Chapter 4: The Greatest Among the Rest
"Chiharu! Hurry up, Katsuki-kun and Mitsuki is already here!" Taira called her from the living room.
"Coming!" Chiharu replied back, staring to her reflection onto the mirror in front of her. She was dressed into her light blue uniform, the bottom of her white dress peeking below. Her feet were in a pair of knee-length white socks. To top it all, her hair grew longer for a bit, now that her wavy petrol-blue hair reaches up to her shoulders, so she decided to wear it in a twin tail to avoid her hair being a hindrance to her daily activities.
This is her first day of Kindergarten. As a child, of course, there's a mixture of anxiousness and excitement. Putting the yellow cap onto her head, she headed downstairs to meet her parents. With a cheerful smile arching up to her lips, her little feet hurriedly run towards them and launch herself to Ryuuji.
"Is my little princess excited to go to Preschool?"
Chiharu nodded happily. The Aragaki couple smiled at each other as both of them reach upon her hands; squeezing them tight and together exited the house where Mitsuki and Katsuki is waiting. Despite the busy schedule of her parents, they tried to celebrate this milestone of their daughter with fruitfulness and smiles.
"You're late, Haru." Katsuki immediately scowled onto the sight of his childhood friend.
"Aren't you excited, Kacchan?"
"Of course not!"
"Well, he's not really excited to go to school since he couldn't go to sleep last night at all." Mitsuki snickered, rubbing the spiky ash-blonde of her son but Katsuki snapped, and shoved her hand away; trying to hide the blush forming to his cheeks, "Shut up!"
"Let's go! We might even stumble with Izu-chan!" Tugging both of her parent's hands, they walked off and headed towards the Preschool. The walk was filled with Katsuki chatting about crashing the extras and that he'll emerge victorious above all of them while Chiharu and the rest listened to him tentatively.
Along the way, they caught onto the sight of the familiar bushy-green hair kid with his mother from afar. Upon squinting onto their figures, she immediately waved her hand that is entangling with her mother and called him in glee. Izuku took notice to her voice and smiled, running towards her, although the two are sharing some kind of vibrant atmosphere. Katsuki couldn't help but let out a loud harrumph between his friends. Pouting out his cheeks onto the sight of his childhood friend with the evil broccoli getting chummy without his consent.
First of all, Izuku is only meddling onto their lives. Chiharu is supposed to join him always and he's not allowing other people get closer to her. Scowling upon them, Mitsuki couldn't help but chuckle to her son getting all so possessive with Chiharu.
"Come on, Katsuki. You're staring at them like a mad dog."
"Shut up! I am not!"
"Right. Right."
"Kacchan!" Chiharu called, snapping Katsuki from his argument with his mother; turning his attention to her, "What?"
Freeing herself from her parents hands as well as from her conversation with Izuku, she smiled with her rosy cheeks and intertwined her fingers with his and pulled him out from his zone and left the group, "Let's go!"
He had a hard time processing the turn of events and got himself riled up from her farce. He didn't even have the time to talk back and ask her about the random act of 'kindness' or whatever you call that. Watching her small frame running from the group and getting tug to their school, he let himself get pulled over by her.
Glancing upon their hands enclosed with each other, he could feel himself heat up in embarrassment and tried to argue to her sudden act; though deep inside he really liked how Chiharu gets so chummy with him. Never mind Izuku, he wanted her by himself-well not like he will admit it out loud.
It wasn't really that long enough to reach their designation. When they arrived they were introduced to their teachers.
"Chiharu! Look over here!" Ryuuji called, pointing onto the camera. With a sudden turn, she faced the camera with her full-bloomed smile up to her ears and the photo craze as Inko, Mitsuki and Taira cooed onto taking pictures to their children. It's also a perfect opportunity to take a family picture as per suggested by Inko and Mitsuki. So the Aragaki family mustered all their gracious smiles; tears are even evident onto Taira's eyes.
After taking the shot, Chiharu began to riled Izuku and Katsuki beside her; the boys letting out a loud 'oof!' upon bumping to her.
"Take a picture of us also!" As per request, Mitsuki hold out her cellphone, trying to take a good angle for the trio. The petrol-blue haired girl wrapped her arms to the boys' arms and flash out a toothy grin while Izuku has his shy smile and Katsuki who spat about being cheesy but nevertheless, stretched out a wide grin to himself.
