Finished - November 10, 2022

Word Count - 3997 

Music - Final Kingdom - Two Steps From Hell

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By the time Thursday hit, Bakugo agreed to let Takari choose when they would train. He had pulled her out of bed every morning and she was obviously exhausted. She couldn't keep herself awake during classes and it was affecting her during the day.

Therefore he offered to let her choose the time. However, Bakugo waited all day for her to grab him and start their practice, but it never came and he was starting to get pissed. Not only because Takari was being lazy, but he was being gypped of spending one on one time with her.

This was one of the many reasons Bakugo woke her up so early, he wanted to see her as soon as he woke up. She was the first thing he thought about once he opened his eyes and he was never patient.

In just the few days they had been practicing together, Bakugo had become accustomed to seeing her first thing in the morning. Thursday was the first day he hadn't jumped straight to her room and honestly, he already missed her.

Yes, he saw her at school, in the common room and throughout the day. But he hadn't spent any time just as the two of them. This was what he missed most.

Bakugo felt incredibly eased around Takari, but he didn't share that level of comfortability with the rest of the class. He had his close friends, but nothing relaxed him like she did. He only dropped his walls when they were alone, he still had a reputation to hold around his colleges. But for an odd reason, his reputation didn't even cross his mind with Takari.

After dinner, he stopped moping around waiting for her to approach him. He didn't want to feel needy and was honestly too embarrassed to talk to her about it. He didn't want her to think that he had been hanging around like a lost puppy for her. Which of course he had.

By 8:00pm, he was ready for bed and started his journey up the stairs to bed. This was a very normal thing for Bakugo, he valued his evening time and always went to bed early. Therefore no one thought it odd when he retired before everyone else.

He stopped by his room first to grab his toiletries and headed to the bathroom. Then started his evening routine, brushing his teeth and washing his face. After a few minutes he headed back to his room, but before he got there he saw something.

Standing in front of his door, Takari stood knocking on the dorm entrance. She hadn't noticed him walking down the hall and probably thought he was inside the room. Her knocks were gentle and hesitant, as if she was nervous about waking him up.

"You!" Bakugo stomped towards her. His stern words startled Takari and her shoulders jumped slightly as she saw him. "Where have you been all day?!"

"What do you mean?" Takari held her hands up, her face confused.

"I mean we agreed that you would choose when we would train today. You totally bailed on me!"

"I came up to get you now. I'm ready." She smiled as if she hadn't pissed him off.

"Are you freakin kidding me?!" Bakugo burst in frustration. "Now?!"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

Bakugo looked down at the toothbrush in his fist and sighed. He was really tired. He never usually stayed up past 9:30 and he could already tell this was going to be a long night. But he wasn't about to deny himself time with Takari, the time he had been craving all day.

"You are lucky I like you." Bakugo pointed a threatening finger at her nose, making her eyes cross. Which only added to Bakugo's frustration of how cute she looked.

He then slammed open his dorm room and placed his toothbrush back in its place, disappointed that he would not be sleeping like he thought he would. Takari noticed the items he was putting away and she realized the situation.

"Oh." She dropped her hands. "You were getting ready for bed weren't you."

Bakugo grabbed a jacket and closed his room door, ready to leave. "And what about it?"

"I forgot that you turn in so early. Explains how you stay awake in class." Takari whispered the second half to herself.

"Ain't nothing wrong with getting the right amount of sleep." He huffed and pulled up his jacket collar. "You should sleep more, I'm tired of having to share my notes with you."

That was a complete lie, Bakugo definitely enjoyed letting her borrow his notebook. It became just another reason for him to talk to her. He would give her his book, then he knew that he would have to see her again at least once more before the day ended. Almost like an insurance card, ensuring that she would have a reason to talk to him.

"Do you always go to bed so early?" Takari inquired as they walked down the stairs.

"Why?" He peered.

"You do, don't you." She covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her giggles.

"Why?!" He repeated, this time harsher.

"You're such an old man." Takari's shoulders bounced as she laughed harder.

"Shut up." Bakugo rolled his eyes and stormed down the stairs faster.

Takari had never teased him like that before and he didn't know how to cope with it. This was proof that she was finally coming out of her shell, she was letting go, letting him in. Bakugo liked to see the new sides of her personality and enjoyed peeling back the layers.Though he was more interested in peeing the layers of her-

They reached the main common level, which was still full of their classmates. Aizawa had already completed his head count for the evening, so they wouldn't have to worry about being missed. However, the appearance of two classmates sneaking out into the night would look suspicious. Therefore they would have to sneak away unspotted.

