In the end, Wednesday went alright…
"Izuku's been doing a lot better for some reason," Tsu was saying, "what did you say to him?"
Katsuki's tired eyes were too focused on following a school of colorful fish to pay her any attention.
"What?"
"He seems to be doing better today than he was yesterday."
"Oh, right," Katsuki shrugged, "I just talked to him."
His focus on the colorful ones was distracted by a larger, gray fish with a weird-looking nose. Or horn?
After arriving in Shimonoseki last evening, Katsuki had promised the others that they'd take Thursday slow, that they'd deserved it. Ochako suggested going to the aquarium after breakfast and no one objected.
As much as he'd rather be surfing or gaming at an arcade or blowing random stuff up, Katsuki decided that appeasing the others was a more pragmatic option than being crucified.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked, turning to Tsu.
"I asked you what you said to Izuku?"
Katsuki looked around to see if he could find him. The room was dark but everyone's face was illuminated by the bluish-green light emanating from the tank. But no Izuku.
If he was yacking at Ochako about how the Whatchamaguppy changes color in the winter, he could easily pin down his location.
Unfortunately, Izuku didn't know a damn thing about the illusive Whatchamaguppy and its seasonal molting behavior.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Just then, a tomato-faced boy with dark green hair squeezed himself in between Katsuki and the stranger to his right.
"Oh, there you are—"
Katsuki stopped and took in the redness of Izuku's face.
"Why the hell is your face so red?"
Izuku's eyes widened and shifted and bounced around the room again.
'Why don't you ask him yourself?'
Ask me what?
"Uh, I-I, it's really hot in the restroom!" he stammered out.
"So that's where you've been," Tsu said, "where's Ochako?"
Seeing Izuku's face fade from red to pink was a sight to behold, like a chameleon changing colors. He really was the cutest thing—
"Ochako went to get ice cream… she said to meet us there."
"Then let's do that," Katsuki rolled his eyes and walked off, "is the restaurant upstairs or what?"
"Uh, there's signs for it."
Before Izuku could follow Katsuki through the darkness and the crowd, he felt a large hand grab his shoulder. Knowing immediately that it had to have been Tsu, he didn't flinch or turn around quickly. He stood there pretending it was nothing, looking off from side to side.
He was prepared to just move along and follow Katsuki but… that wouldn't be nice.
"Izuku," Tsu said in her 'questioning' voice… could Izuku really tell her intention by the ever-so-subtle shift in tone of her voice? If she even did change tone, it must have been in microtones. Or something. Maybe Jirou could hear the difference.
"Y-yeah?"
From the silence, Izuku gathered that Tsu must've changed her mind about whatever she was going to say. That wasn't like her…
"Are you alright?" Izuku asked, turning to face her.
When their eyes met, she smiled.
The wavering reflection of blues and greens in the sunlight on her face… none of it could make her smile any more beautiful. If anything, it was her smile that made the blues and greens and rays of light—this moment—all the more beautiful.
Oh, how he could just stare into those eyes all day. Not enough hours in the day. Not enough hours in a lifetime. Not enough strength to keep this up… how weak he felt when he tried to keep his gaze.
How could she be so innocent yet so… terrifying? Who was this woman that could make him laugh and cry, fall into her arms and run far away, just with a smile?
"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!"
"UH Y-YEAH WAIT UP!"
It was a good thing Katsuki wasn't one for gossip. If it had been anyone else, Izuku would probably never live this down.
In the shade of the arch in front of the hotel lobby, Izuku struggled to find the time on his watch: 2:13 PM.
Perfect time to go to the beach, especially with the amount of summer sunlight they'd have available to them. They could all be down there in about twenty minutes and soak up the sun and the sand for about three hours. That leaves about an hour to prepare for dinner—
"That sounds like a great idea!" Ochako said.
"Huh?" Izuku blanked, "oh, you heard all that."
Izuku looked over to Katsuki, who was glaring at his cellphone. As he did, Katsuki tensed up.
"What's wrong?" Ochako dared to ask.
