The Greatest | Bakugo Katsuki X Reader

The Greatest | Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

The Ask/Inspo for this fic can be found in this post.

TRIGGER WARNING - !!SUICIDE!! DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT IN A GOOD STATE OF MIND AND PLEASE REACH OUT TO SOMEBODY IF YOU NEED HELP! YOU ARE LOVED AND YOU DO MATTER!

Additional Tags ~ Fem!Reader, cheating, bad mental health, HEAVY ANGST, hurt no comfort, mentions of blood, Idk let me know if I should add other tags..

Being in love with and loving Katsuki hasn’t always been easy. He can be loud, brash, and uncaring of hurting one’s feelings. Sure, he’s matured over the few years it’s been since graduating from UA, but he’s still rough around the edges. Even so, his personality didn’t scare you away back then at UA, and it surely doesn’t now.

When you first met Katsuki, you were a Support Course student. You were in the top three for your class, and just as ambitious as Mei Hatsume. Though you were far more tame than the pink-haired girl, the two of you became very close friends. You were, and still are, the hidden crazy to Mei’s in-your-face crazy. Your friendship with her along with her oblivious, borderline ditzy way of going about things were the driving reasons behind you almost asking her to swap who you’d been assigned with from Hero Course 1-A.

As it had turned out, swapping wasn’t allowed, so you had been stuck with making and fixing support gear for UA’s most explosive student. There was a lot of clashing of personalities at the start of your partnership, but after proving yourself to him, he managed to tone his attitude down some. Not long after he had managed to get over himself, there were a lot of after-school costume discussions. As well as many times Katsuki just silently and intently watched you work on his gauntlets, observing and learning what he could fix himself. Naturally, after all that time spent together, you couldn’t help but fall for him at least a little bit.

Unfortunately, you never had the guts to say anything to him, plus you realized just how focused he was on being a hero. Then graduation came and you both went your separate ways, your previous partnership nothing more than a school assignment. That happened with nearly all of the other partnerships between the Hero Course and the Support Course. You were just sad that you hadn’t gotten to see Katsuki one last time, to wish him well or tell him you enjoyed working with him or something..

~~~~~~~~~~

As the years went by after graduation, you worked your way through different levels of Support Gear Engineering with a decently known company. You weren’t surprised when Mei was able to get her own company up and running in that time. It also wasn’t a surprise when Mei asked you to come work for her. You agreed in a heartbeat and not long after, Mei signed a contract with DynaDeku Agency. Suddenly, you were seeing Katsuki almost every other day versus the rare night out that Mei would drag you to with Deku and his friends. But seeing him more only worsened your.. pining.

Conversations were always work-related, never anything more than talks of new gear or upgrades to current gear. It’s not like you never tried to push for a more casual conversation. But every ‘How’s your day going’ was met with a silent and questioning glare. You hid your feelings of hurt and rejection with warm smiles every time.

You kept your admiration to yourself. You cheered Katsuki on from the sidelines like you were nothing more than any of his other fans he’d never met. But you longed for him to see you as more than ‘that one support chick’ as he so eloquently referred to you as more often than not. You longed for him to see you. Instead, you watched as he took his sights off of his hero career for a moment just to look toward his fellow hero, Uravity.

In the short time that they were together, you had thought that they had made an odd couple. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but you just felt like they weren’t very right for each other. The feeling wasn’t entirely from a place of jealousy, you’d honestly thought you maybe wouldn’t fit any better with him, despite your feelings for him. There was just something about them being together that hadn’t made a whole lot of sense to you.

You’d figured that they must have discovered what it was because just a few months after they announced their relationship to friends, they broke up. Neither of them was all that torn up about it, which you had found odd, at least when it came to Uraraka. The pink-cheeked woman hadn’t been the mess that you’d thought she’d be considering how borderline clingy she had been with Katsuki. Instead, whenever you saw her at nights out with everyone, she was smiling and bubbly like nothing ever happened.

You didn’t waste any real time picking apart either hers or Katsuki’s behaviors, though. It wasn’t any of your business, and quite frankly, you didn’t care about how Uraraka moved on with her life. In all honesty, a secret part of you was just happy to once again have the chance to try to put yourself on Katsuki’s radar. You had mustered up all of your courage and confidence to put yourself out there a little bit more. It felt like it had taken forever, but finally, your efforts were noticed. The day Katsuki asked you out to dinner was so surreal that you couldn’t believe that it wasn’t just a dream.

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a little over seven months since that first date. At the start of your relationship, things were a bit awkward but fun and quite surprising. You were secretly shocked to find out just how sweet Katsuki can be in his own way. You’d learned that he speaks through actions, and not so much through words. You’d learned that behind closed doors, he’s calm and gentle and caring.

Those first few months were full of enough sappy moments to make even Cupid sick to his stomach. There were nights of home-cooked meals made by Katsuki’s very talented hands. Rare coinciding days off from work were spent watching movies and cuddling. Passionate moments of heated kisses and love-making. It used to make your head spin just how loving Katsuki could be. But every couple moves out of the honeymoon phase and learns something more about each other.

What’s the thing you’ve learned within the last three months? Katsuki Bakugo is a fucking liar.

That warm, loving, cared-for feeling that used to spread through your chest has grown cold. You’ve gotten good at faking it though, plastering a loving smile on your face when you’re with him. Feigning that warm tone whenever you tell him that you love him. It’s not that you don’t, not that you’ve stopped loving him.. It’s just gotten hard to say those three stupid words since that first lie slid so easily off of his tongue.

You suppose that you could say that you’ve also learned that with all of his smarts, Katsuki is fucking stupid. It seems that in the years since being partners at UA, your loving boyfriend has forgotten what your Quirk is and what it does.. Because you can’t imagine that he would be doing what he’s doing with that kind of knowledge at the forefront of his brain.

Your Quirk is called Polygraph. Whenever somebody lies to you, your Quirk will automatically activate, resulting in a spike in your heart rate. It’s the kind of Quirk you know would have been useful in police work, but you’ve always had a love for inventing things. Your Uncle Naomasa still tries to get you to switch careers, despite the name you’ve made for yourself in the Support Engineering world.

One would think that with Katsuki having to work with the police, mainly Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, that he would remember a detail such as your Quirk. Or how about the fact that most boyfriends remember their girlfriend’s fucking Quirk, flashy or not?? But with every lie that comes out of his mouth about where he’s going or who he’s hanging out with or who is fucking texting him, it’s painfully apparent that he doesn’t. He just speaks and you have to ignore the spike in your heart rate and paint on an oblivious smile.

~~~~~~~~~~

You feel almost numb when Katsuki kisses you goodbye. He tells you that he’ll have to stay late at the office to do some paperwork and your heart rate spikes at the lie. You fake a pout as you nod, and he sends you a smirk.

“Promise to make it up to you, so wipe that sexy lil pout off your face. C’mere,” he says, making your stomach churn unpleasantly, before pulling you into a hug.

“Be safe out there,” you murmur against him, and you mean it despite knowing that he isn’t being truthful about staying out late.

“Always am, Sweetheart. Enjoy your day off, ‘kay? Love you.” He murmurs back before kissing your forehead, and you bite back nausea as you tell him you love him. As you watch him leave, you ask yourself for the billionth time how isn’t he lying about loving you when he’s doing something that would make it so obvious that he doesn’t even care about you.

You wait your usual 30 minutes to an hour after he leaves, making sure that he doesn’t come back because he forgot something, before grabbing your laptop. You sit back down on the couch with the device in your lap and numbly navigate to the locked file you have hidden away. You click on it, enter the password, and then pull up the contents of the file. You stare at the hundreds of screenshots you’ve collected over the last three months of conversations and photos, nearly emotionless. After a couple of moments, when you start to feel the sting of tears welling up in your eyes, you open your web browser. You sign into the secret email you created when you first started gathering evidence of Katsuki’s infidelity. Once you’ve signed in, you make quick work of adding the most recent screenshots you’ve gotten to the file.

The heartbreaking shock of discovering that it’s Uraraka that Katsuki has been seeing behind your back has long since worn off. The whole damn situation has just become some sick kind of surreal. You’ve repeated her name so much in your mind that it doesn’t even seem like a real name anymore. You’ve read so many dirty messages between the two of them that the rage has turned to cold numbness. You’ve seen both of their nudes so many times by now that Uraraka’s bare body doesn’t bring up the repulsion you once felt. It all just makes you feel so far past hurt that all you can truly feel is numb.

You watch as the screenshots load into the file, your eyes blankly scanning over words until your gaze catches. You stare at a specific message you hadn’t noticed when you’d gone through Katsuki’s phone to collect more evidence. A single line standing out from the rest of Uraraka’s messages to your boyfriend;

“I still love you, Kats..”

That single line throws you over the edge you were teetering on. You practically throw your laptop onto the couch cushions as you rush to get up. You barely make it to the bathroom, crashing to your knees in front of the toilet as you vomit. Tears stream down your face as your body tries to expel everything inside of you. Your nose runs as your throat burns, and you dry heave a few times as sobs rip from your chest. You wipe your mouth and nose with toilet paper, then shift to sit against the bathtub. Loud, painful, and anguished sobs echo off of the bathroom walls. You don’t even know what Katsuki had said in response to her confession, but you don’t need to know. The fact that he’s still sneaking off to sleep with her is telling enough. Stomach acid burns at your throat again as the message flashes behind your tightly screwed eyelids, and you heave into the toilet once more.

When you finally feel like there’s nothing more for your stomach to expel, you wipe your face. The tears and sobs continue relentlessly as you stand, flush the toilet, then make your way to the sink. You rinse your mouth out, the minty mouthwash burning more than usual before you spit it out. As you straighten back up, wiping your mouth on the hand towel, you lock eyes with your disheveled reflection. Suddenly, you’re seeing red as all of your rage floods your mind and body. A scream tears from your throat as your fist flies into the mirror, shattering it. Your mind clears a bit as you stare down at the shattered glass. Your now bleeding hand looks like it should hurt, but you don’t feel the split knuckles or cuts from the glass. All you can feel is the emotional turmoil that’s consumed your very being.

You make your way back to the living room, leaving the mess of glass and blood in the sink. You stumble the whole way back to the couch, tripping over your feet and your knees giving out from how hard you’re sobbing. You practically fall onto the couch, grabbing your phone off of the coffee table, uncaring of the blood you’re getting on the device. With shaking hands, you unlock your phone, navigating through your contacts while half-blind from tears. You hit the call icon as soon as you reach the contact you’ve been searching for.

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease-” You mutter, you pray, between sobs as the line rings.

“Too busy with my babies! Leave a message I may or may not listen to!” Mei’s voicemail message chirps brightly into your ear, and a whining sob leaves your throat as the beep rings out and cues you to leave a message.

“I-I Lo-love y-you, M-Mei.. P-pl-please, al-ways re-remember th-that..” You stutter and sob out before hanging up and burying your face in your hands.

After a few moments of soaking your hands in tears, you bring your head up. With closed eyes, you roll your shoulders back, wipe your hands on your pants, and try to take deep and even breaths. Only once you’ve regained some sense of calm and control over yourself, do you open your eyes. You let your mind sink back into that comfortable numb you’ve grown acquainted with over time. You stand up from the couch and almost robotically, you head for the storage closet. It takes a bit of digging through boxes, but you finally find them.. Letters to your closest family members and friends.

The letters are abandoned products of your deepest, darkest secret. You have been struggling for years now. To everyone around you, even your parents, you’re kind and happy and kind of shy and stable.. But the you in the mirror knows about every single self-deprecating, withering, hatred-filled thought. Something in your mind is broken, always had been, but it never needed to be anyone else’s problem. You are the only one who has ever needed to worry about the fact that you’ve had one foot hanging off of the edge. Besides, you’re the only one who can keep yourself from giving in to the call of an unseen dark abyss, its voice warm and holding promises of relief.

