It's still ongoing, I swear. I didn't give up on this work.

Enjoy~

"Kirishima~" Sero knocked thrice. "Hey, you awake? Kirishima~!"

"He might not be around, see?"

"Nah, Shouji just said he saw Kirishima entered his room, right?"

Kaminari opened his mouth and closed it again. He couldn't find anything to say in return and just timidly looked away. Sero watched him closely, pausing to think of how to phrase it before asking, making it sound as casually as possible.

"What? You don't wanna be here or something?"

As expected, Kaminari jolted in an unnatural way. He denied, quite poorly if he was hiding something. "No, of course not! No way! Why would I?"

"Ah, that so~?" The dark-haired turned back his gaze to the door in front of them. Without even looking at the person, he knew Kaminari's frowning and what it meant. He probably figured out something and the next thing he'd do is confirming the truth right away.

"What do you me—"

Unfortunately, he couldn't finish his sentence. The girls arrived in an incredible timing, in Sero's opinion at least.

"Hey, we brought some snacks!" Hagakure tried her best to exclaim with her lowest voice.

"Oh, cool!"

"Might wanna tone it down, guys!" Ashido almost whispered. "Aizawa-sensei just got mad at us yesterday night!"

Sero chuckled in response and nodded.

"Oh, Kaminari-kun is here too!"

"Huh, what? Am I not supposed to…" the blond immediately lowered his volume when he saw Ashido did the finger gesture on her lips with menacing glare. "…be here?"

"Well, you just kind of disappear when we invite you recently." Ashido answered.

"D-Do I?" he pouted his lips and murmured. "Isn't Bakugou usually like that too?"

Terrible at lying or making excuses, as always, Sero thought.

The invisible girl retorted. "He is different! You aren't that kind of bad boy character, are you?"

Kaminari looked offended and replied in a sulky manner. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? I can be pretty bad boy too if I want, just so you know!"

But he's still the usual stupidly easy getting carried away by the mood Kaminari. Sero sighed. "C'mon, guys. Are we going to stand here all night?"

"Oh, right." Said Ashido and Hagakure.

"Eh, are you ignoring me now?"

They walked past Kaminari and proceed to knock on the door again. "Kiri~!"

This time, the door was swung opened even before the second knock landed. Kirishima's face appeared in the small gap. His red hair was hanging down, not styled the way he's always proud of, eyes puffy red combined with dark circles around it, and lips dry from most likely lack of drinking. All that and the dimly lit room in the back just added more of the horror.

"Whoa!" they all shrieked and Kirishima flinched in surprise. No more than a second later, they quickly closed their mouth tight upon realizing Aizawa might be hearing and coming to hunt for them.

"Uhh, come in first, guys!" said the redhead.

After all four of the teens pushed in through the door to Kirishima's room, the light was turned on and they made themselves seated in any space they could find, be it the bed, floor or the chair. Facing his friends, standing quite afar from them at the edge of the door, Kirishima spoke first.

"What brought you guys here?"

Now that they paid attention to it, not only did he look horrible, Kirishima's voice was weirdly hoarse as well. It was as if, he had been crying.

"What do you mean? We're supposed to hang out tonight, aren't we?"

Kirishima looked at Ashido in confusion. "A-Are we?"

"Did you forget?!" She widened her eyes dramatically. "How could you?"

"Yeah, yeah! We talked about it at lunch time today!" Hagakure raised her hand to protest as well.

"R-Really? Sorry, it must've slipped my mind…" the redhead forced an apologetic smile.

Ashido got quiet all of a sudden, her black eyes staring straight at Kirishima with a serious glint. "What happened, Kiri?"

The atmosphere in the room turned a little rigid when silence filled the air. All attention turned to Ashido's unusual tone and then to Kirishima, expecting an answer from him. Kirishima, with furrowing eyebrows, were sweating profusely and darting his eyes around. He was unable to give immediate answer, yet showing no sign to find excuse as well. The guy was never the type to lie and he simply couldn't do it. Unlike a certain someone who attempted, yet failed badly.

"Answer me, Kiri." Ashido pressed on. "What is it?"

