Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia and any of its characters used in this fanfic.
A/N: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my very first contribution to the My Hero Academia fandom!
I honestly never thought I'd find myself lurking in this fandom for fanfics or...anything, really, even though I do keep up with the English volume releases. (This means I don't rely on the English scanlations, so please avoid mentioning spoilers to me.) I am definitely behind on the anime, though, because I've been busy and, well, I prefer the English dub voices over the Japanese dub. (Compared to the Japanese dub, the English dub voices fit the ones I had in my head while reading the manga a lot better.)
Since I enjoy the English dub and read the English volume releases here in the U.S., all my spellings and references are related to those things. This also means no honorifics, even though I know how big of a deal they are in Japanese, especially for some of the characters (e.g., Tsuyu calls Katsuki as "Bakugo-chan" and insists every one of her friends to call her "Tsuyu-chan," whereas in the English dub, she just calls Katsuki by his last name and insists that her friends call her by "Tsu").
Honestly, I didn't think I would write anything for this fandom because I didn't have an OTP that inspired me enough...until I found out that Katsuyu existed. I mean, I had a feeling about it since I first saw Tsuyu tease Katsuki, but it finally clicked with me when I started discovering fanart for them on Tumblr. (Anyone who is a Katsuyu fan knows who I'm talking about here.)
So, big shout-out to everyone in the Katsuyu group chat on LINE! Seriously, if it weren't for you guys, I don't think I ever would've started writing this fanfic. And shout-out to those in the Katsuyu group chat on Twitter! I know the Twitter one got formed recently, and some of you on LINE are on there, but shout-out to all of you for being such awesome Katsuyu shippers and feeding me such amazing Katsuyu fuel I never knew I needed. Oh, and shout-out to everyone who looked over the drafts of this first chapter for me!
Now, this is a College AU fanfic, which means no quirks and all that fancy stuff. Honestly, this is a way for me to demonstrate why I ship Katsuyu. I think the biggest reason, which most Katsuyu shippers agree on, is that out of all the girls at U.A., Tsuyu's the best one who can handle Katsuki because we have a level-headed girl with a hot-headed guy, which end up balancing each other out (e.g., Tsuyu can help calm Katsuki down when he gets out of control). But, the biggest reason of all to me as to why I think this ship has such great chemistry is... Well, if you read this fanfic, you'll eventually figure it out, haha.
I'm hoping that maybe with my contribution, you, the reader, who may not be a Katsuyu shipper, will at least feel inclined to ship them or understand why we Katsuyu shippers love this OTP so much. If, instead, you are a Katsuyu shipper, then I hope this fanfic will make you fall in love with them even more.
Also, small warning: Katsuki has a foul mouth, so expect some coarse language.
With that said, enjoy!
Change of Heart
Chapter 1: A Coincidental Meeting
When Katsuki Bakugo opened the door to his apartment and shut the door behind him, it took everything in him to resist the urge to collapse onto the floor. After slipping off his shoes and kicking them off near the door, he dragged his feet to the kitchen as he let out a large yawn, despite his growling stomach. He had been starving for the past few hours, and just as he opened the fridge to grab something to eat, he glanced at the displayed time on the oven.
"4 A.M.?" Katsuki muttered before he scowled. "Shit."
If he didn't go to bed right now, he wouldn't be able to stay awake for his last final exam later today.
Katsuki contemplated on whether to eat or not, but once he saw the time turn to 4:01 A.M., he sighed in aggravation and shut the refrigerator.
Food could wait until later. He was exhausted, anyway.
"The things I fucking sacrifice to earn more money," Katsuki grumbled as he headed to his room, which was further down the hall. After entering his room, he began taking off his clothes until he was only in his boxers and threw them into laundry wastebasket in the corner.
Finally, he allowed himself to collapse facedown onto his bed, which made him grunt upon the impact, so he readjusted his position to become comfortable.
It wasn't long before Katsuki fell asleep.
Every day, Katsuki went through the same routine: wake up, brush his teeth, make breakfast, and get dressed and ready for whatever his plans were for the day. If it was a weekday, he would get ready for his classes at the University of Tokyo; if it was a weekend, he'd spend the rest of the day studying and exercising.
Today was Monday, July 30, the last day of spring semester before summer break would start. Of course, summer break coming around the corner meant one thing: he had to find another part-time job.
