10 Years Earlier

It was when the fourth- no, fifth speck of dust smacked right into Katsuki's increasingly irritated eyes that he finally snapped. Black-and-orange combat boots kicked the seat in front with no remorse, sending the woman whirling on him with a scowl identical to his own. "Oi, old hag! Close the damn window!"

"You're the one who wanted it open in the first place!" Retort aside, she still spun around to complete his request and stop the assault of wind on her son's face. "This is why I can't stand having you in a car with me for more than five fucking minutes."

"Oh, shut it. I didn't want to come anyway!" Straining himself against the seatbelt, Katsuki made it a point to send a well-aimed punch to the chair next, not hard enough to injure but definitely hard enough to hurt. "I'm going pro soon, and you expect me to waste my time at some cheesy-as-fuck scam that two random morons were idiotic enough to fall for?"

Shifting her seat back so quick that the blond missed it, Mitsuki sent a good smack to his head. "YOU BRAT! Don't insult two of the best costumers at my business. Mister and Misses Natsume are celebrating twenty years of marriage and were nice enough to want to invite us. SHOW SOME RESPECT!"

Masaru, shoulders slouched and luckily the calmest and current driver of the family, chose that moment to pipe in. "It will be a good break from your training, Katsuki. Resting is also a part of being a hero."

Never really finding it in him to turn his rage towards his meek father, Katsuki sat back with a grumble. He was graduating soon, seventeen-years-old and still unable to find an agency that would take him. Without any fancy-ass showings in an event like the Yuuei Sports Festival, a quirk to back it up, or any high-end school to speak of, the recruiters avoided him like the plague. It was difficult enough to get a license, and he would be doing nothing short of simply walking around and rescuing cats without a kickstart. He didn't have time to rest.

The good news was that the wife and husband who were initiating the mock-wedding were heroes themselves. In this day and age where skill became less relevant as having connections, some may predict that Katsuki was planning to suck up to them as much as he could. But on the contrary, he was planning to challenge the couple to a match. He wasn't a complete asshole though. Katsuki prided himself on the small deed of waiting until the reception was over before cornering them.

And well, if Mitsuki still called him an asshole for that, then it's her loss.

They approached an intersection not long after, idling by the red light when a car as black as the night sky pulled up behind them. The blond didn't think much of it at first, the vehicle oscillating between being right on their tail to a good block of two away. But, ten minutes later and local stores morphing into cityscape, Katsuki had enough. "Mom."

"I know." Mitsuki was suspicious as well. "Masaru, dear. Make a right turn at the next light."

Not quite catching on but understanding the sudden drop in atmosphere, the older man made to follow those instructions. These so-called instructions continued for a while, Masaru driving straight through arandom number of intersections before being asked to turn right once more. Eventually, their family car found itself back on the street that it started on. They waited with bated breath, continuing down the road.

Sure enough, after a tense second, the black vehicle appeared in the interior mirror as well.

Mitsuki colourfully cursed, directing her husband into a crowded gas station in a passing plaza. It was best to lay low at a public place for a while and contact authorities from where it would be safe. They rounded into an unoccupied spot, stopping right in front of the tank. So their stalker wouldn't notice that the family caught on to their suspicious behavior, Mitsuki rounded on her husband. "Honey, go fill up the gas tank to about fifteen dollars. I'll call the police."

The man nodded, leaving the car at about the same time she addressed her son next. "Katsuki, do you have your phone with you?"

He frowned. "It broke when I was at the gym. You know that."

"Useless brat," the old hag slumped into her seat, "shit. Mine is out of battery."

The clanking of the car hatch being open and a short burst of gasoline filling up the tank made Katsuki look over his shoulder. Past his old pops' face and onto the slab of cement they were just on, a certain black blur continuing on its way and into a bridge closer to the horizon made him twitch. "It's not following us anymore." He snorted. "Cowards. If they actually came in here, I would've smashed their fucking faces in."

Mitsuki trailed his line of sight, a confused brow scrunching on her face at this news. "We still have to be careful." Ignoring her son's colourful language, she shook her head and made to remove her seatbelt. "Katsuki, wait in here. I'm going inside to call the police."

He didn't know what stupid force took over his mouth to suddenly blurt out. "I'll do it."

At that, he earned another smack on his head. Recoiling back from the force, Katsuki only recovered quick enough to send his old hag of a mom the darkest glare he could manage as she left the car. She only turned back, a cheeky smile adorning her face. "I'll be fine. Stop worrying, brat. It's creepy."

And thank god she had slammed the door shut after that, for the blond's screams of "I WASN'T WORRIED" would've reached the other side of town and back. Masaru, from his spot near the back of the vehicle, chuckled.

