The Story Of Us (Todobaku)

Graduation

"And Momo Yaoyorozu."

Shouto clapped politely as Momo walked across the stage to receive her diploma. Momo got the loudest applause by a large margin, both from students and parents. One, because she was well liked, and two, because she was the last student in the eighth grade roster. Their graduation ceremony had lasted long enough, and it wasn't the most exciting event. Parents only cared about seeing their own kids walk across the stage, while students only cared about obtaining their diploma and celebrating that they never had to step foot in this hellhole ever again.

Once Momo returned to her seat, Principal Horikoshi smiled from the podium. "Everybody give it up for your Aldera Junior High School class of 2019!"

Cheers and whistles erupted from the stands. Shouto spotted Rei, his siblings, and Keigo among the crowd, smiling big at him. Shouto didn't see what was so special about graduating middle school. It wasn't like anyone ever got held back. As long as students attended the mandated amount of school days, it was impossible to fail.

But he saw it in their faces, especially his mom's. They were proud of him. That was enough for Shouto to smile back.

With the ceremony officially concluded, the new graduates rushed out of their seats to congratulate one another. Some gathered to take pictures, but Shouto had no interest in that. He already had his official portrait taken as soon as he stepped off the stage after being handed his diploma. Right now, all he wanted was to rejoin his friends.

One in particular.

Katsuki grinned as he walked up to Shouto, skipping formalities and going straight for a hug. Shouto welcomed Katsuki's embrace as he always did, though he was careful not to damage his new certificate. Rei would be devastated if anything bad happened to it.

"We did it, Halfie."

Shouto wanted to hug him longer, but they were interrupted by other students who wanted to join in on the celebrations. Some with Katsuki, some with Shouto. Even though he engaged in conversation with Izuku and Tenya, Shouto's eyes kept drifting to Katsuki, who was very much the center of attention of the group he was now chatting with.

God, Shouto was going to miss him. He was tempted to insert himself into the small circle where Katsuki was and claim his friend all to himself, keeping Katsuki at his side until the day the moving truck pulled into their shared driveway. It was selfish, Shouto knew that, but once Katsuki was gone for good, Shouto hadn't the slightest idea when they'd meet again. It was the unknown that scared him above anything else.

"You okay, Shouto?"

Shouto looked back at Izuku and, upon noticing his friend's concern, smiled softly. "Yeah."

Tenya glanced at Katsuki, then back to Shouto. "Try not to think about it."

Shouto pouted. "Easier said than done."

Because he liked torturing himself, he spared Katsuki one last glance. This time, Katsuki was no longer offering any attention to the people around him. Instead, he was staring intensely at his phone, even excusing himself from the circle to go off alone. People called after him, though the only ones he stopped for were Mitsuki and Masaru. As the three of them exited the gymnasium, something itched at Shouto's brain. Something about that sequence of events seemed strange, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

"That was weird," Tenya said.

"What do you think happened?" Izuku asked.

Shouto's gaze lingered on the door in which the Bakugous exited out of. "I don't know."

He began walking in that same direction, but was intercepted by his own family. Rei hugged him first, then Fuyumi, then Keigo, then Rei again, then Natsuo, then Rei one last time. Now surrounded by loved ones, Shouto didn't feel like abandoning them to chase after Katsuki. Besides, at least Katsuki wasn't by himself. Mitsuki and Masaru were with him. And if something truly bad happened, Katsuki would tell Shouto sooner rather than later.