Hello, people.
Long time no see! I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but I somehow ended up rewriting chapter 6 along with the next one. Sorry for those who already read it, but I expanded it a lot. And I hope it's to your liking!
Also, just a quick notice, but I'm going to have less time to write because I have exams coming up soon. It's a big one and I can't afford to fail, so I hope you'll understand if I update slowly.
On another note, I am shocked by the number of people who read this story, reviewed and favorited and followed! I was absolutely amazed and I thought there was some sort of mistake at first. Thank you for the support, my friends. You guys give me strength.
So I uploaded this once before. Deleted it and I'm uploading it again. Hope you guys are not disappointed.
Constructive criticisms are always welcomed, since it is my first story.
Not a Date
"Deku! What do you wanna play today?" Black and amber drops swam with excitement as a small girl practically floated on air, chattering amiably to her green haired companion.
"Ahahaha.. I think you should decide, Kurumi." Izuku Midoriya chuckled fondly at her bubbly attitude. They had only known each other for a month but they had grown unbelievably close. Closer than he had ever been with Kacchan.
"You know what my new hobby is?" A toothy grin split across her face, ear to ear as eyes crinkled shut at his questioning gaze, "It's doing what Deku wants to do."
The green haired boy jumped as his cheeks blazed, "Wh-wh-what are you saying?!" He yelped as his jumpy eyes darted anywhere but at her face. She playfully grinned, pushing her face closer to his and she gazed innocently up at round emeralds.
Izuku blushed redder than she had ever thought possible, almost appearing in shades of purple as the freckled boy wrapped his arms protectively around his face. One wide, green eye peaked out timidly from between the folds of his arm and she giggled as she playfully poked at his defenseless hips.
"Oiiii! Aizawa!" It was almost comical how the wide smile on her face slipped off like a mask.
"What ya doing?" A spiky haired, blond boy ran up to her and Izuku, his two sidekicks lumbering behind him obediently. Red eyes narrowed at the freckled boy beside her before he grinned jovially at Kurumi.
"So we were exploring the woods and found something really cool!" Clearing his throat with authority, he stretched out his hand, "If you want, Aizawa. I can show it to you!"
"No!" Red eyes blinked dumbly at the sharp refusal.
Black and amber glared at him with hostility before the small girl hid herself behind Izuku's back. Poor Izuku Midoriya squeaked as he stood there in front of the dumbstruck boy, fretting in his shoes. His gaze was apologetic and meek as he mumbled a soft apology to the red eyed boy and he awkwardly twiddled his thumbs.
"I wanna do what Deku wants to do," Kurumi whined from behind his back.
"Then… then! Let's go see the cool thing Kacchan wants to show us!" Izuku's hands waved madly in the air, desperate to disperse this awkward tension.
He let out a scared eep when he saw Bakugo's red eyes round on him and they visibly darkened as they surveyed Izuku's fidgeting form, mood souring.
"Deku…" Bakugo hissed as he strode forward, small fists grabbing the cuff of the stuttering boy's shirt.
"Don't bully him, Explosion Face!" Small hands pushed him away, and Bakugo stumbled before his two goons caught him carefully. Cold, mismatched eyes glared aggressively at him as she put a protective arm over Izuku.
"Hey! What was that for? And how many times do I have to tell you, Explosion Face isn't my name!" Bakugo yelled indignantly, pointing an accusatory finger."Call me by my proper name, stupid!"
"I don't know your name, stupid!" she retorted, sticking her tongue out.
"What? It's been a month now! How can you not remember?"
"Don't wanna," came the sing-song reply.
"It's Ba-ku-go! Katsuki Bakugo!"
"Ba-ka-go?"
"No, Ba-ku-go!" Small feet stomped on the ground in frustration in a fit of childish tantrum.
"Okay, Ba-ka-go."
Eyebrows rose in slight amusement. Shards of ice in her unforgiving gaze cracked and chipped as the telltale signs of a small smile twitched on her lips…
The gentle rays of the morning sun trickled through the thin gaps of the curtain. A cool breeze held up the curtain with invisible hands, and fingers of light caressed its way, delighted into the still-dark room.
They twirled and entwined, joining and separating as they crept up to a peaceful face, still unaware and in a deep slumber. They hesitated, teetering dangerously over the edge and then, they splashed over his eyes, playfully poking and prodding.
Bakugo growled as the comfortable darkness behind his eyelids burned searing red. His groggy eyes opened before they fluttered weakly to the alarm clock by his bedside. And with a jolt, his red eyes flashed, fully awake.
"OLD HAAAAG!" A loud explosion racked the quiet household of the Bakugo family as the only son jumped out of his bed in a flurry of explosions.
"YOU BRAT! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SCREAMING SO EARLY IN THE MORNING!" Another voice matched Bakugo's both in volume and ferocity as the house trembled.
"IT'S ELEVEN!" Bakugo roared back.
There was a pause, blissful silence that settled on the house for a brief instance and then, "OH SHIIIIT!"
"MY ALARM CLOCK IS BROKEN! I'M SURE I SET IT TO RING AT 9 A.M. BUT IT DIDN'T!" Bakugo screamed.
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU THROW IT AT THE WALL EVERY MORNING IT RINGS, YOU LITTLE PUNK!"
There was a loud shuffle, a muffled bang, followed by a dull thunk. Bakugo distinctly heard his father groaning in discomfort and then, heavy footsteps thunked louder and louder, coming his way.
A pause and then with a splendid kick that swung the poor door open, rattling feebly in its hinge, Mitsuki Bakugo barged into the room, hair haggard and eyes wild. She brandished a comb menacingly in one hand and a hair dryer in the other as she strode towards her son, breathing heavily.
"DON'T COME CLOSER, OLD HAG! I DON'T NEED THAT SHIT!" Even Bakugo could feel a jolt of panic at the storm that was her mother.
