After Katsuki had successfully gotten (Y/n) to accept his help, they both headed to the cafeteria for lunch. (Y/n) took her usual position in front of Shouto, but this time Katsuki didn't sit next to her.

"Hey," the girl greeted Shouto while placing her food tray on the table before sitting down.

"Hey," the dual-haired male stared at her smiley face for a moment before commenting. "You look happy today."

"Am I?" (Y/n) tilted her head to the side as she broke apart her chopsticks. She then chuckled. "You wouldn't guess why either way."

"And why are you happy?"

"Because," the girl's smile widened as she prepared to break the news. "I was given my parents' info file yesterday."

Shouto's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?" she scrunched up her face and picked up a piece of takoyaki with her chopsticks. "And to think that nasty orphanage told me that they didn't have it..." she lifted her shoulder in a half shrug and put the takoyaki in her mouth. While chewing, she frowned at the table when she remembered something.

"Something wrong?"

Her eyes darted back to Shouto and she held up her finger indicating for him to give her a moment and swallow. When she did, she cleared her throat.

"What I wanted to say was," she began picking at her rice. "Have I waited for too long? I mean, shouldn't I have started this earlier? Am I late?"

"No. You know that even if you wanted to before, you couldn't. We didn't even know where to start," he responded, his voice gentle to reverse her guilty feelings.

(Y/n) smiled at his words when memories of them going back to the orphanage she was in every week to try and convince them to give the two information on her parents but to no avail flooded back. The people at the orphanage didn't take the two youngsters seriously and would always dismiss them, only for them to return. She could also recall how they would walk for hours around town while carrying the photo of her parents and asking around if anyone had seen them anywhere. But it was always the same negative answer. Nearly every day, they'd return home looking dusty and battered and for Shouto, he'd always dread going back home since all those 'after-school escapades' weren't authorized by his tyrant of a father and every time he got caught, Endeavor always had something to say about it. But nevertheless, despite (Y/n) telling him that he shouldn't risk because of her, he always insisted that he didn't care about what his father thought and continued helping her. All in all, it was a futile search but still memorable. After a year of fruitless gains, the girl postponed her search, focusing more on applying to U.A. first. After that, events after events just kept coming, rendering her search impossible but now, nothing was. Especially when she had information on them at her disposal.

"You're right," a fond smile appeared on her face as she stared down at her lunch while replaying the memories. "We certainly didn't."

"Would you like for me to accompany you like old times?"

(Y/n) looked up from her tray and her lips parted. "Uh..." she scratched her head. "Well, you see...I kinda, maybe, sorta, probably..." she winced. "Told Katsuki to come?"

The dual-haired male stiffened at the mention of Katsuki and immediately, his whole demeanor changing into a cold one.

"Oh really?" he asked, his question directed more to himself than to the girl.

Her shoulders sagged. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you first but he beat me to it and asked. Plus, I know you guys don't have the best relationship so I don't know if you'd be too fond of working with him. If you want, you can come too. I mean...what am I even saying?" the girl tried to explain, muttering the last part. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No. I'm not," the male said, heterochromatic eyes glued on his bowl as anger boiled within him. "I don't mind you going with him.

(Y/n) sighed in relief and pursed her lips, feeling bad that she had to choose Katsuki over her childhood 'partner'. But she was a believer in first come first serve so her conscience wouldn't allow her to do over Katsuki like that. Unless Shouto decided to come with them, then it would be okay.

"I'm sorry, again," she apologized, hoping to clear away the guilty feeling gnawing at her heart. She forced up a smile. "You could come with us if you want. I know they say that two is company and three is a crowd but-"

"It's fine. Go with him and don't apologize," he cut her off, his tone still cold and distant. (Y/n)'s smile instantly fell and despite what he just said, she still felt guilty and terrible.

"Are you sure?" she cautiously asked. She could almost literally see the dark aura start to surround him. That, and he hadn't looked at her even once since she mentioned Katsuki. "You don't look not angry to me."

