The following day saw the boys once again keeping their distance from each other as much as they were able. And eye contact was avoided at all costs.
Kacchan seemed to be feeling quite a bit better, though still a little under the weather—his flu seemed to have transitioned into more of a mild cold.
Izuku could have been wrong (as usual, Kacchan was proving difficult to get a solid read on), but Kacchan actually seemed to feel a little bad for how grumpy and rude he'd been while ill. He was acting a little less abrasive than usual—holding back a touch with insults and swearing just a little less. He'd even been considerate enough to dispose of the untouched juice and banana when Izuku wasn't around, and he must have taken them downstairs because Izuku never noticed them in the bin in their bedroom. Izuku had no idea if Kacchan was being intentionally and subtly thoughtful by that, but he figured he likely was.
Izuku always appreciated it when Kacchan made an effort to go a little easier on him (especially seeing as rare as it was), but it didn't really do a whole lot to lessen the hurt he'd felt the previous day. Kacchan had pretty much shoved every gesture of kindness Izuku had attempted to show him back in his face. All while accepting Kirishima's friendly efforts right in front of him, as if to rub it in.
But to be fair, Izuku knew he shouldn't have interpreted Kacchan's actions quite that harshly. Kacchan had been legitimately miserable yesterday. And he was already aware that Kacchan had previously accepted and acknowledged Kirishima as an equal and friend. It had never caused Izuku jealousy or frustration before—he had actually been glad for Kacchan when he initially noticed the two becoming close. It was so unlike him to treat a classmate as a worthy equivalent to himself, and he knew it was good for him. And Kacchan actually seemed to legitimately like Kirishima (though, being honest, it was pretty impossible not to like Kirishima), which was kind of unprecedented.
Izuku supposed the reason he found Kacchan's actions the day before so bothersome was because Izuku had actually been trying lately. He'd never really attempted putting effort into fixing things with Kacchan, because he'd never before been forced to, and he always figured it would just be a lost cause from the get-go. He'd previously just found it easier and more comfortable to avoid Kacchan as much as possible.
But this whole punishment of Aizawa's had put such a new spin on everything. Being forced to spend so much time together, Izuku realized there were a lot of things he not only admired about Kacchan (he admittedly had always admired Kacchan—that was nothing new), but there were quite a few things he found he actually liked about him. Kacchan was funny. Once you realized there actually wasn't much true malice behind his words, you could surprisingly come to really appreciate his humor. And Kacchan had a lot of it. He was quick-witted and chock-full of dry sarcasm. He didn't always talk a whole lot, but the comments he did choose to share were usually, without fail, at least a little amusing. Izuku had grown to almost enjoy Kacchan's funny side. It was a characteristic he knew he was pretty sorely lacking in, himself, so he appreciated it when someone could get a laugh or a smirk out of him. And Kacchan was pretty good at it, even if it wasn't necessarily his aim to.
Izuku also really liked and appreciated how disciplined Kacchan was. He found Kacchan's drive with everything—school work, training progress, personal care and health—to be very inspiring, and to have a big motivating influence on himself. Izuku had always possessed a fairly impressive amount of drive, as well, but Kacchan's never-ceasing to push himself just a little harder everyday provided a bit of a competitive edge for Izuku—in a good way. Kacchan's thriving competence kept Izuku on his toes. He wanted to constantly keep up with him. He found Kacchan to be a good role model in that regard.
Izuku also liked how Kacchan didn't really hang on to ill feelings for the most part. Well, true, he had held on to his personal and perplexing childhood vendetta against Izuku all these years, but when it came down to their little tiffs and squabbles, Kacchan was surprisingly quick to forget a fight and let it go. He didn't see a need for dwelling on or rehashing issues too much, and while it might actually fall more under Kacchan just plain not caring, Izuku had kind of grown to like his straightforward and transparent behavior. It at least made him a little more predictable for the most part.
The more Izuku dwelt on Kacchan's words from the previous night ("That's all you ever do! Try after effing try. I'm sick as hell of your refusal to ever just give up!"), the more Kacchan's hurtful actions yesterday almost seemed to make a little more sense.
Perhaps Kacchan's rejection of Izuku's attempts at caring for him wasn't solely due to Kacchan's dislike or contempt for him. The more Izuku thought about it, the more it seemed it might be yet another case of Kacchan's resentment towards Izuku's successes up to this point. Getting into UA, being acknowledged by All Might, slowly yet surely making One For All his own. Maybe Kacchan couldn't handle granting Izuku one more example of success by accepting his friendship. And considering it was the only one of Izuku's endeavors that Kacchan actually held control over, perhaps he just couldn't bear the thought of relenting. Of letting Izuku succeed in yet one more small way.
It actually...made a lot of sense to Izuku. Maybe Kacchan didn't even realize it and couldn't see his own resentment behind his actions. And maybe he still just plain didn't like Izuku, but Izuku suspected it was likely a mixture of both. And if that was the case, it might be lot more difficult, perhaps even near impossible, for Izuku to make any real progress at chiseling away at Kacchan's wall.
