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After a couple of hours of thorough cleaning and washing, the small place seemed to be shining. Katsuki was still sleeping like a baby even though he wasn't done sweating. The sun was starting to go down and nice orange rays were lighting the room. Izuku was sitting at the table, slumped over it. Ochako had already left. She had to get up early for work and had taken a sample of Katsuki's blood before leaving. Izuku wanted to be sure his former classmate was alright. Knowing the flame head, he would act like a stubborn kid say everything was fine, and brush it off. The therapist was wondering just how mad the singer would be when he woke up. The sound of something vibrating in a corner made him look up. It was coming from the corner of the room where Katsuki kept his instruments. It took a little searching for Deku to find the blond's cellphone on the table where music sheets were scattered. The caller ID read Boss. For a moment Izuku thought it was referring to Tomura and then realized that Kacchan would only call him that over his dead body. He pressed the answer button.
"Bakugo?" Said the voice of a man. "It's Kirishima. Listen dude we haven't seen you today. I'm just wondering if everything's okay. The boss is worried too. And yeah I used his phone, because I know you'd hang up if you knew it was me, you asshole..."
"Hum, sorry to interrupt but I'm not Kacchan." Replied Izuku. "My name is Izuku Midorya. I'm a friend."
"Oh, you're a pal of his? Well, that's a surprise. I'm Eijirou Kirishima, I work with him. Do you know where he is? He hasn't come in for work today."
"He has a high fever. It doesn't seem to be the flu so I think he'll be out of it for about three days."
"Shit. Is he alright?"
That was weird. Someone was looking out for Kacchan at work. The thought made Izuku smile a little. "He'll be fine. Kirishima, right? Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot." Replied the cheerful voice.
"How is Kacchan at work?" He asked. "What's his attitude?"
"Huh. Tough question. Want me to be honest about it?"
"As much as you can, please."
"Okay. Well, he keeps to himself. He does excellent work but he doesn't talk much and he's not close to anyone. He's been working here for six months, but when we try approaching him, he gets pissed for no reason and tells us to fuck off, you know."
Izuku sweat dropped. That was Kacchan alright.
"It comes in useful when gangs and stuff come messin' with us. But you know, I don't think he's rotten. He's an asshole that in real need of chill pills, but he's not bad. I think he just doesn't know how to talk to people."
"You're surprisingly nice to someone who probably threatened to rip your head off more than once."
"Bah, he's all talk. And it's not like I can't take care of myself." Brushed off the guy on the other side of the line. "I'm sure somethin' eating at him from the inside. I got no clue what though. All he needs is the right person to show him a little light, you know." He let out a little laugh before speaking again. "Sorry, I'm babbling. Seriously though, I'm kinda glad he has an actual friend out there. Listen, I gotta go. I still have work to do. I'll tell the boss about Bakugo."
"Thank you Kirishima." Said the green-haired lad.
"No problem. See ya around, Midorya!"
The call ended. This Kirishima guy seemed like a joyous fellow. If Katsuki had people like him at work, it was good. First his work got him away from HELLGATE and he had good company. The therapist threw a glance at the still sleeping Katsuki, before letting himself fall on the black couch against the wall. Instruments on one side, music sheets scattered everywhere... This was probably where he sat when he made his music. Izuku picked up the sheets and looked at them. After looking through a couple, he realized that they all had harsh themes. Monster (Skillet), Poison (Alice Cooper), Point of no return (Starset), Control (Halsey)... The green-haired lad had heard from his art therapist colleagues that music can be an indicator of inner state. Especially for a musician. All these songs gave Izuku a feeling of being trapped, caged by something bigger. He kept looking through the sheets until he grabbed a paper that didn't seem to have anything music related on it. Instead, there were a bunch of numbers. Additions and subtractions. The numbers were big though. It went up to millions! Izuku had seen this before. It was just like the debt notebooks confiscated to gambling addicts at the center. He wanted to slap himself. Of course! That was it. The reason Katsuki stayed here and worked for a dealer. He needed money!
'Wait... does that mean that Kacchan went from drug abuse to gambling? That's an unusual change. Besides, he doesn't have time to gamble. He has two jobs. No it's too unusual. There's more to it.'
