Chapter 19: Back when we were still kids (1)
Kold's POV
Training hasn't been going well for me, for the very reason that I was busy undergoing detention after class. Cleaning the school's yard and garden during the weekends, sometimes they ask me to clean the gyms too, and I have no freaking idea how many gyms this school has. 'How did they even get the funding?'
However, on the plus side, me and Bakuguo don't really have to see each other during the weekends because he is assigned to another section of UA for cleaning. I think the teachers did this on purpose to avoid us having another fight. Might be a good reason too, because I don't know if I can handle working with that kind of guy in my presence, it just makes me mad seeing and hearing his voice for even a second.
Today is the weekend so I have the schedule packed in cleaning the school, and this time it was in field Gamma. A very confusing place if you asked me, the place is full of factories, and machines that form an intricate labyrinth. In other words, when you get inside prepare to be stuck and be confused because it's a confusing maze to get through. Lucky for me though because I have units that could spot me up and give me directions as to where I should go, so it shouldn't be a problem. I was glad that we weren't prohibited to use our quirks during the cleaning process.
"Call God Hawk Ichibiyoshi" I chanted, while a blue hawk with headphones and charms appeared out of that card portal. "Please, monitor where I am going because this thing is a maze and I don't want to get confused in there," I said to the unit, and with a screech he flew up into the sky circling the entire field.
'I guess I could also summon other units to help me clean this place. The teachers didn't say anything about someone helping me, so I guess it's allowed' I thought, grabbing Cocoa, Barcgal, and Aermo. I know that these could tire me out much faster, but the needed help is going to be much appreciated and we can also finish much faster if there are more than two hands helping me clean.
I called all three at once and made Barcgal call Llew and Flogal. The plan was that me and the humanoid units go inside and clean the infrastructures, while the dog units could be our water boy and girl, and with Aermo here drying towels and other things is a cinch. The plan is that we use water to mostly clean up the dirt and mud that has been stuck in these places for years, and then use towels to clean the ones that were unreachable by the water, and finally ask Aermo to do a heat spell that could speed up the drying process.
With that plan in mind we started to clean this place, I grabbed the water hose from within the field, and while the other humanoid units mimicked what I did. "Full power water pressure," I said to the other units and they nodded happily my way.
We blasted this place up with so much water that I was worried that the outside might get flooded, but that will be taken care of later. "Be sure to get the floor and pipes if you can, we can't be sloppy" I said to the other units encouraging them to do their best.
After an hour of an all-powered flush of water, the place was dripping with water. One might even think that the place has just been flooded with water. "Phase 2, get your towels ready and Aermo you can start drying the place up, and be sure to control the temperature. You wouldn't want us to be fried." I said warning the flame unit, and he just smiled nervously at me.
The others were mostly having fun cleaning, Flogal and Barcgal had a fun time also brushing their fur on the pipes to help us clean them, while I was just busy admiring them from afar. This is what I mostly do when people hang out with me; I tend to enjoy watching them have fun rather than having fun with them. To me, their joy is also my happiness… but it kind of makes me feel weird at times because somewhere within me I want to be part of that happiness but I know it can't be possible. So, I'll just have to settle with watching them be happy, rather than be part of it.
Hours passed by and I don't know how we did it, but we finished cleaning the place up. The place is clean and sparkly and you could even see your reflection at just the right angle. "This place is cleaned up, great work everyone… and you all deserve some break," I said to the group of units, and with a small chant they were gone and it left me really tired. 'I could use a power nap…' I thought scanning the area for a place to rest my eyes a bit.
It was a little far from here but the place I found was nice, it was just outside the forest field and it comes with just the right atmosphere to rest. I slumped to the ground like a lump of sack and savored the relief of finally taking a break after those long hours of cleaning. I didn't know what time it is but sleep is much more important now. I closed my eyes and that was all I needed for the darkness to welcome me.
"Hey… coward! WAKE UP" I was startled awake by a booming voice, and there is only one person capable of calling me a coward. It was Bakuguo who was glaring at me for some unknown reason. This guy really needs to tone down his anger issues, and I couldn't help but notice a little fleck of pink in his cheeks. 'That was weird…'
"… Didn't notice it was pretty late already, thanks for waking me up," I said to the other person while standing up and stretching the aching muscles that had been screaming at me for the lack of blood flow.
