Akane stepped out of the girl's locker room, trying to fasten the clips to her new weight cuffs around her wrists. It took a bit of tweaking, but that chick from the Support Department was finally able to make the adjustments. Since the last ones she used tried to cut off the circulation in her limbs and practically fell apart, it seemed only logical to request some new ones. Either way, she seemed real eager to do it, and there was no doubt that the group wouldn't object to some additional endurance training with the new equipment. Once it was on, she exited the main campus building and made her way over to Gym Gamma. She dragged her feet as she went, trying to put off the nauseating churning in her stomach that only worsened with each step she took. She wasn't looking forward to practice at all. Sadly, even if she wanted to, she couldn't keep herself barricaded in her room forever. She had to get back in the real world and get on with her life. Now that she knew how Bakugo really felt, she could go back to focusing on herself, although she couldn't admit that there was still a lingering bruise. On the lighter side, her body and mind felt mostly numb now. Hopefully, that would be enough to get her through today. She knew deep down it wasn't going to be easy and there's no telling how awkward it's going to be once she faces him. At least the test was tomorrow, so she just had to get through this for one day, one, and then it'd be the weekend, where either one of them could go home and they wouldn't have to see each other. Just one more day...
She desperately needed to catch up. Even missing one day at U.A. can cost a lot of information, especially in the fast-paced environment of the Hero course. Miss one class and your classmates start talking about things that you've never even heard of. Lucky for her, people liked to talk and more importantly, Akane listened. It seemed the only thing she missed out on was meeting the two new students joining Class C, that and the details of the exam tomorrow. Midnight wasn't supposed to fill them in on what the exams were about, but she was kind enough to drop a hint or two the last time. The only thing Akane she heard about it was that half the class will be teamed up against the other. It was only a rumor, but it was better than nothing. It was uncertain whether or not they were to fight, go through another obstacle course, or what? As far as she could tell, no one knew for certain. As for the new students, one was a boy named Nao Shizuki, the other was a girl named Hayami Otsuya. Since they transferred in yesterday, she missed introductions and still has no idea what kind of quirks they possessed. Needless to say, this was going to be an interesting turn of events. She only wished she could change one thing about the test and that was for it to be moved to today instead of tomorrow, for tomorrow was Valentine's Day... the worst day of the year.
Step by step, she walked along the sidewalk until she made it just outside the gym. Her heart thumped with dread, wanting so bad to just ditch the scene and go back to her room before they could see her coming, but she begrudgingly kept going. As much as she didn't want to see him, she still needed to keep moving forward. She still wanted to be a hero, after all. With all her might, she forced herself to seal those emotions inside a box and bury it deep within her subconscious. It had to be done, otherwise they'd find some way to escape and she'd breakdown and lose her shit as she did before, and then EVERYONE would know what was going on. No matter what, she wasn't going to show any sign of weakness. Not today. She couldn't. Bakugo was forbidden to know, just like everyone else and that was how it was going to stay.
When she turned the corner, that's when she saw them, standing by the double doors, waiting for her. Instantly, her eyes were drawn to Katsuki and his pointy, black and orange flare mask, which almost instantly made her feel sick to her stomach. Like the other group members, he was dressed in his hero costume with his back was leaned up against the concrete wall. He didn't notice her yet, and she didn't want him to. Seeing him again made her think back to all those images she drew in her sketchbook, of them together and what could have been, and she hated it. She really fucking hated it... Just when she was about to make her move to leave, Bakugo turned his head and caught her gaze. Shit! He straightened his back off the wall and that's when Sato and Shishida finally noticed and followed the direction he was looking. Fuck! Akane cursed in her head. They already saw her, so now she had no choice, now she had to stay. She should've left when she had the chance. She bit her lip hard and somehow, that managed to perk up the courage she needed to walk over to them. She just needed to get it over with. The sooner she got done, the sooner she could go back to her dorm, as depressing as that sounds.
"Hey, you're back!" Sato greeted with a smile on his naturally pouty lips.
"How're you feelin'?" asked Shishida.
She flicked her eyes away from Bakugo. "Still not so great..."
"Well, if you want, we can take it easy for today and just go over some battle tactics? Y'know for the test tomorrow?" Sato suggested, but that idea sounded boring as hell. There was still some moves that she needed a refresher for, and some new ones she wanted to try out.
"I'll be fine..."
"You sure?" Shishida raised a brow behind those thick glasses. She nodded.
Bakugo stared at her from head to toe. Her skin was still a little pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. Not just that, he also noticed a slight slouch in her shoulders. Other than that, she appeared to be fine. Still, it was a little weird not seeing that same old smile she always made whenever she came. Still, hearing her say 'I'll be fine...', something didn't sound right about the way she said it. He quickly brushed it off, thinking he was just assuming things. She might still feel like shit and didn't want to make a big deal about it, but if she showed up, then it's probably not so bad. Either way, she had to do her test tomorrow, sick or not, so she needed to be ready.
"Well, we heard that your class is gonna be split into two teams. If it's anything like the tests we've done, they'll more likely be putting you against each other, where you could be both the hero and the villain." Shishida explained as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. That didn't make any sense. How could they be both?
"Do you know who's gonna be on your team yet?"
She shook her head no.
"Then just consider everyone your enemy." Bakugo finally stepped up. "We need to figure out which classmates to watch out for and how you're planning to defend yourself. You're more of a close combat fighter than long distance, so your best bet is to be on the front line. "
She glued her eyes to the ground, trying to keep herself together. Even hearing his voice was making her uneasy, but she tried to focus on the assignment instead.
"Even though most of your classmates were weak as hell in the first exam, their quirks, if put in the right effort, can be actually strong. I've seen who's been training who, so the ones you really need to focus on are the ones who can distantly knock you out of the ring."
"That Hatsumodo guy uses teleport. He didn't use it when they first fought each other, but it could still be something to look out for." Shishida pointed out.
"Last time, that idiot tried to fight her head on with all that dense muscle! No way, she needs to worry about him! He's a dumbass!" Bakugo snapped.
"But I hear that he's been learning how to move other people now, than just himself. I noticed so far that it's been taking a lot of power for him to do it, depending on how big the person is."
