Chapter thirty-four - Soliloquy

In the open of the glorious fields, fate bore Bakugou and Kirishima; two energetic youths. Clear, was the sky; Blazing, was the sun and kind, was the wind. On that blissful day, Bakugou was ruthlessly but acknowledgingly exercising his quirk on Kirishima, who was of course hardened, and making his explosions larger and stronger the more he sweated and puffed. This type of strange exercise was not just benefiting Bakugou, but it did so to Kirishima as it meant he could try and harden more to build a stronger resistance and in more places. They were like two barbaric peas in a pod. Even though it was useful for the both of them to complete their exercise, Kirishima was more prone to injury, hence he took a short break. Bakugou gulped down a bottle of water while Kirishima sighed in distress.

Something was on his mind.

"What the hell is his relationship with Mr. Midoriya?" he thought. "Bakubro always had this burning, deep-rooted hate- no. Loathe for Mr. Midoriya that I couldn't even begin to understand. Was it because he was the villain that beat him up? Nah - I think even Bakugou knows when someone is clearly stronger than the other, and it wasn't like everyone was exactly pumped up about being taught by a villain either, so he ain't exactly special or anything. So.." Kirishima's face scrunched up and his dagger-like teeth were on show. "What the hell is their relationship?"

"What's with the scary face, Kirishima?" said Bakugou with a scowl as he stretched. Kirishima finally realised that his facial expression was contorted to look a little scarier than he wanted. He waved nervously and scratched his neck.

"I-It's nothing, Bakubro." he said, loosening his forced smile and looking to the ground where only a shadow could veil his face. "I'm fine."

Bakugou's scowl grew more and he began to feel annoyed and somewhat worried.

"Clearly, you're not. Do not lie to me, Shitty-Hair." Bakugou grumbled and sat beside Kirishima. "I can't stand liars, it is so damned obvious when they do it. What, are you scared of me or something?" he said, sounding a little hurt. Bakugou turned his head to the side to hide his look of misery.

"Liars.." thought Kirishima blankly. "You hate liars, huh.. Then.."

"Bakugou." suddenly said Kirishima in a more serious tone of voice, probably the most serious he has been in a while. It was so sudden and unusual for Kirishima to use Bakugou's name instead of that cute nickname and on top of that, his serious voice. Bakugou's eyes widened ever so slightly and his scowl was lost. He faced Kirishima.

"Oi..what's up with the way he is speaking? Bastard's been acting strange ever since that damned Mido- Deku fought Mirio." thought Bakugou in hindsight. His heart began to beat at nineteen to the dozen as all these unlikely scenarios started playing up in his head. Does he hate me? Perhaps he was being fake this whole time.. Is he never going to speak to me? Will I be surrounded by a crowd of lackeys again? Wh-

"Bakugou, I need to talk to you. But to do that, we are going to my room." said Kirishima quite bluntly as he bit his lip and walked ahead. Worried and irritated, Bakugou followed him to his room. The journey was quiet and tight-lipped, like they were walking on a tightrope with an unknown below. This was Bakugou's first time on the tightrope of friendship, so the down below looked really mysterious and dull. It was so dull that if you went down there, all your friendship would be nullified and your hard earned, laborious relationship would go a rank down to simple classmates. And then? And then, Bakugou's splash of guilt he felt with Izuku would grow and grow like an endless weed that would eventually make itself public. But that was exactly what Bakugou didn't understand.

"Hey, if at first it was an easy thing to walk on a tightrope with idiots and people, why did it get harder to walk it as we got closer? What kind of bullshit joke is this?" he thought in frustration. Even when he asked this question, somewhere in his sea of thoughts, something in his mind was telling him to 'search, and you will find'. It was quite infuriating and Bakugou's nervousness was not helping in any way.

Bakugou was snapped out of the suffocation of his imagination when he heard the click of Kirishima's door and the gulp of his throat. What shocked Bakugou most was the sad look that Kirishima's wore on his usually cheery face. It wasn't a very obvious look of sadness, it wasn't as though he was on the verge of tears and his cheeks were flushed along with sniffling. It was a worse kind of sadness that would plant a seed of woe into you when you hoped to never feel such an emotion as woe.