"Shut up, the teachers told me to tell you that when we've finished cleaning then we can head home," he said still looking at me dangerously and turning away towards the exit of the school. 'It was pretty out of character of him to tell me that, but he has my thanks…'
Now, that I was finished cleaning I guess it's time to head home and do some training, and maybe a little bit of studying with the cards. The Oracle Think Tanks did offer me some lessons to boost my cognitive skills, especially planning and calculation, not with algebra or anything, but statistics. They are teaching me to account for variable changes and be able to react accordingly, saying that logic will win over emotions.
I look ahead and Bakuguo was moving past me at an awfully fast pace. It somewhat reminded me of our history together with Midoriya.
Thinking back at it now, when we were still kids, Midoriya, Bakuguo, and I was pretty close, probably during 2-3 years and roughly 6 to months when I was 4. I could vaguely remember during preschool that we three are probably inseparable, but when our quirks started to show it all started to change… and I couldn't say it was a good change at all.
*FLASHBACK*
I am a new student of this unknown preschool, and my mom especially chose this school because of some unknown reasons, and I just roll with it because after all, she was my mother. She knows everything…
"Okay class, let's welcome your new classmate. His name is Kold Zyht, and be sure to be nice to him alright?" the teacher said introducing me to the entire class of children.
"Okay!" the children agreed innocently and were eager for me to join them during their playtime. I always have known that I am a little mature for my age… I can think for myself and ultimately decide for myself too, the only problem was that mothers are right all the time, so I have no choice but to follow that quote.
"Hey, how about you come and join us!" I head a blonde boy with a dorky smile on his face offering his hands to me to grab. I hesitated for a bit but decided to just grab the boy with his offered hand, and for some reason, his hands were kind of sweaty too making it cold to touch. "Sorry about my hands, they sweat a lot"
I nodded in response and the blonde boy finally let me sit in a chair next to a boy with green hair and freckles on his face. "Hey, I'm Izuku Midoriya and that one is Katsuki Bakuguo, but I just call him Kacchan" the green boy said smiling my way.
"… You can call me Kold…" I replied to the boy while looking at the hands that are also now sweaty because of Bakuguo's hands.
"Your name is weird, isn't it supposed to be 'cold' not Kold?" the blonde said, now that I know his name, let's call him Bakuguo.
"… I don't know but mom said that dad gave me that name, and I think it's cool because it doesn't follow normal things" I replied pouting my lips, annoyed at him for saying that my name is weird.
"You know, you do have a point… your name is pretty cool. If it wasn't so cold!" the two laughed at the joke he made, and it was kind of getting me annoyed. I didn't like to be made fun of, especially when it regards my name.
"hmph… I don't like you two" I said, standing up but two hands stopped me from walking away from them.
"Hey… it was just a joke, we aren't making fun of you," Midoriya said with his wide eyes looking like a kicked puppy.
"Yeah, I just said it was cool, so it's cool" Bakuguo added and that made me reconsider staying and joining these two boys. "So, do you like All Might?"
"Who's All Might?" I asked tilting my head a bit; the name didn't ring any bell at all. "If it was the name of someone famous, then I don't know them… I don't watch much TV" I admitted shyly and that made the other two kids freeze on the spot.
"WHAT!?"
"You don't know All Might, what are you living in a rock?" Bakugo said, leaning at me and holding my shoulders staring at me with wide eyes.
"… No… I don't watch TV, but I do play a lot of games!" I replied pridefully, it was not a small feat but I do like games in general, especially those that level up and fight. It matters not of the story as long as it fights then it was good enough for me.
"Awesome, then you must have already seen him. ALL Might is in a lot of games!" Bakuguo pressed on and was leaning on me a little too much.
"Kacchan, I think you better move a little. You are squishing Kold already" Midoriya said pulling Bakuguo to sit back on his seat, but with all the strength he could muster it wasn't enough for him to make Bakuguo sit.
"Okay, that's enough everyone. Playtime is over, and it's time for naptime. A growing boy needs their sleep if they want to grow strong and healthy" the teacher said and some of my classmates were a little sad because of it. Playtime meant fun time, but to me, naptime is cuddle time. "Everyone grab your pillows and blankets because it's time for you all to rest"
I grab my blue pillow almost immediately and am now looking for a comfortable place to lie down and rest. Most of the time when it comes to rest time, my mom often does cuddles in one bed, and I'm kind of nervous to sleep when my mom isn't cuddling with me.