You carefully lay the letters out on the kitchen table. You grab your laptop from the couch and place it neatly on the table. You pause for a moment and look down at yourself. You make your way to the bedroom and change into your favorite outfit because fuck that if you were going to die in your damn pajamas.

You make your way back to the table and unconsciously go through the steps of sending the file of evidence you’ve collected to Katsuki and Uraraka. You contemplate sending the file to your shared friends for one spite-filled moment, but ultimately decide against it. You set your laptop settings to stay on and unlocked, plug the charger into it, and pull up the note that has passwords to all of your various accounts. Who knows what people might need when you’re gone?

With one last painful glance around the apartment, you head for the door. You slip on your favorite pair of shoes and leave the apartment. You make your way to the roof of the complex, which is a far easier task than you feel like it should have been. You walk to the edge and take off your shoes, placing them neatly off to the side. Climbing up onto the ledge, the wind blows lightly and it actually feels exhilarating as you fully stand up. You startle when your phone begins ringing, and you can’t recall when you slipped it into your pocket. Taking it out, a small bout of manic laughter leaves your lips at the caller ID. When you slide the accept icon, a streak of blood follows. Apparently, your hand hasn’t stopped bleeding and that makes you laugh harder for some reason.

“Hey Love, what’s-” You begin deliriously before being cut off.

“What’s with this email, Sweetheart? H-how did you..” Katsuki with an uncharacteristic quietness to his voice, with feigned confusion to cover the guilt.

Every emotion drains from you in an instant and your grip on your phone tightens, “Don’t play dumb, Katsuki. Everything in that email came directly from your phone.” You say in a tone so cold and emotionless that it makes Katsuki take in a sharp breath, and at the sound, you feel a dulled flicker of pride at catching him off guard.

“Baby-” he starts with a slight shake in his voice, but all the pet name does is make you see red all over again.

“DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT WHEN YOU CALL HER THAT TOO!” You scream, and your voice echoes off of the structures around you.

A strangled sort of half laugh, half sob leaves your mouth, and you screw your eyes shut, “Oh my, sorry for yelling.. Uhm, you asked ‘how’ earlier, and I assume you meant to ask fully how I found out. Well, I’ve known that you’ve been seeing her since that first lie you told months ago. It’s sort of crazy to think that for as long as we’ve known each other, you’ve seemed to have forgotten what my Quirk is, Love.” From even-toned to words bathed in malice, your rage and pain-fueled instability makes even you dizzy.

“..Y/N, please.. I.. I love you..” Katsuki says, and your manic laughter returns from how pathetic he sounds.

“It still baffles me that somehow that isn’t a fucking lie, too! You wanna know something, Katsuki? For years, I admired and adored you. For years, I waited for you to want me too! Then, when you finally did want me, I gave you all of my love! I made it all look fucking painless! The unappreciation! The wanting of someone who couldn’t even be bothered to remember my fucking name most of the time! The suffering through my darkest thoughts! Life has put me through so much shit, but fuck it if I wasn’t the fucking greatest!!” You’re breathless by the end of your spiel, more manic laughter mixing with your anguished sobs. The sound of a car honking below you makes you jolt, and you choke on a sharp gasp as your balance goes off-kilter for a moment.

“Y/N, where the fuck are you right now?! I’m on my way home, just-” Katsuki rushes out, and you become conscious of the sound of his car engine revving in the background of the call.

“Tell everyone that I’m sorry and that I love them. I love you, Katsuki Bakugo. Goodbye.” You say with an eerie and quiet calm, and as you bring the phone down from your ear you can hear him screaming until you hang up.

You turn slightly to drop your phone onto your shoes, then turn back to look out over the city. ‘Such a beautiful view..’ You think with a small smile as you let your body tip forward. You close your eyes as you fall, the sound of air rushing past you thundering in your ears. It feels like you’re falling for seconds and decades before everything goes black.

You feel nothing..

No more pain..

No more suffering..

Just the soothing warmth of the black abyss that’s been calling your name for so long.

Note ~ Thank you to the Lovely Anon who sent in the ask, I'm sorry that I got so dark with this one.. Please make sure that you're taking care of yourselves, Lovelies. And if you feel like no one else does, just know that I love and appreciate you. <3

Divider Credit: @anitalenia

Taking Over Me | Aizawa Shota x Reader

Part One | Part Two | Part Three |

Tags/Warnings ~ Fem!Guardian Angel!Reader, canon typical violence, character injury, angst, hurt, comfort, fluff, medium-slow burn because Shota is bad at feelings, more tags to come as the story develops..

Note ~ Hi, Lovelies! Here's the next part of the story, I hope that you all enjoy! And if y'all could, please send some motivational vibes my way because I am sorely lacking! Anyway, I love and appreciate you all, My Lovelies! <3

You sit at the end of Shota’s hospital bed watching him sleep. It wasn’t long after arriving at the hospital that his translucent figure flickered harshly, then vanished. Much to your relief, his ghostly apparition’s disappearance only meant that his soul firmly planted itself back into his body. But sitting cross-legged at his feet, your eyes tracing the bandages covering his face, you still feel such a strong sense of failure. Along with the failure is a new, unfamiliar feeling.. loneliness.

The day passed with Shota stuck in a deep, medication-induced slumber. Doctors and nurses came in and out of the room to check on him. At one point, Hizashi came by to sit at Shota’s bedside and quietly cry for a bit. You had spoken some with his Protector, the being feeling it necessary to commend you on all of your efforts to keep Shota safe during the attack. Despite your feelings on the matter, you thanked the other Protector for their kind words. When Hizashi was told that he had to leave for the night, his Protector bid you farewell and you nodded your head to them as they left.

The hours tick by slower than you’ve ever felt before, but soon enough light from the full moon outside casts a wondrous glow in the room. You marvel at it as you sometimes do since beings such as yourself don’t require sleep. After a while, the feeling of being watched pulls your attention from the window. You look first toward the door, wondering if a nurse and their Protector had somehow sneaked into the room. Seeing no other being, you slowly turn your gaze to Shota’s face, eyes widening as they meet his partially opened ones.

“Do you sit at my feet like a cat every night?” He asks, his voice barely above a whisper as he continues looking at you with lidded eyes. A cross between a scoff and a bewildered laugh leaves your mouth. You choose to ignore your confusion, obviously something about this lifetime is different, even if you don’t know what or why.

“I do not… Oftentimes, I stand at a window and observe the night… I can move if you are uncomfortable with my current position…” You offer, already preparing to stand.

“No… The static feeling of your presence is.. nice.” He whispers as his eyes slip shut, his breathing deepening to the usual cadence it takes when he’s asleep.

