(Y/n) hunched over, her hands on her knees, while she panted for breath. Sweat droplets trickled down her forehead and dropped to the grassy floor as wet strands of stray hair stuck to her damp forehead. Wiping off some sweat from her upper lip with the back of her hand, she raised her head a bit to see the three large silverback gorillas that Katsuki had just obliterated start to glitch in and out before they disappeared.

Beep.

The girl checked her timekeeper. Their points were now a total of 778, with each gorilla being 70 points each.

Coughing out a wheeze, she straightened up and rested her hands on her hips. Muttering a silent 'ow', she winced when a sharp pain shot throughout her middle back and she rubbed the sore spot. The repercussions of changing her form too much while trying to lure all kinds of predators towards Katsuki's line of fire were finally catching up to her.

It was to be expected as one and a half hours had already passed since they began the simulation and they had covered a lot of significant ground, including defeating many foes along the way. It was all thanks to Katsuki, as he had run her ragged, both figuratively and literally, through the dense jungle with no signs of stopping soon.

Her main objective was simple; act like a decoy then run, fast. And as easy as it sounded, it wasn't. Running through a jungle with uneven ground, low-lying branches, thorny bushes, protruding roots, and stray cobwebs at every turn was a nightmare in itself. She made it work though, thanks to her Quirk, and as much as she hated that given position, she couldn't deny that the plan kinda worked. Something else she had come to conclude along the way, was that her being paired up with Katsuki and placed in that particular simulation room was no mere mistake, just as Mr. Aizawa said.

Katsuki couldn't freely use his Quirk unless he was closer to the target while she had a multitude of objects just lying around for her to turn to. He was at a disadvantage while she was at an advantage, which meant they had to use each other to be able to pull through. Another thing was that, the jungle was a place where every sense was supposed to be utilized, and both of them, she hated to admit, complimented each other in sectors the other lacked. Katsuki was blessed with physical endurance, quick thinking, and cat-like reflexes while she was blessed with mental endurance, strategic thinking, and agility.

It was quite scary how, in the simulation room, she was the yin to his yang.

She didn't know if Katsuki had also worked that fact out but even if he had, he hadn't said anything. However, if he had indeed come to the same conclusion as she had, then he also knew that the same results would still be achieved if she was working on an equal footing with him instead of being bait. Then again, that was another argument she wasn't willing to have yet.

She took in a gulp of air and began fanning her face. Her breathing was starting to normalize but she still felt like her whole body was on fire, which made it worse considering how humid the jungle was. She had earlier on tried reasoning with Katsuki that they should conserve their energy by not overexerting themselves due to the high heat but as usual, her pleas fell onto deaf ears and she was called a dimwit for prioritizing 'temperature' over 'time'. What he had failed to understand was that she was not him. While he was able to dip his hands into boiling water and survive unscathed, she was the opposite. Add that to his minor list of advantages.

She glanced over at Katsuki, who was standing a few feet away from her. The boy was clutching at his wrist while he bitterly stared down at it. It seemed that he too was experiencing some aftereffects of overusing his Quirk. He hadn't detonated a large explosion yet, but still, setting off multiple detonations over and over again against a variety of foes was bound to tear at his muscle fibers. He wasn't invulnerable and it gave a part of (Y/n) some twisted form of comfort to know that.

Inwardly cursing at the painful muscle spasms in his forearm, Katsuki let go of his wrist and turned to (Y/n), whose eyes quickly darted to something else that wasn't him. His narrowed eyes raked up and down her form. She was unhurt, good. His plan, working just fine. Schedule, right on track. All was left was to get to the finish line before time ran out on them and with as many points as they could get.

He ran a hand through his damp hair and looked up at the tree canopies. He couldn't tell what time it was in the outside world as the sun was frozen in the sky within the simulation room.

Lowering his head, he checked the timer. One hour and twenty-five minutes to go. He looked back at (Y/n), who was now inspecting a fallen log.