"Over here Kold!" I heard Bakuguo calling me over, and I walked to them and placed my pillow on the floor, and immediately lay on it.
"HAHAHAHAHAH" I could hear the two of them laughing at me for being weird. It wasn't my fault, I'm too nervous sleeping like this with people I barely know. "Move a little bit, me and Izuku aren't goanna fit if you hog all the space"
"Sorry" I mumbled and moved a little to the corner of the room.
"You're weird Kold, who wants to be near the corner of the room," Bakuguo said laughing softly at me.
"Kacchan, don't be mean," Izuku warned who was fluffing his pillow that has a huge face of a man with huge muscle and a grin. 'Is that supposed to be All Might'
"Look Kold, this is All Might my all-time favorite hero, who saves everyone with a smile on his face," Izuku said with a sparkle in his eyes, like he was seeing the most interesting thing in the world that has ever made.
"That's Izuku for you," Bakuguo said smiling at Midoriya's actions of admiring All Might. "How about you move a little closer to us, we aren't going to hurt you," he said patting the floor beside him. I hesitated a bit, but it was less scary with I had someone close to me while sleeping. Ultimately, I decided to lie next to Bakuguo.
"Okay everyone I'm going to flip the switch off now, and you all better be closing your eyes already" the teacher warned and that made me shudder a bit and scooted a little closer to the person next to me.
"Hey… don't be scared, I am here," Bakuguo said with the brightest smile that I had witnessed from him. He held my hands once again, and it made me calm down a bit. It felt kind of nice too, his cold sweaty hands were cool enough to remind me that he was there holding my hand, the entire time.
That hand grabbing it made me unconsciously move a little close to his hand. It made me vaguely remember the touch of a father, and it was kind of nice.
5 months after…
During those months mom had been together with Bakuguo's mom and Midoriya's mom, it was like they were best friends like the three of us. Now, Katsuki had invited me and Izuku to their house for a sleepover party. It was Katsuki's idea because he said that I was in need of an All Might therapy, which Izuku was also on board with the idea, not that it surprised me at all.
"Come on Kold, we need to see All Might in action. I'll prove to you that he is the greatest hero ever and someday when I get my quirk I will be number 1 just like him!" Katsuki said bouncing up and down while in front of the monitor which is now playing All Might saving a lot of people from a burning building.
The hero kept on smiling the whole time, even when the stack was against him and the people were unconscious he didn't stop saving them… "You see! He is the greatest hero ever, someday I'm just gonna be like him" Izuku said in glee who is now hogging most of the screen and with his, All Might action figure nonetheless.
"Let's play it again!" the green boy said without any of me saying on the matter. All Might is awesome… yes, but I don't get the hype they have towards him. He is after all a hero, isn't that in his job description… besides other heroes have basically done the same thing, more or less.
The video was being played over and over again, I could say that Izuku was already given it a thousand view and memorized it by heart. "Okay, boys that's enough… it's time for bed" Izuku's mom came in and said to us, which immediately made me quite ecstatic to see her.
She was kind, beautiful, and caring that she has my mother beat, but the issue is I love my mother as much as she loves me so, Izuku can have her. "Okay!" I replied joyfully at her, and I also asked to be lifted up by her.
"Aww… look at this Rasu, he wants me to carry him. It's adorable!" she squealed and I could have sworn that my mother was jealous because of it.
"No fair we want one too!" the other two boys were begging to be carried too, and auntie Midoriya had no choice but to accommodate all three of us in her arms.
"The children are awfully fond of you Inko…" mom said pouting her lips and biting a napkin with tears streaming from her eyes.
"Oh, no need to be emotional Rasu, they are just sweet little angles who want hugs from me," she said squishing all of us in her embrace. 'Okay… she is definitely choking me to death right about now"
"Mom, I can't breathe…" Izuku said and she quickly let us go and was apologizing for her actions, saying that we were too adorable. We were about to ask for another round of hugging from her, but we were stopped by my mom.
"That's enough you three. It's pretty late now and you all need some rest, you don't want to be small forever… Do. You?" we three definitely heard a whisper of a she-devil from her.
We nodded almost immediately and are now running off to Katsuki's room to rest, and before anything else. Katsuki had dragged me by his side and Izuku was left at my other side."No fair Kacchan" Izuku said while Katsuki was already wrapping his arms around me, I don't really know what's the deal with Katsuki wanting to cuddle with me, but with his cold hands on me, I wasn't complaining.