But at least Izuku could try to take everything a little less personally now? If Kacchan was slightly jealous of him, that had to mean he at least had a smidgen of respect for him, too, didn't it? Maybe?
Regardless, Izuku decided all he could really do was put the previous night's conversation behind him and move on. He would stick to his resolve though—he would never stop trying for an eventual reconciliation with Kacchan. He would continue to show Kacchan that he was, and always would be his friend—only this time he'd make sure to steer clear of having any expectations. Expectations only set you up for disappointment. And it was like he'd told Aizawa on the first night of their punishment—some people can't be forced into friendship. It really wasn't fair of him to expect Kacchan to reciprocate anything, or to be angry at him when he didn't. Kacchan shouldn't be forced if he truly didn't want anything to do with Izuku. Izuku would work on accepting that. And being okay with it. He could be okay with it. As long as he continued to be a good friend himself, and continued to emulate the actions of a true hero, he wouldn't have any regrets.
The remainder of the day passed without incident, and once they had a couple buffer days between their latest fight, the boys began warming to one another slightly again. Well, as much as you could call relatively polite tolerance 'warming,' anyway.
Kacchan apparently did feel pretty bad for his latest declaration of rejection towards Izuku, because one morning he ended up with 'extra food' again, and the next evening he actually asked Izuku if he was up for a second round of training to blow off steam. (Well, he didn't exactly ask—he more told him to just come with so Izuku could spot him on a couple moves, since he 'obviously had nothing better to do,' but Izuku decided that was beside the point.) Izuku was a little taken aback by it, but Kacchan could sometimes be so casual about the most unexpected things, and Izuku quickly learned to play those surprising times off like they weren't a big deal and didn't necessarily equate to progress. And Kacchan seemed to appreciate that. Or at least seemed somewhat less annoyed by Izuku for it.
When they entered the common area that evening after training, the room was full of liveliness and laughter. It was Yaoyorozu's birthday, and they were getting ready for a little party later that evening. Well, Sato was at least working on a cake in the kitchen, and the girls had put up a birthday sign and balloons, but for the most part, everyone seemed to be goofing off in the meantime.
Izuku quickly realized the reason for the excessive laughter. They seemed to be playing some type of tickle tag game or some such silliness. Which was definitely his cue to make himself scarce, if ever he needed one. He hoped he could make his way to the stairs unnoticed.
"Hey, there you two are!" Ashido suddenly exclaimed in their direction.
Both he and Kacchan stopped in their tracks.
"Ah, great timing!" Kaminari said, looking up from where he, Hagakure, Ashido and Sero had Todoroki pressed against the couch. Izuku vaguely wondered how on earth Todoroki had gotten caught up in the mess of a tickling game.
"We've discovered Todoroki is actually capable of something close to laughter if you can keep him pinned for longer than ten seconds, and now we just have to see who's more ticklish out of the two of you," Kaminari explained, aiming a (rather intimidating) finger at them.
"Midoriya, for sure," Izuku heard someone say.
"Who the heck would even dare to attempt tickling Bakugo—?" someone else asked.
Izuku was quick. "Kacchan was deathly ticklish as kids," he immediately threw out, drawing a hand up to point to the boy next to him.
That got their attention. He hardly noticed Kacchan's gaze immediately snap to him, accusing and incredulous. Izuku couldn't believe he actually had some 'dirt' on Kacchan from their childhood that proved to be advantageous.
"Ha, no kidding?" Kirishima was already advancing menacingly as Kaminari hopped over the couch, a threatening smirk (that came close to rivaling one of Kacchan's own) plastered across his face.
Izuku turned vaguely towards Kacchan for a brief moment and offered a half-wave, half-salute as he was already stepping out of the way. "See ya," he said, half-laughing through his condolences.
Kacchan had actually taken a step back. "If you assholes value your shitty lives at all—"
Izuku wasn't sure how Kirishima managed to get Kacchan in a headlock and on the ground so quickly, but his hardened weight must have been a huge advantage. Kacchan barely managed to get an angry roar out before several of their classmates were on him.
He could have stopped them, but he must have realized the collateral damage would undoubtedly include at least half of the common area, as well as injuries to the kids pinning him, so he was smart to exercise what restraint he could manage, and attempt to fend off their tickling without his quirk.
Kacchan's genuine laughter—without any malice behind it, was probably one of the rarest sounds Izuku could recall hearing. It was a surprisingly infectious laugh. It was a good laugh—a lot lighter than you'd expect from him, and it made him sound as young as he was for once. He heard one of the girls comment on how surprisingly cute it was, and he legitimately feared for all of their lives when they decided to let up.
"Shit—I will—fucking—kill you—all!" Kacchan somehow got out between bouts of laughter. His weak threats through that inviting laugh of his only seemed to encourage the others more.
Izuku carefully snuck past it all with a nervous laugh and all but booked it upstairs.
