Katsuki wrung his hands around the polished railing before him as he stared angrily out over the darkened campus of U.A. University. Tiny lights illuminated various stretches of walkways and hedges far below, where there were no signs of life beyond those of errant small animals darting in and out of foliage. The moon was somewhere behind the massive towers of the main campus buildings, and Katsuki had absolutely no idea what time it was. All he knew was that it was late enough for almost everyone else to be in bed, and that he was pissed.

"Fucking Deku," Katsuki muttered to himself. "Fucking selfish, cowardly, stupid fucking jackass. Putting everything and everyone at risk f-"

The sound of the sliding glass door behind him caused Katsuki to pause his rant. He didn't bother turning around, and clenched the railing tighter as he waited to hear Daisuke or Eijiro's voice.

Or Izuku's.

"…is everything alright?" a concerned female voice rang out, slightly muffled by a sudden breeze.

Katsuki couldn't quite place it. He knew for a fact that it wasn't Kyoka or Amaya. He also didn't particularly care who it was, but the lingering familiarity bothered him all the same.

"…fine," Katsuki said with a bit more force than he'd intended. "Everything's fine."

The only reply for several seconds came from the wind. Whoever had intruded upon Katsuki's venting session hadn't moved from the doorway.

"Aren't you…cold?" the woman asked.

"…what?"

Katsuki finally turned his head to look over his shoulder, where a woman he had never seen before in his life stood. She had long, black hair hanging down to her stomach and was clad in red silk pajamas with matching slippers. Her chest was quite large and her hips were fairly wide, giving her close to a perfect hourglass figure. Something about her seemed familiar, but Katsuki couldn't quite place it.

"It's a little windy, and you're wearing shorts and a sleeveless tee," the figure explained. "I could help."

"…whatever," Katsuki replied with a roll of his eyes.

As the woman unfastened the top button of her pajamas and took a step forward, Katsuki moved away from the railing and tried to swerve around her to head back into the lobby. Upon seeing a series of rainbow sparkles manifest around her exposed cleavage, he instead paused to watch the spectacle. It took a moment to click that it was her- the Class 1-B lead that he couldn't quite remember the name of, despite running into her mere hours before in the stairwell. She simply had her hair down and a different outfit, which was enough to throw Katsuki off entirely.

"Here," Momo offered as she pulled a throw blanket from within her top and held it outward. "Please, wrap it around yourself if you intend to stay out here. Getting sick right before classes begin wouldn't be wise."

Katsuki simply stared at the fuzzy black length of cloth for a moment as it swayed gently atop Momo's hand. With a sigh, he took the blanket and draped it over his shoulders. After all, he did feel a bit chilly, though he only realized it after she had asked.

"…thanks…"

"Of course," Momo replied with a bow of her head as she buttoned up her top. "It is a rather beautiful view from up here…"

Katsuki hesitated momentarily, lingering just before the door as he looked back out over the campus.

"…it's just… dark. What are you talking about? Are you staying out here?"

"If you'll have me," Momo replied as she folded her hands before herself. "I could use the fresh air."

Katsuki reached over and slid the glass door closed once again before walking back to the railing.

"Fine. Just don't piss me off by asking about things you have no business knowing. I don't want to talk about it. I can't talk about it."

"…I know that feeling," Momo sympathized as she joined Katsuki at the railing and leaned forward to wrap her fingers around it. "I do want to say, though… you can still come to me for anything you need, Bakugo, even though we're in separate classes. I'm here for all of you and came out here to check on you. I care about Class 1-A as well… and given the conversation I just had, I may have to come down here more often than I thought…"

Katsuki furrowed his brows, pulling the blanket a bit tighter around his shoulders.

"What conversation was that?"

"I just spoke to Tsu," Momo replied. "Hagakure… still isn't back…"

"What?" Katsuki snapped, turning his attention from the ground below to Momo. "What time is it, anyway?"

"It's nearly one in the morning," Momo answered.

A sudden shiver tingled up Katsuki's spine. He had always been one to fall asleep rather early, but after getting so caught up in the events of the day and his frustration with Izuku, time had slipped his notice entirely.

"What the hell is she doing?" Katsuki asked. "She just blew off moving day entirely?"

"Tsu and I both tried to text her," Momo said with a sigh. "So did Iida. No replies as of yet, though I'm fairly certain Iida's asleep. I may be up for a while longer, so I suppose we'll see…"

"Why?"

"Why what?" Momo replied with a blink.

"Why stay up?" Katsuki clarified. "I should get to bed. There's a lot to figure out tomorrow, before classes start up. I'm sure you've got a lot on your schedule, too."

"I do," Momo confirmed. "But… I also have a lot on my mind right now, and nowhere to sleep, so…"

"What's wrong with your dorm?" Katsuki questioned as he turned around fully and pressed his hips back against the barricade.

"Well… Kirishima came by earlier to visit Ashido," Momo began. "As of fifteen minutes ago, there's still a tie on the doorknob. Perhaps they just forgot to take it off, but I'd rather not walk in on them if not…"

"So, what, you're just going to accept getting kicked out of your own dorm any time they want to fuck?" Katsuki asked. "That's shitty."

"…the couches in the lounge are comfortable," Momo tried, appearing slightly unsettled. "I'll manage."

Katsuki couldn't help but give Momo a blank stare for a moment. She stared right back with a raised brow, looking equally curious and exhausted.

"…bullshit. Come on."

