By Your Side
Chapter Summary
After the events of the last night of camp, Katsuki wants to be alone. The future is unknown, he doesn't know how to act around Uraraka, and everybody is getting on his nerves. Everything should be resolved once he talks to Uraraka. Right?
Chapter Notes
Thank you for reading and for being patient. The final chapter was the most difficult to write by far. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I started writing this. Bittersweet endings to be had all around. Enjoy :)
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Uraraka's sudden departure was the only thing class 2-A talked about that night and the next day. Fortunately, they couldn't bombard Uraraka with their stupid questions since there wasn't any cell service in the campground. Unfortunately, that meant that they pestered Katsuki. It was all Katsuki could do not to physically shut up every single one of his classmates, even the ones who didn't say anything. They all looked at him with something in their eyes reminiscent of pity but it couldn't possibly be that because if it was, Katsuki would kill them.
When camp officially ended, Kirishima decided he wasn't going to leave Katsuki's side in an attempt to cheer him up. That only served to make Katsuki angrier.
"At least you got to do the last training session!" Kirishima reminded him as they stowed their gear underneath the bus and boarded.
"Whatever. It was boring anyway," Katsuki grumbled as he headed toward a window seat at the back of the bus. Kirishima gave him an understanding smile and plopped into the seat next to him. Katsuki had a feeling the trip back would be irritating at best. Part of him wished he could sleep through the bus ride but he knew he couldn't.
"You look tired, man," Kirishima said quietly. Katsuki rolled his eyes.
"Thanks," he responded sarcastically.
"Just saying. Did you sleep at all last night?"
"No," Katsuki answered honestly. After Uraraka left, Katsuki was left in a weird state of euphoria and heartache. Closing his eyes for even a second only left him seeing Uraraka's empty stare when she left the Emergency Center. Katsuki shook his head at the memory and turned his attention toward the campground.
"I know you're worried."
Katsuki side-eyed his friend.
"Worried about what?" Katsuki asked. Rage bubbled inside him. He desperately wanted to be left alone but everyone was determined to make this shitty situation worse for him.
"You know--this and that," Kirishima said cryptically, glancing at the other students finding their seats on the bus. Katsuki looked back out the window.
"I'm fine."
"Well, when you went after her I thought--you might have-" Kirishima stopped and made a talking gesture with his hand. Katsuki inhaled in response.
"We didn't."
It wasn't entirely a lie. They hadn't discussed what Katsuki had resolved to tell her but actions speak louder than words. He'd said enough.
"Oh," Kirishima said in obvious disappointment. "Sucks that you didn't get to--oh, is that why you couldn't sleep?"
Katsuki shook his head. Kirishima waited for more but Katsuki didn't give it to him.
"Oh, come on! I won't blab," Kirishima muttered. Katsuki's eye twitched remembering how well he kept that promise the last time. "For real! Lips sealed."
"I doubt it. I don't need Pink-Ass meddling where she doesn't belong," Katsuki replied.
"That won't happen! Come on Bakubro," Kirishima pleaded.
"No."
Kirishima sunk into himself and took out his phone. Deep down, Katsuki figured he needed someone to talk to but it certainly wasn't going to be Kirishima. If he did blab, which he likely would, it wouldn't only affect Katsuki and he couldn't live with that. He'd wait until school started up and tell his therapist. That guy was contractually required to keep his mouth shut.
"Maybe you should let Ashido meddle," Kaminari interjected from the seat in front of them. "Uraraka was due a kiss from the game. It could've been you if you weren't such a relationship pansy."
"That's not what-" Kirishima said but had to stop to shove Katsuki back down in his seat.
"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Katsuki screamed. Popping sounds echoed throughout the bus as Katsuki's hands sparked.
"Whoa, man! I'm only joking!" Kaminari exclaimed, pressing his body to the back of the seat in front of him.
"Chill, dude," Sero scolded. "Friends are allowed to give each other shit."
"It's not like I'm the only one that thinks that!" Kaminari added but paled at the death glare that Katsuki gave him.
Mr. Iida gave the boys a quick, authoritative glance that made it clear they needed to behave themselves. Iida mimicked his brother before haughtily adjusting his glasses and resuming his reading. Other classmates glanced back at them but didn't linger. They found ways to keep themselves busy so as to not bring Katsuki's fury upon them.
"Nothing to see here," Kirishima told the others. Katsuki sat back down reluctantly. Sero went back to listening to music while Kaminari stayed pressed against the seat, wary of letting his guard down.