"Those dummies won't be here until tomorrow."
"Oh," Tsu butted in, "Kirishima and Kaminari and the others?"
"Yeah, I did say 'dummies,' didn't I?"
"Alright," Ochako said, "we'll meet up at the beach in twenty minutes?"
Of all the things summer brought, swimming was easily within Izuku's top ten. Especially if it was at the beach. How long ago was the beach? Ah, nearly one year and five months to the date. Of all the things he'd accomplished, cleaning up Takoba Park would always have a special place in his memory. One of these days, he'd have to visit again and see the looks on people's faces. Especially those who could remember what it had been like before he cleaned it up…
"BANZAI!"
Lightning fast and light as a feather, Katsuki came hurtling past Izuku with his surfboard tucked under his arm.
The waves looked perfect for swimming today. Hopefully some bigger ones would come around so that Kacchan could catch them and have something fun to write home about. Something he could tell all his friends about. Big waves impossible to swim in… but it would be worth it.
Izuku was surprised to find that Tsu was not immediately in the water. When they'd all been moved into the dorms last summer, Tsu had spent most of her time in the pool, the nearby river, or the beach (whenever students were allowed to leave the premises).
Just a few more days and he could get back to swimming lessons with her and Yuga…
Instead, she was sitting under the umbrella with Ochako.
"Are you gonna go in after him?!" Ochako shouted over the wind and waves.
"I'll go in slowly," Izuku said, now walking over to the girls.
Turning his attention to the vast open blue, he began to notice just how beautiful it all was. How little attention he let himself give to the world around him when he was so caught up in trying to save it. Saving it was worth it. Saving her was worth it. Something in her eyes was so vast and mysterious like the ocean in front of him.
The sea, that's not the ocean, he thought. But anyway… why am I thinking about Tsu so much recently? Why am I just now noticing how amazing she is? I mean, she's always been amazing but… is it because it's all almost over? Third year starts in April and after that… after that…
Izuku never saw or heard from any of his former peers from school before attending U.A., but he prayed this time that would not be the case.
"Don't get pulled into the tide!" Ochako yelled at Katsuki, who was paddling his arms furiously against the perfect waves.
"ARGH AH AGH AH-HA-HAURGH!"
Seeing that he was perfectly fine, Ochako smirked and turned back to Izuku.
"Hey Izuku, let's walk down the beach and see if we find anything cool."
"Alright, which way?"
As Ochako looked both ways down the long, narrow stretch of sand, Izuku got a glimpse of Tsu putting on her thinking face again.
"I'll stay here, ribbit."
"Uh… right," Ochako said, "I mean, on the right side down the beach, but also, yeah, right, of course, you—yeah."
The two of them walked east up the beach, leaving no other word. And when they were far enough, Ochako sighed.
"I didn't mean to make it seem awkward or anything," she said, "sorry about that."
"Huh? W-what do you mean?"
"How do I say this? Izuku… I know you like Tsu."
Good thing that it was just the two of them walking along the empty beach. Izuku's face was a ripe tomato once again. He might just run straight into the water right now to cool off. Perhaps he could rule the Seven Seas, never to return to the land he once lubbed.
"Um, hehe, that's ridiculous! Plus, y-you'd have to be an expert to know about that kind of stuff, right?"
Here he was, doubting Ochako Uraraka's credentials. What has the world come to?
"Well, uh… I think it's pretty obvious, actually."
"Uh-uh-uh, REALLY, i-it's not like that!" Izuku immediately paused mid-fluster to see if anyone was watching.
The waves continued to wave, the wind continued to blow, and Izuku Midoriya continued to be a shy little boy.
"Look," Ochako said with more than a hint of frustration, "you're a nice guy, you get things done, you could get a girlfriend if you really wanted to. And I know you probably wanna wait but… if you like her, you should let her know before you regret it."
Izuku couldn't help but to fall in love with everyone who was ever nice to him. But there was something special about Tsu. Not only was she nice to him, not only did she have similar or the same interests, not only did she have an attractive personality, but she understood him. Or at least it seemed like she did. At least he hoped she did…
But what if all he tried to be, all she could understand him to be, was just a fake? Did any one of his classmates know the real Izuku Midoriya? Did even Kacchan know who he was?
