Shouji, Hagakure, and Satou had already moved back into the dorms when Katsuki arrived which wasn't ideal but at least he didn't have to deal with the suffocating presence of his mother. It didn't matter when more of his classmates came back. Katsuki was barely there anyway. Physical exertion was the only thing keeping him sane right now. In the morning, he did laps in the pool until he couldn't anymore. The afternoon was spent leveling Gym Gamma. Evenings were spent practicing sets in one of the dojos until his alarm went off. After Principal Nedzu found him hammering into a sandbag past midnight and almost put him on a real house arrest, he'd had to start setting one.

More of Class 2-A trickled back into the dorms but Katsuki didn't care. He was waiting for the day that Uraraka would come in, maybe needing some help with her luggage as a way to get him alone, with her eyes back to normal and her face split in that grin that made Katsuki's pulse spike.

Those thoughts only made Katsuki angrier. He shouldn't be this fucking obsessed. There were more important things to worry about; but none of them occupied his mind.

The night before school was supposed to start, Katsuki fought one of the training dummies. Every hit was harder than the last. He was sweating and cursing profusely.

"Fucking die!" Katsuki screamed, kicking the dummy so hard that it fell to the ground. Breathing heavily, he picked up the dummy and went back to fighting it.

"Kinda hard to kill something that's not alive," a small voice said behind him. Katsuki turned so fast, he almost gave himself whiplash. Uraraka closed the door gently and set her bag down. "Sorry to interrupt. Deku said you've been training here."

"Fucking snitch," Katsuki muttered. "You get back this evening?"

"This morning," Uraraka answered. She shifted her weight between her feet awkwardly. "Had to unpack. Figured I'd search the sign-in sheets to find you."

Katsuki didn't know why his temper flared at the thought of her having been here the whole day. He wouldn't have noticed anyway. The dorms were full of people judging him or trying to get information out of him. He avoided it.

"Let's fight," Uraraka said tightly. She squatted down, pulled her grappling gloves out of her bag, and strapped them on.

"Don't you need to warm up?" Katsuki asked. Uraraka froze.

"I don't feel like dancing today, Bakugou," she said quietly, a faint blush filling her cheeks.

"I didn't mean that," he replied roughly. He really hadn't, so why had her answer hurt so much? Uraraka's blush deepened.

"No. I'm fine. I did yoga with Todoroki this morning and did some training with Tsu this afternoon."

Katsuki could feel sweat soaking into his hand wraps. They had been there for her while Katsuki was busy distracting himself. Why didn't she text him? He would've dropped what he was doing if it meant he didn't have to internalize this shit anymore.

"Ready?" Uraraka asked quizzically as Katsuki zoned out. With a quick nod, he settled in his fighting stance. Her eyes squinted slightly at him as if she was waiting for him to make the first move. When he didn't, Uraraka went for a high kick. Katsuki blocked it effortlessly, using the open space to send his own kick straight into her stomach.

Uraraka fell to the ground and gave him a determined glare. Without breaking eye contact, she stood up and threw him a left hook. Katsuki caught her fist, twisted her arm, and pushed her to the mat.

"You should've warmed up," Katsuki told her. Uraraka pulled her arm away from him and jumped up.

"Again," she snapped. He immediately grabbed her waist and shoved her back down.

"Stop thinking. I can barely call what you're doing fighting," Katsuki said as she adjusted her shirt. With a guttural scream, she attacked in quick succession, forcing Katsuki to take defensive action. He was blocking high and low, side to side, looking for space to counter attack. Uraraka's hits were getting harder and faster. Eventually she landed a jab to his ribs that made him wince but he'd let her have it. He had to in order to get an opening. His hands grabbed the arm that hit him and he swung her around, pushing her toward the mat.

Uraraka didn't go down without a fight again. As she fell, she twisted her leg around his and tripped him, causing him to fall right on top of her. Katsuki caught himself, his hands on either side of her head, before he crushed her.

Breathing heavily, the two stared at each other for a few moments. It was clear to Katsuki that things had changed between them when Uraraka turned her head away from him, breaking their gaze, the color of her face reddening with every passing second.

Katsuki huffed and pushed himself upright.

"Done already?" Katsuki asked when Uraraka didn't move.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this right now but-," Uraraka paused before sighing defeatedly. "I think we have to talk."