"PRAT! THIS MIGHT BE YOUR ONE AND ONLY CHANCE AT GETTING A GIRLFRIEND! GET YOUR ASS HERE AND DO AS I SAY!"
"LIKE I SAID! IT'S NOT A DATE!" Another explosion rumbled the house and Bakugo howled in part fury and part fear as Mitsuki cackled in triumph, an iron grip on her son's wrist.
Such was another day at the Bakugo Household.
Aizawa Kurumi stared at her watch. It was twenty minutes before the clock hit twelve. Bakugo was late. They had decided to meet ten minutes ago, but she still saw no signs of the angry boy. A big crowd shuffled past where she was and her eye narrowed, searching for any signs of spiky hair.
The black haired girl sighed as she cast another quick glance at her watch before letting her eye wander again. About three days had passed since the U.A entrance exam and she, like the rest of the applicants were sucking their thumbs anxiously, waiting for the results. She had tried to weasel things out of her father beforehand, but he proved surprisingly strict when it came to matters concerning U.A.
And now here she was, waiting for Bakugo of all people. He was still the same forceful, angry boy she had come to know. Two years had changed none of that. And as soon as the practical exams had ended, Bakugo had found her before she could even catch her own breath.
Smoke had still been bellowing from his hands, and Kurumi had felt the residue heat burning into her wrist as he held her tightly.
It had been simple. It had been straightforward. His eyes had been commanding, and there had been little room for arguments. There was no telling what Bakugo Katsuki would have done if she had ever refused.
"Meet me tomorrow. 11:30. At the park."
"Park?"
"You know which one," Bakugo had rolled his eyes and Kurumi could only nod.
And so here she was. Kurumi sighed as she fiddled with her eyepatch, the coarse, cool fabric giving her reprieve from the hot, scorching Sun above. Legs splayed outwards as she gently swayed on an old swing.
Nostalgia filled her as she looked around the familiar park. She remembered this park. It was where she had first met Deku and Bakugo after all. It had become a sort of rendezvous point afterwards for the three of them.
But the memories of her time here felt like a dream, hazy and faded. Two years might have been a relatively short time, but to her, it felt like a life-time ago.
A gentle breeze blew, invisible fingers combing through her black hair, and the white scarf coiling around her neck tickled against her cheek as they rose upwards in a gentle waltz with the wind.
A memory of the past flashed brief and distant, and she carressed her eyepatch, a dainty finger following the flowery designs her father had clumsily sown into it. The whisper of a laughter filled her ears and she hummed, her mood soaring.
The swing creaked with rust as Kurumi swayed with the wind. Her heart fluttered with anticipation, and she leaned backwards, a coal black eye staring up at the clear sky above her.
Katsuki Bakugo would know, wouldn't he? About Izuku Midoriya. Kurumi frowned slightly, remembering just how she and the green haired boy had parted ways. But if she apologized sincerely, maybe, the green haired boy would forgive her eventually.
She wanted to recover their relationship, and if anyone could answer her questions about Izuku, it was undoubtedly Katsuki Bakugo.
Meeting up with Katsuki Bakugo in and of itself had been something to look forward to.
She hadn't really known what meeting up with Bakugo counted as and she had fretted in front of the mirror as a result, struggling over her choice of attire. And it had been a difficult thing to find the line between not appearing as too fancy and too casual.
And she could say safely, that the results were satisfactory enough.
She had on black boots with heels. Her slender, long legs were accentuated by thigh high, black tights that didn't show off skin, even though she just loved the feeling of fresh air on her bare skin. She had grown conscious of her pale skin ever since elementary school because Bakugo Katsuki had teased her constantly that she looked like a ghost what with her pale complexion and long, black hair. The tights disappeared under a simple black skirt and a black t-shirt paired up with it nicely.
Her dad always said that a little more color would be nicer, but Kurumi had always preferred the color black over anything else.
If there was one exception, it was the white scarf, nestled around her neck. It was something she always had on her, no matter what clothes she wore. It was her companion, protector and her greatest weapon.
She rubbed her chin into the binding cloth and she imagined the rough surface as if it were the stubbles on her father's chin. Kurumi grinned.
"Hey, hey! What have we got here?" Kurumi blinked, her grin sliding off her face and her shoulders tensed as two men entered the park and headed straight her way.
They looked like university students. Grown men though they were, they leered down at her with unfriendly sneers and her breath hitched as they lazily sat themselves down on the empty swings beside her.
"You're pretty smokin' hot." The guy on her left complimented her. His front teeth was missing, and she saw his tongue slathering through the empty space as he gave her a crooked grin. A scar ran through the corner of his lip giving him a somewhat sinister impression, "What's a girl like you doing all alone on a fine day like this?"
"Got dumped?" The guy on her right guffawed. He had abnormally large feet- his quirk no doubt-and he stomped them into the ground as he chuckled stupidly. The ground beneath her shook with the force and the orange sand kicked up into an aggravated storm.
Kurumi coughed as some of it found its way into her lungs.
"Come hang out with us." The scar-lipped licked his lips, and his remarkably red eyes reminded her heavily of Bakugo's. But they weren't his. They paled in comparison to his. They had none of the intense fire, none of the blazing heat and the pupils were narrowed to slits like a serpent's and she saw only lust behind them as they roamed her body discreetly.
"I'm waiting for someone. Sorry," Kurumi said. Quietly excusing herself, she tried to stand up, but Scar-lipped grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. Kurumi yelped in disbelief.
"Hey, come on. It's going to be fun." Scar-lipped rolled his eyes.
Ok. That's it.
The special capture weapon around her neck hummed to life, coiling and twisting. But before she could do anything-
BOOOM!
The sand Bigfeet had kicked upwards paled in comparison to the hurricane that erupted around her now. There was a blinding surge of heat and Kurumi garbled indignantly as sand entered her mouth a second time.
She could barely see over the whirling sandstorm, but she could hear the screams. The panicked yells and shouts of the two men as they were bombarded by explosions.
A familiar voice roared, dripping with rage.
Red eyes flashed from behind the storm, a beast's howl that burst at their eardrums.
"Eeeep!" Instincts barreled over reason and pride as the two men scrambled to their feet. More explosions detonated behind them as they ran with tails between their legs and Kurumi watched with delight as a particularly big one caught their behinds and charred their butts black.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU FUCKERS!" Explosions rattled along his palms as Bakugo Katsuki slammed his fists together.
"You're late, Baka-go!" Kurumi coughed through the smoke, a hand over her mouth as she thumped her chest with the other. Coal black glimmered within the sandstorm, and she could see the dark outline of his hunched form.
"It's! Ba! Ku! Go!" The boy snarled and his form tensed, all but prepared to give chase and beat the retreating men into pulps when…
"Wait!" Pale hands cut cleanly through the smoke before they curled firmly around his arm.
"Wha-? Let go, fucking Eyepatch! I'll kill them!" Bakugo wrenched his hand free, but Kurumi caught him again and he stumbled before rounding on her with a frustrated growl.
"Let them go." Kurumi could only see a pair of crimson, burning eyes glaring at her from the smokescreen amidst them.
"But-"
"It's ok," Kurumi rolled her eye, "They didn't really do anything. I'm not hurt, see?
His shoulders relaxed slightly before he glanced back, gazing hatefully at the retreating backs of the two men before they turned a corner and were gone. Kurumi relinquished her grip, now sure that Bakugo wouldn't chase after them.
"Then' let's call the fucking cops." Bakugo growled furiously, "Shove those shits into prison!"
"You'll get in trouble too for using your quirk like that if the cops get involved," Kurumi giggled in amusement.
"Ugh.."
The fire dimmed slightly in his eyes, his mind working furiously for a different answer, but he found none and the tension left his body with a loud sigh as he gave up.
The sand settled. And a gentle breeze blew through them as the smoke cleared.
Kurumi didn't recognize the boy in front of her.
He was wearing skin-tight jeans and a simple, red buttoned up shirt, as well as an orange, jagged neck-tie to top it all off. His hair had been slicked backwards with gel, tidy and smooth, and it glistened dangerously in the sunlight. Red eyes twitched madly in their sockets and an unmistakeable red smudge appeared on his cheeks as Kurumi stared.
"Who are you?"
A vein bulged and the faint blush disappeared behind a scowl, "Don't mess with me, Aizawa." He growled behind bared, sharp teeth.
"Huh? I know that voice," A split second was needed to take in the bizarre sight in front of her and it wasn't long before laughter burst from her lungs almost painfully as she doubled over. "Pffff…Hilarious! Hahahaha! Just hilarious!"
"It wasn't me! It was that old hag…! That evil witch…!" Bakugo shouted furiously as Kurumi clutched her stomach.
"What? Your mom? You can't call your mom names like that!" She gasped out between giggles.
"I call her what I want, Aizawa!" Bakugo ground his teeth, his shoe irritably kicking at the sand. He slumped down onto the now empty swing beside her and smoldering eyes glanced at her sideways as he frowned.
Coal black twinkled with amusement back at him and Bakugo grumbled, his scowl deepening. "You look fabulous," she breathed. Bakugo twitched before he looked away.
"Heh, heh." A mischievous giggle left her lips. A sudden idea came to her and she whipped out her phone.
"Don't you dare…Don't you dare!" Red eyes bulged, realizing a little too late. Forever to be remembered, her phone captured a photo of Bakugo in all his raging glory. Bakugo screamed bloody murder and pounced on her with a howl.
Too bad Kurumi was expecting it though. Expertly dodging his flailing arms, a black eye twinkled with mirth as she tore herself from her swing. Rolling once in the sand, she kicked off into a full sprint down the road and slipped into an alleyway, determined to protect her masterpiece with her life and a mad dog howled as it bound after her, hot on her trails.
"Delete it."
"No."
"Delete it!"
"No!"
Kurumi hadn't lasted long. A small burst of explosion from Bakugo's palm was all it took to close the distance between them as he caught her with almost embarrassing ease.
But Kurumi could not give up this photo without another fight. She clutched her phone desperately to her chest as Bakugo tried to wrestle it from her grip.
He wasn't able to. And there was no way Kurumi could outrun him. It was effectively a stalemate.
"I'll make you a deal," Kurumi offered jokingly, "How about you take a picture of me too?" She winked flirtatiously.
Red eyes glared at her before they flickered thoughtfully and he seemed to teeter at the point of indecision as his mouth opened and closed. Kurumi blinked in surprise. She had fully expected him to start shouting and sneering at her again, so why was he looking like he was actually entertaining the idea?
"Fine!"
"Huh?" Kurumi was dumbfounded.
"What," Bakugo scowled, "If you don't want that, delete it!"
"Ugh…" Kurumi could not offer a better solution.
It was kind of awkward, just standing there in that dark, dingy alley as Bakugo took a photo of Kurumi. She couldn't begin to understand why Bakugo would want a photo of her in the first place.
But I guess this is fine? Kurumi came to terms with it. If that was all it took to protect this masterpiece of a photo, she would gladly pay the price.
Kurumi squeaked in surprise when Bakugo slammed a hand into the wall behind her. He leaned in and Kurumi had to lean away, but the cold concrete wall behind her back prevented her from doing so. A faint whiff of smoke tickled her nose and Kurumi felt her face go red as Bakugo leaned in further.
Too close! Too close! What was he doing?
