A/N: Hey guys! I'm going to start posting on Saturdays from now on, I think. I work Friday mornings, and I might start working Friday nights, too, so I won't have time to post on the usual day. Just letting you all know!
Chapter Sixty-One: Advice
Katsuki watched Aisla's match on the screens with rapt attention. He watched as Koda whispered into the earth and the ground pulsed at Aisla's feet. Her eyes widened less than a second before an army of insects emerged from the dirt and immediately climbed up her legs and assaulted the bare flesh there. Her terrified shriek made his pulse quicken, even though he knew it was just a few bugs that probably wouldn't even hurt her. Still, his impulse was to go to her, despite the circumstances.
Then, she was running, illusion instantly falling apart as she tried to get away from the pursuing creatures. When she ran into Mr. Aizawa, Katsuki had a moment of relief that he would keep her safe, but then he threw her into the river, and Katsuki hollered loudly at the screen while simultaneously lurching forward like he was going to run right in there and give his teacher a piece of his mind. Kirishima had to wrap his arms around him to keep him in the building until he calmed down.
When she crawled out of the river and they were both back on solid ground, Katsuki thought that would be the end of his panic, but then Froggy snatched her out of nowhere and pulled her under the water again. Aisla was lost to him, hidden under the dark blanket of the river's surface. Again, he tried to run to her, to save her, but Kirishima still held him back, muttering nonsense into his ear until Katsuki had to force the urge down to pummel his face in.
Deep down, he knew she was fine, but the worry still clawed at him and made him itch to go to her. He'd thought their team had won it all when Aisla used her quirk to reflect Aizawa's Erasure onto Animal Boy, causing his evil little creatures to scurry away. Again, Katsuki was left slack-jawed as the little bastard tried another move, sending pigeons everywhere as a sort of smoke screen or something. Then suddenly, Aisla, the girl that used to sleep in his bed and wear his t-shirts, straddled their teacher's chest.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" he'd roared in response, earning giggles from the girls and snickers from the boys.
"Poor jealous Bakugo," someone gibed.
"Ooh, lucky Aisla!" Acid Chick trilled. "Hey, Ochaco, remember when we saw him shirtless at the pool yesterday?"
"Oh yeah, and he came up out the water and—"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Katsuki snarled at them, having no desire to hear the rest of that story.
It was as impressive as it was repulsive how Aisla was able to wind their teacher's scarf around her own wrists and send it flying toward their classmate. She captured him with ease, making Katsuki wonder just what she did when she trained with Aizawa late at night.
At last, the hellish match was over and Katsuki waited against a wall near the door with crossed arms and a scowl set on his face. He tapped his foot angrily on the floor as minutes ticked by. Just when he thought they were never going to come out, the door opened and Mr. Aizawa walked through, followed closely behind by his other three classmates…and Aisla.
He pushed off the wall and barreled toward her, ignoring the shocked gazes he got until he had her wrapped up in his arms. Her clothes and hair were still soaked from her 'swim' but he didn't even care. She was also cold and shivering and—
"Ooh, PDA from Bakugo~!" Someone giggled nearby, interrupting his thoughts.
"I didn't even know he was capable of affection," said someone else.
He ignored them and tightened his hold on this girl. She stiffened in either surprise or disgust, he didn't care. He needed to feel her in his arms so he could be sure she was okay. He held her against his chest with one hand cradling her head and the other wrapped tightly around her back.
For a moment, Aisla stood there unmoving as he embraced her, so long in fact that Katsuki began to panic that he'd done something wrong. Maybe he shouldn't have done this in public or at all, but he'd just been so worried about her, he'd needed to. Then, all at once, her body relaxed and her arms went around his back, clutching his shirt in tight fists. "Katsuki…" she murmured into his chest.
"I was so worried about you," he blurted out without thinking, then snapped his mouth shut as he realized how that must have sounded. The only reason he would need to be worried was if he didn't find her capable enough to handle herself.
To his immense relief, she laughed softly. "Thank you. That means a lot."
"Really?"
She nodded against him, then slowly pulled out of his hold. He thought she was trying to ditch him again, but then she grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze of reassurance. "I have to go shower now," she told him. "Thank you for worrying about me."
"My message!"
Aisla turned back slightly to give him a smile. "I'll be waiting," she promised, and then she was gone.
