Flames Intertwining (Katsuki Bakugou Love Story)

UA Sports Festival: Many unexpected feelings

The buzzer went off, telling us that our teams should have been formed by now.
"Now then, it's about time to get started!" yelled Midnight, stretching her arms.
"After fifteen minutes to form teams and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are lined up on the field!" yelled Present Mic.
"There are some interesting teams out there," mumbled Aizawa.
"Now, raise those battle cries!" yelled Present Mic, making the crowd scream in excitement, "it's time for UA's bloody battle! Light the signal fire! All right! You've made your teams, right? I'm not gonna ask if you're ready or not! Now, let's go! Counting down to the brutal battle royal! Three! Two! One!"
"Start!" yelled Midnight, cracking her whip. All the teams ran forward, including ours, towards Midoriya's team, aiming for only one thing. As Yaoyorozu said, Shouto was the rider, I was the left wing, Yaoyorozu on the right, with Iida in front. Before we started Yaoyorozu had made roller skates for me and her, so Iida could move faster without having to worry about us falling behind. From what I could barely see from behind tall Iida, I think I saw Midoriya's team sinking a little, probably from someone's Quirk. However, they managed to fly away. How did they do that? I noticed Midoriya wore a jet pack, probably from the girl with the pink hair and goggles. I thought about taking the team with me towards them, but I realised I couldn't lift that many people and keeping Shouto on top of us. We kept a close eye on them as we turned around to follow them on foot.
"Now then, even though barely two minutes have passed since we've started," yelled Present Mic, "it's already turned into a free-for-all! Fights over the headbands breaking out all over! Ignoring the ten million points and going for second to fourth places isn't bad either!" Once again, Midoriya took off, trying to get away from Mineta's team. I heard a familiar explosion as I watched Bakugou soar into the sky, trying to get the ten million points. However, as I watched his hand move to attack, it seemed to be blocked by a wall of darkness. I realised it was Tokoyami's Quirk, Dark Shadow. I watched Bakugou fly back down to his team, caught by Sero's Tape. Reckless and stubborn as ever. Midoriya's team stumbled to the ground, continuing to run away.
"Now, let's look at each team's points!" yelled Present Mic, "it's been seven minutes! Here are the current rankings up on the screen!" I glanced up at the screen, and my eyes widened slightly at the results. As no one had taken our points, we sat in 5th, but I was shocked for another reason. My eyes searched for Bakugou's team, not believing the points he had, well, hadn't. "Other than Midoriya, Class A isn't doing so well." I glanced at Bakugou's team, seeing he was talking to another ash blond guy, with a sinister look in his eyes. He seemed to torment Bakugou, as I watched his crimson eyes narrow closer together as I could literally feel the rage burning off him. As Midoriya was also being distracted by Bakugou's change of plans, it was our chance to step in. Me and Yaoyorozu skidded to a stop, Iida being in charge of moving around. Shouto glared at Midoriya, while the rest of us joined him.
"I'll be taking that now," mumbled Shouto, his eyes targeting the headband.
"I thought we would not have a confrontation until later in this contest," said Tokoyami, "he seems to think highly of you, Midoriya."
"Only half the time is left," stared Midoriya, "don't stop moving!"
"Iida, forward," commanded Shouto, "Yaoyorozu, prepare to guard us from the flames. Homura, you know what to do." I grinned at him, and warmed up my body. I waited until Yaoyorozu had covered the team with a fire-proof sheet, then glanced behind me.
"Sorry if you're caught up in this, but we need to illuminate our competition!" I grinned, shooting fire in all directions, blowing the opposing teams away, and spreading some flames towards Midoriya, but ended up having most of the fire blocked by Dark Shadow. As the flames disappeared, Shouto grabbed a pillar Yaoyorozu had made, freezing the fallen opponents before they could recover.
"Sorry, but you'll just have to bear it," muttered Shouto before glancing down at me, giving me a smirk, which I returned. Shouto started to grabbed a nearby team's headbands as we ran past them. He started to create a huge wall, separating us from the rest of the teams. I heard spluttering from Midoriya's jet pack, making me grin.
"The backpack's acting up?" questioned Midoriya, then he glanced at me, "Todoroki must have aimed to damage it while she attacked." He really does analyse well. Even if my main objective was to blast all teams away, including Midoriya's, having Dark Shadow block my main attack didn't matter to us. When some of my flames got through, I managed to tamper with his jet pack, letting the small sparks enter and destroy it from the inside.