Then, there was nothing but silence that accompanied him. Sure, there were the occasional laughs from the other patrons of the gas station, all complaining about rising prices or simply out to get some snacks. The clicks of his father taking his time to wash the windows was even more obvious. But with every second that passed, Katsuki's tapping on the armrest grew more restless. Every minute that went by, and his tapping evolved into a clench and release of his fist on the dress pants that he was forced into. The entire time, he focused on the small convenience store that Mitsuki marched into, wary of anyone who walked in or out-

SPLASH

Katsuki's head whipped around. A woman had spilled her coffee right on Masaru's shirt, an embarrassed flush slowly overtaking her entire complexion. She worked hard to produce a packet of tissues from her pink purse, dropping four other things in the process. Her voice was so loud, he could hear it from his spot in the car.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir!" She gasped out but his father being the saint that he was, simply waved her off.

"It's quite all right. Let me do that for you." Dropping the window-wipers back in their compartment, he accepted the tissues to gently dab at the offending spot. Katsuki was quick to turn his attention away from the scene, cursing himself for being so easily distracted. Red eyes went back to scrutinizing the entrance with precision-point accuracy.

Finally, two minutes and a barely-noticeable stain on Masaru's shirt later, and Mitsuki came marching out with an irritated stride. She made quick work of getting to the passenger side, opening the door with force and slamming it at about the same time that her husband was getting in himself. Both could already imagine cartoon steam rising from her head and braced themselves.

Inevitably, the rant came. "Can you believe it? An entire goddamn business is being run here and they told me that their payphone was down! What a disgrace."

Katsuki, though he wouldn't admit that his shoulders relaxed at his old hag being just fine, rolled his eyes. "It's not that they're a disgrace. They probably, very intelligently, lied to you because you're too conspicuous."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? Say that again, brat!" Without a seatbelt or the danger of motion threatening them, she effortlessly turned in her seat to pinch sharp pedicured nails into his cheek with an enraged swiftness to the movement that would've made Hades impressed. Masaru smiled, exasperated, going to start the car. The sound of the engine seemed to be what broke the two apart, for Mitsuki was quick to fasten her seatbelt and face the front with a glare.

"Now honey, we're heading to a wedding now so no scowling." The man looked amusedly at his wife, turning the headlights towards the exit. "That car doesn't seem to be following us anymore; I was keeping an eye out for it the entire time. They most likely gave up."

"I suppose." She conceded defeat, but didn't seem happy about it.

Twenty minutes. They made it to the wedding twenty minutes later than they intended, but still with around ten to spare until the actual ceremony begun. The venue was a giant church with a beautiful fountain at the front and a U-shaped road allowing people to be easily dropped-off. Buses were waiting on the side, eager to bring the guests to the next venue a block away where the reception would be taking place.

Mitsuki stepped out, her white dress with red accents enough to turn heads but her screaming at her son to hurry the fuck up scaring them away a second later. The three members rushed in after exposing their invitations to a lady with a basket of flowers. If anyone were to ask him, the music of the organ assaulting their ears was so dead-ass creepy that Katsuki would've mistaken it for a funeral if it weren't for the lavish decorations of flowers and hearts. It seemed that they were the last ones to arrive, as all the seats minus two in the back and one at the front were filled.

In the end, after grunting out that he can sit alone without causing chaos (keyword being can and not will) to his parents, Katsuki found himself stomping a walk of shame to his spot across the room against their protests. The mild conversations around didn't stop some guests from turning their piercing glance to him in annoyance. Katsuki would give them all the middle finger if he wasn't at a church. He dropped himself next to some spineless kid taking everything in with rapt attention. Unfortunately, the target of said attention was turned to his seatmate at the new arrival.

"H-Hello!" The voice was wimpy, eyes honing in on him in curiosity. "Is this your first time at a wedding?"

It was, not that Katsuki was going to disclose that information. He ignored the pestering, sending the piano player a few feet away from them a bored look instead. Just as well, everyone else in the entire room was either trying to talk to him or were giving him disgusted sneers.

Unfortunately, that didn't deter the excitable boy. He continued anyway, green eyes shining. "It's my first wedding! I mean, I'm not the one getting married but it's still amazing to be a part of it. With everything going on in my friends' lives, none of them are really ready for that kind of commitment just yet. I have two classmates- Shouto and Yaomomo, who are thinking about it but they always seem a lot more mature than the rest of us. If they're not ready, I don't think any of us will be for a while-"

"Shut up."

The blond was graced with holy silence after that, the other boy snapping his mouth closed and withdrawing back to himself almost immediately. The ceremony started not long after, music pausing to make room for the dramatic fall in notes. A parade of people, all male, dressed in black and white suits slowly marched down the aisle in the middle. The guests recognized some of them as the party that was handing out pocket programs early in the day. Katsuki, having come in last minute, was empty-handed.

At the end of the line came one more man, but in inverted colours. Most likely the best man, he sent a kind smile to the audience along with a wave at a few nieces and nephews gaggling in joy. At this point, the song had ended and a new one came on. A hush silencing the guests and the groom himself, Mister Natsume, made a grand entrance with arms spread wide and in a suit identical to the best man.

