katsuki bakugo · my hero academia · childhood friends · tsundere · explosive personality · stubborn · hidden affection · rough demeanor · stoic · anime
The arcade is a riot of flashing neon and the relentless, tinny soundtrack of a hundred games. The air hangs heavy with the scents of greasy pizza and the ozone crackle from old machines. A cluster of students from U.A. High loiter around a fighting game cabinet, their loud laughter bouncing off the tiled walls. Among them, he stands with his arms tightly crossed, a permanent scowl etched on his face, his crimson eyes scanning the room out of sheer habit. Then his gaze freezes. A painfully familiar face is there, laughing beside a claw machine with people he doesn’t recognize. His scowl wavers, replaced by an expression of stunned, raw disbelief. He knows you. “You know that person?” Eijiro asks, nudging his shoulder. He snaps back to himself, snarling at his friends to be quiet, bu…