Of Monsters And Men | Bakugo Katsuki X OC

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. Sorry that I've been MIA, I'm kinda going through it and it's been impacting my motivation to write. I am hoping to drag myself out of this funk and get some new stuff out for y'all, though.. Just know that I love and appreciate all of you. <3

Azusa’s brain can’t even fully register what just happened. In the twenty years that she’s been on this godforsaken earth, never has Enji Todoroki ever laid a hand on her. His brand of abuse has strictly been mental and emotional. She’s never even been spanked. But as her brain short-circuits and she cradles her throbbing cheek with one hand, she’s in complete shock. Sounds become muffled and her vision takes on a distortion that makes everything seem surreal. Azusa doesn’t even feel like she’s in her body as she stands up to run out of the room. Enji’s voice rings in her ears, but he sounds distant and his words echo through her mind as she flees.

Unconsciously slamming Enji’s office door behind her, Azusa nearly slams into Bakugo. The two Rangers share a brief look; Bakugo’s eyes wide and an uncharacteristic concern blanketing his features, while Azusa’s face is stuck with shock and her eyes are swimming with fear along with so much more. Before Bakugo can even get a word out of his opening mouth, Azusa bolts for the elevator.

Azusa tries with every conscious thread that she can grasp onto to hold herself together for the entire elevator ride back to the floor her bunk is on. Her chest feels tight and her throat hurts from the strain of swallowing down her sobs and whimpers. When the elevator finally stops she stumbles out of it, ignoring the concerned and off-put looks from others around her as she rushes toward her room. She barely notices Aizawa leaning against the wall next to the door to her bunk, let alone fully registers his voice commanding those around to move on.

Azusa’s entire body is shaking as she struggles to unlock her door and when she finally does, she practically falls into her room. Aizawa catches her before she collapses, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly to his chest. He manages to close the door and the sound of it shutting finally triggers Azusa to break down.

Her sobs come out as choked wails of anguish only muffled by Aizawa’s newly tear-stained shirt. Her hands fist the back of Aizawa’s shirt, her knuckles white from how tight her grip is. She can hear Aizawa trying to speak to her, but his voice sounds like he’s underwater and she can’t think beyond every emotion crashing into her. Her cheek throbs with white-hot, tingling pain every time her face scrunches from another gut-wrenching sob. Suddenly she’s being moved, Aizawa guiding her to her bed and urging her to sit.

“Nonononono, please! Please don’t leave! Please, please, please!” She begs through sobs as she feels Aizawa peeling himself away from her.

Aizawa’s slimmer form gets replaced by someone’s bulkier, more muscular form but Azusa clings to them all the same. It doesn’t take much conscious thought to know that whoever this new person is, isn’t her father. Hesitant arms wrap around her in what would be an awkward and embarrassing hug if she were in her right mind. But she isn’t, instead her entire being is shattering as she wails into an assumed stranger’s chest.

“I’m sorry, kid.. Just, both of you stay here, I’ll be right back.” Aizawa’s apologetic tone cuts through the sound of Azusa’s blood rushing in her ears. She chokes on more pleas for him not to leave and flinches at the sound of her door closing. The arms wrapped around her tighten, but it does little to soothe her rampant emotions.

“H-he hi-hit m-m-me, h-he fucking h-it me..” Azusa stutters out as her shaking increases and her sobs become more guttural.

“I.. I know.” A male voice quietly rasps out and it’s a voice that Azusa is all too fucking familiar with. She tears herself away from the body that she had been pathetically clinging to as mortification shoves its way past all of the other emotions that have torn to the surface. Azusa and the man she’s despised the last two years stare at each other with matching looks of shock. Bakugo’s shock being from her sudden retreat, and Azusa’s shock being from realizing just who she’s been breaking down in front of.

“Ge-get ou-out,” Azusa whispers hoarsely as painful sobs still fall from her mouth, her body subconsciously backing up to the corner of the bed and beginning to curl into itself.

Confused exasperation contorts Bakugo’s features, “No, I- Marshal Aizawa said to-”

“Get out! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!” Azusa begins shouting, choking on sobs and wincing from the pain radiating from her cheek. Her hands come up to grip her hair at the roots as she continues shouting, probably looking like a complete lunatic.

“Todor-” Bakugo tries calling out to Azusa, but using her surname only seems to make her state worsen if the way she shouts “no” over and over again is anything to go off of.

“Damn it- Azusa! I’m not leavin’! I’ve been right on the other side of the door both times he’s yelled at you this week! I’ve been inside your fuckin’ head! I ain’t leavin’ you here like this knowin’ what I know!” Bakugo yells over her shouts.

