Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit slow; originally there was going to be more but it was getting too long so I had to include it in the next chapter. However, I'm planning some big things for the next chapters, so stick around!

Chapter X

Kirishima wasn't one to get mad very easily.

At this point, it didn't even seem like an opinion; more like just a well-known fact. He hadn't even realized it for himself until a few months ago when Mina had pointed it out after he had talked all day about going around to the park and doing some training, only to have it rained out, and he had merely laughed it off.

After some thought though, he realized that it did kind of make sense. Every time they were all hanging out as a group and an argument was on the verge of popping up (most of the time caused by Bakugo) he would usually be the one to put a stop to it. He had been considered the peacemaker, so to speak. The only things that could actually get him mad where when someone, directly or indirectly, did something to question or insult his manliness, and when someone did something to harm the people he cared about.

When he heard about Kaminari, he was absolutely livid. There was really only one way to put it. In was any other case, Kirishima probably wouldn't have gotten worked up about it in the way that he did. Kaminari didn't have the thickest skin, but he wasn't super sensitive either, and as long as it didn't require too much thinking and intricacies, he could pretty much take care of himself. He could easily put up with Bakugo's casual picking on him, no doubt.

But recently stuff had been crazy. Sero's injury had hurt Kaminari in places that shouldn't be hurt, and now his friend was especially fragile at the moment. At first, he thought that Bakugo understood that, because for a little while after the Sero Incident, his teasing had seemed to have toned down quite a bit. But after the hospital visit, Kirishima didn't know, but something had changed. Bakugo had seemed...different towards Kaminari. Colder. Then, just today during their argument, he seemed to think there was some sort of connection between the Sero Incident and Kaminari.

Kirishima thought he had put some sort of a stop to it. After a few times slamming his fist into his punching bag, he had figured that Bakugo had maybe calmed down too, and they could just go and make up about it or something. It didn't have to be anything more than a bump in the road.

And then he heard the chaos unfolding upstairs.

Kirishima's room was right underneath Kaminari's, so it wasn't exactly hard to hear. For the most part, it was quiet, but if there was talking, he couldn't hear it over the sounds of his punching bag. Then he heard a slam. And yelling. Lots of yelling.

Instantly his mind flew to Bakugo. He knew he had this one crazy idea in his head, but Kirishima figured he had made it perfectly clear to leave Kaminari out of it. He didn't care how mad Bakugo got; whatever he decided to work out to help him deal with what was going on should be on his own terms. He wouldn't just turn around and go up to Kaminari like that right after, right?

He had been out of his dorm in seconds. He caught a glimpse of Ashido poking her head out of her dorm, her eyebrows furrowed together curiously, right around the same time Bakugo emerged from the elevator. His shoulders were hunched, his eyes burning with a sort of rage that Kirishima had to be around to calm down.

But right now, he didn't feel like calming him down. Not yet. He had tried to get his attention, tried to make sure that he hadn't just gone and done what he thought he did. Even so, Bakugo only shouldered past him, slamming his door behind him.

It was then that Kirishima raced into the elevator.

When the doors finally dinged open on the third floor, Kirishima's face was already flushed red, his heart pumping so loud he was worried that other people could hear it. A few people had gathered around outside Kaminari's room, a few voices wafting out from his open door.

Kirishima didn't even take a second to register who was there. All he was thinking of was the crisis on hand, and all the horrible ways it could have gone wrong. Bakugo was pissed at Kaminari. He decided to take it out on him. Normally, that would be bad enough in itself, but Kaminari was in no way ready to deal with Bakugo just yet. Shoving past a few people, Kirishima burst into Kaminari's room, his chest heaving rapidly.

As he peered into Kaminari's room, already expecting the worst, he felt his stomach drop to his feet. There, sitting in the far corner of his bed, was Kaminari, hugging his legs close to his chest. He had his face buried in his knees so that he couldn't see anything, with Ojiro crouching beside his bed, his tail swishing back and forth anxiously.

"Come on, Kaminari—you'll have to talk to us at some point," Ojiro was saying, to which Kaminari only replied with a low whimper.

"Jeez, what did Bakugo do," Hagakure muttered, her arms resting on Ojiro's shoulder. Ojiro didn't reply, only gave a small shrug and continued trying to talk to Kaminari.

Off to the side, Jirou stood, her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned against one wall with her head down, her bangs half covering her eyes as if she were deep in thought. When Kirishima stepped into the room, her head shot up, and it was then that he saw her eyes were burning with rage. She caught him by such surprise that he almost took a step back when he saw her. Normally, he was so used to Jirou being so placid and apathetic, as if she didn't really care about anything. Now though, she blazed with such a silent fury that it was impossible not to notice it; as if it had taken up the whole room. It was almost kind of terrifying.

