("Underlined text" is supposed to be read as Sign Language. "Italicized text" is used only for Misaki's Dad's quirk. "Bold Text" is used for messages Misaki types out.)

Chapter Twelve

Heavy


He couldn't stop to breathe.

Bakugou didn't want to be alone with his thoughts and when he didn't want that, he would spend a lot of time just pushing himself in walking or some kind of focused activity that would make him have to think about something else. It was one thing that his pride and sense of victory had been spat on by the universe, it was another that he had been reminded of things he would rather keep inside his head. He didn't have the time nor the patience to unpack that information again, he had to focus on the finals.

He was going to be facing off against Todoroki.

Bakugou was on his way to get prepared for his fight with Todoroki, as a matter of fact. There was a lot of eating at the back of his head today, but that didn't mean that he could escape his own head just by pushing it. The more that he paced and the more that he pushed himself to get around was just enough to get him away from it but not quite enough to make it go away. He didn't have much energy for this, but he was going to go out there, defeat that dumbass half-and-half, and take care of business to become the number one.

He would be champion and his win would be real.

He wouldn't have to waste his time thinking about how those extras couldn't even let him win properly. He would not think about what that plum was trying to prove.

Bakugou had stopped in the hallway, lost in his thoughts, only to be surprised by somebody calling out to him from inside a room.

"You there, young man. You're the boy that fought my dear Misaki. Feeling remorseful?" He found an elderly woman sitting at Misaki's bedside. Of course, of course, this was where that plum wound up. Figures she would have a waiting party to nurse her wounds. He nearly kept walking but she just had to speak to him like that. That plum had fought till she was knocked stupid, that was her fault, not his.

Her greyish hair was tucked back into a long bun, she wore a yellow cardigan and a long black skirt.

She didn't look it, but this woman had once been a hero before All Might was even a hero himself. Her quirk was very similar to Misaki's, if not identical to her own powers in many ways. He hadn't really looked into her, but he knew that if All Might knew who she was, then she had have been something. Well, was something.

He didn't see anything that impressed him.

Probably had grown soft as hell in her retirement. Typical. Now she was going to try and give him a lecture about the rights and wrongs of battle, wasn't she?

Well, he sure as hell had a lot better things to do than worry about whatever the fuck she was going to scold him about. "No," his jaw was tight. "She was the one that decided to be stupid enough to overuse his quirk. She should be the one who feels bad about her choices."

The old woman smiled, for some reason. She didn't seem bothered by his crass language or by the tone he used to speak about her granddaughter. She merely nodded her head and threw the girl under the bus just as quickly as he had done. "Ah, yes. I do suppose that's one way to interpret the situation. She knew better than to use her quirk on you like that, we've been practicing her control over more than just herself and she knew she wasn't ready for it. I knew it. I do agree with you, child. She's getting a very stern talking to for pushing herself in a way she wasn't ready for."

Her attention turned back onto Misaki. She was still knocked out pretty stupid, which was no surprise, she had been paying for using her power in a way that she couldn't handle. It was no surprise. She seemed about as smart as Deku when it came to using their power for whatever means that they could. It was written all over her face before she lost consciousness.

She sighed, "I warned her that using her power on others wasn't something that should be used lightly. I suppose it left you feeling rather rattled after its effects took its toll on you. I had a feeling something was amiss when she stayed under for too long."

Oh. So that damn quirk of hers did affect other people when she pulled them under, not only did it knock her down in two seconds after releasing her damn quirk, whoever was with her at the time had to deal with the effects too. No wonder he had been so fucked up, it hadn't been him at all, it was what her power had been doing to him.

It hadn't been what he thought it was. Turns out, it hadn't been his own actions that had caused him to get distracted, it was just a mistake of that girl. It took a weight off of his shoulders that he hadn't realized that he had been holding in, and he shook his head. Bakugou's tense shoulders lessened just a bit, he would never admit that anything scared him, or left him feeling rattled.

