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Exhausted pants sounded through swollen, chapped lips. Her eyes proceeded to flicker shut before opening again quickly; a bead of sweat ran down her face as she stared at the scene in front of her. Uraraka had insisted she work more on her hands on training, rather than practicing making stuff float with her quirk — she always felt like a burden when it came to the physical side of things, like she could hardly fend for herself, and it irritated her to no extent.
She had potential, she had the mindset that she wanted to better herself and excel just like all the other kids in her class, yet she felt like no matter how hard she trained, she always fell behind. In one way or another, she worked the hardest; after class, she wouldn’t go straight home to tend to her studies, but she’d immediately resort to finding her way to the teachers’ breakroom, asking for permission to enter the The Training Dreamland.
At first, Aizawa-sensei had been skeptical, his dark eyes lingering a moment longer than she liked, but in the end, they allowed her to do so. Another hard pant broke through her lips before she coughed, sweat coating her face as she clenched her fists.
“I just want to get better,” she told herself again in a shaky voice. “I can’t risk falling behind.”
Another wave of dummies faced her, her mind running blank as she stared at the units created by the Support Class. Uraraka brought her hands up, a deep exhale running through her nostrils as she cleared her mind. Once she began to fight through the next wave, she felt her muscles aching and throbbing with each punch and kick that she delivered. She had told herself that she would improve her stamina, improve her timing and make herself into a strong hero — not only was she falling behind, but she was also lacking the willpower to further herself.
The moment she defeated her last enemy, she could feel her body running on fumes; frustration coursing through her bones, through her body and it was plaguing her mind with thoughts that she hated to think about. No way in hell was she going to be last, no way in hell was she going to sit down and take a beating; her knees felt weak, her body wobbling as she grew light-headed. Her eyes glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that she had stayed well past curfew, and that she’d be damned if she didn’t get going soon. After all, she still had her homework to do, and she also needed to prep her stuff for the following day, but she wasn’t ready to be done.
Her small hands came to run through her hair, pushing the auburn locks away from her sweaty, dirty face as she looked around her. The units laid motionless, but it wasn’t enough to make her happy. They weren’t actual people, they were robots, built to wander aimlessly while she attacked; none of it felt like it was helping, and she didn’t feel like any of it would pay off. So why in the hell was she still here? Why was she trying to damned hard, when all of it would surely be a joke, and she’d still be behind all the others?
Her hands clenched into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms as she felt her shoulders start to shake. The heat from her body began to fade, and an eerie, cool temperature transcended throughout her body. Uraraka could already see the judgemental looks being cast her way, looking down on her as if she wasn’t trying hard enough.
She finally fell to her knees, all these thoughts drowning out her will to grow, and to get stronger. She caught her face in her hands, the tears already forming at the corners of her eyes as she clenched her teeth. The tank top that she wore didn’t provide enough warm as she let her body shake, her mind completely numbing over as she let the thoughts from within take over.
She had goals just like everyone else, but when it came down to it, why wasn’t she moving as fast as everyone else? Uraraka could only see the image of her parents’ face in her mind, their kind eyes staring down at her, but she knew that fake, glossed over look was nothing more than an act — an act so they wouldn’t worry her, while they overworked themselves day in and day out to support her.
The brunette pulled a hand away from her face before she sent her knuckles colliding into the ground beneath her. She could feel the way her bones smashed into it, skin breaking as the pain and heat immediately began to well in her small hand, but she didn’t care. The amount of anxiety that clawed at her chest canceled out the feeling of pain, the feeling of being hurt. Was mental pain far worse than physical pain? Or did any of that matter?
“Oi.”
Her thoughts came to a halt, her breaths and soft sobs dying down as she stilled on the ground. She knew that voice, and his face had already painted itself in her mind. Shivers crawled down her spine before she sniffled really quick and wiped the tears from her cheeks, hiding anything that would give her frustrations away; with a fake smile painted on her lips, she finally turned to meet the crimson eyes of Bakugou.
“What the fuck are you doing?” His question came out hard and fast, his lips pursing as he stared down at her. A moment passed by before a low growl sounded from the base of his throat, but Uraraka was too shaken up to answer his question. Just what was she doing? Caught in her thoughts as she punched the ground like some child. “Hey, I’m talking to you—”
“I’m training,” she cut him off quickly, her eyes averting themselves as she glanced at the clock once more. Another half an hour had passed by, and it made her all the more frustrated that she had only been wasting time and not improving herself.
