Beauty vs the Beast (Katsuki Bakugo fanfic)

12:「 Burning Secrets 」

While the recreations took place, Carine walked around the stadium with her eyes peered downward. She didn't feel hungry enough to each lunch or relaxed enough to join in on the games. 

Just as she was about to cross the entrance to the stadium, a pair of hands pulled her back and covered her mouth.

 "Mmmpphhh!!??" Carine tried to struggle and free herself, but it was no use. 

"Just shut up and listen. Don't walk in there," Bakugo's voice whispered aggressively as he held her against him. Still attempting to free herself from his grasp, Carine heard two voices come from inside the hallway of the entrance.

"My father could never beat All Might, so he came up with another plan."

"What's this about, Todoroki? Why are you telling me this?" Deku?

 Carine knew that voice, but why was he speaking to Todoroki? And here, of all places? Carine calmed down just enough for Bakugo to drop his hands from her mouth.

"Quirk marriages. You've heard of them, right?" Todoroki began to speak again. 

"With his wealth and fame, my father forced my mother to marry him. All to get his hands on her quirk. He raised me as a hero to exceed All Might, just to fulfill his own ambitions. I hate it! Being no more than a tool for that piece of garbage.

Mom was always crying. 'I can't stand to see that left side of yours,' she said, before pouring scalding water on my face. So, not using my left side is my revenge on him. By rising to the top without using it...I'll have denied him everything."

It seemed that Deku and Todoroki were about to come out of the hallway, but Carine's body stood rigid in place like stone. Having noticed, Bakugo took her by the wrist and pulled her away, behind another wall. 

"What am I supposed to do after hearing all of of that?" Near tears, Carine turned to face Bakugo, who was leaned against the wall, still attempting to eavesdrop. 

He stared at her in silence, hands tucked into his pockets. "Like hell I know," he muttered, turning his head away. 

Carine tightened her fists. "I'm leaving," she whispered in frustration. She turned around and walked away from the scene, toward the recreation area.

She felt sick, for more reasons than one. She had heard something that she wasn't supposed to hear, and it felt as if it was an injustice to Todoroki, and to herself. His words still burned in her mind, like an aftertaste that was impossible to get rid of.

Carine stopped walking, and stood still in the grass with her head down. She clutched her chest,  thinking about the things that he had said, and the feelings that came after. It reminded her of a certain voice she didn't want to remember, of dark rooms and cold shivers.

Of fear.

"Hey, Minazuki! Where have you been? Come on!" Uraraka suddenly grabbed her hand and started pulling her away.

Instantly, Carine was brought back to the present, and she shook her head to remember where she was. "Where are we going?" Carine asked in confusion. 

"Apparently we have to be cheerleaders after lunch for the activities!" Uraraka said. 

"Huh!?"

In a few minutes, Carine found herself alongside the rest of the girls in her class, dressed in cheerleading outfits.

 "Could someone tell me what's going on?" she asked the group. 

"Mineta and Kaminari tricked us!" Yaoyorozu bowed her head down in defeat. 

"Those idiots!" Jirou blushed. 

"Why not just go with it? It'll be fun!" Hagakure leaped.

 "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Tsuyu asked Hagakure.

"Hope everyone enjoys the recreational competition! After that, we're on to the final event. Between the members of the winning teams, we'll have a formal tournament! A series of...one on one battles!!"

​​​​​​The individual battles were chosen by drawing lots. Once all the students had picked one up, the screen displayed the respective match-ups. 

Carine looked up at the screen. Her first battle was with someone named Yuzuru Hozuki. She tried to put a face to that name. If she remembered right, Yuzuru was that girl with short white hair. She was in Class 1-B, and was watching Carine's class in the crowd a few weeks ago; however, Carine did not have any information on her quirk. 

"Come on Minazuki!" Ashido suddenly tugged her wrist, disrupting Carine's thought process. "Come cheer with the rest of us!"

With her classmates, Carine finally found herself able to relax a little. Cheering was a good way to keep her mind off what she had overheard earlier, as well as to alleviate the anxiety of the final event.