"After you."

And so, Bakugou sat on Kirishima's bed as he usually did when he went into his room. It was quite relieving to feel something soft after the trail of dread Bakugou was feeling. But, for the sake of his own sanity, he cast out all the emotion that weighed him down and regained his pompous, aggressive air back.

"What did you want to say, Kirishima?" he asked. Kirishima then looked Bakugou dead in the eyes. Like he could see all of Baugou's tangled, messy thoughts and forgotten emotions. Bakugou flinched a little.

"Bakugou, what is your relationship with Mr. Midoriya? Don't bullshit me." asked Kirishima in solemnity. Bakugou sat up and stopped staring at the wall. Bakugou didn't have time to think as he just said "Huh?" with little croaks that fell out of his mouth right after that.

Kirishima held his gaze.

"What.." thought Bakugou. "What the fuck..? So, it's going to be like that, Kirishima."

"He used to be in my class when we were class back in kindergarten. Did I commit a fucking crime? Huh, did I?" said Bakugou, feeling like he was being judged inside out. His eyes burned a great red fire that was constantly wavering. This, however, was in contrast to Kirishima's locked, calm, unwavering gaze into Bakugou's heart.

"Why won't he say more? Doesn't he trust me?" thought Kirishima, in grief.

"There's more, isn't there? Go on." he said calmly but sadly. Bakugou's pupils danced about his eyes and his tone shook minutely with a casual posture.

"I.., shit, He was a weak little shit. Yeah, that's what he was, and I told him he was a Deku all the time to reinforce that fact into his little ass brain. He was quirkless, for fuck's sake!" shouted Bakugou, arms wide. He saw Kirishima's expression change.

"Yes, this is good." he thought. "Hate me, do what ever the fuck you want. Just get me off this damned tightrope." Poor Bakugou thought that if Kirishima hated him, this weedy guilt of his would just kill itself off.

"He was weak and quirkless and clingy and tacky and he dared to speak to me in a friendly way. He wanted to be a hero, but that wasn't going to happen, that was damn clear. Better to nip off the bud before the flower starts to sprout."

After that, Kirishima's expression evolved from a calm expression to a disappointed one. That made the weed in Bakugou's heart grow even more. Kirishima's calm, strong eyes looked disappointed and just even more blue. Not even angry, not even annoyed. It was so pitiful, Bakugou thought he as being looked down on.

"Bastard's doing it on purpose. I know it." he thought in irritation. Kirishima then inhaled deeply and buried his head in his hands. He thought about what he had just heard and why Bakugou carried such a distasteful hate towards Izuku. Just because he lacked a quirk, he was basically bullied? And then this about him wanting to be a hero? Then how did he end up a villain? Was he cast away?

Kirishima exhaled and felt like a vase that would crack any second.

"Why.." said Kirishima quietly. "Why the fuck would you do that? What did he ever do to you? Huh? Answer me, God damnit!"

"And What the Fuck does it have to do with you, Kirishima?! This has nothing to do with you, you fucking piece of shit. Mind your damned business before I do something that even I will regret!" roared Bakugou in complete and utter fury.

"But it does!" shouted Kirishima. He was really on edge at that point as the cracks of his emotions would slip through his words soon. "It does..!"

"Shit.." thought Bakugou still angry.

"It doesn't, you bastard." he said with masses of aloofness lingering in his tone. "Do you think it's amusing to cram your way into business that isn't your, Kirishima? Do you? 'Cuz if you keep going on that route, you'll end up with a broken nose or dead in a ditch. Mind your fucking busneiss."

That was it for Kirishima. He burst into tears. All the pain, conscious and subconscious, that Bakugou and people from the past had caused him started feeding his thick sadness like a negative reservoir. No matter what Kirishima did, no matter how many times he scratched at his face to stop the tears, no many how many times he cursed and cursed and cursed his emotions...no matter how many times he tried to convince and encourage himself of his special worth, it was all but redundant as the tears did not care for his attempts at stopping them. It was their course of nature to keep flowing.

