14

"Hey." Her voice hushed quietly. She pulled her phone out and texted Iida: Still no sign of them yet.

"What?" Midoriya whispered barely moving his lips from behind the tall bushes at the front of the Hero and B dorm.

How people could be out this late doing stuff was beyond him. It was 3 in the morning, and the juniors were all hanging out in the square fountain area down where he'd watched Bakugo disappear with the Satokos earlier. Scratch that, yesterday.

It was Saturday now. What could he possibly be doing out this late?

Midoriya was so tired that he felt his legs falling asleep. They were sitting in black lawn chairs behind the bushes, half hidden from the outside world, with a small view space to look out of.

"Isn't this kind of like... spying?" Ibara chimed. She put down the binoculars around her neck.

A ding. She swished her finger across the phone, Iida said back that he hadn't seen them either.

"I mean." Midoriya yawned. "This was kind of your idea to camp out behind here." He admitted it was kind of fun. It reminded him of happier times.

"Yeh I know. It was just that, you know, Bakugo kind of put the fear of God in me that night. It makes me scared that someone so cruel and foul tempered could be snapping fingers at someone like Kasaya and calling the shots."

He ran a hand through his green hair and yawned again. "Then I guess, think of it as more recon. Because as soon as you said that we should do this, I agreed."

"Yeh. I mean, you told me that your certain Kasaya is following Bakugo's room rules?" She put a strand of ivy behind her right ear, her hair was up in a ponytail, but this one piece kept falling down.

"Kasaya openly admitted it. He said no visitors at all."

"You see!" She piped up a bit. "That's just the crap that sucks! I knew it!"

"Shh." He put a finger on his mouth, a motion to hush her down. "You said it Ibara. Us three know now, for sure, Bakugo is being possessive over him for some reason. I think your right. For now we should just investigate, definitely not tell the girls, and certainly not tell Bakugo we're sort of tracing his steps."

"Agreed. I don't want to be burned to ash by that guy, and I don't want them in this at all. I mean, I don't really care for Ashido, but Uraraka is really kind."

"Same, but, to be honest, this spying stuff is hard for me." He looked away. "Personally."

She looked at him, confused in the darkness the bushes enclosed around them. "What do you mean?"

"Because I see the terror in it, you know? I grew up with Katsuki, he's gotten so distant and snappy as he's grown, something has gone wrong with him. Soured. And he's never been the type to talk about that kind of thing. Keeps it all inside."

"Mhm." She nodded ushering for him to continue.

"So, my issue is, yes, I do feel bad for the girls, if they'd want to date Kasaya and such. Because if this is true, and Katsuki is truly sort of calling the shots, then that'd be an impossible stepping stone for them to climb over for them to see Satoko. But, on the other hand..." He started babbling at bit, like normal.

"That's not all is it?" She was beginning to know Hero Deku very well. She liked how in depth his mind thought, always looking at things from all angles. Someday, she had no doubt, he would be an amazing hero, and would save many people.

"No." He shrugged. "If Kasaya is allowing this to go on, with Katsuki ruling over him, and he doesn't care, which is what it seems like, it's almost like we're worrying about Kasaya when he's not even worrying about himself you know? Because we know who, er well, Iida and I know what type of person Bakugo is."

"Especially you Midorya."

"Yea, especially me." He felt no sentiment in that, only a dark sweep of grief. It was true, nobody knew Bakugo better than him. Unfortunately.

He was quiet for a moment because a bunch of bad memories of them fighting, him crying, and hearing the word Kacchan repeating in his head in his own voice was running through, dragging him along.

"There's another thing too you know." He spoke up, a tear came to his eye. "Ibara you can tell Iida, but that's the only person, okay?"

"Okay. You sure?"

"I trust Iida, and yea, I'm sure." He swallowed looking through their crack in the bush at all the laughing people at the fountain. "Look at them out there."

She looked, a green strand of ivy went behind her ear again.

