All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
Bakugo unbuckled the belt holding Kubikiribōchō and pointed the tip of his sword at the thug's neck. He was now strong enough to hold it with one hand, though it made him tire more than he should have.
"You heard the girl with the bows, bastard. Don't make me get violent," Bakugo threatened, narrowing his eyes.
The bully smiled at Bakugo's attitude.
—Bakugo...—Lee thought, his eyes wide as he saw the man he considered his first friend again.
"Bakugo," Sasuke said, touching his shoulder. "There's no need to use violence against these guys. They're examiners testing us, and that's why they put a genjutsu on us."
"A genjutsu?" thought aloud a shaved-headed genin who was watching from the background what was happening.
"Huh? What the hell is he talking about?" Bakugo thought, twisting his face.
Unlike the skinhead, Bakugo kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't want to look like an idiot. He put away the greatsword and began surreptitiously looking around to see where the illusion might be. Needless to say, it was a futile effort, since if there was one thing Bakugo was known for, it was his inability to discern eye jutsus.
"Heh. So you've noticed..." the bully who had hit the girl muttered.
—Exactly. So cancel the genjutsu because we've already figured it out, Sasuke said, taking a step forward. —Let's go to the third floor.—
"But aren't we already on the third floor?" the skinhead whispered to a colleague.
"Tell him, Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else," Sasuke said, turning his face toward the pink-haired girl.
"Huh?" Bakugo and Sakura said at the same time.
"You have the sharpest eyesight and the best knowledge of genjutsu," Sasuke continued.
—Sasuke-kun... —Sakura thought, blushing and smiling. —Thank you...—
"That's right!" Sakura's hesitant expression turned into one of absolute certainty. "I realized right away. We're on the second floor!"
Bakugo raised an eyebrow in surprise, but kept his thoughts to himself. He became even more confused when the sign that displayed 301 changed to 201.
"All right, it was an illusion. But let's see how you react to this," said the man with some band-aids on his face.
The bully then narrowed his eyes and kicked Sasuke sideways, aiming to hit him at the head. Sasuke saw his intentions and raised his leg to launch another kick. Bakugo, still in shock from the genjutsu, could only watch as Lee stepped between them and blocked each kick with his hands.
"That big-eyed bastard is fast," Bakugo thought, smirking as he saw how Lee had become fast and strong enough to stop both of them effortlessly.
"Huh? I thought he was a weakling, but he's as fast as Sasuke," Sakura thought, not understanding this quality of Lee's.
"He stopped my kick like it was nothing. He must have concentrated a lot of chakra in his arm," Sasuke thought, withdrawing his leg and looking at Lee's bandaged arm.
"What happened to the plan?" said a boy with light skin and dark brown hair. His hair was long and stretched out over his back, but tied back at the tips with a ribbon. His forehead was bandaged and surrounded by a black ribbon, and his eyes were identical to Hinata's. He was wearing a white jacket, black shorts, and blue sandals. His right arm and leg were bandaged; in addition, he carried two bags with Ninja weapons on his right leg and at his waist. "You were the one who told us to be discreet so no one would discover our level."
—I know, but...—Lee said, looking at Bakugo. —I couldn't allow my great friend Katsuki Bakugo to see me as a loser.—
"Who the fuck are you calling a friend, big eyebrows?" Bakugo shouted, embarrassed.
"This is the famous Katsuki Bakugo that Lee keeps mentioning," the purple-eyed boy thought, studying Bakugo closely.
"Do you know this weirdo, Bakugo?" Sakura asked in a whisper, approaching Bakugo.
—Bah. —Bakugo decided not to answer, he was too embarrassed by Lee's new look, with his bowl-cut hair and that strange green spandex he was wearing, to admit that he knew him.
—Also…—Lee continued, ignoring Bakugo and focusing on Sakura. He slowly walked towards her with his cheeks flushed. —My name is Rock Lee… You're Sakura, right?—
"Huh?" Sakura said, somewhat uncomfortable with Lee's proximity.
"Please be my girlfriend!" Lee exclaimed, winking, smiling, and giving a thumbs-up. "I promise to protect you with my life!"
"I definitely don't know this jerk. He must be the retarded twin brother of the big-eyebrowed guy I met over three years ago," Bakugo thought with a disgusted expression.
