The Story Of Forever (Todobaku)

String of Hope

"STRIKE THREE!"

Katsuki slapped his hands on his head as Eijiro charged the mound. The adrenaline coursing through his blood drowned out the roars echoing through the stadium. Before he knew it, he and Eijiro were hugging in the dirt, a dogpile of Heroes players joining them immediately after.

They did it. They were going to the championship.

PK Academy put up a strong fight, but the Heroes pulled through. Katsuki had ten strikeouts and only allowed one run, for which he attributed to his teammates' impeccable defense. It was a privilege to watch the team flourish into the unstoppable force it was today, and an even bigger privilege to call these people his family.

Just one game left. One game until they were officially crowned the best baseball team in Japan. Just one more team stood in the way of Katsuki achieving a dream he once doubted would become his reality.

Shiketsu High School.

It was poetic, really. After all he endured throughout his high school baseball career, Katsuki couldn't imagine a better way to finish the season than this one. UA hadn't faced Shiketsu since that fateful day two years ago, and a rematch was long overdue. Only this time, it would be different. Whether they won or lost didn't matter. Katsuki was determined to show Shiketsu and all of Japan that nobody could ever take away his love for baseball.

But that was for another day. Right now, all Katsuki wanted to do was celebrate that he and his team made it this far.

Tetsutetsu and Yosetsu performed the honorary dumping of the team Gatorade jug on Coach Takami, who'd been the perfect balance of eager and encouraging during playoff season. It stained his jersey electric blue, his golden hair now devoid of its natural bounce as the dampness forced it to fall flat. Even so, that smile never left his face.

Katsuki got a fair share of Gatorade thrown on him as well, which he accepted with a laugh as he stuck his tongue out. Since the game was over and he no longer needed to focus, he was fine with posing for the cameras.

When teams made it to the top sixteen, they played at OFA University's baseball field in Tokyo. The playoffs caught a lot of media attention, and while Katsuki could do without it, it was something he'd have to get used to if he was going to go pro.

He was pulled away from his teammates by a female reporter, a blonde woman with a grin Katsuki thought was too flirtatious for someone interacting with a high schooler.

"Katsuki Bakugou," she said. "Yu Takeyama with Lurking News. Tell me, as UA's star player, how does it feel to pitch one of the best games of your career on the day you needed it most?" She held out her microphone for Katsuki to speak into.

He smiled. "There's no star player here. This was a team effort. Everyone has given 150 percent the entire season, and it's just awesome to see our hard work pay off."

Yu nodded. "You'll be competing against Shiketsu in the championship game. What's your plan for going against the team that has claimed the national title for eight straight years?"

"Just keep doing what we're doing," Katsuki replied. "Shiketsu's a strong team, but so are we. We're fine with being the underdogs. Proving everyone wrong is what we do best."

With that, Yu was satisfied and let him go. Though during that brief interview, a hoard of UA students and parents rushed the field.

And as if his day couldn't get any better, Katsuki spotted the one person he desperately wanted to see running right toward him.

Shouto nearly jumped into Katsuki's arms, squeezing his friend extra tight. Katsuki's first instinct was to be self-conscious that he was hugging his crush when he reeked of sweat and body odor, but when Shouto held on, Katsuki simply relaxed and hugged him back.