He got a little reminiscent. Something in his voice was sad, and it was easily picked up on by his bush partner.

"We used to be like that, Kacchan and I. We were friends in a group of people like that. Just kids, we had fun like how they're all sitting around talking, splashing water in each other, not caring about anything. But one day, when we were about eight, something happened, I don't know what happened to Katsuki, but something did. He was just different all of a sudden. Like, he was meaner after he'd gotten his quirk when we were five, to where he wouldn't even let me help him up out of the creek he fell in one time, he just smacked my hand away, he was getting arrogant, but this once day." He swallowed. "When we were eight. That was the day."

"How'd he change on that day?" She was intrigued, for Kasaya's sake, and her roommate's sake, for she was trying to still somehow get her a date. If this Bakugo stuff could just be figured out, and maybe settled somehow!

"He got darker, quieter. Hated being around everyone, began hating everything. Began not speaking to me outright. He started getting angry, and not just angry like a normal angry Ibara, I mean a ferocious, scary anger." He turned to her. "I went from knowing him, and knowing he was becoming kind of a douche bag, but we were still OK, to suddenly being pushed away. He pushed everyone away. And the way he yelled was condemning, rude, and his voice started carrying everywhere. It became common to hear him screaming."

"So what's the point your making?" She was still following. That was a thing about the green-haired best friend of Iida's, he either spoke very little because he was thinking or listening extremely in depth, or the complete opposite, speaking in huge paragraphs because he'd thought so much that he wanted to get it out. It just pained her that he was speaking on this so much, and that it was on something so personal, but felt happy that he felt comfortable enough to share it with her. She hoped they stay really good friends. "Dont tell me if it hurts too much, okay?" She had to say that.

"It's fine. I wouldn't of said anything to you if I didn't trust you with it." The tear that actually came to his eye, fell down his cheek, and he instantly wiped it away.

Ibara seen, was instantly frozen, she wanted to give him a Kleenex, but she had nothing out here!

"Just listen, alright Ibara?"

She reached over and put her hand on his forearm, and he looked over at her. "Hang on a sec."

She texted Iida: They're still not back.

"Sorry, Iida said every ten minutes."

"Yea, I know. It's fine." He nodded away from her, but her hand still remained on his forearm for support. He lightly patted her hand, and put his back in his lap where he toddled his two thumbs around each other. "I've accepted that Katsuki and I, we're done for. We'll never be friends again. There's no common ground, and everything between us is destroyed. I only wish he would of told me what had happened with him when he was eight, I feel if that would of happened, we wouldn't be where we are now, and would still have some semblance of a friendship." He gulped trying to hold back some more tears. "But the point I'm making is, I know that Bakugo has some issues, I don't know what they are, his parents died when he was five too, but he seemed not effected by it because he didn't understand what that meant."

"Yea, little kids usually don't get it. I mean, how could they? They're too innocent, you know? It still is horrible to hear his parents are gone though. So, that's why he's got his grandma as a contact on the from emergency registry hm?" Ibara cooed him on. She actually had a pang of sadness run through her for the guy, even though he'd yelled at her. She truly was just incredibly sympathetic at her root, that she couldn't help.

"Yea, that's why." He smiled. "From what I remember she's incredibly nice. But Bakugo you know, there's problems. This all might be a double edged sword type of deal though Ibara."

"Hm?" She suddenly let go of his forearm.

"It would be nice if Bakugo found just one person he could stand to be around."

She smiled. That Midoriya just as sympathetic as she was, just as Iida, but Iida was more of a you had to convince him to be sympathetic type. Once Iida wrapped his head around it, then he let his sympathy pour in.

"I think... I see what your trying to say. Bakugo maybe and probably is a bit possessive over Kasaya, but you're saying that it might not be a bad thing. Because Bakugo might actually have a friend? At least from the standpoint that you have."

"Yes." He smiled. "And what's your standpoint on it?"