"Hm? Where are we going?" Momo asked as she watched Katsuki walk to the glass door and proceed into the lobby.

"My room," Katsuki answered as he continued to walk. "It's right over here. Take Kirishima's bed. He's kicking you out of yours."

"Would he mind?" Momo asked as she followed along and closed the door behind herself. "Would you mind?"

"He doesn't get a say," Katsuki insisted while he worked to unlock the door to his room. "And I don't care, but it's an asshole move to just kick you out of your own dorm like that. So much for not being obnoxious about his relationship…"

"It was likely just a fluke, rather than something malicious," Momo tried. "All the same, thank you for inviting me in."

"Whatever," Katsuki said yet again as he stepped inside of the darkened dorm and sat down on the edge of his mattress. He pulled the blanket off of his shoulders and placed it beside him. "I'm going to bed."

"…may I ask you something, before you do?" Momo asked as she closed and locked the door to the dorm. She winced as Katsuki let out a growl of annoyance while in the process of rolling his shirt off over his head. "Sorry…"

"Just make it quick," Katsuki grumbled while tossing his shirt into a nearby hamper. "It's late."

"It is," Momo agreed as she sat down atop Eijiro's bed, facing Katsuki. "I just wanted to know if your friend is… okay? Would it be alright if I check in on him tomorrow, or would he appreciate being left alone?"

"My friend?" Katsuki asked as he gave Momo a blank stare. He wracked his brain for a moment, trying to figure out what she could possibly mean. Eventually, he managed to piece together that she probably meant Daisuke. "Aki?"

"Yes," Momo confirmed. Try as she might, she was unable to stop herself from tracing the shadowed outlines of Katsuki's sculpted chest and abdominals with her eyes. "When I ran into the two of you in the stairwell, he seemed… rather nervous, and almost as though he couldn't bring himself to look at me. Is he usually like that?"

Katsuki furrowed his brows as Momo met his eyes once again. He hadn't noticed that hers had been wandering as he focused on trying to figure out what to say.

"No. He's usually pretty quiet, laid back, and just unaffected by most things," Katsuki answered honestly. "That's why we get along- he's not annoying, most of the time. I've only ever seen him like that around you."

Momo stiffened, sitting up a bit straighter as she pressed both palms down into Eijiro's mattress beside herself. Her blush was immediate and subtle, though she felt the burn in her cheeks all the same.

"…oh. That's… I'm not sure what to say…"

"It isn't like that," Katsuki cut in before Momo could continue. "At least, that's what he told me. Given the fact that he looked like he wanted to throw up after you left, I believe him. Something else is going on, and it has to do with you, for some reason. I don't think he's 'interested' in you if that's what you're thinking."

Momo's shoulders relaxed almost immediately and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good. Nothing against him at all, but I just… I feel like now isn't the time to explore anything like that. We're all about to be incredibly busy, and I'm already feeling a little overwhelmed, if I'm being honest. I'd like for us all to settle in before I even think about getting closer than simply classmates with anyone."

"Yeah. Agreed," Katsuki replied as he swung his legs up and onto the mattress to lie down. "There was a whole big conversation about sexuality earlier with five or six of us, and it's just… pointless and stupid to even think about right now. Who cares. It probably won't matter later, either. I'm beginning to think half of 1-A doesn't even understand how much we're going to have to keep track of and put up with when it comes to the hero course. This isn't going to be some big party."

"Well… yes, I believe some people here are in for a rather rude awakening," Momo agreed. "But at the same time… I understand where they're coming from. A lot of people use casual hook-ups and flirting as a stress reliever. I don't understand that mindset, myself, but I know many feel that way."

"Yeah, well, many people are stupid," Katsuki offered. "The best way to handle stress is to just handle it. Shut your mouth, put your head down, and push through. I'm tired of listening to people whine about shit and make excuses for being obnoxious instead of just getting things done. They're not the only ones who have it bad, and other people have issues that can't be fixed by just putting in a little effort and shutting the hell up. I'm just moving ahead, and so is Aki."

Momo gave Katsuki an odd look through the darkness. She couldn't tell if he was looking up at the ceiling or if his eyes were already closed.

"…I suppose that's one approach," she said slowly. "But please- if you need to air any concerns, the class leads are here for you, and I'm sure your friends are, as well. I'll talk to Aki tomorrow and see if he's feeling any better. Perhaps I can get to the bottom of the situation."

Katsuki let out a noise of irritation as he scrunched his face. The fact that he knew what he had to say immediately filled him with dread. It was an unfamiliar, weighty sensation of determined responsibility to speak up, and Katsuki wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the feeling existing at all. He had never really felt so compelled to stand up for someone since he had first met Izuku.

"…don't."

"Don't…?" Momo questioned, catching the glint of Katsuki's eyes as they opened and met her own.

"Don't confront him about it," Katsuki repeated as he propped himself up on his side to address Momo. "He specifically told me that he doesn't want to explain himself or discuss it yet, and he asked if I'd be willing to listen when he's ready. Don't push him and fuck him up even more, alright? I'll… I'll look out for him. For whatever stupid reason, he trusts me with it, and it sounds like it's a big deal. Stay out of it."

"…alright," Momo agreed. "I'll trust you on this one and leave it alone. You seem like a good friend, Bakugo. Anyone here would be lucky to have you in their corner."

Katsuki made a dismissive noise as he rolled onto his back and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"…doesn't feel that way…"

Author's Note:

Next time- Mirio.

-RD