Chapter 12: Seeking Aid (Pity)

I'm so fucking useless.

That was the only thought running through Katsuki's head as his time at school dragged on. Even as he sat through his last class, algebra was the last thing on his mind, and that was something the teacher quickly caught onto.

The man attempted to call Katsuki out for his inattentiveness once already by getting him to move to the front of the class to solve an equation they hadn't covered yet. Only for the blond to unflinchingly get up to the board and scribble down the correct answer, before totally ignoring the disgruntled teacher's glare as he sat back down in order to continue his brooding.

Katsuki wasn't a slouch, if he wasn't paying attention to class it was because he couldn't be bothered to. He already went over everything required for the next algebra test with Izuku last week, and there was no doubt in his mind that he'd ace it.

And yet even the prospect of absolutely acing that test is ruined when he considers the possibility Izuku might not even take it with him. What's the point of acing a test when all the competition he's left with are extras that never stood a chance to begin with?

The only one capable of matching him when it came to academics, determination, sports and even quirk potential is and has always been Izuku. As much as Izuku tries to convince him not to look down on others, Katsuki knows without a shadow of doubt that it's just the reality they live in; he and Izuku are on another level entirely, especially when compared to their good-for-nothing classmates.

He believes beyond a doubt that they are the only ones here who have it in them to achieve what others could only dream of, that they have the capability and potential to do everything they put their mind to.

And that's exactly why everything that happened to Izuku ate away at him so damned much.

Because it shouldn't have happened, it was a fluke, a stupid mistake. Katsuki should've been there. Instead of lugging around dumb boxes because a dumb teacher told him to, he should've been there for Izuku.

He'd left his only friend to fend for himself, while he had absolutely no idea what was going on until it was already too late. That's what stung the most.

His red eyes shifted away from the window and towards his hands on the desk, and he let off a few tentative pops in his palms, ignoring the envious looks the boy sitting next to him was sending him as he snuck glances at his quirk.

Bastard probably wished he had it for himself, and Katsuki at this point would've just given it to him if he could. After all, what's the point of having a strong quirk if he never even gets to use it when it mattered most?

Most would consider Katsuki to be an excessively conceited person, and while he had enough self awareness to admit that that isn't exactly off the mark, he also believes that there's more to him than that. Even if the list is short, he has people he cares about and he is by no means ignorant to those people's emotions—to their personalities and what makes them who they are.

He knows that behind Inko's kindness and her tendency to cry a lot, is a woman with an indomitable will and protectiveness of those she loves, and from the few times he got to meet Hisashi, he learned about the man's incredible intelligence and analytical mind.

Izuku shares a lot in common with them, but is still different in his own way. He has a quirk with more potential than both his parents combined, and a drive to become a hero strong enough to rival his own. But hidden behind the kindness and will to help others, are cracks that slowly but surely fester in his spirit as time goes by.

Katsuki is not blind—in fact, he's more observant than people give him credit for—he's noticed how Izuku changed over the past two years, how the meek boy went from relentlessly driven to hopelessly resigned (resigned to what, he still didn't know) and the blond had no idea why, or what he should do about it.

He was good at blasting things to smithereens, at facing things head on with all he's got. But when it came to things he can't outright punch, it becomes so much harder for him.

As much as he'd love to, physically fighting Izuku's sadness is, as of yet, unfortunately impossible.

It frustrated him to no end; to know something was going on with him, but be unable to do anything about it, all the while Izuku acts as if everything is alright.

Talking about sensitive topics—hell talking in general has never been his strong suit; he believes in blunt honesty and harsh truths, he just doesn't do sugarcoating or kind words, that's Izuku's forte.

In a way they are two sides of opposite extremes: Izuku is kind to a fault, and Katsuki is too rash for his own good. But together they strike a balance by making up for each other's weaknesses, and it works well most of the time. But when the one who's good at breaching sensitive topics needs that treatment himself, Katsuki realizes that he's hit a wall he can't just brute-force his way through.

A pathetic sigh escapes his lips as he traces the barely noticeable scars on his hand with his finger. He feels weaker than he ever has before. Izuku just won't let him in. Not just into his room, but also into what's going on in his head. Katsuki's usual method of cussing him out until he's forced to get out to physically shut him up clearly just won't work in this situation.

Whatever it is that happened to Izuku had to have been really bad.

After all, Katsuki is confident he knows Izuku better than anyone—possibly even better than his parents—and only something of absolutely tragic proportions would break his spirit to the extent he would lock himself into his room for days, without even properly talking to his mother.

