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67. Question (aka a conversation every student has had at some point)
Natsuo x Reader
~~~
āYou spelled potassium wrong.ā
Natsuo flinches upright, pale eyelashes fluttering, the palm thatād been holding up his head for the past hour curling into a tight fist. His gaze flits down to his notes, to the open textbook beside him, then to you.
āPo-ta-see-uhm,ā you repeat, tapping out the syllables with the end of your pen, āIām pretty sure thereās no āeā in there. While youāre at it, you might also wanna take that āfā out of nephron.ā
He grunts as he lifts the page up to his face, and you have half a mind to tease him for it, remark on the fact that if heās having trouble reading his own handwriting then maybe medicine really is the field for him. Before you can though, heās sighing with enough force to fill a sail.
āI hate nephrology.ā Natsuo says, throwing himself backwards. His back hits the floor with a dull thump. You lean over the tabletop to look down at him just as he swings an arm across his face. He mutters the phrase over again into the sleeve of his sweater, āihatenephrologyihatenephrologyihatenephrologyā like doing it will somehow change the fact that the two of you will, regardless, actually need to get back to learning nephrology.
āOkay, so maybe this class sucks. Like, a lot. But look at the bright side, Natsu: this little blip right here is less about the physiology of the kidneys and more about your atrocious spelling.ā
āQuestion,ā Natsuo stares longingly at the ceiling, like all his problems will disappear if only he could find a way to attach himself to it, āSerious question.ā
āYou canāt quit and become a stripper.ā
Natsuo slams a palm against the floor and lets out the most pathetic whine youāve ever heard from a man of his size. And youāve performed DREās before. āWhy not?ā
āBecause youāve got two left feet. And you get flustered when someone makes eye contact for too long.ā
As if to prove you wrong, he casts a hard glare your way. You stare back, raising an eyebrow.
ā¦and his ears go a dusty shade of pink as he turns, leaving you looking at the back of his head. You catch sight of tiny tufts of crimson, short enough to have sprouted in the intervals between bleach jobs.
āThis proves nothing.ā Natsuo says. āItās easier when theyāre staring at your junk and not your face.ā
āOh is it?ā
āYeah, less personal.ā
āMmmmhm.ā
āYou donāt sound convinced.ā
āNo, no, I believe you and your extensive experience as an exotic dancer prior to medical school.ā
āNot dancer. Stripper.ā He waggles a single finger. āI donāt dance.ā
āRight, my mistake.ā You roll your eyes. āShow up. Take your clothes off. Profit.ā
āExactly!ā Natsuo says in a burst, flinging himself into a seated position. āNo microscopy, no math, no damn kidneysāā
āJust you, a dozen strangers, and your junk. Youāll be just like one of our practice patients in clinical skills lab.ā
Thereās a heavy silence. Natsuo narrows his pale eyes at you. Then he grabs the floor cushion from beneath him and hurls it at your head.
āWhy do you always do that? Make my quitting-medical-school fantasies into something so thoroughly unsexy?ā
You grab a cushion in each handāyour own and the one heās so graciously sent flying your wayāand throw them back at him in rapid succession. You donāt even try to hide your snorts. āBut Natsuo, whatās sexier than knowledge?ā
He groans like some wounded animal and slams his forehead onto the wooden tabletop. āNot nephrology.ā
You nod, willing to agree to this much. āNot nephrology.ā
Life happens in funny ways. You think you know yourself, how youāll react in a given situation. Then one day, a man strolls into the room with an entire human arm (one youāre fairly sure he didnāt grow himself) slung across his shoulders, and you start to think that maybe, just maybe, you donāt know anything about anything.Ā
But youāre getting ahead of yourself. Itās best to start from the beginningā¦
Heās wearing plain black tee, unwrinkled and too-tight around the arms. That, and a deep-set scowl that radiates down towards whatever textbook heās got spread out in front of him.Ā
Itās so perfectly unfair.
The universe seems to be dead-set on screwing you over. Maybe itās payback for the time you stole matches from the chem lab in undergrad (in your defense, it was 10 PM on a Monday and it was your last āhoorahā before you dropped). Maybe you shouldnāt have hogged the library scanner so often copying chapters out of textbooks you didnāt want to pay for, shouldāve maybe been a little kinder in your end-of-course review for that one physics TA. Regardless, you donāt deserve your fate.Ā
Not the exhaustion. Not the stress. Not the burden of ending up in the same year as a piece of trash like Bakugo.Ā
Katsuki Bakugo. Second-year medical student in the top 10% of the class. Also a grade A jackass whose jackass-ery is only supported by the fact that heās sitting in your spot.Ā
Now, you knew assigned seats were a thing for middle schoolers, not 20-something year-olds training to learn to manage actual human lives. Still, when a person occupies the same place in the library for a year and a half, thereās a basic human decency that overrides the need for seating charts and nameplates. Maybe the great Katsuki just canāt grasp that concept. Surprising given the fact that he seems to be picking up on literally everything else with inhuman speed. Genetics. Cardio. Derm. Renal.Ā
Even MSK. Fucking MSK. He was positively thriving in the very musculoskeletal hell that had you retreating to the library for 8+ hours every afternoon after lecture. Which only aggravates the acidic heat you feel brewing in your belly when you see him and Eijiro Kirishima living it up in your study carrel. Kirishima seems to have made himself comfortable standing, resting both of his (positively beefy) arms along the partition dividing to tables. Heās yammering up a storm: something something pen light something no way itās enough time for a full history. Katsuki is at least seated in his (your) chair, but his eyes are glued to his phone rather than his friend. Or his textbook. Or the laptop open right in front of him.Ā
Thereās not a glimmer of productivity in sight. Itās been like this for the past 15 minutes. You know because youāve been watching, waiting (semi-) patiently in hopes that theyād just pack up and carry on elsewhere. But no, theyāre still there. Wasting their time and your space.Ā
What little patience you had left dwindles to nothing in the span of seconds. You gather your things up in your arms and march across the library towards them.Ā
Kirishima sees you first, greeting you with a megawatt grin and a chipper āhowās it goinā?ā You hadnāt really interacted with him one-on-one aside from the occasional confused looks you shared during lectures or simulation sessions. All you really know about him is that he and Bakugo are practically joined at the hip, which, up to this point, has been enough to make you keep your distance. Still, Kirishima seems so genuinely kind (unlike his friend who still hasnāt so much as looked at you) that it makes it very hard to stay pissed at him. Which is fine. He isnāt the one in your chair.Ā
Iām doing good. Now, respectfully, I ask that you and your friend vacate the area so I can study in my usual spot, please and thank you.Ā
āYou know how it is, same old, same old. School, sleep, repeat.ā Itās better than what you want to say. You tug your bag further up your shoulder.
āAināt that the truth. At least we have a little bit of a breather, huh?ā
āHuh?ā Breather? The last ābreatherā youād had was when the pulmonology professor coerced you into demonstrating proper technique with an inspiration spirometer. Somehow, you donāt think thatās what Kirishima is getting at.Ā
āYou know, in this class.ā He clarifies. āItās pretty easy compared to renal.āĀ
You snort, āyeah, thatās a good one.ā
Kirishima blinks.
