The air was still, darkness filled the room around him. He laid there in bed, trying to calm his nerves enough to fall asleep but he couldn't. Bakugo was riled up. Riled up about the events which had unfolded during the fitness exam. Where Minamoto had beat him. She had beat him in front of the entire class by a stupid technicality and he wanted revenge. He wanted to bury her in the dirt and reclaim his spot as number one. He could still see her in his mind, amber eyes looking into his own, a taunting smirk resting on her vermillion lips.

Bakugo was furious when he realized his defeat. He immediately challenged her to a rematch but Mr. Aizawa refused him, stating once again that it was not a race. The entire class was shocked. Class 3A hardly said a word to Bakugo for the rest of the day, afraid they would set off his delicate fuse. Even Kirishima avoided Bakugo up until the end of the night. He had sent Bakugo a text, simply asking if he was okay. Bakugo erased the text upon receiving it.

He didn't need sympathy. He didn't need people to feel sorry for him. It made him feel weak. It made him feel helpless. Like all of his training and hard work was getting shoved in his face. He was going to be number one no matter what. Failure, for Bakugo, was not an option.

He stirred in his bed, glancing over at the clock which read 1:17am. "Goddammit." He muttered under his breath before getting up. He was filled with rage, with energy, and he had to release it. Rather than lay in his own self-hatred, Bakugo decided he might as well use this time and train. He got up, put on some workout attire and headed for the dorm's gym. He walked with caution, careful to not wake anyone up. The last thing he wanted right now was to bring attention to himself. He wanted to be alone.

The dorm's gym was located on the first floor, down the hall from the main kitchen and showers. Bakugo walked down the hall, finally reaching the gym. He firmly gripped the door's handle and pushed it open. To his surprise, the lights were on. Maybe someone forgot to turn them off? No, they were motion censored and automatically shut off after a certain amount of time. This had to mean one thing, someone was still in there.

As Bakugo entered the gym he could hear the sound of a treadmill and some heavy breathing. He looked around. "Who the hell is up this late?" He thought to himself, feeling annoyed that he was going to have to share the gym in his current emotional state. For a split second, he considered going back upstairs but quickly shrugged it off. Bakugo's eyes shifted and he finally found the person who, apparently, also couldn't sleep.

White hair, caramel skin, amber eyes, and the faint scent of Jasmine. It had to be Minamoto. Bakugo almost exploded by just looking at her. Of all the people in UA, she had to be here. She wore yoga pants and a sports bra with her hair pulled up again. He could see her ankle, tightly wrapped in bandages. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He thought angrily to himself. Luckily, she hadn't noticed him as she was wearing headphones. Rather than retreat, Bakugo decided to stay. He wasn't about to let her win again, if anyone was going to leave it would be her.

Bakugo set himself up on his first station without saying a word. He chose deadlifts. He purposefully chose this. Not only were they located right behind the treadmills but he also wanted to make his presence known. The bar was already set up with sixty-five-pound weights on each side. He slipped gloves onto his hands and firmly gripped the bar, lifting it up with ease and dropping it loudly onto the ground.

The 175-pound bar landed with a thunder, practically shaking the ground around it. Bakugo watched as Minamoto, who was currently experiencing a runner's high, practically jumped out of her skin. She let out a shriek and quickly turned to see Bakugo standing there, wearing a smug look. A moment of silence fell upon them. Bakugo stood tall, staring into her eyes with fire, asserting his dominance.

Minamoto quickly composed herself, taking a headphone out of her ear. "Jesus, Bakugo! You scared the hell out of me!" She shouted as she stopped the treadmill and hopped off. Bakugo ignored her, lifting the bar and purposefully allowing it to drop once more, this time louder than the last. He didn't care if she was new, he didn't care if she was cute. He wanted to be alone and he was going to make her leave.

The booming sound of the weights aggressively filled Minamoto's ears. She could see the smug look on his face but ignored it. "Hello? Do you have to do that so loudly? You know people are trying to sleep upstairs." She said with an attitude, feeling irritated at his cocky composure. "Like I give a damn! Don't like it? Then leave." Bakugo hissed at her, lifting the bar once more before dropping it again.

Minamoto had enough of Bakugo's attitude. He had been rude to her ever since their fitness exam. He shouted at the slightest sound of her voice, ignored her in class, and insulted her at every chance he got. A few of their classmates tried to intervene, stating that Bakugo shouldn't be so mean to the new girl but he would only snap at them too. Even Kirishima admitted that Bakugo was being way too hard on her. Being the new girl Minamoto had kept her composure, not wanting to cause any trouble, but enough was enough.

Just as Bakugo bent over to lift the bar once more Minamoto placed her foot on top, stopping him with her weight. Hands on her hips, she looked down at him, anger in her eyes. "What is your problem?!" She shouted, showing her sharp teeth almost in a growl. Bakugo stood up, keeping eye contact with her. The annoyance he felt inside had boiled over into a fury. Something about her just pissed him off. "YOU ARE MY PROBLEM!" He shouted at her, now showing his own teeth.

Minamoto was not intimidated. She had already experienced bullies far scarier than Bakugo. She let out a cocky laugh. "Why?! Just because I beat you?!" She shouted, not taking her foot off the bar. Bakugo didn't want to admit such childish feelings. He knew it was stupid to be so upset over something so dumb but he didn't care, she had already pushed every single one of his buttons. He ignored her question, moving to a different station but she followed.

"Don't ignore me!" She shouted in his face.