Not out loud, not to one damn person, not ever.

However, that dumb quirk made him think that his timelimit was significantly shortened. He had really thought that things had accelerated so quickly that his body was going to give out this soon. It was a grim reminder that he did not want. It could steadily happen at any time, and today... today had been a very close call. Bakugou thought that he had more time to worry about "that" happening, and he sure as well wasn't about to have it happen in school. It didn't matter that his damn parents had made him already go through extra studies, extra appointments, or anything else. Bakugou didn't want to deal with "that".

That wasn't something that would happen to someone who was going to be the next number, one hero.

But this damn girl... this stupid fucking plum... She just wouldn't disappear into the background, no matter how hard he tried to ignore her. It was just like "that."

It was just this stupid girl that had caused that mess. "Old hag, wait a minute. You mean to tell me that damn quirk of hers overloads on her and whoever she's using it on? The reason everything got so screwy was because of her quirk's shortcomings?"

"Yes? That's it more or less," she nodded her head.

"Well, that explains a damn lot. It cut off all nearly all of my senses. I couldn't hear a damn thing until I made sound myself with my quirk, it was like... it was like..." Bakugou trailed, and immediately cut himself off. It wasn't any of her damn business.

He wasn't going to talk about that.

Not now.

Not ever.

The woman's eyes wrinkled knowingly. "If a tree falls and nobody is around to hear it, did it even make a sound, young man? The void between space and time exists without sound. Beyond our Earth and into the galaxy, the sound does not travel. The same theory applies to space between time, where she brought you, today. This quirk, unfortunately, rips away the sense of sound from the world, skewing the equilibrium and the inner ear to a point where you have no control of your body in a way you normally would."

"It's why my shortcomings as a hero never got much further than where they did. My hearing is perfect compared to Misaki, so, my limitations are higher than hers are. When you don't have a percentage of hearing, you will struggle with numerous complications, and because my sweet Misaki has dealt with this all of her life, she's learned how to stomach the pain far longer than any of us. While many think and believe that a deaf person wouldn't have an advantage in battle, she does. However, she's still learning how to control it and it's dangerous when you prepared for it."

Bakugou could agree with one thing: "She sure as hell doesn't know when to quit when it's good for her."

It had been evident since the two of them had first interacted. She rushed in to save someone who didn't ask for it, and then she did it once again back in the U.S.J., and every time, she did it without blinking. He made it abundantly clear to her, as much as he could, to stop doing that shit. Plum only rolled her eyes at him and typed just as fast as he could yell out the words, telling him to stop being such a prissy bastard. He gave her credit for one thing, she might have been morally stupid, but at least she had the bite to back up her bark.

She could defend her argument.

It didn't make him want to deal with her anymore, though.

Hisakawa Misaki had been causing him a lot of trouble. She was this vision of everything that... no, no. He wasn't going to waste his time thinking about that, his eyes flickered in the direction of the girl. She was banged up, but nothing serious. A few scrapes and bruises but nothing that was going to put a dent into things. It was just the overuse of her quirk that kept her here.

"Bakugou Katsuki, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"If I'm not mistaken, she's mentioned you quite a lot, although not by name, at least until today. I've never seen her so quite riled up about somebody before, so you've made a real impression on her. You know a lot of people treat Misaki like she's delicate, and she'll break if they push too hard. But you gave her a real fight out there. It's a shame it couldn't reach completion the way it might have if her quirk hadn't taken her down, but I appreciate how serious you took it. She would have been upset if you held back."

Bakugou scowled. "It's an insult if you don't give it everything. What's the damn point of winning if you don't prove that you're better than someone else entirely if they don't put up a decent fight? That's not even winning, then. She's no different from the rest of them. She wanted to fight and she lost just like the rest of them, not because of that but because she couldn't match up."

He didn't want people to do that to him.

He wouldn't do that shit to anyone, either.

