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' Bakugou Katsuki '
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Katsuki walked with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, making the conscious decision to ignore all of the noise and the hustle and bustle around him and just breathe. It was one of the few things his therapist had suggested that actually helped him rein in his near-constant anger and anxiety.
Ironically, it helped if he tuned into the faint, actually -constant ringing that followed him everywhere these days (a side effect of having explosions next to his ears from the age of five onward; he'd have to ask the support course for some kind of special ear plugs or hearing aids when he got into UA). Before, it had been one more reason to be angry. Now the white noise helped him to tune everything else out, including his own damning thoughts.
It had been almost two years since Dek- rather, Izuku disappeared (and yet he still had a hard time getting his name right!). A lot had happened in that amount of time-he'd enrolled in an anger management course for youth, started drum lessons (it was a fun way to get out some of his aggression), changed schools, even made some new friends that actually kept him out of trouble-but he still refused to say it.
Refused to think it. They'd never found a body, after all. He knew it was stupid-the kind of stupid that he would have to bring up with his therapist eventually-but there was still the nagging thought, the desperate hope that maybe there was some chance, no matter how slight, that the nerd was still alive.
Honestly, he still wasn't certain why he insisted on believing that. He hadn't gotten along with Izuku in years. They were hardly the friends that they used to be. Was it just guilt? The horrible pain of knowing that he, indirectly, killed someone? Of knowing that he had put that dim light of despair in Inko-obasan's eyes?
He allowed himself a heavy sigh, tuning those thoughts out as well. They wouldn't help him to get into UA. They wouldn't help him to live out Izuku's dream for him.
It wasn't the sound, but the vibration against his hand that led him to pull his phone from his pocket, revealing the cheesily animated 'message' box on his lock screen. Rolling his eyes, he swiped up, unlocking the screen with his thumbprint, already knowing who it was from.
[๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ]
๐ ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐
[๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ] ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ?
[๐๐จ๐ฎ] ๐ฒ๐๐๐ก ๐ฒ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง
[๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ] ๐๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐
[๐๐จ๐ฎ] ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐
[๐๐จ๐ฎ] ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐
[๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ] ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐จ๐จ๐ง
Katsuki shoved the phone back into his pocket and set off at a slightly more brisk pace than before. He'd never admit it to the guy's face, but Kirishima was probably the best thing that had come out of his school transfer. His Hardening quirk was convenient for one, especially in the early days of his anger management therapy, and he had the energy and confidence to stand up against Katsuki's crap.
If that wasn't enough, he was almost obnoxiously good-hearted, frustratingly patient, and just dense and asinine enough to see a surly, brooding boy in the corner of the cafeteria and decide they were going to be friends, no matter what Katsuki's thoughts may have been on the matter. The guy reminded him of Izuku in that sense.
A flicker of anxiety clenched in his gut at the thought, but Katuski quickly clamped down on it and forced it into submission. This wasn't like the last time. Kirishima wasn't going to end up like Izuku. He refused to let that happen again.
"Heh! Come on little Bluebird! Why don't you fight back!"
Katsuki's head snapped up, instantly alert at the jeering sneer.
"Stop it! You're hurting her!"
His crimson eyes narrowed towards the park on his right. There was a small jungle gym covered in grade school kids giggling and shrieking as they chased one another up ladders and down slides, surrounded by woodchips and then by a neatly-mown lawn.
There were benches where their parents were chatting, not paying attention to any potentially disastrous situations. He couldn't see anything obviously wrong, but he knew that tone. Setting his jaw determinedly, he marched through the fence into the play area.
He found them in seconds: three bullies forming a loose ring around two kids, one huddled against the brick wall that had blocked his view up to that point, and the other positioning himself defiantly in front of them, even though his knees were shaking. The whole situation feltโฆ disturbingly familiar.
"What do you brats think you're doing?" he growled, and the three assailants spun towards him in surprise. The two on either side-a girl with black hair and a boy with shifty eyes-each took nervous steps backwards as they sized him up. Only the middle punk-a boy with bright red hair and sharp blue eyes-showed any signs of a backbone.
"Hey, stay out of it weirdo," the bully huffed. "You have no business meddling with heroes!"
"Ehhh?!" Katsuki leered, bending down and thrusting his face towards the redhead's. The bully flinched at the sudden proximity, the first flickers of doubt in his eyes. "You knock a kid to the ground throwing out insults and you have the balls to call yourself a hero? 'cause let me tell you, you little turd, that sounds like something a villain would do to me."