"It's nothing. Just remembered something." Shouto finally looked up at her and sent her the lightest of smiles. He wasn't angry at the girl, no, in fact, he respected her 'first come, first serve' policy. But knowing it was Katsuki who asked her was enough to make anger coil in his stomach. He would've been fine if it were anyone else, even Mineta. Just not Katsuki.

The girl nodded unsurely, sensing his unwillingness to tell her. She wanted to push it but as she looked at him, his whole expression screamed for her to back off from the issue.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you later," the male added after a moment of silence, earning a faint smile from (Y/n).

(Y/n) continued staring at him as she picked up another takoyaki and put it into her mouth. They rarely had arguments, if she could call what happened an argument, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She really hoped that it would at least be the last time they had something as awful as that.

When she was just about to clean out her tray, her phone suddenly vibrated from within her pocket. She placed her chopsticks back on her tray and dug into her school's jacket pocket to take out her phone. She tapped on the screen and saw one notification on the home screen.

1 message

She swiped across the screen and opened the message to read it.

[1:25 PM] Fireworks: Meet me after school for that stuff

Why's he texting me at school? (Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows as she quickly typed in a reply.

[1:26 PM] (Y/n): Sure. But couldn't it have been easier to tell me in class? I mean, you literally sit right next to me

The girl sent the message, but as she went to place it back into her pocket, it vibrated again, his message immediate. Sighing, she read the second message.

[1:26 PM] Fireworks: IT'S EASIER THIS WAY MORON!! Besides, I wanted to see if you saved my number.

(Y/n) scoffed a laugh and immediately sent a response.

[1:27 PM] (Y/n): Caps lock? Really? Besides, why wouldn't I save your number?

As soon as she sent it, her phone vibrated again, yet another message from the ash-blond. The girl giggled at his tenacity and read it, responding accordingly.

Shouto, who was watching her the whole time, wondered who she could've been texting and make her react like that. His eyes left the girl to look around the cafeteria. He could see other students also on their phones, but only one particular one caught his attention. He stared with an unreadable look on his face at a certain ash-blond who was smirking down at his phone while quickly typing away.

Shouto then looked at (Y/n) who was smiling down at her screen. Something out of place suddenly caught his eye, its shiny surface glistening under the fluorescent lighting of the cafeteria, making it hard to miss. He stared at the phone charm, the initial burning its jeering imprint in his brain.

He knew only one person who had the guts to give it to her, one person with that initial. It couldn't have been Kaminari, he knew better than to make a move on his girl. So that only left one person.

And that particular person must've texted her with the sole purpose of letting Shouto see the charm. He was indirectly mocking him in his face.

And when that realization hit him square on the face, Shouto could feel his composure wearing away piece by piece.

So, he has already started making his move, huh?

The sudden crack of snapping ice sounded, capturing (Y/n)'s and the other table members' attention. (Y/n) gawked at the frozen and broken chopsticks that were still gripped in Shouto's tightened fist. She sent him a questioning look but hesitated upon seeing the dark look in his eyes as anger seeped from him in volumes.

His dark aura unnerved the other students at the table, making them look away from him so as to not face his anger, which was famous after his fight with Sero at the festival.

(Y/n) knitted her eyebrows together, puzzled and worried. "Shouto? What's wrong?"

"Who gave you that?" he asked, completely ignoring her question, his angry eyes still glued on the phone charm.

He needed clarification. Just a simple answer that could confirm all his suspicions.

(Y/n) raised a puzzled eyebrow and her eyes followed his line of vision, before landing on the shiny trinket dangling from her phone.

"Oh, this?" she asked and raised up her phone a bit, making the charm sway from side to side. "Katsuki gave it to me."

The male remained silent, his rage increasing tenfold by the second. (Y/n) frowned and leaned forward a bit, her face twisting in concern.

