The next day, I got ready and ate with Shoto before heading to the UA campus. I went into the locker room to change with the girls and ran to the pool when we were ready. We jumped in and stood at the shallow end to play. We were having fun splashing water at each other until the boys requested to use it for their swim race. We got out and I looked around before noticing Bakugo. I wasn't paying attention before, but I didn't realize he was here... in his swim trunks... and shirtless, but to be fair, most of the guys were shirtless and I chose to ignore it. "Sakura." Said Mina, catching my attention. I didn't notice that I was staring.
"Sorry. Did you say something?" I asked.
"Don't worry about it." She smirked.
I looked at Bakugo again and watched as his eyes met mine. "Uhm, I'll be right back." I walked towards him and stood against the wall next to him. "Excited for your race?"
"Whatever." He scoffed. "I'm just doing it to prove that I'm the best... Who are you rooting for?"
"Hmm." I smiled and leaned my shoulder against his. "That's a tough question. Based on power and talent, you're definitely in the top three with my brother and Midoriya." He rolled his eyes and turned to walk away until I grabbed onto his arm. "But in all honesty, I think you're gonna win."
"And why do you think that?"
"You're the strongest and most determined in our school, aren't you?" He turned his body towards me and leaned in closer.
"In existence." He smirked. I laughed and pushed his face away from mine.
"Sure. In existence." I looked down to look at his shirtless body, but quickly looked back up. "Uhm, I think they're about to call you for the race." He turned to look at the others and nodded.
"Cheer for me when I win." He walked away and started his first round of the race.
Later on, the race was cut short when it was time to go home and we all went to the locker rooms to change. Mina and I were the first ones done and decided to leave without the others. I walked out of the locker room with Mina and we walked out of the building until she stopped me. "Before we go, I really need to ask. Do you like Bakugo? Romantically? I've been meaning to ask you that for a while."
My eyes widened and I felt my face beginning to heat up until I stopped it. "Absolutely not!" I responded. "Why would I ever like that aggressive psychopath? He's really not my type."
"Oh..." I watched her look behind me and I turned to see Bakugo and Kirishima standing close by. Bakugo's glare felt cold and before I could say anything, he began speaking.
"As if I'd ever be into someone like you." He scoffed. "You have severe mommy and daddy issues, and if it weren't for the other half and half, you probably would've killed yourself by now... You're weak and undesirable. There's nothing for me to like."
"Bakugo!" Yelled Kirishima.
I stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do or say. Bakugo began walking towards me and harshly bumped my shoulder, making me fall to the ground. My eyes began burning with tears and that seemed to wake me up from the stun I felt. I got up and dusted myself off before going after Bakugo. Once I caught up, I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around before punching his face. He looked shocked for a moment before reaching out to grab me, but I quickly stepped out of his reach. My eyes were still burning with tears and I kept trying to wipe them away. "You're a dickhead!" I yelled at him in anger. "Did you really have to go that far?"
"Did I say anything wrong? That's what I gathered from the sports festival. I was just being honest." He said.
"Wow. You won't ever change, will you? You don't give a shit about anyone but yourself... Fuck you." I looked back to see the rest of our class staring at us from afar. My stomach dropped when I made eye contact with Shoto, so I quickly turned back around and started walking home alone. After a few minutes, I could sense someone following me from afar, but it was obviously Shoto since we lived together. When we finally made it home, I opened the front door and turned to look at him as I held it open for him.
"Are you okay?" He asked while walking into the house. "What was that back there?"
"It's nothing. I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna shower first and go to bed." I watched him nod before closing the front door and heading upstairs. I laid in bed thinking about what Bakugo had said to me. I was more sad than anything since he used what he learned at the sports festival against me. I knew that he said all of that out of spite because of what I said, but his attack felt too harsh. In the morning, I woke up early to make breakfast and watched Fuyumi walk into the kitchen once I started. "Good morning, sis." I greeted her.
"Good morning." She smiled before walking towards me and watching me cook. "Uhm... Do you think that's enough?"
"Enough what?"
"Food for everyone."
"Mm, I think it's more than enough for Shoto, Natsu, you and I."
"... And dad. He stayed the night."
"Screw him. Why would I cook him anything?"
"I mean, he does give you an allowance."
I stopped and turned to look at her with seriousness in my eyes. "Fuyumi... That's the least he could do to pay for my awful childhood, don't you think?"
"O-oh, you're right." She stuttered nervously. "I'll just make his then."
I nodded before going back to cooking and setting up the table. When I was done, I went upstairs to knock on my brothers' doors and went back down to eat. Minutes later, I watched Shoto walk down with casual clothes and a bag. "Oh, you cooked?" He asked. "I was just gonna grab some bread before leaving. I'm seeing mom today."
