By midday, Izuku was no closer to finding Chieko than when he had started. The sun was hitting lower in the sky and the residents of the school were making their way inside, supper clear on their minds and none on him as they passed him with nothing more than mild interest. No one had seen her when questioned and as the air cooled the later it got, they had left Izuku to wander the grounds on his own until he finally reached full circle at the main entrance to take a break while he considered his next steps.
Movements teases the corner of his eyes and Izuku looked up towards the front gate to find that Kacchan and his team were returning from their outing, their appearance haggard but otherwise uninjured. It was earlier than when Kacchan usually returned to their room, which gave Izuku the hint that he hadn't been returning to their rag-tag group right away.
Denki noticed him first, his grin cheeky as he waved at him from the rear of the group, Kirishima their resident red-head saw him next and he smiled friendly like at Izuku. Compared to them, Kacchan had yet to notice him, too preoccupied with Ochako, who was chattering away next to him. The small smile that graced his face softened his features, and Izuku grit his teeth as it did something to him. It was the fact that his softness wasn't directed towards him, but toward her.
"Yo, Midoriya!" Denki said.
Izuku would have preferred to go unnoticed, so when Denki yelled for his attention, Izuku flinched as Kacchan looked up towards him. Their eyes met and Izuku could do more than wave back at him awkwardly. When Ochako turned back to look at what had captured his attention, she smiled at Izuku with the sweetness of someone who was genuinely glad to see him.
He wouldn't admit that he hadn't felt the same way at first glance, which only made him want to be swallowed up by the ground beneath him as he mustered a smile in return.
Kacchan kept his emotions close to his chest, his face composed, but his gaze held Izuku captive across the field, keeping him in place as they drew closer.
There was no way to avoid the encounter and as his hands grew damp in preparation, he did his best to brush it away against his pants. They didn't prepare him to be the center of attention like this, but he did his best to cover any reservation now that they trapped him to play pleasantries.
"Hey, guys."
"Hey, Midoriya. How is everything?" Ochako asked.
"Oh the same, training with Aizawa has been… slow.. but he wants me to join in a mission soon so good, I guess." Izuku said.
The news caught Kacchan's attention, but the subtle tilt of his head, but he didn't verbalize his opinion, merely waiting for the conversation to be over. His arms crossed against his chest, breaking their earlier eye contact now that the others had taken the lead.
"Whatcha doin?" Denki asked.
"Chieko went missing again, so I've been looking for her." Izuku said.
"What do you mean, missing?" Kacchan asked.
This was what brought Kacchan to join finally, his shoulders tense at the very notion that someone in their group had gone MIA. Izuku knew was more reserved for Chieko than anyone else. She had become like the little sister to everyone, as they all attempted to keep watch over her.
She recently started finding ways to sneak past them when they were otherwise distracted. No one had confronted her at this point, but she also hadn't been gone for this long before.
"I had a meeting with Aizawa so she was supposed to meet up with Shinso for training, but never went and no one seen her since this morning." Izuku said.
"That little troublemaker… Wait till I find her."
"Maybe she's just hiding out for a bit. I'm sure she's ready to crawl up the walls by this point." Denki suggested.
Kacchan ground his teeth together and Denki backed off without protest. He turned to Ochako, who looked on curiously from the sidelines.
"Pink Cheeks, make sure every goes to Mirio to update him before they even think of eating. I'm going with the nerd for now."
There was a collective groan from his group, with Denki's whine overlapped above the rest.
"Come on man, I'm hungry! Can't we go after?" Denki asked.
"Shut up and do as I say!"
Ochako shooed the others away with a light chuckle and everyone abided by her orders, their grumbling low, but still audible to everyone as they waved goodbye to Izuku. Denki patted Izuku on the back as he passed him as he gave him a teasing wink.
"You give Chieko my condolences when Kacchan kills her for sneaking away."
Izuku attempted a chuckle of his own, but he noticed Ochako murmuring to Kacchan with her hand touching his arm in a light, familiar manner, which pulled his gaze to them. Izuku's lips thinned and Denki noticed, as he gave him another soft pat on his back.
"If looks could kill… Man, you need to cover that jealousy before either of them notice."
