𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 - 𝐊. 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮

episode 3 - ON THE BORDERLINE

[ Now playing... On the Borderline - Thomas Sanders ]

0:39 ——— 4:49

"One point? ONE POINT????" You almost screamed at the blond, watching as he laughed.

"You suck. God, you're such a loser!" Katsuki could barely contain his laughter.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you, get over here!" You laughed too, chasing him around the park you two used to visit in your childhood.

Katsuki ran from you, just to put enough space between the two of you, weaving in between the small swings and stopping on the other side.

"Now look," he addressed you with a mock tone, "I don't wanna blow you up, mkay? But I fuckin will and you know that. So, cut the shit." He watched as you took a dramatic seat on one of the swings closest to you.

He gave a small smile and took the one next to you, giving your legs a tiny kick. "And you tell me to cut the shit, uh huh, Katsuki. Take your own advice."

"Oh, stop it. You're just mad because I'm better than you."

"I'm better than you, motherfucker. Hey, wait..." You just remembered something from the video All Might at U.A sent you. "Deku, he... He got thirty-something points during the exam. But how?" Your hands tightened around the swing's chains as you kicked your feet.

"Oh yeah? He came in about seventh place, didn't he?" Small explosions popped in the palms of Katsuki's hands as he thought about it, the little blasts making his swing's chain shake. "That infuriates me, what could he even do? Crawl to the robots and weakly punch them? Bull. Shit."

"Katsuki, hear me out." You started, almost scared to continue for the conspiracy this would start. "I swear Deku, uh, I swear he has a quirk he's been hiding or something. There's no way he could have gotten SEVENTH place without one. No way." You kicked a rock, adding slight power to it with your quirk, and watching as it goes flying into the air.

"Hah. Deku, having a quirk. Yeah, alright." Katsuki copied your movement with the rock, adding tiny little pops to the pebble. "That stupid nerd doesn't have one. I was there when they told us. He was devastated, if public humiliation is something he's into, then it'd be perfect. But he cried, and he wouldn't shut up."

You nodded, "Yeah, you're right. He doesn't seem like the type. Becoming a hero was his dream, why would he want to hide his quirk all these years?"

"Rivalry. He's always trying to match me, trying to one-up me." Katsuki countered, watching as the next pebble that flew from below their feet, skyrocketed, propelled by angry explosions. "I bully him so he won't get hurt, it's stupid, but it keeps that bastard safe."

"Wow," is all you said, at first, taking in the sight of Katsuki sitting on the swing beside you, kicking pebbles into the air, the cold evening air against both of your skins. "Katsuki Bakugou does have a heart after all. Who would've thought?"

"If you don't stop teasing me, I'm gonna tackle you and I'm gonna explode you." He glared, getting more heated as you just laughed, about to tease him.

"Yeah, alright. Do it." You scrunched your nose up at him, nudging his foot with yours.

"God, you're weird." The two of you laughed together, forgetting all about the conspiracy of Izuku Midoriya and his secret hidden quirk.

The sun was now setting, and the two of you were still at that stupid childhood park, no longer on the swings, this time on the playground.

You challenged each other to the monkey bars, seeing who could make it across the entire track without any help from your quirks.

"Goodness. This is more of a workout than I thought it would be." You whispered under your breath, halfway through the course and Katsuki just laughed at you, having already done his.

The two of you then got on one of those ring-around-the-Rosie's, or merry-go-rounds as they're sometimes called, powering it with a mixture of yours and Katsuki's quirks.

"Say, Bakugou." He gave you a weird look and you continued, "Are you ever scared of becoming a hero? Growing up?" You asked, curious of the boy's thoughts on the whole thing.

He seemed deep in thought before he answered you, staring up at the setting sun and the picture it painted on the sky. "Yeah, sometimes."

"Really?" You shifted your hands, adding a tiny bit more oomph to the ride. "Why?"

"Because when you're a kid, Pro Heroes seem like they're on top of the world, right? They don't ever have to be afraid of anything, take All Might, ok. He's the nation's symbol of peace, why would he ever have something to be afraid of?" He raised his eyebrows, licking his lips and then going on, "When the shit with that Sludge Villain happened, I got my first taste of hopelessness, fear. I then realized that Pros have to deal with that every day. Every day."

You sat there, processing all that he's said. "You make a good point, actually." You stared down at your hands, watching as they shook lightly. "Because of Heroes and their overwhelming popularity, we as kids were almost groomed into wanting to be just like them, right?"

He shrugged, looking over at you and your shaking hands. "I guess. It's up to you if you wanna look at it that way. I'm still gonna push to be Number One. Nothing can stop me from that, I don't think." He made a fist, stretching his fingers every now and then.

You leaned towards him, resting your head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Katsuki. I should've been there to help you with the Sludge Villain Incident."

"Don't apologize, dumbass. It's not your fault that happened." He shifted more towards you, albeit awkwardly. He wanted to make sure you were comfortable.

You shook your head slightly, "It may not be my fault, but you could've died, I would've lost you forever. I'd never be able to forgive myself if that ever happens." You swallowed thickly, hating the thought of that.

Katsuki nudged your head with his shoulder, "Hey, that won't happen. I won't ever let some stupid villain take me down, you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand. You're way too strong for that anyway, Mr. Number One." You giggled, loving to tease him.

"Damn straight!"