Chapter 40 - Don't Run Away!

Uraraka glanced across the room at Yuuki—still laughing quietly with Jirou—then at Bakugo, who was pretending not to stare at her every three seconds. With a tiny, conspiratorial grin, she pulled out her phone under the table and typed quickly to Jirou.

Uraraka: Jirou! Slow song. Now. Please!

A second later, Jirou—standing near the speaker system—checked her phone, smirked, and shot Uraraka a discreet thumbs-up. She unplugged the energetic song mid-beat, causing the room to go quiet for just a second...Then the speakers filled the lunchroom with a soft, warm, romantic melody.

The entire atmosphere shifted instantly.

Fairy lights glowed softly overhead. Students paused mid-bite, mid-conversation, mid-movement. A hush of excitement passed through the room as everyone smiled knowingly.

Yuuki froze with a tiny piece of food still halfway to her mouth, her eyes widening as though someone had just thrown her into the spotlight. The dreamy music washed over her, and her hands trembled slightly as she set her plate down. She wasn't used to slow songs. They made her feel shy and exposed—especially now, wearing a delicate pink dress that fluttered every time she moved.

Around her, classmates immediately paired up—laughing, giggling, or pretending to act cool.

Kirishima practically dragged a flustered Sero onto the dance floor dancing off beat.Mina grabbed Kaminari by the jacket before he could run away from nerves.Iida stiffly asked Momo, who smiled politely and accepted with a gentle nod.

Everyone was moving into place... because everyone was in on the plan.

Everyone—except Yuuki, who had no idea what was happening.

And then, like a missile locked onto a target, Mineta launched himself across the dance floor with horrifying speed, yelling "YUUUUKIIII! DANCE WITH MEEEE—!!"

He didn't even make it halfway.

Bakugo appeared out of nowhere—an explosion of movement—and punched Mineta so hard his entire body spun mid-air before collapsing onto the floor in a heap.

"KNOCK IT OFF, YOU GRAPE PERVERT!" Bakugo barked, towering over Mineta's unconscious form.

The whole room stopped to stare.

Yuuki let out a soft, shaky breath, her shoulders relaxing. She looked up at Bakugo with wide, grateful eyes, the pink of her cheeks matching her dress.

"T-thank you... for saving me..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Bakugo clicked his tongue, looking away as if it embarrassed him. "Yeah, whatever."

But then—slowly—he turned to fully face her. The music swelled softly behind them, almost perfectly timed. His expression softened, just a little, the harsh edges melting away under the warm lights.

He stepped closer.

"Oi." His voice dropped lower. Rough, but not unkind. "You wanna dance with me?"

Yuuki's breath hitched. She stared at him like a tiny, startled kitten, her fingers twisting nervously into the fabric of her dress. Her face turned crimson.

"I—I don't—um—I don't know if I can— I mean—" she stuttered, voice trembling.

Bakugo smirked. This was the moment he'd been waiting for.

Without giving her the chance to run away or overthink it, he slid his hand around her waist. His touch was warm—firm, but surprisingly gentle. Yuuki let out the tiniest squeak, her knees almost giving out as she instinctively grabbed onto the front of his suit jacket.

Her blush deepened so much she looked like she might melt.

Bakugo leaned down slightly, his breath brushing her ear. "It's just a dance."

Yuuki swallowed hard, nodded frantically, and whispered without realizing, "O-okay... I'll dance with you..."

He smirked again, smug but also oddly tender. "Knew you would."

He guided her to the center of the dance floor, slipping one hand into hers and resting the other on her waist. Yuuki's hand trembled as she slowly placed it on his shoulder, her fingers hovering before making contact as if afraid of doing it wrong.

Then they started to sway. Softly. Carefully. Almost shyly.

Bakugo kept his eyes trained on her—watching every tiny flinch, every blush, every fluttering breath—adjusting his movements so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed. Yuuki stared at his chest for a long moment before finally daring to look up at him through her lashes.

