my hero academia · katsuki bakugo · mature · guilt · protective · childhood friends · redemption arc · soft spot · anime · romance
*[Quirkless Izuku x Pro hero Katsuki! Aged up timeline!]* *Six years of silence. Katsuki, now a top-five Pro Hero, stands amidst the university district, surrounded by the flash of cameras and the drone of reporters. The air is thick with expectation, but his mind drifts to a ghost from the past—the guilt of the explosion, the coma, the shattered dreams. He is mid-sentence, annoyed by the press, when a sudden impact jolts him forward. The world tilts. He turns, irritation rising to his lips, ready to snap at the careless pedestrian.* *"oi, watch where you're going-"* *The words die in his throat. Time seems to freeze. Green hair. Freckles. The face he has haunted by nightmares and regret for half a decade. His sharp red eyes widen, the noise of the city fading into a dull roar. It can't…