A Second Life

Bakugou's hands were oozing with sweat. And it might oxidize any moment. He knows that he doesn't stand a chance against this monster known as Azumi Sumire, but no way in hell is he going to back down at least without giving it a try. He was right, Sumire was indeed a monster. She quickly noticed the change. The way his jaw tensed, nerves tight like they were stretched, gut being tested. She was s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to them.

She stopped her laughter and looked at the boy who startled like a deer facing headlights of a car in middle of the road… Strange as it is Sumire managed to make an impression on Bakugou, a very dangerous one. She sighed and started speaking.

"Don't worry, I may be a psycho but not a homicidal one." She tried to reassure.

"Good to know." Bakugou replied drily, clearly not buying it.

"Whatever, believe it or not; I have no intention on killing you, though my actions might speak otherwise."

Bakugou just scoffed. He admits that he got a screw or two loose in his head, but Sumire, that woman is just messed up as it could it get, in his opinion. and that's coming from him. He might've also believed her neutral façade; it was almost perfect. But the thing was she tried to strangle him and Bakugou could swear, he felt the intent to kill, though it might be his first time, he knew. The lack of breath, heart beating in… fear, he knew. She was close to killing him that day.

"You think I'll believe you?" he asked.

"I don't blame you. I honestly didn't want you to be a part of any of this… it's my mess to take care of."

She said that and something in Bakugou snapped, really hard.

"You know what? You are a cold, manipulative and heartless b****."

Sumire didn't even try to deny it and stayed silent, like she always was. And it didn't help. Bakugou felt angry but also tired. He felt exhausted, though he didn't know why. But Bakugou knew one thing for sure.

"And I don't give you a damn about you, so let's just pretend that we don't know each other at all. I won't speak a word about you to anyone, and you are doing the same." He hissed and stayed silent. After a minute, Sumire finally spoke.

"Fine by me." She said that and she walked away. Bakugou looked at her fading back and he too, walked away.

He reached home and laid on his bed, trying to clear his thoughts away. It wasn't until Mitsuki slammed open his door and yelled at him, did he snap out of his thoughts.

"You damn brat! How many times do I have to call you to come and have your dinner?" she snarled.

"I don't want it, old hag, get out of my room now!" He yelled back.

"Fine, suit yourself!" Mitsuki had enough of him and slammed his door back.

Bakugou just rolled his eyes and stayed still. His thoughts were unclear and the it was killing him. Since day one, Bakugou's thoughts were simple, and it all started going wrong. The first was someone managed to best him in prelims, and he got measly second place. Second, the one who he wanted to beat turned out to be a terrific monster who perfectly disguised herself to be normal. Yes, it was all her fault.

She first pretended to be weak but in truth, she was just fooling with everyone. Then when he struck her nerve, she nearly killed him. As if that was not weird enough, she came and apologized. Sincerely. His confusion started from then.

He didn't provoke her in anyway since then and things were, pretty much good. His overinflated ego didn't find the courage to show itself around her and for the first time, he thought he could use a friend. She was fit be one, his friend. She was strong and had a bite of her own, and Bakugou was feral himself. He thought maybe, they'd get along and well, high school might be fun and all.

But no, things were bound to get nasty. The USJ. It burst his little bubble and showed him the true nature of one person who he 'considered' as a friend. That she didn't trust him at all. Not even an ounce.

He could still feel the dread and danger. The way his adrenaline spiked and rushed into his head; he remembers it clearly.

*flashback begins*

Bakugou caught Sumire and tried to rush towards the exit, but it was blocked. He couldn't help but mumble a curse under his breath. He tried to calm down and think about it, but he didn't have time. The villains, for all their anxiety, were in a frenzy to attack them and possibly kill them. Before he knew, he was teleported along with Sumire and a guy who had hair for brains (Kirishima).

Thankfully, the villains were total nutjobs and they managed to hold off until the heroes came. Bakugou heaved a sigh when he found the situation was stable. He looked back at the girl and found horror consume him.

She looked pale, and the red blood that flowed from her mouth made her look even more morbid. Bakugou didn't know what happened. She was fine. A second ago, she was just fine, and now, there was almost no pulse at all.

