|| Sunlight || k. bakugou x oc || mha x oc ||

• Chapter Twenty-Five •

Kai POV

"Okay, I've taken the damn classes, I've improved my flexibility, but I still don't know how to incorporate that into my fighting style." Bakugou pouts and stomps his feet like a child. I chuckle to myself.

"Just because you took three dance classes doesn't mean you're gonna get it right away." I smile teasingly before standing up. Training has gotten more intense as the Sports' Festival gets closer. Outside of dance classes, I've started showing Bakugou how to incorporate more agility and flexibility into his fighting style. When I'm not with Bakugou, I'm training with Shoto.    

Seeing as his father is always busy with hero work, we've basically had the training gym in his house to ourselves. Endeavor and I haven't even crossed paths. We're still on for dinner on Saturday night. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit excited about getting Endeavor's reaction.

My body hasn't truly stopped being sore from training. On the worst days, my eyes start to feel strained, leading to intense headaches and sensitivity to the outdoors. Now is one of those times.

Bakugou and I have been training for over an hour. Aizawa encouraged us to train with other classmates, but I'm getting so tired of being Bakugou's punching bag. Endurance-wise, his quirk is much better suited. I feel so drained. As time stretches on, he gets more frustrated and starts doing less to try and follow my fighting style.

While Bakugou works hard to develop a new fighting style, I hold my cards close to my chest. All the new ways I'm trying to get my quirk to work are unique and important for me to keep a secret.

It's easy to think that his sheer brute force is his greatest strength, but Katsuki Bakugou's incredible talent stems from his ability to analyze a situation and take advantage of it. Which is why he can't know about what I've been developing my quirk into. Even in quirkless sparring matches, I can tell that he's already thinking about how he can beat me at the festival. He's constantly following my movement and considering my preferred fighting tactics.

He's dangerous.

Things are much easier this way. The more I consider Bakugou for what he is—just another opponent for me to analyze and beat—things don't get complicated. No one's said anything but I know people have noticed the way I've withdrawn from the social aspect of school. Especially Mina, Jiro, and Midoriya. They invite me to hang out and to train and I always find a reason to decline. Because that's what I'm conditioned for. My parents taught me the importance of working alone and to look at everyone I come across as a potential opponent.

Before anyone is a friend, I analyze them as an enemy first.

The bell rings and training ends. Aizawa excuses us and we all hurry to change out of our gym uniforms and leave. I always wear long-sleeved shirts underneath my gym clothes, so it's a quick process. Now, I can go train with Todoroki while we plot for Saturday's dinner. I can't wait.

{A/N: Currently working on a Bonus Chapter of dinner with the Todoroki family, coming soon:) }

* * *

I've danced with a partner before. It's never struck me as awkward. The whole point is that we work together no matter what. Despite all the time we've spent fighting, Bakugou seems hesitant to get close. The instructors start showing us how to piece together the dances we learned separately, explaining hand placement, foot alignment, all the details.

"I don't bite, sweetheart." I growl, tilting my head towards the six-foot distance between us. Our instructors inform us that Partner B should stand almost directly behind Partner A. The boy angrily shuffles until he's standing behind my left shoulder. I smell caramel on his skin...nitroglycerin. I chuckle to myself.