Every twitch of his arms sent vibrations of shock and strain spasming through his limbs. Every shudder hurt like fuck.

It wasn't the worst pain he'd ever been in, the sports festival finals and that fucking beating from All Might during the final exam took the cake for that title, but the pain of the past meant jack shit when you were feeling it now.

"Now, remember what I said yesterday? 'Today's the only day we'll be doing stuff for you.' We said that last night!" The blonde-haired pussycat bitch announced to the group of exhausted students.

"At least make your own food. Curry!" Said the loopy-looking green-haired pussycat.

The rest of the extras groaned back "Yessir…" in a pathetic resignation. Well, he could sort of agree. The last thing he wanted to do after all that damn training was cook his own dinner.

"You all look exhausted!" The loopy one giggled and bounced around like a complete nutter, "But that doesn't mean you can make any old sloppy cat food!"

As if anything he cooked would be considered cat food.

"It's true that part of rescuing someone is filling the stomachs and spirits of those exhausted during a disaster." Class rep deluded himself, "That's U.A for you! No chance wasted! Let's make the most delicious curry in the world, everyone!"

Bakugou glared at engine-leg from the corner of his eye, sure you could delude yourself that way but the matter of fact was that the pros just couldn't be fucked cooking for a bunch of brats.

While the pro heroes wandered off and left the students to the outdoor cooking stations, class 1-A and 1-B set to starting the fires on the barbeques, and after completely blowing up the end cooker, Bakugou strolled away from the mess feeling annoyed by that half-and-half bastard's fire and guilt for destroying a perfectly good bbq.

He stood off to the side and glanced around at his classmates while most of them chatted and waited around for the fires to heat the grill. There were a few others who were already sitting at the tables, peeling and prepping the vegetables, but it was only then that Bakugou noticed something was missing.

For one, it was too peaceful.

It was probably the weirdest feeling he had ever had, being uncomfortable by a peaceful atmosphere. He was getting used to those extras following him around all day. Bakugou scanned across the heads of the class, picking out the usual bunch that liked to annoy the shit outta him.

Sero and raccoon-face were both by the fires, shitty-hair and dunce-face were over at the tables whining over some onions, but one was missing.

It was annoying how much it annoyed him.

It was annoying how much the quiet was beginning to bother him.

Bakugou shoved his aching hands in his pocket and strolled over to where their zombie-eyed teacher stood supervising.

"Where's Niwa?" Bakugou growled stiffly, like it almost pained him to admit his observations.

The teacher checked a watch at his wrist, "She refused to come back so she's still out in the field." Said the dry-eye bastard, "Go tell her to come back, if you want. Though, I doubt that one will listen."

Bakugou scowled and glanced up at the sky, the sun was setting fast and it'd be dark in no time. With an annoyed click of his teeth, Bakugou stomped off through the trees and back out into that shitty area where he had been stuck all day.

"You're finally done?" Said the massively muscled Pussycat hero, Tiger or something.

Bakugou walked over to the pro hero, but his eyes were trained to the girl with a fucking mini truck on her shoulders and back.

She was a damn mess. Dripping with sweat, patches of dark steins like oil had dripped down her shoulders and soaked into the blue uniform, she was trembling in every part of her body with tears streaming down her face.

She was a fucken mess.

"You've reached your limit." Tiger sighed.

"I-I…" She whimpered, "How can I just… Give up!?" Her voice was laced in pain as she screamed in frustration.

Bakugou hated a lot of shit in life, but never had he hated someone else's pain like this before. He wanted to do something, the hero in him ached to help her and ease the pain she was in, but he knew he couldn't. The bitch would probably hate herself – or him – if Bakugou tried to stop her. He couldn't make her burden any lighter and couldn't convince the stubborn bitch to give up whatever the hell she was doing.

"You did remarkably well, it's okay to admit when you can't do something."

"WELL IT'S NOT OKAY FOR ME!" The girl screamed and panted, "I promised! I promised to save her but I was too fucking weak and I couldn't do shit! She died because I GAVE UP!"

Bakugou watched with wide eyes. He didn't have a damn clue what Niwa was talking about, but whatever it was, it was painfully personal. Whatever it was, it had sparked that fierce attitude and stubborn resilience in her. It had driven this girl to suffer and grow into the cocky bitch she was every day. That was something he could recognize plain as day.

He wanted to help.

It was aggravating and anxiety-inducing to see someone he saw as strong and capable crumble under the pressure of their limits and past failures.

Bakugou walked closer to her, his eyes scanning her trembling figure head to toe, "How many more?" He asked quietly.

Her body jolted in a violent flinch at his voice and Bakugou's heart nearly stopped when it looked like she was about to collapse from surprise.

"W-when-"

"Does it matter?" He growled in annoyance, "How many more?"

"T-Thirty-seven…"

He sighed.

If it had been some stupidly big number, Bakugou had resolved to stop her. Blow the fucken Kei truck away if he had to but… Thirty-seven reps. He had no idea how many she'd already done, but he knew she could do it. He knew, even if it was just another delusion, Bakugou truly believed she could do thirty-seven more.

"Then do it."

"It's not that fucking simple!" She yelled, eyes locked to the ground in front of her, "I'll drop it if I move! Even if I could… I can't even feel my fucking legs! What would you know, anyway!?"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed at the comment. Fine, if she wanted to be a bitch about it…

"I haven't really had many friends… But I know they don't hold you back. They call you out on your bullshit, pick you up when you're having a tantrum and they've got you covered when you're cornered. At least, those are the kind of friends I want."

He didn't know why, but those words of hers stormed his brain like a damn riot, and fuck it bothered him.

"Tch, if that's how you wanna be, then fine." He glared at her and one foot moved in front of the other. He ducked down low and landed on his ass a meter in front of the girl.

"W-What the hell… What are you doing! Move out of the way, y-you retard!" She yelled, brows pinched together in a frown.

"Cry, bitch, and scream all you fucking want." He stared her in the eye and dared the girl to look away. He knew she wouldn't, he knew her attention always comes back to him somehow, fuck it if it was manipulation or whatever cause she needed this. "When you're done, stand back up. Even if every muscle in your body is torn to shreds, don't you fucking give up until your bones shatter."

The tears from her magenta eyes fell faster and the whole damn truck hovering above his head shook with her body. He sat there for a short while, just watching her close her eyes and quietly fall apart until she pulled in a deep breath and opened those bright eyes again.

Her legs quivered under the strain and her face contorted into pure agony. He hated seeing it, and he hated how proud he felt when her legs fully straightened out.

"Thirty-six more."

She went down again and Bakugou almost had a damn heart attack when she faltered, dropping a quick few centimeters too close to his head than he was comfortable with. He watched her frown deepen in pain and pure determination, eyes staring at the ground at where his legs were crossed.

"Keep your eye's on me and don't you dare drop this piece of shit on us." Her attention immediately snapped back to him. He watched with narrowed eyes, "Get back up."

Bakugou felt amused at the quietly mumbled insults that strung from her mouth before she cut herself off and pushed up again.

"Thirty-five." Bakugou watched her quiver with a sigh. His eyes lingered over the dents her hands had caused on the vehicle, "Don't stop this time. Don't give yourself time to think or feel, just focus on what you need to do."

"R-Right."