"Hmm." She sat back in her lawn chair in thought. "I wished I'd known this about the crazy blonde's past sooner." She winked at Midorya. Using the word 'crazy' was honestly just to cheer him up.

He chuckled. It felt good to get that out. Yea, Bakugo, he was nuts. Nuts!

"I still want to help Uraraka, because I care for her you know? But at the same time, I get your point too. You know what I think?" Something dawned on her. "I'm going to wait this out. There's just not enough information. If Bakugo and Kasaya have a budding friendship, and maybe with that brother Kasaya has too, then I want to put that at a higher priority than Uraraka."

"Thank you for understanding, I mean. It's honestly for Bakugo's sake, I can't say the same about Kasaya though, I just don't know if going along with Bakugo's room shenanigans is all that healthy. But he seems uncaring of it."

"I'm going to text Iida about what you just said. If that's okay? I think that weird 'turning point' Bakugo had when he was eight and your point of view on this, both are important information for us three. I think Iida will agree that perhaps we should be very light with the direction we take with this now because of what you just said." She breathed. "Because up til now, our trio was only gung-ho on finding out if Kasaya was somehow being mistreated."

"Yeh, I'm just saying let's remain open to possibilities." He really hoped for that second possibly though. He hoped that Bakugo would find someone he could somehow connect with again on a human level.

Ibara was texting for awhile before she started getting pings back all of a sudden.

"He agrees. We're just going to go light with this then, and see how it plays out okay?"

Midoriya was so glad he was friends with these two. This trio here, all understood each other, even though he was beginning to feel kind of like a third wheel.

"Woah." A ping. Ibara instantly moved her chair all the way up next to Deku's.

It surprised him. "Wha, what?" Did Iida catch something?

"It's a video! Iida sent a text with it too, it says, 'Sorry I didn't say anything, but I had to get really quiet.'"

She looked up and they shouted unison: "Bakugo!"

"Play it!" Midoriya instantly almost fell on top of her.

"Okay okay geez!" She laughed a bit, teasing and they both got quiet to listen. "Ah there is sound. It's pretty quiet though. Hang on." She pulled earbuds out of her jacket pocket and plugged them in. "Here." Midoriya got one of them, and she pressed play.

"Wait, I recognize this." Midoriya knew it. "The back construction area behind the dorm."

A limo pulled up on the road behind the construction area. Off in the distance, a door opened and slammed.

The view zoomed in, not very well at first, but then it focused, and as the limo drove away, there stood Bakugo plain as day (except it was dark and at night), but that blonde hair was unmistakable and so was that soldier.

He was in less of a uniform, but it was the same guy.

"That's the guy from earlier." Deku chimed right quick, quietly.

"The one you think is Kasaya's brother?"

"Yea."

They kept watching.

Around their shoulders hung a person, one arm was over Bakugo's shoulder, and he looked pissed about it, and one arm was around the uniformed one's shoulder.

They were literally dragging the person.

And as they met the construction area, lifted the tape to go underneath of it, Bakugo let go and walked up ahead to jimmy the lock.

They could hear Iida mumble quiet, "Breaking a dorm rule no doubt, by not checking in at the front hall. It's way past ten."

Ibara chuckled. Iida was always so concerned with doing his job!

Suddenly in the dark of the video, from the silhouettes (except the blonde hair that stuck out like a sore thumb), a voice neither have heard before spoke.

"Hey. Kasaya's getting heavy."

The the rash voice of Bakugo rang. "Fuckin' hang on! Shit! Let'me put somethin' in the fuckin' door. What'are you? A bitch?"

Ibara looked at Midorya, and Midorya rolled his eyes. "Bakugo." He concluded, he knew he didn't have to though, Ibara had recognized that voice immeadiately too. It was strange to think he was watching something that happened probably not ten minutes ago, behind the dorm. It was probably happening when he was talking to Ibara about Katsuki.

'Speak of the devil and he shall appear.' He couldn't help but think, turning back to the video. It became

much clearer now that the focus was on objects that weren't as far away.