Everyone could see him struggled to either keeping his mouth shut or opened it to let everything spilled out. And when he couldn't decide, suddenly, suddenly Kaminari landed him a finishing blow.

"Does it have anything to do with Bakugou?"

Kirishima lifted his head, looked at the blond once before turning away and finally uttered. "Yeah…"

The redhead took a seat himself and began telling almost everything—minus some details he clearly left out on purpose—right from when they just moved in the dorm up to the latest incident. They listened carefully, each giving reactions and making brief comments amidst Kirishima's story. Both Ashido and Hagakure, most likely Kirishima himself as well were too caught up in the moment that they didn't realise something quite obvious. They were not to blame. If he were to say so himself, Sero was simply a bit perceptive regarding this matter.

The dark-haired male stole yet another glance to the left, where Kaminari was on the floor, next to the bed. He appeared to be keenly listening, yet he had not been saying anything nor been putting any sort of expression. How unlikely of him.

"Nothing would change between him and me, he said."

Kirishima stated, reaching the end of the story and finally, ironically, Kaminari started to make a small reaction. His eyes widened in surprise, in what seemed too much like hope.

"Don't give up, Kiri! You have my full support! I know he'll fall for you eventually!" Ashido exclaimed. If there was a fan club for Kirishima and Bakugou's relationship, she'd probably be the most active member, no, maybe founder even. That or she's just purely in love with others' love stories.

"Yeah, you've come this far, man!" All being said, Sero too genuinely did wish he could see a good outcome of those two after watching his friend struggled for so long.

Kaminari who'd turned back to himself bit by bit at last inched closer to Kirishima. He circled his arm around the redhead's neck and pulled him into a friendly embrace, saying. "Yup, heard that? Don't be so down, man! We're all here for you."

Kirishima took one look at all his friends and a smile bloomed at last on his battered face. "Thanks, guys!" Then another smile, a dull one followed soon after. "But I think I'm good now. If Bakugou doesn't wish for it then I won't be going after him anymore. I've decided it."

"Kiri…"

"Kirishima…"

"I have said the same thing before, haven't I?" He laughed, strained of course. "Now I'm just back to the resolve before. Sorry, I'm so indecisive and made you guys worry."

No one said a thing for a few moments before Ashido broke the ice.

"Don't apologize! I told you, I'm supporting you! If that's your decision, then so be it!"

"Yes, yes! If Bakugou-kun doesn't work, don't be sad! I'm sure you can find someone else a lot better and be happy!" They knew Hagakure was sincere in her words and didn't mean anything bad. Just that was enough.

"Exactly!" Kaminari agreed, a little too quickly if you ask Sero. He added. "If anything, you still have Denki-kun, you know~?"

They laughed at the blonde's last bit and shrugged it off as fast as the joke was spoken. But unknowingly to the others, Sero heard it differently and thought "Ah, this is not good." And he let out a long sigh.

Human have exceptional ability in adapting. It is actually quite scary how accurate the saying is. Kirishima wouldn't have believed it unless he experienced it himself. No, he shouldn't be surprised, actually. He had gone through this once. He had spent months forcing himself to forget about the fact that he's in love with his best friend, Bakugou Katsuki before. He got over it and could act like usual, masking his broken heart with laughter. He just had to do the same thing again. Except it was much harder this time round, since his love had grown even stronger and they would see one another through day and night living in the same dormitory.

Even so, Kirishima did it anyway. The fact that provisional license exam was coming up helped a lot. He could put all his attention in it and focus on training to distract him from thinking too much. Holing up in the room was a bad choice. He did it once and it left him feeling unproductive and guilty to himself. He then worked out twice more than the normal amount the next day to make up for his pathetic self.

He was relieved that he could go through the exam and acted professionally. Now it had gone by peacefully, or not, and everyone was out there thinking what they could do next. Kirishima was no exception as well. Actually, he's more than grateful he could pass at all considering how he's obviously lacking in a lot of areas compared to his friends. All the more reason he could not just sit still. That and he still has to busy himself.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima shouted upon seeing the green-haired teen a few metres away in front. The said boy turned around and stopped his tracks. "Going back to the dorm?"

"Ah, Kirishima-kun! Yeah, you too?" he waved and waited for the other to catch up to him before they started walking in the same pace.