"Leave me alone dammit!" He shouted back.

"Not until you answer me! Are you really this upset just because I beat you?! Are you that childish?!" She wouldn't back down.

"SCREW YOU!" Bakugo snapped.

"SCREW YOU TOO!" Minamoto snapped back.

The two stood there, both fuming with anger but for different reasons. Bakugo, angry that he had lost. Minamoto, upset that her 'worthy opponent' turned out to be such a sore loser. A moment of silence passed them. Minamoto was the first to speak again, this time her voice showed some restraint. "Look, if you're that upset we'll just have a rematch. Deal?" She said, holding a hand out to signify a truce between them.

Without thinking, Bakugo smacked her hand away. He did this with a lot more force than he had intended. He instantly realized his mistake. While he was angry, he didn't intend to actually hit her. Minamoto slightly winced as she felt the force of his hand strike her own. Hearing this wince instantly brought Bakugo down to earth, no longer seeing red. His eyes shot up to her, immediately regretting his action. Minamoto pulled her hand close to her chest, it was already beginning to turn red.

Bakugo didn't know what to say, he was in too much shock. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither saying a word. He expected Minamoto to blow up, yell, hit him back, but she didn't. She stared at him, her amber eyes had gone cold. Bakugo tried to say something, anything. "Mina-" He started but she cut him off sharply.

"Fuck it, you want to hate me that much? Fine, I'm tired of this." She said, sounding and looking emotionally drained. Bakugo stood there quietly. He watched Minamoto as she silently collected her things and left the gym, slamming the door behind her. The smell of Jasmine and amber still lingering in the air. Bakugo had won, he got her to leave. He got Minamoto to do exactly what he wanted, and it felt horrible.

Bakugo didn't sleep at all that night. By the time he had finally left the gym it was almost four in the morning. He showered, got something to eat, and went back to his room. He laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the sun to rise. He was still angry but mainly at himself for losing control. He could still see the cold look in her eyes.

Bakugo knew the right thing was to apologize but his pride wouldn't allow that. To apologize meant showing weakness. He didn't know how to apologize and he surely didn't know how to be weak.

Bakugo was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the sunrise. He didn't notice his fellow classmates getting up. He didn't notice the time. A knock on his door pulled Bakugo from his thoughts. It was Kirishima and Sero.

"Bakugo, you in there?" Kirishima asked in between knocks. "Are you sure he hasn't already left?" Sero said from behind the door. Bakugo got out of bed in a sluggish manner and opened his door. Kirishima and Sero wore surprised looks as their eyes laid upon their friend, still wearing pajamas and looking exhausted.

"Dude, what are you doing? Class is going to start soon." Sero said. Bakugo finally checked the time which read 8:12am, leaving him less than 30 minutes to get ready for class. "SHIT!" Bakugo shouted as he ran to his closet, pulling out his uniform and shoes. "What the hell Kirishima!? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Bakugo barked at his friend. Kirishima was still in shock, this was not normal for Bakugo in the slightest.

"Sorry bro, but to be honest I thought you had already left. It wasn't until Sero asked if I had seen you that I thought something was up." Kirishima went into motion, helping his friend get ready. He grabbed Bakugo's bag, making sure all of his books were inside. He then tossed Bakugo a pair of socks as his friend started to put on his shoes. "It's fine. Let's just go." Bakugo said, still slightly annoyed, as he finished his second shoe.

Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero made their way to class with haste, knowing that they were the last to leave the dorms. The walk to school was pretty quiet. Bakugo was obviously annoyed, which made it difficult for Sero and Kirishima to talk to him.

"So... I'm guessing you finally slept?" Sero said, finally trying to break the ice between them. "What? I haven't slept a fucking wink. I've been up all damn night." Bakugo said with a sharp tone. Kirishima and Sero looked at each other with worried faces, they didn't bother talking for the rest of the walk.

The three had finally made it to class with just a few minutes to spare. Sero was the first to go inside but Kirishima stopped Bakugo from entering. He gently placed a hand on Bakugo's shoulder. "Dude, take a day off if you need one. Go see Recovery Girl, maybe she'll let you take a nap in the infirmary." Kirishima said with care. The dark bags under Bakugo's eyes told him his friend was already running on empty as is.

"I'm fine." Is all Bakugo said, shrugging off Kirishima's hand and opening the door. Bakugo was like a zombie. He made his way through the desks in a slow manner. A few of his classmates whispered as he passed by, surely they could see how exhausted he was.

Bakugo walked down the aisle where his desk sat, hardly aware of his surroundings. He passed Minamoto, ignoring her completely, and sat at his desk. He didn't want to look at her, not out of anger but out of guilt. The familiar scent of jasmine and amber hit him again. He took in a deep breath, muscles relaxing as he exhaled the scent.

Aizawa soon entered the room and began his lecture, but Bakugo hardly paid attention. Time seemed to fly as his teacher announced it was almost time for lunch. "Before you all leave, make sure to turn in your homework from last night. Just pass it to the front and I'll collect them." Mr. Aizawa said, sounding almost as tired as Bakugo.

Bakugo took his homework and leaned forward to pass it to Hagakure. He began to pack up his things as he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. Bakugo looked to his side to see a small hand holding a stack of papers. It was Minamoto's hand. He paused. A rather large bruise could be seen just above her wrist. Bakugo immediately felt a knot in his stomach.

It was at this moment that Katsuki Bakugo finally realized the true repercussions of his actions.

Thank you for reading! Next chapter to come soon!