Aah… I felt like drawing Bakugou & Kirishima so yeah, I did this quick little drawing. x) Once again, Bakugou is helping Kirishima studying. Hope you like ! ~
Pairing:Bakugo x Reader. Suitable for Males, Females, Non Binary, all of them :D Characters: Eijiro Kirishima, Denki Kaminari, Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku Midoriya, Minoru Mineta, Mezo Shoji, Koji Koda, Hanta Sero Rating: Completely SFW
Dis is fluff about my angry boi. He deserves some love :,(
Ah Valentine’s Day… The one day where you can shamelessly buy your crush some flowers or chocolates and they have to accept it. UA’s halls buzzed with glee and chittering from its students. You sat at your desk, doodling in your notebook as you waited for class to start. “Hey Y/N!” Denki’s head dips below your eyes, taking away your sight of the page that your pen made contact with. “Why hello there human taser.” You say with a smile. “What can I do ya for?” “I just wanted to give you this.” He stated casually, pulling out a box of chocolates. You pout with thankful and joyful eyes. As if you had just seen a puppy. “Aww Kaminari.” “Don’t thank me, they’re actually from Kiri, he just got too nervous so I did it for him.” Your smile widens, the thought of nervous Kiri was one you found quite adorable. You lean further into your desk to look at Kiri who sat in the same row. “Thank you.” You mouth to him. He blushes and mouths back. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” His lips curled into a contagious smile. “Anyways… I got you this!” Denki whipped out a heart shaped card and slammed it on your desk excitedly. “Happy V day weirdo!” You laugh at him and pick up the card. “Thank you doofus.” You say as you lightly punch him in the arm.
“Y/N!” You turn to see a joyous Midoriya. “Hey! How’s your Valentine’s so far?” “Chocolates from Kiri, card from Denki, Koji picked me some flowers and Shoji kept Mineta as far away from everyone as possible. So pretty great!” You beam. “Wow! That’s awesome! Got a Valentine yet?” “Nah,” You shrug, “I mean, I’ve gotten gifts but not really a Valentine specifically. What about you?” “Few cards, nothing too special.” He laughs. “Beats nothing though.” “That’s true.” As your eyes glance up you notice Bakugo heading towards the two of you. A frown plastered on his face with his hands shoved in his pockets. It’s not like a negative face on him was unusual, this one just seemed different in some sort of way. He slipped past in silence. “Hey, what about Bakugo? Has he gotten anything?” You ask as you peer back at him. “Not that I know of. Kacchan never really liked Valentine’s Day.” “Hm.” Your brows furrow.
7:34pm You pace your room in thought, glancing over to the blood red rose that Sero left by your door. Valentine’s Day made you smile. Made you feel loved and appreciated. You hands slip into your bottom drawer and pull out a small, rectangular box. You kick the drawer closed and hide the box in your jumper, slipping out of your room.
Your knuckles lightly knock on the wooden door that stood before your wandering eyes. It forcefully swung open exposing a grumpy Katsuki Bakugo. “What do you want?” He grunted as he eyed you off. “Just wanted to ask you somethin’.” You smile warmly. Your gentle eyes settling on his fiery ones. “Get it over with.” His tone never seemed to change from simply irritated. You hesitate, wondering whether or not you should just back out. “Well…” You unzip your jumper and pull out the box. “I got you this.” You place it in his hands as he raises an eyebrow. “I know you like spicy stuff so I got these really tasty–” “Why?” He frowns again. You inhale deeply. Probably at the sheer stupidity and cluelessness of this cutie. “I wanted to know… if you’d be my Valentine.” You release the breath that made home to your lungs. Bakugo was silent. It felt like hours had past as he just stood. Staring at you. “You’re serious aren’t you?” “Of course.” You say firmly. You wanted him to know that you meant business. Silence once again. He sighed exasperatedly. “Fine.” His reply taking you by complete surprise. Your eyes lit up. “Great! No backing out now. Come with me, we’re watching a movie back at my dorm.” “What?! I never agreed to this!” He barked as you dragged him out of his room by his hand. “Too bad so sad. I said so.” You skip off down the hall, looking back every few seconds to make sure he was following. Surely enough, even while dragging his feet, he was. Perhaps it was the night to finally tell him. You wanted him to be your Valentine for a while now. “Hey Y/N.” “Hm?” “Thanks. I guess.”
Minori sighed as she placed her bag on the ground. Ever since she realized and admitted her feelings for Bakugo to Mina, she couldn’t catch a break from the overly enthusiastic girl. After being held captive in her best friend’s room, the many confessional styles replayed in the back of her mind on repeat. Ranging from the typical angsty “i love you’s” on a rainy day to the “anonymous” love-notes. Despite enjoying the stories they’ve read and getting excited as the couples reached a happy ending in the mangas shared, Minori distinctly separated reality from fiction– knowing damn well she could never re-enact those experiences no matter how Mina pushed her to.
For the past week as she trained, Mina stood over her shoulder in an obnoxious outfit that screamed she was here to meddle in some business. But as Mina likes to call it “a disguise to make sure everything goes as planned.” It’s important to mention though that nothing goes as planned because Minori was too embarrassed to even try to at least begin to confess to Bakugo. Meanwhile the pinkette continued to write in her “Sail or Sink” notebook that outlined every plan she thought. Starting from the simple pull Bakugo to the side and confess, all the way to the elaborate damsel in distress scheme. Overall, Mina soon started to resemble Midoriya’s over studious actions about the various types of Quirks.
Today, however, Mina wasn’t in sight, allowing Minori to exhale a breath of relief as she could focus entirely on training without over anticipating what to do, or more importantly, what Mina would do. Therefore as the ash-blonde readied his stance and Minori followed, the two begin with an intense urge to win.
Sweat drips down her back as Bakugo blasts off another explosion from his Quirk. Sidestepping, Minori evades the rough blow aimed for her side. Shooting off a compressed force of air from her hands but Bakugo dodges by jumping backwards and uses his Quirk to create a sphere of light that mimics a stun grenade.
Although the move was intended to freeze Minori, forcing her to switch more to defensive attacks, she instead squinted her eyes as she followed the tighter molecules surrounding her to find where Bakugo was hiding. Surprising him, she throws a bunch at him, striking him in the chest. Yet, as she moves to throw another bunch directed for his face, he catches her wrist and moves to her over his shoulder.
However, she disrupts Bakugo’s momentum by forcefully pulling her arm closer to herself while releasing her heels at the same time to fling her entire body weight at him. The back of Bakugo’s head thumps against the grassy surface while Minori topples over, landing on top, and successfully countering.
When Bakugo opens his eyes, the sight above him has the blonde faltering. Minori looked down with sparkling eyes and a glowing face, smiling that she finally was able to gain the upper-hand while fighting against Bakugo. In reaction, the corners of his mouth slightly tugged upwards in a dazed smile. Minori’s stomach fluttered with butterflies as she struggled to breathe, still, in her flustered state she picked up on Bakugo’s unusual behavior. She expected him to huff at her or throw her off and neither happened, therefore she immediately believed that Bakugo was having some sort of internal bleeding and losing his mind.
As her smile faltered, her eyes tensed with concern. “Katsuki, are you okay?” she asks, placing her hands on the sides of his face to check for any external wounds. “Are you dizzy?”
“What the fuck? I’m fine,” he asserted in a dominant yet comforting tone, reassuring her that he was, in fact, okay. Bakugo isn’t one to bask in pity and he sure as hell strays far from those who try to help him, but when it comes to those he considers dear to his heart like his friends, he’ll try to comfort them in his unique way. “Your weak ass punch couldn’t do anything even if you tried.”
“Are you sure? You fell pretty hard,” the girl insisted as she continued looking him over.
“Don’t insult me,” he mumbled, pouting as the tip of his ears turned the slightest shade of pink. Ignoring him, Minori places her hand atop of his forehead to see as if his body would show sudden signs of a fever. “And stop touching me,” he adds, the pink growing darker as he grabs her wrist to stop her movements and sits up.
Consequently, Minori’s eyes widened in shock as the pair froze from the sudden lack of space between the two. If Minori was thinking clearly she would’ve immediately thrown herself backwards and out his grasp, instead she didn’t move a muscle. His gleaming crimson orbs peered into her grey ones, and with a distance close to none, his features were much more striking, especially his lips.
Minori’s gaze flickered from his eyes and zeroed onto his soft yet slightly chapped lips. As the air cracked with tension, her lungs struggled to breathe as her heart began to beat erratically, feeling as though it may burst. When she languidly tore her gaze back to Bakugo’s eyes, she almost jolted as his eyes darkened in color.
There was this sudden formidable force that struck through the pair, pulling them closer like magnets. Like souls sparking and reaching out for another to bask in warmth, sincerity, and passion. With only inches apart, Minori felt the hand around her wrist tighten in anticipation, moving to close the gap.
“Bakubro! Minori!”
From a distance, the pair could hear the cheery voice of Kirishima and Mina making their way to them.
Blinking open her eyes sharply, Minori scattered away from the blonde, breathing heavily as her stomach rendered her a human butterfly. Grabbing her bag and gulping down a bottle of water, she tapped her fingers against her now empty bottle, impatiently waiting for her classmates to finally get here and interrupt the intoxicating tension.
“Guys! We’re going to the aquarium, so get your sweaty asses in the showers so we can have some fun!” Mina announced, excited with a beaming smile. As Minori blinked at her supposed wingman and number one supporter, she couldn’t help but think how absolutely worse timing she has.
“We’re all leaving in about two hours, so you have plenty of time to get ready,” Kirishima added joyously.
“AND YOU GUYS COULDN’T FUCKING WAIT UNTIL WE GOT BACK TO TELL US THIS?” Bakugo barked, agitation evident through his taught jaw.
“We thought it’d be a nice change of pace. You two are normally out here all day, and if we waited for you to come in, it’d already be too late,” Kirishima explained with an awkward smile, picking up on how angry his closest friend looks.