Bakugou instantly went to Kirhsima, before he could even register what was happening. The weed of guilt matured within him and choked him up. He swallowed his pride and anger and..hugged Kirishima tightly.

"Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry." he recited in his head and a dot, a very, very lilliput tear ran down his cheek. Thankfully, nobody saw it as it as the tear was soaked into Kirishima's t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, Kirishima." he whispered. Kirishima was in shock and that shock was strong enough to terminate the flow of tears that had stained and streaked his face. He felt the sincerity and warmth that Bakugou was feeling and he felt like Bakugou was truly a brother to him, even when there was no exchange of words. Kirishima could not hold back his pure smile back any longer, as he too hugged Bakugou back.

Not even a wizard would think that two souls could connect as those two had, unless those two souls had been lovers that were brought together by a deity or some sort. But, no. They were on a different stage that had nothing to do with the love Eros, but with the love Storge. Within seconds, the lines and ribbons of that hellbound tightrope was gone and the weed of guilt had been cut drastically form the sky-high tree it was blooming into before. The guilt he grew from Kirishima was gone but the remaining guilt was for Izuku. That was not be cut to easily.

After hugging for what seemed like an eternity, Bakugou became embarrassed and was hiding his face in shame of what he did. For not only making Kirishima cry, but for hugging him as well.

"Why did you hug me, Bakubro?" asked Kirishima laughing at him. Bakugou growled and pointed.

"Heeh?! What? Shut up, you bastard! It was the only way to stop you crying, so it was your fault. Now, stop talking about it and shut up!" he said in a refreshed aggressive way.

"Yeah, yeah." said Kirishima with a tired sigh. Then he spoke again. "Tell me in depth of your connections with Mr. Midoriya. I'm still not okay with the way you spoke so lightly about bullying."

Bakugou looked to floor and huffed in shame and pride. "Whatever."

And so, Bakugou explained loosely about what happened to Izuku because of his consistent maltreatment. Bakugou trusted Kirishima not to spread the information to anyone, so he also talked about how Izuku went missing and what happened when he was attacked by the Sludge Villain and all. When Bakugou finally stopped he look at Kirishima only to find that he was stunned. He was in complete disbelief at what he was hearing. He did not for a second think that Bakugou was capable of some monstrosity, it was honestly quite unnerving for Kirishima. But Bakugou had surely changed, so Kirishima believed in him to do better in the future and apologise for his actions, that was the manly thing to do!

But!

"Bakugou, the class need to know about your history with Mr. Midoriya." said Kirishima with a determined look in his eyes. Bakugou rolled his eyes at the sight of this, or he knew when Kirishima was like this he would not stop for anything until he reached whatever goal he had. And today, that goal was for Bakugou to come clean to the class. Kirishima would not be able to live with himself without at least the class knowing about Bakugou's wrongdoings, now that he knew about them.

"Bastard's all fired up now. Great." thought Bakugou. Bakugou snarled and his eyebrows were angled sharply as he growled in annoyance at how it was inevitable for him to tell th class, but he'd try at least once more. Once more, to try and sneakily escape his sins.

"But, Shitty-Hair, I told you because I…" Bakugou emitted a strange sound that sounded like he was struggling to speak, which made Kirishima tilt his head innocently in confusion. "..I t-trusted you. That's why I told you, you bastard. I don't trust the rest of them like them so why should I tell them?"

Kirishima had a frozen expression, like time had stopped. BUt then he laughed heartily. This made Bakugou angry.

"Why are you laughing?!"

"Be-..haha! Because it kinda sounded like you said 'trusted' just now! My ears are fucked up ahaha!" said Kirishima as he tried to regulate his breathing from all that laughter.

"You bastard, I did say 'trusted'! Ugh, so freakin' annoying." said Bakugou condescendingly. Kirishima looked up for a few seconds with a look on his face that just screamed 'don't lie' but he then realised Bakugou was serious. That made him smile sweetly and he tried to hide it but that made it even more obvious.

