Why Us?

Class A vs Class B Battle 5

"Hirai. Got a minute?" Bakugo asks once Izumi and her team have returned.

Izumi stares at him silently. Bakugo is nervous, though he'll never admit it. He has to be strong. But the palms of his hands still sweat and he rubs them off on his pants without even thinking- even though he's in his hero suit and his hands are covered.

"Yeah. I'm free until your battle starts, really. No use planning too excessively, and Izuku knows my quirk so he probably already has a plan in mind," Izumi laughs, shifting on her feet and waiting for Bakugo to explain what he needs her for.

Bakugo nods and takes a deep breath, leading her to a more private area where they can talk.

"I'm not fuckin' used to this shit, so bear with me," Bakugo groans, running a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, for what I said earlier. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I just- I dunno."

Bakugo lets out a frustrated sigh and his hands spark. Izumi flinches back and Bakugo starts swearing and smacking his hands on his pants to stop the sparking.

"Are you... okay?" Izumi asks hesitantly, noticing Bakugo's nerves.

She realizes he's more scared than her- which is odd. He doesn't seem to hear her quiet words, either.

"'m sorry. Didn't mean to activate my quirk- it's kinda habit," Bakugo apologizes, still focused on making his palms stop sparking.

"Bakugo... are you okay?" Izumi asks again, her voice soft as if she might spook him if she speaks too loudly.

He doesn't respond.

Izumi hesitantly steps forward and puts her hand on his forearm. Bakugo looks up and notices her concern, it startles him and this time he's the one that flinches. He's shaking, but he forces himself not to yank his arm away from the girl.

"Bakugo?" Izumi says his name softly again, worried.

Bakugo frowns, realizing he must have missed something in the conversation. It must have been something important if his soulmate is worrying.

"Yeah? What'd I miss?" His voice is rough and gravelly, not how he wanted it to be at all.

He curses himself for being weak. He curses himself for not focusing enough to read her lips.

"What's wrong?" Izumi asks slowly.

"I didn't hear you, before. I think. Fuck this is awkward if you didn't say anything," Bakugo looks away for a moment and then focuses on Izumi again, realizing she's too quiet for him to hear.

"What do you mean?"

"I... Fuck. 'm hard of hearing. My explosions are real loud, y'know. I gotta read people's lips a lot, things get really muffled."

Bakugo runs a hand through his hair again, dislodging his mask and making it uneven.

Izumi notices and reaches a hand up to fix Bakugo's mask- and the boy squeezes his eyes shut. Izumi blinks and furrows her brows. He shouldn't be reacting this way to her. Why is he cowering from her and trying not to flinch away?

Izumi lets out the breath she's been holding by accident and slowly fixes Bakugo's mask. Once she's done, she cups his cheek in her hand and smiles softly when he relaxes and leans into her touch. It's probably the first time she's seen Bakugo's expression so serene and relaxed. Her arm tingles with the sensation of touching her soulmate, but it isn't a harsh sensation so she leaves her hand there.

Bakugo eventually opens his eyes, feeling awkward leaning down into Izumi's touch. He's hunched over from it, but her touch sends sparks flying through his skin, and his heart flutters. It's strangely relaxing.