Inky-Oni

Week 1: Test scores

It hadn't died down. The conversations that followed your name only grew in intensity.

"Did you hear? They got a perfect on practical applications!"

"What? No way. You have to have an insane mana reserve for that! Not even the instructors could do it perfectly! Hell, even William only got a ninety!"

"Shh! He's right there! Don't talk about it."

...

You know, he could deal with it if you were just better than him (he couldn't), but being beaten was just one part of this. It was the comparisons. It was the expectations. It was how everyone looked at him as if they were waiting for a response.

It was never just, "This new student is good."

It was always, "This new student is better."

It wasn't fair. You didn't even show up to class. He hadn't even seen you. He'd done everything right. It wasn't fair that some nobody came in and took everything from him. It's not-

"Hey, are you okay?" Someone's voice jostled him from his seething.

"I'm fine." He snapped with hopefully enough aggression to drive the unwanted intruder away from him.

"It's just- you've been standing in front of the test score sheet for thirty minutes." The person continued to pester. Normally, William could keep his cool for a decent amount of time, but he was in a terrible mood - the worst mood he's been in for a while.

"Yeah, so what? Am I not allowed to spend my breaks how I want?"

"...You're crying."

Shit. Was he really? He swiped at his eyes and erased the evidence of tears welling in his eyes.

"Who are you anyways?" He deflected with an amateurish attempt at hiding the slight tremble in his voice.

"I'm [Name]."

William felt everything stop. You? You were the infamous person haunting the academy's rumours? You looked so normal. You were just a regular student.

He shouldn't have expected any different, and he felt almost ashamed over how much he managed to mystify you in his mind in just a week. He thought you'd be ethereal, something almost inhuman in your perfection. That way, he could explain away your brilliance by saying you were just different from everyone else.

But you weren't different. You weren't some chosen one blessed by the deities. You were just like him.

That made it even worse. He had no excuse now. And to top it all off, your first introduction to him was him crying over second place. He had imagined that your first meeting would be different. Something more respectable.

He thought he could hear you ask him for his name, but he didn't exactly process your words. He turned on his heel and walked away before the interaction could drag on.

—

Week 2: Training partners

William didn’t realize you were in his class. You never showed up. Not until now, in the second week of your academic career. Your disregard for the rigorous hell everyone else went through was just…well, he had no word to describe it. It felt disrespectful, but he had no way of properly saying that without sounding like a petulant child. He just wished he could see you. If you were going to beat him, he should at least see how you had done it. He should get to see you suffer the same way he suffered for his spot.

If it were anyone else, he’d probably make a few snide remarks. Unfortunately, he hadn’t yet recovered from the test scores incident and didn’t have the nerve to face you again. Maybe he ought to start studying for a memory alteration spell so you could forget that dreadful first impression.

“Everyone, you have free time to spar and prepare for your next combat test. Pair up.” The instructor ordered. William turned to find his normal partner—a smart girl who didn’t exactly match him in skill, but gave good feedback on his technique—when the instructor interrupted, “William, [Name] doesn’t have a partner. You two pair up.”

It was odd. No one had ever been forced to partner up. The instructors assumed that the students were mature enough to deal with it on their own.

“But what about my usual partner?” William argued before he could stop himself.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll find someone new.” The smart girl dismissed him before the instructor could. He should’ve seen it coming. Everyone was just dying to see the two best mages go against each other. He cursed her in the back of his mind. He cursed the entire class.

William begrudgingly made his way to you. You just stood there, stretching and working your fingers.

“So you’re William?” You said with a certain tone that told him you didn’t believe that the boy you found crying over scores was the academic monster you undoubtedly heard of.

“I am.” He said coldly in his best effort to shut down conversation. Luckily, you took the hint and went back to your stretches.