Katsuki grimaced as he put on his clothes for the day. His current part-time job was at a 24/7 convenience store near his university where he worked the night shift, which was 10 P.M. to 3 A.M., on weekdays. He didn't hate his job, especially since it paid extremely well for a part-time one. It was just that Katsuki always felt like he was tight on money, even though he grew to be frugal about the things he'd purchase and began budgeting his money since the start of freshman year, so whenever he had summer, spring, or winter break, he would go find another temporary part-time job for that duration while working at the convenience store.
There were times when his manager would ask him if he could come in for overtime for the weekend; unfortunately, he never had the luxury of choosing which shifts to do overtime. Most of the time, he did the morning or afternoon shifts, but there were few occasions when he had the night shift instead, such as last night.
Normally, Katsuki would agree to doing overtime if he didn't have any upcoming exams. However, earlier this month, he had no choice but to splurge… It was for a good reason, but damn, did it hurt his wallet. That was why when his manager asked if he could work overtime, Katsuki accepted without hesitation, even though he had an upcoming final exam.
Honestly, the only thing Katsuki hated about working at the convenience store were the customers—or rather, his fellow students who were his customers, to be exact.
During the morning or afternoon shifts when he worked overtime at the convenience store, he wouldn't be disturbed as much. Most of the customers who would come in were mild-mannered: they'd buy stuff and then leave, which Katsuki preferred.
Of course, that meant that there were occasions where the customer would try to strike up a conversation, like "How's the weather today?" or "How are you?"
Katsuki would just give one-word responses, such as "Good" or "Fine." He rarely said anything more than that, unless the customer wanted to keep talking to him. At that point, he would say a few more words, just enough to be satisfy them, so they would at least leave in a good mood. It wasn't that he minded making small talk, but that he saw no point, so he typically tried to sound as neutral as possible since he didn't want to offend them. After all, the last thing he needed was to get fired from this part-time job, especially when it was so conveniently located near home and his university.
His regular weekday night shifts, on the other hand, were another story.
Usually, it'd be rather quiet since not a lot of customers came around that late unless they lived nearby, but compared to when he worked overtime, there were a lot more…weirder incidents, to put it lightly. One example was last Thursday, July 26, when some guy was stalking one of his female classmates.
He only knew this because she seemed uneasy when he approached her about whether she was going to buy something or not since she had been loitering in the store for a while. When he had looked out the window and saw that some guy was loitering in the parking lot, he made the connection.
"Is he your ex?" Katsuki asked, shifting his gaze to her.
She shook her head, keeping her gaze glued to the floor.
"What is he, then?" Katsuki asked as he watched her inaudibly gulp, but when she made no response, he frowned. "Well?"
"Stalker," she finally whispered.
Katsuki watched how she trembled, practically hiding her face behind the magazine she had open, before he sighed. "Wait here."
She looked at him in confusion.
Without hesitation, Katsuki left the store and sauntered to the guy.
The guy's gaze was still on Katsuki's classmate, until he took notice of Katsuki nearing him.
When Katsuki was finally in front of the guy, his eyes narrowed when he recognized him as a fellow sophomore. He had seen him a few times on campus and occasionally with his male classmates. Katsuki also noticed that the guy was at least three inches taller than him.
The guy frowned at Katsuki. "What?"
"You're loitering," Katsuki replied. "Get the hell out."
The guy scoffed. "And? What are you going to do about it?"
"You're loitering," Katsuki repeated, his tone lowering. "Get the hell out."
The guy scowled and scoffed again. "You want me to leave? Fine, I will, but only after my girlfriend buys stuff."
Katsuki glanced back at the store momentarily before shifting his gaze back at the guy. "'Girlfriend,' huh?"
The guy's scowl grew at Katsuki's tone. "The hell you trying to imply?"
"If she is your girlfriend, why didn't you enter the store with her?"
The guy flinched. "S-She insisted that I wait here."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah!"
Katsuki continued to stare at this guy, knowing fully well that his scrutiny was making the guy uncomfortable. "It's 11 P.M. on a Thursday. Any sensible boyfriend would've walked into the store with his girlfriend to make sure that she's safe."
The guy flinched again. "It's none of your business!"
"No, it is my business because you're loitering in front of my damn store," Katsuki growled, his threatening tone finally appearing, and he inwardly relished at how the guy flinched in fear. "If anything, it seems more like you're stalking my classmate."
The guy's jaw dropped. "I-I am not a stalker!"
"You're obviously not her boyfriend, and you're suspiciously loitering in front of my damn store while staring at her."
At that point, the guy took a step back at Katsuki's accusations, and as Katsuki's scrutiny unnerved him even more, he began to break out in a cold sweat.