‘He.. he can feel my presence..?’ You ask yourself as you sit in silent shock. You shift back into your original position and wish that there was someone or some other being you could hurl all of your questions at.

~~~~~~~~~~

Both you and Hizashi’s Protector stand near the window as the two humans talk. Hizashi had arrived earlier this morning just before Shota woke up, so you didn’t have the chance to test if he could truly still see and talk to you. You now find the test unnecessary with Shota’s eyes occasionally drifting in your direction every now and then. By the nth time Shota’s dark eyes meet yours, you’ve had enough of your fellow Protector’s questioning looks.

“I am just as confused as you are…” You tell them, pulling your eyes from Shota’s to look at the Protector you’ve known for a good fifteen years by now.

“So, he can see you…” Akari states rather than asks, and you nod your head.

“When he.. when he was dying yesterday.. his soul separated from his body and we were able to talk to one another… I do not understand why.. and when he was brought here, and his soul re-bound itself to his body, he was still able to see and talk to me… The whole situation has left me truly.. puzzled…” You explain, finding it a struggle to get the words “he was dying” out of your mouth. The guilt and shame that you’ve had to repeatedly shove down worming their way back to the surface along with your confusion.

“That is quite peculiar… Is.. is this your first pairing with his soul?…” Akari’s hesitant question catches you off guard, and you look at them with a stunned expression.

“N-no, but.. have you had repeats as well?…” You whisper, desperate to know if this sort of thing has happened to any other Protector. It’s Akari’s turn to look stunned, and a look of relief washes over their features.

They cast a glance over at Hizashi before looking back to you with a small smile, “Only with Hizashi’s soul… This is my third lifetime as his Protector…”

Akari’s admission draws a gasp from your mouth, and you can’t help but feel relieved that another one of your kind knows some of what you’re going through. Feeling Shota’s eyes on you, you turn to meet his questioning gaze. You shake your head slightly, silently telling him that you’ll talk with him later. He stares at you for another moment before looking back toward Hizashi.

“This is my fourth lifetime as Shota’s Protector… I was beginning to think I was the only one experiencing this.. and I never felt the need to ask any other Protector about it… I simply figured that it was just part of the job…” Akari nods their head in relation to your words and casts another glance at Hizashi.

“What do you think is the reasoning for it?…” They quietly ask, as if voicing their question any louder would make everything fall away and send them off to another pairing.

Your own gaze wanders to Shota, a small smile pulling at your lips at his feigned annoyance over whatever Hizashi said, “I am not quite sure.. but whatever the reason may be.. I am just happy to be Shota’s Protector…”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s early evening when Hizashi takes his leave, promising to come back tomorrow morning to pick up Shota when he’s discharged. You gaze out the window as a nurse comes into Shota’s room and feeds him dinner. With his arms in casts, the nurse has to actually feed him and now that he can see you, you figure that you won’t hurt his dignity more by watching him be fed. It’s only when you hear the door close behind the nurse that you make your way back to his bedside.

Shota eyes you for a moment before carefully leaning his head back on the pillow and closing his eyes with a tired sigh, “You can sit down if you’d like.”

Wordlessly, you accept the invitation and sit cross-legged on the spot where he had made space for you at the end of his bed. Absentmindedly, your eyes trace the paths of his bandages like you’ve done a hundred times over since he’s been in the hospital. Sensing your eyes on him, Shota opens his and studies you for a moment or two.

“Stop it.” He demands in a firm yet gentle tone, and your gaze pulls from his bandages to meet his stern one.

“What?…” You question, slightly confused, and he lets out another sigh.

“Stop beating yourself up.” He clarifies before continuing, “You did more than enough to protect me back at the USJ. I put myself in this bed. Not you. Me.”

Biting your lip, you search Shota’s eyes for the blame you feel you deserve, but all you find is the firm resolve that was in his tone, “If.. if you insist…” You relent quietly, a bit of doubt still laced in your tone. Taking what he can get, Shota lets the matter go for now and chooses to move the conversation along.

“Earlier, when Hizashi was here, I assume you were talking to his..” Shota pauses to think about what to call you and your kind.

“The term ‘Protector’ works just fine, Shota… Most of us refer to each other as such, anyway…” You provide with a small smile, appreciating his effort to call your kind by the “correct” name.

“Okay, then.. You were talking to his Protector? I couldn’t see or hear them like I can with you, but I figured you weren’t just talking to yourself.” Shota’s voice holds the same tired, stoic tone you’ve come to know over the last thirty years, but you can see the curiosity in his eyes.

“And, if I was talking to myself?… What then, human?…” You tease with a playful smile, and you can tell by the small, amused huff that Shota lets through his nose that he’s hiding a small smirk underneath his bandages.

“Then I would assume that we both have brain damage,” he jokes, albeit dryly, but you’ve always found humor in his brand of comedy.

Your giggle gives an ethereal echo and you shake your head at him, “Their name is Akari… I suppose they could be considered a friend… At the very least, they are somewhat of a coworker to me by human standards… I have interacted with them quite a bit since you became friends with Hizashi… They informed me earlier today that they seem to be in almost the same situation as I…”

Shota gives a slightly surprised and intrigued look before an almost dismayed sigh leaves his mouth, “I can’t believe I haven’t thought to ask until now… What’s your name?”

A small, amused laugh passes through your lips, “Considering that you were not even supposed to know of my existence, it is quite alright… Most of us do not have names and some will choose a different name for themselves with every new pairing… The name I have chosen for myself is Y/N…” You inform him before giving your name with a warm smile on your face.

Shota repeats your name quietly to himself as if testing it on his tongue, and something about hearing him say it makes you feel warm inside. Your mind doesn’t have time to question the feeling when he speaks again, “So, what is this ‘situation’ that you mentioned?”

You find yourself hesitating for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the whole thing to a man who lives almost religiously by logic and rationality. You suppose that since he took to finding out about your existence so well maybe your next words won’t sound completely.. insane.

“Let us start with how long I have been protecting souls…” You begin gently, hoping that he can manage to put aside whatever his beliefs or disbeliefs are about concepts beyond the human plane of existence.

Once you’ve finished explaining your entire confusing and strange situation, a long silence follows. The look in Shota’s eyes is hard for you to read as he stares down at his lap, so you’re not sure what he could possibly be thinking. Feeling like you’ve finally pushed him over the edge of thinking he has truly lost it, you silently stand and move toward the window. You watch the sun slowly dip below the horizon as the silence continues. You hear movement behind you and your intuition spikes causing you to whip around to see Shota slowly standing up from the bed.

“What are you doing?… You should be resting still, Shota…” Your confused and concerned words do nothing to stop Shota from shuffling his way to your side. When he gets to the window sill, he leans lightly against the wall and gazes outside for a few moments before looking at you.

“Let me get the facts straight,” he starts, quietly. “You’ve been protecting people for thousands of years, without the need for reason. In all that time, you never protected the same person more than once until me. You also believed that you were the only one experiencing this until your talk with Hizashi’s Protector. Even so, you still don’t know why this is happening. Does that about sum everything up?”

‘He doesn’t sound like someone who believes they should be locked in the psych ward…’ You think with a hesitant smile before speaking, “I believe so… Listen, Shota.. I know how all of this may sound to a human… You are probably still wrapping your head around my very existence and being able to see me… But I.. I feel just as confused and disbelieving as you do…” Your smile falls as you speak, your expression and tone something of uncertainty as you turn to gaze back out the window.

Shota sighs as he steps away from the wall and comes to stand right up against your ethereally glowing body, your shoulder phasing slightly through his as he follows your gaze out the window, “It is a lot to try to understand, but living in a world where humans are born with superpowers.. it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to believe in other forces at work out there in the universe.”

You turn your head to look at him in shock before a small huff of a laugh slips past your lips, “I have gotten to know your soul pretty well over the last five hundred years, Shota.. gotten to know that no matter the lifetime, who you are does not change like your name or appearance does… So, I am surprised that you are being so open-minded about this… You never were one for ideals like religion or higher powers or unseen beings… So, where has the real Shota gone?…”

Shota lets out a small, quiet chuckle at your slightly teasing tone, and turns his head slightly to meet your eyes, “I’m actually pretty open-minded when it comes to a lot of subjects. I just find that my time is better well spent focusing on what’s tangible in this world rather than what hasn’t even been proven to exist, that’s all.” He retorts in a tired tone that doesn’t match the teasing glint in his eye.

You playfully roll your eyes with a soft giggle before giving a small shake of your head, “Ah, I see… Well, all teasing aside, our situation may be odd but at least now I can warn you of danger easier… Though, I will try not to be a nuisance…”

Shota lets out a quiet huff as he turns to start walking back to the bed, “Don’t worry about being a nuisance. Between being Class 1-A’s teacher and being a Pro, seeing and hearing you will be significantly more helpful in tough situations.” He says as he carefully gets onto the bed, a quiet groan leaving him as he lays back.

You let out a quiet and affirmative hum as you follow behind him, then take a seat at the end of the bed by his feet when he makes space for you. You watch as he gets as comfortable as anyone could get with injuries like his when his eyes meet yours. You silently question the embarrassed scowl he’s shooting you until the realization hits you. You mumble an apology before quickly shifting your gaze to the window. Among the many little habits you’ll have to break now that he can see and hear you, just watching him for the sake of observing him is going to be the first.. and the hardest.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Hizashi bursts into Shota’s room sputtering apologies for being twenty minutes late picking him up. Shota just brushes him off with a grumble of feigned annoyance while you and Akari giggle quietly to yourselves. A nurse comes in shortly after Hizashi’s arrival, pushing a wheelchair up to the side of Shota’s bed. Shota immediately begins protesting having to be wheeled out to Hizashi’s car, insisting that he can walk just fine.

“I know I said I would not be a nuisance, but listen to the nurse, please Shota…” You say a bit firmly as the timid nurse tries explaining to Shota the hospital’s policies.

With an irritated huff, Shota reluctantly moves from the bed to the wheelchair, grumbling slightly under his breath. You smother a giggle as you take in Hizashi’s shocked expression, the blonde clearing having expected more of a fight from Shota. However, the giggle slips free some when you catch the brief glare thrown your way from Shota as the nurse pushes him out of the room.

Hizashi stopped by UA so that Shota could talk to Nezu and go by Recovery Girl’s office. Despite the insistence from Nezu, Hizashi, and yourself to take off a few more days, Shota firmly stated that he would be returning to work the next day when classes resumed. During the walk to the infirmary, you couldn’t help the displeased feeling that had settled over you from Shota’s stubbornness. As a Protector, it’s normal to disagree with decisions that could impact the well-being of the human one is paired with, but this felt like.. more than that. Sighing to yourself, you choose to not overthink your feelings so as to not add more confusion to your already puzzling situation.

You and Akari stood by the window of the patient room while Recovery Girl examined Shota’s injuries. Luckily, she determined it safe enough to use her Quirk on Shota, even if it didn’t heal Shota as much as he may have wanted it to. By the time it was said and done, he was still bandaged up like a mummy, but at least his casts were able to be redone so that he could use his fingers. As you and Akari silently followed your humans to Hizashi’s car, you still hadn’t been able to shake your displeasure.

Finally getting back to Shota’s apartment, you stood behind him as he deflected every one of Hizashi’s attempts to stay and help. A bit dejectedly, Hizashi bid Shota goodbye, while you just silently nodded at Akari, still mostly lost in your thoughts. Once Shota shut the door with a tired sigh, you wordlessly made your way to the dining room window. It’s one of your favorite spots in the apartment with its view overlooking the city.

“Are you going to be silent and brooding for the rest of the day?” Shota asks, his tone is tired and slightly irritated as you hear his socked feet shuffle toward the kitchen. You feel a mixture of emotions as you tamper down a spike of irritation, your confusion over your situation only increasing.

“You should eat, then get some more rest since you insist on returning to work tomorrow…” You say in an even tone as you continue gazing out the window. You realize that your wording most likely comes across as petty, and maybe you want it to since he ignored you back in Nezu’s office. You hear Shota open the refrigerator and let out an irritated sigh, rummaging around for a moment before letting the door close a bit harder than necessary. You turn around to face him at the sound of condiments and jars inside the refrigerator knocking around.

“My students need to see that I’m okay. What they went through was terrifying, even for Pros like myself. None of them deserved to experience a villain attack like that before their careers have even started to begin. It’s my responsibility to be their face of strength-” Shota angrily defends his decision, most likely easily riled up from pain and exhaustion, but it only serves to irritate you more and cut him off.

“I understand that, but it is my responsibility to make sure no harm comes to you, even if the threat to your well-being comes from you… You need more time to recover, Shota… You are not ready to return to work in your condi-” You say firmly trying to maintain an aura of calm until he cuts you off.

“But in the end, it’s my decision! Your job is to silently protect me when it is necessary. I’ve made it through the last thirty years of decision-making based on my own judgment just fine, Y/N. Me being able to see and hear you now doesn’t change that.” Shota snaps, and you can’t help but feel taken aback and.. hurt. There are a couple moments of tense silence broken only by the sound of Shota taking a few deep breaths.

Your mind is once again reeling from how deeply you feel your emotions, but outwardly you straighten up and slip into emotionless professionalism, “You are correct… I apologize for overstepping, it will not happen again…” You state before turning back toward the window, ignoring the pain in your chest. You can feel Shota’s eyes on you, but neither of you says anything more, not even when the ethereal glow of your body flickers and dims a bit.

Divider Credit ~ @cafekitsune

Hey!!

I was wondering if maybe you could do a part two of Earth Shattering because that was a 10/10 angst and I NEED a part two. Maybe reader (after the divorce) get with someone else, maybe like Shoto or Kiri. Just a thought tho🤷‍♀️ (you can do whatever u want 🫶🏻)

Heyy, Lovely!! I wasn't planning on making a part two for Earth Shattering, but I loved your idea!! Now, please know that I didn't really make this one.. angst forward, lol. I just saw the opportunity to write for Kiri and I took it! I hope you enjoy the read all the same, and thank you so so much for the request!!

Earth Shattering | Bakugo Katsuki & Reader, Kirishima Eijiro x Reader

The divorce had been as civil as a divorce could be. By that point, Katsuki had finally stopped trying to get you back and had resigned himself to quiet defeat. Despite the situation there was a pang in your heart every time you had to face him. Gone was the cocky, smirking, sometimes brash man you had fallen in love with. At least in your presence, the man you once knew, thought you knew, was replaced with a reserved and saddened version of himself. At times you wanted to comfort him but then you reminded yourself that he was the one who put you both in this situation.

You hadn’t wanted anything Katsuki tried to give you in the divorce, except for the car. Custody over the kids had been decided to be split 50/50. You could tell that this whole process killed Katsuki as much as it did you as far as the kids were concerned. As much as you still loved him, still cared for him, still wanted to be with him.. you knew that you’d never be able to move past the fact that he slept with other people for over a year. “Once a cheater, always a cheater,” your mother had told you when you voiced your thoughts about going back to him.

It’s been a year since the divorce and you’d like to think you’re doing well for yourself and your kids. You used some of the money Katsuki had forced on you as part of the divorce settlement to get an apartment. It’s in a nice part of the city and close to stores and a school. You also got a part time job and the days you have the kids your parents watch them for you. The only part you’re still struggling with is the social aspect of your life. Except for Izuku and Ochako, it felt like all of your other friends went away along with your marriage because they were Katsuki’s friends. It doesn’t help that you’re not really the social type, the years of being a stay at home wife and mom making you a bit more of an introvert. Not to mention the fact that you feel like no one really wants to be friends with the single mom with two young kids.

It’s a little after 9:30 at night when you finally get back home. You had taken a bit of a later shift today since Katsuki has the kids. You let out a heavy sigh as you close and lock the door behind you. You tiredly kick off your shoes, then head to the kitchen to make a small dinner. You let out another more slightly defeated sigh when you open the fridge and see nothing to make an actual meal with. Opening the freezer, you take out a pathetic looking microwave meal and your lip wobbles a bit. You had a rough day at work and it would have been everything to you if you could have come home to the smiling faces of your kids. Instead, silence and a sad excuse for dinner welcomed you home.

While you wait for Chef Mike to prepare your food you throw yourself into a chair at the dining table. Slumping forward, you rest your cheek against your hand as you scroll through notifications on your phone. You hardly look at it while you’re at work except on breaks or if your parents or Katsuki contact you about the kids. You absentmindedly clear away miscellaneous notifications as you scroll until a message notification makes you pause. You just stare at your phone a bit dumbfounded as your eyes re-read the message and your brain tries to process the words. The beeping of the microwave brings you back to reality and you flinch slightly before setting your phone down and getting up to get your food. Once you grab utensils and your food, uttering curses at the hot container, you sit back down at the table. As you let the food cool you tap on the notification and watch as your phone opens the conversation allowing you to see the full message.

“Hey Y/N, I’m not sure if you still have my number saved, but it’s Kirishima.. I just wanted to see how you were doing.. The whole group misses seeing you around, I hope they’ve reached out as well. I figured that maybe you haven’t reached out to any of us because of.. everything that happened. But just know that you can, we’re your friends too! Obviously, you don’t have to.. just let us know that you’re okay.”

You stare at your phone in stunned and guilt-ridden silence, your eyes stinging a bit with the threat of tears. You hadn’t had the nerve to delete any of their numbers, it wasn’t their fault Katsuki had decided to be a shitty husband. But you had just assumed that since they were more his friends that they wouldn’t miss your presence all that much. You were only Katsuki’s wife you hadn’t felt like you held much, if any, significance within their friend group.

With slightly shaky hands you type out a response, “Hey Kiri, I’m sorry for the late response, I had a later shift tonight.. I’m also sorry for not reaching out to all of you after the divorce, I guess I just felt.. I don’t know, you all were Katsuki’s friends first.. I miss you all too, I hope you’re all well! As for me, I’m doing better these days. It’s still hard sometimes, but that’s just the way life goes. I’ll try to reach out to the others tomorrow since it’s already late. Have a good night, Kiri, and thanks for reaching out.”

You wipe away a stray tear rolling down your face as you read through the message, then hit send. You set your phone down and begin eating your dinner only to be surprised by the vibrating of your phone as a text notification lights up the screen. Kirishima’s reassuring response, unbeknownst to you, just the beginning of a new chapter in your life.