He couldn’t help the way his eyes traced you as you moved in an almost ritualistic pattern of warm up exercises. He lingered on the slightest bit of waist that you inadvertently revealed to him as you stretched your arms. He wondered what it’d be like to touch or squeeze or bite at your flesh as if that would reveal the secret to your brilliance. What would it be like? Would your skin be soft like everyone else's, or do you actually have some kind of inhuman vessel that he couldn't see on first glance?

William immediately looked away when he realized what he was doing. It wasn’t that he was looking at you with lust! He was just…considering something.

“Are you almost done?” William gritted.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Finally, he could stand to look at you once again. William took the opportunity to see what kind of magical instrument you used only to find that you simply didn’t have one. No staff, no wand, not even rings. You planned to fight him without any catalyst.

“Where’s your wand?”

“I don’t need it.”

“You don’t—“ He choked. He’s never heard of a wizard not using a catalyst. How do you plan on channeling mana?! You can’t just use nothing!

Uncaring for his shock, you hit first. You flicked your hand and William watched with blatant horror as you produced a fireball with only your hands.

William had never felt so much envy as he did in that moment.

-

The two of you collapsed into the grass after what felt like hours of fighting. William felt so mentally drained. He had to dredge up spells he hadn’t thought to use since his first year to defend against you. Hell, he was pretty sure that somewhere along the way, he had made up his own spells, which was, despite his current irritation, very cool.

He turned to tell you of his new creations (since you were the closest person around to brag to), but was hit with shock as he realized that you weren’t just tired like him: You were passed out.

William pushed himself over to you. He hated you a lot, yes, but he didn’t want you dead after the first fight you’ve ever had. He pressed his wand just below your chin and muttered a very simple rejuvenation spell.

Your eyes fluttered open and for some reason, you merely groaned and rolled over as if this were an everyday occurrence.

“What happened? I didn’t even hurt you that much. You have no reason to be acting this way.” He immediately began his lecture, angry that you’re acting so weird; angry that he worried.

“‘s normal.” You slurred. “Do you have any sweets?”

“What?”

“Do you have something sweet?” You repeated. He hated how you slowed it down for him as if he were the dense one here. He clicked his tongue, but he had the feeling you wouldn’t shut up until he tended to your unreasonable need, so he got up and found where he discarded his bag on the training grounds. He rummaged through it and retrieved an old protein bar—the kind he ate when he was prepping for an assignment and only ate food for energy.

“Do you want me to unwrap it for you too?” He mocked.

“Yes please.” You answered with great sincerity.

William huffed and peeled the wrapper off the protein bar (because it was wrong to offer something and not follow through) before handing it to you. You scarfed the thing down with surprising voracity. Afterwards, you looked a little more lively.

“Phew…that’s better.” You sighed.

“Now, can you explain why you passed out?”

“Just mana overuse."

“‘Just mana overuse?!’ How do you pass out from mana overuse?! You shouldn’t have the ability to draw so much that you incapacitate yourself!” William was losing it with you. Every little thing about this day has challenged the fundamentals of magic he learned.

“Huh? Isn’t it just like drawing blood? You’re born with it just in your body, but you can only take out so much at once.” You explained as if you were undoubtedly correct and that William was weird for not bleeding mana everywhere.

William stared at you for a long time as he twisted what you just said around in his head.

“…what do you mean you’re ‘born with it’.” He asked with deadly calmness, a sharp contrast to his explosive irritation not even ten seconds ago.

“You know…you just kind of have magic in your veins that you’ve got to take care of.”

William listened to your reply, stayed silent for an eerie amount of time, and then laughed. It was such a bitter laugh. No wizard was born with magic in their veins. They had to train their bodies for years before they could even cast a somewhat mediocre spell.

So that's what made you so special. It wasn't excessive study or the sacrifice of your childhood years. You were just born with something he could never hope to achieve.

You didn’t even get the opportunity to ask what was so funny because once again, he fled before he could properly snap.

—-

Week 4: Seething

That boy was so weird.

It’s a thought that’s crossed your mind multiple times in the short while you’ve been at the academy. You were promised that the students would be accepting, but William has been nothing but aggressive, stand-offish, and borderline depressed.