"Then she can just transform and outweigh him!"
Her neck jerked up, giving him a death glare. He had to bring weight into this?! Asshole...
"There's also that guy who can transform into animals." Sato said. It seemed that none of the guys had any clue that Bakugo just said something rude, or they did and just didn't care. Akane slouched her shoulders lower in defeat.
"Yea, but he only changed into small ones. That's why he failed the maze runner. He changed into a rabbit and got caught by the robots. He needs to change into something bigger." Shishida added.
"Yea, but I walked by Ground Beta the other day after our test because I left my phone, and I could've sworn I saw a blue rhino running across the road. His group was on the sidelines watching him. So what if he can change into something huge now?"
"It won't matter!" yelled Bakugo.
"I wonder if he can change into a dinosaur..." muttered the hairy beast. Now that someone said it, that was a good question to ask later. This was getting off topic. If they were going to waste time on this crap, she might as well throw a hat in the ring.
"Hey." Akane finally spoke loudly, which turned everyone's attention back to her. "Can we just practice some moves? I won't be by myself in the test, so can't I just strategize with my team then?"
"Hey! This shit's gonna help you in the tournament too, idiot! You need to be prepared!"
"The tournament's over a month away. I need to focus on what's happening tomorrow." she felt the volume rise in her voice.
"That's why we're trying to plan this out now! Do you even know the quirks of all your classmates?! And what about the new guys, do you know their quirks too?!"
She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't speak the words. When she got back to class, they were introduced to the rest of the students, but she was too spaced out on her emotions to even care to pay attention. After a moment, he knew he had his answer.
"You're really starting to lag, y'know that?" Bakugo started "You can't be so careless. You need to get your head in the game. If you don't do as I say, you're not gonna be ready, ya got that?!"
Her glare darkened against those fiery red eyes. She hated looking at them. He unknowingly punched her in the heart and now he's giving her shit, again! What the fuck?! Did he not watch how she did in the last test? She did fine, she passed. Wasn't that the goal? Why wasn't it good enough?! Why wasn't it EVER good enough?! Why?! Why him?! Why did she have to like him?! Why did he have to say these things all the time?! Did he have no respect for anyone but himself?! She felt her blood boil the point where she could feel her quirk causing her skin to turn pink. The red in her hair started to seep with black.
In an instant, she turned away and started to walk. The boys exchanged a questionable glance with each other before they looked back to her. What just happened?
"Hattori, where're you going?!" Shishida projected loudly across the grassy field.
"Oi! We're not done yet! Get back here!" Bakugo shouted. Shit, did he set her off?
When she was a good thirty yards away, she stopped to face them. "Let's go! Right now!"
"What?"
"You heard me, Pop Rocks! You want me to be prepared, then fight me! Come at me with all you've got!"
"?!"
Pop Rocks? Sato was blown away that those words came out of her mouth, but what was even more surprising was that she said that to Bakugo. This guy would literally tear someone's arm off just for calling him something small and petty, like that he was 'unpopular' or something. Sato just couldn't believe that she, a girl who barely said a sentence before, would dare to say that, and deliberately too. The guys looked back to Bakugo to see how he would answer the questionable name. Right away, they could tell from the look on his face that he was plotting to kill her a thousand different ways. This wasn't going to be good. But what was with her all of a sudden? He knew Bakugo was being kind of jerky, but not any more than how he usually was. Maybe she had some personal grudge with him or had finally had enough of dealing with all of his shit. Regardless, something wasn't right and they both knew this could only end badly, like the last time.
"I told you NEVER to call me that! Oh, you're asking for it now! You're on!" he smirked, which left the boys even more shocked. Was he not offended?
This session took an unexpected turn of events and now it's getting more interesting. Bakugo never thought he'd see the day where she'd show her feisty side. To be honest, it was bold, but in a cute kind of way., almost like how a kid would pick a fight, thinking they're too big for their britches. She was acting just like one, so it made him curious to see how she would fight in this state. He's never seen the small, normal version of her get so riled up before, and the look on her face definitely appeared like she wanted to destroy him, which was a first. He didn't know what it was that brought this out, but he figured that he might as well humor her. Either way, he was looking for a reason to punch someone and she was going to pay hard for using that damned nickname again. He took a few steps near her, attempting to keep a somewhat safe distance away from the rest of the group. If she wanted to go all out, then he wasn't going to hold back, so he might as well make the first move.
With his grenade bracers, he held them out in front of him, concentrated the sweat to the palms of his hands, and let the heat take over, blasting a series of small, yet volatile explosions. The flashes came quickly, nearly stunning her eyes, which she then closed shut just as she jumped to the side, out of the line of fire. She managed to escape with a small graze on her black boots and tumbled away. When she recovered, she pushed her body back up and dusted herself off. With no time to spare, she turned on her weight cuffs and let her quirk take over her body. She bulked up her muscles, allowing her costume to hug around her red body. Leaning forward, she started to charge at him head on, putting all her power into her legs to gain some much needed speed. It didn't matter that these cuffs were weighing her down, all she needed was to make one powerful impact.
Bang! Another blast went off directly in front of her, just as bright as the last one, but she was able to see just enough to lean out of the way and come out unscathed. One after another, he sent the fireballs flying, trying to stop her in her tracks before she could get close to him. Once she did that, he knew it would take nearly all his sweat to use for one big move, and even then, it might not be enough to stop her. The density of her muscles had increased in mass over the weeks of training and now she could withstand most of his AP - Auto Cannon and even his Flash-fire Fist. Still, in her normal fighting state, she couldn't repel EVERY attack. Thankfully, it was only when she was having an episode that he really needed to use all the sweat stored in the tank. If there was one advantage he had, it was that he could use his quirk for both long distance attacks AND close combat. It didn't matter where she went, if he aimed just right, he could still hit her. He also had the advantage of being in the air, but even then, she could jump a pretty good distance, high enough to reach him, so he knew he had to go even higher. And of course, she couldn't stay up very long, so he had to get up there before she could touch him.
