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Chapter Text

((About Katsukis middle school friends: The guy with the black hair will have a hearing quirk, therefore Bakugou is gonna call him "Eavesdrop"))

(( Another Character: 平然着寛 (Heizen Kikan) ))

As far as little Bakugou Katsuki was concerned, Midoriya Izuku would always follow him blindly. No matter how cruel he was to his former childhood friend, the little guy with greenish curls was always "amazed” - "Deku's being sarcastic. He's mocking me." - In the back of his head, he still hears faint steps of a little brat, praising him endlessly like a dog.

Even when he was trembling, even when he was crawling on the floor out of fear thanks to their classmates, even the moment of shock, sadness, and anger Midoriya felt once Bakugou told him to stay away from him after what happened at the river, the blond would never get rid of those eyes watching his every move.

Slowly, Bakugou felt like the green-eyed boy was testing him, just waiting for a moment of weakness on Bakugous side. The entire world looks at him like he’s a fuse, and Deku is the one that keeps igniting it. Every praise felt like he was just a stupid mutt and Midoriya was his owner. No matter how much adoration was clearly heard in every word his childhood friend spoke, Bakugou always thought he meant the complete opposite. He knows how the world works; if you cannot prove your strength, you’re a weakling and deserve to be forgotten.

Even though Bakugou was usually smart and saw through every little trick, being around his quirkless ex-friend turns him into a dense, oblivious, hot-headed idiot. No matter how irritable the blond was, he always had some backbone. No matter how loud he screamed, he always held back. His quirk can kill if he wanted to; he needs to keep himself calm. However, the moment Deku decides to spend time with him is the same moment every sort of restraint meets their end, drowning in the green of his classmates' eyes.

And it doesn't end there. Once his ex-childhood friend started to ignore him most of the day (Katsuki ignored him first and left him to be bullied, but that’s unnecessary information.), Bakugou found himself looking for him; That useless, noisy Deku with his constant mumbling and bright light in his eyes whenever Bakugou was just being himself. Did that green fucker grow bored of him? Isn't he good enough to mess with anymore? Did Midoriya find a new bitch to bother?

'Even after all those years, that fucker's still looking down on me. Who does he think he is? He’s quirkless, he is weak.'

'I'm the greatest. I'll make it to U.A. while he goes to some unimportant high school filled with extras that'll never be part of my legacy! I'll become the number one hero while all he'll be is a dumbass side character in my origin! He'll look up to me, green with envy, while I'll snarl and flip him off at the top of the food chain!'

If only Midoriya didn't try to help when they were just little kids. If only Bakugou had some sort of influence as a kid that didn't feed his power complex into an obscure set of mind, that would have told him that even he can make mistakes. If only they just talked about their feelings for once in their middle school lives. Then maybe, just maybe...

Bakugou Katsuki wouldn't deny the anger he feels, looking at his childhood friend and the girl from another class.

It's the 2nd year of middle school. Today's lessons were finally finished, and Katsuki was free from schoolwork as well. So it's not that much of a surprise that his minions would walk over and offer to spend time with him. He used to have 4 minions, Deku included. Once he was ignoring him, it turned into 3, and then the fatty with the bat wings suddenly disappeared. But he doesn't mind, it's easier to look over it.
"Yo, Katsuki! You wanna join?" Long-Fingers grabbed a bright red flyer out the pocket of his Gakuran. Apparently the Arcade they usually go to have a new game in it, which is said to be quite the challenge. Since the Arcade constructed them a "No Physical Games"-Policy (thanks to Katsuki and his ‘training’), they made money quite easier because there was no need for constant repairing of their machines. Katsuki decided to join his minions since they'd be fucked on their own, so he says.

Hearing questions, answering them, being the responsible and mature guy of the group, and making sure nothing fucked up happens were all of Katsukis roles once he goes on a stroll with his classmates. They're not his friends. They don't challenge him, at all. His idea of friends is to argue and fight off the steam, to get along later on.

Someone who would try to get on his level.

Those guys behind him did nothing like that. They respect his superiority and don't even fight against it. They follow him like ducklings. They're losers.

And Deku, the person who always seems to put him down, the person that rather talks to himself and scribble into some messy notebook than talk to Katsuki, the person that he’s seen less and less on their way to school and back home, he's the worst.

"DIE YOU DUMB DRAGON! TAKE THAT”
One of the best ways for Katsuki to calm his nerves; a nice round of killing polygon characters. His followers look over his back, awaiting their turn on the machine, while the explosive teen mashes the buttons in what seems to be a chaotic manner, but was actually extremely calculative. He can hit the enemy's hitbox just right, completing the final level of the tiny jump and run game. Long-Finger whistles impressed. "As expected. You can really do this first try! Nice one, dude!" He said, hugging himself slightly because of Katsukis yelling.

See? This is why they aren't his friends. Friends would not be cowards, they'd compete against him, try to do better than him, not clap their hands and basically lick his shoes clean. 

Damn. How boring. 

He registers his name into the scoreboard (Highscore, as usual), and lets his lackeys play for themselves. He's already finished most of these games, so what else is there to do other than spectate?

The Arcade is their resting place, their chill-out zone. Between going to private cafes for studying and his home for sleeping, the arcade was always part of his regimen. He had the money to use it, after all. Didn't mind using his savings for games as long as he didn't need new workout equipment. 

Long-Fingers and Eavesdrop decided to coop. One would move the joystick, the other would press the 4 buttons. Weak, as usual. He's probably beat them just using his feet too. They're gonna spend all their coins just by playing that game. 'What boring shitbags.' He grabs his phone, waiting on those two to finish up so they can go home. He may be better than them, but he's still gotta make sure those two get home safely. 

The old hag sent him a message, telling him that she and the old man invited someone over and that he needs to be polite. He scoffs. 'Who is it this time? That weird old lady with the Medusa hair? I told them to stay the fuck away from her! Fuck they're dumbasses!'

"Hey! Why did you suddenly stop?! We were about to finish the second level!" Katsuki turned back to his friends to see Eavesdrop halting in his movements, his eyes closed. Why's he using his dumb quirk?

Eavesdrop can listen to conversations happening in an 80-meter radius. He can only concentrate on one conversation at a time. However, his quirk sometimes activates when he hears a familiar voice.

"Oi." His minions turn to Katsuki. "Who you got in your system, Eavesdrop?" Both of his minions flinch slightly at the nickname, far too used to it. They don't mind it, they said, but would like it from Katsuki to at least remember their names, considering they've known each other since kindergarten. Eavesdrop slowly opens his eyes, grinning. An extremely familiar grin, one that makes Katsuki smirk himself.

"It's Midoriya." 

They can see him walking towards a bookstore. His green hair is hard to ignore, and his red shoes always stand out. But, there is still something unusual about this.

1. There aren't any villain attacks in the area, so he didn't run over here to catch the commotion. Katsuki knows that, he checked the news beforehand. And he also knows that Deku does that too.

2. Deku always goes home straight after school. The only time he doesn't is when a new issue of the All Might is released, and he knows that was last week because he bumped into the nerd while buying it himself.

3. Deku has no friends. He gets along with the elderly people in their area and chats in-hero forums (Katsuki grabbed his phone once he saw him looking at the U.A. website and quickly checked his tabs – in case he looks at Shiketsu too). The only person he might consider being the nerd's friend is that weird clerk working in the comic section.

So why exactly is Deku not on his way home, but walking around the streets, with a girl?

This doesn't make any sense. She wears their uniform, but he has never seen him interact with anyone besides the teachers and himself. Who is she?

"Oh wow. Isn't that Heizen-chan?"

Katsuki looks behind him to see Long-Finger staring at the pair, mouth slightly agape. He looks like he's seen a new species, not the dumbass nerd and whatever-her-name. Katsuki can't blame him, he feels the same way. Long-Finger extended his pointing finger, making it a slightly crooked shape due to the length. "No way! Heizen and Midoriya! You think those two are a thing?" He asked, voice wavering. Eavesdrop shook his head. "Doubt it. Midoriya does sometimes help out in the schools' library, right? Heizen does it too."

Right. The library.

Most books are old, worn and outdated, so Katsuki barely enters it. Of course, the nerd needs free books to study properly. So they're just buying more books? Just close down the fucking library and make it a study hall. What's the point in keeping it alive? 

"But... aren't they holding hands?" This Heizen girl is not familiar with personal space, apparently. While Deku is shaking like a leaf, his shoulders up and head down, Heizen calmy struts in front of the trio, barely noticing the green nerds discomfort. Heizen is about as tall as Deku, it seems. From behind Katsuki can see that she has a black pixie haircut and fair skin. She looks... normal?

Average.

She's average.

Another extra.

And she's hanging out with Deku.

They're hanging out.

They're holding hands.

Deku is holding a girl's hand.

"I'm so sorry about this, Heizen-san! If I'd been more careful-" "Don't worry that much. I checked the website, and they have the book in stock. We can just rebuy it!" Her voice is surprisingly high, trying to cheer up Deku. He sounds like he's about to cry. Katsuki scoffed. His clumsy ass got him into trouble again. Figured. He could hold an hour-long speech just about how often Deku trips for no reason. It's fucking annoying. 

"Should we go and bother? Doesn't seem like they want to be bothered." It took some time for Katsuki to realize that they were following the pair. He was too deep in his thoughts to notice. Just what am I doing?! Whatever the nerd does, doesn't matter to me! Katsuki assumes that he probably got too concentrated on the nerd's conversation with the girl. Does that make him stop walking? Apparently not, because he keeps doing so. 

"B-But... If I would've been more careful, the water wouldn't have spilled and your book would still be alright... I will definitely pay for the new book!" Heizen smiled, halting. The nerd, Katsuki and his Minions did the same. "Midoriya, I shouldn't have left the bottle so carelessly close on the edge, so it's really not your fault! Besides, didn't you want to save up for your mother's birthday?" Deku flinched. 

How does she know so much? Deku never mentions Auntie unless necessary. He knows that she doesn't like that. Katsuki feels out of place. All of this too unfamiliar to him. He always saw the nerd alone in the first place, and now he's holding hands with a girl? Now he's hanging out with someone? Before that, it was his notebook and nothing else. So why now? Why in front of Katsuki?