"If you show that picture to anybody else, I'll kill you." He snarled into her ear.
"Of course! Of course! I promise!" Kurumi yelped.
His overwhelming presence retreated away from her as Bakugo gave a satisfied grunt and Kurumi's lungs swelled with purchase, letting in air that she hadn't realized she was holding back.
There was that faintly pleased smirk as he took one look at the image of Kurumi on his phone before he stowed it into his pocket. His cheeks appeared faintly red, though in the semi-dark of the alleyway, it was hard to tell.
A sudden notion struck her and Kurumi gasped.
"You beast!"
Bakugo's smile crumbled, instantly replaced by a scowl, "Huh?"
"You intend to use it as material!" Kurumi cried scandalously.
"What material?" Bakugo frowned.
"The 'f' material!" Kurumi whispered in a hushed tone.
"What weird shit are you on about now?" Bakugo frowned, clearly not understanding at all.
"How crude! You pervert!" Kurumi tried to elaborate, "You intend to violate me in your beastly fantasies! You intend to use that to-"
"Hey, Aizawa?" Bakugo cut in.
"Yes, Bakugo?"
"Just stop talking."
"Ok."
"You've gotten dumber in the two years I haven't seen you," Bakugo commented rather calmly.
"How rude," Kurumi pouted.
They had entered a small, cute café nearby, shocking Kurumi because Bakugo didn't seem the type at all to dabble in such things. Kurumi had expected more along the lines of explosions, shooting and running around. Bakugo continued to surprise her time and time again as he even pulled out her chair for her to sit. Although the scowl and his pushy mannerisms remained.
She giggled. Ever since they had first met, Bakugo always managed to surprise her endlessly. She had revised her opinion of him so many times over the years. From a mere bully, to someone tolerable, to an acquaintance and now a friend. Oh, how far the two had come!
After they had gotten their respective drinks, and were seated comfortably, Bakugo hadn't wasted a single second before his short temper had triggered him into a tirade of question after question. It hurt her head and honestly, no progress was being made.
And so, the three question rule. Choose them wisely Bakugo, for they may change your fate!
"Hah?" His hands slammed onto the table with force that rattled the ice in her drink and angry, red eyes burned. Sharp teeth bared and for a second, Kurumi thought he would eat her then and there, blood, flesh, bone and all.
"You disappear for two years, two fucking years and that's what you say? Listen, Aizawa! We're not done until you spill everything!"
Lips pouted as Kurumi prodded at her drink and she chewed at the end of her straw, looking at him glumly over the rim of her drink.
"Geez, what a spoilsport.."
"The fuck did you call me?"
"Nothing~"
Bakugo leaned back in his chair, his leg crossing over the other as he gave an irritated huff.
"So?"
"So? So what?" One black eye gazed innocently back at red.
"What the hell happened? What happened with Deku? Where did you go? Why did you leave? Spill EVERYTHING!" He growled and his fists slammed down onto the table again, his irritation spiking. A smell, not unlike wood burning filled Kurumi's nostrils as small trails of black trickled upwards from between his fingers.
"Geez, Bakago. Calm down."
"…"
Taking one last, long sip before setting the empty glass down with a dull thunk, Kurumi leaned back, arms crossing over her bosom as she sighed.
"Well, not much I guess? Before you came, I just had a little fight with Deku and that just happened to be the night my dad and I were moving into a new home in another district. It sort of slipped my mind, what with the mood and all."
"Liar." He spat almost immediately.
She was lying. Whenever she twirled her curls between her fingers like that and her eye was fixated above his eyes, at a small point on the forehead, that usually meant she was not entirely telling the truth. It meant she was hiding something.
How long do you think I've been watching you? Bakugo thought to himself. I know everything about you. A tinge of pride tickled his chest. It was probably something only he knew. Not even Kurumi herself might have been aware of it and it was a piece of her that Bakugo had greedily kept just to himself. He could bet anything that Deku didn't know of this.
"That's not the explanation I wanted and you know it," he hissed.
Kurumi winced, caught red-handed and found guilty. She had been avoiding looking at him directly as they talked, her eye flitting anywhere but at his face. But the game was up and she found her gaze glancing furtively back at him as he caught onto her lie so easily. And Kurumi straightened up on instinct in her seat as red, blazing eyes poured into her with so much emotion.
She could see it, the hurt and pain that lurked behind his fierce eyes. And it was like a dull punch to the guts as she was fiercely reminded of an abandoned puppy. She had, after all, just upped and left without even telling him anything. She winced inwardly, imagining the betrayal Bakugo must have felt after all the time they had spent together…
She owed him this. She owed him at least this much. She couldn't tell him everything. Not yet. Not just yet. But at least, she could tell him, show him that one broken piece of her heart she kept just for herself and her sorrow.
Her words were barely above a whisper, but it was like thunder in her ears. And Katsuki Bakugo heard it as clear as day, those haunted words that spoke of endless sadness and hurt.
"My mom passed away."
It wasn't what he had wanted to hear. It wasn't what he had expected. All he had ever wanted to hear from her was that the long, long time they had spent together had meant something. That it held a place in her heart as much as it did for Bakugo.
And she wasn't lying this time though Bakugo wished she had, and he saw only pain, pain and exhaustion flickering in her black iris. The meaning of it crashed into him, bearing the weight of the world as her words rang with a dawning finality that left no room for anything else.
A haunted look marred her beautiful features and he stared as her finger curled over her eyepatch.
So many words, so many things went unsaid in that moment, and Bakugo swallowed a lump in his throat.
Had that happened on the very day he saw her for the last time? An accident? An illness? How had her mother passed away so suddenly? He knew her mother. He had met her once. He remembered her and she had been the most energetic person.