"Also Kasaya." Ibara was resolute. "Keep that I mind."

'Oh yea, right she's right.'

"He's a dead weight. Come'on." The soldier kind of whined.

Bakugo grumbled and came over, looking around in the process. "There's no one."

They started moving Kasaya towards the open doorway together.

"I'll help you take him up to the room, but let's make fuckin' sure he doesn't get seen. I'm not staying either."

"HAH? What's with all this unwanted fuckin' attention all of a sudden you damn social whore?"

There was a chuckle. "It's late?"

"Fuck you."

They got him to the doorway. Iida got a good angle going now, and the light from the inside the dorm was illuminating everything.

It was Kasaya! They could see the deep navy hair pulled back in a bun now! And he looked horrible! He had on a disheveled white collared shirt, his school uniform, still! At this hour! And it looked a hot mess.

Ibara and Midoriya just stared at each other.

"Midorya. Kasaya's drunk."

"What?!" It squeaked out. She paused the video. "Sorry for pausing, but it 'takes one to know one', you've ever heard that phrase before?"

"Yeh. But. How?" He was confused! Drunk? Really?

"My uncle is a drinker. It's the way Kasaya's head is whirling around on his neck. It keeps bobbing side to side. And it's super late, a weekend night, and two people are carrying him in. No offense, but I mean, I don't think Uraraka would be into someone who drinks like this. Looks like Kasaya's got a wild bone in him."

Midoriya's mind shot into overload. What? And Bakugo was out with them all night? Were they all drinking? All three of them?

Katsuki? Drinking?

Impossible.

He hated the stuff. Loathed it! He remembered a time where one of the rambunctious kid friends they'd had pulled out a bottle of wine and was kidding around about making them drink it.

Katsuki pretty much told the guy to piss off.

There were only a few small times that he'd ever been exposed to alcohol with his ex-friend also in his presence, but every time it was a no.

He spit it out. "You think Katsuki was drinking?"

"If he was out with them. A possibility. They obviously had a ride back, in a limo of all things. My guess is that Kasaya's brother has some friends in some high places."

He nodded. That was just another thing! One of those things that could change with time he guessed.

Exactly similar to how Midoriya had been thinking in Iida's room, about when Bakugo had pinned him down when he was younger and screamed at him that he hated girls. Would put off marriage til the end of time. How in Iida's room he'd thought that there wasn't any reason why that couldn't change, albeit he would feel sorry for the poor girl that fell for Bakugo Katsuki, Death Murder Explosion.

So, there was also no reason why Bakugo couldn't go drinking. There's no reason why he couldn't change his mind and do it.

He was underage though.

Underage aside, Midorya was concerned. What did this all mean? If Bakugo was drinking suddenly? He was worried that this might just spell more issues, more added to the collective pot that made up the blonde's temper, to stir it up and make that part of him even more grotesque.

And then another thought stuck him. What if Kasaya was the one leading him down a path that might be a rocky one?

What if Kasaya was leading him to alcohol?

Surely, nobody would talk Bakugo Katsuki into anything!

Midoriya sort sniffed at himself for that thought.

Bakugo was not naive. Not at all! He wouldn't go anywhere unless he wanted to!

Wanted to.

Midoriya froze. Then, he wanted to.

"Then surely... it is as I'm just thinking."

"Huh?" She knew he had been just sitting there saying nothing.

He took a moment and explained his thoughts to Ibara.

"Hey!" Iida popped up from the steps above and walked down, knowing exactly where they were. "I heard you."

They both had their hearts almost jump out of their chests.

"Iida! You scared me!" Ibara started laughing.

"Sorry!" He pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. "Aside from the texts you sent me..." He leaned against the wall, (referring to the texts Ibara sent about Bakugo's parents dying and that weird turn of his character), "this is something to consider to. Kasaya might be a trouble maker."

"It's true." Ibara sighed thinking of poor Uraraka, poor too good Uraraka. "I never considered it like that."

