Heartbeat (Todoroki X Bakugo X Reader X Midoriya)

Chapter 49

Even though I listened quietly to Aizawa and didn't complain any further about the new training regiment, I still felt like I was an outsider. Just like those times in elementary and middle school where I was severely bullied for not having a Quirk, and although my whole class now in U.A. are all practically my friends I still carry those heavy feelings inside of me.

A small knock sounded behind my door, and I wondered who could have been up this late. It was way past midnight, and I was sure everyone was already sleeping from their long and tiring day from training.

They were working so hard even Bakugo, who is always full of explosive energy, collapsed in my arms one night when he came to pay me a visit since we barely get to see each other nowadays. A similar situation occurred with Todoroki when I found him sleeping with his back against the wall right in front of my room, which I had to wake him up. He then explained that he also wanted to see me.

I cracked the door open and peered outside to find Deku nervously standing there, his feet shifting nervously. "Deku? What are you doing up so late? Do you need anything?"

His big green eyes wandered around, trying to look at anything other than my face as his usual blush crept on his cheeks. "We-well actually I came to check up on you. The past few days you seemed really down, and I figured I'd stop by."

I let him inside, then closed the door behind me. "Well I'm fine, I really am. But thanks for your concern anyway." I said bluntly, giving him a somewhat reassuring smile.

Deku's lips formed into a frown. "That much is obvious, but I know that you really, really wanted to train with the rest of us. I understand where you're coming from, and so I wanted to talk to you. Oh, here," he pulled a folded paper from his back pocket and handed it to me which I scanned over.

"Wait, Deku isn't this-?" He nodded eagerly, his smile widening when he saw my surprised expression.

"Yes, it's our training regiment! I know it doesn't look identical to the ones that we have but that's because I modified this one. The one that we had was only compatible if you had a Quirk." A smile stretched on my face, but then faltered as I realized these exercises would require a partner; doing it myself would be nearly impossible.

"Hmm. Deku would you help me train? Ah, on second thought you're probably busy with your own training and I wouldn't want to-"

He cut me off with an excited yell. "No! I mean, yes! I mean, I'd love to help you!" I giggled at his response which he blushed at and hid his face in his hands.

"So... (Y/N)." I tilted my head to the side, wondering what else he had to say to me. "I... I just wanted to tell you that... Umm," he continued to pause and stumble over his words, which started to confuse me. "Ah, I'm sorry. I can't collect my thoughts properly now. What's wrong with me? Well, I-I'll see you in the morning!" He had his eyes on me and only tore them away from me when he smacked into the door, mistaking it for being opened.

I chuckled at his adorableness when he started muttering apologies and rubbed his head in comfort, trying to excuse himself as he left my room.

***

The sound of a muffled knock forced me out of my deep slumber, and I grumbled as I slid out of bed and opened the door, once again being greeted by my green-haired friend. "Deku? Why are you here? It's, uh, 5:00 in the morning..." I rubbed my eyes tiredly, as he stuttered out his next words. He seemed so energetic it was blinding.

"I-I said I'd see you in-in the morning, remember?" I waited for my brain to function before slamming the door in Deku's face, immediately remembering and throwing on my training clothes. I splashed water on my face to wake myself up, then slipped into my shoes.

"I'm ready! Deku...?" I looked at my friend with concern as his eyes looked like they would burst from tears soon. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He rubbed his eyes quickly before shaking his head. "I-I'm sorry, (Y-Y/N). When you slammed the door I thought you hated me for-for waking you up and... I'm sorry! But, n-no need to worry! I'm okay..." I blinked several times, almost laughing at his misunderstanding.

"Ah, I guess it's partly my fault too. Anyways, why are we up so early?" I slung an arm around Deku and began walking to the training arena.

"W-we-well since our training starts at 7 AM and ends at 12 PM I figured early in the morning would be the best time to train. Oh wait, you didn't know that we'd be training alone?" I shook my head. "Sorry for not letting you know. An-anyways, we're here. Did you bring the sheet?" I nodded. "Good."

From there, it was absolute hell. Deku helped me perform battle moves that were nearly impossible without a Quirk, but he helped me improvise and reform the moves to fit my abilities. Even so, each move required all of my muscles to tense up and work to their fullest, and after performing just 5 moves my body felt like it was in flames, and I quickly became sore. We only had 2 hours to train, but even that was more than enough for me, as those 2 hours felt like an eternity.

Deku hesitated before pausing our training session to let me breathe and relax just 10 minutes before our time was up, and I was beyond relieved. He passed me a bottle of ice-cold water which I snatched from him and quickly gulped down, then collapsed on the floor and draped an arm over my eyes, my chest heaving up and down.

"Hey, Deku?" He made a questioning squeak. "Thank you. You're helping me and risking a lot for me. Thanks. I really mean it. I wouldn't be able to improve myself without you, and now I can become stronger."

When a few minutes passed and I didn't hear a word, I moved my arm and averted my eyes to the side to see him burying his red face in his hands, his mouth moving but no sounds came out.

"Deku? You okay?"

"Aah! Sorry, (Y-Y/N). I'm so embarrassed and-and-oh! Look at the time, you better go!" He scooted away and had his back towards me, still hiding his face. I let out a breathy laugh before getting to my feet with a wince and limping out the training room, the image of an ice-cold bath lingering in my mind.