The Favor [Bakugou x Reader]

Chapter 55 - The Mean One

You didn't open your eyes, but you were consciously aware of noises all around you. Monitors beeped and computers hummed. The sickening feeling of déjà vu washed over you. Were you still in the hospital from the Sports Festival? Had everything just been an insane dream brought on by a myriad of drugs and pain? Had you invented a villain in your mind? Had you dreamed up an entire relationship? The beeps from your heart rate monitor grew quicker, your bewilderment and doubt driving their pace.

"[y/n] wake up. Can you hear me?"

Your eyes snapped open, red, not from battle but from tears. You stared up into the worried face of Kirishima.

"Kiri?" you croaked out, your voice broken and small.

"Hey there hero." A relieved smile tugged at his lips, his pointed teeth shining through. He wasn't wearing his PE uniform. The Festival must have been over for a long time. How long had you been out? "Why are you crying?"

A momentary flush of embarrassment crawled up your neck. "How badly did I lose?" you asked, lifting your hand to wipe away the tears pooling in the corners of your eyes, only to see an IV line attached to the back.

"Lose? You won! You destroyed that Hacker guy. I wish I could have seen it." Your eyes widened at his words. The Hacker? So it was real? It had all been real? The Gorgon and the stone and the Hacker and the tower and Bakugou... The torrent of memories flooded back.

"Where's Katsuki?" you asked suddenly nervous. You tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain along your right side. Glancing down you noticed the cocoon of bandages that wrapped around your torso. Your hero uniform had been removed and a light gauzy nightgown lay in its place. Discolored blotches of singed skin covered your arms and shoulders from your inferno. Some vain part of you wondered if they'd ever go away.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Kirishima said, delicately lowering you back onto the bed. "There are so many people here at the hospital that Recovery Girl and the other healers haven't gotten a chance to mend your broken ribs yet."

Your mind was in a jumble. Of course there would be dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people in the hospital. There was no telling how much damage had been caused by the Hacker and the mobs of criminals who had ravaged the city. Heroes, first responders, civilians, hell even some criminals would need to be tended to for injuries. You cringed at the pain flowing down your side but shook it off knowing there must certainly be others who needed healing before you.

"And while you're as gorgeous as ever at least half your body is purple and puffy from bruises." Kaminari walked into the room, a plastic cup of jello in his right hand, a sling encasing the left. He beamed brightly at seeing you awake.

"Even though I told the nurses that you were the one who saved the city so you should really be looked at first," Kirishima added, retaking his seat beside your bed. At seeing Kaminari's state you finally scanned your best friend for injuries. Kirishima seemed fine other than a large white bandage that poked out from below the sleeve of his shirt, no doubt from where the rabid woman had scratched him.

"When we finished up with those guards and found the Hacker tied up at the top of the stairs, I was so pumped. I knew you could do it. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki started collecting all the villains and bringing them down to the ground floor in the elevator. Denki went with them," Kirishima explained.

"I fried by brain during that last fight. Yaoyorozu said I needed a babysitter. But at least she let me press the buttons in the elevator," Kaminari said a little sheepishly, staring at the red blob of gelatin in his hand.

"But then I couldn't find you guys. It took me a while to make my way up to the roof and when I saw you both..." Kirishima clutched the front of his shirt, reliving the sensation.