Recovery Girl's ward had become unusually quiet.
The final exams were over.
Most of the students had already been patched up and either discharged or sent back to the dormitories. The only sounds left were the occasional beeping of medical equipment and the distant conversations of nurses changing shifts.
Katsuki Bakugo hated hospitals.
They smelled clean.
They were quiet.
And worst of all...
They gave him time to think.
He stared at the ceiling.
"...Tch."
Everything replayed again.
The alley.
The explosions.
All Might.
His own decision.
"...I'll work with you."
Just remembering those words made him want to punch something.
He'd agreed.
He'd relied on Deku.
And then...
Even after finally swallowing his pride...
He still couldn't finish it himself.
Instead—
Deku had punched All Might.
Deku had carried him.
Deku had dragged him across the finish line.
Again.
"...Dammit."
His fist clenched against the blanket.
"I didn't..."
"...need saving."
The words sounded hollow even to himself.
Because he knew they weren't true.
If Izuku hadn't turned back...
Bakugo would've failed.
"...You're leaking angry Bakugo Aura again."
A cheerful voice broke the silence.
"...?!"
Bakugo whipped his head toward the sound.
"DEKU, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN—"
He stopped.
Standing beside the bed wasn't Midoriya.
It was Ochaco Uraraka.
She held a small shopping bag containing fruit and what appeared to be flowers she'd probably been talked into buying by someone else.
She blinked.
"...Wow."
"I wasn't even trying to scare you."
Bakugo scowled.
"...Kirby."
Ochaco puffed out her cheeks.
"I'm not round!"
"I mean..."
"...not that round."
Bakugo looked away.
"...Why the hell are you here?"
"You should be over there praising Deku or something."
She tilted her head.
"...Why would I?"
Bakugo stared at her like she'd asked whether the sky was green.
"...Because that's what you always do."
"I don't always."
"You literally look at him like a puppy."
Ochaco crossed her arms.
"...That's rude."
"...To puppies."
Silence settled again.
Eventually...
Ochaco sat in the nearby chair.
"So."
"What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
"Liar."
"Tch."
"You've somehow gotten even angrier than before."
Bakugo glared.
"...Mind your own business."
She shrugged.
"I thought your fight was really cool."
"..."
"You and Deku finally worked together."
"..."
"You even trusted him."
"..."
"I thought that was amazing."
"...Don't."
Bakugo's voice became noticeably colder.
"...Mention him."
Ochaco blinked.
"...Why?"
"I don't wanna hear about Deku."
She frowned.
"I don't really get it."
"You two used to be friends, right?"
Bakugo immediately answered.
"...No."
"You weren't?"
"We were kids."
"That's different."
She smiled softly.
"...You could still try."
Bakugo snorted.
"...Befriend a loser?"
"Not happening."
Ochaco watched him quietly.
Then...
Something clicked.
"...You're scared."
Bakugo froze.
"...What?"
"I don't think you're actually angry because Deku's annoying."
"..."
"I think..."
She spoke carefully.
"...you're angry because he keeps catching up."
"..."
"And maybe..."
"...because he's starting to pass you."
Bakugo didn't respond.
"So every time someone mentions him..."
"You explode."
"..."
"Almost like..."
She searched for the words.
"...you're trying to drown out something."
Bakugo's eyes slowly lifted toward her.
"...You..."
His voice became strangely quiet.
"...Can you see it?"
Ochaco blinked.
"...See what?"
Bakugo looked back toward the ceiling.
For several seconds...
Neither spoke.
Then—
"...There's..."
He struggled to describe it.
"...a gap."
"...?"
"...A distance."
"...Something."
His hands slowly clenched.
"...No matter what I do..."
"...I can't cross it."
His breathing became slower.
More controlled.
Yet every word sounded heavier than the last.
"I train."
"I fight."
"I bleed."
"I win."
"I lose."
"I get stronger."
"...And it doesn't matter."
"It's still there."
Ochaco listened silently.
"It isn't insecurity."
Bakugo continued.
"I already know I'm insecure."
"...I'm not stupid."
"It's fear."
Real fear.
"The kind where..."
"...effort..."
"...doesn't matter."
He laughed once.
A dry.
Humourless laugh.
"What if..."
"...destiny already decided?"
"What if..."
"No matter how much I improve..."
"I simply..."
"...can't become Number One."
His crimson eyes had lost all their fire.
Only exhaustion remained.
"...Of course I hate Deku."
"He proves it."
"Every single time."
"He shouldn't be able to keep standing."
"He shouldn't keep growing."
"He shouldn't..."
"...keep saving me."
His jaw tightened.
"...He's living proof."
"...that maybe..."
"...I'm not meant to be the best."
Ochaco felt her chest tighten.
"...Bakugo..."
She had never—
Not once—
Seen him like this.
Not angry.
Not loud.
Just...
Afraid.
"...Are you okay?"
"...Shut up."
The response came automatically.
But there wasn't much bite behind it.
He continued anyway.
"...There's only one person..."
"...I hate more."
Ochaco blinked.
"...More than Deku?"
"...Yeah."
"...Kurokami."
"...?"
"That energetic little midget."
Despite himself...
A tiny smile appeared.
"...He sees it too."
Ochaco tilted her head.
"...Sees what?"
"...The distance."
Bakugo answered immediately.
"He knows."
"He knows there are people stronger."
"He knows there are walls he can't climb."
"He knows there are fights he'll lose."
"...And he doesn't care."
Bakugo almost sounded irritated by the thought.
"He walks around like nothing in the world can stop him."
"Like losing..."
"...isn't even worth thinking about."
"He throws himself into impossible fights."
"Gets beaten."
"Gets back up."
"Smiles."
"And does it again."
Bakugo clenched his fist.
"...I can't stand it."
"That stupid attitude..."
"...infected me."
He closed his eyes.
"...Now..."
"I can't stop."
"I know."
"I know I might lose."
"I know someone might always stay ahead."
"I know destiny might already have decided."
"...And I still..."
He laughed quietly.
"...throw myself at it anyway."
Again.
And again.
And again.
"...Every failure..."
"...just makes me want to punch fate harder."
Ochaco didn't know what to say.
She had expected anger.
Pride.
Maybe another explosion.
Instead...
She'd found someone desperately trying to prove the future wrong.
"...That's..."
She whispered.
"...kind of amazing."
Bakugo immediately scowled.
"...Don't compliment me."
"I wasn't!"
"You were thinking it."
"I was sympathizing!"
"Same thing."
Before either could continue—
A bright, energetic voice echoed through the doorway.
"OHHHH!"
"I FEEL THE EXACT SAME WAY ABOUT YOU, BAKUGO!"
Both heads snapped toward the entrance.
Standing there...
Still wearing his black martial arts gi...
Hair somehow even messier than usual...
Grinning from ear to ear...
Was Kurokami Tenshin.
He pointed enthusiastically at Bakugo as though he'd just discovered his long-lost brother.
"I totally get it!"
"I also can't stop wanting to fight you!"
"I think that's why we're such good rivals!"
A beat of silence.
Bakugo stared.
One eye twitched.
Then—
"WHO THE HELL SAID WE WERE RIVALS?!"
The explosion of rage echoed through the hospital wing.
Nurses sighed.
Recovery Girl, somewhere down the corridor, calmly marked another tally under a handwritten note that simply read:
"Bakugo yelled today."
Without even looking up, she muttered,
"...Right on schedule."
______________________________________________________________________________
[Auther: This is actually something that was never animated; it's like chapter 75.5 or something. I can't remember the number, but I remember this.]