She continued to move her body side to side to dodge his attacks. Not a single blow managed to hit her or even slow her down a little. Right when her body was only a few feet away, he swiftly prepared to make his move. She leaped forward with her arm out to grab him by the shirt and instead of striking her face on, Bakugo blasted to his side. The force shoved his body several feet away from her, allowing him some time to gather up more sweat in his other bracer. Akane quickly recovered from the explosion and changed direction. The moment she turned towards him, that's when he pushed his arms to the ground and detonated to propel himself upwards into the air. She put nearly all the power into her legs and jumped up from under him, extending her arm out to try to pull him back down, but Bakugo wasn't going to make that same mistake again. As soon as he saw her bright red hand reaching out for his foot, he aimed his cannons straight at her face. The bright light flashed before her eyes and sent her body hurling back to the ground while his own body went up even higher. Now he could utilize the remaining sweat he had to keep himself up and keep her down there.
Akane's back slammed against the dry, grassy ground, instantly knocking the air out of her lungs. For a moment, she just laid there, trying to get through the newly formed bruising on her back muscles. If she hadn't had her quirk on, there was no way she would've survived that fall. She hissed as she rolled over on her side. The sting of burned flesh still lingered on her cheeks as she pushed herself off the ground and went to rub it with the back of her hand. There wasn't any blood, thankfully, but it was still tender to the touch. He went right for her face again. He better pray that it doesn't scar as bad as it did the last time, or else she wouldn't be so forgiving. Now that he was in the air, he had the upper hand, literally. And he'll stay up there until all the sweat is drained from those bracer tanks. Wait! That's it! It's still cold out, so he probably didn't have very much sweat stored up inside, even with those thermal gloves on, he said the winter months were usually the hardest for him. He had to use it if he was going to stay up there. If she couldn't reach him, then she'll have to make him come back down.
Boom! Boom! Bakugo sinister smile deepened watching her struggle. For all that talk she made, he's got to admit, she made a decent effort trying. It was too bad she thought to use the same moves again. If she wanted to fight better, she needed to be more unpredictable with her tricks, but seeing how long she's lasted so far, he decided to give her a chance to recover. Now that she was up, he let the explosions come down like rain, switching up with both hands to keep her on her toes. Whenever she changed direction, he blasted where she was going to be. If she was quick enough to dodge it, she might get the title of 'longest-surviving spar partner'. Amazingly, she was able to keep running, despite all that damage she just took. It was good to see that she was becoming more aware of her surroundings. Now it was time to turn up the heat. Bakugo quickly took a moment to adjust the heat dial all the way up to its highest setting. He normally didn't use this because it would overheat the equipment and burn the shit out of his hands, but he could tell that his body was starting to dip in the air. He didn't have enough nitroglycerin sweat needed to stay up a little longer. If he could hit her with his AP shot one good time, then he could go all out using Full Blast. Then that might be enough to put her down for good and they could call this match and get back to tactics.
If she couldn't jump high enough to grab him, then there had to be some other way to get him to use up all that sweat. Looking around, Akane quickly searched for an object, something with the right amount of height for her to bounce off of, but almost immediately, she shook that idea out of her head. If she kept trying to grab him, he'd only push her back down again. She had to think of something else, like maybe she could find something large enough to throw at him. The last time they sparred this hardcore, he admitted to having a difficult time with his quirk when she hurdled those boulders at him. She scanned across the torn up field until her eyes stopped at a crevice of dirt where his blast had bore through the ground. But it wasn't just dirt, there was also plots of dense clay and compacted rocks, still dry and slightly frozen from the cold. That was all she needed. It was perfect.
Akane sprinted towards the burned crater and dug her fingers under the dirt until she broke off a massive mound of earth. She then held it out and started to turn her body in a circle to gain momentum and in an instant, she cast it overhead in Bakugo's direction. He snickered at such a mindless decision as he effortlessly aimed his gauntlets at it and crumbled the mound to bits.
"You're gonna havta do better than that, Idiot!"
Akane scoffed as she bent down and yanked another from the ground. She sent it flying, now starting to feel her muscles strain from the expended effort, and yet again, he blew it to bits. This wasn't working out as well as she hoped. How annoying...
"It's like you're not even trying!" He mocked, which only fueled her anger.
"Y'know, you could come down here and fight me head on, instead of staying up there, like a fucking coward!"
Sato and Shishida's jaw dropped. Did she just curse? And she did it again! Akane called him out! Was she trying to be brave or just being stupid? What was there to gain by going this far to provoke him?
"The hell did you say?! Ya got a death wish or somethin'?!" Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her questionably. That wasn't like her. Sure, she was a little cocky every once in a while, like how she was back at the arcade, but this didn't come off like she was teasing him this time. Just what the hell was going on? She never called him that before. No one did. NO ONE was allowed to call him a coward! EVER!
"Wanna find out, Pop Rocks?!" she replied with her arms wide open. Oh, that's it! He reached for his pull tab.
"Then maybe I should just finish you off now! AP Shot!"
The white light shot down like a laser beam, but she couldn't just stand there and take it. Akane flipped on her hands backwards to move out of the way, and that's when she felt the fire sear through her left leg. A suppressed scream escaped through her gritted teeth as her body fell limply on her side. The pain continued to grow as her ears ringed from the concussive blast. Fuck! She hated that damn move of his! She hated that it was so damn powerful! Why did it have to be so effective?! Now that she was finally down, Bakugo decided it was safe to land. With a groan, she turned off her quirk and hit the button to shut off her weight cuffs. She sat herself up to look at how bad the damage was and her bright green eyes widened at the sight of her left shin. Where the blast burned through her costume leggings, her seared, bubbly skin looked like an open trench overflowing with blood. She wiggled her toes to check her mobility and was relieved when she was able to move them, but as she did, more blood started trickling down into the fabric. Luckily, it didn't go through the bone this time, which was weird considering that this was a more direct hit than the last time they fought. It's almost like he didn't use his full power. Did he not have enough sweat or... did he actually choose not to hit her so hard?
Bakugo stepped up until he stood directly over her, slightly cringed at seeing her injury. With a gash that bad, she wasn't going to be running anytime soon, or jumping, so there wasn't any need to use his full blast. He normally didn't favor the idea of holding back. As bitter as this idea seemed, he swallowed that small amount of sympathy and decided not to kick her while she was down this time.
"You know you can't beat me. Had enough?"
