I've Got You Under My Skin

9 - Unlikely Alliance

She turned around and frowned at him confusedly, waiting for him to speak.

Bakugou noticed her frown and couldn't resist the opportunity to throw in a cocky remark. "Well, what are you waiting for, princess? You wanted me to train with you, didn't you? I'm not gonna stand here all day." 

His stance was now different from the unsure one he was giving a minute ago, instead now giving off an uncaring vibe, his eyes smouldering with the usual intenseness that she was used to.

(Y/N) raised her eyebrows, a strange amount of relief surging through her, both at the fact that he said yes, and at the fact that he seemed to be getting back to normal. "You're saying yes?"

Bakugou scoffed, "The entrance exam is in ten months. To be perfectly fucking honest, I doubt that I could learn a lot from someone as shitty and useless as you, but since I'm the strongest, even someone like you couldn't drag me down."

(Y/N) felt a vein about to pop in her forehead, but merely gave him a slow nod, "isn't it exhausting to carry that big ass ego of yours around wherever you go?"

"Fuck you," he said without heat, "we all know I'm the motherfucking best, that's just a fact."

She looked at him amusedly, "is that so?"

"Fuck yeah. Plus, I might as well see what Endeavor has been teaching you."

She met his eyes.

"So. You are curious."

"Slightly. Doesn't really mean I give two shits about you though, so don't start thinking that-"

"I get it, sheesh, with you on the defensive like that someone might think that there's something that you're trying to hide, ~~Kacchan~~"

"Don't fucking call me that," he growled, making her smirk.

"Alright, Katsu-chan, I won't."

"What the fuck are you-"

"Come on, Katsu-chan, we are going to be training together from now on, are we not? That means-"

"Doesn't mean shit, fuckface. We're not friends, and if you can't keep up me I'll drop you faster than you can blink," he smirked at her, "so go ahead, princess, let's see if you can handle a real challenge for once."

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, not taking the bait. She hesitated, then asked, "wait, are you saying yes because of what happened yesterday?"

Bakugou tensed up again. Yesterday had made him realise that he needed to get stronger, and even though he knew that he was plenty strong and that he was more than able to train alone, he found himself thinking over her offer.

But then when she came over to check on him, with concerned eyes, he suddenly made up his mind. For reasons that made him want to both get closer to her and get as far away from her as possible.

From the moment she had stormed into his life and punched him, he was reluctant to admit that she had captured his attention. She was constantly surprising him, standing up for that goddamn shitty nerd every fucking time, yet only playfully reprimanding and insulting him when he attacked her. The way she had asked him to train with confidence, despite knowing that there was a huge chance he was going to decline, honestly impressed him - although he wouldn't admit it. And now, the way that she approached him when no one else would, just to make sure he was okay...it all gave him a weird feeling in his gut, and he was unsure of whether it was a good or bad feeling. He was unsure of whether he wanted to find out.

"Listen princess, take it or leave it and don't fucking ask stupid questions-"

"Alright, alright," she put her hands up placatingly, "when do you want to train? We can train together a few times a week after school, and maybe during weekends if you're available."

"Sure," he muttered, not looking at her.

"Do you attend any clubs, Kat?"

"I fucking told you not to call me-"

"Yeah, didn't think so, you don't look like the type to do something that isn't being mean to other people for fun, and I'm pretty sure there isn't a club for that. Unless you ask, the principal would probably approve just to kiss your ass-"

He growled at her and she laughed teasingly.

"Okay, okay, well, I've got music and arts club, so here." She pulled out a notebook from her bag along with a pen, and scribbled some numbers down. She extended the paper over to him, only to have him shoot a disgusted look at her hand.

"This is my number."

"I don't want your fucking-"

"Short fuse, we need to keep in contact in order to organize dates and stuff! So just, take it."

She glared at him until he snatched the slip of paper from her hands, grumbling about "fucking princesses who are too fucking annoying to deal with." She decided to pretend she didn't hear him, stalking down the impulse to retort about an "angry pom-pom who can't even think about being nice else he'll strain his brain."

"So, how about we train Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays? Those are the days when I don't go to clubs or when I don't meet with Endeavor. Does that work for you?"

He stared at her hard. "Yeah, that works."

"Great! My parents are never home so we can train in the training area behind my house, or any other areas that you might have in mind." She flashed him a bright smile, her eyes shining brightly, and her cheeks flushed in excitement, and at that moment, he felt... strangely tongue-tied. He had never made plans with someone before, except with his so called 'friends,' but this felt nothing like that. This felt...different, in a good way. Really good. And despite him telling himself that he was doing this for his own benefit, he couldn't help but actually look forward to this, and not only because he was curious, but because a big part of him wanted to chase this feeling and find out what it really meant, and why he only felt it with her.

And, could anyone blame him? In that shitty school, she had been the only one who actually stood up to him and didn't worship the ground he walked in. And she did that the moment she walked into his life, she didn't hesitate to stand up for that shitty nerd...

He felt his stomach roll at that thought, making him feel more anger towards Deku. Why did she like him, anyway? He was so fucking useless, but every time he even made a comment about Deku she didn't hesitate to attack him, which for some reason made him extremely uncomfortable.

He was taken out of his thoughts when she took a few steps back and looked at the time.

"We could start today, if you are free." She looked up at him, expecting him to make an excuse so that he wasn't near her for long but was surprised when he nodded instead.

"Yeah, the entrance exam is ten months from now, no time to waste"

He must have seen the surprise in her face, because he gave her a smirk, "What, is this not what you fucking signed up for? Too much for you already, princess?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, I guess I thought you'd make an excuse to leave..."

He rolled his eyes, "I know I have to fucking spend time with you, and though your presence is repulsive I've chosen to deal with it," he spat out.

"Charming," (Y/N) said, deadpan.

With that, they set off and began their training together.