Quirkless

Chapter 5 - Shopping Trip

"No"

It was a simple enough word, a clear answer if you asked him. Yet these idiots didn't seem to understand...
"Ahw~! Come on Bakubro! It'll be fun!" Kirishima whined from the other side of the screen.
"Yeah, everyone in class was so worried about you, you know? You could at least show your face!" Ashido stated, pouting as she crossed her arms.

Katsuki sighed, leaning back in his chair. Why did he take them up on their offer to video chat? Oh, right. Because otherwise they'd storm into his house and demand to talk to him anyway... Now that they knew where he lived, there was nothing holding them back from permanently harassing him with their social outings and friendly spirits. Katsuki cared for them, he really did. They were his friends, after all. Sure, a bunch of dumbasses, but his friends nonetheless.

Summer vacation was ending in three weeks and they wanted to hang out with the whole class at the mall, seeing everyone again before school started.
"I don't get it" Katsuki sighed.
"They're implementing a dorm system, right? Everyone is gonna be breathing down each other's neck soon enough anyway"

"You're no fun!" Kaminari complained.
"Dude, please just come, okay?" Sero begged.
"Our class won't be the same without you! We just want to have you there with us for one last time!"

Katsuki bit his lip and looked aside, away from the screen. He told them he was quitting the hero course due to his current situation a little while ago. Not all of them had taken the news well and Eijirou cried. Izuku was also aware of this upcoming change, but the green head was seemingly avoiding him right now. Katsuki had no idea why though. If anything, he expected this whole thing to bring them closer together, not drive them further apart.

"I'm still attending UA, you idiot. You'll see me around at school and I can come by your dorms from time to time, it's no big deal"
"You mean that? You would come visit us?" Kirishima asked with a hopeful look on his face.

"What? Of course, you're my friends, aren't you?" Katsuki shrugged, making all of them freak out. The ash blonde rolled his eyes, a tiny smile raising his lips. He'd never actually called them his friends, has he? Well, they should know they're appreciated from time to time...
"Listen, nobody at school besides the teachers, you guys and Deku know about me being...transferred to another class, okay? I don't... I don't want them to know just yet..."

"We totally understand dude! Take all the time you need!" Kirishima grinned.
"If that's the only thing holding you back from going to the mall with us, can't we just promise you to stay quiet about it?" Mina asked.
"Yeah, we won't tell anyone if you don't want them to know. I mean, the situation is pretty...delicate... We understand that man" Sero added.

Katsuki huffed, glancing their way before looking elsewhere again.
"You're not gonna drop this, are you?"
"Nope! We'll keep on bugging you about it until you come along!" Denki laughed.

"...Ugh, fine"

At those words, the whole squad cheered. Katsuki smiled a bit, enjoying seeing them happy and careless like this. Not like- His face instantly turned into a frown as he tried to refrain himself from thinking back about the attack at camp. Everyone had been so tense and on edge and scared... The faces he saw the moment he was being taken through that portal... Their desperation, the defeat in their eyes... No, he never wanted to see them like that again.

"Bakugou? Are you okay?" a concerned voice rang through the air. He looked back up at his pc screen, finding them all looking at him with worry.
"We're sorry if we pushed you... We're not really forcing you to come along, you know that right? We were just joking around-"

"Yeah, I know" Katsuki breathed, lifting a hand to his face. His cheek was wet. He was crying... Huh... He really has become a lot more emotional, hasn't he? Guess that in the midst of stress and panic one shoves aside every emotion that could lessen the chance at survival. He had to get used to the fact his body wasn't in a constant state of contraction anymore and get a hold of himself.