"To be young and rivals... oh, those are the days," The old woman laughed, it was one of those knowing laughs that seemed like she knew something that nobody else did. "I can remember those times. Well, young man, you've got a lot of those to look out for now. After all, I've seen the fire in every single one of your classmates. I can't wait to see where your class winds up in the future. Although, you still have a lot to learn before you get to that point."

He didn't care about that.

What Bakugou did care about was what she said next, and what she was trying to imply.

"I have a feeling about you, especially after seeing your fight today, you have a spirit that reminds me so much of someone I used to know. It was your reaction today that lead me to this conclusion. I can sense you're hiding something, young man. It would do you well to face that truth before the secret swallows you whole. The man stubbornly ignored his truth and couldn't fix it once it was out of his control. I see it written all over your face, you and my dear Misa are more alike in ways that you haven't yet accepted. The day that you accept it, is the day that you become far more powerful then you've ever been."

What did she know?

What the hell was she trying to say to him? There hadn't been any indication of that. No way in his was he going to stand here and play twenty questions with someone who acted as if they knew him! Suddenly, and very quickly, he spun on his heels and began to head out of that room far away from this woman. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. You don't know what you're saying. Mind your own business, old hag."

The eyes on his back were knowing, far too knowing of something that should have been left unspoken.

He wouldn't deal with this.

"Fair enough. Good luck out there, Mister Bakugou. I hope you fair well against your opponent. I would hope someone strong enough to knock Misaki off her block would be great enough to win the entire tournament. I doubt she would let you live it down if you didn't."


A whole lot of ridiculous feelings did him no good.

Whether it was that stupid plum, or otherwise. Bakugou didn't have the time nor was he going to stop and let it invade his thoughts. He had done what he could on his end, it wasn't his fault that nobody else could keep up with him.

After laying it on heavy with Todoroki, making it abundantly clear that he has no patience for whatever emotional bullshit he's dealing with and that he was going to wreck his shit no matter what quirk he used, he headed straight for the field. Bakugou was going to beat him and get to the top. He had destroyed everyone else that had gotten in his way and it was going to be no different than it had already been. Todoroki was going down, and that number one spot was going to be his.

I'm going to crush him. He thought, gleefully, the wicked grin on his evident when Todoroki appeared on the other side. Thoughts of any other thing had been shoved to the back of Bakugou's mind, as he clenched his fists and waited for Midnight to give them the go-ahead. The instance that she did, Todoroki made the first move—

His ice encapsulated the field in an instant.

Everything was covered and Bakugou wasn't having that. The moment his ice started to make trouble, Bakugou held up his fists and activated his quirk to burn through the stuff until he came out on the other side and glared at Todoroki. He knew, he knew that a quirk like that and his control over it meant that his accuracy rate must have been shit. He could cover everything but when it came to hitting the targets and being direct, he wasn't shit. Todoroki lifted his right arm and sent another wave of ice towards him.

Bakugou easily propelled himself up and forward off of the ground with an explosion, taking the bi-colored guy off guard, and yanking him by his shirt, chucking him across the field. "You... looking down on me, you fuckin' moron?!"

Todoroki was sent backgrounds towards the boundary line, but at the last second, he managed to make a wall of ice to stop him from being sent out that quickly. Bakugou gave him no time to think or react, he came running for him yet again, but this time, when he went to whip his attack, and Bakugou thought that he had him, Todoroki reached out and grasped his wrist, it was a diversion tactic.

His eyes widened and Todoroki should have taken a chance to use his fire quirk. But, he hesitated, and when he went to use an attack, he used his ice instead, and Bakugou broke free from his grip. He gritted his teeth and glared at him, offended. Why the fuck didn't he taken his chance when he had it? Did he think that fucking little of him?

"So... I ain't good enough for that shit, huh?"

How dare this bastard act like he's not worthy of punches? If fucking Deku of all people got to face off against him with his full power, then he should have been more than willing to fucking throw hands with him. At least those fucking extras fought him until their bodies gave up. It was like this guy wasn't even fucking trying to win.