He knew that Izuku got involved in a fight, that he somehow ended up outside of school grounds, and that he had to go to the principals office. But that shouldn't have been all that bad; Izuku dislikes getting in trouble and isn't used to disbehaving, but having to visit the principal wouldn't have been enough to break him. It had to have been something else—something that happened sometime between him leaving the principal's office and him getting home.

The rumors going around implied something terrible happened, and while Katsuki knew better than to believe anything that was being spread around, the fact that he didn't even know what actually happened made him feel so much worse.

"Hm." The teacher hummed as the bell rang through the school halls. He looked up at the clock just to make sure before turning to the class. "Well that's the bell, make sure you study pages 156 to 158 and finish the accompanying exercises, we have a test planned next week after all. That's all, dismissed."

Just like that, the class' prior silence turned into a cacophony of sounds as chairs scraped and students conversed loudly, all of them relieved that the boring class was over and that they'd finally get to go home or hang out with their friends.

Katsuki would've felt the same before, but all he allowed himself now was tired resignation.

With more effort than he'd admit to anyone, he stood up from his chair, putting the things on his desk back into his schoolbag before leaving through the sliding doors at the back of the classroom.

The halls were filled with gossip, and Katsuki had to make sure not to blow his lid whenever he heard baseless rumors accusing Izuku of having committed some heinous act. Pushing through without starting anything was proving to be difficult for him, but he eventually managed to reach the main exits. Now that the end-line was in sight, he hurried to get of the school grounds as quickly as possible—

"O-oh, you're Bakugou-kun… right?"

—only for his path to be blocked by two girls.

Great, because I'm totally in the mood for this shit.

The one who called out to him was a relatively short girl with golden blonde hair that flowed down to her shoulders and framed her round face, while the other was slightly taller and had short spiky brown hair and a serious look in her chocolate brown eyes. He didn't recognize either of them, though the brunette seemed a little familiar.

"The hell you want?" He demanded as he planted himself right in front of them, words laced with enough irritation to cause the blonde to flinch.

"We- or well I wanted to ask if… well um…" She muttered incomprehensibly, clearly nervous as she trailed off, something Katsuki currently had no patience for.

"For the last fucking time, Deku did not blackmail me into hanging out with him, that's fucking bullshit. The moment I find whoever spread that dumb rumor, is the moment I find out what happens when an explosion is shoved up someone's ass." A large explosion went off in his palm, corroborating his statement.

The blonde's blue eyes widened comically at his response, and he was about to drop the conversation entirely and just walk past them, when the brunette moved in front of him yet again, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I have no idea where that came from, but we're not here for that." The brunette said, before her annoyed countenance betrayed confusion. "Also, who's Deku?"

Katsuki snarled, he really was not in the mood for this shit. "None of your fucking business, now get out of my way before I make you." He threatened, moving past her one more time…

Only for her to block him yet again. "Look, you don't have to be such an asshole about it, we just want to talk."

His palms flared. "Move, no—"

"Wait!" The blonde called, wisely pulling her friend back to her side when she saw his angry expression and the blossoming explosions in his hands. "We're getting off on the wrong foot here. Let's start off with introductions first, my name is Sukina Mika and this is my friend Hashire Hayasa. We're not here to pick a fight or anything, we just… uh…"

"Speak the fuck up!"

Jolted by his loud voice, Mika straightened and took a breath to calm herself. "What I'm trying to say, is that I want to apologize to Midoriya-kun."

Katsuki remained unimpressed however. "What? Why would he need some some random extra to apologize to him?"

Hayasa clearly had some choice words for him, but Mika's grip on her arm tightened, silencing her. "Before I tell you, I just want to make sure. You are his friend, right?"

Where was this coming from? "What's it to you?"

"Well… It'd be a lot more convenient if you were, since you… if you're his friend you'd know where he lives, right? And since I personally have no idea, I just thought that maybe—"

"Fucking hell. Just to shut you up: yes I know where he lives."

Her eyes lit up considerably, Katsuki couldn't help but compare her to a golden retriever: if she had a tail, it'd be wagging. "Ah! That's great, then if it's not too much trouble, could you show us to his house?"

Katsuki's brow creased. "Why the hell would I?"

"Are you deaf? She said she wanted to apologize." Hayasa said, managing to keep her tone somewhat civil, though it was clear to Katsuki that she did not particularly like him.

