Good Things Come in Pairs [ Kiri/Tetsu x Bakugou] [Kitty]

[NicTheDjinn]

Kaminari and Bakugou had a rather strange relationship going. They'd ended up in the same class in their 1st year of high school and had sort of mutually bullied each other till they had the friendship they had now. Very strange, but it somehow worked for them. It wasn't even that hard to tell they cared about each other, it was just sort of hard to understand why. One of their many points of contention, for example, was the band Kaminari was part of.

He'd been hounding the other blond to try and get him to listen to their music only to redouble his efforts when he found out Katsuki was a drummer. They sorely needed a new one as they were less than happy with the current one. No dice. Not even begging had worked. In the end, he got desperate and got lucky enough to find a loophole. They had managed to get into the roster of a music festival and one of the headlining bands happened to be the grumpy blond's favorite. A birthday present later and he'd finally achieved at least one of his goals. They would be playing right after his favorite so he was sure he'd stick around to have a listen.

The concert was amazing, band after band playing to lead up to a big name then a few smaller ones then another big name and so on. When the band that Bakugou was waiting for took the stage, they were phenomenal, much better than one would think would be part of a venue like this.

It was a hell of an act to have to follow... They'd seen it coming as all the bands had the line up ahead of time and so had prepared for it. It was their chance to really stand out and gather themselves more of a following. When the stage was free, the stagehands hurried out to adjust the equipment, but they didn't allow the audience to cool down much.

From backstage swooped a raven, silent at first as he took in the crowd so he could choose his flight path. Most people didn't realize how big this kind of bird was, but they were getting to find out now. The corvid flew a low circle over the crowd just high enough to be out of reach, giving the many people gathered by the stage a chance to see him in all his magnificence. When he was done he came back around the front, flying slower now only to stop and perch on the fence right in front of the ash blond.

The bird stood at just over 2' tall and had a 4' wingspan. Not a small animal needless to say and it was staring right at him. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision, leaning his weight on one clawed foot and offering the other awkwardly with a small spread of his wings for balance. Strapped to his leg with a cord was a small bit of rolled-up paper. The bird waited expectantly and even cawed at him softly. Once the note was removed, he flew another circle over the crowd again, this time cawing loudly for attention.

As it turns out, the note was indeed for Bakugou. "Happy Birthday!" It read along the top and it was signed by many names, all looking distinctly different. Chargebolt was written in yellow and black with little lightning bolts coming off it, Alien Queen written in pink that appeared to be gel pen drawn so that it looked like liquid splashing into the sharp of the word, a blocky text that was drawn to look like looking ribbons of tape judging by the jagged edges reading Cellophane, a cool looking scratchy font reading Earphone Jack in black and pink, black sweeping lettering that had to have been drawn with a dip pen reading Tsukuyomi and next to that Dark Shadow with drawn feathers that appeared to drift down away from the two names, Jack Mantis was in a neon green looking like it was 'slashed' into the note, and finally Red Riot predictably in red and looking like it was cracking apart.

The raven finally returned to the stage to land lightly on the outstretched arm of... Holy shit that guy was huge... He had to have come out onto the stage while everyone was distracted by the giant's feathered friend. The figure stood over 10' tall wearing an ornate raven masquerade mask, wrapped up from shoulders to ankles in a cloak, arm held out through the front though for the moment little else could be seen as the sun was setting and the stage lights had been lowered. Then, the figure spoke, his voice deep and smooth.

"Suspended animation into the matrix of the mind, give in to temptation's curse... Blind to this place, I'm bored out of my skin, do you mind if I get undressed? Put aside my childish facade and really be me. You see, I've never had that freedom... I'm so sick of propriety snobbery and bigotry, are you too little where it counts? Come inside me if you dare, see me true. All my natures are real, something from nothing. I am he that is true, can you say the same? We are family. We are one. We are far from nothing..."

