Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 18

I don't know how long he held me like that. It felt like an eternity but I couldn't trust my sense of time with how tired I was. I buried my head into his chest and wept until my eyes felt raw. When I pulled back I felt the exhaustion that I had been trying to resist finally taking over. I held on to his arms to steady myself.

"I probably overused my quirk," I said, laughing at myself and how crazy I felt. "My emotions..." I twirled my hand in a way to suggest that they were all over the place.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I still don't know. Something to do with his legs? He's in surgery right now. He was fighting Stain when it happened."

He seemed to debate something and looked away for a moment, deep in thought.

"What?" I prodded, squeezing his arm. "Tell me."

"Why do you think they haven't told you?"

"I don't know, because they think I can't handle it or something? Which is bullshit." I twisted my mouth as I dropped my hands to my sides. "I wish they would stop treating me with kid gloves. I mean, I get it, I'm still a kid, but fuck that!"

He sighed and ran a hand through his lavender hair. "Do you really want to know?"

I nodded, my expression determined and serious. "Can you help me?"

It took little convincing to get him to agree, although he hesitated for a moment when we actually came across one of my father's doctors. He was tall and lanky, his black hair hanging lazily in his face, but he had an air of authority about him that felt intimidating. I nudged Shinso forward eagerly.

"Hey, can you help me find something?" Shinso asked the man.

"You should go to the front desk, they'll help you there," The man said, clearly wanting to avoid wasting his time with this conversation. He attempted to turn away, someone's medical chart in hand, but he froze when Shinso spoke again.

"You're currently attending to Mr. Nakano, he's a well known pro-hero better known as Power House. I need you to tell me what he's here for,"

The doctor's eyes seemed to glaze over and he turned back towards us. "He had an encounter with Stain the hero killer during which he sustained major injuries to his Achilles tendon and hamstring muscles on both legs. The lacerations were deep and repeated, we suspect to prevent him from being able to regenerate."

He continued to speak but I felt my stomach churn and the room began to spin. 'Deep and repeated.' The words floated through my mind like feathers and landed with a heavy and resounding thud in the pit of my stomach. 'Deep and repeated.' Had he...tortured my father? 'Deep and repeated.'

"May have to resign," I heard the doctor say before I darted, moving towards the nearest trash can. I made it just before the contents of my stomach surged forward into the empty bin. I felt a warm hand on my back moving in slow circles.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -"

But I cut him off before he could continue. "I wanted him to die. I thought it, earlier tonight. I hate him, I hate him so goddamn much," I was crying again, my head still hovering over the garbage can, my knuckles white from griping the edges. "Is it my fault?"

"No," His voice was gentle but firm.

His hand left my back and I chocked back a sob. The sound was ugly and seemed to resonate through the halls. I heard his receding footsteps and for a horrifying moment I thought he was just going to abandon me. But he returned a few moments later with a box of tissues.

"Here," He offered me the box while averting his eyes, I assumed in an attempt to keep me from feeling self-conscious. I could only imagine how I must look right now. I graciously accepted the Kleenex and used it to wipe at my face for a few moments.

"I feel so fucked up right now," I said, burying my face in my hands. I was so tired. My entire body ached with exhaustion.

"You should probably get some rest," He said softly.

I peeked out at him from between my fingers. "Yeah, I suppose. I don't think I'll get much."

We began heading back to the waiting room and walked side by side in silence. When we arrived, I turned and wrapped my arms around him without thinking about it. Usually we weren't this affectionate with each other and hugs were a rarity, so I was surprised when he placed his hand on the nape of my neck and held me close.

"Thank you," I murmured into his chest.

When we pulled back he seemed to want to say something but thought better of it. I was too tired to try to coax it out of him so I said, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow...or...today?"

He laughed. "Yeah, okay."

He turned and began walking away. He usually didn't make a big production out of it when saying goodbye, so I had become accustomed to his abrupt exits. However, this time I felt my heart ache as I watched him walk away. His friendship had come to mean the world to me over the years, as he was truly one of my only supports. As I watched his retreating figure, it made me think of earlier that day when I had watched Bakugo walk away. It felt like ages ago. I realized that I wouldn't be going to school for my second day in the hero course and my stomach dropped. I immediately went to worse case scenario, worrying that they would drop me but I knew my mom would call me in for an excused absence and it would be fine. The thought that followed caught me off guard and worried me almost as much. I'm going to miss seeing Bakugo...