Chapter 15
Tears gathered in the corners of your eyes as a yawn escaped your mouth, stretching your arms behind you. You weren't the only who was acting this way, in fact, most of your classmates were in the same condition as you.
The time now read 5.30 am and it was the second day of training camp. The students of Class 1-A was up and about, ready to start the day even though the sun had just rose from its slumber.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen." Aizawa begins, his voice sounding alert and awake, unlike his students. "Today, we'll begin training camp to increase your strength in earnest."
As the pro hero went on, you actually paid attention for once since you had been looking forward to this training camp ever since it had been announced weeks ago. This was a good opportunity for you to strengthen and work on your quirk, improving on what you already could do.
"So Bakugou," The blonde looked up as Aizawa threw a baseball at him which he caught it effortlessly. "try throwing that."
"This is from the fitness test..." Bakugou muttered, recognising the ball from their fitness test that they had on the first day of school.
You could practically feel the level of confidence oozing from your childhood friend as he walked ahead of the group, putting a good distance between him and everyone else.
Without even looking, you were certain there was a cocky smirk on his face as he drew his arm back and launched the ball into the sky with his explosion, shouting his famous phrase.
"Go to hell!"
There was a bemused smile on your face, shaking your head. You knew what was about to come next.
"709.6 meters." Aizawa held up the device that showed the distance of how far the ball travelled.
Red orbs widened in shock, along with everyone else who was taken aback by the numbers. The air shifted as Class 1-A's homeroom teacher poured the cold, hard truth on his students.
"It's been about three months since you started high school. Through various experiences, you all have definitely improved. But the improvement has mainly been at the mental and technical levels, with some increase in stamina." Aizawa came to a stop in front of the group, giving them a side glance. "As you can see, your quirks themselves have not improved that much. That's why we'll work on improving your quirks starting today."
Suddenly, you felt a shiver crawling up your spine at the smirk sent your way by the black-haired male, his eyes glinting with madness. His next few words had everyone rooted to the ground, unable to respond out of fear.
"It'll be so hard you'll feel like dying but try not to actually die."
You gulped, knowing that this training camp was going to be hell and now, you weren't looking forward to it as much as you did before.
***
Dried leaves crunched beneath your feet as you walked deeper into the forest - (e/c) orbs darting left and right, looking for the perfect place to work on your quirk. Your eyes lit up when they landed on a spot where you could sit and concentrate without fear of being interrupted.
The place you had chosen laid at the trunk of a huge tree with its thick foliage of leaves expanding in all directions, blocking out the strong sunlight minus for those that managed to peak through the spaces between the leaves.
It was the perfect spot for you to meditate and be more in tune with mother nature.
That was your plan for the entire duration of the training camp. In order for you to able to manipulate plants to your advantage, you had to learn to coexist with them. After all, nature is living things with feelings like human beings too.
By doing so, it allowed you to control a wider range of flora on top of the one that you could already control as well as have a longer hold on them, giving you more time to be offensive instead of defensive.
You cleared away the dried leaves to create a small space for you to sit on. Settling in a cross-legged position, you began your training. Closing your eyes, you inhaled and exhaled through your nose as the vines on your armbands came to live.
Little green tendrils crawled your arms in a spiral till your fingertips and into the ground, connecting you and nature as one. Your body relaxed as a small smile appeared on your face the moment you became one with the nature around you.
You could the life force of the plants around you as they welcomed your vines, curious about your energy. For the next few hours, you sat there in same spot unmoving and immersed yourself with nature.
It was the sound of dried leaves crunching beneath heavy boots that drew your focus away from what your mediation. Opening your eyes, you were surprised to see it was none other than Bakugou.
"Why the bloody hell will she choose to train in this goddamn place?!" The blonde grumbled, nearly tripping on a root.
Chuckling at his cuteness, you stood up and dusted off any stray leaves or dirt that had gotten on your clothes. The vines retracted up your arms and returned to its original state of metal.
"Katsuki-kun, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training?" You asked curiously.
Bakugou came to a stop in front of you, his lips turned down into his usual scowl. "Training ended ten minutes ago, but since you're stuck so deep in the forest, I've been tasked to retrieve you for dinner."
"Well, we should get going then. I'm hungry." You smiled at your childhood friend and walked ahead, not waiting for him.
A few curses left his lips as Bakugou trudged after you, complaining about the place you had chosen to train - right in the middle of nowhere. It was a miracle he even managed to find you without getting lost since the forest here stretched on forever.
"Couldn't you've chosen to train on the edge of the forest where at least someone can keep an eye on you instead of just wandering around?"