He watched as she was taken away. He made a no response until the other guy said, 'Don't worry, class rep will be fine. She's stronger than this.'

No word came out of Bakugou, and he stayed the same way. Throughout the questioning, he just answered the questions passively and made way to the infirmary the next thing after getting patched up. But she was not there. She was gone. Later he asked the nurse and she said she went home.

Bakugou was relieved but also a bit angry. Angry that she worried him. And as much Bakugou hated to admit it, he worried about her after seeing her like that. He calmed himself and went home along with his parents who came to pick him up.

Once Bakugou reached home, he thought things through. First, the girl he knew, Sumire, was far stronger. She could just kill through her way. But she didn't. It was as if she deliberately orc.h.e.s.trated the whole thing and got herself nearly killed. Why would she do that? Sure, she was messed up in head a little but the last time he checked, she was not suicidal. Or maybe he didn't know better.

And he absolutely loathed it. It was none of his business, but it bugged him. He might deny it all he wants, but deep down, he saw her as a friend and was concerned about her.

*flashback ends*

So, when he knew that Sumire knowingly put herself in danger, he was annoyed. She refused to tell him the reason. He was enraged, but he held it in. But when she made herself clear that 'this' might happen again, he lost it.

He knew, he had no right to interfere in her life, wait for her to open up, but he didn't know why, he couldn't stay still. Patience was never his virtue. He felt disgusted with all her secrets. And it was given that she will always be this way. Bakugou felt… disappointed. And he had to put an end to it before it becomes worse.

Bakugou was familiar with this spiral. One by one, he lost all his friends. Midoriya for one, was a target to vent his annoyance. And now, Sumire was a lost cause too. Maybe he was destined to have no friends at all. And the saddest thing, Bakugou felt it was okay.

…

Friday was gone, Monday, the devil of the week came. And all the students should go to schools, irrespective of their opinion.

Sumire dropped Kiyoko at her school. There was no sign of Bakugou and Kiyoko asked.

"Where's Spikey?"

"No idea. But you take care, okay?" Sumire, as usual pecked the little girl and watched her as she went to her class. She nodded to the teachers who arrived.

When she was sure no one was watching, she just flash stepped to school. The best thing about the locality here, the roofs were nice to step on, not too high nor too low, perfect for stealth.

She showed her ID and entered inside the school. She silently sat in her place, opened a book and started reading it. Someone called her name and she turned to see who it was.

"Class Rep. May I ask, how are you?" A voiced laced with nothing but seriousness asked. Humored by the concern and his 'gestures,' Sumire replied, "I'm okay, Iida-kun. Thanks for your concern. And how are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."

There was a silence until students rolled in and everyone asked the same question. What Sumire did that day garnered the good will of the entire class. To say she was a celebrity was an understatement. Even the ever-monotone Todoroki talked. That's how serious this is. Personally, Sumire didn't like the fanfare.

'Farewell, my quiet high school life.' She thought inwardly.

And as it was time for the class to start, Sumire reminded. "Everyone, it's about time the homeroom started. Please be in your seats."

After a chorus of 'Ok' and everyone were in their places.

A minute later, Midnight came in, much to everyone's wonder. They were sure they didn't have arts today.

"Sensei, we do not have arts today?" the ever-earnest Iida raised his hand voiced his thoughts right away. Sumire was quite pleased with the boy's enthusiasm. He does almost, all of her work.

"You don't. I'm here to inform you that there will be no classes today. But rather, you all will be having some therapy with the counsellor."

Like that, Sumire found herself face to with the man, Inui Ryo, aka Hound Dog. Sumire answered all the questions which sounded more like interrogation, really. She could tell the man was not pleased with it. She wondered why and stealthily looked around the room. She furtively glanced at the camerabots that were recording her entire session. She understood it was the authorities who are asking the questions. She sighed and took a picture of it. Having some stuff was always good. Sumire felt pity for the counsellor, who was uncomfortable with the violation of the patient-doctor confidentiality.

Once everyone was gathered, she went to the podium and spoke.

"Everyone, I intend to create the group chat, so please give me your phone numbers, if that is okay with you." Everyone was okay, few boys like Kaminari and Mineta were more than okay.