He had managed to get them both closer to the mountain but they still had so much further to go. They had to quicken their pace if he wanted to get an indisputable win with more points than anyone else. He didn't know what type of rooms Deku and Bootleg Zuko got, but he'll be damned before he let those two fucknuts get to the finish line before him.

"Hey, dumbass," he called out to (Y/n) as he hooked a thumb under the strap of his backpack. "We still have a long way to go. Get your shit ready and get cracking."

The girl rolled her eyes, fully knowing he couldn't see the action.

"Can't we take a break?" she flicked a stag beetle off the log before turning her furrowed gaze back to him. "At least give me a minute to sit."

"Hah?" Katsuki tilted his head up, a scowl on his face. "Sitting is for the fucking weak, idiot. We need to keep going. We don't have time to spare."

"Oh, give it a rest," taking off her bag and dropping it on the ground, she sat on the log and glared back at Katsuki. "I have literally been running for thirty minutes straight and constantly changing into a rock or twig to a point I can only taste dirt in my mouth," she pointed a finger at him. "So if you think I'm gonna let you take away my right to take a break, then you got another thing coming."

Katsuki thinned his lips, his eyes briefly flicking to the side. Maybe a little compromise because of her wouldn't hurt. Besides, he'd been hard on her and she had taken it like a champ the whole way. She deserved a break at least.

"Fine," he said, his tone clipped. "Five minutes."

(Y/n) shook her head and crossed her ankle over her knee. Her face twisted in disgust at the sight of mud streaks on the hem of her costume pants. Sighing, she dismissed the streaks and began gently massaging her ankle while turning it around in circles. She greatly wished she could just take off her shoes and stretch out her aching feet, which she was sure had a couple of blisters on them.

She performed similar ministrations to her other ankle, all while she and Katsuki basked in each other's silence that was filled with various bird songs and animal sounds. It was a comfortable silence, actually, the first of its kind that they've ever shared since knowing each other.

Her thumb absentmindedly brushed over her ankle as she looked over at her companion. He was sitting under a tree shade, his legs crossed, while he stared at nothing with a faraway look on his face.

An hour ago, she was sure one of them would've killed the other out of frustration but now, she wasn't so sure about that. Excluding class time, that was the longest time she had ever spent near him and she had to admit, it wasn't all that...bad. Sure, he was overbearing with his tyrannical instructions and irritating perfectionism but she had, reluctantly, come to 'live with it'. They still had arguments from time to time but most of them would blow over as soon as they started and they'd go back to acting as if nothing happened. She guessed that it was probably a result of them slowly getting used to each other's constant presence. If that's even a thing that was possible.

She heaved out a hefty sigh and put her foot down. Leaning back, she supported her weight on her hands and stretched out her legs in front of her. Her eyes flickered down to her muddy shoes and she tapped them together. A small frown appeared on her lips as she reminisced of a particular incident that had occurred between her and Katsuki a little while ago.

While being chased by a tiger, she had gotten distracted by a tarantula that was crawling up her neck. She had desperately tried to shake it off, which led to her focus getting sidetracked and she missed a protruding root that was on her path. She, of course, tripped and as luck would have it, fell face-first into a mud hole.

Katsuki, being the little cunt he was, laughed his ass off after taking care of the tiger. (Y/n) didn't let it slide and being the little shit she was, she slapped him with a face full of mud. Katsuki, for a lack of better word, went ape shit. Taking that as a bold declaration of war, he roughly shoved her back into the mud hole. She didn't go down alone. She grabbed his arm and into the mud they went together. A full-on mud-wrestle broke out between them. Katsuki won by default and an argument followed shortly after. Eventually, they ended up at a stream, washing the mud off themselves while giving each other the silent treatment.

She hadn't managed to get all the mud off from her costume and neither had Katsuki, as his costume and boots too bore multiple mud streaks. He had also missed a spot on his lower back, but (Y/n), petty as she is, didn't tell him.

At that point, the coveralls they were provided with were generally considered useless as their costumes were already dirtied. The stubborn mud stains and water still hadn't completely dried up due to the humidity but the two teenagers had already gotten used to the costumes clinging to their bodies. In other words, both of them generally looked like two rats that had crawled their way out of a local sewer. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Sighing, (Y/n) ran a hand through her frizzy hair and shook it out. She had also lost her hairband somewhere during the wrestle and was still quite bitter about it.