Still, he quickly recovered as his attention was quickly drawn back to Kaminari, still curled up in a ball as Ojiro tried to coax him out. Watching him, Kirishima felt that same feeling he had felt at the hospital slowly creep over him. It washed over him, stealing the breath from his lungs, enfolding over him like a suffocating blanket, leaving him unable to breathe.

He remembered only a little over a week ago when Kaminari would most likely be laughing over something with him or planning out different ways to prank Bakugo. Now, seeing him sitting on his bed, so fragile, hurt him in more ways than it should. It felt like a metal spike being stabbed through his heart, living with the knowledge that his friends were suffering like this, and no matter how much he tried, he was helpless to do anything. It was this terrible feeling of wanting to help, and not being able to do it, no matter how much he tried.

The sheer reality of it came crashing down just then as he looked at Kaminari curled up in his bed, refusing to talk to anyone. No matter how much he did to try to help, it still wasn't enough.

Only thing was, this time it was a little different from the time at the hospital. This time, he knew there had been a way to prevent this. Before at the hospital, he knew things were out of his hands, but this was completely avoidable. It wasn't exactly a secret that Kaminari wasn't in the "best" place stability-wise. Normally he would be able to put up with Bakugo and things like that on his own, but the whole Sero Incident obviously took a toll on him. Kirishima almost felt as if it were his duty to just watch him and make sure he was okay until things blew over, and Kaminari managed to get himself back together.

The last thing that was needed was for Bakugo to come at him in a furious rage when he was obviously not ready, after—even after Kirishima had tried pounding it in for him to leave Kaminari out of this. And even still Bakugo completely ignored him as if he hadn't even said a word, going and doing whatever he wanted anyway. Whatever he had said had obviously been too much, and had led to all of them being here, trying to comfort Kaminari in the midst of an emotional breakdown that would probably end up backtracking rather than moving forward with Kaminari's mental state.

This, all of this could be avoided if Bakugo had just listened to him for once. He understood that Bakugo didn't really listen, but even so, he knew that Bakugo understood what was going on right now. Right after it happened, Bakugo had been a lot easier on Kaminari, maybe even sympathetic in his own way, but after their visit to the hospital, something changed. For some reason, Bakugo just acted harsher towards Kaminari. Colder.

Kirishima wasn't sure why; it might be because it was his own way of dealing with everything that was happening or some other reason that Kirishima didn't know about. Whatever the reason, Kirishima just wanted Bakugo to keep it to himself. He would still try and help him out, but Bakugo didn't have to inflict it on other people.

Just thinking about it, Kirishima felt his hands clench into fists at his sides, the backs of his palms hardening ever so slightly. He tried to keep his face neutral, but even so, he felt his chest quickly rise and fall as his breath sped up, his anger and frustration bubbling just below the surface as if they were banging to get out.

Save it for the punching bag, he told himself, but even so he felt his muscles clench, his knuckles sharpening and hardening dangerously.

"Kirishima. Kirishima."

"What?" Kirishima suddenly exclaimed, his head jerking up as he was violently yanked back to reality. For a short moment, he had actually forgotten that he was still there. As he took a few shaky breaths, he slowly unclenched his fists, feeling his hands soften. He was still here, which meant everyone could still see him. Besides, Kaminari needed him right now. He couldn't afford to get upset. He still had to keep his cool, at least for now.

Turning around, Kirishima saw Jirou, still glaring at him with eyes that burned with such a ferocity that they reminded Kirishima of a violet fire. Crackling and burning dangerously, ready to burn anyone who got too close.

For a moment, Jirou opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, but then Kaminari gave another whimper, and she shut her mouth again as if remembering that he could still hear them. Wordlessly, she looked over at Ojiro, who only gave a helpless shrug, as if saying I don't know what else to do.

Kirishima felt his heart drop to his stomach. He didn't know what to do. He hated seeing Kaminari like this, but he couldn't just reach back in time and fix everything that had happened. The feeling of helplessness seemed to envelop him, and he hated it. He hated being so completely out of power, unable to really do anything. He had to at least be able to find a way to do something.

Without waiting for approval from Jirou or anyone, Kirishima started forward to Kaminari's bed where Kaminari still sat. No one tried to stop him. Curled up in a ball, whimpering quietly, Kaminari looked so small and fragile, like if someone simply blew on him he would shatter into a million pieces. Just looking at him, Kirishima felt this sadness squeeze his heart.

Gently, Kirishima seated himself on the bed, trying not to disturb him too much as he stuck out his legs in front of him. For a moment, Kaminari seemed to glance up for just a second but instantly buried his face again a moment later.

