Speak (Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

[17; a shift]

You awoke in the nurse's office.

Recovery Girl was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, and your friends had also collected by your bedside—Uraraka, Izuku, and Iida, respectively. You briefly recalled the fact that you'd passed out from both exhaustion and pain after your battle with Katsuki, which meant that the second round had officially been wrapped up.

And that you'd...lost.

Uraraka was eyeing you with a worried expression, and you couldn't help but scrunch up your nose. Sure, you'd pretty much been expecting to lose, but the fact that you'd come so close...it just felt like a waste now. You'd actually managed to put up a fight against Katsuki; the sensation of having your victory torn away after forming a shred of hope hurt even more. Still, you couldn't say that things were that bad, after all—

Back then...he said he was proud of me, didn't he?

That thought alone helped pacify the frustration of your loss. You might've been imagining it, but when he'd been facing you back there, he almost looked worried. He was near-frantic, scrambling in every way possible to get you to breathe. You might've lost the battle, yes, but it felt like you'd gotten closer to him—even if just a little.

"How are you feeling?" Uraraka asked, brows creasing with concern. "I felt them too, so I know those explosions hurt a ton..."

"Mm. I'm fine, though. Don't worry," you smiled. "I feel a little bitter about my loss, but overall...I would say that I'm happy with how things worked out."

Izuku and Iida frowned back at each other, as if they couldn't understand what was so fantastic about losing. Uraraka, however, understood without you needing to explain any further. Her brown eyes softened, and the small smile tugging at her lips told you that she knew you were talking about Katsuki.

"Well, that's good then," she acquiesced. "If you're happy right now, then so am I."

Your friends murmured a few more words of consolation, and then they were gone, at Recovery Girl's request. You were still feeling a bit groggy and out of it, but you were no longer in pain. She told you she'd be able to let you go after a quick, final examination.

"Look to the left," she instructed; then, alternately— "now to the right."

You followed her commands while she shone a light in your eyes. She pressed down on certain areas of your skin a few times, probably to ascertain there were no damaged blood vessels, and then let out a hum of approval.

"Would you lift up your shirt for me, sweetheart?" When she noticed you frown, Recovery Girl chuckled. "No, no—there's no need to expose yourself. I just want to have a look at your hip; I saw something strange there earlier."

"O-oh. Sure thing."

You gingerly raised the edge of your shirt, revealing the hip with the writing scrawled across it. She hadn't specified which hip, but you figured she'd been referring to your mark nonetheless.

"It's a soulmate tattoo," you explained. "That's probably what you saw when you were examining me. It's nothing special, but I've had it all my life."

Recovery Girl's expression fell for just a moment, but she hurried to compose herself. "Ah, yes," she coughed. "That must've been what I saw. Forgive me. It's nothing."

You shrugged, pulling your shirt back down. Maybe having a soulmate really was a pretty rare thing to come by; people always looked to be in such awe over it. Before, having a soulmate mark was a more frequent occurrence, you'd heard, but as Quirks became more commonplace, the number of people having a soulmate had also died down. You didn't exactly know how it worked—something to do with people's genes, most likely—but in any case, it was clear that people like you and Katsuki were on the decline. You supposed it couldn't be helped if others found it interesting.