While the poem was being recited, 5 members of the band crept out onto the barely lit stage, mostly unseen thanks to all the attention a goth that stood over 10' tall demanded. As the poem came to a close, the top half of the "man" suddenly dropped back, the lower half bursting out into view, a shirtless hunk with a shock of scarlet hair and a literally sharp smile bringing a mic up to his lips.

"Are you READYYYYY?!" Not the most original call to an audience, but this guy belted it out like a battle cry, changing the energy on stage hard enough to give you whiplash.

And so they took off, having hidden most of the wait of setup in the distraction of a raven and goth poetry. There was Kaminari standing to one side of the lead singer, apparently the rhythm guitarist of the band. Huh. He'd always said he was the lead guitarist... Next to him was their bassist, a pretty girl with short hair and little red triangles on her cheeks.

To the other side were the wildest member of the group and other guitarist, a girl with bubble pink hair nearly the same toned skin, cute little horns, golden eyes with black sclera, and clothes that could be seen from space. Next to her was the goth with the mask which turns out to be their lead guitarist and the shortest one on stage, contrary to the height he commanded when kneeling on the shoulders of their lead singer. His bird friend actually had his own little perch, set right next to the keyboard, manned by a rather plain-looking young man. Despite his generally nondescript appearance, he had just as much energy as the others and an unforgettable smile. Their drummer in the back a lanky young man with an acid green mohawk and piercings, some of which were prominent enough to be seen by the closer members of the audience.

The lead singer was a gorgeous man that didn't so much sing from this diaphragm as much as from the soul. He seemed to lose himself in whatever he was singing as if he was living the very words that left him. He rocked brilliant red hair and contact lenses to match. He wore a pair of leather pants that hugged in all the right places and a set of heavy, deep red boots. He seems to have forgotten his shirt somewhere and with a body like that, he should continue to forget. Always.

The stage felt strangely cold and empty once it was over and they had said their goodbyes, thanked the audience, offered their love and acceptance, then bowed out. It didn't take too long for Kaminari to finally show up on the stage side of the fence. "Eh, eh? What ya think? Wanna meet the others?" He didn't really give him much chance to answer, waving for him to follow and leading the way backstage.

As soon as they get there, there was that gorgeous redhead, still shirtless, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to that beautifully sculpted body as he tilted his head back to drink water from a bottle. He looked exhausted, but when he glanced over he still found it in him to genuinely smile. Yep. Those teeth were still just as pointed as they were on stage and looked even more real up close.

The electric blond stepped in then and starting introductions. "Bakugou, this is Kirishima, that's Sero, you've met him a couple of times, that's Jirou, Ashido, Tokoyami, you got to meet Dark Shadow earlier, aaaaaaand... Where's Kamakiri and Tetsu...?"

The plain brunette was the one to lazily answer. "Arguing out back."

Kaminari groaned, "Again?!" It looked like there was some trouble in paradise. Would explain why he'd been interested and rather persistent in his attempts to bring Bakugou in as the new drummer when he found out he could play so well. He'd been pestering the ash-blond about it for months.

.....

Bakugou’s way of judging whether or not someone was worth knowing was assessing if they could handle him at all. Honestly, the fact he was considering testing them should have been enough on its own, but he’d never done anything in halves. If someone couldn’t handle his humor, the way he spoke and his knee jerk reactions, then they probably couldn’t handle him at all. He was fully aware he was a handful and an asshole, he’d gotten better over the years as well, but not that much better. It just wouldn’t be him otherwise.

So meeting someone like Kaminari, who not only handled the heat but dished out his own witty shots here or there? It was a friendship made in hell. And on that; many who witnessed them firsthand could agree.

But despite how close he and the electric blond had grown, he was not listening to their band. Kaminari could handle a lot, rumble with the best of them. He’d even begged him to join. But if Bakugou didn’t like even one person in the band, he knew he’d ruin the fun for his friend if he lost his temper with them; for real at least. Hell, he may even damage their relationship irreparably and be down the one friend he could confidently say he’d never replace. And that sort of heartbreak was just not something Bakugou knew how to handle.