"Leave it alone, Dunce-Face," Katsuki growled then addressed the rest of the bus. "And none of you know jack-shit!"
Kaminari scowled at him then grabbed one of Sero's earbuds and plugged it in his ear.
Once he determined Katsuki wouldn't murder anyone, Kirishima breathed out, leaned his forehead against the seat in front of him and played on his phone.
"Smooth," Kirishima mumbled.
"Tch," Katsuki sounded, looking out the window. The bus lurched forward and Katsuki watched the campground slowly disappear. Katsuki tried to sleep while his classmates dozed off and on around him but it was impossible. This was worse than the nightmares from the test. At least when he woke up from those, he knew whatever his mind had conjured up hadn't actually happened.
When they finally arrived back to civilization, those who hadn't let their phones die over camp were greeted by a text from Uraraka.
Uraraka: At the hospital. I'm sorry that I had to leave. We'll talk when we get back. Promise.
Katsuki eyed Kirishima's phone screen to see what he'd received. Apparently, Uraraka had texted the group chat that Katsuki refused to join.
Uraraka: Safe and sound. See you all at school.
Katsuki felt the muscles in his chest relax slightly with the knowledge that she had made it to her mother. The rest of their classmates would also be reunited with their parents as U.A. had requested pickups due to the uncertain times. By the time they arrived back at U.A., it was dark. Groups of adults waited in designated spots, their faces illuminated by streetlights. Seeing his mother among them wasn't surprising but Katsuki had hoped she wouldn't care enough to escort him home.
"Better safe than sorry, especially at night," Principal Nedzu announced when they exited their buses. "Let all that you learned from camp soak into those brains and enjoy your time off before we start school in a couple weeks. Be careful everyone!"
Mitsuki chatted with Deku's mother a couple meters away. Katsuki dreaded the walk home. There was no way he was going to talk to his mother about what happened with Uraraka and there was a one-hundred percent chance she was going to nag him about it.
"Looks like we're walking together, Kacchan!" Deku said happily as he grabbed his stuff from underneath the bus. "Just like old times."
"Get lost," Katsuki snapped, throwing his gear onto his back and marching toward his mother.
"There he is," his mother said with a smile when she saw him. "How was camp?"
Katsuki glared at his mother in response. Mitsuki's smile turned into a scowl while Inko became more concerned.
"Oh, no. What happened?" Inko asked worriedly. She searched for Deku and let out a relieved sigh when she saw his green hair coming toward her in the crowd of students.
"Don't worry. He's fine," Katsuki told Inko.
"We'd better be getting home," Mitsuki said, refusing to take her eyes off her son. "Sorry, Inko. We'll finish catching up later."
Inko nodded, pulling Deku into a tight hug when he arrived.
"Hi, Mom," Deku answered with a strained voice. "Missed you too!"
Mitsuki grabbed Katsuki's elbow and led him away.
"Explain," she commanded. Katsuki ripped his elbow out of her grasp and kept walking. Mitsuki blinked a couple times before softening her expression.
"Are you seriously not going to tell me what's wrong?" She asked, matching his pace. "I can see it all over your face."
"Why would I tell you?" Katsuki asked angrily. "You'll only make me feel worse."
Mitsuki nostrils flared and she looked back at the crowd that was still gathered around the buses.
"Do you even know how anxious I've been these past two weeks?" She whispered intensely. "You have no right to talk to me like that!"
Katsuki ignored her. The sooner he got away from the buses the better.
"Katsuki!" Mitsuki scolded. She touched his shoulder. "Please."
Katsuki stopped. She wouldn't leave him alone until she got an answer.
"I trained hard and there were no villain attacks. That's all you need to know," Katsuki muttered, looking away from her. Mitsuki pursed her lips and reached up to hold his face in her palm, stroking under his eye with her thumb. Katsuki hated to admit that it felt nice. He usually didn't like his mother doting on him but he was tired and that made him weak.
"When was the last time you slept?" She asked softly. Katsuki tore his face away from her embrace. He stepped away and steadied himself.
"Let's just get home," he said. His lack of response to her question didn't quell Mitsuki's temper but she made the unusual decision to leave Katsuki be.
They walked in silence the entire way while his mother watched him carefully.
"Your father is traveling," Mitsuki told him when she unlocked the front door. "Do you want to go out for dinner?"