Even more questions bubbled in his mind, and he was itching for answers. A small part at the back of his mind was furious that Kurumi had not confided any of this in him, in Bakugo, her closest friend.
Her closest friend?
Sea green eyes flashed in his mind, freckled cheeks and tousled seaweed hair and Bakugo forcibly pushed back the sudden spike of irritation. It was a color he had hated so much. He had always loathed how the prettiest black had reflected such a contemptible color.
Maybe Bakugo had simply deluded himself. Maybe he had been mistaken all along. What if she had confided in someone? What if she had told someone close to her about it? And what if that had simply not been Bakugo? What if that had been…
A memory of a certain rainy day flashed in his mind. He remembered it. That night. That park. That flash of amber and furious chips of emeralds.
Was that how it was?
Bakugo shook his head furiously, his jagged teeth digging into his lips. No, he was jumping to conclusions. His searing gaze found her face and all of his thoughts, his rage, his questions crashed to a sudden halt because he realized that wasn't the point. What was important was that…
Aizawa Kurumi looked so broken. So frail. And his heart throbbed, wanting nothing more than to erase every visible line of misery etched into her face.
He licked his lips, and tasted something bitter. He resisted the urge to spit it out.
He should have ordered something sweeter than coffee.
His hands hovered uncertainly above her head as Kurumi gazed wistfully down at her feet. Should he pat her head? Should he…hug her? What was he supposed to say to her?
Fuck.
Comforting people had never been his strong suit.
Aizawa Kurumi glared at Bakugo's shoes from her peripheral vision. She felt her eye water and she knew it wasn't from having it open for too long.
"It's ok, honey. Everything is ok." A voice from the past coiled gently around her, so loving and so very familiar before it dispersed. It faded into the air, reminding her so coldly that it was now long gone, an echo from the past and her heart sobbed as she dug her nails into her eyepatch.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
It had become something of a habit for her. Two years had done the job to heal and though her right eye had long since stopped throbbing, her habit of scratching it still remained.
A rough hand clasped around her wrist strongly, preventing the movement and she looked up at the blonde boy, surprise coloring her features.
"Stop that," Bakugo grumbled.
Red eyes swerved sideways and he coughed awkwardly into his hand. He dragged her hand away from her eyepatch and gently splayed her palm upwards. Roughly digging into his pockets, he retreived two crumpled pieces of paper and he promptly stuffed it into her open palm.
Kurumi stared at the slips of paper in her hand. They were movie tickets.
"Wha-?"
"Movie." Bakugo blurted out with all the delicacy of a wrecking ball.
And yet, an uncharacteristically soft grip grabbed her arm and Kurumi yelped as he half dragged, half escorted her out of the café.
"Oh! Mon amour, Julia!" A blonde man cried, hands stretching to the blue heavens above. "I will die for thee, oh the light of my life! So pray! Stay your maiden heart!"
"Oh, brave and kind Romulus from the distant lands! My heart beats only for thee and thee alone!" A woman cried.
"Julia!"
"Romulus!"
The two lovers embraced tightly, devolving into a mess of moans and hot, wet, slurping kisses. Everything was thrown into sharper focus by the large screen and Bakugo looked away, not believing his eyes.
Kurumi squeaked next to Bakugo, her face beet red. Her hands covered her face, but her eye peeked out tentatively from between the gaps of her fingers, as she took it all in. She jumped in her seat when Ikustak suffered a heavy wound from a mortal enemy. She fanned her face when the two lovers shared a bed. She broke down into a sobbing mess when they were separated.
Bakugo's eyes twitched as Kurumi repeatedly slapped his arm as she sniveled and cried. What is your problem, woman?!
But silently, his heart was glad. The sorrow that had hung around her so thickly had all but evaporated as she grew more and more engrossed in the movie.
But seriously what the fuck was this shit? Bakugo squinted his eyes shut as well as his ears, no longer able to tolerate it.
"IF IT'S A DATE, YOU HAVE TO BE A MAN!" Mitsuki Bakugo had roared as she shoved the tickets into his hand. "BEST OF LUCK, BRAT!" She had said before she promptly slammed the door in his face. And to think she had chosen a movie like this! The nerve of that woman!
And here he was, forced to go through the horrific torture that was this movie. At one point he had tried to leave, but Kurumi had incapacitated him, hugging his arm to her body as she squealed at a particularly exciting scene. Awkward was the understatement of the year, and it stung his pride that apparently Kurumi didn't share his embarrassment. The girl was too involved in the movie to care for his presence in anyway.
"That old hag!" He snarled, as his temper spiked and fists curled.
The movie theater was suddenly filled with panting and moaning as the movie took a drastic turn of events and that was the final push, as the explosive boy blew his lid. Katsuki Bakugo roared to the heavens as he stood up.
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE!"
The audience yelled profanities and complaints at the seething boy. Kurumi stood up too before she grabbed his shoulders and pulled her weight down on him, stuffing him promptly back into his seat. Her hand slapped his mouth shut ruthlessly before Bakugo could sneer, her eye intent, never ever leaving the screen.
"That was amazing!" Kurumi sobbed.
"Get your hands off of me, woman!"
"That… that was romance done right!"
"Fucking looked like trash porn to me!"
A black eye narrowed at the brutal comparison and she shook her head as she sighed, "You don't understand a thing."
"Hah? You sure you're not blind, Eyepatch? What fucking part about that was romantic, huuuh?! That was just straight up porn!"
"Just because they kissed, doesn't mean it's porn. Bet you can't see the difference since you've never kissed!" Kurumi huffed indignantly, arms wounding tightly over her chest as she looked away.
"HUH? I'll kill you! Don't act all high and mighty! You haven't either!" Bakugo scowled.
"You don't know that!" She spluttered.
"Kissing your pillow doesn't count, you know." He grinned.
"I don't kiss my pillow!"
