The hallway was flooded with the light of the afternoon sky, every shadow quickly disappearing and showering the two boys in the sun's warmth.
Now, Peter's everything hurt. That had been the case for the past 5 minutes. So of course he'd do his best to not be in any further pain than he already was.
So, when Bakugo over here decides to pull out a fatality out of nowhere, a move that according to All Might could kill him, Peter's body moved purely on instinct.
That instinct being to shoot a web at his gauntlet, and yank it sideways so Peter wouldn't be caught in the blast.
Too bad that the result of that was the explosion taking out a sizeable portion of the building and creating a huge hole on the side of it.
He could say that wasn't part of the plan, but at least he was still standing!
Or that's what he would say if his legs hadn't given out on him a couple of seconds. He could still go on, maybe he just needed to go to recovery girl after the exercise, no way was he gonna miss any of the fights.
"I-I lost?" Bakugo's voice was small, it sounded hurt and confused like a child you just yelled at for the first time.
"Yeah, good match though! Could've not destroyed my costume as much but whatever, you know? I'll unweb you in a sec." Peter let out a sigh as the tension in his limbs faded away.
"How did you win? How did I lose?" Again with that soft voice, this wasn't the Bakugo that Peter knew and tolerated.
"Dude, let's talk after, alright? I need a breather." He'd deal with him later, maybe even ask Midoriya for some tips about it.
Cause to him, Bakugo Katuski sounded like he was… sulking.
The sound of quick and heavy footsteps reached Peter's ears, it sounded like a man running in a suit of armor and one running in boots.
"Hey, P-Oh jeez! Are you alright?" It was Mirio! Man, was Peter glad to see him!
"Yeah! This is just a flesh wound, man! By the way, do you think you can give me a piggyback ride back to the observation room? I can't feel my lower body." Peter couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips at the request, he also couldn't help the look of surprise when Mirio actually picked him up and put him on his back without a second thought.
"Uh, Parker-San? How do we get Bakugo out of your… webbing? I assume we are expected back at the observation room."
Peter stared blankly at the teen, watching him take off his helmet until he finally realized what he was saying.
It might've been the slight ringing in his ears.
He motioned Mirio to walk over to the captured teen, then promptly took out a small bottle from his belt and started spraying the liquid over the webbing. It gave him a small sense of pride when he saw the shocked looks of Mirio and Iida had when they saw the webbing beginning to dissolve.
The second the webbing was liquid enough, Bakugo got up and silently stomped away, not even giving the three teens a second glance.
"Alright, to the observation room! God, I'm so tired"
...
The observation room was completely silent, barred from the dull hum of the display screen where the matches were showcased. Bakugo was standing in the far back of the room, Iida stood by Uraraka and Yaoyorozu while Mirio carried him over to his normal friend group.
Nearly everyone was. giving him concerned looks, except for Todoroki and Rumi. Todoroki was blankly staring at him while Rumi flashed a grin and a thumbs up.
Also, Tamaki's look was a tiny bit jealous.
He might need to clear things up later.
"Young Parker, do you need to go to recovery girl? It appears you are quite injured." All Might's voice was soft, filled with concern and worry for him.
"Nah, I'm good. Imma just hang out on Mirio's back for a bit and then go down there after class."
There was a brief silence in the room once again, All Might's brow was furrowed in a silent inner battle as to what to do until he spoke again. "Very well, young Parker! That was… quite a match you 4 had! Now, who would like to choose the MVP?" It amazed Peter how quickly the mood shifted.
Immediately, Yaoyorozu hand shot up from the crowd as a determined look appeared on her face.
"I believe the MVP of this match was… Iida! Even though the villain team lost, he was the most in character and the most dedicated to his role of protecting the bomb, although Togata and Parker could also pass off as an MVP for the same reasons. It was clear that Bakugo let some sort of personal grudge against Parker affect his thinking during the match, but it could also be said that Parker did not take the exercise seriously enough. Parker-San, what exactly was your plan, after the… first attempt to breach the building?"
Man, she sure did go in-depth.
"Uh, I knew Bakugo would go for me from the start, so I stuck with Mirio and then sent him after the bomb when Bakugo showed up since Iida could be more easily countered by his quirk. To be honest? I only tried the first plan cause it seemed super funny, and it was." He explained with a tired grin.
"Alright… Questionable plans aside, could you explain to me how that substance you used on Bakugo works? It seems like an efficient capture tool."