If he wouldn't go full-force, then this was a waste of his fucking time. They were here to prove that they could be the best goddamn heroes, worthy of stealing the mantle from heroes that were already out there in the field. They weren't here to play around and pretend this was all fun and games, no, this was the big league.

Bakugou seemed to be the only one taking this shit seriously.

"You'll regret making a fool of me," Bakugou stomped his foot against the ground and activated his quirk, clenching his fists tightly at his sides. He was tired of people cutting their losses against him by not giving it their all, or just coping out before they could give him a worthy battle. "I'll freaking kill you! I'm the first to end all firsts! There's no point in winning against some half-assed punk! No point if I can't do it better than Deku! If you aren't trying to win here, get the hell out of my face!"

He was going to destroy him if he didn't put up a good fight. "Why are you even here, you bastard?!"

Todoroki stood there as if he was searching through his thoughts for answers that he couldn't find. As he struggled to find his answer, Bakugou grew tired, and he launched himself at Todoroki in a whirling bomb of heat directed straight at him. Using his quirk to turn into a bomb was nothing for him and if he didn't move, he was screwed and out of the game.

He knew that.

He knew that he needed to do something.

What was he going to do in the moment of truth?

"Don't lose, come on!" cried the voice of Midoriya from the audience.

Bakugou heard that, and as much as he didn't want to agree, he had a damn point. That's right. The damn nerd is right. If you're going to fight me... fight to win! Come at me, right everything that you've got!

Todoroki seemed to find those answers that he was looking for, as his entire body erupted into flames, as far as Bakugou could tell. it seemed like he had finally got his ass into gear once and for all. Finally! Finally, he was going to pull in the effort! That wicked smirk returned to his face and Bakugou took the chance to unleash the full force of his impact. A swirling fire-bomb reached the burning peak, covering the field in ash and soot as the crowds stared in awe at his power level, as the two boys made contact with each other.

Bakugou was knocked back onto the ground from the force of it. He pressed his palms into the ground and started to push himself up to see if he could locate where that bastard had wound up, as his eyes darted around the field and the smoke began to clear away, his body stiffened, and he found himself staring at the unconscious body of Todoroki Shouto outside of the ring, knocked back into a wall of ice that he seemed to activate at the last second. He hadn't used his damn fire at all, its fuse had blown out and he failed.

"...Hey! Hey!"

He scrambled to his feet and broke out into a run over to Todoroki.

Bakugou grabbed the collar of his shirt and began to shake him, but the idiot wouldn't wake up. He wouldn't get up for anything, he hadn't even tried, he had given up at the last second, this bastard had gone and refused to face him the right way, he couldn't fucking believe this. First, it was that fucking plum and now this half and half bastard had given up on him!

No...

No...

No...

No! This can't be happening! This isn't the way that he was meant to win!

"Stop messing around!" Bakugou demanded. The frantic feeling in his gut was far too much for him. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. This isn't how his victory was supposed to be. "Not like this! It won't- It can't fucking be like this! Wake your damn ass up, this isn't over, Todoroki! It can't... be... like this..."

His body went slack and he fell to the ground as Midnight appeared behind him. Her quirk had taken care of him before he had caused any more trouble, she glanced between the two of them, and sighed. "Todoroki is out of bounds... so, Bakugou is the winner! And that concludes our contest, the first-year winner of the U.A.'s sports festival is... Bakugou Katsuki of Class 1A!"


Misaki woke up sometime after the games had ended. She sprang upright in the bed only to be smacked by her Grandma for rushing to make a move. She patted the back of her head and pouted at the old woman. She knew that Atsuko was going to be there at the games, she just hadn't realized that when she got knocked out that she would wake up to her staring at her like that. All she could offer was an apologetic smile. She knew that she had pushed her luck but there was no amount of apologies that could make up for that.

She had promised that she wouldn't push her luck.