"Tssk, girls."
"Geez, boys."
With a simultaneous hmmph, Kurumi walked away from him at a brisk pace. Her back was ram-rod straight and her steps had a certain bounce to it that Bakugo knew she often did when she was angry.
With another huff that left his lips, Bakugo trotted after her sullenly. Hands stuffed in his pocket and his shoulders hunched.
They had a quiet dinner. Each stubbornly refusing to meet the others' eye as they ate in silence. When they were full, the Sun was already setting and the day was ending.
It had been such a magical day for Katsuki Bakugo. Just a few days ago, he would never have imagined this. Just this with Kurumi by his side again. He didn't want this to end. This moment. This instance. He wanted it to be something more than a fading memory as time passed and days grew old. Red eyes gazed hatefully at the setting sun, willing it, commanding it to go down just a little more slowly. Wait. Just wait a little longer.
The orange hues of the setting sun had sprinkled the sky into fiery embers. They danced and scattered, floating up and down as fiery dusts would from a whetted blade. The streets around them were dipped in the same glows of a warm fire as the dying Sun sowed its final lights onto the fabric of the world below.
Bakugo walked a little behind her, keeping his distance a little as they walked in suffocating silence. They had no destination in mind, just meandering without aim, without purpose. But this was fine too. It gave him a sense of lulling peace. Peace and quiet.
They hadn't really talked at all after their brief argument. And they continued to walk. Kurumi in the front, while Bakugo lagged a little behind.
Red eyes admired her back, fascinated as the orange glow of the setting sun played tricks on his eyes. She was alight in ethereal flames. The fiery colors entwined, coiling around her like a second skin and it outlined her form beautifully. Like an angel descended from the fiery Heavens, he thought. Bakugo's breath stuck in his throat.
"You're not going to come closer?" Kurumi stopped, hands cusped behind her back, head tilted upwards to the bloody sky. The sky was beautiful. Beautiful, yet so so tragic.
She turned now, the orange hues casting upon her a light shadow, and her eye twinkled in the shallow dark as they gazed into blood red eyes.
Bakugo looked at her, almost transfixed, the ever permanent scowl on his face relaxing a little as he grumbled, "You're not mad?"
"No. Not anymore." She sighed. And fondness rippled through her as Bakugo stomped to her side, finally closing the distance between the two. And as if a silent agreement had been made, they resumed their walk. Side by side. Foot by foot. Pace by pace. And Bakugo's heart swelled as the Sun winked, its lower lips kissing the horizon below.
"Were you keeping your distance because you thought I was angry?" She questioned.
"Wha…" It was like his cheeks had sucked up the red glow that hung like curtains around them. Bakugo blushed a fiery red and he struggled to control it, his face automatically contorting into a fierce scowl, fighting down the blemishes on his cheeks. "Huh? No, I wasn't, Eyepatch! Do you want to die?!"
A split second, an awkward pause as his yell echoed throughout the streets, bouncing, ricocheting, reaching to the sky...
The tension broke and Kurumi laughed.
It was a small giggle that started from the pit of her stomach. Then her shoulders started to tremble before her whole body shook with mirth. And now she was laughing hard as she doubled over, hands covering her face as she crouched, waiting for the moment to pass. And Bakugo looked down at her dumbly, shoulders hunched and hands in his pocket.
It was not unlike the sound of a bell ringing, and Bakugo found the sound pleasant and soothing to his ears.
The sun sunk into the ground a little more in the distance. The world was silent, save for her tinckling laughter and Katsuki Bakugo was inexplicably reminded of that rainy day. Just like then, it was just her and him. The only two that existed in a world, solely for them. But it wasn't like last time. There were no black clouds, no howling winds or pouring rain, no Kurumi who looked so heartbroken that whispered to him of sorrow and regret. Yes, it was a world where the Sun set, whispering promises of a new tomorrow. It was a world with a clear sky, gentle winds and most importantly, Kurumi was laughing. He liked this, Bakugo decided. He preferred this world over the other. This world reserved for just the two of them.
Him and her.
Kurumi and Katsuki.
Red eyes softened as they gazed distantly far, far away. A young spiky haired boy and a small girl with flowing black hair giggled as they ran, small hands entwined. Over the fence, across the crossroads, through the sidewalks, under the bridge.. Running, laughing, hands held, together into the distance, into the future as the Sun winked and they were gone forever.
But black stared into red. And red into black. And the past two years might not have existed at all. His heart beat its same fluttery rhythm and his scowl lessened as Kurumi smiled a lopsided grin. Yes, that must be it. They weren't gone. They never were and never will be. And he imagined that the young boy and girl were waving happily from beyond the Sun. Because Katsuki Bakugo had loved, still loved and would always love Kurumi Aizawa.
"Beautiful," A word escaped his loose lips as he gazed at her and his eyes widened at the foolish mistake.
Ah, too late. She heard. One black eye widened slightly between the curtains of her hair. A sharp breath left her lips and Bakugo would have liked to think that the red glow on her face wasn't entirely because of the Sun.
No turning back. Come on, the young boy beckoned. One step forward. And the next. One after the other. Baby steps into a walk, a walk into a sprint… And Bakugo's heart beat wildly as if he had just run a long, long distance. His eyes held hers and hers his. They reflected the glint of the setting sun and something more, as the moment held. The world, their world held its breath and everything stilled. Nothing mattered but that coal black with its bottomless depth.
Rough, calloused fingers cupped her blushing cheeks and Kurumi took a soft, quiet gasp as he leaned in. His red eyes stared into her, fires of passion and pride that rolled chaotic in his red irises.
They took her breath away with its fiery intent that threatened to swallow her whole. And she couldn't move. Dared not move for fear of losing herself in a blazing storm. This was Katsuki Bakugo, she realized. A boy, a little rough around the edges, but with a surprisingly gentle heart. A boy who was proud and blessed with talent. A boy she had abandoned two years ago.
