Young Love (Katsuki Bakugo Love Story)

Chapter 21

It is hard for Hoshiko to watch the fight between Izuku and Katsuki on the display board. From seeing Katsuki flank him and Uraraka from behind, to where Izuku uses his quirk and damn near destroys the rest of the multiple story building. Hoshiko was glad for Uraraka to end the match, grabbing ahold of the fake nuclear weapon. If not, then Izuku would have been more injured than he was, dealing with a broken arm and the side of his face having after effects from blocking an attack directed at the side of his head. Watching Izuku get taken out of the building by recovery bot makes Hoshiko grow uneasy. She never expected Katsuki to be so brutal with his attacks, making him seem more like a villain than a hero.

Uraraka and Iida exit the building, leaving Katsuki. Hoshiko stands still, everyone else around her moving about, getting ready for the next match. She continues to stare at the display board, seeing a clear view of Katsuki's unmoving position. She can see his face from the viewing of the wall camera, the sight putting a chill in her spine. It was the first time for Hoshiko to see Katsuki's expression. He looks scared. It was unlike him and his facade, for once, Hoshiko can see the Katsuki behind the facade.

"Are you okay, Kacchan?"

Hoshiko jumps in her spot, hearing her mind echo a flashback. Her mind flashes back to where over a decade ago, where she, Izuku, and Katsuki were back as little kids. Her mind flashes back to a specific trail in a forest, where the three would walk on trails, followed by Katsuki's fans. Hoshiko remembers her younger self, donned in a simple purple t-shirt and pink skirt, following behind the young blonde, skipping at each step. Katsuki leads the way in the forest, using his firecrackers emitting out of his hands as a light of a train almost, chanting. She doesn't remember how, but as he was chanting, he slips on a log, falling over 8 feet into a dense stream of water, soaking all of his clothes. As everyone stands on the log, looking over at Katsuki who is still submerged in the stream, only she and Izuku reacted. With her quirk, Hoshiko teleports to where Katsuki is, not minding her yellow tennis shoes getting soaked with water. Izuku catches up with her younger self, standing beside her. Katsuki emerges from the water, soaked beyond imagine.

"Are you okay, Kacchan?" Hoshiko's younger self asks, crouching down in front of the blonde boy.

He looks over at her, before giving a cheeky grin, making Hoshiko smile back. But, the grin soon fades away when Izuku offers his hand out to Katsuki, asking if he was hurt. Seeing the frown on Katsuki's face as soon as he was smiling makes Hoshiko stomach churn.

Hoshiko gives a deep breath, coming back into reality, feeling a hand on her shoulder. She notices the hand belongs to Kirishima, who gives a concerned glance.

"You okay, Amari?" Kirishima asks the purplette, "We're about to start the next match."

Hoshiko gives a hum, before nodding, "Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about the plans for my team."

Kirishima believes her lie, giving a grin. He pats her shoulder, walking off to his teammate, leaving Hoshiko alone. Hoshiko gives a small smile, before dropping it. She glances down at her shoes, deep in thought.

"I need to talk to Katsuki after this."

The door of the viewing room suddenly opens, revealing the people coming out of the exam. Uraraka notices Hoshiko, and jumps over to her, a smile evident on her face. Uraraka gushes about her match, but her words are almost silent in Hoshiko's ears. She gives a smile nonetheless, congratulating her on her teamwork with Izuku. She then sees All Might walk in, with Katsuki in tow. Seeing his usually expressionless face reminds Hoshiko of what she needs to do after class, making her from her right hand into a fist. All Might walks over to the wrong of the crowd, directing his attention to the scoreboard.

"Well," All Might says, "despite the results. The MVP of this exercise is Young Iida!"

Iida gawks at All Might's statement, while Katsuki and Uraraka beside him stay silent.

"Shouldn't it be one of the heroes instead, since they're the winners?" Asui asks All Might, showing everyone else's concern.

"Mm! Valid question. Why didn't I choose one of those two? Who has a guess?" All Might answers Asui with a question to the rest of the class.

"Sir!" Yaoyorozu answers, raising her hand "I can tell you why! Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one who truly adapted to his assigned role. I'll explain. Bakugo's judgment was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya. As you pointed out earlier, launching a large-scale attack indoors was a foolish move. It could have been disastrous. Similarly, Midoriya's plan was also poorly thought out, considering the amount of damage that he received. He rendered himself helpless. Not smart. As for Uraraka...She let her guard down mid-battle, and her final attack was far too reckless given the hypothetical stakes. If she treated the fake weapon as though it were real, she never would've risked using such an imprecise move. Iida was fully prepared for his opponent's arrival. He had a strategy and never lost sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon, even if he was foiled in the end. Technically, the hero team won, yes, but they took advantage of the fact that this was training. They didn't respect the spirit of the trial."

Everyone stares at Yaoyorozu in shock, Hoshiko staring at her with a dumbfounded look.

".....huh" Hoshiko mumbles, processing everything Yaoyorozu said in the last minute and a half.

She looks over at All Might, who has the same look of hesitation as everyone else, "Yes... Well, you overlooked a few things. Young Iida could have relaxed a little bit in the exercise, but...otherwise, you nailed it!"

All Might returns back to his podium, ready to take the next new teams, "Now then. Time to blow this joint. Let's move on to the next match! Think about everything we saw and discussed as you tackle this training for yourself."

Hoshiko gulps, ready for what's to come for her.