Broken Mirror (Katsuki Bakugou)

Chapter 8: Go

"Ishino-chan," Midoriya started on their way home from their battle, "can we hang out before we have to go home?" Kaoru turned her head in his direction with a smile.

"Sure. Where would you like to go?" She asked in response. He scrunched his eyebrows and curled his index finger over his lips like he was thinking intensely.

"How about the park?" He suggested, and she nodded her head.

When they arrived at the park that Midoriya used to go to when he was a kid, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Memories of him and Bakugou before he got his quirk ran through his mind. A sad smile spread across his usual deadpanned face. Kaoru took notice of his look and ambled her way over to the monkey bars.

"Wanna climb it?" She asked, finally catching his attention. "Last one to the top has to buy the winner a bean bun."

"You're on!" He exclaimed happily, catching up to her.

"On three. One, two, three!" Kaoru shouted, heading up as fast as she could. So far she was in the lead, but Midoriya was only one bar behind her. Sneakily, he grabbed ahold of her ankle, causing her foot to slip to where she was dangling by her hands.

"Cheater!" She exclaimed, quickly getting her feet back on the bars. They were now neck and neck. However, she was still the one to win. "Yes! I get a free bean bun!" She proclaimed, fist pumping the air.

"Whatever," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Wow, he reminds me of Bakugou right now.

"Hey, Midoriya," she said, pulling her knees to her chest and staring out into the distance. He turned his head in her direction, instantly realizing the shift in mood. "Remember what I told you about my quirk?"

"About it messing up your dad?" He questioned. She nodded her head, now putting her face in her knees.

"My mom told me to never use my quirk again unless I actually needed to. I complied to her demand because I was afraid of screwing up someone else's life. I was afraid of it happening to you." A tear trickled from her left eye and fell onto her knee. "Can you guess what my quirk is?"

"Something with the psyche, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's called Psychological Damage. I inherited it from my dad, and he tried to teach me how to control it. And one day when I was nine, I accidentally used too much power. I found out that he used to be tortured by a villain called All For One until my mom, Malli, saved him. Because of him remembering that, he couldn't get over it, so he's been in a mental hospital since then. I went to see him once and he didn't do anything. When I'd try to talk to him or touch him, he made no reaction."

"Ishino," a voice said. Midoriya turned his head behind him to be met eye to eye to Bakugou who was sitting on a bench nearby.

"My mom died because of All For One two years ago. She went to him to protect me. I was being threatened by another villain that worked under him." A gasp escaped from Midoriya's mouth. She balled her hands into a fist against her shirt. "Does it make it my fault?" She cried, tears now falling one after another onto her skirt.

"Of course not," Bakugou's voice spoke from behind her. Kaoru's eyes widened with shock. The sound of hopping and climbing on the monkey bars caused her to escape from her depressing thoughts. "Kaoru," Bakugou said, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Bakugou," Midoriya started to say with a smile. "Please, take care of her." With a nod of Bakugou's head, Midoriya climbed off of the monkey bars to go to the swings. Bakugou sat in Midoriya's spot.

"You know, I used to think the same as you. Was it my fault that my brother went missing a couple weeks ago? Was it my fault that he was nearly killed by the League of Villains?" Kaoru looked over to Bakugou with surprised eyes.