Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any other copyrighted material.

Caged

Chapter 10: Nerves

Uraraka, Ochako had experienced episodes of anxiety from time to time since she was a little kid. She tried as hard as she could to ignore them, if she let everything that made her heart feel like it was going to beat its way out of her chest out into the open, she'd be done for. Inevitably though, her panic-driven thoughts seemed to slip through the gaps of the walls she put up in her mind and terrorize her anyway.

There were several things that made her anxious.

The first being the welfare of her parents. Which ironically related into the second thing being how she could possibly help her parents in whatever way possible so that her entire family didn't descend into financial turmoil. And finally, the third being boys. She felt silly even allowing herself to believe that.

Boys should have been the easiest thing to control in her life. She had always simply, avoided them. But there were several instances in her normally mundane life lately that were making the opposite sex rather difficult to ignore.

"Uraraka-chan?" Ochako looked up from her paper towards the voice that called her name, picking up her pen from the dark blob forming on the paper it was pressed to. She couldn't make out the words he was saying, because the heartbeat ringing in her ears was pounding to loudly. His dark green curls seemed a bit out of focus to her, and his face coming in and out of view. She shook her head and blinked a few times bringing herself back into reality.

"I'm sorry Deku-kun, what did you say?" she asked, perfectly disguising the jittery trill in her voice.

She had gotten really good at shutting people out of her mind, and hiding her feelings. She had to, if they knew how deep her worries ran in her, well…she didn't know what would happen, but she didn't love the idea of anyone finding out just what a wreck her mind was.

"I said you seem really out of it today, are you feeling sick?" Deku reached out to touch her forehead with the back of his scarred, calloused hand. As his fingers brushed along her skin Uraraka pulled away, her cheeks tinged lightly with a pinkish hue.

"I'm fine! Really! Just a bit tired." She spouted, smiling at him in spite of her lie. She wanted to tell Deku everything that was going on in her head, and let him tell her the logical train of thought to follow. She felt guilty keeping things from him and Iida. But seeing that this issue in herself was largely revolved around him, she knew it was better kept to herself.

Evading Deku's worried look of concern Ochako went back to trying to focus on the notes in front of her. She scanned the lines of text trying to commit them to memory, but her hand began to shake as if it had its own priorities. She plunged her palms in between her legs and continued, only pulling her hands out from their sheath to turn the page in her notebook.

She sighed and flicked her gaze towards the curly-haired boy sitting across from her. Quickly stifling a giggle by biting her lip, Uraraka watched as Deku mumbled everything he read aloud in a voice that was just a little too loud to go unnoticed by passerbys. She thought it was cute how he got so lost in his studying. She wished she could direct her mind all the way like he seemed to be able to do. Deku was really amazing. His drive to protect others made her certain he was someone she wanted to be like.

…except you'll never be able to help anyone like he can…

Uraraka winced as her own negativity lashed out at her.

She envisioned herself staring up at Bakugou at the sports festival. His heavy breathing and maniacal grin glinting down at her as she scrambled to get up.

…you failed to get anyone's attention because you're weak…

Her mind flashed another memory before her, of a plate of food alongside two empty ones and the hands that had prepared her meal.

…it's your fault they have another mouth to feed...

She could see Deku's back at the exams, his lean form and the sway of his green locks in the breeze as he looked forward. His slowly raised clenched fist and a broad smile outstretched on his freckled face.

…you'll never catch up to a guy like him…

Uraraka's heart continued pounding as self-doubt clouded her eyes. She began to gather her things and slide them into her bag.

"Hey Deku-kun, I just forgot I have something I have to do! I'll see you tomorrow?" she chattered with a fraudulent smile plastered over her features.

"See you tomorrow Uraraka-chan!" he replied cheerily, in the same light-hearted tone he always had. But what escaped her view was the adament worry in Midoriya's expression.

She waved a final farewell and began trekking through the vast expanse of U.A.'s campus. She had no real destination in mind, just somewhere to escape from everybody's eyes and concerned questions as she knew what was coming.

Uraraka panicked as she felt her blood heat, her eyes glisten with hot tears threatening to fall, and a dread that sunk into her bones. Her pace quickened as she scanned for a bathroom or a corner to hide in until the episode passed.

Why now? She screamed internally.

"Damn it…" Ochako cursed as the first few tears finally escaped over the ledge of her lashes and plop down her rosy cheeks.

Her whole body began to feel unstable, unsteady, and unsafe as she stumbled into the student dorm building, praying that she didn't see anyone. The thought of seeing one of her classmates only sent her into a deeper agitation, as she furiously swiped at her eyes. Uraraka lost sight of what was in front her as she turned a corner and-

Thwack!

She stumbled backwards a bit, and looked up meeting the temperamental stare of Katsuki Bakugou.

"Uraraka what the hell!?" he spat as Ochako locked her teary chestnut orbs with angry red ones. His frustration buckled as he scanned over her features. Her sleeves were damp, he eyes and nose swollen and reddish. Her arms were held up in front of her like a shield, as if she was afraid.

"B-Bakugou-kun…" she whispered looking toward the floor in embarrassment. Bakugou might have been the last person Ochako ever wanted to witness her in this fragile state. She was certain she appeared absolutely pathetic to the man towering over her.

She couldn't meet his gaze, and the worst part was that he was being completely silent, leaving only her shallow breathing to fill the void as she tried desperately to steel her nerves against the humiliation.

"Oi! Kirishima where did Bakugou go?" Alarm bells rang in Uraraka's mind and she begged her body to move, to flee but her feet stayed cemented to the ground on which she stood. She let her fingernails dig into the beds of her palms threatening to draw blood as she remained paralyzed.