Never did those two eyes falter as they bore into her.
And Kurumi was slipping, falling, falling into the depths of their fire... enraptured and fascinated. And she was briefly reminded of Romulus and Julia, of the two lovers whose love had prevailed, despite their many hardships..
She noticed the red tinge now apparent, dusting his cheeks. And she briefly wondered how she looked now, reflected in his passionate stare. She realized idly before her eye fluttered shut that Bakugo had quite the handsome face behind all his scowls and sneers.
And his fingers were tilting up her chin. And Bakugo was leaning down. Just like a scene from a movie. Just like how Kurumi had imagined her first kiss to be… A smudge of black. A splash of red. Orange hues of the setting sun. And he was Romulus. And she Julia.
Lips pluckered. Noses brushed. His breath on her. And hers on him. Closing the gap, just millimeters apart. Hovering a breath closer and a step further. And Bakugo's nose was filled with her scent as his lips brushed lightly against hers…
And then..
"Kurumi?" The spell broke. The last fiery embers of the dying Sun flickered out, drawing nothing but an orange line over the horizon and the world was plunged into darkness.
Bakugo blinked at the voice, the moment lost and Kurumi's eyes widened as she breathed, "Deku!" Black widened at the red, inches away from her face and she squealed, delivering a stunning uppercut to Bakugo's jaw as she jumped back.
"Kurumi? Is that you?" A green haired boy faltered, his emerald shining with tears as his hands gripped at the helm of his shirts.
"D-Deku…" Kurumi stuttered as she stumbled towards him. Her cheeks were still warm, her heart thudding, but her chest welled with a familiar feeling as she gazed once more into those glistening emeralds.
"I can't believe it… It really, really is you!" Tears broke loose, twin rivers that flowed down his cheeks as Izuku Midoriya laughed, hands clutching at his chest.
And their argument so long ago on one rainy night, seemed like something so petty, so small as Kurumi mirrored him. Tears flowed from her eye as the night cast its dominance over the world below.
One night, they were seperated and in another, reunited and the black haired girl ran towards him as Izuku did the same. They embraced, sobbing into each other's shoulders, only memories of the time they had spent together bursting like bundles of flowers in their minds. The fight they had upon their separation seemed so petty in comparison now in the light of this joy, this reunion. And in that one moment, two friends forgave each other completely as they hiccuped, unsaid words already understood even before they were said through the unbreakable bond between their hearts.
Aizawa Kurumi dug her face further into Izuku's chest. The familiar scent, the familiar warmth washed over her like water and she whimpered as her heart leapt with joy in her chest.
"I can't believe it… It really, really is you!" Izuku's voice muffled in her shoulder, as his arms trembled around her. Her shoulder began to dampen, his tears wetting her shirt as he choked and Kurumi stumbled as Izuku slumped against her.
Unable to support both their weights, the two stumbled to the ground.
"You…came back," Izuku wheezed into her shirt, "You…came back!"
Bright stars began to pop up in the dark sky above, and Kurumi was mesmerized as the little bulbs of light seemed to dance and sway. They coalesced into streams of light, the inky sky above flowing as if it were a river and they swam like fish in a pond as Kurumi choked on realization. It was her vision swimming, not the sky. And Kurumi struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.
"I'm sorry," Izuku croaked, "I'm sorry."
"No," Kurumi's voice trembled, but it had a firm edge to it, and she leaned away from him, cupping his wet cheeks to gaze into the beautiful emeralds she so loved once more. "Don't be. It's me that should be sorry."
"I… I always blamed myself for it." Izuku babbled thickly through his tears and snot, "I thought I drove you away because of what I said to you that day. And I felt so guilty every day… And-"
"I'm sorry, Deku." Kurumi whispered, the fragments of her broken heart breaking further as she desperately tried to wipe away the twin rivers that cascaded down his cheeks endlessly with her sleeve. "I'm sorry…"
"And Kacchan would keep on bullying me, telling me that it was all my fault you were gone and-" Izuku hiccuped as she rubbed at his eyes, and Kurumi gently pressed her forehead against his. It was something she had done to him often as a child whenever the poor boy had needed comfort. And Kurumi felt the tremors in his shoulders visibly relax as Izuku let out a shaky breath.
And Kurumi felt his breath on her as Izuku whispered softly, "Everything hasn't been the same ever since. "
"I'm sorry…" Kurumi repeated and her chest tightened, her mind swirling with a thousand things to say, but all she could say were meaningless apologies.
It was dark. A lamp post flickered and hummed to life, and the light it cast below upon the earth missed them by a few inches. And yet, she could see with the sliver of light, the emerald fires that burned behind his irises. Coal black stared into those flames, whispering, assuring him, gently, soothingly like a mother would to her child at the dead of night.
"It's not your fault."
And Izuku broke into a fresh bout of tears as he bit his trembling lips, shutting those beautiful sea green eyes as he attempted to staunch the flow. But it leaked, it leaked down his freckled cheeks and Kurumi caught it with her fingers, watching as it drew twirling patterns around her hand before it hit the concrete ground below. "Not yours. My fault," she whispered.
"Huh?" Izuku croaked.
"Something happened," Kurumi choked, and she flinched at the vivid memories of one rainy night. She rubbed viciously at her eyepatch as a sudden itch spiked, and her breath left her shaky as she gazed distantly into the growing dark, "Something bad. And I had to, I-I had to-"
It's ok, honey. Everything is ok.
The itch rooted deep within her eye throbbed viciously as she dug her fingers into her eyepatch, and the shadows swired around her, clashing, forming and breaking. She winced as it all converged upon her, crushing her to the ground, weighed down by so many worlds, so many memories, so much pain. And empty emerald eyes devoid of fire and filled with death came to the canopy of her mind and her breath left her in a gasp as she slumped forward into Izuku.
