All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
"Big nose!" Bakugo shouted, jabbing him in the stomach with his index finger. "You pissed me off! I didn't give a shit about this stupid game. But now I want to play ball with the cook's daughter. So give me the fucking ball, big nose."
"You have the nerve to insult me by half a meter again," said the big-nosed guy. He shoved Bakugo so hard that he stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Son of a bitch!" Bakugo shouted from the ground, narrowing his crimson eyes and glaring at the 13-year-old.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the children chanted, forming a circle with Bakugo and the leader in the center. "Finish him, Sanders!" one of the bespectacled children encouraged their leader.
Anyone watching the fight from the outside would bet on the leader since he was more than two heads taller than Bakugo. It looked like David versus Goliath.
"Bakugo, no!" Ayame shouted, trying to get close to Bakugo. But Sanders's friends blocked her way and wouldn't let her through.
"You should have listened to me and played with dolls, half a meter," Sanders said with a cocky smile.
Bakugo, from the ground, tripped Sanders with a strong kick, knocking him to the ground. The young hero got up from the ground. Now the tables had turned; the one with the arrogant smile was Bakugo, not Sanders.
—The other way around, big nose. YOU should have —he emphasized, pointing at him— listened to ME —now he pointed at himself— when I told you to give me the FUCKING BALL.—
"Grrrr," Sanders growled. "What are you waiting for? Get the half-meter!" the leader ordered from the ground.
Three boys in his group responded to their leader's command and stepped forward, surrounding Bakugo. They weren't as tall as Sanders, but each of them was at least a head taller than the blond boy.
—Tsk. —Bakugo muttered.
It was a losing fight; he wasn't going to use his power against three kids to win that fight. What kind of hero would he be if he used his quirk to abuse children?
But it's one thing not to use his power, and it's quite another to give up or run away. Katsuki Bakugo isn't the kind of person who gives up in the face of adversity.
A boy with glasses lunged at him, trying to grab the blond. With a subtle movement, Bakugo dodged him without any complications and, in the process, kicked the boy in the shin, causing him to sob in pain.
"Four-eyes! If you keep bothering me, I'll make you eat your glasses!" Bakugo announced.
The other two boys didn't stay still and attacked simultaneously. One was like a bull ready to headbutt him, the other threw a punch with all his might. Bakugo was able to dodge the headbutt, but the punch hit him full in the face.
The blow was so severe that it caused Bakugo to fall to the ground and become stunned.
"Damn, that kid's punch really hurt," Bakugo thought, somewhat stunned. "What?"
Instantly, the blond realized he now had the body of his 5-year-old self. He was barely over a meter tall and didn't even weigh 20 kilos. The kid who had hit him was almost twice his weight.
He didn't have much time to think, as he saw the pair of thugs coming for him. He got up from the ground, then with a double-kick flip, knocked the two kids to the mat.
"Ha!" Bakugo said, wiping the blood from his mouth from the punch. "That'll teach you brats not to mess with Katsuki Bakugo!"
Bakugo shouldn't have gotten too confident. The bespectacled boy, who was on the ground sobbing from the kick to the shin, caught him off guard and pinned him down, holding him from behind.
—What the hell...? —Bakugo turned his head and saw the four-eyes who had him immobilized. —Four-eyes! You better let me go or you want to end up like your little friends!—
"Sanders, finish him off! I'll hold him!" the bespectacled boy shouted to his leader.
The leader slowly approached where the four-eyes and Bakugo were.
"Shit, I forgot about the big-nosed one," Bakugo muttered, feeling helpless for not being able to get away from the four-eyes.
"Aren't you laughing now, half-meter?" Sanders asked ironically.
"Well, even though your nose is like a clown's, I don't find you funny," Bakugo replied.
Without a word, Sanders punched Bakugo in the stomach, knocking his breath out. He then punched him again, causing him to vomit up some of the ramen he'd eaten earlier.
Disgusted, the bespectacled boy let go. Once free, Bakugo fell to his knees and writhed in pain. Sanders's bully showed no pity for the blond; in fact, he continued beating the blond, this time in the face with a series of punches. The beating continued for a couple of minutes, despite Ayame's screams and cries, pleading to be left alone. Finally, Sanders grew tired and stopped hitting the bloodied Bakugo lying on the ground.
"I hope this serves as a lesson to all of you!" Sanders shouted to the crowd of children. "No one messes with me! That's clear!"
The frightened children nodded. Then they gasped as Bakugo struggled to his feet. His face was distorted by the swelling caused by the blows.
"Give me the fucking ball, big nose..." Bakugo said weakly. He was having trouble breathing and was dying to rest for a while. But he wasn't going to let Sanders get away with this.
Sanders, furious, went straight for him to finish him off. Luckily for him, the bespectacled boy held him back by the arm.
"If you keep hitting him, you'll kill him!" said the boy with glasses, frightened.
"Let me go! If he dies, it'll be his fault for defying me!" Sanders shouted, blinded by rage.
"If I die? Is that big-nosed guy serious? I'm not going to let this psychopath kill me. I'll have to use my power and scare him a little," Bakugo thought.
"Look around you!" the boy with glasses said to his leader.
He listened and watched as they whispered among themselves. It was very likely that one of them would tell on their parents and he'd end up grounded. He wasn't going to let them ground him for the half-meter.
"You're right. I was already tired of playing anyway. Wake up, sleepyheads!" He kicked the two kids who had been knocked unconscious by Bakugo's double flying kick. "We're leaving!"
The four bullies left the place, leaving Bakugo and the rest of the kids behind. Seeing that the danger was over, Bakugo lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky, tired and sore from the beating. Just as he was about to fall asleep, a shouting made him sit up to see what had happened.
"Hooray! Finally, someone stands up to Sanders!" said a girl, catching the ball. "That was awesome!"
"Now we can play without fear of pissing him off," said another child.
Bakugo raised an eyebrow in confusion. They clearly outnumbered the quartet of thugs. Why hadn't they done anything before?
"You have to go to the hospital, Bakugo," Ayame said worriedly, helping Bakugo to his feet. "Let's go to my father's restaurant. Hopefully, the Yondaime is still there and can transport you to the hospital."
"Tsk. I don't need to go to the hospital." Ayame, seeing the blond's stubbornness, poked him hard in the stomach, causing him to feel a sharp pain. "Ow! What do you think you're doing, you idiot?"
"Don't argue with me, Bakugo," Ayame said, as if she were his mother, holding his hand.
Bakugo was too tired to argue so he let the girl lead him by the hand.
"That was the bravest thing I've ever seen," Ayame said, proud of her little friend.
—Tsk. It was nothing. I wasn't going to let that bully get away with it. I'm a hero, after all.—Bakugo said in a nonchalant tone.
"Yes, you are." She kissed the blond on the cheek. "You're my hero."
—Ein?—Bakugo squinted at the girl's strange attitude. —You're weird... —