Katsuki had to hold back a groan. He knew this was coming but he figured it wouldn't be in the middle of a fight. It was better than waiting at least.

He sat down, crossed his legs, and waited for Uraraka to sit up. She took her time, avoiding his eyes as she twiddled her fingers.

"I--I don't want--I don't think--"

Katsuki blinked slowly. She blabbered incoherently for several seconds before she stopped, took a deep breath, and clasped her hands together.

"I need us to stay friends," she finally said. Katsuki stared at her.

"What?"

"I thought a lot about this. You're right. I need to focus on my family which means focusing on being a hero. With work studies coming up-."

Oh, right. He'd said that. Fuck. He hadn't meant it like that--had he? Was he really ready for something more with her? He had dreamed about it, sure, but it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing.

"-and with school only getting more difficult-"

Shit. Shit. He needed to fight for her. They both liked each other. There were other couples in their class. If they could do it, so could Katsuki and Uraraka.

"-I can't have any distractions."

Katsuki sat in silence, putting his argument together while she anxiously played with her fingers.

"I still want to go to dance class with you," Uraraka tacked on. "But--I think that has to be it."

"It doesn't," Katsuki protested. "We can-"

"Bakugou-," Uraraka started.

"Stop! You always doubt yourself. We can handle this. If Dunce-Face and Half-n-Half can fucking figure it out so can-"

"No, I can't," Uraraka stated firmly. Katsuki shut up when she gave him a look that screamed 'please stop'. "I need time and I don't know how much I'll need. Everything is changing around us right now and I can't handle one more thing changing. It's better that we stay friends."

"You can't honestly believe that."

Uraraka sniffled and Katsuki realized she was holding back tears. Katsuki stood up and paced. He should have expected this. Uraraka was already against dating in high school. Katsuki didn't have a clue how to be with someone in that way. He barely knew how to be friends. Of course she didn't want that kind of relationship with him. Who would?

"It's not like I want it to be like this," Uraraka mumbled sadly. Katsuki froze. "Everyone, and I mean everyone, is counting on us to be our best. We can't--" Uraraka shakily inhaled. "We can't be somewhere else making out when an emergency happens. People need us. Every second matters."

Katsuki's hands shook. He didn't know which one of his emotions caused it. There were too many to count.

"Fine," Katsuki finally said. What was he supposed to do: Say she didn't need time? Uraraka had made up her mind. He had to live with it.

"It's not fine," she whispered. "But thank you."

"Do you want me to move on?" he asked. It was the question Katsuki didn't want to ask but he wasn't going anywhere if there was still a chance with her. Even if it took longer than he wanted.

Uraraka looked up at him, her entire body and face echoing how much his question had hurt her. She gulped and changed her position so she could hug her knees.

"If that's what you want."

"Is that what you want?" Katsuki asked more insistently.

"I'm not gonna ask you to wait for me if that's what you're getting at," Uraraka said, slightly angry. "I'm not gonna string you along. If things change between us, I'll accept it." Katsuki almost would have believed it if her voice hadn't broken on the last word. Uraraka furrowed her brow the same way she did right before she threw up. With a shake of her head, Uraraka got up, covering her mouth with one hand as she grabbed her things.

"I'm done talking," she choked out before she left the dojo, slamming the door behind her.

Katsuki stood in the same spot for a few minutes, his body shutting down at the influx of intense, complex emotions. It was too much. He needed to do something. Katsuki looked back at the dummy and charged toward it, yelling as loud as he could. With as much force he could muster, he punched the dummy, sending it crashing to the ground. Staring at the fallen dummy, Katsuki experienced, for the first time, a hatred of the fact that being the best sometimes required personal sacrifices.

"Hey, man--whoa, someone spit in your spicy ramen?" Kaminari asked when Katsuki entered the common area.

"I haven't eaten," Katsuki answered curtly without thinking. He was such an idiot. Today had proven that tenfold.

"What? Isn't it, like, past your bedtime?" Sero asked, making those around him laugh. Katsuki gritted his teeth and sparks popped in his palms.

"You okay?" Kirishima asked, getting off the couch.

"You!" Ashido yelled, marching toward Katsuki menacingly. "What did you do?"

Katsuki glared at her. He really didn't have the mental capacity to not kill her right now.

"I didn't do anything," Katsuki said slowly, holding his temper back. If he lost what little control he had right now, there was no chance he'd gain it back.

