~SECOND GRADE~
Shouto adjusted his uniform as he and his teammates ran into the dugout. High fives were thrown all around after a well played inning, for a group of seven year olds at least. There was an open spot on the bench next to Izuku, which Shouto accepted eagerly.
His friend smiled at him. "That was a nice catch, Shouto!"
Shouto smiled back. "Thanks." He gazed out at the scoreboard in the outfield. It was turned off as their community baseball league started counting score for third graders and older. "I wonder if we're winning."
"It doesn't matter," Izuku said. "It's just a game."
Shouto nodded. It was true, it wasn't a competitive league. Enji tried to get Shouto enrolled in travel baseball, but Shouto missed the age cutoff by a few months, so here he was in the recreational league with all the neighborhood kids. Shouto was easily the best player on his team, though that wasn't saying much. He could tell that several of his teammates had never picked up a baseball before their first practice. But regardless of skill level, everyone on his team got along and enjoyed playing together.
"Hey buddy," Touya said, walking over to him. He handed Shouto his helmet and batting gloves. "You're up after Neito. Get ready before Dad catches you slacking off."
Shouto quickly threw his gear on. While he was happy to finally play on a team with other kids instead of being confined to his backyard, he would've preferred to have someone other than his dad as the coach. Enji, being Enji, paid off Shouto's original coach to take the job from him. He wasn't really a coach as much as he was Shouto's mentor. Enji couldn't care less about improving the skills of the other kids. None of them appeared to notice or mind, but Shouto did.
But hey, at least Touya and Keigo were the assistant coaches, so it wasn't all bad.
Shouto grabbed his bat and practiced a couple swings in the on deck circle. Luckily, his father was too focused on pitching to Neito Monoma to harass him over his stance. After giving a few more swings, he heard cheers from the bleachers behind him.
"Good luck, baby!"
He turned around with a huge smile and waved at his family. Fuyumi waved back while Natsuo shot a big thumbs up. Rei, sitting between them, clapped three times.
"You can do it, Shouto!" she said before blowing a kiss.
Shouto blew a kiss back, not caring if anyone thought it was lame of him to do so. Rei had finished her stint at inpatient therapy a few months ago and after going so long without having her around every day, Shouto wanted her around as much as possible. Sure, he went to see her every weekend, and their meetings solidified that his insecurities regarding his mother's disdain for him were nothing more than paranoia. Rei always greeted him with a big hug and kiss and offered all the words of affirmation Shouto needed to boost his confidence.
Still, it didn't compare to her home cooked dinners. The gourmet chefs Enji hired to live with them in the meantime prepared wonderful dishes, but it wasn't the same. And he really missed his mom tucking him into bed at night.
When Shouto first joined his baseball team, Rei promised she'd be at every game to support him. And while this was the third Saturday in April, therefore opening day, he knew she'd keep her word.
Neito hit a ground ball right to Katsuki Bakugou, who stood at the pitcher's mound a few feet behind Enji. Katsuki scooped the ball up and threw it to Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu at first base, and Neito was called out.
"Good try, Neito," Shouto said as he passed the boy on his way to home plate.
Neito exchanged a quick high five with Shouto. "Stupid Katsuki thinks he's so cool. He's not that great, I just hit it right at him. Our team is still way better."
Enji scowled. "Get back to the dugout, Neito."
As Neito joined the rest of his teammates on the bench, Shouto looked out at Katsuki and the smug grin under his baseball cap. From what he'd seen this game thus far and the last two years of playing during recess, Katsuki wasn't bluffing about his baseball prowess. He was an exceptional player, clearly the most talented on his team just as Shouto was on his. Katsuki could hit, field, and run fast. A triple threat. Even Shouto had to admit that perhaps one day, Katsuki could go pro.
"Hi Shouto," a voice called from behind him.
Shouto turned and smiled at Eijiro, who was crouched down and covered in catcher's equipment. "Hi Eijiro."
"Good luck," he whispered.
"Thanks," Shouto whispered back.
"All right, Shouto!" Keigo clapped from the dugout. "Hit the ball, kid!"
He heard Touya's voice next. "You've got this, Sho!"
The rest of Shouto's teammates joined in on the enthusiasm and cheered loudly for him to hit the ball. He didn't need it, to be fair. Everyone at that game knew Shouto was going to get a hit, Shouto included.