"Sorry Izuku, but I got him first. How about you stop being slow?" Katsuki said smirking at Izuku and hogging me all to himself like I am his favorite pillow.
Izuku disapprovingly agreed and settled on scooting a little too close to me. I just accepted this kind of position whenever we have a sleepover like this. I was the one in the middle whether I like it or not, and it is also good too because when Izuku and Katsuki sleep beside each other… things get a little hectic with them.
One time I tried to persuade them that I want to experience to sleep at the edge of the bed and in the middle of the night I was forcefully pushed aside by Bakuguo because he was at the center at that time. I stood up annoyed at him and I notice that the two were fighting against each other in their sleep.
Izuku was kicking Katsuki's stomach and Katsuki has his hands on Izuku's face like he was pushing him away. That was where I made the decision to always be at the center at all times when sleepovers are being held, to prevent those two from accidentally killing themselves in their sleep.
"Kold… promise me that we will always be like this" Katsuki said, snuggling his face in my neck and seemingly asleep already. 'He must have talked in his sleep…'
"Kold… I promise that we will all be best friends… forever…" I heard Izuku mumble and their uneven breaths were making music to my ears and had made me fall asleep with a smile on my face.
A year after that…
"Your quirk is so awesome Kacchan, you're so lucky!" Izuku said complementing Katsuki with his newfound quirk, which was an explosion.
"Yeah… he's right, you're going to be so awesome than All Might if you keep training with it!" I said in full glee. In all honesty, I was proud and amazed that Katsuki had already gotten his quirk at the age of 3.
"You think so Kold!?" he asked with wide eyes, and I could see the sparkle from them because of what I said.
"Yeah with explosion you can do all kinds of things!" Izuku said hopping up and down towards our way and making an explosion motion with his hands. He was kind of like imitating Katsuki and a clown showering confetti on people.
"Then someday, I will become the world's greatest hero and with you two by my side we are going to be the best three heroes the world has ever seen!" Katsuki said in full pride, that it made me feel uncomfortable at the way he said it.
There was nothing wrong with being the best… but it was not my aim to be the best, I'm not even thinking to be a hero like Izuku and Katsuki. I am supposed to be a doctor that saves lives with his own skills and brain. That was my goal…
"But isn't it Kold's dream to be a doctor?" Izuku asked confused as to what Katsuki has proclaimed.
"What are you saying Izuku, Kold is never going to be a doctor because he is going to be with us! We three are going to be the best-known hero in the world, and no one can stop us from reaching that goal" Katsuki said tilting his head, and looking at us with wide dead eyes, that could rival a ghost haunting a haunted mansion.
"… Yeah, Izuku… I'm not going to be a doctor anymore, being a hero is much… fun" I forced myself to agree with Katsuki while looking at Izuku with dread in my eyes. Silently begging my other best friend to agree with what I'm saying.
"T-that's right! We three are going to be the best, and become as strong as All Might" Izuku agreed, but you can hear a slight tremble in his voice.
"Okay that's it everyone, Katsuki is going to be the very best hero together with Kold and Izuku!" our teacher agreed with a smile plastered on her face. She was proud of the thought that she was teaching a future hero kids that could make a name for themselves and not just like any other heroes who had gone underground and an underdog. "How about we go back to studying because when you become a hero you all need to learn a thing or two before any of your dreams come true"
After that moment… things were changing, Katsuki was becoming the leader for both of us and I didn't like it. Izuku was following him, praising and being the same old Izuku who was fascinated by Katsuki's talent.
However, it took a turn for the worst. When I got my diagnosis upon having a quirk my mom blabbered about it with my best friend's mother, and Kastuki had heard that conversation… accidentally.
"Kold! I heard your mom saying that the doctor said that you definitely have a quirk. So what is it? Come on show us!" Katsuki said holding my hands and pulling me towards an empty field.
"Really!? What is it, what is it?" the other people who Katsuki had started befriending also joined in to watch me display my quirk for them.
"The thing is… my quirk is still unknown so I don't know quite yet what kind of power I have…" I admitted to them, looking down in shame and fear. This isn't what I like… I didn't want to be the center of attention, that's why I asked my mom not to mention anything when I'm at school.
"Huh!? That can't be right, we automatically know what ours are, you must be a defect!" one of the kids proclaimed, and that hurt more than anything.