How do you make someone understand you if you can't tell them what's on your mind? If you don't want to tell them? What will they say if they know the real you? How fast will you lose them?
He thought about dad—
"Okay," he spat out harsher than he'd meant, "um…"
Izuku continued to walk down the beach in silence. Ochako simply followed.
Izuku's in one of those moods again.
How fragile he was. Just yesterday he was down-and-out, then back in business all evening and all morning, and now he was about to be out of the job again. She'd hoped to say something to gets his spirits up again but found nothing in the sand. Nothing but…
"Hey, what's that?" she pointed to something colorful lying in the sand.
"Hm?" Izuku walked closer to the shape, slowly and cautiously.
As it came closer into view, he recognized exactly what it was: two pieces of a blue bikini lying on a blanket.
Great. First an abandoned blue truck and now an abandoned blue bikini.
Why does it always have to be blue? What a horrible color. Why did the sky and the ocean have to be blue?
"Uh…" he whispered, blushing, "m-maybe we should go back now—"
Ochako took another step forward.
"Y-you think whoever left it is still here?"
Looking at it closer now, she noticed there was something a bit odd about it. It looked… wait…
"Toru? Is that you?"
"Hm?" the bikini mumbled.
"AH! IT'S TALKING!"
"Relax, Izuku!" Ochako grabbed his shoulder.
The bikini's top wobbled, and the blanket began to warp and wrinkle.
"Oh, it is you," the disembodied voice said, "I thought I heard your voice, Ochako!"
"Hagakure! Oh, s-sorry!" Izuku shouted, waving his hands wildly.
"Yeah," Ochako said, "at first we thought your bikini… belonged to someone else."
"Oh."
…
"Well, uh," Izuku rubbed the back of his neck and, instead of saying anything else, began to walk back to the others—
"HEY!" Toru shouted, "Is it just the two of you?"
Now it was Ochako's turn to blush—
"What?! No, no, Tsu's with us. Katsuki's with us, too, and… Tsuragamae-sensei came along as well but… he had places to be."
Even though Izuku struggled to read people's faces, he could still pick up clues and guess as best he could. Watching movies, TV shows and anime, reading comic books, seeing how actors acted, how characters were drawn, how they were supposed to be feeling and what faces they made… it all made it make more sense.
But real people didn't always make faces that told you exactly how they were feeling.
And no one could see Toru Hagakure's.
How well she could hide a face that was always hidden… how well she could hide her intentions. How many times had she cried when everyone around her was smiling?
Did anyone know the real Toru Hagakure?
What am I doing? Stop.
Izuku turned to face the sea.
"So," he heard Toru say, "how's that work out?"
Izuku had to make a phone call at some point. Come Monday or Tuesday, they'd all be in front of the Commission.
"Uh, well," Ochako's eyes dropped, "I guess we'll talk about it at some point… just trying to have some fun in the sun… on a Thursday."
Toru's bikini shifted in a way that suggested she was crossing her arms.
"Yeah," she said, "we wanted to do the same so we came up here yesterday evening."
"Oh, who are you with?"
"Oh, uh—"
"Me!" a deep but friendly voice said.
All three of them looked up to see, coming down the rise behind the beach, Mashirao Ojiro.
"Ojiro!" they all said in unison.
"Hey!" Ochako shouted, "Why don't you come over to where we're sitting?"
Mashirao's eyes went wide.
"Oh, uh, we wouldn't want to bother you…"
Ochako knew what that meant. And even though she couldn't see it, she knew Toru was making a face and balling up her fists.
"You won't be bothering us!" Izuku said.
Without another word, Ochako grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him back down the beach.
"We'll catch up later! Have fun! Izuku… when someone says they 'wouldn't want to bother you,' that means they don't want you bothering them."
Wait… oh. Right.