āMSKā¦the musculoskeletal system. Being easy. Thatās funny.ā
Kirishima lets out an awkwardĀ sort of laugh, and an uncomfortable silence falls over the study area. The shrill ding of the elevator rings from the other side of the floor. Your classmateās smile goes deliberately apologetic. You sigh.Ā
āIām guessing youāre not getting your ass kicked by this class.ā You say, placing extra emphasis on the youāre bit. Kirishima scratches at the back of his neck.Ā
As if things arenāt already bad enough, you feel them then.Ā The extra set of eyes settling on you.
āHeās the president of the orthopedic surgery interest group.ā Bakugo says. āBones and the meat attached to them are the only things he actually cares about.ā When you fail to respond, he lets out a puff of air from his nose and itās a wonder the desk doesnāt burst into flames right then and there. āBesides, he isnāt wrong. This class is a cakewalk.āĀ
You stand there, seething. Youāre being perfectly polite, keeping the daydreams of concussing him into Glasgow 3 with the underside of your boot securely in your skull.Ā
āWell,ā you say, slowly, āI guess everyone has their strengths.ā
Bakugo doesnāt take the hint; he pushes.
āHow is this harder than renal where things are microscopic?ā He rises in one quick motion, resting a knee on the seat. As he leans forward, he lays an arm over the wooden back. Heās nowhere near as toned as Kirishima, but you can see the muscles shifting beneath his skin. Pronounced, like some real-life anatomical model. Triceps, biceps, coracobrachialisāyou list them off silently because fuck him.
āRenal is pure physiology,ā you say. āEverything has a when and why that you can logic through. MSK is just memorization.ā
āBecause thereās absolutely no memorization when it comes to nephrons.ā His lips pull back into a mocking sort of sneer as he begins to count off on his fingers. āSodium-hydrogen antiporters, sodium-chloride symporters, Sodium-potassium-chlorideāā
āThereās a charge gradient driving that shiāā Not worth it, not worth it and you know it.Ā
What would be the point of attending all those school-mandated mindfulness sessions where you sat in a dark classroom meditating (rather than taking the half-day to do literally anything else) if you let this conversation ruin your day? You had to refocus. Think about the sensation of breathingāin, then out. Your hands, the weight of them hanging at your sides. Your feet and the way they feel sitting within your shoes⦠aaaaaaand yup, thereās a crinkle in your sock. Now thatās all youāre only going to be able to think about until you can fix it. Thanks meditation.
āYou know what, nevermind you guys.ā You take a clearing breath. āEveryone has their forte, and I know mine is not muscle origins and insertions. Anyway, I just remembered I have a thing at a place, so Iām going to be heading out.ā
And thatās exactly what you plan to do. You ignore the hushed muttering behind you as you trudge towards the elevator, because none of that is actually your problem anymore. Youāre mindful and centered andā
And a hand latches onto your shoulder. You lurch forward as momentum does its thing, only spared from a faceplant into the however-many-decades-old carpet by the sheer strength of your assailant's grip. You spin, already expecting who you have to blame and planning out the venomous rant youāll spit their way (library āquiet please!ā sign be damned). But rather than meeting Bakugoās gaze, itās his palm that floats mere inches from your nose.Ā
You open your mouth, but heās quicker to speak than you are.
āI fall on an outstretched palm and fuck up my hand. Four days later I come to you and tell you it still hurts like hellāI canāt move it anymore. What tests do you order?āĀ
Thereās silence for a good long moment. Then your senses return to you in one quick rush.
āWhat the actual hell Katsuki?ā A couple other library-goers flinch and shoot your sharp looks towards your outburst, but who even cares anymore?Ā
āAnswer the question.ā
āNo, because like what the actual hell? We already established Iām an idiot, so can you please just leave me alone?ā
Bakugoās grip on your shoulder tightens and you swat it off with a loud smack. His eyes widen as both you and he cast glances towards his hand, now floating off in dead space beside the pair of you. He purses his lips.Ā
āNobody called you an idiot.ā He tries to be casual about lowering both of his hands to his sides, tucking them into his pockets.
āMaybe not using those exact words, they didnāt.ā You say, soft but firm. āBut the implication was clear.āĀ
Then you stare. Bakugo does too, his eyes wider than usual, lips pulled back in a tight line. Youāre no expert in reading people, but heās also no expert in keeping the emotion from showing plainly in his expression. Surprise, which gives way to confusion, which gives way to something else.
āYouāre not an idiot.ā He finally says. Neither of you speak, letting the words hang in the space between you. Even as youāre both extremely aware of Kirishima is edging his way towards your spot by the elevators.
You let out a heavy sigh, folding your arms.
āX-Ray.ā You say. Bakugo flinches, going so far as to take a full step backwards. Which is rich, given that with all the sucker punches youāve imagined striking him with, a single word is enough to catch him off-guard. But even Kirishima freezes, mouth caught in shape somewhere between goofy grin and catching flies.
They both stand there, and you roll your eyes and say, āIād order an x-ray first.ā
Bakugoās gaze narrows, and like that heās back to his usual self. You swear you even see the corner of his mouth twitch upward. āWhy an x-ray?ā
āWhy not?ā
āYouāre the doctorāwhat are you gonna say to your patient when they ask the same question?ā He scratches at his head, mocking, all evidence of remorse wiped from his system. āGeeze, I dunno, āx-rayā is 14 points in Scrabble so I guess Iāll order that.ā
You should be angry, but something feelsā¦different about the bickering this time. That andā
āHow do you know how many points āx-rayā is in scrabble?ā You ask, half-mocking. Because while youāre sincerely wondering if Katsuki Bakugo spends his Saturday nights playing Scrabble, you also want him to squirm a bit.
āWhy do you want an x-ray?ā He repeats the question. Thereās a dusting of red across his cheeks creeping towards his ears.Ā
Nice, you think.