“It could’ve waited,” Bakugo grumbled, looking toward Minori. At the eye-contact, her thoughts quickly turned back to how just a couple of seconds ago they nearly kissed. Just inches away she would’ve kissed him, and he would’ve kissed her. Uttering a quick “I’ll go get ready” she sharply turns away from Bakugo’s sharp and mesmerizing eyes before nearly sprinting back to the dorms.
***
All of class 1-A agreed to spend the day at the aquarium and Minori couldn’t help but agree how necessary a change of pace was needed. For nearly a month now, all Minori had been thinking about was preparing herself to face the evil of her mother, and just recently, dealing with her crush. But as she walked down the serene halls, enjoying the various types of sea creatures, she was at peace as she allowed nothing to trouble her mind. Pulse, since the incident earlier, Bakugo and Minori haven’t been in each other’s presence nor have even made eye contact.
If Minori dwelled on it too much, she would absolutely be bothered by the sudden distance, but she also acknowledges the fact that she would be way too nervous around him to even utter a single word. Thus, avoidance is a win-win situation for them both, at least that’s what she thinks.
Watching the large jelly-fish swim around in their tanks, Mina breaks her from her reverie, announcing that everyone is going to go watch the seal show that’ll be starting in about 15 minutes, so they need to grab their seats and food. Offering to assist with the food and drinks, Minori makes her way to the concession stands along with Mezo. With his helpful Quirk of Dupli-Arms, he is on food duty while Minori is to order and grab the drinks.
As she began piling the drinks in her arms, someone harshly bumped into her, causing her to drop the bottles in hand. Scowling, she turns to glare at whomever pushed her, only to find a random greanette with a sneering smirk. “Ew, I can’t believe they’d allow a criminal in here,” the girl nagged, looking back at her two friends. “My mom was part of the clean up crew for Hecate and she always told me that villainy was a cycle. Isn’t that right, Tatsumaki?” the girl asked Minori condescendingly, before dramatically gasping with feign realization, “oh my bad, that isn’t your name, is it?”
Here we go again, she thought to herself while blankly staring at the mean girls clique. Since her conversation with Bakugo about her part in the Hecate tragedy, she realized that the hate she’s faced is uncalled for and not something she should have to handle just because she was born from a horrible human being.
Rolling her eyes at the trio, she mindlessly begins picking up the drinks she dropped. “You obviously already knew that otherwise you wouldn’t have made such a dramatic scene,” she said, bored. “Unless, you’re actually an idiot?” she finishes, raising a brow.
As the girl scoffs, offended, she continues in a snotty tone. “Well, no matter what you say just know that when you go berserk and run loose like your mother, know that I’ll be the one to put you down.”
Minori simply stares at the girl with her brows furrowed in utter confusion. First of all, who is this chick and why can’t she mind her business? Secondly, “put you down,” what is she a dog?
“Oh fuck off you buck tooth bitch,” Bakugo growls as small sparks go off from his hands.
As Minori faces the direction of her voice, she calls out to him, “Katsuki? What are you doing here?” It’s not like she’s mad about him making an entrance and scaring the group of girls away, but she doesn’t think her heart can handle anymore surprises.
Ignoring her question, Bakugo stomps toward her with narrowed eyes. “What the fuck have I told you about letting these extras walk all over?”
“Oh,” she mumbles, coming to stand once she has all the drinks in her arms. “Don’t worry about it, there’s no point in arguing with them.”
“You idiot. They’re going to keep treating you like trash, if you let them. They can think what they want and say whatever the fuck they please, but that doesn’t mean they’re free from getting their asses whooped.
“Well I face more consequences than the average human, so it’s better to be the bigger person,” she shrugs.
“Being the bigger person sounds a lot like accepting disrespect,” Bakugo grumbles as he snatches some drinks from her arms, equally splitting the amount she’s holding and how much he’s holding. Minori exhales a giggle at his words and smiles slightly.
“By the way, you never answered my question. What are you doing out here? I thought you were with the rest of them holding our seats,” she asked as the two of them walked back to the auditorium before the show started.
“I was on my way to the bathroom when I saw your dumbass being harassed and not doing anything. And now that I’m here, I might as well help your ass before you take any longer.”
Soon enough, the two made their way back to their classmates without a problem. As they sat down to enjoy the show, Minori realized that there was no awkwardness between the two and she can’t figure out whether she appreciates how what happened earlier that day was easily forgotten or hates it.
Many hours later, the class arrives back in the dorms. Currently, the girls and a couple of guys are seated in the common room while Kirishima, Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugo (begrudgingly) helps Sato bring down some cakes to finish the night.
A very light and fun conversation quickly turned sour at Hagakure’s sudden change of subject. “Hey, do you all remember what Tsuyu said the first week of school about Bakugo? Like why he wouldn’t become a good hero because of his attitude?”
“Uh, yeah, why?” Jirou asks, popping one of her earbuds out. Minori, who was currently seated beside Mina, shared a glance with one another, anticipating what the invisible girl would say next.
“I saw Bakugo yelling at a group of girls for no reason when we were at the aquarium. He even activated his Quirk to scare them off. It’s concerning, if he doesn’t change his behavior he’s never be high in popularity polls as a pro. Right, Ki?”
“What?” she spits, frowning.
“You were there–”
“– I know I was there. That’s why I can’t seem to wrap my head around your ‘concern,’” she says, putting her air quotes around concern. “Where were you and how’d you see that?”
“I had to use the bathroom.”
“From Ki’s reaction and what Hagakure witnessed, they both go to show that I wasn’t wrong. Ribbit. It doesn’t matter what those girls said or did, but if Bakugo reacted in such a way it was probably something extremely minor. His immature attitude will get him nowhere, and sometimes it’s better to be the bigger person.”
At every word uttered, Minori grew more and more angry like thunderous clouds slowly growing and darkening from a stark white to a harsh grey. “Shut. Up,” Minori warned, her voice tuft and rigid. “What is with you two? You don’t even know the whole story, but immediately made assumptions on what the hell happened and judging him. And for what, yelling?” Minori shouts, standing up as she narrows her eyes. “Hagakure if you saw the whole damn interaction like some weird creepy stalker, then why didn’t you explain the whole story? I was being harassed, again, and Bakugo stood up for me. And Tsuyu, oh my god, please stop talking out of your ass. You’re extremely judgemental determining whether or not we’ll be able to become hero’s based on your opinion, like there aren’t billions of other people on this earth. Judge yourself for once in your life instead of everyone else, and maybe you’ll finally realize how much of a bitch you are.”
“Minori–”
“I’m not done,” she said, clenching her jaw. “You came to apologize to me after the sports festival for making assumptions about me and judging my origins, then you turn your heads and do the same to Bakugo. You should be ashamed of yourselves, and on top of that, take your heads out of your asses and acknowledge the fact that you two are hypocrites.” Squeezing her eyes shut, Minori breathes out a breath of air from her nose slowly to soothe her anger. Turning around to spend the rest of the night in her room, her whole mood ruined, she pauses mid-step to find Bakugo. His face is tense with the usual crease at his brow, but his red eyes stared into her grey ones in utter awe.
“Oh, B-Bakugo.”
“Fuck off, round face.” Grabbing onto Minori’s wrist, he pulls her away from the peering eyes of their classmates and to the elevator to reach their floor.
Scratching her head, Minori brushes her bangs from her eyes as she opens her mouth to speak. “I know you don’t need me to defend you since you can do it perfectly fine yourself, but they were just so aggravating. They didn’t even know what they were talking about–”
Minori paused as Bakugo closed the distance between the two, painfully aware of the close proximity. But before she could question his actions, his large hands delicately grabbed the sides of her face, lifting her head to meet his.
Minori didn’t know if time stopped when their lips touched or if she finally passed out from the lack of oxygen to her lungs and is currently in a dream-like state, but the flutter of her heart only intensified. Slowly her widened eyes began to close as she focused on how soft he felt against her mouth, addictively invading all her senses.
His movements were slow and gentle, washing over her like a wave of warmth, unfurling all her senses as his touch nearly silenced all thoughts. Although the warm feeling of his breath was destabilizing, at the same time it was inviting, patiently waiting to meet Minori’s quivering lips.
Shakily, Minori pulls back from the kiss to catch her breath. The warmth she felt all around her could alight a forest on fire just as easily as Bakugo’s Quirk. “Are you okay?” He gently asked as Minori tucked herself underneath his chin as they hugged. Nodding in response, she felt his arms tighten around her in reassurance before hearing him mumble, “this would’ve happened way sooner if it wasn’t for those dumbasses, Shitty Hair and Raccoon Eyes.”
Minori let out a giddy laugh at his confession. Her heart was still pounding and her lips were pulsed from his kisses. And as the elevator doors opened to their floor, new experiences and unexpected paths were born.
A/N: Hey baddies, I just want to apologize for getting this chapter out later than I said. It’s currently 1am and I said I’d post the 18th, but now it’s the 19th :/ Honestly, I was very insecure writing this because of the big ole smooch scene! I wanted to grasp everything perfectly and I hope I did it justice! I always had this scene in my notes since the beginning and now that it’s finally happened… I just hope you all like it >.<
“What did you just say?” Startled, Minori jumped in her spot as she turned around to face the voice. Bakugo stared at her with a tantalizing smirk on his face, eyes clouded with mischief as he confidently walked toward her. She stood still as if she were in a trance, like prey caught by its predator. “You like me?”
Minori’s eyes widened in shock at his question, too speechless to utter a word, her lips fell into a surprise’ o.’
“All of a sudden, you turned around and tried to run to your room. I followed, asking if you were alright, but it seemed like you were in your own little world.” Reaching out, he grabs a strand of stark white hair, twirling it around his finger. Minori’s breath hitches at his actions, and most importantly, his following words, “the walls are pretty thin, you know?” Bakugo’s eyes were fixed on Minori’s with a hint of confidence, playfulness, and a weird expression she had never seen before.
The next moment, the air surrounding the room seemed to electrify as Bakugo moved his large hands from her hair to gently hold her cheeks. Slowly, his smirk fell, sparking electricity between the two. Minori’s heart stuttered at his heavy-lidded gaze. His crimson orbs flickered between the grey of her eyes and her full lips, causing her to shut her mouth and swallow roughly.