Mina and Eijirou. Toru and Mashirao. Who else would be going to the concert as a pair? Izuku couldn't help but feel a little left out. Maybe there was still a chance—
"ARE YOU GOIN' IN OR WHAT?" Katsuki yelled as he emerged from the incoming tide. He had on his signature 'not-quite-angry, more excited' face.
"Hey, Katsuki, guess who we just saw…" Ochako said.
His 'not-quite-angry, more excited' face came undone. He thought for a second.
"Nah, just tell me."
"Hagakure and Ojiro! They decided to come here yesterday."
"What? Are you gonna suggest we take them to dinner or something?"
"No… we ought to let them have their privacy."
When she saw the gears in his head begin to turn, she knew it was too late to take back what she just said—
"I don't get what he sees in her," Katsuki said, "cause I don't see a damn thing!"
Izuku let out a poorly-stifled chuckle and immediately regretted it—
"URGH! Why can't you guys just GROW UP and STOP with the invisible jokes?!"
"But hey, she chased tail and got it so good for her."
"Katsuki…"
"I'm done, but I'll let you know if I come up with any more."
"Ugh, whatever, I'm gonna go in the water now."
And off she went.
"So," Izuku said, "what are we doing tomorrow?"
Katsuki turned his eyebrow first, and his whole body followed.
"What? Hell if I know. Depends on when the dummies get here and what they're doing."
Izuku tapped his finger against his chin, far too many times… there was something big and bad eating at his mind.
Katsuki turned around and saw Tsu watching them from under the umbrella. He never told her what exactly he said or did to brighten up his day…
"So," he started, "what's up?"
"I'm just… wondering about tomorrow. Kenji said he'd be at the concert which would mean he'd be there on Saturday. So I guess he won't be there tomorrow."
Katsuki didn't bother to count but he could've sworn the two of them stood there in silence for a solid five minutes, taking in the wind and the waves and the summer sunshine.
"Hey," a nasally voice said—
"JEEZ! You scared the crap out of me, Asui!" Katsuki jumped.
"Sorry… so, why are you just standing here?"
Katsuki gave her a look that should've been enough to tell her off.
"We're talking."
"Your mouths weren't moving."
"Very good observation!"
…
"If I'm interrupting anything, I'm sorry."
"N-no, it's fine, Tsu. We're just… looking at the ocean—I mean the sea."
Tsu, too, looked out at the sea. Who would blink first?
And the three of them stood there. Lonely hearts on a lonely island, staring out at the infinitely vast and utterly blue unknown…
"What are you all staring at?"
Friday morning came with a new thought, a new idea: buy Ochako a cellphone. Maybe for her birthday? When was that? Speaking of birthdays, Hanta's was on Monday. Would they make it back home by Monday? With the whole situation it seemed they had to.
"Hey Ochako," Katsuki said, looking straight across the table, "when's your birthday?"
"December 27th," she said, looking up from a bowl of fruit, "why?"
Tsu began to look up as well, but Katsuki was quick to 'continue the conversation' before she could make any comment about it.
"I'm just… asking for the future. I already know Izuku's. Asui, what's yours?"
"February 12th."
Todoroki, Asui, Koda, and Shouji were the "babies" of the class, all a year younger than the rest. Funnily enough, they were all the ones Bakugou would be least likely to mess with.
Except Todoroki, of course. And speaking of Todoroki, the phone—
"The thing is," Katsuki said, "Mina just texted me that they're here. Her, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and… Todoroki."
His face went sour and his whole body shivered.
"Are we gonna meet them?" Izuku asked.
"NO! UH, I MEAN WE WOULDN'T WANT TO BOTHER THEM!"
Not everyone in the hotel stared at them, a lot of them knew better than to stare at Katsuki Bakugou, even when he wasn't raging. It was weird, being recognized, having complete strangers already know how to approach you.
"But really," he said, hoping his change in tone would ward off onlookers, "I think you should get a cellphone so Mina can just call you instead of annoying the shit out of me to get in touch with you."
"Oh, that's what this is about?" Ochako tapped her fingers against the table.