"Shouto, are you o-"

"I'm fine."

(Y/n)'s eyebrows rose in surprise and she leaned back. Choosing to leave him be for the moment, she pursed her lips and looked away from him with a pensive expression on.

The dual-haired male realized his cold hostility towards the girl and mentally slapping himself for letting out his rage upon her. His eyes softened, his rage slightly melting away as he let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry. It's just...a lot on my mind," he explained, hoping that she wasn't mad at him.

(Y/n) met his eyes once more and forced a smile. "It's okay. I'm not mad." Who am I kidding? I'm worried as hell.

The male returned her smile, but it immediately fell when her phone vibrated again, taking the girl's attention away from him.

As he stared at her type, Shouto felt a pair of eyes on him and he scanned the hall, only for his eyes to lock gazes with a pair of crimson eyes from across the cafeteria.

Katsuki smirked at him, a smirk full of malice and intent. Shouto reciprocated with a death glare, the desire to rip his skull out burning within him.

Through that silent and deadly exchange, it was clear as day that Katsuki had finally declared war on Shouto and that he was ready to do anything and everything just to steal his girl.

***

After the last class, (Y/n) finished packing up her books in her bag, said her goodbyes to some of her classmates and slung the strap over her shoulder before heading towards the class door to exit.

Katsuki had already gone ahead and waiting for her in the hallway. When she emerged out of the door, Katsuki pushed off the wall he was leaning against when he saw her.

"Ready?" she asked when she finally joined him.

The male nodded and they began walking towards the school's exit. (Y/n) decided to send Shouto a quick message, informing him that she was heading home with Katsuki instead. But before she could press the send button, she noticed the said male walking towards them.

The corners of her mouth turned up as her face lit up. "Oh, hey, Shouto. I was just about to-"

"Come on, let's go," he interjected, immediately grabbing her hand and pulled her towards him.

(Y/n) gasped at his uncalled for action and quickly regained her balance before she fell to the ground. Katsuki growled at Shouto's unwanted presence, his crimson-colored eyes glaring daggers at the boy.

"Shouto! What are you doing?" confused and still disoriented, (Y/n) tried to yank her hand away from his vice-like grip.

"You're coming with me," he ordered, his cold eyes still glued on Katsuki.

"No," she scowled and attempted to rip her hand away from his tight hold once more. She finally managed to do it and took a few steps away from him. Shouto turned to her. "I told Katsuki I was going to walk with him home,"

"Oh really."

Katsuki's scowl curved up into a cruel sneer. "Haah?!! You've got a problem with that, you half-ass shit?!!"

He could tell that Shouto already knew. The dual-haired male was smart and something like that wouldn't have easily passed him, but Katsuki didn't care. In fact, he liked it. He liked the fact that Shouto was aware that he was out to take (Y/n) from him. But he liked the fact that Shouto was insecure about having (Y/n) around him more.

(Y/n) sighed wearily at Katsuki's insult but paid no mind to it, focusing her attention on Shouto. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?"

"Yeah, you half and half fucker. Why don't you tell her what's wrong?!!" Katsuki jeered, his expression challenging Shouto to spill the beans.

Shouto coolly shoved his hands in his pockets. "Don't you ever get tired of the nonsense that comes out of your mouth every day?"

Katsuki's smirk fell, rage taking over his features as he took a threatening step forward. "You wanna die, icyhot?!!"

Shouto also took a step forward, taking up the presented challenge. (Y/n)'s eyes widened at the sudden rise in tension and immediately stepped in between them, her arms spread out at both sides to keep them away from each other.

"Guys! Please! If this is still about the festival, you guys should stop right now!!" she commanded, her expression serious as she looked back and forth between the males.

Both boys glanced at the girl and back at each other. Katsuki clicked his tongue backed away, scowling as he continued to glower at Shouto. The dual-haired boy backed off too, the glare reciprocated.

