Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 10

I saw the droplets of sweat fling off my forehead as I surged forward and my fist connected with the punching mitt Shinso wore. I struck out repeatedly, Shinso catching hit after hit before I stopped to catch my breath.

"Maybe it's time to take a break, eh, killer?" He joked, giving me a soft smile as he took the gloves off. I nodded once before moving to the water fountain to take a generous drink. Some droplets of water fell down my chin as I stood up and I wiped them off with my forearm. I noticed the shimmer of sweat on my arm as it lowered to my side.

"You ready to head out for the day?" I asked, grabbing my towel and swiping it over my forehead and arms.

"Yeah, you've got way more stamina than me and quite frankly, it's embarrassing," He said and we both laughed.

Shinso had been joining me regularly at the gym since the sports festival. Prior to the festival he had joined me occasionally and in general was a pretty fit guy, but a fire had been lit under him since the competition. His desire to become a hero was stronger than ever and I admired his passion and dedication to continuing that path. He'd taken the loss to Midoriya pretty hard and when I'd tried to talk to him about it he brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal. But later that day as I was handing him something and our fingers briefly touched a feeling of shame washed over me. Our eyes had locked in that moment and he looked away quickly. My heart ached for him but I knew that he wasn't one to talk easily about feelings of deep hurt so I let it go.

I had also been pretty wounded by my loss during the tournament and had spent the remainder of the competition in the infirmary, watching as my opponent ultimately did as he said he would and won the tournament. I attended the award ceremony and watched, horrified, as Bakugo received his 1st place metal while chained to a post with a contraption covering his mouth to contain the screams of anger that escaped his lips. The final match had been Bakugo against the boy I had run into after Shinso and Midoriya's match and it didn't click for me until seeing his name displayed on the TV screen that it was Shoto Todoroki, the son of Endeavor. His quirk allowed him to wield ice and fire, however he hadn't used his flames during the final match against Bakugo and he had become enraged with this realization after Todoroki had been knocked unconscious. I had seen the intensity of Bakugos anger first hand but also from a distance and I remembered feeling frightened in that moment as I watched him writhe in his chains, trapped in a prison he had created for himself.

I thought of this as I changed out of my sweat drenched clothes in the locker room and took a quick shower to freshen up. I had since seen the image of him with his 1st place metal plastered on news channels and couldn't help but laugh at how completely insane he looked. I shook my head absently as I exited the shower. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't get transferred to the hero course. I might have had to be in the same class as that ridiculous boy. I thought.

I dressed quickly and left the locker room, finding Shinso standing at the gym entryway. "Hey, I've been wanting to try that new smoothie shop across the street, you in?" I said.

"Yeah, sounds good." We made our way to the shop, walking side by side in comfortable silence.

I was thankful that the shop wasn't crowded and there were only a few customers standing in front of the register. I was so consumed in looking at the menu and trying to decide what blend of flavors I was craving that I almost didn't hear the exclamation made by the employee behind the register.

"Oh my gosh!" She squealed and my head shot up to see what she was so excited about. "You were the winner of the sports festival!"

I felt my jaw drop as I stared at the spiky blonde hair of the boy standing in front of me.