All in all, what she really needed once she was outside was a hot shower, tons of food, and a long-ass nap.

Movement from the periphery of her eye made her turn her attention to Katsuki, who was straightening up. Her shoulders drooped, already knowing what that meant and grabbed her bag from the ground. She wore it and properly adjusted the straps over her shoulders in preparation to get up.

The girl begrudgingly rose from the log, mentally cursing at the added weight she put on her poor feet, and stretched her arms over her head to relieve the tension in her back. She pleasurably exhaled when her arm joints popped and back muscles loosened and dropped her hands back to her sides.

And with that, she followed after Katsuki as he continued on their given way.

***

The two teenagers came to a stop at the bank of a large marsh that stretched out for quite a distance. The mountain ridges could be seen much clearer from where they were standing, an indication that they were closer to the finish line.

The problem, however, was how to get around the marsh without wasting as much time as possible.

(Y/n) loudly exhaled before turning to her companion. "So what now?"

"The mountains are up ahead this marsh," the boy checked the compass pinned to his vest. "North too. We need to cross."

(Y/n) screwed up her face in a 'what the fuck' look.

"No. I'm not doing that."

Katsuki scowled. "That wasn't a fucking request."

"And I fucking don't care," she mocked his tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, I might've agreed to do everything you said but this is where I draw the line," she narrowed her eyes. "I'm not getting wet again."

Katsuki blinked, his eyes going round. He turned his gaze away from her as his cheeks flushed a rosy pink color.

"Fucking perv."

(Y/n)'s forehead creased in confusion. "Why are you calling me a-" she cut herself short when realization then suddenly hit her and a heavy blush stained her cheeks. "H-hey! That's not what I meant!!"

"Sure," he snorted as he turned back to her.

"Honest!!" she pointed an accusing finger at him. "And if anyone's a pervert, it's you!!"

Kastuki's body tensed up.

"You disgust her."

The boy's jaw went taut and a shadow cast over his eyes. (Y/n) continued defending herself but he didn't hear anything she said. All he heard was Satori's haunting voice repeating those words over and over again in his mind, reminding him of what the girl thought of him. And just like that, his mood plummeted down into dangerous levels.

A low growl emitted from his throat and he snapped at the girl. "Will you fucking SHUT UP!!"

(Y/n) flinched and gave him a startled once over. She had stopped talking like ten seconds ago, what was his problem?

"You keep talking and talking and talking," he rambled, his gruff voice mixed with irritation and impatience. "You're voice is so fucking annoying! Just fucking get in and stop complaining!"

The girl made a face. Talk about mood swings.

Dismissing his odd change in behavior, she gestured a hand towards the water. "Look, there could be leeches and snakes in there or worse, crocodiles, okay?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Haven't you ever heard of the saying: "you can never be too careful"?"

Katsuki's scowl deepened. "I think you're an exception to that saying, dumb fuck."

(Y/n)'s lip set in a grim line. Did he perhaps start his man period already?

"We should try building a raft," she stated.

"Are you an idiot?!" he jeered, as he repeatedly jabbed a finger on the side of his skull in mocking fashion. "This is not a fucking video game! And neither do we have time to fucking waste!" he pointed his finger to the marsh. "Either get in or I push you in!"

(Y/n)'s eyes narrowed, challenging him to do so. When Katsuki took a step forward, she quickly backed away with her hands held up in surrender.

"Okay, fine. Fine," she conceded. "I'll go in."

Sending him one last glare, she shook her head and began making her way towards the water when an arm shot out in front of her, barring her from going further. She turned to the boy with a questioning look.

"Take out your rope," he demanded as he pulled his arm back and started taking off his backpack. He fished out the rope and tossed his bag on the floor.

Desiring no more insults, she did as he said and took out her rope.

"Tie it around your waist," Katsuki instructed as he tied his rope around his waist. "Then we'll tie both ends together so in case you fuck up and start drowning, I'll pull you up."