"O-Oh. Well," said Kirishima calming down. "Bakubro, now that you've told me the bad things you have done to hurt Mr. Midoriya, you should tell the class, or I will! The moment you told me, I felt a heavy weight of guilt rush over me. The truth will always prevail, Bakubro, so why wait? It will be better this way." said Kirishima in an inspiring, hero-like tone. "Also, be a little nicer to Mr. Midoriya, bro. He really didn't deserve any of the bullshit you served him all those years. That was really horrible of you, bro."

"Tch..fine, whatever."

"We are doing it now, come on!" exclaimed Kirishima as he raced downstairs. Bakugou just sighed and followed Kirishima. He was no longer on that petrifying tightrope. As they descended the stairs, they saw that their classmates were casually talking to each other in a chilled manner. The atmosphere was relaxing and giggling was heard scarcely echo about in the living room with some low-volumed, unknown television channel playing in the background. Kirishima came downstairs and sat on the carpet on the ground with a little stretch before announcing something.

"Guys, what do you think about Mr. Midoriya?"

A number of students turned around to see why on earth Kirishima asked a question like that out of the blue. They answered nonetheless. First was Iida, who was quite enthusiastic.

"Well, to me he is a strong willed person that is extremely powerful in all he does." declared Iida. "Mr. Midoriya has helped us improve our strength and super moves to an incredible extent that we would not have achieved on our own. He is an honest, strong and kind teacher that I do not view as a villain. At all. I daresay I can trust him now."

"Iida.." said Uraraka with rosy cheeks. She smiled. "Me too! Mr. Midoriya is cool and if Iida trusts him, so do I!"

There were many nods passed around the room but a few people kept still. They weren't so forgiving, nor were they so lenient.

"Hey, don't you two think you are being a little too quick to trust a villain?" commented MIneta. "I do not trust Mr. Midoriya, he is a villain. You guys seem to keep forgetting that! He could be acting.."

"Shut up.., Mineta.." thought Mina in exasperation. "Shut up! You don't know anything about him.."

"Mineta, how can you even say that?" retorted Mina clutching her chest. "Mr. Midoriya saved us twice. He sacrificed himself twice, and those two times were fatal. Remember when he was almost crushed beneath rock to safe All Might? Remember when he cut his hand with a sword when we were almost attacked at the Takoba National Stadium by a reckless student? Or did you suddenly get amnesia when he was labelled a villain? Is that it, because if it is..don't even talk to me and don't even think of calling yourself a hero. Mr. Midoriya.." she cocked her head to the side and gave a faultless smile. "Mr. Midoriya is truly a hero to me!"

Everyone in the room had wide eyes and mouths that hung open like faulty machines as they couldn't at all believe what they had heard. All eyes were on Mina, as many 'true' and 'exactly''s were being murmured from all corners of the room. So, all it took was a little push from Mina for everyone's brains to click. A little can go a long way in all cases.

"I wonder if they were always this close, Mina and Mr. Midoriya.."

"That's actually true. Mr. Midoriya does obtain some heroic qualities. Why didn't I say that before?"

"He is so strong, and without a quirk! It is unbelievable. Im'm..proud to call him my teacher."

"I mean, I have always liked Mr. Midoriya so.."

"He's okay, I guess." said Todoroki. Then Bakugou stepped forwards with his hands in his pockets and a great frown of annoyance on his face. Kirishima knew what would happen next.

"So, everyone.. There was actually a reason I spoke in the first place. It's a little serious, ehe.." Kirishima said as he rubbed his neck. Bakugou then came forward to speak for himself, he couldn't keep having someone else talk for him. It was his fight.

"So, this is what I have to say." said Bakugou. And with hat, he proceeded to talk about how he would torment Izuku everyday with his gang of lackeys, all because Izuku was quirkless. He would do this in front of the teacher, who did nothing, he would do this out side for the school and during lunch as well. He would do this o Izuku with absolutely no mercy or guilt, back then. It was just a normal, casual gesture to bully and abuse Izuku with no remorse whatsoever. Izuku was their punching bag; just an object there to be used and thrown away. It was truly, truly undignified, it would break a man. And it did. Bakugou then talked more and more about other things that happened during that time and mentioned Izuku's past ambitions and dreams and how he had just stomped on them like a shadow hanging over an angel without consent. Like a clear sky being hunted by thunder clouds. Kind of like how a careless bastard would push a sweet, little boy to attempt suicide. Twice. Yeah, just like that.

