Anything, for you. - Sugar_n_Spite - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: ♫ Love ♫

Chapter Text

"Something is wrong alright,

I think of you all night.
Can't sleep 'till mornin' light, it must be love.
Seein' you in my dreams,
Holdin' you close to me.
Oh, what else can it be? It must be love.

If you asked Izuku Midoriya how shocked he was to find out that Bakugou and Kirishima were dating, he would say he wasn't really surprised at all.

Well, first he would blush, then he'd stammer out some apologies, and then he'd probably mutter a bit. Then, he'd apologize for that, and probably ask who you were and what year you were in and what your quirk was, then mutter some more as he speculated on it. And finally, eventually, he would say that he wasn't surprised in the least. After all, he'd grown up with Kacchan, and had seen how his once-friend had changed since starting U.A. - since meeting the eternal ray of sunshine that was one Eijirou Kirishima.

Midoriya had watched as Katsuki 'f*cking' Bakugou (as the man himself would say) went from perpetually angry and alone, to reluctantly tolerating Kirishima's proximity, to eventually allowing the redhead to sling his arm over him or invade his space in other ways. Midoriya had seen how Kacchan went from being furious with Kirishima's actions to actually bothering to suppress some of his eye rolls and more hateful comments... And then, Midoriya watched as the blond even came to relax when Kirishima would enter the room and make a beeline towards him. Some days, Midoriya would even dare to say that he saw Kacchan looking for Kirishima, lighting up when he spotted him. It was bizarre, the times that happened. In fact, the entire school year thus far had been like watching a weird movie for Midoriya, as his childhood friend continued to surprise him at every turn and sturdy, determined Kirishima never once gave up on his weird quest to befriend 1-A's resident bomb threat. Midoriya, of course, was thrilled that Kacchan finally had a true friend.

And maybe that would have been the end of it, their friendship the only thing strange thing that ever happened, but...

If you asked Izuku Midoriya when things had really started to change between the two boys, he would say it was just after the Kamino Incident.

None of the 'rescue squad', as it were, really liked to talk or even think much about that horrible night. The energy that All For One exuded, the aura of sheer power, hatred, and evil, was the stuff of nightmares. While he couldn't speak for them all, Midoriya would admit that he had been positively scared sh*tless the entire time. So many thoughts were running through his head all at once, the most prevalent ones being that they were too late, or that he shouldn't have come because Kacchan would NEVER join them if he was there.

But, Kirishima was there - and in the end, that turned out to be all that they needed. Midoriya was almost shocked that Kacchan had flown up to meet them halfway, that he would accept any kind of help or rescue at all. But, as he often was, Midoriya had been right. It HAD to be Kirishima- and thankfully, it was.

The moment Bakugou and Kirishima grabbed hands that night, that wasn't the actually tipping point in their relationship. No, that point came a little later, after a rough but safe landing, when they could have let go of one another's hand...

But they didn't.

That was the moment Midoriya would say he began to wonder.

With the dorm system in place, Bakugou and Kirishima started seeing more of each other than ever. The first few weeks were rough - for everyone, of course, but especially for the Bakusquad. It seemed, from Midoriya's outside perspective, that Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari expected Kacchan to 'open up', to 'relax', to somehow become a softer, more friendly version of himself in the dorms.

To say they were mistaken would be a bit of an understatement. For about two weeks, actually, Bakugou was worse than ever.

('Okay, not worse than EVER,' Midoriya might mutter as he glanced up at the roof of Heights Alliance. 'But the worst he's probably ever been at U.A.').

Bakugou was short-tempered, even for him. He was snippy, and his comments went from having an air of 'somewhat irritated-but-resigned-to-his-friend's-bullsh*t', to downright cutting and startlingly cruel, even for him. His explosive temper tantrums and hate-filled tear-downs left more than one classmate in tears on more than one occasion - and sadly, it was only Mineta once. But, life went on.

As 1-A settled in to the dorms, they also seemed to settle themselves with this new, sharper, crueler version of Bakugou. Before, they had let themselves get used to 'tolerable' Bakugou, to how Kirishima had changed him to be. They'd become placid with his moderate temper, his sarcastic-yet-pretty-funny comments, and his rare advice (however backhanded it may have been). So going back to 'beginning-of-the-year-Bakugou', but somehow worse? It wasn't fun. But 1-A did it, because they had been through a lot, and they were good at adapting.

They learned quickly when to be quiet, when to leave a room, when to stop pushing an issue. They learned when to not laugh too loud, and to clean up after themselves. They learned, as best they could, how to diffuse the bomb. They didn't see that Bakugou was hurting. Neither did Midoriya, for that matter; something he would never quite forgive himself for. After all, he had known Kacchan since they were little, since before they had quirks, so how could he not have noticed? He'd known Kacchan longest, but...

But.

Kirishima knew Bakugou the best. So of course Kirishima noticed.

Kirishima noticed everything.

What had happened, what exactly had changed between Kirishima and Kacchan from those first few weeks in the dorms to now, Midoriya couldn't tell you. No one could, except Bakugou and Kirishima, and they certainly weren't telling. But ever since their hands stayed clasped in Kamino, Midoriya had been sure there was something there.

So no, Midoriya wasn't even the least bit shocked to find out that the two were dating.

However, he would be the only one.

Plenty of members of 1-A would speculate on how it happened, of course. Mina would say that maybe their Blasty (as he'd come to be affectionately known to the 'squad') had had horrible nightmares, and Kirishima had woken up to the sound of explosions at 2 am and helped him through them. Sero would suggest that the two had secretly been hiking and rock climbing together, a favorite past time of Blasty's, and bonded during it. Kaminari would joke that Blasty tried to drink away his feelings and Kirishima had babysat him; finally, when drunk together, they confessed to one another.

Jirou thought perhaps one of them had left secret notes or little gifts for the other.

Hagakure thought Kirishima introduced Bakugou to his dog and they were using it as a therapy dog.

Even Todoroki would offer his two cents, throwing out a conspiracy theory on the two's relationship that made no sense to anyone in class except Midoriya, who somehow understood it perfectly.

For all that people speculated on the how of it, they were still shocked that it had happened at all. Contrary to their usual styles, there was no big announcement, no explosions, neither of them coming out to anyone - they just..waltzed into the common room holding hands one morning. In fact, it took 1-A most of the school day to realize that it was anything more than Kirishima being his usual touchy self and Bakugou just starting to tolerate it again.

Of course, when they kissed at the lunch table (really, right in front of Mina's salad?), people started to clue in to what was happening.

Kaminari asked, incredulous.

Bakugou, bright red and with an expression that was almost a smile, answered. Kirishima, also bright red and with a look on his face that said all his dreams had just come true, confirmed.

And that was that.

Here's the thing about Eijirou Kirishima - he's a ray of sunshine. Anyone could tell you that. Every time Kirishima enters a room, it seems like it gets brighter. His smile and laugh are contagious, his hugs are warm and safe, and his heart seems to always be full to bursting. He's someone who hardly anyone in their right mind could hate, because he's just that good of a person. He doesn't even realize it, but he inspires people just by being around. Some, like his friend Tetsutetsu, he inspires to be manlier - to go the extra mile on a work out or quirk training even though it hurts, knowing they'll come out of it better and stronger than ever before.

Some, like Mina, he inspires to be braver - having seen the way he's changed since middle school, the standards he holds himself to, makes Mina want to go Plus Ultra in everything she does.

Some, like Kaminari, he inspires to change - Kaminari could have all too easily fell deep into Mineta's ways around the girls. He was close, for a bit, but - how could he keep going on like that, being a creep, when Kirishima was there saying acting that way towards the girls was unmanly?

Some, like Sero, he doesn't have to inspire, per se - he just has to be there, be a rock, be someone to trust and rely on.

Yes, Kirishima inspires and changes people. He's sunshine incarnate. He's just that kind of person.

So really, it should come as no shock that dating someone as full of love and joy as Eijirou Kirishima could inspire someone as rough as Katsuki Bakugou to be different, too.

But it does.

Somewhere about three-quarters of the way into their first month in the dorms, 1-A's resident feral gremlin changes again, and this time in a way no one, not even Midoriya, expects.

The first sign of it is during game night in Sero's room. After playing a few games on Kaminari's switch, then a few others on Kirishima's Xbox, and a few MORE on Sero's PC, the squad is feeling kind of gamed out. Everyone is happy - it's the weekend, all of their homework is done,

( "Thanks for the help, Blasty!"

"Yeah, I couldn't have understood that last one without you!"

"Shut it," Bakugou says, looking away from Mina and Kaminari as he tries to stifle a smile that he doesn't want anyone to see. It's getting harder and harder to hide this new side of him, though. )

and everyone is happy to have Bakugou back to what they had figured on as his 'normal'. They have nothing to do, nowhere to be, and have had way too many energy drinks and soda, and so Kaminari positively insists on showing them all some stupid video he saw online that makes him laugh until he cries every. single. time. he tries to describe it to them. He pulls it up on Sero's computer, so everyone can see it on the large TV he uses as a monitor.

"Let's make - a loaded cone!" The voice-over says in a woman's peppy voice. Kaminari is already stifling laughter.

"Ahh, the swirls."

"What the f*ck, dude?" Sero asks, as Kaminari slides off the bed, wheezing.

"Just, just just watch it, you'll-" Kaminari gestures wildly at the vanilla cone on the screen, as a straw is inserted into it.

"HOLE!" the peppy woman proclaims dozens of times at once, in some ungodly cacophony.

Kaminari lets out a strangled laugh, tears streaming down his red face.

No one in the squad but Kaminari seems to find it funny; everyone is sending him mildly concerned looks, but the electric blond insists it gets funnier every time it loops, so they keep going.

And, unusually, Kaminari is right.

"Let's make a loaded cone!"

"Ah, the swirls."

"HOLE" "hole" "hole" "HOLE" "hOLe" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hOle" "HOle"

"hole" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hOle"

"HOle" "hole" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hole"

"hole" "HOLE" "hOLe" "HOLE"

"hOle" "HOle" "hole" "HOLE" "HOLE"

"hole" "hole"

"HOLE" "hOLe"

"HOLE"

Now Mina and Sero are laughing, too, and Kirishima is wheezing in the corner, tears starting to leak out of his eyes. Bakugou tries his hardest to stifle the fond smile on his face at seeing his boyfriend in such a state.

By the 7th play, the entire Bakusquad minus Baku are cackling, red-faced, and crying. Sero reaches up from his spot on the floor and slams his hand wildly on the space bar, pausing the video and its damned background music as they all lose their collective minds ("one brain cell shared between the four of you", Bakugou swears to them later.)

For about 5 minutes, the four of them can't even so much as glance at one another without losing it again; every time they make eye contact, the hysterical laughter starts up again, or one of them cheerfully shouts out "HOLE!", sending them all into fits. Finally, when it seems like they're all calming down and Kaminari is teasing Bakugou for not finding it funny, it happens.

Sero tries to stand back up, but he puts too much weight on his chair, and it slides out from under him. As he falls, he manages to pull the keyboard down on top of him, un-pausing the video right in time for

"HOLE" "hole" "hole" "HOLE" "hOLe" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hOle" "HOle" "hole" "HOLE"

"HOLE" "hOle" "HOle" "hole" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hole" "hole" "HOLE" "hOLe" "HOLE""HOLE" "hole" "hole" "HOLE" "hOLe" "HOLE" "HOLE" "hOle" "HOle" "hole" "HOLE"

" ~ H ~ O ~ L ~ E ~ "

There's a pause, before,

"ow, f*ck." Sero mutters in the smallest voice possible, rubbing his forehead, and

Bakugou laughs.

It's not his normal noise between a scoff and a nose exhale. It isn't the derogatory, mocking laughter he lets out when the hands chick from 1-B knocks out Copycat. It isn't the psychotic laugh he lets out in a fight sometimes to unsettle his opponent.

It's a genuinely amused, happy laugh, and the entire squad freezes up and quiets down at hearing it for the first time.

Kirishima has heard him laugh before, of course, but it's always a soft and sort of quiet chuckle. Never an all out laugh. It's better than he could have ever expected - warm, loud, and surprisingly deep. And Bakugou just keeps going, cracking up again when he sees one of their positively floored expressions looking back at him. He can't help it, can't hide it anymore, this is hilarious.

Having never heard ANY laugh out of Bakugou that wasn't unhinged or unkind, the squad just isn't sure what to do. That only gets worse when Bakugou finally stops laughing and says the only thing that could have possibly shocked them more.

"f*ck, sorry," Bakugou chuckles, calming himself down. "You okay, Sero?"

He slides off the bed and offers Sero a hand up, which Sero takes cautiously. He opens his mouth to say something, god knows what, but Kaminari beats him to it with an unbelieving

"You actually know our names‽" And the worst of it is, he's only half-joking. He's at least a little genuinely surprised at it. The smile slips from Bakugou's face, but surprisingly isn't replaced with a scowl.

"I- yeah, course I f*ckin' do."

"We weren't sure," Mina interjects. "We kinda figured that, other than Kirishima's, our names weren't worth learning."

"Well, why the f*ck not?" Bakugou demands. "You f*ckers are my friends, right? So no sh*t, I know your names." He looks mildly uncomfortable saying it aloud and his ears are pink, but he stands his ground.

Kirishima is grinning like an idiot and hops up to pull Bakugou into a hug, which only causes the explosive boy to blush more. "Kiri-" he honest to God whines, and it's a mistake because they all hear it.

"Kat, you finally admitted to them that they're your friends, I'm so proud of you!"

"'Kat'?" Sero blurts out.

"'KIRI'!" Kaminari shouts out, laughing. "Oh my god, you have pet names, I can't handle it."

"I take it back," Bakugou says suddenly. "You two are terrible, Kiri and Mina are my only friends."

Mina beams at him saying her name and jumps into his and Kiri's hug, only half freaking out when she feels both boys return it (because at this point, Katsuki figures, why not? He's admitted that they're his friends, so he might as well start acting like it.).

It's definitely a MOMENT(tm), and one the squad will never forget.

After that moment in Sero's dorm room, Katsuki becomes way more open with the squad - and he does so surprisingly fast. He's more patient tutoring Kaminari, he actually listens to Mina's gossip and boy troubles and offers comments and advice, and he's willing to play video games with Sero instead of just watching. He laughs (in public!) at Kaminari's dumb jokes, and even makes some of his own. He listens to Sero lament about his feelings for Mina and sympathizes, even offering to help him find out if she feels the same. He calls the entire squad by their real names, not his usual nicknames for them. He even starts to do those things when Kiri isn't even around.

One morning, Katsuki isn't paying attention and runs into Midoriya in the hallways, knocking the shorter boy flat on his ass. Iida sees it happen and begins to lecture Bakugou on carelessness in the hallways, Uraraka winces and readies for the explosion (both literal and metaphorical), and Todoroki is already rolling his eyes and seeming done with it all when -

Katsuki reaches out a hand and helps Midoriya up, even going so far as to mutter a "sh*t, my bad." before walking away. Midoriya and his crew stand in the middle of the crowded hall, staring after Katsuki and the rest of the squad and looking positively floored.

That's the moment when most of 1-A starts to suspect it, hard to believe as it may be: Katsuki 'f*cking' Bakugou has officially gone soft.

And while he'd rather die than admit it... He definitely has, and what's worse, he actually loves every single moment of it. At first, he just gets a kick out of the shocked looks everyone gives him when he's nice to them. It's funny to him, seeing them all over-react to it. And yeah, he feels a little sh*tty about what that says about how he was before, but he buries it under the humor.

Then, Kiri tells him he's proud of him one night, grins at him and gives him a huge hug, looks at him like he's something special and worthwhile... and Katsuki absolutely does. not. cry.

He doesn't.

(He does.)

After that, he finds himself starting to enjoy being nice to others. He still gets a kick out of shocking people with his newfound behavior, but there's also this warm glow in his chest that follows him around for hours after. The first time he makes someone smile instead of just looking surprised, he's on cloud nine all day. The first time he makes Jirou and Tokoyami laugh at a joke, he finds himself telling Kiri about it like a little kid telling a parent about his day at school.

("What was the joke, anyway? We could hear them laughing from halfway across the courtyard, man!"

"What- what's the difference" Katsuki cuts himself off with a laugh and is briefly horrified that he's picked up Kaminari's bad habit of laughing at his own damn jokes before he can even get them out. "What's the difference between a casual-dress party and a having sex with a pirate?"

"I dunno, what?"

"The first, you come as you are. But the second, you- you-" oh god, he's wheezing, "you 'ARRRRGGH' as you cum!"

"KAT, Jesus Christ!" Kiri dissolves into laughter and Katsuki is right behind him. )

Not long after, Katsuki comes to a realization. A few, actually.

First, and most obvious, he's hopelessly in love with Kiri. No denying it, no getting around it, no calling it something as small as a crush. No, Kiri managed to butt his way into Katsuki's life, tear down all of his walls, befriend him, and then make him fall completely in love. Not only that, but Kiri has helped him grow so much as a person. He has rapidly become, cliché be damned, the light of his life. Katsuki 'f*cking' Bakugou is in love with Eijirou 'sunshine' Kirishima...and Kiri has no idea yet.

Thanks to the first thing, he comes to realize the second - he's changed. He's known it since shortly after the dorms, of course, but this is the first time he really reflects on it deeply. He's become a person he barely recognizes, in the best way possible, and does things he never thought he would bother doing. He has friends (plural!) when before, he's said he would never need a single one. He's fallen in love, though he once thought he never could, or would want to, or could be liked back. There's a whole new side to him that he never would have guessed could exist, but yet it does.

He feels bad about how he's been in the past. He likes making people laugh, and feels great about himself when he cheers people up. He likes watching bad horror movies with his friends in any of their rooms, laughing when they panic at jump scares, and trying to hide from them that he presses against Kiri when he starts getting freaked out, too.

He likes playing those stupid zombie shooter games with Sero and Kaminari, and he likes playing Sonic and All-Stars Racing with the squad; he's terrible at it, worse than any of them, and he doesn't even care that he loses every single time because he's so busy laughing with his friends. He's never been able to lose gracefully before - yet another thing he's learned from being with Kiri and having friends. What once would have sent him into a bitter rage now just makes him laugh.

That's another thing - he actually likes laughing and joking around. What he once saw as a waste of time, he now goes out of his way to do for others. The worse the pun or joke he can make, the better. He has an ongoing war with Kaminari to see which of them can make the rest of the squad groan the hardest at how bad their jokes are. He gets why Kaminari plays at being class clown so much now.

Another thing he realizes; he's kind of... soft. Not in the physical sense, none of them are with how much training UA has them doing. But emotionally? He's a marshmallow. At first, it was just for Kiri, but as time goes on, it starts rapidly spreading to others. He can't stand to see someone looking like a kicked puppy when he knows he could do something to change it, now. So when Mina has a bad day and the squad insists they all get together in her room and watch some stupid teenage love story movie with her to make her feel better, he agrees to go.

He ends up crying the hardest out of all of them. He should be mortified and furious that anyone but Kiri caught him crying, but he can't seem to bring up those feelings. Maybe because all of them are crying. Probably because he's too busy ugly crying the hardest.

( It is the dumbest f*cking movie he's ever seen. It's clichéd, it's pretentious, and the two teenage leads don't act or talk their age at all. The dialogue is too flowery, the music is too on the nose, and it's utterly ridiculous. He hates the damn film. He's only doing this for Mina, this is stupid as f*ck, but

'I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you,' the boy on-screen ranted.

Katsuki's eyes widened a good deal and he fought himself to keep from glancing over at Kiri, who he could hear sniffling already, when the movie wasn't even all that sad yet.

..........

'I fell in love with the way you fall asleep,' the heroine of the movie narrated. 'Slowly, and then all at once.'

Katsuki did NOT let out a soft sigh at that, or clasp Kiri's hand. It wasn't sweet. Not. at. all. And if he finds himself looking at Kiri the same way he catches Mina stealing glances at Sero, well, that doesn't mean anything.

..........

'The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people noticing things, paying attention.'

Okay, that was hitting a little close to home for him. Kiri had seen him hurting when no one else had, and had paid attention, but that didn't mean he liked the movie. It just meant his Kiri- it just meant Kirishima was going to be an amazing hero. That's all.

.........

'She's so beautiful,' the boy narrated from beyond the grave, sounding melancholy. 'You don't get tired of looking at her. You never worry if she's smarter than you, because you know she is. She's funny without ever being mean. I love her. God, I love her. I'm so lucky to love her, Van Houten. You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have a say in who hurts you. And I like my choices. I hope she likes hers. Okay, Hazel Grace?'

'Okay.'

The final straw broke, and Katsuki was sobbing.

But not a single one of them ever teased him for it. Later, Kiri tells him that that's his new favorite movie, and Katsuki shyly admits, "yeah, mine, too." )

Kaminari has a bad day - he fails a test he'd studied really hard for. He laughs it off in class, making jokes about his own self to cheer up anyone else who didn't do super great. Hagakure and Uraraka take Mina out to the mall to cheer her up, and Kiri is going to spar with Tetsutetsu. Sero's been dragged into Ojiro's room so the tailed boy can vent about his 'hopeless' feelings for Hagakure and Sero can commiserate because of his own for Mina (the feelings Katsuki is becoming pretty sure aren't all that unrequited, actually.)

As soon as they all leave, Kaminari slumps down at the kitchen island and Katsuki hears him start to cry quietly.

"You okay?"

Kaminari jumps at his soft question - he must not have realized that Katsuki was still there.

"Fine, dude, it's nothing," he sighs. "Long day."

"It's not nothing dumbass, or you wouldn't be crying."

"I..."

Katsuki waits patiently.

"I'm a dumbass," Kaminari finally settles on.

"I'd gathered that much, funnily enough," Katsuki says with an eye roll. Then he startles as Kaminari starts crying again. "f*ck-"

"That's the problem," he grits out. "It's like you always say. I'm so f*cking dumb, Bakugou. I tried this time! I really, really tried and it WASN'T f*ckING GOOD ENOUGH, BECAUSE I'M A f*ckING DUMBASS!"

Katsuki's feet move without him thinking about, and next thing he knows, he has Kaminari gathered in his arms and is holding him tight, using one hand to pat his back soothingly. As much as he's softened up lately, it's still strange enough behavior from Katsuki to shock Kaminari out of his crying.

"Bakugou?"

"Shut it," Katsuki mutters. "You're not stupid, okay? And I shouldn't have called you that, I'm sorry. It's a sh*tty f*cking nickname and I didn't realize how much it upset you. I don't actually think you're dumb, I promise."

They talk for a bit about how worn down Kaminari feels, how hurt he is by his grades, and Katsuki promises to tutor him more. After a little discussion,

("What do you mean, the letters move and the words all mush together and look the same?"

"I dunno, they always do it."

"...Have you ever heard of dyslexia?" )

Katsuki convinces Kaminari to talk to Aizawa and Recovery Girl and see what methods may work for him. Kaminari is done crying, but still not looking all too confident, when Katsuki tells him,

"Look, you can't be nearly as dumb as you think you are. You got into U.A.! From what you said before, it seems like you were always near the top of your classes in middle school..."

"Yeah, that was then, before I was stupid."

"No, that was then, with normal classes. You know U.A. is on another level, or it wouldn't be the best. sh*t's hard here...f*ck, even I have trouble with it sometimes. Guaran-f*cking-tee that Ponytail and i-Robot do, too."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do. Even when you're struggling and near the bottom half of our class, just try to remember that you're doing work that's way harder than most any other school. You didn't get dumber, sh*t just became a lot harder and you need some help adapting. Doesn't mean anything bad about you."

Three things:

First, Katsuki's pretty sure Kaminari has test anxiety on top of dyslexia.

Second, Kaminari must be touch-starved, because as soon as he realizes he can hug Katsuki without getting his ass handed to him, he clings to him like there's no tomorrow. Katsuki understands, because Kiri had once said similar about him, so he gets it. Kaminari needs him, he's not about to turn him away, because...

Third, Kaminari is a really good friend, and Katsuki hates seeing him hurt like this. He'd do most anything to help him feel better again, and f*ck, Kaminari may actually be his best friend (after Kiri, of course.) If someone had told Katsuki at the start of the year, or even just over a month ago, that he'd consider Kaminari one of his best friends, he would have blown their asses up. But now? Now he just wants to say the dumbest jokes he can come up with over and over until Kaminari smiles again.

(When the others get back and see Kaminari's tear-stained face and Katsuki's wet shoulder, they don't say anything; they just dogpile onto the two of them and the squad cuddles most of the night. Kiri is radiant when Katsuki tells him about it later, and Katsuki realizes that how he felt with Kaminari is how Kiri feels about people all the time - protective, loving, wanting to help. It's exhausting. He hates it. He loves it. He loves Kiri. God, he loves Kiri so f*cking much.)

The next change comes when Katsuki apologizes to Midoriya. It's every bit as humiliating and shameful and awkward as he expected. It's worse. It's also somehow better. He knows he's red in the face when he does it, and he hopes Midoriya realizes it's from embarrassment and guilt, not from anger. He hopes the smaller boy isn't scared of him during it, but knows he probably is.

(he's not.)

After a few hours of apologies and forgiveness and talking, he can never call Midoriya out for being a crybaby again, considering how much he himself just cried. He expects to hate himself for it, another log to throw on the fire of his self-hatred, but...he doesn't. It actually, weirdly, disturbingly, feels kind of good. He isn't used to it yet, this kind of open, honest, genuineness. But he thinks at the end that maybe he didn't mind it, and actually maybe all of his tears helped finally extinguish that fire.

Midoriya forgives him almost instantly. Of course he does, he's one of the nicest people Katsuki knows. He's a lot like Kiri in that regard (and oh god, how could Katsuki have ever hated or been so cruel to someone who was so much like Kiri? He would destroy anyone who dared treat Kiri the way he had once treated Midoriya...) and he doesn't hold a grudge at all. In fact, Midoriy- Izuku?

("Thanks, Dek- f*ck, um... Thanks, Midoriya."

Midoriya blinks, startled, before blurting out, "Kacchan, what the f*ck?"

"Did you just say the f*ck word?!"

"The 'f*ck word'," he laughs a little. "Wh- Forget that, please don't ever call me 'Midoriya' again, that's way too weird!"

"I-"

"Seriously, Kacchan! It sounds wrong coming from you!"

"f*cking fine then," he's half laughing now, an improvement from the crying earlier.

"You can still call me 'Deku', you know. I really don't mind, it's been your nickname for me our whole lives, and it's literally my hero name, sooo..."

"Eventually, maybe," Katsuki says, shifting uncomfortably. "It...doesn't exactly make me feel great saying it."

"So what, you won't call me anything at all? How will I ever know if you're talking to me, then?" he jokes.

"....You'll know, Izuku."

They both blink, unsure about how they feel for a moment. There's a brief weirdness in the air as they try to decide if the name feels too impersonal or too personal, but finally,

"...Yeah, okay. That works."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Izuku's grin is radiant. "I'm glad we're friends again, Bakugou."

A record scratch. Katsuki levels a glare at him.

"Erm...I'm.. glad we're friends again, ...Katsuki?"

They both burst into laughter. Relieved, nervous, slightly hysterical laughter. A little raw. But a shared moment of happiness, of healing, nonetheless.

"God, no, don't!"

"Sorry, Kacchan!"

It's a good day. )

(If someone told Katsuki a few months ago that he'd befriend and willingly hug Izuku, he'd throw them out a f*cking window, and probably go throw Izuku out of one too, just for the hell of it. Now, he's crying and wouldn't let go for the world. Okay, he would for Kiri, since Kiri IS his world. But still.)

Izuku is a damned saint to forgive him after everything, but standing in the dorm kitchens at 1am holding an armful of 'crying ex-friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again-slash-little-brother-figure, Katsuki is grateful that Izuku is as forgiving and caring as he is. He may not fully believe he deserves this second chance, but he's damn sure determined to earn it.

(When he answers the cheerful "good morning, Kacchan!" in class the next day with a less bubbly, but no less warm and content "Morning, 'Zuku!" and a smile, Iida falls out of his chair and Uraraka accidentally floats him into the ceiling while trying to decide between helping him up or gaping at Katsuki. The Bakusquad hasn't laughed this hard since the whole 'hole' thing.)

All in all, Katsuki's life has become pretty much perfect since moving into the dorms. After the first few weeks of turmoil and upset (caused by him, he won't deny it), things have been going better than he could have ever dreamed of. He has never, and he means NEVER, been so content or joyful or at peace in his entire life.

That's why he doesn't get up and clock Neito motherf*cking Monoma in the face that day at lunch when the copycat starts in on Katsuki for "going soft". Because life is great, and Kiri is amazing, and honestly, Monoma isn't wrong. He IS soft now; 1-A has finally become used to it, even. They're no longer shocked when they catch him cuddling up with Kirishima, hugging his friends, playing games with and being nice to Izuku. They no longer joke that he's secretly being impersonated by Toga when he says something kind to someone outside of the Bakusquad or Izuku, or makes jokes to get Jirou to laugh, or cooks for them, or even when he calms Todoroki down from a panic attack one day. They all just accept that that's how he is, now. It's more than he could have ever dreamed, and he loves waking up each day to make his friends happy, to make Kiri proud, to prove to 1-A that he's really doing this, really capable of changing.

So actually, because of that, he probably shouldn't stand up, throw his food on Monoma, kick his nuts up into his throat, and then knock him unconscious with a lunch tray...

Besides, Kiri probably wouldn't want him to fight Monoma, and Kiri is a great moral compass.

(He's wrong, Kiri would love for literally anyone to punch Monoma. The sleazy blond is the only person Kirishima would say he actually, truly dislikes.)

"Why, I bet you've gone so soft that you wouldn't even be able to make it to Number One now!" Monoma crows before laughing uproariously at his own joke.

Before he can stop himself, Katsuki finds himself answering with a shrug and a calm, "Maybe not."

Their section of the lunch room goes dead quiet, because as used to the new, improved, 'sweet Bakugou' as they are...they still know him to be as competitive and determined to be a Pro as ever. They're about to witness Monoma's death, they're sure.

"You...I..Th- what?" Monoma stutters out, shocked.

"You heard me," Katsuki says calmly. "Maybe I won't make it to Number One. Don't get me wrong, I still fully intend to try. I'm still giving it my all. And I damn sure am going to rank higher than you."

"But," Monoma has recovered and is laughing now. "But you ADMIT IT, you may not make it to Number One! You may still be trying, but your confidence is gone! You've gone soft, and you're weak now! 1-A's resident attack dog is just a scared little chihuahua!"

"Chihuahua's are good attack dogs, though," Sero mutters, rubbing at a scar on his forearm. "Evil little sh*ts." Mina lets out a nervous giggle.

"Confidence has nothing to do with it, Copycat," Katsuki says, still alarmingly calm. "And I'm not weak just because I'm not a sh*tty person anymore. All I'm saying is, it's no longer the end of the world if I don't get to Number One, or even if I do but don't hold the spot my entire career. Some stuff's more important than that."

"Whatever could be better than being in first place?!" Monoma cackles, not realizing that he's not exactly gaining any ground here. "Having your little friends?! You're really giving it all up for them?!"

"No, I'm not giving up anything. I'm saying I can do both. I can be a good friend, a good boyfriend, a good person, and still be Number One. And even if I'm not, I can still be a damned good Pro. Who cares if I'm not in the Top 10 as long as I still do my best every day and help as many people as I can? That's what matters, not the title of first place."

Kiri is positively beaming next to him, and the entire squad's eyes are suspiciously moist.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Monoma presses on dramatically. "The great Katsuki Bakugou, tamed! Whipped! Dating a pathetic loser like Kirishima has really done a number on you!"

Okay, now Kiri looks to be more fuming than beaming. Katsuki realizes that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be the one to get in a fist fight with Monoma today if things don't end soon.

"No," Katsuki says, loud enough to be heard over Monoma's melodramatic laughter. "Dating Kiri didn't 'do a number on me', it made me a decent f*cking person, which is more than I could ever say for you. I'm willing to tolerate a lot from you, but you talking sh*t about the best person I've ever met is NOT one of the things I'm allowing. Come to think of it, you don't get to say sh*t about ANY of my friends."

"Really, HE'S the best person you've ever met? You know ALL MIGHT, and this loser is the best?"

"Yeah, f*cker, he is."

"Why, because he sucks you off good?" Monoma leers, and Katsuki sees red. "That's the only reason you like him, really, because you couldn't find a girl to tolerate your sh*t and he gets you off. It's not like there's anything else redeeming about someone like him, after all. I mean, just look at him. You may like him now, but you'll get over it eventually, I'm sure."

"What the f*ck is your problem? I already knew you were the stupidest motherf*cker I have EVER had the displeasure to meet, but I didn't realize you were blind, too. You're seriously in here talking sh*t about Kirishima? One of the nicest people in school, someone who literally everyone but you loves? You're seriously standing right f*cking here in front of me, his boyfriend, insinuating that he's nothing?"

Monoma just stutters - for all that he's been egging Katsuki on, trying to get one of his customary temper tantrums, he sure doesn't seem to know what to do now that Katsuki's full fury is directed at him.

"How the f*ck don't you see it?," Katsuki went on, getting progressively more angry. "I love him. He's perfect, you f*cking dried out end of a bread loaf. He's beautiful, I never get tired of looking at him. I never have to worry that he's better than me because I know damn f*cking well that he IS, because he's better than ALL of us. He's funny as f*ck, but he's never mean about it. He cares about everyone, and he would do anything to help people. I...I love him, and I'm f*cking LUCKY to have the privilege of loving someone like him. I did literally everything f*cking wrong since starting UA and he still never gave up on me. Assflash, newshole - every single last good thing in my f*cking life has been because of him, because he made me want to be a better person. And someone like YOU is seriously standing here trying to belittle someone like him? How the f*ck do you even breathe enough to talk all the sh*t you do with your head shoved so far up your own foreskin?"

Monoma doesn't quite know when to give up, though. He's beaten but not cowed, and tries to get in one parting shot,

"If it came down to it, which would you choose? Being in the Top 10, or Kirishima?"

"Are you f*cking stupid? I'd choose Kirishima any day. I'd rather never crack the Top 100 than lose him, f*ck, I'd rather never become a Pro at all than lose him."

Monoma is cut off when Kendou smacks him with her large hands and drags him away, apologizing profusely. This time, more than any other, she looks furious - they're not heading back to the tables with the rest of 1-B, but to the hall towards the teacher's offices. Something tells Katsuki that Vlad King and maybe Nezu are in for a long afternoon.

When most of 1-A starts to cheer, Katsuki almost thinks it's a joke. He hasn't been so riled up, so furious, felt so hateful towards someone in months now, and he almost snaps at his classmates when he thinks they're mocking him, but Mina, Sero, and Kaminari are already halfway across the room talking to some of the more reasonable members of 1-B; it looks like they're all planning a mutiny against Copycat.

When Katsuki turns back around to demand answers from Kiri, he's suddenly given an armful of a sobbing, laughing, huggy boyfriend. Like usual when Kiri is involved, every last bit of anger and meanness melts out of Katsuki. Holding Kiri tight, all he can think to say is "f*ck, sorry, Kiri. I shouldn't have caused a scene, but-"

"Don't apologize!" Kiri yells through the tears and laughter. "He deserved it - I should have punched his f*cking teeth in myself!"

"Kiri!" Katsuki manages, shocked.

"I SHOULD have, though! He deserves it!"

"I mean he does, I just didn't expect that from you!" He's laughing a little. "You see the best in everyone, you don't have a mean bone in your body!"

"Even I can't manage to like him," Kiri admits, thankfully finally laughing more than crying. "And I may not have a mean bone in my body but my hand bone's feeling mean and I'll...put it through Monoma's body when I use it to punch his...teeth off."

"...What?" Katsuki laughs, bewildered. Halfway through his rant against Monoma, Kiri had started looking shell shocked and gotten quite confused.

"You....You love me?"

"f*ck."

"Not quite the answer I was hoping for, here."

"f*ck. No, I mean, yes, I- f*ck."

"Kat?" Kiri looks worried.

Katsuki rubs a shaky hand over his face and takes a deep breath before replying. "I meant every word, Kiri. I DO love you, that's just not exactly the way I'd wanted to tell you."

"...You love me," Kiri repeated, looking floored. "You'd...rather never be a hero, than lose me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I f*cking love you, a lot," Katsuki is laughing now a little, feeling lighter, more giddy, just from saying it. "I'm ridiculously in love with you, Kiri, everything about you is perfect to me. And yeah, I'd do anything for you. Even if it meant not being a hero. f*ck, it feels good to tell you that."

Kirishima doesn't reply, but that's fine, because his lips are too busy for talking.

There's a lot the squad doesn't tease Katsuki about, and he's grateful for it. They know when it's fine, what's fair game for playing around - and they know when they shouldn't cross a line. Some things are too raw still to poke fun at - Kamino, how he used to treat people at the start of the year, those two awful first weeks in the dorms, him crying like a baby at romance movies...Those things, the squad would never make fun of him for or joke about.

Sadly, they can definitely sense that 'being head over heels in love with Kirishima and blurting it out in front of their entire year during lunch' is well within the realms of 'okay to tease about', so they do. It's all in good fun, and Katsuki and Kirishima are laughing about it just as much as the rest of the squad. Well, Katsuki is. Kirishima still seems a little shell shocked by the admission, and is a little quiet, maybe because of all of the drama of the day. But the rest of the class can't stop laughing about it. Even Izuku teases them about the confession, saying of COURSE Katsuki had to do it in the most dramatic and slightly belligerent way possible.

Mina does tear up a little bit, thinking about how sweet it all was. She pokes fun, too, calling Kirishima "the Bakugou whisperer."

"Seriously!" She says. "You literally DIDN'T punch Monoma because of Kirishima! YOU of all people, passed up a chance to beat the snot out of MONOMA, all because you thought Kirishima wouldn't want you to!"

"Which is saying something," Kaminari throws his two cents in, "since Kirishima was about 2 seconds away from doing it himself."

"I mean, maybe," Kirishima says sheepishly. "I definitely was thinking about it."

"Until Blasty confessed to the entire year how crazy in love with you he is," Sero laughs. "I don't think you did much thinking after that."

"Ah, no," Kirishima laughs uncomfortably, had going up to mess with his hair. "Probably not."

"You really would do anything for Kirishima, wouldn't you, Blasty?" Mina asks, stars in her eyes. "Like, anything."

Katsuki knows then that he's sunken down to yet another level of 'soft, mushy, emotional loser', because he doesn't even try to stop the disgustingly besotted way he smiles at Kirishima. "Yeah, I probably would."

Kirishima is looking shocked again.

When they go to bed that night, Kirishima spends an unusual (even for them) amount of time hugging, cuddling, and kissing Katsuki. Every single time Katsuki thinks he can't possibly feel any more butterflies without exploding, or feel any single bit happier than he already is feeling, he somehow does. He's definitely become a real crybaby since making up with Izuku, because he keeps blinking away tears every few minutes. He finally explains to a worried and quiet Kirishima that he's only crying because 1, he's a disgustingly soppy loser; and 2, because he's literally so happy that he can't process all the joy and love he's feeling at once and it's coming out as tears.

Kirishima is quieter than usual, almost withdrawn from anything that isn't physical affection. Katsuki notices, and when he asks, Kirishima says that he's just feeling a bit down from all of the cruel things Monoma said about him in the lunch room earlier. He says he knows it shouldn't bother him, but it still does, and that he's not really all of those wonderful things Katsuki claimed he was. Not even close.

Katsuki tells him how wrong, how stupid, Monoma is, and reiterates everything he said about how much he loves Kirishima; he even somehow manages to conjure up even more sickeningly cute and sweet ways to profess his feelings, leading to both of them crying a bit. Kirishima mentions that, even though they've been dating a good few weeks now, he's still surprised at just how good at this Katsuki is.

But Katsuki has always been the type to feel strongly and give things his all, so it comes as no surprise to himself that being in love is the same way. Finally saying it out loud, - to anyone, but especially Kirishima - has made the dam burst. Now he can't hold back the soft touches, hands running through soft red hair, the soft little smiles, the urge to repeatedly brush his lips against Kirishima's forehead, his hair, his hands - everywhere.

"Promise?"

"Of course I do. I'll tell you that whenever you need to hear it."

" You will?"

"Anything, for you."

Kirishima is still a bit withdrawn, but that's fine - Katsuki will show him every single day how loved and amazing he is.

They fall asleep in each other's arms, with Katsuki whispering 'I love you's into Kirishima's ear.

When he wakes up for school, Kirishima is gone and the bed is cold.

Kirishima doesn't show up to class.

Chapter 2: ♫ Alone ♫

Chapter Text

"'Cause you went away -
How dare you?
I'll miss you.
They say I'll be okay.
But I'm not going to
ever get
over you."

- Over You, by Miranda Lambert

The lights from the police cars beat an angry red and blue pattern against the walls of Heights Alliance. The contrasting colors are particularly harsh in the 1-A common room, as most of the class sits there in the dark. It's almost three in the morning - the sun set hours ago, but none of them have been able to summon the will to get up and turn on the common room lights. It doesn't matter, though - they don't need the lights on in order to hear the distant sounds of a helicopter buzzing overhead, of Endeavor yelling something at an officer, or of Present Mic accidentally activating his quirk as he yells something across the courtyard to U.A.'s principal. The windows in the living area are all still open from the searches before, and so all of those sounds come through perfectly clear. Maybe it should bother them, or at least those of them that had given up and gone to sleep a few hours ago. It doesn't though - as upsetting as the sounds are, they're better than the deafening silence the first years experienced as they sat out in the courtyard around 12 hours prior, waiting for the dorm rooms to be cleared by the Pros.

(At first, Katsuki isn't at all worried about Kirishima. It's not too unusual for his boyfriend to wake up earlier than him in order to go lift weights, shower, and gel his hair into his usual incredibly sharp and jagged pattern. "That sort of manly style takes time!" Kirishima tells him with a blinding grin on those days, as he rushes to catch up.

He isn't all that worried when he leaves Heights Alliance with the squad minus Kirishima, either. It IS a bit unusual, but it's happened once or twice before, when Kirishima gets distracted with something in his room or spends too long with his punching bag and runs late to showering and setting his cute ridiculous hair. Katsuki just shoots him a quick text, the normal sort of thing for those days. 'Good morning Kiri.', 'Don't be too late!', 'We'll see you in class.'

And, in writing for the first time, 'I love you! <3'.

Kirishima doesn't text back, and that's pretty unusual, but still Katsuki tells himself he isn't worried... Not even when Aizawa walks in just as the bell rings, and Kirishima is still nowhere in sight. It's...definitely unusual. Kirishima has never been LATE late to class before. But, hey... sh*t happens, right?

Right?

But then,

Kirishima doesn't show up to class.

And then, finally,

Katsuki worries.)

Kat: Kiri, you good?
[Sent 7:52 am]

Kat: Aizawa-sensei is gonna be here any minute. You better hurry!
[Sent 7:58 am]

Kat: Just leave your damn hair down! You're wasting time and it's f*ckin cute no matter what you do with it.
[Sent 7:59 am]

Kat: Are you not feeling well? Class just started... If you're sick, you should go see Recovery Girl.
[Sent 8:02 am]

Kat: Why aren't any of my messages showing as delivered?
[Sent 8:14 am]

Kat: Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling good, f*cker? I would have made you some okayu and let Sensei know you wouldn't be here. :(
[Sent 8:26 am]

Kat: I'm dumb, ofc aren't being delivered because your phone's probably off. I'll stop for now in case you're sleeping in - feel better soon! :) I love you. <3
[Sent 8:49 am]

"Have you guys heard from Kirishima?" Mina whispers to the squad between classes. "He isn't answering any of my texts."

"Mine either," Kaminari answers, frowning.

"He hasn't seen any of my Steam or Discord messages," Sero tells them, eyes still on his phone. "Bakugou?"

"He hasn't seen mine either, yet," Katsuki replies, his brow scrunching into a worried frown. "f*cker didn't tell me he was getting sick yesterday."

"Maybe being around Monoma was so disgusting that he came down with something," Kaminari suggests with a laugh.

Sero chuckles, finally sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Wouldn't surprise me, God knows we all feel sick any time we have to see that jackass."

"His phone is probably dead or off because he's sleeping in," Katsuki says finally. "I'm sure he'll be up soon."

"Cheer up!" Mina replies. "Maybe he isn't even sick. Maybe he just went back to his room, fell asleep, and then slept in!"

"Maybe," Katsuki tells her.

But he doubts it. It may sound crazy, but that idea just... Doesn't feel right, somehow. No, whatever is going on, it isn't just missing an alarm and sleeping in. Kirishima is probably sick. Actually... Maybe he's just imagining things, but Katsuki is starting to feel ill, too. It makes sense; if Kirishima came down with something, and they were in close proximity all night, it would just make sense that they both have whatever it is. That would explain the anxious, curdling feeling in his gut. Katsuki just hopes it isn't anything too rough.

Kat: Feeling any better? I let Aizawa know you were sick, he said it's fine. We'll bring you the notes and I'll catch you up on sh*t later.
[Sent 10:21 am]

Kat: You better not have gotten me sick! :P
[Sent 10:24 am]

Kat: Classes are so boring without you :(
[Sent 10:38 am]

Katsuki never used to be the type to text during class. For all that he was short-tempered, hateful, mean, and a bully, he had actually never been much of a rule-breaker.

Well, sure, the bullying itself was definitely breaking a ton of rules. But other than his past sh*tty personality traits, Katsuki Bakugou was a Good Kid(tm). He did his homework on the day he got it, always double checked his answers, always studied hard for tests, and never once cheated on anything. He didn't drink or smoke or experiment with drugs like some of the dumb-asses who called him a friend back in middle school did. He didn't waste time after school at the arcade when he could be studying, training, and preparing himself to get into U.A.

He didn't sneak out at night.

He didn't do crazy sh*t like steal his parents car.

Hell, he didn't even jaywalk.

And he most certainly didn't get on his cellphone during class.

Just one more thing Kirishima has changed about him, apparently. He feels a little embarrassed at how clingy he's being - for a split second, he worries that Kirishima will see all of his messages and tease him for it later, or worse, be upset at him.

Then he scrolls back up and sees all of the times that Kirishima has sent him 10 or more messages in a row, and has to stifle a laugh. He's being stupid; Kirishima would NEVER make fun of him for caring, and he certainly wouldn't be mad about it. If anything, he would think it was sweet how worried Katsuki was about him.

Katsuki hopes Kirishima wakes up and is feeling better soon. He wasn't exaggerating - school is dull and dim without Kirishima's megawatt smile there to brighten things up.

Kat: Kiri? Getting worried.
[Sent 11:13 am]

Kat: Gonna come check on you soon if you don't answer.
[Sent 11:34 am]

"Damn, he must be REALLY sick," Sero mutters, concerned.

"...Yeah..." Katsuki is definitely not imagining things - he feels worse.

Kat: You've got like 15 mins to answer before I send Aizawa after your ass, sh*tty Hair.
[Sent 11:45 am]

Kat: <3
[Sent 11:46 am]

Kat: He's on his way to the dorms, but jsyk he's not thrilled about giving up his lunchtime nap to go look for you :( sorry
[Sent 12:02 pm]

Kat: Are you with him now? He won't answer his phone either.
[Sent 12:25 pm]

Kat: Kiri, what the f*ck is going on?
[Sent 12:54 pm]

Present Mic answers the landline in the classroom and speaks quietly to Nezu, trying not to be overheard. This doesn't help ease suspicion in 1-A though, because Yamada-sensei is NEVER quiet.

"Finish up chapters 3 through 8, listeners," Mic tells them, pulling out his own cellphone and typing rapidly. "I should be back in a bit, here."

(Mic isn't back in a bit - he misses the entire rest of his class.)

Kat: Why hasn't Aizawa come back? Mic's gone, too. ????
[Sent 1:08 pm]

"Attention U.A. Staff," Nezu's deceptively soothing voice calls out over the P.A. system suddenly. "Could Hound Dog, Midnight, All Might, and Ectoplasm please meet in the principal's office? Anyone who has classes with those instructors, please stay in your classrooms and enjoy a free period for the duration! Please use this time wisely so that you can go beyond! Plus Ultra!"

"What the f*ck?" Katsuki asks, not even trying to keep his voice down or the worry out of it. He glances behind him and meets Izuku's wide eyes, unknowingly mirroring the pale and uneasy look on his friends' face.

Is everyone in 1-A imagining it, or do they suddenly hear sirens in the distance? No, they have to be imagining things - why would the cops ever need to come to U.A.? The school was packed with Pro Heroes. Police hardly ever had to get involved at the school, so the sounds they were hearing? It had to just be the cops passing by on the way to some other incident nearby. Right?

Right?

(Wrong. Very, very wrong.)

"Kacchan? I think... I think something's wrong."

"I know."

Kat: Are you okay? Kind of freaking out now...
[Sent 1:23 pm]

Kat: Why the f*ck are the cops here?
[Sent 1:49 pm]

Kat: WHY THE -f*ck- ARE HAWKS AND ENDEAVOR HERE?!?
[Sent 1:58 pm]

Kat: Kirishima?
[Sent 2:07 pm]

Kat: answer me you kentucky fried f*ckhead
[Sent 2:19 pm]

The damned P.A. system crackles back to life suddenly, making Izuku and Katsuki nearly jump out of their seats.

"Attention U.A. students - attention, please. Would all first years please convene in the main courtyard of Heights Alliance? Please do not dawdle - time is of the essence."

What the f*ck could possibly have Nezu, of all people, sounding distressed like that?

"Everyone line up by class, then by seating order. No talking," Aizawa barks out of a megaphone, eyes somewhat wide. Katsuki thinks to himself that he's never seen his teacher look so awake before. "This is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi - Quirk: Lie Detector. He can, and will, be able to tell if you're being untruthful with him. I highly suggest that you do not even try to be. We'll be calling you up one-by-one for some questions; do NOT discuss them with your peers. You may read or work on your school work quietly while you wait."

Every last one of them is called up to be questioned, but it soon becomes apparent that the police and Pros are looking for something very specific. Some students, especially in the beginning, are only asked 2 or 3 questions before they're allowed to go back to their dormitories. They start with the Management Course kids - classes K, J, and I. Then they move on to Support Course - H, G, and F.

As time goes on and they work their way through the courses in reverse-alphabetical order, though, the questioning begins to go on longer. General Education is up - classes E, D, and C. It seems as if a few of them are questioned for several minutes at a time; the longer it goes on, the more awake and frustrated Aizawa begins to look. At some point in the middle of 1-C's questioning, the Number Two hero Hawks suddenly lands in the middle of the courtyard, bringing about a rash of whispering.

Katsuki would almost swear that Hawks looked directly at him for a moment, and that the Pro looked concerned and sad when he did. Then, Katsuki would convince himself that he was imagining things

(he wasn't.)

and that Hawks didn't even know who Katsuki was

(he didn't until that afternoon)

and so it had to be his imagination, and this all had nothing to do with Katsuki or Kirishima, and everything was okay.

(It wasn't okay.)

As time goes on and the courtyard begins to empty out, it gets easier for the first years to hear what's being said by Detective Tsukauchi and the students he's questioning. While Kendou is being interviewed, the closer members of 1-A distinctly hear the name "Eijirou Kirishima".

Kaminari shoots Katsuki a downright panicked look. Katsuki slips his phone out of his pocket, thankful that Hagakure is in full uniform as she casually shifts in front of him and blocks his hands from view of the adults.

Kat: kiri what did you do
[Sent 3:45 pm]

When it's down to just 1-A, they're expecting the detective to keep going in class seating order. He doesn't. Aizawa starts calling everyone up one at a time in an order that would seem arbitrary to anyone else, but immediately makes sense to class 1-A.

He's calling them up in order of those least close to Kirishima, to those who are closest to him.

By the time it's just him, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina, Katsuki feels like vomiting.

Abandoning any attempt at discretion, Aizawa and Tsukauchi call all 4 of them up at once.

"Have any of you noticed Eijirou Kirishima acting oddly in the last few days?"

"Has he seemed depressed, out of sorts, scared, or threatened in any way?"

"When were any of you last in his dorm room? Did it seem to you that he was packing his things or in any way preparing to leave U.A.'s campus?"

"Which of you last saw Kirishima?"

"Please come with us - we want you all to take a look at his room and tell us if anything seems out of place or concerning to you."

(Kirishima's room is the same way it always is - bright, loud, red, a little tacky, and very welcoming. A lot like Kirishima himself, actually. It's a bit cluttered, a little messy, but by no means dirty or gross. His bed is sloppily made, which is the first out of place thing. As Sero tells Aizawa and Tsukauchi, Kirishima almost never makes his bed, sloppily or not.

There aren't any dirty clothes on the floor, though there's a gym uniform and a couple of other things sitting in the hamper near his closet. A half-done assignment for Cementoss sits on Kirishima's desk, next to his computer - Katsuki longs to reach out and grab it, to read the words Kirishima must have written only a day or two prior. It will surely be rambling and have a few misspellings, a ton of cross-outs, and some holes where his eraser bit through the paper; Kirishima's first drafts are always sort of rough-looking. And it will just be about the assignment - it's not like it will contain anything directed at Katsuki, anything personal that could comfort him. But all the same, he longs to grab it and read it. Anything to possibly understand what's happening, to feel close to Kirishima right now.

The police, Hound Dog, Nezu, Aizawa, Tsukauchi, and even the Pros have already searched the room thoroughly, careful to disturb nothing and take plenty of photos. But the four remaining members of the squad are there at Aizawa's request, because he thinks they may spot something the adults wouldn't, as close as they all are to Kirishima.

They aren't looking for long before Katsuki snaps and demands some answers.

For the most part, everything is accounted for. But Kirishima's phone, a few sets of clothes, and a couple of notebooks are missing.

And of course, Kirishima himself.

There's no signs of a struggle.

They seem to think he left of his own free will - the question is, why would he?)

Kat: please come back
[Sent 4:27 pm]

"Has anything changed recently that would cause Kirishima to act oddly?" Tsukauchi asks.

Everyone starts to shake their head, but then Mina and Sero catch one another's eye and pause.

"What is it?" Aizawa asks right away. "It may not seem important, but at this point, any clues we can get will help."

"It's... Not really a big deal," Sero says hesitantly. "Just, Kirishima seemed kind of quiet last night, withdrawn. That's not like him at all."

"And do you know what may have caused it?"

"It's just, yesterday at lunch, after Monoma tried to pick a fight with us, well-" Mina cuts herself off suddenly, sending a miserable look in Katsuki's direction.

"Kid?" Aizawa is looking at him now. "Did you and Kirishima get into a fight or something?"

"No," Katsuki mutters, stricken. "I told him that I loved him."

(It takes them all until this exact moment to realize that not one of them ever heard Kirishima say it back.)

Kat: if i did anything wrong i'm so f*cking sorry kirishima
[Sent 5:13 pm]

Kat: please don't do this
[Sent 5:32 pm]

All of 1-A

(not all)

is finally back in their common room. It's quiet. The sun is going down, and the lights from the police cars beat an angry red and blue pattern against the walls. Helicopters whir in the distance. Somewhere, Hawks is probably flying around looking as well. Hound Dog can't sniff anything out. Ectoplasm's clones surround the entire grounds of U.A., forming their own one man (but also 80 man) search party.

Nezu left hours ago to go speak with Kirishima's moms.

Aizawa and Mic are back and forth, in and out of the dorms, every few hours.

Endeavor is frequently heard shouting furiously at one person or another, though he's too far away for them to make out exactly what he's saying. Todoroki flinches every time he hears his father's raised voice. Normally Katsuki would attempt to distract him, to calm him down, to make him smile.

But Katsuki hasn't been able to move since he left Kirishima's room and sat down on the love-seat they used to share in the common room. Kaminari and Mina are pressed against either side of him; it's a tight fit, but it helps to keep him grounded. Kaminari has Katsuki's left hand in his grasp, running soothing circles over it with his thumb - God, Kaminari is such a good friend. They all are.

Mina leaves his right hand free so he can continue to blow up Kirishima's phone, but her arm wraps around his shoulder comfortingly, her head against his shoulder and warm tears slowly soaking his uniform jacket.

Kat: Kiri...
[Sent 7:19 pm]

At some point, Sero works himself into a panic attack and is sick on himself. Mina helps him calm down, Aizawa speaks with him, and he goes to shower and change clothes.

He comes back wearing a hideous t-shirt that's splotched in red, yellow, and green. There's a suspicious shaped leaf taking up most of the front, and it's emblazoned with song lyrics. The entire layout is chaotic and messy and the shirt itself looks like a panic attack. Katsuki hates it, but he can't stop staring at it.

He knows what it's supposed to say, but he can't help but read Sero's shirt as "Be Worry, Don't Happy."

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Kat: please
[Sent 10:58 pm]

He doesn't know when he starts crying, but Iida comes over and hands him a box of tissues.

He doesn't know when he gets a bloody nose from all of the crying, but he lets Kaminari and Izuku drag him to Kaminari's room (not his own, it's too close to Kirishima's abandoned room, and he can't see that, can't face it again right now), listens to them when they tell him to shower. Kaminari goes to Katsuki's room to get a change of clothes for him.

(Kaminari is SUCH a good friend. Seeing Kirishima's door has to be almost as hard on him as it would be on Katsuki, but he still goes.)

Kaminari brings him one of Kirishima's hoodies. He cries more, but he wears it. It smells like Kirishima, like warm leather and cinnamon.

He hopes sending that isn't a mistake, isn't what caused Kirishima to leave in the first place

(it is, and yet, it isn't)

but he needs his boyfriend to know that he cares.

Not long after he sends it, Aizawa tells them they've had to call off the search for the night.

Kat: I love you so, so much. Please be safe Kiri, please come back to us. Whatever is wrong, let us help. I told you I'd do whatever you need to feel better and I meant it. Anything, for you.
[Not delivered]

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[Seen 1:13 am]

Kat: f*ck
[Not delivered]

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[Seen 1:15 am]

Kat: ASDFGHJKLSKRZKJFG

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[Seen 1:15 am]

Kat: WHY THE f*ck NOT
[Not delivered]

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[Seen 1:16 am]

Kat: f*ckING SEND
[Not delivered]

Kat: KIRISHIMA ANSWER THE f*ckING PHONE
[Not delivered]

Kat: please
[Not delivered]

Kat: i can't do this without you
[Not delivered]

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[Seen 1:17 am]

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[Seen 1:17 am]

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[Seen 1:17 am]

Chapter 3: ♫ Over ♫

Chapter Text

"But you put on quite a show,
Really had me goin'.
Now it's time to go -
Curtain's finally closin'.
That was quite a show -
Very entertaining.

Go on and take a bow,
Cuz it's over now."

-Take a Bow, by Rihanna

Aizawa eventually comes back to 1-A's common room, looking dead on his feet. Earlier in the day, when everyone was more nervous than they were downright terrified and depressed, Katsuki had thought that he had never seen his homeroom teacher look so awake before.

Now, Katsuki's never seen him look so tired and defeated.

Aizawa doesn't even bother turning on the lights; maybe because he doesn't want to hurt his students eyes or risk waking up the ones who are dozing fitfully, or maybe because he just can't be bothered to care right now. He walks around the common room slowly, shutting the windows and cutting off the sounds of the last of the police and Pros leaving campus. Finally, those damnable red and blue lights stop flashing through the windows.

It doesn't make anyone feel nearly as relieved as they had thought it would. Instead, it somehow feels almost... Final.

Aizawa sits down on one of the tall kitchen chairs, facing those of them that are still left in the living area, and sighs deeply. He puts his head in his hands for a long while and sits there, unmoving.

Katsuki's still there. Of course he is - where else would he even go right now? Sero, Mina, and Kaminari are there with him, naturally. The squad wouldn't split up at a time like this. Mina and Sero sit together, slumped against one another and finally taking a small rest. Izuku is still there, too, holding a half-asleep Todoroki who has tear stains on his face. At a table in the corner, Momo and Iida sit together doing schoolwork by the light of a small lantern Momo had created a few hours ago. As class reps, they feel responsible for looking after their classmates who are the most affected by this. Jirou sits in a chair with them, propped against the wall and snoring softly.

Kaminari hasn't left Katsuki's side. Both of them sit together in silence, wide awake and hearts breaking.

Uraraka and Tsu lay bundled together on the floor under a pink blanket, neither of them willing to leave their own squad at the moment.

The final member of their little group is, most surprisingly, Mineta. He's been very quiet ever since the entirety of U.A.'s first year course was called out to the courtyard and questioned. It's probably the longest he's ever gone without staring lecherously at one of the girls or making some filthy comment about their bodies. It should be a welcome reprieve, but it only adds to the air of distress and high strangeness floating around them.

(Later, all of the girls from 1-A will say that they'd gladly welcome the return of Mineta's gross advances again, if only to get Kirishima back home with them where he belongs.)

