𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒

reminisce

"Yeah, well—"

Suddenly, my eye caught the sight of the doors opening and Bakugo charging into Midoriya, sending him crashing into me. We fell to the ground and Bakugo came to stand over us.

"You really think I could let you get away with your little stunt?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

I gathered my legs under me and slowly came to a standing position. When I dusted my hands off, I noticed that they were scraped and droplets of blood littered my palms. I inhaled through my teeth before facing Bakugo.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Quirkless bastards like you that think they can do whatever they want!"

Midoriya hopped back onto his feet and turned to face us. His pants were ripped at the knees and dirt covered his hands. "Leave us alone, Kacchan."

"No shot!" He barked. He held his hands out in front of him, tiny explosions glowing back and forth between his fingers. "You have to pay for what you did!"

Midoriya shifted and stepped in front of me. My eyes looked him up and down with annoyance. The poor boy was shaking like a leaf! I softly pushed him aside before stepping to stand equally with him. No one fights my battles for me.

"Oh now you decide to stand up to me?" Bakugo smirked. "Now I can kick your ass once and for all!"

"I won't let you do whatever you want, Kacchan! Bullies never win!" Midoriya battled, slowly bringing his fists up.

Here we go.

"Come on, Deku!" Kacchan spat. His teeth poked out so far that his gums showed. His pupils were so small that all you could see were circles of red—circles of insanity. "I'll let you have the first punch!"

Midoriya hesitated. He held his fingers so tight that his knuckles began to turn white. It didn't matter how many people believed in him because he always had that nagging self-doubt at the forefront of his brain. He was his greatest obstacle.

I was getting ready to push him aside and resolve this on my own like I always did when the sound of screaming made our eyes widen and our heads turn.

We all paused and dropped our hands, our bodies turning to follow the sound. The ground underfoot began to tremble and shrieks of terror grew louder and closer. Midoriya and I exchanged looks of fear.

Something I forgot to mention: in our world of fantastical abilities and freaky mutations, the good of those who inherited an honest ability was countered by those who used their power for evil. There were villains in our world that wanted to hurt us for no better reason than to have power over good people. And they were everywhere.

"RUN!" A young woman, dressed in a black skirt and white button up screamed as she ran past us. As she passed, I saw that her white shirt was covered in blotches of blood.

A dozen others, if not more, came trampling after her. They pushed and shoved each other as they tried to outrun whatever was chasing them. One boy and a middle-aged woman ran right through us, shoving Midoriya and me apart as they had not a single care for anyone but themselves. I fell to the ground, scrambling to get to my feet. By then, an entire crowd had engulfed the three of us and was in retreat.

"MIDORIYA!" I called. My heartbeat quickened and the blood drained from my face in fear.

"YUKI!" His voice sounded amongst the screaming. Endless bodies rammed into me, knocking me back and forth like a ping-pong ball. No matter what, though, I had to stay standing.

"OUTTA MY WAY, DAMMIT!" My eyes and ears perked up when Bakugo's voice sounded awfully close. Desperate against the fleeing crowd, I stepped up onto my tippy-toes and scanned the horde. Within ten feet to my left, I caught sight of Bakugo's spikey blonde hair standing up against the crowd. He too was being swallowed and spit out by the crowd.