"Oh no, it's too strong," squealed Uraraka, using a boot given to her by the one with pink her to try and get away from us, "we can't get away!"
"I'll restrain them!" yelled Tokoyami, sending Dark Shadow towards us.
"Yaoyorozu!" yelled Shouto, and she created a pillar to stop Dark Shadow's hand from coming near us. In defeat, Dark Shadow retreated, letting the pillar fall to the floor. Midoriya and Tokoyami mumbled to each other, until their team came to a stop.
"Team Midoriya has nowhere left to go!" yelled Present Mic. We grinned to ourselves, seeing an advantage to our position. "One minute left! Todoroki made it so he'd have the ten million points to himself to seize in an instant! At least, that's what I thought 5 minutes ago! But unbelievably, Midoriya's been able to keep away in that cramped space for 5 minutes!"
"Everyone," said Iida, "there's less than a minute left. You won't be able to use me after this. I'm counting on you!" We glanced at him, half aware of what he was thinking. Without warning, he returned into a running position. "Hang on tight," he added, indicating to me and Yaoyorozu, "make sure you get it, Todoroki!" Before I could react, a sudden burst of air hit me, causing me to hold on tight to both Iida and Shouto, so he wouldn't fall, but kept my eyes on Dark Shadow. Within an instant, we ended up behind Midoriya's team. I glanced up, and saw the ten million points headband in Shouto's hand.
"What happened? So fast! So fast!" yelled Present Mic, "Iida, if you could accelerate that fast, then show us the prelims!" We all stared at Iida, shocked at his sudden boost of power.
"What was that?" breathed Shouto, putting the headband on.
"By forcing the torque and rotations to increase, I created an explosive power," answered Iida, out of breath. Hearing the word explosive immediately reminded me of Bakugou. I'm not sure why I was, but I hope he's doing okay. "With the recoil, my engine stalls after a while, though," he continued, and I noticed smoke rising from his legs. "It's a secret move I hadn't told anyone in class yet. I told you, didn't I, Midoriya? That I'd challenge you!"
"The tables have turned!" commented Present Mic, "offense and defense right at the edge! Reining that in, Todoroki gets the ten million! And Midoriya is suddenly left with zero points!"
"Get back in there!" yelled Midoriya.
"As long as they have Todoroki's flames, we'll be at a disadvantage if we attack!" objected Tokoyami, making me grin, "won't it be safer to try for other points right now?"
"No!" yelled Midoriya, "I don't know how the other points got split up! This is our only chance!"
"All right!" yelled Uraraka, making the team head towards us, "we'll get it back, Deku! We definitely will!" Midoriya's face lit up, as well as his arm. My eyes widened and I could see Shouto's eyes widen too. I tried to think of something to do, when I felt a sudden heat wave hit me. My eyes opened wider, as I realised it wasn't my flames. I hesitantly rose my head, and surprisingly saw Shouto light up his left side, putting it in front of his face. However, Midoriya seemed to cut the air, sending Shouto's arm to the side. I watched as Shouto wore the same face as me as he watched his arm dissolve the flames he had caused. Midoriya grabbed one of Shouto's headbands from his neck, leaving us stuck in place. However, we played Midoriya's victory.
"Just in case, we changed the position of the headbands," said Yaoyorozu, "you were naive, Midoriya!" I glanced up at Shouto who was clutching his left arm. He looked betrayed, and I couldn't help but feel a sad feeling in my heart.
"Todoroki, get a hold of yourself," said Iida, "that was close!"
"Oh no! Team Midoriya didn't retrieve the ten million points!" yelled Present Mic, "time's just about up!"
"Tokoyami!" yelled a desparte Midoriya, making Dark Shadow towards me. Once again, I lit up my flames as the rest of the team covered themselves with the same sheet as before. I lit the flames as bright as can be, but I kept feeling the same unfamiliar heat that came from Shouto's arm. I suddenly heard an explosion coming from the side, and spotted Bakugou flying overhead.
"Damn Deku!" he yelled, heading for Midoriya.
"Uraraka!" yelled Midoriya.
"Got it!" she responded, speeding towards us. I heard Iida's engine splutter again.
"Yaoyorozu, Homura!" said Shouto, making Yaoyorozu create a large pole while I lit up my whole left side.
"The ten million points are...?!" I heard Bakugou said. Midoriya reached out his arm towards Shouto while I heard Bakugou head towards us. "Half-and-Half Bastard!" he yelled.  Shouto froze the pole from Yaoyorozu, as the two boys headed straight towards us.