“Say it again,” Bakugo announced huskily and full of want and need, breaking the silence as the electrical conducts buzz around them.
Flustered, Minori glanced away from his addictively red eyes, repeating the exact words she thought she told herself in private. A breathless chuckle escaped Bakugo’s lips, fanning her face in reaction to Minori’s confession. “I like you too,” he admitted leaning closer to her quivering lips. Hearing that her feelings were reciprocated, Minori visibly relaxed under his hands before closing the distance.
“Minori! Minori! Oi, dumbass!”
Jolting awake and chest heaving, the said girl jumps from her bed, finally noticing the thunderous banging coming from the door. Creaking the door slightly open, she peeks out to find none other than Bakugo Katsuki.
“You’re 15 minutes late for training, idiot,” he huffed, brows furrowing as he picks up on her odd behavior. His analytical vermillion eyes force goosebumps to rise over Minori’s skin, reminding her how just a second ago she confessed and was kissing the same boy that stood in front of her. “Why the fuck are you breathing so heavy like you just ran a marathon?”
“Hey, you know I’m actually feeling too hot– not too hot,” she squeaked, “to train right now.” Dismissing his question, she exited her room without sparring the male a glance and knocked on her floormates door.
“Okay,” he drawls, the tone of his voice obviously confused.
“Right, so I’m going to rest today,” she said as she continued to bang onto the door like a madman.
“Right. Are you sure you’re good?”
“Of course I am! Why does it look like I’m not? Because I am.”
“Okay, calm down. You’re acting like Deku. I’ll see you later when you’re not being weird.”
“Yup!” she shouted, unintentionally too loud and just in time for the door to finally open. Forcing her way in, she pulls the Pinkette back into her room before slamming her friend’s door shut.
“Um, hello? A ‘how are you today?’ would be nice before you started manhandling me!” Mina sassed, narrowing her eyes at her curly, white-haired friend.
“Mina, we have a problem,” Minori responds, shaking the roots of her hair to calm the nerves to cool down before she inflicts a self-induced stroke.
“What’s up? Is it your mom?” Mina asked, pulling Minori along to sit on her bed.
“No, it’s Bakugo.”
“Did he do something? Do I need to bully him because you don’t even have to ask? I already do.”
“No, Mina I,” she sighs, “I like him.”
“Forreal.” Minori nods. “Oh my god, finally! I’ve been waiting forever for you to finally tell me.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised it took so long.”
“Well, that’s because I just realized last night.”
“Seriously?” Mina asked, straight-faced. “You’re not as smart as I thought you were.”
“Yes. Wait, since when did you think I had feelings for him?”
“Literally since our training trip. You know, before the whole kidnapping and all that. I swear you two were going to kiss during dinner once. But anyway,” she waves her hand dismissively before continuing, “why are your feelings a problem again?”
“Um, I don’t know, maybe because I’m currently waiting for the impending doom of my mother!” Minori expressed, dumbfounded.
“I still see no problem,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “What’s a little romance before something terrible. It’ll make you two closer after, at least that’s what I’ve learned from the shojo mangas I’ve read.
“Mina, this isn’t a shojo. It’s my life.”
“Unnecessary specifics, if I might add. Listen girly, I say stop shying away and give your man a big fat smooch, and no, your dreams don’t count.”
“Of course, dreams don’t count. I’m not an idiot.”
“Oh, she smirks, “so you’ve been dreaming about him already, huh?”
“It doesn’t matter whether or not I have Mina,” Minori responded, biting out as the corner of her lips pull downwards in a frown to cover for her flusteredness from being caught.
“I say kiss him!”
“Mina, I’m serious.”
“So am I! Don’t wait on him to make a move, you should!”
“I’d rather not get rejected and be embarrassed for the rest of my life, thank you very much.”
“Do you seriously think he would reject you?”
“He already has.” Mina’s eyebrows shot upwards, waiting for the girl to continue. “My mentor mistook us as a couple, and Bakugo went off saying he’d never date someone like me.”
“Ugh, he’s so stupid! But I don’t believe it. He’s the same one who joined us to go to the mall with him when we were already going. Like, he’s a fucking idiot.
“I don’t know–”
“I do! Listen, if you make a move, I promise you he won’t pull away.”
“I’m not going to, Mina.” Assuming that that was the end of the conversation, Minori made a move to spend the rest of the day in her room, depressed over the idea of Bakugo rejecting her for real. Unexpectedly, though, Mina grasped onto Minori’s wrist, pulling her back to sit back on the bed. Getting close and personal, Mina looked at her friend with a surprisingly scarily serious face.
“Bestie, you’re going to make a move because you’re not just going to bang on my door waking me up from my sleep just to tell me you realize your feelings for Bakugo and then not do anything about it. That’s what we’re not going to do.” Mesmerized by Mina’s sudden assertiveness and slightly scared from her unusual behavior, Minori nodded in agreement, getting whiplash as her friend beamed. “Great! So let’s go over some of my collections and figure which confession is your style.”
A/N: HAHAHAHA *evil laugh* BE HONEST WHO THOUGHT THAT MINORI AND BAKUGO WERE ACTUALLY CONFESSING TO ONE ANOTHER OR DID ALREADY ASSUME IT WAS A DREAM???
Anyways, we’re all caught up. The next chapter will be up sometime during the week of May 17, so stay tuned!
As the minutes tick by, the sun slowly goes down to rest, and the only light starting to emit from the open yard are Bakugo’s explosions. Attempting to evade Bakugo’s full-throttle blow, Minori dive rolls to the side while simultaneously throwing up gusts of air as a shield, pushing the attack aside. Ignoring the inevitable exhaustion that grows within her tense muscles, Minori prepares herself for another attack.
For the past week, the duo has spared non-stop, preparing for the inevitable re-debut of Tatsumaki. And every day, determination to succeed and end the ferocious nightmare that looms over the cities of Japan once and for all rages within her veins. Although Minori has only been training with Bakugo for a week, she can already see improvements within her abilities, especially in her agility. The muscles in her lower body feel much tighter, and she’s able to turn, move her limbs, and pivot much quicker.
As Bakugo blasts off another explosion from his Quirk, he forces debris to blind Minori. As he squints, her eyes are encased in a fiery desire on par with Bakugo’s. Quickly, she conjures a crescent-shaped compression of air to kick away the dust. When cleared, Bakugo no longer stood in front of her. Furrowing her brows, she stayed low to the ground with her muscles strained to evade any oncoming attack.
Surprisingly, Minori felt the hairs of her neck stand tall at the sudden sensation of an attack from above. Lifting her head, the grey of her orbs widened as she witnessed the ash-blonde throw his fist at her from the air. Pushing herself backward, the back of her head thumps against the hard surface o, leaving her completely winded at the surprise attack. Minori acknowledged that the male had purposefully blinded her sight to attack her from the sky, giving himself the upper hand and forcing her to be at his mercy.
Sighing a breath of air from her lungs, Minori shut her eyes as the feeling of dirt clinging onto her sweaty back thoroughly disgusted her, but she was too tired to stand, the fatigue finally catching up to her. Hearing shuffling to her right, Minori blinked her eyes open, sluggishly turning her head toward the direction of the noise; she finds the ash-blonde packing up for the day. “Leaving already?” she asks.
Glancing toward Minori’s disheveled appearance, he simply rolls his eyes. “You have to rest, dumbass,” he says as he makes his way to her lying figure. “Otherwise all this training would be useless if you strain yourself.” Looking down at the girl, he stretches out his hand to grab and helps her stand. Up close, Bakugo was able to witness how messy she truly looked. Her ponytail was ragged with loose hair falling over her features, and she blinked so slow that anyone could tell she was fighting to stay awake. “Go wash up, you stink,” he added, pushing her to walk faster.
“So do you,” Minori countered straight-faced.
“Whatever,” Bakugo waves off dismissively as he walks ahead. “Same time tomorrow.”
“Sounds good,” she yawns.
The following day, Minori wakes up from her bed with a jolt. Typically, she awakes from her alarm. This time, however, an unusually loud banging from her door jolts her awake. Hurriedly, she throws the covers off of her and opens the door to stop the knocking before anyone on the same floor wakes up.
“Katsuki?” Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, Minori whispers, “why are you here so early?”
“It’s only 5 am.”
“Yeah, that’s two whole hours earlier than our normal meetup.”
Bakugo shrugs, “oh well. Hurry up and get ready we’ve got to train.” Frowning, Minori furrows her brows as she begrudgingly does as told, meanwhile grumbling curses beneath her breath.
Mindlessly, Minori starts walking toward their usual path to the open yard, only to be pulled in the opposite direction by Bakugo. “We’re not going to our spot?” she asks, confused.
“No,” he responds, still pulling her along with him.
“Then where are we going?”
“To train.” As they walked, Minori continuously hurdled questions at Bakugo to tell her where the two were heading off to, but he just kept saying “to train.” Eventually, she stopped asking, even as they made their way onto a train. She did take note of the destination stop though, it was the Tokyo Metropolitan District.
As they exited the train at their stop, a jovial voice called out to the girl almost immediately. The kindness and excitement in his tone could match the ones of a child laughing in an amusement park. Turning toward the sound, she finds a relatively short older gentleman wearing an orange kimono waving fiercely.
“Sensei?” she whispers as her eyes widen in surprise. Pausing mid-step, she cocks her head toward Bakugo, confusion evident on her soft face.
Not even looking at the girl, his sharp crimson eyes stared straight ahead, uncaringly watching the passerby’s walk. “I got in contact with your mentor,” he spoke, and Minori’s jaw opened slightly in surprise. “You still need work on your Quirk. The training has helped you improve physically, but your Quirk itself could be stronger, so I told that old man to help you.”