She huffed, trying to catch her breath, but said nothing and continued to avoid his gaze. It would suck even more if she kept on fighting this hard. She tried to rotate her legs to stand up, but the movement made her gash feel like it was tearing even more. She forced herself to bite down on her lip to contain her groan. The struggle worsened when she put all of her weight on it. Out of nowhere, she stopped at the sight of his gloved hand reaching out in front of her face. Her eyes darted up to him staring back, patiently waiting for her to take it so he could help lift her up. Sadly, getting captivated by those fiery red eyes only stabbed an invisible dagger through her heart. She hated seeing them.
In an instant, she grabbed a hold of that hand and pulled hard. With her uninjured leg, she kicked his torso until his body flipped forward and landed on his back behind her. Katsuki laid there in a daze. Damn. He probably should've seen that coming...
"Guess you weren't prepared for that, huh, Pop Rocks?..."
That damn name again! "You caught me off guard! It doesn't count!"
"Sore loser, huh..."
"The hell did you call me?!"
"You heard me..." she retorted hatefully. At this point, she stopped giving a shit about what he had to say.
"You're so dead!"
"Then you'd be doing us both a favor..."
"Hahh?"
Wait! What did she mean by that? Before he could ask, she managed to scramble herself off the ground and limp away. What the hell was that all about? What did she mean? Bakugo sat up as he watched her move past Sato and Shishida, who tried to offer their help, but she turned them down flat and kept on moving. The fucking idiot. She shouldn't be walking around with an open wound like that. She needed to at least stop some of the bleeding and bind it before going off on her own. She really was being careless today. That wasn't like her...
"Hattori, where're you going?" Shishida asked.
"Recovery Girl's office..."
"Then let us take you. With those injuries, you shouldn't be moving around so much." Sato butted in. She only ignored them.
"I'm fine... Don't worry. I'm done fighting for today. I'll see you back at the dorms."
They continued to try and reason with her, but their cries for concern fell on deaf ears. Bakugo rejoined the rest of the guys as they watched her disappear around the corner of the building. They were still trying to figure out what was going on. They were left mostly confused. One thing was for certain, he was right about something being wrong with her. Aside from that weird behavior, it's what she said that made him convinced. She said she was 'fine'. Before, she said that if someone said they were fine, they never meant it... Why was she so keen to push his buttons today? And that other thing... He didn't really mean that he was going to kill her, he only used threats to make a point. Besides, it was only when real shit went down that he'd actually mean it, but why did she say that it would be doing them a favor? Did she want to get hurt? There were a few possibilities, but he didn't want to think about so many bad outcomes. The best way to figure this out was to talk to her alone. In time he will, but for now, it was probably a good idea to give her a little space.
"I hope she's alright. Maybe she still feels bad. If that's the case, then it probably wasn't a good idea to fight." commented Shishida.
"Hey, she was askin' for it!" Bakugo snapped. They better not be trying to make this as if it's his fault!
"Yea, I know, but that didn't seem weird to you?"
He hummed, not wanting to admit Sato was right. Normally, he or one of the guys would plan for a spar session, not her. In all their training time, this is the first chance she brought it up. That didn't seem like her either...
"Her leg looked really bad... Did you have to go so hard on her, Bakugo?" Sato raised his voice, which only irked the blonde boy.
"Don't try to turn this crap on me! I wouldn't have put her through it if I didn't think she couldn't handle it! Besides, I only used a small blast!"
Sato continued to stare at him with contempt. Sometimes the jerk just didn't know his own strength. Regardless, there were other things they needed to worry about. "... I know she didn't want us to go with her, but one of us should go anyways to make sure she gets to Recovery Girl okay."
"She left her bag too." Shishida pointed over to it leaning up against the side of the concrete building. With that said, Bakugo bent down to grab his own bag and then stepped over for hers. This would be a good excuse to meet with her later, then he could finally get some answers. He threw them both over his shoulders and started to walk off towards the main campus.
"I got it."
"Really? Maybe you shouldn't-"
"I said I got it! I'll go make sure this stubborn Dumbass doesn't fall on her way there. You too head back to the dorms. We're done here."
"O-okay then." That was oddly nice of him.
Several minutes later, Akane pushed through the double doors that led outside the campus building. Recovery girl was able to heal her leg before it was able to scar, so that was good, and the rest of her burns and cuts faded shortly after too. The only downsides were this sluggish sense of fatigue and that she would have to request a new pair of leggings for her costume later on. She had a backup pair just in case these ended up getting ripped, but they weren't nearly as durable when it came to high heat quirks. It was a pain that they got damaged this soon. Oh well... She just wanted to take a shower, throw on some jammies, and chill out.
Now that she was released, she took a moment to check the time on her phone. Training was still going on for all the other groups. There was still a good twenty minutes left before it got to the time that they would normally leave, which made her ponder the idea of going back, but she hesitated. Since she had time to think, she realized how incredibly ridiculous and brutish she was being to them. She thought that taking the day off yesterday to relax would help her forget about what Bakugo said, but it looked like she was still hung up on it. And now, all she was trying to do was to make him feel just as bad as he made her feel. In the end, that was really stupid of her. He said what he said when she wasn't in the room, so she wasn't even supposed to hear it in the first place, and it's not like they were ever together or even acknowledged that she had feelings for him. He didn't know, so everything she just did today was all for nothing. They were probably still back there behind Gym Gamma, sitting around all confused.
The feeling of guilt weighed on her back muscles, making her sigh in frustration. She was really being dumb. She should go apologize to them...
"And what do we have here? What's a beauty like you doing out here all alone?"
That voice... She turned her head until she spotted his bleach blonde hair and his cringey smile. She couldn't remember his name, but it was that same kid from Class B, the one who tried to pick a fight with Bakugo a few weeks back. That first impression of his still left a sour taste in her mouth. What was he doing here and what did he want with her?
"I was on my way to find Professor Kan when I noticed you standing there all alone. Where's the rest of your group?... Let me guess, they were being too reckless, so you had to get away, right?"