Between her frayed emotions and her shattered mental state, Azusa doesn’t have it in her to keep arguing with Bakugo. Her throat feels like she’s swallowing glass and there’s a metallic taste on her tongue, but her wails keep coming. Her hands abandon their grip on her hair and move to cover her face. Her pain is intensified as her hand presses against her bruised cheek, but she buries her face in her hands anyway.

“Fuck,” Bakugo curses quietly with tired exasperation already stretched way past his emotionally-stunted limits.

Bakugo unties and kicks his boots off before cautiously crawling across the bed toward Azusa. Feeling the mattress shift, she recoils tighter into herself but Bakugo reluctantly ignores the action. Bakugo situates himself next to her and leans back against the wall, stretching his legs out. He spreads them out and gently pulls Azusa into the space between them, avidly ignoring how embarrassed and awkward the position makes him feel. She resists a bit but ultimately relents to lean her body against the front of his, her head resting against his chest as she continues to shake and sob. Bakugo lets his head fall back to softly rest against the wall and he looks up to the ceiling as a heavy sigh leaves him.

Azusa flinches slightly when Bakugo’s arms wrap around her body, his hands coming up to gently pull hers from her face. She’s starting to feel the exhaustion creep in but she can’t stop crying and all of the pain she’s feeling, emotional and physical, won’t relent. Her sobs have calmed down the tiniest bit, at least to the point that she isn’t choking on them anymore and she can kind of breathe.

“I-I wish th-that day w-would have ha-happened the way tha-that i-it should h-have..” Azusa cries and stutters out, and she feels Bakugo’s breath hitch in his chest.

“Don’t say shit like that.” Bakugo says in a quietly firm tone after a moment of silence, and it’s all Azusa needs to know that he understands what day she’s talking about.

“I-I mean it.. Y-you al-ready know..” Azusa cries with anguish.

Suddenly, her bunk door opens causing both her and Bakugo to startle. Aizawa walks in and Azusa wastes no time in detaching herself from Bakugo’s hold, and moving to the edge of the bed toward one of the only people in the world that’s ever made her feel safe and comforted.

“He already knows what, kid?” Aizawa questions, softly for Azusa’s sake, as he makes his way toward her with an ice pack in hand.

Aizawa hands the ice pack to Azusa, quietly telling her to gently hold it against her face. She takes the ice pack without a word, doing as she was instructed as she leans forward to rest her forehead against his chest. Aizawa may not have ever had kids of his own, but with Azusa being like a daughter to him, or at the very least a niece, he feels comfortable enough to be soft around her. Comfortable enough to let her cry against him, and to soothingly run a hand over her hair to try to calm her crying.

Aizawa’s eyes shift from Azusa to Bakugo who sits in place with a shaken look on his face. Bakugo’s eyes connect with Aizawa’s but all he does is silently shake his head at the Marshal’s questioning gaze. Aizawa lets out a quiet and tired sigh before looking down at Azusa, noticing that the poor girl’s sobs have finally calmed down to a less intense level of crying.

“Zusa, you should try to get some rest. You’ve been through a lot today, kid. Let your mind take a break for a bit,” Aizawa gently suggests and Azusa’s hand curls tighter into the bit of his shirt that she's gripping weakly at his side.

“H-he hit m-me, Sh-shota.. s-sl-slapped m-me.. I-I’ve never s-seen him so an-angry.. I-I’m usually s-so careful t-to not m-make h-him so-” Azusa stutters out weakly sounding absolutely broken.

“Sshh, sshh, Azusa, I know..” Aizawa says with forced calm, his inner rage reaching a boiling point with how fed up he is with Enji. “Bakugo, you can go. I’m going to stay with her a bit until she falls asleep, then I have some business to take care of.” Aizawa says, looking at Bakugo who still hasn’t moved from his spot or wiped the shaken look off of his face.

Bakugo seems to snap back into reality at Aizawa’s words and he forces a look of neutrality on his face, “Sir, I.. I don’t have anything that requires my attention at the moment. I can stay with her while you go attend to.. business.” Bakugo's voice is even as he speaks, but his fists clench tightly where they rest and his eyes burn with anger.

Aizawa studies him for a moment, pondering if that would be a good decision, but then he feels Azusa’s hand release it’s grip some and her body slumps a bit. He can feel a barely-there nod against his chest and he takes that as her being okay with that course of action.

“Fine. But if she needs me to come back here then I expect you to call me immediately. You may have been inside her head a couple of times now, Bakugo, but you don’t know what she’s had to deal with or the shit I’ve had to keep my mouth shut about, per her request, all of these years.” Aizawa’s slightly threatening tone makes Bakugo’s eyes widen a bit, but he nods his head in understanding. Aizawa gently urges Azusa to lean back and he carefully pulls her hand away from her face to inspect her swollen cheek. Anger blazes in his eyes and his jaw clenches, but he remains soft and careful in his movements and words of reassurance.