It was around then that Katsuki started tuning everything out. The superfluous nature of the entire thing made his teeth grit and temples hurt in annoyance. He found some small reprieve in that everyone's focus was turned away from him and onto the stupid display going on. He didn't know who the husband and wife were but concluded that their friends were a bunch of asshats. The blond would sooner eat gum off the floor than want anything to do with them.

After what seemed like an eternity of awkward smiles later, the officiant, bridal party, maid of honor, flower girl, and ring bearer were all collected on the stage and the organ went still. The priest went off in a tirade of official jargon about love and hope then. The blond resisted the urge to flip a table onto the bridal party so imagined doing it instead. It didn't help that his seatmate was brimming with almost-tears, cheeks flushed, andscribbling something into his lap every few seconds.

"I remember when our little girl was first born," Mister Natsume grinned, eyes never leaving his wife. "Wrapped up in a hospital bed, face pale and with the biggest smile on your face, I realized that spending my life with you was the best decision I've ever made in my entire time on this earth."

Katsuki yawned.

The mess of green curls beside him breathed in a sob, whispering. "Beautiful."

Turning toward the boy, the speech that the man was making to confess his undying devotion was making Katsuki's eyelids heavy. He focused in on whatever was in the other's lap instead, the tattered corner of a notebook peeking out from beneath his arms.

"Do you," the officiant resolved to move on as finally, the groom's vows ended,"continue to take this person as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

Voice filled with emotion, the man beamed. "I do."

At this point, the white sleeve of his seatmate left the page to wipe at wet eyes. Katsuki took advantage of the diversion, honing in on the multitude of messy chicken scratch littering the page in mind maps, lists, and annotations. His mind focused on one bubble labelled 'white' in particular.

The colour theme is white to represent purity of the soul and heart. Although western cultures have since become loose with the tradition, the amount of white material that the wedding dress in particular contains used to reflect the wealth and social standing of the couple. Today, the range of acceptable colours has extended to red, pink, blue, and black to represent other meanings-

"Holy shit," Katsuki blurt out without thinking, "you're such a nerd."

With a rare showing of common sense mixed with self-restraint, his voice was low enough so then only the boy next to him could hear. The sudden insult made the other jump slightly, whirling at him with wide eyes. Somewhere at the back of his mind, the blond registered the wife reciprocating the 'I do' before accepting the rings from the ring bearer, but he was too indifferent to the entire show to care.

He shrugged, jabbing at the notebook as if that answered all of his companion's questions. Green eyes turned their attention to where a determined finger lay on the bubble Katsuki just read. Now looking at him properly, he noticed a splay of freckles accompanying the confused glance. "White."

The boy blinked.

"I fucking hate white." He had no obligation to explain anything else, so voiced whatever came to mind. It was better than settling back in his seat to watch as the wife and husband took turns slipping old crystal rings on each other. "It's boring as shit. These people are probably too out-of-the-loop to do anything but follow a handbook."

There was a hint of annoyance in his brow that was too deeply-buried to rise to the surface. Probably angry that Katsuki was insulting the couple, not that he cared. A small voice, barely above a whisper, admitted in shame. "I was hoping for a more interesting theme at my first wedding…but, there's nothing wrong with following tradition. White has a lot of historical significance-"

"Yeah, yeah, I read your shitty notes." Katsuki wasn't inclined to agree. "And that's why it's so boring."

Another silence, only interrupted by an abrupt applause in what Izuku could only register as the officiant pronouncing the couple as husband and wife. The two rounded on each other in a teary kiss that had Katsuki nearly gagging. The audience took a while to settle down again as the officiant still had to give his blessing, so he took the chance to address the blond again in a louder volume. "What would you have done if it was your wedding?"

The blond sat back, only barely holding in the reflex to rest his combat boots on the bench in front of them. A flash of white teeth set in a snarky grin made themselves known. "A death-match."

"WH-at?" Izuku squeaked, almost yelling in his shock but managed to quiet down at the last second. At one of the brides' maids coming out to sneak the couple a short hug before the crowd hushed, he whispered. "Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Katsuki spat, turning his attention back to the officiant who was giving some last wishes. Their chatter was beginning to draw attention. One lady in an expensive-looking hat from the 80's frowned at them. "No stinking partner of mine is going to sit there on a throne all pretty while I wait upon their every command. If they can't beat me in a fight, I ain't marrying them."

Izuku gaped, blinking widely. "Th-…That's kind of mean?"

Katsuki shrugged. He knew he was an ass, deal with it.

An awkward silence passed then. Turning their focus back on the front, the priest had finished giving the last of his blessings before the couple did an endearing twirl on stage. Veil flying, they skipped off the step and pranced back down the aisle and to the doors leading outside against the cheers of their friends and family. Staff scurried innot long after to direct guests to the short bus-ride for cocktail fingers played with the hem of his shirt."Do you know Mister and Misses Natsume?"

Replying to relieve his boredom and nothing else, Katsuki shrugged. "Nah. My old hag of a mom forced me to come because the bride and groom did some fashion business with her."