~~~~~~~~~~

A few months later, you’re hanging out with Mina, Jiro, and Kaminari at Kirishima’s house. Even though it was Mina’s idea to have a small get together, Kirishima was the only one with a barbecue and the space for the five of you. Your parent were happy to take the kids for the night and had been glad to see you coming out of your shell. So here you are chatting, laughing, and feeling more alive than you have in a long while.

You’re all sitting in Kirishima’s living room, sprawled about the couple of couches that he has. Your legs are thrown across Kirishima’s as you lean back against Mina’s shoulder while Kaminari lounges obnoxiously across Jiro on the adjacent couch. You all have a good buzz going thanks to the pack of beer Kaminari brought over and it’s very much to blame for the electric blonde’s loose tongue.

“Bro, I think you and Y/N would make a good couple,” Kaminari says after a slight lull in conversation and the room automatically fills with shocked and awkward silence.

“Denki, what the fuck?!” Mina exclaims as you feel your face simultaneously somehow drain of blood and heat up.

“What?! You were thinking it too!” Kaminari defends after being whacked on the arm by Jiro.

“Bro, c’mon, that’s just.. Y/N has already said she isn’t ready to date,” Kirishima says, but his lack of denial to Kaminari’s original statement doesn’t escape you and has your mind spinning a bit.

Moments from the last few months flash across your brain without permission; the nearly daily text conversations and phone calls, the borderline flirty comments, the times like now when even the most casual and friendliest of touches brings a slight blush to your cheeks. You hadn’t even realized that maybe you were getting a bit.. too comfortable with Kirishima. As realization hits you beer and barbecue churn uncomfortably in your stomach and you shoot off of the couch. Darting for the bathroom, you shut and lock the door behind you leaning against it as you force yourself to take deep breaths.

‘He’s one of Katsuki’s best friends, you cannot have feelings for him! What the fuck, oh god, what the fuck..’ You think to yourself as you rub your hands over your face. You jump slightly when someone knocks on the door, but relief fills you when you hear Mina’s voice.

“Y/N, hun, are you okay..?” Mina gently asks and with one more deep breath you turn around to unlock and open the door. You quietly motion for Mina to come into the bathroom with you and she quickly shuffles in, and you lock the door behind her. Leaning back against the door, you meet Mina’s concerned gaze with a panicked one of your own. Without another word Mina pulls you into a comforting hug, one of her hands soothingly rubbing your back.

You break down in her embrace as your arms wrap tightly around her, “I-I can’t fall for him.. It’s wrong, right? Fucked up? H-he’s Katsuki’s b-best fr-”

Mina suddenly pulls back with a kind of determination in her eyes as she looks at you, “Listen to me, Y/N, because I mean this in the most supportive way possible.. Bakugo and Bakugo’s feelings are none of your concern anymore. You are single now and whoever your heart wants is something you have no control over, something he doesn’t have control over. If you have true feelings for Kirishima, then you have every right to do what you want with those feelings. I think it’s safe to say that this isn’t some revenge or rebound situation, so just do whatever is comfortable for you.”

You’re a bit shocked by the amount of support Mina is giving you and you stare at her with widened eyes as you let her words sink into your brain. Feeling overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions from just the past 10 minutes, tears well up in your eyes and Mina pulls you back into a tight hug. After a few minutes, you both pull away from each other and you wipe your eyes, checking your appearance in the mirror to make sure you don’t look like the mess that you feel like.

“You wanna hang out a bit longer or are you going to head out?” Mina asks as she unlocks the door.

“I think I’ll stay for a little longer, probably head out in an hour or so.” You reply after a second of hesitation, Mina’s advice to do what makes you comfortable ringing in your brain.

It’s true that you have told the group, a few times over the last few months, that you didn’t think you were quite ready to get back out into the dating pool. Your entire sense of trust had been shattered by the man that used to be your husband. Even with the therapy you’ve been attending since the divorce you still feel too weary about being in a relationship again. But something about Kirishima, about the smallest thought of giving Kirishima a chance, makes a warm sense of safety bubble up in your chest.

With a slight blush on your face, you and Mina head back to the living room. Jiro sends you an apologetic look while Kaminari looks sheepish but he verbally apologizes. Kirishima smiles at you, but you can see the concern in his eyes. You tell the three that you’re fine and not to worry about it, then sit back down on the couch. Mina’s words still echoing in your brain, you decide to be a bit bold and seat yourself in the position you were originally in; legs thrown across Kirishima’s and back against Mina’s shoulder. There’s a slight awkwardness in the air until Mina starts laughing and at the questioning looks you all send her, she shows you all a picture of Sero with Todoroki taped to the ceiling of a building captioned, “He said he wanted to test something..”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a good few weeks since the night Kaminari made the comment about you and Kirishima, and you’ve spent a lot of time thinking. You’ve tried to get a good read on yourself, tried to determine if you wanted to give dating a shot. You’ve had a few conversations with your therapist and they’ve reassured you that even if you go on one date that it doesn’t have to be anything more if you don’t want it to be. As nervous as you are about it all, you can acknowledge that you may be overthinking it. Your therapist is right; you have the control to say that if you don’t want to pursue a relationship, then one date can just one date.

“No pressure and no strings. It’s just lunch, Y/N. C’mon, you can do this! Just ask him!” You quietly try to encourage yourself as you continue to stare down at your phone as the text cursor blinks back at you, waiting for you to fill the message bubble.

“What’re you doing, Mommy?” Mai, your four-year-old asks, now suddenly standing in front of you’re seated on the couch.

Your eyes shoot up to your daughter and in all of your anxiety, you nearly drop your phone from the disruption, “N-nothing, Baby. Mommy is just trying to figure out what to say to someone.” You briefly explain as you shut your phone off and put it down next to you.

“Jus’ say ‘hi’, duh, silly Mommy.” Mai suggests with a giggle before turning around to go back to playing. You let out a small laugh of your own, amused by your child’s simple solution and wishing it were that easy. With both of your kids back to entertaining themselves, you pick your phone back up and open it.

“Hey Kiri, I was wondering if you were free on Saturday?”

You stare at the message for a minute or so before hitting send, admittedly chickening out of saying anything more in the message. You quickly shut your phone off and put it off to the side, forcing yourself to act cool and not stare at the conversation waiting for his reply. You stare at the TV not truly watching the cartoon on the screen as your stomach begins doing flips. About twenty long minutes later, your phone buzzes and you nearly jump out of your skin. You force yourself to wait a couple of minutes before picking up your phone and opening it.

“Hey, Y/N! I’m on patrol until around 6, but after that I’m free! What’s up?”

You start to feel a bit more intimidated now because dinner feels more intimate than lunch, but you remember what you and your therapist have discussed. You take a deep breath and decide to carry on.

“Would you maybe want to go out for dinner? Just the two of us.. Or we could order-in if that would be better?”

You hit send before you can overthink any more about what you’re saying, what you’re doing. Your heart is racing in your chest and your palms start to clam up as you stare down at your phone with anxious anticipation. Three dots suddenly pop up and bounce across the message bubble indicating that Kirishima is typing and you start to feel a bit nauseous.

“Y/N..”

You bite at the skin of your bottom lip and keep watching the typing bubble.

“Are you..”

You feel the slight urge to scream and ask yourself why this man isn’t typing a full message before hitting send.

“Are you asking me out??”

You let out a nervous laugh that makes your kids look at you slightly confused for moment before they go back to playing.

“If I say that I am, is that something you would say yes to or have I just made a fool of myself?”

You send back as your anxiety eats you up inside. You start fearing that you’ve just messed up, that you’ve made things awkward and your friendship with Kirishima will never be the same. What if everything from the last few months have all been in your head? What if your dumb heart just misconstrued all of the little things? What if-

“What time should I pick you up?”

You don’t believe that what you’re reading is real. You’re sure that your brain is glitching or your phone is malfunctioning because you really feel like that message should say something along the lines of “I don’t think Bakugo would react well to this” or maybe something about your kids.

“Does 8:00 work for you?”

You hit send and it really feels like an out of body experience. You’re relieved that you didn’t just turn a great friendship super awkward, but your anxiety shoots through the roof. Above all else, though, you’re proud of yourself for taking this step in moving forward with your life. There was a time in your life when you thought that Katsuki would be the only one for you for the rest of your life. A time for a while there after the divorce that you didn’t think you’d ever be willing to even give anyone else a chance with your heart. Now, you’re not only going to be going on a date, but you initiated said date.

“Mommy happy,” the voice of your two-year-old, Keitaro, makes you look up from your phone, and you realize that you’re grinning like a schoolgirl.

“Yeah, Baby, Mommy is pretty happy right now, good job!” You praise your son for his observation and kiss the top of his head. Your phone buzzes in your hand and you look down at the screen still smiling.

“Sounds good, can’t wait!”

Warm excitement bubbles up inside you and your smile grows. It’s been years since you’ve been on a first date and about two since you’ve been on a date-date. You can’t even remember the last time you took the time to doll yourself up even if just for yourself. Saturday is a few days out, but your mind already starts putting together potential outfits. You can’t wait for Saturday, either.

~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday rolls around and you’re a bit of a mess of nerves and excitement. You have the day off from work, so you have lots of time to kill before you have to start getting ready for your date. Your parents come over around noon and you all decide to go out to a nearby park. You get your kids dressed, pack some snacks, and buckle Keitaro into his stroller, then head out the door.

It’s a beautiful day out and the park is pretty busy when you all arrive. Finding an open bench, you and your parents quickly claim it. Your mother takes both kids over to the playground while you and your father sit at the bench and spark up conversation. Soon enough, you’re summoned by Mai to come over and play too.

At one point, your daughter tells you to watch her go down a slide and you obediently position yourself so that you have a good view. Unfortunately, another child up on the platform with yours sneezes. That normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but the child has a mutation-type Quirk that gives them wings and they fan out as the child sneezes. One of the child’s wings hits against your daughter’s back and knocks her head into the bar above the entrance to the slide.

The moment you hear the thunk of of the metal you kick start into mom-mode. You’re at the top of the platform in seconds, cradling your wailing daughter and trying to console the very apologetic winged child. The three of you get back to the ground and the winged child’s parent rushes over spilling apologies. You try your best to convey that it’s okay, you know it was accident, above the loud cries of your daughter. You make your way back to your parents, both of them wearing concerned faces, and tell them to pack everything up.

