Notes: Hello everyone, sorry for the wait. Since the last chapter I've been really busy irl with a lot of different things, including visiting friends in a different state and getting engaged! But I'll hopefully be back to posting this every weekend now. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter TextBakugou Katsuki had kept his phone on silent at all times since junior high for three very important reasons:
One - He basically only got messages from his parents, Kirishima, and the rest of the idiot brigade, and all of those people knew by now not to message him too frequently or he would block their numbers (which he had done in the past), so he didn't expect many messages to begin with.
Two - He almost always wanted an excuse to ignore said messages, and if he was walking around with a stupid, earworm of a ringtone blaring it would be a lot more difficult to play off that he simply 'missed the notification'.
Three - The numerous (re: borderline excessive) alerts he had set up for various news sites and police/hero contact groups were all set as priority and would bypass the silent setting as long as he wasn't in class, so there was no chance he would miss one of them.
Katsuki was nothing if not consistent, meaning his phone was yet again on silent after training with Uraraka that morning. That's why, when the screen lit up on his desk with an incoming message, he didn't even notice. At least, he didn't until he picked up his phone nearly thirty minutes later and realized with a hint of confusion, and irritation, that he had gotten a message from an unknown number.
[Unknown Number] 7:22
Hey Bakugou, it's Uraraka! (๑ ᴗ ๑)
A snort escaped his nose as he held back a laugh at the stupid emoticon she had used, any annoyance at the thought of potentially receiving a random spam message disappearing instantly. Somehow, despite the fact that it was just random symbols smashed together, it looked exactly like her. Of course her old ass phone wouldn't be able to support modern emojis - not that he used that shit anyway. He saved her contact but didn't bother responding.
His phone was halfway to his pocket when he paused, stood in the middle of his room glaring at the wall for entirely way too long, and finally unlocked the screen one more time so that, for the first time in his life, he could set his phone on vibrate.
There was no point in sharing numbers if he was going to risk actually missing a message about her canceling training. Right? It was the logical decision. It made sense. It wasn't 'weird' or 'stupid', and the little part of his brain that was screaming at him to take even one extra second to analyze why he thought this was an important thing to do for her and not Kirishima or his other friends could fucking go to hell.
Shoving his annoying thoughts deep down where he could forget about them completely, he gathered his shit together for the day, made his way downstairs, grabbed some actual breakfast from the kitchen, and left for class.
He'd invited Uraraka to train again tomorrow, and he was already looking forward to it. Well he hadn't really invited her, he'd more so just told her they would be training again, but there wasn't really a difference.
She'd pissed him off today but she'd more than made up for it afterward. Sure, he normally would have just ended things by now - or he wouldn't have even let them start to begin with - but that was irrelevant at this point. Whenever Shitty Hair or Dunce Face tried to get lazy he would fuck off and train by himself. He didn't need to waste his time on people who weren't serious.
So why had he stuck around for her?
Honestly, he didn't really know. Probably the same reason the phone in his pocket just vibrated with a stupid meme text from Kaminari that he normally could have easily ignored.
She'd fucked up and tried to slack off and he'd told her to get her fucking act together, which usually would have been the tipping point for him, but something about her damn determined expression wouldn't let him leave.
And she'd done it. She'd gotten her fucking act together, stepped up her game, and pulled through.
No one had ever listened to him like that. People usually either just gave up and continued being lazy or they would get fed up with him and go train with someone else. Besides Kirishima, who was annoying as fuck but would usually get back into it after messing around for a while, though that was only if Katsuki hadn't already left. And Deku, but Katsuki was mostly training with him to make sure the nerd didn't fuck up; because he had to make sure what had happened to All Might, what he'd played a part in causing, wasn't for nothing. And because the damn dweeb was too fucking self-sacrificing to realize his own limits.
With Uraraka, though, he'd only had to snap her out of it once and she was back in, and something about that shit made him think this wasn't a waste of time. Something about her made him resist the urge to put his phone back on silent before setting it on 'do not disturb' for class and shoving it back in his pocket. He'd agreed to train with her because he believed that she would give it her all, and so far she was proving him right. He wasn't as beat up as she was, but both yesterday and today he'd left sweaty and tired yet also feeling more energized and accomplished than if he'd gone to the gym on his own, and that was exactly what he'd wanted.
