LMAO I GOT A 50 ON MY CHEM EXAM I WANT TO DIE

OoOoOo

Bakugou hadn't been in school since their return.

Of course, there were questions. Class 1A was practically bursting with confusion. Everyone knew why Midoriya was absent, but Bakugou had been cleared of his nonexistent injuries weeks ago. He should have been in perfect physical condition by now and everyone knew he wasn't one to be held down for long. So why was his seat still empty?

Momo had her suspicions. And judging by the glare Todoroki kept shooting the blond's empty desk, he did too.

"You'll never guess what I just saw!" exclaimed Hagakure, bursting in the door. Though the girl's face was invisible, her giddiness was staunchly apparent.

Ashido looked over with vague interest. "What?" she asked, ever one for gossip.

"Midoriya," said Hagakure, and Momo's ears burned at the name. Beside her, Todoroki shifted in his seat. "And his mom. It looked like they were here with a meeting with Principal Nezu."

Ashido's mouth popped open. "Seriously?" she asked, leaning forward conspiratorially. The two girls seemed to catch the attention of everyone else, who tried not to make a show of listening in. "Did you hear anything?"

"No," the invisible girl replied. "But you know who else I saw? Bakugou and his parents waiting outside the office!"

Ashido's eyebrows furrowed. "Bakugou?" she repeated. "What-"

But Momo had heard enough. She impatiently cleared her throat. "We shouldn't talk about our classmates while they aren't here," she said diplomatically. While she liked Ashido and Hagakure well enough, the idea of Midoriya's privacy being infringed on bothered her. She didn't care a smidge about Bakugou's privacy, but 1A's students were sharp; they would connect the dots sooner or later.

Iida stood up fast. "Yes, it's impolite!" he agreed. Though, the look he sent her didn't escape Momo's notice. He must have been catching on. "As class rep, I must not condone such behavior!"

Ashido and Hagakure had the good sense to seem sheepish. "Sorry," they murmured, settling into their seats. Everyone quickly diverted their attention away from the two girls.

"Well, hey there boys and girls." Momo's gaze drifted to the door where Midnight stood confidently. She wore her usual getup along with a kind smile. "Mr. Aizawa's caught in a meeting, so I'll be taking over for the morning."

Momo smiled back; she had always liked Midnight. Others were put off by her, but she was a very helpful teacher. She was one of the only teachers Momo was comfortable with.

Kirishima frowned. "Is something wrong?" he asked. No doubt that the mention of Bakugou having a meeting was making him uneasy. Momo almost felt bad; Kirishima had it in his head that Bakugou was just misunderstood. She wasn't looking forward to the day he found out the truth about the blond; it would crush him.

But Midnight was unflinchingly cheerful. "No, of course not," she said. "Now, why don't you all..."

OoOoOo

After class, Momo, Todoroki, Iida, and Ochako stayed behind. After their little rescue mission, Mr. Aizawa had stuck them with a week's worth of detention. He probably would have gone harder on them had All Might not vigorously vouched for them. And none of them were too upset about it either; they could have been punished a lot worse.

Present Mic was overseeing their detention, which was fortunate. Mr. Aizawa and Vlad King were brutal.

Momo and Ochako went to clean the erasers while Iida and Todoroki mopped the floors in the hallway. "Momo," said Ochako quietly. "What do you think Deku was meeting with the principal for?"

Momo winced; she could see the worry in her friend's chocolate eyes. "Oh, there could be a number of reasons," she replied flippantly. She didn't particularly want to get into this conversation with Ochako. It was different with Todoroki, she knew he would keep it to himself no matter how angry he was inside. But Ochako was emotional and reactive, as she had seen when rescuing Midoriya.

There was no way of telling how she would take it.

"But why would Bakugou be too?" Ochako pondered, tapping her chin in thought. "If he was gonna meet with the principal about being kidnapped, it would have been weeks ago, right?"

Momo bit her lip. "Well, I-"

"And he hasn't been in class at all," the shorter girl cut in. "Even though he wasn't even hurt after the League gave him back. Isn't that weird?"

Momo bit her lip; Ochako was getting dangerously close to the truth. "Yes, I suppose so," she allowed.

Ochako's lips pressed together into a firm line. "You know, it's weird," she murmured to herself. "I always thought Bakugou and Deku were middle school friends, like Mina and Kirishima. But Bakugou is so mean to him. If they were friends, why would he be such a jerk about Deku being kidnapped?"

Momo cleared her throat. "Perhaps friends is too strong a word?" she suggested. "It's my understanding that the class views them as rivals."

"I was thinking about that too," the brunette admitted. "But Todoroki is Deku's rival and they're friends. Even before the Sports Festival, Todoroki never called him names." She crossed her arms. She paused. "And you remember how tiny Deku was at the beginning of the year. When I met Deku at the Entrance Exam, he tripped over his own two feet! I don't get how someone as strong as Bakugou could have seen him as a rival."