(Y/n) frowned as she uncurled her rope. "Okay, but why do I have to be the one drowning?"

The boy snubbed her question and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah sure, no point in answering," she grumbled while copying his actions. "It's not like it was a question or anything."

"Shut up," Katsuki snapped, grabbing the end of (Y/n)'s rope. He tightly tied the end of hers to his before turning to the girl. He inclined his head towards the marsh. "You first."

Regarding her bag to be no longer necessary as she had drained both water bottles and wasn't going to use the coveralls any time soon, she discarded the backpack aside and made her way towards the shore. Stepping in, she shuddered at the feeling of cold water flooding into her shoes but she soldiered on. The marsh, she realized as she got further in, was only waist-deep and quite refreshing to be in considering the buckets she had sweat while on land.

She navigated around the marsh while avoiding the overgrown bushes, reeds, and sedges that grew out of the water. She also made sure to look around, keeping an eye out in case any crocodiles were lying in wait.

She looked over her shoulder at where they had come from and noted that they were slowly losing sight of the bank the further in they went. While she was scoping out the span of the marsh, her eyes accidentally locked in with Katsuki's behind her. Ignoring the jolt in her heart, she made an ugly face at him. Katsuki's chin raised, an eyebrow cocked in confusion and agitation. The girl quickly whipped her head back to face the front before he could start bitching again.

She continued looking around the water surface as they waded in the water. Somewhere along the way, she saw some goopy stuff floating on a lily pad next to her and she jerked away from it.

When she recognized it to be frog eggs, she crinkled her nose. "Ew..."

"Seen your reflection?"

Swallowing down the bout of anger that surged within her, she paused in her tracks to shoot a glare at Katsuki over her shoulder.

"Have you ever considered not breathing?" she sent him a pointed look. "Hm?"

The boy clicked his tongue and roughly pushed her forward by the small of her back. "Shut up and move."

Water sloshed around her when she stumbled over something underwater, causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall into the water. She regained her balance and turned around to glare daggers at Katsuki.

"Hey! Don't push me!!" she yelled.

Lip curling up in a sneer, Katsuki was about to retort when his eyes landed on something behind her and he froze. His facial expression went from anger to surprise to straight calmness in seconds.

Puzzled by his sudden change of expression, (Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

She noticed that his eyes weren't on her but something behind her. She was about to follow his line his vision and peer over her shoulder when his quiet voice stopped her.

"Don't move and don't turn around."

Her whole body went rigid. The urge to look even though he had told her not to was so strong but not as strong as the surge of dread coursing through her veins.

"Why?" she whispered, her tone voicing her terrified state. "W-What's behind me?"

Katsuki's eyes remained glued on the thing behind her. His eyebrows were knitted in a concentrated scowl, not missing a single movement made by it. He, in turn, moved no single muscle.

"It's a fucking large ass snake," he said.

Eyes going wide, (Y/n)'s lips parted in a shaky gasp.

"Say sike right now."

"Shut it."

The dragon-like snake arched its body back, its mouth wide open to flash its long, sharp fangs as it kept its slit-eyes on the back of (Y/n)'s head. Katsuki held his breath and flexed his fingers. He had made sure to keep them out of the water in case such an attack was to happen. Unless she was able to turn into a water reed, then (Y/n) was basically defenseless in the marsh. That was the main reason for the rope. Sure, it was to keep her ass from drowning but it was also so that he could be able to pull her closer to him at any time.

The snake let out loud hiss as its mouth opened wider. It was getting ready to strike. Small sparks danced around Katsuki's palms. To destroy the behemoth snake, he had to go all out, even if his arms still hurt.

Like lightning, the snake struck, going straight for the girl's head. With one hand, Katsuki grabbed hold of the rope and pulled (Y/n) towards him. She let out a surprised shriek when she was abruptly tugged forward. Katsuki moved aside just in time and let go of the rope, causing her to fall into the water. Katsuki extended both his arms out, now in (Y/n)'s place, in front of the snake and set off his large blast. The explosion sent shock waves across the water surface as a third of the snake's body was eviscerated in the deadly blast.