Back at your apartment, you assess the injury to Mai’s forehead. A good sized bump has formed and your poor daughter hasn’t stopped crying or telling you how much it hurts. You decide to take Mai to an urgent care, if only to just make sure that she doesn’t have a concussion. Your parents agree to watch Keitaro and you thank them before carrying your daughter out to your car.

You buckle her in, feeling that pit of mom-guilt form when she cries out for you as you climb into the driver’s seat. You dial Katsuki’s number and when he picks up you inform him of what happened and he tells you that he’ll meet you at the urgent care. As you pull out onto the street, you briefly think about canceling your date tonight if only to just stay home and comfort your daughter for the rest of the night.

You get to the urgent care a few minutes after Katsuki does and you do your best to get checked in at the front desk while holding your crying daughter and being in the presence of your ex-husband. The three of you sit down at an open corner of the waiting room once the paperwork is done. Mai sits in your lap as you gingerly hold a fresh ice pack a nurse had given you to her forehead. She quietly whimpers and cries as the three of you wait and you watch one of Katsuki’s hands come up to hold one of Mai’s hands.

The whole time you wait you can feel your phone buzz occasionally in your pocket, but you choose to ignore it. It buzzes consistently a couple of times, most likely someone calling you, and Katsuki sends you a slightly questioning look. You shake your head and shrug, silently telling him you don’t know who it is, then whisper that it’s probably your parents. He nods his head a single time before looking back down at Mai, the little girl gripping his hand tightly.

After what feels like forever, your daughter’s name is called out and the three of you get escorted back to a room. Mai chooses to have Katsuki sit on the bed with her as a nurse takes her vitals. Once the nurse finishes up with vitals, they tell you and Katsuki that a doctor will be by shortly.

Stuck waiting again, an awkward silence fills the room and you decide that now would be a good time as any to update your parents. You pull your phone out of your pocket and are surprised to see that most of the notifications filling your screen are from Kirishima. You bypass them for the moment to text your mother an update, then you read through all the texts Kirishima sent.

“Hey, Bakugo just called out from patrol because of a family emergency, is everything okay?”

“Y/N??”

“Did something happen to you or the kids??”

“Please answer your phone, I just want to make sure everything is okay.”

“Please call or text me when you have a chance, please.”

A bit of guilt churns at your stomach over ignoring your phone until now, but the reality is that your kids come first, no matter the situation. You understand and appreciate Kirishima’s worrying, but your daughter needed you to be present with her.

“Mai hit her head while we were at the park earlier and I brought her to urgent care just to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion. I’m sorry for not answering sooner, but she needed me.”

You hit send and let out a quiet and tired sigh, the adrenaline from earlier leaving you feeling drained. Shutting your phone off, you lean back in the chair and rest your head against the wall, closing your eyes for a moment. The moment is cut short when your phone buzzes and you lift your head to look at it.

“Don’t apologize, of course you were focused on her. I’m sorry for spamming you like that, I guess I just panicked. Hope my Lil Buddy gets the A-okay from the doc!”

A smile tugs at your lips from Kirishima’s reply, his playful personality coming through even by text. You tell him that you’ll keep him updated, then shut your phone off right as the doctor walks through the curtain.

By the end of the visit, Mai is determined to be just fine though she will have a bit of a bump and bruise for a while. A dose of children’s pain reliever and a few lollipops quells her crying, and you feel the tension ease from your body. The three of you thank the doctor, then make your way out to the parking lot.

“Mommy, can Daddy come over?” Mai asks around the lollipop in her mouth and you tense up a bit.

“I don’t know, Baby.. D-daddy might have to go back to work..?” You cringe a bit over the sound of your own voice, but glance over at Katsuki.

His face is neutral but his eyes are soft, sad, and a bit pleading, “They got somebody to cover my shift.. ‘s up to you..” He says quietly and you can’t help the slight sagging of your shoulders. While the relationship between the two of you is amicable, you don’t really want to spend your day with your ex-husband.

You put on the best smile you can as you look down at your daughter, “Then I guess that means he can come over for a bit.” Mai cheers and begins talking about what she wants to do when the three of you get to your apartment. Katsuki nods along with her words, but looks over at you to mouth out a “thank you” to which you just nod.

Walking through the door of your apartment with Mai and Katsuki in tow garners a mix of reactions. Keitaro happily runs up to hug you then Katsuki as Mai runs up to her grandparents babbling about the lollipops she got from the doctor. Meanwhile, your parents try their best to keep polite smiles on their faces, but you can see the strain underneath and you’re sure Katsuki can as well. You thank them for watching Keitaro and tell them that you’ve got things handled for the rest of the night. They leave shortly after you tell them what the doctor said, hugging you and the kids then bidding Katsuki a mostly pleasant yet short goodbye.

A few hours later, the atmosphere between you and Katsuki becomes semi-comfortable as you both just mainly focus on the kids. After an early dinner, Mai has dragged you into playing restaurant with her while Katsuki colors with Keitaro. Occasionally, you overhear Katsuki quietly teaching Keitaro how to say colors or draw letters and numbers. You’d never admit it out loud, especially to Katsuki, but it warms your heart watching or hearing him interact with the kids. A softness that he only reserves for them comes out and reminds you that even though he hurt you so badly, he really is a good dad.

Around 7:30 there’s a knock on your door and your stomach sinks as your heart rate picks up. You had felt like you were forgetting something since you got back from urgent care and that something was forgetting to postpone your date.

“You expecting anyone?” Katsuki asks as another bout of knocking ensues.

“N-no, but it’s probably my neighbor. She brings cookies over for the kids sometimes, I’ll go see if it’s her-” You try to explain, making to stand, but Katsuki is already standing and heading for the door.

“Nah, you stay with the kids, I’ll get it. I’ve heard about this ‘cookie-lady’ before from Mai, I’d like to meet her.” Katsuki says as he steps closer to the door.

You quickly follow behind him, cursing yourself for not checking your phone since you’ve been home. You assume that Kirishima has been messaging you and has probably stopped by to check up on everything. You’re not fast enough to cut Katsuki off from opening the door and you mentally prepare yourself for the impending storm.

“Hey! I figured that you’d wanna stay with Mai for the night, so I brought the date to-” Kirishima cheerfully greets when the door opens expecting you to be standing there, but unable to see Katsuki because of the many items in his arms obscuring his vision.

“The fuck do you mean ‘date’? What are you doing here, Red?” Katsuki’s tone is immediately angry as he cuts Kirishima off and he looks between you and the redhead.

Kirishima turns so that he can actually see what’s in front of him and his face is a mix of shock, dread, and apology. You flounder for a moment under Katsuki’s angry and questioning gaze until Mina’s words of Katsuki having no control over who you date echo through your mind. You move past Katsuki and take some of the stuff from Kirishima’s arms.

“Kiri, please come in. And Katsuki, don’t even think about starting anything in front of the kids, let alone in my home, thank you.” You say, your voice firm when you speak to your ex-husband, then turn to take the items you grabbed to the kitchen. You hear the shuffling of feet and the door close as a practically palpable tenseness fills the air. Two pairs of footsteps follow you into the kitchen and not long after another two pairs follow.

“Uncle Kiri!!” Mai exclaims as she runs up to the redhead, Keitaro right on her heels with his own shout of excitement.

Kirishima sets down the rest of the stuff he brought and scoops up both kids without hesitation. He smiles widely and warmly at the two as they both begin babbling about their day. Mai tells him about what happened at the park and the lollipops she got from the doctor, and Keitaro mashes gibberish with random words.

“Okay guys, I know you’re excited but it’s already past bedtime, so give hugs and say goodnight,” You say gently already prepared for the fight that Mai will inevitably put up.

Surprisingly enough, she only pouts at you but doesn’t argue, probably tired from the day’s events and staying up a bit later than usual. Mai says goodnight and gives Kirishima one last hug before he puts her down. As Kirishima hands Keitaro over to you, Mai reluctantly pats her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth. You look between Katsuki and Kirishima, eyeing them both for a moment, weary about what’s to come.

“I’m going to go put them to bed and then we’re going to have a civil conversation.” You quietly yet firmly state before forcing your mood into a complete 180, “Alright Keitaro, say night-night to Daddy and Kiri.”

The sleepy two-year-old in your arms murmurs out a barely-intelligible goodnight. You can tell that Katsuki is barely maintaining his composure, but he whispers goodnight to Keitaro and kisses his head. Kirishima gives your son a smile and whispers goodnight before rubbing his back. You let out a tired sigh, then move forward to take your son to his room. By the time you’ve gotten Keitaro in pajamas and settled down in his crib, Mai has said her final goodnights and is waiting for you in her bed. You tuck her in and read her a bedtime story, and luckily it doesn’t take very long for her to fall asleep.

You quietly leave her room, shutting the door as softly as you can behind you. When you get to the end of the hallway you see Katsuki sitting on the couch on his phone while Kirishima is putting takeout containers into your fridge. A sense of dread fills you and you try your best to remain as neutral as possible.

“Okay, let’s all go take a seat at the dining table and talk this out,” You say quietly as you make your way toward the dining table.

You sit down and rub your hands over your face, exhaustion settling into your bones. You hear the sound of two other chairs being quietly pulled away from the table. You run your hands through your hair as you look up and you take a deep breath.

“Kirishima, I’d like to apologize for my lack of contact pretty much all day. Mai hit her head at the park, then we went to urgent care, and after I got back home I set my phone down and forgot about it. I was so focused on monitoring Mai that everything else slipped my mind. I truly am sorry for putting you in a situation like this.” You say, guilt riddling your tone and face. Kirishima smiles weakly at you and shakes his head, telling you not to worry about it. You turn to Katsuki and almost give in to the anger that flickers in you at his agitated posture.

“Kats-” You start, but don’t get to continue any further.

“So you two are dating? Were either of you going to tell me?” Katsuki grits out, obviously making an effort to keep his voice down. While you appreciate him not shouting, you don’t appreciate his words.

“Don’t start with that shit, Katsuki. I don’t have to tell you if I start dating someone, it’s none of your business-” Your patience diminishes quickly, but you manage to keep your voice low even when you’re interrupted again.

“It sure as fuck becomes my business when my best friend is dating my ex-wife,” Katsuki’s voice raises slightly and you glare at him.

“No, it really doesn’t. Kirishima and I are single adults, Katsuki. Go back to when you said ‘ex-wife’ and remember why exactly we’re exes now. You don’t have the right to share your opinion about who I decide to see. And before your mind even goes there, this isn’t me seeking revenge or getting back at you. I have genuine feelings for Kirishima and whether you approve or disapprove is none of my concern.” You fire back at him, voice still low but angry. Katsuki glares at you but he keeps quiet, his jaw clenched tightly possibly to keep himself from shouting expletives.

“..Bakugo, I’m sorry about all of this. It’s not like I intended to fall for Y/N, it just sort of happened over the last few months. Tonight was supposed to be our first date and I’m sure neither of us were sure if things would go any further than one simple date. I’m sorry if you’re hurt, man, but Y/N is right; we’re both adults and we can see whoever we wish to..” Kirishima says, his tone a mixture of apology and seriousness.

Katsuki shifts his eyes from you to Kirishima and he just glares at the redhead for a few moments until eventually he just sighs. You watch as Katsuki’s anger gets dimmed by defeat and hurt, and he slowly stands.

“You’re both right,” he utters quietly, shocking you to your core. “I.. I need to go.”

Coming down from your anger, you feel as though you might have gone too far, “Katsuki-”

“It’s okay, Y/N. You.. you deserve a chance with a good guy and Red is a good man.. a better man than I’ve ever been.” Katsuki says tiredly, defeated. Both you and Kirishima stare wide-eyed as Katsuki walks to the door, slips his shoes on, and silently leaves.

Elbows braced against the table, you bury your face in your hands unsure of what to feel at this exact moment. You hear the soft scooting of a chair, then feel a warm arm lay across your shoulders and a hand soothingly rub one of your arms.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Kirishima asks softly and you look up at him, your hands coming to rest on your cheeks.