"Yeah, and I'm heading to the training ground again after this."

"Really? You're hard working, aren't you?"

Kirishima's shoulder dropped as he explained, unenergetically. "Well, getting punched in the guts without a chance to fight that like that was pretty depressing, right? That's why I gotta get stronger than I am now!"

Midoriya chuckled in understanding. "I know. Togata-senpai is amazing." He sounded a little different in a blink of an eye. "I, too, have to get stronger."

The redhead probably noticed and he probably not, but he decided to pay no mind to the weight in Midoriya's words. It was not something he should be intruding on, he told himself. He casually added on to lighten the mood. "Let's work hard together! Although it's a shame we can't train with Bakugou right now!" And he realized he'd just make a grave mistake.

It was out of habit for him to always bring up Bakugou Katsuki in his speeches. But considering his effort to get over his heartbreak, truthfully, he wanted to avoid talks involving the guy when he's not around, which obviously failed. Then it would also be weird if he suddenly changed the topic when he's the one bringing it up in the first place. The air went weirdly awkward and stayed at it is.

"Yeah! Kacchan's on house arrest. It's a shame he couldn't meet Togata-senpai today. I'm curious how he's gonna put up with the fight today." Thankfully, Midoriya carried on the conversation then continued murmuring something about Todoroki should be joining as well and so on.

Seeing that, Kirishima sighed at how stupid he is for panicking on his own.

Somewhere along the way, Kirishima suddenly noticed his companion getting quiet. "Midoriya?" asked him, turning his head.

"Kirishima-kun."

"Yeah?"

"Umm… you see, there's something I want to tell you."

"Oh? What's up?"

"I don't know if I should be telling you this… No, the truth is I'm sure I shouldn't, but I think you really have to know, but—" Midoriya darted his eyes around, seemingly nervous.

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" The redhead frowned. He could only be that chill before knowing what was coming.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine! Please don't mind me!" Midoriya flailed his hand around to hide his embarrassment. As he regained his composure, he inhaled and started. "Actually, it's about Kacchan."

The very next day after the provisional license exam ended, where new semester began, all of the students in hero department who'd passed, went into the gate of UA High School with their head held high. All except two, not because they didn't pass—well, one of them did not—but for they were on house arrest. How stupid they could be, people wondered, to cause problem not long after they moved into the dormitory, the day they finished the exam, and one day prior to the opening ceremony of the second semester. Those idiots were none other than Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku.

The two had been cleaning the 1-A's Height Alliance building for three days straight. They generally split the chores and did it separately to save time, but the shared spaces on the ground floor was a little too wide to work on alone so that was most likely the only time they were around each other even though there're just the two of them all day long.

Midoriya stole a glance at his companion. Their relationship in the past years had been so terrible it was unimaginable for them to have a proper talk (other than the one while throwing punches). It would be a lie if Midoriya doesn't want to get along with Bakugou. He is, nevertheless, someone Midoriya looks up to. After their 'little' fight that night, and after Bakugou initiatively gave him some advice on his skill, he thought it's getting better. But given how Midoriya is, the air turned awkward between them instead. It was hard to strike a conversation with Bakugou out of nowhere.

That was what he thought as he proceeded to turn on the vacuum cleaner when, unexpectedly, Bakugou was the one who started.

"Hey, Deku."

"W-What?" He answered, spontaneously stood up straight.

"You… Do you remember the guys at middle school?"

Midori turned around, seeing the other's back facing him, his hand didn't stop moving to vacuum. "Eh? Who are you talking about?"

"…A chick called Shiratori."

The name did ring a bell, although Midoriya barely spoke to her. There were many reasons he'd rather forget everything in the past, especially middle school, before he acquired a quirk and was able to begin realizing his dream. Even so, he remembers everything. He didn't allow himself to forget all his pain and struggle to come as far as today.

"Ah, Shiratori-san… the girl who suddenly moved away by the end of second year, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, her. Do you know why she moved?"

Midoriya knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "Eh, what's wrong, Kacchan?"

"Nothing. Just answer the question."