"That was nice of your mom," contrary to all the signals rammed into his senses that the blond absolutely and one-hundred-percent did NOT want to be here, Izuku smiled anyway. "I know them. They're the parents of a friend of mine. I… sort of like seeing these kinds of things." Here, freckled cheeks flushed the lightest pink in embarrassment.

And Katsuki would've graced that with a well-timed remark, if a woman hadn't approached them then. Slightly stout but with gentle eyes, it took him only a second to register that this lady who was the splitting image of his seatmate was his mother. "Izuku, did you enjoy the ceremony?"

Just like that, the attention offered by curious green eyes was gone, smiling genuinely at her. "Yes, mom. It was wonderful. Did you have fun being a bride's maid?"

A tired but bright laugh sounded. "Oh yes, I hope I didn't seem too old next to everyone else."

It was around then that Katsuki left the two to their conversation. Awkward social scenes just weren't his thing. Masaru had spotted him in the flowing crowd not long after, winding a comforting arm over the blond's shoulder with an understanding simper. "Did you survive, fire cracker?"

Katsuki relaxed. His old pops was too nice for his own good. "Barely. I was one cheesy declaration of love away from taking a fire extinguisher to the head."

The older man chuckled, leading them away towards an impatient Mitsuki who had already secured them a spot on one of the buses. While boarding the vehicle, one older man made it a point to shove the two aside with a broad shoulder, climbing first. His wrinkly sneer had Katsuki seething.

"HEY!" The teen screeched, grabbing onto this pathetic excuse for a human being's tailcoat. It was lined with pearls, an obvious indication of how much of a bitch he was. "Watch where you're going!"

The perpetrator turning around while adorning a disgusted frown was around the same moment that Masaru gently grabbed his son by the arms, guiding him back. "Katsuki, it's not worth it." At hearing this, the blond reluctantly let go. Who was he kidding? The words did nothing to sooth his murderous red glare, and every party involved knew that Katsuki wasn't backing down. Still, the action was enough for Masaru to pat his back in a silent pride while addressing the other guest. "We're very sorry, sir."

And oh, if this dick turned and walked away right now, he would've escaped. Everything would've been peachy between them given that Katsuki never saw his fat-ass face again. But, lo and behold, the piece of garbage pushed further. "That's better. Young man, you should learn from your father. Be grateful that no one is running you out. We don't need your kind here."

Without remorse, Katsuki decked him in the face.

Or he would have, if Mitsuki hadn't done it first.

The resulting commotion was instantaneous. A little boy in the back screamed bloody murder. Another woman, dressed in lavish lace, fainted. Her plump body unceremoniously crashed to the floor of the bus, causing her husband to rush to her side with water. The driver cursed. Mutters of 'these damn quirk less' were the last thing anyone heard before a guard came and snatched Mitsuki up by the wrists. Katsuki made to jump in the fray with emotions in a mess, but was grabbed at the last second by a guard with a paralyzing quirk, pinning him to the floor with a nasty swipe.

"FUCKING LET ME GO!" It was pathetic, how easily he was caught off-guard when a move like that would've normally been a cake walk for him to counter. No amount of hero training helped him now. Forced to watch his mother taken away to security, he struggled ungracefully. Katsuki bit his lip. His dad was in no better position, a baton aimed near his neck in case there were any suspicious movements. Red eyes caught the sight of the bastard who had taunted them before, nose bloodied but sending the family a victorious glower. The teen snarled. "You are ABSOLUTE SCUM!"

"Katsuki," Masaru pleaded. "Please."

It was funny how things worked. It was that one little plea, in the tone that his father always wore when he became wistful, when he looked back at how far he'd come in life despite being quirk less, that had Katsuki relax against the guard's hold. He silently bit his tongue. Knowing that it'll only make things worse for them, for his parents who stuck by him proudly even after he turned five, he held back any more remarks with fierce, hateful eyes.

What happened after was a bit of a blur for him, so focused on his rage that he growled and glared at anyone that dared breathe in his general direction. Mitsuki was taken to the detention center for the rest of the night on accounts of assault, with her husband and son being let go with a warning and a couple bruises from the earlier scuffle. They were driven to the reception in a police car, pushed out with orders of not being able to visit the woman until the early hours of morning.

Which was where Katsuki was left, chair set up at the corner furthest away from anyone else and wishing death upon anything that moved. The cocktail hour was just under way, guests mingling with trace amounts of alcohol and appetizers in their tension from the ceremony grew heavier at his presence out of fear of him causing a scene. And fuck it, the only thing keeping him back from doing exactly that was that they were expecting it from him. Katsuki was better than that. He'd show these assholes. He'd show them all-

A bright orange glass was shoved into his face.

Familiar green eyes blinked down at him, a bright smile being sent his way. "Orange juice?"