"No," Katsuki answered without hesitation, heading straight for his room. With a swift movement, he opened his door, dropped his things, and fell onto his bed. Katsuki remembered what Uraraka had said about sleeping being a hobby and was starting to come around to her point of view. Add it to the list of hobbies he didn't have time for anymore. He closed his eyes, only to see Uraraka crying as she packed up her things to leave camp. With a frustrated sigh, Katsuki opened his eyes and grabbed his phone. He still needed to respond to Uraraka. He'd drafted and deleted over a dozen texts on the bus but everything he typed sounded stupid.
While he stared in a sleepy haze at Uraraka's message, there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for Katsuki to turn her away, Mitsuki came in with some food.
"It's yakisoba," Mitsuki said. Katsuki turned off the screen and dropped the phone on his bed.
"I'm not hungry," he mumbled, covering his eyes with his forearm.
"You should know very well that the food was only the key for entry," Mitsuki whispered, setting the dish on his desk. "It's always been that way."
Katsuki turned away from her. With a click of her tongue, Mitsuki sat on the edge of Katsuki's bed and placed a hand on his leg. For good measure, Katsuki shoved his phone underneath his pillow. Mitsuki eyed the hiding spot and pursed her lips.
"It's late. Let me sleep," he groaned.
"It's not even ten o'clock."
Katsuki exhaled in frustration and moved his leg out from under her hand.
"I know I'm hard on you sometimes," Mitsuki whispered. Katsuki rarely heard his mother sound apologetic. It was enough to earn a look in her direction. "But I only want you to be the best you can be."
Of course, she'd say that.
"I don't want to do this right now," Katsuki groaned. "I'm exhausted, angry, and if there was a person I wanted to talk to it wouldn't be you."
Mitsuki laid in bed next to him and Katsuki growled in annoyance.
"I didn't see Uraraka leave your bus," Mitsuki said knowingly. Katsuki's jaw clenched at her name. "What happened?"
"I'm serious," Katsuki said tightly. "Leave me alone."
"Okay. You don't have to talk about it," Mitsuki replied. She began stroking his exposed temple and Katsuki hated how it made him relax involuntarily. "But unless you force me out, I'm here to stay."
Katsuki debated it but his body was heavy.
"Don't act all smug because I'm not kicking you out," Katsuki grumbled, his eyes closing halfway. "Camp kicked my ass."
"Mhm," Mitsuki hummed, unable to hide the smugness from her voice. "Close your eyes."
He reluctantly obeyed. As soon as he did, Uraraka running to the bus stop unable to keep the sobs down as she ran from the campground was projected onto his eyelids. Katsuki inhaled quickly and his eyes snapped open.
Mitsuki stopped rubbing his temple to rest her hand on his forehead.
"Oh, my smart, strong boy," she whispered. "Whatever has got your mind in knots is not worth you losing sleep over."
"The universe hates me," Katsuki slurred. Mitsuki pressed back his bangs and kissed his forehead.
"The universe doesn't hate you, just like I don't hate you," she said. "Sometimes it pushes us in directions we don't want to go so that we learn and grow but it never does so out of hate."
"I'm tired of that."
"Learning and growing?" Mitsuki asked with a chuckle. "What did the universe teach you at camp?"
His mother assumed incorrectly. Katsuki was tired of getting pushed in directions he didn't want to go. There was no learning or growing from the memory of Uraraka's face buried in the crook of his neck or the subsequent feeling of her tears falling onto his skin.
"That timing is a bitch," he mumbled before falling into a hard sleep.
Katsuki awoke the next afternoon to his phone vibrating non-stop. With an annoyed groan, he pulled his phone out from under his pillow, noting how low the battery was, and saw that he had once again been added to the Class 2-A group chat.
Kirishima has added Katsuki Bakugou to the chat
Ears : Bad move, Kiri. He's gonna get pissed and leave
Purple Pervert: Idk Baku's gone soft
Raccoon-Eyes : So what if he's pissed!? We've got to work together to make sure she's okay!!!!
Ears : She already texted us. She's fine.
: Uraraka reached out. That's enough for now. She needs space.
Big Lips: of course she's not ok. I wouldn't be either
Dunce-Face: Mybe we should do smthing??? Like send flowers or chocolate or smthing.
Four-Eyes: Not a horrible idea.
Kirishima: Could show that we care about her without her feeling like she has to talk.