“Are you okay? That was.. I-I’m so sorry, Kiri-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m okay.” Kirishima says, then chuckles slightly, “Gosh, how many times do we have to keep saying that we’re adults who can make their own decisions, huh? We may not have planned on developing feelings for each other, but after I realized how I felt about you I started preparing for how Bakugo would react.”

You smile a bit and nod your head, “I definitely anticipated a lot more yelling and explosions, but I’m glad none of that ended up happening.” You say quietly and close your eyes, silently enjoying the warm of another person.

“So, since we’re both looking to make this work.. what do you have planned to help make the kids stop calling you ‘uncle Kiri’? Hmm, Mr. Prepared?” You ask with a bit of giggle after you open your eyes and look at Kirishima.

“Maybe we can put our heads together and think of something,” he says softly, his eyes slowly roaming over your face until they stop on your lips.

“Hmm, I see..” You borderline whisper before closing the distance between the two of you.

The kiss, more of a drawn out peck, is soft and gentle and makes you feel warm. It’s a sweet moment that makes you smile when you pull away, a slight blush tinting your cheeks and his.

“So, did you come up with anything?” You teasingly ask with a bit of a giggle.

Kirishima blinks then smirks, “Nope, guess we’ll just have to try again.”

As your lips meet his again, you can almost feel the remaining shattered parts of your world pulling back together and fixing themselves.

Once again, thank you so much for the request, Lovely!! This was a fun lil write to help me get back into my writing mindset! I truly hope you join my angst-loving band of Lovelies and stick around for future angsty works! Much love and appreciation, amazing Lovely!! <3

The Greatest | Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

Part One | Part Two

Tags/Warnings ~ angst, hurt no comfort, talks of death, grieving, let me know if I should tag anything else..

Note ~ Alrighty Lovelies, here is part two with Bakugo's and Hatsume's reactions. I might do another part with Uraraka's and other's reactions, but at this time I don't have a feel for writing the requested characters yet except for maybe Midoriya.. I'll try my best to write something out, I just want it to be good enough for you all.. Anyway, enjoy the read <3

Katsuki can feel the burn of stomach bile sitting at the back of his throat, his stomach churning painfully with insurmountable guilt, regret, and self-blame. His eyes stare unblinking at your closed casket, the muffled and distant sound of your parents crying next to him echoing in his ears. They don’t know that he’s the real reason why there couldn’t be an open-casket service.. They don’t know that he’s the real reason why there’s a funeral service being held for you in the first place.. They don’t know that he’s nothing but a bastard who didn’t deserve their daughter.

Flashbacks to the day you ended your life fill Katsuki’s vision when he dissociates as he continues staring at your casket. Day and night, awake and asleep, it all haunted him; the horrible images, the echoing screams, the nauseating smell of blood.. He had been a few minutes too late. He had just gotten out of his haphazardly parked car, panicked and intent on racing up to the apartment you shared with him, when he saw the growing crowd of horrified bystanders. Everything seemed to drain from Katsuki’s body the moment he saw them, and he numbly made his way over to the side of the building where they were gathering.

A few people were crying, a couple were vomiting off to the side, and someone wouldn’t stop screaming. Everything had felt surreal, like it was a terrible nightmare, as Katsuki moved past people to get to you. When he had gotten to the front of the crowd, all of the bystanders moving back and believing that Pro Hero Dynamight was there to help somehow, Katsuki just froze. He just watched with numb disbelief as an elderly woman laid a handkerchief over your face and whispered a prayer for you. He spent a moment or two convincing himself that the broken body in front of him wasn’t you until he saw the bracelet he’d given you for your birthday sitting on your blood spattered arm.

That was when he had lost it, when every emotion had hit him all at once. Pictures and videos from that day haunt him just as much as the memories. The moment he fell to his knees with tears dripping down his face and mouth open in a silent scream. The moment he had to turn away so as to not vomit on or near your body. The moment he sat on the bloody ground next to your body and held your cold, dead hand until the police got there. Even the video of Izuku and Kirishima pulling Katsuki away from your body as paramedics zipped you up in a body bag still circulated his social media feeds as much as it had when it was first posted.

But he deserved to be reminded of that day, didn’t he? The way he sees it is that he’s practically the one who pushed you off of that roof. If he hadn’t started seeing Ochaco again behind your back, then maybe he could have the woman he actually loves in his arms again. He still can’t find a good excuse for why he started sleeping with Ochaco. She had been a lot of firsts for Katsuki; first relationship, first kiss, first time sleeping with someone.. Sure, he had heard that it’s hard for people to truly let go of the person who they shared “firsts” with, so maybe that’s why he slept with her. Even with all of the firsts he shared with Ochaco he didn’t feel for her what he felt for you, he didn’t love her.

But his shitty excuses or vows to continue loving you even though you’re gone will never clear him of being a lying, cheating bastard. If he could have just one more chance to start over and be a better man, not that he would deserve it, but you deserved so much more from life. You deserved to do the things you loved. You deserved good times with friends and family. You deserved to be loved by someone light-years better than Katsuki will ever be. You deserved brighter days lived without the silent pain and suffering.

Looking around at every single person that showed up to mourn the loss of your beautiful presence, Katsuki knows. Listening to your family, Hatsume, and others speak about you and the happiness you brought into their lives, Katsuki knows. Standing up in front of everybody suppressing the urge to vomit up his guilt and stuttering through his own final words to and about you, Katsuki knows..

You truly were the greatest.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a known fact since that almost nothing could pull Mei Hatsume away from her work. Not people, not basic human necessities, not even the fear of war. Her drive was incomparable to anything most have ever seen before. It concerned most people, but then there was you. Yes, you were concerned for the pink-haired girl’s well-being, ever since the day you two had become friends. But you were the only one willing to stay right by Mei’s side providing support, sustenance, and help when needed. Even if you two didn’t talk very much during times when either of you were so focused on a project, there was still a blanket of comforting silence.

All of that is gone, now.

Being able to bounce ideas off of each other, gone. Having you stop by the shop to check on her and bring her food, gone. Sleepovers spent watching inventor documentaries all night, gone. The rare lunch break spent at yours and Mei’s favorite cafe, gone. The only person that’s ever felt like a sister to Mei, gone. Gonegonegonegonegonegone- everything is just fucking gone!

Mei has never felt so empty, so coldly numb, before in her life. She’s sitting by your parents, and every sound is muted like her head is underwater. She stares at your coffin, numbly unaware of the tears flowing down her face. It feels like her Quirk is active, her field of vision filled with what may or may not be the zoomed in view of your glossy black casket, and nausea tugs at her stomach. The heavily weighted emotions that came with the news of your death try to break through her numbness, and makes her skin crawl.

She’s moved through every stage of grief a million times over by now, her mind unable to comprehend that you’re just gone. There’s a constant back and forth within her brain of “how could she have not noticed your pain” and “you never showed your pain” with a bit of the fact that Mei knows that she buries herself in her work. She doesn’t know if her guilt is justified or not. The occasional glance at Bakugo and seeing him practically drowning in guilt and regret does and doesn’t help with justifying her own feelings. Mei was your best friend long before Bakugo was your boyfriend, she should have known you were struggling.

The day you died, Mei hadn’t even known that you, or anyone else, had tried to get a hold of her until damn near 1 AM when she finally left the workshop. She had grabbed her stuff from her office and dug her nearly dead phone out of her bag with a tired but accomplished smile on her face. She has always been used to having tons of notifications clouding her phone screen, with the way she worked herself, it was normal. So, she had made her way through the agency building humming and navigating through her phone to get to her voicemail. One from you; normal. A few from Izuku; not entirely out of the norm for when he had a new idea for gear or when he was being Mr. Caring Boyfriend. One from your parents.. that was the one that caused an uneasy feeling to churn in her stomach. Because as much as your parents loved Mei and vice versa, phone calls were rarely ever exchanged.

Mei listened to your voicemail first. Listening to how broken you sounded, that was the start of her world shattering around her. Then she listened to the voicemail your parents left. The gut-punch that the word “gone” had delivered knocked the breath from her lungs, and she could barely make out the tear-filled apologies spoken by your mother. By the time Mei finally got to Izuku’s voicemails, she was on her knees in the lobby of the agency, sobbing. She still isn’t sure how managed to call Izuku with the state she was in, all she could do was break.

Now, she’s here; standing in front of a crowd of your family and friends. Your lifeless body lying in the glossy black casket behind her. A tear-stained, wrinkled piece of paper held in her trembling hands as she musters up the will to speak. She eyes looks from Bakugo’s guilt-ridden face to your parents’ tear-soaked ones, then to Izuku’s sad but encouraging face. With a nod and a shaky breath, Mei glances down at the tear-blurred words on the paper..

“Y-Y/N is-was.. sh-she was tr-truly the gre-greatest..”

Note ~ Also, please forgive that this is for the most part unedited, and I didn't run it through grammarly.. I love and appreciate every single one of you, and I'm sorry that I've been lacking lately. Just keep being amazing and bearing with me, Lovelies. <3

Of Monsters and Men | Bakugo Katsuki x OC

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven |

Tags/Warnings ~ Fem!OC, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual fluff, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, potentially triggering content, universe-typical violence, Enji Todoroki (yes, that is a warning, he's trash), character death, suicidal ideation, (more tags to be added as story develops <3)

Note ~ Hey, Lovelies! Here's chapter three and four will be up right after I post this one! My husband and I will be going out of town for a bit, so yall get a double-update treat! Enjoy, Lovelies! <3

“Toya, are you sure it’s okay for us to be doing this..? Dad will kill us if he finds us out here without him or Mom..” Natsuo quietly asks, his body language screaming how nervous he is as they all walk along.

Toya lets out an annoyed huff, waving a dismissive hand in the air, “If you’re going to be such a scared little baby, then you can go back to the house.” He says without turning around to face his younger brother.

“We’ll be fine, Nats. We’ll only be down at the beach for a bit; play in some waves, make sandcastles, admire the stars or whatever, then we’ll head back.” Azusa tells Natsuo, reassuringly wrapping an arm over his shoulders.

“Yeah, Nats! C’mon, this is going to be so fun! It’s a full moon tonight, so we have plenty of light to play wave tag in!” Fuyumi exclaims with a wide smile as she skips across the sand.

With another huff, this time one of slight guilt for being snappish, Toya turns around to face his three siblings, “Exactly what they said, Squirt. Look, I just want to make the most of this vacation. You know that Dad doesn’t get a lot of leave days, so who knows when we’ll be back and dammit a night swim at the beach is something everyone should experience! Even you brats!” He lightheartedly jabs with a playful smile as he continues to walk backward on the beach.

“Hey-”

“-m not a brat-”

“Toyaaaa-”

Azusa, Natsuo, and Fuyumi all playfully whine out with giggles and smiles on their faces as they all charge their older brother. A game of tag ensues; laughs echo in the air, sand and water being flung at one another, and pure joy exudes from each of the Todoroki siblings.

A yelp escapes Azusa’s mouth when she feels Toya squish a fat handful of sand into the top of her head, ensuring that grains of sand bury themselves in her hair.

“Oh my god, Toya! You are so dea-”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Attention Rangers, report to the Mess Hall for breakfast, then report to Bay 3 at 0600 immediately following breakfast for your co-pilot and Jaeger assignments. Attention Rangers, report-”

Azusa groans at the AI voice grating at her ears and she blindly reaches a hand out to shut off the alarm and the accompanying repetitive message. As she pulls herself from her bed, she tries to cling to the faint feeling of happiness she gained from the memory she relived in her sleep. She makes her way to her dresser, pausing before opening up the sock drawer to pick up a photo of her late brother.

