A little more lighthearted compared to the last chapter.

Sorry to keep reposting this chapter. Fanfiction was glitching out and not posting any new chapters all week.

Chapter 10: Fireworks

A few months had passed since that fucked up war with Shigaraki and the League of Villains. The crime rates had lowered a little but not by much. After about a week of digging in the carnage, the heroes thought it best to send us students back to the academy and let them finish the rescue. It was probably because, after day four of the rescue mission, we were only digging up broken, lifeless bodies. At the end of our shifts on day eight, Benjamin bid us farewell and told us that he'd always be rooting for us and to contact him if we ever needed help.

Lately, more of my classmates came to the gym to train. Something of that caliber had changed all of us and encouraged us to train harder. Even that fucking little pervert kicked his shitty ass into gear. Dunce face and tape arms joined our small workout group and somehow after every session, I got dragged on some dumb escapade with all of them.

Today, however, I took a skipped working out after school and instead took a train back home. The old lady had told me to visit and that she was making dinner. To avoid getting an earful, I chose to go today with Aizawa's approval to leave campus.

When I walked into the house the woman tackled me in a hug.

"Get off," I grumbled.

She released me and walked back towards the kitchen, "Haven't seen you in a while and that's how you act. Brat. It'll be another half hour before dinner is ready, so feel free to do whatever."

After taking off my shoes, I wandered into the living room planning to waste the time on my phone. When I entered the room, I noticed a thick book with my name on it sitting on the coffee table. I sat down and picked it up. When I opened it, I was greeted with a picture of me as an infant and a picture of my and Uraraka at the award ceremony of the latest Sports Festival.

I inspected the picture. It was a clipping from a newspaper. We stood with our joined hands raised above our heads. Uraraka was gleaming at the camera, however, I was looking at her. The look on my face surprised even me. 'Was I really fucking staring at her so openly with such a shitty expression?!'

I flipped a few pages, found more pics, and quickly slammed the book shut hollering, "What the hell is this shit?!"

My mother calmly walked in and glanced at what I was holding, "A photo album with all the pictures I've taken of you."

"I'm going to blast this fucking garbage to hell!" My hands started to smoke.

She immediately snatched the book out of my hand and smacked my head with the cooking spoon she held, "Don't you dare!"

I growled but slumped down onto the couch, "Why the fuck would you keep trash like that?"

"You might be a brat, but you're my brat so I'm going to preserve these memories of you." She left the room, taking the photo album with her.

By the time she had dinner ready, she had safely hidden away that abomination from me.

My father, who got home right before dinner, quietly asked before taking a bite "How is school going?"

I ignored the question and kept eating.

"Katsuki." My mom warned.

"Tch! It's school! Not much to talk about!" I growled.

"Have you made any good friends?" the old man asked.

"I have a band of damn extras that won't leave me alone, especially shitty hair."

My parents looked at each other then the old hag asked, "Is your Soul Bond part of that group?"

I choked and briefly coughed before screaming as loud as I could, "What the fuck?!"

"I noticed your Soul Mark was activated when you washed your hands earlier. Of course, we'd want to know about it. Is it that girl you teamed up with at the sports festival?"

"I'm not saying a damn thing! It's none of your business!" I snatched up my chopsticks and shoveled the rest of the food on my plate into my mouth. Once finished, I walked to the sink to wash my dish. "I hate that fate is trying to interfere in my life."

"Alright, we won't bring it up again." The old man's voice was full of skepticism.

Thankfully, they stayed true to their word and didn't speak of it again. From my reaction, they probably knew everything, they were my parent's after all. They updated me on their lives and asked about what I've been up to since the battle a few months back. I stayed for a while before heading back to school. The trip return trip was uneventful and I blasted music into my ears most of the way.

When I got back I immediately went to bed, however, sleep never came. Like every sleepless night, I changed and made my way to the roof. More recently I'd find other classmates up there doing the same thing. Tonight, I was annoyed to find Deku, Shinso, and Ojiro training. I walked to an area that was far from any of them and began training. I spent the next two hours doing various workout routines, making sure to tune out anything and everything that the others were doing.

When I finished, I was happy to find that I was alone on the roof, except for one person. I walked over and sat on the blanket beside her. This stargazing became more routine especially after the disaster a few months back. Even though we agreed not to pursue our Soul Bond, digging lifeless bodies out of rubble would change and affect anybody. It was a traumatic experience we all faced but because both Uraraka and I were together while digging, we grew to trust and confide in each other.

"Here." She passed over a package with roasted Soy Beans and a bottle of water, "I brought them in case you were up here training."

"Thanks, pink cheeks," I mumbled before eating them.

