Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 23

My head snapped up and I blinked furiously, confused for a moment about where I was and what was happening. My eyes were immediately drawn to a boy wearing UA's school uniform with a bag slung over his shoulder. His crimson eyes bore into mine as he hovered by the open door of the train.

"Well let's go or we're going to miss our damn stop!"

Bakugo. The hospital. Training. It came back to me quickly as I stood up and hurried towards the door. Oh my God. I thought suddenly. I must have fallen asleep, that's why I'm so disoriented. I don't even remember the train ride! He must have seen me just passed out, oh my God, I'm mortified!

I avoided looking at Bakugo, which was easy given that he was walking a step or two ahead of me. However, during the remainder of the walk to the school, he didn't turn back or say anything, so the embarrassment I felt initially slowly subsided.

As we neared the entrance of UA, I began to feel jittery and I couldn't tell if I was excited or anxious. It was probably both. Bakugo would be a strong opponent and I'd already lost to him once. I chewed at my lower lip as I considered the possibility of being KO'ed right away and looking like a weak fool.

The fact that I was questioning my abilities must have been written all over my face because suddenly Bakugo's voice broke through my thoughts. "You already thinking about how you're going to lose, emo chick?"

I looked up to find him smirking at me. I quickly blurted, "No! I was just thinking...that I don't have anything to wear."

Thankfully, right after I said it Bakugo turned away swiftly because I felt my face flush as soon as the words came out of my mouth and I immediately facepalmed.

"What I meant," I continued, my voice coming out rushed and more high pitched than before, "Is that I usually bring clothes to school that I can change into at the gym, but I don't actually keep anything at school."

"Just wear your gym uniform, you idiot,"

"Ha! Yeah, duh! Okay, sounds good, I'll meet you in the training arena, okay?" Before he had a chance to respond I scurried off to the girl's locker room.

By the time I met back up with him in the training arena, I had regained my composure. I noticed right away as I began approaching that Bakugo was wearing his gym uniform as well. Confused, I started to ask why he wasn't wearing his hero costume when he cut in and started complaining about how long it had taken me to get ready.

"Okay, yes, we get that you're impatient," As I said it, I could swear I saw a vein in his forehead start to pulse and his eyes widen. "But why are you wearing your gym uniform too?"

He rolled his eyes and looked at me like I was dumb. "Please tell me you're not this stupid. It's so that we can be evenly matched. If I was wearing my hero costume I'd destroy you in seconds with my gauntlets. So don't be a fucking idiot."

The anger that rose within me was so forceful that I almost lashed out at him as soon as he spoke the words. Instead, through gritted teeth, I said, "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready for a while now, thanks to your slow ass!"

I wanted him to feel inferior and I projected this emotion onto him before I pulled my arm back to take a swing at his jaw. The doubt that crossed his face came as quickly as it left before he dodged and blasted me in the stomach. The pain was immediate and I toppled to the ground before getting back to my feet as quickly as I could.

"I hate your quirk," he said, as he held his hands up and sparks flew from his open palms. "It truly is a joke, especially compared to mine."

That smile was spread across his face, the one that was terrifying and made him look like a mad man. I wanted to wipe that stupid smile off of his face. I projected despair onto him. The corners of his mouth turned down slightly, making his face look distorted.

I charged him, watching him closely to track what his next move would be. His arm swung back at the same time that I saw the tears start to form in his eyes. This is the opening that I need. I thought, as I got closer and prepared to dodge his attack before striking him in the stomach. However, my plan was thrown off when a sudden blinding light struck before I felt his fist connect with my shoulder. My own fist attempted to strike out as well but didn't connect with anything before I stumbled but caught myself before I fell over.

He was on me before I had a chance to recover and struck me once in the stomach, making me double over before he blasted me again, sending me flying backwards and landing with a smack against the hard floor of the training arena. I coughed as I rolled over onto my side and slowly rose to my feet.

Everything hurt as I stood up. Why did I think I could do this? He's so strong and what do I have on my side? Emotions? My quirk really is nothing compared to his. My thoughts were moving rapidly and I was quickly losing any semblance of confidence I may have been clinging on to. I had to take a moment to think.

As the smoke cleared, I saw Bakugo standing tall, completely unscathed. "Hah? Are you done already?" His voice was loud and mocking. "You really are pathetic. Not only your quirk but your fighting is weak as hell too. You may as well give up on being a hero right now if this is the best you've got."

His words were cruel and cut me deeply. I felt the tears stinging at my eyes and my breath was coming out in short, ragged gasps. "I. Am not. Weak."

Memories of my father flashed through my mind. Memories of him telling me that I'm not good enough, that I'm weak, pathetic. The same words that were coming out of Bakugo's mouth. More memories came of my childhood and being teased and bullied, being pushed away and ostracized for years. I was so sick of this bullshit. So sick of people underestimating me or seeing me as good for nothing.

Pain. The word repeated through my mind like a mantra. I wanted this boy to feel the same pain I felt coursing through me like a disease. I wanted him to feel the crippling, heart breaking, knee buckling pain that I had to fight every day to keep from destroying me.

I was vaguely aware of the tears streaming down my face as I surged forward. The maniacal grin that had been plastered on his face dropped as I ran towards him and he got into a defensive stance. His face distorted into a grimace and his hand flew up to grasp the side of his head. "What the hell?" His voice was strained when he spoke.

He just barely dodged my kick but he wasn't prepared for me to land a punch. As my fist connected with his face, he grunted and stumbled backwards. His hand was still pressed to his head and his facial features were distorted in an expression of pain. I attempted to land a series of kicks and punches but he did well at dodging for the most part. One of my kicks landed on his side but he unexpectedly grabbed my leg and spun me once before sending me flying.

Once again, I found myself tumbling across the floor. Without trying to overthink it, I got up as quickly as I could and charged him again. I instantly realized this was a mistake when he raised his arm up and created a small but powerful explosion. My body flew backwards through the air and I landed hard, feeling the wind being knocked out of my lungs. I heard a whooshing sound and suddenly Bakugo was on top of me, pinning me down.

I could hear both of us breathing heavily but all I could see was white spots for a moment. When my vision started to adjust, Bakugo's face came into view and I noticed a trickle of blood running from his nose. A few droplets of sweat fell from his face as he looked down at me. He was no longer smiling and his crimson eyes were flashing with anger.

"This is over," he said. "Admit that I beat you."

Every part of me was exhausted and I wanted to continue fighting but I was just too tired. I nodded wearily but didn't say anything. He narrowed his eyes at me as he stood up and walked out of my line of sight. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, the rise and fall of my chest finally beginning to slow. The adrenaline of our fight was wearing off and leaving in its wake an overwhelming pain that radiated throughout my body.

I'm a failure. I thought. I'm not even close to beating him or getting stronger. It was the same as last time. And my attempt to make him feel pain didn't seem to work. He was barely phased.

My negative thoughts, combined with my lack of sleep and all of the chaos of the past 24 hours caught up with me as I lay on the cold floor of the arena, alone. After what felt like 10 minutes or so, I assumed Bakugo had left since he wasn't screaming at me to get up, so I curled onto my side, put my face in my hands and began to weep.