A/N: It has been way too long since I have written this story, but I hope revisiting this will get me back into writing it more often. I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 33: White Flag
His shoulders are tight as he walks in front of her with stiff robotic movements. Her eyes are fixated on the muscles of his back that peak through his black tank top. He seems angry, but then again Bakugo always seems angry. She thought she could read him fairly well, but since their kiss and these feelings… he's been more difficult for her to decipher.
He leads her to the Training Ground Alpha, where they practice using their Quirks in a simulated decrepit cityscape. Torn down buildings and structures litter the streets around them as they walk the empty streets.
Her eyes idly search the faux city because she's not sure what else to do. Bakugo told her that he wanted to speak with her, but he has yet to say a word to her. She wonders when he will speak since she's far too timid to say anything to him.
Is he angry that she wasn't part of the rescue attempts? Is he disappointed that she wasn't there during the fight will All Might and All For One? Is he—
Before she can think any more, she bumps into his hard body as he suddenly stops his stride in the middle of the street.
Katori looks around, trying to see if there is anything that causes him to stop, but she sees nothing. He's just standing there with stiff shoulders and hands dug deeply in his pockets.
She swallows down the clump of saliva that builds in her mouth, separating her lips to speak when he speaks first.
"It was you, wasn't it," his voice is rough, tearing at his throat and making him sound more gruff than usual.
"Huh?" is all she can release from her tightening esophagus.
Bakugo sighs heavily and tightens his fists in his pockets before turning towards her. He looks at the dumbfounded look on her face and it just infuriates him.
"Don't play dumb, it was you," he growls.
Her brows knit together in confusion. "Bakugo, I—"
"You called him!" his voice rises over hers. "You called your dad and you warned him that the heroes were coming!"
Her eyes widen at his words and she instinctually takes a step away from him. Her palms lift up to him as her heart races wildly. "I don't know what you're—"
"Don't lie to me!" He barks over her excuses. "You were supposed to be a hero!" Her lips begin quaking as her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. Her pupils tremble in their sockets as she looks onto the ever-growing infuriated boy.
"I know," he says simply to her and those two words have her trembling alone.
She begins crying as tears fall down her cheeks. She releases a sob as her hands reach her eyes to wipe away the wayward tears with the back of her hand.
"Bakugo, I'm sorry!" she cries. "I never meant for things to get like this! My dad… he—"
"You're a villain!" he interrupts her with another bark as he pulls his hands from his pant pockets. His fingers are curled into tight fists as his Quirk begins quietly erupting in his palms.
"No!" Katori shouts with a cry in her tone. "I'm not! Well, not anym—"
The look in Bakugo's red eyes causes Katori to stop in her tracks. She can see the rage building in his stare and it makes her heart race with wild fear.
"Bakugo, I can explain!"
"I don't want your explanations," he tells her as he extends his hand out to her as a white light begins to emerge from his palm.
"What are you doing?" Katori whines as lifts her hands up in surrender and takes a step away from him.
"Fight me," he growls at her with small eruptions bursting from his palm.
"Wha—?" before she can finish her thought, Katori is struck with a blow to the face. She staggers back as Bakugo charges at her, giving her no second to recover as he hits her with another explosion. "Bakugo!" she tries to beseech him, but he continues to step towards her, pulling his arm back for another attack. "Stop! Please!" she cries as she lifts her hands up to defend herself from his attack.
"Why would I?" he snaps at her as another explosion rocks the ground near them.
Katori can plainly see that Bakugo is not willing to speak through this, and her only option is to defend herself. She lifts her eyes to his, catching his red death stare and copying his Quirk. She feels the familiar explosive current flow through her as she prepares for a battle against him.
He steps towards her, swinging his arm for an explosive uppercut, but she dodges it with a step to the left and lifts her arm to hit him in the right side of his face. She misses her shot, however, when he see her coming and ducks out of the way while simultaneously bringing his left arm up to hit her in the stomach with a blast that sends her flying but not before she blasts him in the back of the neck.
Bakugo and Katori are the worst matchup for one another. Because Bakugo has used Katori in many training matches together, they know how each of them fights. Neither of them is able to get an effective blow on the other without putting themselves at risk. They know what the next move will be and they can anticipate each hit with precision. Like a dance they've recited a million times, the two of them are in step with one another.
Katori can hear the angered growls of Bakugo as he grows frustrated with every hit that doesn't stick. Her eyes are burning and she's trying to keep up with him, while also keeping herself from doing any damage to him. Even though Bakugo is not showing the same restraint with her, the last think Katori wants is to hurt him.
"I'm sorry!" she yells out between labored breaths. "Just let me explain!"
"I said I don't want your explanations!" He growls as he releases a war cry with an intense explosion targeted at her. Katori's black hair flies waywardly with the dust kicked up by Bakugo's hit. "You were supposed to be a hero!" he grunts as he attempts another attack that she dodges. "We were supposed to fight together!" he barks out in frustration. "And now I'm ever gonna get to be Number One if I don't get to destroy someone like you!" he says with a frustration building between his brows.