I ate my food in silence beside her, looking up at the sky. After I finished and wiped off my hands, she slipped her hand into mine. Immediately, the warm calming effect from our Bond washed over me. It had become an intoxicating lifeline in times of stress, and I hated myself for depending on it. Every time we touched since the Sports Festival, I found that I was less and less resistant to pull away. The gesture was platonic, just a means to calm herself or me down. Uraraka holding my hand became a regular occurrence after the battle a few months ago.

Uraraka was the first to break the silence, "There's a firework show tomorrow night and Mr. Aizawa said I could go as long as I bring someone with me. Want to tag along?"

"Why not ask Deku? I'm sure he'd be fucking ecstatic to go with you."

"I did, but he mentioned training with Grand Torino."

'He's meeting up with both All Might and Grand Torino. They've really upped his training since his newest quirk manifested.' "What about four eyes and frog face?"

"Iida is going to visit his brother and Tsu already made plans to go shopping in Tokyo with Yaoyorozu."

'I don't want to deal with a crowd of shitty extras. Why the hell is she asking me?' I released her hand and stood up to leave, "Keep looking for someone else to go with you, like pink alien."

"Alright." She replied staring at the starlit sky.

I fell asleep with ease and woke up early to go for a run and then spent the morning training. The afternoon I filled with various tasks such as studying, doing laundry, and straightening up my dorm room. The old hag always drilled into me about keeping my room clean and the habit stuck.

That evening, I was surprised to find Uraraka sitting in the community lounge reading a book. I walked over, "What the hell? Aren't you going out to see those damn fireworks?"

She paused her reading and looked up at me, "I couldn't find anybody to come. It's whatever, but that's ok, I guess."

'Damn it, she looks so disappointed. But why should I care.' I took a deep breath, "Tch. Fine! Meet me back here in ten minutes."

"Wait, what?" A confused expression crossed her features.

"Let's go." I growled and turned towards the elevators, "I've got nothing else going on."

She jumped up and bounced up beside me, "Are you sure?!"

I glanced at her as we stepped into the elevator, "That's a dumb fucking question."

"True. You're always confident and never unsure of yourself."

Her words caused me to smile, however, it faded quickly, 'This Soul Bond is too fucking powerful and clouds my mind. I shouldn't give two shits about going to make her happy. Fuck!'

I changed into something comfortable and threw on a hoodie. We met in the lounge and headed out. While on the train, I took out my phone to play an RPG game and she watched occasionally asking questions. When we arrived at our stop, I grabbed the backpack she brought along and unboarded.

She jogged after me, "I can carry that just fine, Bakugo. Don't worry about it."

"It just contains the damn blanket to sit on right?" She nodded. "Then it's nothing."

We walked for about fifteen minutes before arriving at the festival. I put my hood up to avoid recognition and she did the same with her pink hoodie. I followed her as she browsed through all the shops. She gasped and ran to a shop with yukata.

She browsed through them, picked one out, and adored it saying, "I've always wanted to wear one to a festival." She glanced at me, "Maybe when I become a pro hero and can afford one!"

Without saying a word, I walked to the next booth over and looked at their trinkets. 'I've always been well off. I can't even begin to understand what it's like to be poor.' She joined me a few minutes later. 'If she works hard, I know she'll be a great hero.'

"These shops are all starting to look the same," I grumbled.

"Yeah. Let's go find a spot to watch the fireworks." She pumped her fist and skipped away, "This is going to be awesome!"

We quickly found a spot and set up the blanket. She had also packed some snacks. We sat and ate while waiting for the show to start. We talked about ways to improve our hero costumes and potential combo moves.

Soon the lights around us were dimmed and the show began. The sky lit up with stars of blues, pinks, reds, purples, greens, and other colors.

During the show, Uraraka scooted closer to me and said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could come up with a combo move like that."

"It would put on a hell of a show and knock recruiters on their fucking ass." I turned my head to her, "But it's impossible, not unless we figure out a way to combine our quirks."

"You're right. I have to touch something with all my fingers to affect its gravity." She looked back at the fireworks, "I definitely don't want to burn my fingers off."

"You'd have to kiss your fucking dream as a hero goodbye." I followed her gaze back towards the fireworks.

When the firework show ended we gathered our stuff and headed back to the school grounds. Uraraka asked me to play that game again while we rode the train. She was very interested in the gameplay and cutscenes. We were so involved that we almost missed our stop.

We walked into the dorm and was met with Aizawa sitting in the lounge waiting. "Well, you're two fewer students I have to wait for." He stated plainly as we walked past.

We took the elevator to our floor and Uraraka thanked me one last time before we went our separate ways. I got ready and laid in bed staring at my Soul Mark. 'This Bond is getting the better of me. I hate this shit to no end, but damn, it's so fucking hard to escape its influence.'

I turned off my light and fell asleep to the conflicting thoughts that plagued my mind.

Please Review

Sorry for the delay, October is always a busy month for me.

-JFDragonFire