He swung on the swing, looking up at the sky. Kacchan and his gang would be here soon and Izuku braced himself for the pain he would receive. The last week's events played in his mind and he allowed himself to faintly smile.

After leaving the Shigarakis' apartment the next day, he had been immediately hounded by his mother who had tearfully thanked Makoto and Tomura. Makoto had grinned back at her and cheerfully said that she liked Izuku and whether she wouldn't mind if he came over to his house sometimes. Inko had almost burst into tears of joy that her Izuku finally had some friend who wouldn't beat him up just for the sake of it.

Tomura had looked incredibly awkward throughout the exchange, having forgone his hands to look "normal". Izuku wondered whether Tomura's Quirk involved controlling those hands or something. He was thinking of all these when the tell tale shouts of Kacchan made him flinch out of reflex. His back had healed alright, Kacchan had received a shouting from his parents upon Inko's complaint and he was more than likely to be more angry than usual.

However, something else happened that day.

Which had a profound effect on his continued existence.

"He is probably just mad that he didn't finish you off entirely, isn't it so?"

Tomura's rasping snapped Izuku out of his thoughts. He looked up at the older boy who had his face covered in a hood. He resembled a gangster, dressed that way.

He looked down at the younger boy and his eyes softened for a fraction.

"Good afternoon to you too."

"G-g-ood a-a-fternoon," Izuku stuttered seeing the approach of his bully.

Tomura noticed that and his lips thinned. It wasn't that he cared that much about Izuku but this Bakugo was starting to annoy him as well. They had moved into this area recently, and he could already see the damage the boy had done to it. All the children were scared of him, and many places bore burn marks, a proof of his violent temper.

Tomura, himself was no saint, but Bakugo's abusive behaviour towards Izuku and the weaker children reminded him of his own father at times. He felt something snap in his mind at the thought of his father, as his vision started to blur together.

He shook his head just as he heard a rough voice speak,

"Move out of the way, extra."

It was apparently addressed to him.

He narrowed his eyes.

Izuku was already shaking.

Tomura's hands were twitching, but Makoto had strictly asked him not to murder anyone today. If Sensei had been here, he wouldn't have forbade him such. Because the overwhelming urge to simply not disintegrate his annoying self was too much.

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?"

Now he was yelling. Fantastic. Just what he needed.

"I did and chose to ignore it. Use your brain for once, blockhead," Tomura spoke, trying to remain calm. Makoto would be ticked off if he lost his temper here. He didn't even know why her opinion mattered to him so much, but it did and it affected how he behaved when she was around.

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME A BLOCKHEAD, YOU EXTRA???"

"I believe I did, unless you are deaf as well as dumb."

That seemed to really do it.

Bakugo jumped over the swing to grab Tomura who ducked as Bakugo's gang cheered on. Izuku sat there, helplessly, tears welling up in his eyes as he felt the world start spinning around him.

Oh no, Kacchan is really mad now.

He didn't even realise that he was tearing at his own hair until the pain in his scalp snapped him back to reality. With teary eyes, he observed the following spectacle unfold in front of him.

Kacchan had plainly charged at Tomura, while the latter looked more and more irritated as he continued to dodge his punches. His hood had fallen off, causing his dark blue hair to fall into his face. His red eyes were glinting with murderous intention as his spidery fingers were twitching, itching to destroy, destroy someone, something, anything to get rid of the frustrating itch.

"What the heck is going on here?" Makoto's shout attracted all of their attentions. She was leaning against a cycle, and looking incredibly irritated. Her metal strip shone in the sun, and her mismatched eyes looked terrifying. Izuku shrunk back and ended up almost toppling over the swing in his panic.

Bakugo paused, recognising the girl who had kicked him off Deku. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine as the eyes stared right back at him, as if they could penetrate his very soul. An ill thought for someone like him. Her eyes were just like Izuku, confusing, with a hidden strength.

You never know what is going on behind those damned eyes.

"WHO ARE YOU TO INTERRUPT OUR FIGHT, EXTRA?"

The only outlet to his emotions that he was aware of was anger and violence. That's how he had been brought up, and definitely it was the correct way. These damned extras really needed to know their place, especially because they were new here. He was the boss here, the undisputed leader. The best that there ever was.

"I am Makoto, and you are trying to attack my brother Tomura and it is a pretty good concern of mine. Besides, considering that you beat up my friend, Izuku, I would be really concerned to have him around your abusive self."

Oh wow, now she was DEKU'S friend too? When did Deku even get a friend? All these confusing thoughts just redirected to more rage and he spoke, more like shouted,

"YOUR BROTHER WAS THE ONE WHO PICKED UP A FIGHT WITH ME BECAUSE HE DIDN'T KNOW HIS DAMNED PLACE!! AND DEKU DESERVES IT, HE IS USELESS AND QUIRKLESS AND DESPITE THAT HE ASPIRES TO BE A HERO. HE IS WORTHLESS AND HE SHOULD BE AWARE OF THAT."

Bakugo felt triumphant in managing to convey the facts in such a precise manner.

Izuku had finally burst into tears and was rocking back and forth. Time seemed to stop as Makoto stalked up to Bakugo and looked down at him.

"You are a fool. A real fool. Izuku can be anything he wishes to be. And Tomura didn't do a thing to you, if he did, you wouldn't be alive right now. And before telling others that they are worthless, try looking at yourself, Katsuki Bakugo. Are you even worthy of being called a human being?"

With those cutting words, she left Bakugo standing in the middle of the ground and went over to where Izuku was crying and Tomura just stood awkwardly behind him, three fingers on the railings of the swing.

"Shhh, it will all be fine," she said as she knelt down to Izuku's level. He was rocking back and forth and was in a very good danger of falling down from the swing. And Tomura wasn't really the most reliable person to catch him.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and he jerked back with a shriek. She flinched as she realised her mistake.

"Let's go to some other place. I had had enough of pathetic people for a day," Bakugo grumbled as he led his gang out of the park.

Which left a crying child, an awkward child and a trying-to-resolve-the-conflict child behind.