"Alright, say cheese!"
"Cheese!"
And that's the last time Katsuki ever smiled with the three of them...
Upon the course of time, Katsuki's greatness were greatly introduced to the people around him. It may be in different aspects, the ash-blonde will always ace it all; getting the 1st honor within the Preschool. He even garnered some of his 'minions' by his side now which Chiharu is happy about since her friend is no longer a loner. Although, this might be a good news for them, but the impact of such great talent turns out to be some kind of horrendous between Chiharu and him, especially Izuku.
"This is too easy!" Katsuki declared, bouncing the ball to his feet then to his knee and up to his back. Chiharu and Izuku watched in pure adoration, because of that the bushy-green boy also wanted to try bouncing the ball to his feet but instead got hit in the head.
"Ouch!" He yelped, holding his head while trying to stop his tears from falling.
Why can't you do it?
"You really can't do anything, Izuku." He taunted, grinning evilly to him. Then his crimson eyes jolted to Chiharu, trying to send her signals to laugh with him with Izuku's idiotic move. But instead, got a response that he really didn't thought of. She hurriedly marched towards Izuku, propping and dusting him off; trying to comfort him.
"It's alright, Izu-chan. I can't also do it!"
Katsuki is baffled by her actions; resisting the temptation to snap the hell out of him. Seeing his 'best friend', the girl who really cared for him, the only one who understand him is comforting the dumb kid over here. His eyes immediately seethed in total fury when Chiharu began to tell him off a bit about not to laugh and ridicule him.
"Kacchan, a hero should always help others when they're in need." She stated, her eyebrows furrowing in worriedly. Her statement made him feel disgust and at the same time, wanted to throw Izuku away. He is a wimp for goodness sake! And for a girl as great as Chiharu, that wimp doesn't deserve her at all.
All of a sudden, he felt like his whole mind is burning in anger and didn't realize that he shot back to her, "Shut up, it's his fault anyway!"
"Huh?"
"Also, you're trying to make him feel good when in fact you can also do it like me!"
"But not as good as you, Izu-chan needs to learn a lot of things!"
"Blah, blah, blah! Izu-chan this and that! It's his fault anyway."
"K-Kacchan? What are you trying to say?"
That's right it's Izuku's fault anyway... Why can't he do it? It's so easy! Even toddlers can, so why he can't? He really can't do anything...
Most likely someone who is a good-for-nothing, something like a 'Deku', from his name...
Deku...
He can't do anything!
"Kaa...cha...n?"
"aa...ch...an?"
"Katsuki!"
Katsuki snapped out of his murderous intent towards his friend. His eyes linger to the girl in front of him, with his dolly purple-eyes that is piercing his crimson orbs. Then, he found himself glancing to their hands; her warm hands clutching to his, and again, squeezing the hell out of his train of thoughts.
"What?" He answered, still completely dazed to her round face.
"Kacchan is strong and great! You are really good at these things but..." She trailed off, sheepishly smiling to him, "Next time teach Izu-chan and I so that we can catch up to your greatness."
He glared harder at the petite girl, holding his hand. But the longer he studied how her majestic purple eyes peered to him, how her puffy lower lip folded under her small, pearly teeth as she smiled, the more he was suddenly overcome by some power. It felt... fuzzy and...hot. His crimson eyes softened. His tense muscles relaxed. Just one word. Just one statement from Chiharu. As if it's the oxygen that he is breathing, she's the only one who can make his rage stop. And that's what who she is to him, and he would absolutely do anything to make her stay beside him.
Day by day, Katsuki is getting greater and greater in his own space. He's excelling in academics and he's been really getting a lot of friends. But the more he's getting praised at, the more he's feeling superior to the others, especially Izuku, where Chiharu noticed the ash-blonde's development.
There's this one time that she skipped playing with Katsuki, his minions and Izuku to prepare for her birthday err-actually Katsuki and her birthday and went with Taira. And after that she can't control her emotions when she come across Izuku weeping in their secret base, with a broken bucket and a nickname that really pisses her off; Deku.
