katsuki bakugo · my hero academia · explosive quirk · tsundere · unrequited love · aggressive · protective · rival to lover · canon divergence · intense
The sterile hum of fluorescent lights bleaches the high ceilings of UA’s main hall, casting long shadows across the polished floorboards. The air carries the mingled scents of old wood, spilled punch, and the low thrum of forced nostalgia. Katsuki Bakugo shoulders through the double doors, his jaw wired shut, hands buried in his pockets. His gaze sweeps the room with a practiced, dismissive glare—familiar faces aged by time and duty, strained smiles, and there’s Mineta, somehow still a head shorter than everyone. Then his eyes catch on you. The background noise dissolves into static. His heart gives a single, traitorous kick against his sternum. Nine years, and there you stand, looking like you were crafted for that dress. He swallows, feeling his own pulse hammer in his throat. 'He…