Forever and Always - SHOTOXOC (Eng Ver.)

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Midoriya..."
"Are you perhaps the secret son of All Might?"

No. This is not happening.
He didn't really ask him.
Bakugo looks at me with a questioning face and I wave my hand to let it go.

I can't believe he had the nerve to ask him.
Midoriya begins to give justifications to Shoto that it is not what he thinks.
"Surely you know that my father is Endeavor, the hero who was always No. 2. If by chance, you have something in you from No. 1, then that will be more motivation to surpass you."

But what is he doing?
"My father is a man who simply does not accept defeat! Since my father was unable to overcome it.... He thought of a full reserve..."
You're not about to say to him.
"What are you trying to tell me?" Izuku asks in a trembling voice.

"Marriage by specialty, maybe you've heard of it.."
So she's about to tell him in earnest.
I start biting my nails not wanting to remember this part.

"Even my father, a rich and successful man ... approached my mother's relatives to get his specialty. He brought me into the world simply to make me a hero capable of overcoming All Might. So that he could achieve his ambitions. And he wants the same for future generations."
I take a deep breath knowing where this conversation is going.

"In what way?"
"Why do you think he allowed Mei to grow up with me? To get so close to our family? Mei, just like me, inherited both of her parents' quirks and is extremely powerful. Do you have any idea of the children that could hypothetically be born from the union of our quirks!"

Midoriya does not utter a word, increasingly upset by Shoto's revelations.
I feel Bakugo turn his gaze toward me but I turn my head away, trying to hide my face.
I don't know why I feel embarrassed, but every time I hear about this, I just want to disappear.
"We heard my father talking to his parents about a marriage between us. Mei's parents flatly refused to the question, saying that only if we fell in love would they accept our union."

Total silence falls.
"I am telling you that I am going to face you to prove to my father that even without his specialty and without the choices he has made for me...I can become No. 1."
With that said Shoto leaves the boy alone in the hallway leaving.

Izuku follows close behind him, leaving Bakugo and me in dense silence.
I don't even dare to look at him so I start walking away with my head down.
"That's why you always kept your feelings for him hidden, isn't it?"

The question makes me freeze on the spot as I feel anger mounting inside me.
I clench my fists tightly and, for the second time, feel tears forming in my eyes.
"It's none of your business Bakugo."
"Of course. If you were to declare yourself you know very well that he would reject you because he would think he was giving it to his father. You love each other but because of his pride, you can't be together."

"I told you it's none of your business. Shut up."
I feel my nails sticking in my palms as I try harder and harder to control myself.
This is no time to let go of this.
"You can't go on like this! Pretending that everything is fine! Sooner or later you won't be able to hold it all in anymore and you'll burst."
"I SAID SHUT UP!"

I quickly turn around, take control of his body by slamming him against the wall and hold him in the air.
Tears begin to flow copiously down my face.
"DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW ALL THESE THINGS? THAT SOMEDAY HE WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE AND I CAN JUST WATCH AND SMILE? I'M ONLY DOING THIS FOR HIM. FOR HIS HAPPINESS."

I shout everything in me against his face as I hold him firmly against the wall.
"Everything I have done, I have always done for him."
I let go of Bakugo, now completely absent, lost in my thoughts and tears.

I rub my eyes trying to stop them but in vain.
I know well that once I start, it's hard to stop.
Katsuki rests his hand on the back of my neck and turns me toward him.
He brings my face against his chest without moving his hand.
I remain still, shocked by his sudden change.

Was he trying to console me for this time?
"Throw it all out."
It is the only thing he says before hugging me completely.
I squeeze his sweatshirt tightly between my fingers before resuming crying against his chest.
Bakugo remains firmly holding me in his arms, letting me vent my pent-up anger and emotions.

A few minutes pass before I finally manage to stop the tears.
"Thank you Kat." I say against his chest, pulling up with my nose.
"You completely wet my sweatshirt."
I laugh slightly and hear him smile too.
He's not that bad of a friend.

"I'd say I came after you unnecessarily."
I stiffen immediately.
I don't need to turn around to know who spoke.
I would recognize his voice anywhere.
I break away from the embrace and turn around placing myself at Bakugo's side.

Shoto is across the hall staring at me with eyes blazing with anger.