So he would keep training with her, and leave his phone on vibrate, as long as she didn't prove him wrong and disappoint him.
He didn't think she would.
Katsuki arrived to class and tried to make his way to his seat before he was suddenly pulled by the arm and stopped dead in his tracks.
"WHAT THE FU-"
"Bakugou, look at this, he's literally you," said Ashido, shoving a phone in his face. She was watching a video of an ashy blonde, fluffy little puppy who was going absolutely wild, barking and growling like crazy at a much larger dog. The larger dog was just looking at the puppy, his head tilted in confusion.
"THE FUCK? THAT RAT AIN'T ME, GET YOUR FUCKIN' EYES CHECKED!"
"I don't know man, that looks exactly like you to me," said Kirishima as Kaminari doubled over laughing next to him.
"DO YOU TWO WANNA FUCKIN' DIE?!"
"Bakugou, please quiet down, this is no way to behave in a classroom," scolded Iida, his arm chopping frantically through the air. At least the class rep was consistent, even after all they had been through. But that didn't mean getting unnecessarily scolded wasn't just as annoying as being made fun of.
Katsuki was about to tear him a fucking new one when someone else laughed behind him. "What did you guys do now, we could hear Bakugou yelling all the way down the hall?"
He froze as a chill ran up his spine.
It was her.
"Ochako, Midoriya, look at this puppy. Isn't he exactly Bakugou? They even have the same hairstyle!"
Ashido must have shown the newcomers the video because they both laughed again. "Kacchan, that is kinda like you."
Fucking Deku. Though Katsuki had tried to make amends and was on better terms with him than they had been in the past, he still didn't like being teased. His rage had reached its peak and he turned, ready to blast the damn nerd into next week, but he never got the chance.
"He's so cute! That really is you, Bakugou." Uraraka laughed, looking between him and the video, and he felt his heart skip a beat. She was so fucking happy watching this dumb little puppy, saying it was him, saying it was cute, and for some fucking reason the big ass smile on her face blasted the gravity of his anger down to almost nothing. The heat that had been a regular visitor to his ears recently returned despite the chill still tingling his spine.
Why the fuck was he getting embarrassed over something so stupid? He needed to snap out of it.
"I ain't fuckin' cute, Round Face! You can all fuckin' drop dead," he growled, shoving past her to finally go sit at his own desk in his best attempt to act normally. He absolutely could not risk revealing the mental gymnastics he was currently going through or the whirlwind of emotions he was experiencing thanks to everything that had occurred since his concussion earlier that week.
Deku followed him, taking his own seat, and the damn nerd had the nerve to tap him on the shoulder. Katsuki whirled around, a well-practiced intimidating glare plastered on his face.
"So Kacchan, it seems like you and Uraraka are getting along pretty well recently," Deku said, trying and failing to seem casual. It was clear that he knew, or suspected, something was going on. Uraraka must have blabbed to him that she was trying to 'get closer' or whatever because Katsuki trusted her enough to know she wouldn't go back on her word about keeping their training a secret so soon. But Deku was always good at figuring shit out on his own eventually, even when he wasn't intentionally trying to meddle. "I'm glad you're becoming better friends with our classmates."
What the fuck did Deku know? Sure, he was training with her, and she had decided to play this stupid question game to get to know each other better for whatever bullshit reason. But they were not fucking friends. She was just a decent sparring partner for now, and he respected her tenacity and drive to become a hero. That was it. And Deku didn't need to know that shit. He needed to mind his own damn business for once.
"Piss off, Deku."
"Jeez, Bakugou, what's got you so riled up this morning?" asked Sero who had just entered the classroom and sat down in his seat, grinning at Deku.
"You piss off too, Tape Arms." Katsuki forced himself to face forward, seething as his rage increased again. At least this was an emotion he was used to.