Meanwhile, (Y/n) resurfaced after regaining her footing with a loud gasp. She sputtered and coughed out the water she had accidentally swallowed after being unceremoniously thrown into the water. Her wet hair clung to her head as she frantically ran her hands down her face to wipe the liquid off. Once she was able to see again, she set her glare on the boy ahead of her.

"What the hell, Bakugou?! Was that necessary?!" she yelled while repeatedly slapping the water surface and splashing water about. "Did you have to?! What if I had drowned?! Would you have taken responsibility?! You don't just throw people like that!! Are you listening to me, you jerk?! Apologize!! Look at me!!-"

(Y/n)'s temper tantrum stuck like cotton in his ears as Katsuki tried not to focus on the painful spasms in his forearms. He gritted his teeth hard, his narrowed eyes trained on the snake's corpse as it began glitching in and out.

Beep

Katsuki glanced at the number of points he had garnered on his timekeeper without haste.

1078

He scoffed. 200 points for a weak-ass snake? Could've killed it with my damn eyes closed.

A short, raspy cough from behind him made him look back at (Y/n). She had given up on shouting at him and was now busy taking out a string of weed from her hair, a disgusted look on her face while muttering insults under her breath.

"Stupid piece of fucking shit. Go die or something. I can't believe you would even-" she stopped short when she noticed him staring at her and shot him a dark look. "What are you looking at?"

The boy smirked.

"Being bait suits you."

Her entire face fell as Katsuki smugly turned around to proceed with their journey. She let the weed drop back into the water and her shoulders sagged. Her dull eyes drifted to the spot where the snake had disappeared after being destroyed. Once again, Katsuki had done the work while she was thrown around like some ragdoll.

She bit the inside of her cheek and mirthlessly scoffed.

Wow, Katsuki. What a way to make me feel useless, huh...

***

Katsuki and (Y/n) emerged on the other side of the marsh's bank, their costumes dripping wet and limbs exhausted from wading across the expansive marsh for thirty minutes.

Once on land, Katsuki untied them from each other before untying his rope from around himself. He then took a seat on a nearby rock and removed his boots. (Y/n) unwound the rope from around her waist, all the while sending secretive glances at Katsuki.

Since the snake incident, she hadn't spoken to him again and vice versa. He probably took it as her "learning to finally shut up" but little did he know that the reason ran deeper than that. She was still frothing over being mindlessly tossed into the water and that had just increased her need to talk with him over their given roles. It was the final straw. She was done being considered useless.

When she was done with the rope, she decided to breach the subject and start another possible argument.

"Hey," She called out to him. The boy turned his head to her direction. "I don't think this bait thing is gonna work out for me."

"Hah?" Katsuki tipped his boot to pour out water from it. "The fuck do you mean?"

"I-" (Y/n) drew in a sharp breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not really comfortable with this whole 'I'm the bait' thing. The whole point of us being here is that we're supposed to be working together but we're not doing a lot of that." She lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. "In other words, you're doing all the work."

Katsuki put on his last remaining boot before standing up and approaching her. "You didn't have a problem with it."

(Y/n) rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Just because I agreed to it doesn't mean I'm okay with it. You doing everything goes against the main point of this room. We agreed that we have to work together."

Katsuki stopped right in front of her, his features twisted in an indignant leer. "First of all, I don't remember agreeing to anything. And second, you said that this place needs two people to work it out," he jabbed a finger on her shoulder. "One," he then pointed to himself. "Two. You lure them in, I kill them. We're working it out together, just like you said." He spread his arms wide. "Or is there a part of it you still don't understand?"

She loudly groaned. That was the problem when it came to reasoning with someone as hardheaded as Katsuki. He just never listened to what he didn't like hearing.

"When I said we work it out together, I meant sharing the workload. We both get points together. I can't keep running in circles until the end!" she placed a hand on her chest. "I'm here to learn too!"

"Well, you're learning aren't you?" he lightly smacked the side of her head. "You're learning to be fucking useful!"