Ochako was no idiot, that was for sure. Momo stared at her for a while, trying to decide if she should just come out and say it. Midoriya likely wouldn't appreciate it, which compelled her to keep her mouth shut. It was his business to tell and it was bad enough Todoroki knew; sure, she hadn't outright told him, but she had implied enough for him to figure it out.

"Come to think of it," said Ochako. "I remember Bakugou being really mad during Aizawa's quirk assessment." She squinted in thought. "What was it he said to Iida? That Deku was a-"

"Quirkless loser."

Momo jumped, her eyes darting toward the door where Iida and Todoroki stood. Iida's face was stormy and even Todoroki looked grim. It was apparent that they had heard the majority of the conversation.

It was also apparent that Iida had put things together much faster than Ochako.

At times, it was hard to take Iida seriously. Though he was strict, it was usually in a comical way. Most of 1A didn't take him too seriously as class rep because of how dramatic he was about rules. But at this moment, Momo was suddenly aware of Iida's imposing size. He towered over the majority of Class 1A and was easily one of the most muscular among them.

She had heard about Hosu. She didn't want to know what it was like to be the target of his anger.

"I always thought there was something wrong with their relationship," said Iida slowly, his tone just a little menacing. "Ever since Bakugou said that, then attacked Midoriya once he did use his quirk." He was quiet for a moment. "Ochako."

Ochako winced, revelation bleeding into her usually soft eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you remember All Might's battle trials?" he questioned. "How Bakugou acted that day?" Momo certainly remembered. It was the moment she had begun to watch Bakugou more closely.

Ochako hesitated, then nodded. "Deku was sure Bakugou would go after him," she recalled. "And he was right. Bakugou practically hunted him down, which was what gave me the perfect chance to find the bomb." She frowned. "But why would he call Deku quirkless? He clearly has one."

"Considering how destructive Midoriya's quirk is to himself," said Momo. Midoriya's quirk was a strange one. It was similar to All Might's, but a lot more volatile. "It is possible that his body rejected it until he could use it at the appropriate time. So even if it formed when he was four, no one would have known it until-"

"The Entrance Exam!" exclaimed Ochako and Iida in unison. Momo sent a questioning look their way, as she and Todoroki had taken the Recommendation Exam.

"During the Entrance Exam, Deku took out a zero-pointer to save me," explained Ochako. "But his quirk ended up breaking both his legs and his arm. He was totally surprised too, which I thought was weird at the time..."

"If Bakugou and Midoriya knew each other in middle school," said Iida contemplatively. "Then Bakugou would have known about him supposedly being quirkless."

Momo winced. She had thought Bakugou was terrible before, but he was definitely worse now. Of every possible reason for him hating Midoriya that had crossed her mind, she had never expected that. Her heart throbbed; poor Midoriya must have gone through hell at the blond menace's hands. She couldn't imagine what life had been like for him growing up.

Ochako's expression hardened. "So, what, Bakugou's a quirkist piece of shit?" she snapped. The words dripped like venom from the girl's usually sweet mouth.

"It appears that way," said Iida, adjusting his glasses. Though he appeared calm, Momo could see the anger smoldering in his eyes.

Todoroki, who had been quiet up to this point, leaned against the doorframe. "The HPSC labeled Midoriya as a suspect because of his middle school records," he informed them. His icy expression gave away nothing. "My old man told me so."

Momo felt sick. "Which means they were going to use him being quirkless to paint him as a villain," she realized. She had never been a fan of the HPSC, but this was another level of despicable.

Ochako took a deep breath, the rage melting off her face. In its place was sorrow. "We need to talk to Deku," she said softly.

Iida shot Momo a look. "Uraraka, he might not want-"

"I know!" shouted Ochako, turning to look up at him. There were tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "I know he won't want to talk about it because he's Deku and he never talks about anything. He keeps everything inside even though we're right here and we can help him! I just..." She faltered. "He's my best friend and I trust him with my life. I just wish he trusted me too."

Momo frowned, understanding that her friend was upset. "We can talk to him," she offered. "Tell him what we've discovered. We won't interrogate him, but we'll make sure he knows he can depend on us and that we would never think any less of him."

Ochako seemed hesitant, but nodded. "O-Okay," she agreed, sniffing.

"Hey, Little Listeners!" exclaimed Present Mic, suddenly popping into the room. "This place looks rockin'! The four of you are free to go!" He stopped when he saw Ochako's face. "Uh, everything okay in here?"

Momo plastered on the smile that she knew teachers adored. "Just lady problems, Mr. Yamada," she answered pleasantly.

The blond teacher flushed. "Er, right on," he muttered, embarrassed. He awkwardly walked away as fast as he could.

Through her tears, Ochako snickered. "Nice one, Momo," she laughed. "We should get going, guys. We still have to bring Deku his homework." They all nodded and filed out of the classroom.

However, just as they were leaving the classroom, Bakugou was coming out of the bathroom.

OoOoOo

Ochako, on the verge of tears: Why doesn't Deku trust us?
Momo, an empath: I can see she's upset.

You know Bakugou's difficult ass was in that meeting all day, I don't make the rules.

Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review!