Izuku looked at the paper with the numbers again. On half of the page were only additions. And on the other side. The sums were subtracted from a big number at the top of the page. That must have been the giant debt. But what could Katsuki have done to end up with a debt as massive as this?
"Was that what he meant when he said he screwed up?" Wondered the therapist.
The perplexed lad started separating the music sheets from the rest. He found a total of three sheets filled with numbers written in pencil. Where could this have come from? The singer's phone suddenly vibrated again. However, this time the caller ID was SOB.
'This has got to be Tomura.' Thought Izuku. 'Today is Wednesday, so Kacchan shouldn't be singing. He'd probably just ignore the call.'
This was exactly what the therapist did. He kept looking through the papers until his own phone started ringing. After checking the caller ID he pressed the answer button.
"Hey Ochako. Do you have the results?"
"Yeah, I do. They're negative." She said with a cheerful tone. "No signs of recent drug use. I sent you a text, but I thought it'd be better to call you."
The green-haired lad sighed in relief. He was suspecting the results would turn out negative but he was glad to hear it confirmed. "Thank goodness. I think I know why he's here Ochako."
"Really?"
"He has an enormous debt but I don't know what it relates to. He doesn't have time to gamble so that can't be it. Besides from what I'm reading the numbers are only going down."
"So he's making money but not spending it..." Said the girl, thinking out loud. "Are his instruments worth much?"
"I don't know... maybe. I'll have to dig in more. Thank you Ochako."
"Are you gonna stay there for the night?"
"Yeah. He won't take care of himself on his own."
"Geez, he's just like a kid." Replied the nurse. "Well make sure he eats. And if his fever hasn't gone down by morning, he needs to see a doctor."
"Alright. I love you."
"I love you too my hero. Be careful. I'll see you tomorrow."
Izuku hung up and looked at the papers once more. The only thing he got from it was that the debt was of approximately 9 million yen. What in the world could he have done that was worth that much money? But considering his level of pride, there was no way he'd let friends let alone his parent's help. But if Izuku could just figure out what this debt was, he might just also figure out what broke the explosive singer. Izuku suddenly let out a loud yawn and glanced at his clock. It was ten o'clock now. Katsuki didn't look like he was finished sleeping. Good, because he needed to rest. But so did the therapist. His eyelids were starting to become heavy.
'I'll close my eyes for a bit...' He thought, only to surrender to sleep completely.
The next morning, when Izuku woke up, the first rays of the sun were barely starting to come out. The green-haired lad looked at his watch. 7:19am. He stretched and walked over to the singer's bed. He took off the now useless cooling pad off the blond's forehead and placed Ochako thermometer under his armpit, like she had the day before. His fever had dropped down to 38.1 degrees celsius, that was a relief. The sleep had done some good. But he'd probably be starving when he woke up. His own stomach growled loudly at the thought of food. The therapist moved over to the kitchen area and made himself a quick and easy breakfast consisting of two eggs and some spinach leaves. While he ate at the table, he took out his phone and looked at his messages and emails. Most were from work but nothing major. After he finished eating, he placed his plate in the sink and left his phone on the table before going back to the low table where he'd sorted out the sheets. But before he could go back to his brain storming, heavy footsteps suddenly resonated in the hall. A few seconds later, three loud knocks banged on the door.
"Nitro!" Called a familiar raspy voice. "I know you're in there. Open up."
Izuku clenched his teeth. He hadn't anticipated the fact that the boss of HELLGATE would show up here. How could he have been so stupid? Surely the man that had sent two thugs to beat him up wouldn't pass another opportunity. He might actually finish the job this time. The green-haired lad quickly scattered the papers on the table and jumped behind the couch to hide. After some more pounding, the door opened, and Izuku cursed himself for not locking the door. The footsteps echoes in the room.
"Wow, it's clean in here." Commented the dealer. "I can't believe you actually bothered. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you got a wife. Come on lazy ass, time to get up." As Katsuki didn't respond, the thug walked closer to the bed. "Are you listening to me?"
"Fuck off..." Responded the half awakened voice. "You better have a damn good explanation for waking me up. If not, I'm throwing you out the window."
"Is that a cooling pad? Did you catch a fever?"