"K-Kurumi?" Izuku shouted in horror as the black haired girl wheezed.
Here now. He was here now. Not dead. Alive.
Kurumi struggled to control her breathing as she felt Izuku clumsily draw circles on her back, whispering to her sweet words of comfort. And Kurumi felt her senses tingle with all the warmth they drew from the green haired boy in front of her. His smell, his words, his touch…and Kurumi felt her heard recede to steady rhythms and the itch faded ever so slightly as she took a calming breath through her nose.
"Sorry," She croaked, "Sorry."
"It's ok," Izuku whispered comfortingly, "Everything is going to be ok."
It's ok, honey. Everything is ok.
Kurumi shivered. What Izuku said was so painfully familiar.
"You don't have to force yourself to tell me, Kurumi." Izuku continued to whisper comfortingly into her ear, "I'm just glad you're back…."
A coal black eye twitched in the dark as Izuku drew her into a tighter embrace and Kurumi was limp in his arms as she stared up into the starry sky over them. The stars. Oh, how she hated the stars.
"You came back," And Izuku gently leaned away from her, holding her shoulders back softly as Kurumi tried to lean back into his warmth. His finger caught the singular tear that rolled off her pale cheek and emeralds softened with kindness and love…
"You're here and that's all that matters."
Kurumi's eye widened before another tear escaped her eye. And another. And another.
Truly, surely. Izuku Midoriya would become the kindest hero there was. And he would become the greatest for it.
Her shoulders trembled, as the tears she had been holding back for two years finally broke loose. Streams of sorrow flowed from her eyes, wetting her eyepatch and falling off her chin. And Kurumi wept, cried away the bitterness and sorrow that had accumulated, unaddressed during the past two years
"Welcome back, Kurumi." Izuku whispered.
And Kurumi mustered the biggest smile she could through the curtains of sadness. Izuku stood up, a hand stretched toward her in a silent offer. The streets, the alleyways, the roads, all around them were silent and yet, all of it were dipped in the gentle memories of three little children. Nostalgia weaved upon it, silky patterns of warmth and Kurumi felt it once again from him, and all around her, the hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow as Izuku smiled the brightest he had ever done. And Kurumi knew she was back at long last, back to where she truly belonged.
"I'm home, Deku."
And a hand slipped into the palm of another, two friends reunited once more, the unbreakable bond between their hearts realized again.
Bakugo trudged home quietly, the darkness his only companion as it coiled almost comfortingly around him. He rubbed his chin absent-mindedly where she had dealt a fine blow. It wasn't more of the physical pain that hurt him. But that joy, that almost childish look of happiness in her eye as she had embraced Deku.
His red eyes gazed dully at the dark clouds above. He had always known. It had always been a one sided love that would never come to fruition. Because no matter how much Katsuki Bakugo loved Kurumi, Kurumi Aizawa had always looked at Deku from the start. She had never looked once his way, so why had he fooled himself into thinking this time was any different?
That damned nerd with his perfect timing.
"Deku…!" He was just a pebble, a damned pebble. But in Kurumi's eye, Deku had always been the main character and he…was just an extra.
His hands punched the wall, a small boom echoing that left a satisfying crater on the concrete wall.
He frowned, a sickening feeling rolling in his stomach. To Kurumi, Deku had always been her number one. Always had been, always will be.
"I'll show you, Aizawa! I'll prove it to you and become the greatest hero of all time!" A vow he had made on that rainy, rainy day repeated incessantly in his ear and Bakugo stumbled, idly wondering if he had only signed up for a game that had been lost from the very start.
Red eyes glanced back at the empty street behind him.
"Fuck," he muttered because for one moment, one hopeful moment, he thought he had seen a black haired girl running after him.
His red eyes narrowed as they raked the empty, desolate streets. Already, his eyes were subconsciously searching for Kurumi as if expecting to see her coming after him any time. He wanted to be found, Bakugo realized. He wanted to be held back, to be shown that that brief, but sure brush of the lips hadn't been a figment of his imagination.
"Where did you go, Ba-ka-go? Don't leave without a word and worry me like that!" She would say, playfully slapping his arm. And coal black with its bottomless depth would reflect his red, twinkling, sparkling and she would give him a warm smile…
Bakugo had his hopes. But he knew it was nothing short of foolish. With a small self, deprecating snort, his red eyes hardened as he resumed his walk back home.
Because to Kurumi, he was just that. A friend who had a nasty temper and a swollen pride. Nothing more.
An image of of his mom flashed in his mind, brandishing comb and hair dryer. And he scowled, a hand coming up to ruffle the perfect, tidy hair Mitsuki Bakugo had made it into. A few strands loose was all it took for his hair to break free from its cage and it exploded upwards in all its spiky glory.
"Thanks but no thanks, old hag… Like I said, not a date."
He would rage another time. Scowl another time. Yell another time. But for today, he just wanted to go home and curl up in his bed.
"Fuck." He muttered. And despite his dearest hopes, Kurumi Aizawa never came.
I'm actually kind of scared that parts of it might have gotten deleted or messed up because of what happened last time. I still don't understand how my final draft for the quirk physical exam arc just disappeared like that and I'm afraid that the same thing might happen to this chapter as well. Hopefully, that was a one time thing.
Fingers are crossed.
Anyways, start of U.A. next chapter! I've got the story planned out in my head and I'm excited to write it out! If you guys see something like a grammar or spelling mistake, or anything that looks out of place, please tell me so I can go back and fix it. Some things might have gotten butchered while I was editting it, I'm not really sure. It would be greatly appreciated and thank you guys for reading! Bye!