The expression on her face was a mixture of dazed desire and amazement. “You got in contact with him for me?” she asks softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Shifting his attention to the girl beside him, Bakugo pouts, his lips puckered as he corrects her, “no! I found him, so I won’t have to hold back when we train.” Fixing the strap of the duffle bag he brought along with him, he nods his head toward Hatake Jiyuu, patiently waiting for the two with a welcoming smile. “Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Grabbing his wrist, she forces him to stop in his tracks. Stepping into his line of sight, the corners of her eyes crinkle as she beams at him. Grateful and touched at the lengths he went to help her. “Thank you,” she finishes genuinely. And in that instant, with Minori smiling unrestrictedly and without a care, the emotional pain that people constantly see in her eyes disappears, and at that moment, she’s happy.
Bakugo nods in response, his cheeks turning the softest shade of pink, and the two finally make their way to Jiyuu.
“Minori, it’s so good to see you again,” Jiyuu greets warmly at his young student. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, but it’s good to see you nonetheless.”
“Likewise,” she responds with a kind smile. “Thank you for taking time out of your day to help.”
“Well, of course!” he declared, standing straighter with his hands on his hips, resembling All Might’s signature stance to the people of Japan. “It’s the least I could do after your boyfriend here went out of his way–”
“Boyfriend?!” They shout in unison, glancing at one another before focusing their sight on the elderly man.
“W-we’re not dating,” Minori clarifies, fiddling with the tips of her fingers, looking away from both of the males, feeling surprisingly embarrassed.
“Of course I wouldn’t date this idiot! What the fuck do I look like, huh?!” Bakugo scowls, scolding Jiyuu.
“Um, okay, OUCH,” Minori frowns. “It was an honest mistake, Bakugo, no need to get so angry,” she grumbles, rolling her eyes at his theatrics. “I didn’t know the possibility of dating me bothered you so much.”
“Well now you know,” he mumbles.
“Um,” Jiyuu nervously chuckles, scratching his head. “If only I wasn’t bald, you know? I’d be playing with the strands then rubbing my head like a baby,” he jokes, trying to lighten the mood, but he was only met with strained, awkward silence. “Yeah, that’s on me. It was not the time. The joke wasn’t even funny,” he mumbles to himself, motioning for the two teens to follow.
Blinking, Minori follows her mentor, forcing herself to pick up speed to walk beside him rather than the blonde male she came along with. For the sake of her well-being, she couldn’t figure out why Bakugo’s reaction bothered her so much. Of course, it’s embarrassing to be mistaken as a couple with your friend, but is the idea of dating someone like her so bad? Is she such a horrible being to be with? It was a simple mistake on Jihyuu’s part, it was apparent he meant no harm, but Bakugo was so aggressive. Maybe- maybe he reacted that way because of who she is. Ki Minori, daughter of the most notorious murderer in Japan, Tatsumaki, of course, no one would want to be mistaken to be in a relationship with someone like her. She accepted and understood the fact that no one would ever be interested in her because of her baggage, but it was the fact that it was Bakugo of all people to react that way. She always assumed that he was different. She was wrong.
The same male who cluttered her mind with incessant thoughts was the same one who pulled her out of her reverie by tapping onto her shoulder. Pulling away from his grasp, she narrowed her eyes at him, “What, Bakugo?”
“The old man is waiting for you,” he tells her, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ll wait over here. Call me if you need me.” Without a word, Minori turns and walks away. She thanked the universe for allowing her some more time away from him, but she couldn’t help but feel bad over her standoffish attitude with him. She knows she shouldn’t hold his reaction against him, but she couldn’t help but feel angry.
As she stood in the middle of the field where she had first started her training with Jiyuu those months back, she was filled with nostalgia. They faced one another, and Minori took note of his serious wizened face, remembering the similar expression he wore the last time the two first trained in this patch of grass. “Training starts now,” Jiyuu starts, stretching his limbs into a readied stance.
“First to get knocked down loses,” Minori finishes, smirking as she copies the stance. Immediately, the two begin, and Jiyuu wastes no time lunging for the girl. But this time, she wasn’t taken by surprise. Her agility has improved tremendously, and now she can easily maneuver away from his hands, all the while activating her Quirk to blast a current of air to push him down. Jiyuu smiled slightly at her speed before going in for another offensive attack, leaving Minori to react defensively.
Their combat prolonged before suddenly Jiyuu switched his melee attacks from offense to defense, and Minori, who typically relies on defense, narrowed her eyes at the shift. “If you solely rely on defense, you’ll lose the upper hand in a match. You need to have a perfect balance of attack and defend.”
Narrowing her eyes, Minori tensed her muscles and fired a compressed force of air from her foot directed toward her mentor. To her surprise, he easily evaded, and in the blink of an eye, he kicked her off balance, the impact effectively knocking her onto the ground.
“Remember,” Jiyuu commented, reaching out a hand to grasp hers. “When you’re on defense, make sure to pay attention to your opponent’s weak points. Once you find an opening, switch to offense. That is how you win.” With a combined effort, Minori stands on her feet, mentally jotting down her mentor’s criticism. “I see you still have trouble with overthinking. The use of your Quirk should be an act of impulse, not something you have to think about when, what, or how to use. It’s supposed to be like the mindless sensation of your heart beating or your eyes blinking.”
Huffing, Minori stretches her arms, frustrated that she can’t seem to understand the control of her Quirk. “I don’t know how to use my Quirk unless I think about it.”
“Objectively speaking, that is a problem. Close your eyes, we’ll begin.” Following her instructor, she sits on the patch of grass and straightens her back. Exhaling a breath, she closes her eyes and listens to the soft voice of her teacher. As time passed, Minori found the constant sensation of her Quirk lying within her eardrums. She had never noticed the noise before, but the moment she did, the ringing of wind blowing grew louder. Suddenly her limbs felt heavier, and her energy seemed to drain exponentially. Jiyuu told her it was because she was at the center of her Quirk, and together they worked on drawing energy to and from the center of her abdomen.
By the end, Minori’s gait that was smooth just this morning was now heavy and sluggish. Flopping onto the ground, she groaned aloud. Typically, her body felt weightless, but today’s training made her feel like she weighs ten tons. Her brain felt like it was repeatedly kicking her skull, and even the slight movement of wind forced her to groan in pain as her senses overstimulated.
As she lies on the ground and waits for it to open up and drag her to the center of hell, she overhears a familiar deep voice, “Is she good?”
“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” Minori bit out, frowning at the idiotic question.
“The fuck? I was just asking to make sure–”
“I’m lying on the ground, dying!” she yells out, exasperated. “Does it look like I’m good?” she asks, forcing her eyes to glance into red ones with a blank expression.
“Why don’t we finish up today, yeah?” Jiyuu intervened. “You’ve done very well today, Minori. Right now, you’re feeling the effects of your Quirk.”
“I feel like death.”
“Stop being dramatic, idiot.”
“Fuck off,” Minori grumbled. Today she couldn’t find Bakugo to be even more irritable, but every word he uttered continued to add fuel to the fire growing within her veins.
“Alright,” Jiyuu drawled. “I’ll see you two tomorrow then. Same time?” Bakugo answers for the miserable girl with a nod
“We’re doing this again?!” the curly-haired girl asked, biting her cheek to refrain from saying anything disrespectful.
“Obviously, how else are you going to improve.”
“I wasn’t asking for your input, Katsuki, so mind yours.”
“Oh? We’re back on a first-name basis again. Someone seems to be in a better mood,” Bakugo jibbed, smirking at the girl as he reached out an arm to help her stand.
Stubbornly, Minori rolls her eyes, “touch me, and I kill you.”
“Yeah okay,” Bakugo remarks sarcastically. “Says the one who can’t even lift a finger.”
Staring at one another, Minori narrowed her eyes, conjuring all the strength she had within to prove a point. Languidly, raising her arm, she looks him dead in the eyes and flips him off.
Snorting, he asks, “did that make you feel better?” still devilishly smirking at her.
“Yes. Yes, it did,” Minori responds, content. As they bantered, they brought a sense of playfulness out of another. But her actions seemed to deplete energy from within her fairly quickly, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.
“Do you need help getting back to the dorms? It doesn’t seem like she has enough energy to stay awake.”
“I got it,” Bakugo responds confidently. Gently, he picks Minori up bridal style before, finally her lashes connect and joins the dark, but not before she heard Bakugo say, “my mom should be here soon to give us a ride back.”
For the rest of the week, the two meet Jiyuu at the train station and follow him back to his building to train. Just like she felt improvement with only a week of training with Bakugo, with Jiyuu, she grew more confident with the control and mechanisms of her Quirk, improved in her combat style, and found created an ultimate move.
“Thank you again, Sensei, for all you’ve done to help me.” Bowing, Minori expresses her gratitude for the time spent with her mentor and the lifelong lessons she won’t dare to forget.
“It’s the least I could do, Minori,” he reassured, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. Patton her head, caringly, she asks for her to stand straight. “I want to apologize again for what you’ve traumatically experienced at the hands of the public and, most recently, by the League of Villains.” Unintentionally, Minori flinched at the name, the corner of her lips pulling downwards in a frown. “You haven’t been my student for long, but I am so extremely proud of you. You have been one of the most determined students I have been lucky to teach, and I know you’ll succeed in becoming a wonderful hero. A hero of change.”
His words of praise brimmed her large grey orbs with newfound tears. It was still odd for Minori to receive compliments, but as Jiyuu adoringly smiled at her, she found comfort in his words. He believed in her, in her future. And at that moment, it felt like the sun gifted its power upon her skin, wrapping her in shiny, glowing wings, allowing her to heal from the pain inflicted upon her inside and out.
Finally, they wave their goodbyes and split off into different directions. Bakugo and Minori walk back to U.A. from the train station. The warmth from earlier still settling itself on her heart, but she could not herself from questioning the future.
“Why do you look like that?” Bakugo asks, disrupting the peaceful silence.
“I was just thinking,” she mumbles, biting her lip.
“About?”
“Is it going to be enough?” she asks as they make their way to the elevators toward the fourth floor.
“What is?” Furrowing his brows, the red of his eyes flickers to the girl beside him, anxiously fiddling with her fingers.
