Dark Reciprocation (Katsuki Bakugo x OC)(Villain Bakugo)

Chapter 33

It's the day after their arrival at the new hideout, and Rose is lying on her bed, her phone in hand as she exchanges texts with Todoroki. The room is quiet, the soft glow of her phone screen illuminating her face. Todoroki's messages are playful, full of light flirting and casual banter, but her responses are more reserved, her mind wandering as she types.

"Todoroki's always been fun to talk to," she thinks, a small smile playing on her lips as she reads his latest message. But even as she types out a reply, her thoughts drift back to Bakugo, the intensity of the previous day still lingering in her mind. "Why can't I stop thinking about him?"

Rose sighs, glancing away from her phone for a moment, her thoughts swirling. She doesn't have time to dwell on it, though, because just then, Kaminari bursts into the room.

Without knocking, Kaminari flops down onto the bed next to her, his usual grin plastered across his face. He stretches out beside her, making himself comfortable as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Yo, what are you up to, Siphon?" Kaminari asks, peering over at her phone screen with a mischievous grin. "Texting your boyfriend Todoroki again?"

Rose rolls her eyes, playfully nudging him with her elbow. "He's not my boyfriend, Kaminari. We're just talking."

Kaminari chuckles, clearly not convinced. "Uh-huh. Sure. You've been texting him non-stop since we got here. I think he's got a thing for you."

Rose grins, "It's just flirting. You know how Todoroki is."

Kaminari grins back, "Yeah, and Bakugo doesn't seem too thrilled about it."

At the mention of Bakugo, Rose's smile falters slightly, but she quickly brushes it off. "Bakugo's got bigger things to worry about than who I'm texting."

Kaminari raises an eyebrow, sensing the shift in her mood. "Speaking of Bakugo, he called a meeting in a few minutes. I just thought I'd give you a heads-up before he blows a gasket."

Rose sighs, "Great. More planning."

A few minutes later, the group gathers in the common area for the meeting. Bakugo stands at the head of the room, arms crossed, his usual intense expression in place. But there's a subtle tension in his posture, and his mind seems elsewhere as he begins to speak.

"Alright, listen the hell up," Bakugo says, his voice rough. "We've got another damn mission coming up, but things are different now. The heroes know where to hit us, and they're gonna try to track us like they did last time." He gestures toward Kaminari. "Tiny devices—hidden, hard to detect."

As Bakugo speaks, his eyes flicker toward Rose briefly, and for a moment, his words falter. His mind keeps drifting back to the previous day, to the way she grabbed his hand, how she clung to him. "Focus," he tells himself, clenching his fists. "This isn't the time."

Rose, noticing Bakugo's brief distraction, speaks up, her voice calm but firm. "If they're going to start using tiny tracking devices on us, we need to be more proactive. We could sweep ourselves for trackers after each mission, but that'll only get us so far."

She crosses her arms, her mind already working through the logistics. "What if we jammed their signals before they even had the chance to track us? We could create interference during missions—make it harder for them to plant anything on us in the first place."

Kirishima nods thoughtfully, leaning forward. "That could work. If we keep them scrambling, they won't be able to get close enough to plant any trackers. I can definitely help in that area."

Bakugo's eyes narrow as he listens to her suggestion. Her calm, strategic thinking impresses him, even if he doesn't say it out loud. "That's not a bad idea," he admits, his voice slightly gruff. "We'll need to find a way to get the damn tech we need to pull it off."

As the group continues to discuss the mission, Bakugo's mind drifts again. His thoughts keep circling back to Rose, to the way she looked when she woke up that morning, groggy and disoriented but still reaching for him. It's distracting—frustrating.

"Dammit," he thinks, clenching his fists. "Why can't I focus?" He glances at her again, watching her as she talks with the others, her voice steady and confident. "She's more than just a teammate," he realizes, his heart pounding in his chest. "But I can't let that get in the way."

Rose notices Bakugo's distraction, but she doesn't call him out on it. Instead, she continues to offer suggestions, helping the group brainstorm ways to avoid future tracking attempts.

As the meeting wraps up, the group seems more focused, with everyone contributing to the plan. Sero suggests some tech contacts that might be able to help with the signal jamming, while Kirishima offers to look into ways to detect the tiny trackers more easily.

Bakugo gives a curtnod, his mind still swirling but grateful for the team's input. "Good. Let'sget to work, dammit. I'll handle the tech contacts. Rose, you work on refiningthe interference plan."