“Keep that ice on there for a bit longer, then try to get some rest okay, kid? I’ll come back in a bit with something from the Mess Hall.” Aizawa says quietly as he meets Azusa’s eyes.

“Okay.. Thank you, Shota,” Azusa quietly rasps out and reluctantly pulls away from him completely. Aizawa accepts the thanks with as much brokenhearted grace as he can muster as he gently pats her head a couple of times before stepping back.

“Bakugo, a moment?” Aizawa demands slightly as he opens the door. Bakugo is quick to get off of Azusa’s bed, leaving her with room to lay down and pull the blanket over herself, and he follows Aizawa to just outside of the bunk.

“I don’t know what kind of reconciliation or cease fire you two have put into place for the time being, but do not pick a fight with her right now,” Aizawa borderline threatens once again. “And we will be discussing what exactly you both were talking about right before I got back. Understood, Ranger?”

“Yes, Sir,” Bakugo says, slightly intimidated, and Aizawa firmly nods before turning to walk away.

“Oh, and Marshal?” Bakugo calls out making Aizawa pause and turn around, “Give him hell.” Bakugo says with angered seriousness.

Aizawa gives him another more determined nod before turning back around and walking away. Bakugo walks back into Azusa’s bunk and tries to close the door as quietly as he can, not wanting to startle her.

Azusa is lying on her side, her uninjured cheek squished against her pillow, and occasional shivers run down her body both from the cold ice pack and her fried emotions. She can feel her mind sinking into the safety that numbness promises and she looks up at Bakugo with almost emotionless eyes. She can only imagine the mess that she looks like right now, but at this point she finds herself uncaring.

“You can sit wherever you’d like, just don’t go through my shit.” Azusa rasps out and Bakugo gives an annoyed roll of his eyes before sitting himself down in her desk chair.

“Why the hell would I want to do that? We’re co-pilots, remember? Being inside your brain is enough.” Bakugo snarks, albeit with less heat than usual, and Azusa would roll her eyes if she had the strength.

A few moments of silence passes by before Azusa speaks again, “Anything you tell Sho- Marshal Aizawa won’t be anything he hasn’t heard directly from me before.. So, if you were stressed or something about the talk you guys will be having later, then don’t be.”

Bakugo looks at her with slightly widened eyes both from her admittance and from the near-emotionless tone of her voice. He schools his expression back into one of neutrality as he crosses his arms and looks at the ceiling, “Wasn’t stressed about it, so just try to sleep, ‘kay?”

“Whatever, Bakugo,” Azusa quietly replies, her eyes drifting shut. There’s another moment of silence before Bakugo catches what she says just barely above a whisper;

