The Power of Determination

And to be strong you have to train. If you don't train, even a quirk as powerful as yours is only good to light up fireworks. Katsuki looks absolutely outraged, so I quickly try to make amend. "You will be strong, Bakugou-chan," it's easy to let the words roll off my tongue: I know they're true. "You will be incredibly strong. And it will be partly because of your quirk, yes. But more than that- because you have the right drive. You're determined enough to let nothing stand in your way to the top, and that's what will make you successful." Katsuki stays silent, mulling over my words. I stroked his ego hard enough that he can't explicitly tell me he doesn't agree, since I did say he will become strong... he definitely agrees. At the same time though, he can't help but think that his explosions are the coolest thing ever. "Think about it like this," I say, trying to further drive my point home. Luckily, the kids walking towards us are slow and they've stopped to wait for a third friend. "If you hadn't gotten your quirk yet, would you be weak?" I ask, looking at Katsuki with a curious expression. Katsuki balls his hands into fists. "Of course not!" he exclaims. "I would beat everyone up anyway!" "Exactly!" I laugh, jumping down from the swings. "And that's because you have the right heart! That's the most important thing!" I feel exhilarated. Bakugou looks taken aback by my sudden enthusiasm: he's never seen my eyes brighten up like that before, my smile so dazzling. The faintest hue of red spreads on his cheeks. Katsuki looks away, trying to play it cool, but I can tell he's affected by my words. I take a step closer to him, my eyes locked on his. "You have the potential to be an amazing hero, Bakugou-chan. Not just because of your quirk, but because of who you are as a person." The group of kids finally catches up to us, Tsubasa fluttering his wings as he approaches. "Hey, what's going on?" he asks, eyeing Katsuki and me curiously. I grin at Katsuki, who's still looking a bit flustered. "Just having a chat with Bakugou-chan about what it means to be a hero," I explain. Tsubasa's eyes light up with interest. "Oh? And what did you decide?" Katsuki shrugs, still looking a bit quiet. I give him a reassuring smile. "I think we're still discussing it," I say. "But I think we're making progress."