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When Katsuki was in kindergarten, his quirk manifested. With it, came a whole new variety of games he could play with the boys that followed him about. The cannonball master in a game of pirates, or a brave sorcerer with glowing hands and a kingdom to defend. In the woods near his home, he, Izuku, and his little gang of extras would run around with sticks for swords, or pelting each other with pebbles.
On a sunny day, just after a drizzle of rain, the air was fresh and dewy, the birds not even back out yet to resume their song. But Katsuki and the boys were already crossing the log into the gnarlier parts of the wood, with big trees perfect for climbing and cooler flora for Izuku to pluck for Auntie Inko. Until then, there was little hierarchy, except for the fact that Katsuki always played some sort of king and Izuku came up with the best games to accommodate everyone’s abilities (or lack of.)
It was peaceful between them all, until Katsuki fell into that river. Everything was fine until Izuku needed to be a hero and help him. He didn’t need any help! From anyone!
The exact thing he was muttering, kicking around rocks and exposing the bugs beneath them to the humidity of the untouched part of the wood. He had run off, climbing the wall of the ravine and darting through the thick trunks until he couldn’t hear anyone.
“Stupid Izuku. I-zu-ku. I could read that as De-ku. Bet he can’t even read kanji,” he was saying. Not to anybody in particular. Just ramming his feet and fists around until he felt better. It had worked before. He fired off an explosion in a random direction with a battle cry. The crackle echoed through the air, and Katsuki grinned to himself proudly, before a small voice broke through the silence.
“Ow!”
The tree that he had lightly scorched was… talking? That’s a weird quirk. Who would want to turn into a tree? He pondered this for a moment before a head of overgrown black hair was peeking around from said tree. Ah, that made more sense. Trees don’t talk anyway.
“Who are you?” Katsuki yelled, hands on his hips as he stared at the other boy, right in his huge red doe eyes. The kid stepped around the tree, and Katsuki realized that he had actually hit him, if the black mark on his yellow t-shirt was anything to go by.
“My name is Eijirou!” The kid declared. His voice was louder now, and he met Katsuki’s glare with one of matching strength. “What’s your name, and why did you throw fire at me?”
“Katsuki!” He thought for a moment. “Katsuki, but never Kacchan! And I didn’t throw fire at you! That's my quirk.” He held his hands over his head and fired off the biggest explosion he could muster toward the sky.
Eijirou’s eyes went impossibly wider, and his jaw fell open. “That’s so cool…” he whispered. “Such a manly quirk! And you’re good with it too!” He grinned, holding tight fists in front of his chest. He had a smudge of dirt over his nose, and a few missing teeth already. His knee was bandaged, and a scar over his eye looked like a warrior’s. Katsuki nodded at what he saw, approving.
“You look pretty tough, Eijirou. But are you tough enough to beat the legendary pirate Murder-Baku?” Katsuki took a step back, hands positioned to blast Eijirou again. The black-haired boy shouted a ‘yeah!’ and quickly braced himself. A thin layer of what looked like flesh-colored rock rippled over his skin, and Katsuki fired without hesitation. Eijirou took it like it was nothing, barely sliding back an inch in the dirt.
Before they even remembered that they were supposed to be rival pirates, they were jumping up and down, whooping.
“That was so cool! It was like boom and then like pow!”
“You didn’t even cry!” Katsuki said, grabbing Eijirou by the shoulders. “Again! Go hard again! I’ll hit you with a bigger shot! Come on, come on!”
And thus, the two battled until the sun was setting. Eijirou gave him a high five, bidding him good night.
“Will you be here tomorrow? I wanna show you my hero suit drawings!” Katsuki asked, grabbing Eijirou’s little wrist before he could take off.
“I promise I will! I’ll bring my Crimson Riot bento tin! I’ll bring you an onigiri!”
The next day, and every day for the rest of that summer, the two boys met in their half of the woods. Often, they fought, chasing each other through the roots, laughing and hollering. Once in a while, they’d just sit on the rocks and chat, talking about their new moves and what their agency would be called- because obviously, they’d be a hero duo.
“They’ll have to give us both the number-one ranking!”
“We’ll be the best of the best! The manliest of all!”
When Katsuki lost his first baby tooth, he and Eijirou buried it under a rock, and used Eijirou’s hardened fingertip and the power of Katsuki’s explosions to carve Katsu’s fang grave in messy letters on the smooth surface of the slate.
But as all good things do, their friendship came to an end before either of them were ready. Only a few days before they were to start first grade, Eijirou didn’t come to their meeting spot. Most would assume oh, he’s just sick, it’s no big deal, but Eijirou had turned up sick twice before, and even hobbled the whole way on a broken leg once. He had said to the blonde, “Katsu, if I ever don’t show up, it probably means I died!”
Katsuki took that to heart.
The boy had mentioned living on the other side of the woods, and a few blocks down after that. They had been talking about how they wouldn’t be in first grade together, but maybe ever go to the same junior high. Katsuki had grumbled when Eijirou had said he’d be going to Musutafu Private, and not Aldera.