"I know who you are on campus," Katsuki bluffed, glaring at the guy. "I can easily call the authorities on you."
"L-Liar—"
"We go to the same damn university, and I see your face almost every single day. It won't be hard for me to track you down and report you for stalking my classmate."
The guy began sputtering gibberish, most likely in disbelief at the situation, until finally, he aimed a punch at Katsuki.
Katsuki immediately stepped to the side, dodging the punch.
The guy's eyes widened. "W-What the—"
Katsuki crouched and punched the guy in the gut, just with enough strength to make the guy clutch his stomach and step backward while groaning.
The guy's head shot up, ready to send another punch.
"You try to punch me again, and I won't hold back," Katsuki snarled, his deadly tone seeping through his words and making the atmosphere seem colder than it already was.
The guy flinched, his eyes widening at Katsuki's glare and his legs shaking in fear.
"Now, get the hell out of my sight," Katsuki growled, narrowing his eyes and relishing how the guy jumped in fear when Katsuki took a step toward him. "If I see you near her again, even on campus, I'll report you to the police. Got it?"
The guy nodded so quickly that it looked like he would've given himself whiplash. "I-I got it! I won't ever bother her again! I swear!"
Katsuki took another step.
The guy yelped in fear as he jumped backward, and at Katsuki's menacing death glare, he finally ran off as he screamed.
Katsuki let out a sigh of annoyance, his eyes finally turning to a nonchalant gaze, before he sauntered into the store. His eyes narrowed at the girl, whose jaw was completely dropped. "Next time, report him to the damn police."
She continued to stare him, completely dumbfounded.
Katsuki resisted the urge to groan. "Do you plan on buying anything?"
She finally snapped out of her stupor and brought a bottle of Pepsi to the cash register.
When Katsuki rang her up, he heard her mutter her thanks, but he only grunted in response as he handed her change.
Without another word, she bolted out of the store, and Katsuki was grateful that the store was finally quiet and uneventful.
Pushing the memory of last Thursday out of his mind, Katsuki headed to his apartment door after grabbing his bag and keys. After he left and locked the door, he realized that the apartment door to his left was open, and just in front of that open door were a bunch of boxes.
Katsuki figured it was a new neighbor moving in, so he shrugged it off and headed to school.
It wasn't like he wanted to make friends with any of his neighbors, anyway.
When Saturday came rolling around, Katsuki was grateful. He was now on break and didn't have to worry about school for a while. On one hand, it meant more sleep, but on the other hand, it also meant that he was tight on time because there were most likely other college students in the area who had already thought about doing a part-time job over break to earn some extra cash.
Katsuki felt like his window of opportunity was closing as every day passed, but here he was, standing behind the counter for the afternoon shift at the convenience store because he was asked to come in for overtime on Wednesday afternoon. He kept drumming the end of the store's ballpoint pen to some rhythmic beat to help pass the time.
For the past few days, Katsuki had gone through the newspaper and even looked online to check for any part-time job openings, but so far, he didn't have much luck. Most of the job openings he saw kept striking out because the locations were too far away or took too long to commute from his apartment or convenience store or because he was unqualified for the position.
Maybe he should consider nearby cafés or coffee shops. Surely, at least one of them was looking to hire a part-timer. Becoming a waiter didn't sound as bad as becoming a barista, but knowing his attitude and temper, maybe he should just work behind the scenes and wash the dishes or something—not that he had the luxury to choose, anyway. He was willing to do whichever of the two that paid more.
Katsuki immediately stopped drumming the pen and placed it down onto the counter as he frowned, realizing that the stress of finding another job was getting to him.
In that moment, he remembered how grateful and ecstatic he was when he found out that he could attend the University of Tokyo with enough scholarships and financial aid that it would cover his education for the entire four years. The leftover money would then go to his bank account, which he would use for school supplies or emergency expenses, such as if he couldn't make rent for the month or needed money for food.
Still, he knew it wasn't enough for him to keep going like this. It had been almost a little over a year and a half since he started living independently, and going to school full-time while working a part-time job was, to put it bluntly, exhausting. If he could get some extra cash for the summer, even if it was just a small amount, it would help relieve the financial burden on his shoulders.
Just then, Katsuki heard the bell-like sound effect from the sliding doors and immediately greeted the customers with a nonchalant face. He noticed that it was a group of girls and that one of them was the girl from last Thursday—the same girl who had that stalker problem.
Her three friends were giggling and smiling as her head was cast downward with her face completely flushed red. They kept whispering to her as the entire group went down one of the aisles of the convenience store.
Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he watched them in case they needed any assistance. His gaze remained nonchalant as the girl's friends kept giggling and nudging her. He raised an eyebrow when he saw how one of them was nodding her head in his direction. Once he saw that girl who had the stalker problem from last Thursday begin walking toward him, he regained a neutral expression.
When she finally approached him, she kept her head down and didn't say a word.
Katsuki frowned when he realized that she didn't have anything in her hands. "Did you need help finding anything?"
Her head immediately shot up, and she began frantically waving her hands. "N-No!"
Katsuki stared blankly at her in response.
"Wait, no, that's not what I meant!" She paused. "I mean, well, um…"
Katsuki slowly raised an eyebrow, and when he saw her turn her head to the side, he glanced at the back of the store and noticed her friends giving her the thumbs-up. He shifted his gaze back to her, resisting the urge to sigh in annoyance. "Is there something specific you're looking for?"
She immediately looked at Katsuki, suddenly taken aback. "E-Excuse me?"
"If you want chips, they're down on aisle 1," Katsuki replied in a nonchalant tone. "Pocky and Yan-Yan are further down that same aisle. If you want instant noodles, they're—"
"N-No, that's not it!"
Katsuki resisted the urge to frown. "Then, what is it you need?"
Again, she looked taken aback. "Um…"
Katsuki felt his patience wearing thin, but he resisted the urge to say anything.
She shyly looked down at the floor before she took a deep breath and looked up, meeting Katsuki's eyes again. "Hey, um, Bakugo."
Katsuki grunted in response.
"Um, thank you again for last Thursday."
Katsuki said nothing as he waited for her to continue.
"I-It meant a lot to me, you know, that you did that," she said softly as her cheeks became pink.
Again, Katsuki said nothing and continued to stare at her in response.
"So, um, I was…wondering if…you were free tomorrow?"
Katsuki blinked as that bit of information slowly processed through his head. There was a slight pause as Katsuki pieced together what she was suggesting to him, which made him furrow his brow. "Why?"
"Um, well, um…" Her voice trailed off before she cleared her throat. "Maybe…we can hang out tomorrow? Y-You know, like grab coffee or, um, something." She paused for a second before immediately adding, "So, I can properly thank you, of course! I-It's not like a date or anything." She then laughed nervously.
Katsuki stared at her for a few seconds in silence.
"Um, Bakugo?" she asked.
"No."
There was a short pause of silence.
"I-I'm sorry?" she asked, this time her tone on the verge of dejection.
"No, I won't go out with you," Katsuki replied in a nonchalant tone.
"O-Oh… Is it because you already have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"S-Someone you like, then?"
"No."
"Oh…"
Before she could ask any further questions, Katsuki immediately sighed, glancing momentarily at the girl's friends, who began looking concerned, and then shifting his gaze back to her. "Look, I'm just not interested in you that way. Simple."
"I…I see…"
Katsuki said nothing in response. When a few seconds of silence passed, he began to feel…awkward. He knew that he couldn't just kick her out since he was still working, which meant that she was technically his customer, so the only thing he could do was wait.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you," she finally muttered.
Katsuki didn't even get a chance to reply because right after she said that, she ran out of the store, and within seconds, her friends ran out of the convenience store to chase after her.
When Katsuki was sure that they were long gone, he scrutinized his eyes, realizing that this was the weirdest, most unexpected thing he ever thought would occur to him when working overtime. After a few seconds passed, he couldn't help but scoff.
Honestly, he had more important things to think about than getting a girlfriend.
He had overheard a bunch of his male classmates about going to mixers to hook up with girls from either his university or another one. In fact, he had been invited a few times, but he always turned the invitations down because he just wasn't interested in hooking up with anyone—not after…her.
Katsuki's eyes darkened as he pushed his high school memories away—memories of her.
He clicked his tongue and glared down at the counter. "God damn it."
When Katsuki came back to his apartment later that day, he was annoyed. He had managed to push thoughts of her out of his mind the second a customer entered the store, but on his way home, his mind became overwhelmed with the stress of finding another part-time job.
Once he finally arrived at his apartment room, he began fumbling for his keys in the front pocket of his khaki pants. Just as he managed to pull them out, the door next to his room—the one where his new neighbor supposedly moved into, in fact—opened. Katsuki couldn't help but glance in that direction briefly since it caught his attention, but he quickly shrugged it off since he didn't want to interact with anyone.
"Bakugo? Is that you?"