It normally wouldn’t be much of a problem, but the school seemed intent on putting you two together. The instructors always paired you, spewing excuses like,

“He’s top of the class! He’ll catch you up on what you’ve missed!”

“William’s the sweetest student here! He’ll be patient as you get comfortable here.”

William had been neither patient, nor kind. You, in turn, did your best to ease whatever problem he had, but you just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.

-

William hated you. God, he hated you so much it made him want to cry. Sometimes, he did cry. Each bitter defeat made him swallow back burning shame, and worse yet, you’d say some shit like, “You did really well!” while pointing out his name below yours.

As if second place was anything to be happy about. As if he could be proud knowing some nobody took something so precious from him.

William didn’t know what he wanted to do anymore. He wanted to beat you. He wanted to win. He wanted you to look at him and tell him how great he was because he genuinely deserved it, not because you want to avoid whatever tantrum he threw.

He just…he wanted you to realize he wasn’t below you.

—-

Week 5: Roommates(???)

William’s room was his safe space, so why the fuck were you there?

“Oh. Hey, William.” You greeted him like you had any right to.

“What are you doing here? Leave.” He snapped. William had long abandoned attempts to seem civil with you.

“It’s my room. I was reassigned. I was told by the headmistress herself.”

William couldn’t believe it. Somehow, you have the magnificent ability to ruin things in extraordinary ways he could’ve never imagined.

“Why? There’s so many open rooms! Why couldn’t they—“

“No. The headmistress said the academy was at absolute capacity.” You corrected.

William knew that was a lie. Lots of people dropped out because of the extreme stress the academy put their students under. There were lots of rooms available.

The headmistress’s lie only meant one thing: People were trying to cultivate a relationship between you two. He didn’t know how he couldn’t have seen it coming. William was one of the best students the academy’s seen in recent years, and you…

You were a force of nature. William hated to admit it, but you were the best mage he'd ever seen. Of course the higher-ups of the world would want a partnership between you two. They planned for an unbreakable bond that they could use well into both of your careers.

William didn't know what to do. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it was how beneficial your partnership would be. He considered throwing a fit to get you out of his space, but that wouldn't work.

"...Just stick to your side." He muttered defeatedly. William wished he could go hide in his own, private bedroom, but he couldn't. The dorm was just one room, so he was stuck with you invading his very personal, very precious space.

---

Week 8: Realizations

You were by far the worst roommate William had ever had.

Granted, he never had a roommate before you because he had lucked out and got his dorm to himself. Regardless, he knew for sure that you were the worst he'd ever have.

Firstly, you always complained about your head spinning, or feeling faint, or whatever mana-related bullshit that William never experienced because he never had that raw, untapped power to begin with. Then, he'd ask, "Did you eat after training?" and without fail, you hadn't.

So then he had to go throw you some food, which dipped into his personal stash of nutrient bars. In a way, he liked seeing you exhausted and dizzy, but the cost of his precious resources outweighed his satisfaction.

That brought him to his second point: You were taking so much of what was his. First you took his spot as best student, which was the worst thing you did to him, but to add insult to the injury, you started taking his private space. Now you took his food! Hell, he once saw you taking his blankets from his bed!

Third point: You were always intruding. Even when he managed to get space from you, you were always invading his thoughts.

"I wonder what [Name] would think of this."

"I bet [Name] could come up with a great solution."

"Ugh, [Name] could've done that spell in just a few seconds. Why can't [Name] be here?"

His peers were sick of hearing your name come out of his mouth. You were his new standard of greatness - as if his previous one wasn't bad enough.

It was like he was obsessed with you!

...

“we’re not suitable for each other” — the words spilled out of katsuki’s mouth faster than his mind could think, sitting on the bench by the park, the moon high in the sky, illuminating its soft glow onto the lake below, the tiny waves causing a shimmer. you were calm, collected, as if you were expecting this to come. your fingers fiddled with each other, the distance between you two on the bench spoke levels to the tension that sparked.