He heard Deku lean over and whisper, "A puppy. He's actually pretty cute, I'm sure Ashido will show you later," and was about to turn back around and go off again when Aizawa finally showed up to start homeroom, quieting everyone down and forcing them all to get to their seats.
Katsuki glanced over his shoulder as everyone got their books ready to start class. Uraraka was getting a notebook out of her bag, but as she sat up they made eye contact again. That was becoming too frequent of an occurrence for his liking, but for some reason he couldn't look away, and was only vaguely aware of the fact that he had technically been the one staring first. She seemed surprised, her eyes wide, but she suddenly stuck her tongue out at him and turned away, leaving her pudgy cheeks tinted slightly pinker than normal.
How the fuck was she gunna call him cute when she was the one pulling cute fucking shit like that?
Hold on, wait. Why was he suddenly thinking that she was cute instead of annoying? When had that started? He didn't think anything was cute! Not even her! Definitely not her…
He turned to face forward, the chill in his spine completely eliminated by the heat now coursing through his entire body, and forced that idiotic thought down to the same deep recesses of his mind where he had been shoving a lot of things recently. No point in thinking about things that didn't matter anyway.
But really, what the fuck was wrong with?
Morning classes passed by quickly and it wasn't long before Kirishima and Kaminari were dragging Katsuki to Lunch Rush, all embarrassing thoughts from earlier completely forgotten. He ordered his usual - spicy ramen loaded with enough hot sauce and chili oil to set a small child on fire from the inside out - and made his way to his preferred seat. As he sat down some subconscious part of his brain glanced in the direction of Uraraka's usual table. She was sitting there already, talking animatedly with Frog, Earphones, and Ponytail, and he noticed that she had just about as much dessert in front of her as actual food. If he didn't know for a fact that she was burning off all that sugar he'd probably be worried for her health. That is, if he cared. Which he definitely didn't.
Kirishima and Kaminari finally caught up to him, talking about some stupid television show that he really didn't care about, and he returned his focus to his lunch.
"Bro, I'm telling you, the dumb blonde guy is the traitor," Kaminari said, shoving chicken into his mouth. "It's all a ruse."
"He's definitely not," Kirishima argued, snapping apart his disposable chopsticks. "Nothing points to it being him. If there is actually gunna be a traitor I think it'll be someone we don't expect, but once we know who it is it'll be completely obvious."
"Vere's sho mush evifence ish him," Kaminari insisted, continuing to force food into his already half-full mouth. "Everyone onwine finks sho."
"Chew with your damn mouth closed, that's fuckin' disgusting!" Katsuki yelled a little too loudly, causing a few first-years who were sitting nearby to glance in the direction of their table nervously. "I shouldn't have to tell you this every damn day!"
Kirishima laughed. "He's right, manners are manly, Kaminari. And anyway, there's no evidence."
Kaminari swallowed his mouthful. "There is."
"There's not. People just decided this random theory and everyone somehow got on board with it, but if you really look at the situation it doesn't make sense. It's like when people try and spread the theory that the traitor is the CEO of the company or that girl who is practically invisible because no one acknowledges her. Tell me even one valid piece of evidence that it's him and I might change my mind."
"Okay, I'm not gunna sit here and be lectured by you about TV show theories, dude," Kaminari said, shoveling more food in his face.
"Because you know you're wrong." Kirishima rolled his eyes as his shark-like teeth morphed into a triumphant grin.
"Vere's evifence, Kirifima!"
"Man, gross, you're spitting rice everywhere!"
Katsuki chose that moment to go back to ignoring his idiot friends. While they continued to argue and laugh next to him his eyes wandered back to where Uraraka had been sitting. The nerd brigade (aka Deku, Four-Eyes, and Half n' Half) had joined her table, but Uraraka wasn't there anymore. He scanned the cafeteria and managed to find her a short ways away getting some napkins.
On her way back she passed by his table and Katsuki knew he had been caught watching her when she waved. "Hi guys!"
Kirishima and Kaminari greeted her happily before returning to their debate but Katsuki didn't respond. Their eyes met and she smiled before turning back toward her destination. Despite his best efforts to focus on something, anything else, his eyes followed her back to her table where she immediately started talking to Deku excitedly.
