suddenly, i want to love you

by Her Pretty Smile

Synopsis: It was pointless from the start, so Bakugou already knew that he'd give up on her while it was still early. However, why is it that the universe seemed to be conspiring against him? A romantic play, of all things? With her?! [Kacchako]

Rating: T for Bakugou's foul mouth.

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Kohei Horikoshi owns it.

Notes: My first ever Kacchako fic! I'm so glad I was able to pull through with this~

chapter i - why did this have to happen?

Recently, he noticed that his classmates were starting to get excited over the upcoming Valentine's festival at U.A.

Bakugou thought that it was all bullshit.

He always believed that love was a waste of time and energy. Being the greatest hero came first and foremost; it was his dream ever since he was a little. His goal was the only thing that mattered to him and he fought any hindrance that tried to get in the way of it.

However, it seemed that he wasn't successful with it at all, because there was one particular roadblock that was threatening the road to his dream.

It all started when she came along. When he began to notice that she existed.

She was a classmate, a girl, and no one but another rival in his eyes. She held no fragility about her regardless of what everyone else seemed to believe, and there was a spark and potential inside her that he clearly saw and respected back when they fought against each other at the Sports Festival.

He didn't realize that calling her by her name and acknowledging her was only the beginning.

After the match, she seemed to slowly warm up to him. She spoke to him casually and had no fear in her eyes whenever he tried to threaten her. She had no qualms about touching him, even if it was unintentional.

One time, she accidentally bumped shoulders with him in the hallway. He had been ready to snap at her for it when she suddenly patted his arm and smiled brightly, telling her that she was sorry. He could only stare at her in shock as she made a run for it, expecting that he'd yell at her for being so audacious with him.

It was always known that Bakugou had never been fond of physical contact.

Because of his quirk, almost everything he touched (and everyone, in most cases), was for the intention of exploding them. He didn't do hugs, locking arms, holding hands, or any of that shit. It was just plain uncomfortable for him.

But with her, he found that he didn't feel the need to recoil from her touches at all. It was honestly alarming.

However, the person she liked was Midoriya.

Bakugou was not dense. Her crush on that nerd was too evident in her eyes whenever they interacted.

Bakugou did not like wasting time and energy for pointless things. He had no intentions of butting into their mutual pining for each other (what was the point, anyway?), so he held himself back and let himself not care.

(Because he was beginning to warm up to her as well, and he didn't want that kind of distraction.)

She was going to ruin him. He knew it.

So, calmly and quietly, Bakugou decided to give up on her without even doing anything. This was not love he was feeling, and nor was it infatuation. It was just interest, that's all. If he left this feeling alone, it would undoubtedly grow in time and prove to be a troublesome hindrance that he'd need to fight just so he could go back to focusing on his goals.

He had no choice. He had to pretend she didn't exist.

Now, if she would just never show up in front of him again… that would make it easier.

•••

Uraraka Ochako had never seen it coming.

While training on her own with the others present and training as well, she was experimenting with a few sports equipment in the corner, trying to develop her ability to quickly pull multiple heavy things towards her. It took a lot of concentration and she was already starting to feel queasy from attempting this multiple times, but she wanted to grow her skills and work harder than ever. Every day was a challenge, and she wanted to fight each one head-on. She would not lag behind the others.

She was going to succeed and become a hero.

Filled with newfound determination, Uraraka lifted three huge basketballs and willed them to come to her, her hands poised and ready for catching. She would dispel her quirk at the exact moment that they'd make contact with her palms so that they wouldn't make a painful impact on her.

What she didn't expect was that two things were going to happen simultaneously.

One was that the balls were suddenly flying right at her, indicating her achievement at increasing her speed record.

The other was that she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to vomit, causing her hands to involuntarily move towards her mouth.

Uraraka's eyes widened in shock and realization.

Those things are going to hit me in the face if I don't—!

A loud explosion sounded from her right, and she felt something shove her painfully to the side.

"Get out of the way!" a familiar voice growled.

The uncomfortable sensation swirling in her stomach immediately disappeared, replaced by a mixture of awe, shock, and relief bubbling in her chest. She couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes as he stood there before her, his palms emitting smoke and crackling sounds as his activated quirk slowly receded. He was glaring at her with something intense in his eyes, his teeth gritted into a snarl.

Uraraka's throat went slightly dry, but she swallowed and managed an embarrassed smile on her face. "Ahaha ~ that was close!" she laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Thanks for saving me, Bakugou-kun!"