Izuku looked away. That Denki had voiced something that Izuku had yet to accept was not something he was ready to face, so he said nothing at all and the boy disappeared into the building with a sigh.
"I'll make you a plate for when you get back." Ochako said.
Kacchan nodded, and Izuku did his best to ignore his feelings. Her voice was too nice for his ears. Giving the two a last wave, Ochako left to catch up to the others.
The grounds were mostly empty, with only a few workers still milling about, finishing their chores before leaving. The silence was stifling to Izuku during that time, as they reached the edges of the school's gardens. It was empty, but for a few people packing up their things. One elder was taking a break, so they took a chance to ask him if he had seen her around.
Izuku felt the cooling air against his arms, but the man was sweating profusely as he wiped his face with an old red handkerchief. He pointed over to the edges of a few tree lines of the garden.
"I saw the young lady over by the boarders of the school. She stuck out since few students help in gardening, plus those trees have nothing edible to pick." The man said.
They both bowed in thanks to the older man, who waved them off as he joined his colleagues and left the boys outside to lead themselves to the area he had mentioned.
"Maybe she went back to picking wild herbs?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah sure and that's why she's been sneaking around like a thief saying nothing. Because of herbs." Kacchan said.
Izuku swallowed his words as they made their way towards the tree lines. Kacchan's very presence had a habit of drawing his attention, though distracting them when he should have been focusing on the task at hand. But it was almost like middle school the way Izuku, overly cautious not to set the other boy off.
The area was mostly vacant, thin straggly trees and bushy shrubbery lining the boards of the school. There weren't any herbs that Izuku could point out, though he wasn't much of an expert compared to Chieko, so he couldn't be sure. As they moved about, Izuku stepped closer to the tall wall that protected them from the outside, though they looked no different from the hospitals, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth at the similarity.
"She's probably already back inside and we just missed her." Kacchan suggested as he eyed some of the nearby bushes that weren't even big enough to hide a small child, let alone a teenage girl.
Instead of responding, Izuku followed the edges of the wall, eying the chunks of debris that scattered the floor when it landed from the tops of the boarder. It was obvious how often someone had attacked them in the past, but it was still mostly intact, a testament to the school's resilience and security.
"Deku."
Ignoring Kacchan, Izuku walked along being guided by the largest crack he had found. Kacchan signed behind him, letting him take the lead without protest. It wasn't long on their trail when the crack branched out into smaller ones, spreading like a morbid web across the expansive gray concrete. It continued on until a small grouping of trees and untamed shrubs covered it.
"What's that?" Kacchan asked.
Izuku grabbed one of the bush's branches as it moved away with ease, a cover for the minor hole that was revealed behind it. It was large enough to fit a person through it with a bit of wiggling. As they moved more of the coverings, they could see a mixture of scuff marks and shoe prints all around the exit.
"She better not have." Kacchan warned.
Moving past Izuku, Kacchan didn't hesitate to kneel and push his way through the small opening with a bit of effort, since he barely fit. Izuku wasn't far behind, the dirt and twigs scrapping against his clothes as he had to maneuver at an awkward angle just to make it through to the other side.
Something tickled his cheeks as he came out and as he stood, Izuku noticed the overgrown grass that covered their area, up to their mid calf. The school wasn't doing anything to manage the outside plants, so it had overgrown after months of neglect. This only made the noticeable disturbance through the dense vegetation obvious that someone was walking to and from the school regularly.
Kacchan mumbled inaudible curses as he eyed the crude pathway.
"What are the chances of it not being Chieko?" Izuku asked.
Kacchan scoffed at his suggestion, and Izuku's shoulders fell down in resignation. The chances it was someone else were low, but they couldn't say they didn't give their friend the benefit of the doubt later on. Even if neither boy believed it.
As they made their way cautiously of any threats, Kacchan only grew more irritated with the lack of Chieko's presence. His teeth grit tight as his jaw ticked away from the strain. Izuku only hoped they found her soon before he truly lost it. His ears were ringing as he imagined the tongue lashing Kacchan had ready for her when they finally located the whereabouts of their wayward friend.
The silence was palpable as they tread forward, but it was Kacchan's distraction that left him unguarded for the time being. His anger, so focused on one person, allowed things to feel almost normal between them, so he blamed it on that for the reason he opened his mouth at that moment.
