Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
EVEN though the sun is beginning to pass below the horizon, the overheating of my body warms the area around me. as i'm hunched down and grabbing onto my knees, i feel a small dribble of liquid coming from my nose. a clear indicator that i've reached my limit for the day.
i wipe away the blood using the sleeve of my undershirt that's torn slightly and burned around the cuffs from the overheating.
the heavy gasps of my classmates trying to catch their breath echo through the opening where the wild wild pussycats stand with aizawa sensei standing next to them.
"well it's past five o'clock so no lunch for you guys," one of the pro heroes states. at that everyone groans as they slump even further into the ground.
"but you guys made it just in time for dinner!" the class perks up at the sound of getting some sort of food for the day as we listen to the pro heroes explain that we have to make our own food however.
i shakily stand up from my crouched position and follow behind some of my classmates that are beginning to make their way to the food preparation stations that are scattered around the area.
"how many did you get ko?" eiji's voice catches my attention behind me. i turn my head to find him looking as disheveled as i can imagine i look right about now. his white shirt half untucked and torn in places while his face and hair are messy and laced with earth. he jogs his way to my side as he looks at me with hope swirling through his red eyes.
"i got forty-six," a sense of anticipation flows through me and is instantly sucked away when a beaming smile bursts onto the boys face.
"forty-seven!"
"congratulations eiji, this means you've almost caught up to me in competition wins."
"hey i'm only twenty-three behind you, well twenty-two now." the smile he wears proudly doesn't fade as he tallies up his newest addition to wins. then i watch as the cogs in his mind twist and turn as he begins to devise a punishment for me.
i comfortably cross my hands over my chest as i patiently wait for him when his eyes light up.
"i thought of a punishment for your loss, but i'm going to hold onto it for a little while longer. until the right time." his smile turns into a mischievous smirk as he rubs his hands methodically in front of him. i can't help but let a chuckle escape my lips at this rare side of eiji i haven't seen in a while.
"i can't wait to see what you have in store for me eiji," another laugh escapes me as his smirk grows larger.
"let's go and see what everyone's plan for dinner is yeah?"
"sounds good to me le-" before i can finish my sentence, i'm dragged away by the collar of my shirt backwards. a small gasp escapes my lips at the suddenness of my collar hitting my throat. i squirm out of the grasp of whoever has me to turn and find bakugou standing with his back to me.
"oh hey bakugou!" he doesn't say anything as he turns his head in a motion to follow behind him. i don't question anything as i turn back around to wave off to eiji who's still standing where i left him.
"i'll catch up with you in a bit eiji!" the smile he was wearing before seems to have faded in the slightest as he waves at me before i turn my back.
weird.
"come on," bakugou's harsh words catch my attention as i notice him standing above a pot with a wooden spoon in his hand. the call of his words pull at my chest as i don't even seem to question the command. his dark vermillion eyes are near hypnotic as he stares me down with knitted eyebrows.
i break eye contact as i feel my cheeks slightly heat at the intense eye contact. i make my way towards as the smell of spices begin to fill my nostrils.
"it smells amazing bakugou, what is it?" i look up at him to find him simply stirring around the mixture that's in the tall metal pot. i try to get onto my tippy toes to see the inside of the pot but can't see much of anything. the blond looms over the pot and simply points to a metal spoon.
i say nothing else as i grab the item he gestured towards, looking up at him with a my head cocked to the side in confusion. he side eyes me as he grabs the spoon form my hand, slowly dipping it into the pot. when he brings it upwards, the spoon is filled to the brimming corners with a dark brown liquid that smells of smoky spices.
without another word he hands it to me then continues to mix. i feel my heart begin to beat slightly faster at the gesture of me trying this soup he's making. nerves begin to twist my stomach into knots as i bring the spoon to my lips.
an explosion of flavor bursts into my mouth as my tastebuds cry out with joy and i close my eyes to savor each and every flavor. the balance of the spicy chili oil to creamy vegetable broth brings a smile to my face as memories of my childhood flood into my mind.
the blurred face of my father setting down a bowl of spicy miso soup in front of me with a small kiss to my forehead.
"enjoy the meal little star."
before i can stop it, a tear slides down my warm cheeks as i recall the fading memory that i haven't through about until this moment.
"i knew the spice was gonna be too much for you!" the memory dissolves from my mind as bakugou's proud tone rings through me instead. i open my eyes to see an evil smirk gracing his lips with a proud look in his eyes.
"thank you," my voice comes out barely as a whisper and i say nothing else, setting down the spoon and smiling up at him. i watch as his smirk dwindles and his eyes slightly widen as he stares down at me with a look in his eyes i've never seen before.
i swear a twinge of red brims the tip of his ears but he turns away from me before i can truly tell if what i saw was real or a trick of the setting sun.
"move the hell over," he shoves the wooden spoon he was using to stir the pot into my hands and pushes me around him to switch spots.
"so-" i'm quick to stop myself from finishing the word the angry boy hates as he gives me a deathly glare that sends chills down my spine. i shut my mouth and say nothing else, grabbing a small stool from besides the cooking stand, now standing at the same height as the boy next to me, and begin to slowly mix the pot.
i'm in awe at the speed bakugou begins to chop up the vegetables with such a precise cutting technique.
"hey miya how is the soup coming along?" uraraka and ashido comes to my side as they sniff the air, looking curiously into the pot.
"well i'll tell you this much, it tastes amazing!" i beam down at them as they stare back up at me. "i didn't make it or anything like that, that was all bakugou's doing." the two girls look between themselves as they look around me at said boy.
i glance over at him as well to find a deadly scowl on his face as he begins to chop the vegetables more furiously then before. turning my attention back at the girls, i find small but similar smirks placed on their faces as they look back at me.
"we'll leave you guys alone then, we'll catch up with you in a bit koko," ashido and uraraka turn away from me, making their way over to where eiji and kaminari seem to be struggling with boiling some noodles.