She didn't quite expect his eyes to narrow even more.

"The fuck… Don't thank me when I had no intention of helping you out, fucking dumbass!" Bakugou growled, already stalking off to test his flight capacity once more. "You were just in my way. Don't overuse your quirk or it'll blow up in your face! Stupid woman, you should know that already!"

Uraraka blinked several times even as Bakugou went back to his training. Well… he's usually cranky… but he seems more irritated today. I wonder what set him off?

Shrugging it off anyway, Uraraka took a deep breath and let the mild queasiness in her stomach fade gradually. He has a point, though. I'll have to rest for a while and try again. She suppressed a giggle. Unexpected advice coming from someone who uses his quirk to the maximum almost every day.

•••

That day had been the first hint.

The two of them never really talked much. She always hung out with Iida and Midoriya while he was with Kirishima and Kaminari. Their seats weren't close to each other, and they ate at different tables during lunch. They had no reason to talk to each other, and there was no need for it.

But Uraraka noticed it nonetheless.

(Albeit it took her quite a while to realize it.)

He was ignoring her.

Of course, Bakugou never really talked to anybody except for his friends, and he also never greeted anyone whenever he passed by them.

But it was different somehow with her.

"Bakugou-kun!" Uraraka exclaimed as he went inside the kitchen. She had been searching for something in the fridge when she noticed him come in. "Deku-kun mentioned to me that you're amazing at baking cakes! Can you help me out in making one for my mom? It's her birth—"

"Go fucking make it yourself, you fuckstick!" Bakugou yelled angrily before storming out of the room.

Was it just her imagination or did Bakugou sound so flustered just now?

Uraraka immediately shook that thought away, internally laughing at herself. No way, that's impossible! Then she sighed, looking at the contents of the fridge before her forlornly. Aaww… I don't know how to bake… He's such a meanie.

When tomorrow came, she came across Bakugou. While walking to the classroom and seeing him in sight, she raised her hand and waved at him. "Bakugou-kun, good morning!"

Bakugou's gaze snapped towards her and his face turned slightly red. "What the fuck — leave me alone, dammit!" He stormed away from her, muttering angry, frustrated curses under his breath.

Uraraka blinked. What was wrong with him nowadays?

This kind of strange attitude went on for weeks. Whenever she tried to talk to him or ask him a question, he'd unexpectedly blow up in her face, get all skittish and angry, and deny or ignore her inquiries and greetings. When she began observing his actions after two or three weeks of this consistent behavior, she discovered that his attitudes towards his classmates did not change at all, which made it even odder that he was a little different when it came to her.

It can't be… Uraraka thought to herself, eyes wide in realization. Could he be salty about what I said to him about him and Deku-kun after the End of Term exams? That was so long ago, though… and I can't think of anything else I did that might have pissed him off…

All right then! Uraraka echoed in her mind determinedly, standing abruptly from her seat. I'll confront him about it after class!

There was a beat of silence.

"…Young Uraraka," All Might said, his lecture interrupted. "Would you please seat yourself?"

It took Uraraka a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. Her face flushed a brilliant red, she ignored the surprised and curious looks of her classmates and sat back down in her seat. Inadvertently, she took a peek at Bakugou who didn't even turn around.

I'll get to the bottom of this! she swore to herself passionately, trying to push her embarrassment down.

"Okay, everyone!" All Might said, his tone of voice suddenly laced with excitement. "I presume you have all heard that U.A. will be holding the Valentine's festival in a month?"

Almost immediately, there was an enthusiastic outburst from the class.

"Yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed with a wide grin. "What kind of program are we going to do, All Might?!"

"Maid Café… Maid Café…" muttered Mineta with a blush on his cheeks.

Suddenly, All Might's aura seemed to emit sparkles.

Midoriya shielded his eyes. So bright…!

"I have a very exciting activity planned for all of you!" All Might said jovially. "We… are going to do a romantic play!"

The whole class went silent for a moment.

Then chaos descended.

"WHAT?!"

"SIGN ME UP!" Mineta shouted, now standing ramrod straight in his seat with hearts in his eyes.

"Who's gonna be the lucky couple~?" Kaminari said teasingly.

"Watch out," Sero told him with a grin. "The main lead might turn out to be you!"

Kaminari blushed. "D—Don't jinx it!"

Tsuyu, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. "Are you sure we can do a romance, sensei?"