Kacchan eventually entered their room several minutes behind him, looking tousled and fuming. Izuku kind of attempted to hide the smirk that pulled at his lips upon seeing him, but didn't quite succeed.
"What, you thought that was funny, jackass?" Kacchan demanded, tossing his gym back aside.
"That was a little funny, yeah," Deku admitted, throwing his sweatshirt in his hamper. "I can't believe they had the guts to actually pull that on you," he snickered.
"Nice one, by the way, asshole—throwing me under the bus to save your own ass," Kacchan stated through a glare. "And after all your hero talk the other day about always being helpful and shit. Bullshit."
"Ah. Well. There's exceptions to everything." Izuku shrugged, failing to stifle a laugh again. He could still hardly believe their classmates would even dare attempt a tickle attack against Kacchan, let alone be successful with it. Izuku could think of few things more dangerous. He was pretty impressed.
And it was one more thing to add to his mental list, 'Unexpected Moments of Surprisingly Normal Human Behavior, Featuring Katsuki Bakugo:' Kacchan could still be reduced to a squirming mess of laughter when tickled. Who would have thought?
"You ever share anymore childhood shit with anyone and I'll not only make you regret following me to UA, I'll make you regret the day your mom ever moved your shitty toddler ass into my neighborhood, got that?" Despite the threat, Kacchan surprisingly didn't seem quite as angry as Izuku expected. Maybe the forced laughter was actually good for him—got some of his pent up crap out or something. Izuku wasn't sure, but he knew he'd be wise to keep that to himself.
Izuku turned for the bathroom, ready to shower. He was fairly quick about it, and dressing and combing his hair didn't take too much time either. He knew Kacchan became impatient waiting, no matter how quickly Izuku went, but he still tried to hurry.
He made use of some study time while Kacchan took his turn in the shower, and he was pretty pleased with the amount of productivity he pulled off in the relatively short time.
When 7:30 rolled around, Izuku decided he better head back downstairs and see if they were about ready to light candles and sing to Yaoyorozu.
He was surprised when Kacchan actually pushed away from his desk before him, standing and grabbing the sweatshirt draped over his chair. He pulled it on as Izuku stood and tucked his chair in.
He was about to ask Kacchan if he was actually planning on joining everyone for Yaoyorozu's party, but he stopped himself. If he acted surprised, it might make Kacchan think no one was expecting him or necessarily wanting him to show. Which wasn't the case.
Izuku stepped for the door, planning instead to just tell Kacchan he'd see him downstairs. But he stopped himself once more. If he acted like he was expecting Kacchan to go, it might only end up deterring him by wanting to prove Izuku wrong.
Gah, he had to approach everything so carefully when Kacchan was involved. It was a little exhausting, but Izuku liked to think he was at least starting to get a slightly better handle on all of Kacchan's nuances.
"Yeah, I'm going downstairs, you idiot, what do you care?" Kacchan said, brushing past him. It was as if he had somehow read Izuku's mind during his brief hesitations. "It's not a big deal, so don't make it one. It's just boring as hell up here."
Kacchan strode down the hall and disappeared around the corner. Izuku followed after, pleased to see Kacchan was finally coming out of his heavier-than-usual anti-social tendencies. He'd been in a fairly troubling funk ever since the licensing exam and Ground Beta, and it was good to see he was kind of coming out of it.
The get-together for Yoayorozu was lively and amusing, if not quite as rambunctious as it might have been, had it fallen on a weekend. Ashido traipsed around planting party hats on anyone who held still long enough, as several of the kids lounged on the couches, mostly ignoring the movie the girls had picked out. Mineta had somehow caught Kacchan's flu and was the only classmate absent (much to the relief of Yaoyorozu, Izuku suspected, though she was likely too nice to admit it.).
Kacchan had planted himself on one of the smaller couches and remained pretty much buried in his phone. He looked up every now and then to acknowledge something Kirishima said, or to argue with Kaminari, but mostly he kept to himself.
Hagakure called Todoroki over, asking if he wouldn't mind helping light the candles, and Jiro dimmed the lights.
Izuku found himself next to Ochako as they gathered around the table. Yaoyorozu beamed as they sang, hands clasped against her chest. She seemed touched. It had been a nice gesture of the girls to put a party together. And nice of Sato to make such an awesome-looking cake.
Jiro slapped Kaminari's hand as he reached for the frosting, and turned to go grab a knife and paper plates. Ochako slipped away to grab the ice cream.
Izuku followed Kaminari over to the smaller couch, stepping behind it and aiming to catch a bit of the movie while he waited for the cake to get passed around.
He definitely didn't mean to look, but something on Kacchan's phone in front of him caught his eye. Without thinking, he leaned forward and grabbed it out of Kacchan's hand to get a better look.
"What the—" Kacchan began, whipping around to see who'd been gutsy enough to interrupt his reading. He immediately snatched his phone back. "Hands off, Deku, what the hell do you think you're doing, touching my shit? And why the fuck are you creeping over my shoulder, asshole? Back off!"