“Thank you..”

~~~~~~~~~~

Azusa groggily wakes up some time later to the sound of her bunk door opening and the hushed sound of voices talking. One of her eyes opens with ease while the other struggles to open halfway due to the swelling from her injured cheek. She groans as a yawn tries to escape her mouth, her cheek and the sore muscles underneath fiercely protesting such an action. The low voices quiet as Azusa slowly sits up, her fingers running through her hair attempting to tame it.

Everything that happened earlier tries to batter her freshly awakened brain, but Azusa is quick to throw up her walls despite how weak they are. “What time is it?” She asks without looking at the other two people in her room, her voice still hoarse yet emotionless. She hears the familiar sound of Aizawa’s signature tired sigh and her eyes shift to look at him.

“Bakugo, just go. They’re still serving food in the Mess Hall, then you need to get some rest, you both will be attempting another Drift trial tomorrow.” Aizawa says to Bakugo before turning to Azusa.

Azusa watches as Bakugo clenches his fists and his teeth grit together. She woke up too late to catch any significant pieces of the two’s conversation, but judging by Bakugo’s obvious agitation it wasn’t anything light. The blonde doesn’t put up much of a fight as he leaves Azusa’s bunk without a word, closing the door surprisingly calmly behind him as he goes.

“It’s a little past seven. I brought you some food, it’s not anything fancy just whatever was easy to carry.” Aizawa quietly informs her, stepping closer then sitting at the edge of her bed. “..You feeling a bit better after some rest, kid?”

Azusa silently takes the food from Aizawa’s hands and numbly unwraps the sandwich, “I feel fine. Thanks for the food.” She says, her tone still blank but she visibly winces as she takes a small bite of her sandwich.

Aizawa looks at her with a sad look in his eye and another sigh, “I know that you’re not fine, kid. You don’t have to shut down like this, not in front of me. Here, take these pain meds and drink some water.”

Azusa’s walls begin to crumble at Aizawa’s gentle tone and her hands shake as she sets her sandwich down, then takes the pain pills and water bottle. She chokes down the medicine and water as her whole body begins to tremble from the force of trying to hold back more sobs. Picking up her sandwich again she tries to continue eating, ignoring the tears starting to roll down her face.

Aizawa raises one of his arms, silently extending the offer of comfort that he knows Azusa needs right now. She doesn’t waste any time in repositioning herself, abandoning her sandwich to cling to Aizawa’s side. She buries her face into his chest despite her cheek screaming in pain.

A million thoughts race through her mind, battering against her skull as she cries. Is she really cut out for this? Would Toya be disappointed in her? Would she really be all that upset if Enji kicked her out of the Jaeger program? Why is Enji so angry at her all the time? Has she really pushed him to his limits? Is he going to hit her again? She.. she wishes..

“I wish you were my dad instead of him..” Azusa’s thoughts begin pouring from her mouth in broken stutters. “E-Enji hates me! Every m-move I make sets him off! I-I-I don’t get it! Wh-why have kids if you were going to make it clear that they were unwanted in the first place??”

Azusa can feel Aizawa’s breath hitch and his arm wraps around her tighter. As his other arm comes up to wrap around her, Azusa catches sight of his hand. It’s visibly swollen and his knuckles look split but they aren’t bleeding, at least not anymore. Distantly, a sick satisfaction settles in the back of her mind thinking about the shiner Enji must be sporting right now.

“I’m so sorry, kid.. sorry that you got stuck with a monster for a father.. sorry that I’ve kept my stupid mouth shut about his behaviors for so long.. I feel that I’ve failed you just as much as he has..” Aizawa says quietly, his defeat and guilt evident in his tone. He hugs her tighter and gently rests his chin on the top of her head.

Azusa shakes her head slightly, “Please don’t.. y-you’ve helped me and my siblings a lot over the years.. They wouldn’t, and I don’t, blame you for not wanting to interfere with another person’s career even with how that person treats their family.. it’s not like there’s ever been much proof.. except for now, I guess, since he’s decided to start getting physical..” She whispers out between sniffles and her unending crying.

Aizawa cringes slightly at Azusa’s words, but he knows that she’s right. Enji’s game has always been verbal abuse behind closed doors. There hasn’t been a chance to get proof in the past, but even now it would difficult to prove that it was Enji that hit Azusa. It’s an overall shitty situation.

Aizawa doesn’t say anything more, his heart hurting for Azusa. He just continues to hold her tightly as he ponders reporting Enji and whether or not the rest of the Todoroki family would be okay with that.

Note ~ Hit the ask button and leave me angsty prompts/ideas, pretty please. <3

Taglist ~ @tomiokasecretlover

Hey! This is my first time requesting anything and I was wondering if you could write an angst oneshot where Bakugou cheats with like Uraraka or Kiri, fem!reader finds out about it by herself, she connected all the dots without anybody’s help and keeps it to herself before she confronts him about it? Thank youuu

Alright Lovelies, please pay attention to this, especially the wonderful Lovely that sent in this ask..