On the first pitch his dad lobbed at him, Shouto smacked it to the outfield. It traveled past Denki Kaminari, who was too busy counting clouds in the sky to notice there was a game going on. Due to the mishap, Shouto made it to second base with ease.
"Pay attention next time, Pikachu!" Katsuki yelled from the pitcher's mound.
As Tensei Iida, the coach for the other team, attempted to get his boys to settle down, Enji capitalized on the opportunity to address Shouto. Even from the distance where he stood, his voice was loud enough for Shouto to hear him perfectly.
"Make sure to follow through with your swing," he told his son. "If you do, you'll hit it twice as far."
Shouto nodded, but offered nothing else. His attention was mainly held by his mom and siblings applauding him from the stands, as well as Touya, Keigo, and the rest of his team cheering from the dugout.
Izuku was right. This wasn't about winning or losing. Why should he care about winning when he had such a strong support system behind him? That was better than any home run he could hit.
Shouto beamed from ear to ear as he soaked in his applause. For the first time in a long time, he was proud to be exactly who he was.
*
The game carried on in similar fashion. Katsuki and Shouto stood out as the star players of each team, Neito continued to brag that their team was the best in the league, and Denki continued to space out whenever his team took the field.
Shouto, standing at shortstop, pounded into his mitt as Katsuki strutted to home plate, getting in a proper batting stance. In true Katsuki fashion, the boy sported a cocky smile as he pointed his bat toward the outfield.
Shouto rolled his eyes. Though, in Katsuki's defense, he landed extra base hits both times he batted today, so at least he wasn't all talk.
Tensei pitched the ball and, as expected, Katsuki sent it flying to center field. Shouto spun around to see if Izuku had a chance of catching it or not. From the looks of it, he did. All Izuku had to do was run back a few feet and he'd catch it no problem.
Sadly, instead of pivoting his feet to move faster and easier, Izuku tried to run backwards and ended up tripping and landed on his butt, and the ball landed behind him. Most of the kids on the other team laughed, Katsuki leading the charge. Shouto's heart hurt for Izuku. His friend was often the target of bullying for every little thing he did.
Izuku scrambled to his feet to retrieve the ball as Katsuki rounded first base. He managed to throw the ball to Shouto in time to keep Katsuki at a double. As Shouto tossed the ball back to Tensei, Katsuki resumed his torment.
"Hey Deku," he called out, "thanks for the free hit!"
Izuku dipped his head down to hide his newly formed tears. Shouto glared at Katsuki.
"Don't talk to him that way," he said. "It's just a game."
Katsuki smirked. "That's something only a loser would say. It's not my fault Deku is bad at everything he does."
Shouto clenched his jaw. The amount of times that Katsuki made it his mission to make Izuku feel worthless, even after Izuku made his admiration clear for the other, really ticked him off. He never understood how Katsuki could go from being somewhat decent one minute to a complete jerk the next, and nine times out of ten it was at Izuku's expense.
And hearing Katsuki's teammates join in on the taunting, even with Tenya and Tensei asking them to stop, was not helping the situation at all.
"Now he's crying," Katsuki laughed, pointing at Izuku. "What a baby."
At that comment, Shouto decided he had enough.
Over the years, Shouto kept to his word that he'd report Katsuki to a teacher if he was bullying anyone instead of resorting to fighting. That incident on the playground on his first day of kindergarten was the most violent the two had gotten with one another. But right now, Shouto couldn't think of a better way to shut Katsuki up once and for all.
He ripped his mitt off and smashed Katsuki's face with it, knocking him to the ground. Even with everyone gasping in the background, Shouto didn't care. He climbed on top of Katsuki and started punching him.
"Hey! Hey!" Tensei cried. "Enji, come get your boy!"
Katsuki fought back, of course. Still pinned under Shouto, he threw punches back equally as hard, some even harder. But Shouto had too much rage in his body to let Katsuki up from under him.
"USE YOUR LEFT HOOK, SHOUTO!" Natsuo called from the stands before being promptly scolded by Rei.
The two boys scuffled for a few seconds longer until Enji and Tensei were out there separating them. Shouto knew he was in deep trouble with Enji, but that didn't stop a small smile forming on his face.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" Enji snapped.
He looked up at his dad with irritation. "He deserved it! He kept making fun of Izuku!"
"Did not," Katsuki said.
Shouto growled and lunged at Katsuki again, but Enji had a strong grip on his forearm, preventing him from landing another hit. Enji bent down and hissed in Shouto's ear.
"How dare you embarrass me in front of everyone like this." He stood up again and yanked Shouto by the arm. "I'm taking you home, right now."
Shouto's expression stayed deadpan. He was over it at this point. If leaving the game was his punishment, then so be it.
Touya raced onto the field, stopping in front of Enji and Shouto. "You can't do that," he said. "Let me talk to him."
"You've got to be kidding me," Enji said. "Half of the reason this boy is so out of control is because of your influence over him. I hoped the reckless behavior would stop with you, but clearly I was mistaken."
"Oh, come on," Touya insisted. "He was just sticking up for his friend. Maybe he went about it the wrong way but punishing him isn't going to solve anything. Just, let me talk to him."
Shouto crossed his fingers behind his back. While the satisfaction of beating Katsuki's face in was worth any level of punishment coming his way, he'd still prefer to deal with Touya over his dad on any given occasion.
"Fine," Enji grunted. "He's still not playing the rest of the game." He looked over at their team's dugout. "Yuga, get out there!"
Yuga Aoyama, a child who made it clear that he was only on the team because his parents forced him, pranced out of the dugout in his bedazzled cleats and took over Shouto's position at shortstop. Enji headed back to the dugout to join Keigo and the rest of the benchwarmers, while Touya threw an arm around Shouto before addressing Tensei.
"I'd like to speak with Katsuki too," he said. "If that's okay."
Tensei nodded. "Sure." He then turned to his own dugout. "Tenya! Come pinch run for Katsuki!"
Tenya dashed onto the field to swap places with Katsuki at second base. After they made the switch, Touya threw his other arm around Katsuki and led him and Shouto to sit in the shade away from the crowd so they could be alone. Shouto and Katsuki sat beside one another while Touya sat across from them.
He cut right to it. "Come on guys, seriously? What was that?"
"Shouto started it," Katsuki said.
Shouto puffed his cheeks out. "No I didn't, you started it."
"You know what?" Touya said. "I don't give a shit who started it."
Shouto peered at Katsuki out of the corner of his eye. Judging by his reaction, Katsuki wasn't used to adults cursing at him. Technically Touya wasn't an adult, being only fifteen and all, but still.
"I don't get it," Touya continued. "The two of you are by far the best players on your teams. I don't know if you guys noticed, but your teammates look up to you both. Is this really the example you want to be setting for them?"
Shouto tilted his head down as he picked at the grass. It wasn't often he got scolded by his brother, but it shattered him each time it happened. Touya never resorted to yelling the way Enji did or the overly gentle approach Rei typically followed. Touya just told him straight that Shouto's actions were inexcusable and then went into detail as to why. There was no punishment afterward, but knowing that he disappointed his brother was punishment enough for Shouto.
"I'm sorry," he muttered.
"It's okay, buddy. Just make sure you don't do it again."
Katsuki crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not saying sorry. I didn't do anything."
Touya rolled his eyes. "Right. I'm sure Shouto just attacked you out of nowhere."
"He was laughing at Izuku," Shouto said. "He made him cry."
Katsuki huffed. "He was already crying. He cries over everything."
"Because you keep picking on him!"
Touya held his hands up. "That's enough." He sighed before addressing Katsuki. "Katsuki, from what I've seen of you today, you're quite the talented baseball player. Do you wanna go pro one day?"
"Yeah," Katsuki replied.
"He wants to be a pitcher," Shouto added. He knew that fact since Katsuki hardly went a day without talking about it.
Touya smiled. "Well I've never seen you pitch, but if it's anything as good as your hitting and fielding, I think you have the ability to make it one day."
A twinkle formed in Katsuki's eye. "Really?"
Touya nodded. "But you have to fix the attitude. No team's gonna sign someone who demonstrates bad sportsmanship."
Katsuki furrowed his brows. "I heard your dad had bad sportsmanship when he was in the pros."
Touya, unfazed by Katsuki's attempt to mock him, replied without hesitation. "Newsflash kid, you can't say anything about our old man that we don't already know. You wanna end up like him? A washed up has-been who sees his children as extensions of himself instead of individual people? Someone who pushes them to finish some pipe dream he set for himself but couldn't achieve, even if he has to force them because they don't want to? Is that how you want people to remember you?"
Katsuki's lips parted open, but the boy was speechless. He cast a quick glance at Shouto, who still picked at the grass, avoiding eye contact with everybody. Katsuki pouted before mumbling his answer. "I guess not."
Touya gave a half smile. "Didn't think so." A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "Look, I'm not saying you guys have to be best friends. But would it kill you to at least try to get along?"
"Probably," Katsuki muttered.
"Come on. Isn't it your birthday tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'm turning eight."
Touya shrugged. "Well, Shouto's been looking forward to your birthday party."
Shouto's cheeks flushed pink. "I wasn't looking forward to it. I don't even want to go to his stupid party."
"Then don't come," Katsuki said. "I don't want you there anyway."
"Well," Touya said, "if Shouto doesn't go, then you won't see the super awesome gift he got you. It's pretty sick."
Shouto pouted. "I didn't get it for him. Mom picked it out."
Touya smirked. "Yeah, but I remember you saying how much Katsuki will love it. You said it's the perfect gift for him."
Katsuki's eyes lit up. "What is it?"
"Nope," Touya said. "You can't find out unless Shouto goes to your party tomorrow."
Katsuki paused, pursed his lips, but soon gave in. "Fine, you can come."
Shouto frowned at Touya. "I still don't wanna go."
"Okay," Touya hummed. "I guess you won't get to see the magician you were soooo excited to see."
Shouto flared his nostrils. He had been excited for Katsuki's party because a magician was supposed to show up. If he was the only kid in his class not to see it, he knew he'd regret it.
"Fine," Shouto said, "I'll go."
Touya smiled. "Thank you. So what do you guys say? Truce for now?"
The boys looked at each other. While there was still some tension between them, they didn't look at one another with pure hatred, so that was some improvement.
"Truce," Katsuki muttered.
"Truce," Shouto muttered back.
"Perfect." Touya rose to his feet. "I'm gonna go check on the team real quick. You two sit here and try to talk it out like men. No fighting, understand?"
"Yes," they replied.
Touya nodded and trotted off. Shouto and Katsuki watched him head back to the dugout to talk to Keigo. Neither Shouto nor Katsuki were eager to spark a conversation with the other. A little powwow with Shouto's brother didn't automatically turn them into best friends.
The silence must've gotten to Katsuki, because he spoke first. "Your brother's way cooler than you."
Shouto ignored his comment. "I don't know why you have to be so mean all the time. Why do you always pick on Izuku?"
Katsuki shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well, you should stop. It's not nice."
"Whatever. Was Touya telling the truth?" he asked. "Were you excited to come to my birthday party?"
Shouto adjusted his baseball cap and nodded. "I never saw a real life magician before."
"Oh." Katsuki looked at the ground. "How come you never invite me to your birthday parties?"
"I never had one."
"Huh?" The boy stared at Shouto again, confusion encompassing his face. "What do you mean you never had one? Every kid has birthday parties."
"Not me," Shouto said. "My dad won't let me."
Katsuki's expression shifted once again, though this one Shouto couldn't decipher. Perhaps he would've found out if Katsuki hadn't taken such a long pause before responding, but just as the boy opened his mouth to speak, another voice cut him off.
"KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"
Katsuki's face went white. "Oh no."
Mitsuki Bakugou stomped over to where the boys sat. Masaru trailed behind, his demeanor more hesitant than his wife's.
"What were you thinking?" she snapped. "Did you think your father and I couldn't hear you laughing at poor Izuku from where we were sitting?"
Shouto wasn't even the one being yelled at, yet he still felt the wrath of Katsuki's mom. It wasn't hard. Mitsuki was just Katsuki's face on an adult woman's body. That was plenty terrifying for Shouto.
Katsuki stood up and held his hands out in surrender. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident."
"Oh, spare me!" She grabbed Katsuki by the hand. "We're going home now. You better be on your best behavior tonight otherwise I'm canceling your birthday party!"
Katsuki's eyes widened. "No, no please! I'll be good."
"Better be," she huffed, dragging him away. She flashed Shouto a smile as the family left. "Take care, sweetie. Hope to see you tomorrow."
Shouto waved them goodbye with a dropped jaw. For as long as he knew Katsuki, Shouto never saw the boy receive any proper discipline. Then again, he really only saw Katsuki's parents at drop off and pick up for school and group play dates. No wonder Katsuki was such a feisty child. He must've learned it from his mother.
As he sat alone, Shouto considered the possibility that Mitsuki might've been even scarier than his own father. But that thought vanished after a few seconds.
No, he said to himself, at least she's throwing Katsuki a birthday party.