Chapter Text
Chapter 4:
Please Spare Me From the Awful Things I Am Destined For
Bakugou Katsuki trudged through the thick mud of the deep wooden forest. In the distance, he could hear clearly the shouts, yells, and even the whispers of the teenagers at their wild party. Almost all of them were drunk out of their minds and slurring their words. He could hear them stumbling about too. There isn’t much you can’t catch with supernaturally amazing hearing.
A small twig snapped in the distance, causing him to scoff loudly.
“You’re not a good spy,” Bakugou called out to them, “I heard you a mile away. Smelled you too.” A grumbling Uraraka emerged from behind a tree, her arms crossed, and a confrontational look on her face. “Come on, Round Face, say what’s on your mind. Doesn’t take a telepath to see you’ve got some bullshit opinion you think you’re entitled to express to me.”
“What are you?” Uraraka said, moving closer to him. Her shoes caked in the quickly drying mud. “Some kind of narcissist? Or are you something else entirely?"
Bakugou couldn’t help but chuckle at her question. “Guess you really are as dumb as you look. Blind as a bat too that you can’t even see that you are a--”
He stopped, seeing two people come into view in the distance. The familiar (h/c) hair glistening in the moonlight, shy but teasing smile on her face as she spoke to that fucking geek. The red and white haired man followed her, his eyes captivated by the beauty in who she is. It made Bakugou sick to see him stare at (Y/N) like that. Goofy fucking grin on his face when her back was turned to him and she could not see it. Sickening.
“What are--” Uraraka started, her voice thick with anger. Bakugou shushed her instantly, eyes still focused on the two in the distance. “Is that (Y/N) and Todoroki?”
“Shut up or they’ll hear you.”
“Hear me?” Uraraka looked at him in disbelief, clicking her tongue at him and adding a scoff, “They are so far off, I could yell at them and they wouldn’t hear me.”
“You’d be surprised.” Was all Bakugou managed to get out before he started to eavesdrop in. He heard the two talking about the full moon. His eyes widened at the mention of the nearing full moon. He lifted his gaze upward, captivated. The strange feeling coursing through his bloodstream, as if telling every fiber of his being “get ready”.
Around this time Bakugou was more on edge. More hostile. Aggressive. Impulsive.
His crimson eyes heatedly looked over to you, though you remained clueless to his gaze. You smiled to yourself, moving the mud playfully around in the dirt. Like a child, oblivious to the horrors of the world. If only you could remain that innocent forever...
Bakugou could feel his fists balling up as that hole in his chest started to shrink.
It’s not supposed to shrink. Not like this. Not in this way. His thoughts racing as his fingers ball up some mud. With speed, accuracy, and agility that surprised Uraraka, Bakugou flung the mud and it soared through the air. Quickly it closed up the distance between the two boys until it landed with a loud smack in Todoroki’s face.
“Oh god,” You stopped mid-sentence, jumping slightly at Todoroki’s new dirt covered face.
After wiping his face, Todoroki glanced to the side, and unbeknownst to you, he locked eyes with Bakugou and glared at him. You heard him muttered out an insult about how animalistic some people can be. However this comment left you confused.
“I think we should get you cleaned up,” You couldn’t help but giggle. Todoroki’s turned his eyes and locked them with yours. He smiled softly at you, a slight blush moving across his face due to how gorgeous you were in the moonlight, smiling and caring for him. Luckily for him, it was dark out and you couldn't notice his flushed features. With this his anger melted away and he followed you. The two of you exited the forest together, leaving Bakugou alone with Uraraka, much to his discontent.
“Oh, they left,” Uraraka squinted, “Now you can answer some of my questions. How did you throw that so far and fast? Did you play baseball?” She shot off a question for every step she took towards him. To counter this, Bakugou picked up his pace and headed towards the party Todoroki and you went back to. Right before the entrance, Uraraka stepped in front of Bakugou, her eyes stern and fierce. “I need to know, why are you following (Y/N) around?”
“Why does it matter to you?” Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her. He debated pushing her aside but instead he placed his hands in his pocket and lowered his eyes at her. “And I’m not following her around.”