Deku suddenly turned towards Katsuki and flashed his overly bright smile. He looked like he was about to wave hello but Katsuki abruptly turned back to his food, a scowl on his face.
He and Izuku might be on better terms but he still didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment, especially not after the overthinking nerd's annoying assumptions earlier that morning. Also, something about the two of them happily sitting together and talking so animatedly pissed Katsuki off more than it should. It's not like they didn't do that every damn day, so why was it suddenly so irritating? Why had he even bothered to look for her in the first place?
He had noticed he was doing that a lot more recently. Looking at her, that is. In class, at lunch, during hero training. His eyes were always trying to seek her out. Why did he always want to know where she was, what she was doing, who she was with? It was exhausting. He didn't care. Well… he shouldn't care. So why was he always looking for her?
He was probably just making sure she wasn't doing anything to jeopardize their training together or going back on her word and telling those losers. That had to be it. Whatever it was, it was annoying as hell and needed to stop.
He was torn from his thoughts as Sero and Ashido finally arrived, laughing hysterically. Sero plopped down next to him, letting his clunky arm rest on Katsuki's shoulder, and propped up his phone against Katsuki's water.
"I found another one," he laughed as he started to play a video of a different but similar tiny puppy who was chasing around a bunch of other puppies and going absolutely as nuts as the one from earlier.
Kirishima and Kaminari, who had leaned over to watch, burst out laughing just like Ashido and Sero.
Katsuki felt a vein in his temple twitch.
"ALL OF YOU CAN GO TO HELL!"
The nearby group of first years moved to a different table.
Hero course that afternoon was just basic sparring practice, no quirks allowed (besides heteromorphic types, obviously, the lucky bastards). They were all paired up and sent on their way to spar in the gym. Katsuki was paired with Ojiro; Tail Boy had an advantage which was exactly the kind of challenge Katsuki wanted.
Without the ability to use his quirk, Ojiro's tail did prove a little more difficult of an obstacle to dodge than he was expecting, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Unsurprisingly, Katsuki managed to take down his opponent relatively quickly. Still, Ojiro's primary focus was in hand-to-hand combat, so Katsuki got in a decent workout. It wasn't a total waste of class.
Uraraka had been paired up with Sato. Even without his quirk he was still extremely strong and also very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but from the brief glimpses Katsuki got of their fight he could tell that Uraraka was holding her own. She was at least doing better than she did against him that morning. At one point he saw her land a blow to Sato's ribs that was so forceful he was knocked to the floor. Sugar Nerd was probably going too easy on her and Katsuki scoffed to himself as he and Ojiro took a break for water. Served him right for underestimating her strength. If she could use her quirk he'd have been demolished in seconds.
When class ended everyone gathered their things and made their way to the locker rooms, ready to head back to the dorms to relax or do homework. As always, Katsuki was one of the first to leave, wasting no time messing around and showering as efficiently as possible. He had begun the walk back to Heights Alliance when he heard the familiar sound of someone running behind him, and this time he didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Hey, Bakugou, wait up!" Uraraka caught up to him and matched his pace, a spring in her step, still looking sweaty and wearing her gym uniform. She must have rushed out of the locker rooms without even showering - or changing at all it seemed. "Today was pretty fun, huh? Sato was tough to spar with, but training with you has definitely helped, even after only two days!"
"Why're you still wearing that?"
"Wearing what?" She looked at him, confused, but he avoided her gaze, choosing to face forwards and keep stomping along the path.
"Your uniform. You didn't change."
"Oh. Well, it's kinda silly but I still have a lot of visible bruises from sparring together, and it will be too hard to explain without telling anyone about our training, which I said I wouldn't do. And yesterday I kinda had to lie that I was going to see Recovery Girl so that I could be in the changing rooms alone. I was late to class though, and I don't want that to happen again. I hate lying, too, especially to our friends. So I wore a long-sleeved workout top under my uniform today which helped a lot. But then I didn't want to take it off in front of the girls to shower, obviously, because then they would see the bruises anyway. So I just said I forgot to bring my shower stuff and that I would shower when I got back to the dorms. Which kinda defeats the whole point, now that I think about it, because I still had to lie, huh? I dunno how much longer I can pull this off, though; I got so sweaty after just one sparring class. I hope I don't stink," she said, lifting one of her arms and smelling underneath.