“i saw it coming” you mumbled, sighing softly under your breath, eyes avoiding katsuki’s crimson eyes. it was obvious, ever since the war, katsuki drifted further away from you, no longer seeking your attention anymore. you felt absolutely crushed, you’ve taken so much time to break down katsuki’s walls, only for it to build back up around you. “it's because of the war, right? after midoriya lost his quirk.”

katsuki took a deep breath, he hated how easily you saw through him, it wasn’t just that, he felt too vulnerable around you, it scared him. “yeah, i still want to be number one, since my right arm’s busted, i have to work harder. no distractions. you’ll only get in the way.” his words hitting harder than a bullet going through your heart, at least that would have been instant, compared to this.

you sat there, slumped against the bench, staring up at the moon, feeling colder than usual. your eyes searched for katsuki’s, watching him carefully. his palms constantly wiping against his sweatpants, eyes suddenly finding the ground interesting. “then, if that’s so, let’s take a break and see where this goes.”

your suggestion makes katsuki stiffen, he did imply a break, but he didn’t expect you to take it so easily, shouldn't you yell, scold him for being so selfish? he nodded his head, resting his chin against the palm of his hand, sweat starting to form, his emotions were haywire. was this the right decision for both of you? you two sat there, a pregnant pause fell between both of you, enough to make katsuki think more than he wanted. before he could even say another word, you stood up, looking at katsuki, waiting for him to finally make eye contact with you. that was when he noticed, your trembling lips, glossy eyes, nose getting red from holding back your tears. you bit your lip, letting out a heavy sigh to compose yourself.

“take care of yourself kats” you managed to choke up the words you meant to say before walking away, back to the dorms. katsuki sat there, staring at the empty lake, the ducks that were usually there gone, the two swans he would see every time he went for a jog not there, you were not there. the distance between the two of you growing even more after tonight, and katsuki doesn’t know whether he liked it. his eyebrows knitted together before grumbled quiet profanities under his breath, for the shadows that lurked behind him to listen to as he went back to the dorms. just like that, you slipped away from katsuki’s life.

days turned into weeks, seasons passed, the year was reaching its end. everyone grew older and stronger, yet katsuki felt empty, his strength was returning, his right arm was starting to heal, but something was missing. you. why the hell was he so caught up with the thought of you enjoying yourself without him by your side. why did you radiate more brightness without him by your side? why was he the only one feeling this aching pain that constantly gnawed on his heart, but your didn’t? at night, the thoughts were worse, nothing to distract him but his overwhelming thoughts about you, everything about you constantly playing in a loop.

katsuki was the one who said that they weren’t suitable, the one who caused the fall between the both of you, so why was he feeling so goddamn sick? how were you able to move on so fast, while he was stuck here, mopping about what the two of you had.

however, katsuki was still katsuki. despite growing gentler after the inevitable war, the remnants of his ego still lingered, he knows he can grow without you by his side, he can be the best hero without you applauding him, or waiting for him at home. he has plans, and he doesn’t want you to be involved, he has established that ever since he uttered those words. he can do without you, definitely…

as the days grew longer and colder, the loneliness katsuki felt within his heart bit him hard. movements sharp but sluggish, without his number one emotional support system, he felt weak, but wasn’t this what he wanted? to focus on becoming the number 1 pro hero, finally surpassing midoriya.

now, katsuki had finally realised, the distance made him realise, you were an important part of his life and he wanted you back.

yearning—it eats a person inside out, making them miss the endless possibilities that never happened, it remains even when closeness isn’t allowed. katsuki learned this the hard way, by choice.

with you laughing and giggling with mina, probably talking about sappy shit, that was what he used to call it, katsuki would just watch from a distance. eyes soft and longing, hoping for some sort of miracle, wishing for too much. his heart ached in a way where he couldn’t tell if it was because of his high blood pressure or his desperation for you.