"Apologize for what?"

"It's… Hayasa and I were the ones who found Midoriya-kun and the other two."

"You… you what?" His intelligent response came.

He had to admit, the last thing he'd been expecting was for this conversation to go in that direction.

"You heard her. I was the one to get the teachers while Mi-chan stayed there with them."

As annoyed as he was with them before, he was now secretly glad he hadn't walked off. He'd take any information he could get on what happened on Monday, even if it meant he'd have to associate with some extras.

"So what, you want to apologize for finding him?" He questioned, his tone considerably less hostile now that he knew this wasn't a waste of time. "That's hardly worth an apology."

Mika shook her head. "No it's not about that, it's…" Her sapphire eyes darted towards the stream of students that were leaving the building a short distance behind them, a concerned frown creasing her face when two first years started rough-housing a few meters to their left. "It'll take a while to explain, and it's getting a little crowded… would you mind if… if I told you while we got to Midoriya-kun's house?"

Katsuki looked her over, taking in her expression and her body language with heavy scrutiny. Her nervousness aside, it was obvious that she was being honest, and something told him that she wasn't a particularly good liar, if her rambling nature was anything to go by.

The only thing that managed to surprise him however, was the raw, naïve determination that glittered in her eyes.

It was the same glow Izuku's emerald eyes emanated whenever he felt it necessary to help someone, and that alone told him more of her intentions than any of her words ever would.

Yet his pride protested, hated the fact he was even considering accepting the help of someone he didn't even know. This should be his problem, something he'd have to fix himself, that's what it told him. But his worry for his friend wouldn't allow him to give up this opportunity. He'd already fucked up enough, he wouldn't let his ego get in the way of helping Izuku anymore.

"You're going to need a train pass."

Mika's smile could rival the sun in it's vibrancy. "Th-that won't be a problem!"

"You might not even get to see him face to face." He grunted, averting his eyes at that admittance.

"I'm also fine with that!"

Letting out a soft, resigned grumble, he walked ahead of them. "Whatever, explain yourself while we walk."

"Th-thank you!."

"Could you be any bossier?"

Katsuki turned around at the second female voice, giving Hayasa an accusatory stare when he saw that she was clearly intent on following as well. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm coming with." She said simply, face scrunched up in defiance.

Katsuki's stare quickly turned into a glare.

"I don't remember Goldilocks mentioning you having shit worth to say."

"That's because I don't." She agreed easily, though her eye twitched at the nickname. "But Mi-chan is my friend and I'm not letting her follow you around by herself."

Taking the time to properly register her presence, it took a few seconds for him to finally figure out why she'd seemed so familiar before.

He cracked a sly grin.

"Whatever you say, Nemo."

Not sparing her a further glance, he turned and walked towards the gates, blissfully ignorant of the frustrated scowl Hayasa was sending him as Mika silently convinced her to just go along with it.

Unbeknownst to both girls, Katsuki's grin slid off his face the moment he turned his back on them. Instead, a weary frown took its place.

This shit better work, I'm seriously running out of options.

"…and that's when Hayasa pulled me away from the crowd, I don't really know how everyone knew to gather there." Mika concluded as she followed Katsuki into a neighborhood she didn't quite recognize. "I wish we'd stayed a little longer, maybe then we could've seen what happened after he left the office..."

Katsuki had lead her and Hayasa out of the train station a few minutes ago while she explained everything that happened yesterday, and she had to admit that the boy had been a lot less… antagonistic during their little trip than she'd previously imagined.

She'd been expecting him to constantly interrupt her explanation, or to generally just be a douche all-around. But to her great surprise, he actually remained mostly silent during her exposition, while occasionally asking her to elaborate on certain points.

Mika had heard from a lot of people how unapproachable and feisty Katsuki usually is, but it was clear to her that while he likes to act all tough and gruff, beneath his explosive exterior he was really bothered by what happened to Izuku.

He was probably just worried for his friend, and after what had happened to him, who in their right mind wouldn't be? She honestly had no idea what she'd do if something like that happened to Hayasa.

That's really not something I want to think about. She shuddered, eyes flickering towards the girl walking beside her. Unsurprisingly, she was still shooting daggers at Katsuki's back with a scowl.

Mika had to hold back a sigh. Her friend's been keeping up that behavior since they left the school gates, and it certainly wasn't making things go any smoother.

"A-anyways, are we there yet?" She eventually piped up after taking note of the awkward silence that ensued after she stopped talking. "We've been walking for a while now."