Well, Bakugou had just pushed her to fight even harder, and every time he gave her that cocky look with his red irises, she just wanted to wipe the floor with his stupid smug smile. He was the only person that had ever made her feel that way, and despite the fact that she knew better than to fall into a trap like that, she just couldn't help herself.

It was going to be a bad habit of hers, wasn't it?

She rubbed her eyes free of the blurriness that was leftover from her slumber. She wasn't sure how long she had been out, just that it was still bright outside and she hadn't slept the rest of the afternoon. There was a dull ache all over that just wouldn't go away, and she knew that to be the effect of Recovery Girl's quirk. She could advance the healing process by a long shot, but you would want to sleep forever if you overdid it.

She didn't have any broken bones or anything, but she did have a splitting headache that wouldn't quit.

That's what she got for taking things seriously with Mari and Bakugou. Her heart tinged at the thought of the former mention. She was going to have to have a long talk with Mei and Mari, but she was glad to know that things could get better again. It was just going to be a matter of working at it and making up for their mistakes. They all had messed up, but they could get better at it.

That's what friendship was. When you had a problem... you try to work at it. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was a good friendship, it took a lot of work and a lot of heart to get a good one.

Nobody's perfect, after all.

That was when she noticed her Grandma's attention had left from her side and trailed to the doorway. Misaki followed her gaze and noticed who was standing there. She was surprised to see that it was Todoroki Shouto of all people. His posture indicated that he was a little nervous, and for that, she wasn't sure why he was. She hadn't seen him or talked to him since they had spoken earlier in the morning, and he told her to her face that they weren't friends... that they hadn't been real friends this entire time.

She hadn't given up on him. No, Misaki didn't give up on people, no matter what they did. She was just pained that he didn't want to trust her with his pain, that he felt like he had to go through it alone. It was a lot like Mari... there was a lot that she didn't know, but she knew that she would be there when they wanted to talk about it.

That's the kind of friend that she was, and would always be: The person that neve abandoned someone no matter how hard things got.

Everyone deserved to have someone in their field that wouldn't judge them, only lift them up when they needed a hand to keep going. It was what she would want from her own friends if she needed someone to hold onto. It wasn't the fact that you could tell them anything, it was the idea that you could come to someone and not have to talk about what was bothering you at first, just get the comfort that you needed at that moment and then handle the situation when you felt ready for it.

Misaki then made eye contact with her Grandma, who nodded knowingly and left the room for the two of them to talk. Todoroki sat down at her side and didn't say anything at first. He waited for her to make that first move.

She grabbed her phone from her jacket and began to type out a casual message: I have a feeling that you and Bakugou made it to the end. Well, no, it had to be the two of you. You're both some of the strongest contenders out there. It must have been a really long match if it's this late in the day already. Who won?

There was something in his eyes that looked as though ashamed of something that had transpired. Be it what it had happened out there during the fight or something before it. Todoroki only could come up with: Bakugou.

Misaki cracked a weak smile. She only shook her head in mirth. She hadn't been sure who of them would win if they got into a fight, so, she wasn't sure how to feel knowing that he had lost. She only hoped that it had been a good fight. That he had fought with everything that he had in him: I guess he just couldn't live without proving his point to me. He was going to win whether I liked it or not. Ugh. Still, you did what you could out there, it was a good attempt. Thanks for trying to defend my honor out there.

Todoroki stared.

She smiled, sheepishly: That was a joke, sorry.

She felt his fingers brush against her own, briefly, just briefly, and Misaki turned back to look at him with her undivided attention. They were both quiet, it was like the moments they have spent in each other's company during school. There was no kind of rush or direction when they were together; They could just exist without worrying about someone judging them.

Still, there was a lot that they needed to address.

Todoroki was the one to come outright and say it this time. He hesitated, in that quiet, aloof way that only he knew best. It was curt and it was simple as could be: You were right.

Misaki did a double-take. She glanced between him and those words for a moment. She wasn't sure what he meant by that. Her raised eyebrow was enough for him to try and craft something that made more sense.

