STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 75 // Honor

8 YEARS LATER

Bakugo fiddled with the wedding ring dangling from the chain around his neck as he stared ahead at the aged statue in front of him.

'[Y/N] BAKUGO
20XX-20XX
Dedicated Hero
Loving Wife, Daughter, and Friend'

He read the plague embedded in the stone base of your carefully sculpted memorial as if he hadn't scanned the words a million times already.

His eyes soon began to scan the dozens of lotus' littered around the massive feet of the statue, noticing some of them seemed fresher than the day before, telling him some citizens had stopped by to leave more.

"Dynamight!"

Bakugo perked up at the sound of his hero name being shouted and looked to his left to find a young girl sprinting over to him.

"It's really you!" she exclaimed, pulling herself up onto the bench the man was sat on. She couldn't have been more than five or six. "Can you sign my card?"

Bakugo spotted his own face on the holographic card in the girl's hand as she leaned forward, a wide grin on her face as she extended her other hand, much held a permanent marker.

"Sure."

Sixteen-year-old him would've told the child to beat it. His impatience and annoyance would've gotten the better of him. However, your influence on his teenager behavior carried on into his adult life.

Bakugo scribbled his signature before handing both the maker and the card back to the child, who let out a joyous squeal as she clutched the card against her chest.

"Thank you!"

Bakugo simply nodded with a small smile before averting his attention back to your statue.

"Did you know her?"

Bakugo glanced at the girl, who was still sitting beside him, at the sound of her question before focusing his eyes ahead once more.

"I did," he answered. "She's my wife."

"But I thought she's gone?" the child questioned. "How can she be your wife if she's gone?"

Sixteen-year-old him wouldn't lashed out at the sting that came with her words, but twenty-five-year-old him knew she was simply innocent. She didn't know better.

"We got married a long while ago. She is gone now," he explained, fingering crawling up to his neck to caress your ring, "but that doesn't change the fact that she was and still is wife. We're still married even though she's gone."

"Oh..." the girl trailed off, looking back at the statue. "What are those flowers?"

"Lotus'," the hero replied. "They signify life. We leave them to show her legacy, and to appreciate what she gave while she was here. Her efforts live on even though she's gone."

"They're pretty," the child stated to which Bakugo nodded in agreement.

"They are," he began, sighing as his vision painted the statue with color. "She w...is beautiful."

All was silent for a moment until the child decided to branch into another topic of conversation.

"My momma says there's no such thing as true love," the girl said, causing Bakugo to settle his eyes back on her, "but there's this boy in my class I really like!"

"Maybe he likes you too," he proposed.

"But what if he doesn't?" the child asked, jutting out her bottom lip as she pouted.

"You'll never know unless you say something," Bakugo said.

"Momma says I'm too young to have feelings like that," she frowned.

"Well, it's a bit of a difference, but I fell in love at sixteen and got married at seventeen," he explained, almost chuckling when the child's jaw went slack as she gasped, eyes widening.

"That's young!" she exclaimed.

"It's love," he countered. "When you feel it for the first time, you'll realize you'd do anything to keep it."

"Do you think I'll find love, Mr. Dynamight?"

Bakugo huffed in amusement through his nose, looking back at your statue to stare at it fondly.

"I think you'll know the moment you do," he answered. "I did."

"Marion, I told you to stop running off!"

Bakugo's calm exterior faltered at the sound of your former hero name being screamed throughout the park. It wasn't long before a frazzled woman appeared in front of him, narrowed eyes staring down the girl sat to his left.

"Look, Momma! It's Dynamight!" the girl, Marion, shouted as she waved her finger at the hero. Then, she flashed her autographed card at the woman. "He signed my card!"

"That was very nice of him, Sweeite," the woman nodded, shooting Bakugo an apologetic look. "Come on, we've gotta get home."

"Bye, Mr. Dynamight!" Marion smiled, waving her hand enthusiastically as she hoped off the bench, taking her mother's hand.

Bakugo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up at the mother standing opposite of him.

Her lips fell down into a small frown as she glanced down at the giddy child leaning against her leg.

"I thought [Y/N] would be disrespectful," she confessed, averting her attention back to the hero to shoot him a sympathetic smile before leaving.

Bakugo gulped, washing away the dryness itching his throat as he lifted his head to observe your statue once again.

"I'll build that cabin when I retire," he promised with a small exhale as he stood. "I can't have IcyHot whining about me being too damn far away to react to a call."

"Yo, Bakugo!"

The hero glanced to his right at the sound of a familiar voice to find Kaminari standing in the distance, waving his hand with a wide smile as if he was concerned that his screaming wouldn't be enough to get the blond's attention.

Kirishima and Jirou stood on either side of him, Todoroki looming over from behind with the ghost of a crooked smile on his face, Deku beside the dual haired boy.

"We're getting soba!" Kaminari shouted. "Wanna tag along?"

He didn't. He wanted to stay with you forever, water the flowers that brought life to your aged memorial. However, he vowed from the moment he read your letter to obey your words over his own heart.

It was time to move on.

He walked over to the statue, fingers grazing the cold metal of your plaque. The sight of your name up close brought a single tear to his left eye.

"I love you..." he whispered, not wiping off the tear that splattered against the bronze surface.

"I love you, Katsuki Bakugo."

Your voice echoed in his head, drawing another tear that fell beside the former on the plaque.

He tore his eyes away as he shifted on his feet, forcing the best smile he could muster as he made his way over to his friends.

His childhood friend slung an arm across the blond's shoulder as soon as the man was within reach, eyes showing concern.

"Are you okay?" Deku asked, squeezing Bakugo's shoulder lightly as if to silently comfort him.

"No," he honestly confessed, craning his head back to look at the bright blue sky hanging above him, "but I'm here."

He was here because of you. Everything he's learned, everything he's gained, everything he's changed, it was all because of you, so least he could was honor your wishes.

He could keep living.

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THE END OF BOOK TWO, AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE PUPPET SERIES

[EDITED]