Your lips curled upwards into a smirk as you took Bakugou's hand into yours, speaking in a teasing tone. "Were you worried about me?"
Pink hue appeared on the blonde's cheeks at your question and he threatened to throttle you to death. "Who the f*ck say that I'm worried about you?! Stop adding words to my mouth!"
Giggling at Bakugou's denial only fuelled his anger, but nonetheless, you were appreciative of his concern for you. Your smile stretched from ear to ear when Bakugou intertwined his fingers with yours.
Together, both of you walked out of the forest hand-in-hand.
Time skipped
"(Name)-chan, I didn't know you can cook so well!" Ashido gushed, her mouth watering at the aroma smell of the soup that you were currently preparing for dinner.
"Eh?!" Light pink appeared on your cheeks as you stared at the pink-haired alien with wide eyes. "You really think so?"
"Yeap! I could tell from the smell alone. I can't wait to try it out!" Ashido cheerfully replied. "Thank you for preparing dinner!"
You exchanged a few more words with your classmate before focusing on the soup that you were currently preparing once more. A warm feeling bubbled inside of you as you added more ingredients to the pot, happy to hear a compliment from someone about your cooking.
After changing into clean clothes, the students of both hero classes were tasked to prepare their own dinner tonight. The place was buzzing with activities as everyone got down to work.
Some students could be seen preparing the food while others were helping in the more manual labours. All in all, it felt like an actual camp to you and you loved the atmosphere that was currently ongoing now.
Humming a cheerful tune, you stirred the contents of the pot when you saw Bakugou walking away from the cooking area - his shoulders hunched in with his hands tucked away in his pants pockets.
Letting out a sigh, you covered the pot and left it simmering over low heat before making your way towards the sulking blonde.
"Katsuki-kun!"
Bakugou lifted his head and was surprised to see you approaching him with a wave. Lifting a brow in question, he asked gruffly. "What do you want dipshit?"
The insulting nickname flew over your head as the smile on your face widened even bigger. Taking the blonde by his right hand, you began dragging him towards the workstation where you were preparing your soup.
"I need your help with the soup I'm cooking." You explained. "I feel like there's something missing, but I can't seem to place my fingers on it. Will you help me?"
You faced him and gave him puppy eyes, pushing out the bottom of your lips. Bakugou felt heat pooling his cheeks, his scowl deepening. Nonetheless, he still agreed to offer his help.
"F-Fine! But you owe me afterwards!"
Giggling, you agreed to his condition and stationed him right in front of the pot - bickering now and then, a normalcy between the two of you.
***
Dinner was a noisy feat as everyone gobbled down the Japanese curry that they had prepared. This was what happened when 40 hungry kids were placed together after a long day of hell training.
Nonetheless, you enjoyed every bit of it.
The sun had already long set as the moon took over, providing guidance to those wandering souls at night. Being away from the bright city lights, you were able to see the stars dotting throughout the night sky as far as one could see.
You captured the moment with your eyes, imprinting them into your memories forever. A hand reached up towards the sky, imagining what life would be like if you could live among the stars.
A cool breeze blew through the air and your body shivered. Being so high up in the trees allowed you to have a spectacular view of the night sky, but since it was night time, the temperature had dropped.
As much as you enjoyed the view, you wished you had brought your jacket along or dressed in a much warmer attire.
Just as when you were debating to suffer through the cold or returned to the accommodation and turned in for the night since you do have to wake up early in the morning, you heard a familiar voice on the ground - calling for you.
"Dipshit!" Bakugou hollered, turning his head left and right to try and locate your whereabouts. "Where the f*ck are you?"
So when you appeared in front of him from seemingly nowhere, he got the fright of his life since he wasn't prepared for a human to drop from the sky. "You're looking for me?"
"F*ck!" Bakugou cursed and stumbled backwards, falling on his ass. "Where the hell did you come from?!"
Giggling at the blonde's startled expression, you offered your hand which he accepted and pulled him onto his feet. Rocking on the balls of your feet with hands clasped behind your back, you whistled. "What are you doing out here so late at night, Katsuki-kun?"
"I can ask you the same thing," Bakugou grumbled, dusting off any stray leaves stuck to his pants from when he fell. "Anyway, what are you doing up there on the tree?"
You titled your head towards the sky, trying to detect the stars amongst the pockets of the thick foliage of leaves. "I was star-gazing. Usually, we aren't able to see the stars because of the city bright lights, but since we're by the countryside, I didn't want to waste the opportunity to look at the stars."