I wrote it. I need to go through it, proof read, and edit, but it's done.. But it's heavy, I mean heavy HEAVY angst.. the type of heavy that comes with the "don't read this if not in the right state of mind" trigger warning.. and it's really making me second guess posting it.

I really didn't mean for it to get so dark, but I got lost in the plot, I guess.. I understand that I can change it, and I might, but I want opinions.

So, please help me out, Lovelies. <3

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

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

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 ~ Hi, my Lovelies! Hope you all are well! I hope you're enjoying the story! I have a feeling this fic is going to be a pretty long one, so I hope that those who have taken an interest in it stay along for the ride! Anyway, I love and appreciate you all, and I'm glad to be back! <3

Once she was dismissed, Azusa had burst out of her father’s office feeling way too much at once. She was too wrapped up in forcing herself to calm down and go numb until she could be back in the privacy of her room to notice the tall blonde rushing to hide around the corner. Unbeknownst to her, Bakugo had lingered just outside the door to the Marshal’s office desperate to know if she would actually get reprimanded or not. He had expected to hear her get a pass, to be let off easy for letting herself mess up their Drift sequence. What he hadn’t expected to hear was the Marshal ruthlessly berating her as she tried to choke back sobs.

After a few deep, shaking breaths and forcing her face to be blank and emotionless, Azusa walked back to her bunk. She had walked along numbly, not bothering to acknowledge other Rangers or techs she was familiar with lest her fragile mask crack. She had just barely made it through the doorway of her room when she crumbled, closing and locking the door behind her as she fell to the floor.

Back up against the door and choking on sobs is where she still sits, not having the will or strength to drag herself to her bed. Her father’s words reverberate through her mind, shredding her down to her core. Her hands come up to her mouth to muffle the broken, painful, whining sobs that tear from her chest. Like so many times before, years upon years of emotional turmoil flooded to the surface like hot magma. Far too many times throughout her life has she seen that side of Enji and it tears her down to nothing. Every. Single. Time.

Her puffy, red, and watery eyes solemnly glance over at the picture of Toya on her dresser, and whispered apologies begin falling from her lips. Pathetically, she drags herself over to the dresser, blindly crawling along the floor as tears continue to flow from her eyes. With far more effort than it should have taken, she heaves herself up to stand weakly in front of the dresser.

‘Failure! Disappointment! Embarrassment! Pathetic! Nothing!’ Her mind berates her as she reaches a shaking hand out to the photo of her late brother. Choking on a sobbed-out “sorry” she fixes the frame so that it lays face down on her dresser. Azusa then turns to her bed, letting herself crash into its surface without bothering to change before crying herself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Attention Bravo Inferno, report to Bay 10 immediately following breakfast for your trial Drift sequence. Attention Bravo Inferno, report to Bay 10 immediately following breakfast for your trial Drift sequence. Attention Bravo Inferno-”

Azusa reaches a hand out to shut off the repetitive alarm and lets out a heavy sigh as she sits up. Her body is a bit stiff as she gets out of bed to get ready for the day. Emotions from the day before try worming their way into her psyche, the emotion leading the brigade being guilt. Guilt over everything that had transpired but mostly over ignoring Aizawa when he had stopped by her bunk. She had laid in bed unmoving even when he had knocked multiple times and asked if she was okay from the other side of the door. Eventually, he had left and she was able to go back to berating herself in peace.

Looking at her ragged reflection as she does her hair, Azusa forces herself to go numb. It’s a horrible coping mechanism and she knows that, but it’s all she knows to do when everything feels like too much. Meeting the expressionless face that stares back at her from the mirror, she ignores the bags under her eyes and her bloodshot scleras. Instead, she smooths down any stray flyaways in her hair and leaves the bathroom. When she opens her bunk door to leave, Fuyumi is right there with her hand up ready to knock. She gives Azusa a once-over, then looks back up at her sister with concerned eyes.

“Zusa.. what did Dad say to you, yesterday? You look.. You’ve got that look in your eyes..” Fuyumi voices her worries as she falls into step next to Azusa, the two making their way to the elevator.

“I got a lecture like any other Ranger would have and then I moved on with my day,” Azusa answers in a monotone voice, not meeting her sister’s eyes. “And there is no ‘look’, Yumi, I look how I always do.”

“Oh yeah, sure. Your eyes are always that puffy and red, my bad. And you totally always act this distant and disconnected, sorry for being concerned.” Fuyumi sasses after scoffing. “Look, I know yesterday was rough. You can talk to me, Zusa. You don’t have to close yourself off, you don’t have to shut down like this-”

“I am fine, Fuyumi. Just drop it, alright?” Azusa accidentally says with more bite than she intended and the guilt starts to rear its ugly face, yet again, before she shoves it back down. Fuyumi sends Azusa a slightly startled glance, then shakes her head defeatedly as the elevator door opens up.