Katsuki snatched the drink up, not sparing Izuku a glance before returning to glaring at the wall paper like it stabbed all of his friends and family. The other teen went silent at that. Gently lifting a stray chair set against the serving table and planting it less than a meter away, he set himself on the hard plastic. A notebook was placed down in his lap as scarred fingers silently wrote. The blond couldn't possibly fathom the intent behind this green nerd's actions. Katsuki would never admit that just having a nonhostile presence next to him was comforting in its own way.

"Kacchan."

The addressed whirled around, murderous desire temporarily forgotten. "The fuck did you just call me?"

"Sorry, I heard from the other guests that your name was Katsuki Bakugou." Izuku rambled on, pencil frozen against a pristine white page. "I took your first name, shortened it, and added the 'chan' because I thought it was cute! Um, if you d-don't like it, I can change it!"

"No, shit, I mean-" He tugged against blond locks, flabbergasted. "Why?"

Frantic arms stopped, that freckled face peering at him with a type of understanding that sent chills down Katsuki's spine. "I just wanted to let you know that you have a friend."

A nice kind of quiet overtook them then. With the rest of the crowd avoiding Katsuki and consequently avoiding Izuku as well, it made for a much more peaceful setting for their exchange to take place in. Finally, the angry teen snorted. "Stuff it. I have plenty of friends."

"You know, Kacchan." Izuku tilted his head, face bright. "I never forget my friends."

Before he had a chance to respond to that, the room quieted down in hushed whispers. A spot light was turned on then, everyone rushing to make a circle in preparation for the couple's first dance. Sure enough, after a tense silence, they parted as the man and woman of the hour skipped out in pure bliss. The best man had a microphone dangling from his palms, grin wide as he announced their arrival with fervor.

Skipping their way to the center of the circle, the couple made a show of giving each other affectionate kisses on each other's wrists. Wolf whistles rang out right before the two got into position for their first dance. A tune that everyone knew started playing. Soon enough, those whistles devolved into hysterics when the chicken song played to the backdrop of the wife imitating a chicken being chased by the farmer, her husband.

Izuku let out a giggle himself. "I like that."

"Better than the ceremony, I guess." In retrospect, the very fact that the couple hadn't vouched for kicking the Bakugou family out of the wedding completely after the incident was surprising. No amount of false witness accounts or small white lies from the guards seemed to change their mind. If Katsuki didn't know any better, he'd say that Mister and Misses Natsume themselves were pretty decent people.

Five minutes later, the first dance was finished. The couple took to the center and bowed, cheeks red from laughter themselves. Once they made their way to a fancy table at the front, obviously reserved for them, the best man piped in again with a remark about toasts and speeches coming next. Mister Natsume was first, accepting the device with sweat painting his forehead.

"Ah, well, excuse me but I'm a little out-of-breath." To the chuckles of the audience, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Finally regaining his bearings, he spoke with a twinkle in his eye. "First of all, I want to express the sincerest gratitude for joining us on this wonderful night. I'm very blessed to not only have such great family, but a strong and caring person by my side."

Wrapping a protective arm around the bride's shoulders, he continued. "I also want to take the time to thank my daughter, Atsuko. I know it's been rough these past few years with the two of us being heroes. I know we didn't have as much time to take care of you as we did, but you still grew up to be such a wonderful woman. I can't be any prouder of my family."

A respectful applause came on as the man made to hand the microphone off to his wife. She took it with a grace to her movements that had Izuku watching with stars in his eyes. Katsuki laid back, resolving to studying the wall in front of him as the device was passed along like a hot potato. The hour went by with sickeningly sweet words exchanged. His father still hadn't returned. He was off being interrogated by a guard somewhere, under the pretense of not being officially arrested but still pretty much held against his will. Masaru had simply told his son to enjoy the rest of the wedding, a worried tilt to his voice as he assured him that he only had to bear with this for a little bit longer.

Soon enough, the crowd dispersed to a line-up of caterers walking out with several serving trays holding three-bite portions of different cuisines. Some of the younger guests, deciding that they weren't hungry enough yet, opted to walk out to the dance floor as the DJ prepared hip-hop music in the middle of the room. Disposable plates for handed out for guests to sample whatever they liked, a style of dine-in that allowed for mingling amongst each other.

Katsuki was brought out of his musings when Izuku turned to him, posture excited. "Are you hungry yet? Or would you rather dance?"

The blond narrowed his eyes, scowling at a passing waiter. "I don't dance."

"Have you tried?"

Well, the nerd got him there. In all fairness, the athletic prowess needed for certain styles of dance were quite similar to the dexterity exercised in battle. But damned if Katsuki ever let himself be caught striking Elvis poses with Kirishima like the redhead requested of him nearly every fucking month. He snatched up a toothpick with a shrimp on the end, the caterer having migrated towards their corner out of obligation of their job. He turned to Izuku, unimpressed. "I don't need to."

Izuku gasped after swallowing his own portion of seafood. "But it's a lot of fun! Our class had a cultural festival back in first year and performed a live dance. You know what I learned from that entire experience, Kacchan?"

"What?"