“Everything. All the time I spent training and what I’ve learned… is it going to be enough to beat Tatsumaki?” she whispers, wide-eyed at Bakugo.
“Obviously not with that attitude.”
“I’m serious, Katsuki.” Sighing, she brushes her bangs from her eyes once they reach their floor. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me again. It’s my fault for the tragedy, so it’s my duty to stop her. I have to right my wrongs.”
Suddenly, she is pulled by the elbow and pushed onto the wall. Bakugo is hovering above her, with his eyebrows furrowed and crimson orbs narrowed. “Stop fucking saying that,” he grumbles, tightening his hold on her elbow. “Stop blaming yourself over something you had no control over.”
Watching in shock, she mumbles out, “Katsuki?” Confused at the sudden anger that seemed to flow from him out of nowhere.
“Shut up, and listen to me.” Placing his large hand over Minori’s mouth, he literally forces her to be quiet and listen. As they lock eyes, he continues. “You were four fucking years old. A child, what were you supposed to do? Stop her? With what? You told me yourself your Quirk did not activate until months after the incident. So all these bitchass extras complaining and blaming you are all dumbasses. They’re worse than Deku.”
Minori’s eyes soften as she looks at him, pulling on his arm to speak. She sighs, “but I didn’t even try. I didn’t do anything.”
“So what?” shifting his arm away from her mouth, he places his hands on her cheeks, and the colors grey and red lock onto one another, like a heady trance between a fly and light. “You’re telling me that it would’ve been better to die along with everyone else? A martyr?”
Martyr, child, quirkless four-year-old. For the first time, Minori finally understood that the tragedy was not hers to hold. It was not her responsibility to apprehend her mother, a grown woman, a villain. She didn’t deserve to be abused and nearly killed for what had happened. She was not the one to be blamed. The only one to blame was Tatsumaki for her actions. She, Ki Minori,is a victim.
As his words resonated deep within her soul, without thinking, she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He grew tense around her, but in his arms, she felt relaxed, safe. In a world where she continuously has to fight to prove herself to the world and fight to save others, she finally felt protected.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she muttered, finally loosening her arms around him and stepping back. The urge to never let go claims her mind but forces herself nonetheless. Looking into his vermillion orbs, it feels like a strong electrical current is shooting out from his into hers, and all of a sudden, Minori feels her belly flip like how it feels to ride a roller coaster when it dips.
They say red is the fiercest color because its irresistible brightness ignites passion and intensity. Bakugo’s eyes resemble just that, strength and power. The red hue representing fiery rays of sunshine, and Minori can’t help but fall into an abyss of warmth whenever she’s with him.
With a jolt, Minori stands straight, hurriedly walking to her room with a quick goodnight to the male who brought her comfort. For the first time, the unanswered question that raged her mind a week ago about why Bakugo’s reaction bothered her so much was now answered. To simply put, it’s because:
“I like Bakugo.”
A/N: FINALLY SOME GOOD FUCKING FOOD!!! IT ONLY TOOK MINORI 300 THOUSAND YEARS TO REALIZE HER FEELINGS BUT WE OUT HERE PURRRR
Minori stood immobile as silence seeped into her every pores like poison, slowly paralyzing her speech and movement before robotically exiting the area. As she rounds the corner, her limbs move as if an inexperienced puppeteer was controlling her.
Her eyes are wide and were trained on some invisible specter. She blinked a fraction too slow to be normal; it was as if her brain was suffering a massive short circuit and was struggling to compute.
Suddenly, Mina moved into her line of sight, grabbing onto her shoulders and furrowing her eyebrows as her amber eyes darted about in concern, searching through her friend’s irises for any possible answers. But all she was met with was emptiness.
“What the fuck happened?” a powerfully hoarse voice demanded.
“I don’t know. She came back from the bathroom like this.”
“Minori?” Bakugo asked, tilting her head upwards delicately by the chin, his jaw tense. The motion effectively forced her eyes to focus on crimson orbs, but she wasn’t looking at him, more so through him. Before, silently tumbling to the ground. Reflexively, Bakugo reached out to grab her before she fell completely.
After that, the two of them lead her back like a lost child. Her hair was ragged, symbolizing the aftermath of meeting such a person, loose frays falling over her features. The only noise that suffocatingly hung over them was Minori repeating “it’s happening” over and over again in a flat tone.
After what felt like centuries, the trio finally made it back to the U.A. dormitory. For some unknown reason, the sight of the brick building brought Minori back to life. The shock that she first experienced from seeing her mother after all this time finally shifted to third gear, allowing her to feel the stampede of emotions girdling her soul.
Ducking her head down to shield the glimmering of her eyes, she turned to make her way to her room. Instead, she bumped into an extremely hard chest, causing her to stumble back.
“Woah! Sorry about that, Minori, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” the redhead apologized, rubbing the back of his beck bashfully before his mouth fell agape and his eyes widened. “Shit, are you okay? I’m sorry if I hurt you. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
As the boy rambled on apology after apology, Minori stiffened as she hurriedly tried to wipe the tears that fell from her watery eyes. Before she could allow her emotions to take charge of her and collapse onto the ground, cursing at the entire universe, a firm hand wrapped around hers before pulling her away.
Turning her head back, Minori caught the subtle wink Mina sent her way before actively trying to console the blubbering male for what she could only assume a silent way of saying, “leave it up to me.”
Bakugo’s hand firmly gripped hers, and the slight embrace brought warmth to every cell in her body. It surprises her how at ease she feels when he is around, and although, just a second ago, she was near a complete breakdown, now she could feel the steadiness of her heart pumping.
As they enter her room, Bakugo sits her down on her desk chair and grabs onto the chair’s arms, so she is facing him. “What happened?”
Minori blinked, pulling at her fingers. “She was there,” she mumbled, shivering.
“Who?”
“She spoke to me,” she continued, her voice quavering as she tightened the grip around her fingers.
“Minori, explain.
"I have to stop her,” she muttered, grabbing onto her temples.
“What–” Bakugo sighed, gently pulling her hands away. His hands enveloped hers, soothingly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “What happened when I was gone?”
“I went to go to the bathroom, and suddenly my mom popped up. I was scared for my life– for everyone’s, but I couldn’t move or even scream; my body wouldn’t. I was too weak,” she confessed, dropping her head in shame.
“But you’re here right now, safe, so what did you do?”
“That’s the thing,” she furrows her brows, “I didn’t do anything. I threatened to scream, but she knew that was just a bluff. All she did was scream and belittle me, but–” she bit her lip, glancing upwards at Bakugo as his sharp eyes patiently waited for her to continue. Not an ounce of judgment flickering through his orbs. “She warned me. She says she’s to make her debut soon, and she’s giving me a chance to stop her. I just don’t understand why she would warn me.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter the reason. She’s a fucking bitch who’s going down once and for all.”
“She has someone working with her, though, and some sort of relationship with the L.O.V.”
“Even better, we’ll beat those losers to a pulp.”
“We?”
The two locked eyes. His typically calm exterior was now graced with a tinted pink over his cheeks and slightly widened eyes. His sudden reaction brought a slight smile to Minori’s face as she watched him stand straight to his full height, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Flickering his eyes away, he clears his throat, “Obviously. Your mom sucks and needs to get her ass handed to her, and who better than me to help pulverize some losers?"
"Right,” she giggles. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he grumbles, “it’s annoying enough that she’s back, but it’s fucking stupid if she thinks she can stop you from becoming a hero,” he rolls his eyes. “You’ve said it multiple times before, right? That you’ll be a hero, so don’t go back on your word like these damn extras.”
Minori stared unblinking at the ash-blonde grateful for his words in his Bakugo-like glory. She gazed into his vermillion orbs that radiated passion, sincerity, and warmth under his tough exterior. The emotion in her eyes was fathoms deep, yet within seconds she could alight a forest on fire with the support she felt.
“I think I should tell Mina and Kiri. They’ve always been concerned for me, and I feel like I owe the truth to them at least.”
“You sure?” He questions, raising a brow.
“Yes,” she nods. “I trust them.” In response, Bakugo pulls out his phone, his thumbs flying over his screen, before nonchalantly placing it back in his pocket. Not even thirty seconds later, the door swings open with a heaving Mina and Kirishima.
“Did you guys run here?” Minori asked, her lips twitching as she tried to refrain from laughing.
“Yes,” Mina exhaled, her hands on her knees.
“When Bakubro texted us, we knew it had to be serious since he never texts first. Ever.”
Glancing over said male for confirmation, the male shrugs, not caring to deny such claims.
“What’s up?” Mina asks, crouching in front of Minori as her lips pouted in concern.
“I have some stuff I wanted to tell you,” she admits, looking at each of them and begins. As she speaks, she recognizes her friends’ reactions: shock, anger, and most of all, concern. When she was done, Mina immediately threw her arms over the girl.
“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with this, especially on your own,” she sympathizes. Pulling back to her friend’s eye, she says, “We’re here for you, Minori."
"She’s right,” Kirishima adds, genuinely smiling at her and placing a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner. “You don’t have to carry all this alone like you’ve done something wrong.”
“You’ve got our support no matter what!” Mina beamed alongside Kirishima. Even Bakugo sent her a slight head nod of encouragement.
Just when it seems that the world is nothing but an endless dark abyss meant to hold you captive in a cycle of pain, hatred, and depression, there are specks of light that appear. And the more specks there are, the brighter it gets. For that moment, when it finally feels like you’ve reached the end and you’re right about to crush into the ground, the stabbing pain you’ve felt will transform into wings.
A phoenix of light will emerge from the darkness, leaving behind ashes of the past and born anew.
Minori couldn’t breathe, her throat constricted as if someone was choking her and her blood ran cold, leaving her muscles tense. With a racing heart, she turned toward the toneless voice. The blood pumping through her system stuttered as her eyes widened in fear at the figure hiding in the shadows.
There, a few feet away from her, stood her worst nightmare, and there was no possible way for her to ignore the horrific sight. Unable to move, adrenalin flew over her veins, but she couldn’t move a single muscle, not even scream. The absolute horror completely paralyzed her, and the more she thought about running away, the more she felt discouraged and utterly terrified.
