Without You || todobaku

9

BAKUGOU'S POV

Explosion after explosion my strength momentarily came back to me. There was so much going on in the giant gym that my explosions didn't even seem to drown out everything else. I had myself backed away from everyone, my hands cracked and popped with sparks. 
I lost so much from being depressed that I forgot how good it felt to use my quirk as much as I like. I blew holes in the rocks and destroyed any debris that flew around my head. I actually felt good again for once.
"Alright listen up," Aizawa yelled, and everyone came to a quick halt, "You've practiced enough, let's get this place picked up and try some sparring. Remember, these are your peers. Don't go try and kill someone."
He shot me a look. I frowned and looked away from him. My attitude hasn't stood out in weeks, I don't know why he'd think I'd kill someone.
Icyhot was taking it easy all day. Every now and again when I steal a look his moves were mediocre, like he was thinking too much. We made eye contact again after Aizawa commanded us to clean up. Immediately insecure, I looked away and stormed off. 
"Hey, Bakugou, nice job today man you were on fire!" Kirishima clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah well it would've been better," I mumbled, "I'm never gonna get to that number one spot at this rate."
"Oh come on, don't talk like that. Where's your passion and fiery attitude guy?" He said as we walked towards the side of the building to take a water break.
I shrugged, "Doesn't matter."
"Well anyway, man, I wonder who we're paired up with today in these matches. I've taken enough blows from you to know your weak points," He laughed a bit and took a giant chug of his water.
I shot him a glare, "Don't you dare test me."
I threw my head back and drank. The water tasted better than it should've, but without much to eat or drink this was like another soothing bandage.
"Woah hey, wait," Kirishima stepped in front of me with his back facing the rest of the room. He suddenly looked concerned. He pointed to my wrist, which I suddenly hid behind my back.
"What was that?" He looked like he already knew the answer. Instead of crying or being vulnerable I clenched my jaw and growled, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Bakugou… come on man you don't have to do that. Why did you do that? Is everything okay?" He looked like I kicked him or something. I just didn't know how to appreciate care. He brought me closer to him and gave me a hug. My arms stayed at my sides and I rolled my eyes. I knew I should've worn longer sleeves.

TODOROKI'S POV

My knees were definitely sore. I wasn't able to move as fast as I wanted to. I knew Aizawa had to report to my father of my progress, so I didn't slack as much as I should have been. I let out a long exhale when we were able to stop. I looked up to where Bakugou stood and admired how good he looked when he broke a sweat and gave it his all. It made me feel better seeing him get back into it like that. I just prayed it would get better from then on.
I walked over to my weird group of friends. Yaoyorozu handed me a water bottle and gave me a smile.
"Hey, not bad today Todoroki. It seems each time you practice your left side you get better!" She said, I kindly smiled a bit and drank.
"Thanks, you weren't too bad yourself, Yaoyorozu."
I scanned the building for Bakugou, hoping maybe I could get a chance to talk to him. I eventually saw his messy blond hair and turned on my feet to walk towards him. However, the red head he spoke to a lot had already beat me to it. Bakugou looked annoyed but it didn't seem like the real kind of annoyed. I waited a moment to see if Kirishima would walk away but he didn't. Soon enough he brought Bakugou close to him and hugged him. 
I felt my entire left side burn up. Jealousy filled my stomach like a brick. I was worried about it for good reason. Kirishima knew Bakugou well. They were friends and they talked more than I have even talked to him in the past two weeks. Yeah so I was a little pissed off afterwards, I just didn't want Bakugou to fall in love with him.
I turned my eyes away, not wanting to manifest an unfair hatred for Kirishima. I decided to stay with Midoriya and Yaoyorozu while we took our breaks.

"Alright guys here's how this is going to go, I've randomly assigned you an opponent. You'll have 5 minutes each, if time runs out without a winner it's a draw and doesn't benefit either of you. We've done this before so you know the drill," Aizawa cleared his throat, "Up first I have Kaminari and Bakugou."
I looked to Bakugou, who didn't notice me. He leaned off of his right leg and stepped forward, eyeing Kaminari as he stepped forward as well. They both stood a few meters apart. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the blond he just drew me in. He leaned forward, bringing an arm close to his face, and he gave Kaminari a wicked grin.
"Begin-" Aizawa was cut off by Bakugou's obnoxious explosion that rumbled and roared. It shot straight at Kaminari without a second to spare. He was able to provide a decent enough counter to throw back at Bakugou, but it wasn't enough. He was blasted again, then Bakugou lifted off the ground with his forceful blasts under his palms. 
I quickly noticed he was already out of breath. His smile wasn't as wide and his eyebrows showed concern. Something was up and I could smell it from a mile away. Just before Bakugou could lay a finger on Kaminari, the zappy boy struck him with the flashiest bolts he had. It was impressive, he had definitely been taking training seriously. He didn't go completely stupid afterwards either.
Bakugou flipped backwards, but he didn't catch himself. He fell to the ground flat on his back and wheezed at the collision. His eyes stared wide open at the ceiling. Coughing and gripping his chest, he tried to get up. I desperately wanted to yell something and it felt like my mouth was glued shut.
He pushed himself up on his knees and raised an arm to aim another attack at Kaminari, which failed. He was thrown off his knees onto his back again with another forceful burst of electricity. He didn't get up. 
Kaminari looked over at everyone and gave a goofy thumbs up. Looks like he met his limit. Aizawa called it when Bakugou didn't get back up. The blond looked upset. He sat up and Kirishima stepped out to give him a hand. I frowned.
I should've said something, but I didn't. Now he felt terrible again. He's never really lost in these matches before. At least not this way. He only took two blows to have the wind knocked out of him.
I bit my lip and looked down at my feet so no one could see me staring.
After a few more matches, Midoriya and I were paired up for a match. He gave me a little determined grin and stepped out with me. I balled my hands into fists. I hoped Midoriya remembered shattering my knees. I didn't want anything like that to happen again.
"Alright, you two, begin."
We both hesitated. Eyes locked on to each other. I made the first move and shot a wall of ice to the floor between us. Midoriya flew over the wall and charged his energy to his leg that was aimed straight at me. I immediately dodged and let him hit the floor. It was a back and forth battle between the two of us. I was doing decently considering the state of my legs. 
Our classmates cheered the two of us on as Midoriya tried his best to weaken me with close combat. My eyes caught sight of that blond that froze my world. He was staring straight at me with his hands in his pockets. Kirishima had an arm on his shoulder to lean on. When I caught myself stuck for a second too long Midoriya's fist collided with my cheek. I let myself fall and hit the floor. I didn't get back up, I just wanted to be done.
Aizawa called it and Midoriya helped me up. Trying my best to not look at Bakugou again, I walked away.
When we were allowed to return to our lockers and change back into our uniforms, I wasted no time to get in and out of there. My heart was pounding. I had a terrible feeling in my whole body, like I wasn't breathing right. I had no doubt in my mind this was about Bakugou. 
He never liked me, he never spoke to me unless it was about how he'd crush me, and he never let himself be anywhere near me without a fight. Kirishima had the advantage of knowing more about him than I. Bakugou actually told him things and probably joked with him too. It would make sense if the day I kissed him or held him while he cried were insignificant to him.
I was just too stubborn to budge. I knew I felt something with him and I badly wanted to act on it more.
During the lunch hour, I stayed with Yaoyorozu, Sero, and Midoriya at our table. We ate and chatted, but my mind was a mess. My eyes darted everywhere to see if Bakugou was even in the room but he wasn't. I knew where he was but I held myself back from going to find him. The insecurity of me being clingy and crazy raised my anxiety.