katsuki was just a boy, a boy who was confused about his own pride and feelings.

katsuki missed when you would run to him after a long day of class, wrapping your arms around him, the warmth now cold. now, you would casually brush past him, eyes meeting before pulling away. a small interaction like this made katsuki’s heart race like a little boy all over again, but how can he salvage the ties he purposely broke?

winter holidays were around the corner, students were allowed to leave the dorms and return back to their homes, giving them the rare opportunity to visit their families. as students were piling the front gate, rushing to finally leave UA to meet their beloved families, katsuki found himself slowing down. he saw you, taking your own sweet time packing and walking out of the dorms. his eyes flickered to you as you slung your duffel bag across your shoulders, eyes glued to the ground, ears plugged in with the wired earbuds you used to share with him.

katsuki quickened his pace, grabbing your shoulder, mentally cursing himself for acting before putting any thought to it. when you turned around, staring at him with those pretty eyes of yours, eyebrows raised, lips pouting slightly. he wanted to kiss you right there and then, how dare you still look so pretty while he was fighting his inner demons.

“i– uhm.” katsuki stuttered, removing the hand on your shoulder, watching you carefully, to gauge your reaction, to see if you were uncomfortable. when you fully turned to him, he felt his world stop, you were making him weak and vulnerable. he would have hated this feeling in the past, but now? he was reveling in it, this lovesick feeling.

“i’m sorry.” he blurted,

“the distance we placed between each other made me grow, and i’m sorry for the things i said to you that night.” katsuki took a deep breath, adjusting the strap on his shoulder, “you’re not a distraction to my goals, you’re someone i want to keep throughout my life. these past few months made me realise how stupid and immature i was.”

you observed katsuki, trying to see if he was lying or trying to make a fool out of you, but nothing. he was genuine. you were about to speak, shut him up, but he beat you to it, spilling his feelings. something you’ve never seen before.

“i was just confused. you showered me with so much love and affection, i felt bare and vulnerable, and i hated that feeling. i thought… that meant i was weak for folding for someone, but you only made me stronger. i feel so stupid for ever establishing that distance between us in the first place.”

“kat–”

“no, i’m sorry, if you hate me because of that, i’m fine, i just want you to reject me, so i can move on.”

“no wait–” he wasn’t listening.

“i just needed to tell you what i’m feeling, ah.. i’m so sorry for everything. it has been eating me up everyday.”

“liste–” nothing was getting through his ears.

“i hated myself for hurting you, i hated myself for being so emotionally weak, i’m–”

“katsuki, just listen to me.” your voice suddenly made its way to his thoughts as he looked up at you, blonde bangs covering his eyes, casting a shadow over them, nose and mouth slightly buried in his scarf, warming his face up.

“i don’t hate you for that night… i just hated how egotistical you were, but i was in the wrong too. i was wrong to overstep your boundaries–”

“no fuck, don’t say that, you didn’t overstep anything. i was okay with everything you did, i was just scared." katsuki cuts you off, grabbing your wrist gently, pursing his lips before letting out a soft sigh. his eyes searching for yours for reassurance, the grip around your wrist tightening gradually, but not tight enough to hurt you.

“you were nothing but good to me, i was the one pulling you down, not the other way round.” katsuki muttered, letting out a groan, covering his face with a hand. why were you still so cute even during a serious conversation like this?

“if… i asked you to be mine again, would you let me?”

your eyes widened before softening, nodding your head. you knew katsuki would be able to change, that’s why you kept your distance despite wanting to go back to him every time you saw his dejected look. his rough edges now smoothen out, softer than before. it felt almost rewarding to see this side of him.

katsuki gave you a boyish smile, before tugging you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist, burying his face into the crook of your neck, mumbling.

“can we go home now?”

you let out a soft, contented hum. your sweet boy was back, back in your arms.

at the end of the day, katsuki wasn’t just some emotionally constipated boy anymore, he was your sweet boy, the one you’d always call home.