“You show up everywhere she is. You told her to not go to this party. I had to convince her that it would be okay. And here you are, at the party with us. I bet you’re here solely because of her. Right?”
“It’s a small town.”
“You aren’t even from here.”
“Look, Shrimp,” He now towered over the brown-haired girl, “When I tell you my roots are from this town, you better believe it. Now get out of my fucking face before I kill you.”
She glared up at him and said in a low, threatening voice, "If you are there to protect her from whatever hellstorm has picked up, then I won't stop you. In fact, I will gladly join you. But if you are going to hurt her, I'll--"
"Shut up," Bakugou groaned with annoyance. His hands were in his pockets now and he turned his back to her, walking away. "I get it, you love (Y/N), blahblahblah, she is your best friend. You will do all you can with your weak feeble body to protect her. Whatever." He stopped in his tracks, pausing as if contemplating saying something.
Bakugou turned his head a bit towards Uraraka, but he stared at the mud. He whispered, "You better realize some fucking things fast." He brought his eyes up to look at her. "Because if you don't, you'll be even more useless. And in my fucking way."
Uraraka’s face set into a deep scowl but nonetheless she stepped aside. Her sour face returning to your side once Bakugou walked out of her line of vision.
“Oh hey, Uraraka,” You smiled at her. Your face dropped when you noticed her sour mood. “What happened? Is everything okay?”
She wiped the look from her face and plastered a blushing smile overtop it. She scratched her head nervously and told you some story about how some kid spilled his beer on her. You believed her, and that was all she could have hoped for.
The walk back to Uraraka’s car was a treacherous one. For starters, you had to part ways with Todoroki. You gushed to Uraraka about how he looked cute even with mud on his face. She giggled at you despite the fact that her mind could not shake a new ill feeling that creeped inside her. It was like this… instinct, intuition, something--had burrowed its way into her mind and refused to let her truly focus on anything else. It took hold of her and would not let go.
“Are you okay to drive?” You asked Uraraka, pausing to open the passenger side door.
“Of course,” She told you. She plopped herself in and motioned for you to sit down next to her. “I didn’t drink. Besides only an idiot would drink and drive, especially on a night like this,” She muttered, nodding towards the growing low-level fog that was making its presence known.
“Yeah, it’s giving me the creeps.” You confessed, staring into the fog. If you squinted your eyes, your overactive mind would present to you humanoid figures. A shiver pulsated through your body and you felt like you two could not get out of there fast enough.
“I think we earned ourselves a nice movie night,” Uraraka spoke, lowering the radio. She flicked her high-beams on. “Do you know when your parents are coming back?”
“No clue. They said next week but you know how their work can be. It’s like they’re held hostage or something.” You half-joked.
“Hah, like some kind of contract.” She agreed.
Uraraka had been your friend for years, a decade at least at this point. If anyone knew how demanding your parents’ jobs were, it was her. When you were younger you stayed with her and her parents. Now that you were older, your parents let you stay in the house. Although you felt relieved when Uraraka stayed with you in that empty place. It made it feel less lonely and more safe. Uraraka could always make you feel safe and comfortable.
“Supposedly they were thinking of having my Uncle watch over me.”
“No way,” Uraraka said quickly, making another one of her classic sharp turns. You gripped onto your seatbelt and contemplated if you perhaps would have been safer walking than having this hazard drive you. “Your Uncle? The one that always scared us half to death about ghost stories and all that supernatural crap since we were kids?”
“Yes, that one.”
“He made you keep a stake under your pillow at night, (Y/N). You are the only person in this town who knows how to hand carve weapons out of wood, thanks to him. You’d be better off--” She cut herself off, slamming sharply on her brakes. “Is that a dog?”
You glanced in the direction ahead of you and saw a four-legged figure limping. Without a second thought, you hopped out of the car and took careful steps towards the creature. It was a dog. It was a blonde one and it was limping. It looked like it got in a fight with something.