Wait. That's not a question to ask. I don't care.

The blond was stuck in his own head, so it seemed. His minions looked at him with concern. Eavesdrop was the only one hearing Dekus mumbling through his quirk. "Come on, Katsuki. There's nothing interesting here." Katsuki nodded, about to turn around, but then he saw it. And what he saw shut is brain down for a second.

A hand stroked through Deku's hair, instantly relaxing him. His shoulders dropped, his eyes closed. He sighs, exhaustion and anxiety leaving him. "I told you, Midoriya, it's fine. Just relax, alright?" 'Pixie' is smiling, her fingers glowing.

Deku's anxiety suddenly melted off, leaving him smiling peacefully. With another sigh, he takes Pixie's hand from his head and nods.

So the hand-holding is mutual? That's weird.

"Then... let's get moving." They continue walking. Katsuki doesn't follow them, his mind clear enough to realize that it's meaningless to do so. But still...

Katsuki can feel a bitter taste in his mouth, no matter how much his sweet scent usually chokes the air. His stomach is churning, and his fingers are twitching. Katsuki knows what his body is doing. It's what he does when something is... wrong. Wrong.

There's something wrong with this.

"Is quirk use like this allowed in public? It doesn't seem harmful." 

He heard one of his classmates speak up, but he has no headspace left to listen. His mind is reeling, gears are turning, everything in him is trying to swallow down what he just witnessed. Yes. His body is definitely getting ready to do something, so:

There's definitely something wrong with this.

"Heizen's quirk is more like a tiny spa day though. I'm sure it's not that bad to use."

God if he hears that name one more time-... what's he supposed to do? Wait. What is he even doing?
They're just classmates, working in the library together, buying a book, holding hands... there's nothing...

It seems weird to hold hands with a classmate. Girls like to do so with their friends, but Deku even flinches at shoulder-bumping... so how can Deku suddenly initiate hand-holding?

Could they be...

"Maybe they're dating after all?"

Dating...

No. That's silly. Deku dating someone? A girl of all people? The same guy that blushes in the lockerrooms? The same nerd who would kiss his All Might toys goodnight at a sleepover? The same Deku who's heart was ready to jump out of his chest and praise Katsuki by itself when they were kids?

Bullshit.

They can't be dating.
They shouldn't be dating.

Hold on.

Katsuki can't be actually thinking about this.
He shouldn't be thinking about this.
It's wrong. Everything is wrong here.

It's messed up. There's no reason to care. Deku can do whatever he wants, he will always be a damn pebble to Katsuki. He's a quirkless nobody. He's useless. He's Deku.

He's Deku.

"Katsuki?"

It's wrong.

"H-Hey stop!"

All of this is wrong.

"Come on! Lessen the sparks man!"

It took him some time to recollect himself. Long-Finger slightly shook his shoulders, causing him to tense up. He opened his mouth to yell at his classmate, but the all too familiar prickling in his palms stopped him. He looked at his hand to view a tiny cloud of smoke emitting from his fingers. His pinky twitched, and his nitroglycerin sweat basically formed a puddle in his palm.

He was about to use his quirk in public.

'What the fuck?! What's going on?!' He wanted to yell, shove his palm onto a face and make it pop like a firecracker. He has an itch, and it needed its usual scratch. He knows he can do it, but he shouldn't. He wants to be the number one hero, not the youngest killer around.

It then started to dawn upon him. Deku holding hands with someone isn't wrong. Deku going to buy a book isn't wrong. Deku seeming relieved isn't wrong either.

There isn't anything wrong with Deku.

There's something wrong with Katsuki.

Turns out his parents are still talking to their visitor once he rushed back home. He can hear them talking in the dining room.
So his parents get to enjoy themselves while he was experiencing a crisis?

He was panicking, worried that the might accidentally cause a scene and not make it to U.A. for his record. Then he can forget his hero career and has to be dragged to one of the old hags ideas for his future. ("You got my face, so you can be a model. Or a cook, 'cuz the grub you cook actually tastes decent. Maybe even a doctor with your shit-grades.")
And all of that because of shitty Deku.
This is what still confuses Katsuki.

Deku, of all the people Katsuki knows of, why is it quirkless Deku that's doing this to him?
He just can't find an answer. The nerd is weak, he is useless, he is the definition of Deku itself. It's in his fucking name. It makes no damn sense. What pisses him off so much?

Maybe the Pixie girl is the one that's pissing him off. Her voice was too damn high, and she showed no restraint. Her PDA levels are over the board.

'Besides, they're not dating. Fucking nerd is just touch starved after everybody left him. I could hug him and he'd be grateful for it.'

'Wait. That's besides the point.'

"I'm home, you shitbags!" He slammed the entrance shut. His guess is that in around 5 seconds, his mom will yell at him and try to slam her fist into his skull.
So he was pleasantly surprised when he heard her laugh instead. 'Is the visit someone important?' He dropped his shoes and strutted over to the dining area.
The old hag sits in front of the table that's filled with sweets and a few slices of American sandwiches. His dad is beside her, while the visitor is on the other side of the table.
A short and chubby lady with green hair, partly tied into a bun. 

"Hello, Katsuki-kun! It's been a while!" Inko Midoriya slightly bowed her head before drinking more from the tea of her cup. 

'Of. Fucking. Course.' He should have realized that it would have been Miss Midoriya the moment his mother told him about the visit beforehand. She never does so, unless the person is someone important to the family, or a business partner.

He responded to her greeting with a slight grunt, ready to head to the kitchen for his pre-made snack. "Brat! Say hello properly! What are you, 5?!" The old hag yelled out, ready to stand up and pound his face in. The old man flinched, wanting to grab his wife's shoulders to settle her back down, but knowing that it wouldn't end well if he did.

The three Bakugous heard a giggle from the greenette. "It's fine, Micchan! We haven't seen each other in so long, I don't expect too much formality!" She emphasized her refusal by waving her hand gently in front of the old hag. His mom's expression instantly softens.

"Huh... whatever. Brat, get your food and join us. She's our guest for the night." It's always wondrous to him how Auntie Midoriya was able to calm his mother down so quickly. She had this bitch tied onto a leash and the old hag is into it. Maybe it's their childhood friend's connection. Auntie was surprisingly sort-of a big sister for the old hag. 

'And they're trying to enforce this bullshit on to their own sons. Pisses me off.'

It's not like he has anything better to do, is it? Sure, let him hang out with Deku. Make him spend time with that nerd, go deaf through his mumbling, maybe even braid flowers into his hair so he looks more like a bush than he already does. Get him onto the Midoriya leash too, make him bark for attention like the old hag. Yeah right. 

'Even plants do more than Deku. They produce oxygen. What does he do? Stalk his classmates and hold hands with them. Pathetic.'

Sitting next to the chubby woman, Katsuki stabbed into his food before mindlessly chewing it, posture hunched to blend in. The old hag looks so much younger smiling at the slightly older lady. He hears them joke around while they munch on the sweets. His father stares into his tea, nodding sometimes and joining in a few times when Auntie asked questions. Katsuki was barely needed, but it's not like he minded.

He does kinda enjoy Aunties company.

"So how's little Izu anyway?"

Well shit. There goes the peaceful moment.

'Gotta finish quick.' He takes bigger bites now. Auntie gets really depressed when talking about Deku, wondering why he didn't come with her (because Katsuki threatened him to fuck off) and why he barely goes outside (because Katsuki made sure he was alienated). "He's a good son, but his dreams are stressing me out." She likes to say, and then the old hag comforts her while the old man cleans the table. That's how it usually went.

However, today is just full of surprises. 

He looked up when he heard her laugh. "He's doing really well lately! He spends a lot of time outside, but his grades aren't slipping! He seems much calmer these days too! He usually gets anxious over going to school, but now he is always happy in the morning!"

'...What?'

When did that happen? How did he not see it? Did he miss something? What’s she talking about?
He didn’t change in class! He’s still that ugly, mumbling green shitstain that Katsuki sees every day!
The old hag was just as shocked as he is. At this point she would already be standing next to Auntie, hugging her or whatever friends do (she even was already lifting herself up!). Katsuki swore he could see her rebooting herself. “A-ah… That’s great! I told you he would get over his hero-phase!” Just one look at her face and Katsuki could clearly see that she was disappointed. Why exactly? No clue. “So, what’s his new plan? A doctor? A policeman? Oh! How about a scientist? He still writes into his little diaries, doesn’t he?”

‘Those are his notebooks, hag.’

Auntie lowers her head a bit. “U-um that’s not it. He still wants to be a hero… but he brought someone over a few days ago!” And now the greenette is unusually cheery again. It even has Katsuki curious. “We didn’t get to talk that much because Izuku was really nervous, but she helped him out with that and our chat was really nice!”

And that’s the moment Katsukis’ guts punched deep into him. It was also this moment that made him choke on his food and gasp for air. All in all, it’s that moment that him off-guard.

To be more specific, the word ‘she’.

Deku even bringing someone over was a shock for everyone, but it was a girl too.

A damn girl.

And Katsuki has a hunch on who it could be.

“Oh wait! You said she?!” The old hag bounced in her chair, her body not knowing what to do with the new information. “I’m not going deaf, aren’t I?!” What sort of emotion she was showing, Katsuki got no clue. He assumes it is happiness though. She always had a weak spot for Deku, no matter if they haven’t spoken to each other in years. Her actual fucking son - who is basically her face on a man - gets none of that soft motherly shit.

“Yeah! Kikan-chan was a really sweet girl! She was really interested in our family and-“ Honestly, Katsuki had no damn reason to listen to this. So why does he? Why does he raise his head and stare at Auntie, listening intensively to every word that comes out of her mouth? Why does he furrow his eyebrows every time she emphasizes the niceness of that pixie-cut girl? Why do his fingers start twitching whenever she mentions Deku’s shyness over it all?

And why the fucks are they on a first-name basis?!