"Also, Iida-kun will hand out some questionnaires. Please make sure you get one. Please fill it and give it back to Iid-kun or me tomorrow."

Everyone took the papers and Sumire spoke: "Alright, for the rest of the day, it is self-study. If you have any doubts, I'll try to help." She said that and walked back to her place, but before she can sit, Ashido raised her hand.

"Class rep!" she said, and Sumire turned back to the girl.

"Hai, Ashido-san?"

"Well, I've been wanting to say this for a while now, thank you so much for what you did back there." The girl said, her voice tinged with genuine gratitude.

Sumire blinked and spoke after a second. "Well, you're welcome. And honestly, it wasn't much, the teachers would've taken care of it anyway."

"It might be true but you protected us, and the Nomu was terrifying, nonetheless. You sincerely have our gratitude, class rep." said Asui. The others nodded their heads. Sumire never expected this to happen. Well, they didn't know that everything that happened was part of her scheme, a scheme to track down All for One. Actually, she put all of their lives in risk by not informing the authorities at first notice. Faced by their heartfelt gratitude, Sumire tried not to show her uncomfortableness and guilt.

Seeing her like this, everyone had same thought, 'She's shy about it and it's so adorable.' Except for Bakugou who knew exactly what she felt – pretentious.

"Anyway, Class rep, your quirk was amazing! It was awesome! It took Kurogiri down in an instant and held the villains' attack for so long! That's really one of the coolest things I've seen!" For once, Sumire loved Kaminari's ability to ruin the moment.

As the talk of quirks came out, everyone was in for a heated discussion. Bakugou too, paid a keen attention, he wanted to know about her quirk as well.

"How exactly does your quirk work, Azumi-san? If you don't mind to tell-" Midoriya asked, before nervously fidgeting.

"It's okay. We're classmates, so there's no need to worry about it. It's Energy Projection. I can manipulate energy and do various things with it." Sumire shrugged.

"Energy Projection? I thought your quirk had something to do with your physical fitness!" Uraraka exclaimed. The rest of the class were curious about it to. They still remember her nigh impossible results from the physical fitness test.

"Years and years of practice. At one point, I was able to augment my body with my quirk and enhance my abilities." She answered their questions patiently. She never expected people to be so interested in her abilities, but then again, she was in a high school meant for training heroes. In comparison to them, Bakugou almost seemed mild. The boy didn't invade her privacy, at least until it reached his nerves. Thinking about him, she took a peek at him, only to realize that he 'looked' utterly bored and uninterested but his sharp eyes otherwise said all his focus was on gathering what was going on.

Like that, the day reached an end and Sumire rushed through the door after bidding a quick farewell to everyone and flash stepped back home. It was way too much social interaction for the day, more than what she could handle without any preparation in mind.

Her actions got her a label. The rest of the class now thinks that their class monitor was not aloof as they thought. Rather, she was utterly shy and polite. Bakugou, listening to their opinion clicked his tongue. As far as he knew, that freak was probably annoyed and she was definitely not shy.

As he stepped out of the classroom, only Midoriya noticed that his former childhood friend had been quiet throughout the day which was uncharacteristic of him. But there was nothing he could do about it.

***

Author's note:

Hey fellas... Kate here. I know, the updates are slow, the story might sound a bit ridiculous and most of you might downright hate Bakugou, but hey this is how it's gonna be. I'll try my best to write and release chapters with consistency. I'm open to any suggestions or opinions about this novel. cause honestly, I'm just a rookie and it helps to have some help from those who read this book. I wont be able to know all the mistakes I might make on my own. And honestly, do not expect any editing or sophistication.

I'll say this now. This novel is not for those who expect fast paced novel with a charismatic protagonist with a massive golden finger, I'm sorry to disappoint you. this is a novel (or at least I want it be) where I focus more on characters, their decisions, etc. along with the plot. I might make some changes here and there but I'll not butcher the plot. I want to, you know, put some light on the life of the characters rather than move along with the story. you might find the novel confusing at times but I'm getting better at it. I'll try my best to make everything look natural. That's it.

thanks for everyone's support.