"Umm, if I'm not mistaken, she was one of Kacchan's closest friends, yet somehow she started distancing herself and became extremely quiet prior to transferring school." Midoriya put a hand on his chain, now overwhelmed with curiosity and started analysing things without being asked to. "but now that you mention it, it really was weird. She was a highly energetic person who aspired to become a hero as well, close to Ashido-san in personality, I think. She has a wonderful quirk, outgoing and bubbly character, even though a little scary when you get on her bad side but that's another quality as a hero too and…"

"Hey, answer the question!" Bakugou barked, repeating his remark, bringing Midoriya who's wandering off to his own world back to reality.

"Oh, sorry!" The boy jerked up in surprise. "Why she moved, was it? No, I don't…"

The blond only clicked his tongue in response. Midoriya couldn't see his expression, but he could guess more or less of the other's emotion from the tone of his voice and other stuff after years of watching him. Something was troubling Bakugou and it definitely concerned the person he brought up out of the blue.

Midoriya gulped. He didn't know if he should push it, but the fact that Bakugou, Kacchan, his childhood friend who'd probably rather die than relying on Midoriya was seemingly talking to him because he was the only one he could come to. That was enough reason for him to want to step out and help.

"A-As I thought," his mouth moved on its own before he realized it.

"Huh?" Bakugou looked back at him, albeit just a little over his shoulder.

Great, Midoriya thought to himself. There was no turning back now. He then inhaled and spoke his mind out, "Kacchan! There's something wrong after all, right?!" a little too loud than he intended.

His said childhood friend looked at him bewildered, leaning backwards a little. It didn't took him long to get back to his senses and yelled back. "What the heck are you being loud for, Shitty Deku?!"

"S-Sorry, that was… no, it wasn't on purpose. Anyway, Kacchan!" He switched his tone quickly to avoid going into it. "What happened?"

A pause as they stared at each other. Bakugou put on his stern face as usual, but the light in his red eyes said differently. Seconds later, he opened his mouth and closing it again. He turned his back, going back to the former situation.

"I said nothing."

Midoriya's frown only grown deeper. "That's not true, isn't it?"

Bakugou had once more closed his heart away, almost. Midoriya wouldn't allow that. They finally beat each other up just the other day, shouting their lungs out, exchanged their minds for the first time. Midoriya felt like their bond had strengthened and they at last had a good look on one another as a friend, comrade, and rival. One of their heart shackles was removed by recognizing the other. Midoriya didn't want whatever that was bothering Bakugou to ruin their renewed relationship. Yeah, he was going to make him open up, using force if he had to.

"Kacchan, something happened. I am not wrong, am i? If not, you wouldn't bring up Shiratori-san out of nowhere like that."

Bakugou chose to ignore him.

Midoriya would like to see him try.

"You aren't denying it. That means I'm right." He racked his brain, quickly thinking of what to say and simultaneously guessing what the matter could possibly be. "I see. Did you meet her again lately?"

Bakugou flinched a bit. It's working.

"Bullseye, huh…?"

"Shut up, Deku." He growled and the teen could see the warning. He'd get bit but that was no reason for him to back down. He decided to be frontal, instead.

"Tell me, Kacchan! If it's within my power, I'd definitely help!"

"Who said I need your help?! Quit poking your nose where you shouldn't! Both you and that half bastard should just mind your own business!"

"What? W-Why'd you bring Todoroki-kun into this? He has nothing to do with this, right?" A tint of red flushed on his cheek. "Don't change the subject, Kacchan!"

"There's nothing for me to tell you! Go drop dead or something!"

"Stop running away!"

"Huh?!" Bakugou turned around, grabbing Midoriya's collar.

"Running away won't solve anything. You should know that better than anyone."

"Deku, you…!"

Bakugou glared at him, ready to blow up his face anytime, but the boy simply stared back while clenching his mouth tightly. He was ready for whatever coming to him. Seeing the expression, Bakugou tossed him away, looking unsatisfied.

"Why are you so persistent anyway? It doesn't concern you the least bit."

"It does! This time, you're the one who initiated the talking, right, Kacchan? I can't just let you be. Unlike before when I just say whatever I want... huh?"

"What?"