Was she disappointed that it wasn't about remembering her birthday?
"You don't have to buy me one," she continued, "it's fine, really, I'll save up enough money."
"What?! Cellphones are the future, Ochako! Let me buy you one! I'll buy one for all THREE of you nerds! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH IT WILL COST!"
Katsuki's actually kinda cute when he tries being nice… everyone thought.
Ochako smiled weakly.
"That's sweet, really, but…"
Katsuki imagined a mess of strings tied up and scrambled inside her head, like she was trying to untie at least one and find a straight reason why he shouldn't.
Instead of waiting for the eventual "really, don't worry about it," Katsuki kept talking what he considered nonsense—
"So yeah," he started, "Mina said they'd be here at about 1:30."
"I wonder what it's like," Ochako said, "to fly on a plane. I wonder if it's anything like floating."
"Nah, not really," Katsuki said, "it's boring as hell."
"What are we gonna do until 1:30?" Tsu asked no one in particular.
"I didn't say we're meeting them at 1:30."
"No, but they might want to meet us."
"We should," Izuku said, "then we can all find something to do together!"
"When do Kirishima and the guys get here?" Ochako asked.
"Around 3:30, I think," Katsuki's eyes went left to right, then right to left, along the table.
"Are you okay, Kacchan?" Izuku asked.
"Fan-friggin'-tastic."
"Bakugou," Tsu said, "Todoroki isn't that bad. Just give him a chance."
When do I get a chance?
"It's not so much his ass I can't stand, it's how everyone else kisses it that really pisses me off."
There was a dull silence that followed, drawn out by even those nosy strangers in the background… suddenly broken by the sound of plates being shuffled in the kitchen.
Everyone 'knew' how much Katsuki 'hated' Shoto. If only it were that simple, he sometimes thought. He didn't hate him, he just annoyed the everliving shit out of him. And everyone's admiration for him and his family made it so much worse. To the point where he really did start to hate him.
Shoto Todoroki seemed perfect in every way, but few knew the real Shoto Todoroki. Few knew the real Todoroki family… up until recently. When all that was made public knowledge, the admiration for the family may have wavered but the love surrounding Shoto Todoroki only grew seven heart sizes. And so, Bakugou's hate had to grow with it. It would not be outmatched.
In his most vulnerable moments, Izuku Midoriya would write down all the things he'd hoped to one day see or do.
Meet All-Might was crossed out.
Get into U.A. was crossed out.
Be someone's hero was crossed out.
See Minoru become a better person was half-way crossed out, with an addendum of "KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!" scrawled into the margins.
…
See Katsuki and Shoto become friends has been left untouched for one year and two months.
Sometimes he considered erasing it.
An overwhelming sense of dread overcame Katsuki as he stared blankly at his cellphone:
"WE HERE! (^O^)"
"Damn it, Pinky… alright, let's move our asses."
"Where are we going?" Izuku asked before—
"LOOK OUT!" Ochako yelled.
Izuku turned to see a frisbee rapidly getting bigger, right in front of his face. Before he could think, his hands shot up and grabbed it.
"Good catch," Tsu said.
Izuku stood there in shock for a second, taking in all the details of the frisbee. The ridges, the dirt, the scratches.
"So, uh," Ochako turned to Katsuki, "where are we meeting them?"
"Marinoa City. It takes about half an hour to get there."
"Then let's go!" Izuku tossed the frisbee across the park.
It landed softly in the grass.
Kenji likes frisbee.
"Hey," Ochako said, "should we ask Ojiro and Hagakure if they wanna tag along?"
"I'm sure they're quite busy," Katsuki said, turning toward the parking lot.
"Yeah, they probably are," Tsu said, "I wonder how they figure it out—"
Izuku jumped.
"WE SHOULD GET GOING NOW, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO KEEP EVERYONE WAITING!"
The waterfront of Marinoa City, bustling with activity and bursting with youthful laughter, on a calm Friday afternoon in the middle of the summertime… this is where it's happening. This is what it's all about.