"That was my home," Izuku said, hurriedly fishing his own phone out of his pocket. "What was that, our local news site?" he asked anxiously.
Why was there a news article with Izuku's apartment complex pictured..?
"It wasn't anything, why don't you mind your own goddamn business, moron?" Kacchan spat, quickly turning his phone dark and stuffing it away. It almost seemed like he was angrier at Izuku for spotting the article over his shoulder, more than for grabbing at his phone.
Distracted, Izuku turned away, bringing up his phone's browser. He could vaguely feel Kacchan eyeing him warily.
"Deku," Kacchan called as Izuku was starting to amble away, tapping at his phone.
Izuku half-turned back, eyes lifting for a brief moment. "Hm?" he asked, still tapping at his screen, opening their local news website.
"Come here." Kacchan drew to his knees, reaching over the couch as far as he was able. He snagged Izuku's shirt in a tight grip and wrenched him towards him, pulling the surprised and stumbling boy up and over the back of the couch and right onto a startled Kaminari's lap next to him.
"What the—" Kaminari exclaimed, drawing his arms up a moment too late to shield himself, as a squirming Izuku struggled to right and remove himself from the tangle of limbs.
"Kacchan—" Izuku said accusingly. "What the heck? Sorry, Kaminari," he offered, attempting to get to his feet, but Kacchan was instead pushing him back against the too-tight space between himself and Kaminari.
"Ow—dude," Kaminari complained, scooting as far as he was able to avoid being smashed.
"Sorry—ouch—Kacchan, what are you doing?" Izuku demanded as Kacchan effectively wedged him squarely in the middle of the couch.
"Here you go, Kaminari," Kacchan said. "You said you wanted to play some lame-ass games or some shit? Now that shitty Deku's onboard, all the other stupid extras will join."
"Oh, cool, you up for some games, Midoriya?" Kaminari brightened, squashing Izuku's left side as he tried to straighten a little.
"We haven't—even had cake yet," Izuku grunted, again trying to weasel his way free and draw to his feet. But whether intentional or not (and Izuku suspected it was, though he couldn't fathom why), Kacchan was making it difficult for him.
Why the heck was Kacchan acting so weird? And where was his phone?
Izuku huffed, finally giving up on his attempts to rise from the couch. Kacchan's weight was effectively smashing half of him, and he wasn't letting him squirm away for some reason.
Izuku settled for probing around the couch behind him as best he could, looking for his phone.
"Don't touch me," Kacchan said, annoyed.
"You're the one who's crushing me," Izuku responded, indignant. "What'd you even pull me over here for?" He attempted turning to get a better look at the couch, but he was wedged too tightly between them. "I'm just—ugh—I'm looking for my phone. Do you have it, Kaminari?"
"No," Kaminari replied, taking a second to feel behind him.
Izuku kept searching as best he could.
"Stop," Kacchan huffed, his patience running thin at the elbow Izuku kept jabbing into him. He threw several irritated pokes back at Izuku.
"Kacchan—cut it out," Izuku said, annoyed, as an uninvited hint of a laugh escaped him. He squirmed and nudged him away.
"Ah, that's right," Kaminari said, noticing. "We never got a chance to attack Midoriya earlier."
No sooner had Kaminari said it than Izuku suddenly found himself pinned facedown against the couch, Kacchan sitting solidly on top of him.
Izuku struggled to turn his head, gasping for a breath and not liking at all where this was going. "What—? Ow, Kacchan—get off—"
"Payback's a bitch, Deku." Izuku could practically hear the evil smirk behind his voice. Kacchan shifted, allowing Kaminari access to him. "Destroy the stupid nerd."
Izuku hardly got a chance to squeak out a protest before Kaminari laughed and was quick to oblige.
If Kacchan was aiming to make Izuku forget about that article by his strange behavior (which Izuku knew he was), it worked for a while. After nearly dying from getting the crap tickled out of him by Kaminari, and then having a massive piece of cake forced on him by all the girls who'd felt bad for his predicament, Izuku was pretty ready to call it a night.
He was tired and perplexed and he still hadn't had a chance to properly look for his phone. And everyone was getting a little rambunctious from the sugar starting to kick in.
He finally managed to sneak away from all the roughhousing and joined Iida and Todoroki quietly conversing at one of the nearby tables.
"Hey," Izuku said, pulling a chair up.
Todoroki nodded a greeting.
"Iida, do you mind if I borrow your phone for a sec? I can't find mine, and I need to look something up."
Iida pulled his phone out and unlocked it, handing it to him. "Sure, here."
"Thanks." Izuku opened the browser, once again typing in his city's local news website. He was scrolling for a moment, searching, when the phone was suddenly ripped from his hands.
Kacchan was standing above him. He tossed the phone back to Iida. "Here, you idiot," he said, brandishing Izuku's own phone. "It was wedged between the cushions."
"Oh, thanks," Izuku said, relieved. He reached for it, but Kacchan seemed reluctant to give it to him.
They both hesitated, Izuku raising a questioning brow as Kacchan seemed to be internally debating what to do.