Out of all the things that could tick him off, it just had to be their level of familiarity. It wasn’t Inko bouncing in her chair, it wasn’t the tapping of his moms’ acryl nails, it wasn’t his dad surprisingly talking more than the old hag – it was the mentioning of the damn girl. It could have been anything else, really. But Katsuki just knows that that’s not the case, his guts tell him so. They churn whenever the girl is mentioned, and he feels tense when Deku is mixed into it.

But why?

The dinner really took an unexpected turn. It would usually end slightly depressed Auntie and an unhappy departure until next time, but now, everything is too optimistic. It’s too unusual. And the worst thing? It’s still not done.

There was still one question left. It was lying heavy in each of the Bakugous’ mouth, Katsuki cannot even bet himself in who will ask first. He can see the old hag growing more and more impatient, begging for Auntie to take a breather and for her to jump in. The old man wasn’t hiding his intention any less, but he is too ‘polite’ (weak) for his own good.
So, Katsuki guessed, he had to do it.

He lifts his head, his posture straight. The movement caused all eyes to land on him, even Aunties, although she was still babbling. It would’ve been heartwarming wouldn’t the subject be so churning for Katsukis’ abdomen… churning… really? He makes it sound like Auntie is happily grieving the death of a puppy, not celebrating her quirkless, useless song to no longer be friendless too. He should be ashamed, if he weren’t the future number one hero. Honestly? He can feel in whatever way he wants to. The world is gonna bend for him like it always did. He gently coughed into his hand, knowing the old hag will twist his neck if he gets too loud. (“Don’t startle poor Inko! Her heart is too gentle for that!”)

“So, those two a thing?” It was barely loud enough to be heard by the old hag. His parents flinch at the sudden gentleness he’s showing. Katsuki's tone actually shocks him too. He doesn’t sound confident, doesn’t emphasize the end of the question, and he doesn’t grin or at least slightly glare at Auntie. He sounds rough, quiet… weak. He sounds like a weakling. Why does he sound like a weakling? Why now?!

Wait… ‘why’ now? When’s a better time? Never.

Auntie was too oblivious to see too much of a change in his behavior, and instead, smiles widely, her round cheeks pressing her eyes up. She looks like a hamster, cheeks filled with sun seeds. He knows that the old hag would usually almost throw herself on her childhood friend with a bright smile radiating her face like that, but now, not even she seems to welcome the smile.

This is not a good sign.

And even in the few seconds of Auntie processing the question further, Katsuki can’t help but ask himself questions as well, like: What’s going on? Why is he reacting like this? It’s supposed to be something good, but why does it feel so bad to him and to his mother too? What’s wrong with them? They should be happy Inko is looking less tense, finally sharing some good news about the useless nerd, so why aren’t they? He could give less of a shit about Deku! He knows this!

That’s not what today has told me.

Today told him that his Deku trigger has gotten worse. Today told him that something is wrong. Today told him that the situation made him lose his composure. But why? Deku didn’t suddenly gain a quirk and mocked him more than he usually did. All Deku did was… all he did was…

“I’m so glad you asked, Katsuki-kun!” She smiled sheepishly, scratching her cheek with her blunt, bitten nails slightly. “I’m surprised I haven’t said it yet!” She grabbed her mug, lifting it slightly in the air. “Both of them were so red when they told me, Izuku more than Kikan! I was almost afraid he got a heatstroke!” Her other hand cupped over her mouth, making her withhold her laughter. “They held hands and sat in front of me, just like a marriage meeting, might I add! I wish I'd taken a picture!” With a quick sip, she sighed and put her cup down.
The anticipation was getting more and more obvious. It’s like Auntie was teasing them, although the answer was so clear by now… was it though?

Aunties smile? Maybe she could’ve been relieved that her son is still pure since his baby face makes him look way too young to date. She is a literal mother hen, not ready to let her son live without her sight on him.

They are not dating.

Red faces? It was hot out. Even Auntie assumed that it could've been a heatstroke. Maybe they forgot their sunscreen! Deku's skin is really sensitive, he definitely got sunburned! He remembers how often he had to slap sunscreen on Deku's freckled cheeks, reminding him to rub it in in a clockwise motion.

They are not dating.

Holding hands? Sitting beside each other? They barely kept their PDA levels low in public! It makes it seem less shocking for Deku to do the same in front of his own mom. Besides, friends can hold hands! They always did that when they were kids and Deku tripped on a tree rot with his chicken legs, needing Katsuki to get him back home!

They are not dating!

See?! Everything explained! No need to overthink this! Katsuki can calm down again! The twitching in his fingers can come to a halt, and he can breathe again! All Auntie needs to do is too just say “They are not”-

Right next to him sits the proudest parent he’s ever seen. A shine in her orbs, something he will never expect from his own mother. All his theories have been shattered by one look at Auntie. it just couldn't be any more obvious. 

Deku was a pebble. His name means useless. He thinks he is better than Katsuki, thinks his notebooks deserve his attention more than Katsuki does. Their social standing be damned, Deku can't just ignore him and think someone is stronger than Katsuki. But he did. The quirkless, useless, worthless and weak nerd did. And Katsuki finally found out.

His Deku trigger has worsened on that day, because Deku…

“My sons got himself a cute and strong girlfriend!”

Deku decided some dumb girl is worth his time more than Katsuki.

"Imagine one day, the one thing you thought would never change, suddenly did.

What would you do?"

Chapter Text

Once they finally bid their goodbyes with the happy, chubby woman, Katsuki could find 5 minutes for himself to breathe and rethink his actions.

First of all, what the hell?

He couldn't keep his composure and fled from the dinner. Katsuki Bakugou, future number one hero in the world, just couldn’t keep his shit together. And he just cannot find a reason to scold himself for that. It seemed pretty valid to him to fuck off, considering his stomach is twisting itself into impossible shapes. While running upstairs, he heard Auntie worriedly ask about his condition, and the old hag loudly answered with something around the lines of “The brat is just feeling left out.”

Of fucking course Katsuki is feeling left out! How did he not find out about Deku and his chick? The nerd is usually as easy to read as humanly possible. He spills out most of his thoughts by mumbling them out for crying out loud! Katsuki can’t comprehend it. It’s like a book he read page by page suddenly went blank. No further story left, just one empty page.
Although, at the same time, the pages before that one had fewer and fewer words on them; it was the same with the nerd.

He usually sees him for most of the day, every day; let it be in school or in town. They always somehow collide into each other and every time they do, his lackeys tease the nerd. Katsuki watches for a bit and then gets them to keep on moving. It was part of his basic routine, the circle of life… wait.

He hasn’t properly seen Deku in like 2 weeks.

They walk the same way to school and back - and Katsuki can hear his steps behind him – and hears his mumbling in class too. But that’s it. He hasn’t been anywhere in Katsukis sight while lunch, nor while taking a stroll in town. The last time he’s seen him was at the bookstore for the All Might catalog. He did realize that his life has gotten more... 'Deku'-less, so to speak. He thought that the nerd just became a full-on Hikikomori. A quirkless person just attracts danger, they're better off locked up safe. But it never occurred to him that something might be up, that something is wrong. And now look where that led to.

So apparently his damn girlfriend – this word tastes bitter on Katsukis tongue – has kept him in the library, dusting dictionaries and whatever the fuck else. That explains it. But there are still questions left, like:

What the shit?

The old hag took the situation more to heart than Katsuki himself, surprisingly. After Auntie left, Katsuki went downstairs again to at least clean his plate up. Hell no is he gonna let the hag do it. It’s an All Might plate! You gotta be careful with that shit, not slam it into the cupboards like a maniac! But he wasn’t even sure if he should go near Satan herself.

Although when he did, it was bizarre.

She barely noticed him staring. She kept rubbing a towel on the same plate longer than usual. Even his dad is trying his best to avoid the old hag like he knows something that Katsuki doesn’t.

Honestly, he thought she’d be happy about the Nerd having some sort of social life. She and Deku sometimes bump into each other, and every time she tries to coax him into eating with them. He knows that because the hag keeps on ranting about Deku constantly refusing their invitations afterward, muttering things like “He called me Bakugou-san! Of all things! Does he even like us? What did we do? I just wanted to show him a high-school that might be good for him! He needs to stop with his constant daydreaming!”, et cetera.

Other times she likes to mention him while looking at random things, or after talking with Auntie.

“The broccoli really looks like Izuku!” she said while buying groceries.

“I know that Izuku-kun would love this shirt!” she said while designing clothes.

“Katsuki! You should invite little Izu-chan with you!” she used to say whenever Katsuki went outside in kindergarten. 

Imagine her face if Katsuki told her that they’re not friends, never were friends. Yeah, no. He still wants to live.

Come to think of it, what exactly did Deku do to get the blonds own mother constantly obsessing over him? He’s not that whiny 4-year-old anymore that was basically attached to his hip, nor is he that shaky toddler that she put into Katsukis crib every day; he’s now a 12-year-old weird nerd, chasing the same dreams that were meant for Katsuki. Nothing special to obsess over.

And lastly, the most important question of them all, what the fuck?!

How dare Deku, of all people, make fun of him like this?!
What’s so great about some weirdo with a pixie cut?! What does her quirk do?! How come fucking Deku seems so smitten with her? How come he puts her higher than Katsuki?
It's so obvious what Deku is doing!

He’s looking down on him again! HIM! KING EXPLOSION MURDER! HOW FUCKING DARE HE!
Hasn’t Deku learned his lesson yet?! He’s a useless, quirkless nobody! He’s not supposed to be able to choose! And even if, the better choice is obviously Katsuki! It always has been! Deku must’ve gotten blind or completely stupid! Oh, tomorrow he’s going to GRAB THAT SHITHEAD BY HIS NECK AND-

'Wait, hold the fucking phone.'

Katsuki finds himself frozen. Why, just why can't he deal with this normally? Why can't he - and the old hag - at least pretend to be happy?

Katsuki is starting to see a pattern. His head's not working straight.

It's like he goes into a frenzy for a bit, makes himself freak out and then he holds himself back, just for his brain to finally work decently again. His head is constantly rebooting itself just before it could crash.

Katsuki’s gut tells him to do something about whatever the fuck is going on. It keeps telling him to target and shoot, but on what?

