VOID [Katsuki Bakugo x OC]

Rule #1: Say Yes

♪

The headlines all read the same...

The number one hero had fallen.

A reporter stood outside of the hospital where he stayed, surrounded by a sea of distressed fans. "Katsuki Bakugo, otherwise known as Dynamight, sustained life-threatening injuries against a villain with a shape-shifting quirk last night around eleven P.M. and has remained in critical condition at Hosu Hospital. Fans have gathered around the hospital in support, and heroes from all over Japan, including Deku and Shoto - the number two and three heroes, respectively - have flocked to the hospital in solidarity with the injured hero. We'll have updates as they co-"

The laptop slammed closed on Cadence Yamaguchi's lap.

Decked out in pearls and a gray pantsuit, her mother, Ine, stood overhead sneering, watching in amusement as Cadence startled and yanked her headphones from her ears, straightening up in her bed. Remix, the jet black pug-mix curled up beside Cadence, awoke with a jolt and began to growl at the aging woman. Neither of them had heard her enter the tour bus or even approach the bunk bed.

"You're supposed to be working out," Ine reminded Cadence, tone even and poisonous, despite the forced smile on her face. She held the laptop shut with her long, perfectly-manicured fingers.

"I-" Cadence stammered, gaze averted, "I- I was about to-"

"Excuses are for poor people." Her mother's nostrils flared, and Cadence had a fraction of a second to prepare for the incoming punishment, covering her face with her hands. Cadence didn't know what to expect, but usually a slap to the face was Ine's first choice of consequences. Yanking the charging cord from the wall, her mother stole the sticker-covered laptop from Cadence's bed, complete with all accoutrements, and stomped off toward the door of the tour bus. "I'm coming back in five minutes. You'd better be at the gym." Her steely, serious gaze spoke volumes: if Cadence wasn't at the gym in five minutes, then she'd suffer much worse than a repossessed laptop.

Cadence swung out of bed and nodded, her hands trembling as she bowed deeply, more out of fear than anything. "Yes, mother," she muttered to the floor. She was in no position to barter or beg. She could only listen.

The tour bus door slammed shut with a note of finality.

A sigh of relief released from Cadence's lips as she straightened up, running shaky fingers through her waist-length, cerulean hair.

"She's frightening," quipped the driver, Rocket, leaning out of her front seat with an open book in her palms, "I tried to warn you, but you had the-" she gestured to her ears, "You know." She chewed on her pierced lip, like she had more to say, but decided against it.

"It's fine, Rocky," Cadence said, pulling her hair up into a top knot, "It's not your fault." She turned on her heel and headed toward her closet in the back, rummaging around for some clean, black workout clothes and changing quickly.

Her mind spun with the news of her favorite hero being injured - was there anything she could do? Had they caught the villain involved? Would Dynamight be alright? - and jogged off the bus without a backward glance to Rocky, just her phone in her pocket and frustration bubbling in her veins.

Not that she'd ever act on it.

-

Katsuki Bakugo awoke three days later.

His whole body hurt, pulsing like a bruise, as if he'd been run over by a steam roller, gnawed on by Godzilla, and pushed through a wood chipper, only to survive it all.