Best Of Me --- A Bakuraka FanFiction

Chapter Five: Advice and Favours

Bakugo POV:

I walk away from her and head towards the elevator. For some reason something's telling me to go back, to not walk away. I really don't understand what this means, and it's driving me crazy. I take the elevator back to my room and fall down onto the bed. What is this? I feel so....light, so happy....yet so confused. I've never felt anything like this before. It's a very unsure feeling and it's hard to describe. I stare up at the ceiling and absentmindedly trace the scar across my chest from the battle last year that nearly killed me. Besides, she deserves much better than me....what am I saying? Why am I feeling this way? I just need to sleep. If I sleep maybe.....forget it. I sit up and rub my face. 

'Pull it together, Katsuki. She's got a boyfriend so it doesn't matter anyway.' I try telling myself, but then a voice in my head interrupts, but she's most likely going to leave him today so what's the big deal?  I shake my head, 'Shut up.......great now I'm talking to myself....' I fall back down on the bed and close my eyes, but my mind is too active to sleep. In the end, after about half an hour, I go back downstairs to the common area and into the kitchen. Sitting at the table is Eijiro Kirishima, my best friend (though I'd never admit that). I sit down next to him, 'Morning.'

He smiles, 'Morning, Baku-bro!' His expression changes to concern, 'You look awful.....did you sleep? You're kinda pale.'

Great, it's obvious....

I shrug, 'Not really, just couldn't sleep. I'm fine though.'

He doesn't look convinced, 'Okay then. If something's bugging you, you can talk to me about it, you know.'

I laugh, 'Like I'd ever do that.'

Kirishima half smiles and sips his coffee, 'I'm serious. Even the most manly men need to talk sometimes.'

I just roll my eyes and rather aggressively prop my head up on my hand. I don't say anything for a couple minutes, then glance over at my friend and sigh, 'Actually, can you give me some advice?'

He looks at me confused, 'What kind of advice?'

I mumble, 'You know......girl advice.....' Even though there's no one around, I still drop my voice. down to a whisper.

Kirishima just stares at me for a second, then starts to smile, 'Are you interested in someone?'

I burst out, 'Don't smile at me like that! I'm serious! I don't know what to do and I think I'm gonna lose my mind!' I bury my face in a defeated sort of way in my arms.

'Sorry, it's just.....this really is a first, isn't it?'

I nod, my head still in my arms.

'Well, what do you wanna know?'

I look up, 'Just..I dunno...how did you do it with Ashido?'

He smiles at the thought of his girlfriend. It's a ridiculous sort of smile and I can't help but think is this where I'm headed? Complete idiocray?

'Well, Mina and I started as friends, and after we'd spent a good deal of time together, I asked her to go out with me. We went out a couple of times, then I asked her to be my girlfriend. And she said yes, and here we are now.'

I think, 'So you were friends first, huh?' My mind goes back to what Ochako said the night before: I'm lucky to have you as a friend.....

But are we really friends?

'I'm not sure if we even have that part yet.' I admit.

He smiles encouragingly, 'Well, work on that then! If you build up a friendship, it'll build the relationship to be able to blossom into something richer.'

I cringe at his little speech, 'Wow.....okay then....'

'What! It's true!'

'Okay, okay. And then after we're friends I can ask her out?'

He nods and then smirks, 'But be subtle okay? No shouting, be a gentleman. You don't want her running away from you on your first attempt.'

I give him a "stop-talking-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you" kind of look, which wipes the stupid look off his face, to my pleasure.

I hear footsteps from behind and give Kirishima a look to tell him not to continue the conversation. If anyone else hears this, I know I'm a dead man.

It turned out to be Mina. She comes into the kitchen and puts her arms around Kirishima from behind, 'What are you boys talking about?'

Kirishima beams at her touch, 'Nothing. He just got here really. You didn't miss anything.'

She smiles back and frees him from her grip, 'Alright, I was just curious.'

'You're too nosy for your own good.'

She giggles as she plops down into a chair, 'I know.'

I sit there and watch them interact for a while. It's a little awkward for me. I really don't understand this sort of thing well enough to get how he enjoys that: the touching, the flirting. It makes me uncomfortable just to think about.....

Then an image appears in my mind as I think.......I can almost feel her soft, warm hand in mine.....I see her beaming face, her light brown hair half pulled back....she's pulling me along happily, glowing brighter than the Sun....Ochako Uraraka.....

I shake my head aggressively to get the thoughts out of my head, as if shaking will cause them to come out of my ears. I can't think like that right now. Once I'm back to my senses, I notice both Mina and Kirishima looking at me, both of them wearing the same concerned and shocked expression. I freeze up, unsure what to say, 'Erm....sorry....didn't sleep.....must be catching....you know what, I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you guys later...' I quickly get up from the table and leave the room. I can feel their eyes follow me as I head towards the front door and out of the dorms.

The cool September air hits my burning cheeks and I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe now I can think clearly, I just need to take a walk and clear my mind. Yes, that'll help.....hopefully....

I start off down the path. It's a beautiful, clear morning. Birds dart back and forth across the pale blue sky, their calls filling the air. I smile as I watch them playfully fly around above my head. When I look back down at the path ahead, my smile disappears. In the distance, I can see Deku and Hatsume walking at a slow pace. He's holding her hand and listening intently as she talks animatedly, most likely about one of her new "babies" - her inventions.

Not wanting to talk, I decide to take a different path and avoid them completely. It'll probably be a while before I can talk to Deku conversationally again, knowing how much he hurt Ochako.

After a while of walking, I decide to head back to the dorms. I had barely walked through the door when a yellow and black blur bombarded me. 

'Kacchan! Can I ask you a favour?'

It's Kaminari. I cross my arms, 'Sure, Dunce Face. What do you want?'

At this point, he doesn't even argue the nickname, 'You know that new mall that opened up? Well, I wanna go, but everyone else said no. So-'

I interrupt him, 'Absolutely not.'

'Oh come on! Please? I wanna check it out, and I don't wanna go alone. That mall is huge and I'll just get lost if someone doesn't come with me.'

'And that's my problem because?'

He looks at me pleadingly.

I sigh. 'Fine, but you'll owe me a favour in return, got it?'

He nods excitedly, 'Thanks, man! And yeah, of course. I am now in your debt.' he bows low. 

I just roll my eyes and kick him over from behind. He topples over, 'Let's just get going. I don't wanna be gone all day.' I check the time. It's already after noon.

He gets up from the floor. 'Okay, let's go!'

He grabs my arm and pulls me back out of the dorms and down the path toward the front gate. 

What in the world did I sign up for now....?

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