"Statistically speaking," the nerd leaned closer with a serious look, almost like he was revealing some big secret, "more than two-thirds of the people in this room have no idea what they're doing."

One man not too far from them chose that spectacular moment to accidentally bump into a caterer, spilling water all over himself. The scene would've been enough in itself, until a little girl twirling past slipped herself and ripped her dress. And really, Katsuki wouldn't be able to stop the snort that escaped him if he tried. There was some satisfaction in seeing anyone at this shitty party getting rained on like that.

At hearing his companion's laugh, the smile on freckled cheeks grew wider. "Have you ever heard of the dance moves that people make up by imitating everyday appliances?"

"You mean like the sprinkler or the windmill?" Katsuki twisted his face into an expression like he was just force-fed a lemon. "If you're trying to get me to do one of those pansy things, I'm going to punch you."

"Kacchan," his new friend stood up from his seat and gestured for the blond to do the same. The tattered notebook was shoved back into his pockets for another day. "Please? My friends created this game a while ago that we could play. A random item or person is named and we invent a move on the spot that coincides with it. The best one wins."

Katsuki smirked. "How about I name a random item and watch you make a fool of yourself trying to imitate it?"

"Sure!" Katsuki's grin dropped as Izuku got into position with an expectant look.

He groaned, finally giving in as he marched his way beside the nerd. They were at the edge of the dance floor, away from the disco lights and just far enough so then no one would notice them. "Fucking fine. I'll join you."

Izuku laughed. "I knew Kacchan wouldn't let me embarrass myself on my own."

The blond grumbled. "You owe me, you little shit. I get to choose the first item." At the other's agreement, Katsuki only had to think for an entire five seconds before an ingenious thought came to mind. A smug grin made way onto his face, just enough for Izuku to send him a slightly nervous glance. "A starfish."

His companion watched in horror as the blond fell to the ground, arms spread wide on the dance floor and combat boots tripping up a few guests at every chance they had. The green head quickly lay on the floor himself, but made sure to curl his limbs inward as close as possible so not to bother anyone else. "That's cheating, Kacchan!"

"Do you regret doing this shit yet?" Red eye exposed itself, raised in challenge. "My starfish is obviously better than your sad excuse, one point for me."

Izuku frowned, a rare spark lighting up his gut and fueling his determination. "No. We're going to keep going. It's my turn now." He stood up then, sending apologetic bows towards those who were disturbed by their competition. The action prompted Katsuki to sit up as well, yawning from his comfortable little nap. Seeing this, Izuku grinned cheekily. "Microwave."

Katsuki halted mid-yawn. "Fuck you."

"Don't complain now!" Izuku ushered him up. "Come on, I'll poke you and you spin!"

"For fuck's-" But no. Katsuki Bakugou already accepted the challenge and he'd never back down without giving it his all. Just as well, seeing the other guests flinch every time he did anything was really fucking funny. Time to prove to these half-wits that he wasn't just some quirk less degenerate. He sent the other teen the darkest glare on earth. "I'll be the best goddamn microwave you've ever used in your stupid life. You're going to be so impressed that you'd be begging to let me win this game of yours."

Izuku laughed, eyes lit with fire. "You're on."

One session of spinning so hard that the blond nearly fell on the punch bowl from how dizzy he was later, Izuku made a show of integrating a bunch of moves consisting of opening a door, pushing buttons, and munching an invisible burger in timed beats. It was… undeniably better, and a million times less humiliating. Katsuki narrowed his eyes from his spot by the table. "You're a piece of shit."

"But it's my win." Green eyes blinked innocently at him. He gestured to the blond next, spirits high. "It's your turn now."

It wasn't fair, seeing as Izuku was a million times more experienced at embarrassing himself in front of others than Katsuki was. He'd probably seen nearing a thousand variants of the same item. It gave him an undeniable advantage. But, Katsuki smirked. It was much more satisfying to win when the odds were against him. He threw a slice of apple into his mouth and crossed his arms with a confident stride. "A two-timing husband cheating on his wife."

"You wouldn't." Izuku gasped, his inner romantic taking a direct hit.

"Oh, I would. The scummier the better." If there were any a time for Katsuki to adorn a shit-eating grin, it'd be now. He could tell that the nerd was struggling within himself, lips quivering and complicated emotions clashing on his face. It was mildly endearing, but Katsuki would never admit that to anyone.

Finally, with scarred palm tangled in curls in frustration, Izuku conceded defeat. "Okay, you win-"

THUD

A scream, several octaves too high and bone-chilling in its very core, rang out across the ballroom. It left those further from the commotion, like the two teens, frozen in shock. A select few on the other side of cried out, one or two running towards the direction of the sound on adrenaline. When the situation finally dawned on Izuku, when the recognition of whose scream it was tugging at his mind registered, he made a beeline for the front faster than he's ever run before. A spark of green electricity was all that was left behind along with a yell of pure worry and panic haunting Katsuki's ears.

"ATSUKO!"

