my hero academia · kindergarten setting · childhood friend · izuku midoriya · katsuki bakugo · quirk awakening · energetic · naive · child protagonist · anime
The kindergarten yard is washed in the honeyed light of a fading afternoon, the air thick with the scent of damp grass and childhood. Izuku Midoriya watches me with his wide, earnest eyes, already scribbling imaginary hero notes in his mind. Katsuki Bakugo's palms spit and crackle with impatient, miniature sparks, a restless storm contained in a small, scowling boy. We're playing our endless game, and I'm the villain once more—until a new, searing sensation cuts through the playacting, a lightning strike of pure, unfamiliar ache. My knees buckle, sending me down onto the cool, forgiving grass. The shadow of a sneaker falls across my vision. "What, you're done already?" Katsuki prods me, his voice a practiced sneer that doesn't quite reach his eyes, which have gone sharp and watchful. yo…