Slow and deliberate footsteps echoed over the stale room. “It’s been a while,” the monster said, stepping out of the shadows, a contorted grin across her face.
Minori’s pulse banged in her ears as sweat dripped down her back as she met thin, stern-looking eyes enhanced with dark bags. Staring into her eyes, Minori found nothing. It was like looking inside a depth of never-ending darkness. She blinked, thinking– hoping what she sees, or the lack thereof, is just a side effect of the paranoia, but the longer the two stood there, the silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a glass shattered onto the ground.
The whites of Tatsumaki’s eyes contrasted sharply with the pitch-black irises that sunk deeply into her head. Its depth resembled that of a pure black hole in space, an air of eeriness and unsettling coldness emanating from her gaze.
The urge to curl up into a ball and wait for someone to come save her ached at her entire being, but she had already acknowledged the fact that no one would. It’s just like what happened eleven years ago. A choked cry for help forced itself up her throat. Swallowing the dry bile that came up, Minori finally opened her mouth to speak, her tongue heavy. “Why are you here?”
Tatsumaki grinned, the malice as tangible as the floor beneath their feet. “That’s no way to speak to your mother.”
“Why are you here?!”
“Quiet!” she hissed, strutting towards her daughter, forcing the girl to stand up straighter in fear. “Why am I here? Are you fucking kidding me? Why wouldn’t I be, Miss Hero?”
Minori pulled backwards, her head leaning against the wall as panic raced through her veins like white, hot fire.
“I’m here because of you.” she paused, languidly sweeping a strand of Minori’s hair in her hand. “You’re hair’s gotten a lot curlier since you were a kid.”
“Don’t,” Minori grits in order to stay silent. How dare she say something so intimate. She has no right to comment on how much I’ve changed; she was never there, to begin with.
Tatsumaki gently lifted Minori’s chin with a fingertip. “Don’t you see? We’re the same, you and I.”
Narrowing her eyes, Minori smacked her mother’s hand away. Eyebrows furrowed in from suppressed anger. Every word uttered from the person before her stung, only adding fuel to the fire that burned inside her. “You and I will never be the same. I’ll make sure of that.”
Grabbing Minori by the wrist with an iron grip, she chuckled. “Sweetie, you don’t have a choice. It’s already been set in stone, you know that. Otherwise, you would have confessed to someone that you saw me.”
Minori’s chest tightened as she bit her lip.
“My oh my,” she purred, “how absolutely devious!”
“I’m not deviant.”
“No. No, you’re not. You’re much worse. You’re my daughter,” the villain simpered, watching as the grey of her daughter’s eyes widened and tensed. “And because you’re my daughter, you’re as bad as me.”
“No, I’m not,” she whispered, voice nearly failing under the weight of a cracking psyche.
“Clearly you are,” she drawled, bored. “How much longer do you think you would’ve lasted in Thanatos?” she asked, twirling her daughter’s hair in her finger.
“Humans need company,” she murmured. “Without it, then they can go a little coo-coo, you would know, right?” Tatsumaki turned to face her, head tilted. “It’s like death. At least, that’s how I always imagined it– a cold, dark cell, unable to move or do anything, trapped in your own head with no one else to guide you out of the dark places you end up in. An eternity of conscious nothingness,” she finishes, smiling.
Minori bowed her head to hide the tears that threatened to overflow. “Why are you here? Why are you talking to me?”
“My guess is that you just reached your limits,” ignoring Minori’s questions, she continues. “We both know if you had uttered a single word about seeing me, you would’ve been immediately thrown into a cell and left to die, and this time no one would be able to come and save you.”
“What are you doing?” Minori heaved, squeezing her eyes shut to calm the raging of emotions. “Why would you come all this way to talk to me knowing everything you put me through. Why are you playing with me?”
“You’ve always been melodramatic,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s annoying how many questions you ask. Honestly, I wanted to have some fun; catch up, but you’re being such a debbie downer,” she laughs.
“I’m not playing with you. I’m preparing you for life. I always have.”
“No, you haven’t!” bites Minori. “I don’t live a normal life because of you.”
“And you never will.”
“I’ll scream. I’ll scream right now for them to take you away. And they won’t blame me anymore because they’ll have you.”
“No, you won’t because you know if you blow my cover that I’m here, I’ll kill every single person here,” the villain cocked an eyebrow, not an ounce of remorse glinting in the dark abyss of her eyes. “Starting with your best friend, the pink one. What’s her name again? M–”
“SHUT UP!” Minori snaps, lips pulled back in a snarl, her knuckles turning white from how tight she’s squeezing.
“I’ll be letting the world know that I’m back soon and see what these heroes can do about it,” she sneers. “See what you can about it.” Tatsumaki moved to take hold of Minori’s chin, forcing the young girl to look her in the eyes. Minori flinched as their gaze locked, every hair on her body standing on high alert, but nothing in her body proved to be strong enough to move. It seemed that this was her ending.
“I must say,” Tatsumaki tsks, removing her hands as she places them on her hips. “I’m disappointed in how little you’ve changed. No wonder they all blame you. I’m standing right in front of you, yet you still don’t make a move. Saddening.” She snickered to herself, but just for a second, Minori picked up on the uncertainty that flickered just behind her dark eyes.
Tatsumaki took a step back after patting her daughter’s head, leaving Minori a shuddering mess. With a wave of dismissal and a slight knock on the wall behind her, a perfect circle outlined with blue and purple formed behind. Without even looking, Minori watched as the most wanted person escaped from the palm of her hands just like that.
“Try to stop me, Aura,” she pronounces her hero name condescendingly, her face twisting in disdain as if the name left a bad taste before all that was left for Minori to see was the grey walls.
Minori looked forward to the mall all day, and now that class had finally ended, seemingly after a lifetime, she hurriedly went to change out of her uniform. Out of the limited variety of clothing she owned, Minori decided on a basic pair of jeans and a brown sweater. She never did anything to her hair, sometimes adding water to revive the curls, but other than that, she leaves it in its unruly state.
Now that both girls are ready and dressed comfortably, they make their way out of the dorms. They chatter on their way, reminiscing and laughing how Kaminari continuously poked about Bakugo’s secret throughout lunch, then Bakugo forcing the blonde to use his Quirk and duncefy him, evidently shutting him up. As the two continued to walk, said male was leaning on a lamppost, arms crossed.
Minori raises an eyebrow curiously and glances towards Mina, only to find her lips pulled upwards in a knowing smirk. As their footsteps got closer, his crimson orbs lazily glimpsed at them before pushing himself off and walks ahead.
“I’m confused,” Minori drawls slowly, her face scrunching and footsteps coming to a stop. Forcing the other two to follow.
Bakugo turns around, the tuft of his ash blonde hair shifting at the sudden breeze. “I’m going to the mall,” he grumbles matter of factly, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Oh, so you’re coming with us?” Mina asks, raising an eyebrow as she crosses her arms, a teasing smile kissing her lips.
“Obviously, I’m not fucking going with you. You two are just stalking me,” he corrects, making Minori snort. “But since you two are here, you can follow me or whatever.”
“Ok–”
“No,” Mina rebuttals, “I mean, if you’re going to the mall for a different purpose than to hang out with us, we’ll just split up when we get there.” She finishes, shrugging her shoulders, and takes a step forward.
Like a lost puppy, Minori immediately follows close behind. From her distance, she could see the two staring one another down. The black sclera of Mina’s orbs shined against her yellow irises, clashing against red ones. The pinkette looked at the male as if daring him. On the other hand, though, Bakugo’s eyes shifted with hesitation, his lips quivering like he wanted to say something but too reluctant to speak up.
“I mean, since we’re all here, we can all just go together,” Minori says, interrupting their staredown. “I think it’d be nice if all three of us hung out,” she proposes.
“I agree, but I don’t want to intrude on his activities, you get me?” Minori’s lips fall slightly open, shaping an ‘o,’ realizing her friend is right. She never even thought about why Bakugo suddenly wanted to go to the mall. What if he was there to grab a couple of necessities. And be on his way. The last thing she wanted to do was waste his time.
“Mina’s right,” she pouts, her full bottom lip juts out slightly as the corner of her lips fall. “We shouldn’t bother you if–”
“It’s fine,” Bakugo interrupts, rolling his eyes. “It’s not crazy important. Besides, now that I’m here, I’ll keep an eye on that big ass mouth of hers.” Suddenly, the pinkette laughs, smiling from ear to ear. Mina’s laugh embodies who she is– sweet and genuine, and the beautiful noise brings warmth to Minori’s skin.
“I see,” Mina giggles, skipping a few feet ahead before swiveling to face the two. “You want to keep an eye on me.” Winking at Minori. Said girl mouths ‘what?’ toward her friend, confused as to why she would wink at her if she didn’t even know what the secret was.
“I don’t trust you,” Bakugo growls, snarling his teeth like a dog.”
“Yeah yeah,” waving her hand around dismissively, she continues. “Don’t be a Debbie Downer. Anyways this is going to be so much fun!” skipping closer to the two, Mina grabs Minori’s arm and interlocks their elbows, pulling the girl ahead. “Right, bestie?”
Minori lightly laughs under her breath. Turning her head back, she faces Bakugo. His demeanor no longer seems tense, and the curve of his eyebrows smoothened out. His crimson orbs peek into hers, and she observes how his eyes aren’t radiating any signs of discomfort. Instead, he seems to be more at peace, making her stand a little taller. Her lips stretch into a beaming smile, forcing the corner of her eyes to curve. She turns her head back to the front, but not before catching the light pink littering his cheeks.
“Yeah, it is,” Minori answers, the tone of her voice content.
***
Once the three arrived, Minori stood in awe at the vast array of stores within the building. She never imagined the first time she’d be in a mall, much less for it to be decked out the way it is. The ceiling is domed high with beautiful glass, and the walkways flow like tributaries to the main rivers of people. It smells like heaven, the sweet aroma of baked goods setting the atmosphere.