"Time's up!" yelled Present Mic. I felt like the three teams had paused as I heard Bakugou land face first into the ground with a thump. "That's the end of the second round, the cavalry battle!" Midoriya let out a defeated groan as the rest of Bakugou's team ran up to his fallen body that shook and pounded the ground. Shouto got off from us, keeping his head down.
"Dammit," he mumbled, and I knew why. The same heat kept reappearing in my head. I felt so shocked that he suddenly did that, after all he went through and the vow he had said to me many weeks ago. Usually, I would go up and comfort him, but this time, I kept my two feet on the ground, lowering my head. I glanced at my open palm. Was he changing his mind? Did he not need me?
"Now, let's take a look at the top four teams right away!" announced Present Mic, "In first place, Team Todoroki! In second place, Team Bakugou! I'm tired place, Team Tetsute- Huh? What, it's Team Shinso?! When did you come from behind?! In fourth place, Team Midoriya! These four teams will advance to the final round!" We all glanced at Midoriya's team, as we watched Midoriya rain a fountain of tears. I noticed Shouto looking at his left side again, feeling the same sadness as before. His eyes glanced towards me, but I looked away. I felt a little hurt, and gripped my own left arm, almost in shyness.
"I can't," I heard him whisper, "at this rate, I'll be doing what the old man wants.." I glanced at him through the gaps in my hair, but couldn't bear to face him.
"Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!" announced Present Mic. Everyone started to head for lunch, and I started to wonder off on my own, when I felt a familiar wrist grab mine.
"Homura," breathed Shouto. I didn't dare look back, but I stopped walking. I felt him shake under his grip. "I'm sorry," he whispered, making me turn slightly towards him. "I don't know what came over me, but I felt so overwhelmed by Midoriya's attack that it just seemed to happen on it's own. I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way, but you know that I won't do it again!" I clenched my free arm, gripping my outfit. "You did really well in that battle at keeping Tokoyami's Quirk away, and no one even thought about damaging Midoriya's jet pack until you did it. I'm glad you were by my side, but I still want that to happen." I felt his voice break a little and his palm continue to shake. There was a small silence until I spoke softly.
"I don't want to see you crumble from that overwhelming pressure from our old man," I said, still not facing him, "and I admit, I felt a little betrayed when I suddenly felt your fire rise from you." I began to turn around, facing him and giving him a small smile, "but I'm happy that we came in first." His eyes widened at my response and his body crashed into mine, wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm sorry I made you feel like that, but we couldn't have won without you, Homura," he breathed, still shaking slightly. I smiled as I returned his embrace.
"It's fine, what matters is we're through to the final round, where one of us can end up on that stage," I said, pulling away and smiling at him. He nodded in agreement. "You know," I added, ruffling his hair, "I sort of missed your flames," I smiled. He shyly smiled back, but his face turned serious. He rose his left palm, and I glanced down at it.
"I still don't know what came over me, but it had to do with Midoriya's Quirk," he said quietly. I nodded slightly.
"I was surprised myself," I said. He looked up at me.
"I need to speak to him," he said, "and you're coming, too," he said, and I nodded. We both walked, almost syncing in footsteps, towards Midoriya, who had dried his tears a little.
"Midoriya," I said in a calming but stern way. He glanced at us.
"Oh, yes?" he said, unsure of what we wanted.
"May we speak with you privately?" I asked, and he hesitantly nodded. We walked off from the large group as they walked towards their lunch break, and we led Midoriya to a doorway no one was using. Me and Shouto leaned on the same wall with Midoriya opposite us. There was an eery silence as we stared at Midoriya, as if we were scanning him.
"What did you two want to talk about?" questioned Midoriya in a low tone, but I could tell he felt a little nervous. We stayed silence, picking our words carefully. I knew what Shouto wanted to talk about, but I wanted him to speak first. "If we don't hurry, the cafeteria will probably be really crowded..." started Midoriya, but trailed off as he continued to shake with nervousness from our intimidating looks.
"I was overpowered," Shouto finally spoke, "so much that I broke my two pledges." Midoriya glanced down at his left hand as he lifted it from his pocket. "Iida, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Uraraka... none of them felt it apart from Homura. At that last instant, we both felt the same feeling of being overpowered."
"What... does... that... mean?" breathed Midoriya, looking more nervous than before. Shouto remained quiet.