(Y/n) lowered her arms back to her sides and gave Katsuki a pointed look, mentally scolding him for wanting to start a fight. Katsuki's frown deepened but didn't utter a single word.

"Katsuki, would you give us a minute?" she jerked her head in the direction of the exit. "I'll be right there."

Katsuki scoffed at her but obeyed nonetheless as he turned and walked some distance from them. When he was finally out of hearing range, (Y/n) pursed her lips and turned to Shouto, a questioning look on her face.

"What's suddenly gotten into you, huh?"

The male looked at her, his face hard as he could feel his anger still cascading from him. He was usually one to assess situations before acting upon them, only losing his cool on a few occasions, someone messing with (Y/n) being one of them.

When it came to her, he would gladly put aside all his virtues and mortal combat the shit out of anybody. So his one-eighty degree turn of character was absolutely vindicated.

"I don't like him."

(Y/n) crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you made that pretty obvious."

The male stayed silent while millions of thoughts ran through his mind as he stared back at the girl.

(Y/n) was also thinking, trying to assess what could've ticked him off until she came to a conclusion. Ever since she mentioned Katsuki's name back at the cafeteria, his mood had deteriorated ever since. Could he be...?

She sighed and sent him a concerned look. "Are you jealous?" when he didn't reply fast enough, she continued. "Because if you are, I assure you, there's nothing to worry about. He's just a friend," the girl assured him, her face softening in understanding.

Shouto shook his head. "I'm not jealous," he lied and looked over her at the direction Katsuki had gone to with a frown. "I just don't like the way he treats you."

The male didn't want (Y/n) to feel like he didn't trust her. He did, a lot in that matter. It's just Katsuki, he didn't trust. But he did say the truth when he said that he didn't like the way he treated her. Because it was different. Different from how he treated others.

But to the very blind (Y/n), she took it to mean that Shouto didn't like how hostile Katsuki was with her and her worries melted away.

She smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure? Because if that's the case, I assure you, there's nothing to worry about. I can handle him pretty well. Besides," she playfully punched his sturdy chest. "I'll bitchslap him if he tries to give me shit."

Shouto sighed at her obliviousness but nodded nonetheless. He didn't want to tell her, rather having her not knowing than knowing. (Y/n), satisfied with his simple answer, cocked her head to the side.

"Text you when I get home?"

"Yeah."

The girl smiled and stood on her toes to gently place a peck on his lips before turning and making her way to the ash-blond. On the way, she looked back to send Shouto a wave, all the while smiling before turning back to head to Katsuki.

Shouto sighed as he stared at her retreating back. His eyes then went to Katsuki, who turned to the girl when she reached him and appeared to be telling her something. The female replied and they both began walking together towards the exit. When (Y/n) wasn't looking, Katsuki sent Shouto a victorious smirk over his shoulder and faced forward before (Y/n) could catch him.

Shouto frowned.

"I really don't like him..."

***

"I'm sorry about back then. I don't know what got into him," (Y/n) sent the boy walking beside her a small, apologetic smile as they headed down the deserted street that led to their homes.

Katsuki grunted affirmative, expression leveled and neutral but inwardly still smirking at Shouto's behavior.

"Well, away from that," (Y/n) undid her ponytail and shook out her hair, relishing in the feeling of her hair being finally free of its bonds. "I was thinking, how about we pay a visit to my old orphanage on Saturday. I have a few questions that I think we'll get the answers there."

Katsuki watched her thread her fingers into her soft-looking (h/c) hair and absentmindedly nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Pocketing her hairband, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and turned to Katsuki. "And you know also wi- aah!" the girl let out a surprised gasp when her back suddenly hit the wall, her eyes squeezing shut at the sudden force of the collision.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open and they immediately widened when they met with Katsuki's own. His body was pressed against hers, one hand around her waist while the other rested on the wall beside her head. His face was inches away from hers. Her breaths began to quicken at the close proximity as a flush crept up her face.