The fab four weaved through the crowd along the boardwalk looking out at Hakata Bay, silently hoping and praying that the crowds were too caught up in their own lives to recognize them.
Izuku looked up at the Ferris wheel. How romantic Ferris wheels were… just you and the person you love high above the world, at sunset or night. It would probably be even more romantic if it was an open-air Ferris wheel, with all the sounds and the blowing wind. The closed cabins were obviously much safer, and making sure the person you love is safe is probably worth it… unless they're a risk-taker.
A lot of people Izuku knew could get to high places in the span of mere minutes. Much higher than even the tallest Ferris wheel. He wondered if any of them took their loved ones up high like that.
"Izuku, watch out," he heard Tsu say.
Turning around, he found complete strangers mere inches away from him and closing in. He was slowing down so much that the people behind him had caught up!
"Uh-oh, uh, s-sorry!"
He clumsily jumped out of the way to Tsu's side.
"I must've been thinking—"
"What were you thinking about?"
"Um," he blushed, "how… I've never been on a Ferris wheel before!"
"You have," Katsuki said, "what are you talking about?"
"Oh, uh," the blush felt hotter; his face must've been tomato red again.
"You wanna go on the Ferris wheel later?" Ochako asked.
Looking the other direction, she never noticed the big dumb smile painted red across Izuku's face. The question must've been genuine and innocent.
"Okay," Tsu said, "maybe at night when the lights turn on."
"Fine, whatever," Katsuki barreled forward, "let's just find those dummies first."
"Why do you think Todoroki decided to travel with the girls?" Tsu asked out of nowhere.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
"I might."
Izuku's eyes widened knowingly.
"Th-that's probably not a good idea!"
"Come on," Ochako scoffed, "let's not pretend we don't all know why."
Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. There were few things that pissed him off more this last year than classroom romance. First year was all "crush" talk. But second year was another animal. When Mina and Eijirou started dating, there was a solid week of speculation as to the specifics of their relationship. And then the speculation of whether their new utter lack of privacy would cause them to break up. Then there was the sex ed. Then the speculation as to who was "next." And the talks about how Quirks factored into everything. And this, and that, and—
It may have been the worst week of Katsuki's life if it weren't for seeing Izuku flustered out of his mind. There were times he actually worried that his face would become permanently red.
Katsuki didn't care who got with who. It was all eye-roll-worthy bullshit.
'YES, I'M PROUD THAT PINKY AND THE BRAIN ARE HAPPY TOGETHER! SO STOP ASKING OR I'LL GIVE THE PROCTOLOGIST SOMETHING TO DO FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS!'
To think he didn't care whether his friends were happy was ludicrous. Is that really how other people thought about him? Either way, it being specifically Mina and Eijirou was just happenstance, he thought. It wasn't like they were 'made for each other.' No one was made for each other…
…
Except Denki and Kyoka—
"Hey!" Ochako thankfully snapped him out of it.
"You see them?" Katsuki looked across the sea of all the people…
"OCHAKO!" he heard Mina Ashido shout.
A flash of pink parted two halves of the crowd. Across the way Katsuki found his eyes locked with Shoto Todoroki's.
"Shoto!" Izuku shouted.
The two quartets closed in on each other, meeting somewhere in the middle and coalescing into one band. Saturday would bring the orchestra.
"Oh my gosh, Mina, guess who we saw yesterday!"
"Or you could just tell me," Mina said with a smile.
Ochako's humor dropped along with her eyelids.
"Oh, Mina," she sighed, "we saw Toru and Mashirao. Together."
Mina gasped.
"Wait, how did you see Toru?"
"Mina!"
Mina laughed and grabbed Ochako by the shoulder. The rest of them giggled along nervously. Kyoka and Momo shared a disappointed look.
"I'm kidding," Mina said, "just… don't tell her I said that. Where are they, anyway? I wanna congratulate them!"
"They're busy," Tsu said.
"TSU!" Mina and Izuku both gasped scandalously.
