Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 5

With my earbuds plugged in and Turn Down for What blasting on a dangerously high volume, I paced back and forth as I waited for the match before mine to end. My nervous energy was beginning to transform into some serious hype thanks to Lil John. I've got this. The words resonated through my mind as I began to bounce on the balls of my feet and start jamming out fully, throwing my abandon to the wind. I've got this, I've got this, I've got this.

After the song had finished, I popped my earbuds out and began stretching to pass the time. It wasn't long before my name was being called through the loud speaker to announce my upcoming match. As I began walking towards the arena, my mind started to race once again. I couldn't be sure what exactly my opponent's quirk was, although I was certain it was powerful given the glimpse I'd seen of him earlier in the competition.

I quickly found myself standing before my opponent and I was immediately struck by his kind eyes. "Hey, y/n, is it?" he called out. "It won't be very manly of me to take out a girl but I don't really have a choice here."

I smiled. "It wouldn't be very manly of you to hold back either."

He grinned and I noticed that his teeth appeared to be razor sharp. "You asked for it," he said, as I heard Present Mic yell, "Begin!"

Kirishima immediately began rushing towards me and I quickly activated my quirk. Panic. I thought, as my eyes bore into his. His grin faltered slightly and I saw him shake his head briefly, as though trying to shake out the self-doubt that was likely beginning to creep into his head. Panic is generally a useful emotion for me to project onto others. It tends to make people shakey and trip up easily, causing them to make simple mistakes when trying to be strategic in battle. Of course, this doesn't completely debilitate my opponent, which is where my martial arts training comes in.

I dodged to the right as Kirishima made a sloppy right jab, leaving a perfect opening at his torso. My right hand swung around and as my fist connected with his abdomen I felt my bones shatter. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" I screamed, as I crumpled to the floor. You gotta keep moving! The thought roared through my mind and I tumbled blindly, moving with the sole intention of getting out of Kirishima's range of motion. My knuckles throbbed and I tenderly cradled my hand as I got to my feet.

As my eyes locked with Kirishima I realized there was something different about him. His skin was hard and jagged. "What..?" I muttered, my brain not catching up to the sight before me.

"Sorry about this," Kirishima said, and he really did look almost remorseful as he lunged towards me again.

No, no, no. I focused my energy on making Kirishima feel deep sadness and as I did so, I saw the tears start to form in his eyes. He paused for a moment, wiping at his eyes roughly. "What the hell, why am I crying?"

I used the moment to my advantage and stepped forward, my left leg slicing through the air and connecting solidly with the side of his head. Pain. The feeling was so immediate that I cried out once again and staggered backwards. His body is rock solid. This is literally like trying to beat the shit out of a boulder. How the fuck am I supposed to win? I can't. There's no way... He hasn't even landed a hit on me and I'm the one that's crumpled over, barely holding my tears in.

Kirishima looked almost pained as he began to advance towards me. I resented the pity that I saw in his eyes. You're a disgrace. My father's words rang through my head, clear and unrelenting. For years, I heard those words. For years, I doubted myself, fought back feelings of never being good enough, cried myself to sleep and eventually created a thick barrier between myself and others. I was sick of it. Sick of my father and his goddamn abusive words that cut into me day after day. Sick of feeling this way, like this useless quirk made me less than. Less than people like this boy who stood before me, who had such a powerful quirk. Who could easily destroy me if he chose to.

No. No, no, no, no, no. I wanted him to feel pain, I wanted him to be crippled by this pain that coursed through my veins. I wanted him to be debilitated by this pain that scarred me, that burned me day after day after day. I wanted it so badly it hurt. And what happened next left me completely and utterly shook.