Even Izuku lied to her that she should not be worried or tell Katsuki to stop. Well, how can she believe him when she saw him trying to brush the tears away from his eyes. She's not dumb. She knows what's the meaning behind that nickname. It's frustrating her knowing that she can't tell Katsuki to stop at all, even giving that nickname, instead he'll shrug it off and quietly coming with her. But, her, being the sole bridge of their friendship, she won't really break down and keep that rainy day promise. After all, they're her precious friends and a promise is a promise. Wishing that Katsuki thought of that promise too, as well as Izuku, that despite these circumstances they will be together.
"Izu-chan..." She mumbled, seating in the planks in their secret 'Hero agency'. Then she continued, "Don't lie. I know about that. Like Kacchan, I can read a bit and that nickname is really bad."
"Kacchan will get angry!"
"So what?" She shot back, causing Izuku to be surprised and leaned backwards to her sharp response. It's really rare for her to really get pissed but it's going overboard already and she won't like that. No one treats her friends like garbage and good-for-nothing, even if it's Katsuki.
She added, "Kacchan needs to knock it off. So what if he gets angry, I am angry also. You don't deserve to get treated like this Izu-chan!"
"B-But! I don't want that, Ch-Chi-chan."
"Eh?"
"I don't want to see Ch-Chi-chan and K-Kacchan fighting because of me. I want to get a-along with everyone. Plus, D-Deku is a good nickname, after all, he gave it to me."
Her eyebrows relaxed. Seeing Izuku sort out things makes her warm and fuzzy. She idolizes him, even though he is casually being called as a wimp, he still stands straight and continues to go on. When she's like that back then, she can't even stand the way adults look at her, and that's what she really likes about Izuku.
Sighing, she knew she couldn't really be that violent when it comes to him, "Alright, I got it if that's what you want. But, the next time someone made you cry or be bullied, I'll be ready to kick their butts."
"O-Okay!"
"Kacchan, how many times did you skip?"
"Seven!" Katsuki replied proudly, his hands on his hips.
"Wow!"
"That's Kacchan for you!"
Then the ash-blonde just had to turn to Izuku who was grinning adorably in amazement, "What about you, Deku?"
Izuku deflated, "Z-zero times…" his answer was small but it voiced his shame very clearly. The ash-blonde dared to snicker and his minions laughed.
"Wow," Chiharu breathed in awe, "Seven times. That's so great!"
Honestly, Chiharu isn't that attached to his minions at all. At the very least, she really disliked them. Whenever Katsuki is with them, he becomes mean. He is usually gentle and kind but when he's with them, he changes his character and says bad words, that she really hates.
She continued, "Can you teach us, Kacchan?"
"I can teach you, Haru. But, I won't teach Deku!"
"Why?"
"Because he is lame and a wimp, no matter how hard I teach him, he's still no-good."
"That's mean, Kacchan!" She puffed her cheeks then stormed out of his sight, and proceeded to teach Izuku to skip stones. At the end of the day, he still didn't learn but that's not what's the issue, it's Chiharu. Someone who is amazing as her, someone who can be par with him, will give her whole time just for Izuku is something infuriating to him.
Why can't he do it?!
Leave us alone, Deku!
Alas, it's Katsuki and Chiharu's birthday and they're celebrating it within the premises of their of their Preschool. The little daycare has it's tradition that the children will be giving gifts to the birthday celebrant. As the Bakugou and Aragaki family is setting up the food for the party, children are lining up to Katsuki and Chiharu to give their presents.
The birthday boy and girl are seated in a mono black chair that is filled with glitters and colorful crepe papers, then there's also a cardboard sticking at the top of the chair that shapes like a crown for king and queen. Each children holds up gifts to them; as Chiharu lovingly accepted them with a loud 'Thank you!', Katsuki is really not the kind of grateful kid at all. He tosses the gift at his back together with the pile of gifts he received and shouted 'Next!" to the children lining up to him.
And then there's Izuku, he brought out an All Might toy that is neatly wrapped in a red ribbon and proudly gives it to his best friend. Surely, he knows how to give gifts to his friend and is looking forward to how Katsuki will warm up to him and say 'Thanks!' just like the good ol' days.
But those good ol' days have vanished.