He should probably think that that was gross, but they all got nasty while training so he didn't really care. "I don't smell shit." It was a lie, but he found he didn't really mind it. Her sweat was an indication of her hard work and he was getting used to it by now anyway. It didn't even smell bad, just like any old sweat. It's not like she smelled good - he wasn't some fucking creep like that pervy small fry - but she didn't smell disgusting to him. Was that gross? That he didn't mind the way her body odor smelled?
He didn't care about that either. With him, sweat came with the package, so who was he to judge? Plus, sharing a locker room with the rest of the disgusting guys in their class had basically rendered all of their noses immune to BO.
"Well that's a relief. I feel gross though. I don't know how I'm going to keep hiding these bruises without constantly lying, so I'll just have to get stronger, and then you'll be the one having to hide," she said, grinning at him.
"Whatever, Uraraka. No matter how good you get I'll beat you every damn time," he said, smirking back.
"I'll beat you one of these days, and then you'll have to eat your words!"
"So you're just assuming we're gunna keep training then? That's real ballsy of you."
"We don't have to!" She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "I just figured that since you asked me twice already that you would be okay with it if we keep sparring. We can stop whenever-"
"It's fine." He chose not to elaborate. She looked really happy again for whatever dumb reason, and her variety of mochi-like expressions popped into his head. He wondered which ones he'd get to see before they made it back to Heights Alliance, and which new expressions of hers he had yet to discover.
"So how was your fight with Ojiro?" she asked, tearing him from his awkward thoughts.
"What do you care?"
"I was just asking," she said, puffing her cheeks out in feigned annoyance. He felt himself grinning and forced a neutral expression back on his face.
"Why? Were you watchin'?"
"I wasn't!" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she purposely avoided looking at him. "I just always try to keep up with what everyone in our class is doing. If I wanna become a top pro hero then I should know what my competition is like, right? And it's also a good way to learn about different quirks and fighting styles."
"You sound like fuckin' Deku," he scoffed. A large part of him wasn't sure why that was annoying to him. She wasn't wrong. It was smart. He did the same thing. But he was getting pissed off, just like at lunch.
"Is that a problem?" she asked, her annoyance no longer just for show.
"Tch." He suddenly wasn't in the mood to answer, or to keep talking at all, so he shoved his fists in his pockets and trudged forward. She didn't try to catch up, and she didn't say goodbye once they parted ways.
Katsuki hated waking up early, especially on his days off, but it was the only time the campus gym was relatively empty so he suffered through it.
Though he hadn't been going to the gym recently; he had been sparring with Uraraka. Which was exactly what he was getting ready to do again today.
Having calmed down while studying before bed, he wasn't still pissed from yesterday, and he hoped she wasn't either. Not because he cared, obviously, but because if she was it would be really damn annoying.
By the time he got his shit together, grabbed his protein shake, and made his way to the P.E. grounds, Uraraka was already deep into her stretching routine.
"Good Morning," she said, as cheerful as usual. Clearly she wasn't still pissed either; he was a little relieved but honestly not surprised. She didn't seem the type to stay mad for long. It usually annoyed him when someone was so bright and peppy, but for some reason he could barely hold back his own smile at her greeting. He'd be damned if he let her or anyone else know that, though, so he kept his expression as neutral as possible.
"Morning," he grunted, setting his bag down next to hers.
"Wow, a whole good morning greeting from Mr. Grumpypants himself! I'm honored," she teased.
He glared at her, no longer holding back a smile. "That ain't my fuckin' name."
"Well you don't always call me by my name," she grumbled.
"Ya I do."
"'Pink Cheeks' isn't my name," she pouted, puffing out her rosy pink cheeks and reminding him exactly why he called her that. "And neither is 'Round Face'." She definitely liked that nickname even less. They weren't meant to be rude though, they were just true.
