Becoming a Hero (bnha x OC)

Chapter 31: The Bonds Of 1-A

Special thanks to Sunny @sunnys_stories24 for the lovely drawing of Izumina in the thumbnail. Go check out her profile and story A Hero's Journey which just reached 1k reads. (Congratulations girl, you deserve it!). Her other fics are all amazing too so be sure to check them all out! Especially if you're a fan of HunterXHunter, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Fairytale. Her Fairytale x BNHA fic is *chef kiss*
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Izumina wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly. Bakugou Katsuki had said sorry? What for? Bakugou had never been the kind to apologize after a fight, let alone after hurting someone's feelings, for that matter. Izumina didn't know what it meant, yet somehow, it made her feel like there was hope. Hope for their friendship after all of this was over.

Izumina relaxed in Bakugou's arms. Her hand released its hold on his top so that she could wipe her face. However, as she relaxed, Bakugou tensed. Izumina hadn't realized the boy's gaze had fallen to Izuku's broken body next to them. She hadn't realized how vulnerable he had let himself be, even if it was only for a moment, and worst of all, she hadn't realized how badly Bakugou wanted to stay mad at her.

Almost as soon as the tender moment had come, it vanished.

Izumina and Bakugou pulled apart as All Might and a white robot entered through the hole in the side of the building. Shakily, Izumina stood and walked to Izuku's side, wasting no time in helping All Might get Izuku onto the stretcher that the robot was towing behind it.

"To the nurse's office," All Might ordered the robot in a solemn voice.

"I know," the robot responded in a high-pitched, mechanical tone.

Bakugou watched, silently as Izumina limped after the robot. Izumina would've followed them to the nurse's office if All Might hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

Izumina's eyes followed Izuku and the robot until they were out of sight before falling to the ground. The loose hair that hadn't been tied into her ponytail falling over her eyes.

A couple of paces away Bakugou stood, shaking, as he stared in horror at his trembling hand. 'My right...' Bakugou thought. 'Deku predicted it... On top of that... he found a way to win the exercise...' Bakugou's hand curled into a fist just as All Might looked over.

With All Might's sudden movement, Izumina too looked over at the boy. The way he stared at his hand... and the way his eyes were wide and frantic... it reminded Izumina of that day in the hospital. The blood on her hands, literally and figuratively, as her mother slipped away in the room across the hall.

"Katsuki--" Izumina mumbled, stepping towards the boy.

Bakugou's breathing quickened as a detrimental realization came crashing down on him. 'Does that mean... even if we fought all-out... Deku would completely beat...?' His breathing was getting faster. Anxiety bubbling up inside of him.

Izumina was all too familiar with the feeling of anxiety. The excruciating tightness of one's chest, the hopelessness and fear... She moved towards the boy, but before she could reach him, All Might placed a hand on his shoulder. Izumina hadn't realized he'd moved.

"Come back, Young Bakugou." All Might said as Bakugou gasped, startled by his grip. The boy's eyes shot up, only to meet Izumina's sympathetic ones. "It's time to review the results... Whether you win or lose, looking back and learning from your experiences is a part of life."

Normally, Izumina found it was easiest to work through an anxiety attack alone-- Then again, she'd never been one to get others involved in her problems. Those were for her, and her alone-- However, despite all that, what All Might just said seemed to have worked on Bakugou.