āBecause an x-ray is the first thing you get when someone comes in after a hand injury.ā
āWhyād the patient wait four days to come in though?ā You open your mouth and he cuts in with ādonāt say ābecause it didnāt stop hurting.ā This is a vignette, not real life.ā
āBut whatās even the point of all this if not to prepare for real life?ā
āWill you justāā He clenches his teeth tight and takes a deep breath. āThink for a second. Whatās on your differential?ā
You chew at your lip. āFracture.ā
āBut which bone?ā You hesitate, your mistake, and he shakes his head. āJust think. This is a classic presentation. On every test youāll ever take. What bone in the hand is supplied by a retrograde blood flow?ā
And you donāt know. Shit, youāll have to look that up when you get home. Still, youāll swallow a jar of thumbtacks before you ever admit that to Bakugo. You shoot Kirishima, whoās standing over Bakugoās shoulder now, an exasperated look. He starts to say something, but then heās getting cut off.Ā
āDonāt help, or they wonāt learn.ā Bakugo snaps. His red-hot gaze fixes between your eyes. āAnd you, donāt look at him. This is basic anatomy.ā
Anger wells in your chest again. āOh Iām sorry, I didnāt know I was in lecture right now.āĀ
You were furious at Bakugo, true. Butā¦but also at yourself. You should know this. Youād had a lecture on the hand last week, which was practically a year ago in medical time. Your classmates were soaring through, already on nerve innervations while you struggled to learn the building blocks. School used to be fun, tests like a mini-competition you were guaranteed to win.Ā
Youād never struggled like this before, had never had to grapple with the fact that even after days of forgoing sleep in favor of studying, you were still floundering. Something in your brain was wired wrong, you were sure. Medical school is like trying to drink out of the ocean with a straw, everyone said. Itās the hardest thing youāll do, they said. Then how was it that nobody else seemed to be struggling like you were?Ā
But again. You could be studying now, could be working on figuring out exactly the shit Bakugo is rubbing in your face. But no. Instead youāre stuck in a pissing match with Mr. Perfect. Mr. Top-of-the-class, Godās-blonde-gift-to-humanity. The conversation isnāt even worth it anymore. Youād meant to leave before and now you were going to follow through. You scoff and start to walk offā
And heās in front of you. Bakugo has taken one step to his right and effectively placed himself between you and the elevator.Ā
āMove.ā You demand.
āJust answer the damn question.ā
āNo. Youāre not my professor.ā
āIām also not failing the only class where you are the cheat sheet.ā
You wince. The truth in it stings something fierce.
āEnough, Katsuki.ā Kirishima finally cuts in, his normally-cheery voice harder than youāve ever heard. āYouāre being a real jerk right now.ā
Bakugo opens his mouth like heās going to say something sharp, but the words die on his tongue. He looks between you and his friend.
āItās a scaphoid fracture, Eijiro. Theyāve only mentioned it like a thousand times, so imagine how much harder the restāā
āThatās enough.ā Kirishima says it again, louder. He grabs Bakugo by his upper arm and drags him out of your way. The lines between his brow are deep when he looks toward you, making him look years older than he had only minutes before. āIām sorry aboutā¦well about all of that.ā
About Bakugo? you want to ask. Or about the fact that heās actually right for once?
You say nothing and hurry into the elevator. You donāt even try to hide the way to tap hurriedly at the door close button. The sooner you get out of here, the sooner you can get home. The sooner you get home the sooner you can get in bed and wallow, pretending you actually belongā
Thereās a loud scuffle, a shout, then something slides between the elevator doors just as they bolt. You stagger, your back pressing flush to the metal wall behind you as a menacing presence invades your space.
āI carry mace.ā You sputter, reaching for your keys as Bakugo slams the button for the first floor. The medical library was on the twelfth.
āMeet me in the dry lab on Saturday.ā He says, mere inches of space separating his chest from yours.
You blink. Bakugo doesnāt. He stares, not at the neon aerosol pointed directly at his face, but at you in all your terrified glory.Ā
āIād rather not.ā You say, slowly.
He grits his teeth. āWhy not?ā
āBecause youāre kind of an asshole. And Iād rather not spend my free time with assholes.ā
āYouād rather fail?ā
āIām already doing that.ā You purse your lips. āAs you so astutely pointed out before.ā
He opens his mouth to say something, but then the elevator door opens on the ninth floor. A shorter boy takes a step as if to get on, but freezes as soon as he catches sight of the pair of you. Bakugo twists to look back over his shoulder. You canāt be sure exactly what he does in that moment, but whatever it is has the other student taking several slow steps backwards. The elevator door shuts and he makes no attempt to get back on.
Bakugoās attention shifts back entirely towards you.Ā
āWill you put that away before you blind us both?ā He asks as he gestures towards your mace with his chin. He asks in the way that exasperated parents ask questions that arenāt really questions. Would you like to play nicely with your sibling, or would you like to explain to the emergency room staff how reenacting āLion Kingā ended up with one of you spraining your neck?Ā
āI donāt like the way you talk to me.ā You say, the words are more honest than you intend. Theyāre not what he expects, based on the way his eyes go wide. āIām an idiot when it comes to most things, but I already know that and I donāt need you drilling the point home every five seconds.ā
He grabs at his hair with both hands, tugging as he lets out an exasperated groan. āWhat is with you?! Nobody is calling you an idiot, so will you stop calling yourself one?ā
āOnce you stop making me feel like one, then maybe I will.ā
āListen,ā he says through gritted teeth, āIām gonna give you a piece of advice hereāā
āNot asking for it.ā
āI donāt give a shit, youāre gonna listen because youāre an adult and apparently nobody has told you this much yet.ā He holds his arms out wide at his sides, leaning forward. āNot everyone is thinking about you all the time. Sometimes, when people are talking about classes they find easy, itās because they think theyāre easy! Theyāre not calling you stupid because you donātātheyāre just talking.ā
āYeah? And throwing a dozen questions my way that you know I canāt answer, is that ājust talking?āā
āHow am I supposed to know what you can and canāt answer?ā
āBecause itās obvious! How the hell am I supposed to be able to diagnose a scaphoid fracture if I barely know where the scaphoid is?āĀ
āYou passed renal!ā Bakugo says, like it means something.
āLike that changes the fact Iām flunking a class with a built- in ācheat sheet,ā as you so deftly put it.ā
āWhich is why Iām telling you to meet me in the dry lab tomorrow, so I can show you how to not flunk.ā
The tears are hot at the corners of your eyes. āLike I said before, youāre an asshole.āĀ
āThatās right, he shouts, āIām an asshole! The sky is blue! But sometimes, just sometimes, I donāt mean to be one. It just happens. I say the first thing that pops into my head because the alternative is sitting there agonizing over all the ways I should be saying things. Everyone says āthink before you speakā like thatās supposed to fix everything. Well thatās great until you think yourself into a fucking hole. So instead, I say stupid asshole-ish things then chase classmates into an elevator to try and make up for it after the fact.ā
The air is heavy with the weight of too many uncomfortable truths. Youāre both breathing heavyāhim from his rant, you from trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill out.Ā
You will not cry in front of Katsuki Bakugo. Itās a vow you never thought you had to make up until this very moment.Ā
āAre you coming tomorrow or not?ā He asks. The elevator doors open, and when you make no move to scurry out, he reaches back and presses another button. The floor lurches upward as you begin your ascent.
āWhat if it isnāt enough?ā You say, just barely.
āWhat do you mean?ā
āWhat if studying with you isnāt enough?ā Your words are clipped, full of the emotion you refuse to express otherwise. āWhat if I show up and put in the work and I still suck at all of this.ā
Bakugo shakes his head. āWhy are you worrying about that now? Just deal with whatās in front of you.ā
āBecause whatās even the point of trying if itās all gonna go to hell anyway? If Iām just wasting my tuition trying to do something Iām not able to do?ā
He sighs, scratching at the back of his head. āListen, I help you out, but I canāt fix that.ā
āFix what?āĀ
āThat.ā He gestures absently towards you. āThe self-pitying bullshit.ā
Despite yourself, you laugh. āWell, fuck me I guess.ā
āIāyou justāgoddammit.āĀ Bakugo shuts his eyes tight and groans long and deep. āHow the hell am I supposed to say it without pissing you off. I just told you about how Iām no good at this.