He sighed: About what you told me all those times before... that I should use my quirk. You said it yourself that you wanted to go against me with my full power out there, and I get it now. Y I can't limit myself if I want to be a hero. You don't know it but... for a long time, I didn't consider this power my own. I realized during my match with Midoriya that you were right, that he was right about it. My power is mine, not anyone else's

It wasn't his Dad's.

It was his.

Just in the way that her quirk belonged to her and that it didn't belong to her Grandma. Sure, it was similar, but that didn't mean that the power they held was the same.

For Misaki to hear that he had finally figured that out meant a lot. It seemed as though that Midoriya had been the one to break through to him where she had failed. For that, she was happy. It hurt her to think that people were suffering in ways that she couldn't imagine, so knowing that things were on track to be better was good. He was going to a hero, and to be one, he needed to use his power to the full extent.

Listening to Bakugou was a good idea in that regard. She agreed with the sentiment. He may not have had a soft way to say it, but he made a great point in that using your power as strong as you could be was the way to be your best. Finding your limitations and overcoming them to get better, and to be ready for whatever was ahead.

She nodded her head. She was going to have to learn what had happened between the both of them the minute that she got home and could review the fight bit by bit. Something had happened out there, she was sure of it. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to make him tell her. She merely smiled: I'm glad to see you say that, Todoroki.

His vision turned in the direction of the window. Out towards the field where the fights had taken place earlier in the day. He was at his wit's end, the day had been fairly long and hard for him. It was written all over his worn expression. But... It's going to take me a while to accept that. I realize. I'm just not going to let myself be held back by my problem anymore. That's... why I had to come and see you, Misaki. Well, it's part of it. I never wanted to get involved with other people or let them get mixed up in my mess. I just preferred to be alone. It's easier for me that way. I never stopped to think that anyone would try to get involved with me, either.

Todoroki paused.

It was obvious that he had never really had friends before. She knew that. It just seemed strange that he had gone so long without anyone trying before, sure, it was possible that people had tried to speak to him, but how much he left them into his life... had to be slim to none. He always didn't know what to say when things weren't about class or hero training. He just... sort of... floated through it.

Misaki stood by her thought that nobody deserved to go through things on their own, not even the people that thought they needed to be one their own. It was just a matter of accepting it first. Hell, even Bakugou was going to have to face the fact eventually that he couldn't do everything alone. It just wasn't possible; It was the very nature of hero work to be able to get involved with others, no matter the situation or cost.

It was just hard to reach out to people when you never did it before. It was obvious that he was trying but he just didn't know how to deal with it or how to work through it.

He sighed and then continued: I was just so angry and riled up about everything. I never thought I could have a friend or even people that really cared about me aside from... well, maybe my Mom or sister. So... it was easier for me to try and push you away then it was for me to acknowledge your... kindness. What I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry about today. I just don't know how to be friends with someone.

Misaki couldn't help but laugh. It was just her way of processing those feelings. He didn't exactly understand why she did that, but he merely stared and waited for her to say something.

She shook her head, and then rested her hand against his shoulder to reassure him of this issue: I always considered us friends. I didn't exactly accept what you said this morning because I knew something was wrong. I never give up on my friends, even if they have a bad day and try to push me away first. I'm always here no matter what. Don't beat yourself up over it, I haven't exactly been a good friend lately, either. I sort of messed up with my friend Mari, but I think it's going alright with her now that we've acknowledged that things need work. The thing about it is... you can always learn how to better a better friend.

That was what he wanted to try.

It was clear now.

Todoroki slowly understood that. He nodded his head in agreement with those words and mulled it over before he asked her the question that had been on his mind: Can we... no, can I be your friend this time? I know I have a lot to learn about this. I know you put a lot of work into trying before now, but I want to do better now. I'll understand if you say no.

Misaki smiled before she typed out her reply: I'd like that.

If only it was this easy to talk to Bakugou about things.