The trio walked around the building with no destination in mind. Their chatter was like a childish dance, beautifully chaotic, but makes you laugh out loud nonetheless. That’s what their friendship was, not only the three of them but also with Kaminari and Kirishima. Their banter was bonding, always seemingly bringing out some sort of playfulness with each other.
As they’re walking, Minori’s silver-grey eyes stop on a specific store. It charmingly stood in a corner, shining with a combination of granite and daylight. The walls are painted black, and the lightbulbs shone with a warm ambiance. She could feel that there were good things within. Suddenly, Minori could feel a sudden weight on her shoulder. Glancing in that direction, she finds Mina with a comforting smile. “Let’s go check this store out,” she says, and Minori nods.
Inside, Minori’s eyes lit up as she entered. There are various racks filled with clothes in the back, immediately drawing the group’s fashionista toward. On the right of the wall are shelves filled with books, figurines, and knick-knacks, and on the floor held accessories.
Even in the dim lights, there was still a sparkle glinting, inexplicably drawing Minori closer. She let out an involuntary gasp at the item, never having seen something so beautiful. Minori held the jewel in her outstretched hand; the brilliant purple hue was so vivid it was how she imagined the purest gem would appear if it existed.
The necklace was polished and cut to perfection with crystals held together by a shiny gold chain. The necklace is built in two layers. On top lay a beautifully carved butterfly, lepidolite engraved within, and right below is a pendant with the same stone embedded within it. Minori stood there, transfixed by the enchanting jewel. Its surface was impossibly smooth. Its colors, mesmerizingly bright, giving off an ethereal glow.
“You like it?”
“Yeah,” Minori whispers to Bakugo.
“If you like it, then buy it,” he stated as if it was the most simplistic and obvious thing to do.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t need it.”
“I never asked if you needed it,” he grumbles. At that exact moment, Mina comes by with a bundle of clothes in her hand. Her amber irises catch the necklace Minori’s holding and squeals.
“That is so cute!” She exclaims. “You should try it on and see how it looks. I’m going to try on these bad boys,” she raises her hand to show off the variety of options she’s chosen and makes her way to the dressing room. Minori looked down one last time at the necklace and decides to take Mina’s advice and try it on.
Pulling the chain back to her neck, her eyebrows scrunch together as she struggles to lock it in. Feeling Bakugo’s piercing gaze, merely watching her struggle and fail to clip in a simple jewel, she frowns. “I can’t clip it,” she huffs.
“Give it to me,” he demands, jutting out his hand.
“You have larger hands than I do. It’s not going to work.”
“Just give me the stupid thing,” he insists. Blowing a breath from her nose, Minori hands him the necklace. “And lift your hair.” Turning around, Minori bunches her hair in her hand, twisting it into a bun for her to hold.
Bakugo gently puts the necklace over her, careful not to pull too hard since the chain wasn’t very long. Minori was slightly surprised by how delicate he was being, but immediately after she had that thought, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She could feel Bakugo’s steady breaths hit her, the feeling instantly electrocuting her, leaving her surprisingly hot. For a second, his fingers touched her neck, forcing her to shiver unintentionally and close her eyes.
“Done,” he whispers, his voice coming out hoarse as he somewhat steps back.
Minori looked down at the necklace, sitting flawlessly below her collarbone. “How does it look?” she asks, skin tingling as they lock eyes.
“Nice,” he replies, glancing toward the jewel then back at her. Looking into his deep orbs, a crackle of air forms between them like static. Her heart beats erratically in her chest, feeling as though it may burst.
Minori’s breaths suddenly felt shallow as she peered into Bakugo’s hypnotizingly, intriguing, sharp cat-like eyes. There was something about how he was looking at her and had spoken so kindly that it made the air flicker with tension. It wasn’t negative, no– she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what it was– but it left her flustered. Rendering her a human butterfly.
Minori couldn’t quite find her voice as she flickered her gaze away, clearing her throat.
“So, are you going to get it?” Bakugo asks, disrupting the silence and shoving his hands in his pockets.
“No.”
“But you like it.”
“Yeah, but it is what it is,” Minori shrugs, not wanting to get into the fact that she doesn’t have a penny to her name. Everything she owns was gifted to her by the kindness of Nezu’s heart, and it’s not like she can up and get a job. Not while she’s in school, training to become a hero. Much less than getting hired due to her name, especially now that Tatsumaki’s back, and she doesn’t know when her mother will make her re-debut.
“That’s so pretty, Minori,” Mina announces as she approaches the duo. “It really suits you, especially the color. It’s perfect skin tone.”
“Thanks,” Minori mumbles, suddenly shy to the compliment, but knowing she can’t take the jewelry with her, she asks Mina to unclip it for her; too embarrassed to ask Bakugo for help for some unknown reason.
As the trio makes their way out of the store, Mina points at a clothing boutique she wants to enter. The pinkette hauls a bunch of outfits to try and asks Bakugo and Minori’s opinions. Meanwhile, Minori gives sincere feedback and compliments; the ash-blonde male tiredly insults every item as he sits on the couch, saying things like: “nobody cares” and “burn it.”
“I’ll be right back,” Bakugo announces, stretching his arms. Minori catches the slight rise of his shirt but quickly looking away, shaking her head at her unusual actions. “If Mina tries to tell you anything, punch her in the throat for me.”
Taken aback by his joke, she widens her eyes. “What the fuck? No,” she grins, giggling.
The left side of his pale red lips tugs upwards, creating a smirk. “Worth a try,” he says, strolling off.
Getting up from her seat, Minori knocks on Mina’s dressing door. “Hey, Mina?” she calls out, “Bakugo went somewhere, and I really have to pee. Can you tell me where the bathroom is?”
Mina cracks open the door, poking her head out. “Yeah, no problem. You have to step out of the store, and it’s down the hall on your left.”
“Okay, thanks.”
For some reason, as Minori walked alone, she feels unsettled, like a pair of eyes are following her every move. This is nothing new, by all means, but at this moment, something just feels off.
Hurrying off into the bathroom and in a stall, she sits. The hairs on the base of her neck bristled, the room feeling eerily quiet. Quickly, she goes and washes her hands, but her eyes widen when she makes a move to open the door, only for it to be slammed back shut.
A group of goosebumps runs through her frigid skin. Slowly and deliberately, she tried to turn the handle again, only for it not to budge. She opened her mouth to scream, but only a croak issued from her gape.
The particles of air turned into a frenzy behind her before stilling. Immediately, she could sense another presence behind her.
The world’s early morning hues poured through the cracks in the blinds and awaited entrance into Minori’s eyes. Hesitantly and languidly rubbing the remainders of sleep from her eyes, she gazed at the ceiling. Having left the veranda slightly cracked open last night, a slight breeze squeezed its way into the room. The air that had been so still previously had gained slight movement, traveling through space without destination, blooming anew as if it was a tiny flower being reborn.
This morning, there is more joy resonating within Minori. Yesterday, she hadn’t realized how much she needed others, believing that she could– she needed to deal with her trauma alone. When, in actuality, she needed her friends more than ever, and surprisingly the universe heard her silent cries and called forth the closest people in her life; Bakugo and Mina.
Of course, the looming shadow of the beastly Tatsumaki hung over her, but now she knows that she doesn’t have to deal with it in secret. She doesn’t have to be alone, even at her worst, and that’s more than Minori could have ever asked for. With that, Minori gets out of bed and gets ready for class, looking forward to seeing and interacting with her friends.
Walking into the already boisterous room of students, Minori set her search out for a specific individual. Not long after, her grey orbs latched onto the unique pink-colored-haired girl animatedly talking to Kaminari.
“Hey,” Minori greeted her friends first, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Whatever the duo had just been talking about was now long forgotten as both of them froze with dropped jaws and wide eyes. Slowly, the two looks at the aloof girl, and if Minori wasn’t already used to their weird antics, she would’ve been concerned by them creepily moving like a possessed doll.
“Oh, hey, Miss Extrovert!” Mina squealed, pouncing out of her seat and throwing her arms around her friend. Minori staggered at the sudden extra weight but quickly found her footing before the two fell backwards. Laughing lowly, Minori wrapped her arms around the pinkette’s shoulders. At that moment, Mina squeezed a fraction tighter, breathing more slowly as the two sunk into each other.
Minori felt extremely appreciative of the simple gesture as she felt every muscle in her body lose its tension. That was until Denki had yelled out the aforementioned girl, mimicking the same excited tone as Mina’s and joining their hug. Soon enough, the random group hug occurring in Class 1-A caught the attention of others, and more individuals joined.
“Alright, a group hug!”
“Expressing love for your friends is the epitome of manliness. Man, I love you guys!” Kirishima heartfelt-fully expressed, joining the already four-man embrace.
“OOF!”
“Kiri, squeeze a little tighter, why don’t you?”
“Okay.”
“No–!”
“OW, MY BACK!” Now, hugs are great. Group hugs are even better. But now that Minori is surrounded by bone-crushing arms, she couldn’t help but think she’s gotten enough to last her a lifetime.
“What are you idiots doing?” Even from all the bodies swarming around her, Minori still picked up on the heavy sigh laced with annoyance and exhaustion.
“Hey, Bakubro! We have a group hug! Come join in!”
“No! Everyone get off of me. I can’t breathe!” Minori pleaded, her voice coming out muffled.
“Where’s Racoon Eyes?” Bakugo asked, dismissing Minori’s cries with disinterest. Either way, though, his question queued the males who joined the hug to disperse. Now, out of everyone’s arms, Minori immediately inhaled a breath, grateful for the newfound oxygen as she brushed the messy bangs from her eyes. When she finally felt situated, she glanced toward Bakugo and Mina, curious as to why the ash-blonde single-handedly called for the female.
“Racoon Eyes,” Bakugo started, grabbing said female’s attention. The male was already seated in his seat, legs kicked up on his desk, and arms pulled around his head. But before he could say another word, the corners of Minori’s mouth pulled down as she pushed the male’s foot off the table, forcing him to sit upright.