Kacchan finally released an exasperated breath and reached down to grab Izuku's shirt again. He roughly pulled him up and out of the chair. "Come here," he said, shoving Izuku's phone in his hand and dragging him toward the stairs.
"Wait—Kacchan," Izuku stammered, glancing back briefly and noticing Todoroki's eyes following them. He struggled not to trip over his own feet. "What are you—"
"Just shut up and come with me," Kacchan ordered, finally releasing Izuku as they reached the stairs. He climbed to the second floor and Izuku followed, bewildered.
Kacchan led them to their bedroom and Izuku closed the door behind them.
"What the heck is up with you?" Izuku demanded, confused as all get-out.
Kacchan seemed frustrated as he paced for a moment. He didn't really have any other way to vent, so he settled with giving Izuku a shove towards his bed.
Izuku stumbled briefly before falling against it. He took a seat on the edge, looking up at Kacchan, annoyed and waiting for an explanation.
"You're gonna go straight to that shitty article, aren't you? Since you're a nosy son of a bitch."
"That article you were reading?" Izuku asked. "Yeah, I've been trying to get a chance to look it up all night. I know I saw a photo of my home. Of course I have to see what that's all about."
Izuku had unlocked his phone and was back on the browser, searching for the hundredth time.
"What the hell did you think you were doing, snooping over my shoulder like that? I should beat the shit out of you for that."
Izuku ignored him. He'd found the article.
"...Fine. Read it, then, you stupid little shit. But I'm telling you right now, Deku, don't go and make a big deal of it."
Kacchan roughly pulled his chair out and dropped down heavily at his desk.
Izuku scanned the article, his insides tense and clenching tighter with each new line of text. Apparently, over the last couple weeks there had been a series of break-ins in the apartment complex where he and his mom lived. And not the entire complex—only building 2. Their building. The first break-in occurred on the first floor, and several nights later, there was another on the second. And again, a few nights later, the same thing happened on the third. The incidents were all the same—the residents woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a loud clatter from their living area. They went to investigate, only to be met with a blue-flamed fire set loose in their home. In all cases, a man with a 'disfigured, or horribly scarred face' was briefly glimpsed standing out on the veranda before vanishing. Fortunately, it seemed like the man wasn't actually aiming to cause serious trouble. The fires were all fairly small and extinguished rather quickly, causing minimal damage, and nothing else was reported harmed, broken or stolen. It was a mystery as to who the man was or what his intentions might be, and law enforcements were calling for help with any possible leads.
Izuku finished reading, his stomach a lump of ice, slowly sliding its way to his waist. The guy with the blue flames. From the attack at the training camp. With the League. "Oh my God..." His eyes slowly drew up to find Kacchan. "My mom...This is a threat against my mom—against me—!" He forced his frozen legs to stand, despite their sudden unsteadiness.
Kacchan had turned to face him again. "I told you not to get worked up about it, Deku," he said in a low, even voice, his eyes narrowing.
"How can I not get—" Izuku stammered, "It's just a matter of time until they reach the fifth floor—! Until—my mom—" Izuku broke off, his thoughts frantic and scattered. He fell into an anxious pace, muttering under his breath, trying to calm himself down and make sense of it all.
He covered the length of the floor in two strides and turned back again, trying to sort through his reeling thoughts.
"Deku," Kacchan had drawn to his feet. "Knock it off, will you? Look, I'm only gonna say this once: this doesn't concern you. It's for the pros to worry about. We'll report it tomorrow and—"
"Doesn't concern me?" Izuku turned to him, incredulous. "It's a threat against my mom—" His eyes suddenly narrowed, accusing, "that you were trying to hide from me!"
"Of course I was, you idiot! Because I knew you'd lose your effing shit like this!"
"I'm not 'losing my shit,'" Izuku said, resuming his distressed pacing, "I'm just trying to figure out what the hell to do!"
"You're not going to do anything," Kacchan cut in, his voice taking on a hint of his dangerous tone.
Izuku's eyes snapped to him.
"Because, like I told you before, shitty Deku, these villains are not your concern," Kacchan went on, his gaze heated. "We're going to leave it to the fucking pros, and they're going to fucking deal with it since it's their fucking job. Got it?" he demanded, sticking a harsh finger in Izuku's chest.
"No," Izuku said, his gaze dropping as he continued frantically thinking things through. "No, don't say anything to anyone. Not yet. Not till I have a chance to really analyze what their angle is with all this. Not till I can make sure that won't end up provoking them. It's clearly directed at me. Maybe they have a message for me. Maybe they just want to talk, like Shigaraki did at the mall. Maybe if I just—"
"No, Deku," Kacchan stated in no uncertain terms. "You're not doing anything, so just shut the hell up and stop fussing about it, goddamn it!"
Izuku looked to him, bewilderment etched all across his face. What the heck was Kacchan's deal? Of course he had to do something; Kacchan was being ridiculous—he didn't understand.