"Keep your dirty hands of me, sicko." Protested the singer. Izuku assumed that he'd pushed him away. "Why the hell are you even here?"
"Well you didn't show up for the meeting yesterday so I came by to give you next week's program." The hiding lad heard the sound of a sheet of paper being passed. "You clearly need to take a break, so I'll cancel the show for this evening."
"I don't need a break!"
"Don't worry, you'll still get paid. But I really need you in top shape for next week. Take it as a generous donation from your boss."
"Donation, my ass" Growled the explosive lad. "Get out of here before I rip your ugly face off!"
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Take care." Replied Tomura, his footsteps slowly pacing away.
Izuku waited for the door to close to breath again. That was way too close. Katsuki rubbed the back of his head, as if he was still trying to wake up. He looked around wondering what the hell had happened.
"Good morning Kacchan." Said Izuku, stepping out from behind the couch.
The ash blond almost jumped out of his skin and let out a cry of surprise. "God damn it! Deku?!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But I think it would be better for the both of us if Shigaraki didn't know I was here."
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment, you creepy nerd face? I swear to God if you're stalking me..."
"What do you mean what?" Asked Deku, innocently. "Don't you remember what happened yesterday?"
"I wouldn't be asking if I did, dumbass!"
"You slept almost nineteen hours, Kacchan. I came to see you. I found you drunk on the floor and you collapsed. Your fever is still high, you should rest some more."
"No wonder I'm starving." Katsuki suddenly brought his hand to his head, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth. "Fucking headache."
The therapist walked over to the kitchen area and filled a glass of water. "That's what happens when you have a hangover and a fever at the same time. Here take this. They're pain killers."
Instead of taking the glass and the small box, the singer threw an angry and suspicious look at the therapist. Izuku sighed in response and hit the blond on the head. "Ow! Do you want to die you damn nerd?! What the hell?!"
"Stop looking at me like I'm trying to poison you." Said Izuku, throwing him an annoyed glare. "Take the damn pill or I'll shove it down your throat." He threatened, before angrily pacing towards the kitchen. "Even I can take you on in your state."
That last comment made the singer's eyes widen in shock. Either the nerd was in a very bad mood or he really thought the blond was too sick to give him a beating. Didn't matter though he was right. His head was pounding like a drum. He took the pain killer and swallowed it. Katsuki then realized what Tomura had meant by clean. The room was almost shinning. Not a single piece of paper or of clothing was on the floor.
"Ochako helped me tidy up your place." Explained Izuku as he broke an egg into the pan.
"You and your girlfriend are clean freaks?"
"I couldn't care less about your mess and cleaning habits." Simply replied the therapist ignoring the insult. "It was way too filthy for you to recover properly. Ochako is a nurse remember?"
"And you felt the need to stay and babysit me because..."
"Because you're a mule Kacchan. I knew that you'd brush it of as nothing and wouldn't take care of yourself."
"What the hell do you know?!"
"I know that much! Tell me I'm wrong!"
The red eyed lad clenched his teeth together, throwing a murderous glare at the therapist. But he found nothing to say. His head was hurting him too much and he was so hungry that he was overwhelmed by dizziness. He tried getting up but the instant he was on his feet, it felt like his head weighed a ton and he fell down.
"Kacchan!" Exclaimed Izuku turning off the plates and abandoning the pan.
He ran to the singer's side and pulled him up to his feet. But Katsuki roughly pushed him away. "Go away, Deku." He ordered.
The shorter of the two let out a frustrated growl, before crossing his arms over his chest. "No."
"What?"
"I'm not going any where until we talk. For real this time."
"Not this again. What is your problem? Do you expect a thank you for invading my apartment and playing babysitter with me?"
"No, I expect you to recover quickly." Retorted Izuku. "So stop being an ass about it and let me help. Look at you! You can't even stand up right!"
The foul-mouthed lad was about to spat out some acid-coated words for the therapist but a strong dizziness invaded him and he had to sit back on his bed to avoid falling. Izuku, thinking that it would be enough to calm him down returned to the kitchen and place the eggs in a plate.
"Eat. Then we talk." Ordered the scrawniest of the two.