"Kacchan, can we talk now?" Izuku asked.
Kacchan stopped mid-step, his leg awkwardly left in the air for only a fraction of a second before he continued on. Though he didn't voice any protest right away, his movement seemed stiff as he became overly obsessed with removing any shrub that had brushed up against his exposed arms.
"About what?" Kacchan asked.
"I feel like we haven't talked since that time." Izuku said.
He was setting himself up for failure. Every instinct inside Izuku told him as much, but now that he had brought it out into the open, he couldn't retract the conversation. He was at the mercy of Kacchan's words after this point, and as the torturous silence now dragged between them, he was rethinking his choice. Their relationship may have gone stale in recent days, but it was becoming a better option than the ever rising risk that this would all blow up in his face.
"I've been busy, you know that." Kacchan said.
The blunt brush off was the last thing Izuku had expected and even if it was the same excuse, he had been giving everyone else; he didn't think Kacchan would use it on him. They both knew better than to play dumb with each other. They weren't that busy as to avoid each other when living in the same quarters. But Kacchan was drawing a line on that topic and Izuku wasn't sure he was ready to push any further, now that it gave him an easy exit out of it.
"I'm thinking of telling Aizawa the truth." Izuku said.
He reeled back when Kacchan turned around towards him so suddenly that Izuku leaned back in reaction to his jarring response. His whole body was went taut with the warning for Izuku to tread lightly with his next words. Spit pooled in his mouth and he swallowed it back, audibly worried with how this would play out.
"The truth about what?"
The question scraped against Izuku's senses. Kacchan attempted to conceal his tone with a fabricated calmness that contrasted with the dark redness of his gaze. He was waiting for Izuku to say something, the metaphorical land mind laid out for him to take the wrong step.
Izuku wasn't sure which secret would set Kacchan off or if all of them would, as Kacchan grew more impatient with his delayed response.
"We agreed to keep Third-wheel off their radar." Kacchan warned.
The tension released from his muscles at as he realized who Kacchan was worried over. This they could both agree with, as it wasn't something he would have even considered. Raising his hands in mock surrender, Izuku warded off Kacchan's anger, but the other teen didn't move an inch as he waiting for confirmation that they were truly on the same page.
"Not about that. I was talking about me and the truth about my quirk."
Satisfied, Kachan took a step back, but he didn't continue forward as he waiting for Izuku to explain himself. There was a silence to the surround forest, as they stood facing each other. No birds, no bugs. Just the thicker trees in the area that encased them from all sides, giving them an illusion of privacy.
This was the most privacy given to them in a long time. Even when they had been alone, there had always been someone only a few feet away or just in the other room, separated by thin walls.
"I've hit a wall with training and I don't think Aizawa can help me without at least knowing where my quirk originated from." Izuku said.
Kacchan's feet scuffed at the flattened grass beneath him, considering Izuku's words. Izuku expected an outright rejection to his idea. Kacchan stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and continued down the man made path, forcing Izuku to pick up his pace to keep up behind him.
"You still hearing the voices?" Kacchan asked.
"Yeah."
He went silent again after, so Izuku took the chance to catch him up on this morning's meeting, as well as Aizawa's plans for him.
"Aizawa thinks I could be useful. Maybe I could even help them retrieve that drug to stop All for One."
"Sounds like you already decided, so I'm not gonna stop you." Kacchan said.
That he couldn't decide was the problem, so what he said only left Izuku unsatisfied with his answer. He had hoped Kacchan would give him something more.
Permission, rejection, insight.
Anything was better than that, really.
"Are we okay?"
Kacchan's steps grew more lengthy as his words blurted off like a reflexive response.
"Why wouldn't we be?"
Call it an act of frustration, but Izuku just wanted Kacchan to look back at him and take this seriously for once instead of brushing him off. So before he could stop himself, Izuku grabbed at Kacchan's hand, hoping to get his attention.
The warm brush of Kacchan's palm had just registered at the tips of his fingers before Kacchan jerked back so violently that Izuku reacted instinctively by raising his hands to show he wasn't a threat and to give the other boy as much space as possible.