“Today is the day I officially become a pilot, Toya.. I’ll even get to pilot your old Jaeger. D-don’t worry, Toya, I’ll m-make sure t-to take care of her f-for you.” Azusa whispers to the photo, barely getting her promise out past the painful lump in her throat. She gently sets the photo back down on the dresser and takes a few deep breaths then proceeds to get ready for the day.

Once dressed and as mentally ready as she can be, Azusa leaves her room and heads for the Mess Hall. Fuyumi never showed up to accompany her, which happens from time to time especially when Rangers are woken up earlier than usual. A small and quiet voice whispers how much it wants to be in bed still in the back of Azusa’s mind as the elevator descends. She lets out a tired sigh as she steps off of the elevator when it stops but quickly rights herself out as she enters the Mess Hall.

Azusa heads for the food line when she’s roughly shoulder-checked by somebody quickly moving past her. “Watch it,” she hisses out just before she registers the tall, broad, and blonde-haired being cutting in front of her. Sticking up his middle finger, Bakugo turns to shoot Azusa an arrogant smirk before turning back toward the stack of trays at the start of the food line. Azusa’s jaw clenches, her blood immediately boiling, but before she can spit any venom at Bakugo, Kendo and Tetsutetsu come up to her.

“Asshole,” Kendo says harshly under her breath as she casts a glare at the back of Bakugo’s head.

“I feel sorry for whoever his co-pilot ends up being,” Tetsutetsu adds as the three of them grab their trays and join the food line.

“Hopefully whoever it is can help him pull his head out of his ass.” Azusa quips quietly, causing her two friends to snicker as all three of them watch Bakugo’s knuckles go white from how hard he grips his tray.

Breakfast goes by without any more spats, surprisingly enough to Azusa. She had to hide it in the moment but she was genuinely shocked that Bakugo hadn’t attempted to fight the trio when they were shit-talking him literally right behind his back. All she had gotten for her comment was an ugly, snarl-twisted glare shot at her before he stomped off to “his” table.

All too soon, Rangers across the entire Mess Hall began standing to clear their places and head for the Shatterdome. An air of nervousness and excitement settles amongst the collective of newly graduated Rangers as they all gather around the elevators. Azusa blankets her nerves with perpetual stoicism and forced calm. She observes that Kendo has chosen to take occasional deep breaths while Tetsutetsu finds that yammering on endlessly about random crap soothes his nerves. It’s only when the group of new Rangers are all standing at attention at the mouth of Bay 3 with Marshal Todoroki and Marshal Aizawa in front of them that a suffocating silence ensue.

Marshal Todoroki’s judgmental gaze sweeps over the group as Marshal Aizawa’s stern gaze serves as a silent reminder to take this seriously. Marshal Todoroki clears his throat, making everyone tighten up their positions.

“At ease, Rangers.” Marshal Todoroki finally says after a couple of moments of tense silence. “Before we announce the co-pilot pairings and Jaeger assignments, I wanted to remind you all that this is not a game. This is not your childhood dream nor is it your chance at 15 minutes of fame. This is war. You are Rangers now, fighting for the sake of saving humanity.” Marshal Todoroki firmly states, his tone deadly serious.

“This is reality and in this reality, in this war, you are all putting your lives on the line. You may die. Your co-pilots may die. Your friends may die. But with those facts of this hellish reality looming over our heads, I thank you for your service and hope that you all live to see the day we win this war.” Marshal Todoroki ends his speech, both he and Marshal Aizawa straightening up and saluting.

The group of Rangers, collectively torn between shitting their pants from fear and keeping their cool, straightens up and salutes back. Azusa, while fully grasping the seriousness of the situation, inwardly cringes a bit at the lack of encouragement from her father. ‘Did I really expect him to be any sort of encouraging, though?’ She ponders bitterly as she and the rest of the group relax their positions.

“Onto announcing the co-pilot pairings and Jaeger assignments,” Marshal Aizawa says, drawing every pair of anticipation-filled eyes on him.

As Marshal Aizawa read off the names of pairs of co-pilots and their assigned Jaegers, Azusa’s stomach began to churn a bit. As much as she tried to will away the feelings of nervousness and slight dread, the roiling feeling refused to go. Occasionally her eyes connected with those of her father’s, making matching his steely and stoic gaze the only easy thing about this whole event.

“Rangers Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, you both will be the pilots of the Jaeger; Steel Riot.” Marshal Aizawa announces, then sends a sharp glare at the two as they move to high-five and cheer, stopping them in their tracks.

“Rangers Hado and Kendo, you both will be piloting the Jaeger; Battle Fist.” Marshal Aizawa continues, letting the smiles the girls shoot each other slide despite the air of professionalism.

“Rangers Bakugo and Todoroki, both of you will be piloting the Jaeger; Bravo Inferno.” Marshal Aizawa says, casting a slightly wary glance between Azusa and Bakugo.

As soon as she had heard Bakugo’s name in the same sentence as hers, every single other word out of the man’s mouth became muffled by static. Her stomach now burns with a nasty mix of anger, dread, and loathing. She hears a curse-filled outburst that undoubtedly comes from Bakugo, but she is too focused on glaring at her father to acknowledge the brash blonde.

Marshal Todoroki pointedly avoids meeting Azusa’s eyes, his stoic gaze shifting over the other Rangers. Azusa clenches her jaw, her teeth grinding together as she continues to glare, half registering the stern words from Marshal Aizawa’s reprimand toward Bakugo. She can’t understand why her father or Marshal Aizawa thought that pairing her with Bakugo would be a good idea.

‘There is absolutely no way we will be able to work together, let alone Drift smoothly! This doesn’t make any fucking sense! He’s a stubborn asshole who will get us both killed if we’re even able to Drift successfully! Son of a fucking bitch-’ Azusa seethes as she half listens to Marshal Aizawa continue with assignments. Eventually, the assignment announcements come to an end and the group of Rangers are being led to Loccent’s command center while the first Jaeger and its pilots are being prepped for their first test run.

Azusa and the other newly graduated Rangers watch as team after team take their turns with their Jaegers, going through their first Drifts. Her peers cheer and congratulate each other with every successful display. Azusa offers her own words of praise when Tetsu and Kendo come back from each of their own successful Drift sequences with their co-pilots. Finally, the moment that she has been dreading comes when Marshal Aizawa tells her and Bakugo to go suit up.

The tense and rage-filled air between Azusa and Bakugo could be cut with a knife as the two don’t utter a word, let alone spare a glance at each other while techs help them suit up. The two enter the Conn-Pod of Bravo Inferno, Bakugo stomping his way over to the right-side pilot harness without even asking what side Azusa would prefer. As much as she would have preferred piloting from the right, she lets it go with an annoyed roll of her eyes.

Mechanisms lock Azusa into place when she steps into the foot-holds and places her back against the harness. The soft hissing and clicks coming from her right tell her that Bakugo hasn’t decided to leave the Conn-Pod in an anger-filled rage. Azusa takes a deep breath, using the cool oxygen being pumped into her helmet as an aid to shove down her growing dread.

“Alright, Rangers, let yourselves flow through the Drift. Remember Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers, or RABIT, don’t chase it and don’t fight it. Just like in your simulations, do not get stuck in the memories. Are you ready?” Marshal Aizawa’s voice coaches through the Comms, his voice firm but holding the slightest amount of hesitance.

“Whatever! Let’s just get this over with!” Bakugo snarls out, smothering her confirmation of readiness. Marshal Aizawa doesn’t even bother reprimanding him, just lets out a tired sigh before getting off of the Comms.

Azusa straightens up and tries to force the tension from her body as the AI voice speaking through the Comms counts down the seconds til neural handshake. She leans back a bit and closes her eyes, the final seconds ticking down. A gasp is ripped from her mouth and her body jerks as her consciousness is sucked into a flurry of memories, both hers and Bakugo’s.

Flashes of her childhood play before her eyes, good moments blurring together into bad. She sees herself running around and laughing as she chases her siblings. Watches as her past self cheers and gloats over beating Toya in a video game. Feels it when memories of her father angrily shouting at her and her siblings when they did something wrong or embarrassed him in some way fly by. Unaware of her body’s labored breathing, new memories flash across her mind’s eye, memories that are new to her but not to Bakugo.

Azusa watches as a younger version of the blonde marches across a playground seemingly commanding those that follow him. Another memory bleeds through and she sees an older, female version of Bakugo cleaning his younger version’s knee. The woman, his mother Azusa assumes, says something that makes Bakugo’s younger self reluctantly giggle before that memory fades into another. This time, Azusa sees a teenage Bakugo gripping tightly onto a family photo. His face is twisted into anger and anguish, tears sliding down his cheeks and his jaw clenched. Everything fades out completely and with another gasp, Azusa is dropped back into reality, feelings and thoughts that aren’t hers invading her brain.

“Right hemisphere calibrating,” the AI voice from before guides, as Azusa and Bakugo lift their right hands up in sync.

“Left hemisphere calibrating,” the AI continues, Bakugo and Azusa raising their left hands up in sync.

“Holy shit,” Bakugo breathes out over the Comms and Azusa can feel his awe as much as she can feel her own.

The pair’s thoughts fall into sync seamlessly as they move to show off a bit. Moving together fluidly the two raise their fists and bend their knees, getting themselves and the massive machine they now control into a fighting position. Feeding off of the impressed looks and cheers from onlookers, they quickly move into a different stance. Their brains and bodies following the same train of thought, they straighten up and bring one fisted hand to the palm of their opened one. Bakugo’s overwhelmingly confident and flashy ego reminds Azusa of Toya, a bit of sadness flashing through her mind when-

“Where the fuck is he?! Where is Toya?! He can’t be dead! Please, no no no-”

Flinching at the painful drop back into reality, Azusa groans and tries to make out what the voices she’s hearing are saying, “-roki and Ranger Bakugo, you are both out of alignment! Please try to re-stabilize yourselves!” Iida’s slightly panicked voice rings through Azusa’s ears.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m good now-” Azusa tries to say, but she is cut off by Marshal Aizawa getting on the Comms.

“You’re stabilizing, Todoroki, but Bakugo is still way out of it! Bring him back, now!” Marshal Aizawa commands with urgency.

“Dammit- Bakugo, listen to me! Snap out of it! It’s just a memory, you have to come back to reality!” Azusa shouts across the three-foot gap between her and Bakugo.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to be getting through to the blonde as he stands in place, stock still. His eyes have a faraway look in them, his face fearful and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. But Azusa keeps trying to get to him, closing her eyes and sinking into her mind to try to find where his went.

When she opens her eyes again it’s raining and she’s standing among the rubble remains of a building. Her gaze sweeps the area, not finding her co-pilot anywhere but instead catching on the form of his younger self. This version of Bakugo appears to be the same teenage version from the earlier memory. Once again, she looks around at all of the broken pieces of the building and pieces together that it used to be an apartment complex.

She looks back at teenage Bakugo when she hears him cough and groan as he moves to sit up from where he is lying. In the distance, she can hear helicopters and there’s a slight rumble from the ground beneath her, but all she can focus on is the boy in front of her. Teenage Bakugo stands up slowly with a dazed and pained look on his face as he grabs at his bleeding torso. More blood runs down the side of his face from his hairline and overall he doesn’t look too good.

Azusa watches as he looks around, clarity coming back to him as concern floods his features. He stumbles forward, desperately searching for something among the rubble surrounding them.

“Ma? Pops?” He calls out, his raspy and cracking voice echoing throughout the destroyed landscape. A few tears escape his eyes and he furiously wipes them away before continuing his search for his parents. A few feet away from where he had woken up, Bakugo stops cold in his tracks.

“N-no,” he brokenly whispers out, looking down at a pile of broken concrete slabs.

Azusa slowly walks up behind him, morbid curiosity getting the better of her, admittedly. A horrified gasp leaves her mouth as her stomach lurches at the sight of a hand sticking out from beneath the rubble. Slender fingers lay slightly crumpled and limp on the ground, a silver wedding band coated in dust sitting snugly on the ring finger. Acid burns at the back of Azusa’s throat when she recognizes the small ruby adorning the ring.

