Battle of Wills ~ (bakugou x reader)

Chapter Four

The environment in class 1-A's room was heavy with anticipation and adrenaline as the day of the Sports Festival drew nearer. Just the day before, the General Studies course had openly declared war on the class that had recently been pushed into the media spotlight due to their victory over the villain invasion at U.A. Every student wanted to win for their own reasons.

"Stupid B-listers think they can beat me?!" a blond boy shouted from his seat, his face drawn into a scowl. "I bet none of them have won a fight a day in their damn life!"

The rest of the class continued their tense conversations among themselves. While Bakugou's intense energy was always frightening, most of his classmates had learned to disregard it by now. His yelling was a near-daily occurrence.

In the back of the room, Todoroki sat in thought. He had seen you playing with the mouse before he startled you. You could obviously influence movements and coordinate them in intricate patterns. Furthermore, one wrong movement, and the animal was dead without you ever laying a hand on it. It was one of the strongest quirks he had ever seen. If you were part of the General Studies group hoping to make it into the Hero Course, you'd make an extremely powerful opponent.

Bakugou's yelling continued. "Do any of them think their quirks are powerful enough to face me?! They shouldn't underestimate me! I'll kill every last one of them!"

"Shut up, Bakugou." Kaminari's voice carried over the low noise of the classroom.

Bakugou stood up from his seat and curled fisted hands on the corners of his desk as he leaned towards Kaminari. "What did you say to me? I'll kick your ass!"

As Bakugou settled down, a low voice from the back of the classroom reached his ears.

"Bakugou," Todoroki said quietly. "You shouldn't underestimate your opponents."

The angry blond whipped his head around to face Todoroki. "Hah? What do you know that I don't, Icyhot?!"

Todoroki regretted speaking up as Bakugou now focused his energy on the steel-faced boy. He only knew he had felt the same as Bakugou a few days earlier, but witnessing such an impressive quirk from someone outside of the Hero course made him re-think.

When Todoroki didn't respond, Bakugou's yelling only grew in volume as he walked towards him. "Who is it? Who do you think can beat me, you half-and-half bastard?!"

Silence.

"Who is it?" Bakugou repeated, now leaning over Todoroki's desk in an attempt to intimidate the answer out of him.

Todoroki was growing irritated by Bakugou's; it was distracting him from his thoughts.

The steel-faced boy sighed in defeat.

***

You took out your earbuds as you arrived at the gym door. It was a great morning for training. While many days you woke up sluggish and tired, today you had woken up a bit more awake. Maybe it was the events of the past few days keeping you on high-alert or the general feeling of anticipation floating through the air at U.A. Academy. Whatever it was, you were happy to have more energy to fuel your workout.

You opened the large door with a long creaakkkk. Glancing into the large building, you saw that the loud sound had alerted its lone occupant. A muscular boy wearing a black wifebeater turned around from where he stood in your usual spot among the punching bags. The gleam from the harsh overhead lights highlighted his messy blond hair and the sweat dripping down his bare arms.

Katsuki Bakugou.

You mentally played the benefits of staying against the drawbacks. You were in a more energetic mood than usual, and the gym offered a lot more equipment than you could find outside or in your dorm. There was definitely enough room for two people...