After that, there was about five minutes, or so ,of silence, as the television had turned off automatically. The silence was not relaxing anymore. The silence was no kind anymore. The silence was actually very disturbing and caused a number of students to back away in shock and fear of Bakugou. Those who tried to move back in fear were not scared of Bakugou's strength. No, no, nobody cared about that. They were afraid of him as a person, they were scared that there was someone so near to them that seemed and behaved like a monster, A villain.

"That's disgusting." commented Shoji. "That's genuinely disgusting."

Kaminari, Sero and Uraraka looked hurt for Izuku and were indeed shocked that Bakugou was capable of doing this with no shame at all. 'No shame'. That wasn't true at all, but I won't go into that.

"Dude, that horrible, how could you? Oh my Gosh.." said Sero. He shook his head in disdain. Majority of the class did the same thing.

"Hm. So, you really did all that, huh. That is really something, Bakugou. I knew you were bad, but this is a whole different level of evil. Thank God the teachers know about this." said Todoroki with a cold side-eye. Bakugou took no notice and was unfazed by the reactions he received.

"Mr. Midoriya..you endured all that alone? Damn it.." mumbled Iida under his breath with his fist clenched. Then something unexpected happened!

Mina walked up to Bakugou and gave him a powerful slap on the cheek. The slap was hot and quick like Anger and it was heard reflecting off of the hard surfaces of the living room and back into everyone's ears. Everyone present was surprised at what Mina did, as she was usually the first to talk about positivity and respect. To see Mina slap someone must mean the person was really special to her and eminently important. Mina remembered how peaceful and sacrificial Izuku looked when he stared at the sky that day. At first Mina thought that he as just at peace with himself and he just loved tranquility. But how wrong she was. Izuku was at war with himself all the time, and there was no God, no deity, no entity that could end it for him. Izuku looked at the sky so freely and wholeheartedly like he was just giving up his body and soul to the four elements at ease and sorrow. Izuku positively yearned for tranquility, but that was something he would never get. Because not all men are born equally, hence not all men got what they utmostly desired.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Midoriya..I didn't notice it before. I'm such a fool." she thought. Mina left to sit on the couch and she hugged a pillow tight to her chest like a baby. Bakugou stood there and breathed in, then breathed out.

"Well, I don't suppose you came and told us that for the hell of it, did you, Bakugou?" said Yaoyorozu who just shook her head. "Well?"

"W-Well-" Kirishima was about to speak but then Bakugou stopped him by extending his hand to stop him.

"Hah?! What? Wait, Bakubro can't speak to people normally like that..! He will just make things harder for himself, what is he doing.." thought Kirishima. Then, another unexpected thing happened! The list just kept going on and on with bizarre things happen left and right. Bakugou got on his knees, then on the floor and bowed to the class which surprised everyone that was present. Bakugou never apologised and definitely not to THIS extent. What on earth..

"I'm not getting back on that damned tightrope with the rest of my friends. Might as well get it over with.." he thought in annoyance.

"I am greatly sorry for all the bad I have done to make you..err.. Hate me this much. I was young and stupid back then. I didn't know that it would take this large of a toll on M-Mr. Midoriya. I will try and make it up to you somehow but don't expect a lot you fuckers." and with that Bakugou got up and went to bed, knowing that he would unfortunately have to apologise to Izuku at one point. But to think that he apologised on his knees to people, hugged someone and cried and even experienced thrilling emotions? He would have never thought that was even possible, when he was younger. Once Bakugou left, Kirishima awkwardly bowed and left as well.

That just left the rest of the classmates feeling very empty and unfinished. The ending that Bakugou had given was really vague and brief and it was really quite open-ended. The atmosphere was filled with confusion and hate, with understanding and pain and nobody quite understood what was happening. But, despite everything, everyone knew Bakugou was growing. Kinda.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now, it seems as though they are here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.