You open your mouth to retort, but he continues before you can.
āYou were probably told all about how smart you were growing up, right? How special you were? Big fish in a little pond. Then you get into medical school and suddenly youāre surrounded by hundreds of special people just like you. And somehow their talent makes yours feel a lot less real. The first time you actually have to struggle for something, you find yourself wondering if you were even smart in the first placeāif you coming here wasnāt one big accident.ā He pauses, half his mouth tilts upward into a knowing sort of smile. āThatās how it was for me, at least. I swear, every other day I get this feeling at the back of my neck like someone is just waiting for me to mess up so they can tell me to pack my bags.ā
He looks your way and scoffs. āWell, try not to act so surprised.āĀ
Itās then that you realize your eyes must be the size of dinner plates.
āYou hide it well.ā You say softly.
āDo I really? Eijiro says Iām like one of those chihuahuas that compensates for his size by acting like the biggest thing in the room.ā
āI mean, Iād call it a Napoleon complex, but I think something about the chihuahua fits better.ā
āEither way,ā he says, āyouāre in a rut now. Youāve had to struggle at school for the first time in your life and now you have to deal with all the insecurity it entails. Iām not gonna promise you that if you study my way youāre gonna pass. Iām also not gonna lie and tell you that once youāre through MSK, itāll all get better. It probably wonāt. Youāll keep struggling and feeling stupid, and everyone has their own way of dealing. Youāve gotta find your own reason for pushing through despite it all.ā He presses a finger into the left side of your chest as if to emphasize his point. āIf itās that you wanna graduate to be a badass physician, fine. You wanna do it to learn as much as you can, regardless of the grade? Great. Wanna do it just so those idiots back home have to look you in the eyes and call you ādoctor?āā He grins wide and moves his hand so it rests on your shoulder. āIād say thatās the best reason there is. But nobody in this field is gonna take the time to tell you how special you are and why you should push through. Youāve got to do it for yourself.ā
And thatās it. For some reason that stupid speech, given in an elevator that smells a little like weed soaked in gasoline is what sets you off. What lets loose the insecurities youāve been clinging to since first-year. You start blubbering like a baby and Bakugo, the six-foot-something grown man that he is, looks absolutely horrified at the fact. He squeezes your shoulder once, a caricature of comfort. Then he thinks better of it and pulls you into something vaguely resembling a hug. His back is rigid and his shoulders raised practically to his ears, but by god, heās trying if the hand patting at your back every couple seconds or so is any indication.Ā
Itās after a long moment of this (and another confused student peering into the elevator then making the wise decision to wait for the next) that you finally speak.
āItās just so much sometimes.ā You say, giving voice to the thoughts youāve held for so long. āYou have to be practically superhuman to balance everything we doāstudying, sleeping, eating, breathing.ā
āHow do you eat an elephant?ā Bakugo asks in the quiet that follows.
You pull back quickly to cast him a confused look, āWait, why are we eating elephants now?ā
āBecause thatās the way the saying goes, I donāt know.ā He gives you one more pat on the back. āAnyway, how do you eat an elephant?ā
āArenāt they endangeredā.ā
āOne bite at a time.āĀ
You stare at him. Bakugo stares back. Then he throws his head back and groans, long and loud. āGod, now it sounds a lot dumber to say out loud. Why do you have to ask stupid questions like that and ruin everything?ā
āThere are no stupid questions, Bakugo.ā
āYeah, well I disagree.ā
āAnd thatās why youāre going into general surgery.ā You punctuate the statement with a quick tap of your finger against his nose.
He swats away your hand and jerks back from you like heās been shot. āDid Eijiro tell you?ā
Despite your goopy eyes and still-snotty nose, you throw back your head and laugh. āDude, itās obvious.ā
āJust like itās obvious youāre doing internal medicine?ā He says it with a scowl, like itās supposed to be an insult. One you canāt take seriously given thatās like saying āwow, I canāt believe youāre only interested in being a rocket scientist.ā Which only leaves you laughing all that much more.
āHowād you figure?ā You ask, playing along.
āIgnoring the fact that you suck at basic anatomy?ā
āYeah? Well check out this metatarsal.ā You flip the bird.
Something in Bakugoās face changes then. Heās smiling, but itās nothing like Kirishimaās cheery grin. In a practiced move, he thrusts both middle fingers out towards you. He uses one to point at the lower part of the other, right where it joins with his palm. āMetacarpal,ā he points to the joint just above it, āand phalanges.ā The words are arrogance and acid swirled together. His stare is no better. āUnless youāve got feet attached to your wrists, that is.ā
You knew that. Shit, mega-shit, proving-his-point-shit. That was the easiest crap in the world and you knew that. But in your rush to be a smartass, youād made a dumbass of yourself. You rush towards the elevator door, poking hurriedly at the āopen the door nownownowā button. You donāt care if youāre between floors. You donāt care if thatās not how elevators work. You want to throw yourself into the elevator shaft abyss now, please and thank you.
āSo,ā Bakugo, that super-mega-awful human that he is drawls as he leans a shoulder against the wall opposite to you, āwhat we can finally agree on the fact that youāre missing so much of the fundamentals that itāll be useless to try and drill pathology into you.āĀ
You canāt even look at him. If you do, you will smack the ever-loving-shit out of that self-righteous mouth of his.Ā
āWeāve gotta start from the ground up. And that means I better see you in the dry lab,ā He leans in and, close enough that he must not fear the consequences of your rage, āstarting tomorrow.ā
The door opens. You sprint out onto the sixth floor of the library like some crazed animal, ignoring the looks of utter bewilderment from the other students on the floor.
Even so, you know. God, you know you have to show up.
~~~~~
And that brings you to your current predicament on Saturday, 9AM, in a near-abandoned campus classroom.
With Katsuki Bakugo in his signature back tee and gold chain blocking your only exit, a dismembered anatomical arm slung across his shoulder.
You can practically smell the danger in the situation, especially when he bares his teeth like some kind predator.
āWhat, were you expecting someone else? Kirishima has lacrosse, so heās not coming to save you anytime soon.ā His grin widens, cruel. āAre you ready to learn?ā
And just like that, you begin to regret every life decision youāve made up to this point. But hey, at least itāll be worth it to not fail MSK, right?
Hi! I noticed a fic posted by another user and i'm pretty sure it's a copy of your tamaki fic, balanced, posted 2022 on ao3. I could be wrong, but better safe than sorry!
Midoriya x Reader or Gen (depending on how you read it)
Summertime beach conversations, Midoriya has probably taken a philosophy class and Reader has a (trash) personality, read the tags if ya really wanna know
I wrote this after seeing the second BNHA movie a year ago and figured I might as well put it somewhere!