“Watch your mouth when you’re talking to my bestie,” Minori scolded, rolling her eyes at his snarl. “She has a name.” Glancing toward the pinkette, she found a smile already gracing her features.
“Hit me again, and I’ll kill you,” he growls, narrowing his vermillion eyes.
“Yeah, okay,” she snorts, unaffected by his weightless threats.
“Yeah,” Mina says, giggling uncharacteristically. For a second, Minori swore she could see two hearts gleam in Mina’s yellow irises as her friend glanced between Bakugo and herself. “Watch what you say to me, or I’ll spill the beans,” she finishes with a teasing smile.
Minori raises her eyebrows at the sudden words, and Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero, who were talking amongst themselves, inched closer to the trio.
“You have something on Bakugo?” Kaminari asked, his coal-like eyes glinting with mischievousness.
Mina acknowledges the question with a simple nod, staring head-on with the male who looks seconds away from killing her. “It’s a little something I witnessed last night in the hall–”
“Alright!” Bakugo interrupts, slamming his hands on his desk. “I got it, just shut the fuck up,” he barks.
“Woah,” Minori mumbles, jaw slightly agape in awe. “You must really have something good on him.”
“By his reaction, most definitely,” Mina responds, crossing her arms over her chest, smirking. “I was honestly expecting him to play it off, but now I know,” she sings teasingly.
On the opposite end of Mina’s good-natured mood, Bakugo looked between the pinkette and her best friend, his gaze lasting longer on Minori. Catching the crimson orbs she knows so well, the curly white-haired girl slightly raised her eyebrows at him, only for the male to grit his teeth in seething anger and face the front.
“Well,” Mina announces, laughing out loud. “In celebration of my blackmail on boom boom boy, and you coming out of your shell today, how about we go to the mall? All of us!”
“I would,” Kirishima says with a slight frown on his ordinarily friendly face. “But Denki, Sero, and I are going to spar after class today?”
The girls shrug in unison, understanding that they’re preoccupied before moving onto the next male. “What about you, Katsuki?” Minori asks, her grey orbs trying to catch said male who was currently occupied scratching the wood from his desk.
“Eat shit, don’t talk to me.”
“Oh, come one, Mr. Grumpy-Pants, it’ll be fun! Besides, who knows, I may accidentally slip up and let out you-know.”
At those words, Bakugo suddenly scratched too roughly at his desk, and Minori watched as a whole chunk of wood flipped onto the floor. “Uh, Mina, let’s just let him be. We can just go together. Besides,” Minori mentioned, ruffling the tuft of Bakugo’s hair to grab his attention. “He’s probably busy anyways, right, Katsuki?”
Slightly lifting his gaze, his sharp eyes peered at Minori from his lashes, catching the warm smile she sent his way. “Obviously,” he muttered, flushing with a light pink before shoving her hand off of him.
Taking that as their cue to leave the male be, the squad moved into selective corners of the room. Minori followed Mina to her desk when it suddenly dawned on her that she had no money. She questioned how she forgot such a thing but made Mina aware of the fact.
“Girl, that’s fine. I don’t have money to spend either. That’s why we’ll be window shopping!” The pinkette announced, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Okay,” she snorts, “sounds good. But I was wondering, are you going to tell me what you and Katsuki are hiding. I’m surprised you have so much weight on him.”
Minori sat in disbelief as her face washed blank with confusion like her brain cogs couldn’t turn fast enough to take in the information from her wide eyes. When she finally processed the words fallen from the ash-blonde, she turned away from him, too slowly to be normal. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her voice trailing slowly like her words are unwilling to take flight. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I’m not an idiot,” he sighs exaggeratedly, “unlike you.”
“I’m serious,” Minori rebutted, looking up at him. “You must’ve misheard me.” Minori pulled at her bottom lip; even from her own ears, she could hear her voice waver unconvincingly.
Silence clung to them like a poisonous cloud that, at any moment, could choke the life from them. The hairs on her body all stood up in fear that Tatsumaki wasn’t some nightmare that only she could see and hear; that maybe she was just going crazy, perhaps that would be better.
“Listen,” Bakugo interrupted, the low baritone of his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. “Everyone is worried about you, but those dipshits won’t understand what you’re going through,” he grumbled, frowning. “You were taken with me, so out of everyone here– talk to me. I’m the one who ended All Might’s career anyways.”
Minori’s heart clenched at his confession. She watched as his typical scowl morphed into a frown as his lips slightly jutted outwards. Here she thought no one would be able to understand the pain eating up at her, the loneliness that consumes her like a vice, squeezing with just enough pressure to be a constant pain.
Guilt, the ghastly beast that kills the two every day just a little more, takes what was once their inner light and replaces it with a darkness that overshadows each moment, leaving them traumatized. Right then and there, Minori acknowledged that Bakugo and her are actually two sides of the same coin.
“You didn’t end All Might’s career,” she scolded softly. In response, Bakugo simply rolled his eyes at her remark. Clearly, he didn’t believe her, which aggravated Minori more than she would like to admit. Huffing in annoyance, Minori took hold of her pillow and threw it toward the male, hitting him square in the face. Bakugo staggered in his place, his eyebrows shooting upwards as he held onto the pillow with so much force that Minori was sure he’d leave a handprint in the foam.
“The fuck?!” He roared, but before Minori could open her mouth to explain herself, she fell backward onto her bed as a breathless “oof” escaped her lips. Removing the pillow that felt more like a brick from the force Bakugo hurled the thing from her face; she sits up and gawks at him.
It seems that even Bakugo wasn’t aware of how hard he managed to throw the pillow because he stood frozen before her, his sharp eyes unblinking as neither of them removed their gaze from each other. The corner of Minori’s lips twitches as she forces herself not to laugh. Instead, she shrugs and pats the spot beside her for Bakugo to sit down, warranting him to raise his brows.
When he didn’t move, she sighed. “Sit down, Katsuki.” Finally catching the memo, the ash-blonde shoved his hands in his pockets as he sat down, slumping forward. “So are you going to speak or what?” he asks.
“Yeah.” Pulling the pillow closer to her chest, Minori sighs as she stares at the socks at her feet. “When we escaped the L.O.V, I saw her. At first, I was in denial. I thought that couldn’t be her. She disappeared; she’s gone. There’s literally no reason for her to return, but that spout of air felt too similar, and the hair–.” Minori shuttered, grabbing a strand of curls before tugging it away from her line of sight; repulsed by the color, she bit her lip. “That hair is the exact same as mine.”
“I haven’t told anyone because I was too scared. If I’m honest, I probably wouldn’t have told anyone if you didn’t overhear me. I know it sounds fucked up, but I just thought that if I said something, they’d lock me back up– and I can’t go back there.” Minori’s large orbs connect with vermillion red ones. Staring back into his, she allowed herself to continue because behind his intimidating aura, his gaze was the promise of protection and more. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I am right now, it’s not much to some, but this is everything for me. But I can’t shake the feeling that everything is going to be taken from me.”
“When friends feel like paper chains in the rain susceptible to fall apart, and the sky holds nothing but the promise of more storms, life is lonely. When all I want is a hand to hold or an arm around my shoulders, and none comes, the world becomes cold and empty. That’s what my life had been for so long until I came here to U.A.– I don’t want to lose this,” she heaves, her orbs glistening.
“I just–” her eyebrows furrow as the lump in her throat builds– “why? Why is she back? Why did she cause a massacre? Why did she leave me the burden to deal with it.” Tightening her arms around the pillow, she asks the question that has internally been consuming her for years aloud, “why do people blame me?” A single drop falls from the corner of her eye, and soon after, her face crumples, the salt of her soul pouring from her eyes.
There was a brief moment of silence as Minori cried to herself before Bakugo gently grabbed her wrists, removing her hands from her eyes. “They’re all dumbasses for ever blaming you, and even worse if they still are,” he grumbled. Minori’s eyes widened at his words as she sat, stunned and speechless. The two simply looked back at one another, and she picked up on the way Bakugo looked back at her with a hint of tenderness behind those fiery orbs of his. “Your mom sucks,” he adds, his eyebrows furrowing as he pouts, and Minori can’t help but giggle softly at his unique way of comforting.
“Yeah, she really does,” she nods with a gentle smile gracing her features, moving her hands that are still wrapped around Bakugo’s calloused fingers, and wipes the remaining tears away.
At the sudden realization that he’s still holding onto her, Bakugo hurriedly retracts his hand away, behind his back, and lowers his head as his face blooms in a mixture of bewilderment and embarrassment as the tips of his ears tinge a light pink.
Minori dismisses the sudden addition of color to his face and leans forwards, her smile never faltering. She never thought that she could be able to smile as genuine and laugh with no worry after the sudden sight of her mother. Placing her hand atop of his knee, she tilted her head slightly to look the male in the eye. “Thank you,” she says genuinely, a surge of happiness flourishing in her.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for shining a light in my forever darkness.
Bakugo’s mouth slightly drops open in surprise before he blinks and shakes his head. “No problem,” he mumbles, removing her hand from his knee, getting up. “I’m going to bed now.”
Minori’s brows pull in confusion as she glances at the clock on a nightstand. “It’s only 8pm.”
“Your point?”
“But what about you opening up to me?” she pouts, throwing her arms up in exasperation only to have Bakugo snort.
“Some other time.”
“You promise?” Rolling his eyes, he nods, the tips of his ears still tinged a bright pink. “Pinky promise? Mina says that these are unbreakable.” Minori points out her pinky, innocently waiting for her friend.
“Mina is a fucking idiot,” Bakugo huffs as he interlocks their pinkies, making Minori’s lips stretch out into a toothy grin.
“Goodnight, Katsuki.”
His crimson orbs narrowed slightly as he hesitated at the door, and she got the sense that he wanted to say something but instead simply said his goodbyes for the night. “‘Night.”
A/N: Y’all have waited long enough. I’m dropping these bad boys on ya. Enjoy! ;)
Hey guys so I made my first ever texting video featuring BakuDeku! It’s 18+/explicit so read at your own discretion. Please sub for more texting videos and animatics as well! I hope you will like and comment and tell me what you think!