His fingers haven’t stopped acting up since he saw those two on the street, holding hands. He just cannot stop thinking about it, can’t stop his fingers from shaking, and can’t stop his sweat from leaking. He's been washing his hands for the third time since he came home, he keeps rubbing ice cubes into his palms, crunching them with his teeth, but it just doesn't stop. There has to be something that Katsuki hasn’t seen properly because there's no way that some extra like Deku does this to him, and there's absolutely no way in fucking hell that some random ass girl is better than him. 

'Not again! Stop it, mushy shitass brain!'

He opened up an English textbook, letting his hands do the work.

He needs to calm down. He can figure this out. His Deku trigger is definitely overreacting. It’s probably because of this social 180 of this nerd. Usually, Deku never talks with people, never opens up, just keeps on muttering and scribbling. But out of the blue, he starts hanging out with some ugly little-

Oh goddamnit, his pencil snapped.

He grabs another.

Okay. No need to think about it. It happened. He can't do anything about it. It doesn't involve him. It's not about him. It's just the nerd and this damn-

Godfuckingdamnit. Not again. He just bought these!

This time he goes for the mechanical one. Calm down. Just one sentence left. He can do this. He's been learning English since he was a toddler. This is a piece of cake. Simple, relaxing, mediation from Japanese to English.

Translate into English:

あの二人付き合ってるみたい

Oh.

Oh.

Oh the god mother fucking IRONY OF THIS BULLSHIT TASK-

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK?!" He snapped back to find his hands to glow thanks to his tiny explosions. But that's not the worst thing.

The heat from his palms grew hot enough to melt the fucking plastic of the pencil.

With a pained yelp, he threw the shitty piece of plastic onto the floor and ran into the bathroom to rub water onto his palms. It's not like this could blister his thick, quirk-nullified skin, but it still fucking hurt. Katsuki found himself massaging his palms, easing off his mind. Just like this, he came to a conclusion:

Fuck it.

Fuck this.

Fuck that.

Fuck everything.

Just fuck it all.

Fuck trying to figure out why he’s acting up like this, and why Deku is making him feel like this. That can wait till later. Rather, he should do something about the problem before it pisses him off more. Imagine if he actually did blow something up that's more worth than some cheap plastic, example given, a human life. His own would be ruined. He’d become a criminal.

Okay. Deep breath. Go to your bed. Sit down. Remember what Long-Fingers said.

Heizen – from another class

Auntie called her Kikan, so it’s Heizen Kikan; about the same height as Deku; ugly black hair, average from head to toe. Katsuki still can’t see anything about that weird Mob character that’s special. So, he has to find out more. But he does know one thing

‘Her quirk activates by touch. Eavesdrop called it a spa-day or some shit like that. So it’s some sort of relaxant?’

What a dumb quirk. Katsuki sees no value in it. Maybe it could be used in quirk-specialized hospitals, but these face so many regulatory issues that they barely exist. And relaxing someone isn't a hero-like quirk either, so even Deku can’t be jealous about it. However, can he be sure that that’s her quirk in the first place?

‘Deku probably asked her about it. Wrote it into his notebook too. Maybe he’s together with her to test her quirk out? …no wait. It's Deku. Even he wouldn’t stoop so low. And he’s so pathetic at socializing, there’s no way he asked her out… is that Pixie using him?’

'Is Deku being used as a Guinea Pig?'

‘That’s it!’

Maybe Katsukis' hero-senses are tingling. If that bitch ends up having a dangerous quirk, Deku could be in danger. It’s not like he himself cares about the nerd, but Auntie and the old hag will be a pain in the ass. Usually, testing out quirks is the job of a research facility, but Deku is just too dumb for his own good.
So, it has been decided.

Tomorrow, he’ll talk to the nerd and take a peek.

 Finally, the school's over. Katsuki had been waiting for this.

Getting the nerd alone in school was still as easy as before. All he had to do was to walk a few feet behind him. His lackeys tried to follow him, wanting to find out what their leader is up to, but he ditched them quickly, saying something around the lines of "Fuck off. I'm busy.” If he doesn't do this shit now, he might have to wait until tomorrow, and he cannot risk waiting. Not when his hands started shaking after glancing at Deku running away during lunchtime and returning with a dazed look on his face. Katsuki cannot for the life of him remember where the library was since he never thought he'd ever need it. He has to depend on Deku to lead him, and he's honestly glad that the nerd stands out. No one could ever look like him and be as pathetic as him too. His red shoes squeak a bit as he moves ahead, and his shit-green hair bounces up and down like a water balloon.

Katsuki suddenly remembers the time he and the nerd threw water balloons in the air for Katsuki to explode, trying to make the water turn into steam. The water barely evaporated and his sweat glands closed due to the sudden coldness, so he and Deku ended up both drenched in water. Deku couldn't come to kindergarten for two days because he caught a cold. Katsuki realized through that that his body can never become cold, or he becomes weak. That's why he eats so much spicy stuff, that and because his mom needs her own sweat quirk to act up to look decent for her old age.
It's funny how the nerd didn't change at all. He's still weak, still useless. He can still get a fever from running in the rain without an umbrella, can still not handle level 4 spiciness, and can’t run a lap without throwing up water. He's just too weak. The more of a reason Katsuki needs to set the nerds brain straight and away from dangerous extras. For Aunties and the old hags' sanity, and his own stomach.

"Oi. Deku." The squeaking stopped. The green fucker tenses up, his hands suddenly wrapping protectively around what Katsuki assumes is his notebook. He knows the nerd writes in these about hero stuff and facts - he's pretty sure Deku wrote about him too, in an older book at least. He never got to check the page(s) about him out, and it's not like he wanted to, really. He just needs to make sure the nerd ain't talking shit about him. He doesn't know on what number of book the nerd's currently on, but he assumes the mumbling fucker already exceeded the single digits. He can hear the nerd take a deep breath, turning around halfway, looking up, green orbs staring at Katsuki through thick, messy hair.

"U-uh Kacchan! It's been a while..." The nerd fully turned. It really was his notebook that he's clinging onto. The same blue cover as the ones he had before, but with a 12 scribbled on it. It looks fairly new too. Makes it easier to find the info he needs. "W-What do you need? You usually don't talk to me after all a-and I'm actually on my way to the library- n-nobody else walks this way usually so I-I was wondering why I was hearing steps... behind me… hehe… you know... my mom was at your place yesterday, right? S-She and Auntie Mitsuki really wanted m-me to be there too, but y-you said that I can’t come so I told her that-"

God, his mumbling gives Katsuki a headache. Can't he just take one second to breathe or do his lungs have unlimited capacity? Katsuki tries his best to tune Dekus mumbling out, thinking about what to say. He needs to get the nerd to hand the notebook to him. There has to be some information about the bitch in there. He can just ask to take a look at it. With an approving grunt, he opened his mouth to speak. "Listen here, you damn-" He couldn't even finish his request, his words stuck in his throat once he held eye contact with the green guy in front of him. The blond isn’t sure, but… something seemed... off. About the nerd. Katsuki squints his eyes slightly, trying to figure out what seems to be out of place, his upper body automatically hunching forward. His pupils move around. It's a normal hallway. It may look abandoned, but that's normal, considering it's fucking Aldera Middle School. The nerds' uniform is normal too, same gakuran, same buttons attached. His mumbling isn't out of place either, same volume, same speed. And Deku looks as pale as ever, his eyes are as blank as ever, and his form as... shakier? Wait.

Hold on.

Deku usually isn't this pale, his skin always looked rather creamy than porcelain. And his eyes certainly aren't blank. They're always extremely greenish, basically glowing.

Although all of this is already very alarming, his shaky form is what Katsukis guts tell him to concentrate on. So that's what he did. Katsuki can't really describe it, but Deku seems to... vibrate. His shaking has gotten much faster than it used to be, and he's even more hunched. He's completely off his usual posture. He looks like a scared prey animal. However, he also seemed dazed. It might be because he has one of his mumbling sessions, but Katsuki still can’t shake the feeling that the nerd is out of his mind. “Oi.” He started. Deku stopped mumbling, but he still seemed to not be in his right mind. The nerd slightly tilts his head. “Y-Yeah? What is it?” Even his squeaky voice sounds lower.

Katsuki's stomach really deserves praise. He knew something was off, and Deku is the living proof for it. So it might really be the hero senses that are telling him to fix this.

Katsuki took a step forward, and Deku doesn't seem to notice, because he'd usually take a step back. He takes another, and another, and one more. Now that Katsuki is barely a foot away from Deku, he can inspect the details.

Yes, the nerd is much paler, and he got some serious bags under his eyes. He looks so… dull? Is that it? He just looks so miserable, much more than usual, at least.

This Heizen girl is definitely at fault. Nobody can go that much into a shitter in less than 2 weeks. Her quirk must have done this. So there's no way it's a relaxant quirk. It has to be an energy-draining quirk or something like that.

“Hand me your notebook, Deku.” He held out a hand, expecting Deku to listen instantly. Of course, he doesn’t. Instead, he yelps, realizing how close Katsuki has gotten to him and backs away a bit. “I-I I’m sorry Kacchan! But these aren’t my class notes! It’s my-“ Katsuki clicks his tongue in annoyance, stomping after Deku. “You think I’d even need those?! I already know what it is, Deku. And I’m telling you to hand it over!” Deku squeaks like a dog toy as he tries his best to shuffle away. Katsuki is pissed. Can’t the nerd see that he’s asking nicely? “Just for like a minute! I’ll give it back, you dumbass!” The greenette shaking his head in refusal makes the blond's blood boil.
How is the nerd able to fight him?! His skin is as white as a paper sheet, his knees are buckling and he looks like he's about to pass out! He's seen the nerd shaking like a leaf and crying like a bitch before, but the way the nerd looks like is a million times worse than what he's used to. It's like Deku is barely living!

Barely...

There's a twinge in his chest area that makes him feel some sort of... guilt? Is that it? Does he actually have to treat this fucker like some dumb animal, coax him gently or something like that?
That shit could take all day, there's no way he's gonna do that. He's gotta do it quickly before the bell rings. So, Katsuki extends his hand, making a grunting noise to express his demands once again. All the nerd in front of him can do is stare. "Hand it over."