All Might beamed proudly. "It was my idea! Since the festival is going to take place in the week of Valentine's, we must stick to the romance tradition!" Before any of his students could comment, he took out two small boxes from the drawer of the teacher's desk and placed it on the surface of the table. "Here, I have written all of your names — boys and girls separated — on small pieces of paper. I will draw the main leads, the supporting roles, and the other positions, so please take note of your responsibilities!"

Without further ado, All Might slipped his hand inside the boys' box and took out a piece of paper. "The name written on here will be the main lead actor of the play." He then opened the rolled-up paper and peered at the writing. "And the lucky young lad is… it's Bakugou Katsuki!"

There was a beat of silence before the loud screeching sound of a chair being forcibly pulled back against the floor was heard.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bakugou yelled angrily, standing up from his seat in protest. "I ain't participating in this sappy lame-ass play!"

"Why not, Bakugou-kun?" All Might inquired calmly, his posture relaxed. "This will be a good opportunity for you!"

Bakugou stared at him disbelievingly. "What the fu—there's no way in hell it is! This is just a dumb waste of time—"

"Not only will you get extra credit because I will personally be watching and guiding you, but you will also learn how to do new things outside of the box as well as versatility which is one of the qualities of a pro-hero. A hero must be able to experience a lot of things and learn to adapt to different situations." All Might grinned. "Isn't that right, young Bakugou?"

Sweat dripped from Midoriya's brow. I can't seem to tell if All Might really does think that way or if he just made that up on the spot to get Kacchan to participate…

But to his surprise, Bakugou slowly sat back in his seat, now looking a bit calmer than before.

Kacchan's buying it so easily?! Midoriya thought, blinking in shock.

All Might looked extremely pleased with this sudden unexpected development. He's already changing… bit by bit. Not quite there yet, of course, but he's only yet at the beginning.

"The next one will be the female lead actress!" All Might announced happily, taking out a piece of paper from the girls' box and reading its contents. "And it looks like the lucky girl—" A few of the guys coughed as quietly as they could at that part, causing Bakugou to glare daggers at them. "—is Uraraka Ochako!"

Uraraka was instantly snapped out of her trance. "H—Huh?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Bakugou being any girl's partner is going to be a nightmare," Sero said sympathetically.

"What was that, you shitty tape?!" Bakugou growled menacingly.

Mina gave Uraraka an empathetic look. "You can do this, Ochako!" she cheered quietly.

"U—Um…" Inadvertently, Uraraka sent a glance towards Midoriya. He seemed to be frozen stiff, his gaze unseeing. It was as if he was in shock. "I…" She swallowed and turned to All Might, plastering a smile on her face. She did not know why she felt so disappointed and a little nervous at the same time.

"I'll do my best, sensei!" she said in her best confident and cheerful voice.

All Might looked pleased. "That is wonderful to hear, Uraraka-san! I am satisfied that you seem excited about this!"

Uraraka slowly drooped back into her seat, wishing that she could tune out the slightly uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Her heart was beating a little faster than usual and it was making her sort of nauseous.

All Might proceeded to choose the rest of the cast. Basically, the highlight was going to be the masquerade ball wherein the main couple would dance the night away without even knowing that they were each other's love interests.

This infuriated Bakugou. "The fuck?! I ain't gonna do that shit! No fucking way!" he snarled. "You must be out of your fucking mind—"

"Now, now, young Bakugou," All Might attempted to console. "This will be good for you. You won't be the best hero if you don't even know a simple dance, am I right?"

Bakugou gritted his teeth. "Fucking… agh, forget it!" He slumped back into his seat, still grumbling complaints under his breath. "Fuckin' hate touchin' anybody…" His eyes narrowed as his gaze rested upon the one girl who was slowly, bit by bit, occupying his mind each day despite his best efforts. Even if it is her…

Bakugou suddenly wanted to explode himself right here in the classroom. Fuck! Just when I was gonna forget about that damn round-face!

Meanwhile, Uraraka swallowed. A dance…? For her, it was no big deal, but it seemed that Bakugou held a strong hatred against anything even remotely intimate. Was she going to survive through those days of practice?

Inadvertently, she glanced at Midoriya once more. This time, he was hastily scribbling down notes on his notebook, muttering things under his breath. He had been chosen to be the coordinator and scriptwriter of the play, so he was already working hard. Uraraka had no doubt that he would be good at his role.

She let out a brief exhale. I guess… he doesn't care.

tbc