That wasn't necessarily true—they've only really been walking for five minutes at most—but she honestly just couldn't come up with a better conversation starter.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted, miraculously managing to give a response that both managed to not answer her question and not push the conversation further. Mika didn't have to even look to know Hayasa was already preparing to give him a tongue-lashing.

"That doesn't answer her question, idiot."

There it was.

One thing that became abundantly clear during the little trip, was the normally up-beat and energetic brunette's intense dislike for the explosive teen. Mika's never really seen her act this snappy with anyone before, and the girl honestly feared for the boy's safety at times.

In response to her jab, Katsuki merely grunted once again, and that's when it became clear to the blonde that his attention probably hadn't been with them the moment she finished her explanation.

The way he strutted forward without really paying attention to his surroundings gave away the fact he was running on autopilot. Either that, or he was aimlessly dallying around as he lead them on a goose chase towards god-knows where.

She could understand that he was processing everything she'd told him, but also really hoped it really was just autopilot—getting lost in some neighborhood she's never been to was not, and will never be, on her bucket-list, thank you very much.

And for once, her wish was granted when Katsuki suddenly ground to a halt, planting himself right in front of a nondescript but well-kept two story house.

"We've arrived." He uttered noncommittally, walking towards the small gate surrounding the porch of the house and sure enough—following after him she could read 'Midoriya' written on the red mailbox next to the door. It seemed like her worries were for nothing after all.

When he made his way to the entrance, Mika was surprised to see him not move to knock at the door or ring the bell. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he suddenly pulled a key out of his pocket, shoved it into the lock with practiced ease, and turned the knob.

She watched in stunned silence as the door opened with a soft creak, and the boy just walked in, shrugging off his shoes without a care in the world as he slipped into All Might themed slippers as if by habit.

It occurred to her then, that maybe it was habit, and she felt a little bad for ever doubting whether or not the two boys were friends or not. They must be very close for Katsuki to be entrusted with a copy of the house key after all, and judging from the comfort in which the blond chose the slippers, she had reason to believe the pair were his to begin with.

She admittedly never pinned him an All Might fanboy, though.

"Sorry for the disturbance." Mika called politely as she walked through the door, and took off her own shoes.

Reappearing from behind a corner now without his bag and gakuran, Katsuki gave her a bland look. "Don't bother, 'cept for the nerd, we're the only ones here."

The blonde had no idea whether or not to feel more or less nervous at that reveal, and subconsciously turned to Hayasa for some kind of mental support. She didn't find whatever it was she was looking for though, as her friend was still standing outside and—going off the look on her face—not planning on entering whatsoever.

"Hayasa, why aren't you coming in?" She asked, slight panic lacing her tone as she looked her friend up and down, feebly attempting to spot what the problem was.

The brunette simply shook her head. "It's clear that you're more… invested in this than I am, Mi-chan. I don't really have anything to say, so me going with you is probably just going to make things more awkward." She sent her friend an encouraging smile. "I know this means a lot to you though, and I know how strong you can get when it's about something you think matters, so you'll be fine without me anywa-"

"Grade A speech Nemo, keep going and Goldilocks might cry us a river." Katsuki's deadpan voice interrupted as he viewed the scene in front of him with boredom practically dripping off of his very being. "We don't have all day though, care to get to the point?"

If looks could kill, Mika was sure the boy would have perished ten times over. To prevent her friend from considering actual murder though, Mika spoke up to draw her attention away from him. "O-okay, but where will you be going then?"

Fortunately, Hayasa seemingly values her friend more than she does her hate for Katsuki, and she turned to her friend with a grin. "I'm just gonna run a few laps around the neighborhood, I already have a good idea of the area thanks to my quirk, so I won't get lost."

Her grin turned deadly as it was sent in Katsuki's direction instead. "I'll come back after like forty minutes, and if I find out you did something funny to Mi-chan, you can be sure that 'Nemo' will be the last thing you-"

"Whatever, good luck finding Dory." Mika had to hold back a shriek when Katsuki suddenly materialized right next to her, gave her friend a vocal parting shot, and shut the door right in Hayasa's face, effectively cutting her off mid-sentence and showcasing just how much he cared about her threats to his livelihood.

Mika was at an absolute loss for words.

"You… you really… she's gonna be absolutely livid."

He did not even deign her a glance as he moved away from the door lazily. "Ain't my problem."