"No way," Sakura said instantly, her face filled with disgust.
"Why?" Lee asked sadly.
"Because you're a freak," Sakura replied again immediately.
Lee stared at the floor, desolate. But he looked up when he saw the bullies opening the door, letting in all the students who were waiting.
"Sasuke-kun! They're open! Let's go!" Sakura said, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and dragging him toward the door. She was being so abrupt because she was uncomfortable having Lee so close and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Hey, don't drag me!" Sasuke complained.
"Come on, Bakugo, or we'll leave you behind!" Sakura shouted so Bakugo could hear her, since they were already more than ten meters away from the ash-blonde. She didn't turn around to check if Bakugo was following them, since the pinkette didn't want to make eye contact with Lee again.
Bakugo put his hands in his pockets and started to follow them, but was stopped by Lee's purple-eyed companion.
"Before you go with your classmates, you and I need to talk, Katsuki Bakugo," the boy said, standing a few inches away from Bakugo.
"Huh?" Bakugo said, grimacing in disgust at the boy blocking his path. "Who the fuck are you?"
"Neji Hyuga," Neji replied haughtily, looking at Bakugo with contempt.
—Hyuga? Where have I heard that name...?—Bakugo thought, remembering. —Aaa, right! The weird-eyes of the academy! Now that I see this bastard up close..., his eyes are just like those of weird-eyes.—
"We'll catch up later, Bakugo," Lee said, his gaze lost in the direction Sasuke and Sakura had gone, oblivious to the confrontation unfolding just a few feet away. "First, there's something I need to check on." Lee disappeared from there in an instant.
"And what the hell do you want to talk to me about, bastard?" Bakugo said with a smug attitude.
"Lee goes on and on about how amazing you are and how much you helped him become who he is. However, since I know Lee loves to exaggerate, I did some research on you," Neji said.
"Are you a fucking stalker?" Bakugo said, raising his eyebrow.
"Heh." Neji shook his head. "Not at all. I needed to see if you were truly a worthy opponent... It was a disappointment to find out you were a loser. You had no jutsu skills, and the lowest grade on your class's practical exam. Maybe that's why Lee thinks so highly of you. You're both hopeless ninjas."
"Say that again if you have the balls, you fucking bastard..." Bakugo said, gritting his teeth. He was so pissed off that he put a hand on his sword, ready to use it against Neji. Neji activated his Byakugan in response to the ash-blonde's action.
"Neji... Forget about this guy. We have to go to room 301 now or we'll be late," said his companion with the brown buns, trying to calm him down.
"You're right, Tenten. It's not worth it," Neji said, deactivating his blood barrier and starting to walk inside Room 201.
"Pray everything you know that I don't have to fight you in the exam, you weird-eyed bastard!" Bakugo shouted at the top of his lungs. Neji turned his head for a moment.
—Heh. You're no match for a genius like me.
"I'll give you some advice, brat," Bakugo said, pointing at him. "If all you do is look down on people, you won't be able to recognize your own weaknesses."
"That doesn't say much, coming from you, who only insults people," Neji responded reasonably.
"Heh," Bakugo said, flashing his signature smug grin. "But it turns out I have no weaknesses, so I can belittle anyone I want. Unlike you, I am a genius."
—Ha. Don't make me laugh! —Neji activated his Byakugan to laugh at the ash-blonde's bravado. His Byakugan was like a lie detector. But he took a step back, somewhat impressed, when he realized that Bakugo really meant what he was saying. —I can't believe you actually believe the nonsense you're saying! Don't you realize you're a nobody without jutsus?—
—Well, this Nobody without jutsus is the one you're going to beg for mercy from when he's beating you up in the exam.—said Bakugo pointing at himself.
They stared at each other without blinking, Tenten looked at both boys with a worried face.
"See you later, Katsuki Bakugo." Neji was the first to abandon the staring match. Tenten sighed in relief, and they both headed into the room.
—I really want to beat up the mummy, the plug without eyebrows and that jerk with weird eyes... —Bakugo muttered and the last of the students entered room 201. He still had some way to go and a staircase to get to room 301 which would be where the chunin exam would take place.