“I just live too far on the other side- but it’s okay! I’ll just come down here after school!”
“You better!”
Katsuki grinned at the idea as he started the trek to Eijirou’s side. Neither boy had ever followed the other home, but he had watched that black haired boy bob sprint home many times, in a straight line headed northeast. Katsuki knew where to go.
He burst through the trees with a victorious shout, leaping up the rocks separating it from the housing areas bordering it. He confidently walked down the street, until he spotted an older woman sitting on the porch. Her weathered hands nursed an iced green tea, condensation running down the sides of the glass. She looked like a person who knew things.
“Hey!” She glanced at him, and he waved his arms. “Yeah! Do you know who Eijirou is? Black hair, red eyes? Kinda dopey?”
“That kirishima boy? Are you the friend from the woods?”
Eijirou told his neighbors about him?
“Yes, that’s me, the- the boy from the woods.”
The woman smiled, wrinkled face crinkling almost pleasantly. “He lives right down the block, the house with the red and orange flowers.”
“Great!” He forgot to thank her, already running down the street. Ah, whatever. Eijirou was more important. There was a big white truck in his way, blocking his running path. He was tempted to blast it, but as he got closer, he realized it was parked right in front of the house with red and orange flowers.
The 0123, it read, in big English letters. This was a moving truck, Katsuki realized. It took a second, but he put it together.
Eijirou’s moving away!
He was around the truck and up the stairs to the front door in an instant, knocking insistently. “Eiji! It’s me! Get out here!”
The door was opened by a young woman, maybe in her early thirties, with eyes like Eijirou’s. Her hair was brown, but Katsuki would know those eyes anywhere.
“Is Eiji in there? I need to see him-“
“Woah now, calm down. Are you a friend from school?” He had to respect the woman- Ms. Kirishima, probably- for not letting a random kid in her house to see her son, but seriously?
“I’m Bakugou Katsuki! The kid from the woods!”
Ms. Kirishima’s face melted into a grin. “Well, why didn’t you say so? He’s gone on and on about you all summer.” Katsuki’s ears felt warm. “Come on in, he’s upstairs.” She led him inside by his shoulder.
Once he had slipped off his shoes and located the staircase, he bounded up them two at a time. Padding down the hallway in his All Might socks, he glanced from empty room to empty room before finally spotting a black-haired boy sitting on the floor of a stripped-bare room.
“Eiji,” He called softly, poking his head through the door. His own actions reminded him of Eijirou the first day they met, nervously looking around the tree. A parallel is what it’s called, he thinks.
“Katsu? Kastuki!” A whirl of long black hair shot towards him, and he was tackled in a bone-crushing hug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you today but we’re leaving in like two hours and I wasn’t gonna be able to say goodbye-“
Katsuki blasted the side of his face to shut him up. Eijirou laughed brightly, missing teeth showing.
“I don’t wanna go,” he whispered softly, smile ebbing.
Katsuki hugged him tighter. “I don’t want you to go either,” he managed, face tucking into Eijirou’s shirt. They had never hugged before, and really, Katsuki wasn't sure why. They were always battling or something, never much time for soft things.
They stayed like that until Ms. Kirishima came upstairs to check on them. They were ushered downstairs, and given crackers to snack on until the Kirishimas officially had to go. They didn’t even finish their little plastic cups, one of them randomly starting to get teary and reach for the other at least two times each.
When Eijirou’s mom’s watch went off, Katsuki randomly panicked, grabbing him by the shirtsleeve and taking him into a final embrace. He rasped, begging in vain, don’t go, don’t leave, stay here, we can work something out, just don’t go, please, Eiji-
When they drove off, he ran on the sidewalk behind their car, waving through tears until he couldn’t keep up anymore, Eijirou did the same, hand pressed to the window as he watched.
Katsuki walked home slowly that day. He spotted random things that made his chest ache. A dinosaur band-aid they stuck to a tree, the slightly blackened tree from their first meeting, the fist-sized rock they put his tooth under. He picked up that rock, actually, and carried it the rest of the way home.
His parents never asked him why he was so quiet at dinner that night, and he was grateful.
———
U.A. had begun its first period of the year. Katsuki sat right in front of Deku, and he could not be more annoyed about it. The nerd kept tapping his fucking foot, and it was ticking him off.
“I’m gonna start attendance,” the sleeping bag that held their teacher muttered. “Don’t say anything stupid, just say ‘here’.”
It took a moment to get around to his name, they were going by seating chart. Katsuki was watching people, trying to scope out the students he’d be stuck with all year, when his name was called..
“Bakugou Katsuki-“
Someone dropped their pencil. Katsuki mumbled a half-hearted here as he looked around. The guy with the weird red hair in the row behind him was blushing nearly as red as his hair, covering his face with his hands. Idiot. Their teacher glanced at the chart to see whose name he’d be lecturing before looking back up.
“Great first impression, mister Kirishima Eijirou-“
Katsuki nearly knocked his desk over with how fast he sat up. “EIJI?”