Katsuki and Shoto both laughed. Catching each other laughing, they shared an awkward glance. Shoto rubbed the back of his neck—
"Oh," he said, "should've probably said hi."
"We see each other literally every day," Katsuki said, "it's kinda—"
He felt four of Ochako's fingers on his back.
"I mean… hi," he crossed his arms.
"Actually, I kinda agree," Kyoka mumbled, "but it's still good to see you."
"So," Momo said, "when do the guys get here?"
"In about two hours," Mina and Katsuki said in unison.
"So what are we gonna do for two hours?" Shoto asked, sounding bored out of his mind.
Then again, he always did. Yet another thing about him that annoyed Katsuki.
"Do whatever the hell you want, I don't care."
"You do care," Mina said, "if I say 'let's not go to the arcade,' you wouldn't protest to that, now would you?"
It was the only thing available to them that he wouldn't mind sinking time into, and Mina knew it. If they didn't go to the arcade, they'd probably be shopping… for clothes.
Before his top blew off and made a scene in front of hundreds of people—
"FINE, LET'S GO TO THE ARCADE!"
"Great idea," Mina said, "why didn't I think of that?"
"Hey Izuku, what's that species of pink fish that make up a large part of the great white shark's diet?"
"Ha!" Mina laughed, "if you actually wanted to scare me, you should've used 'orca' as the example instead of 'great white shark.'"
…
"Hey Izuku—"
"I'LL GO ON AHEAD!" Izuku marched on towards the sea.
Shoto and Momo both smirked. Seeing them so close to each other, Katsuki's eyes fell to see if they might be holding hands. Lo and behold, they were.
Remembering Tsu's question, he stopped her, leaning in close enough for her to hear him whisper…
"There's your answer."
Tsu looked ahead, without any hint of shock or surprise. Her eyes leaped from person to person, to the back of Ochako's head.
"When are you going to tell Ochako that you like her?" she asked just as quietly.
Katsuki's life flashed before his eyes. Is this how Izuku felt most of the time?
"N-never because… I don't. Plus, I'm not her type anyway so it doesn't matter."
Tsu quickly shot him another unreadable look. Had he just melted at the suggestion?
"Weird," she said.
"Are you trying to make me uncomfortable?"
There was probably never a good time to have this conversation, but Katsuki felt it had to be had. And if they were not incidentally stuck together, they would never willingly have it.
"I told you, I talked with Izuku and it's all fine now so—"
"I was just worried," Tsu said, "and I didn't want to ask him because…"
"Don't worry. If there's something wrong, I'll talk to him. He probably wants you to talk with him since he—damn it, why the hell are we having this conversation?"
For a while, they said nothing. They listened to the dozens of other conversations all around them. Good idea. Maybe later. See you soon. Let's get ice cream. The water looks really nice. It's so hot. Nice weather. Look at that guy. Is that the mean boy from U.A.'s Sports Festival last year? Why is the frog girl talking to him?
"If you wanna move on," Katsuki said, "then move on. I don't give a shit about what anyone says…"
Tsu knew he was about to say "but." And what was that worth? As much as he and she and Izuku and Ochako and everyone else wanted to try, it was impossible not to care what people thought about you.
Even someone as stubborn and prideful as Katsuki Bakugou. Especially someone as stubborn and prideful as him…
"But I'm tired of trying, like I don't know what the fuck 'moving on' is anymore. I'm just so fucking tired. I know I'm bad at feelings, I have to hear it every damn day. But…"
…maybe they could never be friends. And that wouldn't be so bad. You can't be friends with everyone.
"…as long as we're living under the same roof, as long as we love the same fucking people, as long as we're heroes… we have to fucking try."
They stopped and stood there, in the middle of the sea of people walking by, ready to fight for the people that mattered most. Katsuki held out his hand.
"What do you say, Tsu? Can I call you Tsu?"
She looked up at him, took his hand, and finally smiled.
"You could've always called me Tsu."
"Then call me Katsuki… or Kacchan if you'd like."
They continued along the boardwalk, walking past the hundreds of strangers and dozens of conversations, ignoring every one meant for them.