"...It's just gonna take like 5 minutes. Come on." There. A soft add-on, nice, sweet and gentle, delivered with his softest gaze. That has to be enough to persuade this shaky shithead. Katsuki didn't expect himself to do it, but this whole situation has been messing with his head. It's the same with yesterday when he was asking Auntie about Deku and his relationship status with that villainous bitch. He's gotten weak.

Deku's shaking has gotten worse, but he gives up the protests and hands it over. It’s a relief that the nerd knows that Katsuki isn’t someone to bullshit around, he is a man of his word. Deku will get his stupid, overly scribbled book back. Katsuki quickly opens it, swiping through the pages.

"K- Kacchan. You're not in i-it! I-" "I already know, stalker. M'looking for something else, so cut the damn chit chat, nerd." Is it just Katsuki or is his voice getting softer again? This weird sense of guilt is still clinging onto him. He doesn't like looking at this half-dead nerd next to him. Oh well. He found what he was looking for.

'Kikan-chan's (She told me to call her that!) quirk is in her fingertips and wrists. She's got small green lines around the joint creases of her middle fingers, and a green line going from the tip of her thumb to the central zone of her volar wrist. The lines glow when she uses it. Her quirk is ________'

...The nerd didn't figure it out? Deku left a blank space at the end of that sentence. Maybe it's a quirk that is nameless. For Katsuki, naming his quirk was easy because 'explosion(s)' is exactly what he causes. Not everyone is good enough to have an easily nameable quirk. With a tiny grunt, the blond keeps on reading.

'Kikan-chan can activate her quirk whenever she wants. It only works on animals and people. She cannot use it on herself. Her lines glow at contact with skin. The person she touches will feel relaxed and relieved. It's great for panic attacks and people that have anxiety issues or nervousness. She helps me calm down whenever she thinks I need to! I can imagine her helping out in the medical field, working as a pre-school teacher or becoming a therapist!'

And that's it. Besides a doodle of a hand with green marker stripes on the mentioned areas and a weirdly made drawing of the pixie, the pages were barely filled with information. It seems to be an average tiny text. It's just that... a few things nag at Katsukis nerves.
First of all, relaxed and relieved? Deku looks far from that. He looks like he just experienced some sort of trauma. So the nerd barely got as far as him, it seems. Deku believes it's a relaxant, but Katsuki knows better. Looking at the living corpse next to him, Pixies quirk being to drain energy from dumbass extras like Deku seems as clear as day.

Secondly, he may just be slightly pissed at their first-name basis. But it's gnawing at him just a little itsy bitsy bit. Auntie was on a first-name basis with that fucking bitch, so of course, the nerd is too. He still doesn't like it. They're being way too familiar with each other. But... he told himself yesterday that he will set things straight, so there's no need to get mad right now when the nerd might have a heart attack from the next best very reasonable outburst. See? Katsuki is being nice, taking care of the nerd, not beating him to the ground and shit.

Lastly, Deku did scribble a few side notes next to the drawing, and those are the reason Katsuki may just be a little bit out of his mind, ready to throw the notebook into the sun.

But, he's a man of his word. So he will just silently reread them, hoping that his Deku trigger will not make him combust the notebook just yet.

'Kikan-chan has very soft hands, and they feel like tiny blankets when she activates her quirk.'

'Hugging and bumping into each other is also relaxing. Maybe her quirk does go through her whole body?'

'We noticed that her quirk is the most effective when-'

No. Fuck no. Katsuki is not reading this any further. This feels so damn wrong to hear Dekus voice in his head holding a monologue over his love-struck notes...

love-struck. What a bile word. Katsuki wants to throw up. Sounds like someone gave someone else a gunshot for Valentine’s day.

Holding the nerd's notebook suddenly feels like holding a used tissue now. Fucking middle school relationships are just the worst. "Here's your stupid notebook. It's useless." He pushes the notebook into the nerds waiting hands. Maybe he should've just given it to him instead of basically shoving it onto Dekus' chest, considering the poor fuckers' legs are still shaking around like he's a newborn fawn. The push was hard enough to make him drop on the floor. Katsuki snorted.

'Dumbass weakling. There's no fucking way in hell he can manage that Pixie bitch on his own.'

With a wince, the nerd in question looks up. "Kacchan... that hurt..." Katsuki can see the smaller guy slightly scratching his knuckles, and pushing his notebook even deeper into his chest like he wants to shove it into his ribcage. It's a slightly... unusual reaction. "I don't even g-get why you needed it s... so badly... Uhm... is that all? C-can you... you know..."

Oh god, is he starting to clutter now as well? For fuck's sake.

"Shut it, Deku. That's some creepy shit you got written down into your little book anyway." Apparently the nerd had enough blood on his face to blush that Katsukis remark. "Who writes notes about their damn classmates and random strangers? Even that bull about your g...girlfriend-"
Don't you dare fucking stutter, Katsuki.
"-is complete and utter crap. No wonder everyone is creeped out from you. Not only quirkless and useless but noisy too... why the fuck are you still rubbing your ass on the floor? Stand up, shitbag. You have legs." Katsuki is counting in his head from 10 to 0. He's going to give Deku 10 seconds to stand up and run before he'll start looking for another outlet. He can feel his fingers acting up again. He needs to drench his hands in cold water before he can finally go home and plan his next move.

It's almost been 10 seconds. "Deku. Stand the fuck up!"

"Uh... I'm trying..." 

"Ha?"

"I... kinda... can't really..." Deku looks like he's about to fall asleep. On the floor. In the middle of the hallway. The nerd is slowly lifting his hand up to yawn. "S-Sorry but... I barely slept? I think?" The last time Deku spoke so calmly to him was when they were 4-year-old kids. He liked to rant about All Might before nap time, and he always whispered his thoughts to Katsuki before his eyes got droopy. The blond feels a sense of nostalgia traveling through his spine. It's kinda nice.

If it weren't for the nerd already closing his eyes on the cold floor.

Maybe the quirk has some kind of relaxing after effect? If it drains someone's energy, all that person can do is recharge, after all. But Katsuki can't deal with this bullshit right now. A napping nerd on the Aldera school grounds is going to be bothersome, especially if the gates close before he wakes up. He squats down, grabs Deku by the collar and lifts him up. Katsuki lets go once the nerd is standing on the floor properly. His back is still hunched, and his shoulders dropped, but at least he's not trying to cuddle the dirty floor anymore. The blond leaves one of his hands on the nerd's shoulder, just in case. 

Primarily, Katsuki's plan was to follow Deku to the library after checking his notebook and observe the Pixies' actions from a distance. After reading the notes, he changed his plan into washing his hands with cold water and going home to try tomorrow. And now, Katsuki can’t even do that.
'There's no way the fucker can go anywhere today. He might fall asleep under a bridge if I don't help out.'
‘This might be good for him too. Getting him away from that other extra.’

"Shit nerd. You gotta get home if you wanna sleep so badly. C'mon. The old hag will have my head if I leave you here." Not entirely untrue, but that's surprisingly not the reason why Katsuki wants to help out. It's more because… he feels a warm sensation flowing through him. The twitching in his fingers lessened after holding onto the greenette. Why? Who the fuck knows at this point.

He almost destroyed his entire pencil case yesterday. This here is nothing compared to him burning his 2B pencils. 

Deku slowly lifts himself up but keeps his head low. Katsuki can see that every move has become a struggle for the poor guy. In his tired state, Deku surprisingly obliged to Katsuki's support without shaking or flinching. He's just way too tired to object. "Did... did mom tell you? About me and... Heizen..." Deku started to lean onto Katsuki's hand, walking forward.

Should Katsuki answer? It seems like it's already obvious. "Auntie is a fucking chatterbox, just like you. I don't even-" There was no more twitching in his fingers, his guts didn't twist themselves.

Katsuki felt really calm once Deku rested his head onto the blond's shoulder. He hunched more forward, trying not to slump his shoulders to keep the support up. He can feel Dekus breath warming up a patch of his gakuran, and his head starts to feel fuzzy. “…come on. Your breath stinks.” Katsuki placed one of his hands around Deku’s waist and grabbed the nerd’s right arm to put it on his other shoulder. With a small push, he got Deku to walk forward. “Mmm…” “Shut the fuck up. And don’t drool on me.”
Carrying the nerd around would probably easier, but that’s weird.

It was like that throughout the entire way to the Midoriya household. Everybody else except club members already left the school grounds, so they weren't seen by anyone, much to Katsukis luck. Hanging out with quirkless Deku will ruin his reputation.

It took basically no effort for Katsuki to grab Dekus keys and get him inside, dragging the half-asleep nerd into his room and pushing him onto his bed. Katsuki was polite enough to remove his shoes and get the nerd to do the same, so the greenette should be comfortable enough. However, it feels like he still needs to do something. After checking through the old kitchen cabinets, he can see that there's barely anything in here he can use to cook. A note from Auntie is telling Deku that she's coming home with the ingredients for Katsudon to celebrate the nerd’s relationship status.

...and here comes the twitching. Honestly, this is getting old.

'Katsudon is not nutritious enough. The fried egg and the Tonkatsu contain protein and the rice carbohydrates, but the nerd needs more than that.' 

Katsuki remembers packing an isotonic drink into his schoolbag. With quick shuffling, he places it onto the All Might nightstand. He can feel the number one heroes smile on his back, knowing he will most likely be proud if he knew of Katsukis' heroic act of helping out this weak, quirkless kid. Maybe that's why Dekus poster collection is so huge, for a fake feeling of safety.

'...damn hero senses.'

"Oi Deku. Drink up or die." Katsuki keeps shocking himself at how calm he is. This is so... not Katsuki. Deku grumbles but doesn't complain while gulping down a few sips. With a relaxed sigh, he falls back onto his pillows. 
Okay. Good Enough. Now he can grab his bag and fuck off before Auntie shows up. Deku is so sleep-deprived; he needs all the peace and quiet he can get.

...buuut.

Looking closer at the nerd's face, he seems to be struggling with sleep after all. His brows keep on twitching a lot. His grip on his All Might blanket is also unusually tight for someone that's about to slumber. And his freckles keep moving around because of his constant cheek biting. The blond kneels in front of the bed and puts a hand in front of Deku's mouth. 'His breathing is very quiet. He's not even snoring like he usually does. This is a really heavy sleep, but it doesn’t look like one.'

