"A Glimmer of Doubt"

"Bakugou-" Tsubasa calls again, but not this time, you think. You grab Bakugou's chin and force him to look you in the eyes. "Don't think about them for a second," your voice is low and whipping. "Don't think about all the people who hail you just because you were born lucky. They'll follow you anyway. They will do what you do. Do you really want to set them all off on an innocent kid who admires you, who cares about you?" Your eyes gleam and you have to restrain yourself from letting a growl rumble at the back of your throat. You're so full of frustration for a second, towards this kid and the boy he will become; the stubbornness with which he will refuse to accept any point of view that is not his. "Is this the kind of hero you want to be, Bakugou Katsuki?" For a moment, it seems like time itself has stopped. The world around you melts away, and all that's left is the two of you, locked in a silent understanding. The air is charged with tension as your gaze pierces through Katsuki's defenses, searching for the real him beneath the surface. Finally, you achieve what you wanted: for a split second it's as if only you two exist in the world. Tsubasa and Inaba behind him, Izuku and the other kid behind you: they've dissolved into the air as if they were never there. Everything you see is vermilion, and you can dissect each feeling flashing quick as lightning through those red-ruby eyes, every shade, every piece of what makes him him. You can see the faintest glimmer of uncertainty in his gaze, a flicker of self-doubt that gives you hope. Can he do the same to you, you wonder? Can he see all the secrets you're hiding? All the things you know? For a second you feel the same weird longing you felt with Shigaraki, more than a whole year ago, as if you come from the same place; and you're fated to end the same. Then Bakugou takes a step back.