She pushed his hand away. "You're not listening to me!!"

"I don't need to so don't be stupid!!" he barked, his face leaning closer to hers emphatically. "In case you didn't figure it out yet, I'm fine! I'll fucking handle it!! You just do what you're best at, which is shutting the hell up and taking orders!!!"

(Y/n) stilled.

"Why are you letting him to this do you? Does he even love you for real?"

Satori's words sent a pang to her chest as she watched him turn away from her. Her fingers trembled and she clenched her jaw. Her resentment festered in her, almost choking her in it. Without thinking, she jerked forward and grabbed his arm. Before he could react, she yanked him back around.

"Why aren't you listening to me?!!" she screeched to his face. "Why don't you ever listen to me?!!"

Katsuki growled and shoved her away from him, taking her off guard.

"Because all that I fucking know is that one of us is right!!" he shouted. "And the other one is you!!"

"That doesn't make any sense!!" regaining her composure, she shoved him back. "I'm just asking you for that one thing!!" she shoved him again. "You never listen to me!! All you do is shout at me and insult me!!" a double shove. "I've never done anything to you yet you still do this to me all the time!!" Using all her strength, she shoved him back once more, causing him to stumble backward. "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER JUST STOP?!! WHY?!!"

Multiple roars as loud as revving engines responded to her as four panthers jumped out from behind the bushes, startling the two teenagers who all but forgot their argument and turned their focuses on the four unexpected guests. The big cats had been attracted by the rising noise levels and were lucky to have found two humans to satisfy their raging hunger.

Katsuki's surprise melted into a snarl as he eyed the four panthers circling him and (Y/n). Keeping his eyes on the cats, he pushed the girl behind him to conceal her from the predators.

"Stay there and don't move," he quietly ordered while his stance widened.

(Y/n) shot the back of his head a weird look.

One of the panthers let out a loud growl and came bounding towards the boy, the others following suit. Katsuki, matching its speed ran towards it, his right hand swinging back, a deadly detonation at the ready.

(Y/n) quickly located a nearby bush and jumped behind it. The panthers, who had their savage attention on the boy, hadn't noticed her sudden disappearance, giving her an added advantage. With her back against the bush, she hurriedly dug into her utility belt pocket for her hairpin, only to gasp when she didn't find it.

What?! She checked the other pockets. Nothing. Where is it?! I was so sure I-

Then, it hit her. Memories of her dropping it back where they started came flooding back and she repressed the urge to slap herself for forgetting to pick it up. However, her self-loathing was cut short when a loud growl sounded from a bush closer to hers.

She jerked her head towards the direction of the sound and cursed lowly when she spotted another panther hiding behind a large bush. It hadn't seen her yet as it had its eyes trained on Katsuki's back. It was in a crouch, lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce while it kneaded the grassy floor in readiness to dig its claws into him. Its beautiful, black coat shimmered under the rays of sunlight penetrating from between the canopy trees, a fitting color for the powerful beast.

(Y/n) held her breath and looked around her. She spotted a branch lying close by and she stealthily reached for it. Her eyes went back to the panther and she held the branch closer to her heaving chest. Her rapid exhales blew the strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face as vindictive determination sparked in her (e/c) eyes. Her fingers tightened around the branch, her eyes narrowing on the panther.

Go get him, you son of a bitch.

With an ear-splitting screech, the panther shot out of the bush and towards Katsuki. It leaped into the air, ready to pounce on his back when it was suddenly flung across the jungle, its body crashing into a tree trunk with a force that nearly crushed its lungs.

(Y/n) lowered her baseball bat, her fired up gaze colliding with the panther's murderous own as it twisted its body around to get back to its feet. It shook its head, clearing away its disorientation before a malicious snarl tore from its throat. It began circling the girl, its attention now fully on her instead. (Y/n) copied its actions, her body slouching forward and their eyes never moving away from each other. Fingers flexing around the bat's handle, she swung her hand behind her and she transformed it into a staff.

