Kiss of Life | K. Bakugo

Chapter Seven

"Yeah... he is," I sighed. "Sorry you had to witness that."

"It's fine," Bakugo replied, his usual attitude having been replaced by something softer. "You're heading home now, right?"

"I am. My apartment's just a few blocks that way," I gestured toward the end of the alley that connected back onto the main street.

"Let me walk you," he offered, "this isn't my kind of place anyway."

"No, no. It's okay, I'll be fine."

"Shut up," he groaned in a very Bakugo manner, "I'm trying to be nice."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his efforts, the way his last comment was eked out through gritted teeth like being nice was against the very core of his being.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked as we started toward my apartment.

He shrugged, looking up toward the sky and thinking for a moment. "I heard about the mission today. And that back there," he said, looking back toward me and gesturing toward the alleyway we just left, "was hard to watch."

I nodded my thanks and we continued on for a while in comfortable silence.

"It's probably just Endeavor trying to make that IcyHot bastard look good in front of the media, you know," Bakugo said, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" I didn't understand what he was talking about.

"The reason why he doesn't want you to use your quirk on anyone else," Bakugo explained. "It's because he wants his son to be number one once he retires. Endeavor's afraid he can't keep up with me, and he's right."

I laughed again at his tenacity. Somehow Bakugo, of all people, was helping to lift my spirits. But once I thought more about his words, the smile left my face.

"You think so?" I asked. "What should I do to get him to let me off the leash?"

"I don't know, but he's not great with confrontation. You could try calling him out on his bullshit, straight up. If it were me I'd kill the guy," Bakugo threatened, little sparks emanating from his hands. I couldn't help myself but laugh again at his antics.

"Something funny, extra?" Bakugo shouted.

"Yeah... you are," I laughed, gently pushing his shoulder. "Thanks for the advice."

He feigned like my push was more effective than it was, hand coming up to his shoulder to comfort his fake injury. The corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk, and I couldn't help but notice a sharp little canine poking out of his grin. Cute...

We had reached my doorstep, and I grabbed my keys out of my purse to unlock the door.

"Hey wait," he said, reaching for my wrist. I turned toward him, studying his face. He looked like he had something to say, something he'd been mulling over the whole time we'd been walking to my apartment.

Oh, here we go, I thought. Another person telling me that if I ever need help, to just reach out. I was so tired of these speeches. I knew it was the nice thing to do, and everyone just wanted to protect me, but it was really getting old.

"You don't need him... or Aizawa, or any of those idiots," he blurted out. My breath caught in my throat from surprise. "If Endeavor knows what's good for him, he'll listen to what you have to say. And if not, there's plenty of other agencies out there looking for healers."

"Bakugo, I-"

"Just listen..." Bakugo insisted, wanting to get his point across while he still had the nerve. "When I was a kid, I underestimated people who didn't have strong quirks like mine. I hurt a lot of people, and I learned my lesson over and over again. Just because you're not a hero, doesn't mean you can't be powerful."