Katsuki blinked in confusion before he turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
There, standing right in front of the open door, was none other than Tsuyu Asui, who wore a simple white t-shirt, black track pants, and dark green Champion sneakers and held a green reusable grocery tote bag.
Tsuyu blinked a few times. "Do you not recognize me?"
"No, I do," Katsuki replied curtly as he watched her close and lock the door to her apartment room.
Upon seeing Katsuki's regular frown, she raised an eyebrow. "I see that you're still as grumpy as ever."
Katsuki sent a small glare.
Tsuyu nodded in confirmation. "Yup, still grumpy and angry as ever."
Katsuki narrowed his eyes, but he decided to shrug it off. He felt like he had a long day after thinking about her, and he didn't want to waste his energy like this. Right now, he needed as much energy as possible for job hunting.
Tsuyu eyed Katsuki's white button-up shirt and beige khaki pants.
"What?" Katsuki asked, frowning when he realized that she was giving him a once-over.
"Did you just come from work?"
Katsuki grunted in response.
"I see."
When there was a momentary pause, almost as if Tsuyu was waiting for him to respond, Katsuki sighed in defeat. "I didn't expect you to be my neighbor."
"Likewise. Strange how we haven't encountered each other until now, huh?"
"Not really," Katsuki grumbled. Ever since his last final on Monday, he had been catching up on sleep. If it wasn't that, then it was either working, job hunting, or exercising. Plus, he rarely interacted with his neighbors.
Tsuyu hummed in response, almost contemplating on Katsuki's answer.
Katsuki frowned. "What is it?"
"Well, I remember hearing that you'd be going to the University of Tokyo. Is that true?"
Katsuki nodded, wondering for a moment if she purposely changed the topic. "And you?"
"Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology."
Katsuki nodded again in response, this time staying silent.
Of all the people in the world, he really didn't expect to see his high school classmate to be here, much less as his next-door neighbor. He was never close to Tsuyu back in high school: they were just acquaintances who were in the same circle of friends and only interacted with each other when their mutual friends were in the picture.
Honestly, Katsuki didn't know what else to say right now.
"Well, I have to run off to get groceries," Tsuyu said, holding up her grocery bag. "Maybe after I get back, we can catch up?"
Katsuki debated on how to respond. Did he really want to catch up with her? It wasn't like they were friends to begin with, anyway.
"You don't have to force yourself to say yes, you know."
Katsuki blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I'm saying that we don't need to catch up if you don't want to," Tsuyu replied, slightly tilting her head. "It was just a suggestion since we haven't seen each other for, what, a year and a half now?"
Katsuki frowned in response, unconsciously shifting his gaze to his door as he continued to contemplate.
Had it really been that long since he interacted with anyone from his high school days?
Granted, Katsuki used LINE to keep in contact with Izuku and Eijiro, but he hadn't hung out with either of them in person for a consistent amount of time. Eijiro and Izuku also went to the University of Tokyo, but Eijiro was busy with his studies and took different classes at different times, while Izuku had been studying abroad in the U.S. for the first semester of sophomore year and just came home back in mid-June.
Katsuki's frown deepened when he remembered that she went with Izuku as well and came back at the same time.
Izuku had said that due to the differing start dates of academic calendars from both countries and the requirements of the study abroad program at the university he applied to, it was easier to just study abroad for one quarter there than an academic year. Plus, he had confessed to Katsuki that he would've felt homesick and worried about his mother if he had stayed any longer than that.
Since Izuku had returned home in June, it meant that he could celebrate his twentieth birthday with his friends and family on July 15. He had invited Katsuki to his birthday celebration, which was hosted in the early afternoon, but Katsuki couldn't bring himself to attend because he knew that she would be there.
Instead, Katsuki showed up later in the evening when the party was over, gave Izuku his birthday gift—the very reason why he had splurged earlier this month, actually—and spent time with Izuku and his mother. One of the things Izuku had told Katsuki that evening when they were catching up with each other was that he'd be back at the University of Tokyo next semester.
Now that Katsuki thought about it, he never really hung out with anyone, even during his summer, spring, and winter breaks because he was just so busy.
"Well, if you ever want to catch up, let me know," Tsuyu said, interrupting Katsuki's train of thought, before she walked right past him.
Katsuki did nothing to stop her. Instead, he entered his apartment room, and after closing and locking the door, he unconsciously let out a small sigh.
He felt the stress of finding another part-time job come back again, and when thoughts of her started invading his mind, he couldn't help but scoff and scowl, his eyes darkening with every passing second as he stood still.
Maybe he should've taken up on Tsuyu's offer, after all.