Battle of Wills ~ (bakugou x reader)

Chapter Two

You sat your tray of food down on the lunch table with a small clatter. The dull sound of conversation filling U.A.'s large cafeteria never failed to give you a headache, but the laughter of your friends was incentive enough not to make a run for the large doors leading outside.

"(Y/N), hey!" exclaimed Sakura, one of your closest friends, distractedly patting the spot next to her before turning her head back to rejoin the table's conversation.

"Hey," you mumbled back with a small smile.

When you had first started at U.A., you were gloomy and quiet, determined not to interact with anyone. However, the bright and peppy brunette had swiveled around in her seat to face you the second you had found your seat in class, excitedly introducing herself. It would be rude to push away such a pure person out of a sense of rebellion.

You slid onto the bench beside her, joining your other friends that seemed deeply engrossed in conversation, their hands waving passionately as they talked. Kyoka, a slender laid-back girl from the Hero Studies course, watched quietly, adding small snippets to the conversation occasionally, as the blonde Aika fervently spoke.

"I know she's not as physically strong, but I want to see her win!" Aika loudly declared to the table, slightly leaning over her food tray to get closer to her friends' faces as she talked. "She's my role model! I want to see her break up the stupid boys' club!"

You leaned over to whisper in Sakura's ear. "Who are we talking about?" you asked.

Aika swiveled her head around mid-sentence as she saw you sit down. "Oh, (Y/N)!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Who do you think will win the sports festival next week? I'm rooting for Momo; I want to see a girl win for once! Plus, she can literally make anything on the fly! Whaddaya think?"

Aika was, in many ways, quite similar to Sakura. She was never lacking in energy and passion. But where Sakura channeled her fervor towards making friends and maintaining an optimistic attitude, Aika used hers for drawn-out debates and creative ideas. She could become passionate about nearly any topic, and never failed to craft a detailed platform for her perspective, even when there was no counterargument. Aika was the second friend you made at U.A. after you were grouped together for a class project. You admired her enthusiasm and creativity, and--for the first few months of school--you might've had the tiniest of crushes on her.

"The Sports Festival?" you questioned. "I thought they were cancelling that after the villain attack."

Aika shook her head. "Nope!" she quipped, popping the p. "Kyoka just told me the administration decided to continue as planned. I'm so excited!" Next to Aika, Kyoka wordlessly nodded her head in affirmation.

"Then," you thought about Aika's original question for a moment. "I'm not sure who will win. I don't know much about anyone in the Hero Course, and I've never really paid much regard to the Sports Festival."

"Hmm..." Aika frowned, disappointed. It seemed like she had wanted you to pick someone so she could have the opportunity to further explain her choice.

But what you said was the truth. Your foster parents had never been avid watchers of the U.A. Sports Festival--or any TV programming for that matter. Plus, even now, you weren't as curious as most members of U.A.'s General Studies course to see the outcome of the event. You were forced to attend this school, unlike many other students that arrived with big aspirations to become the next number one hero. Of course, there were others in your rehabilitation program, but you weren't allowed to know each others' identities or even how many of you there were.

By this time, you had guessed that neither Sakura nor Aika were in the rehabilitation course. Neither of the two had especially strong quirks. Sakura was able to emit light from her eyes, allowing her to see in the dark, while Aika was weightless, able to float a few feet off the ground. In order to stay tethered to the floor, she wore heavy platform boots that she decorated with stickers of hearts and her favorite female heroes. They also both idolized the heroes of the city--an attribute that wouldn't likely be found in many of the rehabilitation members. Of course, Kyoka wasn't even in the running since she was part of the Hero Course.

"Well, you already know who I think will win," Sakura said with a dreamy smile on her face. "He got first place in the Entrance Exam and consistently scores at the top of his class in academics too! How attractive..."

"Bakugou?!" Aika exclaimed. "Where's your sense of female solidarity, Sakura?"

Like you, Aika was a raging feminist. Before coming to U.A., she lived alone with her mom. Whenever she brought up her mother, admiration would shine in her eyes--she respected her strength. But where Aika just wanted to see women respected and treated on a level equal to men, you hated all of the male gender. Seeing how men like your father manipulated women, how men like your foster dad abused them in spouts of anger, and how male heroes manhandled civilians and abused their position of power made you angry. It felt like most men in this world treated women as the supporting characters to their own story. You would never be someone's trophy or side character. You wanted to be strong enough without anyone else, especially a man.

"Aw, give her a break, Aika," Kyoka chipped in, rolling her eyes. "She just has a crush. Her liking Bakugou won't set the female population back 100 years."

Sakura's mouth turned down comically. "It's not just a crush. When him and I are madly in love someday, you'll be eating your words." Even Sakura knew what she was saying was unrealistic, as a smile threatened to break through her forced frown. You chuckled.

"How about you, (Y/N)?" Aika demanded, refusing to let go of her debate. "Momo or Bakugou?"

"Um..." you mumbled, trying to remember who the two even were. You guessed most students in General Studies kept detailed tabs on the members of the Hero Studies course as they aspired to test into the department someday, but you were too often caught up in your own thinking.

You at least recognized Bakugou's name, not only as Sakura's long-time crush or as one of the most popular figures at U.A. You remembered a boy with sharp features and smoking hands yelling outside the Academy as you tried to quietly sneak in your first day. You could remember some bystanders shouting his name, trying to calm him down. He would be very handsome if you could get past the anger issues and his sheer propensity for destruction. Some found it attractive. To you, it reminded you why you disliked men in the first place.

"I'll root for Momo," you decided, tapping your fingers on the corner of the table. "It would be nice to see a girl win."

That was somewhat of a lie. Of course, you would like to see men--especially men that feel entitled having been given strong quirks and acceptance into the most elite hero program in the nation--having to take a girl seriously. But, in all honesty, you didn't really care to pay attention to the outcome of the Sports Festival. It had no impact on your life, so why should you?

"Ah, (Y/N), I knew you'd see the light," Aika said jokingly, putting her arm around you and sticking out her tongue at Sakura.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura giggled as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.