In times of panic, Katsuki Bakugo was generally quick to make a plan and move to execute it immediately. Upon seeing one of the few people at U.A. University that he thought of as a potential friend give him a look that suggested there was a gross misinterpretation of what was going on, he came up with perhaps the simplest plan he had ever put together. It was one that Katsuki wasn't at all happy with, and one that he would never have followed through on had he stopped to think it over for even a second. In fact, there was really no thought behind the plan at all, and Katsuki wasn't entirely sure why he felt that the situation was so urgent. Even so, events were in motion, and it was too late to divert from the path he had locked into for whatever reason.

Step one- chase Daisuke to the bathroom. Step two- throw open the door dramatically. Step three- panic.

"Aki!"

Daisuke stood bent over one of the sinks, wearing only a towel with his tail up and over the back of it and a toothbrush in his mouth. The boy was quite muscular, though his frame was thinner than Katsuki's with the exception of his tail. He clearly took good care of his skin, and was completely unmarked by blemishes, scars, or other disfiguring marks. Upon hearing his name yelled in the enclosed corridor of the bathroom, Daisuke quite nearly choked. Spitting out his toothpaste into the sink was the only thing that saved him, and he turned his attention to Katsuki with a panicked look.

"Bakugo? What's up?" he asked through a series of coughs, his throat filled with the taste of burning mint.

All Katsuki could do was stare, immediately coming to the realization that Daisuke probably didn't see the situation as a big deal at all based on his response. In fact, he might be the only person in 1-A who wouldn't assume, spread rumors, or use what he had seen as ammunition in the future. The revelation seemed so obvious that Katsuki began to feel very, very stupid, especially in light of the fact that he had interrupted the other boy in the middle of his morning routine.

"…nothing…" Katsuki said lamely as he looked off to the side.

Daisuke simply blinked before giving Katsuki a slow nod and thumbs up.

"…cool."

And with that, the boy let out one final, somewhat painful cough before turning back to the sink and beginning to brush his teeth once again. Katsuki suddenly began to have doubts that a situation could be resolved that easily, and the panic set in once again. He knew it was irrational. He knew it made him look stupid. Somehow, though, squashing any doubt was an absolute necessity in the moment.

"It's not what it looks like."

Daisuke spit out another glob of toothpaste and shot Katsuki a quizzical look with a raised brow.

"…huh?"

"…Kyoka and I," Katsuki explained, beginning to feel frustrated. "We're not… she needed a hug, or whatever the hell, so I let her hug me. That's it. There's nothing else to it, alright?"

"Sure?" Daisuke replied, sounding unsure. "I didn't think there was, man. People hug all the time. It's whatever, and you two just seem like good friends to me."

"Yeah? Well, I don't do hugs," Katsuki said bitterly as he gave Daisuke a dirty look.

"Why not?"

Katsuki lasted all of two seconds in the staredown before he once again had to look away, feeling intense loathing. The emotion wasn't directed at anyone or anything in particular- he couldn't even bring himself to be angry with Daisuke as the other boy went back to brushing. All he wanted was to leave, and either crawl back into bed or lay into a punching bag as hard as he could. For the first time, even that choice wasn't an easy one.

Before Katsuki could make a decision on whether or not he should just up and leave, Daisuke finished brushing and balanced his toothbrush on the side of the sink. With a quick splash of water on his face, he rubbed the moisture into his cheeks before leaning back into the counter and facing Katsuki once again.

"…I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it?"

"I wouldn't even know what to talk about if I did want to," Katsuki admitted with a grimace. "I don't know why the hell I followed you in here, or thought it was a big deal, or why all of this just makes me feel like absolute shit. I don't want to think about it, let alone talk. I should just go. Forget this ever happened."

"Before you do," Daisuke interjected as Katsuki turned to leave. "Can I… ask you something personal? I might understand better than you think."

Katsuki brought a palm up to his forehead and pushed, half-wishing he could just drive it straight through his forehead and simply die in the process. Instead, he turned around and heaved a sigh.

"…today's already a goddamned mess. Fuck it. I don't care anymore. What?"

Daisuke ran a hand through his messy, bed-matted hair and scratched a bit at his scalp. Katsuki softened a bit as he noticed that Daisuke, too, was clearly feeling uncomfortable with the situation. The change had been both sudden and subtle, but Katsuki did notice it. He had seen the expression on Daisuke's face before, though he couldn't quite place or interpret it in the moment.

"Are you…" Daisuke began, trailing off before huffing slightly and starting again. "…when it comes to relationships and whatnot…"

"I'm not gay, if that's what you're asking," Katsuki asserted to try to cut him off. "I don't care if anyone else is, or you are, or… whatever. But I'm not."

"No, no, I'm not… I wasn't… coming on to you or anything," Daisuke said before closing his eyes. "I'm just wondering if, maybe, you've ever thought that you might not be like most people? That a lot of the ways relationships are handled and everyone's obsession with sex all the time just… doesn't work for you?"