Dunce-Face: Im tellin you its a good idea!!
The Frog: Honestly, guys, I think it's best to leave her be. She'll respond to our texts when she can and we'll see her when she gets back to the dorms.
: Time is what she needs.
Dunce-Face: Oh cmon like gifts dont ease wounds
: Not being forced into interaction also accomplishes this.
Deku : I don't know, Todoroki. She might have different ways of healing than you do. We could leave her be AND send her things.
Katsuki face-palmed. Whatever Katsuki decided to do, it wouldn't be influenced by his classmates. Not to mention that the group chat was one text away from a full-blown argument about how best to deal with what was happening to Uraraka. Katsuki didn't want to read it and didn't want to be involved.
Katsuki Bakugou left the chat
Ashido did have one good point; there was one thing that Katsuki could do. Even if she didn't respond, doing something was better than nothing.
Katsuki Bakugou: You good?
With a big stretch, Katsuki sat up and rubbed his eyes. He'd made a conscious decision to not respond to what Uraraka had initially sent him. She'd said they'd talk later and he'd stick to that. However, there was a void of unknown surrounding the coming weeks. With Japan in a state of panic, his old work study mentors either dead or on leave, and being stuck in a sort of relationship limbo with his training buddy, Katsuki didn't know what to expect.
He stood up and stretched the rest of his body. There was one thing Katsuki could control: his body. Without another thought, he dressed for a run then left his house in a hurry. Katsuki was about to step onto the sidewalk outside his house when he felt his phone vibrate.
Uraraka: No.
Katsuki stared at the notification. He hadn't expected a response that quickly.
Katsuki Bakugou: Are you at the hospital?
Uraraka: Yeah. I will be for the next few days.
What the fuck was he supposed to say? Katsuki looked up and down the road to see complete emptiness. It was exactly how he felt at this moment. Running would fill that. Shoving his phone in his pocket, his feet hit the pavement with a satisfying weight. It was as if each step lessened the weight on his shoulders. He ran until he couldn't anymore. Leaning against a building, he pulled out his phone and texted exactly what he was thinking. It was better than obsessing over it.
Katsuki Bakugou: That sucks.
He caught his breath, stretched out his calves, and stared at his phone screen until she responded.
Uraraka: Yeah it does.
Katsuki clicked his tongue. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be with Uraraka romantically. He had no idea how to act in these kinds of circumstances. Did he offer to talk? Did he leave her alone? Did he send her flowers like Kaminari suggested?
"Why is this so hard?!" Katsuki whispered-yelled as he deleted and restarted text after text. Apparently he took too long because Uraraka sent him another message.
Uraraka: Plus I'm not sleeping well. I feel bad about how we left things but I want to talk in person.
Katsuki stared, slack-jawed, at his phone screen. There was no way that Uraraka was concerned about that.
Katsuki Bakugou: Stop thinking about me and focus on your family.
He shoved his phone in his pocket and started running again. His phone vibrated a couple times but Katsuki needed to move. The thoughts swirling in his mind only quieted with physical exertion. Katsuki ran for longer than he should've. By the time he got home, his mother was making dinner.
"Are you stupid, Katsuki Bakugou?" Mitsuki raged as soon as Katsuki walked in the door. "Do you have any idea how close I was to calling the police?"
"Shit," Katsuki muttered. He pulled out his phone to see multiple texts from his mom and a few missed calls. "I mean, I have a hero license. I can defend myself."
"A provisional one!" Mitsuki snapped.
Katsuki read the other texts he'd received in quick succession, barely taking them in as his mother scolded him in the background.
Kirishima: Uraraka sent another text to the group chat. Did you reach out? If you did, thanks. I'm glad she's okay.
Kirishima: Well as okay as one can be
Deku : Have you talked to Tokoyami about getting in with Hawks for work study?
Dunce-Face: Were all pitching in to get Uraraka a gift card to her fav mochi place u in?
When he got to the last text he received only minutes ago, Katsuki felt a little spark illuminate the void ahead.
Uraraka: Okay, Bakugou. I'll talk to you later
"Katsuki, I'm talking to you!" Mitsuki shouted. Katsuki rolled his eyes and prepared himself for a verbal battle. That heart would have to last him until school started up again.
Except it didn't.
For a week, Katsuki was trapped in his mother's clutches, unable to leave the house unless he was accompanied by someone else. With his choice being his mother or Deku, Katsuki locked himself in his room. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore.