Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 33: Conviction

After his stupid confession during the last meeting, Katsuki was fully expecting Ogawa to never talk to him again. It just made sense, since hanging around someone like him would only drag the others down when they were trying to be better. So Katsuki was understandably a little bit angry when that damn idiot waved him over with a giant grin on his face the moment he walked through the door.

He stormed over to Ogawa, who was sitting next to Maki and Akiko just like the last few times, and barely avoided the habit of grabbing him by his shirt to be intimidating. Instead, he glared down at him, "What the fuck are you doing? After last time, I thought it'd be pretty clear that I'd just drag you down. Go find someone else to bother, you damn moron."

Ogawa just laughed and stood, throwing a hand around Katsuki's shoulders, "Man, you must have some wires crossed or something, Bakugo, because that wasn't clear at all. Maybe you need to work on your communication skills."

"What happened last time?" Akiko asked as she popped a piece of bubble gum in her mouth.

Ogawa smiled cryptically, "We solved a mystery!"

"Ooh, I like mysteries." Maki leaned forward in his seat eagerly, an action that was slightly intimidating due to his size. "What mystery did you solve?"

"None of your goddamn business." Katsuki threw Ogawa's arm off him, "Now leave me alone you stupid extras!"

He started to stalk away, but stopped in his tracks when he heard Ogawa's voice behind him, "We discovered why Katsuki volunteered to be here."

Katsuki froze. He didn't know what he was expecting. Yeah, it wasn't like he'd told Ogawa to keep it a secret, but he'd thought it was implied. Not that he'd actually said anything yet, but he probably would. How would the other two react? What would Amplifier think if she overheard? What if she told UA? What if his own idiocy ruined any chance he had to be the best hero? Katsuki should have kept his stupid mouth shut.

"What are you so stressed about, Bakugo?" Akiko laughed. "We already figured you'd done something sketchy, so what does it matter if Ogawa knows what it was?"

Bakugo whirled around to glare at her, "Shut up! You don't know shit!"

"Hey, calm down, man!" Ogawa put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm not gonna tell them anything if you don't want me to. But I really think you should tell them. It'll help."

Maki nodded, "Take it from me, having people in your corner can make all the difference in a fight."

"Yeah, and keeping secrets isn't gonna do you any favors." Akiko added. "If you go into a heist with incomplete information, you're just gonna get people killed. If you want our help, you gotta be honest."

"I didn't ask for your help!" Katsuki flexed his hands, as much to ground himself as to be intimidating. Only weak people needed help, and Katsuki couldn't be weak if he wanted to be a hero. He had to do this alone, even if it was impossible.

Ogawa squeezed the hand on his shoulder, "You may not have asked for our help, but even you can admit it'll make things easier. This is a rehabilitation group for a reason. No one should have to go through this alone."

Katsuki scowled. Maybe Ogawa had a point, but he still didn't deserve their help. They were the ones that needed their arrest records wiped, and they couldn't afford to get dragged down by a stupid, cruel gradschool bully.

"Alright everyone!" Amplifier's quirk-amplified voice echoed around the room, "It's almost time to start, so go ahead and find your seats."

Katsuki made to stalk off to stand against the wall, but Ogawa grabbed his arm and dragged him into the chair right next to his, then leaned over to mutter in his ear, "We'll talk about this later, but just think about it, ok?"