Midoriya was tongue-tied as he recalled something. Actually, the situation was sort of familiar. It was a few months ago, way before the disastrous training camp. Not exactly the same, but the way Bakugou acted was really similar. It was related to one person, but he could not figure out why. Why would that person have anything to do with Shiratori from their middle school? They could not have known each other… Or could they? That was not impossible, indeed.

Without even realizing it, Midoriya's mouth moved on its own, once again. He began to thinking out loud. "Could it be, this involves Kirishima-ku—"

"Huh?!"

"Eh?"

"Why'd that name come out here?"

As shown in his widened green eyes, Midoriya knew right away. "Bullseye again…?"

"Shut up!" Bakugou averting his gaze at that only proven the validity of his guess further. "Don't bring him into this."

The green haired boy gulped once, mustering his courage to blurt out what he wanted to say and let it out in one go. "It's not me, right?" Cold sweats trickled down his forehead very slowly, but he made sure to stare straight at Bakugou when he was glared at for his remark.

"The one who brought Kirishima-kun in this matter isn't me. It's Kacchan."

A deep frown made its way to the said blond's forehead, where his vein could probably pop. He scrunched up his face and his mouth trembled in wrath. He fist curled up so firmly that Midoriya almost feared his palms would start to bleed. That was definitely bad. Midoriya's face would be exploded this time for sure and he brought it upon himself.

"Deku…!"

"Yes!"

"You said it, huh?"

Maybe he should not have been running his mouth after all. But just when Midoriya thought the other would lift his right arm to land a hit and he got ready to defend himself, the attack didn't come. Intrigued by the unusual pattern, Midoriya checked up on him. "Kacchan...?"

What he found was a scarily composed childhood friend of his. His signs of anger just then evaporated in the air, leaving only him looking at the floor tiles blankly.

"You are not wrong." Bakugou started with a low voice. "In the end, it's all my faults."

Midoriya listened with mouth agape. He couldn't grasp anything yet to make a reply. Anyway, he was just too shocked with Bakugou saying something that sounded so negative and unlike himself.

"That Shiratori, you know, I was the one who caused her to transfer." He looked up to meet Midoriya's eyes, his voice deadpan. "It was me, who was a dumb brat that hurt her with my words and broke her."

"W-What do you mean…?"

"She used to stick around me all the time. At some point I thought it was not bad. But when I realized it, I pushed her away, in the worst and most horrible way I could. Because of me and my stupid deed, she changed. Whether intended or not, I did something unforgiveable. I broke something that can never be fixed."

Bakugou didn't have to explain any further for Midoriya to see how the matter would affect Kirishima Eijirou. For the long period of time they had known each other, it was not difficult for Midoriya to see the development between Bakugou and Kirishima. He might not know the details, but he could tell when they are close and getting closer each day. Moreover, he was familiar with the way Kirishima looks at the other. Naturally, Midoriya also noticed when they grew apart, despite how they tried to act as normal as possible.

Maybe given that they were in similar positions—with him harbouring feelings toward Todoroki—Midoriya was secretly rooting for them. Secretly, because he'd be doomed if he tried to talk about it with Bakugou. But, somehow, that one time, he found the courage to give him some relationship advice. Midoriya knew he was meddlesome, but he could not leave them be. He did not want to witness those two who were clearly in love with each other ended up that way.

However, at that moment, Midoriya only stared. Compassion, which he always has too much for others, overflowed in him when he heard his childhood friend's voice that was lifeless and held no emotion as he talked.

"That's why I can't have that guy go through the same thing. I have dragged him into this once but there won't be a second time. This time, I'd make sure to cut it off cleanly with him."

He searched for his voice, his words, yet he didn't know what he could say in return.

Kirishima sat on the floor, his eyes staring unfocused while he lifted a dumbbell on his hand up and down. His head already hurt from the lessons he failed to understand the few days into the new semester, and now even more things are clogging up the flow. Midoriya's words, each containing Bakugou related information in it, echoed in his brain. They won't go away. He was conflicted if he should let them go or stay.

Why?

Why was that happening? He thought he was over Bakugou Katsuki, the beautiful being that stirred his heart up, gave him pain, gave him comfort, and he couldn't stop thinking of. He was dead serious when he decided the second time to put down his feelings. He was tired, of all the struggles, of everything.