Mineta sits in a beanbag chair near, but not too near, the Bakusquad. He's got headphones in, silently listening to Netflix on his phone - he looks almost... Haunted. Iida has been keeping a careful eye on Mineta for most of the evening, unnerved by his uncharacteristic silence and respectfulness to the girls. For the longest time, the class rep looked like he fully expected Mineta to try something, right up until the point where Aizawa burst back in and told everyone that they were pausing the search.

After that announcement, Iida and Momo look over all of their classmates who have remained in the common area to see how they're holding up. It must be a trick of the low lighting because for a split second, Iida swear he thinks he sees tears swimming in Mineta's eyes.

(It isn't a trick of the light. No one in their right minds (well, except Monoma, but is he really in his right mind?) can dislike Eijirou Kirishima; even Mineta is no exception to that rule. While Kirishima has definitely gotten on his case in the past about how he acts towards the girls, lectured him about his unmanliness, and been downright pissed off at him at times, well...

Kirishima was the only person who had never once acted like he hated Mineta's guts, or even stopped acting like he thought he could change and do better. Unlike literally everyone else in Mineta's life, Kirishima never resorted to the low blow of telling him that he was a coward or that he would never become a hero.

It had been a jolting but refreshing change.

Some days, when he actually makes a joke that isn't sexualizing and degrading to their schoolmates, Kirishima laughs and smiles at him like he's an actual person.

Kirishima is always the one to notice when Mineta can't reach something due to his small stature, and instead of laughing and walking away, hands it to him with a cheerful smile.

Kirishima compliments Mineta when he makes a good move during training exercises, and is impressed when he sees that Mineta's gotten a really good grade on something. It makes Mineta feel like maybe there is something more to him than his obsession with love for girls.

Everyone else always leaves Mineta eventually. He isn't an idiot; Mineta knows that it's his own fault when that happens because of how he acts with the girls at U.A. He can't even blame the people around him for leaving him, for coming to loathe him, because on some level, even Mineta knows what he does is wrong. He just can't seem to stop.

Even Kaminari, probably the best and closest friend Mineta had ever had, eventually reached his limits and gotten fed up with Mineta's bullsh*t. For some reason, Mineta always felt the urge to act out more and be more over the top about girls around Kaminari; he absolutely hated that his best friend brought out the worst in him, though it was through no fault of Kaminari's own...

So yeah, eventually Kaminari left him, too. Now, his ex-best friend looks at him with the same disappointment and disgust that everyone else in Mineta's life does.

Well, everyone except Kirishima.

Kirishima treats Mineta like a real, actual person. And on those good days when Mineta's mostly well behaved and not being inappropriate, Kirishima even looks at him like he's a friend, someone worthwhile. And Mineta believes him, and thinks that maybe he can be something better than what he currently is. Kirishima makes Mineta want to change, although he really isn't sure if he can. Of course, if anyone could get through to Mineta and make him better, it would be Kirishima. After all, just look how much Katsuki had changed since meeting the kind, loving redhead!

When Aizawa finally has all of them awake and tells them what's going on, Iida realizes that he hadn't imagined the tears in Mineta's eyes at all.)

"Right," Aizawa starts suddenly, making some of the students jump. "You'll want to wake them up for this.' He gestures at the students asleep in various areas of the common area. "I have some things to say, and I'm not repeating them."

Carefully, gently, as to not startle him, Izuku shakes Todoroki awake. Jirou starts awake instantly at Momo's hand on her shoulder. Tsu, apparently having been awake the whole time, taps on Uraraka's forearm gently, and the brunette blinks up at her, looking hopeful.

Katsuki still can't move, so Kaminari is the one to get up and rouse Mina and Sero.

"Sensei," Mina gasps, excited. "Did anyone find Kirishima? Why did he leave? Where was he? What-"

Their teacher just holds up a hand to cut her off, the other going to rub his eyes and massage the bridge of his nose wearily.

"What I'm about to explain to you, there's been some debate on whether or not you should know. The police seem to think it will stress out the student body-" at this, everyone's faces fall and a few people start leaking tears again, "-but the staff and I feel that you have the right to know and be kept up to date on what's happening with your classmate. First and foremost, I'm sorry to say that there's been no sign of Kirishima as of yet."

Finally, for the first time in hours, Bakugou moves. He brings his feet up on to the love-seat and wraps his arms around them, head resting on his knees. He feels his spine pop and one of his legs is asleep, but he can't bring himself to care. He knows, of course, that it was highly unlikely they'd find Kirishima tonight (this morning?), but like a fool, he had let himself hope.

"The police and Pros have found zero digital evidence that this was a planned departure," Aizawa continues. "Principal Nezu spoke at length with Kirishima's mothers, who had seen no recent change in his behavior and couldn't think of any reason why he would leave. Thus far, Kirishima has made no attempt to go home or contact his family in any manner."

This is...bad. Everyone who knows Kirishima knows he absolutely adores his mom and ma and would never do anything to hurt them. Katsuki had met them once, and he could tell instantly where Kirishima got his loving, happy, easy-going nature from. They would have never given him a reason to leave.

"What about Kirishima's father," Todoroki suddenly asks with a croaky voice. "Did he go to him? Has anyone spoken to him?"

Katsuki and Mina make eye contact and wince.

"Kirishima doesn't have a dad," Mina whispers, throat too raw from crying to speak any louder. "I mean he had one, obviously, but he left when Kirishima was little, and he got caught up in a villain fight when we were in middle school. He... He didn't make it out."

Uraraka winces sympathetically; she loves her dad like crazy and can't imagine what it must be like to lose your dad so young. "Was it anything to do with that, maybe, Sensei?"

"No," Aizawa shakes his head instantly. "We discussed as much with his mothers - the two of them saw each other very infrequently prior to Einoshin's death and did not get on well."

Katsuki already knew that, though he doubts anyone, else except maybe Mina, had . Kirishima had never spoken much about his father, but Katsuki had gathered enough over time. The man was small minded and cruel, despite never being physically abusive. He hadn't been able to handle his wife's sexuality, constantly thinking she was going to cheat on him despite being one of the most loyal people to ever exist. He had left them and went to go live with his sister when Kiri was only 6 or 7, and Kiri's mom met his mother a few years after that. His father had started making demands to see him more after that, wanting to "give him an example to live up to" and "clear his head of any of that filthy nonsense."

He would have hated Katsuki's guts - a fact that brings him no small amount of joy. Kirishima had told Katsuki once that his father didn't think he could ever become a hero, and had often discouraged him from dreaming of applying to U.A., saying that he wasn't good enough and his quirk wasn't flashy enough. If he had ever met the foul man, Katsuki would have probably blown him to kingdom come. Thankfully (as bad as that sounded), Einoshin Hikiishi had died when Kirishima was nearing 15, and he had decided to apply to U.A. after all. Though his father's words still weighed on him at times and made him feel insecure...

Still, his patient and loving Kiri had made attempt after attempt to get to know the hateful man before his death. When Kirishima did talk about the man, it was always to say that he held no ill will towards him despite his actions, and believed he could have become a better person with time and help, but that he was still glad he took his moms last name instead of his fathers.

"Furthermore," Aizawa continues, still sounding determinedly neutral to hide how he's feeling, "The alarms on the doors and windows of Height's Alliance were never triggered, and none of the security bots saw anyone on campus after hours. None of the cameras at U.A. or any of the surrounding areas or businesses have picked up any sign of Kirishima. The helicopter searches have turned up nothing unusual, and similarly, Hawks hasn't seen anything within a 30-mile radius of here. Hound Dog hasn't been able to track him with his scent."

Katsuki feels sick again and distantly registers Kaminari clasp his hand again as Izuku settles in on his other side. They both feel incredibly warm; that, Katsuki thinks, or he himself is ice cold.

"So," Tsu posits with her finger near her mouth. "It's almost as if Kirishima vanished into thin air, kero."

"But how could he manage to do that?" Uraraka piped up. "That's impossible! There's no way he could get past the alarms, the cameras, AND the security bots!"

"Even if he somehow could manage that," Iida says weakly, "there's no way that Hound Dog wouldn't be able to track him. His skills are top-notch."

"And there's only so far that he could have gotten in the amount of time before you went to check on him, Sensei." Momo scrunches up her nose uneasily. "So surely Hawks would have been able to see signs, to track him?"

"Shouji and I are both light sleepers due to our quirks," Jirou adds. "And Shouji lives so close to Kirishima. Neither of us so much as heard him leave his room all night. Well, Shouji heard what he thinks was Kirishima leaving Bakugou's room to go to his own, but he does that sometimes and Shouji never heard his door or window after that."

"Exactly," Aizawa replies. "Asui is correct, it's as if he vanished into thin air, unplanned."

The air in the room is so thick with tension and dread that Katsuki isn't sure how he's still breathing. He doesn't want to believe what Aizawa's getting at, even though it makes so much more sense than Kirishima running away from his friends and loved ones. Still, Aizawa is hesitating to say it, to admit to what's going on, so Katsuki can maybe allow himself to pretend this isn't happening, that-

"So the Pros and police no longer think Kirishima left of his own free will?" Izuku asks between frantic mutters. "Then that means-"

"This is now a kidnapping investigation," Aizawa finishes.

("Hey, you guys! You guys!" The way less cool Kirishima-wannabe, Tetsutetsu, runs up to the Bakusquad's table at lunch. "Kirishima, bro! Did you hear?! There was a kidnapping in the Gen Ed class today!"

Katsuki suddenly jolts upright from his place cuddling at Kirishima's side.

"What the f*ck?"

"Yeah man, totally! A kidnapping!"

Katsuki's heart suddenly shoots up into his throat. Why haven't the teachers sounded the alarm yet? Where are the Pros? Why isn't the campus on lockdown? Was it related to the League? Oh god, are they trying to go after Katsuki again? Worse, what if they're here to take away Kirishima or his friends to try to use against him as revenge? WORSE, what if they try to use someone against him as a hostage to convince him to join them? Is the Gen Ed kid okay? If it's a low profile target, they probably would kill him to make a statement. Yeah, Toga would definitely do that. At the very least, they'll have beaten the sh*t out of the kid and sliced him up a bit by now, if Toga was involved. She loved blood. And if she WAS involved, she could be anyone at this point. What if-

"Kat, breathe," Kirishima says, holding onto his arm. When did he start to hyperventilate?

"sh*t, bro, I'm sorry," the discount Iron Man says. "I didn't mean to freak you out, it was just a joke!"

"A f*cking JOKE?" Katsuki can't see a single thing about it that's even slightly funny. Unless maybe Toga is impersonating Tetsutetsu and thinks this is clever, or if-

"Yeah, man. Like, there was a kid napping in Gen Ed. But don't worry, his teacher woke him up! Haha like... a kid, napping, you know? That's all!"

"..... What the actual f*ck is your problem, Tetsu?" Kirishima spits out venomously.

"Bro, I'm sorry! I didn't think-"

"Yeah, that's plenty clear. Just...go away, bro, you aren't f*cking helping."

Tin Man leaves quickly, pale and guilty and looking like he accidentally stepped on a puppy. "Kat, keep breathing slow, okay? It's fine, everything's fine. Do you want to see Recovery Girl?"

"f*ck no."

"Okay," Kirishima's big red eyes stare at Katsuki, full of worry and protectiveness. "I can't believe Tetsu thought that would be an okay joke to make with you here. Or with any of the hero course, actually. He was at the f*cking training camp, he f*ckING KNOWS BETTER," he ends in a growl.

"Never heard you cuss so much before," Katsuki chuckles lowly as his heart finally starts to go back down in his chest where it belongs. "You've been spending too much time with me, Kiri."

"Nope! There's no such thing as too much time with you," he punctuates his statement with a kiss to Katsuki's forehead.)

"-ugou? Bakugou, focus!"

Katsuki blinks up at Aizawa blearily, wondering when the f*ck he had laid down on the couch and where Kaminari and Izuku and the others had gone.

"Are you with me, now?"

"...Yeah." His heart is still hammering in his chest and things sound vaguely like they're underwater, but he can focus through it. It will pass eventually, he knows. It always does.

"Okay, good. You had a panic attack, problem child."

Katsuki fights himself in order to not say something biting like 'thanks, Captain Obvious.'; Aizawa is looking worriedly at him and doesn't deserve his scorn. He finally settles on, "Yeah, I know."

"Do you need to see Recovery Girl?"

"No... I have pills to help with that, and with sleeping, still. From... From Kamino."

'Don't think too hard about Kamino, don't think about your own kidnapping, don't think about Kirishima coming for you, don't think about Kirishima being the one kidnapped, don't don't don't don't-'

"Okay," Aizawa sighs, looking like he's about to pass out at any moment. "Make sure you take them if you need them. You need to at least TRY to get some rest."

Like he's one to talk.

"... Where'd everyone else go?"

"I sent them all to bed, it's almost 3am. They didn't want to leave when your panic attack started, they were worried. I'll message them all to tell them you're okay so they can rest easy- well, easier, at any rate. Classes are cancelled tomorrow so all of the teachers can get rest and take part in the searches when they start up again. And so the students can rest, as well. It's been a long day for all of the first years. You should sleep, Bakugou."

"..."

"Kaminari is waiting for you in his room with more of your things - you can stay there for as long as you need. No one expects you to sleep in your own dorm room right now."

"Thanks, Sensei. Sorry, I just-" oh god, his voice is cracking, he's about to cry like a baby in front of Aizawa, and he's so tired and awake and exhausted and hurt and scared. "I just-"

Aizawa's usually stern expression softens into something kind and protective that reminds him far too much of Kirishima's own expressions after one of his panic attacks. "I know this isn't easy, but we'll get through this, kid. We found you, and we'll find him. Just remember how tough he is - he's going to be okay. He's skilled, he's strong, and he has one hell of an impressive quirk. He's also a very skilled fighter. Everyone at this school can see how much he cares about you, so we all know he's giving it his all to come back to you. And I won't stop until we have him back, I swear."

Considering everything that's happened over the last day, it shouldn't be enough to make Katsuki feel better - but it does. Hearing Aizawa give praise is rare, and hearing it directed to Kirishima and his abilities, well. Katsuki knows it's 100% the truth. Aizawa doesn't say things he doesn't mean. If Aizawa is so certain in all of it, then it has to be true. Everything will be alright, eventually.

They'll find Kirishima tomorrow

(they will)

and then everything will be okay again.

(it won't.)

Katsuki knocks softly on Kaminari's cracked-open door before slipping inside, not wanting to be too loud and wake up Iida or Kouda on either side. His friend is sitting on the edge of his bed, staring out of the open balcony windows.

"Hey, Blasty." Kaminari looks up at him, voice quiet and lifeless and completely unlike his usual cheery self.

"Hey, sh*tty Pikachu." Katsuki's voice doesn't sound that much better.

" 'sh*tty Pikachu', huh? It's been awhile since you used that one, I was wondering what happened to it. Thought you finally stopped reusing material." He laughs weakly, forced. Making an effort to cheer Katsuki up even when he feels like sh*t.

"Decided I shouldn't use such a mean comparison," Katsuki fires back as he sits down on the bed next to his friend. "It's an insult to Pikachus everywhere."

"You're just bitter because you're an Electrode that can only use Explosion and Self-Destruct," Kaminari jabs, getting a little more into it.

"Pfft, I'll show you 'self-destruct', asshole," Katsuki says with an eye-roll.

There's a brief pause then before Kaminari says in a small voice, "Please don't."

"Hah?"

"I know it's a joke man, but... no self-destructing because of this, okay? You gotta let us be here for you. We all know how much you love Kirishima, but don't do anything stupid, okay? We couldn't stand it if something happened to you, too."

God f*ckING dammit, he is not going to be driven to tears due to someone's concern for him for a second time tonight; it was bad enough with Aizawa earlier. He doesn't need to break down in front of Kaminari anymore than he already has tonight. He is not going to f*cking cry-

"Are- are you crying?" Kaminari's own watery eyes widen.

f*cking f*ck.

"f*ck off."

"Dude, it's fine if you are. I mean, you have been all night and morning anyway."

"Helpful."

"Not what I mean! We've ALL been crying, Blasty. I'm only saying it's fine if you are, you...you know I'm not judging."

"...I know, dumbass. Thanks."

"Bakugou-"

There's a brief and slightly awkward pause and then Kaminari is leaping off of the bed, pulling Katsuki up, and dragging him into a huge hug. Katsuki can feel the shorter blonde start to shake as sobs begin to wrack his body.

f*ck.

"'Katsuki'" he says suddenly, voice way too loud in the room. "If you want, I mean."

It's enough to shock Kaminari out of his tears for now, though Katsuki doesn't release him from the hug. "What, you're being serious?"

"Why not? Kiri uses it, we all call Mina by her first name, Izuku uses his damn nickname for me, so...why not?"

"I- yeah, okay. Katsuki," Kaminari tries it out cautiously. "You know, people are gonna get the wrong idea and start thinking we're friends."

Ah yes, people might think Katsuki is friends with the boy he's got in a bear hug as they both sob in his bedroom. Heaven forbid. It's almost enough of an understatement to make him laugh, despite everything.

"f*ck off, you are one of my best friends," Katsuki tells him.

Kaminari doesn't look quite as shocked as he did the first time Katsuki admitted they were friends at all, but it's close. His mouth opens and closes briefly like a fish gasping to breathe.

"'Denki', then," he replies firmly. "If- if that's okay."

"Yeah," Katsuki says, finally releasing him from the hug. "Thanks for letting me stay here... Denki."

The electric blond smiles for the first time in hours.

"Dude, you still awake?"

"Yeah. Can't sleep."

"Me neither. I keep expecting to hear him walking around up there, getting ready for class."

"...Yeah."

"Do you think he's okay?"

"I hope so."

"Wanna go bug Mina and Sero?"

"They're probably sleeping, Denki."

"I doubt it, they're both in Sero's room."

"Seriously?"

"Sensei didn't try to stop them. He let Todoroki go to Midoriya's room, too."

"Why would that matter?"

"You're joking right?"

"What are you insinuating?"

"....Dude. Katsuki. Midoriya and Todoroki??? Don't tell me you didn't notice."

"We are NOT talking about this. Going to sleep now, goodnight."

"But dude!"

"Goodnight, Denki."

"Ughhh... Night."

"Psst, dude?"

"Hey."

"You are awake!"

"Yeah, sort of. I keep drifting in and out."

"Me, too."

"What's up?"

"Just wondering if Kirishima is getting to sleep right now or like...what's going on."

"Try not to think about it."

"I can't!"

"... I know. But Aizawa basically admitted he's impressed with Kiri's abilities... If even Aizawa thinks he's gonna be okay, then he's gonna be okay. Okay?"

"... Okay."

"You still awake, Katsuki?"

Silence.

"Psst."

"Katsuki?"

A soft snore.

"Bakubro?"

A resigned sigh.

"Guess not."

Katsuki and Denki wake up to a loud pounding on the door and Mina screaming at them to come out to the common room.

"GUYS, GUYS, WAKE UP!!! COME ON, WAKE UP AND GO TO THE COMMONS, HURRY UP!!"

"Mina?" Kaminari calls out, concerned. He hops up from his nest of blankets on the floor (he insisted Katsuki take the bed) and rushes to open the door. Mina practically falls onto him as he does so, and only avoids hitting the floor due to Sero's tape.

"YOU'RE UP!" She yells, before registering Denki's wince at her volume and Katsuki in the background rubbing his eyes blearily. "Sorry! But you need to hurry to the common room and see what's on TV! WE KNOW WHERE KIRISHIMA IS NOW!"

"The TV? What f*cking time is it?" Katsuki asks, finally walking up to the others and slapping his face to wake up. "Wait, Kiri?!? They found him?!"

Sero and Mina share a quick glance and Mina bounces excitedly. "It's like, almost 1 pm, and yes and no, he's on TV and the teachers are headed that way now but it's gonna take about another 15 minutes to get there, just come look!"

Katsuki's heart is positively soaring - he knew Kirishima would be okay, he just knew they'd find him soon! He and Denki rush to the common room behind Mina and Sero. Most of 1-A is already in there, crowding around the big screen excitedly.

"What's going on?" Denki all but demands of the person closest to him, who happens to be Todoroki.

"The League of Villains was spotted breaking into an old bank turned weapons storage warehouse, and a news crew happened to be nearby covering a dog's water-skiing-themed 14th birthday party at the time. They phoned it in as breaking news and have been covering it live for the last 10 minutes."

"...A dog's WHAT?" Denki asks, taken aback.

"Screw that, the f*cking League has Kiri?!" Katsuki nearly yells.

Izuku walks up and puts a comforting arm around Katsuki's shoulders. "They aren't getting away with this, Kacchan. Aizawa already made a bunch of calls and should be there soon. Kirishima could be back home with us within the hour!"

Katsuki grins at Izuku, feeling giddy. He's anxious still, scared for his boyfriend and not wanting him anywhere near the psycopaths in the League of Villains, but he at least has some hope now.

On the screen, he can just make out the bright shock of Kirishima's hair in the background of the shaky, shot-from-a-distance camera footage. As it zooms in and gets a little clearer, he sees that Kirishima doesn't look bloody or bruised or roughed up at all. He can feel a grin stretching across his face just at seeing his boyfriend looking alive and well.

There's a banner scrolling across the bottom of the screen, but Katsuki can't tear his eyes away long enough to read it; Momo seems to guess this from her spot on the couch and kindly fills him in on the details he and Denki have missed.

"The break-in started about," she lifts Jirou's hand up to check her watch, "15 minutes ago now, and Aizawa and some others left not long after to go get Kirishima back. The League is breaking into the old bank vault where some of the most dangerous weapons are stored, and the newscasters on the scene recognized Kirishima from the Sports Festival. They called it in to the police, who were already on their way, and informed them that it may be a hostage situation."

"The news earlier this morning had covered Kirishima's kid- er, his being taken," Iida adds, eyeing Katsuki carefully. "So that people could be on the lookout for him. The news crew on the scene of this whole thing wouldn't have seen the coverage of it, though, so it's very good luck that they're fans of the U.A. Sports Festival, or Aizawa-sensei never would have gotten the call so quickly."

"A mad banquet of darkness," Tokoyami interjects, badly startling Uraraka, who didn't seem to realize he was in the shadowy corner behind her. "They are theorizing that Kirishima was taken due to his quirk, in order to help them rip their way through the vault."

"He probably hates that," Sero says to the squad. "I mean, he definitely hates all of this, regardless, but I bet he REALLY hates being forced to use his quirk to help those filthy villains get weapons."

"Who all is with Aizawa?" Katsuki impatiently asks the room at large. "They should get there at any minute, right?"

"They should," Todoroki agrees easily. "Present Mic, Detective Tsukauchi, and Nezu are with him."

"The walking lie detector and rat god principal? Why?"

"The detective was at U.A. all night, kero. He didn't want to leave in case he was needed for something else here."

"And Principal Nezu went because he's super smart!" Hagakure interjected. "If anyone can think of the safest way to get Kirishima out of this, it's him! LOOK! THEY'RE THERE!"

She's right, the adults in question had just arrived on the scene.

1-A watches with baited breath as their teachers and Shigaraki yell something back and forth to one another. It seems as if Aizawa and Shigaraki are arguing heatedly, and Katsuki fervently wishes that the camera crew recording this could pick up the audio at that distance.

Suddenly, the League and teachers as well as a few of the Pros that have arrived to the scene engage each other in a fight; the woman narrating the events is hard pressed to keep up.

Denki suddenly grabs onto Katsuki's arm tightly, and Katsuki can already feel him shaking. He looks over at him and asks "You okay? I told you he'd be fine and they'd get him back!"

Denki laughs and Mina does a little dance next to them, drawing a happy chuckle out of Katsuki.

He looks back at the screen just in time to see Kirishima kick the ever-loving sh*t out of Nezu with his quirk fully activated, sending the tiny principal flying into a brick wall, before looking directly at the camera and mouthing what Katsuki is 100% sure is "look moms, no hands!"

The perky newscaster stops narrating the events and the camera grows shaky as it zooms in on the principal's body. Nezu stirs weakly but doesn't attempt to get up and rejoin the fight.

The common room is dead silent.

On screen, Kirishima rips a large metal pipe out of a destroyed section of wall and begins to run at an officer, a cruel, hateful grin on his normally sweet face.

Chapter 4: ♫ Traitor ♫

Chapter Text

"God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you.

Guess you didn't cheat,but you're still...
You're still a traitor."

-traitor, by Olivia Rodrigo

"Oops, so sorry about that!"

Katsuki hits the ground hard and clenches his teeth as a group of third year boys walk away laughing at him. Sero reaches down glumly and offers a hand up, which he takes with a small but grateful smile.

"Thanks, Sero." With all of the crying he's been doing, it comes out as barely a whisper.

"Sure."

"You okay?" Denki asks with furrowed brows.

"I'm fine."

The four of them keep walking back to the dorms in silence, classes over for the day. There's not much else to say about the group of third years that "accidentally" tripped Katsuki; all four remaining members of the squad are rapidly becoming used to things like that happening to them. They've already learned that fighting back will only make things worse, make them look more suspicious. It's been 3 days since Kirishima's TV debut, and the rest of U.A. isn't shy about making their feelings known in regards to "the traitor's best friends" at all.

The first day hadn't actually been all that bad, at least in comparison; everyone was confused and upset, of course, but the general consensus had been that it hadn't actually been Kirishima on TV doing those things, but Toga. That, or that he had been somehow possessed, brainwashed, or controlled into doing so. Some of the third years, Hado and her friends, had theorized that the illegal quirk boosting drug that was beginning to circulate around Japan may be at fault; it was known, in some cases at least, to cause users to act unhinged and violent. Regardless of which theory they subscribed to though, everyone at U.A. knew Kirishima (or at the very least knew OF him) and they couldn't believe that he would truly betray his school and friends like that. 'It's just not possible,' they would say. 'He's the nicest person I've ever met - he couldn't hurt a fly! He's so patient and loving. Just look at how much that Bakugou kid changed just from dating him! They're so cute!'

So the first day had been filled with hushed whispers, worry for Kirishima, and sad glances at the squad. All of that hurt to experience, it's true, but it had been relatively bearable. It gave them a goal, a bit of hope, a little something to look forward too. Things were rough, but they all felt that they had a chance to figure out just what was wrong with Kirishima, to help him, and to finally bring him back home to them. Most of the first years and even a decent chunk of the second and third years had come up to Katsuki telling him they believed in Kirishima and supported them all. It was very sappy, very, very teary, and actually fairly comforting.

And then, on the morning of day two, everything changed when Principal Nezu and Detective Tsukauchi had done a live press conference in which they relayed the events of their fight with the League.

(Nezu walks up to the podium with a slight limp; he's heavily bandaged and has a black eye. One arm is in a sling. He reaches the step-stool that's been placed there so that he can be at the same level as Tsukauchi, but he can't manage to climb up onto it with the use of only one arm. Looking stoic and professional, Tsukauchi lifts him onto the top step. Nezu simply nods at the detective, somehow managing to maintain an air of dignity. Cameras click away in the background and reporters and their videographers vie for the best seats.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming out to listen to us today," Nezu begins in his soft voice, though not sounding anywhere near as chipper as usual. "I know it is on quite short notice for most of you, so we appreciate the use of your time. After much discussion between the police force and the Pro Heroes, we have decided that this is information that must be released to the public as soon as possible."

"Principal Nezu, sir! Does this have anything to do with the kidnapping and brainwashing of your first year student, Eijirou Kirishima?!" One particularly eager reporter, a woman with bleached blonde curly hair, large red rhinestone glasses, and sharp jaw, shouted out as she tried to push her way to the front using her crocodile-skin patterned purse as a shield.

"Ah, please hold all questions until the end, Miss.... ?"

"Marguerite, Sakura TV."

"Miss Marguerite, then. Please hold all questions until the end. But yes, this is related to Eijirou Kirishima and the other members of the League of Villains," Nezu tells her off firmly, but politely.

The crowd murmurs at his phrasing, uneasy but not quite understanding why. Detective Tsukauchi begins to address them then, face grave.

"Last Monday at approximately 1300 hours, myself, Principal Nezu, a special police task force, and Pro Heroes Present Mic and Eraserhead became engaged in a fight with members of the League of Villains at a weapons storage facility in the Nambu district. The League was attempting to break into the facility, previously a bank, which housed several military grade weapons and ammunition. Present on the League's side were ringleader Tomura Shigaraki; a villain with a teleportation quirk who goes by 'Kurogiri'; Jin Bubaigawara, who goes by 'Twice'; Atsuhiro Sako, or 'Mr. Compress'; Shuichi Iguchi, also called 'Spinner'; and former U.A. student Eijirou Kirishima."

All of the muttering in the room has ceased at this point, and it's quiet enough that the viewers can hear the traffic passing by outside of the building. Tsukauchi continues gravely,

"We engaged in the belief that we were facing a kidnapping and hostage situation. We were incorrect. Eraserhead first asked the child if he was really Eijirou Kirishima, to which he said 'yes'. Eraserhead then attempted to get answers out of Shigaraki in regards to what he had done to the first year student, and Shigaraki replied that he had 'done nothing'. Present Mic then asked Kirishima if he was hurt in anyway, to which he replied that he was not harmed and 'had never been better.' When asked by Nezu what it was that the League was doing to him in order to make him comply and commit acts of villainy, Kirishima replied that they had done nothing of the sort, and that he was there of his own free will. As many know, my quirk is called Lie Detector; I can always tell, without fault, the veracity of anyone's statements as long as the person is directly in front of me at the time and not a recording. My quirk has never once failed, as is well documented.

My quirk was activated throughout the entire encounter. Eijirou Kirishima told no lies."

There's a brief pause, and then utter chaos erupts.)

"This is all such- such bullsh*t!" Mina exclaims suddenly.

"Mina, shhh!" Denki whispers to her, looking around in a panic. It's quickly become apparent to the squad that they don't want to be too loud outside of the 1-A dorms; drawing any more attention to themselves than they garner naturally only ends in bruised feelings and even more bruised bodies.

"Sorry," she says, much quieter. "But it is though. We're all more upset by this than any of these jerks, and they're all treating us like we're..."

"Like we're traitors, too," Sero finishes gravely. "It is bullsh*t, you're right. But there's nothing we can really do about it."

"We fight back, we look guilty, too," Denki adds in. "We try to defend him, they think we're a bunch of villains."

"Should we?" Sero asks the group at large. "Defend him, I mean. Like, is there even a point to trying? I really hate to say it but it's... It's... not exactly like they're wrong about him."

"What the f*ck, Sero?!" Katsuki growls out furiously, sounding more alive than he has in days.

"I'm just saying! You heard and saw all the same things that I did... That Tsukauchi guy literally can't be lied to by anyone, and he said Kirishima admitted to being there and doing all of that stuff freely! It's... It's just hard to get around that, y'know?"

"Like f*ck it is! How the f*ck do we know we can trust Tsukauchi to begin with, anyway?"

"...Bakugou, he's literally a police detective."

"Yeah, and the police are always all SO f*ckING TRUSTWORTHY!"

"Shhh!"

"No, f*ck you! You're so eager to turn against him when really we don't know sh*t. You know him just as well as the rest of us, do you really think Kiri would do that sh*t? He's not that kind of person and you f*cking KNOW it, Sero."

"That's just the thing though, I don't know what I know anymore! I never thought he would do those kinds of things, side with villains and hurt people, but we all saw him do it! And he disappeared- he disappeared into thin air, Bakugou! In the middle of the night, undetected. You're telling me he could have done that on his own, without that Kuroboro guy's help?"

"Kurogiri, and no, I'm saying it makes perfect sense that he was kidnapped BY f*cking Kurogiri!"

Sero throws his hands up in exasperation and lets out a strangled growl. But right as he goes to retort with more harsh words,

"With no signs of a struggle?" Mina asks weakly.

".... What?" Katsuki's voice is deadly.

"I'm sorry! I don't want to think it either, I really, really don't! I've known Kirishima since we were kids, but-"

"But nothing, then. You of all people should know then that this isn't like him and that something's wrong."

"I know, I know! Blasty, I've never seen him do something even remotely mean or bad in the whole time I've known him. But I just don't see how Kurogiri could have gotten into U.A. again without inside help. Didn't the teachers put all kinds of security measures in place after the USJ Incident?"

"Not to mention," Sero interjects, gaining steam again, "isn't it weird that they got into the USJ in the first place?! How did they know 1-A would be training there and that All Might was supposed to be with us, if someone who knew the class schedule didn't tell them?!"

"Anyone else in the school could have f*cking told them that, asshole. 1-B was set to do the same training a day after us and they all knew about it. All of the teachers knew. Hell, half the school probably did!"

"Not to mention," Denki said, stepping closer to Katsuki in a subconscious move to defend his friend, "that those villains had no idea what our quirks were when we got scattered. If it was inside info from 1-A, then whoever had betrayed us would have given them at least a rough overview of our quirks to prepare them, right?"

"Okay granted, but did we really know each other's quirks well by then? We'd had the test from Aizawa at the start and like, one simulation test from All Might at that point. You can't convince me that you seriously would have been able to tell someone stuff about 19 other quirks having only seen them a few times!"

"Well," Mina looks torn between them at this point. "Not all of them, no, but surely I could have warned them about at least a few. Like 'the kid with the weird hair is strong and has ice, look out for him', or 'the green girl has a frog quirk, maybe don't send her near water if you want her weak', stuff like that. The League seemed to literally make the worst choices possible."

Sero tries to glare at her but can't really manage. His face softens and he looks at Katsuki and Denki guiltily. "I'm sorry, I don't want us to fight, especially right now. I'm just feeling really hurt, you know? I just want it to make sense, and I'm angry."

"I'm angry, too," Denki offers. "Like I know it's stupid but I just feel like we should have seen the signs? Whether he really is the traitor or he's just being blackmailed or something, I feel like a sh*t friend for not noticing that something was going on sooner."

"Tell me about it," Katsuki mutters as the rage finally leaves him. Sero winces.

"Sorry."

"It's whatever."

"Blasty-"

"It's fine, Mina."

"Oh look, there they are!" A shrill voice yells. "What are you four up to? Maybe making plans to get your nasty little friend back into U.A. so he and his League buddies can go after some of our teachers again? Or maybe plotting to kill off a few of us students? I know you don't like that Monoma guy."

It's a girl with dark hair up in childish pigtails, sullen eyes, and a puckered mouth that makes her look as if she's been sucking on lemons; Katsuki thinks he vaguely recognizes her as being a first year as well, in the General Education course.

"It's a shame, really, that they let garbage future villains like you into the Hero Course when there's so many of us stuck in other classes who deserve it way more than you do. Just look at you, you can't even stop arguing with each other about how Kirishima could have done a better job at spying!" The girl advances towards them, getting in Denki's face and poking his chest with her bony finger meanly.

"That's not what we're saying at all," Mina hisses. "You don't know anything about us, or Kirishima, so just back off! And leave Kaminari alone!"

"Or what? You're really going to fight me in the courtyard, four against one? That's not very heroic at all, is it? Though I suppose with him on your side, you're all more likely to go down than I am," she says, poking Denki again.

"Why, you little-"

"Back off, Togeike! Go back to your dorm room and leave them alone." Two rather pretty, bright-haired girls round the corner suddenly, glaring at the Gen Ed girl - Togeike, apparently.

"And who are you?" Togeike demands, rather nasally.

"Tachi and Arashi, to you," the girl with long pink hair and gray eyes says shortly. "Second year Hero Course students."

"Of course you are," Togeike spits. "You must think you're oh-so-much better than lowly little first year Gen kids!"

"Akari..." The other girl, with very short creamsicle orange hair and worried brown eyes, says to her friend pleadingly. "Don't..."

"What's your quirk again, Togeike?" Akari asks the younger girl. "Earth-manipulation, right? You can control rocks, dirt, and plants? You'd be an amazing hero with a quirk like that, it sounds very strong."

Togeike preens under the compliment despite her dislike of the pink-haired girl.

"So the fact that you're in Gen Ed tells me you didn't train or study hard enough, thinking you could just coast on by, and it cost you your spot," she continues coldly. "Grow up a little and stop being a bully, and actually put effort into your skill instead of just brute strength, and then maybe you'll make it into the Hero Course next year and actually deserve people's respect."

"Oh whatever, you stupid f*cking bitch!"

"Akari..."

"It's fine, Mei-chan. She knows I'm right, and she's pissed because she's not getting her way with her usual bullying sh*t. I saw her last week going after that tired looking purple-haired boy in her own class. If she can't even get along with and support her own classmates, she should never expect to make it far in the world of Pro Heroes."

Togeike sends a withering glare at the pair of older girls before deciding not to try her luck and storming off towards the 1-C dorms.

"Thank you," Mina tells the pink haired girl, looking shakily relieved.

"No prob, firstie! Us pinkies gotta stick together, right?"

"Right!"

"Who are you guys, really?" Kaminari asks, eyeing the pink haired one and flushing slightly. "You said you're second years? What-"

"Do you think he's a villain?" Katsuki asks them suddenly. The orange haired girl startles at his tone, but the other isn't phased.

"I'm Akari Arashi," the pink-haired one says. "And this is Mieko Tachi. Second year Hero Course students, like I said. My quirk is Water Manipulation and Healing; I can emit and control water and it's temperature, and even use it to heal people of minor to medium wounds. Mieko's is 'Switch'; she can switch people's personalities, quirks, or even minds and bodies if she focuses hard enough, though it can give her one hell of a headache if she isn't careful."

The others, Mina and Denki especially, look impressed by this. Katsuki just stares Akari down, waiting with one eyebrow raised.

"As for your question, bomb boy... I don't really know. It looks pretty bad, not gonna lie. And it's not like I grew up with the kid, or even had classes with him, so it's hard to say. But... I've spoken to him once or twice, I think, and he seemed really sweet. In a way, that's kind of suspicious - like, who the hell is actually that nice, y'know? But... It was hard not to like him. He always seemed really genuine. "

"He is," Katsuki tells her.

"My advice? Expect the worst from him," she says bluntly. "But hope for the best. That way, hopefully, you're pleasantly surprised. And if not, you're already prepared for it, right?"

"I f*ckin' guess so. What about you, Push-pop?"

"M-me?" The orange-haired girl, Meiko, stutters out softly, hand going to brush her short hair out of her eyes. "I.. I don't know. Kirishima... He helped me once when I was having a panic attack in the library. He reminds me of my little brother, a bit. I hope he isn't a villain."

"...Yeah," Katsuki says, finally sounded drained. "Us, too."

"Here's our numbers," Akari says after a glance at and nod from Meiko, "call or text us if people keep giving you sh*t or get physical. Whether Kirishima is a villain or not, you four didn't do anything wrong and people should stop being sh*ts about it. Innocent until proven guilty and all that."

Denki glances at the piece of paper in his hands, ears mildly pink. "Th-thank you, Arashi!"

"Just call me Akari, kid!" She says over her shoulder as she and Mieko begin to walk towards the second year dorms. "Mei-chan and I tell everyone to use our first names - we want to be super accessible, super friendly heroes, after all! By the way, electric kid, don't let her get to you - your quirk is bad-ass and your hair is awesome! See ya!"

"Y-yeah! See ya!" Denki shouts, voice cracking.

Katsuki, Mina, and Sero exchange glances with one another, all tension between them forgotten as they burst out laughing at their friends' expense.

When they get back to the common room of the 1-A dorms, it's to find everyone checking their mailboxes for the days' mail. Figuring there's no harm in them doing the same, the squad all grab their keys and take a look in their respective boxes. All four of them have a bit of mail each; Sero's gaming magazines, Mina's girly entertainment ones, Katsuki's ads for rock climbing gyms and book of the month club, and Denki's Nintendo newsletter, and so on. They also appear to each have a bit of personal mail, for once - all of them in lavender colored envelopes and addressed only with their first and last names. All four of them determinedly avoid looking over at Kirishima's mailbox.
Mina opens her personal letter first, the others preferring to go through their ads and junk mail first instead.

That's when everything all goes to sh*t again.

After reading for only a few seconds, Mina lets out a loud, wet gasp and tears immediately start streaming down her face.

"No!" She whimpers out. "No no no no no-"

"Mina!" Sero runs over to her. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"G-get Aizawa," she sobs. "Go get Sensei!"

The whole common room, most of 1-A, is staring at her in shock and horror as well as a good bit of worry.

"Mina, what's going on?" Momo yells across the room, rising from her spot on the couch. Iida runs out the door to the elevator, quirk activated and already dialing their homeroom teacher. Near them, Izuku eyes the letter in her hands warily before paling and looking sick to his stomach.

Katsuki glances from her lavender envelope, to Sero's, to Denki's, to his own. If it isn't some major coincidence, then they all have one of whatever it is that made her break down so quickly.

'What could possibly be that bad?' he wonders.

"It's a letter,” Mina says between sobs. “From Kirishima.”

Oh.

"Ashido,

We've known each other for a long time now. Just over 3 years, I think? We weren’t all that close in the beginning, but since U.A., we’ve been really good friends, and I have to say...

It's a huge relief to finally be done with that.

I don't know how much more I could have taken, listening to your constant whining and gossip day in and day out. After middle school, I thought I'd finally be done with your crap and done having to pretend - I should have known you'd apply for and get into U.A. I had hoped you wouldn't make it into the Hero Course, or that we'd at least be in different classes. Sadly, I've never had much luck avoiding you.

Really, what God did I piss off in a previous life in order to have you make it into the Hero Course? With the way you waste your time giggling after boys and flirting and wasting your time, I had thought there was no way in Hell that you'd even pass the entranceexam!

Guess I should have factored in that they'd take one look at you and go "well, she's flashy, loud, and attractive - guess we might as well let her in so everyone has something nice to look at and someone to outrank in grades so that they can feel better about themselves".

God, U.A.'s standards have really fallen, though. Anyone at the school could take one look at you and know instantly, that you're nothing more than a ditzy little airhead who puts gossip and crushes above being a hero. Do you really think they'll ever respect you? Really, why do you even try? You're never going to become a Pro Hero - you'd make it further as a gossip columnist in one of those tabloid rags you're always reading.

But at least listening to you is someone else's problem, now. It's about time. The whole time we were in school together, I kept thinking, "God, I can't wait until they know the truth."

-E. Kirishima"

It’s definitely, undeniably, 100% Kirishima’s handwriting - there’s no getting around it. The letters all match up to the ones Katsuki has seen during endless hours of tutoring and revising together, the same ones on the silly little post-it notes he used to pass Katsuki in class. The phrasing and over-all voice of the letters even sounds exactly like Kirishima, if Kirishima were a hateful monster.

Some areas are darker than others, like he had pushed down too hard on the pen in his rage or hatred; it’s so subtle that Katsuki doubts anyone who didn’t spend as much time as he had proofreading Kirishima’s work would have been able to notice it. But all the same, it can’t be denied that Kirishima is the one who wrote the letters.

"I don't know if the rest of you kids should read those," Aizawa tells them as he tries to contact Tsukauchi and Nezu. "First of all, they're evidence. Second, it can't be any good for you to see. It's just going to hurt."

Mina sobs uncontrollably in Present Mic's arms on the couch, a testament to how much of an understatement Aizawa's comment really is. 1-A hovers around the area nervously, not sure if they should get involved or stay out of the squad’s way.

"No," Sero says. "We deserve to know."

"We need to know," Denki adds.

"And Mina shouldn't have to go through with this alone," Katsuki finishes, though he looks pale and his hands are shaking.

"Sero,

You know, it's kind of funny.

All that time I had to spend acting depressed and insecure about myself and my quirk, and there you were with yours, somehow believing you'd be any good as a famous Pro! You made it easy for me, though, so I should really thank you! Any time I wasn't sure how to seem down about myself or act like I was pathetic and not good enough, all I had to do was imagine that I had your quirk instead of my own, and then it was easy! Anytime you did actually get down, all I’d have to say was ‘man, you’re such a good friend!’ and then everything was good again.

Meanwhile I had to constantly act like 'Boo hoo, guys, I'm no good for combat and fighting, just defense!', what bullsh*t. Even at my worst, I'd outdo you at your best! If I ever did feel bad about my own quirk, I only had to remember that yours isn't good for much other than tying up villains! And that's only if you can catch them first, and then beat them in a fight. Let's face it, man - without backup to help you, you're not getting far. It's a lot like with the girls - you're probably a great starter boyfriend so they can practice for a bit with a bland, boring nice guy before they finally dump you and move on to better guys.

How Ashido is so in love with you, I'll never know. But hey, you two really deserve one another!

Man, I wish I had your confidence sometimes! It verges on being completely blind and it's probably the strongest thing about you, actually! Though it did get tiring, how constantly calm and assured you acted. That was supposed to be my thing, but, well, you know me.

-E. Kirishima"

Sero doesn't cry, doesn't get angry and throw things, doesn't do anything, really, but stare at the letter blankly like he's trying to work out a puzzle.

Or maybe like he's drowning under the harsh water in the ocean and no one can see him waving for help.

"Kaminari,

Hey man! Long time, no see, bro! Dude! Buddy!

Do you have any vocabulary other than that? Seriously, do you? Do you have ANY idea how many braincells I lost daily, just having to talk to you and get on your level?

On the upside, you sure kept me from being the dumbest one in our class. Then again, I was actually trying to rank at the bottom to go unnoticed and you... Weren't. So, um... I'd say 'guess what that says about you', but we all know riddles aren't your strong suit.

Silver lining though! When you flunk out of U.A. this year because you fail anything, you can finally give up on becoming a Pro. I bet the entire school will breathe a sigh of relief when that happens; no one likes to get tasered, and anyone stuck with you for a sidekick or partner would have that happen on the daily!

Even if you do manage to make it through all 3 years of school and get licensed, I figure they'll bench you soon enough - there's only so many times you can put Pros and bystanders in the hospital, fried and nearly dead, before they decide you're more of a liability than an asset.

I'm shocked (hah! Shocked!) that no one has said yet that you're more likely to be a villain than I am!

Then again, that would require you to have more than a single brain cell, so I guess not. Trust me, no one would ever accuse you of that!

-E. Kirishima"

Denki does cry, nearly as hard as Mina does, and Sero finally breaks out of his staring contest with the common room carpet in order to comfort them both.

Nearby, Mic speaks to Nezu and Tsukauchi in a quiet, sad voice.

Aizawa, perusing the final letter (with Katsuki's permission), looks up and asks, "do you really want to do this, problem child?"

He doesn't.

But he does it anyway.

“Bakugou,

Out of the 5 of us, you’re the last one I would have ever expected to be funny! Hell, when we met, you had no sense of humor at all!

Ironic, then, that you make me laugh the hardest out of the entire ‘Bakusquad’.

You had so much fire and determination to become Number One - I almost even thought that you could do it, at one point. Sure, it was annoying how feral and insane you always were, but still, you worked hard for everything and kept trying to get better and better so you could get to the top in record time.

So yeah, it’s pretty damn funny how fast you threw all of that away once we started ‘dating’. All along, I had to watch you change and wimp out and still act like you made me happy.

If I had known that all it would take to make you weak was to make you fall for me, I would have done it way sooner in the year! Out of everyone at that damn school, you were one of the few we thought could maybe actually someday pose a threat. Taking you out early would have been smart - but to be fair, they did want to try to bring you over to the right side of things first, and you would have been useless to us if we’d been ‘together’ and you acted like you have been the past few weeks...

You know, as much as the guy annoys me, Monoma wasn’t wrong- you’ve gone soft, and it’s made you weak.

Where’s all of that fighting spirit? Gone, you go out of your way to make people smile and laugh instead of challenging them in order to get better. You would cling to me like a koala, soft and needy and whiny, and somehow thought people would still respect you after seeing how far you’d fallen!

What’s worse, you acted like being nice all of a sudden just because you were dating me somehow absolved you of what a dick you were to everyone in the past! Did you seriously expect anyone to really believe that you’ve changed for the better? You really thought you could be Number One, be stronger than anyone and become loved and respected all over the country after how you treated everyone? And I thought Endeavor was co*cky! Then again, I guess you also believed that I really care about you, too!

Honestly, I can’t blame Shigaraki for trying to recruit you back then - I could almost see it, you as a villain, if you hadn’t turned out to be such a sap. You didn’t even really build up to becoming a weak, in love crybaby - you did it slowly, and then all at once!

Honestly, just do 1-A a favor - drop out and leave the Hero Course already, before you weigh them down by being weak. Or better yet, do the world a favor and consider maybe dying in your sleep.

-E. Kirishima"

Somehow, rumors about the letters and their contents are all over the school within the hour. Katsuki strongly suspects it has something to do with one of the business class students that was over flirting with Hagakure in her room at the time; if he had come down to the kitchen at any point, he surely would have heard everything. Hagakure herself could have even snuck up on them, invisible, and read the letters out of curiosity. Katsuki doesn’t even blame her; he doesn’t have the energy to.

Not long after he reads his letter and the squad looks it over (it’s only fair, he saw their letters), Katsuki can tell that they expect him to lose it. Whether with anger or misery, he isn’t sure. He knows he should probably be feeling one or the other, or maybe even both, but mostly he just feels... Numb.

He keeps flashing back to the last few weeks with Kiri - stolen kisses, late nights laughing at bad movies, the time they got caught out in a rainstorm and Kiri started to dance in increasingly ridiculous ways until Katsuki caved and joined in, no longer caring who saw.

The moment Kirishima asked him to call him “Kiri” instead of his full last name, admitting that he didn’t much like being called “Eijirou” because his loser of a dad had insisted on the name.

Soft kisses against his forehead at night in bed when there was no way in hell that Kiri could have known he was awake.

Strong arms around him and a comforting voice telling him stories about his moms’ and mothers’ days in order to calm him down after one of his worse nightmares about Kamino.

Muffled laughter as they planned out harmless but funny little pranks against Mina and Izuku.

The look on Kiri’s face when Katsuki called him “Kiri-chan” in response to his boyfriend’s own teasing “Kacchan”.

Baking a cake together at 2 am and sharing secrets and frosting in equal measure.

How could someone fake all of that?

It just didn’t add up.

Katsuki tells everyone else that he’s fine, he’s exhausted and needs time to process things alone, and that he’s going to his own room. Over a dozen pairs of worried, red-rimmed eyes land on him at once. Everyone is ready and willing to give him a hug, but for the first time in a long time, he’s not in the mood for one. Not even from his squad.

The squad shoots him worried looks; the three of them are going to Denki’s room together and having a sleepover to try and stay put together, and they reiterate many times that they wish Katsuki would go with them. Denki, in particular, looks worried for him, but,

“I’m sorry you guys,” he tells them softly. “I just really need some alone time right now, and I need to face being back in my own dorm eventually. Maybe I’ll come over in a few hours after a nap?”

Finally escaping from the commons and making his way towards the elevator, Katsuki pulls out his phone and opens up the Gallery to the photo he snapped of Kiri’s letter to him (when no one was looking because Izuku had started crying a literal waterfall, almost on command)

(almost as if he could sense that Katsuki needed a distraction...)

Shutting his dorm room door behind him, Katsuki plops down on his bed and stares at the phone screen, trying not to think about how the sheets and pillows still have that familiar leather-and-cinnamon smell.

His red eyes scrunch up as he scrutinizes the letter and the slightly darker sections over and over again. Surely what Katsuki’s thinking has to be crazy - much as he hates to admit it, Sero was right before. They had Kiri on camera working with the League. A cop who was a literal lie detector and who could not be lied to had said that Kiri was truthful about working with the League of his own free will. But all the same, Katsuki has to wonder...

‘you make me laugh’

‘you made me happy’

‘Monoma was wrong’

‘you’ve changed for the better’

‘I really care about you’

‘slowly, and then all at once’

‘sleep’

How could all of that be a coincidence? The odds were astronomical!

He finally feels tears well up in his eyes as he reads, over and over and over again, ‘slowly, and then all at once’. In context of the letter, it’s cruel and hurtful. But on it’s own, slightly darkened the way it is, it feels like a confirmation.

(“I think it may be my new favorite movie,” Kiri tells him sheepishly.

“Mine, too, you sap.”

“Sap? Look who’s talking!”

“Shut up, f*cker.”

“Sure thing, Kat! You know you love me though.” He shoots Katsuki a dopey grin that makes him melt instantly.

“Yeah... Slowly, and then all at once.”

It’s the closest Katsuki comes to saying it outright until that fateful day in the cafeteria.)

Katsuki wonders, though, why ‘sleep’ is darkened as well. No matter how he tries to fit it into context with the other phrases, he just can’t seem to get at what Kirishima is getting at. He flops down on the bed, exasperated, and then the smell of Kirishima’s cologne overwhelms him; the last week catches up to him and he can feel himself starting to panic, so he hurriedly gets up and heads for the medicine cabinet in his small attached bathroom in order to grab the anti-anxiety medication he keeps right next to the sleeping pills for when his nightmares-

Oh.

His sleeping pills.

'Or better yet, do the world a favor and consider maybe dying in your sleep.'

'consider maybe dying in your sleep.'

("Why don't you hope for a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof!")

(don't think about it)

(don't)

In his sleep.

With a shaky hand, heart racing a mile a minute, tears overflowing from his eyes, Katsuki grabs the bottle of prescription strength sleeping pills and tears it open, pouring the lot of them into his palm.

He pours the pills back into the bottle and places that back into the medicine cabinet, shutting the door firmly.

He holds on tightly, disbelievingly, to the tightly rolled up piece of paper that was buried underneath the pills.

Katsuki unfurls the tear-blotted letter.

And he begins to read.

"Dear Katsuki,

God, Kat - where can I even start? First of all, I 'm so sorry . Like, you have no idea how sorry I am, for everything. I could come back today and start apologizing, day and night, and not stop until we graduate, and it still wouldn't be enough for how much I know I must have hurt you. I'd fill this whole paper with apologies, front and back, and it'd never be enough. But I have more to say than just that, and I don't deserve to waste this paper or your time with apologies that I know will never be enough.

I wish more than anything that I could tell you everything that's going on. Well, that's not entirely true - what I really wish more than anything is that I could be there with you right now, or better yet days ago before all of this happened, and that I could hold you and tell you how important you are to me and how perfect you are and how much I care about you. But I don't get to do either of those things; the first because I really just can't, and the second because I don't have the right to hold you like that anymore, and know that I never will again.

If you're reading this, you've already gotten the other letter - you know the one I mean. Hopefully you looked past all of what it said and noticed the code. Wait, that's dumb - you must have, or else you wouldn't be reading this. I'm not surprised you figured it out, though, I know how brilliant you are.

It was risky and stupid of me to code the letters, even if you're probably the only one who knows my writing well enough to pick it out. It's also incredibly risky and stupid of me to send you this letter - probably the stupidest thing I've ever done, actually, which is really saying something. That being said, PLEASE don't tell anyone about this letter; not the Pros, not the police, the teachers, our friends, no one . I can't explain still, but lives depend on no one but you ever knowing about this.

I just couldn't stand leaving things the way I did, especially not after sending those letters to the squad. You can't tell them, but I need someone to know - every last horrible thing I said about all of you in them, I didn't mean a single word of. All of it was really more how I felt about myself over the course of the year, not you guys.

But I had to make them as mean as I could - I saw the press release, and I realized how the school would be looking at you all afterwards, just for having been friends with me. I still remember how awful they were to you when you first got back from Kamino, and I've heard from some other students just what kind of things they speculated about Mina, Kaminari, Sero, and I after you were first taken. I knew that what they would do to you guys after my reveal would be so much worse than that, and I couldn't let it happen. Consider it my last decent act at U.A., I guess.

I know what you must be wondering, Kat. But, I joined the League of Villains of my own free will. No one coerced me, or forced me to do it. I have my reasons. I've been working for them since shortly after the USJ Incident.

I've been passing on info to Shigaraki and the others.

I wasn't in on the training camp, though. I know I have no right to ask you, but please believe me on that. If I had known they were going to attack the camp and take you, I never would have let that happen. Even though we were just friends at the time, I wouldn't have wanted to do anything to hurt you.

Which, I know, is really rich considering I've done nothing but hurt you recently.

I left with Kurogiri willingly; in fact, I called him to come get me, the day you said that you loved me for the first time. I slipped into the bathroom and called him on a burner phone, setting a time for him to be in my room, before destroying the phone with my quirk. See, making friends at U.A. was never a part of the plan - and catching feelings for one, well that DEFINITELY wasn't.

When you told me that you loved me, it was the single happiest moment of my life.

Then I remembered who and what I am, and I knew I had to leave U.A., to leave you, before I let my feelings for you screw everything up. I admit, I panicked a bit. I've never felt this way for anyone before, and every time that it makes me happy, it also makes me sick with guilt because of what I've been doing and the lies I've been telling you.

And I know how much you hate liars.

Being friends with the squad and being with you, though - I know you have no reason to trust or believe me again, but I swear to God, Kat, those were the most honest things I've ever done. You made everything in my life so much brighter and happier. Every day with you was amazing and perfect, and I'll cherish those memories forever, no matter what happens to me now. For what little it's worth, I wanted to say that I loved you back immediately.

But I knew I had no right to.

I still don't, so I won't say it now, no matter how much I wish I could.

But Katsuki, you gave me a forever within the numbered days I had at U.A,, and I'm grateful for our own little infinity. I'll miss you so much, every day, for the rest of the time I'm alive. There will never come a single day that I don't think about you and wish I could be with you again.

Yours, always and forever,
(and eternally sorry)
( God, I AM SO f*ckING SORRY )
-Kiri"

Chapter 5: ♫ Empty ♫

Chapter Text

And you let her go."

If you asked Mina Ashido how shocked she was to find out that Kirishima and Bakugou were dating, she would say she wasn't really surprised at all.

Well, that's not entirely true. Mina was shocked when she found out her two friends had become a couple, but not for the reasons most people would think. It wasn't that she thought Blasty was too prickly or short-tempered to fall in love or be loved, not at all! Far from it, really. It was because Bakugou was so angry and stand-offish to start with that Mina knew he'd end up positively head-over-heels for Kirishima - once he finally let himself give in and care. In her opinion, the types that resisted it the most were also the types to end up the biggest romantics of all. As to Kirishima's side of things, well. Mina knew that her friend had been a goner ever since the USJ Incident. She saw clearly the way that Kirishima looked at Bakugou, with stars in his eyes and a soft smile on his face, and she knew that that was that. So no, she wasn't shocked that they were dating in the first place, only that they had gotten their sh*t together so quickly.

No one could resist Kirishima's warmth and friendly, easy-going nature on any normal day, so a Kirishima with a crush for the first time was an absolute force to be reckoned with - Blasty never stood a chance. It was honestly sooner than she expected (and yet longer than she had hoped), but in the end, her boys had finally gotten together! Other than herself and Midoriya, no one had seemed to see it coming.

After that, the changes seemed to happen overnight.

You'd be forgiven for assuming that, like everyone else, the changes Mina noticed the most were the changes in Blasty - It WAS quite a dramatic transformation, seeing Bakugou go from mean, feral gremlin to lovestruck, happy softie. But no, the changes Mina noticed the most were in her middle-school-aquaintance-turned-good-friend.

Mina had watched as Eijirou 'sunshine' Kirishima (as pretty much everyone who met him would think of him) went from perpetually anxious and secretly still insecure about himself, to bold and more confident. She had seen how Kirishima suddenly spent more time studying and focusing in class, and had seen assignments strewn around his room that were, for the first time, decorated with fairly high grades and praise from their instructors. She watched as Kirishima, once a shy wallflower and then faking his easy-going nature to hide his past self, became the life of the party no matter what group he was in. Mina considered herself to be fairly good at observing and noticing change in people, and so of course she was the first to notice that Kirishima was changing for the better, right alongside his boyfriend. His changes weren't as loud, as sudden, or as blatantly obvious as Blasty's were - you would have had to have known him before hand to really see how much dating Bakugou affected him.

(She would.)

(Sero would, too.)

("-so make sure that you all work WITH your partners on this and create an ultimate combo move that utilizes both of your quirks to their fullest," Aizawa finished, sending a stern look in their direction.

"And remember to GO BEYOND-" All Might screams out, suddenly assuming his large form. "PLUS ULTRA!" he shrinks back down as he coughs up some blood to punctuate the cheer.
Aizawa and All Might are teaching one of their rare, extra long joint classes to 1-A that day. Everyone in the class is paired up into groups of 2 to create a move together, and the groups are assingned by their teachers. Some, like Katsuki and Kirishima, or Mina and Sero, got very lucky with their assigned partners. Nearby, Momo and Jirou huddle up together, whispering plans. Katsuki and Kirishima can hear Izuku muttering and see that Todoroki is, miraculously, somehow following along. They won't be having much, if any, trouble with the assignment.

Uraraka and Iida sit on the grassy ground nearest All Might. Iida appears to be taking notes and making diagrams as Uraraka talks to him a mile a minute. They'll likely do fairly well, too.

Others don't fare so lucky with their assigned team ups, however, as Aoyama and Mineta can attest - or they will, once they're done arguing loudly. Then there's unfortunate pair-ups like Koda and Satou, who to be fair, don't really have very compatible quirks at all. Then again, neither do Asui and Tokoyami, or Hagakure and Kaminari.