“Does your training normally consist of you punching the fucking ground?” Her eyes flashed back to his face, a light blush spreading across her cheeks as her lips parted. Just how long had Katsuki been watching her and — why was he even here? Shouldn’t he be in bed by now?
“I’m taking a short break.” She deadpanned, her lips pressing into a straight line as she matched his hard gaze. The instant a blonde brow shot up, she swallowed hard. There was no getting passed this boy — he was too smart for his own good, and just when she was about to pull herself to her feet and leave, his hands encircled themselves around her wrists and tugged her up roughly.
He inspected her hand, fiery eyes taking in the sight of her bruised and bloody knuckles before he let out a soft tch, his eyes meeting hers as he stared at her with a bland look. Uraraka could only try to control her panicked breaths before she pulled her hands from his, her knuckles throbbing with pain as she shoved them deep inside her pockets.
“I should get going.” Her head began turning away from him, her chocolate eyes sinking back into her head as the tears began to forcefully push their way out again. Uraraka could feel herself choking up, that rough, painful feeling starting in the base of her throat as she walked towards her bag and belongings.
“You shouldn’t be that hard on yourself, Uraraka.” His calm voice echoed throughout the large room. She stopped in her tracks, her ears adjusting to the soft ticking of the clock on the wall before she craned her head to find him standing alone, hovering over the bots that now looked mangled and torn to pieces. Had she done that to them? Had she— “you’re not as weak as you think you are.”
Her lips parted once more, thoughts of judgemental eyes and scoffs filling her mind as she swallowed, trying to calm the dry, irritated feeling in her mouth. It was unusual to see Bakugou so calm, so focused on trying to soothe someone else; the sounds of his boots hitting the floor pulled her mind away from brooding thoughts before he snatched her hand from her pocket.
He held her hand up in front of her face, his brows furrowing as he pointed to the bruised knuckles on her hand. “You see these?” He asked, his voice low, yet she didn’t feel a single ounce of fear course through her body; she only nodded her response before pursing her lips. “Those are goddamn trophies, Round Face.”
Caramel eyes instantly widened, the breath from her lungs instantly fleeing her body as she continued to look at him. “What—”
“I’ve fought you before, and you’re a tricky, clever girl. Sure, you lost—” she remembered the moment she was about to face off with him once more, but the moment she fell, the light inside her eyes faltered. A small tug brought her mind back to his eyes; a storm raging on inside, while a fire burned inside of his crimson eyes. “—but you put up one hell of a fight and gave it your all.”
“Bakugou,” she murmured, before he dropped her hand, his face inching closer towards her. She could see the different strands of blonde tresses that fell in his eyes, and as much as she wanted to push those thick, silky locks from his light of sight, she stayed still, her breath halting in her lungs.
“Show me that damn fire that I’ve seen in your eyes before.” He breathed out, his warm breath fanning over her cheeks as she finally exhaled. “You’re letting your thoughts eat away at you, yeah? Well, fucking don’t! I know what you’re capable of, and you know what you’re capable of.”
Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, cracking the dried skin open while the taste of copper flooded her mouth. Uraraka’s heart was beating fast in her chest now, her hands clenching into tight fists as the echoing of his voice sounded throughout her mind. He was right, she was capable of great things. She might’ve been falling behind, but now that he had rang the bell inside of her head, she knew it was all a lie.
Realization struck hard, and a smile painted her lips as her brows furrowed. Bakugou’s lopsided smirk finally appeared before he backed away and shoved his hands in his pockets. The moment he started to take his leave, Uraraka took a step in his direction.
“Wait!—” she called, but his head had already turned, the side of his face showing in the dim light.
“Meet me here tomorrow. I’ll fight those fucking thoughts of yours.” He muttered before letting the padding of his feet echo throughout the room. Without another thought passing through her mind, Uraraka began to realize that she wasn’t the only one fighting these demons that resided in her head.
That look in his eyes; fire and destruction, yet she could see something soft and lingering underneath the flames of confidence, and she knew that Bakugou Katsuki wasn’t only strong on the outside, but on the inside as well. He was a goddamn fighter and it was enough to light the flame in her eyes.