I'll be waiting… she'd said. Katsuki felt a smile turn up his lips as he watched her go.
And I'll be ready, Aisla Haru.
Katsuki stood in the training arena with an ever-growing scowl set on his lips. He was stomping through an abandoned building on the opposite side of the maze from the forest, a setting few of his other classmates had utilized thus far.
During his last round against Mr. Aizawa and Uraraka, Katsuki stayed in the forest area like everyone else. It had been an easy win, but that was mainly due to his opponent's poor strategy. This time, Katsuki had wanted to do something different, so he'd ventured into the maze with Monoma in tow, and led the complaining teen into a dilapidated building.
"Well, I think we should have stayed in the maze," Monoma whined as they climbed a set of half-broken stairs. Katsuki's plan was to get a high vantage point so he could feel out their opponents before the match even began. Yaoyorozu probably wouldn't be too difficult to find, but that shadow asshole from class B was going to be a problem.
Katsuki didn't appreciate Mr. Aizawa pairing him up with one of those class B haters, but when he tried to argue, his teacher had threatened to kick him out of training altogether. He'd grudgingly agreed to drag around class B's most annoying student. He was regretting his decision to cooperate more with every second. He should have ditched this idiot back at the bridge when he had the chance and finished this alone!
"You know, you're lucky that Vlad let our superior class help you pathetic losers in class A," Monoma taunted with an obnoxious laugh.
Katsuki's fists clenched and a growl escaped his lips, but he refrained from punching the idiot like he wanted to. He was trying to behave, to stop himself from reacting to every little thing. He was never going to get Aisla back if he constantly had a bad attitude and lashed out at people.
Despite that resolve, he was finding it more and more difficult to deal with Monoma without murdering him. Besides the fact that he wouldn't shut the hell up, Katsuki was still pissed off that he'd been a huge catalyst in spreading the rumors about Aisla. Sometimes he just wanted to beat his ugly face in. That would definitely make him feel better.
"I still think my plan would have worked out so much better," the idiot complained as Katsuki surveyed the area below. He wasn't having much luck locating Yaoyorozu or Shadow Freak from class B. He knew they were probably hiding out somewhere, but if he could just make out a sliver of movement… "We should just ambush them right off the bat. I bet we could take them, even if you are inferior to class B!"
Katsuki couldn't take it anymore. He spun around so fast, the other guy didn't even have the chance to fully widen his eyes before Katsuki's fist connected with his shoulder. He howled in pain and stumbled backward. Katsuki shushed him, then took up his spot in the window once more. Movement from the treeline caught his attention and brought a wide grin to his face.
"There you are," he said in a low, terrifying tone.
"Where is who?" Monoma pushed in beside him, and despite Katsuki's irritation with him, he decided to indulge him for the time being. He pointed to where he'd seen a flash of red.
"That has to be Yaoyorozu," he stated with certainty. "You can bet she has something up her sleeve, though. She's smarter than she looks."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Monoma wondered, but Katsuki was already pushing past him and making his way back down the stairs. Monoma groaned. "You seriously made me walk all the way up here just so you could look out a window?"
"Stop complaining!" Katsuki hissed. He raced down the stairs so he wouldn't lose Yaoyorozu's location. He had no way of knowing where Shadow Guy was if he'd disappeared into the darkness, so he had to focus on his own classmate for now and hope that her teammate was nearby. If Katsuki could eliminate Yaoyorozu, however, he was pretty confident that it would be an easy win. She was the one to look out for with her creation quirk.
"Tell me what quirks you have, moron!" Katsuki shouted as they continued their descent.
"It's Neito Monoma!" he corrected. "And I don't know if you even deserve to know after that display!" Katsuki growled. "Okay, I'll tell you. I can hold up to four different quirks for ten minutes."
"I don't care about all that, just tell me which ones you have!" Katsuki snapped in irritation.
"None."
He turned on his heel. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN NONE?!"
He shrugged, unconcerned by Katsuki's outrage. "I just told you I can only hold a person's quirk for ten minutes. I told you we should have ambushed them from the start, but you wanted to go galivanting around for half an hour and now the quirks I had are gone." He said this almost smugly, as if he'd wanted them to lose.
"WHY YOU—" Katsuki started, but Monoma cut him off with a raised palm.
"Shh! I hear something."
