"Maybe" | Denki Kaminari [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eleven: Explosions

The sun was bright in my eyes as I stepped onto the field. My head was pounding; I had chugged four bottles of water before exiting the prep room. I was already sweating from nerves and heat, which meant I would be low on water supply before long. And from what I'd learned of Bakugo's quirk, his sweat would only help him. If I was to have a chance, I would have to win quickly.

I glared at Bakugo from across the field. He snarled back, causing a stream of comedic insults shouted by Present Mic. Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed, but I was too nervous.

There was a moment of complete silence when the signal to start came. Neither of us moved for a moment, each expecting the other to attack first. Then he made the first move. Using the blasts from his hands to gain momentum, he sped across the field towards me. I waited until he came closer. I probably waited a little too long, because my sleeve was singed to my shoulder as I jumped out of the way and kicked him in the back. He stumbled, but only grew angrier.

"Stop holding back," he hissed. "I know you have some secret quirk. I don't know what it is, but it's not better than mine. Try to beat me."

I raised my eyebrows, trying to keep my cool. "If you insist." I took away his anger just long enough to shock him, then grabbed his arm and drew the moisture from his body. Bakugo realized what was happening before I could sufficiently drain him, though, and I had to leap away before he could blast my brains out onto the concrete.

I kicked some of the concrete dust into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. In this second of distraction, I was able to land a kick in the center of his chest, sending him flying backward. I was hoping to send him over the line. It would be my only hope of winning.

Unfortunately, Bakugo used a blast from his palms to keep away from the boundary. For the next minute or so, I was forced to dodge oncoming explosions and gained nothing. A dozen or so attacks in, he suddenly stopped.

"Are you giving up?" I asked.

"What did you do to my quirk?" he hissed.

"Well," I said, still out of breath from dodging, "your quirk requires sweat. You can't sweat if you're dehydrated."

"I can still win."

Thus commenced a long, tiring fist-fight that did nothing but waste time. And break at least one of my ribs. Bakugo definitely did not care about chivalry.

When one of his punches sent blood flowing down the side of my head, I lost any patience I had left. I raised my hand, sending what little water was left in my body water flying at him. Despite what might have been my conscience telling me that this was wrong, I cut off his air supply, attempting to drown him where he stood. When he didn't try to fight back, I thought that would be the end of it. Instead, I was blasted into the air and thrown into the arena's seating areas and blacked out.

Once again, I woke up in a hospital bed. I was beginning to grow used to the hazy pain and blurred memories. Goodness knows it was better than remembering detailed pain.

"You okay?" someone next to my bed asked.

"I'm not the person to ask," I said, turning my head and seeing Jiro. Odd, I thought. I've barely spoken to her. "I can't feel my legs, but I have no idea if that's from meds or a broken spine."

Jiro started laughing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing," she said, "but Kaminari is going to be so mad when he gets here. I can't wait to see his face."

"Denki? Why isn't he here? And why will he be mad?"

"He left less than two minutes ago to find coffee." She was still laughing. "I told him 'I'll watch her. She's not going to wake up while you're gone, anyway.' He's going to be furious."

I started laughing, too, but was forced to stop when my chest screamed in pain. "What are you working on?" I asked.

Jiro snapped her notebook shut. "Nothing."

"You aren't keeping track of people's quirks like Midoriya, are you?"

"Obviously not."

"Then what is it?"

She let out a breath. "Music."

"Like, you write songs? That's so cool!"

"None of them are very good," she scowled. "I can never sing them right."

"You sing, too?" I sighed wistfully. "I can't sing to save my life. I can barely play the piano."

Jiro shrugged. "It might turn into a career, it might not."

Recovery girl pulled back the curtain and smiled. "I thought I heard voices in here," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"My legs aren't," I said. Jiro cough-laughed at that.

"That's normal," the school's nurse said. "You had a small break in your spine, after all, so it may take a few days for your legs to regain feeling."

"Any other injuries I need to worry about?"

"You cracked two ribs, but those are already healed, save for a few bruises. Just take it easy. I don't want to see you in here with injuries again for the rest of the year."

The door opened and Denki walked in, two coffees in hand. He handed one to Jiro with a scowl. "You were supposed to call me when she woke up."

"My phone is dead."

"That's convenient." He handed me my phone. "Yours is charged. How are you?"

"This is the last time I'm answering that question," I said. "I'm fine."

"She's not fine," Jiro said.

"Can I leave?" I asked Recovery Girl.

"Can you walk?"

"I'll crawl if I have to. I want to go home."

Recovery Girl sighed and pulled a wheelchair from the closet. "Don't crawl. You'll only rebreak your ribs."

"I can go home?"

"Come see me again when you come back to school. And call a doctor if you feel any pain." She got me settled in the wheelchair and sent me off.

I stopped by my locker to get my clothes, Denki silently walking beside me. He had offered to push the chair a few times, but I insisted on actually doing something.

"Please don't ever fight Bakugo again," Denki said as we walked to my apartment.

"I lived, didn't I?" I said. "I'll be fine."

"You were thrown into the stands. You broke your back against one of the stadium seats."

"Recovery Girl said I'll be walking soon."

"I know, but..." he knelt in front of the wheelchair, now able to look at me from my eye level. "Just try not to get seriously hurt, okay? You're not allowed to die yet."

I smiled. "I'll do my best."

"Good." Denki rose and walked me the rest of the way to my apartment, where he made me promise to call him in the morning.