What should I do? What do I do?! Uraraka panicked.

Suddenly she felt a warm grip around her wrists as she was pulled out of the light of the open hallway and into the chemically-scented gap of a janitorial closet.

"B-Baku-!" her surprise was cut off as she was pulled into the chest of her unlikely captor a hand held over her mouth to nullify the sound of her erratic breathing.

"Shh! Do you want them to find out?" he hissed lowly as the footsteps of their friends pattered past the door and their chattering settled into silence. Ochako didn't know what was more startling, the fact that Bakugou had read her mind in a two second encounter, or the fact that she was literally pinned against him hiding inside a closet. Deep embarrassment mingled with a residing anxiety swept over her. She could feel Bakugou's arm loosen and drop away from around her frame and mouth, but oddly enough she still found herself clinging to him.

She clutched the fabric of his t-shirt like it was a life line taking an odd comfort in the hard exterior of his chest. Tears continued streaking down her ruddy cheeks while she still remained determined to hide her face from his gaze as if that would somehow erase this moment from his memory.

The absolute worst part about anxiety was feeling vulnerable, like all your deepest secrets were out to bare and everyone could see them. She always envisioned everyone laughing at what an idiot she was. Uraraka felt as though her entire being was out on display, her worst fears and doubts running throughout her body in the form of tremors and onto the floor in small pools of tears. She didn't feel secure in her own abilities and beliefs; she felt weak compared to those she looked up to.

"Tch, you have to breathe dammit." Uraraka was taken back by the calming soothe in Bakugou's tone despite his choice of words. He usually spoke in such a guttural manner with tiny explodies firing from his hands as he claimed to beat any offender into a pulp.

"Oi." He called again, prompting Uraraka to slowly lift her eyes to meet his, apprehensive about what he would say to her. She was dumbfounded to find his expression was…what could best be described as soft. His eyes were shifting from side to side, and his normally dragging frown was mollified, even his brows were relaxed. His gaze turned back towards hers.

"What will it take to make you calm the hell down?" he growled in a low voice. She could see a flicker of concern in his amber depths; surprised Uraraka thought back to what her parents would do when they would find her in this state of affairs. An image of her father's brawny arms open wide was the first thing that came to mind.

"Can y-you hold me?" Uraraka stuttered burying her face deep into Bakugou's warm torso in self-consciousness.

"Such a pain…" he grunted concealing the slight blush spreading over his features.

His muscular arms pulled her in tightly, making her fear decrease with every second that passed between them. Though her fears didn't compltely disappear, her irrational anxiety over what she couldn't change in this moment, right here, subsided for the time being.

Uraraka's breathing slowed down to a normal rate and her eyes ceased flowing incessantly after a few minutes inside that dark closet, being coddled by the least affectionate person she could imagine.

Never…in her wildest concoctions of daydreams had Uraraka thought she would end up here, inside a cleaning supplies closet, sharing an intimate moment with Katsuki Bakugou, the King of Explosions, who was holding her willingly by her own request. The warmth he emitted was so comforting…she wondered if it had something to do with the nature of his quirk.

"I'm sorry…" Ochako whispered against his collar, feeling strangely endeared to the boy as she turned her head to angle her face towards his neck.

Bakugou said nothing but released her from his embrace, his cheeks clearly betraying the composure he was trying to maintain.

"What the hell are you sorry for?" Bakugou mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the gravity wielder.

"I didn't mean to…I didn't want you to…I'm just embarrassed honestly…" she blurted out, a signature giggle following her admonition.

"My heart sometimes...is just so blocked up...and I just..." she continued, focusing on her shoes.

Bakugou watched closely as she released her hold on him and backed up in the few inches of space left between them in the small room. She twiddled her padded thumbs and seemed to be searching for what to say on the dirty corners of the floor.

"You must think I'm just a pushover…letting things get to me so easily…" He narrowed his eyes, his view of her unchanged and his anger at her for being so childish boiling.

"Listen up Uraraka, I'm only going to say this one fucking time." He began, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

"Nothing about you is fragile, so don't sit here acting like you can just ignore all the damn problems that happen. That's just fucking stupid." Katsuki's interesting words dawned on her as she realized the weight of the compliment she had just received. Even though it was ill-worded, was he trying to comfort her? WHatever his intentions had been she couldn't even begin to fabricate the reasoning for her next action.

As if on autopilot, Ochako gripped the dark blackish material of Bakugou's tear-soaked shirt and raised herself onto her tip toes locking her plump lips with a certain spiky-haired individuals, her eyes shut tight as she felt the heat of his flesh sear against hers. Katsuki wasted no time in deepening the kiss, moving along with her making her head feel dizzy.

What am I doing? She questioned as a desire for more surfaced.

She raised her hands to slip into the blonde tresses of his hair, that were surprisingly soft to the touch, as strands flitted through her fingers. This earned her an abrupt push against the hard surface of the closet wall, pinning her in, his hands tethered to her curvaceous hips gripping harshly.

How did they get here? She wondered as she melted into his touch.

The kiss was broken as they both gasped for air, panting and staring into each other's eyes breaking the trance they had both slipped into. The way he was looking at her, filled her with an odd sense of belonging and pride. He was like a half-crazed King of violence who looked at her like she was a Queen capable of destroying all obstacles in her way. And she didn't know why that made her heart beat so fast out of excitement. Only one glaring question remained in her head as she tried to regain her sense of control.

What did this mean?

A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see! I have returned to this story, hoping to finish it for the people who have asked. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, your encouragement is what made this update happen! I hope to bring you another update very soon! Let me know your thoughts of this below!