"Me neither." Midoriya also sighed and rubbed his eyes, tired. "I was so concentrated on Kacc... er, Katsuki that I didn't even take a minute to think that Satoko might be influencing him in some ways too."

"Well I've already been down around the area that they drug him in at and it does smell like alcohol."

"So it's true then." Ibara said. "We at least know that Kasaya was drunk right?"

"Right. And they didn't check in at he front desk. That's breaking a law."

"Yea, I heard you on the video." Ibara shook her phone in her hand, chuckling.

"Iida." Midorya turned in his seat to face the much bigger teen. "Please."

"Huh?"

"I'm asking just this one time. Let it go. Don't write them up a ticket. We're technically evading both of their privacy right now by doing what we're doing."

"I still have to do my job Midorya, I can't hold off on it."

"I, I know that!" Midorya suddenly squeaked. "I just, I want to see how this plays out."

"I'm in agreeance with Midoriya on this one Iida." She stammered a bit. "I, I'm sorry!"

"Hey." He came over to her, putting that peice of ivy behind her ear. "It's not like that. You can disagree with me. That's okay, you know."

She then smiled up.

Deku was entranced for a second. For sure. They're going to be a couple. Had to be.

Iida suddenly turned shaking himself out of being consumed by her soothing smile. "I don't give in that easy. You know that right guys?"

"Yea." Midoriya mumbled.

"But it's 2 to 1. Alright." He sighed, pulling back, crossing his arms. "I will let it go. But you two can't say anything, because I will lose my job for not reporting this." He took in a deep breath. "Midoriya I don't know how you remain so concerned and caring of people that have been downright nasty to you, but your thoughts alone are what is compelling me to ignore this. I don't like Bakugo, he even screamed at me for doing the roommate follow up, I thought for sure he was going to blow the whole wing out of the building he was getting so volatile, and over nothing I might add."

"Yea, all you had to do was ask a few question right?"

"Yes. And that was it. And then there was that night that their room had a water problem."

Ibara and Midoriya just listened.

"They seemed like they were sort of agreeing on stuff, coming together on things." Iida sighed, rubbed his temple. "Look, listen, I think Bakugo is a damn hot head. What's worse, is it's not just all brawn, Bakugo actually does have a brain. He's a smart person. He consistently is top of class in grade."

"What's your point?" Midoriya chimed. He was certain where he was going with this though.

"After getting those texts from Ibara about what you said about Bakugo. His parents dying. That turning point when he was eight." Iida swallowed. "A lot of people say Katsuki is ill suited to be a hero. Society knows him now as the tournament winner, and they think he's too wild, over the top, they think he's practically insane. Especially with how they had to muzzle and chain him up on stage. I still have no idea why the hell they did that. They could of just gave him a sedative instead to calm him down." He sighed. "Well that's a side tangent, but the point is that I can't help it, but I do want to see Bakugo excel, he's got all the right material to do it, both firepower and the intelligence, it's just fixing his stupid screwed up attitude. And for the first time, that night the water pipe broke above their ceiling, watching Bakugo actually sitting on the couch with him, and they weren't closely sitting at all, but it struck me that Kasaya and Bakugo actually were and did appear kind of similar."

"But what about the drinking?" Ibara was the one to interject this time.

Midorya stood, folding the lawn chair and leaned on it. "It might just be a hazard we'll have to keep in mind, but let it go."

Ibara stood and Iida came over by her and folded her chair for her and picked up her backpack.

"Thank you!" She gave him a side hug. "I agree. Honestly. What's better? What's worse? You know?"

"I get it." Iida. "What's better, what's worse... for the psycho Bakugo?"

They started walking in.

Midorya chuckled. His face hadn't gotten red at all, he hadn't clammed up while the others were talking about his ex childhood friend, that was progress for him internally. Yea, psycho, Bakugo the psycho.