"Whatever you say, Cheeks," he shrugged, smirking at her. Banter had never been this easy for him. It was weird. It should have felt uncomfortable but it just… didn't.
She grumbled unintelligibly as she finished her stretching. "Are we running again today?"
"Hn," he grunted in response as he did a few more stretches before standing up fully and taking off his hoodie. For once she followed suit and took off her jacket, too.
"Hey, we match!"
"Hah?"
"Our shirts!"
He looked down and realized they both had black tank tops on. Sure, Uraraka often dressed more simply than the other girls in their class, so it's not like it was obvious at first glance that they were dressed basically the same, but he still felt awkward about it for some reason. Katsuki didn't like feeling awkward - it was easier to just be annoyed. "I always wear this! Don't copy me!"
"I didn't, this is just one of my shirts, Bakugou," she said, her tone slightly exasperated. "It's a coincidence, I just thought it was funny. It's not like anyone will even see, so you can relax."
"Immitation is creepy as fuck!"
She rolled her eyes. "Some people say it's the most sincere form of flattery."
He felt his ears heat up which only served to piss him off even more. "10 laps! Hurry up!"
She laughed as she got into place, ready to start their race. "Fine, but you're gunna have to stop raiding my closet."
She was teasing him again, and he knew that his reactions were only egging her on, but her comment was actually funny enough that he almost laughed. Normally he wouldn't let some extra get under his skin like this. It was fucking ridiculous.
'Well I'm not an extra! I'm Uravity!'
Right. It was because of that stupid fucking determination of hers that he had agreed to this damn training in the first place. And, despite his best efforts, he was actually enjoying the time he spent with this mochi-faced girl more than he could have ever imagined. Dammit.
He felt his face morph into a deep scowl before he took off, barely even giving her a chance to blink.
Katsuki won all three races again, but Uraraka hadn't given up like yesterday. He knew she wouldn't.
They took a break for water and as they were catching their breath he noticed she was not-so-subtly trying to hide the fact that she was clutching her stomach.
"You gunna puke or somethin'?"
"No," she said, weakly. "I'm just a little nauseous."
"I told you not to use your fuckin' quirk, Round Face."
"I didn't," she argued. "Anyway, I can do a lot more now without vomiting, so even if I had used it to lighten my clothes I would be fine."
"So what the hell's wrong then?"
"I'm fine," she insisted, though the uncomfortable look on her face betrayed her completely.
"If you're sick I'm not fighting you. I ain't gunna get fuckin' puked on."
Her lower lip stuck out in a small pout, her expression embarrassed. Katsuki's heart skipped a beat, or maybe beat a little too fast, and he had to hold back the intrusive thought that her pouty face was one of his favorite expressions he'd seen so far. "I'm not sick, I won't throw up on you. I promise I'm just-"
An extremely loud grumble from her stomach cut her off and there was a seconds pause before her entire face erupted in bright red.
He smirked at her. "What, did ya not eat enough breakfast?" She looked away, rubbing the back of her head as she chuckled awkwardly. "Did you eat any breakfast?" he asked more seriously.
"Sometimes I don't have enough money to eat breakfast every day so I… skip it? Usually Sundays are a no breakfast day since I normally sleep in." She laughed awkwardly again.
"Bullshit! You can't fuckin' sit there and tell me that you're skipping breakfast when half your damn lunch is dessert!" She gave him a weird look which he ignored. "You need to eat breakfast!"
"I know, but sometimes I want more snacks and I just can't afford-"
"Do I look like I give a fuck, Uraraka?! Eat fuckin' breakfast!"
"Jeez, okay. I'lll eat when we get back."
He reached into his gym bag and pulled out one of his spare protein bars. "No, you're gunna eat now." He tossed the bar at her and she caught it, looking confused.
"Can I really have this?"
"No, I gave it to ya for shits and giggles. You ain't stupid so don't act like it."
There was a slight pause before she giggled softly and said, "Thanks, Bakugou," as she opened the bar and took a bite, a warm smile returning to her face.