Their eyes met. And just like that... the world around them faded.

The other students continued dancing, pretending to be lost in their own moments, but every single one of them subtly watched from the corners of their eyes, silently cheering the two of them on. Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki stayed on stand by just in case Yuuki tried running.

•••

Bakugo's hand tightened instinctively on Yuuki's waist, his fingers pressing just a little more firmly against the soft fabric of her dress, pulling her half an inch closer without even realizing he was doing it. The music swirled warmly around them, but Bakugo's entire world had narrowed down to her—her shy breaths, her trembling lashes, the way her fingers clung timidly to his suit jacket.

Yuuki could feel his heartbeat through the fabric, strong and steady, completely unlike her own jittery, fluttery one. Her cheeks burned, and she finally forced her eyes up to look at him. The intensity in his gaze nearly knocked the air out of her. He wasn't angry. He wasn't annoyed.

He was focused. Serious. More serious than she had ever seen him in a moment like this.

"B-Bakugo...?" she whispered, her voice soft and tiny, almost lost in the music.

He didn't look away—not even for a second.

"Yuuki," he muttered, low and rough, "I gotta tell you something."

Her breath hitched. Her pulse jumped. Her grip on his jacket tightened.

Bakugo's brows furrowed slightly, his jaw clenched as if he were preparing for an explosion—not the kind he caused, but the emotional kind he hated dealing with.

"This is important," he said, leaning down so she could hear him clearly. "So don't freak out or anything, but—"

But Yuuki did freak out.

Her eyes widened like a startled deer, her cheeks flared red, and she made the tiniest squeaky sound.

"E-EXCUSE ME!! I—UM—I HAVE TO—UH—GO—!!"

Before Bakugo could blink, she shoved gently against his chest and darted backward.

"HEY!! DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME!!" he shouted, reaching out but missing her by inches.

Yuuki's dress fluttered behind her like a panicked pink cloud as she sprinted straight off the dancefloor.

Bakugo growled in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "Deku! GO AFTER HER!"

Midoriya tensed, saluted like an awkward soldier, and nodded. "R-right!!"

He immediately dashed after her.

"YUUKI, WAIT! HOLD ON—!!"

But despite Deku being one of the fastest runners in the class, Yuuki's sheer panic speed was unmatched. She zipped between tables, dodged people, and even slid under one of the snack tables like a terrified, overly–adorable ninja.

Midoriya stumbled trying to keep up. "W-wait!! Yuuki, please! Kacchan just wants to—!"

"Sorry, Deku!!" Yuuki cried over her shoulder, voice squeaky with embarrassment. "I can't—I can't—I HAVE TO GO!!"

Deku lunged to grab her sleeve—Missed. And Face-planted onto the floor.

Todoroki, watching the chaos unfold, blinked once before calmly stepping forward. "I'll get her."

Iida adjusted his glasses, nodding sharply. "As the class representative, I shall assist!"

The two of them took off—Todoroki with solemn determination, Iida with his hands chopping through the air like a malfunctioning robot.

Yuuki shrieked softly when she saw them coming and veered left, sprinting through a small hallway that led toward the school entrance.

"Yuuki!" Iida cried. "You must cease your running at once—!"

But Yuuki slid across the floor, dodging Iida by centimeters.

Todoroki tried cutting her off by freezing a patch of floor ahead of her, but she somehow hopped over it with surprising agility, letting out a tiny yelp mid-jump.

"Sorry Todoroki!!" she squeaked behind her. "I'm super sorry—I really am!!"

Todoroki tried to run on the ice and immediately slipped, catching himself just before hitting the ground.

Iida accelerated using Reciproburst, but Yuuki spun around a corner so fast he couldn't make the turn and crashed dramatically into a wall.

The entire chase was so chaotic that the students in the lunchroom could hear the echoes of:

"I'M SORRY!!""YUUKI, PLEASE SLOW DOWN—!""DAMMIT, SHE'S FAST!""STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR FEELINGS!!" — Mina, from the doorway.