Bakugou copied your action and tried to find the stars, only to frown when he couldn't see past all the leaves. "I can't anything with all these f*cking leaves in the way."
There was a mischievous glint in your gaze when you met eyes with Bakugou, causing him to take a step back in caution. "Whatever you're doing, I'm not getting involved. So, don't even think about it."
"Oh come on, Katsuki-kun! It'll be fun, I promise!" You pouted.
It took some time, but you managed to convince Bakugou his life wouldn't be in danger and the blonde finally gave in. Grinning, you wrapped your arms around Bakugou's thick arm which earned you a raised brow from him.
With a snap of your finger, the ground that you two were standing on began to shake and if it wasn't for your tight hold on Bakugou, he would have fallen on his ass again.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Your childhood friend demanded, his eyes narrowed into a glare.
You just replied with a "don't worry" as a thick root appeared from beneath the two of you, carrying both you and Bakugou upwards. Soon, the ground could no longer be seen as the root broke through the foliage of leaves.
Red eyes widened as the night sky greeted him, his hair swaying gently in the wind. Bakugou couldn't tear his eyes away from the beautiful sight before him. You released your hold on the blonde and moved away to take a seat on the root, your feet dangling in the air.
"Beautiful isn't it?" You hummed, eyes transfixed to the sky.
No matter how many times you had seen it, it still took your breath away every time.
It was a different story for Bakugou. As much as the star-filled sky was amazing, it was nothing compared to you. His breath hitched when his eyes landed on you, butterflies fluttering about in his stomach.
(H/C) hair danced in the cool air, your face glowing in the moonlight. However, the most beautiful he felt was the way how your eyes lit up with delight with hundreds of stars reflecting in those (e/c) orbs.
There was a strong urge in him to just kiss you until you could no longer feel anything but just him alone.
"Katsuki-kun, are you alright?" You asked when you saw the dazed look on the blonde's face, slightly worried for him.
Bakugou snapped out of it, his cheeks slightly pink from getting caught staring at you. Feeling embarrassed, he turned his head away from you and mumbled, "I'm fine."
Your brows rose in curiosity, but you didn't prompt him about it. instead, you gave a small smile and patted the empty spot next to you. "Come and join me, Katsuki-kun."
The said male gave you a smile - one that was genuine, and you were the only person that he would ever show it around. With cheeks flushed a light pink, you welcomed the warmth that enveloped your being.
Bakugou settled down next to you, both your shoulders brushing against one another. The two of you sat in silence, enjoying the starry night that twinkled like scattered diamonds across the vast atmosphere.
As time went by, you found yourself leaning on Bakugou's shoulder while his right hand searched for your left one, intertwining his fingers with yours. It was the perfect way to end the first day of training camp.
Time skipped
"I mean, I don't like this. It's not cute." Toga complained as she adjusted the mask that she was currently wearing.
This was orchestrated by the designer behind the scenes, right?" A kid dressed in his school uniform commented. "Appearances don't matter as long as it makes sense."
"I'm not talking about that." Toga whinnied, flapping her arms. "I just don't want to wear this."
It was in the middle of the night and high up on the cliff watching over the facility where the students and teachers of UA High resided in, stood a group of villains hired by the League of Villains.
Their target - Bakugou Katsuki.
Dabi, who was the leader, stood at the forefront of the group - the nails on his face glinting maliciously in the glow of the moonlight. "First, we make them realize that their peace is resting in our hands."
The students of Class 1-A slept away soundly, dreaming of another day of training and fun, totally unaware of the danger that they were going to be in just a few hours times.
***
The evening had fallen with the sun hanging low in the sky. The students of the two hero classes were once again preparing their own dinner. The second day of the training camp was full of training - tougher than yesterday.
Nonetheless, the heroes-in-training pushed on, determined to push themselves past their limits and improved on their quirks.
"Thank you for the food!"
Licking your lips, you picked up your spoon and dug into your bowl of rice. After a long day of training, your body was practically begging to replenish itself with food.
From the corner of your eyes, you noticed a certain blonde was rather quiet, barely touching his own bowl of rice. You found it very odd since he was not like his usual brash and loud self.
Placing down your food, you gently nudged Bakugou in his side. "Katsuki-kun? Are you okay? You seem rather quiet and you're barely touching your food."
The said male was brought out of his reverie, turning a bright red with his eyes met your concerned ones.
Spluttering, he turned his attention back to his bowl. "N-Nothing! I'm fine! Just focus on your own f*cking dinner!"