"What-wha-"

"Shut up." Katsuki shushed her, the darkness of the alley he had pushed her into luckily hiding the blush that colored his cheeks. He leaned to the side, peeking his head out of the corner to look at something at the distance before straightening up to look back at the girl.

"What?" she whispered, already registering that they were hiding from something and not that Katsuki had shamelessly decided to feel her up.

But does it really have to be this close? This guy really doesn't have a problem with close proximity, does he? He actually looks unaffected by this...

"Gangs," he responded, his voice barely above a whisper as his eyes briefly fell on her lips and returned to her eyes before she noticed. He could feel his restraint slowly drain away, begging him to kiss her right there. It was a rare opportunity to have her this close, where he could feel her body against his. But he also restrained himself from getting too excited since he didn't want her to see him as just an opportunistic pervert and break the friendship that had just barely begun.

(Y/n) sighed in relief and a silent nervous laugh escaped her lips. "That's a relief. I thought it was something serious like villains or...or bear sharks..."

Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows. "Bear sharks? What the fuck?"

"I know right," she muttered, mentally smacking herself for her stupid imaginations.

A smirk crept up Katsuki's lips as he looked back at her. "We can take them."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened at the proposal. "What? No!" she whisper-shrieked. "Are you crazy?! We could get in trouble if the school found out we used our Quirks outside school!"

"And are you an idiot? They're just stupid fuckers, an easy hit!" he whisper-shouted, earning a scowl from the girl.

"No!" she jabbed his chest with her finger, making him let go of her waist and back away. "I'm not willing to risk my school life to boost your stupid fighting...lust or whatever it's called!"

Katsuki let out a low growl. "We can fucking take them," He rasped through gritted teeth.

(Y/n)'s face went blank. "Why are you like this?"

"We. Can. Fucking. Take. Them."

The girl made a disbelieving face. She then rolled her eyes and turned around, front pressed against the wall and leaned to the side to check out the people they were hiding from. It was a group of five guys, all looking shady and talking in hushed tones. Three of them were built like machines and for a second, (Y/n) wondered if Katsuki took drugs if he thought they could take them.

She drew in a sharp breath and turned her head to look back at Katsuki while sliding her bag off her shoulder.

"I swear to God, if I get expelled, I will hunt you down and hang you up by your balls."

Katsuki smirked, finally getting his answer.

***

"Come on! I told you! This stuff goes for more than you just gave me! Now give me the rest of my money!"

A short man ran his tongue on his upper teeth, his irritation growing by the second. "And I fucking said that I usually buy this shit for that price at the other guy!"

"Calm down, Yevo," one tall, lanky one placed his hand on the short man. "We don't wanna lose the supplier. Just give him what he wants."

'Yevo' glared at the tall man and shrugged off his hand before reluctantly reaching out for his wallet in the pocket of his large coat.

"Fine! Here it is," he handed the built man the money, who immediately snatched it from his hand and started counting it.

Yevo scoffed and returned his wallet while cursing under his breath. The supplier tipped his fedora in mock courtesy before gesturing to his two lackeys standing behind him, signaling that it was time to leave. The three built men turned and headed the opposite direction, with the 'leader' walking in front. As he went to enter into an alley, an arm shot out, punching him square in the face.

The other four males gasped in shock as they hearts raced in fear that they had been discovered. The two, Yevo and his friend, who had watched from afar, started backing away before turning on their heel to make their exit.

But as they turned, a large explosion detonated before them, the blast sending them hurtling back and crashing on the wall.

Katsuki approached them, a manic smile on his lips as smoke seeped through his flexing fingers.

The two males, distorted from the hit, made to get up on their feet.

"Get up, scum!" Katsuki barked at them, detonating a blast towards them that sent flying back.

One of them though was quick to respond and sent water shooting towards Katsuki, catching him off guard.