The tension was palpable as Izuku registered the way Kacchan's pupils had dilated in response, cheeks washed out as he eyed Izuku. He could pick up on a few emotions that crossed his face, like the surprise that mirrored Izuku's own.
Izuku couldn't name all the other emotions in that moment, only that anger wasn't one of them.
Instead, he looked almost disturbed. Whether it was by his own action or the touch of Izuku's hand, he wasn't sure, though.
"Kacchan?"
Kacchan looked like he was going to say something as his mouth fell open, but nothing came out. Taking a step toward him only made him flinch in response as he stepped back and Izuku was at a loss at what was going on.
They both heard movement up ahead and turned their guard up for any signs of an attack, but Chieko's small form came through from the left side of the path, her hands holding a rickety basket in front of her full of wild herbs, cutting the bizarre situation short. She looked a bit tired and sweaty and she pushed at the greenery. When she entered the path, she finally looked up and noticed them for the first time, making her let out a startled shout as she jumped clear int he air.
"You scared me!"
"What the fuck are you doing out here?"
His yell echoed through the forest, making it amplified as it boomed out around them. Chieko started as she hunched forward around her basket. Kacchan's face was a deep red, and Izuku couldn't remember ever hearing him be so rough with her. It wasn't the yelling, Kacchan was a yeller on any day, but the utter rage and harshness to his words was enough to set Izuku on edge.
"I… why are you yelling at me?"
Izuku moved closer, breaking Kacchan's line of sight, and Chieko moved closer to hide behind his back. She didn't look scared on closer inspection, just wary of the other boy. Kacchan grit his teeth, but his attention was solely on Chieko.
"It isn't safe, Chieko. What are you doing out here?" Izuku asked.
Chieko eyed the blonde who, before directing her attention to Izuku.
"I was being careful. It's just that the school didn't have the herbs I needed."
"And you didn't think it was important to run it by us? Someone could have gone with you." Kacchan said.
That Kacchan was trying to restrain himself by lowering his voice to a reasonable lever was enough to give him some points for effort. Chieko was responding to the attempt too, as her body relaxed a bit more.
"Kacchan's right. The school was only recently attack." Izuku said.
Chieko moved away from him then with a huff as she headed back to the school without them. Kacchan and Izuku caught up easily though, their stance close behind, which only seem to irritate her more and so she picked up her pace.
"I'm sorry, but did it ever cross your mind that I just needed some time to myself? Instead of having a chaperone hovering over me every second of the day."
"We're just worried about you Chieko, it's dangerous out here, but it's also dangerous in the school too if anyone finds out that you're not quirkless." Izuku said.
Reaching the entrance of her escape route, Chieko at least had the decency to look apologetic as he waited for them. The basket dropped to the side, and that's when Izuku noticed the splash of red across the side of her shirt as he drew closer to her.
"If nowhere is safe for me and I can't trust anyone, then what does it matter? I'm just frustrated and I need space at least sometimes."
"Are you okay?"
Chieko looked down, noticing the blood and Kacchan moved closer, his brows pinched together as he inspected her. He got close enough to touch the edge of her shirt before Chieko was pushing his hands away and brushed her own hands against the stain with little care.
"I just tripped earlier, so leave it be. It'll just heal like it never happened, anyway, right? So no need to worry about me."
"You need to be more careful. We won't be able to hide it if you get injured."
Chieko's fist clenched tight around the basket as she glared up at Kacchan. Chieko rarely yelled, but she raised her voice high as she snapped for the first time in a while.
"Fuck! Isn't this why I'm not allowed to do anything? You've limited my training to self defense. I can't help on the field. I can't go near anything dangerous. Why don't you just lock me in the room too, can't expose the big secret, then can I?"
It was a standoff between Chieko, who had to catch her breath after her fit, her cheeks turning a dark maroon. It didn't even faze Kacchan, unwilling to backdown in the slightest.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you again." Kacchan said.
Chieko caved first at his words and she looked away with a tired sigh. It sounded like this wasn't the first time they had argued about this, and Izuku was feeling like the intruder in their conversation.
"I'm suffocating, Baku. You both just want to keep me safe, but at what cost? When does it become no different from Inazumi?"
Her words might as well have been a slap to the face, but Kacchan looked outright enraged at the comparison.