You opened your mouth to protest but immediately shut them when Bakugou sent a glare your way, his face still resembling a bright tomato. Turning to face Kirishima who was seating on your other side, you asked him. "What's wrong with Katsuki-kun? He seems worked up over something."
The red-haired glanced at the said male who was absently stirring his food, a dazed look on his face. Shrugging, he shoved a mouthful of rice into his mouth, talking with his mouth full. "I don't know. Maybe he's just on one of his man period."
Giving the blonde one last worried look, you focused on your dinner. However, you couldn't help but pondered what was on Bakugou's mind that had made him so worked up and not himself.
Time skipped
"Katsuki-kun? Is everything the matter?" Your brows furrowed in confusion as you trudged after the blonde who was entering deeper into the woods. "Also, where are you bringing me to?"
Bakugou said nothing and simply walked on, brushing aside stray branches. Sighing, you just followed after him quietly.
It was after dinner and the students were given some free time to do whatever they want before the test of courage took place. You were about to join your friends when Bakugou approached you and demanded that you followed him.
You wanted to protest but gave up at the intense glare sent your way. Hence, here you are now, trudging through the forest with no idea what the blonde wanted from you.
"Katsuki-kun, are we almost there-oomph!"
You let out a startled cried when you walked straight into Bakugou who had just stopped so suddenly in front of you without any warning. Taking a step back, you rubbed your nose and grumbled. "Next time, give a heads-up instead of just stopping out of nowhere."
While you were still distracted by your sore nose, Bakugou was a fumbling mess as he began pacing back and forth, feeling nervous for what he was about to do. Ever since last night star-gazing, he found himself wanting to tell you his feelings towards you.
It had kept him up all night as well as during training where he couldn't really focus. You were the only first who ever made him felt this way, even when the two of you were only five and thinking you could conquer the world.
Now that you were standing in front of him, he was ten times more nervous and was contemplating if he gives up or not.
Your brows rose till it disappeared in your hairline, wondering if Bakugou, who was currently banging his head repeatedly against a tree trunk, was alright.
'Me, giving up?! What has become of me?!' The blonde growled, hitting his head harder against the tree and not caring if he was bleeding or not. 'It's just a confession. How hard can it be?!'
Suddenly, he turned around to face you and stormed towards you, his heavy boots thudding against the ground. (E/C) eyes widened slightly in surprise at the oncoming blonde which you didn't expect at all.
You found yourself taking a step back and another out of doubt until your back came in contact with something. Glancing over your shoulder, you realized you had reached a dead end with the tree behind you cutting off your route.
Bakugou slammed a hand against the trunk, directly next to your face. His facial expression held his usual deep scowl, but you weren't sure if it was out of spite or it was just his usual self.
If you weren't scared shitless before, now you definitely were.
"K-Katsuki-kun," You stammered, eyes darting to the side where his hand was before looking back the blonde again. "I-Is everything okay? You seem rather put off than usual."
"Shut up," Bakugou growled lowly, sending shivers down your spine. "You ask too many questions at times and it's annoying, you know that?"
You opened your mouth to retaliate but found yourself with no words. So, you shut your mouth once more. Although, you would be lying to yourself if you denied that your heart was racing a mile per hour at the close proximity between you and Bakugou.
Only the sound of crickets chirping away into the night and the rustling of leaves could be heard. It was so quiet that the sound of both your breathing felt loud to the ears and for a moment, you were afraid that Bakugou could hear the loud pounding of your heart.
The silence dragged on and you could feel a shift in the air between the two of you.
A zoo of animals was going on a rampage in your stomach and you were a 100% certain your cheeks were resembling tomatoes right now. And who was to be blamed?
The boy that you had a crush on was currently leaning even closer, the distance remaining between your lips and his was getting shorter and shorter with each passing moment until you could feel his hot breath on your lips.
However, what had you completely bursting a bulb was the next few words that left his mouth. It was what you didn't expect at all and was caught unprepared.
"(Name)..." Bakugou breathed your name, causing you to shudder and leaving you slightly breathless. "I love you."
(E/C) eyes widened ten folds as Bakugou pressed his lips against yours, a hand wounding itself around your waist and the other intertwining its long, slender fingers with yours.
As his lips moved against yours, you stood there like a statue, unable to comprehend what was currently going on. Your brain had completely short-circuited and if you were hooked on a heart machine, the line would be flat.
For a moment you couldn't think or move or even breathe at all as Bakugou deepened the kiss, his tongue darting out to lick your bottom lip, urging you to move as well.