"I've got an idea." Takari reached for his hand and pulled Bakugo back upstairs.

"Why do we have to do this so late? This is bull crap." Bakugo cursed, using language Takari would not repeat.

"That's what you get for waking me up at four o'clock in the morning." She shushed him with attitude. "We train at my time now, old man."

Bakugo bit his lip from yelling back at her as Takari led him up every single flight of stairs to the roof. She activated her quirk and created some kind glowing orb, the purple shape mutated into the form of a key. She then took the fluorescent object and pushed it into the keyhole.

"You do this often?" Bakugo teased as she unlocked the door with ease.

Takari gave him an unamused scowl and quietly opened the door. They climbed out and exited the building, a light breeze tossed their hair back and forth. The elevation of the tall building was high enough to feel the moving air.

"So what now Squintz, I believe this is counterproductive." Bakugo stated.

"Just trust me." Takari rolled her eyes and stepped to the edge of the railing.

"What are you doing?" The sight of her so close to the side caused Bakugo's palms to sweat.

"Come here." She beckoned him to join her.

He raised a leary eyebrow, but listened and stepped up to the edge. She then stretched out her hand to the space beyond the building's edge and activated her quirk once again. The familiar purple glow returned as she created a solid platform. Then another one just below it and another one. Soon an entire set of luminous stairs stretched directly to the ground.

"You do this often." Bakugo folded his arms with a smirk.

"Shut up." Now it was Takari's turn to tell him to shut up and she did, the action caught Bakugo off guard and he froze. He was a bad influence on her.

"Sorry Squintz, but I aint using your sparkly stairs. I'll use my own quirk to get down." Bakugo huffed and took one foot off the building, ready to jump down. But before he could get any further, he was stopped.

"Wait!" Takari grabbed his arm and held him back.

"What the hell?!" Bakugo whisper-yelled, though inside he was absolutely loving her touch on his bicep.

"If you activate your explosions, they'll hear you. We're not supposed to leave the building after curfew."

"Again, why do we have to do this now?"

"Oh come on, just follow me." Takari ignored him and pulled him to stand on her platform. Hand still on his arm, Bakugo nervously settled his weight onto the first purple stair.

"That's it, big guy." Takari noticed the firm grip Bakugo held onto her, his face firm. She knew he was hesitant, but too proud to back down.

"Not another word Squintz." Bakugo had always put his faith in his own abilities, he made sure he could do everything. He didn't like putting his fate into someone else's hands, he didn't trust easily. This was one of the many reasons he usually did things on his own.

His heart finally calmed when his feet landed on the grass silently. Only then did Takari wave her hand and erase her beautiful staircase. As her elegant platforms disappeared, he noticed why the staircase had zigzagged slightly. Takari had created the perfect structure to avoid the dorm windows, so one would see the light from their balconies.

"What are you waiting for, let's go." Takari caught his distracted attention and motioned to leave.

Together they headed off towards their usual training location, the forest just beyond town. A place that had become almost like a hideout or escape for the two students.

The trees welcomed them as they ran across the crunching leaves under their feet. The sound announced their presence to anything hiding in the dark forest. The last evidence of leaves clung to their branches as autumn came to a finish.

Before they had arrived at their usual spot, Bakugo jumped high into the air, just under the barren canopy. He held his right wrist with his left hand and aimed with precision. He activated his quirk by sending a small blast directly towards Takari.

As expected, Takari heard his explosion and jumped out of the way. With an elegant handspring she evaded the attack with ease, but that didn't make her any less surprised.

"What was that for?" She met his eyes with bewilderment.

"Lesson Four: expect the unexpected." Bakugo laughed and jumped in for another attack.

"Way to be original." Takari giggled as she dodged another assault.

Thus the night began and the forest filled with the loud sounds of explosions and laughter. The evening lit up by the unnatural light of purple and bright yellow. The two students battled each other to infinity, yet their hearts were filled with joy. Their quick movements looked almost like a dance as they weaved throughout the trees.

Bakugo was an excellent fighter, skilled in close combat. He moved with passion and fury. While Takari had the ability to fight from a distance. Her quirk enabled her to reach her enemies from far away. Their combat strategies differed greatly, but training together helped them learn how to fight an enemy of opposing strengths.

Bakugo launched another large attack with his hands outstretched, which sent a large explosion to shoot from his fingertips. Instead of running, Takari used her Tigers eye to summon a large shield and hide herself from damage. Before the smoke cleared she created dozens of flat disks with a forceful wave of her wand she sent them flying in the air towards Bakugo.

The boy used practiced, concentrated explosion from his palms to propel him upwards out of the way. Takari followed suit and created a stairway that enabled her to meet him up in the sky. She climbed swiftly, leaping from platform to platform.

