Glitter (Experimented! Bakugou AU/BakuHarem)

Chapter Thirty-One

Katsuki looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to ignore the pain in his gut. His eyes were squinted in thought, forehead creased as he absentmindedly rubbed the pads his index finger and thumb against each other. 

"I can't keep fucking doing this," he said aloud. "It's been almost a year and I haven't been able to train properly. How am I supposed to keep up with myself?"

Katsuki glanced off to the side, eyeing the black haired teacher who was grading papers at his coffee table. The blonde was sprawled on the couch behind the man, a blanket loosely hung over his lap. Aizawa hummed. 

"You're strong enough already, I don't get why you're fretting over it." 

'He's worried,' Dipsas whispered in his mind. 'He doesn't want you to get hurt again.'

"You know I need to be able to keep up with my physique, teach. I can't use my quirks without it. Not to mention, I'm far behind in my studies. I bet all your students are so far ahead of me now." He sighed and looked back at the ceiling, cringing slightly at the taste of chocolate chip cookies on his tongue. 'Gross.' "I need to get back into shape."

Aizawa turned towards him, tugging on his ponytail to tighten it. "Well, if you really want to, we can start easy once you're healed. Maybe some cardio and-"

"You know that's not what I mean, Shouta." The man startled slightly at the sharp use of his name. "I want to do what the hero students do." The teacher gave him a blank but slightly hesitant look. "Listen, I was fucking slower, okay. When I was fighting that bitch, I was so much slower. If I was anywhere as strong as I was a year ago, I would have annihilated her."

He touched Shouta's head and shape shifted, grunting at the pain it caused him. "I haven't even used half of my quirks in forever, and I doubt I can handle combat without my quirk anymore. If I keep falling behind, I won't be able to protect them. To protect myself."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but had a sparkle in his eye. "And you talk all brave while looking like me? How the hell did you do that anyway?"

Katsuki morphed back into himself, sighing in relief. Shape shifting often caused his skin to tighten, to adjust to its new form, and that had put pressure on his injury. He groaned. "I touched the sweat you've got built up in your hair. It only works if I touch, like, sweat or blood or the fibers  associated with the object or person. Or some shit like that. I don' t know."

The sleepy man hummed as he marked a large red 'B-' on one of the papers. "That would be useful in the hero course. If you're interested, of course."

Katsuki scoffed. "No. Fuck no. You know how I feel about heroes."

"But I'm different because...?"

Katsuki tilted his to the side, suddenly finding the cushions of the couch very interesting. "....because you cared. You cared, and you helped. And not out of just pity. You really, actually gave a shit and as fucked up as it is, that was new for me. For us." He looked back up at the ceiling. "The only other one that showed that much concern was Midnight, but she....she ratted on us."

He placed down his papers and sat in front of Katsuki on he couch, petting one of his cats lovingly. "Nemuri? Yeah, she's a whole lotta work. But I don't think she sold you out. The only other person she told was me, and that was a long time ago, before we knew much about you. That was the only time." He ruffled the teen's hair with an amused smirk on his face. "And what was all that about me? Huh?" 

Katsuki pushed away his hand grumpily, not wanting to admit that he liked the warm feeling of his hand on his head. "Whatever. I was just telling the truth. You gave a fuck and that...." He flushed in embarrassment, pointedly ignoring Dipsas's internal teasing.