“No, no, no! Damn it!” Bakugo’s gut-wrenching shouting breaks Azusa’s attention away from her horrible realization.

Turning to her left, Azusa sees teenage Bakugo on his knees next to a body half-covered by rubble. Part of a re-bar sticks out of the side of the body’s chest and her nausea hits full force, once more, as Azusa walks over to Bakugo. When she reaches him, his face is buried in his hands as he sobs and his shoulders shake violently. Azusa looks down at the body before them and with a broken heart she realizes that it’s the man from the family photo from the other memory; Bakugo’s father.

Lost within the shared feelings of loss, grief, and pain, neither she nor Bakugo registers the sound of emergency personnel making their arrival. It’s only when a paramedic is crouched down in front of Bakugo do either of them briefly break from their grief. Bakugo, expressionless and silent, gets ushered to an ambulance with a dust-covered picture frame in his hands, the glass of it shattered and the whole thing is overall broken.

Teenage Bakugo passing out in the back of that ambulance is what snaps them back to reality, both of their bodies giving out on them. Alarms are blaring throughout the Conn-Pod and voices shout at them through the Comms. Looking out of the window of the Conn-Pod, Azusa watches the arms of the Jaeger slowly fall to its sides. As the glow of them fades out, she realizes that one of the weapons had been engaged during the traumatic flashback and a dulled shiver runs down her spine.

Ignoring the continued shouting from whoever is on the Comms, Azusa removes her helmet and releases herself from her harness. She rushes over to Bakugo, hands out ready to steady the man as he stumbles from his harness’s release. He rights himself, though, and shakes the look of sadness from his face to replace it with a harsh glare. He rips his helmet off as he steps away from Azusa.

“Get the fuck away from me.” He seethes out before running a hand over his face to wipe away the remaining tears. Shoving past her with little care, Bakugo storms his way out of the Conn-Pod leaving Azusa alone to deal with the torrent of emotions flooding her brain.

Note ~ Let me know if there are any tags I should add! I love and appreciate every single one of you, Lovelies! <3

Taglist ~ @tomiokasecretlover

Of Monsters and Men | Bakugo Katsuki x OC

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven |

Tags/Warnings ~ Fem!OC, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual fluff, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, potentially triggering content, universe-typical violence, Enji Todoroki (yes, that is a warning, he's trash), character death, suicidal ideation, (more tags to be added as story develops <3)

Note ~ Hey Lovelies, hope you all are well! I know I usually post on weekends, but since I felt bad for not posting over this last weekend. My husband and I were busy setting up my new PC! It definitely feels like a fancier upgrade from the laptop I was working off of, lol! Anyway, enjoy the read! <3

Enji sighs heavily when he hears that the team that was sent out to take down the Kaiju that had made land along the Shizuoka coastline are on their way back. The Kaiju was successfully taken down with no casualties, so despite the damage to nearby buildings and structures, Enji is relieved. He tells the team to debrief and complete their written report of the event when they get back, then he leaves the Bay 3 Loccent Control Room.

He’s barely gotten into the elevator when his phone vibrates in his pocket. Something in his stomach sinks as he pulls out his phone and sees Aizawa’s contact on the screen along with a message. The message is short and to the point with Aizawa only saying that he’ll meet him at Enji’s office to discuss the Drift trial. Enji lets out another heavy sigh and presses the button for the floor that his office is on, consciously trying to fight off his impending and unwarranted anger.

It’s not long before the elevator stops and opens up to the floor Enji requested, and he steps out. As he gets closer to his office he can see Aizawa leaning against the door doing something on his tablet. He can feel a deeply rooted sense of embarrassment and disappointment burning within him as he makes assumptions about why Aizawa wanted to meet with him.

“They went out of alignment again?” Enji asks as he gets up to Aizawa, his tone coming across angrier than he meant it to be.

“Let’s just get into your office before we discuss how the trial went.” Aizawa says already trying to tiredly tamper down Enji’s hot-blooded temper.

Enji clenches his jaw but nods once and moves to open the door to his office after Aizawa steps out the way. He walks in first heading for his desk chair, leaving Aizawa to close the door behind him. Enji sits down heavily, fighting the urge to audibly groan over the relief of not being on his feet anymore, and waits for Aizawa to explain what happened. Aizawa sits down and attempts to level Enji with a stern look that says “try not to fly off the fucking handle this time.”

“They went out of alignment again.” Aizawa states, cutting right to the chase and confirming what Enji had questioned. “It started with Bakugo this time, but whatever Bakugo had flashbacks of seemed to have triggered Azu- Todoroki to go way out of alignment. As you had seen before you left, they were working well together and making good progress as co-pilots.. but whatever she re-lived, whatever he saw, seemed to have set them back to square one. We should start considering pairing them up with other rangers-”

“No.” Enji practically growls out firmly, his fists clenched on his desk in front of him as he leans forward on his forearms. “They will learn to work with each other to become an efficient team-”

“Jesus, Enji, why won’t you give it a rest? They obviously hate each other and neither of them show signs of being willing to set that aside to make this work. Why are you so adamant about them being co-pilots?” Aizawa asks exasperatedly, his frustrations boiling over as he sends a questioning glare to Enji.

“Because if we pair Bakugo with anyone else he will get that Ranger or himself or both of them killed! The boy is too overconfident in his abilities and any other Ranger that gets paired with him will just turn into a pushover when it comes to decisions during battle. Azusa has the stubbornness and rational thinking that Bakugo needs in a co-pilot. As much as they may hate each other they balance each other out.” Enji bursts out, his voice just below a shout as he gives the reasons behind why he’s so set on this co-pilot pairing.

Aizawa’s eyes widen slightly and Enji lets out an exasperated sigh before running a hand down his face. There’s a couple of moments of tense silence before Aizawa sighs tiredly and his body language slumps a bit, “I’m sorry for failing to see such dynamics between them. I suppose I was too focused on their Drift Compatibility and their hate for each other. I wasn’t taking into account their actual personalities. You’re right, they do balance each other out; Bakugo’s confidence more than makes up for Todoroki’s lack-thereof, and Todoroki’s rationality makes up for Bakugo’s ‘act first, think later’ way of thinking.. but how long are we willing to wait for them to get their act together?”

Enji steels himself, sinks into his Marshal-mindset and pushes away any guilty feelings over what he’s about to say, “They get two more trial runs. If neither are successful, if there are misalignment hiccups both times, then they’ll be kicked from the Jaeger program and placed in a different field.”

Aizawa’s eyes widen again and he audibly inhales, “Enj- Sir, I’m not sure if the consequences need to be that drast-”

“Bakugo’s irrationality and Azu- Todoroki’s under-confidence will kill them both if they are placed with other pilots.” Something within Enji’s mind hates himself for saying that about his own daughter, but he buries the feeling and continues on, “They will have two more chances to prove that they can work together and if they can’t, then they’re done. That’s my final decision.”

Enji watches Aizawa fight to hold his tongue as the dark-haired man clenches his jaw. In Enji’s mind, he knows that this sounds like a harsh decision, that in any other case they would simply change the pairings. But between Bakugo’s personality and Azusa’s lack of proof that she’s actually cut out for this, it’s an easy decision for him. It is unfortunately made easier when Enji’s pride over his reputation has been screaming at him this entire time, telling him to keep Azusa from embarrassing him further.. The deep-seated need for himself and his family to be perfect, flawless, and effective at everything all the time winning out in moments like these.

“I already sent you the report on what happened today with the Drift trial.” Aizawa grits out, obviously mad about Enji’s decision but keeping his anger to himself for the most part. “Did you want to speak with the Rangers themselves?”

“I’ll read over the report, then decide. You’re dismissed, Marshal.” Enji responds evenly shifting his steely gaze from Aizawa to the computer on his desk.

Without another word, Aizawa stands and leaves the office, the sound of the door closing with a bit more force than necessary echoing throughout the room. Enji sighs and lets his shoulders droop as exhaustion in every form hits him. He locates and opens the email with the report attached to it and begins reading through it.

Even without the presence of tons of personnel down in Bay 10 where the Drift trail was held the re-telling of the events that happened make Enji’s blood boil. It doesn’t matter to him that this time the two had begun to work well with each other. It doesn’t matter to him that this time the misalignment was Bakugo’s fault. It doesn’t matter to him that this time it was Azusa that got pulled into what was assumed to be a horrible and traumatic memory that ‘left the Ranger shaken’ when she came out of it. What matters to Enji is that, yet again, it was a Todoroki that made an embarrassment out of all of the Todoroki’s, especially himself.

Enji could feel the fiery anger flow hot through his veins as he sent private messages to both Bakugo and Azusa, telling them to report to his office immediately. He could feel his hands shaking more and more with each minute that passed by waiting for them to get there. And he could feel the painful strain in his throat as he tried to keep an even tone when telling whoever knocked on the door first to come in.

His inner rage only seemed to intensify when Azusa walked into his office, saying nothing as she closed the door behind her and walked over to the chair across the desk from him. He sat there simmering in his embarrassment-fueled anger as he watched her sit down and look at him emotionlessly.

“I was told about what happened during your Drift trial and read the report. What do you have to say for yourself, Ranger?” Enji’s cold, angry tone only gets a minuscule reaction from Azusa and that only seems to rile him up more.

“It was human error, I suppose, Sir.” Azusa says plainly, staring at Enji with blank eyes, and the man loses his barely held together composure.

“Human error? Human error?!” He shouts as his face heats up from exasperated anger, and Azusa flinches slightly.

“Yes, Sir. Ranger Bakugo had a brief flashback and what little came through from the flashback sent me into-” Azusa tries to explain, her emotionless facade cracking a bit as various emotions ripple across her features, but all Enji can focus on is rage.

“Ranger, are you telling me that you are so weak-minded that the tiniest bit of someone else’s memory can force you to completely chase the rabbit?! Tell me, what was the memory you so carelessly got yourself sucked into, huh?! You are far too young to have any memories so traumatic!” His shouts bounce cruelly off of the walls of his office and Enji watches as his rage is reflected in his daughter’s face.

“Too young for trauma?! It’s your fucking fault that I have memories that traumatic in the first place! Even before you killed Toya- aahhh!” Azusa’s rage-filled outburst is harshly cut off when Enji, blinded by white-hot rage, slaps her across the face. Her head snaps harshly to the side as she cries out and the room becomes dead silent aside from both of their heavy breathing.

It registers in Enji’s mind what he just did and all of his anger dissipates into thin air as he looks between his tingling hand and Azusa. Horror fills his stomach making him feel nauseous, and acid burns at the back of his throat. He watches as one of Azusa’s hands comes up to hold her now reddened and swelling cheek as she turns her head to face forward again. His heart shatters at the tears dripping down her face and the unreadable emotions in her eyes.

“A-Azusa, I-I-”

Enji is cut off when Azusa suddenly stands up, the chair she was sitting in falling backwards from the force, and runs out of the room. Before he can even tell her to wait the office door slams shut, the walls around him nearly shaking. Feeling defeated, horrified, and numb at the same time, Enji stumbles his way over to the door. Opening it he comes face to face with a hesitant-looking Bakugo who has a fist raised and ready to knock.

“You can go back to your bunk, Ranger. I will speak to you later.” Enji forces out in horribly composed professional tone.

Bakugo swallows thickly and just nods at Enji before turning around and quickly disappearing from Enji’s view. Going back into his office, Enji slowly closes the door and locks it. Too many emotions surge through him at once, the main one being a massive amount of self-hatred, and he punches the thick metal in front of him. He doesn’t even blink an eye at the pain that shoots up his arm, or acknowledge his now split and bleeding knuckles.

Taglist ~ @tomiokasecretlover