Back in the lunchroom, Bakugo stood frozen, fists clenched, jaw tight, watching the insanity unfold.

"She seriously ran..." he muttered.

Kirishima patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Bro... I think she panicked."

"No—REALLY?" Bakugo snapped sarcastically.

•••

Bakugo had that intensity of a bomb about to go off, his footsteps heavy and sharp against the floor. His face was twisted into the most irritated snarl imaginable, sparks flickering dangerously from his palms. The moment he spotted Deku, Todoroki, and Iida dragging themselves back in—defeated, exhausted, and looking like they'd just run a marathon—he exploded.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Bakugo barked, stomping toward them. "You three fought actual villains—MONSTERS—PSYCHOS—AND YOU CAN'T EVEN CATCH ONE SMALL GIRL?!"

Midoriya flinched like he'd been shot. "W-Well—! K-Kacchan, she's actually surprisingly fast—!"

"That's not an excuse!" Bakugo snapped. "YOU have ONE FOR ALL as YOUR QUIRK, YOU—" he jabbed a finger at Todoroki, "—have ICE AND FIRE, and YOU—!" He pointed sharply at Iida. "—are LITERALLY built like a racecar! HOW DID YOU ALL FAIL?!"

All three of them stiffened like scolded puppies.

Todoroki stared at the floor, quietly mumbling, "She jumped over the ice. I miscalculated."

Iida bowed so fast his glasses nearly slid off. "I slipped during Reciproburst! She executed an impressive evasive maneuver, and I was unable to regain balance—!"

Midoriya raised his hand halfway, voice small. "She slid under a table... and then she apologized while running away... which caught me off guard."

Bakugo clenched his teeth so hard a vein popped on his forehead. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable."

The three boys wilted even further under his glare, shoulders slumping, disappointment radiating off them like sad cartoon rain clouds. They looked like they might as well be seated in a corner wearing "failure" dunce caps.

Mina rushed over with Uraraka right behind her and threw her arms over Iida and Midoriya's shoulders, squeezing them encouragingly.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't look so sad!" Mina said brightly, giving them a shake. "It was a good try! She's tiny and panicky—she moves like a startled rabbit on sugar!"

Uraraka nodded energetically. "Yeah! You almost caught her! And besides, she wasn't running from you guys, she was running from embarrassment!"

"That's true!" Midoriya said instantly, eyes lighting up again. "Y-yeah! She didn't reject him—she just panicked! That means there's still hope! This actually might be a good sign!"

Iida snapped back to standing tall, glasses glinting. "Indeed! We must remain optimistic! Yuuki is simply overwhelmed by intense emotion! We must approach this with kindness and strategy!"

Todoroki blinked thoughtfully, then murmured in his calm voice, "Her speed was... impressive. But we can still work around it."

Mina grinned, clapping her hands excitedly. "SEE?! We've got this! That just means we need to make another plan. Something better. Something smarter."

Uraraka beamed. "Totally! We just have to help Bakugo succeed before Yuuki accidentally runs all the way home!"

Midoriya pumped his fist in determination. "YEAH!! We can figure this out! Let's do it!"

Their renewed enthusiasm spread like wildfire across the little group—everyone suddenly smiling again, buzzing with new energy, ready to get back on track.

Everyone except Bakugo.

Bakugo stood there, arms crossed, eyebrow twitching as he watched them recover remarkably fast from being verbally obliterated five seconds ago.

He growled under his breath, rolling his eyes even though the corner of his mouth twitched upward just slightly.

"Tch. Bunch of idiots... but if it gets me closer to talking to her, fine."

Behind him, Kaminari pumped a fist. "NEW PLAN TIME!!"

"YEAH!!" Mina cheered.

Uraraka bounced on her toes with excitement. "Let's help Bakugo confess... for real this time!"

Midoriya grinned brightly. "We won't let you down again, Kacchan!"

Bakugo glared at him. "You better not."