At least Shouji and Ojirou have 'extra appendage', in common and can possibly work with that?

Katsuki wonders briefly if the teachers really thought this through when it came to pairing them up. Some pairs seem to have almost no chance of creating a viable ultimate combo move together; how could Aoyama's laser work with Mineta's grapes? And how can Kaminari use his quirk without giving somehow hurting Hagakure, or at least giving away her location? It makes no sense.

For others, it almost seems like favoritism; with Iida's speed and Uraraka's ability to make him weightless, they'll be unstoppable. Similarly, Mina and Sero can swing around and create a deadly acidic rain. Momo could quite literally create an LRAD and use Jirou's quirk and heartbeat to power it, and everyone knows that Izuku and Todoroki get along almost as well as himself and Kiri do, so they'll be having no issues working together.

If the point of the assignment is to overcome a difficult situation and make things work when it seems hopeless, some of them really shouldn't be paired up because they're much too compatible, like himself and Kirishima. If the point is the pair ups get along well, regardless of if their quirks are compatible or not, then Mineta wouldn't be working with Aoyama.

Somehow, Katsuki gets the feeling that All Might was allowed to plan this lesson and choose the groupings. He still loves and admires the man, but Katsuki can freely admit that teaching high schoolers is not All Might's strong suit.

----

At just over an hour into the lesson, Katsuki finds himself rethinking his last statement about All Might and his percieved lack of teaching ability as he watches Aoyama use his laser to propel a string of searing hot grape balls across the room, wrapping around a training dummy tightly. It steams unpleasantly and melts into the first layer of the dummy - painful, but not deadly. A good deterrant to criminals. They shoot off another string at a dummy further away.

Satou dodges out of the way at the last second, pulling Koda along with him - both of them riding literal f*cking moose. Mooses? Meese? They go up to a platform roughly 20 feet in the air; Koda calms the huge animals and Satou uses brute strength to carry them onto the platform. Once they're all up there and the students mount their steeds again, Koda coaches them to begin racing and jumping like horses.

Below, Kaminari causes one hell of a distraction to several of Ectoplasm's clones, giving Hagakure the opening she needs to sneak up on them and tase them with a part of his costume. In a brilliant play, Kaminari acts like he's shorted himself out and is in 'dumb-mode' once one of the remaining clones engages his partner. When it looks like Hagakure is about to be overtaken, Kaminari jumps the clone and electrocutes it. Katsuki feels a flash of pride for his friend - Kaminari is smarter than anyone knows...

Tokoyami and Asui flit about overhead, Dark Shadow ensconcing and lifting them as Asui's tongue shoots out to propel and steer them. Thanks to her tongue, the two of them are reaching insane speeds.

Yes, Katsuki takes his statement back. All Might isn't a poor teacher after all.

All Might is an evil genius, actually.

---

"So what should we do as an ultimate combo, my dude?"

"Kiri, don't call me 'dude', you've had your tongue in my mouth for f*ck's sake." Katsuki schools his face into a stern and disgusted expression, trying his hardest to sound irritated.

"But, Bakubrooooooo," Kirishima whines playfully, megawatt smile never leaving his face, "You ARE a dude, and you're mine, so that makes you my dude!"

"..."

"..."

Katsuki finally cracks a smile at the absurdity of it all. "God f*cking dammit, Kirishima. Fine then, I GUESS I'm your 'dude'," he finishes with an eyeroll and mocking air quotes.

"Hey, 'dude', 'bro', 'man', or whichever Kat - don't care as long as you're mine!"

"You are SUCH a dumbass."

"Yeah, and I'm YOUR dumbass, AND you like it." Kiri's smile lessens ever so slightly, like he somehow doubts how much he means to the explosive blond. "Right?"

"f*ck yeah, I do," Katsuki assures him. "Now let's make a combo move that will knock them all dead."

---

In the end, the move they come up with is amazing - not a surprise, really. They start it by holding on to one another tightly and jumping off of a tall platform,

("It's over, Ana-kat! I have the high ground!"

Katsuki refuses to laugh at his boyfriends antics. Not when he has to focus.

"C'mon, Skywalker!"

Nope, not funny. Not in the slightest; Kiri can't catch him off guard with any of his damn impressions today, he-

"HMMMM, ready for the high ground, meesa is!"

What the actual f*ck? Katsuki falls off the platform, cackling.

"What the hell WAS that? Kiri, why the f*ck are you like this? What the f*ck?")

and then Katsuki uses his explosions to slow their descent. Kiri kicks off against a wall, hard, sending them flying down at the dummy at an angle. Then Kirishima activates his quirk and Katsuki blasts them apart as hard as he can, turning Kiri into a sharp, hard, flying projectile.

By the 3rd time around (the amount of tries it takes them to perfect their aim) the training dummies in their area are nothing straw and dust.

"Holy sh*t, Kat!" Kiri yells, springing up from the destruction completely unscathed but covered in debris. "That was awesome! I didn't think you could launch me THAT hard!"

Completely straight-faced, Katsuki looks him dead in the eye and replies, "You underestimate my power."

They end up calling the move 'The High Ground' after that - how could they not?

Both the teachers and the students are impressed by the raw power of the move, and Kat and Kiri feel unstoppable. They're like Anakin and Obi Wan, only their partnership isn't doomed to go up in flames, to end in pain, misery, and betrayal.

Because after all, neither of them would ever go over to the Dark Side.

Right?)

"How the f*ck don't you see it?," Kirishima watches as his boyfriend goes on, getting progressively more angry right alongside him. "I love him."

Holy sh*t, he WHAT?

"He's perfect, you f*cking dried out end of a bread loaf. He's beautiful, I never get tired of looking at him. I never have to worry that he's better than me because I know damn f*cking well that he IS, because he's better than ALL of us. He's funny as f*ck, but he's never mean about it. He cares about everyone, and he would do anything to help people. I...I love him, and I'm f*cking LUCKY to have the privilege of loving someone like him. I did literally everything f*cking wrong since starting UA and he still never gave up on me."

Suddenly, Kirishima is in danger of crying right then and there in the lunch room; Kat has been becoming progressively softer and more loving as the weeks of them dating have gone on, but sometimes he still manages to catch Kirishima completely off guard with something so tender and heartachingly sweet that he can barely believe it's about him. This is apparently one of those times, only now it's right there in the U.A. lunchroom being shouted out for everyone to hear.

"Assflash, newshole - every single last good thing in my f*cking life has been because of him, because he made me want to be a better person. And someone like YOU is seriously standing here trying to belittle someone like him? How the f*ck do you even breathe enough to talk all the sh*t you do with your head shoved so far up your own foreskin?"

And thankfully, that's unintentionally funny enough that Kirishima can laugh instead of start crying in front of everyone. As long as Kat doesn't say anything else incredible about him, he should be fine.

"If it came down to it, which would you choose? Being in the Top 10, or Kirishima?" Monoma demands, trying desperately to get the last word even as Kendou drags him away.
"Are you f*cking stupid?" Kat shouts back, half laughing. "I'd choose Kirishima any day. I'd rather never crack the Top 100 than lose him, f*ck, I'd rather never become a Pro at all than lose him."

f*ck.

The members of 1-A nearest to the debacle start laughing and cheering, absolutely thrilled that Monoma's been put in his place yet again. Mina, Sero, and Kaminari instantly run over to 1-B's table and start talking to Tetsutetsu, Yanagi, Kuroiro, and Pony; Kirishima wonders briefly if they're planning a mutiny or a murder. Or maybe it's both? Kat is looking around them and seems like he's still pretty pissed off when he turns around to face Kirishima.

Kirishima knows he's not the scared little kid he was back in middle school - he's older, stronger, tougher now. He can handle a bully saying mean things about him and not need help. He didn't NEED Kat to defend him and tear Monoma apart; honestly he should feel like he did the time Mina had to step in and save a classmate from that huge villain back in middle school - frozen, helpless, cowardly.

He doesn't though.

Instead, he feels a surge of love and affection for his boyfriend rush over him like a wave. He can't help it any longer, he starts laughing and crying in equal measure as he practically throws himself into Kat's arms. He feels, rather than sees, all of the stress and anger melt out of his boyfriend instantly. Kat wraps his arms around Kirishima in a tight hug.

"f*ck, sorry, Kiri. I shouldn't have caused a scene, but-" Kat sounds guilty and worried.

'He's perfect.'

(Aww.)

"Don't apologize!" Kirishima yells through the tears and laughter. "He deserved it - I should have punched his f*cking teeth in myself!"

"Kiri!" Katsuki manages, shocked. It's honestly hilarious how scandalized he seems and Kirishima laughs even harder.

"I SHOULD have, though! He deserves it!"

"I mean he does, I just didn't expect that from you!" Now Kat is laughing a little, too. "You see the best in everyone, you don't have a mean bone in your body!"

'I love him.'

(holy. f*cking. sh*t. He WHAT?)

"Even I can't manage to like him," Kirishima admits, finally laughing more than he is crying. "And I may not have a mean bone in my body"

'I...I love him, and I'm f*cking LUCKY to have the privilege of loving someone like him.'

(Oh my god. Oh my GOD. YES!! YES, YES, YES!!!)

"but my hand bone's feeling mean and I'll...put it through Monoma's body when I use it to punch his...teeth off."
"...What?" Kat laughs at him, bewildered. Halfway through his rant against Monoma, Kirishima had started looking shell shocked and gotten quite confused.

'I love him.'

'He loves me back! KAT LOVES ME BACK!' Kirishima thinks wildly, feeling like he's floating on cloud nine. He's been in love with Katsuki for a long time now; even before they started dating, if he's being honest. He's known, logically, that Kat cares deeply for him. But this...this is more than he'd ever hoped to dream, because he's finding out that this boy...

This wonderful, loving, talented, incredibly good looking, positvely perfect boy that he's irrevocably in love with...

Somehow actually loves him back.

Kirishima's brain is going a mile a second, trying to process it all. Katsuki LOVES him! His heart is screaming 'Yes, yes, YES!', but...

He opens his mouth to say it back to Katsuki, to reassure him and open the floodgates, letting loose every disgustingly soppy, sappy, loving thought he's ever had about the explosive blond, when

('You don't have the right to say it back,' a mean little voice in his head whispers.)

And the voice is right, Kirishima doesn't have the right to tell Katsuki that he loves him, too.

Because soon enough, Kirishima's going to betray them all and break Katsuki Bakugou's heart into more pieces than the dummies from Ultimate Combo Move Training.

Since he can't say it back and can't stop crying and shaking at his realization, he does the only thing he can. He pulls Katsuki into a deep kiss, and holds him like he's saying goodbye.

"I'll catch up with you guys, I'm just gonna duck into the bathroom real quick!" Kirishima calls out to the squad as he seperates. Thankfully, Kaminari has locked Katsuki into some silly argument about which teacher would win the Hunger Games, and Mina and Sero are too absorbed in the argument to question him if his voice sounds as strangled as he thinks it does.

Kirishima locks the bathroom's main door behind him and checks all of the stalls to be sure he's alone, thankful that Hagakure is the only student at U.A. with an invisibility quirk this year. Then he pulls out a textbook and opens it to the middle; it's hollowed out and he removes a small, deceptively plain brick phone from the book. He powers it on quickly, shooting a nervous glance at the door, and scrolls through the few contacts.
Then, he makes the phone call that will ruin everything.

"What is it, Eijirou? Is everything okay?" The scratchy voice demands, but not cruelly. It's the voice of someone who's not great with people, but that still likes and respects him. It's a voice Kirishima knows very well.

"Tomura..." Kirishima realizes, belatedly, that he's started crying. "I- I think I need to be pulled out. I'm... C-compromised."

"You're WHAT?" Shigaraki all but screams. "WHAT HAPPENED, ARE YOU OKAY? DID THEY FIND OUT? I'LL KILL THOSE NPCS IF THEY LAID A HAND-"

There's a crash in the background, more shouting from Shigaraki, and then Kurogiri's calm voice comes over the burner phone.

"Hello, Eijirou Kirishima. Tomura Shigaraki is quite distressed for you - are you in danger?"

"No, Kurogiri, I'm okay. I just- I need to be pulled out, my position is compromised. No one found me out yet, but..."

"This is in regards to your boyfriend?" Kurogiri asks, not unkindly. "Your feelings are becoming an issue?"

"Not mine," Kirishima feels more traitorous tears leak out and knows it's obvious in his voice. "I was fine going along with this, loving him and hiding everything, but today he-"

"He what?!" Shigaraki shouts in the back; Kurogiri must have placed him on speaker phone to placate the angry man. "Did he do something to hurt you?"

"NO!" Kirishima whisper-yells, worried suddenly for Katsuki's safety. "No, he would NEVER do that! He... He told me he loves me, today. In front of like, everyone."

There's a long silence on both ends and Kirishima is almost worried that they somehow got disconnected despite the phone being state-of-the-art tech.

"That's good, isn't it?" Shigaraki asks, sounding bewildered. "You love him, he loves you back."

"... Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri sighs, and Kirishima can almost see the eyeroll through the phone. "Eijirou is a villain... Bakugou is a hero course student."

"....f*ck."

Kirishima startles himeself when he lets out a wet, choked laugh at that. "Yeah, f*ck. I could do this all just fine when I thought he'd never feel that way for me, but."

"You'd betray us, Eiji?!" A shrill female voice suddenly yells, half-teasing and much too close to the speaker.

"You know I could never do that, Himi," he tells Toga soothingly. "Family first, you know? It just really hurts to love someone you can't be with. I'm worried it's going to compromise my ability to act in our best interests. The intel I've been getting here is of minimal importance and it doesn't look too likely to change any time soon, and I'm mature enough to realize that my feelings for him put us all in danger, so..."

"Aww!" Toga yells sadly. "I know what you mean, Eiji! Loving someone you can't be with is the worst, my Izu-"

"This wouldn't be an issue if he hadn't let himself catch feelings - it's stupid! It's adorable! Young love, I love it! Disgusting!" Twice butts in.

"Twice," a rough but feminine voice chides, "you know as well as I do that you can't help who you love anymore than we can help who we are. Don't go blamining my Eijirou for loving someone. If I blamed people every time they loved the wrong person, I would have lost my brother much sooner and we would have never had Eijirou's help all this time."

"She's right," Shigaraki says to them all suddenly. "Eijirou's a good fighter and has max defense stats - we can't afford to lose him by getting him caught because of that damn blond kid. When do you need the extraction? Do you still have one of Sensei's warp anchors?"

"I do," Kirishima confirms with a nervous gulp, trying to ignore the sick feeling settling in his gut. "I...I should go soon. Tonight. I couldn't tell him I loved him back and sooner or later someone's going to notice that and- and ask questions."

"If you activate an anchor in your dormitory in the dead of night," Kurogiri says, placid as ever, "we are unlikely to be caught. As long as I do not leave the circle, we should avoid triggering any alarms. Will this give you enough time to gather all that you need?"

"Yeah," Kirishima winces again, not because he sounds like he's crying but because coming up with a horrible plan is actually helping to ground him. "I don't have much I need to do or bring, so I'll just keep like everything's normal until about 1am and then we can...go."

"Very well," Kurogiri agrees.

"Yay, yay, yay! Eiji is coming back - DABI, EIJIROU IS COMING BACK TONIGHT, SAY HI-"

"Toga, for f*ck's sake," a sardonic and lazy voice comes, sounding a little far away. "Volume control."

"Sorry!"

"See you soon, kid," Dabi calls out, sounding a little happier than usual.

"He's coming back home?" Spinner asks suddenly, likely having arrived right behind Dabi. "Sweet, I missed you, man!"

"Yeah, I missed you guys, too!" Kirishima clenches his hand so hard he draws a little blood. "See you all soon, then."

"We can hardly wait, Eiji! Your father would be so proud," the woman from before calls out cheerfully.

"Thanks, Auntie Magne."

There's a few more goodbyes all around, and Kirishima can tell the League is getting excited to have him back - he hears Toga, Twice, and Spinner planning some kind of party for him. By the time he ends the call and powers off the burner phone, he's shaking.

After he hides the phone in the hollowed out book and buries it back at the bottom of his bag, he's sobbing.

He vomits into a toilet and flushes it before leaving the bathroom in shame, and then runs to catch up with his friends at the dorms and act like nothing is wrong. He does a great job at it, he knows. But...

"I'm just saying, Kacchan!" Midoriya half shouts, half cackles. "That of COURSE you'd somehow manage to tell someone that you love them BELIGIERANTLY!"

"f*ck off, 'Zuku!" Katsuki shouts back, with no real heat. "Let's see you just accidentally blurt something like that out while fighting with that copy machine f*cker and not sound pissed off during it!"

"That's fair, that's fair! I just didn't think you'd be the first one to say it, Kaccha-AHHHH!I give!" Midoriya tries his hardest to scrunch out from under the noogie Katsuki is giving him, tangling his dark green curls horribly. Kirishima almost manages to smile seeing them interact like a pair of bratty brothers instead of as enemies - it's been one of the weirder and more wonderful things to watch unfold after their relationship started to change Katsuki's attitude...

It's a heartwarming feeling, to know he helped cause that; Kirishima wonders suddenly if it will all go away after tonight and the two will hate each other again within a week. The tiny smile he could feel building up vanishes suddenly.

"Well it's no surprise that he finally said it, though!" Mina says, hearts practically floating from her eyes. "They're literally the most perfect couple!"

"Mina..." Katsuki warns, but jokingly.

"You kinda are, dudes," Kaminari says as he leans over and drapes an arm across Katsuki and Kirishima both. "You're like, disgustingly in love."

"It's sickening," Sero agrees calmly. "Let's be real...Blasty is a simp."

"Hah- the f*ck you just call me, Tape Face?!"

Everyone in the vicinity breaks out in hysterical laughter and Kirishima DOES manage a small smile as he watches his boyfriend chase one of their closest friends around the kitchen island like some bad Scooby-Doo parody.

It's the last time he'll ever see the people he loves without them looking at him like he's a monster, so screw it - he might as well enjoy it.

"Sero is right though - Blasty IS a simp!" Mina wipes mirthful tears from her eyes. "And Kiri is like, the Bakugou-whisperer!"

"The WHAT?" Todoroki looks completely lost.

"The f*ck, Raccoon Eyes?"

f*ck.

Kirishima knows she's thinking about Sero. Maybe he can derail the conversation by playfully hinting at her crush on him? Or Sero's crush on her? Maybe he can help nudge them together before he ruins everything, at least then he could feel he's done some good? But no, he's not usually one to tease friends about their secret crushes - at least not when he knows said crush is in the same room. Too mean, it would be suspicious. Besides, does he really need to change the subject that badly? It's not like Katsuki's likely to answer-

Kirishima thinks that it must be cruel and sad*stic, in a way, that he's kissing and holding Katsuki so much more than usual just a few mere hours before betraying him and shattering his heart. Maybe he shouldn't do it, maybe it's only going to make it hurt more (for the both of them), but he can't seem to stop himself. He knows it's the last time he's ever going to hold Katsuki like this, the last time he's ever going to feel those soft lips on his own or see those beautiful eyes look up at him through thick, dark lashes. It's the last night he'll ever get to bury his face in that pale blond hair that's softer than anyone will ever believe, the last time he'll ever smell that sweet, caramel scent that follows Katsuki everywhere. It's a lot of 'lasts', and Kirishima can't stop himself from trying to imprint every last detail of Katsuki Bakugou in his mind permanently.

To his great alarm, he eventually looks down and sees tears leaking from Katsuki's eyes. Has he really been caught so easily?! His heart drops into his stomach at thinking that he's somehow been found out

(How?! He'd been so careful!)

when Katsuki notices him noticing and smiles softly. It's gentle and sweet enough to calm Kirishima down immeaditaly - Katsuki would never look at him like that if he'd known that Kirishima was a villain. His secret is safe for a few hours more.

"Kat?" Kiri mumbles worriedly.

"'m fine, Kiri," Katsuki says as he wipes his eyes impatiently. "'m just being a f*cking crybaby. Been around Izuku's weepy ass too much, I guess."

They both chuckle softly, though there's no real mirth in it for Kirishima.

"Why're you crying, though?"

"... Because I'm a disgusting, soppy loser," Katsuki admits with a small frown. "Because I love you."

"Erm, you're crying because you love me?"

"I'm crying because I'm happy, dumb ass. I just... I f*ckin love you a lot, okay? It's a lot to feel and I don't know how to deal with being this happy so I guess it just f*ckin'... Comes out as tears. Don't f*cking tell anyone, I'll kill you."

That gets a genuine laugh out of Kirishima, brief as it is. "I would never tell."

"Good."

They lapse into silence for a long while then, with Kirishima unable to handle anything that isn't just plain physical affection. He doesn't trust himself not to start weeping, or worse - to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous, like -

"-tell me," Katsuki says, and Kirishima starts like he's had cold water thrown on him.

"Huh?"

"I said, I can tell something's wrong, sh*tty Hair. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but you know you can always tell me. If you want, I mean."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Kirishima considers it for a bit. He knows he's acting odd despite his best efforts, and he knows that Katsuki at the very least has caught on. There's really no point in trying to explain it away when his boyfriend is going to find out in just a few hours anyway, but...

"Just... Feeling down, I guess, from earlier. All that stuff Monoma was saying, y'know?" He feels, rather than sees, Katsuki tense up in anger at the thought of Monoma.

"You shouldn't let that f*cking CopyPasta bitch get to you, Kiri. He's an idiot and has no idea what he's talking about. You're perfect."

"I know I shouldn't let it bother me, Kat, but... Monoma wasn't entirely wrong, really. I'm... I'm not all those things you said about me earlier today. Not really."

"Yeah, no. Bull-f*cking-sh*t." Katsuki slips out from under Kirishima's grasp and rolls onto one arm, staring down at him.

"What?"

"That's bullsh*t, Kiri. Monoma is the worlds dumbest f*ckhole, anyone can see that. NOTHING he said matters, because it's all f*cking wrong okay? You ARE everything I said about you. I- I've always been sh*t at feelings and sh*t, y'know? But..."

Katsuki sits up fully then and pulls Kirishima up with him; he's suddenly across from Kirishima instead of next to him and ruby eyes meet garnet ones. There's another pause, and despite the fading light in the room, Kirishima can see that his boyfriend's face is incredibly pink and flustered looking. It's one of the cutest things Kirishima has ever seen.

"It's different when it's you," Katsuki says finally. "I.. When it's you, I don't f*cking- I don't wanna just get mad and ignore how I feel and sh*t, because I need YOU to know how I feel. About you, I mean. You're the most amazing person I've ever met, you- You've literally saved my life in more than one way. I can't just let you think Monoma is right."

"Wait, twice?"

"Kamino, but you also kind of saved me from, well. From being me," Katsuki flushes further and looks down, ashamed. "No getting around what a sh*t person I was at the start of the year, to everyone - including you. The more I think on it, the more I hate that I could ever act like that to you. To any of our class, really, but especially you. And you know the sh*t I said and did to Izuku. If I hadn't met you, if you hadn't been so f*cking determined to be my friend, then I'd probably still be that kind of person," tears are welling up in his eyes again, but they're not tears of happiness now.

"Kat, babe-"

"You know I'm right, Kiri. I'd still be the kind of person who- who tells someone to kill themselves for being different. Hell, I'd probably be even worse than that by now if it weren't for you."

Kirishima is openly crying now, too.

"Kat, that's all you. You changed because YOU wanted to, because you're a good person and you've grown up. You don't need me in order to be a good person, I just... You don't, you're good all on your own."

"Now, maybe," Katsuki meets his eyes again and the pain and shame he sees there almost overwhelm him - he wonderd briefly if his look the same. "But if you hadn't given me that push, if you hadn't been there for me after Kamino, then I don't know if I would have ever changed. Maybe I would have, but I think it would have been too late. I'd have probably been so awful at that point that I WOULD drive someone to suicide. Or to villainy, just to fight me, maybe."

"Kat, f*ck," he gasps out, pained.

Katsuki blinks, slightly taken aback as he always is any time Kirishima swears so strongly.

"Okay, maybe not that far," Katsuki admits. "But, Kirishima - I... You don't get it, I hated myself after Kamino before you butted in and helped me. I may be sh*t at this 'feelings' stuff, but I need you to know how much you've helped me. All I could think about was just...dying there without ever having the chance to do better, and how people would have probably been... Relieved."

"I never would have been," Kirishima says fervently. "Katsuki, I would have been miserable for the rest of my life if you'd died. We all would have, but especially me. You don't get it, you've saved me just as much as you think I've saved you. I- I lo- You mean so much to me!"

Kirishima struggles to keep the panic off of his face at his near slip-up - he can NOT say that to Katsuki, he has NO right!

Katsuki pulls Kirishima into his arms

(god, his ARMS - it's like he's stolen Kirishima's quirk, how are his arms so muscular? How is he this strong?!)

and starts peppering his forehead with soft kisses. Kirishima can't help himself and leans into them, closing his eyes - soon enough he feels warm hands running through his hair and he's really, really glad he left it down after his shower earlier.

"Thought m' hair was sh*tty," he murmers softly against Katsuki's lips.

"Nah," Kat answers softly as he continues to run his hands through Kirishima's hair. "Nothing about you could ever be sh*tty - you're perfect."

"Kat-"

"No arguing, you're perfect. Just shut up and let me love you, f*cker. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to actually... Y'know."

"I do?" There's another little pause, but it's comfortable this time.

"Never thought I'd ever love anyone," Katsuki says finally. "Never thought I'd WANT to or even be able to but... Now that I can and do, I wanna give it everything I have. I know it's f*ckin'...stupid, and sh*t, but.. f*ck, Kirishima. I just want to hold you all the time and tell you, every minute of every day, how much you mean to me. I want to make you forget every sh*tty thing CopyCat's ever said to you, I want to make sure you never doubt yourself again. I want to just tell you over and over again how you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, or how I can't catch my breath when you smile at me, or how you make me think of sunshine and sunflowers and- f*cking HELL, sh*tty Hair, you've turned me into such a disgusting f*cking sap."

They both get a good chuckle out of that, but Kirishima is still openly weeping - again, he can't help it. This is all just too much.. Pure love and affection. He doesn't deserve a lick of it, and he feels like a disgusting imposter just allowing himself to hear it. But god if it doesn't also feel amazing to hear that someone could ever think those things about him.

Katsuki falls asleep not too long after, drifting off as he whispers 'I love you's into Kirishima's ear.

"I'm ready to go," he whispers into the phone.

"Activate the anchor," Kurogiri instructs.

The anchors are a brilliant bit of work by Sensei and his doctor - keyed in to Kurogiri's DNA and activated by someone else's blood. They can help Kurogiri warp past almost any defense or alarm system in Japan; the only thing is, they have to be willingly activated by someone else, using a drop of their blood.

Kirishima's hand drips blood onto the strange little machine and it silently lights up with a foggy glow resembling Kurogiri's quirk.

(God, Kirishima wishes he wasn't willing.)

"Eijirou."

Kirishima meets Kurogiri's eyes and steps through the warp gate with his small backpack of essentials in hand.

"Welcome home, Eijirou Kirishima," Kurogiri intones solemnly, though Kirishima can hear the smile in his refined voice.

"Player two! Welcome back." Shigaraki waves distractedly, not looking up from his game.

"Welcome home, we missed you so much! No, we didn't, f*ck off! Please don't leave us again!" Twice smiles widely and Kirishima returns it, walking over to fist bump him.

"Kid," Dabi nods cooly. "Welcome home."

"Thanks, man!" Kirishima lets out a disarmingly blinding grin, causing Dabi to roll his eyes and reach over to muss the shorter boy's hair. "Heyyy, watch the hair!"

"How can we not, when it's that bright?" Shigaraki mutters, still not looking.

"Tomuraaaaa," Kirishima whines good-naturedly. "I won't help you with that one game if you're just gonna hate on me."

"Fine, fine! Sorry!" Shigaraki says hurriedly, as he finishes the level with a win. He finally glances up and offers a smile. He's getting up to greet him properly when Kirishima is almost knocked into a wall by a blur of blonde hair.

"Eiji, Eiji, Eiji!"

"Himi, calm down!" He laughs as he wraps Toga in a tight hug. "You act like you haven't seen me in years, it's only been a couple weeks!"

"Too long," she whines, nestling her head into his chest.

"Will you join us for a late dinner? It is, after all, your welcome home party." Kurogiri says.

"Please, please, please!?" Toga blurts. "It's not like you have school tomorrow!"

Kirishima blanches despite himself and knows he must pale a bit, so he yells out "Oh my god, Toga, I forgot to do my homework! I can never go back, they'll fail me!"

She dissolves into uncontrollable giggles and even Dabi is smiling in the corner - Kirishima's energy is contagious, and they've missed him for far too long.

So Kirishima sits down with the League and they have pizza, soda, and chips - all of them laughing and talking over each other excitedly as Dabi and Toga argue over some ridiculous movie that Spinner had had them all watch a few nights prior.

"We'll just have to watch it again," Spinner says. "Since you and Mag missed it!"

"Sounds great," Kirishima grins widely. "Can't wait."

"Kirishima," his old homeroom teacher shouts over to him, and Kirishima can see the barely concealed panic and relief in the man's dark eyes. "Are you okay? Have they hurt you in any way?"

"I'm doin' great, Aizawa-sensei!" He yells back with a cheerful smile, but his eyes keep flicking to Tsukauchi. He's going to have to be very careful here. "They haven't hurt me at all, why would they?!"

Aizawa and Shigaraki begin to argue and shout obscenaties at one another, and at any other time, Kirishima would be impressed and amused by Aizawa's colorful language. But he can't let himself focus on that now, because Tsukauchi has started to grill him.

"You ARE former U.A. first year Hero Course student Eijirou Kirishima?"

"Yep, that's me!"

Careful.

"How did the League kidnap you?"

"They didn't kidnap me," Kirishima sends one of his signature blinding grins at the detective. "I called them to come get me!"

Careful, careful.

"Why would you do that, Kirishima?"

"So I could go home, duh!"

(Careful.)

Much as Kirishima dislikes the 20 questions, he dislikes what comes next even more. They can only talk and yell and trade insults and threats for so long before it devolves into actual violence, and sadly, Kirishima can't just sit this one out. He looks around to get the lay of the land and thinks he spots a camera and newscaster off in the distance. Lovely.

"Look moms, no hands!" He shouts, looking in the camera's direction and praying that someone watching can read his lips and maybe see a little bit of HIM through the monster he knows he looks like as he sends Nezu flying into a wall; he really hopes the little rat principal will be okay, because the landing looked so much rougher than he had expected.

As he runs towards an officer with a metal pipe in hand, he tries desperately to shut off his mind; finally, after an eternity, he hears Shigaraki and Kurogiri call for a retreat, the weapons finally obtained from the near-inpeneterable vault thanks to Kirishima's quirk.

Now there's no going back.

They all gather around the TV and have a party to watch the press conference, because of course they do. Tuning the cheering, jeering, and cameraderie in and out, Kirishima thinks back to how he and the squad were treated after Kat was kidnapped before - that was bad enough, and it was without Katsuki even leaving WILLINGLY. After this press conference, Kirishma's sure the squad must be going through some awful things at U.A. (Monoma's ugly face comes to mind suddenly...) He wonders if there's anything he can do to help, and then realizes that there is. It's going to hurt him horribly, and will likely hurt his friends and boyfriend

('ex-boyfriend', the little voice hisses)

even worse, but... Maybe it can offer them some protection. After all, no one would suspect the squad of being traitors after seeing or hearing about the horrible things Kirishima was going to write in those letters.

They're easy enough to mail, but the act of sending them off makes him, if possible, even sicker than writing them in the first place did. There's a sense of finality to it, ni going back now. He sobs silently in his bathroom for hours, quirk activated on his face to prevent his eyes from swelling up afterwards. It hurts terribly, and Kirishima knows he's earned every second of it.

The final letter is harder to get sent, but Kurogiri OWES him one for taking the blame for knocking over Shigaraki's Switch the other day - as much as the League's leader loves Kirishima, he threw one hell of a fit for that one - so he manages to convince the mist man to use the remains of the previous warp anchor to sneak him back into U.A. just long enough to slip a tightly rolled paper into a bottle of sleeping pills. Kirishima tries desperately to not think of the first letter he sent to Katsuki and wonders if it's enough to drive him to the little mirror cupboard and the innaucous bottle of sleeping pills. If Kirishima's eyes are swollen and rimmed red when he warps back to their base, well - Kurogiri, softer and kinder than he looks, promises not to say a word. Kirishima wonders, distantly, who Kurogiri must have loved and lost...

After that delivery, Kirishima sits in his room and sobs yet again, and indulges himself in a little pity party. Fianlly he dries the tears, washes his face, and reminds himself of the cold hard truth:

'You wanted this. You CHOSE this.'

He's almost about to panic, to start spiralling again, when a knock comes at his door.

"Eijiiiii, come play Cards Against Humanity with us! You KNOW they always gang up on me when you aren't here!"

"Who's 'us'?" He calls back through the door, playfully suspicious. "I don't wanna deal with Spinner's cheating tonight, Himi!"

"Just me, Dabi, Shiggy, and Twice! Big Sis Mag and Spinner and the others are all out tonight, so pleeeaasssee??? C'mon, Eiji, please, please, PLEASE?!"

"I GUESS so..." Kirishima lets himself out of the room with a warm laugh, catching Toga in a huge hug and spinning her around after she throws herself at him, cheering.

Thirty minutes later, sitting around the dining table and debating when to play 'Daniel Radcliffe's delicious asshole', Kirishima closes his eyes briefly, and lets himself just listen.

Toga's happy giggles and cheerful ribbing. Her flirtatious nature. Her constant joy.

Twice's off-the-wall weird comments and hyperactivity. The way he flits from one subject to another, constantly excited about things.

Dabi's cool sarcasm, his funny little comments that come when you least expect them.

Shigaraki occaisionally erupting in anger, before calming back down and being brought back to laughter thanks to the others.

Maybe, if he keeps his eyes closed long enough, Kirishima can convince himself that he's at home with his friends.

Chapter 6: ♫ Stronger ♫

Chapter Text

- Stronger, by Sara Evans

"Before we finish for the day, I should tell you that I've finally finished grading your last test. For the most part, all of you did well. However, I've-"

('I've been passing on info to Shigaraki and the others.')

('-passing on info-')

('-to Shigaraki and the-')

"-others did not do as well as I had expected. I realize the subject matter was not the most fun, I know how much you all hate-"

('-liars.')

('I know how much you hate liars.')

"-as if some of you wrote them the night before they were due. As students of U.A., you're expected to take initiative yourselves and not wait for someone else to force you to-"

('-do it.')

('No one coerced me, or forced me to do it.')

"-though I know you all have your-"

(-reasons.)

('I have my-')

"-reasons for being distracted from your assignments, that doesn't excuse the lack of attention. In your futures as Pro Heroes, lives could depend on-"

('-no one but you ever knowing about this.')

('I can't explain still-')

('-but lives depend on no one but you ever knowing about this.')

"- recent events, so I won't lecture any longer or make a big deal about this, this one time, but I expect you to do better in the future. Do not let it happen again."

('I'll miss you so much, every day, for the rest of the time I'm alive. There will never come a single day that I don't think about you and wish I could be with you again.')

"Class dismissed – Bakugou, Kaminari, stay back a moment."

At the sound of the school bell and cacophony of 19 chairs rolling across the floor and 19 voices yelling across the classroom to one another, Katsuki finally manages to jolt out of his semi-delirious state. It's not that he was sleeping in class,

(though he could probably use the sleep)

but it's more as if his hearing suddenly returns to him.

If asked to describe the state he's been in and out of for the last few weeks, Katsuki would say it was like trying to run through sand up to his hips, or that it was like being trapped in a dream, while everything sounds muted and he feels disconnected from reality, but doesn't know how or why. He would say it was as if he were underwater, and it was hard to move quickly, hard to see clearly, and hard to hear properly. For weeks now, he's been going between that weird state and a state of feeling somewhat normal. He knows that he can't keep carrying on like this for much longer – the 'muted' moments are becoming more and more frequent, and the normal ones are fast becoming few and far between.

He knows that the effects of it are beginning to show on him physically, as well. He's not unaware that he looks awful to everyone else, or that they can see how 'off' he's been acting lately – his reactions have grown sluggish and dulled, his voice is creaky from disuse, and dark bags rivalling Aizawa's sit under his ruby eyes. His hair has become a disheveled mess, his uniform is more askew than ever. Conversations and classes that go on for hours seem, to him, to fade in and out and fly by in mere minutes, leaving him struggling to catch up. The only thing Katsuki still has going for him is that his fastidious nature refuses to allow him to skip on hygiene or cleaning his room; he may miss homework left and right, but he refuses to miss a single shower. He already looks and feels like sh*t – he doesn't need to smell like it, too.

"-very impressed, Kaminari. I'm sorry if you thought you were in trouble; I just wanted to let you know that your efforts and improvements haven't gone unnoticed by the staff."

"Thanks, Aizawa-sensei!" Kaminari says with a small, calm smile that's not at all like his usual, hyped-up self. He looks proud of his accomplishments, but keeps shooting Katsuki worried looks.

It should bother the other blond, but it doesn't. Katsuki's long since become used to Kaminari's worried frowns, and Mina's... And Sero's. And Izuku's, and-

"-all, for now. You can head back to the dorms, I'm sure Bakugou will catch up with you."

"... Okay, sensei." Kaminari finally, slowly, reluctantly leaves the classroom.

Aizawa says nothing for a moment, just levelling a stare at Katsuki as he reaches down onto the desk and grabs a test packet to hand to him.

(How had Katsuki not realized that he hadn't gotten his test back along with everyone else?)

Hand shaking – from exhaustion, and not nerves – Katsuki takes the test packet from his teacher and flips it over to stare at the bright red "F". He says nothing, and for a long moment, the classroom is silent. Finally, Aizawa breaks the uncomfortable silence with a heavy sigh.

"This is the 5th one, Bakugou."

"I- I know," he manages, voice sounding raw and weak. "Sorry."

"Have you been sleeping?"

"..."

"... Right, of course not. Have you been eating?"

"..."

"Bakugou, you can't focus if you're constantly starving and sleep-deprived. You need to see Recovery Girl for more sleeping pills, or speak to Hound Dog. This can't go on; your grades are dropping in every class and you've started coming in last or near to last in every physical exercise. This isn't like you, and it's... Troubling."

'Understatement,' Katsuki thinks tiredly. Everything about the last few weeks, about him, about his life, had become... Troubling.

Ever since he'd gotten the supremely well-hidden note Kirishima had left for him, Katsuki hadn't been able to sleep. He kept rereading it until he finally had it all memorized, word-for-word. After that, it played in his head on loop constantly, day and night. It's no wonder the effects of the lack of sleep were showing, both in the classroom and on his body.

Katsuki realizes with a small jolt that he hasn't entered the gym or sparred with anyone outside of classes in almost 3 weeks, now. No wonder he's near last during every race, obstacle course, fight, or simulation. He knows he should feel ashamed, embarrassed, enraged, but... The previous night had been a long one, and he hadn't gotten as much sleep as he had hoped. He should react to what Aizawa is telling him, but, well... He just doesn't have the energy.

"Bakugou, I'm serious here," Aizawa continues, trying to sound stern. It isn't working, Katsuki can see the concern bleed onto his teachers face. "I do not want to suggest this - I know how hard the entire situation with Kir- I know how hard the last few weeks have been for you, especially. But if you cannot cope, if you refuse to get help, you'll become a danger to both yourself and those around you. At some point, Recovery Girl will end up hospitalizing you. If you carry on the way you have been, you'll have to drop out of U.A. Now, I normally never would allow this, but considering your circ*mstances... I'm offering you the chance to do and turn in all of the assignments you've missed, for a full grade, and to redo the tests for up to 75%. You're one of our most promising students, and we don't want to see you have to drop out of school or be expelled. You-"

Leaving U.A., failing, being last – all of those things were once Katsuki's biggest fears. The words should knock some sense into him, panic him, bring that angry, determined drive for success that he's so well-known for back into play. But...

"-would potentially even have to give up your dream of becoming a Pro Hero."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Bakugou?"

"I heard you, teach. I just... Don't know how much I care right now. Sorry."

Aizawa visibly winces at the listless, dead, unmotivated mumble of Katsuki's words; the blond almost feels bad for worrying his favorite teacher so badly, but...

At the moment, it's really the most emotion he can manage. All he wants is to be dismissed, to go back to his room and lock himself in. He just wants to lie down on his bed, ignore his pile of homework, and get a few hours of rest before his alarm goes off at just before 11 pm.

Before he sneaks off campus for yet another night of searching for the League's new hideout.

Before he goes out searching for Kirishima again.

3:42 pm
'Cotton Candy' Chat:

Mei-Chan is online!

Mina-Chan is online!

Mei-Chan: Hello, Mina-Chan! Is Bakugou doing any better today?

Mina-Chan: not really. isn't sleeping or eating much still

Mei-Chan: I'm sorry to hear that. Please remember that we are here for you all, if you need to talk!

Mina-Chan: thanks meiko

"Kacchan?"

"What, Izuku?" Katsuki doesn't mean to be short with his friend, but he can't help it. The guilt from how Aizawa had looked at him was finally kicking in - he didn't want to let it get to him, but the barely concealed concern in his teacher's eyes was just... A lot. Katsuki had a lot of respect for Aizawa, starting from the USJ Incident and only growing from there. Most of the class hadn't seemed to realize it, but Asui would have died that day if not for their sensei.

And Katsuki could have died or had the world turn against him after the training camp if not for the man. So it was hard for him to stomach the look of disappointment and worry in the man's eyes. And offering make-up work and tests?Aizawa?It was practically unheard of.

"-chan?"

'f*ck, what? Pay attention, Katsuki, you f*cking idiot.'

"WHAT, nerd?"

'God, I'm a jackass...'

To his credit, Izuku doesn't even so much as flinch at Katsuki's biting tone, nor the return of the nickname. "I said, you should eat something. You haven't eaten all day - have you?"

"Not hungry," he mutters back, feeling queasy with guilt both over Aizawa's concern and for snapping at Izuku when he was just being, well, Izuku. Katsuki hefts his school bag, filled with make-up work, and his eyes drift towards the elevator. There's a mountain of failed or undone work on the desk in his room - a mountain he doesn't know if he's able to climb anymore.

Huh, mountain climbing. Hiking. Just more things he used to love that he hasn't cared a bit about in weeks...

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that, Kacchan! You skipped breakfast,again.AND lunch,again.You do that almost every day! Youhaveto be hungry at this point, and you can't keep going on like this! It's part of why you're slowing down in class and coming last in training. Have you even realized how much weight you've lost?! It'sscary.When's the last time you ate something, Kacchan?"

Katsuki has to pause and think hard about it for a moment, struggling hard against the fog in his brain; it's apparently answer enough for Izuku, as he throws his hands up in the air, exasperated.

"You're going to make yourself really sick! That's IT, I'm making mapo tofu-"

(he does)

"and it's going to be delicious-"

(it is)

"-and you're going to eat all of it!"

(he doesn't.)

4:18 pm
'Bakusquad' Chat

AlienQueen is online!

CaughtOnTape is online!

(3 members are offline.)

AlienQueen: kami just told me blasty failed another test, and a few more assignments

CaughtOnTape: f*ck

AlienQueen: yeah...

Katsuki's stomach growls loudly, accompanied by a sharp pain, and suddenly he's regretting not taking more than a few bites of Izuku's mapo tofu. It really HAD been delicious - Izuku had learned to cook from Auntie Inko much the same way Katsuki had learned from his own mother - but he had felt sick and queasy after very little of it. His stomach really wasn't used to meals of any size anymore - Izuku must have been right, he was eating even less than he thought he was.

He drags himself out of his chair, ignoring the pile of books and notes, and goes into the small ensuite bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror (for the first time in how long?), he can see why everyone is so worried for him. He HAS lost weight, he realizes with a jolt. More than he would have ever thought, too - his face is pinched and tight looking, and his already ill-fitting uniform hangs off of him like he's a toddler playing dress-up in an adult's clothes. Come to think of it, his hero costume had seemed off the other day, too - the gauntlets slipping loose from his normally muscular forearms. He lifts his shirt with one shaky, exhausted hand, and-

'f*cking hell.'

He's always had a very lean, but muscular build. Strong without being bulky, able to withstand the recoil from his quirk but still lithe enough to be flexible and alarmingly fast. But now...

'I look... Like All Might, after Kamino...'

And he's right, he does. Katsuki's become gangly, gaunt, and pale. He can admit, the bags under his eyes norsurpassAizawa's own, as well as All Might's and that kid from Gen. Ed's. As if that isn't enough, his eyes are bloodshot and swollen as if he'd spent the day neck-deep in ragweed pollen. His skin holds almost no color, and his hair has lost all shine and volume, laying against his head in a way that wouldn't even please Best Jeanist. Yes, it looks more tame and is perfectly clean, but it's lifeless.

With a deep sigh of disgust with himself, Katsuki leaves the little bathroom and seats himself at his desk again, stomach still protesting. He'd initially planned to come back to his room right after classes and sleep; he'd even considered taking a mild sleep aid to help him get more than his usual few hours, this time. But as it is, it's already too late for him to take even a little medication - his alarm is only a few hours away and if he takes anything, he may not wake up in time to sneak out and go searching for Kirishima.

He thinks back to Aizawa's face, scrunched up in ill-hidden concern.

To Izuku's panic at his weight loss and lack of food.

To the stack of papers with bright red "F"s on top.

To Aizawa telling him he may have to leave U.A.

If he gets flunks out of U.A., it will be harder to find Kirishima. He'll have to go home to his parents, who are already concerned enough about his mental and physical health as it is,withouthaving seen him recently. They're liable to hover over him constantly, and it would be near impossible to sneak out of the same building his mother was in.

Even if hecouldmanage that much, he'd never get a Provisional License - yet another thing that would make it harder to find his(ex?)boyfriend again. Anything he did, any quirk usage or fighting, would be illegal - vigilantism, really. He would be fined at the least, imprisoned at the worst, if caught.

With yet another heaving sigh and painful screeching of his stomach, Katsuki pulls out a pencil and notebook.

He's too sick to eat, but he's too hungry to sleep.

Time for some make-up work.

4:42 pm
'Besties 3' Chat

Meiko is online!

Akari is online!

Meiko: Akari, I'm concerned. Our firsties are having a rough time. Mina says that Bakugou isn't eating or sleeping properly.

Akari: Ah, I was afraid of that. Bakugou IS looking pretty rough.

Meiko: He certainly LOOKS the worst, but they're ALL hurting. I wish there was something more that we could do for them.

Akari: Hey, I know! We can drag them to the party Friday night. That'll cheer them up!

Meiko: The firsties don't ever go to the parties, though

Akari: That was before the dorm system! C'mon, it's perfect - it'll be the first one since moving to campus and the teachers won't have the heart to stop us. With the Big Three running things, they'll know we'll all be responsible. It'll be a great distraction!

Meiko: Well, I suppose you have all week to convince them...

Akari: It'll be easy! I'll just ask Kaminari 😉 and you ask Mina and they'll rope the others into it! :D :D

Meiko: Should you really be the one to ask Kaminari? It may short-circuit him.

Akari: Aww, give him a little credit, Mei-Chan!

Meiko: You know how he gets around you. It doesn't help that you flirt shamelessly with him.

Akari: No, I don't!

Meiko: ...

Akari: His reactions are funny, okay?

Meiko: You're a disaster.

Akari: :D

If he thought he was shocked by his appearance earlier, well, that'snothingcompared to what Katsuki feels when he realizes that he's actuallyhaving trouble understanding his homework.

It's never happened before.

Not like this, anyway. Sure, he'd sometimes have a few problems with a particular question or concept, but he'd just go back over things and he'd have it solved perfectly within a few minutes more. He had always been that way; school work came easily to him. That's not to say that he didn't put in any effort or have to study - he did both of those things religiously. That's what took him from a regular, good student to an exemplary one.

But never before had he stared at his assignments, completely lost and with no idea of how to fix things.

Never before had he felt like he was... Stupid.

5:00 pm
'Cotton Candy' Chat:

Mei-Chan is online!

Mina-Chan is online!

Mei-Chan: The third years are hosting a party in the courtyard Friday night. Would you and your class like to come?

Mina-Chan: ! YES! are first years even allowed

Mei-Chan: Of course.

Mina-Chan: sounds great!

Mei-Chan: Akari and I are hopeful that it will cheer up your class, your group of friends in particular.

Mina-Chan: thank you meikoooooo! i'll convince the others for sure!

Mei-Chan: Akari insists on asking Kaminari. She figures you'll convince Sero, but that Kaminari will be the one to convince Bakugou.

Mina-Chan: ah yeah, blasty isn't like...easy to convince of stuff rn. if anyone can it's sparky tho but it may take all week

Mei-Chan: Please, let us know if we can help in any way to convince him.

Mina-Chan: will do!

Mina-Chan: wait a sec

Mina-Chan: akari is asking kami?

Mei-Chan: I'm afraid so.

Mina-Chan: uh oh

Katsuki drifts off (or more like he blacks out) a few times at his desk, but he eventually manages to get through about a quarter of his missing assignments. Slowly but surely, he starts to catch up on things he missed in lessons when he was zoning out and thinking about Kirishima's letter. Bit by bit by bit, he feels a little less like he's stupid and useless.

'I...can still do this,'he thinks to himself, a mild spark of determination coming back to him.'I can't afford to flunk out, or get hospitalized, if I'm going to get Kiri back. So, I can do this. I have to.'

Another painful clench of his stomach jerks him back to reality. Right, it isn't just his grades that matter here. If he's going to stay at U.A., get licensed, and find Kirishima, then he has to be at his best. The rest ofthe work can come later, but for now... He needs to eat something. Pulling himself to his feet and stretching, he feels almost a little... hopeful.

Maybe dinner will help the feeling grow.

"Hey," he croaks out, and he immeadiatly winces at the rough, dead sound of his own voice.

Izuku winces at it a little, too, but his eyes light up in delight. No one's seen Katsuki out in the kitchen or commons after about 4pm in weeks now - it's like it's a brand new occurance. It's like witnessing a miracle.

"Kacchan!"

"Oh!" Uraraka exclaims softly, startled both by Katsuki's sudden appearance and by Izuku leaping up from their study table to pull him into a tight hug.

"Bakugou," Iida nods solemnly in welcome. "How are you doing?"

Normally, he'd grunt out that he was fine, or tell the class rep to 'f*ck off already, I-Robot', but... He's feeling a little more alive and alert than usual somehow, and he's also feeling a little...

"Kind of out of it. Feel like sh*t, actually. I- I'm not doing too okay."

Iida's thick brows rise up in shock and worry at Katsuki's blunt and unusual openness.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Uraraka asks gently. Katsuki is oddly touched by this - heknowsUraraka still holds a slight dislike of him for how he'd treated Izuku at the start of the year, but she's been nothing but supportive throughout this whole...ordeal.

Really, all of their class had been supportive of him and caring this whole time, from day one. He just hadn't allowed any of them to help him, because he didn't want to let anyone else in close again. And come to think of it, when had he really last spoken to any of them?Reallyspoken to, not just waved off their concern or listened to them lecture about his health?

Not since Kirishima's TV debut, actually.

He hadn't realized it, but Katsuki was sort of...

Lonely.

Alarmingly, he feels his eyes start to well up with hot tears.Morealarmingly, little black spots dance in the corners of his eyes and he feels himself sway a little.

Izuku has never been as fast as Katsuki, but the shorter boy is still quick enough to grab onto the blond before he goes down completely.

"-Recovery Girl?"

"Hah?"

Izuku's wide, distressed eyes suddenly come into focus. "We need to get you to Recovery Girl, Kacchan!"

"Don't," he says, almost sounding like his old self. "She's just gonna tell me what I already know. What you already told me earlier."

"H-have you been eating at all, Bakugou?" Uraraka asks from behind Izuku.

"... When Izuku cooked earlier, a little, yeah."

"And before that?" Iida adds in, looking torn between scared and stern.

"..I think Saturday afternoon?"

"... It's Tuesday night, Bakugou."

"I- yeah, I know, Cheeks."

"f*ck-"

"Izuku!" Katsuki's eyes widen comically; he can count on one hand the amount of times he's heard Izuku say a swear word in all the years they've known each other.

"What,Kacchan?!" He demands harshly, unknowingly mimicking Katsuki from earlier in the afternoon. "I told you already that you couldn't keep doing this without consequences, that you would get sick! You have to f*cking eat-"

"I know, nerd," he says back, but the nickname is gentle, fond. So he's still soft from being with Kiri, so sue him. Izuku is a good friend and he can appreciate that.

"Y-you know?"

"Yeah. Why do you think I came down here?"

"Bakugou?" Iida sounds disbelieving.

"I know that I'm... I'm f*cking messed up, Prez. I was doing make-up work for a few hours, earlier. Aizawa... He said I could end up kicked out of U.A. if I didn't get it together. That I was messing up my chances of becoming a Pro."

All three of the present members of the Dekusquad pale at that.

"I told him I didn't care."

"K-kacchan!" Tears start streaming down Izuku's face at an impossible speed.

"It's fine, nerd. I realized earlier that, obviously, Idocare. I- I can't just f*cking... give up, or lose my sh*t, or whatever. I can't drop out of U.A."

"So you're making up all the work?" Uraraka asks, subdued.

"Yeah, but..."

"What is it?"

"Well, I figured that isn't gonna help if I still come last in every training exercise or fall asleep in class or sh*t. Doesn't matter if I'm on top of it academically if I'm in horrible shape, then I'm just a... A liability." And God, if that doesn't hurt to have to admit to. Maybe his pride is still there, after all.

"So how can we help?"

He'd half been hoping that one of them would offer, instead of him having to ask. For all that being with Kirishima had helped him, had changed him, Katsuki still had a lot of trouble with asking for help when he needed it. But if he wanted to get better, to catch up and get healthier and be on top of things again

(if he wanted to get Kiri back)

then he'd have to ask them, after all. He couldn't do this alone.

"... Is there still any mapo?"

Izuku blinks, bewildered, before shouting off a 'yes!' and running to heat it up before Katsuki could change his mind.

"You- You're actually going to eat dinner, finally?" Iida questions, looking a little calmer and a little less likely to throw Katsuki over his shoulders and speed him to Recovery Girl's office.

"I'm gonna try. Can't really handle much right now, but I figure a bit is better than none? I also thought it might be... easier, if I wasn't just sitting in my room trying to eat alone."

He manages more than a few bites this time - almost a full serving, actually. He fells a little queasy at first, but Uraraka and Iida keep a running commentary of their studying while he and Izuku eat together

("It'll be easier if you aren't eating alone, Kacchan!")

and he even manages to follow along with Iida's detailed, if long-winded, tutoring. It's a bit of the material he was struggling with before, and he actually learns a good deal just sitting with them. At the end of it, he feels like he'll even be able to breeze through another 3 or 4 assignments!

7:03 pm

'Honey, you've got a big storm coming' Chat

Katara is online!

ElectricLove is online!

Katara: Eyyyy, Kaminari! 😎

ElectricLove: Arashi-senpai! Whaddup? 😀

Katara: Dude, no! I told you guys, just 'Akari' is cool!

ElectricLove: Ahhhh sorry! ._.

Katara: All good, my dude! 3rd years are having a party for everyone in the courtyard Friday night. Wanna go? 😏

"-and then carry the 3 over, and it's all even now!"

"Thanks, Iida!" Uraraka all but chirps. "That makes way more sense than-"

"AHHHHHHHH!"a scream comes from a floor or two above them.

The three members of the Dekusquad startle and leap up, but Katsuki doesn't budge. One, because he's feeling rather full and almost sort of... relaxed. And two, because

"S'just Denki," he tells them calmly, trying to hide a small yawn. "'S fine."

"If Kaminari is in trouble-" Iida begins.

"He's not, that's his 'someone I have a crush on is flirting with me and I'm panicking' scream."

"His...what?" Izuku comes back to the table, looking lost, and Katsuki actually finds a small smile trying to creep up onto his face. He's... well, nothappy, really, but he's feeling far better than he has in quite awhile, and it's nice.

"His 'someone I have a crush on is flirting with me and I'm panicking' scream," Katsuki repeats. "He's probably messaging that annoying f*cking 2nd year he likes."

"Oooh, who's that?!" Uraraka asks excitedly, plopping down beside Katsuki with no reservations, any animosity or wariness towards him long since gone.

"Dunno, Aratchi-something maybe?"

"Oh!" Iida finally sits back down, content that no one is in danger. "Akari Arashi, 2-A. She controls water, but she's also a healer. I- I've spoken with her a few times in regards to medical advances and healing."

The mood in the room goes down slightly, and Katsuki is briefly confused before remembering-

"Your brother."

"Ah, yes," Iida adjusts his glasses, something Katsuki had come to recognize tonight as a nervous tic of sorts. "She is, of course, prohibited from using her quirk on Pro Heroes or civilians outside of controlled environments for now, being unlicensed, but... Well, her healing quirk is rather unique and differs from Recovery Girl's and the other healers at Tensei's hospital a good deal, so there's a slight chance..."

"The 2nd years failed the licensing exam?" Katsuki asks, surprised. The annoying pink haired girl and her timid friend hadn't seemed stupid or weak, so for them to have failed-

"Their year hasn't had the licensing exam yet, Kacchan. They weren't offered it in their first year like people are saying our year might be."

"Ah."

"But still," Uraraka continues bracingly, "there's a good chance she could help your brother!"

"There is," Iida smiles finally. "She seems very confident and skilled, so I am hopeful. I can also see why Kaminari would show interest in her."

"So do you think she likes him as well, Bakug- oh!"

Katsuki was aware that he was drifting off at the table, but he couldn't help himself. Somewhere during the others conversation, he was out cold.

"Kacchan-" Izuku shakes him gently. "You should head to bed."

An incomprehensible grumble leaves his lips without permission.

"Or maybe Uraraka can float you and we can just carry you back-"

"F'k no, 'm up, 'm up..." A huge yawn splits his face and he stretches. "I'm going to bed, calm the f*ck down."

"Goodnight, Bakugou!"

"Yes, goodnight! Be sure to let us know if we can be of any assistance to you in the future!"

"Night, Kacchan! Feel better!"

He ambles toward the elevator but finds himself turning back to the small group at the last second. "...Thanks, for tonight. I- I needed it."

He knows he must be blushing at this point, but can't bring himself to care much. His bed is calling to him.

It shouldn't surprise him when things go wrong. No, Katsuki should be used to disappointment by now.

But he still feels his heart ache when the pile of work on his desk causes him to wake up fully. Aizawa's worried eyes float to the front of his mind yet again...

So much for sleep. A few more hours of work can't hurt.

Near the end of the pile of homework (he's almost entirely done, and Iida is a far better tutor than he had thought), his phone pings with a notification from the Bakusquad group chat.

8:56 pm

'Bakusquad' Chat

AlienQueen is online!

CaughtOnTape is online!

Sparky is online!

(2 members are offline.)

CaughtOnTape: Kami, why tf are you yelling?

Sparky: AKARI ASKED ME TO GO TO A PARTY WITH HERRRRRR <3 <3

AlienQueen: sorry kami but mei-chan asked me too

Sparky: ? Mina is this you coming out? I'm so proud of you.

CaughtOnTape: Kaminari jfc

AlienQueen: no you volt dolt, she asked for us ALL to come, im supposed to convince sero and your job is to get blasty to go

Sparky: so it isn't a date?

CaughtOnTape: You're a disaster.

Sparky: D: D: D:

AlienQueen: wait you didn't say something dumb to her did you

Sparky: no!

AlienQueen: …

CaughtOnTape: …

Sparky: I didn't! I didn't even reply yet, I was too busy freaking out!

CaughtOnTape: You need to chill out, I don't think your flirting is working with her.

AlienQueen: does it ever work with anyone?

Sparky: Guyssss :(

CaughtOnTape: Didn't work with Jirou.

AlienQueen: or that 1-c guy

Sparky: Leave Shinsou out of this plz

CaughtOnTape: So is going after someone older than us likely to work?

AlienQueen: nope!

Sparky: Y'all mean. :( @Blastywould believe in me.

Blasty is online!

(1 member is offline.)

Blasty: No.

Blasty: Also, no way, no party.

AlienQueen: blasty you're here!

Blasty: Going to bed. Night.

AlienQueen: blasty wait!

CaughtOnTape: It's only like 9pm dude.

Blasty is offline!

(2 members are offline.)

Sparky: sh*t :/

Sparky is offline!

(3 members are offline.)

He means it, too. 9pm is late for him, and he hadn't meant to spendthatlong on homework. Finally, he falls into his bed, exhausted at a bone-deep level.