And if Katsuki were to follow him, if he were to squish his way between guests to make it to the scene, what he would've seen would've been imprinted in his head forever. The dead body of Misses Natsume lay, half on the table, face blue and eyes staring unblinking at the ceiling above. Stuck in the corner of the room, where the looks sent his way turned more fearful and those sent another more solemn, he learned only an hour later as the authorities trickled in that she had died of poisoning.

He stayed there, detached from this world where everyone was fretting over a person he'd never met. No one was allowed to leave the scene of the crime until every last guest was checked. Eventually, a woman in a familiar uniform marched up to him in quiet steps. She regarded the teen with indifference. "Katsuki Bakugou, am I correct?"

He scoffed. "I didn't do shit."

To his surprise, she nodded in confirmation. "Oh, we know it wasn't you. Background check shows that you only met or even heard of the victim for the first time today, which debunks any theories on a motive. That's why we have to escort you outside for a little talk."

Even he wasn't dumb enough to object to official commands from the police. Keeping his remarks in, he was doing that a lot today, Katsuki stood up. This officer lady was obviously trying to get him away from everyone else while being discrete about it. He purposely stomped his way to the entrance with loud booms, smacking the door open rather than using the handle. The police woman watching this frowned. "What a child."

Once outside and away from the curious glances out the window, the first thing Katsuki saw when he rounded the corner was Masaru Bakugou, head down and cuffs chaining him to a tree. His brown tuffs of hair were muddy from being rubbed against the dirt. Glasses broken, the man was unresponsive until he saw his son running towards him in shock. "K-..tsuki…"

A flash of a memory hit him then. Katsuki, young and stupid and only five years old, bawling in anger after punching a tree raw. Angry at the world for taking his dream away. Angry at nothing happening no matter how much it hurt. Only for that anger to stop as a kind man, slightly wrinkled face and a head of brown hair, found him with fists nearly ripped apart.

And now it was the other way around.

"DAD-what the… WHO THE FUCK DID THIS TO YOU?!" About to reach a hand out to his father, Katsuki barely dodged out of the way in time when big hands came to grab him from behind. He spun a few feet left, stopping in time to take in the muscular form of a bearded man, flames ablaze and with another similarly dressed but less impressive silhouette behind him.

"You must be the son of Masaru Bakugou," the great man spoke, his teal blue eyes reeking of boredom. The blond's display of reflexes seemed to be the only thing out of the ordinary for him. "Allow me to explain on the deal that you do not make any move to touch him."

"Are you fucking serious, trying to negotiate with me?" Oh, this guy was going down, right now. Katsuki didn't care if he was the current number one hero. If Endeavor could send a spear of fire straight through his abdomen, he'd make sure to get a good punch in before that happened. "You crossed the boundaries of explaining when you TIED UP MY OLD MAN LIKE A DOG FOR NO GOD DAMN REASON, YOU BEARDED PRICK!"

It was then that another hero, this one dressed in red veins with a giant eye emerging from his head, moved from his spot, gaze slightly more sympathetic. "I used my x-ray quirk to search every guest at the venue; yes, including you. After coming up short, we discovered a hint of wolfsbane in your father's pockets, the exact poison which killed the victim-"

"What do you fucking mean by that?" Katsuki cut him off, a growing sense of dread falling to the pit of his stomach. He blew it away, refusing to accept it. No way. This was the guy who could handle two screaming banshees on a daily basis and still love them. This was the guy who, upon finding his son with broken fists, signed him up for boxing lessons a week later. "You high, HUH?! My old pops wouldn't hurt a fly if it were dislocating his kneecaps! He freaking loves this goofy couple and was talking about the wedding all week, what motivation in all versions of hell could he ever have?"

"That isn't my job to figure out. As long as the villain is apprehended, then I will be taking my leave." With a respectful bow towards the police, the great number one hero marched away like it was any other fucking Tuesday night where he dropped his ice cream and Katsuki was inconveniencing him by telling him to pick it up.

Finding strength in his legs to stand, past the dread growing into fear and the wetness of his eyes, the blond screamed at the hero's retreating back. "What?! Is that it?! SOME FUCKING HERO YOU ARE! YOU'LL NEVER BE THE SYMBOL THAT ALL MIGHT WAS!"

This seemed to be the key to stopping the blue figure. He took the slightest pause, opting to regard the teen with the driest of disdain. "Look, kid. Your father just had his wife arrested because she was defending him from the victim's guests for being quirk less. Your family, lower-class and with two out of the three members without a quirk, have been in contact with this couple, upper-class successful heroes, for a while. I've seen hundreds of these kinds of cases where jealousy takes control. Your temper tantrum because you don't think your precious little daddy would ever do anything wrong is unneeded in my line of work."

"That's just what YOU think," Katsuki actually spat at him, eyes on fire, "because you're an ass!"

