BNHA: God of Explosions-Chapter 21: Winds of Change (2/4)

BAM!

The room's door burst open with a crash, making Kirishima jump in his chair. Mitsuki stormed in like a hurricane, her hair disheveled and her face flushed with emotion. "KATSUKI!" she exclaimed, marching toward the bed with steps that shook the floor.

"What is it—" Bakugo started, but his words were cut off when Mitsuki pulled him into a tight hug, careful not to touch his back.

"You idiot," Mitsuki murmured, her voice choked, trembling with tears she refused to let fall. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought I was gonna lose you, you stubborn brat."

"..." Bakugo's eyes softened as he awkwardly draped an arm over her shoulders. "...Sorry, Mom."

Mitsuki let out a weak laugh, still holding on to him. "Sorry, huh? You're cleaning the house for two months to make up for this, brat!"

"In your dreams, you old witch..."

***

[At the same time, U.A.]

"How are you, Midoriya-shonen?" All Might asked in his scrawny form. He was sitting across from the boy, separated only by a low table and two untouched plates.

The two were in All Might's room after he had invited Midoriya to have lunch together.

The boy in question hadn't touched his food. His face was downcast, eyes red with dark circles beneath them. "I'm... fine."

All Might frowned, his heart tightening at the sight of his successor so worn down. "Midoriya-shonen... I know I haven't been around since the incident. But I'm here now. Please, talk to me."

Midoriya's shoulders trembled. He lowered his head, green curls hiding his eyes as tears began to drip silently onto the table. "I... I couldn't do anything, All Might," he said, voice choked, each word heavy with guilt. "Everyone fought. Everyone gave it their all. And me? I just stood there, powerless, because I knew—everyone knew—that if I tried to help, I'd only get in the way."

"Ah... Midoriya-shonen..." All Might stood up, walked around the table, and pulled Midoriya into a tight hug. "Forgive me. For not being there."

Midoriya shook his head, face buried in his mentor's chest. "It's not your fault, All Might... it's MINE!"

All Might stepped back, startled by the boy's sudden outburst. "Midoriya-shonen?"

"If I knew how to control One For All, I could've done something!" Midoriya went on, fists clenched so tightly that small drops of blood fell from where his nails dug into his skin. "Aizawa-sensei wouldn't have lost his arm! Kacchan wouldn't have had to nearly die to save us! All Might, you chose me to be your successor, but how can I live up to you if I can't even protect my friends when they need me the most?!"

"Midoriya—" All Might tried to interrupt, but stopped, stunned, as Midoriya abruptly stood, then dropped to his knees, bowing until his forehead touched the floor.

"Please, All Might... I'll accept anything. Any sacrifice. Train me, push me to my limits. Break me, if you have to. But help me master One For All. And if I fail... if I can't do it, then... I'll give it up."

***

[Lunch Rush – U.A.]

Uraraka sat at the table, surrounded by a few of her Class 1-A classmates, but she might as well have been alone. She stirred the food on her tray, her chopsticks tracing slow circles over the rice. Her brown eyes were dull, fixed on some distant point.

She didn't want to be there. Not today.

What she really wanted was to be at the hospital, in that uncomfortable chair beside Bakugo's bed, holding his hand, waiting... hoping he'd open his eyes and throw out some sarcastic comment.

But no. She'd kind of been forced to go back to school by Bakugo's mother. "You can't stay here all the time, girl! He'll wake up and scold you for it."

'He was supposed to wake up yesterday...' That's what the doctors had said. But the monitor still beeped with that same calm rhythm, and his body remained motionless under the sheets.

Uraraka tightened her grip on the chopsticks. 'If I weren't so weak... he wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly protecting me.'

"Ochako-chan, your food's getting cold," Tsuyu said from across the table, tilting her head with a worried look.

"Oh..." Uraraka blinked, pulled from her thoughts. She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks, Tsu. I'm just... not hungry."

"You need to eat, Uraraka-san," Momo added, seated beside her. Though her own tray was nearly untouched.

"I know, but..." Uraraka trailed off, unsure how to put her feelings into words.

"I get her," Jiro said, leaning back in her chair on the other side of the table. "Honestly, don't you think it's time we talked about what happened?"

The mood at the table shifted. Everyone — Iida, Kaminari, Tsuyu, Uraraka, Momo, Mina, Sero, Shoji, Hagakure, and Satou — froze, their utensils halted mid-motion, eyes glancing at one another.

"What... exactly would we talk about?" Sero asked, his voice low and hesitant.

"You know," Jiro replied, folding her arms. "We're all pretending everything's fine. Like nothing even happened."

"Haa..." Kaminari let out a heavy sigh, sinking into his chair. "And what are we supposed to say? That Aizawa-sensei lost an arm? That we almost died? That we fought with everything we had and it still wasn't enough because we're not strong enough?" His voice, usually light and teasing, was laced with bitterness. "Or that Bakugo nearly died saving us, and we don't even know if he's gonna wake up?!"

A heavy silence followed.

Momo bit her lip, her eyes glistening with tears she tried to hold back. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Beside her, Uraraka felt a lump in her throat, Kaminari's words echoing her own fears.

"Kaminari-kun..." Iida began, adjusting his glasses with a stiff movement. "It's not fair to say it was all for nothing. We all did what we could."

"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Kaminari shot back. "And you didn't fight that thing, Iida. Your only goal was to run to the teachers, so don't try to put yourself in our shoes!"

"Kaminari, stop," Mina cut in. "Fighting among ourselves won't help."

"So what do we do then?" Hagakure asked, breaking her silence.

"We... train and improve until we're strong enough," Momo said, looking around at everyone.

Before anyone could say anything else, Mina's phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up and read the message. "It's Kiri!"

"What did he say?!" Hagakure asked.

Mina turned the phone toward the table. "Bakugo woke up!"

***

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.