"Why do you think he did something?" Kirishima asked earnestly.

"Ochako ran up to her room sobbing!" Ashido explained angrily. Katsuki's throat closed. "She won't answer anyone's texts either! You were the last person who saw her so I know you did something stupid! What did you say to her?

"I barely said anything," Katsuki told her. Ashido scoffed in disbelief.

"If you made Ochako cry like that, you're gonna be very unpopular," Hagakure said from one of the tables.

"Who gives a shit about that?" Katsuki snapped. Ashido slapped his arm, making his palms spark involuntarily.

"What did you do to make her cry, asshole?" Ashido pressed.

"Hey, maybe we should-" Kirishima started, forcing himself in between them.

"I didn't do anything," Katsuki repeated. "You should interrogate her if you're that curious."

"If you broke her heart, I'm gonna make your life a nightmare," Ashido threatened.

"Mina," Kirishima whisper-yelled. "Maybe you should-"

"What? He can't play with Ochako's feelings!"

The common room went quiet. Everyone was staring at him.

"Stop jumping to conclusions," Jirou said, breaking the silence.

"What she said," Kaminari threw in. Jirou rolled her eyes as Sero face-palmed next to him. Kirishima's eyes darted to Ashido who looked uneasy.

"Then tell me what happened so I know how to act," Ashido said bitterly to Katsuki.

"Nothing happened. Now leave me the fuck alone."

Katsuki stomped toward the elevator and punched the button so hard it left an indent in his skin.

"Easy," Kirishima muttered before entering into a heated debate with Ashido. Katsuki pressed his floor number with the same intensity out of spite. He'd break the elevator if it would make everyone shut up.

The elevator couldn't move fast enough for Katsuki. By the time he made it to his room, tears had pricked his eyes for longer than he cared to admit. Anger, despair, frustration, heartbreak, betrayal, embarrassment, and other emotions he couldn't narrow down in this state all boiled underneath his false, put-together exterior.

"Fuck this," Katsuki muttered to himself before throwing down his bag and jumping off his balcony. The explosion he let off to rocket himself to the roof was much larger than he anticipated. It didn't matter. Let him get caught. See if he gave a shit.

The night was cool and, best of all, quiet. Katsuki laid down and stared at the sky, forcing himself not to acknowledge the moon at the edge of the horizon. Uraraka had tried to teach him constellations during one of the campfires at camp but he hadn't paid attention. He'd been too focused on how excited she looked.

"I hate that she's right," Katsuki muttered to himself. "Why the fuck is she right?"

"Right about what?" Ashido's voice strained as she climbed onto the roof, clutching to a long piece of Sero's tape.

"You're about the last person I want to see right now."

Ashido grimaced and sat a good distance away from him.

"I'm really sorry," she said. Katsuki refused to look at her. "What I did was uncalled for. If you had done that to me, I would've thrown acid at you."

"Apology not accepted."

"Don't be an ass," Ashido hissed. "I'm being sincere. I care about Ochako but I care about you too. I shouldn't have lost my cool and I shouldn't have done that to you, let alone in front of everybody."

"Whatever. I knew you didn't trust me already. You can leave now."

Ashido furrowed her brow.

"Something is wrong between you two and I just want to-"

"What?" Katsuki shouted, sitting up. "Help? Well, save your breath because there's nothing for you to poke your nose into anymore."

"What?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Katsuki snarled. "Unlike Shitty-Hair, I know how to keep my mouth shut."

"Stop blaming him for that. You know Kirishima can't control his expressions. He would never tell me outright," Ashido said. "You aren't known for subtly. Everyone thought something was up with you two."

"Great."

He'd rather replay his earlier conversation with Uraraka again than sit here and be told he'd looked like a fucking idiot the whole term.

"Please tell me what happened," Ashido pleaded, scooting closer to him. "I promise I won't try to fix anything. I overreacted because Ochako was crying so hard it was just like-"

Ashido quieted and Katsuki could feel the unspoken words hanging above him. It had reminded her of the last night of camp.

"You know," Ashido finished awkwardly. "I want you both to be happy."

"Well, don't fucking worry then. Nothing's changed. We're still friends. That's all it's gonna be. You can stop trying to get us together."

Ashido hung her head, scratching at the exposed skin from a hole in her pants.