Words: ~3K ish
Warnings: swearing, property damage, fire, allusions to violence, the good people arenāt actually the good people
~~~
Itās hot as hell out, and worse even itās humidāāone of those days where you feel like youāre drowning on land. Even sitting beneath the shade of an umbrella, you feel a thick layer of sweat clinging to your arms, your upper lip, your forehead.Ā
The heat hasnāt seemed to stop any beachgoers from arriving in droves though. The fifth family of four to arrive in the past thirty minutes strolls by you, making a fuss of finding somewhere to sit in the already-overcrowded picnic area. An older man in a polo balances a stack of several overpriced burger combos on his food tray while two children tug at the legs of the womanās linen pants, chirping out mom, mommy, mommy, momās like a pair of seagulls. They just stand there taking up space for several minutes before their eyes fall on you and your single extra empty chair. You resist the urge to bang your face into the tabletop as they begin to walk your way.
āMomāĀ (you can only assume) lets out a fake cough and asks āis this seat taken?ā in a too-polite tone. She grabs the back of the chair in question, which absolutely rubs you the wrong way because itās almost like sheās already thinking about dragging the thing away, like asking is just a formality and sheāll be taking the chair regardless of what you have to say about it.
āActually, it is,ā you say with a reluctant, tight-lipped smile, āmy friend is getting me a drink. Sorry.ā Youāre not sorry. Thankfully though, nobody lingers long enough to coax that out of you; the small crowd of them bolt off to bother some other person as they rise from their table.Ā
You exhale and roll up the sleeves of your tee, forcing down all the blood thatās pulsing between your ears. You shouldnāt be this annoyed. Really, you shouldnāt. This family (and the four before them) had just been looking for somewhere to sit. Even though they all came asking the same questions with the same irritating expressions stretched across their faces, there was no reason to let yourself get all bothered. You should know better than to let little meaningless things get to you, but then again...you were also...well, you. Quick to snap. Stubborn. Downright hostile most of the time, and you couldnāt even pretend to be anything other than that. You werenāt sly or subtle, couldnāt try to appease people likeāā
As if on cue, Midoriya pops into your peripheral vision, the red, yellow, blue of his All Might backpack sticking out in the crowd. He finds you quick, scurrying over and placing two cans of pineapple soda on the table. When he drops his bag onto the ground, you can feel the heavy thud reverberate through the boardwalk.
āGot enough rocks in there, Izuku?ā You ask as Midoriya pulls out his chair. He laughs, cheeks pink, and pops open his soda.
āI think so.ā
āYou were gone so long, Iād be real disappointed if you didnāt have something to show for it.ā Midoriya sends an apologetic smile your way.
āThere were a couple things I had to take care of. A group of kids stepped on some glass while they were playing volleyball, so I had to take them to the visitors center to get fixed up. Then, while I was on my way back to tape off the area, an old lady asked for help carrying her cooler to her car, so that was another thing.ā He unfolds two fingers, like heās trying to keep track of where he is in the story. āThenā¦ā Midoriya recounts every minute detail of his excursion: the missing wallet by the pier, the lifeguard that needed to take a bathroom break, the tourists that hadnāt understood the definition of āsandbarā and got lost looking for some shoreside tiki bar.
āNo vacation for an up-and-coming hero, huh?ā You tease. āNot even with no teachers to give you busy work? Nabu island is pretty deserted for a vacation town. Iām surprised U.A. is taking the risk,ā you rest your forearms on the table and lean in close, āyou know, after Kamino.ā Midoriyaās eyes shoot up from his soda, locking onto yours.
āTheyāre being careful,ā he says, looking on-edge all of a sudden, āmaking us work in teams, calling in every night. I think they know they canāt afford to be at the center of another incident.ā
āAll Might isnāt around anymoreāāā
āHe is thoughāāā Midoriya interjects.
āBut heās retired, not a hero. The guy was an absolute badassāāquite frankly I think he was the only hero worth all the hypeāābut the fact is that if something goes wrong, nobody can count on him to swoop in and save them anymore. You know that. If anyone really cared about preventing another Kamino, the students would be back at school under the direct supervision of your teachers.ā You feel a heat (completely unrelated to the hot day) rushing back to your head and lean back in your chair, arms folded. āInstead, theyāre out here alone. The way I see it, the heroes are trying to pull a bluff: ācome at us, we arenāt scared.ā But if some villain takes advantage of that, what happens is that people get screwed. Students break, and once someone manages to tape them back together, the system labels it āa learning experience.ā Fucked up, is what it really is.ā
Midoriya is quiet for a while after that, eyes glued on you still, but saying nothing. You hadnāt meant to launch into a rantāāreally you hadnāt. But...but it just pissed you off beyond belief, and you werenāt good at holding your tongue. You couldnāt lie, and you wouldnāt, not to Midoriya. That wasnāt the way the two of you operated.Ā
Thereās a sudden pop, and you look down and realize youāve snapped the tab off your soda can. You hadnāt even noticed that youād been fiddling with it. Midoriya sighs, bringing you back to the present moment.
āThere are problems with heroes,ā he finally says, green eyes catching light as a soft smile tugs at his lips, āIām not naive enough to sit around twiddling my thumbs and hoping things will change by themselves.ā Midoriyaās expression changes with the end of his sentence. His gaze narrows, suddenly intenseāālike heās looking into you rather than at youāāand his soft smile becomes something sharper, more deliberate. You canāt find a word to describe it before Midoriya begins scooching his chair around the table, legs scraping against the boardwalk until heās next to you rather than in front of you. āI intend to be the change. Iām going to do whatever it takes to fix things. People deserve to have heroes they can actually trust running things.āĀ
Determined. That was the word for his expression, his assurances.
āAw, I always knew you were a closet revolutionary.ā You tease, donning an exaggerated look of admiration. āSoon youāll be out there with me and the others, dismantling the hero association right beneath everyonesā noses. But baby steps, I guess.ā Midoriya chuckles and leans over like heās going to drape his arm across your shoulder. You shimmy out of the way just before he does, casting an apologetic look his way.
āYou really donāt wanna do that: Iāve been sweating nonstop for the past few hours. Iām practically toxic right now.ā Midoriya purses his lips in a pathetically pouty display. So pathetic that you have to wipe the moisture from your palms just so you can give his cheek a playful pinch.
āCome on, stop making that face. You know I canāt resist that face.ā Midoriya yanks himself away, grinning wide and rubbing at his pink-tinged cheek.
āAm I the one thatās a ācloset revolutionary?āā He asks playfully, leaping back to the previous conversation. He uses his foot to drag his backpack closer. āIām out here working hard. Meanwhile I see the groupās name across headlines everywhere, but not a single one mentions you. No name, no pictureā¦ā
āThey donāt want me out āin the public eye.āā You say, rolling your eyes.
āDo they think youāre too valuable to risk losing?ā Midoriya asks, the seriousness returning to his voice. He grabs his bag, then drops it in your lap. It feels as heavy as it looksāāat least 20 pounds, easy.
