Dancing Shadows

Chapter Nineteen

Bakugou's POV-
   On Friday, Cherry and I meet up to train as usual. "Hey there, Bakugou!"

   "Let's get started."

   "Okay. What should we start with?"

   "We are going to spar today."

   "Yeah, no. You must not remember what happened the last time we did that."

   "We aren't going to be using quirks. Actually, I want to focus on physical fighting today. To be honest, you're a very...small person with very little physical fighting experience."

   "Hey-"

   I interrupt her. "Look, you need to know how to fucking fight without a quirk. You never know when you won't be able to use your quirk in a fight."

   She sighs. "Fine."

   "Great. Now, let's get started."

...

   About forty-five minutes of me teaching Cherry how to throw a fucking punch, she's been only slightly successful. "I'm terrible at this."

   "You aren't fucking trying! You have to put something into it. You have to feel it. Can't you think of something that makes you angry and just use it?"

   "I-I don't know. I'm just not very good at this."

   "Come on, what about Tsuburaba? Wasn't he being a major asshole earlier this week?"

   She shrugs. "That didn't really make me angry. He's just upset."

   "Why?"

   "Kind of a long story, but I rejected him."

   "Oh. Well, isn't there something else that makes you angry? What about that fucking extra, Monoma? He makes everyone angry."

   She laughs. "Yeah, it might be nice to punch him in the face, but I don't feel angry enough to physically hurt someone. I think it's been a while since I've felt like that."

   I sigh and rub my eyes tiredly. "Okay, well let's take a fucking break. Why don't you just think about it for a while? We can try again next week. The good thing is that you don't have bad form at all. You just need to actually make yourself physically fight with force."

   She nods. "I'll try."

...

   The next day, Cherry, Icy-Hot, Deku, and I all have to get up early again to go to the last dance class we have before the ball next Saturday. We practice the dance we are going to do for about two hours before Present Mic and Midnight decide that they are happy with it. For the rest of the day I work on school work in my room and go to bed early. Before I know it, it's fucking ten-thirty in the morning on Sunday morning and Cherry is interrupting my training, yet again. "What the fuck do you want, Cherry?"

   She picks my bag up and hands it to me. "Oh, you didn't think that I would forget so easily, did you? You promised me that you would play some music for me and you are keeping that promise. Let's go."

   I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

   We head back to the dorms together and up to my room. "Don't touch anything," I tell her. "I'm going to take a quick shower so give me a few minutes."

...

Ellowyn's POV- 
   While Bakugou is in the shower, I take a look around his room. He has soundproofed walls and a black drum set in one corner of the room with two guitars, one electric and one acoustic, and a keyboard right next to it. His desk is super tidy; every piece of paper has a folder and all his pens are put away in their container. Above his desk is a bookshelf filled to the brim with books covering topics ranging from quirk training to guitar techniques. There's only one photo in his entire room and it is sitting on his desk; it shows him and two people who can't be anyone except for his parents. The rest of the room has pretty minimal decor. The comforter on his bed is black and he has a lamp on his nightstand and just about everything else is bare. I decide to just sit on his desk chair while I wait for him to finish his shower and a few minutes later he comes out in a black t-shirt and jeans. His hair is still slightly wet, but he's already mostly dried it. He picks up his acoustic guitar and takes a seat on his bed. "So, what do you want me to play?"

   I shrug. "Whatever you want to play."

   He scoffs but I see the tips of his ears go just slightly red. "Well, that doesn't narrow down my choices at all." He thinks for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and beginning to play. I don't recognize the song at first but it's nice anyway. I simply watch him as he plays, almost hypnotized by the sight of him immersed in his own world. I don't think I've ever seen him so content. When he finishes playing, he opens his eyes again and gives me a sharp glare. "What the hell do you think you're looking at?"

   I can't help but smile. "You really are just a different person when you play, aren't you?"

   He rolls his eyes but his ears still show that tint of red. "Whatever, Cherry." He puts his guitar back in its place and I can't help but feel kind of sad. "Now, it's time for your part of the deal. Show me some of your art."

   "Okay, but I have to grab my sketchbook first." I go to my room and grab my sketchbook before placing it in Bakugou's lap and taking a seat next to him. "H-here."

   He carefully flips it open and looks through the first pages. It's mostly dumb doodles with way too much effort put into them to perfect their details; a feather here, a flower there, some animals, and a lot of eyes. "Do you usually draw so many eyes?"

   "Yeah, I kind of always have. I'm not sure why, but I've always been drawn in by people's eyes."

   "They're cool."

   Something inside of me suddenly feels warm in the strangest way due to that small compliment. "Thanks."

   The next few pages have some landscapes drawn on them with charcoal; some mountains, some cities, and a ton of beaches. "Why so many beaches?"

   "I feel calm at the beach, even though I don't go very often. I like going at night when no one else is there."

   The last few pages have mostly people drawn on them. One is an ariel silk dancer, another is a sketch of a straight-haired girl that doesn't exist, and another is an angel among many others. "These are actually really good."

   I feel my face turn red. "Well, y-yeah. I've been doing it for a long time, so I hope it's at least okay."

   He rolls his eyes. "Just accept the damn compliment."

   I try to seem annoyed but I can't help but smile a bit. "Okay, fine. Thank you."

   He looks up from the book with a small smirk, probably about to make some sarcastic comment, but then he pauses to push my hair behind my ear. My face and neck suddenly feel hot due to the small action and my breath catches in my throat. Instinctually I pull away from him and grab my sketchbook from his hands that are even sweatier than usual. "S-sorry, I have to go. I promised Mina that I would look over her essay before she has to turn it in tomorrow. See you around?"

   He nods. "Yeah. See you later."

   With a quick and nervous smile, I make my way out of his room and do my best to catch my breath after the weird moment. 

   "What is wrong with me?" I wonder to myself.