'Should I stay after all?'

Now, hear Katsuki out. He is damn well aware that what he's thinking about doesn't make any damn sense, and he knows he should scold himself for even thinking about it. The most logical action would be to go away and prepare for tomorrow. He knows that the moment the nerd is sober he’s going to piss his pants upon seeing his Kacchan. But something is keeping his feet glued to the ground. It's his hero senses, alright? It’s gotta be those. Nothing else.
It’s not because looking at the nerd’s sleeping face makes the tense feeling in his guts stop. It’s seriously not that. Fuck you for even thinking it is. Fuck off.

After waiting for any sign that the nerd might not fall asleep - and not receiving any - Katsuki was ready to call it a day and try again tomorrow. With a glance at the clock, he shocked himself.
A whole hour. Katsuki had been staring at the nerd for a whole hour. It didn’t even feel like a whole hour, what the fuck?!
Auntie is going to be here really fucking soon. He has to piss off, now.

"Kacchan?"

The nerd held out his hand to grip it onto Katsuki's uniform jacket.

Deku escaped to dreamland with a tiny mumble on his lips.

"Please don't tell anyone about Kikan and me."

Well here fucking went Katsuki’s surprisingly good mood - right out the window that’s framed in slightly molding wood, and into the giant garbage can next to the playground.
Is he going to let it out on Deku? No. The fucker is dead asleep. But hell fucking no is he going to leave while he’s become all tense again.

He’s been washing his hands for at least 5 minutes (third time in a row), getting the tips of his fingers all wrinkly and the end of his sleeves covered in soapy water. ‘Shit. I should’ve rolled them up.’ He removed the jacket and put it on the radiator to dry.

He remembered seeing Bancha in Aunties cupboards, so he decided to brew a pot for her. He was seriously hoping to leave before she’d arrive, but after staring at the nerd for an hour (a whole fucking hour, unbelievable), he would’ve run into her anyway. And if he did, she’d somehow convinced him to come back inside for a cup anyway (Who could really say no to a hard-working, depressed single mother? Name the heartless person who would.). She’d probably shove him back to the apartment if she had to.

Besides, he’s got a good – and also truthful - excuse as to why he’s here (“Nerd fell asleep in the hallway, couldn’t leave him behind.”), and he knows the woman would be delighted to have the blond here anyway. She thinks he and the nerd separated on good terms.

He will never understand why Deku doesn’t tell Auntie about school. Pathetic fucker has been pushed around for being a delusional quirkless fuck. Deku just has to whine about getting a boo-boo in school and Auntie could drown Aldera with her fucking tears.

He waited for Auntie to finally show up with a bag in her hand.  “Oh my- Katsuki-kun! I was wondering who these extra pairs of shoes belonged too!” Katsuki turned around to be engulfed in one of Inko's famous warm hugs. He could feel her telekinesis trying to lift him up to reduce the weight on her back, but both of them know it’s pointless. He’s not as light as he used to be when he was 2, were playing airplane with Deku and his mom was the most world-changing thing to him.
“Hello.” He mumbled, feeling flustered. She let him go to look at the counter with the freshly brewed Bancha. After 2 seconds of staring at it, she took a step out of the kitchen, looking through the hallway. “Where’s Izuku? Is he in the bathroom? He should’ve made the drinks for the two of you. I’ll go check on him.” She was ready to leave to look for Deku when Katsuki told her to stop. The greenette gave Katsuki a questioning stare.

Katsuki explained why he’s here and why the nerd is asleep in his room. She took out the cups and poured the tea into them. She handed one over to Katsuki and guided him to the dinner table. The whole thing is so awkward now. Katsuki fucking knew staying in the Midoriya condo had no fucking use for anyone but he did anyway. Why didn’t his legs just move? Now he really wants to leave and let his steam out.

God he can't wait to abuse his quirk-nullifying punching bag. That bitch had cost a fortune but goddamn was it worth it. He's been using it for over 5 years and it still doesn't break. But he feels like he might blow it up by pieces soon if this issue that's messing with his nerves isn't fixed soon-

“Um, Katsuki-kun? Are you listening?” Auntie gently put a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder, making him snap out. He got lost in his thoughts again. The blond averted his eyes to the ground for a second before looking up. “You were saying?”

“I was just wondering if Izuku has… been acting weird lately… he got his nail-biting habit back and it’s gotten worse. He keeps scratching his knuckles and pulling on his hair too.”
Well, that’s interesting information. Deku hasn’t bitten his nails since last year. His nails were so utterly damaged after 5 years of biting them; Auntie thought he’d bitten his own skin off as well.
Pulling on his green curly mess? That is- or rather, was Katsuki’s thing to do. He used to grab him by the hair and drag his head down into the sand. He once burned a patch of it when his quirk was still fresh. Auntie didn’t let him see Deku for a while (and they went to the doctors around that time too).

But itchy knuckles? Rubbing his palms? Those were old habits of the blonde caused by his quirk. He scratched his knuckles and wrists a lot, and sometimes with his teeth instead of his nails. And rubbing his palms became a mandatory thing to keep the sweat flowing… what did the old hag do again to make him stop-

“Katsuki? You keep daydreaming…”
“I’m fine…” That’s a big fat fucking lie, but no way is he going to tell Auntie that.

“Want to help me out with the Katsudon? Micchan said you’re really good at cooking, and it’s going to save some time- oh! How about I call Micchan over?! We can have a little dinner here!”

Well shit.

Dinner was good, everything else sucked.

Deku didn’t wake up. He really needed the sleep it seems. Didn’t even hear Katsuki snuck in and look through his phone. Why would Katsuki need to look at the nerd’s phone? Fuck you, that’s why.

Nerd’s got no passcode for it. Fucking careless. Imagine someone dangerous snooping in it. What if he left a porn tab open? Easy blackmail material. All of his open tabs are seriously innocent though. Some manga service, school recommendations, online shops, etc.
Social media is also average. Privatized accounts, draft posts on forum apps, and bookmarked threads on twitter. Additionally a post-it notes app, the official Superhero card collector game, phone numbers, and his calendar.
The only noticeably active thing is the nerd's LINE app.
The Pixie has spammed him with new text messages, asking Deku where he is. Dumb shit like “Izu-chan! Where are you~” and “Are you sick? Do you need me to come over?” and lastly “Did anyone from your class bully you?”

Katsuki was just about to type “No, but your bitch ass got me dead asleep.” Before he remembered that this isn’t his phone. Then he had an idea.
He grabbed his own phone and saved up the numbers of Deku and the girl. He also decided to be gracious enough to follow Deku on all of his privatized accounts. Nerd will not notice it at all if he doesn’t like or comment. A follow is already a gift enough.
He already got recommendations to follow accounts that are in his digital phonebook. He thinks that ‘sleepyp1x13’ and ‘slumberfairy’ are probably the ones from that bitch. At least she’s fucking self-aware. More of a reason to believe she’s a villain.

Katsuki can just imagine what the girl is doing to the pathetic nerd, taking his energy away and… what does she do with it? Harbor it? Maybe she can transfer it to somewhere…
“Katsuki! Go grab the dishes from the washer!”

They were back home, tidying up before all of them go to sleep at 8pm sharp. The old hag is once again relaxed after hanging out with Auntie. It’s obvious because she’s not throwing her fists onto Katsuki’s face every other hour. The old man is already upstairs, finishing his work.
Better time than ever to ask his mom about his weird habits.

“Oi. Old hag.” “Would you quit calling me that?! Ungrateful little shit!” She instantly snapped back, already lifting her hand and walking over to him.
“Remember when I scratched my knuckles?” That made her pause in her strut. Katsuki feels exhausted after this whole shit of a show that happened in just two days. There’s no energy left for a good old screaming match.
“Your… did you start doing that again?” She asked him.

“No. Deku-“
“Izuku.” She voiced in a harsh tone. “You’re 13. You read his name, you can speak clearly. It’s Izuku now.” Here we fucking go. The whole ‘Stop calling him that you brat’-debate. The young blond sighed.
Katsuki is just done at this point. He needs to get this over with. No space for more debates.
“…fine. Izuku started doing it.” God that felt weird to say. It feels so foreign, but it’s just another Japanese name. After feeling the shudder that went through his spine subside, Katsuki continued. “Auntie told me that he’s doing the whole palm-rubbing thing too. Plus he pulls his hair. And he’s getting really tired lately so-“
“Okay, I get it. Shut up. No need to mumble.” The old hag sighed and scratched her head.

“Huh… back then you mostly couldn’t keep your nerves together because of the sparks. You said that it felt like popcorn or some shit like that. We had to give you some sort of sedative and make you drink more relaxing tea to get you to lay the fuck down and snore. You didn’t wanna do any of that shit, so we had to force you to do so. Thank god that’s over now. But Izuku…” Now the hag was the one doing the mumbling thing. That’s a fucking Deku-imprint if Katsuki has ever seen one.

So they gave him a couple of pills? That’s it? “So what were those pills?”

“Pills? There were no pills. The doctor kept recommending we give you stuff like nimetazepan, but that’s too dangerous to give to a 4-year-old! We gave you some medical drops from the pharmacy, and even those just sparingly. Giving you pills would’ve made it worse.” She sighed. “I don’t think Izuku needs those though. It’s probably just puberty kicking in. He’s dating someone after all.”

‘Ew.’

Well, that didn’t help out.  “Alright. Gonna sleep.” He quickly put the dish into its place and turned away to go upstairs.

“Hold up, young fucker.” Katsuki felt her hand on his shoulder, gripping him and dragging him a few feet away from the stairs. With a quick turn, they were eye to eye. Katsuki shuddered again. “What kind of phrasing was that?! Gross!” She sighed again, loudly this time. “You haven’t cared about little Izuku since you two started 4^th grade. Not that I dislike your whiny ass caring for him, but what’s changed?”