When Katsuki took a hold of the box, he rolled his eyes to him in complete annoyance. His gift is really a good one, considering the children who only managed to give him towels, picture frames and tumblers. He doesn't even have that one yet and the wimp manages to snag it out. Like hell he would delightfully received a gift from 'Deku', so he managed to do his routine upon receiving gifts.
"Hmpf, I already have this one! You're really a 'Deku', Deku." He lied. Ungratefully, the ash-blonde tossed the gift to the mountain of presents behind him. Izuku looked dejectedly, seeing the toy that he really carefully picked out and even battled out the temptation to take it to himself thrown out like it's something invaluable. He clutched the other gift tight as he bit his lip to stop the threatening tears in his eyes but stopped when Chiharu butted in.
"Wow! Is that for me?"
He snapped out of his world; glancing onto his gift, a jar that contains crayons. Her beautiful purple eyes gleamed in satisfaction, smiling excitingly to him. Giving the gift to her, she immediately hugged the jar to her small arms, as if it's her child and deliberately smiled to him, "Thank you Izu-chan! Your gift is the best!"
Izuku's teary-eyes are gone. His frown is replaced with a warm smile across his features. On the other hand, the ash-blonde nearly wanted to pierce off the atmosphere between those two. There's no way Izuku gave a gift that made her smile that wide! He is dumb, weakling and good-for-nothing! Why is Izuku getting match to her own pace? As if 'Deku' is stealing her away from him.
There's no way he'll let them do as what that wimp pleases.
Chiharu is with him.
Chiharu is his sunshine.
And Chiharu will only smile for him alone!
Chiharu is-
"Kacchan!" Chiharu called him out of his rampaging thoughts again. He didn't notice that the cake is in front of them now. There's this number candles, glowing with fire and some-sort of dedication to them. His cake is the black forest one and hers is vanilla. Observing it intimately, he scanned the room and met the exhilarated eyes of the adults and kids as well. Then, his crimson orbs found its way to her grinning to him and he found it really endearing.
She holds his hand, squeezing it tightly, "Kacchan, we're together again!"
He nodded, stunned by her.
"Take care of me for the next years, yes?"
Of course. He will. He won't ever let anyone dare to land a hand to her.
The people within the vicinity began to sing the Birthday song to them, clapping and smiling to them, cheering for their milestone in life. Although, it's filled with cheerfulness, his mind is off somewhere. It's not with the cake nor the people around him nor his own birthday, it's with his dearest childhood friend.
"Haru."
"Hm?"
He tightened the grip to their hands, his cheeks warming. Luckily the glow ofthe candles is focused on their cheeks or else he wanted to dig his own grave.
"You'll always be with me, right?"
"Of course, Kacchan. We promised right?"
"Not with Deku this time. You'll never leave me right?"
"I'm always here with you. No matter what happens, I'm your ally."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
And then they blew out the fire in the candles.
Of course, they'll be together.
The food was served and it filled the room with bright smiles. The calm moment of eating the cake was disturbed by some resemblance of a firecracker.
"Kacchan! Is that your Quirk?" Chiharu's question got everyone to instantly surround the ash-blonde
Katsuki stood amidst awed looks, both his palms facing up, watching the little sparks exploding atop his palms. Everyone praised him, feeding his ego.
"Wow!"
"Lucky!"
"That's so cool!"
The teachers too, "Wow, that's an amazing Quirk!" The male teacher complimented in awe.
"It really is." The female teacher added, "It's a flashy Quirk just right for a hero. Right, Katsuki-kun?"
"It's so pretty! They're like fireworks!" Chiharu tells him, as his brows furrow in further confusion, because his quirk has been called a multitude of things like cool and amazing but "pretty" had never been one of them.
Katsuki's look of pure pride and joy was adorable. He grinned so big and his eyes were wide with excitement with the potential of his Quirk.
Oh I see. I am amazing! No one is amazing as me!
I am the greatest among the rest!
Author's Note:
Sorry for the delay! I had a busy schedule this past few week and I didn't find any time to write at all. Anyway, thank you for reading. Thank you for the comments I really appreciated it. So, here we go, the promise is slowly breaching and yes, Chiharu is really trying her best! Did you get the gist of the relationship chart? Oh well, hahahaha!
Please continue to support this fanfic by commenting; those comments really meant the world for me as it is my driving force to continue!