The boy's eyes blew wide and furious as he spluttered out a reply. "Y-You can't say that! My dad's the hero Vermillion-"
"I don't give a damn about who or what your father is, got it?" Katsuki snarled, pulling his hand from his pocket as his temper flared so the sharp pops of flame and light crackling across his palms wouldn't set his jacket on fire. "Just take a hike punk, before you make me do something we both end up regretting."
"C-Come on, Vas," the other boy stuttered as he reached for his boss's shoulder (not his friend; kids like that didn't have friends-Katsuki would know), his shifty eyes finally still and fixated on Katsuki's still-smoking hand. "L-Let's just go."
"Yeah, this extra isn't worth it," the girl agreed, tossing her hair back as though it would hide the fear causing her voice to tremble. "And anyway, this park is lame. We can hang out at my place instead."
"Yeah, whatever," the redhead huffed, shaking off his lackey's hand and turning on his heel with all the arrogance a brat can muster. Katsuki watched them go, glowering until they were well and truly out of sight before turning back to the other pair of kids.
The boy, the one that had been standing, was on his knees, gently pulling the bullies' intended victim to her feet. She didn't look any older than seven or maybe eight, with long blue hair to her waist and equally blue eyes. "Are you okay?" the boy asked softly. The girl simply nodded, scrubbing at her wet eyes. "Thanks for helping us," he continued, looking up at Katsuki with silver eyes half-hidden under shaggy, black hair.
"Don't mention it," the blond boy replied gruffly, kicking at the ground. "Doesโฆ Does that happen often?"
The boy's eyes slid back to the girl's, sadness almost glowing in them. "Yeah," he sighed eventually. "Kira's quirkless, soโฆ"
Katsuki felt himself stiffen, and although he hoped that it didn't show, things just became way too close for comfort. "Well, uh, being quirkless isn'tโฆ I mean, it's not a bad thing," he managed to force out, trying not to cringe at how stupid he sounded.
" I know that," the boy sighed, apparently oblivious to the older boy's uncertainty, "but they don't think so, even though All Might keeps reminding everyone that quirkless people are just like everyone else."
Another uncomfortable twinge gripped Katsuki's chest at the realization that this boy was also an All Might fan (just one more reminder of him). He glanced away, rubbing the back of his head. All Might's Quirkless Advocacy campaign had started just over a year ago, and it had certainly helped the general public's view of such individuals.
Katsuki couldn't help but wonder if it was just a coincidence that All Might had started it so soon after Izuku'sโฆ disappearance. "Well, he's right. Even if you're quirkless, you still have your own hopes and dreams," he said finally, "and you still have just as much a right as anyone to chase 'em."
The girl blinked up at him with those huge, luminous blue eyes. "Y-You reallyโฆ You th-think so?" she whispered, barely even audible.
"I know so," Katsuki corrected her, maybe a little too sharply, but she didn't seem too taken aback by it. In fact, she smiled shyly, even though she also ducked her head so that her hair hid her face. Her friend grinned encouragingly at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Katsuki felt a rueful smile twitch at the corner of his mouth as he watched the interaction.
That should've been me. "Hey kid."
"Yeah?"
"Be sure to stick close to her, got it? She'll need a friend like you."
The boy blinked, clearly surprised, but then he smiled, those silver eyes of his bright and determined. "Don't worry. I will."
Katsuki smirked through another twinge of regret, reached out to roughly tousle the boy's hair, pat the girl's head a little bit more gently, and turned away. He felt the vibration in his pocket a moment later and, rolling his eyes, pulled out his phone and swiped up.
"Geez, I said I was coming," he grumbled.
"Yeah. You said you'd be here in five minutes. That was almost fifteen minutes ago, Bakugou!"
"Calm down Rocky, I just had to take care of something."
"Like what kind of something?"
"None of your business, that's what," Katsuki snorted, glancing back towards the two kids heading towards the opposite side of the park and then allowing his eyes to drift a little further towards their destination. A frown tugged at his mouth as he saw a person standing nearby, watching them.
They looked sketchy as hell, short and swamped in gray sweats and a black hoodie, hands shoved deeply into their pockets and a notebook tucked under their arm. The only identifying feature that he could make out were the strands of dark curly hair sticking out past the fabric that almost looked green in this lighting.
All at once, he felt his heart stutter, his vision tunneling. It can't beโฆ
"Bakugou, did you get into another fight? You did, didn't you! I swear one of these days you're gonna get in serious troub-"
"I'm gonna be a bit later than I thought."
"Huh? Baku-"
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