"That's quite enough, Bakugou! If you move another step, I'll be forced to put you under." The police officers on scene who were collecting the unconscious man into the back of their car interjected. A stun gun and a plethora of batons were clutched in their hands. "Endeavor was not the one to make this decision, only pass on approval. This work was done by quite an experienced individual so we had to bring in some of Japan's greatest heroes to handle most of this case. To prevent panic, we've kept this information secret from everyone but you and the immediate family of the victim. All of the heroes agreed that no one but Masaru Bakugou could've committed this crime."

"What do you expect me to do," the flamed man added, done with this conversation, "risk my position to satisfy your ego?"

Katsuki didn't want to listen anymore.

So he charged at Endeavor, arms raised and poised for sending the representation of all those goddamn fakes who smiled for the camera and waxed poetry about defeating all these villains, just to lie and cheat behind everyone's backs a good punch to the face. The X-ray fuck panicked, ejecting some sort of sticky liquid from his lens just for Katsuki to dodge and send an uppercut into to the hero's chin.

Just as he was about to reach Endeavor, the man himself still unblinking, a branch slammed into his side. Katsuki coughed out at the impact, his head shaking from the aftereffects of the opposite brick wall colliding into his ribcage. He was left dazed, still conscious much to the surprise of the police, but weak enough to not resist when they hit him with the stun gun next.

"Thank you, Kamui Woods." The number one hero acknowledged the much younger man with respect. "I figured having you blend in would come in handy."

Red eyes fought to stay focused, his will still sitting strong as Endeavor approached the young teen with an impressed raise of his brow. "It's such a shame that you're quirk less. That hit is strong enough to knock anyone else out but you're still hanging on. You would've made a fine hero."

"F-Fuck," Katsuki spat at him again, "you…"

"If you're so upset, prove me wrong." He leaned forward to talk directly at the spasming body, signaling Kamui Woods to retract his branches. It was almost like a sign of truce. But everyone there knew better. "Become a hero, a better one than I am."

And that.

That is when Katsuki lost it.

Using the last of his remaining strength, he shot up at a rate so quick it rivaled those with speed quirks. A solid headbutt made friends with Endeavor's nose, sending the number one hero reeling back. Not but a moment later, dumbfounded, a trail of blood trickled down and burned in his flamed beard. The short burst of satisfaction was soon overcome by a heaviness to his mind that begged the blond to go to sleep. But, Katsuki looked him straight in the eye instead, glare unwavering.

"No one tells me what to do."

Before thedarkness of unconsciousness consumed him.

-HH-HH-HH-HH-HH-

A room, dark as it was desolate, became the only witness to the unhindered sobs which hit the walls in untimed bursts. They would subside once in a while, becoming naught but sniffles, before escalating into wet breaths held in only by the black fabric of a ruined skirt. Hair a mess, make-up wiped off in a pile of tissues adjacent, she wanted nothing more than for a hole to open up on the floor and consume her.

"Izu," she coughed, tears so abundant that they poured into the cavern of her mouth. "This is karma, isn't it?"

"Atsuko," he had his arms around her, refused to let go since the start of all this. "You're a good person, don't even think that you aren't-"

"IT IS!" She burst out with the most broken sound either of them had ever heard. "IT'S KARMA, IZU! KARMA FOR BEING SUCH A BITCH, DON'T YOU SEE?"

He felt his heart break, beating for her tears to go away. He didn't like seeing her like this, he didn't want to see anyone he cared about like this. His mind ran in circles, lost in its own uncertainty in what to do. "It isn't."

But she didn't hear him, too caught up in her own bubble of misery- of the memory of her mother, dancing with her in complete radiance one second just for her to collapse in a twitch of death like her daughter's very own touch suffocated her. "For being such a HORRIBLE GIRL! That's why my parents were never around, they knew and were trying to protect themselves! It all makes sense." She coughed, lip bitten so hard that it drew blood.

He clenched his hand, willing his voice to be louder. It sapped his strength, sapped his logic and anger and resolve, leaving only the pure desire to take her pain away. "Your parents would never think that, they love you."

And still it was no use. "For- for doing what I did to you when we were kids. It was unforgivable. Yet you were comfortable enough to talk to me and be friends again. Why did you forgive me?" The reprieve from her sobs ended, her sniffles evolving back into full-on sobs.

"Atsuko, stop." Izuku pleaded. He could feel the string breaking.

"F-For pushing you away!" A hiccup."That's why you broke u-p with me, Izu. I…understand so much now! My dad will have to work twice as hard now, I'll be alone. I really will be g-…getting what I deserve-!"

It broke.

Izuku dived, hand clutching her face tightly to crash their lips together in a furious wave of desperate emotions. Past the saltiness of tears and broken breaths, he kissed her with the hopes of filling the hole that was growing in her heart. Past the bile rising in his throat from memories of her pinning him to a bed and his own heart telling him that this was wrong, he held her with a tenderness that protected her from the world.

Finally, it ended. He separated them, looking her straight in the eye as the fragments of his own broken heart fought against his instincts to jump in and save those he loved. It wasn't much of a match. He tipped, giving the words of the world to her.

"You're not alone, Atsuko. I- I'll always be with you."