It wasn't a question that Katsuki had expected at all, but it was one that he found interesting. In truth, he wasn't sure at all how to answer… or what the implication for Daisuke himself could possibly be.

"…I don't know," Katsuki admitted, being as truthful as he could manage. "Parts of that fit me, but I don't know about some of the specifics. I don't know how I feel about 'relationships,' other than the fact that here, at U.A., it all seems like a big waste of time and an unnecessary distraction. I don't want people thinking I'm slacking off and focusing on that kind of trivial shit when there's work to be done. I especially don't want rumors being spread about me in terms of hooking up with people, or fucking, or… any that garbage. It's all meaningless and shitty and stupid. I don't care. It's not why I'm here."

"So… it's not really all that important to you?" Daisuke probed as he took a step closer and tilted his head. "Do you feel like you could go without those things, even if we weren't in the hero course? If we were just… normal teens in a normal job, would you feel the same way?"

Katsuki wanted to answer immediately, and yet, for once, he felt the urge to twist the truth just a bit. Something told him that Daisuke might be disappointed in the truth, and that the topic wasn't an easy one for him, either.

"I mean… I guess I d-"

Suddenly, the door at the far end of the hall opened to reveal another boy from 1-A wearing very little, but a bit more than Daisuke. While similarly clad in a towel, Juzo Honenuki also had his high-tech mask firmly in place as he walked in on the conversation with a toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, while his eyes were full of horrified surprise. He, too, was fairly muscular, though his frame was wider and had less definition to it than either Katsuki or Daisuke. Juzo was by no means a slouch physically, but the other two boys clearly had an edge on him. What he did beat the two others in, however, was the number of scars, blemishes, and sparse burn marks on his chest and back.

"…o-oh. Uh, hey…"

Daisuke looked back over his shoulder while Katsuki glared straight ahead at Juzo, clenching a fist in annoyance at the interruption.

"Hey," Daisuke said with a small yawn. "Here for the party?"

"P-party…?" Juzo stammered, his voice slightly distorted through the mechanical mask.

"There's no party, he's just being a dumbass," Katsuki said quickly before giving Daisuke a serious look as their eyes met once again. "We'll talk later. I want to know where this is going, for some stupid reason."

"Cool," Daisuke said, his anxious facial expression betraying the fact that he did not, in fact, find the idea of continuing the conversation cool at all. "Text me when you're available, I guess? We can meet somewhere private."

"Am I… interrupting something?" Juzo asked as he looked between his classmates. "I can leave…"

"No," Katsuki insisted. "Just do whatever you came here to do, I'm leaving. Aki… I'll… it might be a while. It might not even be today."

"Hey, no pressure," Daisuke said as he walked toward one of the shower stalls and pulled back the curtain. "I'm patient, and I've always got time for a friend. Take care of yourself, Katsuki, no matter what that means."

Hearing his given name from Daisuke gave him an entirely different vibe than hearing it from Kyoka. It wasn't at all unpleasant and made him slightly more comfortable with the whole situation… though only just. Though he didn't quite want to return the favor, he did give Daisuke a friendly nod of acknowledgement. Katsuki then turned on his heel and began lightly muttering a string of curses as Daisuke and Juzo struck up a conversation behind him. There was too much on his mind at once, and he was filled to the brim with uncomfortable feelings and an unpleasant pressure from all sides.

It was then that he finally decided on the punching bag over the bed.

Rumi Usagiyama slowly opened her eyes to a blurry portrait of an unfamiliar white ceiling. She was only vaguely aware that she was even awake as she squinted to try to bring some clarity to her surroundings. Parts of her body were totally numb, while others felt like they were on fire. A vague sensation of a light, subtle breeze was going up into her sinuses, and she could feel small plastic tubes within her nostrils connected to a longer ring of plastic draped across her upper lip and lower cheeks. There was a steady beep at her side. It didn't take long to figure out that she was in a hospital.

"…Keigo…?" Rumi said weakly, her vision beginning to blur once again. "Tell me you're here…"

"Hawks? He stepped out for a moment."

Rumi furrowed her brows as she tried to place the voice. It sounded familiar, but quite odd at the volume level of almost a whisper. She was used to hearing it much, much louder, and more confident. There it was.

All Might.

"Why are you here…?" Rumi asked before letting out a small cough. She tried to lift her arm to stifle the sound but found that she couldn't move it. "What's happening? Is he okay?"

"Slow down," Toshinori commanded as he appeared as a blurry blob in Rumi's peripheral vision. "Just focus on breathing. I'm here because I care… and because all of Japan is in trouble, right now. Hawks is fine. He wasn't attacked."

"Good," Rumi acknowledged, slurring her words. "That's… good. Did they catch whoever shot me?"

"They didn't," Toshinori answered. "But even without having her in custody… I know who is responsible. We'll discuss it once Hawks returns, but what I'm going to tell you cannot leave this room…"

Author's Note:

The web continues to tangle.

-RD