I'll Save You (Katsuki Bakugou x reader)

Chapter 5: Respect

"Are you starting to understand it a bit more?" Todoroki asked, packing up his bag.

"Yeah! I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this." You responded.

"Good. We can continue tomorrow."

Your phone alarm buzzed in your pocket. "Oh shit!" You checked the time "Sorry, but I'm running late. I'll see you later Todoroki!"

"Wait, (Y/n)!" You turned around. "I've been meaning to ask you... can I-I mean would you like to, maybe, train for the sports festival with me?"

He stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Even though you had plans, you felt bad for him. Todoroki was your friend, and the last thing you wanted was to let him down. "Sorry, Todoroki. Bakugou and I already agreed to train together. You're welcome to join us, but I know you guys don't always get along."

Todoroki's skin prickled at the mention of Bakugou's name. "Oh. I never imagined him to be a team player."

"I didn't think so either, but he's not as bad as people think." You gave a small laugh. "Why don't you tag along for today? It might not be as bad as you expect."

Todoroki doubted this, but the thought of you and Bakugou working together didn't sit right with him. And so he followed you to the gym, where the angry blonde was waiting. You were greeted with music blasting at you from a speaker. "BAKUGOU!" You yelled over the noise. "WE'RE HERE!"

"Extra, you're late! Thought I told you not to-" He stopped short when he saw Todoroki standing beside you. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ICY-HOT BASTARD DOING HERE?!"

So much for things going smoothly. "Todoroki asked if he could train with us, and I didn't see a reason why not."

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BEFORE I BEAT YOU TO A PULP!"

"This is a public gym." Todoroki snapped, "I have as much right to be here as you."

The tension coming from the two boys was palpable. You stepped in before the situation could escalate any further. "Whoa, calm down! Bakugou, it's fine if Todoroki trains with us. Stop acting like a child."

Todoroki's presence bothered Bakugou in a way he didn't understand. He had finally made progress in getting to battle you, and now this bastard wanted to steal it from him! Icyhot didn't deserve to fight you, and he certainly didn't deserve to work with you. Bakugou was about to go up and send Todoroki back where he came from, when you placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I know you don't like him, but I feel like it's a good opportunity to improve our quirk training. Besides," You spoke a little lower "It'll give you a chance to kick his ass."

That thought did bring Bakugou some joy. Shrugging your hand off, he sighed. "Fine. But if you're gonna be here, you better be ready to work!"

Todoroki gave a solemn nod and took off his school jacket. You breathed a small sigh of relief and started stretching. It felt good to loosen up after the week you'd had. The muscles in your body slowly started to relax, and you reminded yourself to do this more often. Bakugou was punching a training dummy so aggressively, anyone walking in would've thought it tried to kill his family. How can one person have so much rage inside them? You wondered.

Todoroki watched you out of the corner of his eye. He'd never realized how strong you were before. To be fair, he'd never noticed you before this year. He'd been so isolated dealing with this family, paying attention to others had never been a priority. You hadn't appeared on his radar as competition, but clearly you'd been improving your skills. The two of you locked eyes for a minute and he looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring.