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It has only been a week since Kirishima started out his high school life in UA. Everything is pretty much normal—he has made friends with almost everyone in class, he has been learning about a whole lot of types of quirks and how they apply it to their hero trainings, he has been training like a madman and nothing can stop him from being the manly and unbreakable hero that he aspires to be.
It has only been a month since he started out his high school life and everything is pretty much normal—except every now and then, Kirishima feels like there’s someone else out there taking regular classes with them.
There are only four people in the last column of their seating arrangement, that being Hagakure, Midoriya, Mineta, and Momo—leaving the seat behind Momo empty. Kirishima knows it’s empty, he has checked the class list for god knows how many times already in the past week just to ensure that there is, indeed, no one sitting at the seat in the far corner of the room. Kirishima knows at the back of his mind that there is no one is in that seat—but he can’t shake the feeling that someone is there, just lurking and maybe waiting for someone in the class to finally take notice.
“—shima-kun! Kirishima-kun!” Kirishima flinches when he realizes Midoriya has been waving his hand in front of him to grab his attention. He rubs the back of his head and flashes a sheepish smile at the green head.
“Hey, man! Sorry I was spacing out!”
“No it’s fine! We’re about to head home now. There’s no one else left here so I was about to ask you if you wanna go home together?” Kirishima looks behind Midoriya and sees Iida and Uraraka waiting. He flaunts a genuine smile before shaking his head gently to deny the offer.
“Thanks for the offer! But I guess I’m gonna train a bit before going home.”
The three of them waves their goodbye to Kirishima before heading out of the classroom. As soon as they are out of sight, Kirishima heaves a sigh and starts packing his things up. He should really stop thinking about weird things inside the classroom. Kirishima is not really too scared of the thought of ghosts lurking around. Well, they are former living human beings after all—still human beings in Kirishima’s perspective. If there really is a ghost inside their classroom, then he’d be more than glad to befriend the said ghost.
Suddenly, Kirishima feels a shiver run through his spine. He quickly shifts his gaze towards the windows but noticed that all of it are closed. He gulps an imaginary lump on his throat before speeding up on fixing his things. Okay, he might wanna befriend a ghost but at least let him prepare himse—
Inhale. Exhale.
There’s someone staring at him.
Inhale. Exhale.
He is definitely not alone in this classroom.
Inhale. Exhale.
“You can fucking see me, don’t you, shitty hair?"
Kirishima swears he did not scream with the sudden voice he heard just in front of him—way too close of a proximity for him to feel comfortable for the first meeting he is having with his, apparently, new found friend.
Kirishima takes a deep breath to try and calm himself down. He gazes at the figure in front of him. He can see him. He can see the pale blonde hair almost as spiky as his own hair, the crimson eyes he thought he was just imagining before, the cheeks which look so pale, the stature which is just a little bit smaller than him.
Shit. Are all ghosts really this cute?
“You talk too much in class and now you don’t even say a word when I’m fucking asking you.” He sees the pale blonde roll his eyes at him, but Kirishima thinks he still looks so cute while doing that. Damn he really needs to keep his gayness in check.
“I uh—man I don’t know. I mean, I see you, yeah? But I’m just a little confused right now.”
“You look like you’re always confused in class anyway.” Kirishima can’t help but flaunt a big smile when he hears him.
“I knew it! You’re watching all of us during class! I could feel it, but I never really had enough basis to draw a conclusion. Man, that’s so cool!” The blonde scoffs and turns his gaze elsewhere. If he is not a ghost, then Kirishima thinks he’ll probably see a slight flush on this person’s face.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Kirishima Eijirou. What’s your name?”
The pale blonde looks at him before gazing elsewhere once again. Kirishima patiently waits for his answer but then suddenly—he’s gone. He frantically looks around the room. He can still feel someone else’s presence so he’s pretty sure the ghost is still here just watching him.
“Hey! I just wanna be friends y’know? I’m not scary!”
Kirishima is still looking around, hoping on each turn he makes that he’ll see the same crimson eyes once again.
“And why the fuck would you want to befriend me?”
“But why not?”
Kirishima answers and now he really thinks he has gone and done it. What little presence of the blonde that he has been feeling since earlier is now gone.
Inhale. Exhale.
It feels so weird being alone in this room.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Bakugou. Bakugou Katsuki.”
Kirishima flinches when he hears that rough voice, but smiles immediately as he tries to sync the information in his mind.
Bakugou Katsuki.
Bakugou Katsuki.
Bakugou Katsuki.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bakugou!”
Perhaps having a ghost friend isn’t really a bad deal at all.
_________________________
Kirishima starts to head home late the next few days as well. He always stays in the classroom until no one is around anymore and just patiently waits for his friend to come and see him again. He can still feel his presence whenever they are having classes after all, but that presence always vanishes during break time and when classes finally end.
Today is no different either. He has been trying to solve these math problems for an hour already and Bakugou has yet to come. He sighs in frustration and buries his head on his desk.
“Bakugou! I don’t know if I scared you or not. But care to give some help? I know you listened in on our lessons!” Kirishima closes his eyes for a moment before he feels a gush of wind run through inside the classroom. He quickly takes a look around to search for his new-found friend when suddenly, he feels something cold near his left cheek.
“It’s because you’re using the wrong formula, shitty hair.”
Kirishima bites his lower lip when he realizes that Bakugou is leaning towards him so he can take a look at the problem which the redhead has been solving since earlier. Slowly, he shifts his gaze towards Bakugou and realizes how close their faces are to each other. He quickly averts his gaze to the notebook instead and tries to focus on the stuff Bakugou is trying to tell him.
An hour and a half later and Kirishima has finally been freed of the burden of having to finish his assignment on weekends. Now he can spend all his weekend training his quirk once again. He smiles at the pale blonde who’s now situated in front of his desk.
“Thanks a lot, Bakugou! I thought you got really scared of me so you’ve been avoiding me.”
“Why the fuck would I be scared of you when you’re the one who’s fucking living?”
Kirishima pauses for a while. He looks at Bakugou who’s just gazing at the open window, maybe at the night sky just a little bit visible from his seat. He looks at Bakugou and feels his chest sink.
He’s right. Kirishima is here living his high school life like how he imagined it to be.
Yet Bakugou is not.
If Bakugou is alive, he would probably be the same age as him. He would probably be a hero hopeful, too. He would probably apply in UA, too, and who knows? He would probably still occupy the seat in the far corner of the room making them 20 people in Class 1-A.
“I’m sorry. I was so insensitive.”
“Don’t be sorry, idiot. It’s not your fault that I’m…that I’m like this.”
And then there is silence, but Kirishima doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all. If anything, he feels like this is their conversation. He feels like slowly, threads are starting to connect between the two of them. He feels like right here, right now, everything is sitting on the right place—with Bakugou staring outside and him just looking at this beauty of a person.
“I know you’re thinking about something. Spill.” Bakugou is the one who breaks the silence. Kirishima smiles a little and wonders how much Bakugou has observed him, and probably all his classmates, too, all while sitting in that seat in the far corner of the room.
“You’re beautiful.” Well that catches Bakugou’s attention. He finally shifts his gaze towards the redhead and tries to look as menacing as he usually does, but all Kirishima sees is a ball of angry cuteness.
“Shut the fuck up, shitty hair or I’ll end you!!”
“It’s true!! That’s what I was thinking about! Uh…well, I was…maybe wondering about how you…you became like this.” Kirishima rubs the back of his head as he tries to put his thoughts into words and he’s pretty sure he failed at that.
“I don’t know.”
“Y-You don’t know?”
“I don’t remember.”
Before he even knew it, his mouth is already agape because of what he just learned. Bakugou doesn’t even know why he is here. Seriously? Just who deserves this kind of shit?
“I don’t remember. The moment I had my consciousness, I’m already heading towards this place. I don’t know if I’m the same generation as you, or if I’m a lost soul who’s been wandering this fucking place since the beginning of time. All I remember is my name—”
Bakugou stops talking. For a minute or maybe two, all Kirishima can hear is the sound of the wind gushing through the open windows. He patiently waits until Bakugou finishes what he’s about to say.
“All I remember is I’m Bakugou Katsuki and I want to be a fucking hero.”
And then there are tears. There are way too many emotions coursing through his veins at this moment and Kirishima can’t express it all except through his tears. He is sad. Because why would someone who only dreams to be a hero be like this? He is mad. Because why would the universe fuck up and do this to Bakugou? He is in pain. Because despite what everyone else think or say, Bakugou is now his friend and who wants to see their friend be in this state?
“You’re really weird.” He flinches at the sound of the blonde’s voice before wiping his tears and trying to compose himself to properly face Bakugou.
“I’m not!”
“You are. You’re crying because of a person you barely met a week ago. You’ve always felt my presence in this room, yet you never tried to ignore it. In fact, you’re so fucking nosy you even tried to understand what fucking entity is staying in your classroom. You looked so scared when you first met me but then—”
“I was just shocked that one time!!” Bakugou rolls his eyes at him and Kirishima shuts up with that.
“You look so scared the first time we actually met, but I don’t know what the fuck did you see in me that you actually went and showed me that…that fucking pretty smile of yours.”
Kirishima feels the blush creeping on his face when he hears those words come out from Bakugou’s lips—well, no. Not just because of that.
For the first time since they met, he sees a hint of smile in Bakugou’s lips.
________________________
It has become a habit to stay in the classroom every after class and have Bakugou teach him about the stuff he didn’t quite get during the lessons that day. Sooner rather than later, their bonding extended from just having academic tutorials to going home together. Kirishima thinks at the back of his mind that maybe, just maybe, Bakugou enjoys his company after all. However, all Bakugou would tell him is that it’s boring in the campus when it’s late at night because all other ghosts are afraid of him.
Kirishima only chuckles at that. Well, having Bakugou walk home together with him is more than enough. Having Bakugou inside his room as he talks about anything and everything is more than enough. Having Bakugou watch a tv show with him until nine in the evening (because apparently, Bakugou is an old man who wants Kirishima to sleep at 8:30pm, but Kirishima got off with the counter offer of 9pm) is more than enough for him. Having Bakugou by his side, even when he can’t hug him, hold his hand, or feel the warmth of his cheeks is more than enough for him.
Having Bakugou by his side even when he will never feel the softness of his lips is more than enough for him.
“Focus, shitty hair!”
Kirishima snaps out of his thoughts as Bakugou calls him out in the middle of their sparring session. Well, their bonding time also transitioned to having sparring sessions together. That means Kirishima looks like he’s just randomly punching through the air when in fact—Bakugou is just in front of him teaching him about the stuff he knows about sparring.
It is a matter of fact that Kirishima is a close-range fighter, so saying that sparring with someone and not just a punching bag is a big help for him is such an understatement. Bakugou is quite an intellect, really. He thinks about Kirishima’s moves while thinking about his own and how to properly counter Kirishima. The redhead is trying to absorb this kind of fighting style instead of just blindingly attacking any kind of opponent head on.
Bakugou doesn’t remember anything about his life as a living human being so Kirishima just asked him before, if he would have a quirk then what would it be? Kirishima will never forget Bakugou’s smug face when he answered him with “Explosions!” Well that would be perfect. If Bakugou’s quirk would be explosions, then Kirishima would be the perfect partner for him. He’d be an unbreakable hero who can withstand Bakugou’s explosions. He’d be an unbreakable hero who can stand and will fight with Bakugou.
So when practical exams come and he has been paired with Midoriya for a fight, then Kirishima is more than ready to make his best friend proud. He doesn’t really see Bakugou in the Ground Beta, but feeling his presence is more than enough for him to feel more pumped up than ever before.
As soon as the fight starts, Midoriya uses his speed to close in on Kirishima. Kirishima quickly takes a defense stance and takes a step back to keep himself from getting punched only to find that Midoriya is about to give him a kick from his right. He smiles a little to himself, Midoriya really thinks one or two steps ahead of his opponents—makes him remember his sparring partner for almost four months now.
Kirishima lets himself get kicked, only so he can grab Midoriya’s leg and lift him up only to smash him down. Midoriya quickly tries to tone down the impact by using his quirk to smash the pavement instead. He can hear several cheering from his classmates but he heeds no mind. Focus. There’s only one thing to focus on right now. He just wants to win.
The fight continues for about a minute. He receives a punch and gives a punch back. He receives a kick and gives a kick back. They are currently on a stalemate and twenty more seconds before Aizawa-sensei stops the match. Kirishima is just waiting for an opportunity—even just half a second to open for him to be able to finish this up.
But that half a second didn’t come. The next thing he knows, there are only five seconds on the clock, but Kirishima is on the ground with Midoriya pinning him using his arms. Kirishima lost.
He fucking lost.
Midoriya and Kirishima goes back to the sidelines and watch as more of their classmates take the practical test. Kirishima feels Bakugou’s presence vanish and seriously? He can’t even blame him. What reason is there to stay when the one you have been hanging around with for almost four months now is such a loser? What difference did he make since he was in middle school? What are all those sparring lessons he got from Bakugou if in the end he’s only going to lose?
“That was a really good fight, Kirishima-kun!” He hears Midoriya tell him. He smiles a little at him while shaking his head.
“It was all yours, man. I couldn’t beat you!”
“Your fighting style has changed a lot! It…Well, it actually reminds me of someone else.”
Kirishima tilts his head to the side as he thinks about what the greenhead just said. The moment he’s about to ask Midoriya what he meant with that, said man has been called by Iida for some reminders.
Someone else?
________________________
“Oi, shitty hair.”
Kirishima flinches when he suddenly hears Bakugou’s voice inside the changing room. It has been a while since the redhead has been surprised by the pale blonde. Thank goodness he’s the only one in this room right now.
“Man! Give me some heads up!”
“You’re thinking about useless things again, aren’t you?”
Had this been any other people, Kirishima would have faked a smile. Kirishima would have told them that he’s fine, everything is fine. He’s not bothered by anything at all, not by the practical exams, not by the fact that he feels like he’s still the same useless idiot that he really is back in high school.
“I’m a ghost, not a fucking mind reader so spill it out, Kirishima.”
The redhead chuckles a little. His words are still the same as ever, but it lacks its usual bite and maybe, maybe this is something that he only wants to imagine—but there is a hint of worry in Bakugou’s voice as he talks to him.
“You know, my quirk doesn’t really give me a lot of options when it comes to fighting. I can’t use nor can I think of any tricks to my quirk, so I focused on trying to strengthen my fighting and sparring skills to make full use of my quirk.”
“I’ve been nothing but a lackluster since I was in middle school. I only loved talking about the concept of manliness, but not once did I ever act like one. I thought I’d be able to do that here. I thought I can be stronger here. In fact, I thought I am stronger now.”
“Yet, I still lost. I can’t even keep pace with my classmates. When we have all become pro-heroes, what will I do then? What will I become?”
For a moment, all Kirishima can hear is the sound of ticking of the clock. Kirishima is facing elsewhere, anywhere other than Bakugou, really. He doesn’t want to see Bakugou’s disappointed face after hearing all his negativities.
“Forget about keeping pace, idiot. Earlier, you were unshakeable.”
Kirishima isn’t sure he hears the pale blonde right. He takes a look at him and meets the same beautiful crimson eyes.
“The two of you were at par when it comes to sparring skills. You fought him toe to toe. You didn’t let him have an easy time. Heck, you even beat the shit out of him at some point during your fight. It took him the entire minute and a half just so he can finally pin you down.”
“If you refuse to go down, then it means you’re stupidly strong.”
One. Two. Three.
It has only been three minutes since they started talking in this small changing room.
One. Two. Three.
It has only been three minutes and Bakugou managed to erase all his worries.
One. Two. Three
It has only been three minutes and Kirishima’s smile is back on his face once again.
One. Two. Thr—
Bakugou vanishes, completely vanishes and Kirishima can’t even feel his presence inside this room anymore.
“Bakugou! Where are you?!” Kirishima is in panic. This has never happened before and it’s not like Bakugou to suddenly vanish in the middle of a conversation like that. What the hell is happening?!
One. Two. Three.
“Ki—shima..” Kirishima looks around the room, but Bakugou is gone once again. His presence keeps on popping up and vanishing once again. It’s like Bakugou is being pulled elsewhere, but is still trying to keep himself intact in this world.
One. Two. Three.
He looks near the window when he feels Bakugou’s presence. He finally sees him and Kirishima has never felt so relieved in his life than at this moment right now.
One.
Bakugou smiles.
Two.
“I’m so proud of you. Thank you for everything, Kirishima.”
Three.
Bakugou is gone.
_________________________
It has already been five months since Kirishima started out his high school life in UA. Five months since Kirishima met a certain person sitting at the seat in the far corner of their classroom. Four months since they started studying together. Three months since they started. sparring together, two months since they started going home together learning more about each other.
One month since Bakugou vanished.
It has been one month since summer vacation started and today marks the beginning of their classes once again. It’s not like Kirishima never went to school during summer vacation. After all, their school is still the perfect place for them to hone their quirks to the utmost of their limits. Their school is still the perfect place for him and his classmates to gather whenever they want to at least do something productive together.
Their school is still the perfect place to wait for Bakugou to come back.
He wants to be there when Bakugou comes back. He wants to be there when Bakugou once again wanders around and ends up in that classroom. He wants to be there when Bakugou sits at the seat in the far corner of the room. He wants to be there to welcome Bakugou home. He wants to be there to see Bakugou’s smile, or his angry face, or his confident smirk, or anything about the blonde will do.
He wants to be there and have a reset. He wants to start everything all over again. He wants to show him how much he has improved. He wants him to know that he has finally moved on from the piece of his past that he has always loathed. He wants to thank Bakugou for showing him that he is strong, for helping him realize that he can be unbreakable. He wants Bakugou to watch him again and smile for him again.
He wants Bakugou to tell him that he is proud of him, again, and again, and again, and again—because Kirishima will never get tired of it. Kirishima will do anything and everything just to hear those words from Bakugou once again.
“Good morning, Kirishima-kun!”
The redhead snaps out of his thoughts and shifts his gaze towards Midoriya. Before he can even greet him back, Midoriya is already greeting their other classmates. Kirishima smiles a little before asking him.
“You seem to be in a good mood! What’s the occasion? Excited for the first day of classes after summer vacation?”
“Well, kind of! After all, my childhood friend will finally be attending this school!”
All of their attention is now on Midoriya as they listen in on his story.
“Well...uh, there was some sort of incident before with a sludge villain. My childhood friend suffered a little with that and has been in coma ever since. But now he’s better than ever!! Around the time when classes in UA started, he has been recovering at a faster rate says the doctor!”
“He finally woke up a month ago and underwent rehabilitation. He’s really amazing finishing his rehabilitation in just a month. He took a special entrance exam and I’m so—”
“What the fuck are you blabbering about, Deku?!”
Kirishima freezes on his seat when he hears that voice. That familiar rough and angry voice. That voice which he will recognize even in his sleep. That voice which he has longed to hear for a month already. That voice which he has always been waiting for.
“Kacchan! Good morning!”
Kirishima sees the pale blonde click his tongue before heading to the empty seat at the far corner of the room, just behind Momo—just like how he used to when he was still a spirit wandering around in this classroom.
“—shima-kun! Kirishima-kun!”
Kirishima looks at Midoriya who is gazing at him with worry in his eyes.
“Did something wrong happen? W-Why are you crying? Did Kacchan scare you off?!”
Kirishima chuckles a little with the questions. He shakes his head a little before wiping the tears off his cheeks. This is not the time to be crying. This is the time to be taking action.
It’s fine. This is fine. They can finally have their reset. This will be their reset.
Kirishima stands up and heads over to where Bakugou is situated.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Kirishima Eijirou. What’s your name?”
The pale blonde looks at him before gazing elsewhere once again. Kirishima patiently waits for him to answer because if there’s anything that Kirishima has learned in the past five months—it is the fact that Bakugou will always be worth waiting for.
“Bakugou. Bakugou Katsuki.”
They can finally start everything all over again.