It’d be worse than when All Might retired as the lead singer of One For All.

He’d refused meeting the damn band for so long, but the siren call of listening to One For All again with All Might’s adopted son fronting was too strong, and like the dumb ass he is, he forgot to check exactly who else was playing that day.

Part of Katsuki’s refusal to meet or even listen to Kaminari’s band included actually listening to him talk about it. What could he say? He was thorough. So he’d missed the really dead giveaway about the fucking raven.

The raven that flew out and landed right in front of him like an overgrown carrier pigeon.

“Oh no.” He muttered to the large bird, taking the note, now realizing why Denki wasn’t there with him even before he unrolled the note. When he did and saw the happy birthday along with the very recognizable name of Chargebolt, probably the only thing he remembered about the talks about the band, he began to grin. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.” Cunning little shit.

He didn’t have very long to be mad, though, because the presentation was... flawless. A bit edgier than he expected from someone as unendingly goofy as Kaminari, but it didn’t go unappreciated. And then... then there was that shitty haired fucking bombshell.

It was hard to remember why he had ever refused to meet them to begin with when presented with such a fine looking man.

Luckily, Bakugou was a fantastic multitasker and despite his admittedly horrid hearing, he could appreciate the sight and listen to the music at the same time. They weren’t bad but the drummer really brought down the performance. Not to anyone else, Bakugou’s sure no one would notice over the sound of the red haired man’s voice and the others playing, but Katsuki’s life as a hard of hearing person and an actual drummer himself meant that the rhythm and beat that one could feel in their bones was the most important for him. And while the one with the Mohawk was technically really good, they were... out of sync with the rest of them. Clinical while the others were passionate and energetic, even the bird one.

It felt off to him the entire performance, but not enough to draw his eyes or one functioning ear away from that singer. Fuck.

When it was over, it left a hollow in his chest. A craving for more; not just more of the man but the music too. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to act like a petty bitch when Kaminari came to him. It was his brand. When the other blond bounced up to him, he was prepared to dish out a few threats of bodily harm but the other had the audacity to drag him away before he could. Rude.

In the back, his eyes were immediately drawn to the redhead again, and the smile thrown his way left him breathless which felt so fucking stupid for him to even think, but he made good with hiding it, nodding his head to everyone in turn to at least act like he was raised right; however debatable it may be. Kirishima was the hunk’s name. For once, Katsuki thinks he won’t forget it. “Should I really be here while your band is experiencing... whatever the fuck that is?” Katsuki asked in lieu of actually saying hello to anyone or even considering politely ignoring the drama.

[NicTheDjinn]

The electric blond smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... Kamakiri's a really great drummer, but... He doesn't really like people much and crowds wig him out. We've got a good-sized fan base now and he's been struggling with that. It took a lot to convince him to do this concert and he's refused to agree to tours that aren't within a day-trip distance. We want to start touring properly, but we can't with him."

The gorgeous redhead spoke up then, looking quite sad about the prospect. "It's going to suck to lose another member... We always knew Yaomomo would only stick with us till graduation, but I'd really hoped Kamakiri would get used to the crowds." And there was that brilliant smile again as if it had never left. "Kaminari's told us that you're a really good drummer, too! You should totally join us for a jam session sometime!"

His eyes lingered a little longer than he'd meant them to, darting down to take in the blond's form. Even through his clothes, he looked like he was packing some nice muscles under there. He had the urge to look at them without the clothes in the way and he forced his eyes back up to his gaze even as a light pink dusted his cheeks. If he was lucky, maybe they could work out together sometime...

Unexpectedly, a rather small goth approached Bakugou then, clearing his throat softly to get his attention. "Excuse me. I wanted to check if your birthday note reached you. Dark Shadow's training is still ongoing and it would be a shame if he failed to deliver to the correct individual. Would you be willing to let him perform the trick again, perchance? It would help him understand he has done it correctly when rewarded properly."