A very good fucking question, in fact, so incredibly good that it has no answer. How the fuck is Katsuki supposed to know? His head and muscles have been a mess thanks to this whole ordeal; he barely has a second left in his life that’s not about this. And all of this started yesterday!
Oh my god, this has started yesterday!
It’s almost 8pm. Katsuki is done for today. He wants to rest and finally get all of this done with. He grunted and shook his shoulders to remove the hags’ hands while she just mindlessly focused on his face.

“Okay. Fair enough. Don’t answer. I already know. But listen.” She points her finger to his chest.

“I’m gonna say something to you that you’re going to keep in this family and make sure Inko-tan won’t know it. If I get a call from her snitching on you, you’re dead meat.” Well, now Katsuki’s curious. Another family secret ready to be revealed-

“I’m gonna sound like the worst person in the world, but I want that girlfriend of his gone.”

“…Ha?”

“Don’t fucking question me. I just wanted to say it. Now got the fuck to bed before I drag your little ass into it.”

“Fucking rephrase your words, old hag! You sound like a creep!”

“GROSS! What’s wrong with your head?!”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU ANCIENT SWEATMACHINE UGLY BITCH?!”

“LIKE YOU’RE ANY BETTER, YOU LITTLE FUCKED UP SHITSHOW OF A TEEN-“

Okay. He’s slept, the old hag helped him let out some anger, he’s done some breathing, class is dismissed, and it’s time to redo this.
And what do you know? The nerd is in a better mood than yesterday. He muttered a tiny "Thank you" towards Katsuki, receiving suspicious looks from Eavesdrop and Long-Fingers. They didn't question Katsuki though, knowing they won't receive an answer anyway. The blond was able to analyze Deku’s behavior while it was the nerd's turn to read a paragraph. Still shaky, still scratching himself, his eyes are still dull, but he doesn't look as tired as he did before. In fact, he almost seemed to run towards the library today.

Wait. That’s a bad thing.

Anyway, Katsuki found himself a nice corner underneath the hallway windows of the library, under a staircase. One of the "windows" is not in its spot, Aldera probably not having been funded enough to actually put windows everywhere and just cutting squares into walls to hope for an illusion. This is actually a good spot to chill in. He can see and hear them clearly without any inconvenience. Granted, getting Eavesdrop to join him might’ve helped too, but there’s no fucking way he’d let anyone find out about his sudden Deku obsession. 'I act like some overbearing hag.' Next thing you know, Katsuki might stalk them.

This right now, it's not stalking. It's observing, strategizing. If you think him sitting and watching them get sickeningly lovey-dovey with each other is stalking, then you're an idiot and there's no hope for you.

"So what's in the plan today?" Deku asks the Pixie, their shoulders touching. Katsuki is honestly weirded out just by them being so touchy with each other. They can't even be one centimeter apart, it seems.
"Well... actually, we have nothing to do today." Pixie points to a schedule on the wall. "We- or well, I already did everything yesterday. Speaking of which." She shrugs her arms and starts frowning. "Where have you been?! I waited for hours for you! You didn't even answer my messages!"

Well, there’s goes the cheery persona. The pixie-cut bitch looked like she was ready to tears heads off. Another thing to add on Katsuki’s list of ‘Things that are wrong with Deku’s bitch’. The blond might as well write a book about it.
Her social media isn’t all that interesting either. It’s made up of reshared posts from accounts of models and weird inspirational quotes. He seriously hoped he could get some information out of it. Well, fat chance.

Katsuki could hear Deku’s shaky knees rattling from his hiding spot. Deku squeaks. "S-Sorry Kikan! I was really t-tired yesterday and I am not sure how I forgot to write to you! I think I read your messages when I was still half-asleep and I probably kept reminding to write to you but fell asleep instead and I- I-“

The blond feels a shiver down his spine. Seeing Deku act like this isn’t unusual, but just like yesterday, this is over the top. The blond feels like the nerd might pass out in a few minutes from all this panic. ‘This bitch is dangerous. But I can’t do shit unless I know what the fuck she does.’

Her expression did a full 180. She went back to being cheerful.
“No buts! Next time, answer me! I was scared, you know!” She pinched his freckled cheek to get her message across, but she also activated her quirk at the same time. She grinned. “How about we just sit and chat? Hm? I got a big story to tell!"

"Yeah... let's do that." Her quirk instantly took effect. Deku's shaking suddenly subsided and he's let out a relaxed sigh. She drags him to the desks; pushing two chairs together and making him sit on one.

For now, Katsuki can't find anything suspicious going on, and it's irritating him. This shit looks way too normal. Of course, it feels like a cliché Shoujo Manga, but it's not the villainous bullshit that Katsuki expected to happen. He expected the bitch to brainwash Deku in private, to manipulate him into giving her his energy, not for Deku to do it willingly and to enjoy it. The 'couple' leaned onto each other, simply doing nothing.

Katsuki really wants to stop looking at this scene. Deku has never been this close to anyone, at least not without shaking and feeling embarrassed. This Deku... he looks peaceful. Worn out. 

But then Katsuki sees it.

They're holding hands again. Pixie keeps those weird green streaks on her hands glowing. Shit. How long did she keep her quirk activated? Is that why Deku acts like this? What’s going to happen to him?

'This is bad.'

'This is really fucking bad.'

Katsuki still doesn't know what her quirk is supposed to be. When it's really one that drains energy, this will not end well. Should he barge in? It seems necessary, his guts tell him so. And the library looks like it needs some cleanup. However, it would make a scene, and if they're loud enough, Deku will pass out from it, and that will just worsen the whole damn thing. He's so damn sure of it. Deku is already squawking in fear just from a raised voice.

But he really wants this whole touching thing to fucking stop. How does her quirk have no limit? Just 5 minutes without them bumping shoulders and touching tips would be a damn delight to his and Deku's nerves. Katsuki can feel his nerves tingling.

Deku and Pixie start chatting about random stuff in their lives. Katsuki already knows everything about Deku (Auntie and the old hag like to talk about Deku, after all), so he focused completely on whatever came out of Pixies mouth, hoping to get some information that could help. Besides, Deku’s speech is way too slurred to be comprehendible in the first place. He sounds like some drunken baby.

Until now, nothing helpful. Just something about her friends, a book she read, and whatever the fuck else. It's boring teenager chatter. Deku, although looking extremely exhausted, is very concentrated on listening to everything she says though. He even nods and mumbles out questions, even though he's almost dozing off.

"My dad wants to meet you."

Ah. Now it gets interesting.

“Hmm?” Dekus’ eyes are half-lidded. Pixie shrugs her shoulders and continues. “Well, he kinda… found out about us? I’m not sure how. I usually am pretty good at hiding stuff from him. I already told you about how he acts most of the time.”
Deku sighed. Katsuki is not sure if it was a stressed or an exhausted sigh. “He works at that… pharmacy next to the mall, right?” The Pixie nodded. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless, Zuzu-chan. He'll just do a lecture and that's it! You'll be fine!”

“Mhm…” Deku cuddles himself into Pixie's shoulder, making her giggle and rest her head on his. They seem to mumble some more things to each other, but Katsuki can't hear them. He's currently stuck in his own head, trying to comprehend what he just heard Pixie say.

‘…What stupid fucking nickname just came out of her fucking mouth?’

Zuzu-chan? This has got to be the worst nickname ever made. It sounds like a babbling baby giving his plushies names. It's the dumbest nickname in the world. Even Deku deserves a better fucking nickname. Why even give Deku a nickname? He's Deku! It's the best fitting name ever for that shitty nerd! It's his actual name too! Nothing made up like fucking Zuzu-chan!
And furthermore, why are they on a fucking nickname basis anyway?! They’re going way too fucking fast! They've been dating for... for... at least less than two weeks to Katsuki's knowledge! First the hands, and now the names! This just can’t get any worse now can it-

“Hey, Ki-chan?” Deku raised his head, slightly startling the Pixie. She turns to him, expecting him to continue. "You know... I-I was thinking that... i-if you w-want... I mean, you can decline I won't mind in fact it probably would be best if you did once I ask you this but I actually hope at the same time that you would say yes because I was really hoping t-that.." A usual mumbling session ensues. The nerd's cheeks reddened, bringing color onto his pale face. The Pixie waits it out, and Katsuki just lost his damn mind.

He felt his nerves explode, his hands pooling sweat out of their glands, every inch of him tense and pulse.
This reaction definitely cannot be blamed on his hero senses. There's no actual danger in here, there's no threat looming over anyone. Even the blond knows that. Right now, he is just mad. He's angry. He's pissed. He's ready to go over there and ruin their fun by blowing up anything on sight, especially this... Ki-chan.

'Ki-chan.'

Ki-chan. Just like Kacchan, but it sounds different, is different, and is not meant for Katsuki. Ki-chan as in Kikan-chan, Ki-chan as in "I've put you higher than Kacchan and therefore you'll get your own nickname that also coincidentally mocks Kacchan because I think I'm so much better than him.".

A dumbass rip-off of Kacchan, that's what that nickname is.
And it's not going to be the only thing that will be ripped off if Katsuki had his way.
'Don't move. Don't move'
Calm the fuck down edge lord. Do you really want to blow this building up?

It's not even a good nickname. These two bookworm bitches fit well together considering how bad they are at choosing nicknames. Deku could've called her Kan-chan or some shit like... no, scratch that. That's even worse. Deku just should've left it at Kikan or even this cutesy bullshit with the "-chan" in it. Why do couples need nicknames in the first place? Katsuki doesn't get it, and he's mad about it, really mad.

He's gripping tightly onto his jacket, can smell the smoke emitting from it. Is there no fire drill in here? He's not even listening to them anymore, too stressed to do so. Take a deep breath, and exhale. No need for any vandalization, his future career could be damaged for it. Everything is alright, it's just a dumbass nickname that sounds just like Kacchan. Calm down, it’s alright, everything is fine. Nicknames always happen like this. You take something from the actual name and turn it into a nickname, or you take an insider and turn that into a nickname. It's normal couple stuff, as much at Katsuki fucking loathes it.

The only question that is left is; why of all things is it KI-CHAN!

KI-CHAN?! FUCKING! KI-CHAN?! WHAT THE FUCK?! HOW DARE HE?!
‘I’M SO READY TO FUCKING END THIS NERD RIGHT HERE AND NOW’ 

Katsuki did not think properly when he stood up and stormed into the library.