The two walk into the Mess Hall and immediately Azusa feels like every pair of eyes are on her. Her body tenses, a slight tremble starting in her hands as she heads toward the food line. She mentally fights to keep up the emotionless mask she’s donned while her thoughts try to convince her that every whisper from those around her is about her.

She rushes to fill her tray with food, then she crosses the room to an open table as calmly and collectively as she can. She passes by the table where Bakugo is sitting and accidentally makes eye contact with the blonde. Except, where she expects to find sharp, blood-red eyes glaring at her, she finds that Bakugo is looking at her with a calculating gaze. He’s looking at her like he’s trying to figure something out until he relents with a scoff and turns his eyes back down to his food.

Finally sitting down, Azusa shakes off the confusion from Bakugo’s weird behavior and begins picking at her food. She knows that if she starts thinking, and starts trying to analyze whatever the hell that was about, the other thoughts will begin battering her brain. She needs to be numb. She needs to not think about anything. That’s the only way that this next Drift trial will go smoothly.

After just mostly pushing the food around her tray for what feels like hours, she sees Bakugo get up to clear his place out of the corner of her eye. She waits a respectable minute or so after he has left the Mess Hall to do the same. Standing up, inhaling a long breath as she does, when she feels a tug on her sleeve and she looks down at Fuyumi.

“You hardly ate half your food, Azusa. You should really stay and finish it.” Fuyumi says, concern and what Azusa makes out to be pity lining her features.

Tugging her arm away from her sister’s light grasp, Azusa glares slightly, “I’ll be late for my Drift trial if I stay any longer and you know how the Marshal hates lateness. I’ll see you later, Fuyumi.”

Azusa can hear Fuyumi’s frustrated and tired sigh as she walks away from the table, but chooses not to let her thoughts linger on it. She drops her tray off at the designated area, then forces confidence into her stride as she leaves the Mess Hall. Getting to the elevator she doesn’t see Bakugo anywhere and she internally sighs a breath of relief. Pressing the button to call the elevator, she forces herself to think numb thoughts.

The elevator ride to Bay 10 was simultaneously too short and too long. Dread, fear, and rage had tried clawing their way through the barriers that Azusa had put up with each floor that had passed. All the while, Azusa had been desperately trying to get a fucking grip on her anxiety, which she currently feels like is still not under wraps completely as she steps out of the elevator. But seeing her fath- the Marshal standing at the threshold of the Shatterdome actually helps her with stuffing every single emotion she has back into that little box at the back of her mind.

“Sir.” She says emotionlessly, her features hardened and cold as steel as she stands at attention in front of the man, not bothering to acknowledge Bakugo standing off to his side.

“At ease, Ranger.” Marshal Todoroki says, stoic as ever but guilt swims in his eyes and Azusa has to fight with her inner rage for a moment. The tension is suffocating for a moment until Bakugo clears his throat uncharacteristically awkwardly, reminding the Marshal of his presence.

“Alright, Rangers, myself and Marshal Aizawa have decided to have you both run through a couple more trial Drifts to further test your compatibility. If the next couple of trials prove to be failures, then we will place you both with other co-pilots. If either of you are knocked out of alignment, try your best to bring each other back. You are a team and that means you should be getting through every obstacle as a team. Prove to me and Marshal Aizawa that yesterday was just a fluke, am I understood?” Marshal Todoroki finishes his spiel, his tone as militant and commanding as ever.

“Yes, Sir.” Azusa and Bakugo say at the same time and Marshal Todoroki gives them a singular nod.

“Good. Now, go suit up and get to your Jaeger.” Marshal Todoroki says dismissively before he turns to head for the Loccent Command Center for this Bay.

Silence befalls the two Rangers as they head for the sub-level where techs are waiting to help them suit up. They step into an elevator that’s slightly smaller than the one used for travel through the main floors of the base. Bakugo hits the button for the sub-level they need and the elevator begins moving with a metallic groan.

“You’re acting fucking weird today,” Bakugo states, his agitated voice breaking the silence.

“And why would you care?” Azusa spits, really not in the mood to deal with the blonde’s bullshit.

“I don’t!” Bakugo barks out, overly defensive and irritated. “Just make sure you don’t fuck this up, again! I’ve worked too damn hard for this and I don’t need the Marshal’s defective ass dau-”

“Don’t finish that fucking sentence, asshole.” Azusa seethes through clenched teeth, flames of rage burning behind her eyes as she glares at Bakugo.“I have worked just as hard as you and I am just as much stuck with you as you are with me. I am not the one who got stuck in my memories yesterday, am I? This is a job, Bakugo, one that we both signed up for. We don’t have to like each other, we just have to work well enough together that the job gets fucking done.”

Bakugo’s jaw and fists clench at Azusa’s words, but he doesn’t say anything further, each of their low blows making the other seethe. The two suit up in silence, ignoring the techs around them sending worried glances to each other at the thick tension. As they both enter the Conn-Pod of Bravo Inferno there is, once again, no conversation about side-preferences. Bakugo just automatically goes over to the right, forcing Azusa to take the left side.