Katsuki thought he was only trying to get him to shut up, but then a strange swishing sound passed by his ear and he spun around just in time to be knocked over by a flying shadow. He cursed and jumped to his feet, palm upturned and sparking, waiting for the opportunity to blast this bastard to hell.
When the thing came shooting by him once more, Katsuki was ready to strike, but he was fast and the blast hit the stairs instead, making them crumble even worse than before. He heard the shadow snicker as he continued to evade Katsuki's blasts with ease. He was getting frustrated. This shouldn't have been a problem for him! He was fighting a shadow for fuck's sake! What was so difficult about that? All he could do was hide in the darkness and hit them periodically. This guy shouldn't have the advantage here, and yet here he was, making a fool out of Katsuki.
This shadow is really starting to piss me off, he inwardly growled as he was struck a second, then third time. He really needed to come up with a better plan before…
"Hey, Copycat! Get the hell over here!"
"The name is Monoma!" he groaned, but was by Katsuki's side in an instant, eyes going wide when Katsuki suddenly gripped his collar and pulled him closer.
"Come on, Copycat," Katsuki growled into his face. "Do what you're good at and copy me."
Monoma's face registered surprise for less than half a second before the expression turned arrogant once more and he smacked Katsuki upside the head. He darted out of the way, narrowly missing Katsuki's swinging fist. "Whoops, sorry! Get ready, Explosion Murder."
Katsuki ignored the gibe and sent out a large blast, which Monoma duplicated a second later. The room lit up briefly, illuminating every inch of space and forcing Shadow Freak to come out. He held his hands up to block the light, but Katsuki still noticed the widening of his eyes as he and Monoma sent out a simultaneous AP Shot straight into his shadowy chest.
"Up top, Class A!" Monoma held up a palm with a victorious expression.
"In your dreams!" Katsuki pushed past him and started in the direction of the maze. "We have to get the hell through that maze before Yaoyorozu comes looking for us."
"Is that an admission of defeat I detect?" Monoma taunted with a cackle.
"Shut the hell up!" Katsuki snapped. "She's powerful, okay?!"
"So, what's the plan then?"
"Obviously we ambush her with my awesome quirk!" Katsuki hissed as they entered the maze. He knew the minutes had to be running out after all the time they'd taken locating their opponents and fighting Shadow Freak, but since there was no way around this obnoxious maze, they had no other choice than to venture inside. Fortunately, since he'd seen enough of his classmates attempting to navigate the thing, he had a pretty good idea of how it was set up. The down side of that meant that Yaoyorozu also had the same information as he did and was just as capable of memorizing the twists and turns. If she decided to face the maze as well, they would end up fighting in close quarters.
"It's very flashy," Monoma agreed flatly. "I'm actually surprised you didn't take down Kuroiro faster with this thing. He must have really given you a hard time! He's great, you know. Very strong—"
"Will you shut the hell up?!" Katsuki snapped. "I don't give a damn about your classmate. Right now, we're facing my classmate, and like it or not, she'll surpass Kurino and you, Copycat!"
"His name is Kuroiro!"
"Like I care." Katsuki waved off the correction and turned around another corner. All this talking would bring Yaoyorozu to them for sure. Oh well, he was ready to get this match over with so he could get rid of the annoying pest at his side.
He picked up the pace, sprinting around corners and not even bothering to see if his companion was keeping up with him. He knew it was down to the final moments now, and since Katsuki could use Monoma's quirk to his advantage and basically have two Katsuki's, it was a sure fire way to win. First, he just needed to find his opponent and—
As if in answer to his silent prayers, Yaoyorozu appeared out of nowhere, bounding over the top of Katsuki's head and bringing attention to the fact that he was alone.
"GODDAMMIT, COPYCAT!" he bellowed as he ducked out of the way of Yaoyorozu's first attack. Not soon enough, unfortunately. Just like in her battle with Todoroki against Aizawa, she sent out a series of flash grenades that momentarily blinded Katsuki and forced him to cover his eyes against the bright light.
He swore under his breath just as something heavy dropped onto him and pinned him to the ground. He tried to push the thing off, but it was too heavy to move, even for him. His blasters wouldn't help, either. If he aimed underneath of him, he'd blast his own face off, if he tried to hit the beam, it could ricochet off of whatever the material was and blast his own face off. His only logical choice was to wait for his not-so-helpful teammate to come rescue his ass.