"No… I'm not…" I mumbled out, and turn to see that Katsuki was looking at me with dead eyes. The glow that was looking at me with admiration from when the first time we met had been eradicated and was replaced by something unknown… it was judgment in his eyes. He was looking at me like he saw something out of the ordinary… like a defect.
"Don't worry Kold, you'll eventually know your quirk. When the time comes, you've got to show it to us!" Izuku said, coming to my rescue and hugging me in his arms. He was comforting me… when the other kids started to call me weird and other things.
"… Come on, let's get out of here," Katsuki said grabbing my hand in his and dragging me away from Izuku who was clumsily following behind us.
However, something felt different from Katsuki's hands... it wasn't the comforting cold hands that I was accosted to feel... it was hot and uncomfortable, and it made me want to take my hand back, but I know it was still Katsuki. 'His hand just changed temperature because of his quirk…'
Another few months after that, the news broke out that Izuku didn't have a quirk and that was the time when all hell broke loose. Katsuki was starting to become a bully to Izuku, and I didn't have the strength to defend him from my other best friend. Katsuki started to call Izuku names and the most hurtful one is 'Deku' meaning someone who couldn't do anything.
One time when I decided enough was enough. I confronted Katsuki. "Katsuki… what you are doing to Izuku isn't right…" I said to my friend, and that just made him turn to me with an arrogant face on full display. He was raising his chin, while his eyes were staring down at me, and a prideful smirk on his face.
"What isn't right? Izuku is quirkless, he deserves to be called a 'Deku' because of it" he replied still with his signature face on display. It made me tremble upon looking at him. What I am seeing is not the same Katsuki from a year ago… it was a different one. "And you… you are in the same boat as him, a defect and a coward. You say you have a quirk, but you don't know what it is… that's called being a defect"
It made my heartbreak hearing it from him… it made me look down at the ground with wide eyes, and my tears were threatening to fall. I did the only thing I could… I ran away from him, and from the other kids, that was starting to surround him and agree with what he is saying.
I stumbled upon Izuku, dragging him to the ground with me on top of him. I couldn't move a muscle and I didn't have the strength to get back up. "Kold… are you crying?" he asked, but I didn't answer him, but rather hugged him tightly in my arms. I felt him stiff, but later on, decided to hug me back and reassured me that everything will be okay. However, a voice in my head is saying otherwise.
This was the day I started to see that Katsuki was changing, and Izuku was loyal to him to a degree. He was the one who has the guts to take on Katsuki head-on, and he has the drive much like Katsuki… they both are going to be heroes in the future, and I will be the person who just looks at them at the sideline and be happy thinking that we were friends in the past.
I attended sleepovers much less, decided to do things on my own at school, and made the effort to distance myself from Katsuki. However, Izuku and I kept in touch sometimes… but when I figured out that Katsuki was bullying Izuku because of me, then I reluctantly distanced myself from him too. I noticed that Izuku was ready to put up with whatever Katsuki was doing to him because of our relationship as friends, so I made the decision for him… I distanced myself just to save him from too much bullying from our former friend.
*FLASHBACK END*
Our story together was short, and some of those situations were half my fault. If I were to have been courageous enough to stand up to Bakuguo, would we all have been friends till now? Was it my fault that we three broke apart? Was my decision of distancing a wrong choice?
I may not know the answer to those questions, but what I do know is that I can't change the past. I don't have the quirk to rewind time and live through it again, even if I badly want to. This was my future of choice… this is our way of growing up to be the person who we are now, and we've got to live with it.
'Katsuki… we were so close, but it was my fault we drifted away. If I weren't such a coward that time, I would have already salvaged our friendship. Izuku… I apologize that I made the decision for us… it was selfish of me, but I couldn't just bear the thought that you were suffering because of me…' these were the thoughts running through my mind now.
However, the time for apology and reconciliation is not now, mom's safety is my first priority. This is a selfish move of mine, but I am making sure that I don't regret this decision. Maybe in the future, we will become friends again… but for now, we are classmates… walking our own path in the world we live in.
I notice Bakuguo walking from afar with his hands in his pockets. 'It's too bad that we both change over the course of our kindergarten days…' I thought looking at my hands, remembering the coldness of Katsuki's palms in mine. I had unnatural heated hands and his cold sweaty hands were just the perfect fit for mine. It made my day better when he held my hands on his own when we were kids… but I guess that time had ended, and it's now time for me to move on with my life because clearly, they are moving on from theirs.