She stared at him blankly without uttering a word, wanting him to just say what he had to say and leave. No doubt, he was the provoking type. If he was going to talk to her the same way he did with Bakugo, she wasn't going to stick around much longer. Unfortunately, the small repressed part of her was too polite to tell him to fuck off, like Bakugo would have. His blue eyes flicked to the small bandage on her face and drifted down to the large wrap on her left leg. Recovery Girl fixed it, but she instructed her to leave it covered until she got back to the dorm.
"Did you just come back from the nurse's office?" he asked with a raised brow as he leaned his back up against the building next to her.
"... Yea, so what?"
"Honestly, those 1-A scoundrels shouldn't be treating a girl so roughly, but that's the type they are. They think so lowly of the rest of us that they have no sense of principle and put us all down while they shine in the limelight. A competent, strong girl such as yourself shouldn't let a man harm a single hair on your pretty head."
Oh, not this crap again...
He continued. "With a power like yours, you could be putting those 1-A students in their place. All they know is how to fight, not to teach about anything sensible or useful, like strategics, but you already knew that, didn't you? Especially considering Bakugo's your partner."
Her ears perked as she straightened her back and crossed her arms.
"He never thinks when he fights. The only two things he knows about being a hero is to be the first to attack and hit hard. A competent hero would know to be a few steps ahead of that, and a hero would think logically before resorting to violence, wouldn't you say? After his mental breakdown at the Sport's Festival and allowing himself to be taken by villains more than once, I'm surprised the school hadn't made the effort to drop him from the hero course. A hot-tempered brute like him will never amount to that of a true hero, so you should just-"
CRACK! He shut his mouth as his eyes followed down her arm to the fractured concrete wall behind him. She was close, so dangerously close that she could've easily crushed his skull, and yet, she missed... deliberately. When he flicked his eyes back to her, her complexion read anything but welcoming. He felt his stomach drop with fear, but he forced himself to try and remain emotionless about it. No matter how strong a person was, he vowed to never falter beneath them. Then again he had never come across a girl like her. This one was something else... Her strength was terrifying.
"You're gonna need a plunger for all the shit that comes out of that mouth of yours..." her eyes darkened.
He couldn't help but to chuckle at her intimidation. "W-what a grim display. That's not very plus-ultra."
"And who are you to decide what I'm doing is right?... Who are you to say what anyone's doing is right?"
"Please... There's only one Symbol of Peace and that's All Might. He knows hat's the true essence of being a hero. Isn't it only logical that we all follow the same path?"
"All Might isn't our only Symbol of Peace. We all have our place in this world, including Bakugo..."
/:
Step by step, Bakugo made his way out of the campus building. He originally planned to meet her as soon as she walked out of Recovery Girl's office to talk, but he didn't expect that she would be done so quickly. He ignorantly detoured himself into the boys locker room to change out of his costume and stopped by the vending machine before he headed over, only to discover that Hattori had already left. That was fucking annoying. So where was she now? She said she was done with training for the day, so knowing that, she more likely took the back entrance of the school and was heading back to the dorms. He needed to catch her before she'd lock herself in her room again and he wouldn't see her for the rest of the night. Of course, he knew he could always get Dumb Hair or Uraraka to give her bag back, but he needed some answers and he wasn't going to wait for her this time. If she decided to dip, like before, he wasn't going to let her get away.
Just when he was about to approach the double doors, the corner of his eye noticed something through the open window. It was a patch of dark red. He curiously stepped up to the glass and there she was. It was just as he thought, she took the back entrance to head to the dorms, but what was even more strange was that she was with that asshole Monoma. What the hell was she doing with him? It looked like they were just casually talking, but knowing that dickhead, it definitely wasn't a normal conversation. He always found a reason to lash out at him and his classmates for the most pettiest things. The dude seriously needed to get a life.
Out of nowhere, she slammed her fist through the brick wall behind him, hitting merely inches from his right eye, and Bakugo felt his body freeze. Holy shit! He could see the pained look of fear growing on that bastard's face, and at that point, Katsuki could no longer hold it in and let out a chuckle. Looks like he said something he shouldn't have. Typical. He probably deserved it, but it sucked that she was too much of a goody-goody to follow through and hit him for real. If he'd been in her position, he wouldn't have let him get away with his shit. He deserved a taste of his own medicine, for once.
A moment went by of exchanged words and they still didn't move. Now Bakugo was even more curious about getting a closer look at what all was going on. He went back to the double doors and opened them calmly and quietly, so they couldn't hear the loud metal latch clang when it closed. No way was he going to interrupt watching her beat that asshole to a pulp; he just wanted a front-row seat. It was only a matter of time before he slipped his tongue again. With how on edge she's been, he figured it wouldn't take much more to provoke her and that, he found to be really exciting. He adjusted the strap of her bag over his shoulder before he silently stalked over to the corner edge of the building and focused his ears to listen to their conversation.
"We all have our place in this world, including Bakugo..." Hattori spoke.
"?!"
They were talking about him? He remained still to listen even harder.
"He may be rough on me. He's stubborn and probably the most pig-headed guy I've ever met, but he has more tenacity and determination than most. And so what if he can be threatening and violent?... We need more heroes like him, ones that aren't afraid to dive on into a fight, those who put themselves in the worst possible situations because they aren't afraid, and have the experience and know-how to handle it. All that he's been through has made him who he is and it only made him stronger, and he puts me through those brutal situations in every training session..."
Bakugo was astonished. He assumed she was mad at him, but this - did she just stand up for him?
"... In case you didn't notice in the last test, out of the fifteen students in my class, only five of us passed. I was the first one to do it, so that's proof in itself that my training with him is actually measuring up... But you couldn't see that. You're so blinded by this competitive behavior that you constantly follow 1-A around, talking shit. It's almost like you're trying to lower their ego in hopes that it'll make them slip up, so you can come in and get all the attention. If that's all you wanted then you could be using that time focusing on your OWN power instead of wasting it on them."
Monoma bit the side of his cheek at the audacity of this girl. "And here I thought you were different. Such a pity that you've allowed yourself to be swept by 1-A's moxie, just like everyone else."
Akane yanked her hand out of the cracked wall, making him flinch as pieces of rock bounced off his delicate shoulders. "I'm curious... Does constantly pointing out flaws in others make you feel better about yourself or is that your way of getting everyone's attention on them instead of you?"