"It means that he felt a similar power radiating off from you, as I sensed it, too," I said, Midoriya's eyes casting upon me, "watching All Might up close, I analysed his power and the ways that he fought, and I felt it again when your power was released." I glared up at him as well as Shouto.
"Midoriya, are you...?" began Shouto, "All Might's secret love child or something?" Mine and Midoriya's eyes widened slightly. I wasn't expecting him to ask a question like that.
"Shouto! That's a little inappropriate," I blurted out, glaring at him. He glanced at me as Midoriya fell quiet, making my eyebrow rise at his sudden silence. "Well, are you?" I said, growing suspicious.
"Th-that's not it!" blurted out Midoriya, "I mean, even if I was, I would say I wasn't, so I don't think you'd believe me, but anyway, that's not how it is..." he rambled, but steadied himself, "in the first place, let me ask you two something...? What do you two think about me...?" he asked. I went to glance at Shouto but he spoke right after Midoriya finished.
"Since you said, 'that's not how it is,' that means there's a connection between you two that you can't talk about, right?" he said sternly. I hadn't realised that, but Midoriya fell silent again. I sighed.
"Endeavor's our old man," I said, making both of them glance at me, "and I'm sure you know that he's been stuck as the number two hero forever." I closed my eyes as I spoke, but opened them as I spoke my last sentence. "If you have something from the number one hero, then Shouto has even more reasons to beat you."
"Homura," breathed Shouto, unsure of what I was doing. I gave him a look, making him quiet and to not argue in front of Midoriya, which he followed. I continued.
"As a hero, he won a name for himself with crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he move into his next plan."
"What are you talking about, Todoroki?" worried Midoriya, "What are you both trying to tell me?" My eyes shifted to Shouto, almost getting his approval. Shouto sighed and turned to Midoriya.
"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right?" he asked, making Midoriya nod, "that thing that became a problem for the second and third generation after superpowers appeared. Choosing a spouse based only on strengthening your own Quirk and passing it onto your children, forcing people into marriage. The old-fashioned way of thinking bright about by a lack of ethics. He is a man with both accomplishments and money. He won over our mother's relatives and got a hold of her Quirk. He is trying to fulfil his own desire by raising us to be heroes to surpass All Might." Midoriya gasped at our sudden speech. "It's so annoying," grumbled Shouto, and I glanced at him, seeing the anger build up on his face. "I refuse to become the tool of scum like that," he breathed.
"Shouto," I said, trying to reassure him, but felt myself sigh, and glance at Midoriya. "Nether will I." There was a small silence as Shouto controlled his anger a little.
"In our memories, our mother is always crying," he said, and I felt a slight pain in my heart and in my side. I put my hand on my side as Shouto put his hand over his left eye. "'Your left side is unsightly', she said to me as she poured boiling water on me, and using the same kettle to slash Homura's side," Midoriya gasped then looked at me, as I reluctantly raised my shirt to show the large scar on my left side, but avoiding to show him my burns. "Basically, I picked a fight with you to show him what we can do," continued Shouto, glaring at Midoriya again, "without using my damn old man's Quirk."
"Although I only obtained that scum's Quirk and not my mother's," I said, "I act as Shouto's left side, using all my power to strengthen ourselves in battle."
"That is why," growled Shouto, "I'll reject him completely by getting to the top without using my fire, but Homura showing what she can do, so she doesn't feel like an outcast." I glanced down, letting my hair fall in front of my eyes. I felt Shouto leave my side, but I didn't follow. An outcast. Midoriya was left with me, shocked at what he had heard.
"You shouldn't take what he says personally," I said, feeling Midoriya's eyes on me, "although we're twins..." I paused, feeling my throat tighten, "I wasn't meant to be born. Shouto is the person who was meant to surpass All Might, meaning, from our father's desires and plan, he focused more on Shouto, trying to get him to train with both sides, while using me to strengthen his own power through me and teaching me all that he knows and more. However," I glanced at the back of Shouto's figure, "he's had it tough, and I don't blame him for his actions." We fell silent again.
"Neither one of you should feel pressured," whispered Midoriya, making me glance up at him. He stared at me with both determination but a hint of pity from hearing our backstory. "And you shouldn't feel like you're under anyone's shadow." With that, he left, probably to talk to Shouto again. My eyes widened in surprise. Not to be under anyone's shadow? I looked at my palm. Before thinking anyone else, I sighed.
"Are you gonna come out or continue to hide in the shadows, Baka?" I said, hearing a sudden twitch from behind the wall near me.
