Katsuki's point of view- Saturday

This shit is officially affecting my sleep which is un-fucking-acceptable. I tossed and turned in my bed like a goddamn insomniac on a caffeine bender. I couldn't get comfortable, I kept thinking about all the secrets and the nerd's tired-ass face from the picture in my parent's house. Then, when I finally did go to sleep, I ended up dreaming about Deku. Fucking Deku was in my dreams and the dream itself was unsettling as hell.

We were at the park where our parents used to bring us for playdates. It was sunny outside, and the playground was filled with laughing brats chasing each other, digging in the sandbox and bravely descending the slides. There were even the usual weirdos who just wanted to play with bugs and eat dirt. Izuku and I were swinging on the old swing set, neither of us spoke as we propelled forward and backward, the rusty chains creaking loudly the whole time. It stayed that way for a while, it was nice- peaceful even.

Suddenly, our environment completely changed. We were no longer on that swing set but instead we were bracing ourselves on top of two huge rocks jutting up from the sea in the middle of a rainstorm. The waves crashed against the rocks, growing bigger and bigger every second, the sea threatening to swallow us whole. The sound of the waves swirling violently around us was deafening, Izuku was trying to shout something to me but I couldn't hear him. There was no land in site, we were utterly soaked, and I could swear the rocks beneath our soggy shoes were moving further apart.

That's when I saw it. A behemoth of a wave forming just behind Deku, his rock slowly inching toward it while it surged forward with breakneck speed. For the first time in a long time, I felt the cold, unrelenting bite of fear prickling at my skin, tugging on my consciousness with such force I thought it would consume me. I screamed to him, demanding he make the leap to my rock. There wasn't much room there for the two of us, but I knew we could make it work if he'd just come over to me.

What he did next floored me. His eyes, dark pools of emerald green, were looking at me with such conviction as he shook his head "no." I couldn't understand it. Why the fuck wouldn't he come over to my rock? The tsunami was almost on him, he'd be swept up into the unforgiving tide of that terrifying wall of rushing water in mere moments if he didn't. Why wouldn't he save himself? Tears pricked at my eyes, another sensation I wasn't used to, as I reached my hand out to him one last time, willing him to just take it. Finally, as if time itself slowed down, I could hear him speak. His words shook me, eliciting such anger and something else that I can't even put a name to.

"Your rock can't hold us both, Kacchan. I won't take you down with me." No sooner had those words left his lips that the wave crashed over him, leaving me with an image of his obnoxiously bright smile stretching over his face, probably thinking he was saving me, as the wave took him.

I gasped awake, my throat raw and the nerd's name lingering on my lips. I continued to lay there for a while, chest heaving, eyes fucking wet, and my heart thrumming at a hundred miles a minute. I took a second to just breath before I finally rolled out of bed, shaking the effects of my dream off my shoulders as I tried to focus on my one, singular goal for the day. Uncover the fucking truth before I go fucking mad.

The rest of my morning was bearable. I made myself breakfast, making sure to put together two extra plates for the Hag and Pops. She'll probably bitch and say I did something wrong, the eggs were overcooked, I under seasoned the potatoes or some other meaningless complaint. It doesn't matter. She knows it's perfect, and I know that she knows it's perfect so she could complain all she fucking wanted.

After breakfast I slipped out of the house, my bag packed with the comic and an extra set of clothes, and I headed straight for the gym. I figured I had plenty of time to kill before noon and since I've been too unfocused to train as much as I normally did, this would be the wisest way to fill my morning. When it was half past 11, I took a quick shower, downed a protein smoothie, and headed back to the Midoriya residence for the third fucking time in two weeks.

Now I'm sitting here on a park bench, five minutes past noon and waiting for Auntie to show up. It's a nice enough morning, partly cloudy, slight breeze, typical spring weather so I don't hate having to wait for her but I'm still not fucking happy about it. I pull my phone from my pocket to pass the time, scrolling through the latest hero news and researching how I can upgrade my equipment. As badass as my grenade bracers are, they're bulky as shit and need to be refined.

A few more minutes pass before I see her walk up to her door and enter her apartment. I follow right after her, ringing that goddamn doorbell again and waiting with a smirk. There will be no avoiding me this time. When she finally opens the door, it feels like she's opening it in slow motion, and I have to hold back from kicking the damn thing in myself.

"Ah, Katsuki. What an unexpected surprise!" She steps outside and closes the door behind her, grinning at me with that weird, suspicion fueled smile. Its not the same as last time though, she looks like she's been crying. Her face is all red and puffy. "This is our second meeting in just as many weeks. My, what have I done to earn so much of your attention?"

"I was actually looking for Izuku. I have something for him." I hold up the comic, proving my intentions and that I'm not just here to shoot the shit or whatever.

"Hmm, well Izuku isn't here." She reaches her hand out to me, making my stomach drop because I know exactly what she's about to say. "I'd be happy to give it to him if you'd like. I'll make sure to let him know you've been asking about him."

I wrinkle my nose at that, not at all interested in anyone getting the wrong idea. It's not like I'm fucking worried or anything. "Yeah, whatever." I hand the comic to her, wondering what the hell I'm going to do now. She glances over it and carefully adds it to the collection of things in her purse. "Just make sure he gets it."

With that, I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned to leave. I heard her shout, "Okay, I will. Have a good day Katsuki!" before she shut the door behind her.