His slightly curled lip turned into a straight line as he stood there, unable to speak. She eyed him carefully and nodded.
"That's what I thought... You won't get far with that ego. You shouldn't talk about what you don't know. What you're doing is pointless. In the end, aren't we all after the same goal, to be a hero?"
"If you really thought that, then why didn't you strike me when you had the chance? Isn't that what he's teaching you, to be violent?"
"I'm not gonna lie, I did think about it... but I decided you're not worth it. It wouldn't be right if I didn't give you a chance to see the error of your distorted ways."
"You call my convictions distorted? You're in Class C! You know that when we took the Entrance Exam, the school determined based on our set of skills and powers which ones belonged in Class A! Everyone else who didn't cut it got bumped down to the next class under. There's a set hierarchy at this school, and not just here, but in society as well. All across the country, everyone looks to the top hero school U.A., and who better to show off than their top class 1-A? How can the rest of us shine when they're always in the spotlight? When all the focus is on them? And all of this is based on statistics! Because I was placed in Class B from the beginning, I won't ever be recognized for my own attributes, even if they're better than most of the students in 1-A. I see how they are! Most of them are chauvinistic morons who don't even know what the square root of pi is! How can you call my views distorted when you're in the same, if not lower position than me?!" he raised his voice.
Wow, she didn't figure that she would hit such a hot button. It took him a moment before he realized how much he spilled out. Embarrassed, he wrapped his arms around his torso and sunk deeper into the concrete wall. Even though he was going about this all wrong, she did understand him. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed he always thought he was second best.
"Just because I'm in Class C doesn't mean that I'm not recognized for my own skills. To be in the Hero class at all proves we all have the potential to be what we all wanted to be... that's the part you should recognize. If you can't see that, then that's a YOU problem." she explained.
"My problem?! It's not my problem if they can't see it-"
"THEY don't matter!"
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Listen, are you happy with the quirk you have?"
"What does that have to-?"
"ARE. YOU. HAPPY - with your quirk?" she asked again.
"Yes."
"Are you happy that you got to come to U.A. and be in the Hero Department?"
"Yes, but-"
"Ah-Ah! Yes or no. Now then... Are you happy with the strength and skills that you have now, ones that you didn't have when you first attended school?"
"Yes... Though, I could be stronger if not for those-"
"Ah! You're doing it again. Don't worry about them. If you keep focusing on them, you're going to keep using them for excuses for your shortcomings and never hold yourself accountable."
"I'm not making excuses!"
"Who're you trying to convince, me or yourself?..."
Looks like there was no other way for her to look at this the same way. He curled his lip devilishly again as he chuckled, making her slightly cringe. "All this coming from the girl with the nasty scar on her face... the same scar she got from fighting the same guy she claims to be more heroic than anyone. From the same girl who can't control her own quirk... Now tell me who's really the one deceiving whom?"
That bastard! Katsuki felt his blood boil to the point where he contemplated coming out from his hiding spot and blowing his ass to oblivion. Why did he have to go there?! He should've come out sooner, then he would've shut his ass up before he could say that shit. He had no right. Even Bakugo could see that she was just trying to help, even if Monoma didn't deserve it. The bastard was never going to learn.
"I don't expect you to understand it the way I do..." she muttered. It seemed no matter what she said, he wasn't planning on listening unless she agreed with him. The stubborn type. As crazy as it seems, that's something him and Bakugo had in common, but at least Bakugo owned up to his arrogant boasting by working hard. And he wouldn't really talk shit about others, he'd mostly curse them out, well everyone except Deku, and he'd only do that if they were annoying him or getting in his way. This guy was just looking for reasons to complain and justify his awful attitude.
Monoma shrugged his shoulders to rid himself of that lingering anxiety and eased his back off the wall. "I understand that you're just as dim-witted as the rest of them. It's such a pity to have your talents wasted. You really are a strong girl."
Without another word uttered between them, he moved around her to approach the double doors and pulled them open. When he disappeared to the inside, the metal latch clanged hard and that's when she understood that she was left all alone again. Wow... That was heavy. Looks like he ran out of things to say. Then that probably meant that everything she said, all those assumptions were true. Bakugo knew that when you get caught in your own bullshit, you tend to go speechless, and that's exactly what he did. She was more observant than he thought.
Hold on! Why did she let him go? Why didn't she punch him?! She said the next time he said something shitty, she would punch him! With that thought, he then remembered why he had followed her in the first place. He needed to get some answers before she left. Bakugo didn't hesitate to step out of the corner and tread his way towards her. She was still standing there, staring at the ground with those now glum, green eyes. Seeing her look so depressed like that twisted a knot in his chest. He didn't like it. He was so used to seeing her faint smile all the time, but this was different, this look was too virulent and it was actually starting to make him feel like shit too. It pissed him off. He needed to say something about it.
"You're really just gonna take that shit from that gutter trash?"
Her neck snapped in his direction and her eyes widened when she saw him standing close behind her. When did he get here? She really needed to start paying attention to her surroundings more often. Almost instantly, she went back to staring at the ground, a bit embarrassed that he might've seen and heard what happened. The guilt she had faded some time with her interaction with Monoma, but seeing Bakugo started to bring it all back again, though it was hard to tell if it was from the lingering resentment or the new awkward tension.
"... How much did you hear?..."
"Enough to know that that fucktard shouldn't be getting away with that." he boasted loudly.
She sighed, annoyed at his answer. "Why're you here?"
"For this."
She turned and without warning, her bag came hurling in her face. She caught it, but grew more irate that he had to be so forceful with it.
"You left your shit behind. You really need to stop being so careless. Anyone could've taken it, y'know."
Her brow creased, just now remembering why she wanted to leave the group training so badly. Turns out Monoma was right... "Nothing in there but class notes and a dirty uniform. It's not like I have anything valuable."
"That's not the point, Idiot! Keep up with your shit! Be grateful I fucking brought it!"
"Fine! Thanks! We done here?!" she exclaimed rhetorically as she rolled her eyes. God, his attitude sucked so fucking much! Why did he have to make such a big deal out of everything? She pulled the strap over her arm and stormed off. If he was just going to be like this, then she didn't want to stick around. She dealt with enough bullshit for one day.
