in between | katsuki bakugou

02 | standstill cosmos

KIYOMI WONDERS HOW long it will take for someone to notice her invisible soul. If she were to remain unspoken and fearful, would anybody notice? What would it take for someone, anyone to see the loneliness that consumes her?

So she continues to wonder whether it's because of her worth—the measurement of an individual's importance in order to be valued. Perhaps, maybe a scale from 1 to 10 was what it was. Maybe Kiyomi Furutani stood next to a 7—no maybe lower than that. Her final guess would be a 4 or a 5; she thought it was reasonable enough. After all, she wasn't someone who was treated like shit or unfairly, but just uncared for because no one bothered to recognize her.

It was all a part of what it meant to be human. By the time she hit a certain age, she became aware that humankind was not born equal. It just so happens she was definitely not one of God's favourites and she was stuck at the bottom, put aside. And unfortunately for her, she didn't possess the great intelligence to discover the world's unknowns or the talent to go above and beyond.

What about music? But who cares about the arts, right? Right. She's nothing valuable if her name isn't being mentioned from one person's mouth to another. She grasped that idea by the time she was fifteen, turning sixteen when Katsuki officially became a mini-celebrity in the first few months of their first year.

It's funny, really—how they truly contrast one another. Her ordinary characteristics only served the purpose of highlighting his amazing abilities when they were placed side to side.

But who could blame them? He was one daring soccer player. He dominated every time he stepped foot onto that pitch. He played like losing wasn't an option—that it would never be an option. A perfect victory was all he cared about and he was going to make sure he came out on top no matter what it took.

So when life returned to stuffy, hot classrooms and the stress of approaching the edge of youth in early September, all there was to talk about was the soccer team and their upcoming games between rival schools. Most of the popularity goes to Katsuki though. But he ignores a lot of it because he's set on his goal and he couldn't care less about what anyone thinks.

Kiyomi observes from her desk, situated in the far corner of the back of the classroom. The typical spot where someone like her, trying to avoid any sort of attention would choose. She watches the way a certain blonde-headed boy sits annoyed in his seat on the opposite end of the room; second row, near the front. His friends surround him with smug looks and wide smiles as they talk about their summers. Besides Jirou, minding her own business and all, Kirishima and Kaminari are doing most of the annoying while Mina and Sero laugh at the scene.

She thinks they're a good group of people for him. People who truly don't give a crap about his rough personality and crude comments. She was worried by the time they hit high school he was going to be all angsty, but she guessed wrong; she clearly had nothing to worry about. That puts a bittersweet smile on her face, hidden behind her arms that were wrapped around her head, tucked away from the endless conversations filling the classroom.

Too loud, she thinks. The volume has reached the point where her ears hurt and it pleads for silence. Not much has to convince her to rise from her seat and head for the back exit. It was their lunch break anyway. She passes by her classmates without them sparing a single glance when she heads into the hallways. Shortly after, she loitered outside, discovering a quieter spot with a bench to sit on.

She places her hands on either side of herself as she stretches her legs out. Tilting her head towards the sky, she catches sight of how the clouds move steadily, unhurried of where they have to go. There aren't many that fill the blue-painted canvas today, nevertheless, there are some speckles of white here and there.