On one hand, I'm ready to just fucking call it. I'm better than this shit and I've had enough. On the other hand, I can't get the image of Izuku as he was about to die on that damned rock out of my head. It was just a shitty dream; I don't know why it's bothering me so much. Regardless, it is bothering me, so I guess the only thing left for me to do is follow her and see if she leads me to him. It feels shady as fuck, essentially a move Pinky would endorse which makes me want to hurl, but I think it's the only way I'm going to find out the truth. Fuck me, what has my life turned into? Jesus, fuck.

I don't know how long I'll be waiting, so I find another park bench that's a little further away but not so far, I can't keep an eye on that door. I pull my phone out to continue perusing articles, but I don't get past the home screen because once again my phone's been overtaken by the extra's mindless chatter.

RośeAllDay: Tonight's the night! Ochaco and Iida have both agreed to meet us at that new American restaurant Briskets and Biscuits for dinner and a study sesh

MeatisManly: wow wow wow

MeatisManly: Briskets and Biscuits?

MeatisManly: Are we sure we can't tag along… Maybe we could just leave early?

ElectricBoogaloo: Yessssssss!

RośeAllDay: Boys, is this going to be a problem for you?

RośeAllDay: Because if so, you may stay home

ElectricBoogaloo: No….

MeatisManly: Maybe?

PracticallyTarzan: Kirishima, how about we get you and Kaminari bags to go? And maybe one for me too…

RośeAllDay: You're a bunch of meat driven cavemen, you know that right?

MeatisManly: I don't see the problem here

BlastyMcBlastFace: THAT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVE A STEAK BETWEEN YOUR FUCKING EARS SHITTY HAIR

ElectricBoogaloo: Bakugou! You sure you don't wanna come with us tonight?

ElectricBoogaloo: You can get in on a goodie bag too if you come along!

MeatisManly: Nothing more manly than feasting on meat with my best bros.

MeatisManly: You should definitely come with us

BlastyMcBlastFace: HARD PASS

BlastyMcBlastFace: I CAN MAKE MY OWN DAMN MEAT AND IT'LL BE BETTER THAN WHATEVER GREASY GARBAGE YOU GET FROM THERE

ElectricBoogaloo: So… dinner at Bakugou's?

MeatisManly: There are now too many options. I want all the meat

BlastyMcBlastFace: MY PLACE IS NOT AN OPTION

BlastyMcBlastFace: FUCK OFF

I'm pretty sure I can't roll my eyes any harder at these shithead extras. They'll do what they want and as long as the leave me the fuck out of it, I could care less. Problem is, they won't leave me the fuck out of it. At this rate I'll be forced to murder ever last one of them to get some peace and quiet.

As I consider telling them as much, I notice Auntie finally leaving her apartment. She crosses the street and heads toward the city center at an unhurried pace. Once she's far enough ahead, I get up from my seat at the bench and follow her, making sure to maintain my distance.

We've only been walking for about ten minutes before she stops and goes into a Hero paraphernalia shop. I consider following her inside, but I'm sure she's just grabbing something for Deku, and the store is small enough that I'd probably blow my cover if I did. Instead I wait, and not for very long, until I see her leave with a brown shopping bag in hand. Next I follow her to a bakery and again I wait outside until she's finished. She leaves with a small white pastry box which she then adds to her shopping bag. This better not be a day of shopping or so help me, I will blow shit up.

She goes in and out of a few more stores until finally, we're outside of the last place I expected to be- a hospital. It's a massive, white structure towering over most nearby buildings, covered in large windows and bearing the universal symbol for medical centers, a red cross. It's a place I'm overly familiar with, I've had one too many visits here as kid with ailments ranging from burns to broken bones.

Watching her enter the hospital put my nerves in overdrive. I have to push down the bad feeling I'm getting from all of this as I cautiously follow her inside. The front lobby is just as I remember it. It's a big, open space with large windows that allow in plenty of natural sunlight. The flooring is a swirl of white and grey and the ceiling is raised several floors, giving the whole place an open, airy atmosphere.

Auntie walks right past the directory and guest help desk, so I follow suit. We don't have to walk far until we're nearing a large rectangular room, elevator doors lining the longer two walls. There's a security guard there and she flashes her visitor's badge at him before she's permitted to move on to the elevators.

Shit

Shit

Shit

I don't have a visitor's badge. The only thing I can do is try to walk through like I own the place and take the fucker down if he tries to stop me. I walk ahead, attempting just that, when the guard puts his hand down in front of my chest to stop me.

"Sorry, but I can't let you through without a badge or without accompanying someone with a badge." He's all business, just doing his fucking job and I'm annoyed that I can't just punch his lights out. I know this is a long shot, but the elevator Auntie is waiting on is just about at the ground floor. It's now or never.

"I'm with her." I point directly to Auntie's back, hoping he won't question it. But of course he does, because again, he's doing his fucking job.

He looks over to Auntie and call out to her. "Excuse me, Miss? This young man said he's with you. Is that true?"

She turns slowly, the smile on her face faltering the moment she sees me. Its replaced with a bunch of emotions, most I can't name but I definitely saw something akin to shock and annoyance before dissolving into a blank slate. It doesn't matter. I've won and she has no choice but to take me with her.

"Hmm, sorry but I have to clue who that is."

…..

I watch, completely shocked as she steps into the elevator and turns to look at me. Her face is expressionless as the doors close between us, not a hint of remorse for lying to the security guard or for leaving me out of the loop, evident anywhere on her.

"Alright, kid. I don't know what you're up to, but I think you need to leave." The guard calls in backup who ushers me out, I'm too shocked to put up a fight so I let it all happen.

Good sense comes back to me the moment my sneakers hit asphalt. I look up at the towering building, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand, feeling more determined then ever to find Deku. If this is how Auntie wants to play the game, then so be it. I never lost at a single game in my fucking life.