"Hey dude," Kirishima said gently, trying to sound casual as if they were simply having a conversation. Still, the tension hung thick in the air, and Kirishima was pretty sure everyone could feel it, including Kaminari.

When Kaminari didn't respond, Kirishima took a deep breath and continued. "How've you been holding up? You know, with all this crazy stuff that's been going with Sero and everything..." he went on, trying to stroke Kaminari's back reassuringly.

Kirishima had hoped that he was being helpful, just by letting Kaminari know he was there. But instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Instead of helping, as soon as Kirishima's fingers brushed against Kaminari's back, Kaminari instantly jolted as if Kirishima's finger were coated in acid. Kirishima had barely even touched him before Kaminari's suddenly let go of his legs, scrambling backward until he was firmly backed against the wall, his breath coming out in panicked gasps.

It would have hurt less if he had gone and sucker-punched Kirishima in the gut. Quickly yanking his hand back, Kirishima clasped it into a tight fist as if it were no longer a fist, and instead had become a weapon. Everything churned and bubbled inside of him until he felt as though he were going to explode, but even so, he didn't say a word. He just sat there silently, holding Kaminari's gaze.

For a moment, the two of them sat there, each of them gazing into each other's eyes, both of them too afraid to move. Finally, though, Kaminari's face unexpectedly scrunched together, as if he were trying not to cry as tears glistened in his eyes. He let himself relax, losing the tension in his body that kept him pressed against the wall, and instead slumped down, hugging his knees to his chest again, but this time keeping his face up so that everyone could see him.

Glancing over, Kirishima saw Jirou, Ojiro, and Hagakure all watching silently. He had actually forgotten that they were there at all. As Kaminari sat there, curled up with wet eyes, his breath coming out in deep, shuddering gasps, Kirishima finally took a moment to grasp what was going on around him. The three people in the room along with the both of them watched them, eyes locked onto the scene. Just watching, as if they were observing a reality show.

Outside, the hallway slowly grew noisier with voices as the gossip of what had happened slowly spread around, Iida's voice rising above them as he tried to maintain order and explain what was going on. Pretty soon, they were going to have a lot more company. The room would be filled with people, people breathing down their necks, making the room hot and suffocating, almost claustrophobic as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Eyebrows furrowing together, Kirishima glanced back at Kaminari. That was the last thing he needed right now. At the moment, Kaminari looked like he were on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and the added excitement of having everyone in the room clambering over him certainly wouldn't help. His eyes were wet with tears, his breath coming out in quick gasps. He was panicking. He needed a moment to calm down if he was going to tell them anything.

"Hey, what are you—" Jirou protested, feeling Kirishima's hand grasp her shoulder. He already started leading her, Hagakure, and Ojiro to the door.

"Sorry guys, but could you just leave for a moment?" Kirishima asked. He had hoped he would sound professional and in charge like they would have to listen to him, but instead, it came out as more of a plea than an order. "It's just...I kind of want to talk to Kaminari for a sec."

"You are talking to him," Jirou replied, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

Kirishima sucked in a breath. For most of the school year, he really didn't think think that Jirou cared all that much about Kaminari. Of course, she found him funny like a lot of people in the class, but he always figured she just thought he was annoying or a distraction. It kind of surprised him that she cared so much, but he didn't really have the time to address it right now. Right now, he wanted to talk to Kaminari before he had a panic attack, and that involved getting everyone else out of the room.

"Um...alone?" Kirishima muttered, trying to give a small, reassuring smile, but when he did it felt more forced than anything.

Jirou's scowl deepened, and instantly Kirishima felt his entire body tense up. He didn't want to get into a fight. Not here, not now. Everything was chaotic enough without people starting to yell at each other rather than over each other. Still, Jirou didn't look ready to back down anytime soon, and Kirishima wasn't sure she exactly grasped the magnitude of the situation. He saw Jirou clasp her hands together at her sides.

"Jirou."

Just as the situation was about to take a turn into a direction that Kirishima wasn't sure he wanted it to go, he saw Jirou jolt suddenly as the sleeve of Hagakure's school uniform lifted, and he realized she had put her hand on Jirou's shoulder. A long silence lapsed in the room, feeling heavy and thick on Kirishima's chest as the two of them seemed to share some sort of silent understanding. Kirishima didn't understand it, and maybe he never would, but something unseen seemed to pass between the two girls.

Finally, Jirou sighed and looked away from Hagakure, appearing to have given in. "Fine," she was all she said, seeming defeated, but when she looked back at Kirishima, he saw that her eyes blazed with a small fire, barely restrained. Kirishima couldn't see himself backing down any time soon, but he did feel some of the ferocity inside him dip away as Jirou, Ojiro, and Hagakure left the room, Ojiro gently shutting the door behind him and leaving him and Kaminari finally alone.

