Kirishima Eijirou/Bakugou Katsuki

Kiribaku, or Kirishima/Bakugou, is a slash ship in the fandom Boku no Hero Academia.
==Canon==
Kirishima is often shown trying to befriend Bakugou and inviting him to class outings. Kirishima is noted as the first at U.A. to become Bakugou's friend. The two have neighboring dorms on campus. Bakugou inspired Kirishima to create one of his power moves: Unbreakable. Kirishima calls Bakugou "Blasty McSplode" and "Explosion Boy." Bakugou calls Kirishima "Shitty Hair" and "Weird Hair."
Bakugou comes to respect Kirishima and call him by his name. When Bakugou was kidnapped by the League of Villains, Kirishima initiated his rescue. According to Midoriya Izuku, Kirishima is the one Bakugou sees as an equal and the only one who could save him without his pride being hurt.
They have been shown to grow together and parallel to each other. Kirishima's ultimate move, "Red Riot: Unbreakable" was inspired by Bakugou's words to him. In a moment of self doubt, Bakugou comforts Kirishima and tells him to remember what he told Bakugou during the Cavalry Battle at the Sports Festival: that Kirishima will be his unbreakable horse, and that Kirishima should remember that just standing up through anything means he's stupidly strong. Kirishima remembered this moment of Bakugou comforting him during his fight with Rappa in the Shie Hassaikai.
In a similar way, after Bakugou was killed during the battle against Shigaraki and All for One and later on revived, he remembered the moment he comforted Kirishima and thought about the words he told Kirishima, that just standing up means he's stupidly strong. Remembering those words brought a new vitality to him which caused him to finish off AFO.
In the epilogue of the My Hero Academia series, Bakugou is shown driving a brand new car with Kirishima on the passenger seat and Midoriya at the backseat. During their conversation, Midoriya thanks him for the ride, to which Bakugou answers that he only gave him a ride because Kirishima told him to and threatened to harden and scratch the hood of the car. Upon hearing this, Kirishima teases Bakugou and says "But does the great Dynamight give in to any threat?" and teases him further by asking him if he remembers everything Kirishima says.
Bakugou tells Midoriya that if he gives special treatment to everyone, it means no one is really special to him. He said this at a time when he is shown to be giving special treatment to Kirishima, implying that Kirishima is special to him.
In the BNHA Fantasy AU, it was confirmed through a light novel that Kirishima is Bakugou's dragon shown in one of the anime's endings. Kirishima being Bakugou's dragon was a popular speculation among fans long before the light novel was released.
They are usually paired in official merchandises, alongside many heterosexual ships. According to the festival clothing promotional art, it's shown that Bakugou gave Kirishima his jacket as Kirishima wasn't wearing a shirt. On top of this, it's hinted that it was a romantic gesture, as the caption for Bakugou's outfit stated "...Maybe he gave it to a girl passing by who looked cold?" while Kirishima is the one wearing his jacket.
==Fandom==
Kiribaku is one of the most popular ships in Boku no Hero Academia. According to fandometrics on Tumblr, in 2017 Kiribaku was #3 on the most popular ships list2017′s Top Ships, the highest BNHA ship on the list. In 2018, Kiribaku was in 6th place, followed by Tododeku in 8th.2018’s Top Ships. As of June 2019, there are over 8800 works on AO3, and it is the second most tagged BNHA ship.found via Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou works January 2019.It is the most popular ship for Kirishima.
Bakugou's Japanese voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto made a comment in the August 2018 volume of CUT Magazine, saying that "Kirishima is the only one for Bakugou."
In another interview in Newtype September 2018 with Bakugou's voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto and Todoroki's voice actor Yuki Kaji, Okamoto says, "Kirishima is such a good guy- he's really a great guy" and Kaji responds "He even brought a suit for him [in the movie], so he must know his measurements" and Okamoto replies with "Thank you for pointing that out for the fans."
The ship gained popularity when it was heavily implied that they were friends in season 3, episode 39, "Game Start" when Kirishima was the one to bring Bakugou to the pool, and the two of them were later shown walking home together as Kirishima tried to comfort Bakugou after the frustrating end.
Oftentimes, the ship is portrayed as Kirishima being the one to make most of the advances in the relationship while Bakugou is often the "tsundere" type and will not properly express his feelings.
===Common Tropes & Fanon===
==Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* Fast Break, by GearsAndGauntlets, a no powers, college AU Kiribaku fic
* , by Hejter, a canon-divergence, slow burn, KiriBaku fic
* , by kamin, a KiriBaku canon-divergence/rewrite of Bakugou's kidnapping in the Kamino Ward Arc
* , by idratherhaveyou, a no powers AU kiribaku fic.
* , by newamsterdam -- a no-powers, College AU, slow-burn KiriBaku fic.
* by newamsterdam - a fake dating modern AU
* by Acinonyx1 - a dragon!Kirishima fantasy AU, with bottom!Bakugou
* by Maplefudge, an actors AU where Kirishima and Bakugou meet on the set of a heist show 
* by Shippeh, a canon-divergent omegaverse series, O!Bakugou and A!Kirishima 
===Fanart & Fancomics===
* , by BunBuns
* , by BunBuns
* , by Marcia
===Meta===
* by newamsterdame, October 2017.
* , by queenofliz4rds, accessed 8 June 2020.
* , by kitsu-katsu, accessed December 2020.
==Communities & Resources==
*Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou works on AO3
*KiriBaku on the Shipping Wiki
=== Rec Lists ===
*safekiribakurecs on Tumblr
==References==
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:Boku no Hero Academia Relationships