'Heck it all!' Eyes slid shut as you threw all caution to the wind and reciprocated the kiss, whimpering as Bakugou let out a satisfied growl. He untangled his hand from yours and moved to hold your chin, tilting your head backwards for a better angle.
By the time Bakugou pulled away, both of you were breathing heavily and you didn't a mirror to know that you looked like a mess - your lips were swollen and red while your cheeks were flushed as though you had run a marathon.
The blonde didn't look any better. He was just as wrecked as you, but there was a soft and fond look to his expression that you never have seen before and it left you craving for more.
He took a step forward, a hand cradling your face. Red iris was a tornado of raw emotions - fondness, pure joy and the third one that you finally could identify love.
"(Name), I love you." Bakugou smiled, growing bigger with every word he said. "I have ever since we were kids, but at that time, I still didn't know what it was. Then when I figured it out, you were gone and for the next 10 years, I thought I had moved on until you appeared in my life again and realized I still loved you all these years."
Your breath hitched at the sight of the smile that reached Bakugou's eyes, finding him absolutely handsome. More than anything, you were brimming with pure happiness because you, too, loved him and wanted to share a life with him forever.
However, you couldn't.
You were a villain and he was a hero-in-training which meant it was impossible for both of you to be together. Never in the history of mankind had a villain and hero been together as lovers.
It was a future set up for heartbreaks.
So, you did what you had to do.
Bakugou's smile fell away, replaced by confusion when you pushed him away. Walking away from him, your back turned to face him so he couldn't see your face.
"How sweet." You scoffed. "Do you really think I'll return your love?"
I do love you, Katsuki-kun!
Bakugou was taken aback by your words, more so when you threw a smirk over your shoulder, mirth dancing in those (e/c) eyes that he had come to love. "B-but all those cheek kisses and hugs, I thought you'll at least feel something for me!"
"Oh, please. Have you ever heard of teasing?" Your smirk widened, causing the blonde to frown.
It's because I love you that's why I did those things. You've to believe me!
"Please tell that does aren't true." Bakugou pleaded, his heart pounding away with fear. "Tell me at least you've felt something for me."
Turning around, you walked up to him and tilted his chin with a finger. Your voice was a sweet, but deathly lullaby as you purred, "Oh, Katsuki-kun, such naïve thinking. What makes you think a hero and villain can be together?"
His heart shattered into hundreds of fragments as you whispered into his ear. "I'll never, ever love you."
Bakugou's face hardened, his hands clenched into fists by his side as he glared at you, sneering. "I thought you have changed, but apparently I was wrong."
With that, he walked off until he was out of sight then did you dropped to your knees, hands clutching your shirt where your heart was. The floodgates opened and soon, you cried out to the heavens - alone by yourself in the middle of the forest where nobody could hear you.
I'm sorry, Katsuki-kun. I do love you, I really do. However, I'm not worthy to be by your side because I'm a villain - someone who've committed so much sin that God himself can't even save me.
The tears stopped, and you slowly stood up, dusting off any dirt on you. With heavy footsteps, you dragged yourself back to where everyone was, your heart a million pieces.
I hope, maybe in another lifetime, we can be together.
***
"(Name)-chan, is everything alright? You seem rather upset about something."
Midoriya approached you with a worried frown, placing a hand on your shoulder. You snapped out of it and turned to face the greenette, giving what you hoped was an assuring smile.
"I'm fine, Izuku-kun. It's just that I'm thinking of something."
Your childhood friend didn't find your words reliable, but he chose not to question it which you were very thankful.
The test of courage had already begun, and you were currently waiting for yours and your partner, Midoriya's turn to enter the forest. Wanting to distract yourself from thinking about happened just now, you struck up a conversation with Midoriya knowing that the boy could take your mind off what happened between you and Bakugou.
Suddenly, you smelt burning in the air. Frowning, you wondered where it could have come from when you saw black smoke drifting upwards in the air.
That was when you realized the forest was on fire.
'Katsuki-kun!' You panicked internally, remembering that the blonde was still in the forest where the fire was spreading. 'I'm coming for you!'
You were about to run into the fire when everyone who was outside of the forest was surrounded by villains.
That was when you realized the League of Villains had once again made their moves and this time around, you had a very bad feeling that they would emerge as victorious winners.
***
A/N: This chapter took a bit longer to write than I expected. I was busy with school, so I wasn't able to write as much I would have liked. Then, just when I was free to write, I fell sick with a very bad cough where I felt like I'm coughing out my inner organs and a headache that was pounding away at my brain like nobody's business. I am still sick, but because of that, I wasn't able to go to school which gave me more time to finish up on this chapter. So hooray!