"I've just got to try and figure out what they're playing at—"
"No! You're not doing any of that shit because of course this is directed at you, and of course that's exactly what they want you to do, you fucking idiot! God, you are so freaking stupid. Don't you realize what an important fucking piece to this whole goddamn fucking mess of a puzzle you are now? You're All Might's weak point! God, how can you not effing realize that?! If they figure that out, both you and All Might are royally fucked. And the power of One For All will be fucked, too."
Izuku was frozen again, staring at Kacchan intently, his brow pinched tight.
"Man, you're such a freaking—" Kacchan cut off, releasing a pent up breath. "It's just unbelievable—" he fumbled, drawing another fuming breath.
Izuku continued to stare.
"Look, just drop it for now, okay? Deku? Can you do that, shithead? Just get some effing sleep, and we'll talk more about it tomorrow." Kacchan pushed roughly past him and headed for the bathroom, seething all the way.
Izuku stared after him, his insides a tangled mess all clenched with fear.
Izuku called his mom that night to check on her. She seemed just fine—thrilled to hear from him, though having nothing particularly new to report. She didn't even mention the story of the puzzling break-ins in their building, either because she didn't want to worry Izuku, or because they really hadn't been on her mind. She didn't seem particularly concerned, and she didn't sound like she was putting up a false front of any sort.
It had been a reassuring relief to talk to her. But even so, Izuku struggled to calm down enough to sleep that night. His thoughts wouldn't stop. The details of the article circled over and over in his head, the implications becoming more frightening with each reiteration.
The league was trying to get his attention. That much was obvious. Why? What did they want? Why him? Their sights had been pretty focused on Kacchan, why the shift? How could Izuku attempt to determine their intentions while keeping his mom safe at the same time? They wouldn't seriously try anything, would they? Yes, of course they would. They hadn't held back at all in their attack on the camp. And that was against a bunch of kids—legally unable to defend themselves the majority of the time. Of course he couldn't put anything past them.
But his mom... He couldn't, no, he wouldn't let them involve her in their lunacy in any way, shape or form. Absolutely not. He'd send a message back somehow. Or try to figure out what they wanted and attempt to negotiate. Or something. He really didn't know. He didn't know how to handle a threat that hit so close to home. Too close to home. Literally and figuratively. He had no idea what the right move to make was, and it terrified him.
He knew Kacchan was right that they should involve the pros right away. At least let them know. But what if moving his mom or setting her up with a security detail only ended up implying that Izuku had no intention of acknowledging their threat? What if a perceived slight like that only caused them to retaliate more aggressively?
What should he do...?
Sleep wasn't coming and the anxiety was killing him. Izuku pulled out his phone, hoping he could distract himself with some unrelated reading. But of course he only found himself researching any and all information he could find on the League online.
"Deku."
Izuku started at the unexpected voice. Kacchan had fallen asleep a long time ago. How had he awoken? "Hm?"
"Get off your phone. Go to sleep."
"Yeah. I will," Izuku told him, distracted. He went back to skimming his current browser page.
"The light's keeping me up, asshole."
"Oh. Sorry." Izuku adjusted the brightness all the way down.
A long moment of quiet and then an annoyed huff. "Just turn it off. I can't sleep with that shit."
Izuku pulled his blanket up and over his head, creating a small tent to block any light from his phone.
Another long moment of silence before Izuku heard an exasperated sigh across the room. Covers rustled and footsteps suddenly approached. The blanket was immediately ripped away from him, and Kacchan snatched his phone before he could blink.
"Kacchan—!" Izuku exclaimed in a loud, indignant whisper. What the heck? Why did he always think he could just do whatever he wanted with Izuku or his things?
"Look, you idiot," Kacchan said, turning for the desk. Izuku's charging cord didn't quite reach, so he settled for pulling the chair over and setting the phone on it. "You're not doing yourself any favors by losing sleep when nothing's even happened. Dealing with shit like this is always going to part of the job. You've just got to figure out a way to keep your shit together." He turned back for his bed. "Get some fucking sleep and stop worrying for now."
Kacchan had climbed back under his covers, and a silence fell between them again. Izuku knew Kacchan was right, but that was all easier said than done.
He tried his hardest to push all the anxiety aside and clear his troubled mind. It was difficult and it took a good while, but sleep finally managed to claim him.
He floated for a long time. He didn't exactly realize he was asleep, lost in a state of detached feeling as he was. The peaceful nothingness stretched on forever, uninterrupted, until fleeting images gradually began flickering into view, slowly taking shape. Slowly forming a scene. He saw his mom's face, distressed and frightened. Alone and searching. Searching for her son who wasn't there. Who hadn't gotten there in time. Those glistening eyes the most familiar shade, wide with fear, reflecting the blue flames surrounding her. The blue flames engulfing her. Oh god, they were all around, there was no stopping them, no getting there in time, no way to save her—!
The terrifying scene immediately vanished as Izuku jolted awake. Confused and disoriented, he couldn't make sense of where he was or what was happening.