Her agility was much better than Bakugo's, though he beat her in sheer strength. If given the opportunity, he could take her down easily. Thankfully Takari was much quicker and had been able to evade his advances, for the time being.

Though Takari was starting to lose her strength and she started to feel winded. They had been at it nonstop for hours and her movements were beginning to slow. This gave Bakugo the upper hand.

He fired an explosion lower than normal, aiming for her feet to knock her off balance. His plan worked perfectly, his blast forced her to lose her footing and she fell off her pedestal.

With a gasp, Takari started to fall. Her platform disappeared and she was freefalling at least a dozen feet before she created a second barrier to catch herself. She needed a moment to recover before continuing as her heart pounded in fear of the fall. Her palms shook and her eyes stared down at the ground, still a long ways away.

While she was composing herself, Bakugo didn't notice her shaken appearance and continued. He was too focused on the fight to see her freeze.

Takari hadn't mentaly prepared for the oncoming attack and Bakugo charged her from above. He grabbed her and continued his dive down to the surface.

Together they crashed through the tree branches and landed on the dirt, causing leaves to scatter the disturbed area.

A strangled cry escaped Takari's throat from the harsh impact upon her back. In defense she swung her leg around Bakugo's neck, in an attempt to loosen his grip upon her. She succeeded in twisting her body away from his strong grip.

Before he could grab hold of her again, she held her hands out and created six walls. A cage large enough to hold the raging teenager and hopefully keep him contained.

She could feel his thrashing around and banging upon the barrier, trying to break her quirk. Yet she refused to let up, this was how she was going to get stronger. She had to stay strong, be a wall, protect those that she loved.

Inside the forcefield dice, Bakugo roared in frustration. He never liked being confined to small spaces and this somehow unlocked a new fear. He was determined to get out. He had to get out!

Punching the walls proved unfruitful, so he tried a new tactic and placed both palms flat on one of the walls. He summoned all the sweat he could muster and prepared himself to create one massive explosion.

With a deep breath he activated a spark which caused a colossal combustion and shattered the purple cage.

Broken pieces of Takari's violet quirk disintegrated into ash as her shield fractured. She let out an agonizing scream, pain spreading through her.

The sounds broke Bakugo from his battle mode and his eyes snapped up to see what he had done. He had never seen Takari's power shatter before. Usually her platforms disappeared naturally or by force. This was different, something was wrong.

"Wow wow." Bakugo reached out to Takari's shoulder as she buckled and bent over in pain. Her breath was deep and slow, as if she was concentrating on keeping it together. "What happened?!"

It took a second for Takari to steady herself, but she lifted her head and smiled slightly. "I'm okay."

"Bull honkey." Bakugo spat back, not believing a word she said.

He helped her lean back against a tree, careful of her head. When she didn't answer him right away he gave her a serious gaze.

"What happened?" He demanded again.

Takari realized that he would just keep asking if she didn't tell him and sighed. "Every quirk has its drawbacks."

Bakugo didn't seem satisfied with her short answer and deepened his stare.

She rolled her eyes and continued. "Everytime I create something. Whether that be a platform or a weapon, I have to keep control of that object. I must always force it away or let it dissolve on its own, like it obey's me somehow. But if the magic is broken against my will, I feel that same pain."

Bakugo noticed Takari's hand hovering over her right thigh as if she remembered something unpleasant.

"When I was a child, there was an accident and..." She didn't finish her sentence.

"I was attacked too." Bakugo rested his back against the tree with her.

"Really?" Takari broke from her memories and focused on the boy who never spoke about his feelings.

"Multiple times actually." He chuckled slightly. "But there is one that I remember most."

Takari turned her head to listen more closely.

"Last year I was taken by a group of villains. They didn't hurt me, didn't threaten me at all. They had seen my berserk performance at the Sports Festival and thought I would be a good candidate to join their cause."

Takari was completely and utterly stunned, this was all new information to her and she didn't know how to react.

"A lot of things happened that day, things that affected the future of the Hero world. A lot of things I should have been able to prevent." Bakugo's head sunk into his arms, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Obviously this was not easy for him to admit and obviously it still bothered him. It happened over a year ago and yet he was still struggling with it, possibly because he never allowed himself to open up and talk to someone about it. He had let it bottle up and fester for too long, not giving himself the opportunity to heal properly.

Allira could tell he wasn't crying, but he was definitely affected by the memory. Something serious must have happened to make someone as tough as Bakugo emotional. She hadn't had a lot of experience consoling people, but something told she needed to.