Katsuki growled and attempted to push the beam back again to no avail. Yaoyorozu jumped down and landed next to his feet. He heard her boots clomping on the dirt and a twig crunch, making him wince in anticipation for his humiliating defeat.
This is not how I die! he decided, then challenged fate by blasting the damn ground beneath him. The force caused a mini-earthquake below and gave his body just enough of a jolt to break free from the heavy beam holding him captive. The blast hurt, but not as bad as he'd expected it to. What hurt was the huge piece of rubble that dropped onto his leg when he tried to move out of the way. It crushed his ankle, causing a jolt of pain to shoot through his leg and all the way up to his gritted teeth. He tried not to cry out, but he couldn't stop a low groan from escaping as he pushed the thing off his ankle and jumped to his feet.
Yaoyorozu was now pointing a cannon in his direction, chest heaving from the effort and sweat dripping from her temples. "I'm going to win this round," she declared breathlessly.
Katsuki geared up for the attack. He was going to block it with an explosion of his own, even though he knew that probably wouldn't be very effective at this range. Still, he wouldn't go down without giving it his all! He was going to either win or die trying!
The cannon fired, but before Katsuki could react to stop the attack, something slammed into him, sending him flying into the wall opposite him. He hit the concrete hard and rebounded off of it before stumbling to catch his footing and glower at the culprit.
Monoma stood there in shadow form, grinning with a malicious smirk as Yaoyorozu readied another blast. "Go ahead and try me," he said tauntingly, then shifted from Shadow Freak's form to his regular douchy ensemble. Katsuki knew exactly what he was about to do and readied a shot of his own just as Monoma sent out a Stun Grenade. Yaoyorozu was quick to create a shield to block the attack, but she didn't anticipate Katsuki leaping into the air and sending out his own attack right into her back.
"AP Shot: Auto-Cannon!" he roared as the move hit its target and sent her flying to the ground.
"Neito Monoma strikes again!" The other boy hollered as he pumped a fist into the air. "What did you think of my brilliant move, Bakugo? You're lucky I was there to save the day before you got your ugly face blasted in by that cannon!" He laughed maniacally, making a vein in Katsuki's temple pulse in irritation.
"Whatever!" he growled as he stomped toward the entrance of the maze. "I could have handled it myself!"
"Sure you could have," Monoma agreed with a snicker.
Katsuki picked up the pace, even as his ankle protested loudly with each painful jolt against the ground. He wasn't going to show this loser that he was in pain! He would walk himself all the way to the hospital or wherever the hell he needed to go and not utter a single complaint!
…
"That fucking hurts!" he roared when Mr. Aizawa gave his injured ankle a swift kick.
He thought the pro might have smirked a little bit, but the expression was gone before he'd really decided if it was there or not. "Stop being stubborn and go get that checked out before you ruin your foot."
Katsuki grumbled under his breath the whole way to Recovery Girl's temporary office. Fortunately for him, no one else seemed to be in need of medical attention just then, so there weren't any witnesses to his humiliation.
Recovery Girl tsked at his ankle and scolded him for overdoing it during a training event, then mumbled something about working over summer vacation before helping Katsuki with his injury. She dubbed him free to leave after that, and he offered her a hasty thanks before racing from the room in a rush.
He didn't go to his room right away. He ventured into the hotel lobby and had a quick chat with the woman behind the front desk counter. She politely directed him to where he needed to go, and he thanked her before hurrying off. He had time, a little less than three hours now, but there were a few things he needed to get done first.
He had to make things right with Aisla. Last night had been amazing, but then he'd ruined it again by not saying the right things or doing the right things. He'd scared her when he'd threatened Kaminari, then his bold words had sent her scurrying away like a scared rabbit. Now he had to make it up to her. Again. Katsuki had never taken anyone on a date before, so he wasn't really sure how to go about it, but he was going to do his best to make a memorable night for her.
He started in the hotel's only clothing store, which had very few selections that were all just as hideous as the last. With a groan, he left the store and moved on to his next destination. Surprisingly, he was able to accomplish what he'd needed to in record time, much to his relief. Once those tasks were done, he made his way upstairs into his room to shower off the sweat and grime from his battles.
Once his shower was done, he quickly texted Kirisima to get over there and bring him an outfit. He didn't give details and Kirishima didn't ask for any. He simply replied with a thumbs-up. Satisfied, Katsuki tossed his phone onto the unmade bed and started picking tangles from his unruly hair while he waited.