It was dark. He was on a hard surface—the floor? He'd been struggling—why had he been struggling? Something, or someone, was pinning him, holding him down. And he only just seemed to notice the hand clamped tightly, almost painfully, over his mouth.
A delayed panic immediately coursed through him as he regained his senses. His struggling started up anew, his sealed-off voice straining to be heard.
"Goddammit, Deku, shut up!" Kacchan's loud whisper was close. "I'm not trying to hurt you, you goddamn idiot, but I will if you don't just wake the fuck up!"
Kacchan's announced presence was an immediate relief, and Deku's struggling slowed.
Kacchan noticed. "Deku?" He sounded a little relieved. Yet very much on edge. And there was something else behind his voice Izuku couldn't quite pinpoint. A trace of fear? That couldn't be it. He wasn't certain Kacchan was even capable of feeling anything close to fear.
"What the fuck?" Kacchan spat. "The hell kind of nightmare was that?" he demanded, tentatively releasing Deku's mouth and sliding off him to the floor. He woke his phone for light.
Izuku lay there, breathing heavily and trying to rid all traces of the dream from his mind. God, what a horrible dream.
"You probably woke the whole goddamn building up with your shouting. You wouldn't shut the hell up," Kacchan accused, kneeling next to him.
Izuku's breathing was still a little all over the place. "Sorry," he finally managed to offer, a little embarrassed now that he was getting a grasp on the situation. "It was...It was just a bad dream," he exhaled.
The light from Kacchan's phone was dim, but Izuku could fairly clearly make out Kacchan watching him. Warily. Almost cautiously.
Izuku's gaze furrowed a touch. Kacchan was looking at him strangely. "...What is it?"
Kacchan just sat there, watching him a moment longer. He seemed to by trying hard to hide his thoughts.
"I didn't...hurt you, did I?" Izuku asked, hesitantly, a little frustrated he couldn't decipher Kacchan's gaze.
Kacchan ignored the question. Instead, he took an uncertain breath and asked one of his own. "...Have you been keeping shit to yourself again, asshole? Does One For All have a ranged attack you've been hiding?"
Izuku blinked at him from the floor. "Huh? ...No. Why?"
Kacchan continued to look at him peculiarly for another brief moment before rising to his feet and reaching for his lamp.
The light blinded Izuku. He blinked, squinting, until the room came into view.
It was...a mess. Definitely messier than when they'd gone to bed. Messy in a...fairly unsettling way. The books and study materials on their desks had all been knocked askew—several items littering the floor. The curtains looked like they'd been haphazardly flung open. An All Might poster was ripped in half and dangling from the wall.
"What...what happened?" Izuku asked as he pushed himself to his seat, brow completely furrowed.
"You tell me."
"Huh? ...You think I did this?"
Kacchan was watching him with that funny look again.
A thought dawned on Izuku. "Wait...Did you—did you see me do this?"
Kacchan blinked and stayed quiet, turning back to his desk. It was pretty apparent whatever he'd seen had shaken him a little. And it was also clear he wasn't going to discuss anymore of it until he'd had a chance to think it through himself.
Kacchan flipped off the lamp and Izuku almost threw out an incredulous scoff. He seriously wasn't going to talk about it with him?
"Kacchan. What happened? What did I do?"
"It was dark. I don't know."
Izuku huffed in disbelief and Kacchan continued. "You had a fucking nightmare and lost your shit. Just like I told you not to, dumbass."
"But, your question about a ranged attack... Why'd you ask that? How'd the room get so messed up?"
Kacchan was back in bed and facing the wall. "I'm only going to say this one more time, shitty Deku: Go. the eff. to sleep. I swear to God, if I wake up to anymore of your shit tonight, I can't be held responsible for the state they're going to find your shitty body in tomorrow."
"Kacchan..." Izuku almost pleaded, sitting up further and staring after him. How could he seriously expect Izuku to just drop everything and go to sleep after such a bizarre and perplexing night?
"Shh."
"...You're really not going to talk to me about this? You're really not going to tell me what happened?"
"I already told you. I have no fucking clue. It's your goddamn quirk. Why don't you figure it the hell out and make it yours already? I swear to God you're the most useless, incompetent asshole—" He trailed off, his words swallowed by a yawn.
Izuku tried to stifle another disappointed huff, and turned for his bed.
What an all around weird and crappy night. So much to think about. So much to puzzle through. So much to worry over.
Izuku only prayed he'd eventually manage at least a few hours of sleep before class in the morning.
Unsurprisingly, Izuku found it difficult to concentrate in class the next day. The poor sleep definitely had a little to do with it, but it was more so due to all the anxieties bombarding his thoughts. The villains' threat against his mom—against him. His fearful inability to decide how to respond to it. The troubling reaction he'd had to his nightmare the previous night—what on earth had that been about? Even Kacchan had been perplexed by it.
