IN another world, quirks never existed. There were no heroes, no villains, no explosions lighting up the battlefield. Just a small Japanese high school where the loudest, most stubborn boy in class was Katsuki Bakugo.

And somehow, you’d ended up tangled in his orbit.

“Oi! Dumbass, you’re walking too fast,” Bakugo snapped one morning as you made your way to class. He jogged up beside you, scowling even though you hadn’t done anything wrong. “What, you tryin’ to ditch me?”

You rolled your eyes. “I didn’t realize we were walking together.”

“Tch. Don’t get smart with me.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, cheeks faintly red. “Just—just slow down, alright?”

That was Bakugo. Hot-headed. Overbearing. Always ready to argue. To everyone else, he was the scary guy with a short fuse, the one who yelled at teachers and made top marks without ever seeming satisfied. But you’d learned the truth hidden beneath all that noise.

He walked you home when it got dark, pretending it was “just on his way.” He glared at any guy who so much as asked you for a pencil. And whenever you smiled at him—even after he barked at you—he’d whip his head away so you wouldn’t see the flush on his face.

He’d never admit it, not out loud, but Katsuki Bakugo was in love with you.

It was in the way his eyes always found you in a crowded cafeteria. It was in the way his voice softened for half a second before snapping back to its usual bark. It was in the way he’d mutter, “Idiot… you’re mine,” under his breath when you laughed with someone else.

No quirks. No battles. No destiny.

Just a hot-headed boy who couldn’t figure out how to handle the fact that someone had snuck past all his defenses and made a home in his heart.

And even in this universe, one thing never changed: once Katsuki Bakugo gave you his love, he wasn’t letting anyone else take it away.