"You're not subtle either, Pink-Ass," Katsuki muttered before lying down to look back at the sky. "And your meddling, while annoying, is the least of my fucking problems right now."

There was a long pause while Ashido watched Katsuki stargaze.

"Are you okay with just friends?" Ashido asked quietly.

"I have to be. This isn't about me, right? I have to do what's best for her, what she wants to do."

Ashido scooted closer.

"I don't think that's fair," Ashido said. "You can't put her feelings above yours all the time. Have you told her how-?"

"Yes," Katsuki interrupted. He didn't want her to finish that sentence. "She's worried we'll distract each other."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. He tilted his head to look at her. Ashido seemed genuinely distraught. She crawled closer to sit next to him. "You know, it's okay to not be okay."

Katsuki sat up to glare at her properly. He didn't need a fucking therapy session.

"You need to leave," he snapped.

"It's okay to not be okay," Ashido repeated in a softer tone, begging him to listen.

"Stop that," Katsuki said loudly. Tears once again pricked his eyes.

"It's okay to not be okay."

"Pink-Ass, I'm fucking serious."

"You're hurting. It's okay-"

"No, it's not!" Katsuki yelled. "You always think you're helping but you make everything worse! So what if Endeavor is dead, All Might can't help anyone, and there's another war right after the last one? So what if that fucking nerd almost gets himself killed every day? So what if Uraraka doesn't want to risk being more than friends with me? That doesn't mean I get to wallow or--or-"

"Cry?" Ashido asked gently.

"Especially that! I have to keep pushing to be the best because if I'm not the best then--then what's the fucking point of dealing with everything else?"

"The point is surviving, Bakugou. That's what Ochako is trying to do right now. She's terrified. Everyone is."

"Well, I'm not," Katsuki shot back.

"Yes, you are. Just not about the villains."

Ashido tentatively reached for Katsuki who moved away from her.

"I'm sorry," Ashido said again. "I'll leave. You've got lots of people who care about you. We're here if you need us."

At last, Katsuki was alone. He barely wanted the stars and moon as company. At least they didn't talk. He'd had enough talking today.

It was much later when Katsuki decided to go back to his room. All the lights in the dorms were off. Everyone was asleep except Katsuki.

He fell into bed as all of the physical exhaustion hit his body and the emotional exhaustion left him yearning for school the next day. Katsuki had never looked forward to homework more. It was better than dwelling on everything that happened the last couple months.

Sleep covered Katsuki like a weighted blanket. There was no need to move or think anymore. Katsuki didn't know if he could after the day he'd had. His body was forcing itself to shut off.

It was then that three rapid knocks came from his door.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Katsuki groaned, throwing off the blankets. One of the dummy brigade must have heard the explosions he used to get off the roof. Ashido must have told them to check on him or some shit. Katsuki prepped his quirk to throw an explosion in their face but when he opened the door his hand fell to his side.

"I'm sorry," Uraraka mumbled, crying. "I know it's really selfish of me to come here, especially so late, but I can't sleep. I heard you come back down so I know you can't either and-"

Katsuki shushed her and she hiccupped as she tried to suppress the tears streaming down her face. He should turn her away. It would be the wise thing to do.

Instead, he opened the door and allowed her to come in.

"Wow, it's really nice in here," Uraraka said, wiping her face. "It's so clean and-"

Uraraka stopped talking at the look Katsuki gave her.

"Sorry. I'll be quiet," she whispered. Uraraka laid down on his bed, moving her back against the wall to give him room.

"I kind of thought you'd be mad at me," Uraraka murmured as Katsuki laid next to her. "But all I could think about was how much I wanted to be next to you."

"Don't be stupid," Katsuki said groggily. "I'm known for my patience."

Uraraka laughed tiredly. She gave him a grateful look before burying her face into him, wrapping her body around his, and taking what little warmth he'd built up since he left the roof. Katsuki felt more at home with her in that moment than at any point during the last couple weeks. It was unfortunate. The fact that Uraraka had risked getting in trouble to be next to him didn't help either. It almost felt as if their earlier conversation was only a nightmare.

"You're a good friend," she breathed, sinking further into him. Katsuki leaned his cheek against the top of her head.

"No, I'm not," he replied softly. Uraraka looked up in muted shock as her own exhaustion caught up with her. Katsuki smiled weakly at her. "I'm the best."

Chapter