Can We Just Be Us? | KiriBaku

Rain- 70

Kirishima pov
The weather had not been pleasant all morning. Light showers and a grey sky dominated the town. Luckily we were all inside a large hall to celebrate the end of the trip. Many circular tables filled the floor, with students from each school taking up the seats. Standing behind the podium at the front of the hall was Charlotte, holding a microphone. "Congratulations to all of you who've received an award." She smiled at the crowd. I looked at our table to see a stack of golden trophies, coming from all of us; quickest time, most intense training, most bots taken out, et cetera. "Now for the final award, which we already know the winners for," she paused, "the winners of the tournament, UA!" She announced, waving her hand to indicate us to join her on stage. We all got up slowly and walked on, with Kat taking the trophy from her hands. I looked around at our class to see one student missing, Mina. I recalled her leaving earlier in the ceremony. I then looked to the audience, also noticing a prominent figure missing; Uchida. Kat leaned over to my ear.
"You noticed-"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Now I don't think we have time for a speech," Charlotte laughed sheepishly into the microphone. "But congratulations boys and girls, and for everyone else," we began making our way of stage. "We'll now be having a small party to relax, eat and have fun." Charlotte pointed at food and drink that sat on tables at the back of the hall. We once again took our seats as I kissed Kat on the lips.
"Do you even know if Uchida came today?" I asked under my breath.
"Yeah I think, Uraraka told me she saw him earlier." He responded, placing the trophy with the others. If almost on que, Mina re-entered the hall, her fluffy hair wet and sticking to her forehead.
"Eijirou, Uchida is outside, he wants to talk to you."

I exited the building, instantly feel the cold rain ruin my spiky hair. The clouds in the sky were powerful and huge. I entered the cobble streets, shielding my eyes with my hand. I saw the bench he was sat on, the one Mina told me to go to. Uchida was there, being half protected by the shelter over him. Slouching, he only looked at the ground. His white hair was dull, his skin looked deathly. Walking over cautiously, I called his name. "Uchida." His head shot up, revealing his puffy, red eyes. What had he and Mina talked about? My heart rate was increasing every step I made towards him; I didn't know what to expect.
"Kirishima, can you just sit." He stated, his voice frail. I did as asked and sat down on the bench, making sure to leave a large enough gap between us. "So I've done- I've done a lot of thinking, and I'm sorry." I scoffed at his remark. "But that isn't what this is about. I don't expect you to care about an apology, and there's no point wasting either of our time." I knew he was right, no matter what he said I still wouldn't make up with him. However it still left a sting.
"True. So why did you want to talk to me?" I said plainly, putting my hands in the pockets of Kat's coat that I had borrowed.
"You know-" he just looked at me shyly.
"What?"
"Like- the kiss." He admitted, finding it hard to even say the words. I almost found it hard not to laugh.
"Let's not act all hard for years and call me a faggot if you can't even say the word 'kiss'." I snapped. Part of me knew I shouldn't, but I still hated the boy. Just because he may go through stuff, that didn't mean I forgot what he did. For a moment Uchida seemed angry, twisting his face briefly before stopping, breathing.
"I guess I deserve that."
"You do." I added quickly. "Anyways, carry on." He raised an eyebrow at me before clearing his throat.
"Well, I just wanted to say, I don't love you or anything-"
"Charming." I scoffed. I needed to stop with the passive-aggressive comments. Uchida tried to ignore it.
"I think I may have use to, or at least thought I did, but not- not anymore. I think the reason I bullied you was because I had a weird attraction to you." He said each word with utter defeat. "But then that also made me actually hate you, you represented everything I hated- hated in myself." I just nodded slowly. "It's just like, I lived- live in a really discriminative family, and I guess I caught their traits." I tried to feel for him, but I also came from a homophobic parent, it didn't turn me nasty.
"I just think you really hate yourself. You need to learn to stop that. You also need to learn to stop being a terrible person." I explained, still cautious to not sound too nice. "Putting the blame on others is stupid. I don't care if your parents are shit, so is my mum. I don't care if you felt insecure, you're still a homophobic bully, and you kissing me doesn't change that-"
"I know! I know. And can I just apologise for the kiss. You have a boyfriend, I shouldn't have done that."
"Damn right you shouldn't have." I crossed my arms and leaned back. Then there was silence, both of us un-eager to speak. However, finally;
"How did you- you accept yourself?" He asked, his voice now shaky. I looked at him sadly.
"It was hard, but I think you just need to realise that there's no other option." I paused. "And of course getting a boyfriend helps." He just nodded, twiddling his thumbs.
"Well actually, I like both sides but- you know what, never mind. I just wanted to clear things up. I guess I'm just hoping that maybe one day, we'll become friends?" He smiled painfully at me.
"I'll become friends with you once you prove you're no longer an asshole." I stood up and began walking away. "Now come on inside, it's cold out here."