Katsuki groans as the obnoxious alarm on his cellphone goes off - 10:50 pm. He'd managed about an hour and a half of sleep. If he was lucky, he'd be back in bed by 6 am, granting him another hour before he had to awaken and get ready for classes. An hour and a half, even, if he skipped his morning run yet again.

Which he would have to stop doing at some point if he was going to get back into shape. But tomorrow wasn't that day, or he'd be asleep before classes even started and would end up with yet another mountain of homework to climb.

Stifling a yawn, he begins to pull on his dark clothing and grabs his 2nd backpack from underneath his bed.

After listening for several minutes to ensure his entire floor is asleep, he slips out the window and begins to make his way off of U.A.'s campus.

With some sleep, no homework left, and a meal in him, he feels almost human again.

He can feel it. This is his lucky night.

The night he'll find Kirishima.

(it's not)

11:09 pm

'Honey, you've got a big storm coming' Chat

Katara is online!

ElectricLove is online!

ElectricLove: Ah, sure! Sounds fun. You want me to get Blasty in on it?

Katara: Aww, who tattled? :(

ElectricLove: ?

Katara: Meiko or Mina told you it was a group thing, huh? They don't want me to ~f~l~u~s~t~e~r~ you lol

ElectricLove: Me, flustered? Never!

Katara: haha, suuurrrre! 😉 😉 😉

11:16 pm

'Bakusquad' Chat

AlienQueen is online!

CaughtOnTape is online!

(3 members are offline.)

CaughtOnTape: Did you hear him yell again?

AlienQueen: yep

AlienQueen: he's hopeless lol

CaughtOnTape: …. He's gonna have trouble convincing Baku to go.

AlienQueen: but we'll help tho right?

CaughtOnTape: Yeah, we will.

AlienQueen: …. Hey, Sero? should we remove him from the chat?

CaughtOnTape: What, Blasty? Nah, he already knows we're gonna try to make him go to the party. If only so Kami can shoot his shot with a 2nd year and we can watch it crash and burn.

AlienQueen: not blasty.

CaughtOnTape: Mina...

AlienQueen: and not sparky, either.

CaughtOnTape: Mina, don't.

AlienQueen: it's not like he's reading them. he probably doesn't even have a phone anymore. and if he does then he doesn't have a right to read them

AlienQueen: and it hurts to see his name still on the list or have it constantly say that 1 member is offline

AlienQueen: i'm mad at him

CaughtOnTape: I am, too.

AlienQueen: and i hate him

CaughtOnTape: Same, a little...

AlienQueen: but i still kinda miss him. i hate that we lost a friend

CaughtOnTape: ...Mina.

AlienQueen: it's more like we lost two friends and not one though cuz blasty's never around anymore

CaughtOnTape: Bakugou's having a rough time, Mina. We all are...

AlienQueen: yeah, but he won't let us help him. it feels like we lost him, too. and how bad does it just SUCK like, the ONE time blasty finally lets somebody in and gets close

AlienQueen: that person betrays the entirety of hero society?

AlienQueen: like what the f*ck

CaughtOnTape: MINA

CaughtOnTape: STOP. IT. Please.

CaughtOnTape: Baku and Kami are gonna see this and get sad, just... Drop it.

AlienQueen: ...sorry.

CaughtOnTape: … It's...fine, I get it. Just try to get some rest.

AlienQueen: yeah. you, too.

AlienQueen is offline!

CaughtOnTape is offline!

(No members are currently online.)

"Get the f*ck back here, you little punk! I'll f*cking kill you!"

'Why the f*ck did I have the audacity to think this was going to be my lucky night?'Katsuki demands of himself as he dodges a knife and runs off down a back alley frantically.'I f*cking jinxed it.'

It's not the first time he's run into a little trouble out on is late night searches. It's not even the first time he's ended up in a bit of a fight during one. He couldn't help it; sometimes he would see someone trying to take advantage of or harm someone else in the seedier areas he frequented as of late, and, well, he would just move without thinking of it.

Usually though, the heroes would arrive before too long and he would make his escape. Most of the time, he managed to help the person that was being attacked. He also never used his quirk during these excursions, knowing that it would only take one person claiming that someone with an explosion quirk had been involved, to get suspicion placed on him. His respect for Izuku grew yet again during these long nights of fighting quirkless.

"f*ck!" A hero slams the villain into a brick wall roughly, not noticing Katsuki hiding behind the nearby dumpster. As the villain is being cuffed, Katsuki books it the other way back down the alley and comes across the woman he had saved.

"You! Thank you, you saved me- You're bleeding!"

Oh. There's a long cut on the underside of his forearm. Shallow, but the blood makes it look a lot worse than it really is.

"I'm fine," he mumbles softly, trying to disguise his voice.

"Who are you?"

"... No one important," he says finally, jumping from another dumpster onto a low hanging awning and then onto a roof.

11:34 pm

'Honey, you've got a big storm coming' Chat

Katara is online!

ElectricLove is online!

ElectricLove: Definitely NOT flustered!

Katara: Riiighttt. You, Kaminari, are the very definition of 'UN-flustered', after all. ^-^

Katara: So, Friday at 7 then? We'll see you guys there!

ElectricLove: Yep! Sounds awesome, can't wait! 😊

Katara: 'Course it'll be awesome, I'll be seeing YOU there! 😉

Katara: Night, Kaminari!

Katara is offline!

ElectricLove is offline!

In his room, Denki falls backwards onto his bed and lets out yet another strangled scream as he flushes bright red.

"I am so f*cked," he mutters into a pillow.

'I wish Kirishima was here, he'd know what to do and wouldn't make fun of me...'he thinks, and then immediately feels guilty and a bit angry with himself.

'No, if Kirishima was here, he'd probably try to kill us all.'

'... I miss him, though.'

He's pulled out of his dark thoughts when his phone pings again – he glances down to see that despite saying goodnight and logging off of HeroChat, Akari's texted him some dumbass (hilarious) meme, and soon he's laughing his ass off again.

"Yeah," he mutters as he finds one to send back to her, wide grin on his pink face. "I am so, so f*cked."

"Don't overthink it," the huge guy says roughly, holding a short, thin man up against a wall by the throat. "Look in my eyes..."

The small guy is starting to look kind of dazed, but Katsuki isn't sure if that's because of the big guy's quirk or the lack of oxygen to the brain. He knows he could just go on, run off unseen. He could even grab a pebble or something and toss it at a patrolling hero, leading them to the scene of the crime.

But this seems like something a little more serious than a mugging. Katsuki doesnotlike the undertones in the big guy's voice, or the way his huge hands are rubbing up against the little guy's arms...

f*ck it.

"Hey, chucklef*ck, hands off the kid!"

"Hah-who the f*ck are you?!"

"No one important, but I'm still gonna stop you!"

It's a bit of a mistake. The guy doesn't have some hypnosis quirk, after all. He grows cactus like spikes over his entire body, and they'resharp.He can also shoot them small distances, and they must have some sort of irritant on them, because theyburn.

He's also fast and strong as f*ck, and Katsuki... Well, he isn't as fast or strong as he used to be.

There's a soft knock on her door, rhythmic and tentative even after all the time they've known one another. The sound tells her that it can only be Meiko; only she would be so timid when knocking on her best friend's dorm room door. Well, that and the fact it's about 1 in the morning...

Akari hops up from her computer chair, chat still open on the screen, and pads over to the door as silently as possible so as to not wake any of her neighbors. She opens the door slowly and Meiko, quiet as a mouse, slips through the crack with grace.

"Akari, did you really have to torment the poor kid?" Meiko whispers as she fights her short, cream-orange hair into a ponytail.

"Who tattled?!" Akari blurts in a loud whisper before trying to cover her tracks. "I mean... What do you mean? I haven't tormented anyone. I would never."

"Mina told me."

"... Oops?"

"Akari, he thought you were asking him out. As in, on a date."

"Ah... So? It's no big deal, everyone knows Denki Kaminari is a shameless flirt, Meiko!"

"Maybe so, but since when are you?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. Look, you can't just string him on. Mina thinks he really, genuinely likes you."

"She...does?"

"Yes. And frankly, I do, too."

"Well... sh*t."

"So?"

"What?"

"Do you like him?"

Akari bites her lip and runs her hand through her pink hair slowly. "Dunno."

"How can you not know?" Meiko asks her, looking fondly exasperated.

"I mean, he's cute, Mei-chan. Like, really cute. But I don't really know him, y'know?"

"And are you planning to get to know him?"

"Guess I should."

"And maybe... Lay off the flirting a little? You're going to kill the poor kid."

"... Fine."

"You're going to kill the poor kid!" The skinny guy shouts from a safe place on the roof. He'd finally come to his senses and climbed up a thin, rickety ladder that would in no way, shape, or form support the huge villain's weight.

His voice is thin and reedy, but very loud, and it's enough to briefly distract the villain so that Katsuki can take stock of himself.

'Sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder, a lot of swollen and irritated scratches,'he thinks, somewhat frantic.'Not to mention the gash down my arm from earlier tonight.'

He hasn't been this hurt on one of his excursions before - usually he gets back to his dorm room with a few mild scratches and bruises that he can just let heal on their own. Occasionallyhe gets a broken finger or pulled muscle from his sloppy parkour landings, and those can easily be explained away when he goes to get them healed.

There's no explainingtheseinjuries away to Recovery Girl's keen stare. He won't be able to go to her for this.

Denki's crush is a healer, though... Maybe he can-

His thoughts are cut off as the villain grabs his arm and throws him into a wall, scratching it up badly with those damn spikes.

His wrist watch beeps a tinny tune, alerting him that it's now 4:00 in the morning. He'll have to pack it up for the night if he wants to make it back to U.A. before sunrise. Hemightjust be able to get an hour nap in before classes. Except no, he can't, because he has to wake up Denki and convince him to call that healing girl over to help him before he gets caught. No rest for the wicked, apparently.

It's been another long night, and another failed excursion.

He hadn't found Kirishima.

A light but frantic tapping at his balcony door wakes Denki Kaminari up at the tender hour of 6:19 am. Having been up until around 2 am messaging Akari, it takes Denki a moment to place what the sound is, and then another to figure out where it's coming from. Confused and more than a bit anxious, the electric blond throws the light on and pulls back his curtains.

He's not sure just what he expected to see, but a bruised and bloodied best friend standing on his balcony shaking wasnoton the list at all.

"Denki, finally," Katsuki hisses, looking around anxiously. "Let mein,already.Please."

So, he does. Katsuki slips through the cracked sliding glass door, movements shaky and weak. The bags under his eyes are worse than ever. Inside Denki's dorm room with the light hitting him, he looks even more beat up than he had before. Denki can think of a thousand terrible scenarios, a million questions are on the tip of his tongue, but all he can manage is,

"Why is your hair so wet?"

"I showered before coming over, and patched up the smaller wounds."

"...smaller?! WOUNDS?!"

"Shh! Don't wake anyone up!"

"Sorry... But, why are you hurt and on my balcony at this hour, Katsuki?! If you showered, why didn't you just use the elevator? It's cold out there! You could get sick, and you're already-"

"Someone could have seen me in the halls!"

"And all the wounds? Dude..."

Katsuki shifts uncomfortably. Here he goes again, asking for help for the 2nd time in less than 24 hours. "I... I can't go to Recovery Girl this time-"

"Thistime?!"

"-look, I need help. Denki,please."

And the pained and afraid look in his normally fiery friends eyes breaks something in him.

"What do you need me to do?"

♫ W'e gonna rock down to Electric Avenue. And then we'll take it higher. ♫

♫ Oh, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue, and then we'll take it higher.'♫

The song keeps repeating and repeating in her dream, gradually getting louder, before she realizes it's real and it's coming from her phone. It's well before her alarm, and she isnota morning person.

"Mmmblumurph... H'lo?"

"Arash- Akari." The voice on the other end is dead serious, rushed, and not the least bit flirty, but it's still definitely,

"Mmm? K'm'nari?"

"I need your help. It's, ah... Kinda urgent."

Suddenly, she's wide awake.

"Okay, that should be the last of it. How do you feel, Bakugou?"

Katsuki twists his wrists around in a circular motion, stretches his shoulder, cracks his knuckles and neck. "Really, really good, actually. It's like it never even happened."

"Right, good." Akari levels a stare at him, grey eyes serious despite the neon pink hair falling in front of them. "Now are you going to tell me how the hell that happened to you?"

His silence is answer enough.

"Fine then," she says wearily. "Keep your secrets. Kaminari, your friends are weird as sh*t."

Denki startles suddenly, pulling his eyes away from the long red scratches down Katsuki's right forearm

("It'll take those about a day to heal up and disappear. If it takes longer, call me or something and I can finish it off with my quirk.")

and meets Akari's eyes. The tips of his ears flush bright red.

"Ah! Ah, aAH. I mean, thank you for helping us, Akari!" He bows low to her, still stumbling over words in his thanks. His face can't decide if it's more worried or flustered.

A small smile graces the older girl's face. "Sure, anything for you, dude."

Katsuki isn't sure when, but he knows Kaminari mentioned the morning's drama to Sero and Mina, because they won't stop glancing at him fearfully. Mina can't tear her suspiciously watery eyes away from Katsuki's right arm, even after he pulls his uniform jacket on to hide the angry red scars. It will be fine, they're temporary anyway. But he can tell she's drawing conclusions about them. Wrong ones, of course, but no less worrying.

Sero is looking at him much the same way, and Denki is all but attached to his side now. He's sure if he'd let them, they'd pull him into a messy, blubbering group hug

(and what's wrong with him that the idea of it sounds kind of nice instead of disgusting and off-putting?)

So when Sero finishes up his cooking and offers Katsuki a large breakfast burrito, he actually accepts it and even manages to finish most of it. He's still exhausted, but the empty clawing feeling in his stomach lessens even more, and the knot in his shoulders loosens almost imperceptively.

"Hey, Blasty? We all love you a lot, you know," Mina whispers into his left ear on the way to class. Denki has a protective hand on Katsuki's right shoulder. Sero walks just ahead of them, looking ready to tape-strangle anyone that bothers them today.

"I know," Katsuki answers her, feeling warm inside. "Thank you."

Classes are going to be rough with his exhaustion, but he knows he'll manage somehow. In homeroom, he proudly hands Aizawa a monstrousstack of completed make-up work.

"That's all of it," Katsuki tells the man, a little bit more life in his voice than the last time they spoke. "Every last bit."

"Bakugou," Aizawa blinks, caught off guard. "Allof it? You had 3 weeks! Did you stay up all night to do this?"

Katsuki feels, rather than sees, the squad tense up behind him. His hand goes to mess the back of his hair, a nervous habit he picked up from Kiri ages ago. "Something like that, yeah."

Aizawa continues to look through the work, skimming every page quickly. "I can't say for sure yet, of course, but this all appears to be very well done and correct."

Katsuki feels a warm glow of pride in his work return to his chest, finally caring about it again.

"Go back to your dorm."

"Wh-hah?! Why?"

"You were up all night doing these assignments, right? Today is an all-physical quirk training class; there will be no assignments or tests today. You wouldn't be participating today, regardless, because it's going to be an absolutely grueling all-day session that's going to exhaust even the best of your classmates. We'll barely even be stopping for lunch. You're still in rough shape, physically. Now that you're all caught up on work, maybe you can finally start taking care of your health andrest. "

Katsuki wants to protest, but... God, he really is exhausted. The breakfast Sero had made him was actually really good, but food could only give him so much energy at this point...

"Okay."

"Don't argue, you need t- wait, what?"

"Okay, I'll go back and sleep," Katsuki repeats, trying to ignore the visible surprise on his teacher's face and the surprised muttering of his classmates behind him. "You're right, I feel like sh*t and I'm out of shape. I need sleep. I'm not f*ckingunawareof how f*cked up I've been lately, you know?"

Aizawa blinks again, and Katsuki suddenly thinks he should get some kind of an award for how many times he's been able to render their usually stoic teacher off-guard or silent over the last few days.

"Okay. Sero, Todoroki, please go with him and then return to class."

Everyone tenses for a split second, as if expecting him to blow up (literally or metaphorically) at the insinuation that he needs babysitters.

He doesn't.

Kaminari looks more worried than ever, and shoots Sero a panicked, pleading look.

"I didn't try to kill myself," Katsuki blurts suddenly, before wincing at how blunt his exhaustion has made him.

Sero and Todoroki stop walking for a few seconds, before rushing to catch up with him. Sero has a furrowed brow, but Todoroki looks as blank as ever.

"Dude-"

"I didn't. I'm not, like...cutting myself or anything, either. It was an accident. I know Denki is freaking out about it, and that damned 2nd year of his probably is, too. And I know he told you and Mina what hethinkshe knows, but I'm not doing that, okay?"

"O-okay."

"I know I've been pretty f*cking out of it for a few weeks now, and I've been failing sh*t and making myself sick, but I'm not- I would never do... that. I promise."

"Okay, okay, good. I- I'm glad, man. I gotta admit, it looked kinda..."

"Bad," Todoroki interjects.

"Bad," Katsuki agrees.

"Yeah," Sero says. "It really did."

"Half'n'half... You can tell Izuku all this. I know you will anyway, because I know he's thinking the same thing whether Denki told him or not, and I know you don't like him worrying. But I also know you'll feel bad about it if you think it'd piss me off, so. Y'know, it won't."

"Ah, thank you, Bakugou," Todoroki says evenly as they reach the front door of Heights Alliance. "You know, I'm surprised you weren't upset at having us escort you."

"Figured Aizawa wanted to make sure someone was around so I didn't just pass out on the sidewalk or some sh*t. And there's either two of you because he wants someone to be able to run for help and someone to stay with me if I do, or he doesn't want just one person walking back to class alone."

Their surprised stares grate on his nerves, just a little. It's been awhile sense he's felt

(much of anything, really)

genuine irritation, and it's almost foreign to him.

"What, f*ckers? Did you forget that I was smart or some sh*t? Just because I've been a depressed sack of crap doesn't mean I don't still notice sh*t or pay attention!"

Sero actually barks out a laugh at that. "Fair enough, man. Sorry."

"It's whatever," Katsuki answers, not unkindly. They've finally reached the door to his room. "Night, assholes. Thanks for making sure I don't drop dead on my way here."

To his unending shock, Katsuki manages more than just an hour or so of sleep.

He sleeps from a bit after 8 am, until just before 8 pm. It's not exactly a peaceful or calm, easy sleep. But it's still far more sleep at once than he's had since Kiri was last in his bed.

He stumbles out of his room for dinner with his classmates, calming Mina, Denki, and Izuku's panic well enough. He has a full meal and even a bit of dessert. His classmates all head to bed early and are asleep before it's even 9 pm, they're so exhausted.

Katsuki isn't, though - he's a ball of energy after his all day nap, and he decides to sneak out early for his search. Maybe he'll call it before 4 am this time and get even MORE sleep before Thursday's classes.

Little does he know, he won't be fully functional for most of Thursday's classes.

Because tonight, Wednesday night?

It's the night that he finally finds Kirishima.

(for real, this time)

Chapter 7: ♫ Butterflies ♫

Chapter Text

Katsuki slowly sips from a pale-yellow can of sparkling water as he perches on a shadowy ledge outside of a sketchy, abandoned-looking building. It’s about 10:45 pm on a Wednesday night, and he’s feeling positively amazing. He’s had about 12 hours of sleep, he’s made up all of his missing homework, he’s no longer failing his classes, and he’s actually eaten more in the last day than he probably has in a week. The fog in his head is all but gone, and he feels strong and determined again for the first time in God knows how long. So, all of that certainly helps the feelings of euphoria he’s experiencing, but those things aren’t the cause of the feelings.

No, tonight he’s feeling so amazing because he’s found Kirishima .

Well, he’s found what he’s 99.99% sure is the League of Villains’ hideout location, anyway. But that’s close enough for him, because where the League goes, Kiri is sure to be, too. The last few weeks of random ‘Kirishima Sightings’ plastered on every TV screen in Japan as the redhead seemed to assist the League in any number of crimes can attest to that. So yes, Katsuki can be reasonably sure that this is the place where he’s going to reunite with Kiri.

15 minutes prior, he had spotted the flame-wielding villain,Dabi, leaving the abandoned building. That on its own could have been a coincidence; but Katsuki watches, sipping his bubbly drink, as the same dark-haired freak comes back to the building with several boxes of takeaway pizza precariously balanced in his hands. He uses his foot to kick out a rhythm on the door. The door opens and a bouncy blonde girl letsDabiin with an excited yell – it has to be Himiko Toga, who else could it be? Even at this distance, Katsuki is sure he can hear other voices coming from inside the old warehouse.

His heart starts pounding in anticipation and, yes, he can admit it, a good deal of nervousness. He had been searching for this place for WEEKS, sneaking out at night and sometimes getting the sh*t beat out of him, in order to find it. He had been losing sleep, flunking classes, falling behind, and making himself sick just to get to where he was tonight. He had worried the f*ck out of absolutely everyone at U.A. who even slightly cared about him, as they thought they were watching him self-destruct right in front of their veryeyes.Everything he’s done, all that he’s put himself and his friends through this whole time, has led up to this moment.

But now that he’s finally here, Katsuki is near panicked. He was starting to think that he would truly never get this far, and now that he is, he’s frantically re-thinking his plans going forward. He knows, of course, that the smart thing to do would be to call Aizawa or the Pros or police and report this. He would get in trouble for sneaking out of U.A. so many times – maybe even be suspended or expelled – but then professionals would be handling things. Kirishima wouldn’t be with the League anymore, but...

Did Katsuki really trust anyone else to handle this? To help Kiri rather than just lock him away forever, or worse, hurt him?

No, he really didn’t. Not after seeing how all the other students at U.A. outside of 1-A had been acting in regards to the situation. The hurt and betrayal from it all, and the hatred of Kirishima, kept growing the more often he was spotted doing crimes with the League. Aizawa, well – Katsuki would trust the man with his life, and maybe even with Kiri’s. But he couldn’t trust that the matter wouldn’t get taken out of Aizawa’s capable hands, either.

So no, there would be no reporting this to anyone. He was going to have to do this alone, just like he had initially planned. He pulls a small pill bottle out of the front pocket of his backpack and removes 2 small red pills from it, placing them on his tongue. He should probably take a little more time to read the warning label on it and the list of side effects, but he’s too antsy to see Kiri again. He finishes the drink, pills going down with it, and carefully crumples the can before sitting it on the ledge next to him. He feels a little bad about littering, but the whole area is already a filthy sty, and it won’t even be close to the worst thing he does tonight. He knows he has about 10 minutes before the pills he stole from Recovery Girl’s office kick in, so that means he has about 8 and a half minutes before he makes what will either be the worst or best mistake of his life. He’ll spend that time contemplating.

No one knows where he is, of course. He’s told absolutely no one about his new penchant for sneaking off campus in the dead of night and roaming the slums of Japan. And he hadn’t acted weird all day, or left any kind of goodbye note in case things went incredibly wrong, because he didn’t actually think tonight would be the night that he acted. He had all of the supplies with him just in case, of course, but the initial plan had been to scout the place out for a few nights after finding it and then act.

Now that he’s finally located it, though, he’s far too afraid to wait. What if they’ve been moving safehouses every other day, or even every day? What if it was a miraculous coincidence that Katsuki had found them tonight, all because he came out a few hours earlier than usual? What if he wouldn’t be able to find them again after tonight? No, he had to act now. His teachersdidalways claim he had issues withimpulsecontrol, after all.And, well...

If he died here tonight, no one but Kirishima and the League would know about it.

Well, unless Shigaraki had Kurogiri warp his corpse back to the gates of U.A. to make some sort of a statement, that is...

Katsuki could tell someone. He has his cellphone with him, though it’s turned off. After careful consideration, though, he takes his phone out of the bag and begins disassembling it. He’s glad he picked cargo pants for tonight’s excursion. The phone goes in one pocket, the battery in another, and the SIM card in another. Finally, he places the pill bottle in another pocket, pulls out a pair of handcuffs (and f*ck, those had been hard to steal), puts the backpack on, and gets ready to make his move. This could well be the last time he ever uses his quirk, too, so he has to make it worth it.

“-and he’ll love the meat lover's pizza, good choice,Dabi!” Toga cheers while dancing around him happily.

“He’d better, damn thing was expensive! They all were, soyoulousy ingrates better appreciate me!”Dabireplies to her, dodging out of the way of her elbow at the last second, though he’s smiling.

“Aww, you know you love us all! You’re the best! We all hate you! I’m so glad we have you! Never leave us! f*ck off!”

“Uh... Thanks,Twice.… I think.”

With a shared laugh, Toga,Dabi, and Twice busy themselves with getting plates and cutlery out and setting places. Nearby, chatting amicably, Shigaraki and Kurogiri work on drinks. Kurogiri absolutely refuses to let them eat off of paper plates or use disposable cups, even on pizza night.

(“We are villains,” he tells them primly. “Not animals.”

“Heyyyy!”

“My apologies, Spinner. However, you know what I mean.”)

Surprisingly, Shigaraki has shown a real knack for drink mixing and bartending; Kurogiri attempted to teach all of them one night out of sheer boredom. and the blue haired teen had been the only one to really take to it. Some of his creations even rivalled Kurogiri’s, a fact that the misty older man was very proud of him for, and that Shigaraki took great pleasure in. Not that he would ever admit that Kurogiri’s opinion or pride meant anything to him, of course...

“Tomuraaaa, when are they gettingheeeeeere?” Toga demands, all but bouncing off of walls; Shigaraki is willing to bet that she’s had more than one of those damnable pink canned energy drinks she andTwiceare so fond of today. He wants to snap at her, to lose his temper, but honestly, he’s pretty hyped up, too.

After all, he’s still getting used to having his Player Two back and is still on cloud nine about it. It’s hard not to be happy withEijirouback home where he belongs! But still, Toga could at least tone down the pitch of her voice and stop hitting sounds only small dogs can hear...

“Ei will be back soon, but Magne and Spinner are busy tonight, and Compress had a family thing, so it’s just us,”Dabianswers for him.

“So-”

“So, we can play Cards Against Humanity without Spinner cheating, yes,” Kurogiri cuts in, a fond smile in his voice.

“YESSSSS!!!” Toga all but shrieks. “It’s my favorite!”

“Christ, mine, too,” Dabi tells her. “But can you calm the f*ck down already, ‘Miko? Annoying damn kid. ”

“Hey,” she replies back, unphased by his language. “Don’t call me a kid, I’m only like 3 years younger than you, y’know?!”

“Whatever,” he rolls his eyes, shooting a smirk back her way. “You remind me of that daily, Himiko. Don’t think it impresses me or something-”

“I do wish they would get on with things already,” Kurogiri mutters to Shigaraki. “It is becoming quite trying to witness them dancing around one another like this.”

“What?” Shigaraki blinks at himuncomprehendingly. “Himiko is the only one dancing, do you need your eyes checked? Dancing doesn’t seem to beDabi’s thing, anyway.”

The sigh Kurogiri lets out is deep and strong enough it could knock a building down. It’s so loud that Toga, Twice, andDabiall look over at him.

“Everything okay? The f*ck’s your problem?”

Kurogiri is far too done to reply at first, so Shigaraki beats him to it. “He’s upset thatDabidoesn’t want to dance with Himiko or something, Idunno.”

“That I what -”

“Awww,seeee?! Yougottadance, or else Kuro will be upset!”

“Yeah, you guys should totally ‘dance’ together!” Twice cackles, catching on right away. “ The horizontal tango! No, a line dance! Or the ChaChaSlide! HAVE SEX ALREADY, THE TENSION IS KILLING US!”

“ TWICE!” Everyone shouts together, flushing red and taken aback.Dabiand Toga start yelling denials to anyone who will listen. Toga is bright pink, and ifDabicould still blush, he definitely would be as red as a stop sign. Twice starts laughing like a maniac, reveling in the chaos he’s caused despite knowingEijirouwill tell him off forembarrassingthem later. The only thing louder than the yelling and laughter is, somehow, yet another deep sigh from Kurogiri.

With the cacophony currently going on, they all almost miss it. Shigaraki is the only one to notice what sounds like explosions outside in the distance, and he pauses and looks towards the front door. “Hey, did you guys hear anything?”

“Like what? I didn’t hear a thing! All quiet, here! Hear what? ” Twice asks, seemingly in agreement with himself in his confusion and glee.

After a few seconds of hearing nothing now that his crew has finally calmed down, Shigaraki shrugs and says, “Must have been nothing, never mind.”

So of course, that’s when one of the huge windows 10 feet up on the wall explodes in a cloud of shattered glass, dust, and wood splinters. The sound is sharp and echoes loudly in the huge warehouse. Toga’s girly scream echoes around as well – no, wait, that was Twice. Everyone reacts quickly, scattering out of the way as best they can. A large wood beam is heading straight for Toga, though, and she freezes for a split second. Instead of tackling her out of the way, though,Dabiplaces himself directly in front of her and incinerates the beam entirely. Toga stares at him in awe.

As the dust begins to settle and everyone’s heartbeats start to go back to normal, the 5 villains brush the debris off of themselves and turn to look at the cause of all of the destruction and chaos. They’re expecting any number of things – another villain, one of their own playing a joke, the police, a hero, a natural disaster. What they aren’t expecting, what they do get, though, is...

“Sup, f*ckers,” Katsuki Bakugou says with a feral grin, sounding almost cheerful. “I’m here for sh*tty Hair.”

“You’re... What ?” Shigaraki’s eyes are wider than any of the others have ever seen, and all of them are frozen in shock.Dabistays in front of Toga protectively.

“Here for sh*tty Hair,” Katsuki repeats, hands in his pants pockets and still sounding cheerful somehow. For some reason, he laughs without really meaning to.

(His heart is racing a million miles an hour and his mouth is as dry as a desert. ‘What the f*ck, what the f*ck, what thefuc-oooh, I’m in shock, cool, cool, cool. Okay. This is fine. It’s fine.’)

“Y’know,” he carries on. “Kirishima? Bright red hair, brighter personality? Little shorter than me? Blinding smile, beautiful eyes, body like a Greek god, carries my heart around on a platter? That guy?”

Luckily for Katsuki, the members of the League are still too taken aback by his grand entrance and perplexing behavior to attack him just yet. The most they’re managing at the moment is to shoot him and each other some severely bewildered looks. He pulls his hands out of his pockets

(Whyhad he been trying so hard to look casual? The f*ck? Oh right, the shock.)

and makes his move. The League members tense up, finally gearing up for a long fight and expecting him to blow the place sky high when he clicks the cuffs over both of his wrists and drops the tiny keyring, kicking it towards Kurogiri.

“The quirk suppressant pills should be enough, they should kick in any minute here if they haven't already, but I figured using the suppressant cuffs as well couldn’t really hurt. So, is he here? Or is he off robbing a bank or some sh*t?”

Finally, Shigaraki manages to find words. “What the actual f*ck is going on here?”

Fumbling with his hands cuffed together, Katsuki manages to get the little bottle of pills out of his pocket and toss them Shigaraki’s way. Shigaraki, startled, fumbles with them badly and just barely manages to catch them.

“Nullamine?”

“Careful with those, they were a bitch to lift from Recovery Girl’s office without getting caught. Not as bad as slipping the cuffs away from Present Mic, but still.”

“The f*ck are these, blondie?” Dabi asks, finally moving over to Shigaraki to look at the bottle, and dragging Toga with him by the arm. “Quirk suppressants?”

Katsuki can’t help but roll his eyes, suddenly feeling extremely, inexplicably irritated. “That’s what I just said, yeah. Prescription-strength ones, I’m pretty sure. They should last about 3 hours per dose, and take 10 minutes to kick in. I took em like... 9 and a half minutes ago, so. Maybe more? I’ll be out of commission for a while here. Had to time it just right so I could break your damn window and get in, though.”

“And why did you break in through our window, Katsuki Bakugou?” Kurogiri asks, unnervingly calm.

Katsuki blinks at him like it’s the dumbest question he’s ever heard. “Because you f*cks wouldn’t have let me in through the front door, andauto defenestrationwas a way cooler entrance, anyway.”

Twice begins laughing at that and even Toga cracks a smile at his behavior, but the other 3 are still eyeing him warily and ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Small blue flames lick Dabi’s hands, and Kurogiri’s mist twists and twirls restlessly. Shigaraki scratches at his neck almost non-stop.

“And the cuffs?” Dabi asks, fully lighting up a palm with his eerie blue flames. “Little overkill, aren’t they?”

“Probably,” Katsuki shrugs. “But it helps make my point.”

“Which is?”

“That I’m here for Kirishima and not because I'm after one of you co*ck-juggling thunder-c*nts,” he smirks cruelly.

“I’m sorry, what?!” Toga bursts out laughing, hanging off of Twice, who isn't in much better shape himself. “What did you call them?” Tears begin leaking out of her eyes. “Tomura, can we keep him this time?”

“Himiko-”

“Calm down, Adolf Titler,” Katsuki butts in. “I’m just visiting. I’m not a damn stray.”

As terrified as he is at the moment, Katsuki has to admit that he’s sort of having fun with this all. Maybe he’s using the humor to hide how afraid he is at the moment, maybe he just can’t help being a mouthy asshole. Maybe it’s just engrained habit at this point from being around Denki so much, or from the joy he used to get by making Kiri laugh uncontrollably.

(‘Oh god, I’m probably going to die here. I’mgonnamiss Denki. And Mina, and Sero, and ‘Zuku, and-’)

“Dudes, what the hell is this ?!?”

At the sound of the new voice coming from a back doorway Katsuki hadn’t noticed before, all of his mirth, irritation, and fear vanish, leaving him shocked and numb. Still cuffed, and with Twice and Kurogiri advancing upon him slowly, Katsuki turns and looks over to the sound of the voice. Sure enough,

“ K-Kirishima.” He means to shout it, to sound joyful and relieved. Instead, it comes out as a choked, painful whisper. All the same, Kirishima’s eyes fly to his own instantly.

“Katsuki!” The redhead’s eyes are wide and shocked, eyebrows practically up in his hairline. “Tomura, what did you DO? WHAT THE f*ck DID YOU f*ckING DO ?!”

Of all the ways Katsuki had expected this reunion to go, Kirishima shouting and sounding more furious than he had ever known he was capable of was not one of them. Nor was the sight of Shigaraki rapidly backing up into the bar in fear, hands raised in surrender, as Kirishima advanced on him with his quirk activated.

“Eiji, wait!” Toga shouts from behindDabi’s left shoulder.Dabi’s flames have extinguished and he’s looking between Kiri and Shigaraki worriedly.

“I TOLD YOU ALL, HE . IS . OFF . f*ckING . LIMITS . THAT WAS THE ONE THING I ASKED, THAT EVERYONE LEAVE KATSUKI THE f*ck ALONE AND LET HIM TRY TO MOVE ON IN PEACE. THAT’S ALL I f*ckING WANTED, SO WHY. IS. HE. HERE? ” Kirishima bellows, punctuating each yell with a slam against the brick wall as he advances.

“Eijirou, PLEASE!” Toga yells louder, sounding distraught. Dabi blocks her from advancing any further. “We didn’t do this! I promise, it wasn’t us!”

Kirishima slows right as he has Shigaraki backed up against the bar, the older man’s shirt collar twisted up in his hardened left fist. “Explain. Now .”

“She’s right, Ei,” Dabi says slowly, placatingly, and Katsuki is absolutely floored at seeing just how scared the League is of Kirishima at the moment. “It was f*cking delivery, not DiGiorno. He burst in through the god damn window like five minutes before you got here.”

Kirishima slowly unhardens himself and lets Shigaraki down

(andwhen the f*ck had Kiri lifted the villain up into the air, what the f*ck was going on here?! Shigaraki had at least two inches on the redhead, how the f*ck?)

“And the cuffs?” Kirishima demands, quieter now, but no less deadly-sounding. “I suppose he just cuffed himself?”

“Ah,” Katsuki feels awkward as every eye in the room turns to stare at him. “I did, actually.”

“W-what?” Kirishima seems to deflate and sounds like himself again. “You... Really came here yourself? And broke in and handcuffed yourself? Kat, why?”

He’s wondering that now, himself. He’s cuffed with no way out, and he’s definitely feeling that thick,bloated, sludgy feeling that’s associated with Nullamine – there's no way his quirk will work right now. He’s defenseless, but more importantly, he can’t fight to keep Kiri safe anymore. Heart pounding, he glances nervously at Shigaraki. There’s no way the older man will let what Kirishima just did to him go unpunished, he’s going to have to watch Kirishima die right in front of him and it’s going to be all his fault. There has to be a way out of this, but Katsuki can’t imagine what that way is. For lack of any grand ideas, he just answers Kiri’s strangled-sounding question

“I- Assurance, for them, that I wasn’t here to fight,” he says weakly. “Just... Just to find you.”

Kirishima’s eyes fill with tears instantly, and Katsuki feels his own begin to burn as well. He really f*cked this up, he-

Shigaraki starts to laugh, loud and surprisingly deep, making Katsuki jump a bit. Twice and Toga follow, but seeing as they’re batsh*t insane, Katsuki doesn’t think much about that. Then,Dabilets out a dry chuckle and Kurogiri’s mist starts moving in a way that somehow just looks amused.

“Eijiiiii,” Toga all but sings out between laughter. “You can never, ever tell Tomura off for his gaming tantrums EVER again! That was way worse!”

“It really was,” Shigaraki replies. “That was even scarier than me that time when you knocked my Switch over and I thought it was broken for good!”

“It is true, Eijirou,” Kurogiri adds in, mirthaudiblein his voice. “I don’t believe any of us have quite seen you ‘lose it’ like that, as it were.”

Kirishima winces a little and then he’s doing that thing, hand behind his head and messing with his hair, that Katsuki finds so damn endearing. A glimpse of the U.A. Kirishima, the sweet boy he’s known all this time.

“sh*t, yeah. Sorry, guys, that was super unmanly of me to just assume things instead of trusting you!”

The tension in the room is all but nonexistent now, everyone but Katsuki laughing it off. Shigaraki doesn’t even look upset . Katsuki realizes then, that Shigaraki had had his hands up in defense the whole time. Kiri had been holding the man off of the ground by his collar, within easy grabbing distance. Hardened or not, Shigaraki could have dusted him at any point during the encounter. And yet, he hadn’t even tried to harm Kiri.

Head spinning at the realization of just how close Kiri could have come to death anyway, Katsuki feels a loud, choked sob burst out of his throat without permission. All eyes are on him again all of a sudden, and before he knows it, Kirishima has raced to his side.

“Kat, breathe, it’s okay,” he starts mumbling in the same soft, loving tones he used to use when Katsuki would wake from nightmares or go into a panic attack. “I’m here, I’m fine, you’re fine. It’s all gonna be okay, Kat, I promise.” His hands rub up and down Katsuki’s upper back slowly, gently.

Knowing he sounds completely unhinged, Katsuki laughs. Because despite where he is, despite all that’s happening, he knows Kirishima is right.

They’re together now. It’s all going to be okay.

To his great shock, Kurogiri offers Katsuki a seat at the bar. Kirishima pulls another chair up close to his and sits directly next to him, pressing their thighs together comfortingly. Warily, the other villains pull up seats as well, though they keep their distance from the two boys. Plates of pizza are passed around to everyone, even Katsuki, and Kurogiri and Shigaraki start placing drinks in front of everyone. Drinks that look distinctly alcoholic in nature.

“Pass,” Katsuki tells Kurogiri shortly, suddenly pissed off at the villain for not knowing better. “Alcohol doesn’t interact well with Nullamine, f*ck-munch.”

“Ah, of course,” Kurogiri replies, seemingly not phased. “Tea, then?”

“I... Sure.… Thanks.” Having the League be polite to him, to just allow him into their space and go so far as to offer him food and drink, is really throwing him off. He had mostly expected to fight them to the death to save Kirishima (best case scenario) or have to fight a Kirishima who was brainwashed or drugged or had something else wrong with him (worst case scenario). Now that everything’s weirdly calm, he’s feeling a little lost. He’s also feeling just... Weirdly off-kilter, in general. He stares down at the slices of meat-lover's pizza and realizes he can’t pick it up gracefully; Kiri seems to notice his issue right away.

“Who has the keys?” Kirishima asks the room at whole. “He can’t exactly eat in handcuffs.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Twice pipes up. “ You’re right, it’s cruel to keep him cuffed! He’s too dangerous to be let loose! Let him loose, Kurogiri! Also, it’s kinky and weird! Nice!”

“ Well, that answers my question,” Kiri says with a chuckle and then a pointed stare at Kurogiri.

Kurogiri looks over to Shigaraki uncertainly; the leader shrugs. “He’s been here over 30 minutes and hasn’t tried anything. He came here willingly, he’s presumably too drugged up to use his quirk, and there’s no heroes breathing down on us...”

Kurogiri slowly slides the tiny keyring over to Kiri, who uncuffs Katsuki’s hands without hesitation and begins rubbing at his wrist worriedly. “Better?”

“It’s fine,” Katsuki tells him, fully aware that he’s started shaking like a leaf and his ears are as red as a rose. So far, their reunion has been quite casual. Katsuki isn’t sure where they stand, though Kirishima doesn’t seem at all unhappy to see him. He defended him quite well earlier when he had thought the League had brought him here, and he had teared up when Katsuki had said he was there to find Kirishima. When Katsuki began sobbing and panicking, Kiri had been at his side in an instant, like nothing had ever changed. It had seemed obvious from his letter that he cared about Katsuki, but... Well, that letter was almost a month old. Had Kirishima moved on? It was possible that Kiri was no longer interested in him, after all. Time had passed, and Kiri obviously was close to the people here. ‘ And,’ Katsuki thought with a sick feeling in his stomach, ‘I don’t exactly look like I used to. Maybe he thinks I’m notattr-’

“Kat?”

“Hah?” f*ck, he hadn’t been paying attention, lost as he was in his own worries. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if youwereokay? And if you really took Nullamine,” Kiri adds in, brows furrowed.

“Yeah,” Katsuki replies. “To both. I mean, ‘okay’ is a relative term, I’mAWOLfrom U.A. in the middle of the night and no one knows I’ve left, and I blasted my way into the house of the f*ckers that kidnapped me once, so that’s... Y’know, something. But I’m not sick or hurt or freaking out if that’s what you mean.”

“Good,” Kiri says with a little smile. “And the drugs?”

“Didn’t know if I’d be able to get the cuffs without Mic seeing,” he replies easily. “So, I lifted the pills during a check-in with Recovery Girl a few weeks ago. I knew if I ever found you that they wouldn’t just let me in to see you without some insurance, so.”

There’s a long pause as the others suddenly begin their dinner and try to pretend that they hadn’t been eavesdropping shamelessly. Katsuki and Kirishima eat as well, and Katsuki is surprised he can stomach it or even manage to eat as much as he does. Regardless of the circ*mstances, now that he’s back with Kiri, he feels normal again. Well, other than his weird, ever-changing mood that he thinks must be some form of shock or adrenaline. The dinner carries on for a while in awkward silence.

Finally, after everyone’s had their fill and Kurogiri andDabibegin to clean up, Kirishima turns to Katsuki and asks the big question.

“Kat... Why did you come here?”

“I got your note, Kiri.” The redhead winces and looks incredibly ashamed. “Not that one, f*cker. The one in my sleeping pill bottle. Did you mean what you said?”

Kirishima’s eyes widen almost imperceptivity, and Katsuki sees him tense up a bit. Without looking behind him, Kirishima moves his eyes side to side and sends Katsuki a look . The blond is sharp enough to realize that something is off from just that, but the tense hand squeezing his knee would clue him in ifthewide-eyed look hadn’t.

As if to further emphasize the point, Kirishima asks, “Which part?” casually and calmly, his tone completely at odds with his expression.

“You said that when I told you that I loved you, it was the happiest moment of your life,” Katsuki said finally. “Yousaid that you wanted to say it back, but didn’t think that you had the right. You said... You said that there would never be a day that you didn’t think of me and miss me.Did..Did you mean those things, Kiri?”

He’s crying openly now, despite knowing that the villains are listening in and watching him carefully. It’s fine, though, because Kiri has started weeping as well.

“I did, Kat, I swear. I meant every word of it.”

“Then why , Kiri?” He chokes out. Kirishima knows what he’s asking instantly.

“They’re my friends , Kat. They’re like family, no, they are family to me.” Katsuki should be disgusted at the words, but Kirishima’s hand tightens around his knee again and he pays close attention to the pinched look on Kirishima’s face. Something really isn’t sitting well with him, and it’s not the 3 slices of pizza at fault. It’s the way Kiri seems on edge, the way his face contrasts the tone of his voice. Katsuki’s always been pretty good at spotting lies...

Good. It’s as he suspected, then.

Kirishima isn’t here of his own free will, not fully. Somehow, someone must be threatening or blackmailing him. f*ck what Detective Lie Detector heard, there was some loophole of some sort there. Kirishima wasn’t a villain, not really. Despite his words, despite his easy-going nature with the League members and their familiarity with one another, Kiri wasn’t actually one of them. And what’s more, they obviously couldn’t discuss it freely.

Katsukiwould have to tread carefully.

“If the League is your family,” he begins slowly. “Why go to U.A. in the first place? To infiltrate it?” He knows from Kirishima’s letter that he hadn’t joined until after the USJ Incident, but he wants to see what he’ll say.

“No,” Kirishima shakes his head quickly. “I wasn’t with them then. I really did want to go to U.A. I thought if I could become a hero, be a good enough one, I could change things for the better. I thought I could help people, so they never had to deal with what I did.”

“Eiji-”

“Shh.”

Toga has tears in her eyes andDabiisn’t looking too thrilled, either. They seem... Caring, worried for Kiri. Sad for him.

“And what was that?”

“I- You remember how I lost my dad in middle school?”

“I remember.”Of course,he does, the man was horrible to Kirishima and his moms. He was a cruel, small-minded, hateful man every step of the way. Despite all of Kirishima’s efforts to befriend and learn to love the man, he never made much headway. Kirishima preferred a nickname of his surname to that of his given name, solely because said given name referred to his fathers. He-

“All Mightcausedmyfather'sdeath,” Kirishima blurted suddenly.

“All Might what?!”

“He didn’t kill him directly,” Kirishima carried on, hand tightening warningly around Katsuki’s knee yet again. “But it was still his fault. Mydad..He and his sister were just at the park to have a nice day out. There was a villain fight erupting nearby, and All Might was there to stop it. There was a lot of debris being thrown around, on both sides. The villains started getting too close to the park, and my aunt wanted to run. But my dad thought maybe they could do some good, for once. He was trying, Kat. He wanted to be a better person, for me. But All Might wasn’t careful, and threw a car. He... He wasn’t aiming well, and missed. My aunt watched my dad get crushed and die in front of her.And because Kenji Hikiishi had ties to villains, All Might decided, without even checking, that Einoshin Hikiishi obviously had to be just as bad. The police wrote it off as both of them being there with the villains All Might was fighting, and said it was an ‘understandable and unavoidable accidental casualty’.”

Kirishima’s voice sounds sad and mournful, which doesn’t match the look on his face at all. Suddenly, Katsuki is very grateful that he’s seated up against the wall and that Kiri is facing him, facing away from the League.

“So it wasn’t on purpose,” Kiri went on, “But my dad is dead because of All Might, and no one gave a single sh*t about him. He never had a chance to be better, and I’ll never really know him now because of it. And at the USJ, well. Auntie Magne recognized me. When she wasn’t one of the ones caught, I reached out to her later. I just... I just wanted to talk about my dad, Kat. I just wanted to know more about him, about who he was becoming. But then she told me about some friends of hers, about how hero society had been treating them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for things they couldn’t control, and... Well, it made a lot of sense. She brought me to meet them, and they all made a lot of sense, too. And I knew, if things were ever going to change or get better, that it wouldn’t be a lone hero changing things from the inside. Something would have to force hero society to change. So... Here we are, I guess.”

The hand around Katsuki’s knee tightens one last time before Kirishima removes it and brings it up to mess with his hair cutely. A move that tells Katsuki ‘I’m still here, I’m still me. Please understand.’

“I... I may not agree with your reasoning fully, Kiri. But I understand it, I guess. I just wish.... I wish that things could have been different.”

“Me, too. But it has to be this way, Kat. You get me ?” The intense look is back on Kiri’s cute face, his garnet eyes dead serious.

“Y-Yeah, I do, Kiri. Wha-”

“Okay, enough with that!” Dabi bursts out suddenly, slamming a hand on the table. Everyone else, even Kurogiri, jumps a little. They had all been absorbed in Kirishima’s tale.

“What?” Katsuki asks dumbly, and wonders in the back of his head if Nullamine makes people dimmer when underitseffects. “What did I f*ckin’ do?”

“You keep calling him ‘Kiri’!” Dabi says, sounding unreasonably offended. “For his stupid f*cking mother’s name! He f*cking hates her and that other dumb c*nt for driving his dad away from him, so could younot ?”

“I-” Katsuki is rendered speechless. Kirishima absolutely adores his ma and mom both, he would never hate them or their shared surname! They’re literally his favorite people in the entire world, and Kiri would do anything for them. Why would-

Oh.

‘Kiri would do anything for them. I wonder...’

Across from him, a dark look briefly flits across Kirishima’s face, unseen by the villains. Then he grins brightly and turns around to face them.

“It’s all good, man! It’s not like it’s the full name, and it’s just different when it’s Katsuki, y’know? Like you guys have ‘Eijirou’, you call me ‘Ei’, and Himi has ‘Eiji’, so of course I want my boyfriend to have his own special nickname for me that no one else uses! It’s better than ‘sh*tty Hair’, or ‘Rocky’, at least!”

Dabistudies Kirishima for a moment and apparently finds what he’s looking for, because he slumps back into his seat and sends Katsuki a mildly apologetic look, saying “fine. Sorry, bomb boy.”

“... ‘S fine,” Katsuki mumbles back, briefly wondering what the actual f*ck his life has come to before looking back over to Kiri. Had he just said that- “Wait... I’m still your boyfriend, then?”

Kirishima flushes a pretty pinkish red. “I mean, I sure hope so, but. Well, I know how after Ileft,you’re probably pretty mad at me. And I did kind of, ah... Lie to you for months, and betray you, so...”

“You seriously think I could ever stay mad at you, dipsh*t?” The words are harsh, but Katsuki just knows he has a pleased and disgustingly soft look on his face. It’s even true; for as much as Kiri had unintentionally hurt him, he just couldn’t stay angry with him. Especially not now that he knew for sure that Kirishima wasn’t actually a traitor at all. “Of f*cking course, I can’t. I- I love you. God f*cking dammit , Kiri, I love you so f*cking much, I never stopped.”

AannndKirishima’s crying again, though he has a huge smile on his face. “Kat-”

God, Katsuki can’t take it anymore! All at once, it fully sinks in. Kirishima is here. He’s here, with Kirishima. They’re together, and they’re together. Kirishima still wants to be his boyfriend, he’s crying because he’s happy that Katsuki loves him, and it’s too good to be true and too cute and just all around too much at once!

Katsuki suddenly stands, ignoring how all of the villains in the room instantly tense up at his movement, and pulls Kirishima’s face over to his. The kiss isn’t at all what Katsuki had imagined for their reunion; it’s messy and awkward and painful. Kirishima is crying and Katsuki can taste the salt. He’s pulled the redhead to him too hard, and their teeth click together unpleasantly. Their noses bash into each other, as well, leaving Katsuki’s smarting. And at some point, Kirishima must have hardened briefly, because Katsuki feels his lip split and start bleeding, adding the taste of hot copper to the kiss. It’s the messiest, most painful kiss they’ve ever had together and no, it’s not at all what Katsuki had thought it would be.

And it’s still the single best kiss of his life.

Katsuki wishes that their kiss could go on, uninterrupted, forever. Shigaraki, though, appears to have other ideas as he loudly and pointedly clears his throat. The two boys pull apart quickly, both of them looking very, very flushed, happy, and more than a little dazed.

“Get a room, you two! That was hot, do it again! UGH, gross!”

Toga chuckles a little atTwice’santics, but she also sends a strange,wistfullookDabi’s way. The overcooked bacon boy doesn’t seem to notice though, as he’s glaring at Katsuki much in the same way Shigaraki seems to be.

“Er,” Kirishima flushes impossibly redder and sends a dorky half smile their way. “What up?”

Shigaraki’s eyes narrow further and he scoffs. “Eijirou. I get that you’re pretty happy this...” he gestures wildly in Katsuki’s direction,“...kid... Showed up. I know you’ve been upset about leaving him, I know you missed him. But you need to think this through, critically.”

Katsuki sees Kiri’s grin drop into a confused, sad grimace. He opens his mouth to reply, butDabibeats him to it.

“He has a point, kid. I mean, if even Tomura is being logical and not using game analogies on you, you know it’s serious...”

“Guys...” Kirishima seems somewhere between angry-upset and sad-upset. “What are you talking about?”

“Eijirou,” Kurogiri intones, holding up a hand to Shigaraki andDabi. “We only have your best interests at heart, you know this. The fact of the matter is, you left U.A. because you were concerned that your feelings for this boy would compromise your position there and therefore endanger us all. We’re talking about the same boy we had here only months ago, who was spitting and screaming about how much he hates us and all that we stand for. The same boy who vowed to destroy us and become the number one hero, who loathes villains, who said he would never join us. Now he’s suddenly somehow found our safehouse and is here telling you he loves you. You must admit, his motivation seems suspicious.”

Now Kiri is definitely angry. “Kat would never lie to me – about anything, but especially not about loving me, ‘Giri! And the fact that he did say all of that stuff to you guys before (after you kidnapped him mind you), but he’s still here now, having drugged himself into temporaryquirklessness, should be proof enough of that! I can’t believe you guys right now!”

At the tone of Kirishima’s voice, all of thevillainswince. Shigaraki takes a step back before aborting his movement, as if worried Kiri will target him again.

“Ei has a point,” Dabi says softly, deflating. “Bomb boy threw himself in here completely defenseless. Not just once, but twice over if we count the cuffs. If it’s a plan to catch us all, it’s a crazy and sh*tty one.”

Shigaraki still isn’t buying it, though. “It makes sense then, doesn’t it? It’s just so crazy, it could work! He knows how Eijirou feels about him, so he’s taking advantage of it. You heard him before, he would never join us and his whole purpose is to stop us.”

“ButTomuraaaaa,” Toga all but whines. “Eiji left because Bakugou told him he loved him! So obviously he loved Eiji way before now, so how could it be fake?!”

“And we’re supposed to believe he’s just, what, entirely okay with Eijirou being a villain?” Shigaraki demands of her. “Himiko, we all know you’re a romantic, but that storyline makes no sense. Why would he suddenly just be fine with this, and not turn us all in the second he gets a chance? How did he think this would go after he burst in here?”

Himiko pouts at Shigaraki in a way that’s oddly reminiscent of Mina any time Katsuki says no to Bakusquad movie night, and he almost shudders at seeing it. As the silence drags on, though, he feels compelled to answer.

“Honestly I half-expected to fight you all and hopefully get Kiri away from you all because I thought you were controlling him somehow, or brainwashed him or some sh*t,” he tells Shigaraki bluntly. “I sort of expected to die, actually. So, not doing that is, y’know, nice.”

“You thought we brainwashed him?” Dabi asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Look, I didn’t know about the family connection or that you all genuinely cared about him and vice versa, okay?” He really can’t believe he’s just... Calmly chatting with the League of Villains. There really must be more side effects to Nullamine than he had initially thought; he really should have scanned the label better before taking them. He expected to feelbloated, slow, and sludgy. But the somewhat dumbed down feeling and chattiness are an unexpected (and unwelcome) bonus – assuming that’s the drugs and not the shock and adrenaline.

Kirishima grabs onto his hand suddenly and threads their fingers together; it sends Katsuki’s heart racing and he knows he’s blushing yet again. Okay, yeah, there’s somethingf*ckywith the Nullamine.

“I may notf*ckinglike you after the sh*t you pulled this summer,” Kat continues, “but I do love and trust Kiri with my life. And I know how much his family means to him.” It’s the truth... Kirishima’s mom and ma mean everything to him. The League doesn’t need to know what family he’s talking about.

“And I know how upset talking about his dad makes him.” Still not a lie, the subject of Einoshin makes Kiri very mad and sad, though not for the reasons Katsuki is insinuating. “If I had known before about him being related to Magne, and about what happened with All Might that day...” He trails off, hoping they’ll all reach their own conclusions.

“You’re saying you would have joined us?” Kurogiri sounds unusually skeptical.

“I don’t know,” Katsuki tries to dodge, and he squeezes Kirishima’s hand uneasily.

“So,you thought you were gonna have to fight us all and maybe die,” Toga muses. “But what about now? You know Eiji is happy here with us and that he wants to be here.So,what do you expect to happen now?”

“... I don’t know,” Katsuki says again. “I didn’t think I’d get this far. I guess, ideally, well.... I’d have to get back to campus before anyone realized I was ever missing. I could hide the pills and cuffs again like I have been for weeks, or I could leave them here and one of you could just make sure I’m restrained, contained, whatever, when I show back up?”

None of them had been expecting that answer, apparently. Not even Kirishima.

“When you show back up?” Kiri looks at him, wide-eyed and confused.

“Well, yeah,” Kat says blankly. “Like I said, I have to go back before they realize I’m missing. Or everyone will be searching. I don’t know how to contact you, though. Do you move safe houses often? I can sneak out at least once a week, if not more.”

The silence is deafening.

“What?” Katsuki asks, yet again feeling slow.

“You expect ustojust... Let you leave? Knowing where to find us?” Shigaraki says slowly,disbelievingly.

“And to stay in the same place you can find us at, letting you show up whenever you want, and trust you not to bring the heroes down on our heads?” Dabi continues, also soundingabsolutelyflabbergasted.

“I... Guess? Or we could set a place to meet and Stephen King here could just warp me to the inside of wherever you are, so I can’t figure out where it is or how to get there, if that would make you feel better.” He’s now playing up the cluelessness just a little.

“...’Stephen King’?” Kurogiri asks, not sure if he should be offended or not.

“Yeah,” Katsuki replies. “Y’know, ‘The Mist’.”

Toga giggles at that; Twice, who’s been silently watching the entire interaction while looking back and forth like it’s a high-stakes tennis match, snorts.

“So essentially,” Kurogiri says, seemingly deciding not to take offense after all, “You’re entrusting us to kidnap you. Repeatedly. All in order to continue to see Eijirou?”

“Yeah, essentially.” He shrugs.

Dabi and Shigaraki start whispering to one another rapidly. Katsuki turns to Kirishima only to see that his eyes are watering again.

“Kiri?”

“Sorry, Kat,” he sniffles. “I just... I really thought I’d never see you again, or that if I did, you would hate me. I think I’m kind of in shock a little?”

“Tell me about it,” Katsuki mutters back with a poorly stifled smile. “I think I’ve been in shock since I broke through the f*cking window of this place. That or the damn drugs are making me stupid.”

Kirishima shoots him a worried look.

“I’m fine,” he insists. “I have you back now, so I’m fine.”

Ironically, that’s when Dabi chooses to rush at him, hands alight, before suddenly roundhouse kicking him directly into the far wall. Kirishima immediately makes to rush at either Dabi or Katsuki, but one of Kurogiri’s gates intercepts him. Dabi keeps advancing, one palm still lit and a dangerous look on his face. Katsuki, winded but otherwise okay, lifts his hands up in surrender. “What the f*ck, Bacon Bits? I thought you were somewhat okay!”

Dabi grabs him by the shirt collar and lifts him up into the air, much the same as Kiri had done to Shigaraki only a few hours prior. Katsuki tries to shake loose, but does nothing else except let out a pained noise when Dabi slams him into the wall and brings a burning hand closer to his face.

After a long, tense moment where the others are watching and Kirishima is shouting profanities that Katsuki didn’t even think he knew, Dabi...

Letshim go suddenly, dropping him the few inches to the floor and holding out both (extinguished) palms to helpbalancehim should he need it.

“You didn’t even try to fight back,” Dabi says, staring at him blankly. “Quirk or not, you didn’t try.”

Katsuki is still reeling and, embarrassingly, shaking badly in what he will never, ever admit is fear. “No sh*t. Kiri trusts you f*cks and cares about you, I don’twannahurt people he loves.”

It’s the first full-on, direct lie he’s told all night; that Kirishima loves and cares about the League. At least, Katsuki is 99.99% sure he doesn’t. The rest of the sentence is the truth, though; Katsuki doesn't want to hurt people that Kirishima loves.Katsuki hates liars, but luckily for him, he’s actually a pretty damn good one himself.

Kurogiri must have finally deemed it safe to release Kirishima, because suddenly Katsuki is being dragged into his boyfriends' arms and held tightly. “It’s fine, Kiri, I promise.”

“The fuck was that, you goddamn bastard?” Kirishima positively growls out, sounding as feral and unhinged as people used to accuse Katsuki of being.

“W-We had to know,” Shigaraki answers for him, stuttering and shaking a little. What the hell had Kirishima said to him when Katsuki was distracted by what he thought was his own imminent death?!
“We had no proof heactuallytook the suppressants or that we could trust him. Last time we uncuffed the guy, he nearly took Compress’s head off.”

“And now, we know,” Dabi says, looking mildly regretful. “Sorry, blondie, but we had to know for sure. At least now we know we can trust you.”

“I don’t get it,” Shigaraki whines. “Why? Why now ?” He doesn’t elaborate, but Katsuki knows exactly what he’s asking.

“Because I love him,” he says, a bit muffled from within Kirishima’s embrace. “Because being with him changed who I am, made me see everything differently.”

Toga andTwiceare weeping openly in the corner by the bar, and even Kurogiri seems touched by the whole display; Katsuki swears that he hears one of them mutter ‘so romantic!’, but he’s not done yet.

“Because I would do whatever it takes to stay by his side; Kiri is the single most important thing in the world to me.”

“Important enough to make you forget all of your precious morals, little hero?”

This time, Katsuki doesn’t even hesitate. “Anything, for him.”

The rest of the night is, surprisingly, smooth sailing. To Katsuki’s mild amazement, he’s allowed to remain uncuffed. Kurogiri states that he’ll keep custody of the cuffs “in case they are later needed”, a thought that makes Katsukisuppressa shudder.

Shigaraki does demand that Katsuki take another dose of Nullamine, though. It’s not the most pleasant – the more you use it, the more you feel the side effects. However, he can’t exactly argue. He has to do whatever it takes to stay in their good graces, to stay at Kirishima’s side. If he were in their position, he would admittedly demand the same. They may finally be convinced that he loves Kiri and isn’t going to instantly attack or betray them, but they’d be stupid to not be cautious.

Most shockingly of all, they all agree to allow Katsuki to leave in the morning and go back to U.A. He had half expected to be kept prisoner after this, but Kurogiri calmly informed him that he would warp him to a secluded alley no more than a few minutes' walk from U.A. in the morning. The League would likely be on high alert after that, expecting him to rat them out, but they were willing to give him a chance because they cared about their Eijirou and saw how much Katsuki meant to him. It was honestly baffling.

Dabi added in that they would stay up for a while discussing ways to meet up in the future and a way for Kiri and Kat to contact one another safely. At that point, Katsuki remembered he had his cellphone on him and stupidly offered it up to the nearest villain, who happened to beToga.When he explained that he had removed both the battery and SIM, they all relaxed. Toga held the smartphone, staring between it, the SIM, and Katsuki with wide eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered. “You really do mean all this, huh? You must love Eiji a lot !”

He fights the urge to snap at her hatefully, reminding himself that he has to act like these monsters are his boyfriend's loving family. He closes his eyes briefly and tries to pretend she’s Mina, whom he’s suddenly missing a good deal. “Yeah,” he hopes it sounds as lovestruck as he intends. “You have no idea.”

She giggles, and he sends a small smile to her before purposefully looking unnerved and quickly looking away from her.

Shigaraki states that Katsuki will be sleeping in Kirishima’s room, and that the rest of them ‘better not hear anything that isn’t PG’; Katsuki has to stifle a semi-hysterical snort at the idea that the leader of the League of Villains is a prude about underage sex.

That’s how he finds himself in the mid-sized converted bedroom, Kirishima shutting the door behind them carefully. The room is actually fairly nice, all things considered. There’s a full-sized bed, a desk, a chair, and a tall chest-of-drawers. A small, fluffy dark grayrug covers the floor around the bed’s edge. There are no windows, but the lighting is nice enough. The air is somehow fresh and clean despite the lack of fan or airflow. There’s certainly no hero merch, much lessCrimson Riot, but the blankets and sheets are still a vibrant red that matches Kiri’s hair.

Kiri locks the door and turns to face Katsuki,somethingindescribable on his face.

“Kirishima,” Katsuki starts. “What’s really -”

For the second time that night, Katsuki finds himself pinned against a wall. At least this time it’s by Kirishima and his lips instead of Dabi and his threatening blue flames.

Kirishima deepens the kiss despite himself and his hands snake around Katsuki’s waist; Kat doesn’t resist, but brings his own arms up around Kiri to pull him closer. A small, embarrassing noise escapes Katsuki’s lips without his permission and he feels himself blush. Then Kirishima’s lips move to graze against his neck and his ear and he thinks he’s in danger of his legs giving out.

Kiri brings his lips slowly, softly, up against Katsuki’s ear, and then he hears it, as quiet as a summer breeze. “Not here. Not safe.”

And f*ck, if that isn’t a cold shower right there.

Kirishima keeps on nuzzling him as if he hadn’t said a word; Katsuki abruptly pulls back and gently pushes Kirishima away, shooting him a puzzled look. Kirishima’s eyes widen slightly; Katsuki glances over at the closed, locked door leading to the villains... Living area, he supposes... And he tilts his head questioningly. He brings on hand up and gestures at his ear and then the door; catching on, Kiri nods solemnly. Katsuki mouths ‘okay’ soundlessly, and pulls Kirishima back into a tight hug. Instead of addressing the several elephants in the room, he goes with “you have. NO. IDEA. How badly I’ve missed you and your sh*tty hair. f*cker.”

Kirishima laughs happily, a bit of stress seemingly melting off of his shoulders. “Course I do – I missed you at least that much!”

Katsuki smiles, refusing to let himself tear up despite the sudden burning behind his eyes. “I’ve been looking almost every night, Kiri. I almost thought I would never find you. I knew you would never actually-” Kirishima glances at the door frantically, but Katsuki continues on, “-hate me. At least, I really hoped you wouldn’t.”

‘Please read between the lines,’ he thinks frantically. ‘Understand, I never doubted you, not really. You’re too good. I trustyou;I always have.’

Something in Kirishima’s face relaxes then, a stress Katsuki hadn’t even realized was thereamongall the other stresses in the redhead’s life right now.

“We don’t have to discuss why or how,” Kat continues, trying to keep things vague enough that any listeners-in won’t catch on. “I know it had to all be for your family. I get why you’re doing this; I think. And I know we’ll have to discuss it more at some point. But right now, I’m just so happy to have you back. I couldn’t take much more of it. I know it’s probably pathetic, how badly I need you. But I do. When you left, a part of me died. I... I haven’t been myself in weeks. I was so scared I’d never see you again. It’s- It’s been absolute hell , Kirishima.” He tries to hide it, but his voice is raw with pain by the end of it. Kirishima looks horrified and immediately starts apologizing.

“Katsuki, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you like that, I hate myself for it. I just- I panicked. It’s super unmanly of me, I know! I just. I- I have things I have to do here, important things that could change hero society. I could never live with myself if I threw away the opportunity to do this. But the plan never involved you, falling in l- I was never supposed to care about you so much. When you said you loved me, I was so happy. But then I was scared that my feelings would get in the way and ruin what I was meant to do. And I thought, ‘if he ever finds out about this, he’s going to hate me, and I wouldn’t be able to handle that.’So,I- I ran, like a coward.”

“Kiri,” Katsuki reaches up to wipe the tears from his boyfriends unfairly beautiful eyes. “It’s- well, I can’t say ‘it’s okay’, becauseitkind of sucked. It’s not okay, but it is understandable. I didn’t get it before, and I never would have understood or been okay with this before we were dating, but... You’ve opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. I’m not going to leave you, not over this or anything else. I love you, and that means ‘forever’ to me. No matter what, I’d do anything for you.”

The traitorous tears start falling from his eyes then, pissing him off. His emotions have been haywire for the last few weeks- Well, actually, no. The first few days after Kirishima left, his emotions had been haywire. And for the last day or so, ever since he had managed to start getting his act together and trying to recover, they’d been especially haywire. But for those weeks in-between, well, he hadn’t really been doing much feeling at all. But that’s a discussion for another time.

“Y- you really still love me, even after everything I’ve done, Katsuki?”

“’Course I do, f*ck-munch. I meant everything I said back there, you’re the most important person in the world to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Kat-”

Their lips crash together again, and this time it’s Kirishima being backed up against a wall. For a while, there’s no talking, only gasping breaths and happy little hums. Katsuki’s suddenly very aware of the 2 inches of height he has on Kirishima, and begins to use them to his advantage; he gently grabs Kirishima’s sharp jaw and tilts his face upward, then smirks down at Kirishima smugly. Kirishima stifles a laugh and rises up on his toes to kiss Katsuki, hand going around the back of his neck to pull him down to his level.

Katsuki’s hands wander lower then, underneath Kirishima’s shirt, trailing across his rock-hard abs. His skin is soft and warm; he smells like leather and cinnamon, still. Suddenly, Katsuki becomes all too aware of just what it is that Kirishima is wearing.

“Kirishima, I know you’re technically a villain,” he starts, keeping his tone light and teasing so Kiri knows he doesn’t mean it. “But what the f*ck kind of fashion crime is this sh*t?”

Kirishima looks down at his camouflage cargo shorts, neon pink crocks (with bright green socks that have f*cking lobsters on them!), and orange, salmon, and mint-printed floral-patterned t-shirt. It is the single ugliest goddamn thing he’s ever seen, and it’s so positively Kirishima that he can barely contain himself.

“What?” Kirishima asks, not seeing the problem at all, and Katsuki cracks up.

“I- I thought- f*cking hell, Kiri. Aren’t the villains supposed to have a cool, edgy, stylish look? Like Bacon Bits or Crazy Train?”

“What’s wrong with how I dress?” Kiri demands, mock-offended. “What, you want me to wear fitted leather vests and chains and fingerless gloves? Leather pants? Combat boots?”

Katsuki cuts himself off mid-laugh at the thought and his eyes widen comically. He just knows he’s tomato-red all of a sudden, just from the knowing smirk on Kiri’s face. “Oh my god, you do! I guess I’ll have to, just for you.”

“I mightlegitimatelydie,” Katsuki says as he considers it.

Kirishima chuckles warmly, but the look in hiseyeschanges to something darker, almost hungry. “Y’know, if you think my outfit is so hideous, you could always just...”

He grabs Katsuki’s hands and places them on the hem of his shirt, eyebrow raised challengingly. Katsuki, still blushing like mad, doesn’t hesitate in removing the shirt. Kirishima takes care of the damnable crocs and socks, leaving himself standing there in just the camo shorts. It’s a much better look, if you ask Katsuki. His eyes roam over Kiri hungrily. It’s not like they had never seen each other shirtless, or even in their underwear, before – hell, Kirishima’s hero costume was shirtless! But it had been a long time since they had seen one another. And even at the dorms, they had never gone further than making out or feeling each other up, despite what their friends had assumed.

Kirishima, impossibly, looked more muscular than ever; the villains had to have a gym somewhere or something! He was alsosun kissedand had freckles that Katsuki had never seen show up so well before; Katsuki had an insane urge to run his tongue over all of them suddenly.

Kirishima began to pull at Katsuki’s own shirt, and he obliged at first. Then he hesitated and froze long enough that Kiri let go and looked at him, confused and a bit worried.

Katsuki glanced at Kirishima’s body again, specifically his arms and stomach – he looked strong, healthy, reliable. Every inch a hero, even in the midst of the villain's lair. Katsuki brought a hand up to his own stomach unconsciously; after weeks of barely eating and rarely working out, his last few normal-sized meals seemed to sit there heavily. Sero’s breakfast burrito, Izuku’s tofu, pizza with the League. Not to mention the side effects from the stupid f*cking Nullamine causing bloating. Although he’d recently seen how thin he’d gotten, even comparing himself to All Might’s shrunken form, Katsuki suddenly felt like he had swallowed a small beach ball. Glancing down despite himself, he realized he was as pale as a sheet still, and his arms were a lot smaller than he’d have liked.Suddenly, he felt something he had never experienced before: severely self-conscious.

“Kat? What’s wrong?” Kirishima’s soft voice brought him out of his musing.

“I...” How could he even begin to explain? “I’m... Pretty out of shape, Kiri. When you left, I sort of... stopped caring. Didn’t go to the gym, hardly ever ate. Stopped sparring unless it was for class. I- I ended up coming dead last in a lot of thepracticals, actually.” God, this was f*cking awkward as hell. For all his flaws and weaknesses, low self-confidence in himself and his body had never been an issue for Katsuki before.

Kirishima’s eyebrows almost meet his hairline. “Kat, that’s... Not great, you need to take better care of yourself. I don’t want you to get hurt or sick.”

“It was rough, okay? I... I didn’t care about much else other than finding you, so I kind of let myself go.” His face is flushed again, this time in embarrassed shame. “I got my sh*t together eventually; yesterday, in fact. Realized I stood no chance of finding you again if I flunked out of U.A. or was hospitalized.”

“Flunked out?” Kirishima’s voice all but cracked.

“Ah, yeah. I may have... Also sort of... Stopped studying or turning in homework? And, uh... Flunked... A few- all- of my tests. And a lot of assignments that I did turn in weren’t, ah... Exactly great?”

“Katsuki...”

“It’s fine,Iwasonlylastinclassafewtimes.”

“You what? Below Mina and Kaminari, even?!”

“A few times, Kiri! Aizawa let me redo the tests and make up the work... I should be back up to at least 5th, now. Probably be higher after the next few weeks.”

Kirishima looksabsolutelygutted. “I’m sorry, Kat, I’m so, so sorry, oh my God-”

“S’notyourfault, dumb-ass. I’m the one who let it happen, just like I’m the idiot who let himself get all gross and out of shape.”

There’s a beat of silence and Katsuki is kicking himself for blurting all of that out. Kirishima is, if possible, looking even more torn up and concerned.

“’Gross’? Kat, you could never be gross to me! I don’t care if you haven’t been working out because you were so upset-agh, I mean I do care , because I lo- I care about you , but I mean I don’t care, like it doesn’t bother me if you look a little different, because I l- I like you no matter what!”

With a wince, Katsuki just comes out and says it. “I feel fat.” And dear God, what the f*ck is wrong with him today? He’s acting like a god-damn girl. Kirishima just blinks, taken aback. “I- I lost a lot of f*cking weight, okay, because I wasn’t working out or eating. And then everyone started pushing me to eat like I was gonna drop dead at any second, and I felt bad for worrying them, and now I look like a f*cking whale-”

‘MOTHER. f*ckER. WHY THE f*ckING f*ck AM I CRYING LIKE A LITTLE BITCH, WHAT THE F-’

While he was standing around crying, Kirishima had leaned out the door and called out to someone; he returns with the bottle of Nullamine in his hands and lifts the label, reading aloud.

“’Dulls or entirely cancels the effects of all non-mutant quirks for up to 3 hours per dose. Side effects may include lethargy, bloating, mild mental fog, emotional outbursts, mood swings, and/or hyperactivity. Side effects may strengthen with each concurrent dose. Someindividualsmay experience mild headaches when stopping this medication.’”

“...Oh. That explains a lot,” Katsuki grunts out through his stupid haze of tears. “f*ck. Sorry, Kiri.”

Kirishima hands the pill bottle back through the door with a thanks before closing and locking it again. He turns back to Katsuki with a gentle smile, and pulls him onto the bed and into his arms, placing a kiss on his forehead. “Don’t worry about it, Kat. You can’t exactly help it.”

“Maybe not, but I’m still a f*cking-” actually aware of the effect of the medication now, he can probably control himself a bit better. He takes a steadying breath. “I’m still not in great physical shape right now, and I’m a bit embarrassed about how I look.”

Kirishima keeps softly kissing the top of his head. “Kat, I know it’s hard, but try not to worry about it. I knowyou,you’ll be back in ass-kicking shape in no time. And even if you weren’t, it wouldn’t matter to me a bit. I don’t care about you because of how you look. It doesn’t matter to me what size your muscles are or if you have abs or not, or any of that. That stuff doesn’t matter, because-” Kirishima cuts himself off, looking mildly frustrated and sad.

“Kiri?” Katsuki wipes at his eyes impatiently, trying to ignore the emotional storm that he now knows is (mostly) caused by the medication. “What? Just... Tell me, okay? I’ll understand if you don’t think I look good, you can admit-”

“f*cking- It’s not that at all, Katsuki! It’s-” He pulls at his red spikes, frustrated. “I know I have no right to say this, I really, really don’t. I told myself I wouldn’t, but –f*ck. Okay. NONE of that matters, I don’t care what shape you’re in or how you look because I’m in love with you .”

Katsuki had honestly just figured he would never hear those words, and he had been working at accepting that. He loved Kirishima, and Kirishima cared about him a lot. That was enough for him, he thought.

So, to finally hear Kiri say it to him, out loud... It’s like a dambreaks. For one mortifying moment, Katsuki worries that he’s going to start sobbing like a complete imbecile. Thankfully, he breaks out into a huge, admittedly dopey grin instead. Just above him, Kiri is muttering apologies into his blond hair.

“Don’t apologize!” He blurts. “Don’t you dare apologize for that, sh*tty h- f*ck-mun- f*ck. Kirishima, you f*ck. Don’t apologize for that! Not when it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard you say!”

Kirishima rears back from him, looking stunned. “But, Kat, I- I don’t have any right! I betrayed you, I’m a traitor to U.A., I-”

“I’m here , aren’t I?” Katsuki interrupts, still grinning like a maniac. “I’m betraying U.A. just by being here, really. And I couldn’t really give 2 sh*ts right now. Look, you said you never lied about being my friend, or about caring about me, right?”

“Right.”

“Then as far as I’m concerned, you never betrayed me. You left for a bit, you scared me and made me sad for a bit, but you didn’t ‘betray’ me. You’re just doing what’s right for you, what you have to do! So, you have the right to say whatever you want, especially if it’s that you’re in love with me! Y-you really mean it, though?” He loses a little steam at the end as the reality sinks in; he thinks he now realizes, just a little,howKiri had felt hearing him say that he loved him for the first time that day in the lunch room.

“I really do,” Kiri replies, finally smiling again. “ f*ck, Katsuki, you weren’t kidding that day at the dorms, it feels so good to finally be able to say it to you. I love you. I love you so much, oh my god-”

Without letting himself overthink it or get too self-conscious again, Katsuki whips his own shirt off and presses Kirishima onto the bed; Kiri’s arms come up to encircle his waist, and Katsuki doesn’t let himself flinch away.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kiri eventually mutters between heated kisses. “You’re fine, Kat. You aren’t fat, you aren’t weak. You’re you, you’re amazing, and I love you-”

Still kissing him, Katsuki grabs Kirishima’s hands and pulls them onto his stomach; despite himself, he tenses slightly. Kirishima has the kindest heart of anyone he’s ever met, he would never judge him, but what if-

Kirishima’s warm hands run along the sides and front of Katsuki’s stomach gently. “I’m glad you stopped trying to starve yourself to death. Youcouldamade yourself really sick, Kat.”

“Y-you don’t-?”

“So, you haven’t gone to the gym and the medicine causes a little bloating, big f*cking deal,” Kirishima says easily. “You keep forgetting the fact thatI love you , dumbass.”

Katsuki sits up suddenly, eyes wide. “The f*ck, did you just call me a dumbass?!”

“f*ck, I’m sorry, Kat-”

“And you keep saying the f*ck word!” Katsuki bursts out laughing. “How the hell am I a bad influence on you, when I haven't even been around you?!” He can’t stop chucking.

“Ah, Kat, I think you’re having some-”

“f*ck,” he says, finally managing to stop the laughter. “f*ckin’ mood swings, I know. I think I’d rather be handcuffed for this, than take the pills.”

Kirishima’s brain shuts down briefly. “H-Hand-cuffed.”

“The quirk-cancelling cuffs, Kiri! Jesus!”

They’re both laughing then, and Katsuki isn’t sure if it’s the relief, or the side-effects, but he finds he doesn’t really care, either way. He’s too happy, too content, to just finally be at Kirishima’s side, laughing likeit’sold times, and relieved that Kirishima loves him back.

And the kissing, he’s definitely happy to be pulled back down into that. “You really don’t care?” He checks, a last little bit of insecurity peeking through right as Kirishima pulls him down to straddle his lap.

“Not one bit,” Kiri replies assuredly. “I think you look incredible, always.”

“Okay,” Katsuki whispers. “Okay.”

Kirishima’s hands roam lower and a quiet ‘ziiippp!’ seems to echo loudly in the room. Not wanting Katsuki to feel alone, a second one follows, and Kirishima removes his shorts as well.

Kurogiri will manage to interrupt before things go too very far, but it’s close. For a long, long time, there’s no more talking. Later, bright red at being caught and chastised by a fatherly villain, the two will lie in bed next to one another alternating between embarrassed laughs and trading small, tender kisses. And for hours, until they finally fall asleep, the sound of them whispering back and forth,

“I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.”

“I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.”

“I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.”

“I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.” “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Chapter 8: ♫ Carousel ♫

Chapter Text

“The carousel goes up and goes down.
The carousel runs around so fast.
Your existence sparking more than
No one, no one, no one else.

Woah, woah it's all right.
Everything will be all right”

-Merry-Go-Round, by Manwitha Mission

Kirishima loves Katsuki. He really, really loves him. As soon as he finally managed to say as much to Katsuki’s face last night, his love for him managed to grow even stronger! He had never thought it was possible for one person to feel as strongly about another as he did right now for Katsuki f*cking Bakugou. There’s probably not a single thing in the entire world that he wouldn’t do for his Kat. Yeah, Kirishima really, really loves him.

But God f*cking dammit if the sound of Katsuki’s alarm isn’t the most annoying f*cking thing that Kirishima has heard since Shigaraki croaking out “Welcome to the League of Villains,Eijirou.”

“K’t’ski...” he grumbles out, uncharacteristically annoyed. “Y’r‘l’rm’sg’n‘ff.”

“Mmmpbhhh?” Katsuki, already impossibly cute in his sleep-addled state, just pulls Kirishima closer and nestles his head into the tangle of bright red hair. “Noo...Mphng..”

It had been a long night; fitting for how long of an evening it had been. Just when Kirishima had thought he’d finally gotten over his shock at Katsuki showing up in the League’s new hideout, self-kidnapped and self-drugged, the explosive blond had all but told them he was willing to lie to and basically betray everyone at U.A. by keeping it a secret, all for Kirishima’s sake. Kirishima was young and in very good physical health, but he was sure he had just about had a heart attack at that.

And then, finally, he had told Katsuki that he loved him.

Of course, that was amidst a flurry of strange self-consciousness and no small amount of insecurity from Katsuki – something that was all but unheard of for the normally co*cky boy. Granted, it had mostly been caused by the side effects from the quirk-cancelling drug, Nullamine, that the rest of the League insisted he continue to take for the duration of his stay. All the same, it had hurt Kirishima’s heart to see his boyfriend feeling so down on himself. After all, Nullamine may have caused mood swings and emotional outbursts, but it hadn’t created those feelings in the first place. Kat’s insecurities were all too real.

Kirishima had done his best to reassure Katsuki, though. He admittedly looked different than when Kirishima had last seen him; he was paler, he had bags under his eyes, he had lost a lot of weight and muscle definition, and he just seemed all-around ill. He’d mentioned he thought he was ‘a whale’; Kirishima had to stifle a laugh at that, lest he get the wrong idea. He was far from any kind of fat, mild bloating from the medication aside. No, more than anything, he just looked stretched thin and tired.

But the light in his eyes, the fire, determination, and love – that was the same as ever, and it was all that Kirishima had needed to see to know that things would eventually be okay again. Katsuki was still tough as nails, still himself, and so he wasn’t out for the count at all. If he could still manage to keep going and believe things would work out for the best after all the last month and change had thrown at him, then certainly Kirishima could do the same.

Though he wouldn’t be able to carry on much longer if that damnable alarm didn’t stop shrieking in their ears.

“Kat, your alarm. You have to get ready for school!” he whines.

At first, Katsuki just snuggles closer, a tiny smile appearing on his face. But then his eyes suddenly burst open in horror and he leaps up from the bed, vaulting over Kirishima with one hand and grabbing his phone with the other, finally silencing the annoying song.

‘Completely out of shape’, my ass,’ Kiri thinks, impressed with both the maneuver and the speed of it.

“f*ck!” Katsuki grits out. “f*ck, f*ck, f*ck! Ugh, I am too f*cking tired for this bullsh*t!”

And he is; they both are. At Shigaraki’s insistence, a member of the League had woken Katsuki up every 2 hours and 45 minutes to have him take another dose of Nullamine, ‘just in case’. Kirishima certainly wasn’t going to leave him to suffer alone, so he had drug himself out of sleep each time, as well. After that, the two would lie awake for nearly 15 minutes talking softly. When they didn’t get to sleep before the build-up of medication could cause the mood-swings to begin, Kirishima would help Katsuki through them patiently. Thankfully, they were more cute and funny outbursts than sad ones those times.

“-the f*ck?” Katsuki suddenly breaks off his frantic pacing and stares at his phone in confusion.Ithits Kirishima suddenly,

“Wait... Why is your phone here?”

“Because we put it back about an hour ago, Ei.” Dabi’s bored voice comes from the doorway; he’s sitting backwards on a chair, scrolling on his own phone lazily. “Partly to see what he would do if he found it before school, but we should have figured on both of you sleeping in until his alarm went off, I guess.”

“Jesus Christ! Katsuki twitches, alarmed. “How f*cking long have you been here, Bacon Bits?”

“Not too long, Twice and I took turns after we brought the phone back around 6am. Had to make sure you wouldn’t try any sh*t if you did wake up. Now get ready, Kurogiri needs to send you back near U.A. before the Nullamine wears off. Unless you want another full dose before classes start?”

The look on both their faces must say it all, because Dabi just chuckles sardonically. “Didn’t think so, sh*t’s nasty. Let’s go, the others have to brief you.”

Still confused beyond belief, Kiri and Kat follow Dabi into the strange hybrid bar and living room area. Kurogiri, Twice, Toga, and Shigaraki are there having coffee and waiting for them; there’s a weird, new flavor of tension in the air that wasn’ttherelast night.

Shigaraki is the first to speak, his early-morning voice gravellier and much more grating than his usual way of speaking, as he gestures at the cellphone in Katsuki’s hand and says “Congratulations, asshole. You’ve been upgraded. Twice and Dabi have fixed things so you can contact Eijirou, on occasion . I can’t stress this enough; this isn’t so you kids can just chat nonstop and be all disgusting and flirt with each other. This isn’t some game, contacting one another too frequently could put us all in danger here. But, if only forEijirou’ssake, you’ll be able to talk a little.”

Katsuki and Kirishima look at one another, blinking in stunned silence, before a blinding grin breaks out on the redhead’s face. To Katsuki’s mild shock, his boyfriend runs over to Shigaraki and hugs him, thanking him effusively.

“Thank you, Tomura! That’s awesome, you’re seriously the best, oh my God-”

The sight of Kirishima shaking Shigaraki in joy, and the look of utter bewilderment on the blue-haired man’s face, is both hilarious and disturbing. At this point, Katsuki knows Kirishima is faking most, if not all, of his affection for the League, but seeing him hug one of them is still utterly surreal. Kiri finally lets the leader go and Katsuki is a little relieved.

“Don’t thank me,” Shigaraki insists. “Twice and Dabi fixed his sh*t, not me. And it was Kurogiri and Himiko who convinced me to allow it in the first place.”

“Aww, guys!”

Toga bounces off of her seat at the bar and meets Kirishima halfway for a huge hug, grinning right alongside him. If she wasn’t a crazy, psychopathic, mass-murdering bitch, Katsuki would almost say it was cute how much they acted like siblings. At least she didn’t seem at all romantically interested in Kirishima, thank f*ck.

“-and so of course I told them how much happier you are with Bakugou around and how much more happieryou’d be if you could talk to him sometimes, and since Dabi is brilliant with tech it was super easy for him and Twice to work something out!” Toga’s ability to go on for severalparagraphs'rivals even Mina’s, a horrifying realization for Katsuki.

“You’re all amazing, thank you guys for understanding-” Kirishima keeps blubbering out thanks, his joy and relief evident. Twice hugs him as well, but Dabi just goes in for a fist bump.

“So, how’s this sh*t work?” Katsuki finally asks, directing his question to Kurogiri, who seems the most reasonable of the lot. Katsuki remembers, too late, what Kurogiri caught them doing last night before bed – his face flushes bright red and he has to avert his eyes suddenly.

“Your phone is now all but impossible to trace,” Kurogiri replies, though there’s amusem*nt evident in his voice. Great, now the entire League is smirking at the boys; obviously Kurogiri had tattled. Kirishima hasn’t caught on yet, and is happily chugging a cup of coffee from Toga.

“Furthermore, they’ve upped the level of security. The phone is keyed in with facial recognition, as well as your fingerprints – it will recognize any of your 10 fingers. If someone else is to try to use it, it will realize they’re not you and hide the separate messaging app that you will be using to speak to Eijirou. It will not unlock unless it sees your face, senses your heartbeat, and has one of your fingerprints. Any rapid or sudden drops or movement will also hide the app entirely for 10 minutes at minimum. If it detects anyone other than yourself holding it for more than 30 seconds, it will hide the app and all traces of it. More than 10 minutes, and it will wipe out the app and all traces of it entirely and send an alert toEijirou’sphone.”

“Basically,” Dabi continues for the man, after seeing thatTwiceis still far too exhausted to explain anything, “it will know if you have it or not and close up tighter than Tartarus if someone else gets ahold of it. It’s nearly as secure as Ei’s old burner phone from when he was at U.A., actually.”

“You can’t just use it willy-nilly, though,” Shigaraki stresses again. “It’s secure, yes, but it’s still a risk. Only message Eijirou after 7 pm, unless there’s an emergency. Try to only ever use the app when you’re alone. Also, you can’t record any audio from any calls to him, and it’s impossible to screencap from the app. Your front camera will also be able to sense if you or anyone else points a camera or another phone’s camera at the app and will scramble the screen up and delete the app permanently, so no funny business.”

“Got it,” Katsuki stares down at his phone, honestly still shocked that he’s been allowed to have it back at all, much less that he’s being given permission and a way to contact Kiri through it. “That all?”

“Our numbers are all in there, too!” Toga sings out, getting uncomfortably close to him. “Not that you care or would want to talk to us , but they’re there, just in case!”

“Great...” he tries to back up slowly, without the others noticing that he’s bothered by herproximity.

Twice suddenly perks up across the room and leans over to whisper something into Kirishima’s ear; Katsuki sees him go bright red as he loudly begins to choke on his coffee. Dabi moves over to thump him on the back, mildly concerned and highly amused. Kirishima suddenly refuses to meet any of their eyes.

“Right! Well, Kat has to get back to U.A., so when are we heading out?!”

“’We’?” Toga asks him, face falling. “Eiji, you know you can’t go withhim;it isn’t safe for you to be anywhere near U.A. still!”

“Oh... Right.” Kirishima’s face falls, too. “Makes sense.”

Kirishima walks over to Katsuki and pulls him into a tight hug, which Katsuki returns with only a few tears starting to leak from his eyes. And he doesn’t audibly sniffle, loud enough for the entire room to hear.

Suddenly, the members of the League all feel the need to move towards the kitchen and start putting away supplies and cleaning the dishes; seeing as their ‘breakfast’ had consisted of coffee and there’s only a few cups and spoons and a bottle of creamer out, it doesn’t really seem like the type of job that should take all 5 of them. Unless they’re actually trying to give Katsuki and Kirishima some semblance of privacy...

“Hey, hey, it’s fine, Kat,” Kiri says, running a hand through Katsuki’s hair soothingly. “It’s just for a bit, and you can actually text me, so it won’t be too bad this time. You can come back soon.”

“I know,” Katsuki wipes at his eyes angrily. “Dunno why I’m being such a f*cking baby- Oh.”

“Drugs?” Kirishima asks him knowingly.

“Drugs,” he agrees, nose scrunched. “I hate those f*ckingthings;they’d better wear off soon.”

“When are they supposed to?” Kirishima’s eyebrows scrunch together cutely. “You’ll be okay for classes, right?”

“I’ll be fine, they should be wearing off soon, here.”

The boys separate a little when they hear a throat clearingawkwardly.

“About that,” Shigaraki says, eyeing them from behind the bar. “I’m gonna need you to take another dose.”

“Tomura-”

“What the f*ck, Dusty?” Great, just what he needs before going back to school and having to hide everything from everyone: exhaustion on top of his exhaustion, more bloating, outbursts, and f*cking mood swings. Great, great idea, really! “This is bullsh*t.”

“Tomura,” Kirishima says again, pleadingly. “C’mon, do you really have to make him do that? He’s already had so much of the damn stuff! He feels like crap because of it.”

“f*cking understatement,” Katsuki tries to keep the rage out of his voice and is mostly successful, though he can’t help but level a glare Shigaraki’s way.

The man raises his hands placatingly. “Look, no offense, but we still don’t exactly trust you. The pills are due to wear off in about,” he checks his watch, “10 minutes, and we’ll need longer than that to talk to you about some things. We can’t just let Kurogiri take you back to the gates of U.A. when you have access to literal bombs, we aren’t idiots, here.”

“Speak for yourself,” Twice mutters, half asleep at the kitchen sink and still sounding exhausted from his all-nighter with Dabi working on Katsuki’s phone. “I’m dumb as sh*t. f*ck you, I’m a genius! Wait, what?”

Despite himself, Katsuki finds himself snorting out a laugh or two at that. f*cking stupid Nullamine and its stupid f*cking mood-swings and sh*t. Shigaraki looks surprised to see Katsuki laughing, and in the back of his mind, he files that away for further perusal.

“Sorry,” to his credit, Dabi does actually look like he feels a bit bad. “Didn’t realize earlier that he’d want you to take more of that sh*t, after all. I know it’s no walk in the park.”

“’S’fine,” Katsuki mutters back, figuring his best bet at the moment is to remain docile and play up his tiredness a bit. He tries not to wonder why Dabi is seemingly so familiar with the side effects of the drug. “I would probably do the same sh*t in your position, I guess.”

Katsuki takes the pills and mug of creamy liquid from Kurogiri with a grimace, downing it all in one go. Whatever the drink is, it’s surprisingly not disgusting, so there’s no way it’s coffee. Katsuki’s only had coffee once or twice and he knows he absolutely loathes the bitter drink; it’s disgusting and makes his heart race uncomfortably.

“There’s no f*ckin way that’s coffee,” he finds himself sayingout loud.

Kirishima pulls him into another hug, chuckling. “It is, actually, ‘Giri’s just a really good barista. His coffees are never bitter.”

“Huh,” Katsuki muses, surprised. “The f*ck kind was it, then?”

“A rose milk latte,” Kurogiri replies. “With a bit of espresso, but not too much, or it would become bitter.”

“...Thanks, then. It was pretty good.” He hates that he’s complimenting one of the f*ckers, but figures it can’t hurt to appear somewhat polite. Besides, it had been pretty good and had masked the acrid taste of the Nullamine quite well.

“Enough of that,” Shigaraki says, suddenly more serious than Katsuki’s ever seen him. “We need to talk. Me and you.”

And even though the caffeine hasn’t had time to kick in, Katsuki suddenly finds his heart racing. Shigaraki hadn’t even looked this serious when they’d kidnapped Katsuki. Hell, he didn’t even look like this when trying to kill them all at the USJ. He feels Toga pull Kirishima away from him and tries to ignore how his hear leaps into his throat. “Kiri...”

“It’ll befiiiiiiine,” Toga sings out. “I’ll give him back in a few minutes, promise!”

“Ah, Kat-”

“Ei, trust us a little,” Dabi buts in, moving to follow them and dragging Twice along behind him. “He won’t hurt your little boyfriend, unless he tries something stupid. And I think you’d be the first to tell us that Bakugou’s not stupid. Right?”

“Right,” Kirishima glances back at Katsuki with wide, worried eyes.

“I’ll be fine, Kiri,” Katsuki tells him, trying to hide his nerves. “I may not like these f*ckers and I doubt they like me, but we all care about you, so as long as we can agree on that, it’ll be fine.”

The door shuts behind Twice, thudding nearly as loud as Katsuki’s heart as he turns to look at Shigaraki. The room almost instantly fills with a thick could of tension and uneasiness. Maybe it’s the pills talking, but Katsuki suddenly feels more afraid than he ever recalls being in his life. For a split second, he’s fully convinced he’s about to die here, after all. He berates himself mentally for being so gullible as to think that they’d really just... Hand him his phone back, drop him off at U.A., and let him go on his merry way. It had all seemed too good to be true, and so of course, it had to come to an end.

Starting to shake a little, panic clawing at his chest, Katsuki isn’t sure what to do. He can already feel the latest dose of Nullamine kicking in, clouding whatever connection he has to his explosions. He can feel his eyes prick with nervous tears, though he refuses to let them fall. Whatever he’s expecting to happen, though, it’s not for the crusty man to gesture for him to come sit down at the bar and then pour him another cup of that rose coffee sh*t when he does. Katsuki grabs onto the cup like a lifeline, steadily ignoring how his hands are shaking and hoping it will go unnoticed.

(It doesn’t.)

“You’re scared of me,” Shigaraki observes calmly, but he sounds thrilled about it.

‘f*ck.’

“ Like f*ck I am,” Katsuki scoffs. “It’s just the damn emotional outburst sh*t from the pills, you f*cks have made me take like 4 or 5 doses now. The side effects stack.”

“They do,” the man agrees, still sounding eerily at ease and all the more horrifying for it. “But they don’t create feelings that aren’t there. So, you really are scared of me.”

There’s a long silence that Katsuki feels by taking a slow sip of his drink, savoring the taste more this time. He can tell now that it’s coffee, but it’s still floral and sweet and not at all bitter. His hands shake marginally less and he forces himself to take several deep, steading breaths. He finally finds himself able to look back up at Shigaraki and answer without his voice wobbling.

“Fine,” he says shortly, loathing to admit it. “Maybe I am scared.”

“But you’re still here,” Shigaraki points out, and Katsuki just raises an eyebrow as his mood shifts from terrified to scared-but-f*cking-annoyed in a flash. “You didn’t even seem this scared when we kidnapped you, or when Sensei was around. But now... Now, you’re downright terrified.”

“I know better now,” Katsuki blurts unwillingly before scowling into his cup. “I know the kind of sh*t you can, and will, do. And you’ve got Kirishima on your side, which is worse, because it-” he cuts himself off, angry at this new tendency of his to babble away all of his thoughts like f*cking Izuku.

“Because of what?”

“... Because it means you can’t all be some f*cking... Embodiment of pure evil, or some sh*t. Kiri is one of the most open, loving, forgiving people I’ve ever met – and yet he’s still part of the League. That means on some level, not all of your ideals are evil and wrong. It means there’s good sh*t about you, that you’re...people. I don’t like that. It makes you more dangerous.”

Shigaraki sips his own drink and appears to think it over for a bit, before smiling – but there’s no real warmth in it. Katsuki feels his hackles raise and a sense of barely concealed panic washes over him yet again. “You really think the world of Eijirou, don’t you?”

“No sh*t.” That much should really be obvious by now, given all that they’ve seen or heard him do or say in the last several hours. As if he would willingly waltz into the home of the people who’d nearly killed him before all for someone he doesn’t love!

“You think he’s some... Untarnished, perfect, pure being,” Shigaraki sounds pissed off now. “That he can do no wrong. But he can. You-”

Katsuki finds himself laughing without his permission, though the tone verges on hysterical.

“What?” Shigaraki looks surprised again, and marginally more human for it; it helps Katsuki’s fear fade a bit, for the time being.

“I don’t think Kiri is perfect,” Katsuki tells him. “I know he’s not; no one is. He leaves socks on the floor all the time. He destroys toothbrushes. He can’t cook worth a damn, he leaves toast crumbs all over the counters, and he’s crabby as f*ck in the mornings. I’ve never thought he was perfect, you dusty f*ck. I... I just know he’s perfect for me . He doesn’t have to be flawless to be amazing. He doesn’t have to only ever do perfectly good things for me to love him. That’s- That’s not the way love works, at least for me and him. When I say I love him, I mean it – no matter what.”

“... You really do love him,” Shigaraki muses out loud, the terrifying atmosphere in the room dissipating at last. “You’ve both been saying that you do, and god knows he loves you, the way he wouldn’t shut up about you and got that sappy look on his face all the time. But... You love him.”

“I- Yeah? We’ve established that,” as the last of his terror dissipates, confusion comes forth instead. Had he not been perfectly clear to every villain there just how much he cared about Kirishima? Were they all socially inept and incapable of seeing it?

“What if I told you,” Shigaraki leans forward suddenly, looking intense, “That he’s a criminal?”

“.... You guys literally refer to yourselves as the ‘League of Villains’, I’d say that’s pretty clear.”

“’Villain’ is one thing. ‘Criminal’ is another. He hurt your principal and a few cops. He attacked one of your teachers.Eraserheadwas so cool! He cancelled Eijirou’s quirk, but he’s super strong without it and he kept attacking, anyway. And we all got away, thanks to him and Kurogiri.”

“... I know.” And f*ck, those were awful things to watch his normally gentle boyfriend do on live TV. He had had nightmares about that, before.

“But Eijirou’s done other things, too.”

“Like what?” Katsuki manages not to wince, but only barely. He’s suddenly not sure if he wants the answer to that. Logically, he knows Kirishima’s had to have done some sh*tty things to have the League trust him so completely, but. He’s not been itching to ask Kiri for details, much less get them from his boss.

“Leaked information on U.A. His old classmate’s quirks, and some of the B class kids’ as well. Info on the teachers, on patrol times, things you’re all trained on. He’s robbed banks. He’s helped intimidate people for us, into doing what we want. He’s let us take prisoners and he hasn’t complained when Himiko gets information out of them...”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you may not think he’s perfect, but I don’t know if you’ve realized that, by your standards, he isn’t even a good person.”

Rage, hot and familiar and with a false sense of bravery, rushes into Katsuki. “First of all, f*ck you. f*ck. YOU. Eiji- Kiri is the best person, period, nothing’s changing that no matter what. How f*cking dare someone like you say he isn’t a good person?! Second, I thought you f*cking cared about him! Why would you say sh*t like that if you don’t evencare-”

“I do. We all do. He’s family to us, everyone here loves him. Every time we almost give up, or things get dark and we think we can’t go on, he’s the one to bring us out of it and convince us to keep fighting! We’d all die for him, same as he would for us. He keeps us sane, keeps us going. Don’t you dare insinuate we don’t care about Eijirou, because we do! But we can’t let you come around messing with his head and distracting him all the time, if you’re only going to hurt him later.”

“What the f*ck are you talking about? I would never hurt him!” His hands clench around the edge of the table, coffee mug abandoned in the fear that he might give into temptation and shatter it against Shigaraki’s skull.

“You’re a hero, he’s a villain. He’s done some bad things. Isn’t it in the job description for you to be upset about that and stop him? Why... For all you know... He may have even killed someone by now.” Shigaraki smirks at him cruelly.

Katsuki feels his blood run cold in fear; no matter what they have on Kirishima, be it blackmail or threatening his family orGodknows what...Surely, Kirishima would never go as far as to murder someone. That kind of violence and cruelty just isn’t in his nature. Right?

(Right?)

“I- I won’t lie and say that that sh*t doesn't bother me at all. But I’m not going to turn against him because of what he’s done here. He has good reasons for being here and he wants to change things. Whatever he’s done, whatever he’ll have to do, I know it’s for a good reason and will be worth it in the end. It doesn’t make him any less... Kirishima . It doesn’t make me love him any less, you stupid f*cking walnut-”

Shigaraki’s wheezy laughter cuts him off. “Good, good. We all had to know, for sure, that you wouldn’t break his heart. He deserves the world, and we aren’t letting just any jerk date him. It-”

“Oh, my f*cking god,” Katsuki mutters, suddenly drained, before chugging the rest of his coffee and rubbing between his eyes wearily. “This was a f*cking shovel talk?”

“I’ve heard I’m good at them,” Shigaraki agrees with an almost normal-looking smile. “I do it every time Magne starts seeing someone, and when Spinner has a date come around. Never had to do it for Twice, he only ever has a one-night stand here and there. I’ll have to do the same to Dabi and Toga both, once they finally get their sh*t together.”

“...You’re like their crazy, protective parent,” Katsuki deadpans. “Great.”

“I leave the sex talk to Kurogiri, though,” Shigaraki tells him. Katsuki is so busy being red and sputtering that he doesn’t even hear the others come back in or hear Shigaraki filling them in on the wholeembarrassingsituation. Before he knows it, he has Kirishima in his arms again, rubbing soothing circles against his back.

“You okay, Katsuki?”

“I’m... Embarrassed enough to die, I think,” he replies, head falling onto Kirishima’s shoulder. “Your f*cking dad gave me a shovel talk.”

“He what?! Tomura!”

“Someone had to do it, Eijirou!”

“Still, you probably scared the sh*t out of him, that’s so not manly of you-”

“Icouldalet Himiko do it!”

“Himi would have cut him up!”

“Exactly, so just be glad-”

The ribbing and shouting cuts off suddenly as the phone in Katsuki’s pocketstartsringing loudly; a bright, poppy tune that’s very unlike his shrill and demanding alarm.

‘-Last Friday night, yeah we danced on table tops, and we took too many shots-’

“ f*ck,” Katsuki mutters.

“Is that Mina’s ringtone?” Kirishima asks, paling.

“Yup.”

“...Answer it. Put it on speaker.” Shigaraki states flatly. “Dabi?”

“...Right.” Dabi comes up next to them and lights up a hand warningly, though he looks like he feels bad about it. The other hand, he uses to put a finger to his lips as he stares at Kirishima.

“H-Hello?” Katsuki asks, cursing himself internally for sounding raspy and nervous.

“BLASTY! Finally, where are you?! Everyone’s worried, you’re almost gonna be late! Are you okay?” Mina sounds downright tearful

“f*ck. I-” He glances between Kiri and Dabi for a moment and then back at the phone. “I went for a f*ckin’ run, I didn’t have my usual alarm set, though. I didn’t realize what time it was.”

There’s a sound of relief and some garbled yelling in the background; Mina must have had him on speakerphone, as well. “A run?” To her credit, Mina only sounds marginally shocked. “We were freaking out, Blasty! You didn’t answer anyone’s texts. We allkindathought...”

“Thought what?”

“We thought something bad had happened to you!” Denki yells from the background. Katsuki sees Kirishima’s eyes well up a little at the voices of two of his previous best friends. “We thought you were hurt or something-”

“f*cks sake,” Katsuki answers, rolling his eyes for good measure. “I told Sero and f*ckingIcyHotyesterday, I’m fine.”

“You haven’t been anywhere close to fine, Kachaan. Everyone knows that. You’ve been walking around like a zombie uptilyesterday, so forgive everyone if they’re surprised that you just suddenly decided to start working out again...”

There’s a pause where all of the villains look at Katsuki, mildly surprised, and Kirishima looks at him guiltily.

“Maybe not,” Katsuki agrees easily enough, pointedly ignoring how his voice cracks with emotion at hearing their concern for him. “But if it wasn’t clear to you f*cking f*ckers, I’m getting better. I’ll be back soon, don’t f*cking wait up for me.”

“You sure, Blasty?” Sero seems to have the phone now. “You must be exhausted if you’ve been out running this long.”

“I... I’m f*cking tired, yeah, but it’s fine. I feel better than I have in weeks.” It’s not even a lie; with Kiri back in his life, everything’s perfect.

“Okay, we’ll all see you in class, then!”

“Bye, Blasty!”

“Bye!”

“See you soon, dude!”

“Bye, Kachaan!”

Mina, or whoever has custody of her phone, finally hangs up and everyone in the room breathes a sigh of relief. Katsuki has the feeling somehow that he’s just managed to pass yet another test, though he isn’t sure how he feels about it. He doesn’t have time to figure it out, either, because Kirishima is hugging him tight again and frantically telling Kurogiri that he has to get Katsuki back to campus before he’s missed.

(They do make time for he and Kiri to kiss goodbye, though, because even the League of Villains isn’t evil enough to deny them that.)

After Kurogiri drops him off, Katsuki thanks him and immediately makes a mad dash towards Heights Alliance. He’s pretty sure he passes a few classmates on his way and raises a hand to wave, but he doesn’t stop long enough to talk to them, late as he already is. By the time he gets back to his room, he’s sweaty and positively heaving for breath, with little black dots dancing at the edges of his vision. It’s far too late for a shower, sadly. He has just enough time to splash some ice-cold water on his face, change into his uniform, and glance at himself in the mirror of his small bathroom before grabbing his school bag and rushing back out the door.

He... Doesn’t look great, admittedly. The bags under his eyes are still pretty pronounced. He’s pale. His uniform his even more rumpled than usual, and he suddenly becomes aware of just how comically huge it looks on him now. He actually has had to resort to wearing a belt for a few weeks, as his pants have passed ‘baggy’ and gone on to ‘will fall off at any moment’ territory. He’s also flushed a splotchy, ill-looking pink from his frantic run back to the dorms. As he runs towards the 1-A classroom, he frantically thanks any deity listening that they don’t havepractical'suntil after lunch; the Nullamine will havewornoff by then, so he’ll be able to use his quirk again. Thank f*ck for that, too – it would raise far too many questions if he suddenly refused to use his explosions, and Recovery Girl might be able to figure out that he’s under the effect of quirk-cancelling drugs if she looks him over.

Katsuki bursts through the door at the last second and everyone’s head turn to stare at him at once. It makes him uncomfortable, to say the least. The feeling isn’t helped when almost all of their expressions change to that of surprise or worry upon looking at him.

“Blasty...” Mina starts, standing up out of her chair. “You don’t look too hot.” She comes up to him and puts the back of her tiny hand against his forehead. “You feel it, though!”

“Overdid my run,” he grits out, trying to hide how out of breath he still is. “Should have set a f*ckin’ alarm.”

From his desk, Denki’s face fills with concern and something Katsuki can’t quite identify. “Dude... You look pretty sick. Did you even shower?” The way Mina scrunches her nose is answer enough, but he replies anyway.

“...No.” Katsuki looks away from the electric blond, embarrassed. For all that he’d been slacking on schoolwork, sleep, eating, and exercise during his weeks of depression, his one strong point had been that he’d never had a messy room or missed a shower. His absolutely fastidious nature had refused to let him do so. ‘So much for that,’ he thinks, aware of how admitting this must look to the squad, and he can’t stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks. “I was in a hurry.”

“Kachaan...” Izuku’s eyebrows furrow in worry. “You had seemed to be doing so much better the last few nights.”

“I was!” he blurts out, louder than he intended. “I still am , I mean. I just got a little... Overenthusiastic. That’s all.”

“You look like you’re going to keel over at any moment, Bakugou.” Sero’s stare is a little unnerving. “Did you even sleep last night?”

“I- some, yeah,” he feels awful at the wayeveryone'sfaces crumple. “I mean, I had a ton of sleep while you were all in class yesterday, so my sleep schedule’s kind of off!”

There’s an awkward pause as Izuku tears up and the squad members all glance back and forth at one another, wondering what to do. The rest of the class watches uncomfortably. Finally, Denki leans over and grabs his school bag, pulling an obnoxiously bright yellow can out of it and handing it to Katsuki.

“The f*ck is this?”

“An energy drink,” Denki replies. “One that may or may not be entirely legal in Japan, but they work pretty well. You look like you could use somecaffeine.”

“Is that wise?” Todoroki pipes up suddenly. “I’ve never seen Bakugou so much as sip coffee before.”

“Because it tastes like sh*t,” Katsuki shoots back with a glare, determinedly not thinking about the rich, floral drink Kurogiri had made, or the 2 cups of it he had drank. “This stuff taste as awful as it looks, Denki?”

Denki blinks before grinning at the use of his name. “Nah, man, it’s pretty good, I promise!”

“Why the hell not, then?” Katsuki asks the room at large with an eyeroll, before popping the tab open and taking a large gulp. Denki is right, it isn’t bad at all. It tastes disturbingly like marshmallow fluff and pineapples, though. Katsuki isn’t quite sure what to make of that combination, but if it helps get him looking more alert and put together and calms everyone down, then how bad can it be? Besides, Denki drinks the damn things pretty frequently, and he seems to be fine with it.

The awkward, worried staring at him continues even as he sits down at his desk and sips the drink. His skin is crawling, his heart is still racing from his run, and his friends looks of ill-concealed worry verging on panic are eating away at him. To his horror, Katsuki feels tears begin to prick at his eyes. ‘Stupid. f*cking. Nullamine.’ He thinks furiously. Thankfully, Aizawa shows up then and begins the class, only shooting one worried look Katsuki’s way, and raising an eyebrow sardonically when the teen just raises up the canned drink in a mock-toast and mouthing ‘cheers .’

By the middle of homeroom, the yellow drink is long gone and Aizawa is napping in the corner. He had told them all to fill out a simple worksheet, front and back, and then to help the others when they were done. After they finished that, he had said, they were to talk quietly. Katsuki had hoped that the worksheet would be in-depth enough to take most of his classmates the entire period to finish, but to his chagrin, most of them are done before he is. It’s not that he doesn’t know the material – he does, his study sessions and all of the makeup work the other day had seen to that. It’s just that his brain, drugged and sleepless as it is, is working annoyingly slow at the moment. Finally, though, he finishes the packet and hands it to Iida, who dutifully brings it up and stacks it with the others on Aizawa’s podium.

After that, it’s open season on bothering Katsuki, apparently, because Izuku,IcyHot, and his own squad pull their desks near and surround his.

“I’m f*cking tired. I’m taking a nap,” he announces suddenly, and buries his head in his arms. All class, his emotions had been at odds with one another and he’d swung wildly from feeling like crying to wanting to laugh like a maniac at the dumbest sh*t – the last dose of Nullamine was really getting to him, apparently.

Thankfully, he must sound steady and sure enough in himself that no one dares question him right now. It’s a whopping lie, saying that he’s tired. Whatever the f*ck was in that can has him practically vibrating through his seat and down into the center of the Earth, but also somehow about to float through the ceiling and drift away. Katsuki thinks that he’s never been wider awake in his entire f*cking life. Fortunately, he’s able to keep still enough to pass as sleeping. Unfortunately, everyone continues to softly talk around him, assuming he’s asleep, and he has to hear it all or risk blowing his cover and getting questioned.

“Man, he must really be feeling like sh*t if he can sleep after that drink,” Denki mutters to them. “I sip one all day to keep going, but he practically chugged it and he’s still exhausted.”

“I had thought he would be more sensitive tocaffeine,” Todoroki says in his customary monotone. “He drinks it even less frequently than me, and-” he cuts off suddenly, actual emotion entering his voice, and Katsuki wishes he could see his face.

Izuku laughs softly and answers what must have been a questioning look from someone. “I gave Todoroki a Monster once, when we were studying for hours on end. He was bouncing off of walls by the end of the can. I’d never seen him hyper before, it wasadorab- IT. It was interesting!”

Everyone chuckles softly at that, and even Todoroki lets out a small, breathy laugh. “I thought my heart was going to explode, it was awful. I couldn’t sit still. But Bakugou isn’t even affected.”

“Maybe it’ll get to him after he rests some,” Mina suggests. “Then he’ll have energy from the drink, and from his nap, and it’ll be like double-energy!”

“Not gonna lie,” Denki laughs. “I’d love to see Katsuki hyper and bouncing around like a little kid, it would be hilarious.”

Everyone laughs at that and Katsuki can’t decide if he’s pissed off or if he also thinks it would be kind of funny.

“I just want to see him happy again,” Sero says, bringing the mood down instantly and harshly.

“Yeah.”

“Me, too.”

“Same.”

‘ Well, f*ck.’

“ He looks pretty bad,” Mina says suddenly. “I’ve never seen his uniform this messy before.”

“There’s rebelling and then there’s...this,” Izuku tells her, and Katsuki can just hear the wayhe’sgesturing at him. “He didn’t even shower. Kachaan always showers, though!”

“He did say he was in a hurry,” Todoroki replies. “Even Bakugou can lose track of time and be late.”

“And he was running!” Denki says, trying to sound upbeat, though Katsuki can hear the way his voice shakes. “That’sgottabe good, right? He’s running again, he’s taking better care of himself...”

He trails off and they all sit in silence for a long moment.

“...He smells like alcohol,” Mina whispers. “I smelled it when I was checking his temperature.”

“He what?!” A whispered cacophony of voices blurts out.

Katsuki winces, face still hidden. Hehad been at a bar all night, technically. The others had all been drinking at dinner, except for himself and Kirishima. And he wasn’t entirely sure what all was in their coffees this morning. His drinks had been normal, yes, but Kurogiri was aware of how alcohol interacted with the medication and had known better than to offer him any. But that didn’t mean none of the others were drinking, or that Katsuki hadn’t managed to lean against a puddle of spilled alcohol at some point. No wonder Mina could smell it on him. f*ck.

“You don’t think he’s started drinking or something, do you?” Denki asks frantically. “We’d know, right? We would know.”

“ Kachaan never drank with the other kids in middle school,” Izuku saidplacatingly. “I don’t think he’s ever had alcohol before in his life, actually. I doubt he would start drinking now. He’s been getting better, you guys.”

“Then why does he smell like a minibar, Midoriya?” Mina asks.

“I... I don’t know.”

Katsuki ‘wakes up’ in time for their next class, with Present Mic. Everyone scrambles to get their desks back in their own spots, but Denki pauses and puts a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder.

“You doing better, dude?”

“A bit, yeah,” Katsuki replies. “I feel a little more alert, thanks.”

It’s even true – he does feel more alert. As time goes on, Denki’s cursed energy drink only seems to be getting stronger.

“...Okay. Just... Let me know if you aren’t,y’know, okay.” The weird, indescribable look is back in Denki’s eyes.

“Uh, okay?”

Katsuki tries to forget about it as Present Mic begins talking about some weird novel or another. The class isn’t bad; Katsuki actually knows a lot of the answers and gives them, earning a pleased look from Mic. When he splits the class into groups to work on a small project, Katsuki ends up with Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami in the smallest group; thanks to Kiri being gone, the other three groups have five people each. Katsuki’s group is rather intelligent and serious, and so they finish their assignments quickly. Jirou starts in about some band, Tokoyami agreeing with her on most of her points. They both seem really into the band and the songs, and Yaoyorozu looks pretty lost. Katsuki follows along just fine, however, seeing as he actually likes the band as well. At one point, Tokoyami says something that leaves Katsuki the perfect opening to make a joke about one of the members; normally he wouldn’t take the opening anymore, but it’s that or start bouncing around like a toddler at a birthday party, with all of the energy coursing through him. So, he does.

Jirou’s laugh is loud enough to silence the entire room as everyone looks over at them, confused. Then, despite himself, Tokoyami starts chuckling as well. It surprises everyone even further, as Tokoyami rarely laughs in public. Jirou makes eye contact with Katsuki and then he’s laughing right alongside them; every time Jirou laughs, Katsuki starts laughing harder, and vice versa. Other than their laughter (Well, all-out cackling in Jirou’s and Katsuki’s cases) you could hear a pin drop in 1-A. Hardly anyone had seen Katsuki so much as crack a smile in weeks, much less laugh. Some of them hadn’t been sure that he could laugh, anymore.

“Sorry,” he says, still flushed with laughter. “Sorry!”

In their next class, Midnight puts on a movie. She tells them she had a very late patrol, a long night, and can’t focus well; the class is very understanding.

But the movie is emotional; sweet and much too sad. It’s about a mechanic who dies in a theme park accident, while saving a little girl, and how he goes on to meet people that had significantly impacted him over the course of his life. The man goes on a long emotional journey, andit’spainful for Katsuki to watch.

The main character, Eddie, had accidentally killed a man when he was just a kid, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man he had caused the death of tells himthat everyone is connected in one way or another, and that everything and everyone has a purpose in life.

Then, Eddie meets his old captain, and finds out that the man died not long after saving his own life, and he learns the importance of sacrifices, both big and small.

He meets a woman who talks him through his complicated feelings for his father, and he learns that hatred is a double-edged sword, harming the wielder as much as the target. He learns to forgive others.

He meets his late wife, and they share their memories and regrets with one another; the man learns that love is never lost, doesn’t end when someone dies, but carries on forever.

And, finally, Eddie meets a little girl whom he had accidentally killed in war. She shows him that his life had meaning, tells him that he was successful in saving the little girl at the theme park, and that he has atoned. From her, the man learns to finally forgive himself.

By the end, there’s not a single dry eye in the class. However, Katsuki and Izuku are the only ones full-out sobbing at their desks. It’s a normal enough occurrence for Izuku to get over-emotional in class, even crying a good deal. But aside from the squad at one of their last movie nights, no one’s ever seen Katsuki break down like this before. Even after Kiri’s ’betrayal’, he had only cried (quietly) in front of them once before starting to just shut down most of the time and isolate himself when he couldn’t help breaking down. So, for all of 1-A to see him sobbing openly, it’s rather shocking.

“Erm,youokay?” Satou asks uncertainly.

Katsuki is still crying too hard to answer, so he just turns to Kouda and signs “f*ck off, it was a sad movie. You f*cking bitches are crying, too.”