Following him further inside, her mouth hung slightly open. "Wow, you just… don't care at all, do you?"

Peering at her from over his shoulder, she spotted the slightest spark of amusement in his red eyes. "What gave you that impression?"

"… nothing at all." She found herself replying, and despite her prior misgivings Mika couldn't help but smile at his blatant sarcasm, suddenly feeling a lot less nervous than she did before.

In fact, she felt confident enough to shoot her own shot. "But I've got to say; nice slippers. Personally would've pegged you as more of an Endeavor fanboy, though."

When in response Katsuki only managed to groan pathetically and up his pace so she couldn't see his face anymore, his suspiciously flushed ears let her know that she at the very least got the last laugh.

"So, what's your plan?"

"Huh?"

"Your plan of action? What you're going to do?"

Mika could only scratch her head in response as she absently tugged at the pull tab of her MAX coffee mocha can with her fingernail.

It wasn't something she'd been expecting from him: he'd actually asked her what she wanted to drink, only to rummage through the fridge and throw the coffee can at her when it became clear she wouldn't be giving a comprehensible answer due to her shock at the fact he had even offered.

The girl decidedly ignored how he had mumbled something about 'nerd not even getting out to drink his own gross ass coffee', and instead focused on her own dilemma: she wasn't particularly fond of coffee, and had never even heard of the brand 'MAX coffee' before. The last time she drank coffee was when she'd only been seven and had mistaken it for a cup of hot chocolate.

Let's just say that her first time having coffee coincided with the first time she puked all over herself.

Despite that, the blonde also didn't have it in her to deny the surprising show of hospitality, and so decided she'd at the very least try to drink it, if only to be polite.

Katsuki on the other hand, misunderstood her silent moral argument of 'to drink or not to drink' as her pensively re-evaluating the plan he thought she apparently had, and had sat down across from her at the dining table, watching her as he tapped his fingers on the can of his own green tea impatiently.

Deciding to break the growing awkward tension by coming clean, Mika pulled her can's tab, causing it open with a hiss. "I'm gonna be entirely honest with you; I don't really have a plan."

Katsuki looked rightfully frustrated. "You're telling me you decided to come all this way, without even considering what you were gonna do?"

"I mean… yeah kinda." She admitted softly, not looking up from her drink. "I honestly didn't even expect to get this far, and now that I have, I'm coming up blank."

"Great, just great." The boy rubbed his temples with a sigh, and for once it seemed to come from exhaustion, rather than anger. "So this was a damn waste of time after all."

She shot up her chair before she knew it. "No! Uh- I mean n-no that's not true." She denied awkwardly, sitting back down before she embarrassed herself further. "While I haven't… thought up some kind of plan or anything, please at least trust me when I say that I really do want to help."

Katsuki cracked open his can, and chugged half of the tea before letting out a scoff. "Yeah, and how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Looking at her own drink uncertainly, she shrugged. "I can just try talking with him."

"Good idea, it's not as if that's exactly what auntie and I have been trying since Monday." He remarked, and despite the dry delivery, Mika could sense the frustration in the words.

"I mean yeah but… I haven't tried yet."

"And what makes you so fucking special that you think it'll magically work when you do?"

"Because I'm someone he doesn't know."

His brow creased, clearly confused as she said something he perceived as illogical. "What? Are you even hearing yourself? Why the hell would he open up to a stranger, when he won't even open up to his own mother or his… his best…"

"It's exactly because I'm a stranger that it might work." Mika refuted more confidently than before, speaking up when it became clear that Katsuki became too emotional to continue his sentence.

"Though I really don't blame you for thinking like that—it's a common misconception people have—that the person going through hardship will have an easier time opening up to the people close to them. While that can be true sometimes, it's oftentimes actually the exact opposite."

While he was still frowning, Mika could see he was starting to consider her words. "And on what basis are you claiming all of this?"

Mika smiled. "My mother is a therapist."

He stilled at that, and let out a long breath. She suspected that he didn't necessarily like what she was saying, but now knew that her words were at the very least coming from a credible source.

Though she also felt the need to lower his expectations a little. "I do want to mention that I'm obviously no professional or anything. This is just stuff I picked up from my mom whenever she'd talk to me about her clients even when she's not really supposed to."

The boy begrudgingly waved at her to continue, lifting his can to his lips with his other hand. "Fine. Go on, that already makes you more qualified than I am."

"Right. The reason why you might think a loved one would have an easier time opening up the troubled person, is because they know them better and because they've already established a relationship and a large amount of trust, correct?"

"It only sounds logical, but that's apparently not the case now, is it."

She couldn't help but sweat-drop at the unreadable nature of his response. "Y-yeah, usually not. In actuality, most people don't want to open up to loved ones, exactly because there's already an established relationship."

Crushing the now empty can of green tea, Katsuki gave her a scrutinizing look as he got up to throw it away in the trash bin by the kitchen counter. "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. If they've already established enough trust to be considered close, the person who fucked up should have no problem opening up to the other person."

By the time he got back from throwing the can in the thrash bin, Mika had come up with a good example to make him understand. "Think of it like this; if you had to tell someone something really, really bad about yourself, who'd you rather tell: someone close to you, who you'll most likely see daily, and who already has a pre-established opinion of you, or some random stranger that you probably won't ever see again and who has no idea what type of person you are to begin with?"

It took a moment of silent consideration after sitting down, for Katsuki's eyes to widen marginally as it finally dawned on him. "Oh."

She nodded. "What you're thinking right now is most likely correct. With the loved one, telling them your worst secret comes at the risk of their opinion of you lowering, whereas the stranger has no idea who you are, and thus has no established opinion that could be lowered."

"In other words," Katsuki continued, having managed to reel in his surprise. "With the… loved ones there's the fear of losing or worsening the relationship, and with the nobodies there's technically nothing to lose, since there was nothing there to begin with, especially since you probably won't see them afterwards anyways."

The girl smiled, happy she managed to get her point across effectively. "Exactly."

Katsuki on the other hand suddenly looked a lot more miserable. "So that basically means he assumes I'll think less of him if he tells me. God I'm worse than I fucking thought."

"Wh-what?" Alarmed at the sudden self-deprecating tone he took on, she nearly knocked over her untouched coffee. "N-now don't get it twisted Bakugou-kun! Just because he doesn't necessarily want to tell you is not indication that he doesn't trust you, it could mean that he values your friendship to the extent he doesn't want to risk ruining it. I mean you said it yourself; he won't even talk to his mother, and there's not a single person a kid trusts more than their parents!"

The boy seemed uncharacteristically unsure, but eventually dipped his head in concession. "Right, I guess… that makes sense."

"It does, so don't beat yourself up over it."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, but she could see the ghost of a smile on his lips as he rubbed at his neck. "Maybe bringing you here was… not all that bad an idea."

Despite the awkwardness, Mika could tell it was his stunted way of showing gratitude, and couldn't help the large grin that spread across her face. "I'm g-glad you think so."

She hadn't expected the following silence to be as comfortable as it was. Somehow, it didn't feel nearly as awkward as it had before, as they both took the moment to gather their thoughts.

Or at least, Katsuki most likely was. Mika's gaze eventually fell on the can of MAX coffee that she had left untouched, and finally decided that she'd take advantage of the lull in conversation to bite the bullet.

Lifting it to her lips, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the taste before taking a sip.

She'd been fully expecting to choke on the bitter taste, but instead, a deceptively sweet tang met her taste buds, and she felt herself take another sip before she knew it.

This… actually tastes good?

"You actually like it?"

"I mean… it's not bitter at all."

Katsuki snorted, having recovered from his sullen mood. "Honestly, when I gave you that thing, I was half expecting you to barf it all over the table."

Miffed at that admittance, she pouted at him. "Here I was worrying about coming across as rude for not drinking it, while you gave it to me fully knowing I'd probably hate it."

He put his hands up placatingly, though his smirk destroyed any goodwill the gesture conveyed. "Ain't my fault he keeps getting that shitty brand, it's a disgrace to anyone who actually enjoys normal coffee."

"Really? It's a good thing that I'm not someone who enjoys normal coffee then." Bringing the can to her lips again, she emptied it and made a satisfied sound. "I might actually start getting this for myself, it's better than what I usually drink."

"Figures." He shook his head in amusement and got up out of his chair. "He fucking hates normal coffee too, despite the fact it's one of the only things he can drink anytime." Taking her empty can, he crushed it for her and tossed it in the trash.

Mika looked up at him quizzically. "Where are you going?"

When he turned to meet her gaze, she could see he had regained some of his seriousness . "The reason you came here."

She gulped. "R-right, I guess it's about time."

The boy simply nodded, gesturing for her to follow as he lead her up the stairs. As she treaded behind him, she couldn't help but notice the framed photos hanging on the wall.