"If I'm gunna train you then you're gunna eat breakfast." Fuck. He only caught his mistake once the words were already out of his mouth; he'd meant to say train with her. He wasn't helping her. Hadn't he told her as much just yesterday? He quickly added, "I'm not givin' you any more shit. Eat properly." Hopefully she didn't notice his slip-up.
"Okay, Bakugou Sensei," she teased, her sly tone a clear indicator that she had noticed.
Dammit.
His cheeks and ears burned as if Todoroki has just punched him in the face with his full firepower. "Oi, don't fuckin' call me that!"
She just laughed as she finished up the protein bar.
"DO YOU WANNA DIE?!"
"No, not really. Thank you for breakfast," she said as she clapped her hands together and bowed. He only gave her one stupid bar, it's not like she needed to thank him so formally. She was so fucking weird sometimes, and he had to force himself not to laugh again. "I feel a lot better. You ready to let me beat you this time?"
He scoffed, brushing off the embarrassment he felt in favor of adrenaline and competitive spirit. "Not a fuckin' chance."
They sparred for about an hour just like the day before. She was definitely improving but there was still a lot of work to do. Her movements were still too slow compared to his, and even though she was getting better at predicting his attacks she was still getting pummeled. She needed to improve her reaction time; he wasn't always going to be her opponent, and as much as he hated to admit it there were some people out there who were faster and more unpredictable than him.
Katsuki was getting ready to call their session but dealt one last intense jab to her stomach in the same place he had first hit her two days ago. She gasped for air, clearly not expecting the attack, and before he could stop her she grabbed for his arm to support herself. He was barely aware of all five of her finger pads making contact when he suddenly felt an eerily familiar feeling.
Things got really peaceful really quickly.
He rose off the ground, floating higher and higher, unable to control his movements well in zero gravity. "OI, WHAT THE HELL, ROUND FACE?!"
She let go of him, trying to regain her breathing. "S-sorry!" her voice cracked. "Accident!"
"LET ME DOWN! WHAT THE FU-AHHH?!"
He had just tried to stabilize himself - it was only a small explosion - but suddenly he was flying, faster than he ever had in his life, directly towards the P.E. building.
"Oh no, oh no! Release!"
And then he was falling, any sense of peace he felt vanishing in an instant. Thankfully his reflexes were a lot better than Uraraka's, and his ability to control himself in the air was a lot better in normal gravity. Just as he felt his weight return he was able to blast an explosion at the ground - preventing himself from face planting into the dirt - flip back, and land on his feet.
She ran after him, stopping a few yards away when he landed safely, looking extremely nervous. "Bakugou, I'm so sorry. It was an accident."
He caught his breath, adrenaline flowing through his veins. He could hear his heart beating, feel his blood pumping. His palms were absolutely drenched.
He clenched his fists and teeth reflexively as he stomped past her, unable to make eye contact as his thoughts traveled at the speed of light through his brain. "Training's over," he growled, the only two words he was confident would come out of his mouth with any sort of coherency.
He grabbed his bag and left, heading back to the dorms alone. He didn't wait for her, and he didn't hear her follow him. They never got a chance to play the question game.
Katsuki ignored Uraraka and everyone else for the rest of the day, shutting himself in his room to focus on studying and make sense of the insanity going on within his mind. At around noon his phone vibrated with a text from her but he didn't have the mental capacity to check it.
He made his way to the gym after dinner completely alone, forgoing any of his usual gym partners. Evidently everyone got the message that he wanted to be left to himself because no one bothered him there either.
The entire time all he could think about was that feeling - flying at that speed in zero gravity, the rush of power and purpose he felt, somehow both alarmingly peaceful and extremely exhilarating all at once.
He finished up his workout, showered, and went back to the dorms to get ready for bed at his usual time of 8:30pm.
Before his eyes closed, he finally caved and checked the single notification that had been tainting his lock screen all day.
Pink Cheeks 12:17
I'm sorry
He didn't answer and instead set his alarm for the next morning and settled in to sleep.
That night he dreamed of fluffy pink clouds while floating peacefully through the air