But before the water could reach him, a lava wall materialized in front of him, receiving the blast of water.

The two lackeys, who were searching for the one who knocked out their boss, located where the lava was coming from and began running towards (Y/n). One of them, who looked like a cross between a shark and a human, swung his fist at her while baring his razor-sharp fangs in threat. The girl skillfully ducked and delivered a blow to his stomach. The male groaned in pain and stumbled back while doubled over. The other lackey came up to her on the side, attempting a tackle but (Y/n) leaped up. Balancing herself with a palm against his back, she flipped in the air. The male turned around, only for the girl to spin in the air, landing a double kick to his face and landing back on the ground with a crouch.

The shark guy, who had slightly recovered from his hit, lunged at her. A mistake on his part, as (Y/n), did a back handspring, delivering a kick to his to his chin, making him nearly lose his balance. The girl straightened up did him in with a roundhouse, sending him hurtling back to the ground.

The girl let out a harsh breath and shoved her hair away from her face. She stared at the two unconscious men. For people with that kind of occupation and body size, they were surprisingly easy to beat.

She turned to see how Katsuki was faring.

He was still dealing with those pesky buyers. (Y/n) tilted her head. For two people who looked easy to defeat, they were pretty persistent and durable.

Katsuki bent back to avoid a kick from one of the guys, before grabbing the leg in midair.

"DIEEE!!!!" Katsuki, with great strength, tossed the male into the air, with assistance from a large blast and sent him crashing into a wall.

(Y/n) whistled in admiration and clapped her hands. "Good work, Fireworks. Not bad."

Katsuki scoffed and turned to her with a smirk. "Not bad?"

The girl scoffed back. "Of course, who would Katsuki be without his large ego?"

The boy's face immediately twisted up. "Who has a large ego, huh?!!"

(Y/n) rolled her eyes and inclined her head towards the main road. "Let's head home before they come to."

***

"Oh my God!" (Y/n) threw out her arms to punch the air. "That was so much fun!! Totally unnecessary...but fun!!"

"Of course it was fun, you moron. I told you, didn't I?"

The girl chuckled and pointed at him. "You didn't tell me it was that fun!"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "You're overreacting."

The girl gasped dramatically and scoffed at him. "Well, excuse me, but I should be allowed to at least purge my happy guts out."

Katsuki made a face while mouthing the word 'what?'. He then paid the happy girl a side glance. He was happy, though, to see her happy. Then something of importance clicked on his mind that he had been meaning to ask.

"Hey (Y/n)."

"Hmm?"

"Back at the festival, what did All Might mean by you give up so easily?"

The smile on the girl's face immediately fell and was replaced with a frown.

"You heard that?" she asked, her words slow hoping that he'd drop the topic. "Why do you ask?"

He rolled his eyes. "Shit, I don't know. Maybe because the fucking number one hero said it himself," (Y/n) sent him a dirty look, which he reciprocated. "And don't bother lying because I'll find out either way."

(Y/n) chewed on her bottom lip and started playing with the hem of her shirt. "It's stupid."

Katsuki clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And I don't give shit! Now are you telling or what?!"

"Fine!" the girl sighed in defeat. She sent the boy an annoyed look. Despite her reluctance to share, she felt like she could trust him with her secret and so she began talking.

"When...when I was about seven-years-old, I escaped from the orphanage at night with this stupid idea in my head that I was going to be like All Might and fight off villains. It was already established that my Quirk was one of the strongest in the orphanage so, you could say that it went to my head. I was unstoppable, always knowing that I'm strong and the best."

