✓ My Brother! (BakuDeku)

▪ Chapter 16 (Pity Party) ▪

(A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates! Thank you for all the reads, votes, and comments. They make my day!)

     It was the night of the dance, and Katsuki was standing next to Eijiro, who was awkwardly sparing a few glances at Katsuki now and then. 

     They were in similar suits, both involving the color red, and Katsuki was bored out of his mind. 

     "Hisako looks.... nice," Eijiro said, trying to break the heavy atmosphere.

     Katsuki grunted, not sparing a glance at his 'date'. She was wearing a tight red dress with a large black bow on the back. It showed off her defining features and contrasted her eyes, but Katsuki couldn't care less. 

     Some of the guys, including Mineta, were gawking at her, but Katsuki just let them be for once. She had been annoying him all day, taking him to stores for clothes and spending great amounts of cash. Katsuki couldn't believe that she was allowed to spend that much money, but Izuku wasn't allowed to get a new pair of shoes. 

     Eijiro's face brightened when he saw Denki and Mina enter. They had texted him late in the night for a plan that Mina came up with. 

     Katsuki didn't pay much attention to them, but what did get his attention was when a burst of green came strolling in with them.

     Mina smiled cheekily, "Hey, Bakugou! Look who decided to come as my date!"

     "M-Mina, you said we were going as f-friends," Izuku said timidly, pulling a strand of his curly green hair behind his ear. 

     "Haha, I know," she replied. "I just like to get him all riled up!"

     Katsuki rapidly tried to fix his hair, for he hadn't even cleaned that up. He had no intention of looking nice for Hisako, but now that Izuku was here, he tried what he could. 

     Izuku was absolutely stunning. His hair was set with his natural curls, his suit was a dark red color, and earrings (which almost definitely belonged to Mina) decorated his ears. A small blush tinted his pale face, and his freckles stood out more than before.

     Hisako was shocked, but she had a plan anyways for the end of the night, so she wasn't bothered.... much. 

     Katsuki walked up to the group, trying to act casual, but even he couldn't hide the smile that made its way onto his face. 

     "So you came, huh?" Katsuki asked, while Mina pushed Denki and Eijiro away. 

     Izuku turned his head cutely, "Mina invited me to come as her date, but she said that we would only go as friends. She helped me get ready, too. You're so lucky to have such sweet friends, Kacchan."

     Katsuki shrugged, "Yeah, those extras are alright.... They're your friends, too, you know?"

     Izuku's eyes brightened, "Th-They are?"

     "Heck yeah, they never stop talking about you," Katsuki commented. 

     He smiled, "I'm glad. By the way, I wanted to tell you-"

     "You know, Izuku," Hisako interrupted. "Katsuki Bakugou used to bully you, right?"

     Izuku turned pale, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

     Izuku remembered the horrible years of torment from his bullies in elementary and middle school. It had finally gotten better when he hit high school, but people have always found some reason to. But he never remembered Katsuki being among them.

     "He never did anything directly to you. He would order some kids to," Hisako explained with a cruel smile. 

     Izuku shook his head, "Is this true, Kacchan...?" He didn't want to believe her, and he knew that Katsuki wouldn't lie to him. 

     Katsuki was pale. He didn't remember a lot of middle school, but he did recall telling people to mess with some disabled kid because Hisako wouldn't stop bugging him about it. He didn't think much of it at the time, but now his stomach clenched with anguish. 

     "I-I- It's true...." Katsuki admitted with the grit of his teeth. "But Deku-"

     "No!" Izuku suddenly shouted, tears filling his eyes. He had thought about it before when Hisako had told him that Katsuki was only pitying him. "You-You were only sorry about it! You were pitying me!"

     Mina suddenly burst through the crowd, "Izuku, what's going on? Just calm down-"

     "You were the one person- the one person- that looked at me the first time without pity, but I guess it was," Izuku said, already on his way out. 

     "Deku! Deku, wait!" Katsuki shouted but to no avail. Izuku was already out the door. 

     Katsuki turned towards Hisako in anger, "Why would you do that?!"

     Hisako frowned as tears bubbled up in her eyes, "What do you mean? You were flirting with my twin brother! What was I supposed to do? Stand by and watch?"

     Katsuki ran out of the room, trying to find Izuku, but Hisako grabbed his arm. 

     "Know this, Katsuki," she warned. "My brother will never, ever love you after this. And even if he does, I'll make sure he doesn't again and again and again. Because, in this world, Kat, you need to take your happiness. It doesn't come for free."

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