āNo, they just donāt trust me,ā you sigh. āYou know Iām no good with people: too aggressive, too impatientā¦ā Your voice trails off as you reach into the main pocket. The All Might zipper flashes a cartoonish grin your way as you reach in and grab a rock, the smoothest you can find by just feeling around a little. It fits nicely in your palm, only just bigger than a tennis ball.
āNeither is Kacchan, but he made it into U.A.. Are you sureāāā
āBakugo is the reason nobody lets me do anything yet.ā You say, grinding your teeth together. There it was, your trademark temper flaring up again. āYouāve been away in the dorms ever since Kamino happened, so you only hear bits and pieces of everything. Even now, they sent me out here cause they knew youād be around to keep me in check. Shigaraki has had his fill of loose cannons; he doesnāt want to risk another ārecruitā causing issues, so he insists on sending me out with babysitters.ā
Midoriya makes a couple thoughtful noises, but doesnāt argue. He canāt because heās known Shigaraki for way longer than you have, which means that he knows youāre right. The League had taken a gamble trying to get Katsuki Bakugo on their side and itād nearly wiped them out; the only reason they had any semblance of a structure left was because All for One had connections in place. Abandoned properties they could hide out in, powerful allies that would turn a blind eye to a couple ravaged storehouses. Still, the bottom line was that the group was struggling. Accepting new recruits was a gamble, but with its reduced manpower and dwindling resources, it was one the League couldnāt afford to pass up. Still, desperation didnāt mean theyād let themselves make the same mistake twice.
āMy quirk is kinda like his, right? Like Bakugoās?āĀ You ask, absentmindedly rolling the rock against the back of your neck then up and down the length of your arms. āIāve always wondered if that meant weād get alongāāyou know, if we were on the same side.ā Midoriya grimaces.Ā
āI donāt know about that.ā
āWhy, is he an asshole?āĀ
Midoriya scratches his neck and looks off to the side. You press your lips together and nod knowingly.
āOh. Shouldāve figured as much from what everyone said. Itās just Dabi says everyone is an asshole so I figuredāāā Youāre interrupted when Midoriyaās phone chimes to life. Midoriya glances at it for a millisecond before shoving it back and turning to you.
āAveryās in position. Gotta move now.ā Midoriya mutters just loud enough so you can hear it. He dumps the contents of his backpack onto the boardwalk then loops the strap over one of his shoulders, standing quickly. A sour, burning taste creeps up the back of your throat.
āWait, wait, wait, Averyās here too?ā You ask, not even trying to hide your irritation. Midoriya never so much as mentioned Avery. You can only assume that was intentionalāāthere were no accidents with him. āI thought this was gonna be a hit-and-dash type thing. Shigaraki doesnāt send Avery anywhere unless he thinks shit might get serious.āĀ
Thereās no hint of humor left in Midoriyaās eyes when they find you again. This was the same guy youād been joking with just minutes ago, the same one that had been laughing like he didnāt have a care in the world. Itās scary how easy it is to forget how he is, how he can just flip at a momentās notice.
āJust follow the plan.ā Midoriya says. āAveryās only here to make sure nobody remembers your face. Nabu island is small; there arenāt a lot of places to hide out once the heroes make an appearance.ā
āI donāt like not knowing things, Izuku.ā You keep your voice flat when you say it, but itās still an understatement of huge proportions. Youāre livid. This is a small omission to be so angry over, but small omissions were a testament to the exact thing youād been ranting to Midoriya about. The bottom line was that the League didnāt trust you. Midoriya was apparently included in that number. Heād listened and pretended to know nothing, but really he knew everything. That was the way he was, and it had been stupid of you not to forget that. āBesides, werenāt you the one pointing out how I never showed up in any headlines? Wouldnāt this be a great opportunity to show off the shiny new recruit?āĀ
You finish and Midoriya stares, expression hard. Then, he takes a step forward. Some deep, primal part of you wants to back away when he does, but against all instincts you stand your ground. When he finally speaks, itās a question.
āDo you know why All Might is retired now?ā You sit there, silently with your rock in hand as Midoriya hovers over you. It doesnāt feel like he actually wants you to answer. Youāre proven right when he continues. āAll Might is retired because he was great. Civilians knew to trust him with their lives and criminals knew that they were in trouble if he showed up. I donāt think thereās a single person in Japan that doesnāt know his name.ā Midoriya pauses. āThat made him a target. Every person that ever got in trouble with the system had a symbol they could blame, someone they could rise up against, oppose; you didnāt see that happening with heroes like Endeavor and Edgeshot. They didnāt have people going after them day in and day out, and thatās why theyāre still around. People are always stronger when they have a common enemy.
āThe League has many faces,ā Midoriya continues, āwhich means that proponents of ājusticeā have their resources split trying to take down nearly a hundred different people. Shigaraki is the one they really want, of course, but heās harder to find when heās surrounded by so many others. But then there are people like you, me, and Averyāāthe ones that nobody knows they have to worry about yet. We have the freedom to do real damage, to dismantle things from right under everyoneās noses.āĀ
And in that very second, something clicks.Ā
āYou. Youāre the one that wants to keep me under wraps.ā The words feel like someone else is saying them. You exhale once, shakily. āYou convinced Shigaraki to hold off on sending me out until you could guarantee Iād have anonymity on my side.ā The idea of it is ridiculous. Midoriya is so young, still a student. Even though heād managed to snatch an advantageous position amongst the heroes, the notion of him getting Shigaraki on board with any of his ideas concerning the League would beāā
Midoriya smiles, an answer. The gesture doesnāt carry to his eyes.Ā
āI look up to All Might, really I do. But Iāll be the first to admit he wasnāt perfect. He made mistakes I donāt intend to repeat. If everyone thinks Shigaraki and the others are the only ones they have to worry about, that only makes things easier for the rest of us. I donāt like giving up an advantage when I have it.ā Midoriya places a hand on your shoulder, squeezing. āGet it?ā You swallow thickly.
āGot it.ā His grip on you is firmāānot enough to hurt, but enough to get the point across: despite his age, Midoriya is dangerous. He has power and apparently influence. Just how much, you can only wonder.
āThen get to work. Avery will meet you by the market once someone calls for the heroes, then while you guys are heading out the others will start causing trouble here.āĀ Midoriyaās head snaps upward suddenly. His grin goes toothy, innocent and worlds away from the sinister one heād been sporting throughout the conversation. He pats your shoulder once before holding his hand up, acknowledging someone behind you. You turn and see a lanky guy you donāt recognize waving back at him from the edge of the water. āI guess I should go find Uraraka and Iida before they get nervous. Iāve got a reputation, but itāll get weird if Iām always around the trouble when it happens.ā
āCanāt push your luck, I guess.ā You say, your throat dry. āNo unnecessary risks.ā
āYouāre finally starting to get it.ā He starts walking towards the strangerāāwell, probably not a stranger to him, but still. When he passes, he adds a final, āmove at 1:35 PMā before rushing off and becoming Izuku Midoriya, U.A. student again. Not Izuku Midoriya, underworld informant, instigator of the rebellion on the horizon.Ā
Thereās a power in being able to choose a face, you muse, looking down at the rock in your hand. Midoriya knew what he wanted. He was willing to do anything, play any part as long as it meant he ended up on the winning side. You canāt decide if itās terrifying or...or impressive. Hell, you could hardly get through a conversation without finding something to make yourself upset over. And once that happened? Forget about acting rational. Of course, it was important that Midoriya stayed on your side; he was a dangerous person to have as an enemy.