Katori knows that beating her to get to the number one spot is not the true reason that Bakugo is angry with her. He won't admit it outwardly to her, but he trusted her—they were friends and she deceived them. He can feel the sting of her betrayal weighing him down and all he can think about doing is fighting her.
"I'm gonna kill you!" he declares with another irritated war cry as he reaches for her. She steps away from him and his fingers grip the air where she just was.
"He's my dad, Bakugo!" she tries to explain.
"I don't care!" he snaps back at her.
"I told him I couldn't do this anymore! I told him—"
"Shut up!" Bakugo screams as he lands a blow on her face, making her close her eyes and fall back onto her butt.
"Stop!" Katori cries out, closing her eyes as she winces away from him with an outreached hand.
He doesn't stop, and he makes a move to knock her out when he's blasted back with her outreached hand. Katori opens her eyes with an incredulous look on her face. Her mouth is left agape and her eyes are widened as she looks at her shaking hand for an explanation.
Bakugo lifts himself from the ground with narrowing eyes as he wipes the blood from his lip. "Your Quirk," he begins with labored breaths. "You can't use it with your eyes closed," he shakes his head while Katori trembles at what's just transpired. "You lied!" he snaps at her with burning eyes.
"No!" Katori cries out to him with tear billowing from her lashes. "I don't know what's happening!" she whines as she looks onto her palms as small explosions crackle from her hand even when she makes a point to close her eyes.
"You're a liar!" she snaps at her, clenching his fists as he charges at her.
He tackles himself onto her, forcing her back to the ground with a loud thud. He lifts himself on top of her, preparing himself to punch her with his Quirk. Katori shuts her eyes and turns her head away from him because she can't see the look of betrayal stinging his red teary eyes.
"What the hell!" Bakugo growls on top of her and after a moment of not feeling his attack, she turns her face and opens her eyes to look at him. His hand is facing his face as he looks at it with an angered curiosity. "The hell you do with my Quirk!" he snaps at her. "Why isn't my Quirk working?" he questions as he tries with all his might to push out an explosion but nothing comes out.
"I… I don't know," Katori tells him with a whimper in her tone as she looks at him with upturned brows. "It wasn't me!"
"It was me." The familiar voice cuts through the tension between the two fighting children as they both go rigid at his voice.
Bakugo turns to the voice first, but Katori closes her eyes, wishing the sound of his voice was a hallucination. Tears push through her lashes, falling down her temples and settle into her hairline. She finally turns her head towards the voice, opening her eyes and looks onto his narrowing eyes.
"Bakugo, step away from Katori," Mr. Aizawa says with a stern tone in his voice.
The blonde's chest lifts with a heavy intake of breath. He looks down at Katori with a sneer building in the bridge of his nose. "Tell him," he commands her with a steady voice. He watches the subtle shake of her head when he snaps at her. "Tell him!" he barks back at her.
"Bakugo!" Aizawa warns him as he places his hand on his scarf and preparing to get the kid off of her himself.
Bakugo complies with his demand and lifts himself carefully off of the crying black-haired girl. He looks down at her with a disgusted look on his face as he turns his gaze away from her. He can't look at her anymore because it hurts too much to see her crying and sad after everything they've been through.
Mr. Aizawa steps towards the girl, placing his hand carefully on her bicep and helping her up into a seated position. "Are you alright?" he questions the young girl.
She sniffs away her sob and before she can answer him, the blonde standing next to them speaks up. "Tell him, or I will," he threatens her with arms crossed over his broad chest.
Katori drops her head from Bakugo's threatening stare and looks down at her hands. She's still in shock from using her Quirk while her eyes were closed and her mind is reeling from everything that's crumbled before her eyes. Everything that she built—the fantasy that she was living has officially crashed and burned. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen; she knew that it was only a matter of time for everyone to find out about her true intentions, so why does it hurt so much?
"I'm sorry…" Katori's voice barely whispers as Mr. Aizawa holds her arms comfortingly. "I'm sorry," she repeats as she's unsure what to say or think. She looks up at her uncle's eyes, her own completely obscured with tears. "I can't do this anymore! I don't want to!" she cries as a sob begins building in her throat. "Mr. Aizawa," she looks at him as tears fall freely down her burning cheeks. "I've been working with my dad," she whines that a child as her throat tightens against the words. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I…I…I…" she can't get any more words out as she begins choking on her sobs.
Her back is shaking with cries and she feels herself hyperventilating. She can't breathe and she feels like she is dying as she struggles to find her breath.
But everything freezes when Aizawa wraps his arms around her, crushing her into a tight hug against his chest. Her breath catches in her throat and she's no longer struggling to breathe. Her eyes widen as she's frozen in his grasp. "I know," Aizawa tells her as he brushes her hair comfortingly. "I've always known."
A/N: Originally I was going to have Bakugo keep her secret on the condition that she be the one to tell Aizawa, but I didn't think that was really in character for him. I feel like he's so set on being a hero that he will do anything to achieve that, which includes bottling and setting aside his feelings for Katori in order to do the right thing.
I hope you all enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!