But today, Midoriya came and delivered him news that overturned all that he had made up his mind for.

"…those were what Kacchan said. But knowing him, plus the recent incidents, I'm sure his story might not be entirely true. He surprisingly has a bad habit to be negative at certain things. There must be something about the case in Shiratori-san… I mean that girl's side Kacchan doesn't know about!"

"Why are you so sure?"

The boy scratched his head as he hesitantly answered. "Well, we basically fought because of similar reasons…"

"Eh? You mean the one that got you guys on house arrest?"

"Y-Yeah, well… Anyway, a huge misunderstanding happened between us because we never talked properly and he assumed everything bad," Midoriya strayed off and started mumbling on his own. "I-I wouldn't ever… that is horrible? How could I think about looking down on him or something…?"

"Midoriya? You alright?"

"Uh, yes, I'm fine! Thanks, and sorry…"

Kirishima smiled meekly and asked. "Midoriya, why are you telling me this? Bakugou would be mad at you, right?" Besides, he had pulled out. He was not going to chase after him anymore because he had no hope.

"Why? I don't really know, but somehow," A wide grin decorated his face as he spoke, and those big eyes radiating with warmth and kindness told only his sincerity. "I think it will be great if you two get together. For now, I can still see the hope of it after all. That's why, Kirishima-kun, please don't give up."

As soon as he finished talking, Midoriya immediately rushed back to the dorm, claiming he had an important phone call to do after waving him goodbye. At the start of the year, Midoriya seemed like he couldn't keep up much with the others and his quirk was a little problematic. But not only that he had grown so much in the short period of one term, he's also a great guy with manly heart, always giving out a helping hand to friends in need. Kirishima was yet again impressed of him.

Kirishima put down his workout tool, leaning his head on the bed, eyes at the ceiling. He sighed loudly and whined. "Even so, what am I supposed to do?"

The affair occurred in the past among Bakugou and the girl from his middle school. Indeed, he was also curious about their reunion and what happened with those two exactly. Still, no matter how one looks at it, it was none of Kirishima's business and he shouldn't be butting into it. However, after hearing and knowing such thing, he couldn't just sit still, could he? Bakugou beat around the bush, he always does when it comes to sensitive matter, but Kirishima caught the implication. He guessed it was safe to say he wasn't mistaken. His feelings were returned after all. Bakugou just didn't want to end up hurting him the same way he did to the girl. He cared for Kirishima enough to do that.

A sudden sense of delight rose in his chest. It tingled and just grew bigger and bigger the more he thought about it. Without realizing it, he had started grinning ear to ear like an idiot. Apparently the redhead was just that easy when it came to Bakugou Katsuki. He couldn't even afford to be mad at himself for going back to loving the guy.

But again, back to the main topic, was there even anything he could do? Kirishima sat straight up, crossing his hand in front of the chest as he pondered around the matter at hand, searching for hints to resolve it.

Think, Eijirou! Think!

Midoriya mentioned that it might be Bakugou thinking too much into things, because that was what caused them to be on bad terms, or something along the line. It most likely happened due to the lack of communication between them and they never really talked it out. Talk… Wait! That's it! They should just talk it out!

Bakugou and that girl should meet and talk it out, face to face. That's the manliest way of settling a problem. Yes, it could be nothing but that. Kirishima almost praised how brilliant his own idea was, before hitting a wall again.

He glanced at his cell phone tossed at the corner of his bed. The new problem arose was that how to get them to meet. Kirishima had the number of his friend, who was that Shiratori girl's boyfriend and he probably could just contact him to reach her. But whether she would agree to it or not is another matter, and then what about Bakugou's side?

For the time being, he stretched out his hand and picked up the phone. Tapping on the screen a few times, the contact menu revealed and he swiped down until he saw the name he was looking for. Kirishima held his thumb in place, unsure if he should press the call button or not. After a minute of long consideration, he finally went for it.

"Argh! You never know unless you try!"

I checked back and just noticed I uploaded the first chapter 2+ years ago. Wtf took me so long to finish?
I have target to end this before season 3 arrive so haha
hope it works out
lmao

Anyway, thanks for reading~
Feedbacks anyone?