"It's not too late to back out." Kami pleaded.
"I'm not backing out of shit, dunce face."
"Bakubro, we don't want you to get hurt."
"Katsuki, please see sense. Fighting won't solve anything!"
Our words fell on deaf ears. Once Katsuki was set on something, All Might himself couldn't change his mind.
The others trailed into the clearing. As he walked over, Todoroki threw his jacket off in one smooth movement.
"Are you ready to atone for your sins?" He asked, his voice cold enough to send goosebumps running over my skin. A hand took mine, bringing a little warmth back into my body.
"I need to do this." Katsuki muttered. Our eyes met. He wasn't angry. He was in pain.
"I can't support either of you in this." I replied. He gave me a curt nod.
I joined the others at the side of the grass as the two boys faced each other.
Todoroki was full of rage.
Katsuki looked... numb...
For a few seconds, nobody moved. Then, Katsuki plastered on his signature grin, his eyes glinting dangerously.
"Atone me then, you half and half bastard!"
He charged, explosions propelling his frame forward.
From then on out, it was all a blur of fists hitting ice and explosions lighting up the sky.
The rest of the class had come out in cliques, each wanting to know what the commotion was about.
I sucked in a breath as Todoroki took an explosive fist to the chest, skidding back into a wall of ice he made.
The pair were both panting heavily and covered in soot, ice, sweat, and injuries. Todoroki coated himself in flames to combat the chill of his quirk. Katsuki held his wrist tightly.
"Come at me with all you've got, Icy Hot! No holding back!" Katsuki provoked him from afar, his spirit still unbroken. Todoroki grit his teeth, pushing himself off of the melting wall and preparing for his next move. In one fluid move, a huge wall shot up towards Katsuki. Ice bits glimmered in the air and the breaths of 18 bystanders fogged the air.
"How's that for holding back?" His words came out in a cloud. A few of the class were shivering by now.
"God... DAMMIT!" A shrill scream cut through the air. The ice shard started crumbling and breaking. It collapsed into itself. My breath caught in my throat.
"Katsuki!" I yelled. Ice particles and dust dimmed my sight as a panicked feeling clawed at my chest. Was he injured?
A blonde head came shooting out of the mist, his sights set on one person and one person only.
"DIE!"
A bright light burnt at my senses. It filled the clearing easily, biting at the surrounding trees and sending smoke rising far above the leaves. Even the thick ice shield that had been hastily constructed was demolished, broken in a mere second and melted before it could hit the charred grass. Todoroki held his arms across his face as he went hurtling backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Midoriya's shoulders shook in my peripheral.
"Stop it! Before one of you is seriously hurt!"
"I'm doing this for you, Izuku."
"That's worse!" He shrieked. But the bi-coloured boy simply picked himself up and allowed his flames to engulf his body once more. He was only putting his weight on one leg.
Fire met explosion in the middle of the clearing, everything popping and hissing angrily. Katsuki was still grinning dangerously. Todoroki's expression was still one of furious determination.
"Have they forgotten that we're supposed to be hiding?"
"We don't have Recovery Girl here..."
"They're going to cause lasting damage."
"Someone needs to stop them!"
While the class were murmuring amongst themselves, the pair had gotten closer and closer. The sudden change from cold to hot made me feel dizzy. My skin felt dry. My mouth could have substituted for the Sahara Desert. Seeing the grazes, the burns, the bruises pile up had me feeling sick.
"You two! That's enough now!" Tenya decided to pull out his 'class rep' voice to see if he could convince them to stop. They paid him no heed. "What are you trying to achieve?"
"I want to make him pay!"
"I want you to make me pay!" The response clearly caught Todoroki off guard as Katsuki landed a clean hit to his jaw.
"What?"
"You heard me! I was a dick! I still am! I don't deserve this class. I don't deserve Kirishima, or Kaminari, or Mina, or Sero. I don't deserve Hinami. And I don't deserve Midoriya or his forgiveness!" The fact that he actually used everyone's names tugged at our hearts. Midoriya cried even harder, and I could feel my own eyes welling up.
"You haven't even tried to gain his forgiveness!" Todoroki returned the punch. It seems they had given up with their quirks. For now.
"I don't know how!" He curved his body away from the second fist that was coming for him. "I told him to take a swan dive off of a roof! And it's haunted me ever since! Nothing I can say will make up for what I've done to him. And through all of it... He still looks at me with admiration! With his never ending stream of 'sugoi, Kacchan'! He doesn't even hate me. Why can't he hate me? It would be so much easier if he hated me! Why won't he just hate me as much as I hate myself?!" He pulled at his singed locks, desperation and grief coating his wailing voice.
"B-Bakugo-"
"So bring me to my knees in prayer! Kill me where I stand! Do something! Do anything! Do anything that could make it okay! Make me prove just how sorry I am! Make. Me. Atone!"
Almost all of the class were sobbing by now. Including me. We stood, huddled into each other, too shocked to say or do anything but let the tears of Katsuki's emotion flow down our faces.
Todoroki stopped for a few seconds, absorbing the words that had been thrown to him.
"If you wish." He pulled back his arm and used his ice to propel himself forward.
I scrambled to find what I was looking for.
Katsuki copied his actions.
I patted my pockets as quickly as I could.
Where was it?
They were getting closer and closer.
I found it!
Just as they were about to collide, everything stopped.
The pair were suspended in movement. Even their quirks had been paused; an orange glow coming from Katsuki's palm, and frost particles coagulating at Todoroki's fingers. Their poses were aggressive and off-balanced. It looked as though a stray breeze would knock them over. But there they stayed. Unmoving. The class looked at me. I let out a shaky breath, slowly lowering the mirror away from the scene.
When Mido and I rushed over, we recoiled in shock for a moment.
Katsuki had been crying too.
We pulled them away from each other, their bodies as light but as stiff as cardboard cutouts. After angling them so that their quirks wouldn't cause any damage, I released them from my hold.
In any other circumstance, it would have been quite funny.
They both swung into thin air, their attacks touching nothingness. Todoroki fell onto his face and Katsuki stumbled forward, both of them looking around in confusion. Midoriya sank to his knees, grabbing at his boyfriend with shaking hands. Kat sniffed, wiping his face with his sleeve, attempting to be nonchalant. He wasn't expecting my open hand to strike him. And he definitely wasn't expecting to be pulled into a bone-crushing hug straight after.
"Kat!" I bawled into his chest. "You're such a fucking idiot! You- I can't- Idiot!" He roughly encased me with his arms, his swollen face resting on my head. He sniffed again. We clutched at each other for a few more moments before someone else joined us. And another person. And another. And yet another.
"B-Bakugo!" Kami sobbed. "You really mean it? You really love us?"
"Tch... Yeah I guess so. Or whatever..." He responded, his voice hoarse and still wavering with emotion.
"That was so irresponsible but so manly!" Kiri squeezed us tighter.
"We love you too dude!" Sero wailed, the brutal fight clearly sobering him up.
"You need to go see Hound Dog so bad!" Mina gave a watery laugh. "You do deserve us! And we deserve you!" Kat didn't respond, but opened one of his arms to better include everyone in the group hug.
"Kacchan..." A small voice made us eventually break away from each other.
It was a sight to behold.
A blonde head pressed against a green one in a passionate embrace that said more than words ever would.
"Let's go inside now... Midoriya." Kat eventually pulled away, holding out his hand. From the way that they both looked at his outstretched arm, the action clearly held some weight. Mido laced their fingers with a smile.
"You know what? I think I prefer Deku."
(A/N)
I NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT I WROTE THIS CHAPTER BEFORE THE MANGA CHAPTER I'M CLEARLY A PSYCHIC OR SOMETHING I CAN'T BELIEVE I CALLED DEKU SAYING THAT