The panther took that as her making her first move and it bounded towards her with a roar. (Y/n) brought the staff forward and clutched it with both of her hands. The panther leaped on her and sank its teeth and claws into the wooden staff. The girl grunted at the panther's force of attack. The added weight became too much for her to carry and she fell on her back with the panther on top of her.

The panther snarled, bearing its canines at her as it tried to get a bite of her face. She twisted her face when she got a whiff of the smell of rotten meat coming from its mouth but never lost focus. She concentrated on the staff, repairing it anew and trapping the panther's claws and teeth in its wooden confines.

The panther growled as it struggled to get its stuck canines out. Its growing agitation and struggle resulted in it being able to yank its claws out and it used the given freedom to swipe its paw at her. It hit her across her head, barely missing her face. Her head snapped to the side from the force but she quickly recovered from the shock. With a loud yell, she kicked up her legs and delivered a sharp kick to its stomach.

The panther was thrown over her head and (Y/n) kicked up to her feet before it could stand up. Turning on her heel, she twirled the staff around her fingers and turned it into a spear. She swung the spear back before driving it into the panther's stomach, impaling it. She let out a grunt and twisted the spear in its insides, killing it instantly.

When the panther finally stopped moving, she released the breath she was holding and pulled the spear out before stepping back. The panther glitched in and out, then disappeared.

Beep

She raised her arm to check her timekeeper. Her eyes lit up, a warm glow expanding within her. She huffed out a happy exhale. My first 70 points! I got my first points!

She balled her hands into fists and did an exaggerated shake in place as an excited squeal escaped her lips.

Remembering her companion, she turned to him with a grin, ready to break the news and celebrate. The boy was finishing off the last of the panthers before he turned around to meet her gaze. When he did, her smile fell when she saw the livid expression on his face.

"What the fuck?!!" he stomped towards her, a pulsating vein on his forehead, and his lip curled up in a snarl. "What did you that for?!! I could have had it!!"

(Y/n) sighed, her previous excitement replaced by sudden fatigue. Oh yeah, she forgot who she was paired with.

"No. You wouldn't have," she tossed the spear aside and it reverted into a branch before it hit the ground. "It was coming for your blind side."

"Don't fucking patronize me!! If anyone was fucking reckless it was you!!" Katsuki jabbed a finger on her forehead, slightly pushing her head back. "Any closer and it could've torn your fucking face off!!"

"But it didn't," she countered pointedly, slapping his hand away. "Did it?"

A strangled sound came from Katsuki's throat as he glared back at her. How fucking dare she twist his own words against him?!

"I told you, didn't I? We're a team," she said, her voice hollow. "And if that means putting aside my..." she paused, a frown taking over her features, "my position as bait to help you when you're overwhelmed, I'll do it."

"Overwhelmed? Who was overwhelmed?!!" Katsuki stubbornly roared, his arms flying wildly about. "I wasn't overwhelmed!!!"

The girl snorted. "Yeah sure."

A sudden searing pain tore through her temple, precisely where she had been hit by the panther and her vision was momentarily clouded with red and black spots. Her adrenaline must've worn off her system. A feeling of dizziness washed over her and her knees buckled from under her, causing her to tumble down to the ground.

"Oi! (Y/n)!" Katsuki's eyes widened, and he quickly got into a knee crouch in front of her.

His eyes worriedly roamed all over her face and they stilled in shock when they landed on the blood that was trickling down the side of her face. His hands went up to cradle her face but he stopped himself before he could, leaving them awkwardly hovering between her and him.

"Shit-fuck-uh..." he sputtered, his brain fiddling with the right words to say. "-You okay?"

(Y/n) rapidly blinked the spots away as the throbbing pain knocked her back to consciousness.

"I'm...fine," she said. "I just-owww-" she pressed her fingers to the cut on her temple and winced. Pulling them back, she grimaced at seeing her blood-stained fingers. "-got literally bitchslapped by a panther. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Katsuki abruptly wrapped his gloved hand around her wrist, startling her a bit and he frowned down at the blood. "You're bleeding."

(Y/n)'s surprised eyes flickered from his hand to him. What was happening? What was he doing?