The school included locks on each student's dorms for privacy reasons, but each one could still be unlocked by a key that teachers had if they had to get in. But Mr. Aizawa wasn't here yet, though Kirishima had a feeling he would show up soon. Even so, he went up to the door anyways, twisting the lock with a satisfying click before looking back at Kaminari. They were finally alone.

Kirishima didn't want to pity him. He knew his friend wouldn't appreciate that. Still, he silently slid in next to him, sitting down on the bed.

There was a moment of hesitation. Kaminari's glanced up Kirishima as if assessing the situation to see if it was okay, before finally releasing a long sigh and moving forward to sit on the edge of the bed. He didn't meet Kirishima's eyes but instead leaned forward, looking down with his elbows placed on his knees. For some reason that hurt Kirishima a little bit more.

"Kaminari. Um...sorry about all that," Kirishima muttered, referring to the incident with Jirou as he gave a small chuckle, trying to lighten the situation.

Kaminari didn't smile back. Instead, he just whimpered a little bit, his head sinking a bit deeper on his shoulders.

Kirishima's smile instantly melted away, and instead his eyebrows furrowed together as he leaned forward, wrapping an arm around Kaminari's shoulder. "Hey hey hey," he said, his voice dropping. He could hear the concern edging his voice, but at this point, he didn't care. He just wanted his friend to feel better. "Come on man, it's alright. It's alright."

"No, it's not," Kaminari finally managed to get out, his voice sounding strangled and choked as though he were trying not to cry. "It's not alright, it's not, it's not, it's not. Its just like Bakugo said."

Kirishima froze. "Wait. What?" He tried to keep his voice steady, but his words came out sounding clipped, almost gruff. A million thoughts swarmed his head, but he tried to keep himself silent, even as his mind suddenly seemed to explode.

He knew that Bakugo had probably been tough on Kaminari. The guy had been pissed. But now, sitting here and talking to Kaminari...before, he seemed at least a little better. He was still upset, of course, but he still seemed to be managing. No, it was as if he had taken a few steps backward. What exactly had Bakugo said to him?

Kaminari continued on as if Kirishima hadn't even spoken. His face was in his hands, and with his arm around him, Kirishima could feel Kaminari trembling. He could see unshed tears glistening softly in his eyes. "I-I mean...Sero still hasn't woken up yet...and B...a-and I know it's stupid to feel this way...I-I mean, Bakugo told me it was...I mean, he said that I needed to like m-man up and...and just-just like...stop acting so pathetic..." Kaminari stuttered, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"A-And I mean he's kinda right...but like, h-he said that Sero probably wasn't going to-to wake-up...and that it...that it was best if we just kinda moved on...b-but, I

"Hey man," Kirishima said, cutting Kaminari off. Normally, he would let him keep speaking since he was finally opening up. As soon as he got him started, it was as if Kirishima had punched a hole in his floodgate and all the words just came tumbling out. However, Kirishima felt that if he went on any longer, Kaminari would start to break down. He could already feel him shaking in the crook of his arm, and his chest rose and fell rapidly.

Besides, right now, he was trying to focus on Kaminari anyways. If he focused on anything else, he was scared he would punch a hole in something. Right now, he felt terrible for Kaminari. Of course, he did. All he wanted to do was help him, and the fact that he couldn't was killing him.

But right now, those feelings were being drowned out by something else. Rage. White hot, searing rage that surged adrenaline through his body, filling his lungs, his head, until it was all he could see. He could feel his heart beating faster in his chest, threatening to pop free and roll out onto the floor. he was trying to comfort Kaminari, but in his hand that wasn't wrapped around his shoulder, he clenched his fist, feeling it harden and sharpen beside him.

Dammit. He told Bakugo. He told him. And he still went and did whatever he wanted to do anyway as if nothing could touch him. As if nothing had consequences.

But they did. As he held Kaminari, with tears now flowing down his cheeks in rivers, Kirishima was painfully reminded of the fact that there were consequences. There were consequences for everything, and no matter what you did, they were all out of your control. Kirishima had been dealing with Bakugo's reckless behavior for a long time, but this time it was different. This time he hurt people. Real people that he was supposed to protect, not a villain he could smash into a wall.

He was mad. Kirishima got that. But he couldn't just start taking it out on people if he didn't get the answers for why what happened did.

And he had to make sure he knew that.

"I've gotta go for a second, but I'll be back soon, alright? Just try to hold up, okay bud?" Kirishima said gently, and finally Kaminari met his eyes, before sighing and slumping his shoulders. Still, he nodded, and Kirishima released a breath. Standing up, he quietly crossed the room over to his door, opening it up and stepping outside.

He didn't see it, but as his back was turned, Kaminari allowed small smile to slip between his lips.