There were quite a few of them. Most were photos of Izuku in his youth along with a few showing a slim woman she assumed was his mother and a tall man that bore a striking resemblance to Izuku, and was without a doubt his father.

It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that even Katsuki was in some of them, there were even baby photos of them together. They really do go way back, kinda like… we did.

By the time they made it to Izuku's room, she had seen more of the troubled boy as a toddler than she had his current age, and didn't know how to feel about it.

"This is his room." Katsuki announced as they walked up to a door with an All Might nameplate declaring it Izuku's room.

"I see that he's an All Might fanboy too."

"One of the only damned things I'll admit he has me beat in is his hero obsession." Katsuki did a good job of suppressing his embarrassment. "I'll admit, I'm an All Might fan, but the nerd… he's the All Might fan."

"He's… what?"

"If he ends up letting you in, you'll see what I mean." He whispered conspiratorially.

She had no idea what to make of that. "Uh, okay?"

"Anyways." Katsuki said, hurrying to change the subject. "For this shit to have even the smallest chance of working, you're gonna have to be on your own."

"What? Why don't you just stay here?"

He tapped his ear, annoyance plastered across his face. "Nerd can hear me, either that or he sniffs me out. I tried camping his door at night once because that's when he usually grabs the food auntie leaves out for him, but he never budged. Then the fucking moment I went to take a leak and was gone for not more than a minute, the bastard had somehow managed to sneak the food inside."

"That's… wow." Was all she managed to respond with. "Can he hear us now?"

"Probably, when we were kids he could hear through doors no sweat, but then again I have no stinking clue what he even does in there, so he could be asleep for all I know." He shook his head. "In any case, fat chance he comes out if I'm anywhere near the door, so you're gonna have to pull this shit off solo."

"Okay… do you… at the very least have some tips or something? Any topics I should avoid or things I should or shouldn't say?"

His face scrunched up as he genuinely thought about it. "Just… act like you have towards me and you should probably be fine, he's not the type to get insulted easily, and if you do manage to fuck something up somehow, he'll be too damned nice to hold it against you anyways."

Mika nodded hesitantly, that somehow sounded a little too easy. "Uh, is that all?"

Suddenly he perked up, as if just remembering something. Because of course it wouldn't be that simple. "Actually there is one thing that's pretty important, but…" He cupped his chin, as if he was debating whether to tell her, before running a frustrated hand through his messy hair. "Ugh to hell with it, might as well fucking tell you."

The way he said that did not put her at ease whatsoever.

"Usually the nerd's eyes are green, but when he's home or when he gets really emotional his sclera can turn black and his pupils get red and kinda veiny. A lot of irrational dumbasses are scared shitless when they see it, and because of that he's really… insecure about it. So if his eyes are red when he opens the door or change while you're talking, don't be a chicken and just act normal."

"… I see. Can I ask a question?"

For some reason, his expression hardened. "Shoot."

"Um, this might sound stupid but…" The girl looked at him sheepishly. "What's a sclera?"

By the astonished expression on his face, that was clearly not the question he'd expected her to ask. Nonetheless, he recovered quickly and gave her a bemused stare as he pointed at one of his eyes. "The shit surrounding your pupil, the eye white, it turns black."

"Oh."

"…"

"I feel really dumb now."

Katsuki merely snorted and turned to walk down the stairs. "Keep up the airhead attitude and you'll do fine."

"Wait! At least wish me luck or something!"

"I believe in skill over all else." Tossing her a wave over his shoulder, he kept walking. "So you won't need any luck to get this done."

"What's… that even supposed to mean?" Mika mumbled to herself as she watched him disappear down the stairs.

Now she was well and truly on her own, no more stalling, it was time to get started on the reason she came here.

Turning towards the door, she took in a deep breath. Okay Mika, you've got this, like Bakugou-kun said, just act natural.

Taking a few more moments to psyche herself up, she finally raised her clenched fist, and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun… You might already have heard everything we just talked about, and if you did, you probably understand that I'm here to… talk to you."

After waiting for a response for a few seconds, but receiving none whatsoever, she sighed. This wouldn't be easy, but that was to be expected.

Her fist met the wooden door as she knocked again. "You haven't been to school the past three days, and Bakugou-kun told me that it's because you haven't really left your room. I understand that you might feel… ashamed of talking with him or your parents about what happened, but I'm willing to listen, and I… I also want to apologize."

