𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 | 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐤.

✩ ten ✩

"it's time to wake up my kin."

i feel the cold chill rush down my throat as i gasp for air and my eyes strain from the brightness of the room.

i lurch up from my lying position to sit upright, the sheets that lay over me dropping down to my hips.

my lungs must have been deprived of air and seem to be begging for it. my head starts to feel light as i try to control my breathing to not pass out.

again.

i close my eyes and slowly bring myself back to a regular breathing pattern. i take this time to survey my surroundings.

i must be in the infirmary.

there was no one in the room but the soft white light that shone through the curtains of the room. the soft buzzing of the air conditioning unit is nearly enough to lull me back to sleep. the chill of it is a cooling feeling against the warmth of my skin.

i look down at my hands, noticing the fact that they're wrapped up in an all too familiar pattern.

i must have burned them again.

as i attempt to swing my legs over to the edge of the bed, a dull throbbing pain is sent through my body from my shoulder and mostly through my abdomen.

that must have been from the nice little shove bakugou gave me. not sure where the abdomen pain came from though. maybe overusing my quirk?

i remember as the shoulder move bakugou pulled on me took me by complete surprise. i don't remember the last time someone was able to get ahold of me during a match where we were both using our quirks.

i don't think eiji has ever been able to land a hit on me while we trained using our quirks.

pushing away the throbbing pain, i grip onto my injured shoulder with the opposite hand and try once again to get out of this bed.

once i finally complete that task, i move on to try and stand. of course, it doesn't go how i want it to and my legs just about gave out from under me. if it wasn't for the small table next to the bed, my face would have been planted straight into the tile.

the floor has a cooling affect against the bare bottoms of my feet, making me feel like i could melt into the flooring itself. however, it only lasts for mere seconds as my feet become accustomed to the chill and begins to heat it with every step.

i notice my folded up clothes on the neat bed next to me and make my way to the bathroom attached to the room itself. letting out a disappointed sigh while doing so.

then it suddenly hit me that i lost the match against bakugou. that's why i'm here to begin with. i feel the regret seep through my skin at the realization.

he probably thinks i'm more of a fool. i'm even more useless then he thought it was before.

"you're weak and that's just the truth."

the words replay in my mind once again just like they did in that fight. but instead of lighting a fire in me, it splashes boiling water on that flame to distinguish it.

i catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and take a mental note of all the places i was bandaged up. more notably being around my shoulder and abdomen. even with the bandages covering most of my torso, i'm still able to catch a glimpse of the blooming purple and black blotches from underneath the white.

i pull the tank-top i was wearing under the track top over my head carefully and pull the pants up to tie them into a knot in order to keep them up. after one look of my ripped up white and blue top, i decide there's not point in wearing just a couple pieces that are weakly held together by some string.

instead i fold it up and put it right back onto the bed i found it on. hoping that they would understand why i can't wear it anymore.

i feel my strength coming back to me with every step i take. i step out of the infirmary with after pulling my socks and boots back on before heading out.

even from down here, i can hear the silent tremors of the crowds cheers above me.

i wonder if the tournament is over with.

i scan the tunnels for some sort of clock to find the time but to no avail. instead i slowly make my way through the silence, besides the spirits of course, and find my way back to where the hero class is in the stands. hoping that i'm able to meet up with eiji there.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

"hey you guys. what did i miss?" my voice comes out weaker and more hoarse than i was expecting it to at my feeble attempt to catch my classmates' attention.

i watch as a head of red perks up and turns to see me leaning against the concrete wall. he pushes through kaminari and mineta straight for me.

"how are you feeling? does anything hurt? do you remember anything about the match? what year is it? do you remember your na-" before i let him finish, i bring my palm to his sturdy shoulder. not only to stop him from his barrage of questions but also to steady myself.

"i'm just fine eiji i promise," i watch as his face relaxes from it's tensed up state before. he lets his features rest as a small smile is brought to his lips. "now tell me what did i miss?"

"well we got our winners done there." he points a thumb lazily to the bowl below. i glance down and have to hold back a chuckle at the sight.

tokoyami is standing calmly in the third place position, todoroki is standing a bit closer to the edge of his second place position while trying to avoid bakugou. who is currently muzzled and chained up to a cement block like a rabid animal.

"well at least i can say that i lost to the one that won the whole thing right?" i feel a light chuckle make it past my lips as i watch the ash blond squirm around.

"why don't i take you back home yeah? i let junko and futo know what happened but i told them i'd bring you back." he places a hand on my shoulder to grab my attention.

"you don't need to do that eiji! i know your moms are probably really worried about you." i look down at my feet, feeling the guilt of what i did to him during the tournament.

"don't you worry about it konomi. futo threatened me that if i didn't come over and play tekken with him he would hunt me down or something like that." i glance back up at the red head just in time to see him shiver slightly.

"well if futo said so then i guess it's okay. he's been complaining recently how he hasn't seen you in a while anyways! just make sure not to push yourself too much alright?"

"i promise, i'm feeling much more manly now too so don't worry!"

and with that, we wave off to our classmates and head back to the place i call home.