(Song: Neovaii - Crash)

(Y/N's P.O.V.)

Well that was insane...

I sigh and lean back against the wall with my arms folded across my chest. Dust motes dance in and out of the beam of sunlight filtering in from the hole in the ceiling.

Bakugou stands motionless in the middle of the spotlight, His scruffy blonde hair and lightly tanned skin shimmering in the golden glow. It'd be breathtaking, if the situation was positive... However, his loss has brought pain. He's not himself. He won't move, or shout, he just stands still. Breathing becomes gasping as he begins to hyperventilate, broad shoulders bobbing up and down with each harsh intake of air. It becomes faster, and faster, and-

All Might places a hand on his shoulder and begins to talk just out of earshot. I feel like going over to them, just so I can hear... But that'd be nosy as hell. I don't think he'd appreciate me being in his business... Especially at a sensitive time like this.

"To the nurses office," A robotic voice says as it wheels a stretcher beside me.

"I know!" The other chimes.

Izuku lays motionless on the white sheets, arm bruised from his shoulder to his fingertips. His breathing is light. His tousled, curly green hair spreads out in all directions across the pillow beneath his head. With cuts on his skin and tear stains on his face, he looks like he's been through hell and back.

"Poor broccoli," I murmur.

All Might leaves Bakugou's side, heading over to me instead.

"Young L/N! I assume your wrist isn't feeling any better?" He asks, kneeling down to meet me at eye-level.

"No, not at all. I could care less about it, though." I sigh, looking past him at the blonde. His back faces me, and yet I can almost see the anger and dejection in his eyes.

"Yes. I know you are quite close with Bakugou," All Might sighs, "Pride is good to have, but in small doses."

I nod, though my eyes linger on Bakugou's hunched form.

When am I gonna tell him...?

...How long have I known?

~~~

"Well, despite the results... The MVP of this excercise is Young Iida!"

"Huh?!" The navy-haired boy gawks, jumping forwards in the slightest.

"Uh, shouldn't it be one of the heroes instead, since they're the winners?" Tsuyu asks while tapping her chin.

"Hm! Valid question. Why didn't I choose one of those two?" All Might responds.

As he and another student talk on, I turn my head towards Bakugou. He looks ahead blankly. No anger, or sadness... He just looks gone. I reach for his arm. My fingers grace his bicep, but nothing happens. Knitting my brows together, I grip his arm harder in my hand.

Still... Nothing.

"B-Blondie, please snap out of it...!" I whimper. His eyes slowly move to scan my face, as if he doesn't recognize me at first. My eyes, wide and concerned, lock onto his. 

"What??" He growls lowly, staring into my eyes.

"Are you okay?" I ask, loosening my grip on his arm. "I care, you know...You're my best friend."

Suddenly, his ruby eyes go wide. His cheeks turn cute shade of a soft, rosy red. "I..." He starts, as if unable to say anything.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" I stammer, eyes wide. My tail droops slightly in worry. Without an answer, he simply scowls, cheeks still red, and looks away.

"Blondie-?"

"Alright! Time to blow this joint! Let's move on to the next match! Think about everything we saw and discussed as you tackle this training for yourselves!" All Might interrupts, pulling two more orbs out of the box marked 'Hero' and 'Villain'.

"Yes, Sir!"

Bakugou turns and walks away, leaving me to hang my head and sink back into the crowd.

~~~

"Match two! Team B will be the heroes, and Team I will be the villains. Let's go, kids! Show us you're the embodiment of good! Or--evil!"

The starting buzzer blares loudly in our ears.

One of the boys on Team B stretches out his many arms, forming limbs on each one. An ear, a mouth, a nose... What is this guy's quirk? He's like an octopus!

The other one... Looks oddly familiar. The right half of his body is covered in ice, so it's hard to tell exactly who he is. It does seem like I've met him before, though. I believe his name's Todoroki...

The boy steps inside of the building, an icy -blue mist floating away from his hand, and calmly touches the wall. Suddenly, a thick sheet of ice explodes from his hand, spreading across the building (and the observation room). The two on the villain team are effectively frozen to the floor.

I shiver and hug my arms, trying to reserve some measure of warmth for myself. "It's f- freezing..." I whimper, my openly revealing outfit not helping the situation. "I'm gonna freaking die!"

"H-He incapacitated them without compromising the weapon or his teammate! T-Take close note of his technique, students." All Might mumbles.

"He's so s-strong!" A student behind me gasps. That's, um... Kirishima, was it? I'm doing good with these names so far!

My eyes drift to Bakugou, who is seemingly unaffected by the cold. His eyes, his cranberry red eyes, stare ahead with shock.

My feet move of their own accord, taking me towards him at high speed. I reach out to him and shout silent words, my lips moving but my throat refusing to make a noise. He turns, his crimson eyes locking onto mine, and disappears into dust as soon as my fingers brush against his hand.

It's the same look... That same, shocked look from the dream...

Without a word, I forcibly pry my eyes from his face and look back up at the screen, watching closely as Todoroki makes an appearance in the weapon room. Boots crunching loudly over the layer of ice, he walks over to the weapon. With his right hand, Todoroki touches it's surface, winning the round in a mere minute and a half.

"The hero team wins!" All Might shouts into his microphone, still shivering.

From Todoroki's hand, a cloud of steam rises. The aforementioned sheet of ice that blankets all surfaces begins to melt, bringing heat (and a bunch of melted water) to the building.

"He has heat, too?? Son of a bitch...!" I whisper, astonished (and relieved to feel heat once more).

"Ah... That guy's kind of intimidating," Kaminari says nervously.

"He got in on a reccomendation, so he must be good!" Tsuyu replies with a 'Ribbit".

"Moving on! Time to gather 'round for a review of our second match. After that, we'll jet on over to our next battle."

"Yes, sir!"

~~~

Publishing date: June 26th, 2019