Amelioration | A Bakugo & Uraraka Story Pt6

CHAPTER 12: KNOWING

*9:40 pm*

Uraraka

The echoes of Bakugo beating the striking bag was audible from outside the gym. He was inside the dorms weight room pounding his stress away. When I opened the door and laid eyes on him, I had to ignore the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach at the site of his sweaty body. I always enjoyed the way his shirts would stick to him when he worked out, but now was not the time. I was too pissed off at him.

His headphones were in as he threw kicks and elbows on the bag, making it sway harshly without rest. I walked closer to the area without him noticing, as if he would on a regular day. I watched him for a good 5 minutes with my arms crossed, glaring at him.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he finally turned towards me with a snap of his head. He took a moment to drop his hands and catch his breath, looking at me. When I glare at him harder, he took out one of his headphones and looks back at the bag, waiting for me to speak first.

So, I do. "You knew, didn't you? About Deku's quirk."

His eyes are on the bag scanning his previous hits as he gestures toward the air around us. "Now everyone does."

"How long have you known?" I asked, my anger growing.

He punched the bag in a 3-set combo. "Months."

I knew it!

My mind raced as I started to connect the dots!

His mom told me on the phone, "Oh, honey, you see, we all thought Izuku was quirkless."

From the first day of school when Bakugo saw Deku use his quirk, "WHAT IS THIS DEKU?! EXPLAIN NOW, SHITRAG!!"

After their big fight where they got house arrest, he seemed to look at Deku differently.

And just today, "When it comes to Deku or All Might, more than Endeavor or anyone else, I know them best."

"It all makes sense now!" I yelled, "The entire reason you went from hating Deku to training with him!!"

He said nothing as he started to beat the bag faster, throwing hard, heavy knees.

"You knew all this time, and you still let Deku go through it all alone?!" I entered his space, standing right behind him.

His shoulders tensed and he spun to look at me. "I was next to him the whole fucking time!!"

"We could have been there too!!"

"OH, FUCK OFF!!" His arm waved.

"If we knew, we could have helped keep him safe!! Or prevented him from leaving U.A.!" I walked around him to try to face the raging boy. "Hell, we could have planned more of a strategy for the battle if more of us knew!!"

"IT WASN'T MY FUCKING PROBLEM!!"

"BUT NOW HE'S OUT THERE BY HIMSELF AS A TARGET!!" I raised my voice just as loud.

"I DIDN'T TELL THE FUCKING NERD TO LEAVE!!" He leaned in close, practically spitting in my face. "THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

"TO SHOW THAT YOU CARE!!" I screamed.

His eyebrows furled together in confusion, mixing with his rage. "WHAT THE FUCK??"

I took a deep breath, "I always thought you were just an asshole to him, always talking shit and always going hard on him during training, because you're a cocky ass that just wanted to beat him like you used to as kids. But now I know it's because you care about him!!"

His eye roll could have won trophies in that moment, putting his whole upper body into the gesture. He used it to turn away from me and continue beating the bag.

I continued, "You've seen what he is willing to do to win, and save people, and you know just as well as I do that Deku is willing to let himself get killed for what he believes is right! If you actually fucking showed us that you cared about your friend's life, you would have told us–"

He turned back to me, his hair practically on fire with how angry he was. "I TOOK BLADES FOR THAT FUCKFACE!! DID YOU FUCKING FORGET THAT?!?"

"THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!!" I screamed, my whole body getting into the moment. My feet were stomping and my arms are waving like a mad woman.

His gestures were just as ridiculous. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!? YOU WEREN'T EVEN AT THE FUCKING FIGHT!! WE HAD THE TOP HEROES AT OUR SIDES AND WE STILL GOT FUCKED!!"

"WE COULD HAVE PLANNED AHEAD!!" How was this boy not understanding what I was trying to tell him?!

"EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY PLANNED OUT!!" He made a face at me like I was the stupidest person on earth. God, it pissed me off! "NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED!!"

"YOU WENT WITH HIM!!" I screamed as I slammed my palms against his chest, shoving him back. His Bakurage spiked when I did that, but my rage seemed to dwindle down. His furious expression was such a contrast to my now frowning face. "When he left to go on his own in the middle of saving people, you went with him! If you didn't know about his quirk, would you have followed??"

He stood there, breathing heavily through his teeth.

"Tell me!" I yelled, my voice sounding like a plea the more frustrated I felt.

In his wild stance, his eyes drifted to the floor. I gave him a moment to think, but he didn't need a moment. Because what he was showing me was that he already knew his answer, but he was refusing to say it out loud.

This fucking jerk!

"AND THAT'S THE FUCKING DIFFERENCE!! BECAUSE MORE OF US WOULD HAVE!!" I could feel my eyes watering with how frustrated I was, I hated it. I absolutely hated it!

His quirk activated for a moment, blasting away his rage behind him as he stalked towards me. "IT WAS NEVER MY SECRET TO FUCKING TELL!! THAT FUCKING NERD DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT HIS QUIRK, I FUCKING FIGURED IT OUT ON MY OWN!!" His forehead slammed against mine and pushed me back, "IT WAS AFTER I BEAT HIM UP WHEN ALL MIGHT TOLD ME EVERYTHING!!"

I stepped to the side and pushed him away again, rubbing my forehead annoyed. And confused. He really just head butted me—

"It's not like I was anyone fucking special!" He took a step back, gesturing towards his chest. There was so much hurt in his eyes... "All Might asked me to keep my mouth shut because I was never supposed to know." He leaned in close again, threatening me with his blazing eyes. "So why is it my fucking business to go around telling other people about someone else's shit??"

My body was frozen, my heart hurt for him and I didn't fully understand why. But still, he needs to understand my point of view too... I need him to... I took a deep breath, my voice sounding like a struggling whisper. "Because you almost died. He almost died."

His rage face turned into a stone-cold glare, one that shows no empathy or remorse. His voice was a rumble, "You would have fucking died. Every fucking extra in our class would have fucking died."

I could feel tears running down my cheeks. He was so serious about the battle... was I really so naïve?

His next words felt like knives. "I didn't just save his fucking life, I saved all of your shitty lives too."

The next thing I knew, the door was slamming behind him.

I stood alone in the weight room.

Guilt started to replace the rage that once burdened my chest.

God damn it!