"Who are you calling Baka?!" growled Bakugou, coming out from behind it.
"Tch, you should learn to breath quieter. Jeez, it was like listening to a motorcycle starting," I sighed, setting him off again.
"Are you asking to die?!" he yelled, coming towards me. I smirked and I raised my hand to make him stop.
"Calm down, I'm kidding," I said, still smirking. He seemed to calm down, and leaned on the wall Midoriya was on. There was silence as my hair covered my eyes again. "You heard everything, huh?" I finally said. He didn't say anything, but I could take it as a yes. I sighed again. "I would appreciate that you kept it to yourself, being personal and all, like I kept your weakness.." I was cut off as Bakugou came towards me, and I felt his hand lift up my shirt. Before I could react, he stopped before anything embarrassing could be revealed. I couldn't see his eyes, but I felt his eyes on my scar along with the rest of my burns. He stayed silent as he used his free hand to brush his thumb against it, sending a chill up my spine. "Uh, Bakugou, what are you...?" I was once again cut off as my face collided into his chest as he wrapped his warm arms around me. I blinked several times, confused of what came over him.
"Does it hurt?" I heard his say, rather softly.
"At the time, of course, but not anymore," I replied, almost whispering. I felt his arms hold me tighter.
"For how long?" he asked.
"It took a year for it to be how it is now, but I still had to train during that time," I said, and I felt his arms tense.
"How old were you?" he asked, his voice almost raspy.
"Probably about 6, wh—", I said, before my face pressed harder against his hard chest.
"Why were you training so young, and with an injury?" he asked. I felt anger radiating off him. I sighed.
"Didn't you hear?" I said, slightly harder to speak clearly from his embrace, "it's not like I had a choice." I felt his fingers grip my outfit. "B-Bakugou, you're kind of hurting me," I said, but he either didn't hear or didn't care. He hugged me so much that it's like his whole body was protecting me. His head leaned down so that it rested on my shoulder, almost like he was reassuring me. I could feel his heart beat against my ear, pounding hard and fast. I still felt the anger coming off him, but I could also sense a feeling worry and guilt.
"I'm... sorry," he breathed, making my eyes widen. I never understood why he apologised so much to me, in fact, only me. I never heard him say it to Kirishima when he insulted him. He fell quiet until he spoke again. "I'm sorry you went through that, and coming out with so many marks to remind you of what happened. If I could, I'd kill whoever responsible, but he's still your old man. To me, it didn't seem like it was your mum's fault, but it seemed like she was also under pressure from your old man. But, that nerd Deku kind of said something... true." I felt his head leave my shoulder, and my head glanced up. His head looked down at me, and I could see how soft his eyes looked when they glanced into mine. "You're not under anyone's shadow, and you should think of your Quirk as your own. I mean, it's powerful on it's own, no matter where it came from." My eyes widened, feeling a slight tear well up inside one of them. No one had ever spoken to me the way he has. My heart banged against my chest as he spoke. As I stared up into his eyes, I felt him lean closer, his eyes glancing occasionally at my lips. Without thinking, my head seemed to move on its own, moving towards his, and my eyes locking on his lips. As the distance closed between us, I felt that one tear leave as my eyes closed, almost melting into Bakugou's soft lips. I still didn't know why I had kissed him again, but it's like my heart and body ignored my brain. Bakugou's hand ran up my back, running his fingers in my red hair, making the moment more special. After what felt like hours, we parted, almost gasping for air. We stayed in silence, not moving from each other's grip, seeing only our red faces.
"You know, you were pretty good today, from what I saw," I whispered, breaking the silence. I saw him smile a little, and started to open his mouth, "Well, except when you face planted in the ground at the end," I said, glancing to the side, and trying not to laugh. I felt his fingers clench against my back.
"I was trying to reach those ten million points, you idiot," he yelled at me, pink from embarrassment.
"The noise you made, too, was too much to handle," I chuckled, still trying to keep it cool when in reality, I wanted to splutter with laughter.
"Shut your damn mouth," he yelled, still keeping his arms around me.
"Well, I'm getting food, you coming, Baka?" I said, slightly releasing myself from his grasp. He pouted, still angry at me.
"I was going there anyway," he mumbled, beginning to walk off with me.
"I don't think the darkness is the cafeteria," I smirked, making him more mad.
"Can you shut up?" he yelled, him still next to me. I smiled at the fact that he was still himself after what we had done together, but more about that fact that some of our fingers were tangled together, reminding me of the time our fingers had first found each other.