Now Bakugo was even more confused. Just what the hell was up with her this time? Where was she going now? Without thinking, his feet moved on their own and followed her.
"Why didn't you do anything when that bastard said all that crap, huh? Where's the backbone I saw at training?"
For God's sake... Akane repressed the urge to backhand the fuck out of him and instead let out a controlled breath through her nose. It was getting really hard to suppress her growing anger. She could already feel her quirk bubbling underneath her skin. She didn't even want to see him after training and yet he followed her here and was STILL doing it!. Was it just to taunt her? Or was it just an excuse so he can feel all high and mighty, like he was above her? And on top of it, he had to have heard everything she just said. Why was the universe so cruel for constantly bringing him back in her life? Just why? Why couldn't she get a break? Being near him, hearing him talk down to her, it was just like hearing the rejection all over again. She hated it, she really fucking hated it. No matter what, she will never be good enough for him. She had to get away.
"Hey! I'm fucking talkin' to you!" he shouted, getting even more irritated that she was ignoring him.
She stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around to glare at him. "Look, if you're here to tell me I'm weak and stupid for not giving in to that shitbag, then why don't you just fuck off already?!"
"?!" He felt his body stiffen as his brow lifted in surprise.
"I don't need to hear you say that I'm not being strong enough! Not with you or anyone else!"
Again, she turned away from him and adjusted her steps to move faster when suddenly, her other loose backpack strap was caught. Her eyes darted back to see that he had grabbed hold of her, refusing to let go. She struggled for him to release her and that's when he yanked it back hard, pulling until she was just inches from his face.
"Hey! I didn't say you were weak! And I didn't say you were stupid! I may have thought you were like that at first when we met, but not anymore! You're damn strong! I know I call you an idiot all the time, and sometimes you can be, like you are now, but most of the time, you're smarter than most of the extras I know! You have what it takes to be a great hero, so shut up and quit saying that stupid shit! I don't know what made you think that, but you better cut that crap out right now! And don't go putting those fucking words in my mouth next time if you don't know I mean it or not, got it?! Say any of that shit again and I'll fucking kill you!"
She clenched her fingers into a fist, resisting the urge to mirror his energy and took a step back. She needed a moment to process the words he just spoke. Did he really mean that? That he thought she was smart? And strong?
Bakugo relaxed his shoulders as he let her go. "Just so you know, I didn't come all the way here just to bring you your damn bag. Those extras wanted to make sure you got to Recovery Girl alright, so I followed you to make sure ya didn't trip on your ass or something, but by the time I got there, she said you already left."
"I see..." Now that she noticed, he wasn't wearing his hero costume anymore, just his regular gym uniform. He must've stopped to change along the way. Now she felt ridiculous for blowing up at him.
He glanced at the tiny bandage across the bridge of her nose and the one on her jawline before his eyes drifted down to the ones on her arms and leg. "... Does it hurt?"
"No, it's fine. I'm healed up, she just wants me to keep these on for a bit."
"Good. I only used a small blast anyways, but you're handling it pretty well... So... you wanna tell me what all that bullshit was about back there?"
"With that guy?" she questioned.
"No, not that. I know the idiot was just talking crap, as usual. You definitely scared the shit outa him when you punched the wall. I almost lost it." he chuckled. Somehow seeing that faint smile of his helped her ease up from the guilt. He didn't seem that upset at all by it either. It wasn't often he smiled, but when she saw it, it was warming.
"Well someone had to say something about it..."
"Too bad you didn't really punch him. You really are a goody-goody, ain't ya?"
"If I did, that could've killed him."
"Oh yea? Then one less annoying dipshit to worry about. If it were me, he'd be turned to dust in seconds!"
She stared at him blankly and he realized that he was rambling again. He cleared his throat, knowing that he needed to get back on topic.
"I meant back at training. What was that all about? Ya still sick or something?" he asked.
She averted her gaze back to the dead grass on the ground. "I guess I still feel kinda shitty. And I got so tired of hearing you say that I'm not doing enough all the time..."
His shoulders slumped when she said that. Looks like he was right, he did set her off. "Look, you need to know what you're going up against. The tournament isn't just class versus class or different departments fighting, y'know, you'll havta fight your own classmates too. You need to be ready for that. I only said that shit so you'll work harder and do better."
"But I'm finally controlling my ability, I've passed the tests and essays, I'm taking notes, and doing your workouts, I've spent nearly all winter breaking my back doing the endurance training - isn't what I'm doing enough?!" she didn't realize how loud she projected her voice until she saw him staring at her.
He blinked. "You have no idea how much more ground you havta cover before the Sports Festival."
"How much more is there?"
"A lot! Don't you start getting lazy on me, Idiot! I wasn't put in this group to train you to be second-best, I'm here to train the next winner, ya got that?!" Well that caught her off guard.
"You want me to win?"
"Not want, you're gonna win! I'm gonna make damn sure of it. Your training with last year's first place winner here, remember?"
"Didn't Kirishima say that you didn't really earn it because Todoroki didn't fight you with his full power?"
What the hell? His breath caught in the back of his throat, nearly choking on it. "That fucktard told you that?!"
She nodded. Bakugo couldn't believe the stupidity of his own friend. They made a promise to never speak of that incident again, but now the circumstances have changed. He'll have to make sure he pays for that later. Bakugo hoped that that darkness wouldn't follow him after all this time, but Kirishima brought it up anyways and to her, no less. Oh, he was definitely going to make him suffer. Now she could hold it against him during training.
"Listen, I'm doing my best here and it would be nice to get some encouragement from you instead of belittling me all the time..."
Encouragement? That wasn't a word that suited him. He spent years building up this intimidating, badass persona, he couldn't just throw it away by saying some mushy words like that. If anyone heard him, they might think he's grown soft or lost his edge and he'll be damned if he'll lose that rep. But was that really what she thought? That he was belittling her? He assumed he was treating her exactly the same as everyone else. Guess not, but did he really need to pat her on the back or some shit? That's stupid... Then again, she was owning up to her part of the group training. He vowed to put her through hell and back with each session to try and get her to quit, and she still kept at it. She didn't complain and she didn't give up. This was the first time she ever said anything against him for it either, even though he expected to hear it much sooner. That kind of effort, he could respect.