Her breath caught in her throat when she thought she heard movement coming from inside the room. The sound of a chair creaking, mechanical wheels rolling across carpeted floor.

He was sitting in a chair, awake. There was a chance.

"M-my friend and I were the ones who found you, and I know that the rumors are all fake and exaggerated. Even though I don't know what happened exactly, from what I saw it just looked like you were defending yourself, and I don't think there's anything evil about that…"

Audible footsteps closed in on the door, but the inconsistent interval made it clear that he was still hesitant. He's considering it, but is reluctant—most likely afraid.

If there's one thing her mother taught her, it's that one finds comfort in the presence of someone who can relate to them.

He needed to know that there was no need to be afraid. And if she had to talk about her own closely-guarded past in order to achieve that, so be it.

"I… I want you to realize that you're not alone out there, that I know what it's like. How it feels to be bullied, that is." Mika admitted, leaning her head softly against the door as she clenched her eyes shut and pushed down the painful memories that bringing up her past caused her to relive. "While it wasn't nearly as bad as what happened to you, it still hurt, it hurt a lot."

Her voice broke pathetically the more she spoke, but the words spilled out regardless. "You just want to crawl into a hole, don't you? Simply disappear off the face of the earth. All you can think about is why. Why it had to be you, why the bullies can't just leave you alone—why they can't just accept that you're different, instead of making you suffer for it."

Feeling that she was coming dangerously close to breaking into tears, she stepped away from the door and wiped at her moistening eyes. "And worst of all is the feeling that you can't tell anyone how it's affecting you, how it eats away at you, because then you'd be burdening the only people you care about with your misery, and the last thing you want..."

A creak sounded through the hall as a fragile voice finished her sentence word for word.

"Is to be a b-burden."

When Mika opened her eyes, sapphire met crimson, and she was standing face to face with Midoriya Izuku.

(A/N)

As I stated in the last chapter's A/N, I'll be making some alterations to the past few chapters. (cutting chapter four in half, changing chapter numbers etc.)

I want to inform any current followers in advance: if you happen to receive a story update alert in the next couple of days, it'll most likely be because of changes to earlier chapters that set off the alert system, and not an actual update. Sorry for the inconvenience!

A chapter that didn't take months to come out, the power of summer break is not to be underestimated.

Bad jokes aside, more free time is only half the reason this was easier to write. The other half is that we're getting close to a part of the story I've been looking forward to writing for a while now. This current story arc is starting to near it's climax, so enjoy the easy-going character interactions while they last, things won't be this calm when shit goes down.

Speaking of character interactions, as you might have noticed, Mika and (to a minor extent) Hayasa have made a return.

I know that some people might want me to just get to the canon characters as quickly as possible and to stop giving the oc's screen time, but as was shown in this chapter and the last, sometimes outsider influence is necessary for the plot to progress, especially in a section of the timeline where there are barely any notable canon characters that I could realistically utilize for what I have in mind for this arc. (wouldn't make sense if, for example, half of class A suddenly transferred to aldera, would it?)

The whole scene with Katsuki and Mika served to give a little insight into what might be causing Izuku to shy away from opening up to his loved ones, and to characterize Mika more while showing us a different side of Katsuki than usual. I hope that Mika is shaping up to be an interesting character, as she'll be playing a large part in the following chapters.

I might've said this before, but even though I don't plan on adding a whole lot of oc's to this story, I want to make sure that the ones I do add are interesting, layered and believable. I can only pray that I did a good job so far, but you can tell me what you think in the reviews

On the topic of reviews; big thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter. Alongside receiving my first concrit review, I got quite a few longer ones, and that made me immensely happy. I'll try responding to them through DM's, so we'll see how that works out. I just want you all to know that reading your thoughts on the story motivates me more than you think, and leaves a big smile on my face.

Since I apparently can't respond to guest reviews, I want to give a specific thank you to the guest who wrote last chapters review. The contrast between the first and second half landed me in a chuckle fit. I'm glad you feel that way though, it means I managed to do something right. Good day to you too!

As the little announcement at the top of this A/N stated, there might be false alerts going out while I change some of the prior chapters. While I've already started on the next chapter, it'll still take at least a week to come out, so anything before that won't be the next chapter, sorry about that.

The title and summary will also finally be changed when the next chapter hits. You can always check the new ones in the last chapters A/N, so keep that in mind.

I've rambled enough for now though. Follow, fave and review if you'd like, and I'll see you all in the next chapter, when this story gets a fresh coat of paint!