Kouda’s eyes widen (as do those of most of the class, who hadn’t known that Katsuki could sign), and he stutteringly repeats Katsuki’s words to the class, verbatim. Hearing his timid little voice call their classmates ‘f*cking bitches’ stops Katsuki’s tears in their tracks and leads to him laughing his ass off at thelookon everyone’s faces.

(His wild swing from crying mess to laughing uncontrollably doesn’t go unnoticed by any of them, or cause the squad to feel any more at ease.)

Lunch finally comes around, and Katsuki realizes with a start that he’s starving . He hadn’t had time to eat breakfast before leaving the League’s headquarters, and theNullamine’seffects are starting to dull, leading to his hunger rearing its head loudly. Katsuki actually gets in line for lunch for the first time in ages, which should make the squad feel better.

(It doesn’t.)

“Something isn’t right,” Denki says to Mina and Sero once Katsuki is far enough away. “Do you think he’s drunkrightnow?”

“He’s not acting drunk,” Sero says, shaking his head. “It’s almost like he’s high or something, Idunno.”

Mina and Denki’s eyes widen and they look at one another uneasily.

“You think he might be doing drugs?” Denki near-yelps.

“Shh!” Mina shushes him, looking around to make sure they aren’t overheard. “If he is on drugs, why’s hesmelllike a frat party?”

“Could be doing both?” Sero suggests uneasily. “Itwould explain the mood-swings, for sure.”

“He smells like alcohol, though,” Denki whispers. “Not weed.”

“It... It could be something stronger than weed,” Mina says unwillingly. “I mean, I don’t think he would do that, but...”

“But he’s acting insane,” Denki finishes sadly. “I know, he really is.”

“... We need to talk to him, soon,” Sero decides for all of them. “Tonight.”

“Tonight,” Mina agrees. “We need to make sure he knows that we aren’t judging him though, if he is getting high or drunk. He needs to know that we love him still, no matter what, and that we just want to help him.”

Denki is quiet, way too quiet, and the other two look over at him worriedly. He’s wiping tears from his eyes. “I hope you’re right and it’s just alcohol or drugs,” he whispers. “I hope it’s not like Makoto all over again.”

Mina and Sero both wince sympathetically. Mina wraps Denki up in a hug and Sero places a steadying hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“It won’t be, Kami,” Mina says. “We won’t let it.”

Katsuki walks back to the table with a full plate and a content smile on his face, and the other three scramble to hide their concern from him and go on as if nothing is wrong.

Katsuki feels the Nullamine finally wear off completely right as lunch ends; he’s sure having a full meal helps to steady his moods, as well. Only now, free of its grasp on his mind and body, does he realize just how badly the drug has been affecting him. The horrible bloated feeling finally eases up and he feels the strange, indescribable connection to his quirk open back up at last; he had missed it. It’s alsolikeafog liftsfrom his mind and he’s finally firing allcylindersagain.

Of course, this means he finally becomes fully aware of just how off he’s been acting all day and the effects it’s had on his class, so that’s not exactly pleasant. He tries to put it all out of his mind for the time being though, because 1-A has an obstacle course race under Aizawa’s direction now, and Katsuki has something to prove. He pointedly ignores the worried looks from his peers and the headache forming behind his eyes from the use of the medicine as he changes into his hero costume.

And then he’s struck by how poorly his costume fits him now and stifles an irritated sigh. It’s his own fault, really, that the fabric hangs loose around his chest and stomach. It’s his actions, or lack of, that have led to his grenadier bracers sliding around slightly on his forearms now, ever-so-slightly too large. It’s because of him that he now finds said bracers a little more difficult to lift and move around than he used to. It still pisses him off, though, and he resolves to talk to Support about a temporary fix after classes end for the day. Right now, though, he just has to focus on not being in the bottom ten of the exercise. A small, insecure part of him that still lingers from his mood swings worries that he’ll be in the bottom 5 again, or worse, dead last.

He’s not.

He manages to come in sixth place, surprising even himself a bit. Todoroki had been first, thanks to his ice lifting him above most of the obstacles; he’s followed by Izuku, due to sheer power and determination; Yaoyorozu, who had been able to come up with creative solutions around the obstacles; Sero, thanks to his excellent maneuverability; and Iida, who’s speed had helped to make up for his lack of grace. Katsuki can’t stop grinning as he finishes the course, though – using his quirk again had felt amazing . Though it wasn’t quite as bad as losing Kirishima, the damned drugs had left him feeling like a part of him was cut off and missing. Having his explosions back, and the adrenaline of dodging through obstacles and overcoming them, had him feeling incredible.

As the other thirteen members of 1-A finally come in behind him, he lets out a (controlled, normal-volume) laugh and looks at Izuku andIcyHotwith a grin. “You’d better get ready, f*ckers! Next time, I’ll kick both your asses!”

“Kachaan!” Izuku exclaims, finally registering just how high the blond had placed. “You got sixth!”

“For now, yeah, I’m still in sh*t shape,” he admits, but he’s not whining. “Even as f*cked up as I am, I still beat thirteen of you f*cks! But I’m training again, and I’m on my way back to the top, so you’d better watch out!” He means it seriously, but also in a joking manner; yes, he’s determined to get back to where he was before, but he’s also not disregarding their skills, just saying he’ll work hard to beat them even though they’re strong, too.

They seem to understand, thankfully, as Sero gives him a grin and a high-five. “Nice one, Bakugou!”

Katsuki just laughs. “Enjoy it, Sero, it’s the last time you’ll ever beat me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Sero grins challengingly, and Katsuki smirks back, glad that the others seem to be done walking around on eggshells with him at last. He completely misses the confused and uneasy look in Denki’s eyes at the interaction.

After class, Katsuki finally gets to have his shower. Standing under the water, hot as he can take it, he finally feels 100% back to normal. He vows to never be late enough to skip a shower again, and then quickly amends it to ‘if I’m that late, I’m showering anyway and just being late to class.’ He’d rather face Aizawa’s disappointed look and maybe a detention than face everyone’s worry and general uneasiness like that again.

He throws on his unused gym uniform after the shower, being the only clean thing that he has with him at the moment. He forgoes the zip up jacket, though, just taking the pants and black t-shirt. He was considering going back to the dorms right away after all, but the way his pants sag and his shirt pools around his chest and waist has him sighing and heading towards Support, after all.

When he gets there, it’s to see that annoying pink-haired chick – the one from the Sport’s Festival, not Denki’s crush. He had forgotten (tried to, anyway) that she was in the Support Course. She sees him and lights up, bouncing over his direction.

“Bomb boy!” She shouts, and Katsuki has the brief urge to keep her around so that no one will ever think he’s mentally unhinged again, not when they have her as a comparison. “What brings you to my lab?! Do you want me to make you some sweet, sweet babies?!”

“Hah?!”

“Hatsume,” a boy with teal hair says warningly. “Powerloader-sensei won’t let you help the 3rdyears on their final project if you keep scaring your ownyear mates.”

“Sorry, Ikihara!” She backs away from Katsuki to an almost respectable distance. “What do you need, bomb boy?”

“Katsuki Bakugou, right? First year hero course, 1-A?” the teal-haired boy,Ikihara,asks, seemingly a lot more stable and used to Hatsume than most people. “I work with Hatsume, what can we help you with?”

“I’ve-” Katsuki isn’t quite sure how to put it. “I need my hero costume modified, at least fora while. It needs refitted and I guess I could use a little protective padding in some areas. Maybe lighten the bracers up for a bit, if you can.”

“You’re Kirishima’s ex, aren’t you?”Ikiharasays, though he’s busy looking at Katsuki’s costume file on a laptop.

“...I am, yeah,” Katsuki answers haltingly. Usually, when people ask that, it doesn’t end well for him.

“Then you’ve probably been depressed,” he goes on, sounding professional and clinical about it, to Katsuki’s surprise. “Let me guess, not working out, lost some muscle, hard to move the grenadiers?”

“Exactly,” if he pretends to be just as professional about this, maybe he won’t feel embarrassed. Ikihara scans him with something, presumably getting hismeasurments. “You can make the modifications?”

“We can have them finished by Saturdaymorning,I think. Protective padding around the stomach and chest?”

“Please.”

“Alright. The bracers may be a little hard to reduce in size without reducing their effectiveness, but I'm sure Hatsume and I can manage it. I won’t let her make anything explode that shouldn’t.” He finishes typing rapidly on the laptop and nods decisively.

“Thanks,” Katsuki says with a nod back, turning to leave.

“Ikihara, ask about his uniform and gym stuff!” Hatsume ‘whispers’, though her indoor voice is a loudshoutand her quiet voice isn’t much softer.

“My uniform and gym clothes?” Katsuki asks, turning back. “What about them?”

“They’re way too big for you!” She shakes her head rapidly, pink curls flying about haphazardly. “They always have been, and it annoys the sh*t out of Support, and the Business and Management kids! Plus, now they’re really, really too big! It’s not exactly a clean-cut, heroic look,y’know?!”

Katsuki ponders it for a second. He had just realized, after all, that his uniform and even gym clothes were a bit ridiculous-looking on him. Would it really be all that bad to finally wear fitting clothes? When he had started at U.A., he’d determinedly told his parents that he didn’t give a f*ck about appearances, and that a hero should be judged on how well they do, not how they dress. With his costume, it was one thing – a hero’s costume had to be well fitted and in good shape, because it was a safety hazard otherwise. But his every day clothes, and even uniform? That should have no bearing on him becoming Number One.

Admittedly, though, he had been tired of his mother forcing him into runway shoots and modelling gigs as a kid and wanted to dress like sh*t to get back at her for it. Two fashion designer parents, one a model, and just look at him! He had enjoyed the irony in it.

He still had a closet and dresser full of the well-fitting, high-end sh*t his parents kept sending him. It’s not that he didn’t like the stuff, it was comfortable and looked nice, and he did have a rather good sense of fashion. It’s just that, well. He’d had a few baggy shirts and jeans that just seemed to fit the image he’d been putting out since he was a kid, and when they’d moved into the dorms, he’d just stuck to that. The baggy uniform helped solidify his “I don’t give a f*ck” attitude, but...

Well, now he did actually give a f*ck. Quite a few f*cks, even. So maybe he would let Support put in an order to change his uniform sizing as well, and even start wearing nicer clothes on the weekends and evenings. Besides, he was determined that they’d get Kiri back eventually, and he did like the idea of looking nice for his boyfriend...

“Go ahead,” he tells them suddenly. “Fix my gym sh*t and my uniforms then. Just know once I'm back in shape, you’ll probably have to do it all over again.”

“That’s fine, we love a challenge,” Hatsume positively oozes psychotic-engineering-kid energy.

“Ah, yes,” Ikihara agrees, much calmer. “We can manage that just fine, Bakugou.”

Katsuki leaves the room feeling a little lighter. And a lot more relieved to be away from Hatsume, especially as he hears something explode behind the heavy metal door not long after he shuts it and walks away.

When he gets back to the dorms, Katsuki fully intends to go straight to his room and change into something more comfortable than his gym uniform, maybe even some of the sh*t from his parents. Instead, he walks in to see Mina, Denki, and Sero staring at him from the couches like it’s some kind of f*cking intervention.

“The f*ck?”

“Can we talk, Blasty?” Mina asks, fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously. “Please?”

“It’s important,” Sero adds in. “We can talk in my room, Todoroki and Satou won’t bother us.”

Denki says nothing, but he doesn’t have to because Katsuki realizes he’s crying silently instead. In a flash, Katsuki has dropped his bag on the floor and is over by Denki’s side. “f*cking sh*t, are you okay? What the f*ck happened, I’ll f*cking kill whoever made you cry-”

At that, Denki pales and starts crying harder.

“f*cking- sh*t.” Katsuki pulls Denki into a tight hug, trying his best to be steady and comforting the way Kirishima always is for people. “It’s fine, Denki. Don’t- don’t f*cking cry, okay? It’ll be okay, whatever it is, I promise.”

Mina and Sero trade moderately surprised looks and a small weight sems to lift off of both of their shoulders. Denki, still crying and tucked into Katsuki’s arms, doesn’t seem to notice; he just sniffles and pulls away slightly to wipe at his face.

“Will you feel better if we go to Sero’s room?” Katsuki asks, and Denki nods.

The four of them grab their stuff and head up to the 5thfloor. When Sero finally closes and locks the door behind him, Katsuki gently shoves Denki so that he’s sitting down on the bed, and sits next to him. Mina takes Sero’s computer chair at hisinsistence, and Sero leans up against the door, looking casual despite the tension in the room.

“The f*ck is going on here?” Katsuki demands again, sounding angry but looking at Denki, worried.

Sero and Mina share another look and shrug at one another; their silent little conversations are beginning to piss Katsuki off. “Look, just f*cking tell me-”

“Are you on drugs?” Denki blurts out with another sob, before looking horrified at himself.

For a split second, Katsuki thinks about the Nullamine with a start. But no, there’s no way anyone here could know about that. “No more than usual,” he says to cover up his hesitation.

“’Thanusual’?” Mina asks, sounding shocked.

“Stuff for anxiety sometimes, if it gets bad. Sleeping pills if I really need them, but they don’t really work all that great, so I haven’t tried them in a few weeks,” Katsuki explains to her placatingly. “Both of them from Recovery Girl and prescribed after... After Kamino.”

“Oh,” Mina breathes out, relieved. “So,no hard drugs, or illegal ones?”

“f*cking of course not,” he answers with an indignant frown. “I won’t even trust brownies from you f*cks, why would I do hard drugs?”

“What about drinking?” Sero asks suddenly, staring him down. “Been doing a lot of that lately?”

“No?” Katsuki thinks he realizes what’s going on now; they hadsmelled the League’s alcohol on him earlier, after all. He knows he’ll have to play dumb and come up with a good excuse there. “Why the f*ck would you think I’ve been- Oh.”

“Oh?” Mina asks.

“f*cking,ughh.” Katsuki rolls his eyes and tries to act disgusted. “I know what this is about, don’t tell me I’ve smelled like a f*cking brewery all day?”

“...You kind of have, dude,” Sero says, but he looks mildly less scrutinizing than before.

“f*cking sh*t, I knew I should have come back to the dorms right away, but no, I just had to do my f*cking morning run. I ran into that rude bitch from the day Denki met his crush,Toadie? Tofu?”

“Togeike,” Mina corrects, scrunching her nose and eyebrows together in displeasure. “What was she doing out that early?”

“Nothing good, I assume,” Katsuki continues on. “Considering I ran into her, literally, as she was coming out from behind one of the 3 rd years dorms. She had a cup of God knows what and spilled it on me. I didn’t realize it was that bad outside and figured I’d have time to shower, anyway. So f*cking much forthat.”

“ She spilled her booze on you?” Sero asks, sounding like he believes Katsuki and is indignant on his behalf. Katsuki knows he’s going to feel like a grade-A asshole later for lying to them, but right now he just nods.

“’Accidentally’, she said.”

“Bullsh*t,” Sero snorts. “It was probably on purpose. Why didn’t you turn her in?”

“Probably was,” he agrees. “But I was f*cking determined to get a run in, anyway. And after forgetting my damn alarm and freaking you all out, it kind of slipped my mind. I’ve kind of been a mess today.”

“We noticed,” Denki says, suddenly jumping into the conversation. “Wait, sh*t, sorry-”

“Nah, it’s fine. I stayed up way too late and got up way too early,” Katsuki admits to them, and he catches himself ruffling the back of his hair sheepishly. “I slept too much yesterday when you were all in class, so it really had my sleep schedule f*cked up.”

“Is that why you were acting so...” Mina trails off uncertainly.

“Unstable?” Katsuki offers. “Nah, that was all Denki.”

“Me?! What did I do?!”

“That f*cking pineapple stuff f*cked me up,” Katsuki admits to him, and it’s not even fully a lie. “I don’t know how the f*ck you drink those all of the time. I thought I was going to start bouncing off of walls, pass out, throw up, and be able to snap a desk clean in half with my mind – all at one time.”

The other three finally laugh slightly and a bit of tension (suspicion?) leaves the room much to Katsuki’s relief.

“Figures,” Denki says, making an effort to smile again. “The one time you drink caffeine, and get hyper, and we all somehow miss it and assume you’re high or drunk or something.”

“If that’s what caffeine does, then I’m good never trying the other two, thanks.” Everyone laughs at that a bit.

“How were you so calm, Blasty?”

“’Calm’? Mina,” Katsuki deadpans. “I laughed so hard at someone’s joke that I fell off of my f*cking chair, and then I ended up sobbing like a babyin frontof the whole class not an hour later. Tell me how that’s ‘calm’.”

“Point,” Mina admits. “But still, no fidgeting, no bouncing, barely hyper at all?”

“What can I say, I’m well-contained.”

She just rolls her eyes fondly; Sero comes over and sits on the floor next to her, causing them both to blush. Just when Katsuki thinks everything’s good again...

“So, it was all because of the energy drink? Nothing else? No... No mental breakdown? You aren’t... You aren’t like, hurting yourself or thinking ofkillingyourself?”

“Jesus Christ, Denki!”

“My cousin, Makoto, was my best friend growing up,” Denki tells Katsuki through a film of tears. “He was a few years older than me, but he never made me feel like a little kid. When I was twelve and he was seventeen, though, he killed himself.”

“Denki...” Katsuki feels like absolute sh*t for worrying them, all of them, but especially Denki, so much now.

“His girlfriend dumped him a few months beforehand,” Denki continues, and his eyes look like they’re seeing something, somewhere, someone else. “And he was really upset. He started flunking all of his assignments and wouldn’t talk to anyone, not even me. He just sat around his room all the time, angry or crying, and wouldn’t eat. My aunt and uncle took him to the hospital after a few weeks, and he said he was getting better. He started eating again, and joking with me, and trying to- to ‘make up for how he’d been acting. Then, not even two weeks after he came back home, he- he was gone.”

Mina and Sero apparently have already heard Denki’s story, because they don’t look as shocked as Katsuki feels he must. They are crying alongside Denki, though – Katsuki is, too, and he can’t even blame the pills for it this time.

“The worst part is, I thought he was acting weird, but I ignored it,” Denki says after a moment. “I told myself not to be stupid, that he was just getting better. And then it was too late. I- I don’t want that to happen again, Blasty. I- You're my best friend, I love you and I don’t want to lose you, too. I lost Makoto, we all lost Kirishima- I can’t handle losing anyone else, especially you.”

Katsuki stands up suddenly and pulls Denki into yet another tight hug; he feels him crying onto the shoulder of his clean gym uniform, but doesn’t care. After all, he himself is weeping openly into Denki’s bright yellow hair.

“Get over here, youf*cks,” Katsuki croaks out to Mina and Sero through his tears; they catch on quick enough, jumping in and turning it into a group hug with Denki in the middle.

“I’m sorry, Denki,” he says finally. “I’m so f*cking sorry – I didn’t mean to scare you like that, any of you. I’m- I haven’t been doing great, it’s true, but I really am finally feeling better lately, I swear. I just pushed myself too hard today, it was a mistake though. I wasn’t trying to hurt myself, I’m not gonna c- It's like I told Sero andIcyHot, I’m not gonna ki- I wouldn’t do that, I swear.”

“So,you never considered it, then?” Denki asks, hopefully.

And maybe this is the right time to lie to them, maybe it’s a time Katsuki should lie his ass off to his friends and not even feel bad about it. Maybe it’s one of those times when telling the truth iscrueler, would be a mistake, but.

But he’s lied to them enough already.

“I- I did, once,” he admits as the break apart the hug. He can’t look any of them in the eyes, especially not Denki, as he plops down on Sero’s bed, ashamed. “Early on, after Kiri... Left. I thought about it about a week or so after that.”

When he chances a glance up at them, he sees them all crying and looking positively floored.

“Blasty, f*ck.” Mina gasps out, and reaches for Sero’s hand without seeming to realize it. Sero notices and blinks, surprised, before taking it and looking back at Katsuki with concern.

“Katsuki-” now Denki is the one dragging Katsuki up into a hug, and damn if he hasn’t actually missed being close to these f*ckers. He hugs Denki back weakly, torn between wanting the contact and feeling tooembarrassedand guilty to let himself lean into it.

“Like I said, it was just once, early on. I didn’t- I didn’t even have a plan, not really. I just kept thinking that everything hurt too much and I wanted it t- to stop. I... I kind of went into my room planning on... Well, something, I don't know what. But I was sure that was it. And then, the dumbest sh*t stopped me.”

Denki leans back out of the hug and looks at Katsuki with wide, watery eyes. “What made you stop?”

“You did,” Katsuki blurts, looking away from the fear and intense look in his friends’ eyes.

“Me?!”

“ I- Yeah, sort of. It- It was really f*cking rainy that day. It had been, all week, but it was really bad that day and I was f*cking cold. I just thought, ‘I hate being cold, I really don’t want to die while I’m cold, I should put on a jacket, first.’ So, I- I did. I went and got a jacket off of my chair, but it wasn’t mine or even Kirishima’s, it was one of yours, Denki. And it smelled like- well, like you. Like ozone after lightning strikes, and those damn vanilla candies you like so much. And it’s f*cking stupid, but once I put it on, I just kept thinking, ‘ if I’m dead, I won’t ever smell this smell again. I won’t see Denki ever again, either.’

After that, I just started thinking about all the ‘neveragains’; like how I wouldn’t hear Mina laugh again, or work with Sero to beat one of his ridiculously hard video games. I’d never hear Jirou play guitar again, or find out if ‘ZukuandIcyHotever get their sh*t together and start dating. I’d n- I'd never hug any of you again, either. Actually, I think today’s the first time I’ve really hugged anyone since the day they found Kiri on TV with the League-”

He hasn’t, Katsuki realizes with a start. He’d been so upset, spent so much time isolating himself after losing Kirishima, that he hadn’t hugged or let anyone hug him since they all stood in front of that TV, crying together. He’d had plenty of hugs with Kiri last night, of course, but he couldn’t mention those.

Suddenly, all three of his friends are tackling him down onto Sero’s bed in a messy, sobbing group hug; he tries his best to hug back amidst all the chaos. Mina and Sero are trying to say something, but Denki’s sobbing is drowning it out. Finally, they let Katsuki sit up and get a word in.

“I’m sorry, you guys. I swear it was only that once, and I promise I’ll tell one of you if I ever start to feel like that again. I really don’t think I will, though. I don’t- I don’t want to die, anymore. I realized it that same day, how much I would lose if I did it. How much I’d miss all of you. I- I didn’t think I’d ever make friends when I came to U.A., but I’m glad I did; you have no idea how much you f*ckers mean to me, okay? I promise, I’m not going anywhere, guys. I- I f*cking love you f*ckers, okay? I’m not gonna leave you.”

(Is it still a lie if even Katsuki doesn’t realize that he’s lying at the time?)

Finally, finally the tension breaks and everyone seems to be on the same page again. Denki finally looks like he’s letting go of this fear he’s been carrying around for God knows how long, and Katsuki is sort of glad he admitted to it all, after all.

“I know it’s a dumb thing, to realize I want to live all because of a piece of clothing-” He starts, but Sero cuts him off.

“Any reason to stay alive is a good one,” he says seriously. “Doesn’t matter what it is or how small it is, or how silly it seems. If Denki’s jacket is thereasonyou’re alive, then it’s not dumb.”

Katsuki starts sniffling a little bit again, at that. “Thanks, Sero.”

“Hanta.”

“Huh?”

“You’re one of my best friends and I was scared we were gonna lose you to something, you can call me ‘Hanta’, if you want.”

Just like with Denki, Katsuki is oddly touched at this and near tears. “Y- You can call me ‘Katsuki’ then. You’re right, you’re one of my best friends, too. If Denki and I are on a first-name basis, then...”

“You guys can both use my first name, too,” Denki offers, smiling at them all and looking more relaxed than Katsuki’s seen him in days.

“You all already call me by my first name, since I insisted with everyone at the start of the year,” Mina pouts. “So, I can’t give you any big emotional moment about it.”

Katsuki laughs a little. “Maybe not, but you can still call me ‘Katsuki’, too, if you want.”

“Andobviously,” Ser-Hantasays to her, blushing a bit. “You can call me ‘Hanta’, too, Mina.”

“Th-thanks, Hanta!” Mina stutters out, her pink skin darkening several shades. Katsuki and Denki catch one another’s eyes and start laughing.

“What?” Mina asks.

“So,” Hanta says, trying for an air of casualness after their collective emotional breakdown. “Does this mean you’re going to that party tomorrow, after all?”

“Sure,” Katsuki agrees easily. He won’t be able to see Kirishima again until Saturday, at the earliest. He might as well spend some time with his friends, after all the worry he’s put them through.

Across from him, Mina and Hanta blink, surprised, before wide grins break out on their faces.

“It’s gonna be great!” Mina cheers. “A party by the third years, to celebrate the second years who passed theirProvisionalHero License Exam earlier this week!”

“Denki, your girl passed, right?” Hanta asks.

“She- Akari’s not ‘my girl’!” Denki denies, blushing. “But she and Meiko both passed, yeah.We’ll probablysee them there!”

“Maybe you can finally get it together and ask her out,” Katsuki teases, nudging him in the ribs.

“Please,” Mina says, laughing. “Denki, ‘getting it together’?”

“Denki,” Hanta continues, smiling at the electric blond to show it’s all in good fun. “Landing a girlfriend?”

“Denki,” the man himself continues, “functioning? In this society?”

“It’s more likely than you think!” Katsuki finishes off, and they all laugh together, feeling like things are going to be okay.

Chapter 9: ♫ Lucky ♫

Chapter Text

“They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this.
Every time we say goodbye,
I wish we had one more kiss.
I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will.

Lucky I'm in love with my best friend.
Lucky to have been where I have been.
Lucky to be coming home again.”

-Lucky, by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat

Katsuki wakes up on Friday morning with a smile, despite his annoying alarm going off right near his head. He’s slept the entire night through, no nightmares waking him. It’s only the third time it’s happened all month, the first being two days ago when Aizawa sent him home to sleep; the second being the day prior with Kirishima. It’s a refreshing change, and one that Katsuki hopes is here to stay. Shutting off the alarm, he unlocks his phone and re-reads last night's messages between himself and Kiri. He was sure their messages were being monitored (or at least peeked at for fun) by at least one member of the League, so he had to be very careful as to what he said and what subjects he broached, but... Well, he was able to talk to Kiri again! It was well worth it despite the self-imposed restrictions.

E: I miss you already! ༼ಢ_ಢ༽ 💖Are you able to message back yet?

K: I can, now. I miss you, too, Kiri (╥_╥)

E: It’s okay though, I’ll see you in a few days! Tomura promised! And at least we can talk now!

K: True. What are you up to?

E: Dabi and Himi are kicking my ass (＞﹏＜)

K: ???

E: They’re bullying me.

E: It’s abuse. Twice is egging them on.

K: … I doubt that he’d let anyone hurt you?

E: Physically, of course not. They love me!

E: Emotionally, though.

E: Whole ‘notherstory.

K: So... You’re losing at video games?

E: Nah, that’s Tomura’s jurisdiction.

E: Jenga.

K: Babe, how sh*tty do you have to be at games to lose at JENGA?

K: Especially to the single most hyperactive girl I’ve ever met, and a guy made of overcooked bacon?

K: Like

K: I can’t imagine she can stay still long enough to be any good, and can he even movedelicatelylike

that?

E: He can, they both can.

E: They’re relentless.

K: （＾∀＾）

E: what about you, what are you up to? Did you make it to classes, was everything okay?

K: It went okay, I had to rush a bit but I made it.

Katsuki had hesitated there, not wanting to worry Kirishima with how their friends had reacted to his appearance or nearly late arrival. He also hadn’t really wanted to get into his day being rough because of the mood swings, and he especially didn’t want to admit to his boyfriend that their squad had thought he was drunk, high, going to kill himself, or some combination thereof.

K: I was still tired as f*ck. Denki gave me an energy drink...

E: You don’t docaffeine, though?

K: Yeah, there’s a reason for that. I was bouncing off walls all f*ckin day.

E: XD I wish I’d have seen it. Did theNullaminewear off in time?!

K: Around lunch, yeah. Came in 6thduring our training obstacle race.

E: Oh, Kat ｡ﾟ･ (>﹏<) ･ﾟ｡I’m sorry!

K: ???Sorry? I kicked most of their asses!

E: You... Aren’t upset you didn’t get 1st?

K: Course I am, but it’s fine – I'll get it next time. I’m out of shape as f*ck and I still beat most of them, though!

E: I’m proud (✿ ♥‿♥) And I told you, you aren’t in nearly as bad of shape as you think. You look fine 💖💖💖

K: Sure, sure.

K: I’ll be back and better than ever in no time!

E: 💖 I know it! Tomura wants me to sleep, he’s like a dad I stg ｡ﾟ･ (>﹏<) ･ﾟ｡

K: Listen toShiggy-daddy lol

K: wait-

E: Never phrase it that way again I ambEGGINGYOU

K: Fair.

K: Night, Kiri.

K: I love you!

Katsuki’s heart had pounded unpleasantly in his chest after sending the last message; he couldn’t help himself but to think back to the first time he’d said those words to Kirishima and the snowball effect that it had caused, or of all of the unread messages sent to his old phone saying that Katsuki loved him and pleading for him to come back and to just be okay. Thank God Kiri would never read those desperate, frantic texts – they were embarrassing.

Katsuki had barely had time to feel anxious, though, when Kiri’s final message of the night popped up on screen.

E: I love you, too, Kat! 💖💖💖I’ll talk to you soon, sweet dreams!

At that, the ball of nerves in Katsuki’s stomach had unclenched at long last. He had known it, of course – Kirishima loved him back, and he wasn’t going anywhere this time. But it was still a relief. He had fallen asleep with a smile on his face, clutching his phone to his chest like a love-sick idiot.

Right as he’s thinking about it, his phone pings with a new message. He doesn’t want to hope that it’s from Kiri; Shigaraki had told them not to message during the day unless it was important, only wanting them to talk after 7pm or so. But, sure enough, the message is from the cheerful redhead after all.

E: GoodmorningKat!!! ^-^ I love you!!!

K: Kiri! 💖Thought we couldn’t message until night?

K: Not that I’m complaining! And also, I love you, too! 💖

E: Tomura gave me permission. He said I was ‘sulking’.

E: I wasn’t.

K: ….

E: Maybe a little...

K: …

E: Okay, a lot. What can I say? I miss you too much! 💖

K: Same, though 💖I’ll be so glad when it’s the weekend and I can come back.

E: I will, too. Never thought I’d see the day you’d want to hang out at the League’s safehouse, though!

K: Anything for you, dumbass.

E: 💖💖💖

E: I know yougottago soon, so I’ll let you go. Have fun in class, love!

Katsuki determinedly does NOT blush at thepetname, nor does he smile like a complete idiot as he replies back.

K: Make me 💖but fine, okay. Love you, Kiri-chan!

E: Kat!

K: 💖💖💖💖

E: Love you, too! 💖💖💖💖

Katsuki is grinning like an absolute buffoon by the end of it, and amuses himself briefly by thinking what horribly embarrassing, overly-sweet nicknames he can come up with for Kirishima until he sees him again. He’s drawn out of his musings by a soft knock at his door.

“Blasty?”

He exits the app, locks his phone, and sits it down on the nightstand carefully before going to crack the door open.

“Blasty- oh, hey,” Mina peeks back at him through the crack, looking sleepy despite being showered and in uniform. “We weren’t sure if you were here or out running again.”

“Slept in,” Katsuki admits sheepishly. He had stayed up far too late talking to Kirishima the night before and set his alarm back, skipping the time allotted for his morning run.

“Good,” Mina replies fervently. “You need the rest. How did you sleep?”

“Really good, actually,” he tells her, hand coming up to mess with his hair absentmindedly.

“Good,” she reiterates, more firmly. “Wanna join us for breakfast before class?”

It’s just then that Katsuki realizes the pleasant aroma filling the halls; someone had to have been cooking a lot, and fora while, for the smell to reach all the way to his floor. He couldn’t deny, it smelled pretty good and he was hungry.

“Sure, give me a few minutes to shower and change into uniform and then I’ll be down.”

Mina’s surprise is drowned out by her blinding smile. “Okay!” Clearly, she hadn’t expected him to agree, not even after they had all bonded yesterday and Katsuki had borne his soul to them. He really had to start being a better friend, he mused as Mina pranced off towards the elevator, shouting back that she’d let the others know he would be down soon.

As he goes to close his door, Katsuki notices a rather large box sitting out front of his room with U.A.’s logo on the front; seeming half-asleep, Mina must have missed it. He checks it out closer, and sure enough, it has his name on the front. With a shrug, he hauls it inside, closes the door, and tears the box open. Inside are his new, properly-sized U.A. uniforms. Well, that makes things easier.

He goes to the little en-suite to shower quickly, but thoroughly. He finally cares enough again to reach for the bergamot-and-spice scented products that he normally uses instead of the generic sh*t that U.A. supplies them all with ‘just in case’. Well, that’s unfair – U.A., being well-off and high-end, actually supplies fairly good quality products to its students. It just so happens that Katsuki’s skin and his hair ( especially his hair) don’t get along well with those brands; the U.A. product always leaves his hair limp and dull, like it’s overcoated with product build-up of some sort. He hadn’t cared much before, figuring that ‘clean is clean’ regardless of scent or quality. Now that he finally feels awake, feels like himself again, Katsuki is craving normalcy.

After he finishes his shower, Katsuki brushes his teeth and eyes himself critically in the small vanity mirror. He’s still much too skinny, too pale, and he’s softer around his waist than he’d really like, but... The dark circles under his eyes are all but gone, and his hair has it’s shine back again and is standing up like it’s been dried with a small explosion - the way it should. His eyes seem more alert, and his build isn’t quite as skeletal. It’s progress – not perfect, not exactlynormalcy, but progress , and he’ll take it.

Once he’s fully dried off and his teeth are clean, Katsuki slips back into his room and picks up a set of uniform clothes from the box. They’re freshly washed despite being new, and they smell like fresh linen and vanilla. He thinks idly to himself that between that, his bath products, and his own natural caramel-scent, he’s going toreeklike a damn desert table all day. It sure beats the alternative of sweat, fear, exhaustion, and booze, though. He pulls on the clothes and shifts around, at first slightly uncomfortable at how tight they seem to be before realizing that ‘no, dipsh*t, this is normal, this is how most people’s uniforms fit.’

Before he can overthink it or change his mind and clothes, Katsuki grabs his school bag, keys, and uniform jacket and then heads out the door. Mina, bless her, seems to have sent the elevator back up to his floor, but...

Katsuki eyes it briefly before turning around and taking the stairs. Gotta start somewhere.

When he gets down to the lobby, Katsuki’s half-expecting to see fire and chaos surrounding him. Instead, he exits the stairwell to see his squad sitting calmly at one of the tables having breakfasttogether, an empty chair awaiting him.

“Katsuki!” Denki perks up immediately. “You came down!”

“I told Mina I f*cking would, didn’t I?” He asks sarcastically, but his small, warm smile at the end ruins the effect somewhat. He’s finding it incredibly difficult to even pretend to be annoyed with his friends after yesterday afternoon, and is fighting to keep another idiotic smile off of his face at the sight of them all sitting together and looking so happy.

Denki gestures wildly at the seat and plate next to him, “C’mon, dude, we all cooked something today and it came out super good! I made apple cinnamon waffles, Mina made the coffee because she’s been learning fromYaomomo, andHantafried the eggs and bacon! I bet you’ll...actually...like...it?”

Denki trails off slowly, eyes widening as he stares at Katsuki, looking him up and down in awe. “f*cking what?” Katsuki demands, crossing his arms self-consciously as the other two turn to stare at him and their eyes go wide as well. There’s a moment of awkward silence – at least, it sure feels awkward on Katsuki’s part as his friends eye him disbelievingly. Maybe the fitted uniform was a mistake, after all. The gym and hero clothes, well, that was a necessary change for safety’s sake. But his regular uniform could have stayed oversized, surely it better hid his decline than this tight-fitting one. He had just convinced the others that he wasn’t a danger to himself, that he was getting better, so why had he thought it was a good idea to let everyone see just how far he had fall-

“Blasty, you’re f*cking hot,” Mina finally blurts out, her face tinting a strange purple color.

“I- You- WHAT?” Katsuki sputters out, blinking in shock.

“She’s right, dude,” Hanta agrees, his own face slightly pink now as well. “We’ve never seen you wear anything that fits before other than your hero costume. It’s... Different.”

Across from them, Denki has gone bright red and is trying desperately to act normal, but his nervous laughter is giving him away as much as the shade of his face. “Sorry, dude! Like Hanta said, it’s just a big change – we didn’t realize how good-looking you are,haha!”

“I- I’m not-” Katsuki’s still reeling with confusion and a bit of shock as he sits down next to Denki, who (if possible) turns even redder. Katsuki fights to ignore the heat rushing to his own cheeks. “You f*cks have seen me in gym or in my hero costume a million times. You two,” he gestures at the guys, “have seen me naked on multiple occasions. The f*ck’s the big deal?”

Mina, still a bit purple in the face (is that what happens when she blushes?), is the one to pull it together the fastest and calmly answer him. “You’ve been hiding in baggy clothes all month and looking a little rough, Katsuki. So, to see it all at once – uniform fitting, more awake, happy, not as pale and miserable – it's a bit jolting. You should probably get used to it, I’m sure the rest of the class has managed to forget that you’re pretty, too.”

“f*ckin- I’m not ‘pretty’, what the f*ck, Mina?”

“Youkindaare, dude,” Denki agrees, finally managing to shake himself back to normalcy in between bites. “Like, the whole school knows it, but no one ever mentions it because you used to be so,y’know- touchy? Short-tempered? Angry?”

“And after that,” Hanta continues, sipping his coffee and determinedly not looking Katsuki’s way, “once you calmed down, well, you were spoken for and people respected that. And after Ki- After that, well, like Mina said, you were looking rough for a bit.Suredon’t look bad now , though.”

Katsuki isn’t sure whether he appreciates Hanta dancing around the subject and avoiding Kirishima’s name in order to spare his feelings, or if the molly-coddling annoys him. He also really, really isn’t sure what to make of the apparent fact that his squad finds him attractive, even after the last month – much less that they seem to expect others to notice it, too. He decides that the best bet (other than teasing them relentlessly like the malevolent little sh*t that he is, but it’s too soon for that) is to just change the subject.

“So, when the f*ck did you guys learn to cook? This is actually really good,” he compliments them after taking a few slow bites in order to let the blush leave his face. There’s a small pause as the three of them eye one another uncertainly, and Mina decides to go for it.

“A couple of weeks after Kirishima turn coated us,” she says bluntly, ignoring how Denki’s fork clatters onto his plate in shock and Hanta chokes and sprays coffee onto the table next to her.

“ Mina!” Hanta hisses after he’s done coughing, and Katsuki finally decides that he appreciates him trying to spare his feelings, but he really appreciates Mina’s bluntness. He takes a sip of the coffee she made in order to hide his grin. He may know the truth about Kiri

(doeshe, though?)

and it may suck that he’s not able to tell them. And it really sucks that they’re so angry at Kirishima and may even hate him right now, but Katsuki is still confident that it will somehow work out

(willit, though?)

andhe’s incredibly glad to see that they haven’t let the loss/betrayal of their friend destroy them completely the way that he almost had done.

“He did,” Mina defends herself before carrying on like nothing had happened. “When you first started getting bad and refusing to come down for meals, we figured we should learn to fend for ourselves.”

Just like that, the grin slides off Katsuki’s face and he feels his insides squirm with guilt uncomfortably. “f*ck, I’m sorry. I never even thought about leaving you three with no cook-”

“Wait, wait!” Mina flails her hands frantically, eyes wide again. “That’s so not what I was trying to say, I swear! I just meant, we figured we should learn ourselves and be self-reliant, not put pressure on you,y’know? Besides...”

Katsuki tilts his head at her questioningly, but it’s Denki who answers. “Besides, we mostly wanted to learn to cook for you, dude. We thought maybe if we got good enough atit,we could convince you to start eating again and then maybe you’d feel better.”

“But, of course,” Hanta continues, finally able to look Katsuki’s way again with a wry smile. “You managed to start doing better on your own, so really we didn’t do much, after all.”

The four of them had begun clearing the table and putting dishes into the dishwasher at that point, finally finished eating, and they were about to head out the front door of Heights Alliance in order to head to class. But hearing that, Katsuki stops them all in the entryway and corrects Hanta quickly.

“You guys did plenty, trust me,” he tells them with a soft smile. “I can’t believe you learned to cook just to try to help me.”

“Course we did,” Hanta replies, and Mina nods at his side, seemingly not noticing how close she is to Hanta.

“We love you, dude,” Denki grins with a thumbs up. “We wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you if we could help it!”

(What if they can’t help it, though?)

Katsuki pulls Hanta and Denki towards him suddenly and gestures at Mina to join in on the group hug right away. He’s not crying, his mood’s far too stable again for that, but he can’t deny the warm glow of happiness in his chest.

“Love you too, you f*ckers.”

Classes pass by normally, though some of his classmates shoot him worried looks after his strange behavior from the day prior. As time goes on and Katsuki proves himself to be much more mentally stable today, though, the worried looks begin to dwindle and are (to his mild horror) replaced by looks of surprise and - interest, maybe? - in his physical appearance. Even Aizawa-sensei had looked surprised to see him in a tailored uniform and tie for once, and Katsuki had thought for sure that their teacher was going to make a sardonic remark before his phone had gone off and distracted him briefly. He did, thankfully, manage to keep the class on track even after Hagakure had slipped and fallen off of the edge of her desk when Katsuki had gotten up to write the answer to something on the board.

Present Mic pats Katsuki on the back and whispers (well, for Mic, it’s a whisper) that he’s glad Katsuki is taking care of himself again.Cementossand Ectoplasm grin at him in the halls, Snipe high-fives him as he walks by, and Midnight mutters something positively unrepeatable (that he’s sure he wasn’t meant to hear) under her breath before starting class. Pink-faced stares from his classmates and weird sh*t from Midnight aside, Katsuki realizes just how much people at U.A. care about his well-being and want him to get better, and the warm glow in his chest carries him throughout the day.

Every so often, he’ll meet the eyes of one of his squad and end up smiling far too softly at them, causing their eyes to become suspiciously moist once in a while. At one point, Izuku tosses a folded-up slip of paper onto his desk. Katsuki opens it to find a scribbled kaomoji that looks happy, giving a thumbs up. He scribbles back a (much messier) one looking tough and strong, and hears Izuku chuckle happily behind him.

The day itself would have been a very standard and forgettable Friday, if not for the events of last period. Right at the start, Aizawa is called out of class by All Might and a severe-looking man in glasses, with dark green hair that’s streaked yellow near the front. Aizawa explains that he and some of the other instructors are being called out to assist the police with a case, and he dismisses 1-A just over an hour early for the day.

As they all queue up to leave the classroom in an ‘orderly manner befitting the top of the Hero Course’, according to Iida, Katsuki hangs back a little. His squad is quick to move to the back with him and make sure that he’s okay.

“Fine,” he tells Hanta with a small smile. “I figure, I’ve skipped my run and workout today, so I should use the extra time to hit the gym before dinner and the party.”

“Want us to go with you? We could get some extra workouts in, too.” Denki says, and Katsuki feels a surge of fondness for his best friend, who he knows hates extra exercise with a burning passion despite his athletic build.

“Nah, it’s fine, I’ll catch up with you guys at dinner and then we can get ready for the party,” Katsuki offers back. Hanta and Denki shift, suddenly uneasy for some reason. Mina, as always, is the one to be blunt and upfront with him.

“No dice, Blasty,” she says, quietly so as to not be overheard by the rest of the class. “Honestly, we can’t help but still be a little worried about you, and we don’t want to leave you all alone. Please, for our sakes, let at least one of us go with you?”

Behind her, Hanta and Denki nod in agreement, though Hanta looks sheepish. “Sorry, it’s not that we don’t trust you . But it’s also probably not the best idea for any of us to go off alone right now; those letters may have helped a lot, but there’s still a couple of people on campus who seem to blame us...”

“Plus, like Mina said, we’re still a little on edge,” Denki adds in, nudging his own shoulder against Katsuki’s. “It doesn’t have to be one of us , but you should be with at least one other person.”

“One other person for what?” Izuku asks brightly as he and Todoroki pass by on the way to the door. Katsuki has to hold back a slightly feral grin at the idea forming in his head as he turns to look meaningfully at Mina; he exits the classroom, following behind Izuku and Todoroki and knowing his friends aren’t far behind him after seeing the devilish look that had graced his face.

“’Zuku- I wasgonnago catch up on gym time, get back in shape so I could kick all of your asses faster,” Katsuki says. “But Hanta pointed out that some people probably still have it out for us four, just for having been so close to Kirishima before sh*t hit the fan.”

If Izuku and Hot n Cold are shocked to hear him mention Kiri so easily and casually, they don’t show it. Mina isn’t fazed, either, but Hanta’s eyes about fall out of his head and Denki trips over a crack in the pavement and almost goes down before Katsuki manages to grab his arm at the last second and pull him back up.

“But,” Katsuki goes on as if he’s oblivious to the chaos he’s caused with just one name, “ these three seem to have forgotten that they have an assignment to do that I finished last night, so they can’t go with me.” He really shouldn’t be happy at how good he is at nonchalantly lying through his teeth, but it sure comes in handy at times. Like when trying to not get murdered by a group of villains, or when trying to find a way to set up his little brother figure with his annoying-ass crush...

“Oh! Todoroki and Ibothfinished that one and we were thinking about sparring later – we could go with you,Kacchan!”

Bingo.

“ You sure?” Katsuki asks, eyebrow raised. “I could always just wait for these three to finish, or I could go another day, but-” he cuts off and shifts uncomfortably, self-consciously, rubbing at one of his arms. He hopes to God that Izuku catches onto the ‘insecure vibes’ he’s putting out; it’d be highly unusual if the damn nerd didn’t pick up on how Katsuki was acting for once.

“Oh!” Izuku’s eyes widen a bit and his brow furrows in concern. “You probably are pretty eager to get back to it, Kacchan!Of course,we don’t mind going with you, right, Todoroki?”

IcyHotis as imperceptible as ever, eyeing Katsuki blankly before shrugging. “I don’t mind.” Katsuki has to stifle a snort – of course the bi-colored boy isn’t picking up on how ‘uncomfortable’ Katsuki is, because perfect, pretty Todoroki has probably never had an insecure moment in his life, at least not when it comes to his looks. Then again, Katsuki had never had any of those moments before this past month, either. It wasn’t so much vanity from either of them as it was just not really realizing or caring how they looked past being healthy enough to compete with others.

“Thanks,” he tells Todoroki. Denki makes a small, disgruntled noise behind him and starts to mutter something about actually having done the homework ahead of time when Mina elbows him in the stomach, cutting him off. Thankfully, Izuku and the Canadian flag don’t seem to have noticed. Mina catches up to Katsuki and shoots him a questioning look as Izuku begins mumbling on about training schedules and the best way to re-build muscle; Katsuki tunes it out, butIcyHotlistens intently with a small smile gracing his normally stoic face and the tiniest hint of pink on his cheeks.

Katsuki gestures at them with his head, and Mina’s eyes widen comically before she grins like a maniac and nods. Hanta and Denki catch up to them then and shoot him the same questioning look, but don’t seem to catch on the way Mina instantly had done. Katsuki has to resort to waggling his eyebrows ridiculously and looking back and forth between Hanta and Denki, and Todoroki and Izuku, before the boys finally catch on. Mina pulls them away before they can start laughing too loudly, shouting behind her, “good luck, Blasty!”

He doesn’t need luck – this is going to be fun.

Katsuki finds himself reconsidering just what his definition of ‘fun’ is when he turns around in the locker room after pulling his uniform shirt off and seeing Izuku and Todoroki staring at him. It’s not the pink-faced staring that he’d been getting froma few people all day - no. It’s the kind of staring he’d been dreading . Shock, even on Todoroki’s normally blank face. Surprise, sadness, worry, pity, from Izuku. Katsuki realizes with a jolt that this is the first time in ages that he’s changed out in front of others instead of going into a stall.

“What?” He demands, sounding a lot harsher than he had intended. Both Izuku and Todoroki startle a little at the sudden venom in his voice, and the little guilty voice in his head prompts him to mutter a small, “sorry.”

“No, we’re sorry, Kacchan,” Izuku tells him, pointedly looking at his face instead of his body. “We were just... Surprised.”

“’Surprisd’, right,” he deadpans back.

“You’re much, much thinner than before,” Todoroki says blandly. “Other than near your stomach, I suppose.”

“TODOROKI!” Izuku yelps. “You can’t just say stuff like that, I can’t BELIEVE you- oh-my-god, that was so rude, I am so sorry, Kacchan-”

Katsuki knows he’s flushed with embarrassment a bit, but a part of him almost wants to laugh at Todoroki’s characteristic lack of social awareness. He’s sure that if he was still under those quirk suppressant pills, he’d be sobbing and laughing hysterically at the moment. As it is, a little hurt part of him feels a sharpness behind his eyes before he shakes it off and (a little too quickly) pulls on his gym uniform shirt. He glances down at himself critically before deciding that, yes, the new fitting clothes actually do wonders to hide his softened muscles and slightly showing ribs after all. Much better than his baggy clothes had done, certainly.

“Whatever, nerd,” he grits out, trying not to sound upset. “Like I give half a sh*t whatIcyHotthinks about how I look, anyway. Besides, it’s temporary – soon enough I’ll be back and better than ever and I’ll wipe the floor with his sorry ass. Yours, too, if you don’t hurry up so that we can get to work.”

And maybe he would have left it at that, stormed out of the locker room and thrown himself into training relentlessly, if he hadn’t glanced backwards-

And seen the positively stricken, miserable look on Todoroki’s face from having been chastised – yelled at, really – by Izuku, in genuine anger at him, for what was probably the first time ever. In that split second, Todoroki looks so guilty and heartbroken that Katsuki feels a small crack open in the wall of stone he’d put up around himself when it came to anyone who wasn’t Kiri, Izuku, or the squad lately. He tenses up for a moment beforeheavingout a deep breath and turning back to face them, interrupting Izuku while he’s mid-rant at Todoroki, who almost looks as if he’s tearing up.

“’Zuku- IZUKU,” Katsuki says louder, uncomfortable. “It’s...f*cking fine , okay. I’m- I guess I- I’m actually pretty embarrassed about how I look right now, but it isn’tIcyHot’sfault. Everyone knows I don’t usually give a sh*t about stuff like that, so how could he know that it would f*cking... Hurt my feelings or make me self-conscious or some sh*t?”

Izuku looks surprised to hear Katsuki actually admit to his feelingsout loudinstead of just brushing them off with anger, and Todoroki shoots Katsuki a look that’s grateful and ashamed in equal measures.

“Still,” Todoroki moves forward a bit and looks Katsuki straight in the eye, something that he can respect. “Izuku is right, that wasn’t alright of me to say, especially not the way I said it. I should know, better than anyone, that just because you don’t talk about your feelings doesn’t mean that you don’t have them. I’m sorry, Bakugou.”

And f*ck if he can still be pissed off at the damned Pepsi can after that. “Whateve- I. f*cking apology accepted,IcyHot. It was crappy, but I know you didn’t mean it. You aren’t that much of a dick. Besides, I was serious the first time, I may feel embarrassed about it, but it’s a temporary setback. I’ll get over it and get stronger. No point in wasting time feeling self-consciousabout it.”

There’s a pause and Katsuki thinks they’re hopefully going to leave and get to training soon, Izuku’s rapid crying (and alternating apologies to Katsuki and Todoroki) aside. He really should know better, though, as he turns to leave and Todoroki suddenly speaks up.

“I... I get self-conscious about my scar sometimes,” he admits, voice soft and full of emotion that’s usually lacking. “I feel like it’s all anyone ever sees, other than a clone of my father. It’s a disfigurement as much as being of Endeavor’s blood is, and I hate having it. It’s- Disgusting.”

Now it’s Katsuki’s turn to freeze up in wide-eyed shock. Izuku is babbling away assurances to Todoroki, flailing his hands and blushing like a maniac, but Katsuki is frozen in thought. Perfect, princely Todoroki... Isembarrassedby how he looks?

“You f*cking stupid or something,IcyHot?” he blurts out, startling the other boys. Todoroki’s face is pink and Izuku is looking like he might pass out at any second.

“Um-"

“You do realize you’re ridiculously attractive, right? Pretty much every girl in our year, and a good chunk of the guys, and a lot of the older years even, think you’re the best-looking guy in school. Some of the sh*t I hear them say about you is downright filthy. And- f*ck, even I think you’re hot, though I’m admittedly more biased towards Kirishima.”

It’s both the right thing and the wrong thing to say, as Todoroki looks shocked but a small smile breaks out over his face, and Deku’s face twitches and falls in pity. Bringing up Kirishima was maybe not the best move.

“Kacchan-”

“Don’t,” he holds up a hand. “I’m not – pining after him, or some sh*t, ‘Zuku.” It’s the truth, you can’t really pine after something you already have. “I’m trying my best to come to terms with things,y’know? Denying that I ever loved him won’t fix anything, and I’m not going to act like I don’t still think he’s attractive as f*ck, either. Everything that happened aside, despite all that he did, I did love him and it did help make me a better person, so I’m not going to pretend it never happened.”

“I- I guess you’re right, Kacchan.”

“Course I am, f*cker.”

“It just isn’t usually you who looks at the silver linings-”

“You really find me...’hot’?” Todoroki butts in, looking confused.

“I-” Katsuki stifles a laugh. “Objectively, yeah, I do. You aren’t my f*cking type, though.” He’s about to ask (demand, really) that they get it together and go train when Todoroki turns to Izuku and, in a strangled whisper, asks

“D- D’ you think I’m hot, Izuku?”

And that’s a conversation that Katsuki is not stickingaround for, thank you very f*cking much. He’ll head out on his own and give them some space.

When he gets out to the sparring floor, he’s unhappily surprised to see a slick of blond hair out there grappling with a shock of wild lavender hair. Shinsou and Monoma – f*cking great. He doesn’t exactly like either one of them, though he admittedly hates Monoma much, much more. If fact, knowing the other annoying blond, he’s probably bullying Shinsou’s awkward, insecure ass at the moment. And, f*ck, Kirishima’s hatred of bullies had rubbed off on Katsuki ages ago – he's going to have to step in and defend the rude zombie f*cker. Great.

To his eternal surprise, though, Monoma offers a hand to Shinsou and helps him to his feet, both of them laughing, right as Katsuki getsnear. Neither of them looks angry or hateful, actually. They don’t even look mildly irritated. Well, Monoma does when he spots Katsuki, but Shinsou seems neutral enough.

Now that he’s stormed over to them for no damn reason at all, Katsuki’s sort of at a loss of what to say. He had been intending to shove Monoma away and ask ‘are you messing with him?’, or maybe to ask Shinsou ‘is this f*cker bothering you?’ Instead, with the situation completely different than he had expected, Katsuki flounders for a second. Monoma and Shinsou each raise an eyebrow in eerie synchronization. To Katsuki’s unending humiliation, what comes out instead of a normal greeting or the questions he had intended is

“Are you f*cking him?”

Whatever he’s expecting to happen after that bout ofwordvomit, it isn’t for both boys to flush pink and look away from each other while stuttering out denials.

“f*cking hell,” Katsuki mutters to himself. “Is anyone in this f*cking school straight?!”

“I am!”

“Me!”

Now it’s Katsuki’s turn to raise an eyebrow at Shinsou and Monoma. Maybe they aren’ttogether, but he’ll be damned if he’s wrong and they don’t both wish they were!

He ends up convincing the two of them to spar with him, though he isn’t exactly sure how he manages it. They’re not exactly the worst sparring partners, either. Monoma copies Tetsutetsu’s quirk so that he doesn’t have to fear Katsuki's blasts as much, and their match is great. Katsuki hasn’t been able to go all out like this in ages – in part because Kirishima left and there was no one else who could withstand his blasts as well, and in part because, well, Kirishima left and Katsuki had come undone entirely. Now, though, he doesn’t have to hold back.

Monoma must have practiced with Tetsutetsu’s quirk in the past, because he’s pretty good at using it. He’s also relentless and refuses to hold back or baby Katsuki – a problem that a couple of his own classmates had had off and on ever since he started participating in classes again. It’s annoying as f*ck, but Katsuki knows they do it because they care.

Monoma, though? He doesn’t give a sh*t, and it’s liberating. He’s utterly insane with his moves and shows almost no self-defense, only attack. He’s a tough first opponent and, though he loathes admitting it, is in much better physical shape than Katsuki is. He can only be so fast with his borrowed quirk, though, and it’s to his detriment in the end when Katsuki stands over him, victorious.

Next, Shinsou proposes the idea of Monoma copying Katsuki’s own quirk. Essentiallyfightinghimself is pretty odd, but it’s sort of fun. Monoma is surprisingly good, picking up tricks and moves rather quickly, but Katsuki knows his own quirk better than anyone else ever could, and hegives as good as he gets. He wins that match, as well. To his surprise, Monoma offers a (gloved) high-five at the end and a quiet, not too smug “good match!”

During their spars, Monoma had been constantly sh*t-talking Katsuki, insulting everything from his body, to his hair, to his clothes, to his family name. A few times, he had said things so annoying that Katsuki was surprised at his own self-restraint in keeping things from coming to blows. It’s only now, after their match, that Katsuki realizes Monoma never once brought up the subject of Kirishima in his insult-ridden tirades.

When he hesitantly asks him about it, Monoma actuallyblanchesa little and mutters “even I’m not that much of a dick, holy hell.”

This day is turning out to be nothing but surprises. Figuring things can’t get any weirder, Katsuki actually asks Shinsou to use his quirk on him so he can see what it’s like. It’s a strange, but not wholly unpleasant feeling – a buzzing in his head like a sort of white noise, that leaves him feeling floaty and light-headed as he carries out the tasks Shinsou demands of him. Distantly, he’s aware that he’s being made to do cartwheels and flip off of a wall, but there’s nothing he can do about it and he can’t really bring himself to mind. He wonders, still distantly, if this is what being on drugs feels like to people, and he truly understands, for the first time, why they can be so dangerous. If his depression and ‘underwater’ moments had felt even half this nice, Katsuki fears that he never would have been able to pull himself out of it and look for Kirishima at all.

Shinsou releases control when Katsuki is mid-parkour, probably on Monoma’s request, but he manages to finish the move and land somewhat gracefully. Monoma looks a bit like his birthday was just cancelled, but Shinsou looks oddly nervous. Katsuki is pretty sure what he’s bracing himself for.

“Notgonnalie, Mindf*ck, your quirk is kind of terrifying.” Shinsou tenses and Monoma actually shifts so that he’s standing half in-front of the tired boy defensively. “It’s way too relaxing. Like... That’s whatit’s like to not feel constant, crippling anxiety? Nice.”

Shinsou and Monoma both blink, surprised, and all of the tension seems to bleed out of Shinsou’s body as he laughs quietly. “I wouldn’t know how it feels, actually.”

“Your quirk, or the lack of panic?”

“Either - I can’t use my quirk on myself, sadly. I’ve always sort of wondered, though.”

Well, that’s just ridiculous – the solution to that should be as obvious to them as it is to Katsuki. “Have Copycat do it, then.”

Apparently, it’s not obvious at all, at least not from the way the two idiots stare at one another in revelation. “Holy sh*t, he’s right,” Monoma mutters, and he reaches out an elegant hand to Shinsou.

Shinsou takes it without hesitation, and Katsuki isn’t sure how he knows, but he can tell instantly that it’s worked. Monoma looks mildly disoriented as he always does when he copies a quirk for the very first time. “Hitoshi?”

“Yeah, Neito?” Shinsou’s eyes suddenly go blank and his face droops into the most neutral look that Katsuki’s seen on anyone other than Todoroki.

“sh*t,” Monoma mutters to Katsuki. “I didn’t really think about what I would have him do under his own quirk.”

“Can he do cartwheels? You could have him do that, though if he can’t already do it, he’ll probably just fall and wake up.”

“Wait - he can only make people do stuff they already know how to do?”

“I assume so,f*cknugget,” Katsuki answers with an eyeroll. “I saw him try to get Denki to breakdance once, but he doesn’t know how and Mina was never able to teach him, so he just crashed into a bench and knocked himself out.”

“Wait, so-” Monoma scrunches his nose. “You mean you actually know how to do all of that gymnastics stuff?”

“Obviously, or I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“...Of course. Of f*cking course you’re good at that, too.”

“Look, just have him climb up on a foam cube and jump off a few times and then go sip some water or something. It doesn’t have to be a big production, he just wanted to know whatitfeels like.”

“Hitoshi - go climb on that purple cube, slowly, and then carefully jump off. When you’re done, go rest and drink some water. Then I’ll let you go.” His voice is surprisingly soft and deliberately careful in its instruction. Shinsou follows the orders blankly and without problem. When Monoma releases him, he flashes the pompous blond the most expressive smile that Katsuki’s ever seen on his face.

“That wasn’t awful at all!” Shinsou exclaims, leaping up with a laugh. He’s more energized than Katsuki thinks he’s probably ever been in his life.

“I told you it wasn’t a bad feeling,” Monoma says with a smile on his face as well.

“I know, but-”

“You think I’d lie to you?”

“No,” Shinsou admits. “I just worried it wasn’t bad for you because we’re friends or something, or that it would be as awful as others say it is...”

“Hey f*cker, I’m not exactly your friend,” Katsuki butts in. “And I’m telling you, it was fine.”

“Huh... Thanks, Bakugou! You aren’t too bad, after all.”

Monoma winces, torn between feeling annoyed at Katsuki’s continued existence and sharing in Shinsou’s contagious joy.

“You could use it on him to help him sleep, probably,” Katsuki offers suddenly.

“What?” Monoma forgets to glare at him, staring after Shinsou who’s gone to refill his water bottle.

“Anyone with half a brain can tell that he doesn’t sleep enough,” Katsuki continues. “Whether because he can’t or won’t. You could probably copy his quirk, though, and use it on him to help him get some rest. At the very least, you can use it to help him calm down about sh*t. He obviously trusts you a lot.”

Shinsou finally heads back their way, and Katsuki sees the locker room doors open, Izuku and Todoroki exiting the room flushed pink and hand-in-hand. f*cking finally.

Maybe it’s seeing Izuku and Todoroki together at last that does it. Maybe it’s from having seen Shinsou’s insecurities up close, and the soft and tender way that Monoma had interacted with him. Maybe Katsuki’s just a soppy, sappy, romantic-hearted piece of sh*t thanks to how much he loves Kirishima. Whatever the reason, he grabs Monoma’s arm as he and Shinsou turn to pack up and head back to the dorms, and he tells them both,

“It’s worth it, you know. Even if sh*t doesn’t work out perfectly, even if it were to go wrong, letting yourself love someone is always the right choice.”

Shinsou and Monoma share one of those looks, like they’re having an entire silent conversation in the span of a few seconds, and they both flush pink.

“Doesn’t it hurt, though?” Monoma asks finally. “After everything that happened to you, how can you say that it’s worth it?”

“It hurt a lot,” Katsuki admits. “But I’d do it all over again, even knowing the ending. It helped me be a better person, and even now, I’m happier for it.”

There’s a pause, and Shinsou hesitantly takes Monoma’s bag from him. “Wanna ditch that party and watch a movie over at 1-C tonight?”

“Y-Yeah, I’d like that.”

Watching Shinsou and Monoma leave together, flushed pink and smiling, is almost as good as seeing Todoroki and Izuku wave him down sheepishly and flush when he glances pointedly at their linked hands.

Yeah, love is always worth the cost.

Chapter 10: ♫ Streetlights ♫

Chapter Text

“Some will win,
Some will lose.
Some were born to sing the blues.
Oh, the movie never ends -
It goes on and on, and on, and on.

Don't stopbelievin',
Hold on to thatfeelin'.”
-Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey

“I don’t know how, but you f*ckers managed to miss all of our scheduled floor time,” Katsuki tells Izuku and Todoroki, pretending to be a lot more cross than he really is. “I had to train withMindf*ckerandCopyCatbecause you two couldn’t keep it in your pants.”

“Kacchan !” Izuku, predictably, turns bright red and begins muttering about how they would never ‘do that’ in the locker room. Typical.

But to Katsuki’s surprise, Todoroki also flushes horribly and stutters out an awkward and panicked denial. “B-Bakugou! Midoriya and I would never engage in sexual int-”

“Calm the f*ck down,” he tells them, cutting them both off mid-stutter and trying to keep from smirking. “So, you two finally got your sh*t together, then? Properly, I mean?”

“W-we did!” Izuku stutters out. “We’re-” he stops himself, still bright red, and looks more than a bit startled at the realization. “We’re dating, Todoroki and I are a couple ,Kachaan, oh my god -”

“Yes,” Todoroki agrees, still uncharacteristically flushed and emotive. “I- We- Midoriya, he’s my- my boyfriend. Oh, dear god , he’s my boyfriend -”

“About time,” Katsuki mutters with an eyeroll. Secretly, he’s absolutely thrilled that his friend and his - not-enemy, he supposes? - have finally gotten past their mutual awkwardness and admitted to their feelings. Izuku, of all people, certainly deserves some happiness in his life. If Todoroki makes Izuku even half as happy as Kirishima makes Katsuki, he’ll be overjoyed for them. Of course, he can’t just show that, so he carries on like it’s no big deal. “Now that that’s taken care of, we can get down to business; we’ll have to use the weights and machines since you two-”

Katsuki is interrupted by a small crowd of second years walking into the gym, laughing loudly and claiming their places on the machines and floor spaces; he figures that their classes must have just ended, based on the way most of them are still in their U.A. uniforms and some are headed to the locker rooms to change. He’s about to suggest the three of them hurry to get spots on the machines when he sees a familiar head of annoyingly bright pink hair. To his mild dismay,

(notreally)

she seems to notice him at the same time he notices her.

“Heeyyy,firstie! What’s up?” He can barely hear her shout across the gym.

“Kachaan?” Izuku questions him, mildly surprised. “You know some of the second years?”

“Denki’s girlfriend,” Katsuki rolls his eyes yet again. “Not that either of them will admit to it. They both-”

“FIRSTIEEEEE!!!!” Arashi runs up to Katsuki and his little group suddenly, and then jumps at him, knocking him to the ground in what he can only assume is supposed to be a hug. Or an attempted murder, maybe.

“Arashi, what the f*ck -”

“Akari !” The one with the short, peach-colored hair runs up behind her, frowning and for once looking more irritated than nervous. “You hardly know Bakugou, is that really the best-”

“Of course,I know him!” Arashi all but chirps. “Lighten up, Meiko! Bakugou and I are awesome friends, right Bakugou?”

“Like hell we are, get off of me you f*cking disaster!” His voice is a little muffled from underneath her, and she’s proving surprisingly hard to knock over. “What kind of crazy bitch just jumps on someone like that?!”

Instead of being offended or wincing back fearfully at the venom in his tone, like Izuku and Tachi, Arashi just jumps to her feet and grabs Katsuki’s hand, yanking him back up with a smile and a surprisingly firm grip. “No harm, no foul, right Bomb Boy?”

“f*cking whatever, I guess ,” he mutters, rubbing one elbow and wondering how someone her size was so easily able to take him down. Surely, it’s because she had managed to catch him off-guard with the hug. If he’d been paying attention, she would have never been able to take him down so easily. In fact-

“Besides,” she carries on, softer and seemingly unaware of Katsuki’s irritation and Tachi’s rambling apology to Izuku and IcyHot, “sometimes you just kind of need a hug,y’know?”

“No,” he tells her shortly, “I don’t know, thanks.” But he eyes her a little more closely and notices a pinched look in her eyes, notices the way her friend Tachi looks at her with ill-hidden concern and... Is that guilt? “Besides, you have your orange push-pop of a friend here for that sh*t, you don’t need me for it.”

Arashi’s grin dims slightly. “Meiko isn’t super fond of being touched because of her quirk, so I try to avoid hugging her too much. I don’t like making her uncomfortable.”

“What’s your quirk?” He hears Izuku start muttering away to Tachi, and notes the fond smile Todoroki sends his way. Rather than get sucked into one of his friends' quirk dissection talks, he turns back to his assailant.

“Sowhat, you decided to make me uncomfortable instead?” It’s apparently exactly the wrong thing to say, because Arashi’s grin disappears entirely and Katsuki’s alarmed to see her eyes fill with tears. Thankfully, Tachi seems to be proving a fair distraction to Izuku and Todoroki as she explains the mechanics of her quirk to them; it’s like they’re not even in the same room as Katsuki and Arashi any longer. Arashi notices as well, and takes a moment to subtly wipe at her eyes.

“Sorry,” she mumbles quietly, trying not to sniffle. “I- Meiko and I argued about some stuff earlier and I’m not... I’m not really close to anyone else in our year, you know? And Mina isn’t answering her phone and I just saw you over here and, well. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Or knock you down, actually. Sorry, Bakugou.”

Katsuki thinks briefly about how Kiri would react in this same situation, and resignedly steels himself before grabbing Arashi and pulling her in to a rough, slightly awkward hug. She stiffens up at first, before practically melting into his touch and sliding her arms around him to hug back. She’s tiny and cool to the touch, and smells like rain. Katsuki is half worried she’s going to burst into tears or something when he hears her sniffle again, but she finally pulls away and smiles at him, eyes dry. “Thanks,firstie. You’re not too bad of a hugger, I was right!”

Across from them, Tachi, Todoroki, and Izuku are all watching in open-mouthed surprise. Tachi’s look turns to something tender and kind, though, and she approaches Arashi cautiously before suddenly pulling her into a hug of her own.

“I’m sorry,” Katsuki hears Tachi mutter. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I know, Mei,” Arashi mumbles back. “But I don’t know if-”

“I won’t force you. And I shouldn’t have been sojudgmental. I know it’s hard for you.”

“Thank you,” Arashi sniffles again and they break the hug, both of them smiling shakily. “No more fighting?”

“No more fighting.”

Katsuki is lost at that, but glad that whatever weird mood had overtaken the normally cheery second year seemed to have passed. Crying people were not his forte. Hell, people in general were not his forte. Comforting others was something Kirishima was good at; in his absence, the rest of the squad had taken over, particularly Denki. Speaking of the electric blond...

“So, why not go to Denki if you needed a hug so bad?” Katsuki knows instantly that he’s somehow managed to say the wrong thing again, as both Arashi and Tachi stiffen and shoot one another weird looks. He half expects Arashi’s eyes to fill with tears again or something, and he mentally berates himself for his big mouth and poor social skills. Just when Katsuki’s about to panic, or apologize, or maybe just explode and walk off, Izuku comes to the rescue inadvertently.

“So, what’s your quirk? Is it similar to Tachi’s, is it touched based, do they work well together-”

“Izu,” Todoroki murmurs fondly, before glancing at the others and flushing horribly.

“Oh! Sorry, Arashi!” Izuku abruptly cuts off his muttering. ”I tend to get over-excited about quirk analysis!”

“You could at least introduce yourself first, nerd,” Katsuki tells him.

“I believe, as the friend in common, introductions would typically fall onto you, Bakugou.” Todoroki is attempting to maintain his calm and cool façade - a feat much easier said than done, if the smoke rising off of his left shoulder is any indication.

Katsuki rolls his eyes, mentally trying to tally how many times he’s done the action already today. “Fine, IcyHot. Creamsicle, Mochi, this is IcyHot and Izuku. Izuku, IcyHot, these are second years. Happy?”

They’re apparently not happy, as Todoroki shakes his head in exasperation before nodding politely to the girls. “Shouto Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya.”

“Akari Arashi and Meiko Tachi,” Arashi offers in return. “But you can just call us Akari and Meiko, of course! And my quirk isAquakinesis, kid.”

Izuku’s eyes widen in excitement. “Aquakinesis- water manipulation! That’s amazing! Shouto’s quirk is Half-Cold, Half-Hot! Cryokinesis and Pyrokinesis! And I know there’s a girl in Gen Ed with terrakinesis, and I’ve heard one of the other schools has someone with Aerokinesis; elemental control quirks are amazing! Wait, that means you’re the Arashi that Iida mentioned before! Do you know if-”

He’s cut off by Arashi – Akari? - chuckling at his antics. “Where did you get this guy?” She asks Katsuki.

“He followed me home when I was a kid and my mother made me keep him,” Katsuki answers drily, knowing that it’s not exactly a lie.

“Kachaan !” Izuku whines, but he’s beaming. Katsuki briefly thinks how glad he is that they’ve reached the point where he can tease the shorter boy like this and have everyone know he means no harm by it.

“That’s how Meiko got me !” Arashi answers, straight-faced. “It’s a horrible burden to bear. She has to feed me a diet of wet food and pellet food. Thankfully, I’m house-trained.”

“Akari!” Tachi is laughing silently now. “Oh, my god.”

“Tell me about it,” Katsuki replies, liking this version of the second year much more than the weepy one he’d just seen. “Izuku took years to house-train; he still has accidents sometimes.”

“Kachaaaaannn !” Now everyone is laughing, even Katsuki chuckling quietly.

“Really, though,” Half n Half says after a moment.”How does your quirk work? I don’t often meet many other people with elemental control quirks, outside of my own family, of course. And that Gen Ed girl, but she’s, ah...”

“Rather trying?” Tachi suggests.

“A raging bitch?” Arashi adds.

“A great candidate for a lobotomy?” Katsuki offers up.

“A stunning example of the need for 60th trimester abortions,” Arashi says decidedly. “Yeah, she’s rough, all right. As for my quirk, well... Wanna see?”

Izuku nods eagerly, Todoroki does so calmly. It hits Katsuki suddenly that he’s never actually seen Arashi’s quirk in action, at least not the combative side of it. He’s had her heal him up (much to her and Denki’s concern), but never seen her fight. She’s rather small, but she had managed to knock him down just by jumping onto him for a hug... Besides, he knows better than anyone – has, since way back at the SportsFestivalwhen Uraraka had almost gotten the drop on him and held her own for a respectable amount of time - that size and gender have nothing to do with strength at all.

“So, who wants to fight me?” She asks, smirking at their blank stares. “What? You wanted to see my quirk in action – that's easiest to do if we spar.Meiko’squirk isn’t the best match for mine if showing off is the aim, so someone else will have to take me on. So, who’s brave?”

There’s a beat of silence, and Katsuki can feel Izuku and the Canadian flag debating with themselves whether they’d accidentally hurt her or not. The two of them trade looks, almost as if they’re having a silent conversation to see who’s least likely to damage her. He almost scoffs – this is U.A., everyone here got in on their own strength and merit. Sure, she was annoyingly peppy and outgoing, but Arashi had to be tougher than she looked to be in the Hero Course. He’s about to volunteer himself when Todoroki steps forward.

“I’ll fight you,” he says decisively. Apparently, they’ve deemed his quirk less dangerous than Izuku’s. Which, fair.Izuku‘s quirk is an accident waiting to happen on a GOOD day, never mind the havoc he might reek with it when he’s emotional and over-excited from getting his first boyfriend.

“Alright,” Arashi smirks evilly. “Elemental vs elemental, should be fun! Remember, kid, I’m older and have more training than you, so there’s no shame in tapping out.”

Todoroki grimaces at that. “I hardly think that that will be necessary. My father is the current Number One Hero; I’ve been in training since I was in diapers. I’ll do my best not to harm you, however.”

Arashi just chuckles. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Number One Hero, Jr.”

They both make their way to the middle of the floor space, and Izuku, Tachi, and Katsuki back up to the edge in order to give them more space. Arashi and Todoroki bow to one another politely, and then suddenly they’re in motion.

Katsuki is more than a little amazed and - if he’s honest with himself - horrified. He’s known for a while now, obviously, that Todoroki is incredibly powerful and a force to be reckoned with. But Arashi hadn’t been boasting earlier when she stated that she was older and quite experienced as well. She’s ridiculously fast on her feet and almost constantly in motion. While Todoroki stands still and braces himself against the strength of his quirk, using his powers to defend himself from a set point, Arashi seems to dance alongside her own quirk, as fluid as the water she controls. Next to him, Katsuki sees Izuku’s eyes widen in shock. Tachi is smiling knowingly.

“He’s a bad match-up for her,” Tachi mutters to them softly. “She’s going to play with him, though, because you wanted to see her quirk in action.”

“Play with him?” Izuku asks, shocked. “Shouto is one of the most powerful people in our year. Even a year older than us, she can’t possibly...”

Todoroki sends out a smaller version of his ridiculous ice wall, and it seems Arashi is encased in it and rendered immobile. Todoroki is intelligent, though, and doesn’t let his guard down fully or turn his back to her. He stands in the same place where he began, hands half-raised and ready to defend.

“He’s good at that,” Tachi says to the boys. “We saw him do that at the SportsFestival. Really, it’s almost impossible to defend against, as it’s so fast.”

Izuku nods, muttering to himself as he pulls out a notebook (from where?? ) and begins to scribble into it frantically. But Katsuki waits, not taking his eyes off of the ice wall and the girl encased within. It’s the right move. Right as Todoroki finally relaxes, the entire ice wall melts at once and floods the floor, and Arashi is running at Todoroki at a ridiculous speed.

“Aquakinesis,” Tachi says suddenly, cutting Izuku’s mutters off. “Akari can control water’s speed and movement. But she can also control the temperature of it, any point from below freezingtoabove boiling.”

“And IcyHot’s ice is just water, waiting for her to use how she pleases,” Katsuki joins in, still staring at the two of them in awe. Even at a distance, he can see that Todoroki’s eyes have widened in surprise and his mouth is set in a tense line. He hops onto a bridge of ice and rides it upwards to avoid Arashi, nearly slipping off when he sees her form a funnel of water and use it to climb into the air alongside him. Almost frantically, he freezes her funnel – only for her to melt his ice path and send him falling to the ground from 20 feet in the air. At the last moment, a pool of water forms and breaks his fall, leaving him drenched.

Arashi seems to realize something then, because she smirks wickedly and redoubles her efforts.

“Ah, your friend can’t control the temperature of his ice, or melt it, can he?” Tachi asks them suddenly. “I thought not.”

“She can freeze or melt ice and water at will,” Izuku says with a sudden gasp of understanding. “But since Shouto can only make ice, he’ll have to use his fire to melt any of hers, or risk her winning.”

“Is he over his stupid ass thing about his fire?” Katsuki asks Izuku with a raised brow.”Oris she about to humiliate him?”

“He’s over it,” Izuku says softly. “For the most part, unless Endeavor is around or someone brings him up or compares them.”

“She wouldn’t,” Tachi and Katsuki say at the same time, before giving one another surprised looks.

“She’s not that cruel,” Tachi continues with a questioning look at Katsuki. “Not to anyone who isn’t a villain. And she would have picked up already that it bothers him to be compared to Endeavor.”

“I think she would do it, if she knew him and thought he could take it,” Katsuki counters. “She seems too smart to let an advantage like that go completely. But since she doesn’t know him well, that’s why she won’t do it. Not just because he isn’t a villain.”

They both seem to be right, whatever the reason, because Todoroki lights up his left side and begins melting her ice and trying to evaporate her water. The area fills with steam briefly, but Arashi isn’t giving up yet. Katsuki feels, rather than sees, the mist change - it crystalizes into tiny shards of ice, which she then sends flying at Todoroki. The shards are almost impossible to see, but the tiny, bleeding cuts appearing all overIcyHot’sface and arms aren’t.

“HOW?” Izuku asks, sounding strangled. “Shouto can’t control his ice’s movement after his creates the ice, how can she-”

“She isn’t,” Katsuki says as he realizes it himself. “She’s frozen the mist into ice shards, but they’re so small that they’re starting to melt already, so she’s using the water that’s melted off of them-”

“To propel the shards at Todoroki, yes,” Tachi finishes. “If your friend could control water instead of ice, he’d be able to do the same. But since it’s ONLY ice that he can create and not control after, it really is a disadvantage.”

“So, he can’t beat her with his ice,” Izuku continues on, scribbling into his notebook despite not taking his eyes off of the fight. “It’ll have to be fire, then. He’ll have to go hot enough to evaporate all of her water, and then she’ll have no more advantage.”

“You would think,” Tachi says with the boldest grin Katsuki can recall ever seeing the timid orange-haired girlgivebefore.

Todoroki seems to be thinking along the same lines as Izuku ( shocker ), as he lights up fully and begins cautiously sending fireballs her way. Arashi dodges artfully, but her water start steaming and her funnel breaks apart, dropping her out of the air and causing her to have to catch herself. Katsuki thinks that she could probably combat this by lowering the temperature of her water, or just generating it faster than Todoroki could generate fire, but that to do so would tire her out needlessly. Until Arashi has an idea of Todoroki’s stamina level and fitness, it wouldn’t be wise to just attempt to outlast him. And so far, Arashi has proved to be anything other than stupid.

Thinking he has her, Todoroki increases the frequency of his fireballs – but Arashi keeps dodging, even without her funnels of water to propel her into the air. She begins to run at Todoroki, doing some kind of weird gymnastics sh*t to avoid the fire. Katsuki can almost feel Todoroki’s indecision – should he give it his all and risk burning her, or throw the match and his pride, and risk royally pissing off an older student? Katsuki knows what he would do – Arashi can heal herself easily and likely has had her fair share of burns before from her own boiling water, and Katsuki would never just give in and throw a match against a worthy opponent.

Surprisingly, Todoroki seems to reach the same conclusion, as he grits his teeth and sends another fireball towards Arashi, burning her shoulder and dissolving the arm of her gym uniform. The smell of burnt fiber reaches their noses not long after. Todoroki and Arashi both freeze and blink in mild surprise, and Todoroki’s face briefly flashes to one of utter horror and guilt before Arashi laughs and lets out a calm “ow, f*ck, kid.” Todoroki’s fire goes out in a fast whoooosh .

Then, before their eyes, Arashi’s arm begins to heal up on its own. Within seconds, it’s fully healed, leaving only a bright pink area, like a mild sunburn, as evidence that she was ever hurt in the first place. She rubs it with a smirk and then cracks her neck and fingers before giving Todoroki a ‘bring it’ gesture.

“Too bad Denki is missing this,” Katsuki mutters.

“He’d be quite impressed,” Tachi agrees. “I don’t think he’s seen her fight quite like this before.”

“He has seen her fight before, though?” Izuku asks, sounding jealous. “He never told us!”

“He’s been to a few of her spars with our classmates and some of 2-B, but he usually gets flustered when she flirts with him and he runs off,” Tachi tells them, humor in her voice.

“She flirts with him during her matches?” Katsuki asks, though he doesn’t sound shocked about it, just resigned.

“Just catches his eye and winks or something, usually,” Tachi replies. “He flusters really easily.”

“Only with her,” Katsuki says. “Usually, he’s a shameless flirt. Nothing normally bothers him.”

“Until her,” Tachi says, almost leadingly.

“Until her,” Katsuki agrees. “I think he really likes her.”

“I do, too,” Tachi starts, but the match heats up again before they can speculate about their best friends' love lives any further.

Todoroki takes a deep breath and forces the panicked look off of his face before lighting himself back up and preparing to throw more fireballs at her, having seen that she can take it. Arashi continues to dodge and move crazy-fast, even without using her quirk. She gets close to a wall, and Katsuki can instantly tell that Todoroki’s made a huge mistake in letting her get near one, as she begins to use her momentum to run up on the wall and flip off of it, landing behind him. Right as Todoroki is registering what’s happened and is turning around to look for her, she kicks his legs out from underneath him and pins him down, icing his hands and legs to the ground.

He could melt the ice off, but Todoroki has the sense to know when he’s lost fair and square.

“Yield,” he tells her, sounding calm enough. She melts the ice herself and rolls off of him, springing to her feet and offering him a hand up much like she had with Katsuki earlier. To his credit, Todoroki accepts and lets her haul him to his feet; it’s almost comical, considering he’s 3 or 4 inches taller than she is.

Katsuki sees them shake hands enthusiastically before coming back over to their little group.

“I underestimated her,” Todoroki says instantly, speaking mostly to Izuku. “I shouldn’t have.”

“He’s pretty cool!” Arashi chirps to Tachi. “He was a good fight! And he had the decency to actually hurt me, hardly anyone in our class is willing to hurt the girls!” She adds to the group at large.

“Ah,” Todoroki winces. “I am sorry about that, though. I know it had to have hurt.”

“No skin off of my, well, skin!” Arashi tells him cheerily, turning her burnt arm towards him to show it off. It’s barely even pink anymore. “I heal pretty fast on my own, and if I get hurt bad enough, I can just directly use my quirk on myself to heal even faster. Bakugou! Wanna explode me?!”

Katsuki is a little taken aback at her sudden request. “I- hah ?”

“Explode me!” She repeats. “Like, use your quirk on me and I can show how fast I can heal on my own versus actively using my quirk. It’s fine, any level works. Like, I may need help setting bones in place, but then I can-”

“Akari, no .” Tachi sounds resigned. “You’re not making a first year break your bones for you so you can show off, the emotional trauma-”

“I mean, he doesn’t have to break them,” Arashi argues back happily, ignoring the horrified looks on all 3 first years faces. “I’m just saying, if he blew me up and some did accidentally break, it would be okay, so-”

“I’m not blowing you up, what the f*ck -” Katsuki loses his voice almost as soon as he finds it.

“Fine,” Arashi says with a playful eyeroll. ”Killjoy. Softie.”

“What?!”

“You heard me,” she tells him. “First, you’re a hugger. Then, you won’t explode me. Ergo , softie.”

“Look,” Katsuki defends weakly. “If we’re sparring, it’s one thing if I end up hurting you. Like you can’t tell me you’d cut Half ‘n Half up like that if you weren’t fighting, I mean-”

“Oh sh*t , I forgot about that!” Arashi exclaims, turning to look at the numerous tiny cuts on Todoroki’s face and arms that are leaking blood slowly. “And of course, I wouldn’t do that to him outside of a spar, but it’s different with me, I can take damage easier than most people, like the rock guy could. Here, can I heal you up, IcyHot?”

There’s an awkward pause as everyone digests all that Arashi’s spewed out. Katsuki is struck silent at someone else calling Todoroki ‘IcyHot’, whereas everyone else is wincing at her for thoughtlessly bringing up Kirishima in front of Katsuki, as if he’s about to break down sobbing at any second. Really, what do they take him for?

(He steadfastly ignores the voice in the back of his head that points out that he likely would have done just that not even a week ago...)

Todoroki agrees distantly and Arashi brings up water all over his arms and face, while leaving a small hole for his nostrils and eyes. The water seems to almost phosphoresce a light blue and green color before seeming to sink into his skin; when it’s gone, there’s no sign he was ever cut up in the first place. Todoroki blinks at his own arm, surprised.

Izuku is torn between staring at her healing in amazement and looking at Katsuki in concern, though, so Katsuki chooses to speak up.

“Look, you may be able to take damage easily like Kirishima could,” he says, forcing himself to refer to his boyfriend in past tense, “but he couldn’t really feel it in his hardened form. I’m sure you can still feel it when you get hurt? You don’t have a way to defend against it like he did, so you must.”

“I do feel it,” Arashi agrees easily. “But not as strong as most people, actually. As soon as I get even a bit hurt, I start to subconsciously heal up, so I’ve never been as sensitive to pain as most people. Also, I can always just-”

She breaks off as she forms a layer of water over her own arms, before freezing it solidly and banging her fists together in a move that’s eerily reminiscent of Kirishima in his hardened form.

“Akari-chan...” Izuku mutters worriedly, and Katsuki notes that apparently, they were already referring to the second years by first name, per the girls' requests.

“Hmm? Oh ,” she glances from Izuku’s furrowed eyebrows, to her ‘hardened’ arms, to Katsuki, before melting the ice off completely. “Anyway! I do have defensive methods!”

“So, what I’m gathering here,” Katsuki says, mostly to change the subject and stop Izuku’s worried looks, “Is that you’re saying you can take me in a fight, and I won’t have to hold back against you?”

It would be nice to fight someone who he didn’t have to hold back against, Katsuki mused. Not to get him wrong, he would never hold out on someone or refuse to fight them to his fullest acceptable extent, or think them incapable of facing him just because of something stupid like size or gender. It was just that, for quirks like Katsuki’s, there were some people he had to hold back against to a degree for their safety and everyone else’s, as well. Take Mina for instance – his quirk could ignite her acid and, if she had used too high of an acidity or too thick of a consistency, he would end up sending what would amount to napalm everywhere, endangering everyone near them. If the trail of acid led back to Mina, he could accidentally set her entire body on fire or blow her up in a very, very permanent way.

Even in cases that weren’t quite as... severe... as Mina’s, Katsuki had to exercise some caution with his quirk. It was a very powerful one, but at the same time, that made it very volatile and dangerous. Kirishima had been one of the few people that Katsuki could fight against, no holds barred, without having to worry at all. Kiri had been able to take even Katsuki’s most powerful attack, Howitzer Impact, without a scratch or scuff. It was great training for the both of them; Katsuki could go all out, and Kiri could practice staying hardened in even the most violent of situations. Katsuki missed it.

“Yeah,” Aras- Akari says with another grin. “You could say that! Just know, I won’t hold back, either!”

She jerks her head off towards the floor space challengingly, and Katsuki starts to follow after her with a feral smirk.

This was going to be fun.

Nearly two hours and four matches later, Katsuki finds himself laying on the gym floor and gasping for breath. He had been right - it had been fun. But f*ck if every last bone, muscle, ligament, nerve ending, and cell in his body wasn’t screaming in pain at the moment. f*cking Arash- Akari – didn't seem to have an ‘off button’. Much like Denki, she had proved to be an almost endless well of energy and pep. It was as annoying as it was inspirational.

Out of their four matches, Akari had won, well, four. Katsuki hadn’t dared make the mistake of underestimating the small girl, but she had proven even more determined to beat him than she had Todoroki. Katsuki had a very strong feeling that she had realized Izuku and Todoroki had been underestimating her and thinking of going easy on her from the very start, and that she had also sensed that Katsuki himself hadn’t done so. She had either been happy with him for that and therefore even more determined to give him a good fight, or she had been extra wary of him because of it and been more on the defense. Either way, it had gotten him four matches against her to Izuku and Todoroki’s two each. And f*ck if she hadn’t won all eight f*cking matches, too.

During her other matches with Katsuki, Tach- Meiko – had used her quirk to switch Izuku’s and Todoroki’s quirks around. Katsuki almost regretted missing their spars; it had sounded hilarious. But he had been too busy getting his entire ass handed to him by a short girl with bright pink hair to see what had happened with them.

True to both their words, neither Akari or Katsuki had held anything back. Akari had received several burn marks and singed clothes, and Katsuki was pretty sure he’d been seconds away from frostbite at one point and almost drowned at another. She had even used his own shirt to waterboard him for a few seconds when his guard was down. Throwing sharp knives of ice at him may have been overkill, but then again, he was pretty sure he had kicked her hard enough to break her ankle at one point.

Near the end of their last match, they’d both distantly became aware that they had an awestruck and anxious audience. Meiko, Todoroki, Izuku, and several other U.A. students had crowded around to watch the two of them spar. Katsuki was pleased to note that, even as out of shape as he was - and admittedly, outclassed as he was - he had been able to hold his own against the second year for longer than Todoroki had. Even during their fourth and final match, when Katsuki was trembling with exhaustion, he’d managed to keep going with sheer stubbornness and brute strength. Fighting with brawn and no brain or maneuvering wasn’t his favorite, but it managed to do the job when need be. Akari may have been ridiculously skilled and fast, but Katsuki outdid her when it came to sheer power, and so it had kept their matches fairly even, even though he always lost to her.

Akari plops down on the ground next to Katsuki and lets out a shaky breath. “ sh*t ,firstie. You know how to go hard, I’ll admit it.”

“You-” Katsuki breaks off into a coughing fit, lungs burning. “You do, too, f*ck . You almost f*cking killed me, Akari.”

There’s a pause and Katsuki groans at his little slip, knowing what’s coming.

“Awww, Bakugou ! You finally called me ’Akari’, I knew we were friends after all, awwww !”

To his great horror, Akari sort of...rolls over to him and somehow manages to envelope him in a hug, even while lying down. He doesn’t have the strength left to squirm away, so he ends up having to just accept her weird, misplaced affection. She’s far too much like Denki in that way – and like Kiri - weirdly touchy and affectionate with her friends, which Katsuki supposes he must now count as.

“Are they okay?” He hears Izuku ask Meiko with a laugh.

“Define ‘okay’,” Meiko replies, trying to not sound amused, and failing horribly.

Katsuki swears he hears a snicker that must belong to Todoroki, and if he had any energy left, he’d pop off a few small explosions to show his displeasure at it. But he’s too busy focusing on making sure that he still has legs and arms and a heartbeat to bother with his quirk at the moment.

“Hmmph,” Akari mumbles into his shoulder before finally, thankfully, rolling back off of him. “For such a grumpy sh*tweasel, you sure are cuddly. Don’t think I didn’t feel you relax with that.”

“Ufgh, f*ck off ,” Katsuki snaps at her half-heartedly. She just laughs and sits up – and Katsuki has no idea how the f*ck she’s managed that much, having fought twice as many matches as him. He can barely move, and his entire body is shaking on its’ own. Across the room, an older girl – third-year, he thinks – shouts a question about the party to Meiko. She waves from her spot on the floor in response, gives a thumbs-up, and flushes horribly. Before anyone can ask about it, though, Akari comes to her friend’s rescue by way of targeting Katsuki.

“You going to the party tonight?” She grins down at him. “Assuming you can stand up by the time it starts, that is!”

“f*ck. Off,” he repeats, with no real heat. “Yeah, I’m going.”

“Oh!” Izuku plops down on Katsuki’s other side and takes deep swig of his water. “Hagakure mentioned the party to Shouto and I! We’re um-we're going.Together, I mean.”

The Pepsi can actually f*cking blushes as he sits, gracefully, next to Izuku. The effect of the poised act is somewhat dimmed, however, as his bi-colored hair is a disaster, falling into his eyes and sticking up in the back. Katsuki catches Izuku smile at it fondly, and he has a feeling his friend’s hands are soon going to be spending an inordinate amount of time running through that hair later.

Akari jumps up suddenly, pulling Mieko to her feet. “Oh! Speaking of the party, we all really ought to go get ready! It’s only about an hour away!”

Todoroki groans as he gets to his feet, and then pulls Izuku up with him.

“That’s fine, leave me here to die,” Katsuki jokes after making a painful, aborted attempt to sit up. “Like actually, can’t stand, think I’ll skip it after all.” Before he even finishes his sentence, he feels cool water soak his back as Akari uses her quirk to lift him to his feet. He opens his mouth to complain about her getting his clothes wet, but the feeling goes away as fast as it had come on. Huh, so she can remove water instantly, as well. Interesting.

“Doesn’t make my legs work any better,” he grumbles to her. “But thanks, though.”

She just laughs, waving at Meiko to go on ahead. Izuku and Todoroki are already halfway out of the gym, too caught up in one another to notice that Katsuki is struggling to walk like a damned newborn deer. As the others go on ahead, Akari hangs back with him and eyes him critically for a moment.

“What?” Katsuki asks her, a little unnerved by her scrutiny.

Suddenly, she reaches out and grabs his hand in her own, and he feels water rush halfway up his arm before she stops and eyes him, waiting for permission. He gives her a confused nod and then feels the water coat his body the way he had seen it do to Todoroki earlier. It’s a little strange, but she leaves holes over his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, so he isn’t too bothered. He’s felt the healing facet of her quirk in action before, but not on this scale – or for something like sore muscles. It’s surreal.

When she had healed him of his injuries in Denki’s dorm room, it had tingled a bit before becoming very soothing, and left him feeling invigorated after. Whether that had been a side effect of her quirk, or because of his relief at the sudden lack of pain, he hadn’t been sure. Now, though, his entire body feels like it’s floating on cloud nine; it’s eerily reminiscent of being under Shinsou’sMind Control. Before he can think on it for too long, the water sinks deep down within his body, and he’s left feeling relief. He can still tell that he’s been working out, is still mildly sore in that satisfying sort of way, but it now feels like the work out was several days prior instead of only moments ago.

“The f*ck?” he mutters to himself. “Thought you only could heal injuries.”

“To be fair,” she says softly, looking more mature than he’s seen her so far, “working out does injure your muscles, in a way. I can speed up the healing process on that. Please, don’t tell anyone. Only Meiko and the teachers know that I can do that for other people. If everyone knew, they’d constantly be asking me to heal them after every class, every gym session, just to get a leg up on people.”

“You heal yourself unconsciously all the time, you said,” Katsuki says to her with dawning realization. “So,what you just did for me – that happens to you after every work out you do! No wonder you’re stronger and faster than you look!”

She flushes at the praise, but not in a pleased way. “It’s technically cheating, I know. But I can’t really help it, I swear!”

“Don’t be stupid,” he scoffs. “It’s part of your quirk, part of you. How is that cheating?!”

She manages a smile at that. “A lot of people wouldn’t see it that way, you know. Most of them, even.”

“Well, I’m not most f*cking people, am I?” He shoots back, stretching his arms before grabbing his bag and falling into step alongside her. “So, if people give you such sh*t about it, why use it on me? Why even tell me about it?”

She’s quiet for a moment as they walk the path from the gym back to Height’s Alliance. “Ever hear of Pros who are able to sense stuff?” She asks finally.

“Like a psychic quirk? Sure.”

“No, not a quirk in and of itself. It’s more like... A skill they develop, an extra sense. Not every Pro has it, of course, and it can be different strength or type, depending on the hero. All Might and Aizawa can sense danger. Midnight can sense, um... Other things, if you catch my drift. Present Mic is really good at sensing more innocent danger, like from pranks andmischief.”

“Hmm.” Katsuki knows he must look skeptical, because she rushes on.

“I swear, it’s a real thing. Some of the police even sense lies, though nowhere near as strong or easily as that Detective guy! Ask your homeroom teacher, it’s legit!”

“And people just develop it at some point?”

“Some of them,” she says, quieter now. “Mieko can sense misery.”

“sh*t,” he’s taken aback a bit. “And you?”

“Mine isn’t as clear yet. I just... Sometimes get a vague feeling that people will need something before they actually need it. Water, a bandage before a papercut happens, an umbrella even though it’s sunny out.”

“And I needed...?”

She pauses, both in speaking and walking, and scrunches up her face in a way he’s sure would have Denki smiling like an idiot. “Dunno, yet. Just... You need to be... At the top of your game for something, and soon.”

“...Very ominous, thanks.”

“Any time, kid,” she replies as they both turn to go their separate ways. She’s laughing when she says it, but he knows she’s being genuine about it, too. “See you at the party!”

"sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!” Denki mutters, pacing his room frantically. “I seriously don’t know what to wear to this! Mina, stop laughing and help me!”

But Mina can’t seem to stop laughing, and neither canHanta.

“Dude, it’s a party. Outside, at school, for all years. Most people are probably showing up in uniform or something!”

“What if they don’t?” Denki asks, agonized. “What if I do that, and look stupid?! But what if I overdress and look even stupider!”

On the corner of Hanta's bed, Katsuki rolls his eyes good-naturedly. They’ve all been trying to get ready for over an hour. Well, Denki has, at any rate. Mina is already dressed, and looks great. Some kind of knitted black sweater dress, with white and black boots and a chunky white belt with gold adornment, and golden bracelets and earrings to match. Even if she ends up being wayoverdressed, no one would dare say she looked stupid.

“Dude, if you act stupid, then that’s what’ll make you look stupid,” Hanta cackles. “Not your shirt!”

Hanta’swearing a deep magenta button up, tucked into black jeans and with a golden tie that almost matches Mina’s eyes. Katsuki wonders briefly if he did it on purpose. Denki lets out a strangled yelp as he trips over a pair of pants and almost falls to the floor.

Katsuki catches him with a smirk, and hauls him to his feet. He turns back to the other two as he pulls Denki out of the room and mutters a “we’ll be back in a bit!”

“Katsuki?” Denki asks, confused, as they approach the elevator. “Where are we going?”

“To get you some help, Pikachu.”

They exit on Katsuki’s floor and approach his room – but they both pause at his door, looking over at Kirishima’s abandoned room at the same time. There’s a pained silence, before Katsuki shakes his head and unlocks his door. Denki follows him in, quiet.

When they get inside, Denki keeps staring at Katsuki and Kiri’s shared wall, looking lost. For lack of knowing what to say, Katsuki opens up the “mom and dad sh*t” part of his closet and rifles through it before tossing an electric blue sweater at Denki’s head. A pair of fitted and faded dark blue jeans follow, along with a pair of unused black and bright blue DC shoes that Denki barely ducks.

“Go with those,” Katsuki tells him, trying not to laugh at his friend’s open-mouthed stare. “The blue will contrast nicely with your hair and eyes, and it’ll look good next to her obnoxious f*cking hair.”

“Who-”

“Don’t even try it.”

Denki just whines as he stares down at the shirt. “Does it even matter? The others are right, she’s never going to like me back! It’s Jirou andShinsouall over again!”

“Like hell it is,” Kat says bracingly, before following it up with a laughing, “you’ve upgraded from purple to pink this time, after all.”

“Dude!” f*ck, he actually sounds upset at that.

“Why are you sohigh-strungthis time?” he asks Denki, taking it more seriously now. “You were never this bad with the other two, and you liked them plenty.”

“Idunno, man. It’s just... Different with her, okay? Like yeah, she’s cute and she’s funny and interesting, but she... She takes me seriously,y’know? Never acts like I’m stupid or like I can’t be serious. I can’t describe it, and it pisses me off.”

Katsuki takes a good look at the electric blond – the wrinkle of discontent between his brows, the defeated slump to his shoulders, and the contrasting soft smile on his face. “I get it, I think.”

“You do?!” He sounds way too hopeful for Katsuki to let him down.

“Yeah. You started off with a crush maybe, got to know her as a friend. Then you realized that you both just... Clicked, somehow. Like, you get her and she gets you, in a way no one else can, and you feel safe with her. Feel like you can be yourself, 100% of the time, not on edge. And it’s weird, because you haven’t even known her for that long, but you can’t remember what it feels like... to not have her in your life. Andevery timeshe laughs or smiles, you find yourself thinking you’d do anything to keep that look on her face, to freeze that moment in time and just... Live in it, forever.” He stops himself when he sees Denki gaping at him, and feels himself flush. “What?”

“That- That’s exactly how it is!” First, he looks relieved at finally being understood, but then he winces. “ How can you explain it so well, when no one else gets it? They all think it’s just like with the other two and I’ll get bored of it, but...”

“I know,” Katsuki tells him,“BecauseI’ve been there. Hate to break it to you, but I diagnose you with ‘in love’, Denki.”

Denki pales a bit. “ Love?! f*ck, Katsuki, I don’t- Oh. Oh, sh*t. That’s how you felt with-”

“With Kiri, yeah. Every minute of every day. f*cking sappy, annoying sh*t.” He can’t help it, Katsuki finds himself smiling softly at the thought of it, at the thought of Kiri. God, Kiri is gonna lose his mind when Katsuki texts him later and tells him that Denki’s fallen in love with someone.

But Denki is looking absolutely crushed, despite Katsuki’s smile. “f*cking sh*t , bro. I’m sorry. f*ck, I’m sorry. sh*t!”

Katsuki blinks, confused. “Why be sorry? You can’t help being in love with her, you know? Not exactly a choice.”

“Not- Not me and Akari, you! You and Kirishima! f*cking f*ck, I had no idea it was like this. Mina and Sero don’t- okay, they might, but I bet they haven’t registered that that’s how you felt yet, because they can’t even admit to what they feel, and sh*t, f*cking f*ck, son of a-”

“Whoa, calm down! Why is this such an issue? You all know that I’m in l-th- that I loved him. Hell, you were all there when I said it for the first time!”

But Denki shakes his head miserably. “Yeah, I knew , but I didn’t understand what it was like until now. f*ckingaaaaaahhghgh, you must be miserable 24/7. Like, again, I know you have been, but. I didn’t get it until now! How do you even... How do you keep going, after what happened?”

Sensing this may take a moment, Katsuki sits down on his bed and gestures for Denki to do the same. Once Denki is seated next to him, he tries to ignore how much he feels like a fraud and a liar, and answers his best friend’s question.

“Notgonnalie, it’s sucked. It’s sucked a LOT. And like I told you guys, there was definitely a moment where I didn’t think I could- well, you know, survive. But... I did. And I don’t regret being with Kirishima, or loving him, because a lot of good came from it. f*ck, I wouldn’t have been so close to you guys if it weren’t for him.”

“You’re still in love with him,” Denki notes, soft and sad. It isn’t a question.

“I- Yeah, I am,” Katsuki admits. “Always will be, I think. Again, it’s not really something you get to choose.”

“f*ck, that sucks.”

“You guys really need to stop picking up my sh*tty language habits,” he muses. “FirstZuku, now you. Aizawa’sgonnakill me.”

Denki doesn’t laugh.

“Look,” he continues, determined. “I’m serious – I really don’t regret it. It sucked, and it hurt, but it was still worth it in the end, and I’d probably do it all over again if I had to. And I’d make the same choices. For all that happened, I’m better now because I let Kiri in my life.It..I can’t say it just gets better. It gets easier, every day. It’s hard, you have to do it every day. But it gets easier.”

“And you’re somehow okay, after feeling all the stuff for him that... That I do for Akari? If she did that to me, I- f*ck, it almostkilled you.”

“Yeah. But it didn’t. And she’s not Kirishima. And you’re not me. And she wouldn’t betray you or U.A.”

“Well, she can’t really betray me, seeing as we aren’t even dating,” Denki finally cracks a joke, weak as it is.

“Yet,” Katsuki adds. “You aren’t dating yet.”

“ You seriously think I have a chance? No one else does. And I freak out every time I talk to her.”

“Have you considered taking it a little more seriously?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you flirt shamelessly, she flirts back, and you almost pass out. Then, you run. Try, I don’t f*cking know, being romantic or direct or serious. Or f*cking sing her a song or some sh*t, whatever.”

Denki considers it a moment. “You’re a really good guy, you know?”

“Get dressed, you f*cking disaster.”

They end up meeting Hanta and Mina in the courtyard. Katsuki had been right – the bright blue attire looks great on Denki, and it’s just eye-catching enough without being blinding or tacky. Mina and Hanta both shoot matching grins at them, before doing a double-take at Katsuki and blushing. Really, you’d think he’d be used to that after the day he’s had.

All the same, he’s apparently surprising in his black, ripped up jeans and dark, forest green sweater. At some point, the creepy chick from Support must have broken into his room and resized all of his clothes – even from hisparent'sfashion line - because they fit him perfectly instead of feeling too large on his smaller shape. Or maybe Akari had done more to help him than he had originally thought.

Right as they get to the place theother’shad saved for them, Denki and Katsuki both notice a nearby stage that’s been set up, complete with instruments, a computer, and – good lord, a group of girls singing karaoke. Great.

They don’t sound awful together, at least. One on the end turns and winks Denki’s way, causing him to stumble and turn bright red. Katsuki catches the flash of bright pink before she’s pulled back into the group, and he knows Akari is there. If that hadn’t been clue enough, Meiko approaches the squad, looking sweet and shy in a powder blue dress.

“Enjoying the party?” She asks, trying to get her soft voice louder as to be heard over the noise.

“So far, so good!” Mina shouts back. “You?”

“It’s loud!” Meiko tells them with a smile. “But it’s good! We got here early and helped set up! The Big Three almost didn’t let us help – it's a party for the second years having passed the Licensing Exam, after all!”

“Congrats on that, by the way!” Hanta yells. “You both passed, too?”

“Akari and I? Yes!”

The aforementioned Big Three walk by and congratulate Meiko then – apparently not for the first time – and Katsuki and the others note that she’s bright red when they depart.

“Oh my god,” Mina starts up. “Oh. My. God. You have a crush!!”

“No-” butMeiko’sworsening blush gives her away, as does her longing glance over at the Big Three.

“I hate to tell you this,” Denki says worriedly, “but I think Amajiki might be-”

“Incredibly gay and all overToogata?” Hanta finishes.

To their surprise, Meiko just laughs. “He is! Though I'm surprised, Sero, that you’d know what a crush even looked like, considering...” She glances between him and Mina pointedly.

Mina’s eyes widen and she flushes, but Hanta just looks confused. Meiko actually, legitimately rolls her eyes at them and laughs again, and Katsuki has to wonder just what’s in the punch to make the normally timid girl act so bold.

“It’s fine, anyway,” he butts in. “She’s intoHadou, not one of the guys.”

“Bingo!” She says to him cheerily, right as Akari comes bounding up to their group.

Katsuki has to suppress a groan when he sees her – she's got on ripped and faded blue jeans, and black Converse with yellow laces. As if that isn’t bad enough, she’s wearing an obnoxiously yellow t-shirt and a black and white plaid button up, which she has hanging open. He’d almost say it looked likeHanta’sHero Costume colors... If the little lightning bolt earrings and the black choker didn’t make it obvious that it was a nod to Denki’s quirk. And, by some ungodly coincidence, Akari’s bright pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail... With an electric blue hair elastic, a matching one adorning her right wrist. Sweet f*ck, what were the odds?

Next to him, he could feel Denki positively having a meltdown. Akari, for once, appears blessedlyobliviousto his stress, and merrily greets them all before engaging Mina and Meiko in a brief discussion about the Licensing Exam.

“So, what are your hero names and your costumes like?” Mina asks excitedly.

“Meiko’s is ‘Switchcraft’!” Akari exclaims with an excited grin at her friend. Meiko looks sheepish, before continuing the explanation.

“It was the only good wordplay on my quirk that I could make! And then, the costume had to fit the name, so it’s - well, it’s a purple and black witch’s costume!”

The whole group grins at the image, the orange-haired girl included.

“Hat and all?” Denki asks with a smirk, finally managing to find his voice again.

“Hat and all,” Akari agrees, shooting a wink his way and eyeing his outfit with a grin.

To Katsuki’s great surprise (and, let’s be real, everyone’s), Denki doesn’t freak out, panic, or short-circuit himself. He just smiles back, not overly-flirtatiousfor once, before asking, “And what about yours, Akari?”

Akari blinks once, surprised, before replying with a smile. “Hero name’s ‘Maelstrom’! Best get used to hearing it, it’s going to be famous soon enough! And my outfit’s more deceptive, doesn’t give my quirk away! It’s maroon and black-” she pauses as the music briefly blares. “-I’ll have to show you sometime!”

Denki blushes, but manages to keep his cool. “Sounds good!”

“Mei-chan!” And then,NejireHadouis there with their group,MirioToogataand Tamaki Amajiki trailing behind her. “I know I said it already, butcongratulationsagain! You too, Akari!”

They end up chatting with the Big Three for a surprising amount of time, discussing live music and karaoke, of all things.

“I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket! I sound okay in a group, but alone? Hoo boy!”Hadoutells them cheerfully, seemingly unbothered. “AndMirio’ssinging sounds like animals being slaughtered!”

Toogatajust laughs happily and nods. “It’s true, I’m terrible! Sadly for U.A., I LOVE singing!”

Hadoushudders at the thought before continuing on. “Tamaki is amazing, though, youshouldhear him!”

Amajiki, blushed and shaking, shakes his head frantically at her.Toogatalaughs as he adds in, “he can play the guitar, too! He’s super great!”

Poor Amajiki looks like he’s about to die of anxiety, and by some miracle, Katsuki manages not to laugh at the shy older boy. Sensing his discomfort, being somewhat shy herself, Meiko nudges Akari for help.

Unluckily for her, though, the neon girl offers a distraction in the form of throwing Meiko to themetaphoricalwolves. “Hadou-chan, Meiko has a great singing voice! You should sing together tonight, I’m sure you’d sound amazing together!”

“I really don’t,” Meiko protests, bright red like Amajiki now. “I sound good enough in a choir, Isuppose, but that’s about it. Akari is the real singer.”

But Akari just rolls her eyes and nudges Denki conspiratorially; somehow, he doesn’t black out. “Well, if that’s the case Mei-chan, then even more reason for you andHadou-chanto sing together!”

Hadoulaughs, and it sounds musical somehow. “I’ve told you, please, just ‘Nejire’ is fine! And I would love to sing with you, Tachi!”

“Eeep! I-I mean, M-’Meiko’ is f-f-fine, H-Nejire!”

Katsuki has seen enough and finally takes pity on her, choosing to offer up, “Mina can dance pretty well. Never heard her sing, though. And Hanta plays piano.”

Both of hisfriendsflush, not at the attention, but when they meet one another’s eyes.

“Denki plays guitar and sings!” Hanta blurts out to the group. Akari’s eyes widen and she glances at Denki as if seeing him for the first time.

“Blasty can play the drums!” Denki half-yells in a sudden burst of panic.

“Hmm,” Meiko muses. “Y’know, Kaminari – Akari plays guitar, too. Piano, as well.”

Surprisingly, it seems to calm the blond boy down, and Katsuki catches him smiling softly at Akari. It’s then that Katsuki figures out what’s going on here – in an attempt to draw attention off of their own crushes and embarrassment, almost everyone there had attempted to talk up someone else’s abilities to their crush, instead. And somehow, Katsuki had accidentally started it.

“Karaoke, then?” he asks, trying not to cringe at how awkward everyone else is being.

But Meiko turns out to be far too mortified to sing, especially in front ofHadou. AndHadouapparently isn’t feeling it, either. She claims that someone from their group has to sing, though, and winces at her mistake asToogataappears to be about to volunteer himself. Just how bad can he be, really?

3 minutes and 51 agonizing seconds – and one positively disgraced Bowie song - later, Katsuki has his answer to that, and silently swears ‘ never again’. But it’s a testament to the third-year boys overwhelming popularity, though, that he only receives minimal (good-natured) booing and doesn’t even have anything thrown at him after.Toogataeven appears to be willing to go again, much to his friend’s utter terror, when Akari sacrifices herself to save them all.

And really, Katsuki shouldn’t be shocked (hah!) when she goes up to sing ‘Electric Love’, apparently specifically to make Denki almost panic and fry the entire crowd. He feels something uncomfortable, hot and angry, stir within him the more anxious Denki looks. She is surprisingly good, though, and Katsuki finds himself wondering for a moment about her healing ability and how it affects her vocalchords, range, and lungs.

When she comes back down, she starts to make a beeline for Denki. Katsuki is about to interfere, feeling his anger at her rising again, when someone else comes to the rescue. Taking pity on his poor, shell-shocked friend, Hanta decides to save Denki from an embarrassing death by dragging him up onstage to play guitar for him.

Hanta’spretty good, too; his rendition of ‘I MeltWithYou’ is supposedly a nod to the movie Sky High, and to drum up school spirit for U.A. - but if the dawning realization on Mina’s face is any indication, then Katsuki isn’t the only one who heard the song and thought about Mina’s quirk...

The Big Three finally make their apologies, stating they have to mingle everywhere as party hosts, and they move on.Hadoutells Meiko that she’ll be in touch as they leave, and the look she sends the younger girl’s way is anything but that of a mentor, if Katsuki isn’t mistaken. With the older students gone, and Hanta and Denki dragged into a few songs with some of the 1-B kids, Katsuki finally senses his chance.

“So,” he walks up next to Akari. “What’s your issue?”

“What?” Her wide gray eyes look up at him, friendly as ever, but confused.

“You know what I mean – Denki. You keep trying to give him a damn heart attack. The f*ck is up with that?”

Meiko and Mina are both close enough to hear, and they stop their discussion aboutHanta’ssong ‘for’ Mina in order to listen in nervously.

“It’s just flirting,firstie, no big deal.” But Akari sounds nervous and guilty now. “He does it, too,y’know?”

“Not like that – Denki always stops if he makes someone that nervous. But you keep poking at him and it’s kind of pissing me off.” He can’t stop thinking about Denki’s lengthy crush on her, about the two of them in his dorm room simultaneously realizing that Denki was in love with her. About Denki’s panic and misery for Katsuki’s own ‘failed’ love, and his subsequent panic that loving Akari could destroy him the same way loving Kirishima had almost killed Katsuki. So yeah, he’s a bit irritated with the second-year for upsetting and teasing his best friend so much.

Akari has gone silent, and looks to Meiko for help – but her friend just raises one eyebrow at her and gestures a bit as if to say ‘See? It isn’t just me.’ Akari is on her own.

“Let me guess,” Katsuki keeps going, trying not to lose his temper at her. “You’re used to being the only one in control. You flirt, you date, but you never get attached, and you’ve always liked it that way. And with as flustered as he gets, it’s easy and fun to mess with Denki, so you keep doing it, because that’s what you always do. He just happens to take it harder.”

She refuses to look any of them in the eye as she nodstersely.

“It’s bullsh*t,” he says, somewhat surprised to find that the anger has leaked out of him and he now sounds softer, kind, even. Akari glances up at him quickly with shocked eyes. “I know it’s bullsh*t, because you’re like me. Sure, you’re nicer than I ever used to be. And you actually have a good friend.” He gestures at Meiko, who’s looking on sadly. “You make plenty of friends way easier than I ever could at the beginning. But you’re still cut off, and I know it’s bullsh*t, because I was, too.”

Mina, catching on, is now crying softly as Meiko looks torn between who she should comfort. Katsuki thanks whatever make-up god are listening that Mina had put on waterproof everything that night, and that he wasn’t going to be the cause of her makeup getting ruined.

Akari isn’t crying, but it’s a close thing, and she’s shaking with nerves. “And look what happened to you when you stopped being cut off,” she says, but it isn’t cruel.

“Yeah,” he agrees easily. “I went and got my f*cking heart shattered into a million pieces.” He’s not lying, he had. But it had just been repaired since then. “Point is, I barely even had a f*cking heart before Kirishima wormed his way into my life. I’ve been saying it, and I’ll keep saying it – I loved him, and I won’t regret letting him in. Not even though I got so hurt. It made me a better person for having loved him. It was worth it.”

“It really was?” Akari sounds wistful, almost hopeful, even. But before she can make a choice, Denki is back to ask Katsuki to play drums for him while he sings something and plays guitar. Katsuki agrees, and shoots Akari a knowing look; she seems to flush, but it could be a trick of the light. Right as he gets up on stage and behind the drums, Katsuki sees Mina drag Hanta off into an isolated corner, looking seriously determined, and he thinks that at least one person took his advice to heart.

When Denki tells him what song he wants to do, Katsuki is a bit surprised. It’s not Denki’s usual, over-the-top, theatrical style at all. Still, Katsuki knows the song, and he agrees. He has to keep his eyes on the drums most of the time, of course, but he makes sure to glance out at Akari every so often as Denki strums on his guitar and sings.

“So, won't you sing with me,
'Causeit's cold outside, and I'm feelingkindalonely.”

From what Katsuki can tell, Akari is just as surprised by the song choice as he was. She watches, wide-eyed and pink, as Denki continues in a soft, rich tenor. It’s the most genuine, open, tender thing Katsuki’s seen Denki do since comforting him the night Kiri did a runner. This, Katsuki knows, is the Denki that he hides from everyone, the Denki who’s really there inside, just waiting for the right person to come along and bring them out.

“Yeah, I have friends, but they have friends,
And they have parties, and I'm so awkward.
So what doyasay, just as friends, we see a movie
This weekend, alright? Okay.”

They end up giving the stage to a couple of tipsy third-year girls after, and they head back to their group. Denki reaches deep down inside his well of courage and shoots Akari a sweet and genuine smile, no lavish flirting involved – and to everyone’s surprise, especially Katsuki’s and Denki’s, she flushes and looks away first.

“That was very good, Kaminari!” Meiko compliments, also pink, as she holds her phone up to Akari. “A lot of people found it, ah... Inspiring!”

Flusterednessforgotten, Akari lets out a little squeal of joy and looks to her friend for permission; Meiko nods happily. “Nejiretexted Meiko and ASKED HER ON A DATE!!!”

Katsuki, sap that he apparently still is, can’t help but be happy for them both. Now if only Akari can get her sh*t together... He turns to her to make a pointed comment or hint or something, but then Mina and Hanta catch his attention – by grabbing one another’s hand with sheepish smiles.

“So, speaking of dates,” Hanta starts,uncharacteristicallynervous.

Katsuki looks at their hands and then to Mina pointedly, and she nods. Meanwhile, Hanta confirms Denki’s excitable question. Then there’s hugs all around, Meiko and Akari being dragged into the Squad’s joy. Denki ends up squished in next to Akari in the hug, and she comes out of it looking dazed and impossibly pinker than ever.

Denki, still feeling brave, tries to talk to Akari more – and nowshe’sbecome a stuttering, blushing, clumsy mess. Despite several attempts to talk to her over the next hour, Denki isn’t making much progress with this new, shy version of her. Katsuki has to stifle an eyeroll each time.

The night goes on, with Meiko and Nejire sharing a few blushing dances, and Toogata and Amajiki occasionally leaving to do God-knows-what. Mina and Hanta spend the entire time sending shy smiles one another’s way. The new couples even sing together a few times, and Katsuki is happy enough to provide the drum music for them where needed, though he won’t sing.

As the party finally begins winding down, Amajiki – through several glasses of suspicious punch – finally finds the courage to get up on stage and sing. He plays the guitar as he does so, and refuses to look out at the crowd. His voice is much deeper than Katsuki had expected, a low bass, as he performs a slowed down version of a Smash into Pieces song.

“Let me be your superhero, your dynamite.
Let me be the one to hold you, to do you right.
Let me be your superhero, your dynamite.
Let me be everything you need to feel alright.

Let me be everything you need to feel alright.”