Peter's face couldn't help but light up at the chance to talk about his gear.
Speaking of gear, how was he gonna explain to Midoriya that Bakugo destroyed his costume?
"Oh! It's my web formula! Even though I can do most of what a spider can, I can't make my own webs. So I created a chemical compound that would act as spider webs along with having the same tensile strength! Cool, huh?" Peter lazily raised his left wrist and flashed his somehow intact web-shooter.
Which was great, cause he didn't want to make more.
Yaoyorozu's eyes went wide with shock at the statement, "What?! That's revolutionary! To be able to artificially produce spider silk material i-" She paused when she realized she was starting to ramble. Clearing her throat, the girl regained her composure. "T-That is very impressive, Parker-San. I don't have anything more to add."
All Might seemed to be at a loss for words at the explanation the girl gave, he looked as if she had said everything he was going to and more. "Y-Yes, young Yaoyorozu! You are spot on! Now, how about we move onto the next match? Team J and Team G are the next ones up!"
Oh, man! Peter couldn't wait for the next match! Even though he was incredibly tired, he was still excited!
His eyelids began to fall, his excitement began to waver more and more with each breath he took. Who knew being awake would be so much work?
The students in the next teams up left the room, All Might started to give some speech about freedom or the American way or something, who knew the number one hero would be so boring?
Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt…
...
The sound of small giggles and snickers filled his ears, his vision being filled with inky darkness. Where was he? Last time this happened he ended up at the UA infirmary, but he didn't pass out today.
Wait, did he? He honestly couldn't remember. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Opening his eyes.
After letting the light reach his sleep-deprived eyes, the sensation he felt could only be described as blinding. Well, that was until the blinding white faded into caramel skin with ruby-colored eyes that shone along with a wide grin.
Yet again, waiting for him at the infirmary was Rumi, he got lost in those eyes of hers and the snow-like hair that fell over him like a waterfall until he noticed something.
She had a marker in her hand.
"Oh, shit. Uh, hey! How'd ya sleep?" She asked, getting off of him. He sat up in his bed and noticed that along with her were Nejire, Tamaki, Mirio, and Moe.
"Were you guys writing on my face after I fell asleep in the observation room?"
The 5 teens looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation before they all spoke.
"No."
"Yes"
"It was Rumi-chan's idea!"
"We'd never do that!."
"At least we didn't draw a dick, so you're good!"
You know what? Whatever. He didn't have it in him to care. The eye rolled he gave along with his small chuckle made them relax where they stood.
"Oh! Oh! Look at these pictures we took! They look super cute!" Nejire shoved her cat-themed phone into his face and started showing him picture after picture.
One was of Rumi making bunny ears behind him while he slept, another one was Tamaki poking him with a straw, another one was Mirio and Moe flexing on either side of him, another one was Nejire drawing a mustache on his face while Rumi and Moe laughed in the background, and the last one was them running away from an angry recovery girl.
Peter couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips.
Having friends made him feel surprisingly warm and fuzzy.
After washing off the marker with a towel, Peter got up and out of the bed. He noticed that someone had somehow changed him back into his school uniform along with applying a whole bunch of bandages everywhere.
How was he gonna explain this to May?
"What time is it?" He asked, Moe being the one to answer him.
"School just finished, you apparently fell asleep on Mirio's back due to pure exhaustion along with sleep deprivation so you ended up missing the rest of the day. C'mon, how about we all walk to the station together?"
The group instantly lit up as they walked the halls of the school and toward the front gates, Peter just having grabbed his backpack from their classroom. Nejire was in the middle of trying to touch Moe's hair while Mirio was talking to Tamaki, the ladder having a soft smile on his face
Peter looked out the window to see All Might trying to talk to Bakugo at the front gate, the teen only scoffing and walking away from the hero.
"Hey, check this out." Rumi appeared beside him with a grin and showed him her phone, Peter saw that it had a white case along with a small rabbit keychain on the side.
On her phone was a video of the view from the observation room when Bakugo spun him around and slammed him on the ground. She had the video replay 3 times before he laughing died down. "Oh, man! You got so fucked! That shit wouldn't happen to me!"
"At least I'm above 150 Centimeters."
"You bitch! Take that back!"
Man, she looked cute when she was angry.
Seriously, where does that stuff keep coming from?
...
If you want to read ahead of the public release, or just want to support me.
You can join my p atreon :
p@treon.com/Huvnn