“(Y/N),” Uraraka called after you. She parked the car and followed you to the animal. “Do you think it has rabies,”
The dog snarled at her, as if it understood her, and in turn snapped at her like an angry person would. Shortly after, it crashed to the ground with a whimper. Your eyes examined its body and noticed for the first time that this animal was bleeding. It’s front right paw was badly injured.
“Hold on, little guy,” You whispered. The dog huffed angrily at you. You chuckled a bit at the reaction and added, “Sorry.”
You grabbed at the end of fabric on the dress and ripped it. You carefully leaned forward, placing one gentle hand above the fluffy ear of the dog. He closed his eyes and moved himself into your touch. Your heart melted at how cute the dog was when it wasn’t huffing angrily or snarling. Gingerly, you wrapped your newly tattered dress piece around the front right paw. You hoped this would stop the bleeding. The dog blinked it’s tired, weary eyes up at you before it drifted off to sleep.
“Uraraka, can you open the back door to your car?” Your voice was tiny but full of concern.
“Yeah sure, where are we taking the stray? The only vet in town is closed now.” She asked, opening the door for you. One look at your face and she knew where you were thinking.
"Lucky for us my crazy uncle also taught me first aid for both humans and animals."
"He also gave you a silver whistle attached to a silver chain when you were ten and told you it may save your life."
You carefully scooped the injured dog into your arms and gently placed him on the seat. You turned to her and smiled, wiping the blood off on your pants. "I still have that necklace. I was looking at it yesterday."
Uraraka shook her head, chuckling a bit, but frowned once more when she saw the dog's eyes looking at her. She shut the door and climbed into the driver seat once more. The two of you drove to your house in silence. The dog was not injured too badly, only its front right paw was bleeding. You were confident in this decision. Even more so when Uraraka helped you place the dog on a soft blanket next to your bed. You placed a bowl of water in front of the window in case he got thirsty. Uraraka stayed with you that night, acting as your bodyguard in case the injured dog somehow went wild and tried to kill you. It didn’t. He slept the entire night, and soon enough you and Uraraka found yourselves dozing off in your bed.
When you woke up, you saw Uraraka curled against your side, smiling even in her sleep. It was your favorite smile of hers and one you haven’t seen for what felt like ages. It was her optimistic and carefree smile. You were relieved to see she was still capable of producing the sweet grin. You worried that her recent nightmares had stolen her ability to smile and that she soon would forget how.
You stretched your body and yawned as little memories of last night trickled in your mind. Remembering the dog with the injured front right paw, you glanced over the side of your bed, hoping he was doing better. Instead of seeing the dog, you saw Bakugou asleep on his stomach. You opened your mouth to scream but the sound hesitated in your throat when your eyes became aware of something. Around his right hand was the fabric of your ripped dress. The little bow you made and everything… still in tact.
You silently smacked Uraraka’s side repeatedly. She stirred awake, rubbing her tired eyes.
“Is everything okay?” She yawned. “How is the dog doing is he--?” She followed your pointer finger and discovered a sleeping Bakugou Katsuki at the foot of your bed. “Oh, God, is that…?”
The two of you jumped out of bed within seconds, and each of you squatting on both sides of him. Even in his sleep his eyebrows furrowed together. Using your index finger, you gently started poking his cheek but he continued to sleep. Uraraka decided it was her turn and she used her finger to pull back his lips.
“His teeth are sharp but not dog-like.” She commented.
“Go to hell,” Bakugou growled, flicking his eyes open. The crimson glared at you with such intensity it made your skin crawl. He swatted Uraraka’s finger from his face, and he pushed himself up to a seated position. He placed his hands on his knees as he sat crossed-legged, flickering those eyes between the two of you.
“Way to fucking kidnap me.” He huffed in a quiet voice.
You and Uraraka blinked your widened eyes in confused. You observed how Bakugou noticed the bandage--your torn dress--wrapped around his hands. He rolled his eyes and ripped it off. You flinched, expecting to see a huge gash and blood oozing out. However, there was nothing there. No scratch. No blood. No cut. Nothing.
“I don’t…” You struggled, your mind flipping around. “What is happening? We rescued a dog last night. Not you. And I… my dress… was around the dog’s hurt paw. I don’t… I am so confused.”