Katsuki couldn't believe it. Deku had never (and never here meant never) ever talked back to him or even risked picking a fight unless his former classmate was beating up someone else. When did he grow a spine? The singer wiped the sweat off his face with his hand.
"Just what do you want Deku?"
"I already told you : I want you to recover and then I want to talk." Replied the therapist.
"Why?"
"Because I'm worried about you Kacchan."
"Don't give me that crap." Growled the singer at the green-haired lad. "You and I are not friends, Deku! So what motivates you to do this for someone you hate anyways?"
Izuku froze at the cold words that were spat at him. Something boiled inside him. All his professionalism suddenly left him. He was tired of this. He'd tried to apply his work technics with him, and in that moment he realized that it was useless. Katsuki was not his patient, not even close. But he was equally mad at himself than at the singer. He was a pig-headed guy with a sharp tongue, a foul mouth and apparently no common sense.
"We may not be friends from your point of view, but I don't abandon anyone. This place is destroying you Kacchan, and you know that better than me. Anyone can tell that you hate it here. Shigaraki certainly knows."
"So that's it huh?" Replied Katsuki, an evil smirk stretching across his face. "You want to 'help' to satisfy your own ego and make yourself feel better. You selfish prick."
"Hello pot, my name is kettle." Retorted the therapist, ironically.
"Shut up! I'm not some damsel in distress that needs rescuing, Deku. I don't need anyone's help. I can deal with my problems myself and you're the last person that should be putting your nerd nose into it!"
"I know you were a junkie Kacchan."
Once again, the singer froze on the spot and for the first time let utter shock show on his face. Izuku expected him to recover quickly as usual, get even angrier and insult him again and telling him it wasn't any of his business. But he remained frozen and staring at the therapist. So Izuku continued.
"I saw your toes. What was it? Heroine?" Katsuki didn't reply but his frowning returned. There was clear discomfort on his face and he kept on staring at the green-haired lad. "You really are amazing you know. I've never met anyone who'd gotten out of a crack addiction on their own."
"How d'you know I'm not using anymore?"
"I work with junkies, remember? My eyes are trained to recognize signs of addiction. And I haven't picked up a single one on you. I'm serious, I can't get over how amazing you are."
"Stop saying that all the goddam time." Growled the singer turning his gaze towards the floor. "Why can't you just stop bugging me you damn insect?"
"Because I don't call working for a dealer a way to deal with your problems." Explained Izuku before bringing the plate and a fork to the blond. "I think I figured out how it works. You're the bait. You and your music attract the people from the neighborhood and Shigaraki and his gang sell them drugs."
"..."
Katsuki didn't even try to reply. His head was hurting him too much and he couldn't think clearly. Damn it! If Tomura figured out Deku found them out, he'd kill him for sure.
"You're not an idiot, you knew that." Continued the therapist. "And having your music used like that... must be unbearable."
"What the hell do you know?"
"I know that nobody uses Katsuki Bakugo and that he doesn't use anyone. You're too much of an egotistical jerk for that."
"I GET IT!" Suddenly shouted the sick man. "I'M A PIECE OF SHIT! HAPPY NOW?"
Izuku hesitated a moment before continuing. "There's no way the old you would ever say that. You told me something when you were drunk Kacchan. And I'm not sure I understood."
"What?"
"You said you tried but that you screwed up."
Katsuki brought his hand to his face again and covered it. The nerd just wouldn't leave him alone will he? No matter how hard he tried to push the annoying bug away, he always came back wanting to know more... why the hell did he care so much? The singer couldn't remember ever being nice to him. So why? He remembered the scrawny green-haired brat following him around all the time. He never knew why either. Maybe it was the same now.
"And just so you know, I don't hate you Kacchan."
"Well you should you dumbass! Cause I hate your guts more than anything!"
Instead of retorting, Izuku smiled. That same idiotic smile he had when he was a kid and talked about becoming a superhero. "I know. Still... you'd be lonely without me around, right?"
"Tch. You're so damn full of yourself."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
Katsuki let out a loud sigh and looked at the ground for a long moment. So long that Izuku wondered if he'd fallen asleep.
"Hum, Kacchan?"
"... I didn't even complete a single year in college."
Izuku's eyes widened in shock. "Huh?"
Oh? Is Kacchan finally gonna open up a little?
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