"And I'm seeing my girlfriend today." Yelled Natsuo as he walked down the stairs. "Thanks for the breakfast little sis, but I'm gonna skip it and go."
I watched as my brothers rushed towards the door and I quickly froze the floor under them to make them fall. "I made you guys breakfast." I said in a serious tone. "Eat it before you go." They turned to look at me and got up before slowly sitting in their seats. I watched as they started eating and I sighed before quickly finishing. "Enjoy your days." I got up and went upstairs to change. I didn't really have any plans, so I decided to work out. I changed into my gym uniform and went downstairs. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs when I saw all of my siblings staring at me from the kitchen. "Why are you all still here?"
"We're worried about you." Said Natsuo. "You're kinda scary today."
"Am I always supposed to be happy and sweet?"
"No." Added Fuyumi. "But, you usually are. We know that something's wrong."
"It's about what Bakugo said yesterday, isn't it?" Asked Shoto. "Mina and Kirishima ended up telling the whole class what he said... About how you have mo-."
"Stop!" I yelled. "I heard it once! I don't need to hear it again!"
"I'm sorry, but if it's really bothering you, then we should talk about it."
I scoffed before rolling my eyes. "So, you found out what he said maybe hours ago, and didn't care to talk about it until it started affecting all of you?"
"I asked if you were okay yesterday."
"It had just happened! I needed time to think about it!.. You were fine with just saying hi and running out of here minutes ago, but because I was mean, you wanted to talk about my issues and what was wrong with me... My brothers were more concerned about seeing one of their short-term girlfriends and seeing our mother who-."
"Don't start that up again!" Yelled Shoto. "I get it! You're pissed and don't want a relationship with her, but I do! The rest of us still care about her, so don't ruin this for us!"
"... Got it." I felt my eyes begin to burn and I quickly put on my sneakers before opening the front door. I was surprised to see Midoriya standing there, but I quickly wiped my eyes and cleared my throat. "Shoto's inside."
"No, I'm here to see you." He said. I closed the front door and held his arm before quickly pulling him away and far from the house.
"I'm sorry for dragging you around like this. Did you need anything?"
"No, I just wanted to see how you were doing... Uhm, I heard what Kacchan said and it reminded me of something he said to me last year. Can we sit down somewhere?"
I nodded before taking him to the nearby forest and sitting on an empty bench. "What do you mean?"
"Uhm, I know he can be really mean and harsh. I've known him for a long time and he would often hurt me in the same way he's hurting you. I don't really want to get into what he said to me and why, but I wanted you to know that I understand pain. Maybe not in the same way as you, but I have my own definition of it and experiences. I don't know what he knows about you, but from what I can gather, you went through a lot of pain and he shouldn't have used that against you. You're incredibly strong, Sakura. I believe that you'd still be just as strong as an only child... I also don't believe that your pain makes you weak and undesirable. I think you're really cool and our class loves you. You're most likely admired by tons of people and you just don't know it yet."
I stared at him and smiled before going in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and immediately felt his body tense up. "Sorry for the hug. Thank you for everything you said... You really are the sweetest person ever."
"N-n-no problem." He stuttered uncontrollably. I let go of him and pulled back to see his face all red.
"Were you training today? Let's train together and we can try some exercises Mirko taught me."
"Really?! That would be great!" He yelled excitedly. I smiled before getting up and showing him what to do. We trained together for a few hours before parting ways and going home. As I was reaching my house, I noticed Bakugo sitting in front of my door and I slowly walked up to him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I just came to talk to you." He responded. "I wanted to wait for you inside, but your sister doesn't want me in the house."
"Obviously. What you said was awful and sure, I said something mean beforehand, but you purposely hurt me by bringing up my family issues, which you know I'm sensitive about."
"I know... That's why I came to apologize. I went too far."
"You did." I waited for his apology which didn't seem like it was coming. "Are you gonna apologize or not?"
"I just did."
"When?!" I scoffed in disbelief. "Acknowledging what you did wrong is great, but that's not a fucking apology." I started walking towards my door until he grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Wait." He sighed in frustration and dramatically took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." He quietly growled.
"What?"
"I'm sorry!" He yelled. "I don't ever apologize, so this is hard for me!... I'm sorry about what I said. I was an asshole and you didn't deserve that."
"Thanks for the apology."
"... Is that it?"
"Are you expecting a reward or something?"
"Well no, but maybe."
I laughed and pulled my arm away from him. "You're insane. Have a good night." I opened the door and went inside. That night, I didn't really talk to siblings. There was a lot of tension whenever I was near them, so I just left them alone.