Dismissing the flutter in her stomach for hunger, she rose a brow. "I'm aware..."

He looked back up at her and his grip around her wrist tightened. His eyes lingered on the bleeding cut before meeting her confused gaze with his own. "Does it hurt?"

(Y/n)'s eyebrows drew close. The last time she had seen that look on him was back when she was him in the bathroom, when he was checking out her bruised knee. His eyes, eyes that held the color behind rage, power, passion, yet she still couldn't make out what he felt. Was he...worried about her? Was he really...?

The line between her brows disappeared and she breathed out a short, chuckle. "Obviously."

"Heh," his face softened. "You're okay, dumbass."

A light smirk graced his lips as he stared back at her. Damn, she looked like shit. Her hair was a wet mess of dirt, grass, leaves and it stuck out in all directions. Heck, even a twig was poking out of it. Dirt particles stuck to her other cheek, she was bleeding, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days.

But dammit it all if she wasn't the most beautiful idiot he had ever seen.

The feeling of leather against her skin caused (Y/n) to break off the magnetizing eye contact and her eyes flicked back to the hand around her wrist. His thumb was tenderly brushing over her wrist and his grip wasn't as rough and tight as it would be. It was gentle, something that was so unlike him. Someone so used to violence and brash insults.

And...was his hand usually that warm?

She met his eyes once more and the corner of her lips turned up into a smile.

"This could all be an act to make you think that he does have feelings for you, so that you can forget about Midoriya and become another one of his many victories against him."

Like a brick thrown against a window, her trance was broken.

Her smile faded from her face as cruel realization dawned on her face, puncturing her heart. Her eyes darted down at the hand that was on her wrist and her previous fury sprang to life. Her face contorted into a scowl and she yanked her hand away from his.

"Don't touch me," she harshly hissed, protectively clutching her wrist to her chest as if he had just violated it. "Don't ever touch me. I'm fine."

Katsuki blinked, stupefied, and frozen on the spot.

Shooting him one last glare, she turned her face away from him while she rubbed the spot on her wrist where his hand was holding. She crinkled her nose, absolutely disgusted by herself for actually believing even for a second that he cared. That was he was worried about her.

She bit down on her lip. God, she was so stupid.

Katsuki's fingers slowly curled into a fist upon seeing her disgusted expression and a small scoff escaped his parted lips.

"Every time she looks at you, she remembers what you did to her back at the abandoned building and her hate for you piles up to unimaginable heights"

He lowered his head to glare down at the grassy ground. Of-fucking-course. How could he forget? He was no saint in her eyes, he never was and he never will be. The one fucking minute he lets his guard down, he goes ahead and simps for her like some pathetic puppy. All for what? Getting rejected?

A muscle in his jaw twitched. God, he was so stupid.

Not once looking at her, the boy straightened up and turned around to walk away from her.

"Get your ass off the ground," he snapped, his tone strained with bridled emotions. "I don't have more time to waste because of your stupidity."

Squinting, (Y/n) sized the boy up in disdain. Typical. I reject him and now he's showing his true colors...

Scoffing, she rose to her feet and glared at Katsuki's retreating back.

"So much for someone who's in love with you, huh...Only an idiot would let someone like that screw with their head."

(Y/n) pressed her lips together and followed him.

Katsuki risked a glance back at her from over his shoulder. She made no attempts to look back at him but he noticed how her scowl deepened, signifying that she did notice his eyes on her.

Looking back in front, he clicked his tongue and grabbed a branch to lift it so that he could duck under it.

"You think you have a chance with her? Well guess again pretty boy. You're as good as dead to her."

He didn't mean to do it, but the moment Satori's voice came back to haunt him again, he set off an explosion, blowing the branch apart into tiny bits. (Y/n) lowered her arm, which she had raised to protect her face from the flying splinters and stared at Katsuki's back with shock written on her face.

The boy continued as if nothing happened, and she didn't bother mentioning anything pertaining to it.

Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck. Satori...

Katsuki shoved his hands into his pockets. Hanabitch...

She was right.

***