Not knowing what else to do, she stretched out her hand slowly. Allira hesitated for a moment as she second guessed herself, her fingers curling back in. She braved the unknown and rested her palm on Bakugo's back.

At first he flinched, not expecting her contact, but relaxed after she smoothed her fingers over his shoulder softly. Allira noticed every slip and curve of his features, the dip where his bicep met his round shoulders and how collar bone elevated to meet his neck. She felt the need to ruffle his hair, to know what those silly blond spikes felt like. She traced every shape and line with her eyes, her fingers not far behind.

Allira shook herself from her trance and reminded herself that she shouldn't take advantage of him while he was upset. Therefore she forced herself to stop admiring his battle partner and dropped her hand from his frame.

Bakugo was completely captured by her touch as he leaned in, relishing in the physical contact. Her thumb rubbed gentle lines across from one shoulder to the other, occasionally drifting up his neck and into the base of his hairline. Her soft caresses felt so natural and pleasant, his eyes closing slightly, almost putting him to sleep. It was way past his bedtime.

During his drowsy state, he felt Takari's touch glide down his arm and cease their strokes across his skin. The moment her presence left, he could feel the cold fall evening creep back into his bones. He didn't want her to stop and by impulse he took hold of her hand, the action obviously confusing Takari.

Both students lifted their heads and made eye contact, neither saying a word. Instead of their usual banter, they simply stared at each other, taking the moment to examine each other's faces in detail.

The light of the moon highlighted Takari's pale complexion, and accentuated the purple of her eyes. While Takari admired the sharpness of Bakugo's brown, his grimace just slightly slackened, his mind not fully concentrated on scowling.

It was Bakugo who moved first, but a centimeter closer than before. If Takari wasn't paying attention, she would have missed it. But she was watching, in fact she was acutely aware of every movement Bakugo made.

For just a moment, Takari slipped and let her eyes fall to the image of Bakugo's lips. They were parted slightly and smooth. As quickly as her gaze shifted, she turned back up to his eyes. Which had definitely seen where she had just looked.

They boy didn't waste anymore time and closed the already short distance between them. The moment was sweet and savory, tasted like salted caramel and lingered on their lips after they parted. The kiss didn't last long, but it was just enough to know that they both like it.

This was the thought that scared them, neither of them had ever had the motivation or desire for a relationship before. It was new to both of them and neither one knew how to handle the situation.

When the moment ended, they were met with silence. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. But they were both lost in their own minds, thinking about what had just happened and what it might mean. They listened to the crickets chirp and leaves rustle in the breeze, but one sound caught Takari's attention. A sound not normally found in a forest, a soft click in the distance.

Her eyes widened and she automatically grabbed the labradorite on her earring and activated her heightened senses.

Bakugo noticed her eyes glow in the darkness and knew something was off.

"What's g-" He started, but didn't finish his sentence as Takari placed a hand on his chest, stopping him from continuing. Her eyes, the only source of light in miles, scanned the area carefully. Gliding over rocks, through tree branches and every hiding spot she could see. But she again saw nothing.

Still on high alert, she stood up to try to get a better look. Bakugo followed suit and turned his back to her, watching for anything that could come their way. Though his senses were terrible at night and wouldn't be able to see anything before it hit him in the face.

Again she heard the ticking sound and snapped her head in the direction of the noise. Once she heard it again, the recollection hit. It was the click of a camera. Was someone taking photos of them? In the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night? The thought sent a chill down her spine.

In addition, when she was able to identify the noise and the placement of the sounds she zoned in. Focused all her attention on the small spot in the trees. For a brief moment she saw some kind of string, maybe a ribbon?

This was all wrong, someone had definitely just been there and definitely took a picture of them.

"It's gone." Allira deactivated her quirk and took a breath to relax her nerves.

"What the hell was it?" Bakugo asked, his expression not too happy.

"I'm not really sure, but it sounded like a camera."

"You mean there's some creep out here taking sneaky photos of high school students?" Bakugo raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, but that's what I heard..."

"Well if that's the case, we better get out of here." Bakugo reached his hand out to her.

For a moment, Alira wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she figured it out and took his hand in hers. Immediately she was flooded with the warmth of his body temperature and relaxed just slightly.

"It's past your bedtime isn't it." She teased.

"Hey, if we get in trouble because of your stupid sleeping habits, I will murder you." Bakugo spat right back, ignoring her comment on purpose.

Together they hurried back to the dorm, returning the same way they had come. Up glowing stairs, to the roof, unlock the door and down the stairs to their dorms.

However they were in for a restless night. Their minds were too occupied by a heated moment and the mysterious click in the forest.