Who could he turn to with all this? He still hadn't decided if he could risk the potential repercussions of mentioning the threat against his mom to any of his teachers. He wanted to go to All Might...but he had a feeling it would really frighten him. He didn't want his mentor to worry on his behalf any more than he already currently did. He knew All Might would make a huge deal out of such an indirect threat, and he feared it might only end up angering the villains.
One thing was certain, however, Izuku thought, as class finally wrapped up at the end of the day. It was Friday, and he was going to spend the weekend at home with his mom.
He lingered behind as everyone tapered out of the classroom. Aizawa ended up being surprisingly amenable when it came to the kids' requests to spend the weekends with their families. He didn't really even ask any questions, just signed the permission slip and handed it to Izuku. Izuku thanked him and was about to turn and leave.
"How're things coming along between you and Bakugo?"
"Oh, uh," Izuku scratched the back of his neck, turning back towards Aizawa. "Things are—they're a little better, yeah."
"Good. Keep at it."
Izuku gave a hesitant nod and turned to leave, pocketing his permission slip.
Kacchan was waiting for him outside the classroom, leaning against the wall and scowling.
"What'd you talk to Aizawa about?" Kacchan asked, and Izuku could tell he was trying hard not to sound too angry or demanding. Trying, but not necessarily succeeding.
"Oh, uh, nothing, really. He asked how we were doing."
Izuku attempted to casually stroll past Kacchan, not wanting to engage him in any attempts at conversation at the moment.
Kacchan's eyes followed him, narrowing. "Bullshit."
Izuku ignored him, hoping Kacchan might actually just let it go for once.
Kacchan had caught up to him in a second, whipping him around and giving him a solid push towards the wall.
"Tell me the truth, asshole," Kacchan seethed, five fingertips digging into Izuku's chest, pressing him firmly back against the wall. "Did you ask to go home?"
Izuku released an impatient breath, fed up with Kacchan's incessant bossing. "Yeah. I did. I'm going home this afternoon," he admitted, undeterred.
"Like hell you are," Kacchan spat, fingers digging into Izuku a little more harshly. "You're not going anywhere."
Izuku swatted his arm away, trying not to get angry. "Look, Kacchan. I've just gotta see my mom. I've gotta make sure she's okay. I'll probably plan to come back tomorrow, and hopefully by then I'll have some idea of how to deal with this." Izuku slipped past him and continued, "Look, I get that you're...concerned—"
Kacchan's scowl deepened at that, a muscle twitching near his eye.
"—or something? And, thanks for that, I guess. But...I'll—I'll deal with this. Don't worry about me." Izuku adjusted his backpack and turned away, heading down the hall.
He could hear Kacchan fuming behind him.
"Ugh, you freaking idiot. Why don't you just tell Aizawa about it? Or All Might?"
Izuku turned back towards him. "I probably will tomorrow. Like I said, I'm worried it might only provoke the villains if my mom suddenly gets special attention. And if I tell them now, there's no way they'll let me go home."
"Yeah, exactly, shithead. For as dull as you are, I'm surprised you figured that out."
Izuku turned back away.
Kacchan glared after him. "Screw this, I'm telling All Might." He said, turning in the opposite direction.
That caught Izuku's attention. He turned back around. "Kacchan—no. Don't."
Kacchan glanced at him over his shoulder but didn't stop.
"I just need to see her," Izuku explained, a little desperate. "That nightmare..."
Kacchan slowed, turning to study him a moment.
"Look, I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll sit down with All Might and figure out what to do."
"Just go sit down with him now."
"Kacchan," Izuku said, willing his patience to stay somewhat in-check. "You're always telling me to mind my own business. I don't mean this the wrong way, but, please...just take your own advice on this. I'm gonna go now. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
He could feel Kacchan's eyes on him as he turned to make his way down the hall once more.
"Hey, shithead," Kacchan called, his voice oddly resigned, though a definite hint of anger still lingered. "Wait. Don't take the train alone."
Izuku turned again.
"Since you're the most impossible, annoying, shit-for-brains idiot ever, I guess I have no effing choice but to go with you. Wait there, you goddamn moron."
And with that, Kacchan disappeared back inside the classroom, and Izuku stood blinking after him.
Some plot is finally happening! As usual, I didn't get quite as far as I was hoping with this chapter. But this seemed like a decent stopping point, and if I didn't get this posted today, there's no way I'd have time later this week. Too much stuff going on.
There was finally quite a bit of Protective Bakugo in this, and there's obviously more up ahead, I hope you guys are onboard with that.
I thought it would be kind of interesting and fun to include a different take on Izuku's first experience with Black Whip appearing in the middle of the night. Hence, that whole scene with the nightmare. I'm not entirely sure if Black Whip will play a more significant role later in the story yet (it might), but I wanted to include that scene, regardless.
Thanks for the encouraging feedback I've received so far! As always, it helps so much with motivation, so I really appreciate it.
And to the guest that left those two lovely reviews the last couple chapters- I'm sorry I'm unable to respond directly to them! But that last review was so incredibly kind and flattering, I wanted to let you know I was so grateful for it. Thank you so much for taking the time to share that!