Mechanical fasteners click into place and various instruments whir to life as the pilots settle into their harnesses. Taking a moment to close her eyes and take a couple of deep breaths, Azusa lets go of her anger and forces her mind to go numbly blank, once more.

“Good morning, Bravo Inferno pilots! Izuku Midoriya, here to be your trusted Loccent contact, today!” Izuku’s cheery voice comes through the Comms and Azusa feels the smallest tug of a smile at the corners of her lips.

Before Azusa has a chance to greet her childhood friend back, Marshal Aizawa’s voice fills the Comms, “Listen up, Rangers. Once your neural handshake has been finalized and deemed stable, you will be directed to move about the Bay. We have cleared it of all personnel so that you may roam freely. Marshal Todoroki, Izuku, and I will be monitoring your stats the entire time. If either of you goes out of alignment, we are more than prepared to handle the situation, so just focus on getting each other back to the present. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.” Bakugo and Azusa answer in tandem, once again.

“Good. Prepare for neural handshake.” Marshal Aizawa says before Izuku’s voice comes back through the Comms with the countdown.

Azusa closes her eyes and tips her head back focusing on the mantra playing through her mind, ‘Just be blank. Carry nothing into the Drift. No emotions. No thoughts. Just be blank. Carry nothing into the Drift. No emotion. No thoughts. Just be blan-’

The sharp gasp that leaves Azusa’s mouth cuts off her train of thought and just like yesterday her consciousness is pulled through memory after memory, both her own and Bakugo’s. Memories different than the ones she saw yesterday flash through her mind, but she just lets her consciousness flow through them. Soon enough, she jerks back into the present with the feeling of Bakugo’s psyche rubbing against and melding with her own.

“Right hemisphere calibrating,” Bakugo and Azusa say together as they raise their right hand, repeating the action for their left side.

“Looking good, you two! Neural handshake is strong and stable! I’ve gotten the green light from the Marshals to tell you to go ahead and try moving whenever you’re ready!” Izuku happily informs the two over the Comms.

Azusa can feel Bakugo’s annoyance spike at Izuku’s cheerful tone and she can’t help the rolling of her eyes. Underneath the annoyance, though, is the excitement that the blonde feels along with a sense of power. ‘Jesus, this is just going to make his god complex worse.’ Azusa thinks with an internal groan and she hears a growl come from the blonde three feet away from her.

‘You know that I can hear your thoughts, right idiot?’ The anger-fueled thought flashes across Azusa’s mind leaving her slightly surprised yet smug, a self-satisfied smirk pulling at her lips.

“Get moving, Rangers. We don’t have all day to just sit here. Focus on the task at hand and take it seriously or get the hell out of that Jaeger.” Marshal Todoroki says borderline harshly through the Comms and it takes everything for Azusa not to flinch at his reprimand.

Bakugo must feel something flash through their bond because he looks over to Azusa, the look on his face contradicting what he tells her within their shared mind-space, ‘Don’t listen to him, just focus on keeping yourself stable and present.’

Only half meeting Bakugo’s gaze, Azusa just nods, forcing herself to be blank and numb again. As the two make their Jaeger take a step forward, Azusa offhandedly thinks about how keeping herself completely void of feelings is much more difficult to do with someone else in her brain. It’s an absentminded thought, fast and fleeting in nature. Yet it’s not fast enough for Bakugo to miss, but he chooses to ignore it. For now, at least.

Bakugo and Azusa move Bravo Inferno around the Bay for a while, both of them getting used to a new center of gravity and being in someone’s mind. They’re in the middle of practicing evasive maneuvers when their Comms crackle to life.

“Attention, Rangers. I just wanted to inform you both that Marshal Todoroki had to step out to observe a deployment. There was a Kaiju signature picked up on our radars along the Shizuoka coastline. I am staying here to continue observations.” Marshal Aizawa informs the two pilots, but before either of them can respond Bakugo goes shock-still.

Azusa can feel cold fear flash through her and her body jerks painfully as her reality is shaken. There’s a brief, muted, and echoing sound of sirens, the noise appearing to come from whatever flashback had thrown Bakugo back into the past. But the disruption within Bakugo’s psyche reverberates through Azusa’s and triggers something within her mind.

Suddenly, Azusa is on her knees with the armor of her suit protecting them from the grainy sand beneath her. Then she blinks and she is the 17-year-old version of herself wearing an all too familiar t-shirt and pair of shorts. The grains of sand now dig into the skin of her knees and the blare of the Kaiju Warning Sirens echoes around her.

She watches with paralyzing fear as a Kaiju gets increasingly closer to the shoreline she’s kneeling at. Even if the fear wasn’t freezing her muscles in place, she doesn’t think she would have the will to move. The Kaiju finally reaches the shallows and something akin to relief bleeds into Azusa’s body.

It’s been a month since Toya’s death and it has been nothing short of unbearable. Between the grief and her father’s heightened cruelty, Azusa has been going through hell. She doesn’t feel like she can do it anymore. She can’t handle the pressure of being the oldest Todoroki sibling. She can’t handle being the pillar of support for her brothers, sister, and mother. She can’t handle being just another outlet for her father’s misplaced anger.