The girl released a mirthless chuckle at the memories and continued. "So that night, I did find a villain and I fought him off, well at least I tried to. But he was just so...strong and I remember realizing that, but it was too late. I was already in danger and I knew that as young as I was, I was going to die. I was scared. Luckily, a pro-hero came to rescue. I thought I was going to be saved, only for the villain to attack the hero, impaling him," her expression dulled. "He...he died before my eyes. The one person who could save me died...just like that. I couldn't believe it. I was frozen, I didn't even notice that other pros had come and fought off the villain. I couldn't remember the questions they asked me. They took me back to the orphanage. I was scolded yes, but I don't remember what they said. It was like the pro's death repeating in my mind every time and it just wouldn't stop!" (Y/n) hugged herself and rubbed her hands over her arms. "I could've done something Katsuki. I could've helped him."

"There was nothing you could've done."

"Yes, there was!" (Y/n) drew in a shaky breath and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Yes, there was. At that time, there was an opening. The hero, he-he had managed to paralyze the villain for a little bit and that was my chance to at least finish him off and drag the hero out to somewhere he could get help but I didn't," she glared at the ground in self-loathing. "I already had given up." She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. "What kind of hero am I cut out to be? A hero who gives up at the chance she realizes she cannot win even when there's a loophole?"

"You couldn't have done anything, dumbass."

(Y/n) sighed and turned to the boy. "Katsuki-"

"You were still a kid, don't expect yourself to think on the same wavelength as a fucking pro-hero," Kastuki continued, his fiery gaze burning deep into hers. "You were scared so get over it. What could you have done? If you had attacked that villain then tried to help the hero and the villain got back up, what could've you have fucking done, huh?"

(Y/n) blinked. "I-"

"Nothing," Katsuki finished. "You couldn't have done shit because you could've been dead even before your tiny shitty self moved that big ass hero two inches from where he was. So don't keep beating yourself for giving up so soon. I'm pretty sure that hero died knowing he helped you out and not that you gave up. Sure, it was stupid to do that shit in the first place," (Y/n) winced. "But you did it anyway so get over it and move on."

"But..." her downcast eyes fell back to the ground. "If I didn't do it, he would've still been alive."

"We all make mistakes," he placed a hand on her head and lightly squeezed. "Some irreversible, some unforgivable but that doesn't mean they have to determine your future."

(Y/n) looked up at him and lightly smiled. He firmly patted her head and returned his hand back to his pocket.

The girl looked down at her hands and a smile grew. Huh, who knew that Katsuki actually had a way with words? Sure the guilt wasn't completely gone and still remained buried in the dark crevices of her mind but at least she was at peace for a bit. It was difficult to change a mindset that had been stuck for more than three years but she'll sure as hell try and fix it.

To be honest, she'd never told Shouto about it. Mostly because when she met him, she realized that he had bigger problems and that the world didn't revolve around her. Also, it never came up in a conversation and she didn't have a scar or a mark to show for it so she never thought about it while she was with him. The negative feelings weren't as strong but they were still there, in its cage, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce.

Like at that moment when she told Kastuki about it, it was like the cage had been opened and the feelings had been let loose. The only advantage was that they had been chipped away by Katsuki's enlightening (?) words and she felt much lighter than she did.

"Hey, Katsuki," the boy turned to her and she smiled. "Thanks."

He turned his face away from her to hide the annoying flush that had crept up his ears. "Just saying the truth."

(Y/n) looked forward and smiled to herself. After a period of walking in silence, she spoke.

"You know, you're actually smart when you're not being such an asshole."

"Hah?!!" Katsuki turned to her, a vein popping out of his neck and lips drew back in a snarl. "I'm gonna kill you, you fucking piece of shit!!!"

The girl cursed and immediately began running. Katsuki took off after her, eyes narrowed dangerously on his target and mouth spouting off death threats.

(Y/n) released a loud laugh as she sped up, her hair whipping wildly behind her as she raced down the streets with Kastuki hot on her heels. As the two zoomed past shocked passers-by, (Y/n) could admit that she's never felt more alive. She felt like she could fly, even if there was a literal madman running after her.

As the two were too busy chasing each other, they didn't realize it yet but that was their first and true conversation of many more to come.

***