You groan, sick of thinking about it already. The minutes roll by, and after what feels like an eternity of waiting, itās time to act. You stand and not a single person walks up to you asking if they can have your table. They probably donāt even see youāāAveryās work, no doubt. Like it or not, Midoriya had a point: you could work easier when you didnāt have to worry about drawing attention to yourself. Uhg. Youād probably have to admit that to him laterāātry to stay on his good side. Heās bound to get all āof course Iām rightā with you then...whatever. Not the time.Ā
You give the rock a final toss, catching it in the opposite hand. The thing is beyond sticky now, coated in a thick layer of sweat. Gross, but exactly what you need. It pulses in your hand, warm to hot to scorching. When you finally lob it through the window of the nearest food truck itās practically molten, barreling through the back wall of the vehicle like a cannonball. Not exactly what youād intended. It doesnāt explode until it hits a grassy patch just shy of the parking lot, sweat igniting into angry red flames that dart out in every direction. There are a couple screams, but itās mostly confusion for the first few seconds. Then a fiery chunk of rock lands on the straw roof of a cabana, sending the whole thing up in a cloud of smoke. The real panic starts after that.Ā
Once again, not exactly what youād intended. It works, but there just isnāt enough...umf to it for your tastes. You let out a thin stream of air over your teeth, leaning over to grab another rock from your pile. Some teen bolts past you, knocking you hard in the shoulder as he goes, but you donāt so much as cast a dirty look his way. Youāre too busy winding up your next throw. You have to be better. A little bit of chaos isnāt enough: the heroes wonāt show unless thereās absolute pandemonium engulfing the beach.Ā
Fortunately for you, itās hot as hell. Youāve got loads of sweat to spare.
Not me coming back after months with a blurb from a fic thatās completely off-base for every other fandom Iām into.
They call her Fortuna on the furthest edge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Lady Luck. They call her Justice. Judgement. A Golden Girl.
Still, others call her Abomination. Destroyer of Worlds. Galaxy Eaterāa name that sings to her across time and space, a memory or, perhaps, an echo of a moment not yet come to pass; a ripple in the very fabric of the universe.
idk if this is considered a tag game, but Iām tagging people anyway: @southsidewrites, @whats-her-quirk, @ketslketslketsl, @pleasantanathema, @phasmwrites, @titan-fodder
hereās just a random blurb from the next big project.
Itās a set like any other, ending with Dreams and earning a sparse and scattered applause after Porco thanks the crowd the same way he always does.
āAlright, thanks for listening. Please buy us shots,ā with his mouth up against his microphone so that heās barely understandable.
You take both guitars to stash in the staff lounge until closing, and Porco grabs the shoebox the two of you use to collect tips, an extra piece of cardboard taped to one side and scribbled on with Sharpie.
Help our personal fight against starvation. (We are in college and tired of ramen.)
whoever can guess what this is from gets a cookie.
The entry ends there, but your memory doesnāt. Visions filled with an ash-colored wolf playing with you in the forest cloud your mind. Then you see the chase, and you remember feeling helpless, thenā¦full? All the recalled sensations are so animal that theyāre like sand slipping between your fingers - you canāt fully grasp what they are or what they mean. Youāre unsure if you even want to.
āYou were gonna say alpha, right?ā Katsuki prompts, sending chills up your spine.
@bnhascribbles @lookslikeleese @chiwhorei @inthorantine (I couldnāt tag your anime blog) @lady-lunaaa
Thank ya Meeps! Six sentences is the perfect length, as it turns out š¤£
Life happens in funny ways. You think you know yourself, how youāll react in a give situation. Then one day, a man strolls into the room with an entire extra arm (one youāre fairly sure he didnāt grow himself) slung across his shoulders, and you start to think that maybe, just maybe, you donāt know anything about anything.
But youāre getting ahead of yourself. Itās best to start from the beginningā¦
Heās wearing plain black tee, unwrinkled and too-tight around the arms.
Heāll never admit it, but Shouto is still waiting for his timer to tick down to zero, anticipating the explosion thatāll leave everything in pieces. In his experience, thatās the way things are supposed to go. Entropy, or something like that. The universe revels in chaosādisorderāand where there is none, itāll make some. Calm is temporary. A rest stop on the way to another disaster.
Maybe thatās why Shouto insists on installing that deadbolt on the front door. For splurging on a home security system even though heād never so much touched one before last week (āheroes canāt be on-guard 24/7ā, the salesman had said, to which Shouto had fought the urge to show him a copy of his schedule at the agency). Maybe heās trying to ward off the inevitable catastrophe with automatic lights and a garage door that shuts on its own after five minutes. He doesnāt know. Really he doesnāt.
Shouto nudges a cardboard box out from the entryway with the heel of his foot. He trudges his way through the hall, taking note of the empty walls and stacks of things that still needed to be unpacked. Thereās still so much to do. He sighs and picks a ball of dust from his sock.
He finds you in the dining roomāor what will become the dining room once you get a table and chairs. Right now the only adornment in there is an old imperial rug that the owners had been too lazy to take with them when theyād moved. Shouto had expected you to complain about the extra work thatād need to be done packing it up and pawning it off. Heād been surprised when you ignored the issue altogether. But finding you curled atop gold and crimson, lost in sleep with your mouth hanging wide open and your knees tucked carefully into your chest, he supposes the new addition makes some sort of sense. It fits with the image heās been conjuring up over the past few weeks. The image of a homeāone he makes with you.
Maybe Shouto is paranoid. Maybe his childhood made him that way, maybe itād messed him up in ways that no amount of therapy could ever fix. Maybe heās learned to seek out bits of bad hidden with the good, even when ābadā is just specks of dust along the floor of a new house. Even when the worries and nightmares are no longer about his past, but his futureāthe ways it could crumble to pieces before his eyes, all the ways he, Shouto Todoroki, could contribute his own destruction.Ā
Maybe the universe is just unfair. A whirlwind of chaos and disorder seeking a victim just because. Then again, maybe it isnāt. Maybe the fact that the two of you are here, together, is proof of that much.Ā
Shouto lays beside you on that ancient, unwashed, dust-soaked, floor of yourāno, hisānew home, and the nonexistent timer to disaster drifts from his mind.
Heyo! Donāt know if your requests are open but if they are could you write a fluff Tsuyu x Reader? Or maybe a Momo x Reader?
Even if youāre not going to do it could you still answer? My asks always get lost and I never know if I sent them or not-
Hey! So I havenāt actually posted anything in a while, and while Iāll definitely try to write for a whole bunch of different characters, Iām not actually taking requests rn (see the previous two āmy life is a disasterā responses lol). If and when I post again, Iāll def try to give some of the girls some love though!
