Stuck With You | Katsuki Bakugou x OC [Book One]

Chapter 116 - Stuck With You

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Akira had tried to rid some of the mud off her skin before it dried, kneeling by the water's edge and dipping her fingers into the cool pool. The mud swam away from her as she gently rubbed her hands together, her thumb scraping what it could off the back of her hand. Bakugou didn't move from his spot, cautiously on the lookout for that beast of a bear.

"I don't want to go," Kira whispers, staring at the ripples crashing together, as if desperately trying to escape her madness.

"Huh?"

"I... I don't want to go back to our reality," Kira says openly.

Bakugou pauses before his footsteps crunch in the autumn leaves behind her. She sees him crouch in the corner of her eye, but she keeps her attention on the murky water.

"I don't blame you," he says. "I mean, your life is pretty crap."

Kira slowly turns her head to Bakugou, frowning at the harshness of his words, the truth to them.

"What?" He scoffs. "Did you expect me to comfort you?" He looks at the water. "If that's what you're looking for, then you should have stuck with shitty hair."

Kira follows his gaze and keeps rubbing the mud off her hands. She's not looking for comfort? No, she's looking for the truth, for sincerity. That probably explains why she confides in Bakugou so much, why she seeks him out more than anyone else. He's not afraid to speak his mind, even if it may insult those around him. But, Bakugou only speaks the truth, and if Kira isn't able to handle that, then she's clearly not cut out for life as a hero, by his side.

"Do you see Kirishima here?" Kira snaps back. "Seems like I'm stuck with you."

"Hm," he hums. "Seems like."

"Why are you here, Bakugou?" She questions. "I know you said you heard me leave the cabin and you saw the shoes, but-" Kira sighs heavily, pulling her hands from the cold water and rubbing them on her clothes, before turning her body to him. "If it was anyone else, would you have gone after them?"

"You think you're special or something?"

"Is that a 'yes'?" Kira pushes. "Can't you just give me a straight answer for once? I mean, if it was Midoriya, would you have left? Kirishima? Ochaco or Todoroki?"

"I don't know!" He barks, standing up suddenly. "Yes."

"Good," she says, nodding a few times before standing up also. "That- that makes me feel better."

Does it? Not really.

"My turn," Bakugou says. "What's your deal? Why did you come here of all places?" He gestures to their surroundings.

Kira turns away from him sheepishly, rubbing her elbow. "It was stupid," she tells him. "And it doesn't even matter anymore."

"You're right," he replies, and Kira frowns. "It was stupid. But, it was enough to get you to come all the way up here, so spit it out already."

She groans irritably at his stubbornness. "I-I wanted to find that bear, okay?" She says. "I thought that if I got rid of it, then this place would be perfect."

"Got rid of it?" Bakugou repeats, his brows slightly raised. "You think you had a chance against it?"

"Yeah?"

It looks like he might laugh out loud, but Bakugou keeps himself composed. "You have zero chance," he tells her and Kira's jaw drops at his confidence. "Seriously?"

"You- you don't know that!" Kira blurts, throwing her arms up.

"You're too weak against that thing," he adds. "It took you down with one swipe." He holds his hand up like a claw.