggressive."

Ryumi has a distant look in her eyes, staring out past her teammates at seemingly nothing in particular. "...I sounded serious, didn't I?"

The pair look at each other, then back to Ryumi.

Kaminari is the first to hazard a response. "Well, yeah... I think that's why we're worried about it."

Ryumi carefully picks up her bowl to drink from it, hiding her face. "The way he treats his 'friend' Midoriya doesn't worry you?"

He shrugs. "I dunno, man. They've known each other since they were kids, right? Maybe that's just how they are."

Ryumi lays down the empty bowl and her chopsticks, staring down at them. "Look, I just... I can't stand bullies. That's all there is to it." She stands, picking up her tray. "...Anyway, I wanna go check something quick before things kick off again. I'll catch you guys in a bit?"