Oh my gosh don't even worry!!!! I don't mind you not responding for a while haha. I'm sure you have lots going on with school-- I know I do! Assessments are kicking my ASS but it's fine š„²š„² I'm sure you'll find a balance eventually! It's tough to have a life outside school, much less have time to work/do homework/clean/write/go outside LOL. Do what's best for you, we'll wait! š§āāļøanon
Well, thank you months after you sent this lol! This past month has been absolutely INSANE. Like? You think youāve had the craziest month of your life until the ACTUAL craziest pops up 𤣠anyway, I appreciate your understanding! The work/life balance is not too good rn, but I promise Iām trying! Writing a bit, but itās mostly like 100 word blurbs that lead to nothing. Hopefully summer will be easier. Iām getting real summer-hopeful vibes. Missing the beach and the ocean and hoping I can see it soon!
Reposting your master list feels like a sign that I need to go back and reread everything all over again!! I will forever champion mermaid monoma I would die for him š«š« obviously your other works are phenomenal too -- cold is ššš very good and also tearing my heart to PIECES aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA sending you good vibes as usual! -š§āāļøanon
Oh goodness Iām terrible. I saw this and immediately KNEW Iād forget to respond. Sorry bout that š„²
And as usual, youāre too sweet! Sorry I didnāt have more for ya, Iām trying to maneuver school and hobbies at the same time...which is actually a lot harder than I thought 𤣠but we out here trying! Iāve been reading a LOT more books recently too, so itās trying to balance that with everything else! I hope everything is going alright for you too friend!
Angst, Manga spoilers (290-ish), Iām emotional and this is just practice :ā)
Itās partially your fault. This cold creeping between the two of you is a man-made thing, like concrete stairwells in agency buildings, electric blue popsicles shared in the summer sun. You could blame plain bad luck too, butābut no. Thatās the way youāll start getting sucked up in the unfairness of everything. Better to shoulder the blame yourself. Shitty parents stayed shitty, but you could control yourself, what youād done. And you hadnāt done enough.
Neither had he.
You shouldāve visited more often, noticed the cracks as theyād started to form. He shouldāve told you when things all started getting so bad. But then, youād been kids. Skinned knees and soggy socks, saving quarters for comic books and staying up too late watching movies long after you were supposed to be asleep. Those were the things kids were supposed to be worrying about.
But it was also Touyaās way to reach, to push limits. Always. If youād told him not to jump off the edge of the earth, heād have done it just to prove he could. Ambitionāthatās another thing you could blame him for. He never knew how to just give up.
The man before you crawls to his feet. Blood trails down the spaces between his fingers, plopping to the ashy ground with a heavy plunk. A separate rivulet creeps out the edge of his mouth. It gets caught in the slit of his grin, a trench created when one of the staples holding it together was half-yanked free. It just hangs there now, dull and swaying, as though on a whim.
āWould you look at that!ā He laughs, teeth bared and head tilted backwards. āHere I was thinking youād be like those other goody-goody heroes, trying to talk! But you just jump right to itāI didnāt even get to finish the speech I worked so hard on!ā
You dive for the crumbled remains of a supermarket just as he extends his arms, a cloud of blue flames blooming out of his palms. The heat of it is dizzying and every inhale threatens to sear your lungs from the inside out. Your back burns through the material of your costume, but you donāt dare move, not until the smoke dies down at the edges of your vision.
You rise and turn back to face the man. His heat makes the very air around him waver.
āSince you heroes are so keen on the idea of saving people, Iāll give yaā a little piece of advice. A gift from me to you!ā The flames still lap at his ankles, bright and blinding. Still, it isnāt his words nor the fire that holds your attention. It isnāt the way he cocks his head to the side when he speaks, like he had when heād announced the way heād surpass his father in every way, be a better hero, save more people than Endeavor ever had. It isnāt the crazed look in those vaguely-familiar blue eyes of hisāblue like the ocean during school breaks, like melting popsicles.
Itās the thought that despite the similaritiesāthe things you recognizeāyou canāt accept any of it.
āDonāt try.ā The man says, arms rising above his head, above the matted mix of white and black hair there. Thereās a crackle popāthe sound of his own skin beginning to smolder. āJust sit there and die.ā
Touya shouldnāt have died. When he had, heād left a burning coldness behind. An absence filled with memories of the boyāthe friendāthatād burned alive at Sekoto Peak.
A mountain of blue rises from the earth behind the man. You donāt linger for long enough to watch him thrust his hands forward, to send wave after wave of the inferno hurtling towards you. You run away.
āCome on!ā He shouts after you, voice cracking, deranged. āCanāt even do that? You heroes really arenāt good for anything, huh?!ā
Touya Todoroki is dead. In his place is a Dabi-shaped void.
Itās come to my attention that there are a lot of people reposting BNHA fics to other sites. Regardless of whether or not you credit the author or artist whose work you are using, this is theft if you have not obtained express permission from the creator to post beforehand. Obtaining permission to repost a fic is not the same as obtaining permission to monetize any sort of media using art/fiction that is not your own.Ā Even if you credit the author/artist, it is theft if you have not obtained permission to repost another personās work.Ā
This includes, but is not limited to
Posting fics to other sites (wattpad, twitter, AO3, etc.)
Posting fanart to other sites (instagram, twitter, a personal tumblr, etc.)
Using fanart to accompany in your own fanfiction/videos/website
Posting an ASMR reading of a fic that is not your own (youtube or any other streaming service)
In light of recent events, Iāve decided to make a list of sites where you can find my work. The individuals listed below are the onlyĀ ones that I have given permission to repost my work in anyĀ format. Any other individuals/organizations/sites hosting my work have stolen it. If you see this happening, I ask that you please message me and let me know immediately.
Me (where I post my ownĀ fics):
Tumblr
bnhascribbles-https://bnhascribbles.tumblr.com/
This is my main posting place. You will be able to find all of my work here.
Most of my fics will be posted here within one week of being posted to tumblr. This includes personal works and collaborations.
Others (individuals Iāve specifically given permission to use my work as of 01/15/2021)
Youtube
May Day
Permission has been given for May Day to host audio readings of the following seven (7) works of mine: āNerves,ā āDistraction,ā āGod-Awful Sweaters,ā āTired,ā āAdvice,ā āGenuine,ā and āStayā
Once again, I ask that if you find any of my works on any site/platform not listed above, you please let me know immediately. Stay cool guys.
Hi!!! I hope you're doing well and school isn't kicking your butt too badly šš I got into the uni I wanted and I'm so excited! š§āāļømonoma anon
AYYYYY THATS AWESOME FRIEND! Mad proud!!!! You worked hard and deserve it, so celebrate som š
Wishing you the best with school!!! I just finished moving to a new country to start university (assuming I even get in LMAOO) and it rlly does just suck up all your energy sometimes. We're all happy to wait āŗļø (merman monoma anon heehee)
Hello! Welcome back ā¤ļø and wow! Change of any kind is scary, but the fact that youāre in a whole new country? That takes a whole lot of bravery! I wish you all the best in this transition! Thank you for your well wishes!