The green headed one continued on as they entered the foyer where he'd been playing Go with Ashdio earlier, yesterday. "Exactly. I know us three are probably all too caring of people, when we really shouldn't care about Bakugo after all the crap he has caused, and stuff he's blow apart, but what's worse? Bakugo having a friend now at the risk of him drinking, or Bakugo just remaining the same?"

"Or, you mentioned that Kasaya could be leading him down a path of alcoholism. What about that? Thoughts?" Iida as cautious as ever.

"Iida don't think of me horrible. Okay?"

They walked down the steps to the first floor hall, heading for the SA room.

Iida's roommate was not in, perfect for what they were doing tonight. Kaminari had too big of mouth. Unfortunately, the only thing Iida had found him useful for was helping people when they needed things charged for an emergency, other than that they were complete opposites.

But Kaminari had insisted that they try to get to know each other better, and so once he learned that he could be of use by being the 'emergency charger' of the dorm, he took the spot immediately and started helping Iida out.

Kaminari being incredibly social was perfect. People loved it, and now Kaminari knew practically everyone in the dorm at this point.

Ibara helped too. She was kind of the dorm 'nurse' now, people came to her at Iida's room for bandaids, gauze and stuff like that.

The three were practically the ones that's kept the order and the peace. (Aside from Kaminari being involved in his ratpack, oogling eye squad with Mineta).

They reached the room and Iida inserted the key, swung it open.

"Just hear me out."

Iida didn't turn in the light, but just slammed down into his bed. "Uh, this job wears me out."

Ibara smirked, sitting in his desk chair, spinning in it like a little kid.

Iida just watched her smiling.

Midorya sat in the edge of Kaminari's bed, amongst the wall filled with penthouse posters. "I almost am okay with Bakugo becoming a drinker if he wants."

"What?" The I's said in unison.

Ibara turned the flashlight on her phone and sat up upright on Iida's desk for light.

Iida didn't turn the lights on this late, because no doubt if anyone knew he was 'up' and 'available' in his room, they'd be knocking. Even this late. Someone always had a problem.

It was just something he did. He always made sure he lights never came on after a certain time at night.

"Midoriya, alcoholism is serious." Iida.

"I know."

"Here's the deal guys, okay?" Ibara cut in, feeling out Hero Deku's thoughts. "I told Midorya earlier my uncle drinks. He's gets very crazy when he drinks, very loud, laughy, not angry, just loud. Some people get mean. Some people get teary. Some people mellow out. We don't know if Bakugo is drinking first of all, just Kasaya. But if Bakugo does decide to drink, we don't know what 'type' he'll be. Also, we don't know much about the addiction side of it." She turned to Midorya. "Hey, is Bakugo the type that gets addicted to stuff easily? Like becomes super attached if it's something that he likes?"

"I... I. I." He began stammering, head wandering through pages and pages of stuff written about Katsuki that he'd read hundreds of times in his hero study notebooks. He was actually dumbfounded. "I don't know."

"You don't?" Iida sat up. He was astonished! Midorya knew everything about him!

Midoriya began thinking. He wanted to be #1! But he still gave a damn about Bakugo, somehow. He could think of him as a total asshole now, it took him a lot to be able to get to that point even, to be able to think of someone he'd known for so long in that manner, but how could he strive to be better, to beat him out, if he didn't know all the things about his rival?

He muttered. "I really, I actually, I don't know." Midoriya sighed. "I was under the hard impression that Bakugo despised everything and everyone. He never allows himself to get too attached to anything."

Ibara rubbed her arms, shoulders, sleepy. "So, that sounds like the needle on the head. We don't know if Killer Death Machine has an addictive personality or not. That's what we have to figure out. If he does, like my uncle, then that might spell out a problem. If he doesn't and it's just causal drinking, then he really might just be having fun and making a friend you know?"

"Furthermore." Iida. "Let's just keep watch, and that's all. I can't promise if they do something super against the rules, that I can let it pass again, but let's just be vigilant and keep this amongst just us. Alright?"

"Agreed!"