Five minutes later, a loud knock shook the door. Katsuki opened it and yanked the redhead inside before slamming the door shut behind him.
"Well?" He waited expectantly.
Kirishima held up a hanger. "Got your outfit, man!" He winked. "Got another hot date, huh? Good thing you came to an expert for advice. Where's Aisla taking you this time?"
He scowled at the insinuation, and snatched the hanger from his friend's hand. "Nowhere! I'm taking her somewhere!"
Kirishima gaped at him. "Whoa, no way! Katsuki Bakugo is willingly taking a girl on a date?"
"Not just any girl," Katsuki grumbled, "Aisla."
Kirishima nodded and dropped into the desk chair. "Yeah, she's cool." He spun the chair around in a circle. "So, what are you gonna do with her?"
Katsuki moved his phone onto the nightstand so he could make the bed, just for an excuse to do something other than watch his idiot friend play in a chair. "That's the problem," he grumbled under his breath. "We had such a good time bowling last night that I don't know how to top that."
"What do you have in mind? You got a plan, right?"
Katsuki considered telling the other boy to shut the hell up and leave, but… He could use some advice, and Kirishima was in a successful relationship at the moment…
"Dinner," he reluctantly muttered, feeling his cheeks blaze at the admission.
"Dinner?" Kirishima repeated. "That's always a solid plan."
"It's so lame!" Katsuki snapped as he fluffed the pillows roughly.
"It's not lame," he protested, "it's thoughtful and romantic. Girls like that kind of thing. It doesn't have to be some grand gesture, you know. Sometimes, something simple like a picnic is all it takes to make someone happy."
Katsuki ignored that as he picked up the hanger and stared at it for a long time. "Where's the rest of the outfit?"
Kirshima was still spinning in the chair, head tilted back as he stared up at the ceiling. "That's all you need, man. Trust me. She'll love it."
"I CAN'T GO ON A DATE IN NOTHING BUT A LEATHER JACKET, YOU MORON!" he hollered.
His friend snorted and finally stopped his ceaseless spinning. "Of course not! Wear a black muscle shirt underneath and a pair of dark jeans." He swept his hands out to the sides. "That's all there is to it. She'll think you're hot stuff for sure."
Katsuki wasn't so sure but he didn't have any better ideas, so he would trust his friend's judgment this time.
"Oh!" Kirishima suddenly stood up and started unclasping the belt around his waist. Katsuki rolled his eyes just as it was tossed in his direction. He caught it in one hand. "Wear that with it! It's one of Hana's favorites." It was black with silver studs and not something Katsuki—or Kirishima for that matter—would usually wear.
"Whatever," he agreed and dropped it onto the bed with the jacket. "What the hell else should I do with her?" He paced the room as he thought.
"What do you want to do?" Kirishima asked.
"I don't know, that's the problem!" he bit back. "I've never…cared before. I'm trying here, but…I'm just not good at this shit."
"Sure you are, buddy! I bet Aisla would be happy no matter what you do with her. She's a simple girl. All she wants is you, Katsuki." His friend stood up and stretched with a dramatic sigh. "Well, Love Expert Kirishima has a FaceTime date in five, so I'm gonna bail now. Good luck on your date!"
Katsuki growled in annoyance when the door shut. He hadn't been helpful at all! "She just wants you." What the hell did that mean?! Did his whole date plan not even matter? Or was he saying that no matter what Katsuki did, Aisla would be happy because he'd done it? He wasn't sure he believed that. If only life were that simple, he could have had Aisla back by now. As it was, she kept on leaving him, and Katsuki was left feeling empty and lost. He needed Aisla back; he couldn't keep living without her by his side.
Let me love you, Aisla Haru…
A/N: Looking for a new beta for this story if anyone is interested! PM me if you would like to discuss the possibility. Please don't leave it in a review. But also review the chapter because I wanna know what you guys think lol. Thank you! Can't believe it's been 61 weeks already! It's so crazy!
Reviews:
Kibaschick: Thank you so much! It's fun to change things up now and then! Glad you liked it!
encre d'esprit: Thank you! That part is always so funny to me! I love how offended he is, and how he complains the whole way back lol. It's just a scarf, buddy. She didn't taint it.