It’s been a month and she can’t help but wonder how Toya did this for years without crumbling under the pressure.

The earth beneath her rumbles and shakes with every step the alien monster in front of her takes. It roars as it draws closer and Azusa’s body begins trembling subconsciously, her basic survival instincts screaming at her to run. But she ignores the rational part of her brain and focuses on finally being able to escape life, on the possibility of seeing her brother again. She’s so focused on the Kaiju that’s now right in front of her that she doesn’t register the sound of metallic muscles working to rush the monster staring down at her.

Metal meets alien flesh and the sound resonates through the air, pulling Azusa out of the daze she was stuck in. Beast fights beast and from the blur of limbs crashing into bodies, the tail of the Kaiju swings through the air. Its intention is to hit the Jaeger in the side, but as it travels along its set path it slams into Azusa’s body.

The wind is immediately knocked from her lungs as pain explodes throughout her entire being, her body sent flying through the air. She bounces a couple of times when she lands before she slides along the asphalt of the beachside parking lot. Barely conscious, she cries at the feeling of the cold yet fiery pain engulfing the right side of her body. The metallic smell of blood hits her nostrils and she gags on it in all of her agony.

She dazedly watches the Jaeger land the final blows to the Kaiju that was supposed to kill her. Listens to its dying roars with a mixture of instinctual relief and conscious jealousy. The beast finally lies down dead and the Jaeger’s head turns in her direction. It begins to approach her and she takes the time to really look at it. The familiar black and lime green paint, the emblem of a jaguar with bright yellow eyes stamped on the chest; it’s Aizawa’s and Yamada’s Jaeger.

The massive robot finally reaches her, its towering figure bending over to gently pick her up with one hand. The metal giant brings its hand up to the glass window where its eyes would be. The glass panel slides open and Azusa meets the dark eyes of the man she looks up to the most in her life.

“I’ll keep us steady, you go grab her, Shota!” Yamada calls out as he hits various switches and buttons.

Aizawa is quick to disengage from his harness, rushing over to scoop Azusa up into his arms, uncaring of her blood getting all over his suit. He brings her over to a corner of the Conn-Pod and carefully straps her to a spine board, worry filling his usually tired features.

“What were you even doing out here, kid?” He quietly asks, not really looking for an answer but getting one anyway.

“I just wanted to see Toya again..” Azusa brokenly whispers out just before the severity of her injuries catches up to her and she passes out.

Gasping like she couldn’t breathe the whole time, Azusa crashes back to reality. In a daze still, she disengages from her harness, swaying as her body threatens to give out on her. Her legs shake, then her knees buckle but before her body can hit the floor two strong arms catch her. Hands come up to rip off her helmet and she gulps in all the oxygen she can.

“Guess we’re even now, huh Princess?” Bakugo rasps out quietly from beside her and it’s then that Azusa registers the shouting through the Comms and the various alarms blaring.

“S-sorry,” Azusa whispers, leaning all of her weight against Bakugo.

“Don’t be.” The blonde states quietly instead of spitting out something snarky.

The doors to the Conn-Pod suddenly open causing Bakugo to jerk away from Azusa a bit. Without thinking, one of Azusa’s hands shoots out to grasp Bakugo’s arm, the fear of being left alone overriding her distaste for the blonde.

Footsteps approach the pair and Azusa instantly knows who it is, “Rangers, are you okay? Todoroki, can you stand?” Marshal Aizawa’s voice fills the newfound silence of the Conn-Pod.

“I’m fine,” Azusa says as Bakugo helps her stand. As soon as she’s up she steps away from him despite being shaky on her feet.

Bakugo sends her a confused look before fixing his features back to his usual look of annoyed disinterest, “Yeah, I’m good.”

Aizawa sends a weary glance to Azusa before sighing, “Okay, good. Both of you head back to your bunks, we’re done for the day. I’ll let Marshal Todoroki know what happened.” He states, sending Azusa a brief apologetic glance before turning to walk out of the Conn-Pod.

Bakugo turns slightly to look at Azusa, the scars on the right side of her face more noticeable than they were before. The rest of the memory plays through his head; Azusa waking up in the Hospital Bay, her mother and siblings being sent out of the room, and her father screaming at her for the next hour. Phantom feelings of emotional pain linger in his chest and it makes him grind his teeth.

“You sure you’re fine?” Bakugo asks with feigned disinterest despite his unwelcomed and genuine concern.

“Don’t worry about it, Bakugo. Forget that you saw anything.” Azusa says tiredly as she moves past him to leave the Conn-Pod, refusing to meet his eye at any point.

Note ~ So, while I am still working on this fic, I want to write some more xReader one or two-parters so hit up that ask button, Lovelies! Drop a comment telling me how you're liking the story so far or if I missed any typos or if I need to add any more tags! Much love and appreciation, Lovelies! <3

Taglist ~ @tomiokasecretlover

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