After a moment passed, he was still thinking about it, but Akane was ready to go back.
"I'm still kinda worn out from the fight earlier and Recovery Girl sorta took a toll on me too with her quirk, so I'm gonna head back to the dorm. I'll seeya around, I guess..." she started to walk off, leaving him behind, frustrated at himself for not saying anything.
He sighed in defeat and quickly jogged up to her. "Hey! Idiot!"
She paused to look at him again and watched as he took off his backpack and pulled out a sealed can from inside. He zipped it back up and put it back on before he tossed it over to her.
"Here."
She caught it and read the label. "A protein shake?"
"You need it to recover from overusing your quirk, right?"
He remembered that?
"Yea."
"Good, drink it. Can't have you passing out on the way back 'cuz I'm not carrying you if you do." he said, trying to play it off as if it was nothing. It was just like the hot chocolate. Deep down, he really was considerate. At that moment, Akane allowed herself a faint smile and popped the top to take a nice long swig.
"Thanks, Katsuki."
"Don't thank me, just drink it." he started taking a few steps forward, going slow to give her time to follow along. It didn't take but a few seconds for her to be next to him again as they headed towards their dorms. "Hey... you... you did good in training today. You really showed a different side of you that I didn't expect... so - good job, or whatever."
"Could've focused more if I wasn't so pissed off at you." she mumbled and went for another sip.
"Hahh?! What d'ya mean?! You piss me off more!"
"What do I do? Not kill every opponent I face?"
"Damn right! You should come at 'em like you're gonna destroy 'em! Like you should've done with that Copycat fuck!" he shouted while seriously contemplating making her go back to find him and finish him off.
"You're still on that? I told you he's not worth it. Let it go already."
"No! Don't let that asshole think he can say that shit to you ever again! Only I can do that, got it?!"
At this point, she couldn't tell if he was trying to be helpful or not.
"I'm not made of stone, Katsuki, I'm not like you... I can only take so much shit. After a while, it all starts to get to my head." she explained as she adjusted the strap on her shoulder again.
"Well, it shouldn't. If it means anything, I'm actually kinda surprised you lasted this long without saying anything."
"Really?"
"Yea. Just know that you don't have to take that kinda crap from anybody... including me. So from now on, if ya got a problem with me, say it to my face. Don't go all crazy and fight against someone you're not gonna win, 'kay?"
"Who said I'm not gonna win?" she muttered sarcastically.
"I did 'cuz I never lose!"
She turned to meet his gaze. "Y'know I can kill you with a flick of my wrist, right?"
Bakugo smirked. "Yea, like you could try, Idiot."
Giving in, she let out a faint chuckle. "Guess you're right..."
They continued to walk until they could see their dorm building off in the distance. Some of the students were also just now coming back from training for the day and heading inside. Akane then decided that she would apologize first thing before their next training session that following Monday. Since her monthly exam was tomorrow, none of the other groups would get together tomorrow, unless they wanted to, of course, but everyone would mostly be too exhausted or busy. Then again, tomorrow was Friday, the start of the weekend. Perhaps she could also get them an 'I'm-sorry' gift to make up for it, as soon as all that Valentine's Day garbage was over and done with.
"Hey, Idiot."
She looked over to Bakugo, who was staring off to the side away from her.
"Y'know finals are next week, right?"
"Yea, what about them?" she asked.
"Kirishima and Sparkplug've been egging me on about doing a damn study session over the weekend. I didn't even want to do it, they just sprung this shit on me last minute, so... Uh... If you wanted to come or whatever..." Though it was still chilly outside, he could feel the temperature rising in his face. He was really starting to hate how stupid he sounded right now.
"You want me to?"
"Look, it's just cuz I want those two to get off my back and stop prying into my business, for once." he explained, hiding his flaring nose. Akane could see right through him.
"So I'm just a deterrent?"
"You're doing that shit again. Stop putting words in my mouth that I didn't say!"
She rolled her eyes at him. "When is it?"
"Tomorrow night, I-"
"Sorry, I can't tomorrow." she interrupted.
"What?"
"I can't. I made plans."
His brow creased. "Doing what?"
"I promised someone I'd meet them."
He couldn't say it out loud, but at that moment, he felt a painful shock underneath his rib cage.
"Are you serious? You know what tomorrow is, right? It's that damn holiday."
"Yea, so what?" she asked, confused that he would bring it up all of a sudden.
"So what? Ya got a date with your boyfriend or something?"
"No. I don't even have a boyfriend." she clarified. Why did he care anyways?
"Yea, sure. You're not just gonna meet some guy after school on fucking Valentine's Day..." he muttered sarcastically. She probably wrote some guy a love letter and planned on meeting so she can give it to him. Typical. He should've known.
"It's not like that."
"Please. I know you girls get all worked up over this stupid holiday. Don't try and deny it."
Now she was getting miffed. "I don't."
"I already told you not to deny it. I see how you-"
"I hate Valentine's Day, Katsuki! I fucking hate it, so why would I bother to celebrate it?" she took a second to lower her voice back to normal. "I made a promise to meet someone and I have to honor it. Okay? So if you want me to come to the study group, change it to Saturday or Sunday. Just not tomorrow. If not, I'll study on my own and you'll havta deal with your friends anyways."
"We're not friends. Why does everyone keep saying that shit?"
"I don't even have to look at your face to know that's a lie..."
"I'm not lying!" Bakugo shouted. Damn her and her observation skills.
They approached the double doors to the dorm and she grabbed the handle to open it, allowing him to go inside first. Looks like no matter what, he always wanted to be the tough guy, never the soft guy. It made her wonder if he was ever vulnerable to anyone. No human being could be so cold all the time. Still, there were moments that he showed differently, like the hot chocolate and the stuffed panda doll. Even now with the protein shake. He didn't have to do that, but she knew deep down, he was genuinely considerate when he wanted to be. It was too bad he wasn't like that all the time. He also probably did this for a lot of other friends and they just didn't notice before. She wasn't anything special to him and never will be...
As they walked along the threshold into the living space, she paused and turned back to him.
"Thanks for the drink. It helped... I'll see you around."