Bakugou’s cold eyes stared into you, as if calculating something. He shook his head, clicking his tongue at the both of you. “You two must have been drunk as hell.”
“I wasn’t drunk.” Uraraka said, her voice cut and dry. “Besides, that doesn’t explain how you ended up here.”
Bakugou’s eyes narrowed at her. You could have sworn you saw him bare his teeth at her too. “What are you getting at?”
“I’m saying that I think--”
Your cell phone ringing cut the conversation short. Bakugou stared at you but you stood there trying to piece together everything. The phone chimed another ring but you ignored it.
“Well, Shitty Smell, are you going to answer it?”
Uraraka tore her concerned eyes off of you to glare at the man sitting on your floor, “Hey, don’t talk to her like that or I’ll--”
“What? Or you’ll do what? You got nothing on me. Not yet at least."
You walked away from the two, feeling sick to your stomach, your mind feeling as if invisible hands were pulling it underwater. Everything was blurred and none of the pieces seemed to fit together right. You tapped your phone to answer the call. Immediately, you heard Ashido sobbing on the other end.
“He’s dead!” She sobbed, “He is dead!”
As if he too could hear it, Bakugou stopped mid-insult and stared at the phone in your hands. You noticed his face paled, and you cast him a bewildered expression. Uraraka looked back and forth at the two of you, oblivious to the conversation now taking place.
You turned your back to Bakugou, pressing your free ear shut“Slow down, Ashido. What is going on?”
“There was--something happened--no one knows for sure, but Mineta was found dead this morning. The investigators say it was some animal attack because there were several bite marks on him and--” She continued sobbing loudly, “I feel like it’s my fault. If I hadn’t thrown that party he wouldn’t have gotten drunk and maybe, I don’t know, maybe he wouldn’t have been mauled to death.”
Ashido hung up the phone, too overwhelmed with guilt to want to talk further. You pulled the phone away from your ear and stared at it. Your hands were shaking. You looked over your shoulder to find that Bakugou had left, leaving Uraraka standing there alone.
“Bakugou left so quickly, I did not notice. I looked away for a second and he was gone.” Uraraka said but stopped speaking when she saw your face. Her face paled in response to your expression, “What happened?”
Todoroki Shouto’s body slammed against the side of the sixteen wheeler truck. He felt the cool metal against his head and back. He remained locked in that position as he glared up at the one who caught him off guard and had shoved him.
“You think you’re real fucking slick, don’t you, you IcyHot bastard.”
“What are you talking about?” Todoroki said in his typical-when-it-comes-to-Bakugou irritated voice. “And don’t touch me like that again.” He fixed his shirt.
Bakugou pushed him right back against the metal. “I’ll touch you however I want to.”
Todoroki rolled his tired-looking eyes at him, “Apparently to people nowadays that had a dirty--”
“Shut your fucking mouth. I already know what fucked up thing you are going to say, and I swear if that shit comes out of your mouth, I will kill you.”
Todoroki couldn’t help but chuckle as Bakugou’s rage increased. “All right then. Now can you tell me why you have me pinned?”
“Because you killed that scummy kid.”
Todoroki’s eyes lost that slightly playful glint and he stared back in disbelief. “Kill? You know I haven’t fed on a human in decades.”
“Well one of her classmates showed up dead today. Mauled by an animal, they said. Reported to have tons of animal bites.” Bakugou explained, his face contorting into fury. Todoroki carefully pushed Bakugou’s arm that was blocking his way. He took several steps away from him, placing his fingers to his face in contemplative thought.
“This isn’t good.” Todoroki muttered.
“You’re a fucking genius, you know that.” Bakugou huffed, glaring impatiently at him.
“They’re feeding now. They are actively searching for food.” Todoroki said, his cheeks getting pink with worry, his stomach spinning. His hands curled in his hair as his mind started following the trails of what this could lead to. “That means they are trying to increase their strength, multiply their numbers. That means--”
Bakugou dropped his crossed arms and locked eyes with Todoroki. Both said in unison, “They’re coming for her.”