"Don't compare me to that bastard. This isn't the same thing and you know it."
"Denki and Shinso can move around as they please. Hatsume is practically nonexistent unless she's helping or sleeping. Why don't they have to report their every move, or go in groups when they head out? Why am I the only one?"
"You're not like them! The world doesn't care about being fair, and your quirk is an easy get-out-of-hell card to everyone around you. Even for the teachers here with their limited medical supplies and their ONE nurse! They don't need Hatsume's collar around your neck to make you do as they say if they found out."
Izuku moved forward to put his hand on Kacchan's shoulder as Chieko back pressed back against the wall, eyes watering without a retort this time. This was getting out of hand as Kacchan ripped into her, pushing every sore button that Chieko ever held without and Izuku only hoped he could draw the teen's attention away towards him at this point.
"Kacchan, you're taking it too far." Izuku said.
The blonde whirled around to shove Izuku's hand off him and instead grab a fist full of his shirt, yanking him forward until he was stumbling to keep his footing. Kacchan looked ready to snap at him, his nostrils flared and teeth bared, before he pushed Izuku back farther away from him. Even with all his spiteful words, Izuku saw the desperate worry behind it as he directed his orders towards Izuku. His once was rough and low as he clearly tried to reel his anger back in, but his words were as blunt as before.
"She needs to accept the situation for what it is. None of us are doing things we want to do. You think I want to hide behind these walls like some weak extra while villains crawl around every corner? None of us want to live like this! Scraping by, wondering who else we're going to lose!"
Kacchan tried to catch his breath after as he took a resolute step away from them. He made a point not to glance over at Chieko's tear-stained face.
"I won't lose anyone else, you hear me? Chieko doesn't go out here alone and she checks in with us like always."
Kacchan didn't break his gaze with Izuku, but his eyes were shiny and wide as he stared back at him. Izuku wanted to move towards him again, but he forced himself into place, unwilling to set him off any further.
"That goes for you and everyone else, too." Kacchan said.
When Izuku nodded, Kacchan disappeared through the hole, leaving Chieko and Izuku behind without another glance in either direction, allowing them all the breathing room they needed at this point.
Chieko sniffled, rubbing at her eyes.
"Something's been off about him." Chieko said.
"Maybe, but I can't say that what you did wasn't the thing that pushed him over the edge. And for good reason. I get wanting space. We all need it, but there was a better way of doing things without putting yourself in danger."
She fiddle with the basket, her form slumped forward and Izuku patted her head to comfort her. She gave him a watery smile at his awkwardness. That it was usually Kacchan comforting her didn't go unnoticed by either of them.
"I really am sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. Sometimes I just want to pretend and feel normal again."
Izuku chuckled. He wasn't sure if he even remembered what normal felt like anymore, but he could understand what she was trying to say.
"Yeah, I get it, and maybe we can come up with some ground rules once Kacchan calms down. Something to help with that."
Chieko looked thoughtful for a moment before a genuine smile finally stretched across her face.
"Maybe we can try that gathering I mentioned before?"
"Sure, sounds like a plan."
"Hurry the hell up!"
Kacchan's yell didn't carry the same bite as before, but it still made them both jump and scramble to meet him on the other side.
They found him standing nearby, his eyes downcast and hands shoved in his pocket. Chieko let out a breath as she moved closer to bump against his shoulder.
"Nod if you're sorry and I'll forgive you for being mean." Chieko offered.
Kacchan pouted before giving her a curt nod that looked so forced even Izuku had to laugh at his childishness. Kacchan huffed as glanced away from the two of them.
"We good then?" Kacchan asked.
"Yeah, we still need to come up with a better way, so I don't lose my mind, but we can talk about it later when you're done throwing a hissy fit."
Kacchan cursed before throwing an arm around her shoulders, half dragging her back towards the school building. Chieko didn't seem to mind. Her protests mingled with amusement as they began bickering when he almost tipped her basket over.
Izuku shook his head. The whiplash between their change in attitude was too much for him to process, but he was relieved that they had cleared things up for now.
Kacchan's earlier reaction to him came to mind as he followed at a distance. Maybe Izuku could understand Kacchan's worried outburst, but his reaction towards him had come out of left field.
But even so, he didn't intend to let it go this time.