As both his voice and the guitar fade out, Amajiki becomes aware of the loud applause and pales drastically, suddenly sober and near panicked; Toogata escorts him back to his room.

And finally, finally sick to death of the weird tension, everyone else helps Katsuki throw Akari and Denki up onstage together to sing a duet. Going up on the stage seems to bring Akari back to herself a bit, as she and Denki sing ‘I Won’t Say I’m In Love’ from Hercules. To absolutely no one’s surprise, they’re both very animated, expressive, over the top performers with great stage presences. They keep jokingly trying to outdo one another until they reach the end of the song where it slows down.

“At least out loud... I won't say I'm in love.”

Katsuki is suddenly made a believer in Akari’s ‘some heroes can sense things before they happen’ talk, because he can sense things about to go horribly wrong onstage, right before they do. As Akari and Denki’s voices blend together pleasantly and the music begins to fade out, Denki screws up his courage and leans in to kiss Akari. For a brief, blissful moment, Katsuki lets himself believe it’s going to finally happen. Their lips are mere centimeters away from touching when Akari suddenly backs away, face finally brighter than her hair, and she runs off stage and towards the second-year dorms.

Meiko shouts an apology to the group and races off after her friend, worried.

Denki comes down from the stage, red-faced with embarrassment and eyes already wet with tears. Mina and Hanta, finally catching on to how seriously far gone their friend is for this girl, give him a big hug and begin to comfort him.

“It’s a good thing,” Katsuki insists to Denki bracingly. “She got flustered and panicked – she's been nervous and blushing around you all night. She wouldn’t be like that if she didn’t have feelings for you, too.”

“You really think so?” Denki asks wetly, between hiccups.

“I’m sure,” Katsuki tells him, dead serious. “She just needed to realize it herself, and now that she has, she needs to get her sh*t together.”

One of the third-years who’d taken over for the Big Three announces that it’s almost time to end the night, and asks if there’s anyone who wants to do one last song. People seem a little hesitant after witnessing Denki and Akari’s disastrous duet, but Katsuki finds himself getting an idea.

“Play guitar for me?” he asks Denki suddenly. The electric blond looks at him in surprise, momentarily forgetting his misery.

“You’re going to sing?”

“Not just me,” Katsuki tells him, waving Jirou over. He sees the edgy girl dragging Yaoyorozu behind her, both of them tinged pink, and Jirou’s customary choker around the taller girl’s neck. When Tokoyami makes his way up, feathers ruffled strangely and an unusual smile on his normally somber face asShoujitrails behind him, Katsuki knows his idea is a good one.Zukuand Todoroki come up as well, both of them just a little too pink for it to be from blushing alone.

Five minutes later, drumming his heart out to Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, Katsuki feels like the night wasn’t too bad, after all. With his drumming, Denki, Tokoyami, and Jirou absolutely shredding the guitars, both Hanta and Yaoyorozu playing electric keyboard, and Mina,Zuku, Todoroki, andShoujidancing, Katsuki knows that 1-A is making quite the impression as a showstopper.

“Strangers waiting,
Up and down the boulevard.
Their shadows searching in the night.
Streetlights, people,
Living just to find emotion.
Hiding somewhere in the night.”

Everyone there from their class is singing, and the ones who aren’t dancing are being floated around by Uraraka. Aoyama shines his light on Hagakure, who manages to deflect it into a disco ball-like pattern, asOjirouwatches her with stars in his eyes.

“Some will win, some will lose.
Some were born to sing my blues.
Oh, the movie never ends,
It goes on and on and on and on.”

He knows his voice sounds good with this song, and it’s only accentuated by Jirou and Denki lending their own gravelly tones to the song, and Tokoyami’s bass giving the song a harder edge than normal. ‘The night may not have gone perfectly, but it is ending perfectly’ , Katsuki muses as he sits behind the drum set. He thinks about all the new couples that he saw form tonight, and all of the still-waiting couples-to-be, and how he’ll have so much to tell Kiri later. Onstage under the lights with his friends, deliriously overjoyed for them and thinking of Kirishima, Katsuki isperfectlyhappy.

“Don't stopbelievin',
Hold on to thefeelin'.
Streetlights, people.
Don't stopbelievin'.
Streetlights, people.
Don't stop.”

He has his friends. He has Kiri. Life is perfect - what could possibly go wrong?

(Famous last words.)

Chapter 11: ♫ Complicated ♫

Chapter Text

Cause getting your dreams -
It's strange, but it seems...
A little, well – complicated.

There's a kind of a sort of...cost.
There's a couple of things get...lost.
There are bridges you cross,
You didn't know you crossed
Until you've crossed.

And if that joy, that thrill
Doesn't thrill like you think it will,
Still -

I couldn't be happier...
Because happy is what happens
When all your dreams come true...
Well, isn't it?

- Thank Goodness, from Wicked

K: jfc, I’m f*cking done with this right now. I’m about to strangle someone. The weekend can’t come fast enough. I’m trying to get homework done, and everyone’s blowing up my phone complaining about the sh*t at the party and how it’s f*cking everyone up now.

K: Not YOU blowing up my phone, obviously. I always want to talk to you. I’m just tired of all of them throwing fits.

K: Plus, I miss you, f*cker.

E: Yikes, when’s the last time you’ve wanted to strangle someone there? :( Only a couple more days! Hang in there <3

K: Ugh, I know. Seems like longer, though.

K: and I dunno, a long time. But Denki is getting on everyone’s nerves, and no one can take much more of it. I feel bad for him, and I know he isn’t sleeping well, but he’s not letting anyone help and he’s taking it out on us. Just want to be away from here for a bit and be with you instead.

E: I mean, we knew it would be a while when ‘Giri first took you back to school... But yeah, it feels way longer than it’s been. And, so not manly of Kaminari! All this because of that one girl? It was never like him to be short with people... 🙁 but he’s got to get over it eventually! Anyway, I really wish you were here, too.

K: :(

E: But it’s fine, Saturday morning, you’re all mine! I really need you here, too.

K:??? Everything okay?

E: Yeah, of course! 😊

K: …

E: Just been stressing about our next mission, that’s all.

K: It’s not something crazy f*cking dangerous, is it?

E: Um. I’m pretty sure it won’t be.

K: Kiri. >: (

E: I mean, it shouldn’t be! It’s nothing like the bank thing, we’ve just been tracking someone we need information from, and we finally know where we can get ahold of him alone. It’s important info.

K: What happens when you find the f*cker?

E: Well, I can’t say much on here, obviously. Risky.

K: 👀

E: We find him, we take him in, we get answers. Usual stuff, that’s all.

K: Who gets the answers out of him?

E: Whoever needs to, I guess. Usually Himi or Dabi, though.

K: You ever had to help?

E: Jesus, Kat

K: What?

E: Sometimes, okay. Does it

E: hit enter too soon. Does it upset you? 🙁

K: Only because I worry about you getting hurt, sh*tty Hair.

E: Oh-

K: Oh?

E: I dunno, I guess I was kind of worried that it would freak you out. Me getting answers from people, I mean.

K: Dumbass.

K: Not if you don’t get hurt.

E: <3

K: <3

E: So, what are you up to?

K: Waiting for it to be Friday so it can stop being f*cking Friday so it can be Saturday and I can see you again.

E: :/ Is it really THAT bad there?

K: It’s been almost 2 weeks, he hasn’t slept, Mina and Hanta are being disgustingly cute with each other.

K: So, I get left with all of Denki’s attitude and sh*t. And I want to help him, but he acts like it’s my damn fault. I don’t get it; it was fine during the end of the f*cking party, and I thought he was okay.

E: Maybe it just took a while to really sink in? He was probably pretty shocked.

E: I swear that wasn’t a pun.

K: Oh, f*ck off, it was.

K: And yeah, I guess so. Doesn’t mean he gets to blame me for it.

E: I know :( I’m sorry, Kat.

E: Ah crap, hang on, Tomura’s calling us together really quick, brb

K: Oh??

E: Ugh.... We have to get up super early tomorrow for the mission! 🙁 So I won’t be able to text you good morning!

K: Gross, okay. What time is he making you go?

E: Up at 3am to get there by 4:30 and wait. Then follow him all day until the right opportunity strikes, but we should have him and be back home by like noon to 1ish, it sounds like.

E: But I’ll text you as soon as we’re back safe and I’ll think about you the whole time! Love you! 😊 😙 <3

K: f*cking

K: UGH. Fine, I’ll be going crazy all day alone and worrying f*cknut.

K: Just be careful, okay?

E: I always am! 😊

K: I know

K: Love you, too <3

E: <3

Katsuki clears out of the hidden messaging app before bed, leaving his phone looking perfectly innocuous, as has become habit over the past few weeks. Then, as has also become habit, he reopens the app and rereads through their last conversation again with a sappy smile on his face the whole time, even when reading about how irritating the Denki drama is. Then he clears the app one last time, plugs his phone in to charge, checks that his alarms are set, and turns over to fall asleep for the night. His only regret is knowing that the routine will be broken tomorrow when he doesn’t wake up to his customary cutesy good morning text from Kirishima, but it really can’t be helped, he supposes. He also can’t be the one to text Kiri first, knowing that it could put him or his mission at risk if he somehow forgets to silence his phone. Granted, that’s highly unlikely, but it’s not a chance that Katsuki is willing to take.

Brow furrowed, he starts to think too hard about Kiri going out on a mission and all that could possibly go wrong. He doesn’t sleep very well that night, and his nerves pay the price during all of Friday’s classes.

It turns out to be an expensive price.

“Hey, Blasty? A-are you okay?” Mina’s voice is uncharacteristically soft, and that ‘worried that Katsuki is losing it again’ tone is back. He can’t really blame her for being concerned – he's been on edge for well over a week now, just from lack of seeing Kiri alone, and he knows that it’s starting to show in the way that he carries himself. It’s worse than usual today, thanks to his lack of sleep and concern about Kirishima’s mission. He’s been jumpy and short-tempered since they got to first period – and the drama with Denki and his attitude isn’t helping – so really, it’s only natural that Mina notices and is concerned. It’s sweet of her, and he does appreciate it – but all the same, Katsuki hates it.

“You’ve been a little... Well. Just, you’ve been... real weird all day,” she finishes lamely.

“Longer than that,” Hanta mutters behind his carton of milk, just barely dodging his girlfriend’s elbow and flushing slightly at her pointed look. Katsuki barely registers their cute little display, however. Instead, he grits his teeth and fights back the surge of irritation that he feels.

Well, he tries to, anyway.

“I told you the last four times you asked, I’m f*cking fine , Mina,” he bites out, before wincing a little at how cold his voice sounds. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her eyes widen in surprise and hurt at his tone. It’s certainly not the first time he’s been snippy with her, with any of his friends, today. Hell, it’s not even the first time he’s been snippy with them this week, though it’s by far one of the worse incidences. After nearly two weeks of sleeping, eating, being happy again, and taking care of himself like he used to, he’d become unaccustomed to the sick, anxious, and exhausted feeling that was currently taking him over. He’d forgotten just how bad a night of almost zero sleep would make him feel, and in turn, make him act.

He knows that he should stop, that his current anxiety and irritation isn’t his friends’ fault, but he can’t seem to stop himself from snipping and griping lately. With the way his best friend’s mood has been, and the guilt – because even though he knows what happened with Akari and Denki wasn’t necessarily his fault, he can’t help but feel a little responsible for it – plus his current worry about Kiri and the mission he was off on, he’s just been really on edge all day.

“Dude,” Hanta frowns a little as he reaches over to grab Mina’s hand. He sounds calm enough, but if Katsuki were paying just a little better attention, he would notice how thin of a line his friends’ mouth was squished into. “Not cool - she’s just worried about you.”

Hanta’s already gently chided him for his attitude several times today, though each time he frowns with slightly more irritation than the last. Katsuki sighs deeply and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“sh*t, sorry - I know. I just- f*ck. Sorry .” He tries not to think about how he isn’t sure if it’s the first time he’s actually bothered to apologize to anyone today.

It must be, though, because Hanta's frown eases up a slight bit - though his mouth still stays pursed, and he and Mina exchange worried looks before continuing their lunch. Clearly, they're trying to pretend that everything is normal - but Katsuki barely notices, as he’s busy fiddling with his phone under the table. Kiri still hasn’t messaged him back, and he’s starting to get worried. The last message on the app is the same one he got from his boyfriend last night. That had been at around 6pm, and Kiri had said before that they’d be leaving by 4:30am. Kiri and Katsuki both had expected them to finish in a few hours, but it was now nearing 1pm, and he still hadn’t heard anything.

All Katsuki really wants is to be left alone until he hears from Kirishima, but it seems like everyone wants something from him today. Maybe he would feel better about it if he had at least been able to see Kirishima before the mission, but he hadn’t. In fact, he hasn’t seen the redhead in person since he burst through the League’s window over two weeks ago. He’s been gradually getting more antsy, more on edge, since the party – but he hasn’t really been snappy with the people he cares about until today.

He’s barely registered that the others are starting to move away from being irritated with him and instead get worried about his glaring quiet, when Denki plops down next to him, breaking the anxious silence by slamming his lunch tray on the table angrily. Katsuki bites back an angry sigh, trying his best to control how he reacts to the bait. Denki’s been out of sorts for a few days now, but he’s still Katsuki’s best friend, and he’s been hurting. In the last week, especially, Denki’s seemed to become more and more on edge, snapping at the others and refusing to talk to Katsuki or his other friends. Denki didn’t seem to want to make the effort to talk to anyone but Akari Arashi at the moment, and she was nowhere to be found, at least when he was around.

It was sad and concerning, but it was also pissing Katsuki the f*ck off. To be fair, it wasn’t like he had had much of a chance to speak to Denki about it – Denki had been constantly chasing after the second year, and Katsuki had been preoccupied messaging Kiri during every spare moment up til last night, eager to make up for all the missed time when they hadn’t been able to talk.

“No luck, dude?” Hanta asks sympathetically, making an effort for his friend even though all others have failed so far, and he seems a little distracted as he sappily feeds Mina a strawberry from his fork.
“None,” Denki replies with a frown Hanta’s way. “Every time I go near her, she f*cking runs away! I can’t even wave at her or say hi to her without her looking away!”

It's the relatively uncharacteristic swearing, rather than the tone of his friend’s voice, that finally causes Katsuki to tune in to his surroundings in full and temporarily disregard his still silent phone. “Meiko say anything?”

Denki rolls his eyes and looks, if possible, even more furious. But that seems to happen every time Katsuki speaks to him lately, so the explosive blond just ignores the warning signs. “She’s no help, she just looks at me all sad and runs off after Akari! I don’t understand! It was one goddamn song and an almost-kiss, and now she hates me!”

“She’s probably just nervous, Denki!” Mina says between strawberries, trying to be optimistic, as always. “After all, remember how flustered you would get around her? Now it’s just the other way around!”

“Yeah, you’ve said that, Mina,” Denki stabs a small tomato with much more intensity than is justified. “And yet nothing ever changes! I’m about ready to just give up! You and Hanta were right after all, I never had a chance with her – just like Shinsou and Jirou! f*cking congratulations, I guess! You warned me, I didn’t listen.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, Sparky! I didn’t mean-”

“Can we just drop it? Please? ” Denki runs a hand through his hair roughly, and for a moment Katsuki can see a glimpse of the hurt breaking through the rage, can see his normally sweet friend.

Mina pouts at him. “Okaaay, but I’m sorry! At least let me apologize, I never-”

“I SAID, CAN WE JUST f*ckING DROP IT ALREADY?!” Denki shouts suddenly, slamming one hand onto the table. Mina jerks back automatically, shocked tears filling her eyes. The whole lunchroom quiets down for a moment as every eye turns to stare at their table. After an uncomfortable pause, everyone finally turns back to their own tables and the conversations all resume, albeit at a slightly louder volume.

“Dude,” Katsuki barely even registers the word leave his mouth as he echoes Hanta’s earlier chastisem*nt. “Not cool.”

“Seriously, Denki, what the hell ?” Hanta pulls Mina into a hug. “I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason for you to be an asshole to her.”

“Well maybe I’d be less of an asshole about it if you hadn’t both been telling me there was no chance from the beginning, and actually believed in me for once!” Denki’s flushed red from everyone staring at him but seems no less angry. “And maybe it wouldn’t bug me nearly as much if you two would quit rubbing how f*cking happy you are in everyone’s faces!”

“We-we aren’t-” Mina sniffles, but Katsuki can see the exact moment she switches from hurt and upset, to downright angry. “We aren’t rubbing it in anyone’s face, but I’m sorry that your friends being happy is so upsetting to you!”

“Well, maybe it is! Did you ever stop and think for a second how bad it hurt for you two to get together so easily while I got rejected in front of half of our year?! It hurt, it was humiliating, and the whole school heard about it! I’ve been getting sh*t for it nonstop. And besides, what about Katsuki?!”

Katsuki had been staring back and forth between them like it was a tennis match, phone briefly forgotten entirely. Now, he startles a bit at his name being brought into it. “Hah?! Me?”

“Denki!” Hanta hisses to the blond, somewhere between warning and anger. But Denki just rubs at the ever-growing dark circles under his eyes before continuing anyway. It may be a trick of the Iight, but it almost looks like tiny sparks crackle between his hands and face as he does so.

“Did you ever think about how he probably feels seeing you two every day and having to think about how Kirishima just f*cking left him?”

There’s a beat of silence, as Mina and Hanta are either too enraged or too taken aback to reply. Katsuki takes a second to glance down at his phone once more ( still nothing), before shoving it into his pocket, and suddenly his irritation from earlier spikes again.

“Maybe leave me the f*ck out of it, Pikachu? I’m not an excuse for your sh*tty mood! And neither is Kiri!”

“Oh, I’m not allowed a sh*tty mood? You’ve been snapping at all of us all day and no one gives a sh*t, but when it’s me , it’s a problem? And why the f*ck are you still calling him that?”

In the back of his mind, Katsuki knows that he should probably take a deep breath, apologize to his friends, and calm Denki down. He really has been unfair to the squad today; they can’t help that they’re still worried about him, even after 2 weeks of seemingly relative normalcy and mental stability. He knows, but he still can’t seem to help himself, with how on edge he is. His lack of sleep from the night before has been catching up with him all throughout classes today, too. All of his nervous energy and exhaustion suddenly flows into anger and adrenaline.

“They called me out for it, too, f*cker! At least I actually apologized! And why the hell is it any of your business what I call Kirishima? It’s not like he’s around to hear it!”

“Yeah, exactly – he's not around! And you still act like he IS, and like he’s who we thought he was!”

Katsuki winces a little – Denki isn’t wrong. He does still act like Kiri is around and still a good person – because he is, for Katsuki. Problem is, he can’t exactly defend Kirishima here without giving too much away about what’s going on or getting some worried eyes on him again. Close scrutiny is the last thing he needs if he’s going to get away Saturday morning to be with Kirishima.

“That isn’t the point!” He deflects hurriedly. “The point is you’re being a dick to all of us! What happened isn’t our fault, any more than it is yours!”

“But you f*cking told me to go for it!” Denki whisper-yells, face bright red and unshed tears swimming up in his eyes. For the second time today, Katsuki swears he sees miniscule sparks running over the surface of Denki’s face. “ You said I had a chance, you said it was worth it, and it wasn’t!”

Mina and Hanta have taken Katsuki’s place as spectators, looking back and forth between the two furious blonds with their eyes almost comically wide. Katsuki feels himself soften briefly, as he understands Denki’s pain – he's about to apologize and try to cool things down when things go south again.

“You said love was worth it, but you were wrong, okay?! It hurts like hell, and you can’t tell me it doesn’t still hurt you, too! I never should have trusted you on that, because you said even though it hurt, it got better. But you lied, it doesn’t ! Just look at you, you claim that you’re okay now, but you’re not! You’re still in love with that stupid f*cking traitor, and it’s making you fall apart !” Denki’s voice cracks at the end, and tears start spilling out of his bloodshot golden eyes, but Katsuki is seeing red and doesn’t care.

“Wait- I didn’t- I’m sorry-”

“f*ck you, Kaminari,” he says, voice low and deadly calm as he abruptly shoves his tray away and stands up. “f*ck. You.”

He can hear Mina and Denki arguing heatedly behind him as he storms off, and Hanta trying to mediate but also trying to call him back.

Katsuki doesn’t care. He keeps walking, phone in hand and messaging app depressingly empty.

“Bakugou. Are you alright?”

Katsuki just stares at Todoroki – who’s lying on the ground covered in ketchup, applesauce, and God-knows what else, looking completely unbothered – blankly. “The f*ck, IcyHot? I run into you, knock you down and cover you in your own lunch, and you’re asking me if I’m alright?”

Todoroki just half-shrugs from his spot on the ground, milk tea slowly seeping into his blazer and tiny balls of boba falling everywhere. “You were in a hurry and looked fairly upset – it's a valid concern, I think.”

Katsuki isn’t sure whether to laugh or explode, so he just rolls his eyes as he offers Todoroki a hand up before grimacing at the splatter down the other boy’s front. “You should f*cking change, Aizawa will have your ass if you show up looking like that.”

The bi-colored boy nods seriously. “Walk with me back to the dorms, then?”

It’s a fair request – Aizawa and the other teachers had taken to requiring the students to travel around in groups of 2 or more lately, either for safety’s sake or as practice for hero duos – no one seemed quite sure which, at this point. And, Katsuki was responsible for Todoroki’s current state, so really, it was only fair. However –

“Where’s your damn boyfriend?”

“Izuku is busy discussing something complicated-sounding with Togata and Amajiki, and it was a bit over my head. He said he understood if I wanted to go on, and I felt that I was making Amajiki nervous, so I left.”

“Ah,” Katsuki rolls his eyes again, thinking that anything would make the timid third-year nervous, much less Todoroki’s unsettling blank stare. “Fine, f*ckin’ hurry up, then.”

It’s a disgustingly nice day out – still warm and sunny, though the slight, gentle breeze keeps it from becoming uncomfortably hot out. Everything on UA’s campus is well-taken care of, of course, so all of the plants are freshly watered and thriving despite the sun blazing down on them. It smells like petrichor out, and fat, fuzzy little bumblebees are idling by the flowers that line the walkway back to the dormitories. All in all, it’s a perfect day out, and the walk is actually managing to calm Katsuki’s anger and frayed nerves a bit. The two of them manage to spend almost the entire walk back to Height’s Alliance in blissful silence, but then, of course, Todoroki just has to open his damn mouth and ruin it.

“My room is on Sero’s floor,” he pipes up suddenly, showing more hesitance than Katsuki is used to seeing on his face nowadays.

The other boy has become much more emotive and open since he began dating Izuku, and the change was highly celebrated by 1-A – but it also made all of them think back to the change in Katsuki when he and Kirishima had first gotten together. It was still an awkward subject for almost everyone but Katsuki himself, with most everyone acting like he’d break down instantly upon hearing Kirishima’s name. As time went on, though, and Todoroki had opened up a good deal, the others had seemed happier, more so than haunted, by the reminder. Todoroki was doing wonderful, but he still wasn’t always so upfront about how he was feeling outside of Izuku’s presence.

“Right next to Sero’s room , even,” Todoroki continues after the silence has gone on for slightly too long.

“Congratulations?” Katsuki is too bewildered by the apparent non sequitur to be as irritated as he’d like.
“The dorm walls are thin,” Todoroki continues, and Katsuki doesn’t like where this is going at all. “Sometimes, whether I want to or not, I hear things that I probably shouldn’t-”

“- Okay , Half n’ Half, that’s enough!” he butts in, eyes wide. “I know Mina and Hanta are together, we all know , and we were all at that health class Mic forced on us, so we know how it works, and I really don’t want any details on what you hear-”

“I heard you tell them a few weeks ago about how you thought about killing yourself,” Todoroki interrupts, his matter-of-fact statement punctuated by a little ‘ding! ’ right as the elevator reaches his floor.

Katsuki cuts off mid-rant, staring at Todoroki positively gob smacked. “The f*ck did you just say, you emotionless candy cane with daddy issues?”

He winces as soon as it leaves his mouth; it was apparently still buried deep within his nature to deflect any negative attention towards himself with insults and anger when he felt cornered. To Katsuki’s eternal surprise though, Todoroki laughs at that – actually laughs. “That’s a new one,” he tells Katsuki as they both exit onto the 5 th floor. “Points for creativity, Bakugou. But that won’t distract me from asking if you’re okay. Or from apologizing, actually – I didn’t intend to eavesdrop on your private conversation with your friends.”

“I-” Katsuki’s at a loss for a moment, not sure where this is going or what he should do about it. “Why the f*ck are you bringing this up?”

“You probably still don’t like me very much,” Todoroki looks serious again, and even a little bit sad. “But you’ve still helped me through panic attacks, calmed me down when I needed it, were even supportive of me being with Izuku. You’ve been... Kind to me. Having heard what I did, I just... Wanted to let you know that I would be here, if you ever needed help or someone to talk to. I know you have your other friends, who you’re much closer too, but... Well, it can be harder to talk to the people you’re closer to, sometimes. Sometimes... Someone who you’re less close to is easier. And I won’t tell anyone – not even Izuku, if you really don’t want me to.”

Todoroki looks mildly uneasy – either at the thought of keeping anything from Izuku, or because he’s feeling guilty for hearing what he had and not sure if he’s about to be chastised for it or not. Maybe both, for all Katsuki knows. His offer to keep things from Izuku clearly makes him uncomfortable, but he’s serious about it. He also looks way out of his element, trying to instigate an emotional conversation with Katsuki despite their lack of closeness. And above all, he looks concerned. Katsuki can suddenly understand exactly what it is that Izuku sees in this awkward, socially stunted pretty boy after all, and he feels his heart soften a little. A secret for a secret, then.

“...At the Sports Festival, I heard you telling Izuku about all of the f*cked-up sh*t Endeavor has done to you and your family. I was standing behind a wall in the stadium when you went off on him. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, either so we’re f*cking even or some sh*t, I guess.”

It’s Todoroki’s turn to have his eyebrows just about fly off of his head. “You’ve known this whole time, and not told anyone?”

Guilt suddenly slams into Katsuki like a crashing plane hitting the ocean. “Look, I know I probably should have clued in a teacher-”

“ No! ” Both of them wince at Todoroki’s volume. “No, that- that's not what I’m saying. It wouldn’t help anyway, I’m sure. I just meant – you haven’t spread it around, or anything.”

“IcyHot, why the f*ck would I do that?” Katsuki feels more than a little insulted. “What kind of f*cking asshole do you think I am?!”

“I don’t !” Todoroki pauses awkwardly. “I mean, I- You- You aren’t an asshole... Now .”

There’s an uncomfortable pause then, as both boys think back to the Sports Festival and the entire school year before that, before Katsuki had let Kirishima come into his life. Before Katsuki became a better person. Katsuki can’t deny that Todoroki has a good point, but all the same...

“I may not have been the poster child of boundaries or kindness or some sh*t, but even then, I wouldn’t have-”

“Yeah, sorry.” And Todoroki does look sheepish as he rubs his elbow with one hand awkwardly. “You were never that bad, I just... I’d always worried about people finding out. About what could happen if they did, about what they would say...”

“You told Izuku,” Katsuki can’t help but point out, though not unkindly.

Todoroki blushes on one half of his face. “Well- That’s entirely- I mean- He-”

“Even then?” He doesn’t even try to hide his smirk at that.

“...Even then.”

“f*cking sap.”

“Maybe,” and Todoroki is smiling at last now. “But my point stands - if you ever need someone, I’m here. I- I know what it’s like, to feel that way sometimes. Personally , I mean.”

There’s another pause, and Katsuki’s eyes widen in shock before he manages a rough, “ sh*t , Colgate.”

“Yeah.”

“Endeavor is f*cking trash,” Katsuki mumbles with a frown. “Literally, a f*cking dumpster fire.”

Todoroki snorts, and Katsuki has to smile a little at having made the serious boy laugh twice in one day.

Todoroki slips into his room to change, and Katsuki eyes his phone again. Still nothing.

The smile slips off of his face.

Katsuki and Todoroki rush down the hall, not running , but not quite not running, either. Fast as Todoroki was about changing, the slightly awkward silences and avoiding each other's concerned looks had slowed them both down a bit on their way back to the main campus. There had been some strange thing hanging in the air between them that wasn’t there before – not something bad, per se, but just... different . It left them both feeling that things between them had changed greatly, though for the better.

Katsuki had never really expected to become close friends with Todoroki, in all actuality. Since he had mellowed out considerably after letting Kiri tear down his walls, Katsuki knew he had softened toward most, if not all, of his class – but he had figured that, past that, he wouldn’t really be getting all that close to anyone else. Even when Izuku and Todoroki had gotten together, Katsuki had simply figured he would see the other boy around more, but that things would be the same. Yes, he would offer grounding and comfort to Todoroki when he had noticed him having panic attacks a few times before. Yes, he was kinder to him simply because he knew about the sh*tstorm living with Endeavor had to have been for the other boy. But for Katsuki, that had just become basic human decency.

But now, Todoroki knew something dark about Katsuki, too, and that changed things. Maybe it was only in part because Izuku was breaking down Todoroki’s own walls, helping him to open up and become more comfortable with others. Regardless of the reason though, Katsuki just had a feeling that Todoroki and he were friends now - you don’t find out something like that about someone, offer them help, and not become friends, after all.

And you don’t rush (but not run) down the hallways of UA, narrowly avoiding the principal and almost running into your homeroom teacher - who eyes you critically but mercifully decides not to tear you a new one - without bonding a little, either.

Aizawa simply raises a sardonic eyebrow at the two of them right as they reach the door to the 1-A classroom, but he pauses and allows them to rush in just before he enters – making the two of them technically not late. If Katsuki wasn’t so preoccupied thinking about Todoroki knowing one of his bigger secrets, and of his still-silent cellphone, he’d shoot a grateful glance Aizawa’s way. As it is, though, he does manage to focus long enough to whisper out an almost inaudible, but genuine, “Thanks, Icy-…. Thanks, Todoroki.” as they part to take their seats.

The smile Todoroki sends back shows that he knows exactly what Katsuki means.

To Katsuki’s mild surprise, they end up doing practicals for the rest of the day. He could have sworn Aizawa had said something earlier in the week about a test on Friday afternoon. Instead, they’re told to all pile into the gym with Cementoss and alternate sparring and races. Iida, of course, raises the question of the test to Aizawa before he leaves the gym – and it garners their president more than a few groans and grumbles.

“Change of plans,” Aizawa tells them as he reaches the door. Katsuki notices another man waiting in the doorway, the same tall man with dark green hair streaked with yellow that he had seen a few weeks before. “I have to assist with a case and won’t have time this weekend to do your grading. Rather than let it sit and give myself a backlog of work after this, you’re all going to get some energy out before the weekend. Maybe that way, you’ll all be too tired to cause me any trouble.”

The light catches on the other man as he shifts to let Aizawa through the doorway, and next to Katsuki, Izuku gasps. Katsuki shoots him a questioning look.

“ Th- that’s Sir Nighteye! ” Izuku whispers, so as to not disturb the discussion Iida is now in with Cementoss about the afternoon class.

Mina and Uraraka, who are closest to the two boys, glance between Izuku and the now empty doorway, looking a little lost. Uraraka tilts her head at Mina questioningly, but the taller girl just shrugs back, lost.

“All Might’s old sidekick,” Katsuki whispers to the girls, sliding his hand into his pocket and trying to pull his phone out covertly. “One of the only two he’s ever had.”

Still no messages from Kirishima. Maybe he had misread the time last night? He shifts a little to avoid Cementoss’ gaze, and the texting app disappears from the screen thanks to the installed security precautions.

“He’s amazing!” Izuku keeps up his whispering to the others. “He can see people’s future with just a touch!”

“A touch and then eye contact,” Katsuki corrects absently as he tries to open up the hidden texting app again in order to check what time Kiri had said they should be done by. “Doesn’t do sh*t if he doesn’t look you in the eye after.”

When Katsuki looks up a second later, it’s to see Mina and Uraraka staring at him with more than a little bit of surprise. “What, f*ckers? I grew up around Izuku, you don’t grow up around him and not learn sh*t like that.”

“You’re the one who remembered it, though,” Izuku just laughs as Katsuki looks back at his phone. Then he whispers to the girls, “he was just as bad as me as a kid. Worse, even.”

“Was not. f*ck off, nerd,” he mumbles, mostly jokingly.

A beat of silence, and then, “ You’re one to talk... Nerd .”

Katsuki almost drops his phone in surprise, and at the look of mixed triumph and mild shock on the other boys’ face, he laughs just slightly too loud. “What the fu-”

“Bakugou! No phones in class, please!” Cementoss is gentle with the reprimand, but Katsuki still flushes slightly as almost every eye on class lands on him. Well, every pair of eyes except Denki’s - his best friend is still standing off by himself, glaring at the ground sullenly.

“Thank you,” Cementoss continues as Katsuki slides his phone back in his pocket and nods an apology. “Moving on, I think it best we go ahead and start with a race or two. We’ll move onto sparring one-on-one after that, and then see where the rest of the afternoon takes us. Everyone, change into your gym uniforms so that we may begin, please.”

Katsuki sighs as he heads for the locker rooms with the others. Kirishima had definitely said ‘1-ish’, and it was after 1:30 now. Surely, one of the f*cking League members would text him if they were done and something had gone wrong, wouldn’t they?

( Wouldn’t they? )

“ Watch it,” Denki hisses as he pushes past Katsuki roughly in his bid to get into the locker room. A moment later, he brushes past Hanta as well, albeit without the hateful comment. Hanta looks mildly irritated, but Katsuki is busy trying to keep himself together and ignore the thoughts he’s suddenly having. Because it’s fine, it’s all fine, and someone would have texted him if something had gone wrong.

‘Unless there’s no one left alive to text,’ a cruel voice whispers from the back of Katsuki’s mind.

‘Oh, shut the f*ck up,’ he thinks back at himself.

He resolves to put the issue out of his mind for now and focus on class. After all, Kirishima’s not that late, maybe they’re just running an hour or so behind. Maybe they have the guy and are busy questioning him, and Kirishima had to... help . Yeah, that’s a thought for another time. Katsuki decides to put that out of his mind as well; this is one of their first big physical exercises in a few weeks, and it will give him a chance to show that he’s been improving again.

And he has been. Every day since his disastrous lie about being late because he was out running, Katsuki has actually been waking up early and going on his morning runs. He’s also been hitting the gym after classes most days and remembering to eat. All in all, his routine has been back to what it was pre-drama, and he’s been feeling much, much better because of it. Most of his classmates have taken notice of it, as well, and it’s done wonders in tempering the number of concerned looks shot his way.

If he does well enough in class today, maybe that will stop the last of the concerned looks for good. And honestly, the less scrutiny on Katsuki right now, the better. The last thing he needs is to have people overly concerned about his whereabouts – sneaking away from campus and from his classmates is already going to be a struggle as it is.

“Hey man, can we talk? Please?” Katsuki definitely hears Hanta trying to get Denki to open up, but he isn’t paying much attention as he slips his

( ‘still silent, still no word, oh god, what’s happened to them-’ )

phone into his locker bitterly and tells himself to think of something, anything, else. Vaguely, distantly, he realizes that Denki has said something rude and biting back to his friend and that the two of them are arguing heatedly now. He tries to block out the sound, to ignore the way it sets him further on edge than he already is and think of something positive instead.

He’s mentally planning his day with Kirishima tomorrow while he changes out of his uniform, when he hears a commotion start behind him. And of f*cking course, because the world hates him, it’s Denki at the center of it. Katsuki quickly pulls his black gym shirt on and turns around, only to see Hanta sprawled on the locker room floor, looking – well, floored.

“ Th’ f*ck?” Katsuki mutters, finally coming back to himself fully and making his way over to Hanta. Everyone in the boys’ locker room has stopped what they’re doing in order to stare; everyone, it appears, except Denki. He’s backed up against a locker, eyes wide in shock and looking horrified at himself.

“ Dude ...” Hanta glances up at Denki, looking both shocked and hurt.

“I- Hanta,” Denki reaches towards him briefly, but then pulls back. “I swear I didn’t mean-”

“What’s going on in here, boys?” Cementoss walks in, careful eyes raking over everyone in the room. “Things seemed to be taking a bit longer than usual, and I thought I heard raised voices.” The teacher doesn’t really have eyebrows, but they seemed to be raised all the same.

There’s a beat of strained silence as everyone glances nervously between Hanta and Denki.

“It was my bad, Sensei!” Hanta says, somehow managing to look simultaneously sheepish and relaxed. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and I slipped in a puddle and fell!”

Cementoss glances down at the floor near Hanta and Denki – the completely safe and dry floor – and doesn’t say a word about it. To Katsuki’s mild surprise, no one says anything to contradict Hanta, either. After the way Denki has been acting the last few days, Katsuki would have assumed someone would have told Cementoss the truth, just for the chance to get some peace and quiet from their tetchy classmate for a change. But despite – or perhaps because of – everyone in the room having been on the receiving end of Denki’s attitude lately, no one says a word to their teacher.

“You... Slipped . And fell,” Cementoss deadpans. “Right by the benches, I see. Did you hit your head?”

“I-” Hanta pauses, glancing at Denki for just a second, but the betrayed look in his eyes is all too plain to Katsuki. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Very well,” Cementoss nods to Katsuki. “Bakugou, please escort Sero to Recovery Girl’s office as a precaution. Though it seems like he’s relatively unharmed, I would like to be certain before I allow him to take part in the physical stress of this class period.”

Katsuki nods absently as he glances at Hanta, then at Denki, who glares back and looks away. Spectacular.

“So, you gonna tell me what the f*ck that was?” Katsuki asks Hanta the second he hears the heavy gym doors slam behind them.

Hanta winces, but he rubs the side of his arm, so Katsuki isn’t entirely sure if his reaction is about what happened in the locker room or due to some kind of residual pain. “sh*t, dude. Just... Pissed Denki off, I guess. I just wanted to talk to him, but he-” Hanta trails off uncomfortably.

Katsuki frowns. “What did he do, knock you down?”

“No!” Hanta half-shouts before looking around nervously. “No. He didn’t push me or hit me or anything. He- He shocked me.”

“What the f*ck?” Now it’s Katsuki’s turn to be far too loud in the empty halls. “He used his f*ckin’ quirk on you?!”

“ Not on purpose!” Hanta shakes his head frantically. “There was no way he- Denki wouldn’t ever-”

“He DID though!”

“It was an accident, though! We were arguing and I grabbed his arm when he wasn’t looking,” Hanta’s voice gets sadder and quieter, “and I even saw him letting off a few sparks earlier, but he didn’t know he was doing it, I think. I shouldn’t have grabbed him or startled him since I knew he was having trouble holding his quirk down. But I did, so it wasn’t really his fault. Denki would never do that on purpose.”

“H-” Katsuki pauses in the hall briefly, feeling an unpleasant lurch in his stomach. So, he hadn’t been imagining things at lunch, then. “He was having trouble controlling his quirk?”

Only after anxiously looking around for bystanders and eavesdroppers does Hanta hesitantly nod.

“f*ck. f*ck,” Katsuki whispers hoarsely. He starts walking again, faster this time, and Hanta jolts after him. “f*ck! He must be way tireder than we thought. He shouldn’t be losing control so easily. If he would let us f*cking help him-”

“Help who now, dear?” Katsuki about jumps out of his skin as Recovery Girl appears directly in front of him without warning. Part of him thinks, wildly, that she has a hidden teleportation quirk; the rational part of his mind reminds him that the healer is under 4 feet tall and that he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.

As Katsuki calms his racing heart, Recovery Girl takes notice of Hanta and begins to check him over, even as she drags him to a seat. The ensuing inspection of Hanta’s head and Recovery Girl convincing him to take a healing gummy doesn’t take very long at all; even so, Katsuki finds himself deeply regretting not sneaking his cell phone from his locker before they left. He debates with himself whether he’ll be able to peek at his messages once he and Hanta are back, and then before he knows it, they’re both cleared to leave.

Hanta doesn’t say much on the way back – perturbed by the situation with Denki, and with the way Recovery Girl had been very clear (without actually ever saying it) that she knew he hadn’t fallen at all. As a result, Katsuki spaces out on the way back, obsessively running over a million different scenarios in his head; he doesn’t notice Hanta stopping suddenly by a cracked open classroom door until he runs directly into him, and his friends’ quick thinking and tape are the only things that save him from a rather nasty fall of his own.

A second later, and Katsuki is feeling much less grateful for Hanta and his tape as the other boy slaps a slice of it over his mouth, cutting off his muttered “what the f-” quickly. Hanta glances back at the door and then to Katsuki again, slowly raising a finger to his lips and then gesturing at the partially opened door. He brings his hand up to his ear with a pointed look.

Katsuki rips off the tape and shoots Hanta a half-hearted glare but sidles up to the doorway anyway. And he’s suddenly very glad that he did, as he catches the tail-end of Aizawa’s hushed statement.

“-before the League of Villains can. It’s imperative that he doesn’t fall into their hands and spill any more information on the Shie Hassaikai than Shigaraki may already have.”

Katsuki feels his heartbeat all but triple at the mention of the League – of Kirishima. Hanta, also wide-eyed and pale, glances back at him. Katsuki isn’t sure what look he’s got on his own face but judging by the way surprise and worry fill Hanta's dark eyes in equal measure, it can’t be a very pleasant or reassuring sight.

“I understand, Eraserhead.” Both boys jump slightly, their eyes going back to the crack in the door even though they can’t see a thing. Katsuki’s not heard him speak in quite some time, not since he was a little kid watching All Might videos on his home computer, but the other voice can only belong to Sir Nighteye.

“We have our best people on the job, of course. The League has no idea they’re being followed by a small group of stealthy Pros, even as they do their own stalking. When they move to capture the informant, we’ll move to capture as many of them as possible. Two birds, one stone.”

“And you really believe that the informant will have enough information to get us the location and plans needed to take Chisaki and his crew down?” Aizawa sounds the most alert that Katsuki has heard him since Kirishima’s disappearance.

“I’m sure of it,” Nighteye replies, ever calm. “And without the League teaming up with them, I foresee no issues in our well-cultivated team dismantling the whole operation. We’re going to stop it in its tracks, before the bullets can get out of hand. It ends today.”

Katsuki’s chest feels very tight suddenly, his ribcage far too small for the way his heart is beating, and his lungs far too shriveled. The Pros are tracking the same guy the League is after today? The League is being followed- Kirishima is being followed – and they have no idea! Hanta glances back at him quickly, then does a double-take and raises his eyebrows. Katsuki just sort of shakes his head quickly at whatever Hanta is worrying about, and gestures at him to go back to listening at the door. He can’t afford to miss anything that may help.

Help with what? Katsuki doesn’t even know. It’s not like he has his phone with him. Even if he did, is it really even safe for him to risk messaging or calling Kirishima? Or any of the League, for that matter? What if he does call, and the ring of a phone gives them all away and they get caught? What if he doesn’t call, but then they have no warning, and they get caught?

There’s a small pause inside, before someone – he thinks it’s their teacher – draws and lets out a deep breath. Then, proving Katsuki correct in his assumption, Aizawa asks, “and- Kirishima?”

f*ck. Katsuki was really hoping that, somehow, that little detail wouldn’t be brought up. Hearing someone else say his name sends a weird swooping feeling through Katsuki’s chest – equal parts elated and fearful. f*ck. f*cking f*ckity f*ck f*ck f*ck. It’s one thing that they’re after the League itself, but Kirishima being brought up in particular has Katsuki feeling seconds away from throwing up. God, why is his chest so tight ?

“ He’s high priority,” Nighteye replies, and there’s a small, but noticeable strain in his voice suddenly. “Other than the target himself, your old student is near the top of the list.”

Holy. f*cking. sh*t. He’s about to lose him again. He’s seen Kirishima once since losing him, and he’s about to lose him again . There are Pro Heroes trailing Kirishima, creeping up on him as Katsuki stands there, eavesdropping and useless and weak , and they’re going to catch them all and put Kirishima in prison, or worse. He’s going to be so far beyond help, beyond Katsuki’s reach, and he will never see him again, and he can’t stop them, or help, or do anything but let it happen. It’s all over.

Another strange pause, another shaky breath from inside the classroom, and then, “Do you know if-”

(No.)

“No. I haven’t seen it concretely in anyone’s future; it’s just an assumption that he’ll be one of the first taken in. They won’t be underestimating him again. Not after Nezu.”

( No . No, no, no, no, no-)

It’s over – it's all crashing down, and he can’t stop it. Katsuki feels a wild and irrational surge of rage – at Nighteye, at the Pros, at the League, at himself. Why? Why now? He had only just found Kirishima, just barely gotten him back. He’d seen him one time, held him again just for that one night – in enemy territory, scared and unsure if he would be making it back out, and not able to even speak freely. Sure, they had the phone, they could – and had - used it to text and keep in touch multiple times a day. But Katsuki only had been granted that one cold, lonely, scary, wonderful night.

It hadn’t been enough .

He wanted more, and now it was never going to happen again.

f*ck, Kiri had told him that he loved him for the first time that night - finally ! Despite being surrounded by villains and not being entirely sure he would live to see the morning, Katsuki counted that night as one of the best and happiest moments of his life, just because of that! For that one brief, beautiful, perfect moment, Katsuki had been able to feel like everything was right in the world, and that it would be okay. He felt like, despite their crazy situation, everything would somehow work out for them in the end.

Because he loved Kirishima.

And because Kiri had told him that he loved him, too.

They had laid there, holding each other and whispering it over and over in the night, softly and tenderly and oh-so-unlike Katsuki’s normal ways, and it had been perfect . He had known, then and there, that it was exactly what he had been missing. The last piece of the puzzle; it sent his heart flying, his mind wandering, and he was fully content. He spent days after that grinning like a fool every time he remembered it. Every text he got from Kiri saying it sent his heart fluttering and the blood pooling to his face.

Kirishima loved him back, and everything was going to be okay.

Kiri told him that he loved him – and now, he was about to lose him again. Hah- Ironic, in a way. Or was it poetic, maybe? Katsuki wasn’t sure and he couldn’t remember which definition was which with his blood both iced over and boiling, with his head swimming and his heart 6 feet under the ground.

“-xactly, straight to Tartarus, with heavy armed guard and no chance of escape. They’re determined to make sure he answers for it all. I imagine it won’t be pretty.”

(No! No, God, please, no.)

(No.)

(Please.)

Aizawa starts to say something, his voice low and rushed and almost pleading, but Katsuki suddenly can’t understand words anymore; everything has gone soft and quiet compared to the strange rushing sound in his ears. He can’t breathe, either – or rather, he doesn’t feel like he can, even though he also feels himself breathing in and out much too fast. He’s too cold, he’s too hot, he’s dizzy, he’s-

“-panicking, okay? Just- sit down and breathe, you’re okay.”

Katsuki glances up then, dazed. He’s confused to find himself being sat down on a bench outside of the gym area, Hanta talking to him low and soothing and worried all at once. Hanta must have carried him here, f*ck. “Breathe, please, I’m sh*t at this, Katsuki. I don’t know what to do, should I go get Recover-”

“No,” Katsuki gasps out. “No. Please. I’m- I’m fine, it’s fine.”

It’s not fine. It really, really isn’t. But Hanta seeing this is bad enough, and Katsuki doesn’t need Recovery Girl (and therefore all the staff) aware of this. Nor does he need any quickly whispered gossip floating around the school, should anyone happen to walk by and see him on his way to the nurse’s office while losing his marbles.

“sh*t. sh*t, sh*t, sh*t . Okay, I have no idea what I’m doing, we haven’t covered this in class, man. What do I do to- How do I help you be okay?” Hanta hasn’t yet dealt with many panic attacks, and he’s a bit at a loss. Oddly enough, the wild and frightened look in his eyes helps to ground Katsuki, just a little.

“It’ll pass,” Katsuki grits out, trying to even out his breathing. “Just. Talk to me, make me stay here.”

“’Stay here’?”

“Focused and sh*t, help me focus. Talk.”

“Okay, right, cool. Cool, cool, cool,” Hanta runs a hand through his hair and tugs at it roughly, and Katsuki feels a surge of guilt for scaring him so badly. “Talk. Probably not supposed to ask about what caused this? Wait, am I? Will it help or make it worse?”

Maybe it’s the stress, maybe it’s actually funny. Maybe he’s just trying to force himself to think of literally anything other than losing Kirishima permanently. Whatever it is, Katsuki can’t help it; he snorts out a weak laugh. “Aizawa needs to move our panic-response training up in the schedule, f*ck. And you all thought I would be the one to have trouble with helping freaked-out people.”

“We haven’t said that since moving to the dorms!” Hanta fires back automatically. It’s become old habit for them, as well as Denki and Mina, to take shots at how Katsuki hadn’t really been a people-person before. The familiarity of it has both of them untensing slightly. “We all know you’d be great with helping people now, since you and K-”

And, so much for them un-tensing.

“Damn it,” Hanta looks crushed. “I’m sorry, that was-”

“It’s fine,” Katsuki mutters. “Can’t avoid talking about it forever.”

There’s a lengthy and tense silence after that. Katsuki starts focusing on mastering his breathing, forcing his body to calm down. He can’t afford to lose it, to snap, to do something rash right now. He doesn’t have nearly enough information on anything to make any kind of judgement, and he’s liable to make things worse instead of better if he acts. No, for now – he just needs to get control of himself and push his feelings down until he can sort them out away from prying eyes.

Hanta finally breaks the silence, looking uncertain. “You- that was because of K- Kirishima, wasn’t it? Because they were talking about catching him.”

sh*t.

“I- it- I wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure,” Katsuki hedges as he tries to find a way out of the impending conversation. He’s not stupid – he knew he’d have to address the red-haired elephant in the room eventually, but he’d been hoping to have a little more time, and a few more in-person visits with Kirishima, before it came to that. At the very least, he’d been hoping to have the conversation literally any other time than right after having a panic attack and losing his cool in front of the person asking.

Because it’s not Denki or Mina, Katsuki thinks for a moment that he’ll be able to get out of it or at least delay the conversation for a few days – because Hanta has never really been one to push, especially when he’s worried that it will make someone uncomfortable. But this time is different; Hanta gains more steam and confidence as he thinks over whatever it is he feels he needs to say, and then he barrels on with it as he bounces up and down on the balls of his feet. The fidgeting is the only remaining sign of how uneasy he is to be forcing the subject.

“You’re really not as okay as you’d like us all to think, are you?”

Katsuki must hesitate just a moment too long or have something written out on his face that gives him away; Hanta winces when they make eye contact but plops himself down onto the bench next to Katsuki anyway.

“It’s okay to still not be okay,” he starts off. “None of us expect you to magically just.... Get better. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all super happy that you’ve been taking better care of yourself! And that you opened up to us and that you’re more... more you again! But if it’s all just an act, then... I dunno, man. It scares me.”

f*ck, Katsuki can’t bring himself to brush off Hanta’s genuine fear and concern. The scared, vulnerable look on his face is so genuine that Katsuki feels the breath leave his lungs again – not in the crushing, inescapable way from earlier, but in a deflated and sad, guilty kind of way.

“I’m-”

“Katsuki, I swear to God, if you say you’re ‘fine’ right now-”

He laughs again, but it’s less squeezed and more genuine than before. Hanta blinks in mild surprise at him as he carries on. “I’m definitely not fine. Obviously. Or I guess, I’m not as fine as I’d like to be, but I’m at least more fine than you’re thinking.”

Katsuki bumps his knee against Hanta’s gently and even manages to smile, if only slightly. “Most days, I really am doing fine, though. I’m just on edge already today, and pissed off at Denki, and I really wasn’t ready for what we just heard. So yeah, I f*ckin’ panicked a bit, but that doesn’t mean I’m secretly still a mess all the damn time or something.”

Hanta grimaces a little but bumps his knee back against Katsuki’s. “Sorry, man. I don’t mean to sound like we don’t trust you or anything, I just- that looked really, really bad. And I wasn’t much help.”

“You did fine,” Katsuki corrects. “Like you said, we haven’t been over it much in class yet. But you got me somewhere safe and helped me focus. And I’m f- well, I’m not fine, but I’ll be fine eventually. I just...”

“You don’t want them to catch him?”

Katsuki hesitates. He doesn’t, of course, but he can’t exactly admit to that. Can he? But the answer must be written all over his face, despite his best efforts, because Hanta nods at him.

“I don’t think I do, either.” Hanta all but whispers, looking around cautiously. “I know that’s probably bad, and don’t get me wrong, because I’m still pissed at him, but...”

“But he’s your friend,” Katsuki finishes without meaning to.

“Y-yeah. He is- was ? Is? sh*t, I don’t even know anymore.” Hanta looks at Katsuki, and the pain in his eyes is a harsh reminder that he hasn’t been the only one suffering, and that the others don’t even have the comfort of knowing the truth. “I keep going back and forth, replaying it all in my head all the damn time. Just, from the moment we found out he was missing, to the thing with Aizawa and Nezu. The press conferences. The days leading up to him leaving, even. I just see it at night, nonstop, on repeat. What he did is messed up, and I don’t know if he was ever really our friend to begin with, but. I can’t convince myself that it was all fake, you know? All of it, th- there's no way. No one is that good of an actor, right?”

Hanta’s voice cracks roughly at the end and he draws a shaky, deep breath. Katsuki finds himself at a loss for words; he had had no idea how awful the rest of the squad was still feeling about Kirishima’s betrayal. He’d been so absorbed in his own misery, and then his mad desire to find Kirishima, and then on his own little personal Cloud Nine after finding him, that he’d not paid nearly enough attention to his friends’ feelings on the matter. He’d been a sh*tty friend, complacent, and just let himself think that everyone around him had to have been coping better than he initially had. He let himself think that they had gotten over it already.

And based on the devastated look Hanta was giving him now, dark eyes shining with tears that he was trying to choke back down, that was certainly not the case. Just because he had been the most screwed up didn’t mean that the whole situation wasn’t taking a harsh toll on the other people he cared for, as well. Katsuki’s heart breaks all over again, but this time for Hanta. For Mina, and even Denki – mad at each other as they are.

For an insane, exhilarating second, Katsuki lets himself toy with the idea of letting the others in on the secret, letting them know that hope isn’t lost, but -

But he has no guarantee that doing so won’t somehow put Kirishima’s life in even more danger,

(‘If he isn’t dead or captured already.’)

(‘Shut the f*ck up.’)

and he has no guarantee that it will even be his side, the heroes, who endanger him. If they get overheard, or if word spreads too far, or talk of Kirishima not being 100% on the League’s side gets back to Shigaraki, well. Kirishima’s own ‘family’ would probably take him down themselves. And sure, Katsuki would only trust the squad, but... What if Denki told Akari (assuming they ever spoke again), or Jirou, because he couldn’t stand to see them hurt? What if Mina talked to Hanta about it, and neither of them noticed Hagakure nearby – and she spread it, trying to cheer 1-A up?

Hell, what if Jirou or Shoji heard, just because their quirks let them hear far too much half of the time? And they weren’t even the only students at U.A. that had quirks granting them superior hearing, either. One wrong whisper, one misplaced attempt at making someone feel better, and it would spiral out of control. It was the very reason Katsuki hadn’t told anyone he was looking for Kirishima, or enlisted their help, in the first place. Not so much because he felt he couldn’t trust his friends, but because of all the ways he could be overheard and have it go horribly, terribly wrong.

No, he couldn’t offer Hanta reassurance the way he so desperately wanted to. The realization hurts more the second time than it had the first; far more than he was expecting it to. Still, he’s determined to do something to get that awful, haunted look off of Hanta’s face.

“I don’t think it was fake,” Katsuki says, voice low. “Not all of it, anyway. Whether he meant to or not, I think he was genuinely our friend at some point. Otherwise, why go to so much trouble? We were already convinced he was our friend without all the extra stuff. So, some of it had to be real.”

Hanta takes another unsteady breath, but the tears still don’t fall. “D-do you think he was our friend first, and then decided to betray us? Or do you think he came here planning it from the start and then ended up liking us?”

It’s a question Katsuki’s been asking himself a lot lately. Not so much the part about their friendship, given that he knows without a doubt it was genuine. No, he’s been wondering about the other part of it – about if Kirishima came to U.A. working for the League and accidentally grew to care for them, or if he started out as a normal student and they got to him somehow. He’s leaning towards the latter – there's simply no way that sweet, bright, loving Kirishima was already working with that scum when he entered U.A. No, they had to have gotten something on him – a hostage, a threat to his family, something. The story Kiri had told him about his father’s death in the bar the night they reunited felt off to Katsuki somehow – not everything was adding up.

But of course, he can’t say anything that may make it sound like Kirishima isn’t fully on the villains’ side.

“I don’t know if it matters, in the end,” he says instead. “All that matters is, at least for a while, at least a little, it was true. And we all had really good moments with him. I know it doesn’t make up for what he did at all. But I just want to be glad for what happy times we did have.”

Finally, the tears leak out of Hanta’s eyes, though he’s quick to wipe them away. “sh*t, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be helping you, here. Not the other way around, and not making you think about sh*t that hurts you way worse than it does me.”

“f*ck off with that sh*t,” Katsuki replies at once. “Just because I’m- just because he and I were together, doesn’t mean I’m special. You all loved him, too. We’re all f*cked up by it, I’ve just been sh*t at realizing that other people are hurt, too.”

“’S’worse for you, though, isn’t it?”

Katsuki hesitates again, because, “yes and no. I think it hurts me in a different way, but that doesn’t mean it hurts me more or worse than the rest of you feel. It- I'm not special or some sh*t. And besides, f*ck that – you've all been worrying your asses off about me and helping me, but I haven’t even realized how bad it still was for all of you, much less helped you guys with it. f*ck, it explains why Denki is taking the thing with Arash- with Akari so hard, but all I did was lose my sh*t with him and make it worse.”

Hanta chuckles, but it’s more bitter than happy. “To be fair, Denki’s being a little sh*t – it's hard to be patient when he’s been doing it for like, 2 weeks. Mina and I are about ready to snap, too.”

“Still, I could try harder. f*cker’s my best friend and I’m supposed to be his, even if he is pissed at me and saying the sh*t he said at lunch. And, well. Like I said, I hadn’t realized how much the rest of you were still-”

“’f*cked in the head’?” Hanta raises a sardonic eyebrow, and Katsuki is happy to see that a lot of the tension has left his face.

“I was gonna say ‘hurt’, but that works, too.”

The two of them sit in silence for a bit longer, occasionally bumping knees as if to say ‘I won’t leave you alone.’ And, just like earlier in the day when he was walking with Todoroki back to Heights’ Alliance, the weather is perfect. Warm, but not too hot. A slight breeze keeping them both cool as they force themselves to relax. The soothing smell of flowers and petrichor in the air.

They take their time walking back to class, but the silence doesn’t last. They talk briefly about Mina, and helping Denki process some things in order to come back to ‘himself’ again. Denki, of course, won’t talk to Katsuki. And Akari won’t talk to Denki.

But Mina and Hanta can try to talk to Denki again, together – especially now that he’s feeling repentant for accidentally hurting Hanta.

And Katsuki can hunt down Akari, or maybe Meiko, and get some answers. Maybe even verbally knock some sense into the older girl’s head, if he’s lucky. Even if he can’t, he’ll find a way to get Denki back to normal. What’s better, he won’t have to do it alone. Mina and Hanta will be there by his side to help, and between all of them, Denki will eventually have to realize that things will be okay.

They’re stronger than this – they aren’t going to let it break them apart.

It’s all going to be fine, and the Pros are going to fail, and Kirishima will be safe. That’s the mantra Katsuki is running in his head on the way back to class, trying to hype himself up. He’ll get out some nervous energy thanks to the physical nature of today’s class, he’ll force his friends to make up, and he’ll talk to Kirishima soon. It’ll work out.

But.

It’s funny, in a way.

Katsuki had thought that finding Kirishima and reuniting with him would be the end of the worst of it. That somehow, things would magically fall into place after that, love would conquer all, and he would just be all right. Because, how could he not? Finding Kiri safe and sound again, and Kiri loving him back, was his dream come true.

He hadn’t realized it then, but it seemed like it was going to be far more complicated than that. There was apparently a cost to him being so absorbed in his own issues, seeing as he hadn’t realized how badly his friends had needed him these last few weeks. And it seemed a lot more had gotten lost in translation than he’d thought, as was evidenced by things with Denki getting so twisted and out of control.

And despite his and Hanta’s best efforts, Katsuki could feel the panic still trying to bubble its way back up into his throat. Positive mantra in his head or not, a small and fearful part of him couldn’t help but feel like something was brewing on the horizon – like he was about to cross a great divide that had no way back across it, and not realize until it was too late.

But no. It was all going to be okay – it had to be. Don’t think about the worst-case scenario, don’t panic, don’t dwell, and it will all be fine. He was fine. He was happy again, after all. Things were going to be great from here on out, and he would just focus on loving and being loved by Kirishima, and all his dreams would come true. And then they’d all be happy.

Right?