My Healer Academia (Bakugo x OC x Todoroki)

What It Takes to Be a Hero

               It was the first time in a long time that Ai and Midoriya didn't walk home together. Unbeknownst to them, the day would bring something special for the two separated kids. Before they departed, she had given him the reasoning that it was because she wanted to stay longer after school to focus on her studies, but truth be told, she just didn't want her best friend to see her so sad. Just as Ai had been the only one thus far to support Midoriya in his endeavors, Midoriya was the only peer who thought she could be a hero.

               "A hero?" Everyone would question.

               "Isn't your aunt Recovery Girl? You should be more like her!"

               "Healing will get you nowhere if you can't end a fight."

               "Wow if I had an aunt that well-known, I would be a nurse right away to work at UA too!"

               "Having a quirk that doesn't even let you fight back – is just as useless as being quirkless!"

               Ai walked through town, gripping the straps of her backpack tightly as she bit her bottom lip to avoid the tears that threatened to spew. It was when she had nearly lost herself in a gathering crowd that she was snapped back into her senses. She had wandered into a sea of peering eyes, all looking past her and into the glass that held dozens of television screens. What?

               There it was, the scene of her best friend and his rival, surrounded by what seemed to be a sludge monster before their lives were saved by the one and only, All Might. The spectacle was amazing to say the least, but unlike the other civilians, as soon as Ai saw what had happened, she bolted out of the crowd. Of course, Midoriya looked okay, but she still had to find him. You idiot, she thought frantically.

               The day was coming to an end, with the warmth of the setting sun bouncing off the pavement and lighting the back roads of Ai's route to Midoriya's house. She ran past rows upon rows of neighborhood backyards uninterrupted until she finally turned a corner, colliding face first with something hard. The force of her momentum was enough to knock the two people down. Ai's vision was blurry, and before she could even see she was already forming an apology as she slowly lifted herself up. "I'm so sor-"

               "Are you blind or are you just an idiot?!" Ai's heart nearly stopped. Underneath her frame laid Katsuki Bakugo, eyes shut as he rubbed the back of his head, attempting to alleviate the pain of his impact with the ground. "As if I didn't deal with enough today-" His words stopped short when he saw the culprit on top of him, visibly trembling as she felt the material of his school uniform start to heat up.

               "S-Sorry," Ai stammered, quickly retreating from her position as they both stood up. "I... I saw what happened today." She had taken a step back from Bakugo's glare, unaware that she was in the way of his path home. "And I wanted to find Midoriya-kun s-so..."

               Her words were cut off by a harsh bump against her shoulder as Bakugo passed by. "I didn't ask," he seethed. However, without thinking, Ai spun around and grabbed his arm, which was met with a halt in step and a backwards glare. "Do you have a death wish?" Ai gulped, but didn't speak knowing that he wouldn't like whatever she had to say. She reached out with her other hand towards Bakugo's neck, but her pursuit was stopped short when he grabbed her wrist and bent it back.

               "O-Ow!" Ai did her best to get herself out of his hold, but he wouldn't let go.

               "What's the big idea, huh?!" Bakugo was already pissed that Midoriya had tried to save him today, and now this girl was trying to attack him? What's with all these losers trying to make my day worse?! As his thoughts continued to fire up, his grip only tightened and pulled further into the lock, making Ai almost fall to her knees.

               "Let me... help you," Ai stammered, gritting her teeth through the pain. "My quirk only works... w-with skin-to-skin contact." Bakugo stared at her for what felt like eternity until he finally released his grip, watching as Ai dropped to the ground, holding her wrist. After a few seconds upon activating her quirk, the pain subsided, and she was able to look up at him again.

               "Are you trying to make me owe you?" Normally, Ai was used to Bakugo's exclamations, but this time, his voice was dangerously low. He kneeled on one leg so that the two were at eye level, crimson irises deadly cold. "Don't think that you or Deku can look down on me. I don't need your help!" Ai was silent, still clutching her wrist as she watched him stand up and turn to leave. She remained silent as she stood herself, following the boy on his path home.

               Bakugo wanted to ignore her the entire time, but when the sun had finally set and they reached a park that was only a block away from his house, he lost his composure. Ai winced as her nose contacted his back, unaware that he had suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Idiot," he exclaimed, turning to face her. Even with the malice in his voice, it was obvious that the more Bakugo spoke, the hoarser he sounded. Nonstop screaming on top of the suffocation of the sludge monster really did a number on his throat. "Stop following me!" Ai reached out, only to have her hand slapped away and for the veins in Bakugo's face to expose themselves due to his annoyance. Opening his hands, fire erupted from both palms, illuminating his face in a menacing glow. "Do I have to make you go away?!"

               Ai once again gulped the lump that lodged its way in her throat, hands clasped in front of her as she fiddled her thumbs, looking down from him. "I... wasn't looking down on you. I could never do that." She made sure to choose her words carefully, glancing up to see the flames slowly diminish, but not entirely. "You just looked like you were in pain... a-and, I wanted to help! Because..." Ai took a deep breath, daring to step forward as her glistening eyes were brightened underneath his fire. "Because isn't that what heroes do?"

               "Heroes?" Bakugo clenched his jaw as he approached Ai, stopping his quirk and trapping her cheeks with the thumb and middle finger of his left hand. She reached up and grabbed his palm, but it only made his grip on her face tighten. "Don't you dare group a loser like yourself with them again! You've got some nerve-" What Bakugo didn't realize was that Ai didn't touch his hand so that he would let go. Like all who have experienced the powers of a healing quirk, he felt warmth rush all throughout his body. The throbbing in the back of his head when she ran into him no longer existed, and the tightness in his chest and lungs from earlier events released like a feather in the wind, much like his hold on her cheeks from his surprise.

               "My quirk only works with skin-to-skin contact," Ai repeated, rubbing her cheeks with her fingers after Bakugo had scoffed and let go. "Are you okay?"

               "I've been okay!" Bakugo took a couple of steps back, hands in his pockets as he glared down at her. "I didn't need your help!" There was a brief pause as the two stared at each other, when, finally, Ai let out a little snicker. Soon, she erupted into a fit of laughter as she embraced her own stomach. Bakugo narrowed his eyes, annoyed but curious of her reaction. "What's so funny?!"

               "You sound better already," Ai stated, giving him a toothy grin before it settled down into a closed-mouth smile. "I'm glad." She took a step forward, looking up at him with brown irises that twinkled with warmth. "I'm glad that you're okay, Bakugo-kun."

               "Tsk." Bakugo turned his head to the side, reasoning it with not wanting to see Ai's stupid expression. "Whatever."

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A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read and giving your opinion <3 You can also find this story by searching its title on these other platforms, or going to my profiles:

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