"Mitsuki, please stop abusing the sketchbook-"
"Shut up. I'm strategizing."

Masaru is well aware of what his wife meant by "strategizing". She meant she was pissed off because something didn' work out the way she wanted it to. 
Even if their relationship had a rough start (rough as in aggressively flirtatious and very threatening), his feelings for her are deep, and so are his worries. He's aware why she's so pissed off (at least he assumes he is), but what's he supposed to do? The only thing he can do is to make sure that every issue his wife and son are facing is being dealt with without any of those two committing crimes. They both respect the law to some degree, but you might never know.
Masaru would have to be blind to not see how mad Katsuki has been about the news Inko told them a few days ago. However, although he was aware of that, he cannot understand why that's the case. Didn't his son say (and he quotes) "He does not give a flying fuck about the Midoriyas private life"? Masaru was never able to really understand his sons' mindset in the first place, but this is just making it worse. Just what is up with his little grenade?
That's for his wife to know and for him to find out when she calms down.

"Honey, do you want me to make some tea? Or... I think we have some Daifuku left from the ones Inko-san made for us. We've been working for a while already. Maybe we should take it easy for now?" The more he said, the closer he got to Mitsuki slowly placing his hand onto her shoulder. She grunts, shoving his hand away, snarling at him. "Don't tell me what to fucking do. I'm fine. Piss off if you wanna have a break so badly." She scribbles again, the T-Shirt she's been working on barely recognizable.

Maybe mentioning the older woman wasn't such a good plan from his side. 

"Mitsuki... Micchan." Cute nicknames usually help ease the situation. That's what they were made for, after all. Although Masaru isn't the creator of that silly nickname (Inko was), he still likes to use it.

After a while, she lays her sketchbook down. Masaru can see her gaze soften. She looks tired, ready to pass out. It's unusual for him to see his energetic wife so worn out.
"Micchan. You know what my mom said. Problems are solved faster when-"

"When facing them together, yeah yeah I get it, dumbass." She massages her forehead. "Goddamnit, Saru. You always gotta bother me."
Ah, there it is, the special nickname she picked for him. ("Saru? You got Saru in your name? Your Kanji stands for victory but you're called monkey? So lame!")
"Isn't there a damn day where you could mind your own business?" There's no venom in her words, just simple exhaustion.

He smiled sheepishly. "That's what you married me for."

"...Brew a kettle and bring me the white ones... please."

Katsuki is starting to think that he might need to get one of these stress balls his dad uses. 
Not only could he barely keep his cool (If you can call smoke emitting from his hands and flashing his surprisingly long fangs towards some fucking bitch and her cuck as Katsuki's cool), he almost wasn't able to come up with an excuse to suddenly appear in front of them.

"K-... Kacchan? What are you- w-wha-"
"Auntie asked me to escort you home, dumbass! How could you forget?! Die!" 
Deku, in a state of panic, probably assumed that he didn't listen to Auntie and that Katsuki was searching for him and is pissed because of that, so he really didn't need to tell the nerd twice to get moving.
"I'm so sorry Ki... Kikan-chan. I-I didn't know that-"

"Shut the fuck up and get moving, Deku."
'That green fucker can't use that stupid nickname in front of me?! Isn't he feeling ashamed of himself?!'

Deku's... friend (girlfriend is too much of a mouthful and Katsuki will no longer use it) was hard to convince. She dragged "Zuzu-chan" back into his seat, insisting he'd rest some more, forcing him to look at her by resting her hand on his cheek again. What's worse is that she was using her quirk the whole time. It's already been over 30 minutes, Deku might as well be completely lifeless if Katsuki didn't budge in and shot adrenaline into his freckled body. The moment Pixie let the nerd go, he was ready to pass out.

That nasty glare the bitch gave Katsuki.

They quickly left her alone, Katsuki once again dragging the nerd to his house, in the same way he did yesterday. Throwing Deku onto his bed, the blond scurried off before his legs decide to be glued onto the ground again.
The blond is starting to realize that observing them while they're with each other wasn't his best strategy, not only for Deku's nerves but his own too. Katsuki is no longer asking himself on why having the nerd lean onto him is so relaxing (probably relief, knowing he has saved a civilian). He was too busy thinking.
He planned his new routine ahead; always go to school and back home with Deku (or "walk in front of him and make sure he won't pass out behind you"), and then, observe the Pixie when she's not around Deku. He'll make sure Deku won't even attempt to go to the library.

'Nerd mentioned a pharmacy. Might check it out.'

Katsuki will no longer be patient. He knows something is up with that girl.
And he's going to make Deku see the same thing.

You see someone you love die on the inside.

Would you blame yourself, or someone else?

Chapter Text

Finding the pharmacy was not as easy as Katsuki hoped.

He shouldn't have gotten himself into a frenzy at the exact moment where it got interesting. Thanks to that, he's been looking all around the area of Wookie’s for some shit pharmacy. 

That interaction has happened almost a week ago.

It's dumb enough that he has to spend his time after school dragging Deku into his own house and then looking around for the workplace of that Pixie's old man. Now he can't even find what he's looking for, and it’s already been a week. Curse the timing.

 ‘Where the fuck is this dumb place?!’

Shit. He still can’t see it. How in the hell can be a pharmacy this hidden?! He can’t even see it on Google for fucks sake! The blond needs to hurry up and get this whole thing over with, or else he will use violence. It’s no longer an “if he would”, it’s now a “when will he”. For example:
When will he let out an explosion in public? When will he stop giving Deku empty threats and blow his stupid head off? When will he grab the Pixies' hands and blast them away? When will he finally put a fucking end to this bullshit?!

Okay, calm the fuck down. He can figure this out. Maybe instead of dragging Deku home, he should follow the Pixie tomorrow. Find the pharmacy, find out the dad’s quirk, and get a clearer view of what the bitch’s quirk could be. The rest will fall into place.

However, who says that Deku will make it home safe and not decide to nap with the alley cats, or even worse, sleep with the fishes? Katsuki feels his spine shiver from that thought, not because it worries him, but because his parents and Auntie will be worried. And god knows what the old hag will do to him.

While attempting to go another round, his phone starts to vibrate. ‘Tch. Great timing.’ He pulls it out of his pocket, staring at the new notification.
The old hag has sent him a text, telling him to come back home instantly or else- He couldn’t read the last part because she now called him too. After letting out a dramatic sigh, he pressed on Accept.

“What is it?! I’m busy!” Katsuki could care less if he was in public and yelling into his phone. Let those extras stare at him and flee. The old hag was being annoying.

“Brat, we’re going over to Inko-tan’s place. Meet us there.”
Again? Wasn’t dinner with the green family a weekly (or monthly if they’re busy) thing? How come this old woman is so insisting on spending time with Auntie, and why is the green lady always okay with it?
While he was wasting a whole week (he had training and errands in-between but who cares) on looking through a gigantic mall after school, the old hag has decided to be more involved in Auntie Inko’s life as she already is.

He and his father have spared glances at each other whenever Auntie is with them. He knows how far those two go back (he has been forced to look at the over 30-year-old photos multiple times), but it doesn’t explain his mom’s clinginess. The old hag is better to handle when the chubby lady is around, but you cannot hold a conversation with the greenette or the blonde woman will make you dig up your own grave. Katsuki cannot help it, but he is never able to properly speak up when Auntie is there because of this. The old hag excuses it as Katsuki “not being able to say anything that sounds polite, so he better not say anything at all”.

“Katsuki? Are you even listening?!” She continued.

‘Daydreamed again.’ The blond boy gave her an affirmative grunt. “Okay! I better see your ass on her seat and eating her food pretty fucking soon, got that?!” Before he could protest, she already hung up. The blond sighs, gripping onto his hair before leaving the mall. There will be a subway to his station in 2 minutes. He can probably make it in time.
‘It’s just going to be Katsudon again I assume. Can Auntie cook anything else?!’

Auntie made Mapo Tofu. But Deku ate leftover Katsudon.

“I had a lot of free time today! Plus Micchan was off work today, so we had more time to prepare stuff!”

The old hag laughed, placing a hand onto Aunties' shoulder. “It’s been so long since we last had the whole day for ourselves. Last time we did this, the boys weren’t even born!”
Katsuki didn’t know the old hag had no work today. She never takes off work! She's her own boss, isn't she?! Why the fuck did she take off work? 

‘Wait. Did she do this intentionally?!’

Katsuki was ready to ask that question out loud, but the cold glare his mother gave him shut him down again.

Guess he can never speak up when Auntie is here.

Instead, he decided to rest his eyes towards Deku, who just kept sipping his Katsudon without sparing anyone or glance. He couldn't even greet the blond properly, instead just slightly bowing his head and gripping his chopsticks tighter. As usual, he’s slurping that Katsudon like his life depended on it, and this time even acting as it does.
‘Why does Deku like Katsudon so much anyway? It’s stupid tonkatsu in stupid broth. There are so many more recipes like that.’
The quirkless nerd is as skinny as a stick, has barely muscles, and has a shitty one-sided diet. He wants to be a hero so badly, but couldn’t be bothered to at least jog once a week. It’s pissing Katsuki off. Deku expecting that sum shitty fairy godmother will make his wishes come true, while the blond is working his ass off, training almost every day (recently it has started to become daily), and studying while keeping a healthy sleep schedule.

His skinny and weak physique will just worsen the effect of his girl... girlfriends quirk.

Before the blond could continue that train of thought, a tiny clap resonated through the kitchen. Everyone present looked at the source. Auntie Inko showed her infamous closed-eyes-smile before speaking up: “Why don’t you two go into Izukus room? I need to talk with Micchan and Masaru about something personal.”
Deku flinched. “Mom, are you sure? Sh-shouldn’t we a-at least do the d… dishes?”

‘Jesus fucking Christ did he forget how to speak proper Japanese?!’

The nerd rubbed his hands together while continuing his stuttering. He was about to rub his own shoulder too, but Katsukis' impatient grunt made him freeze and squeak. Before Auntie could sense the tension, the hag butted in. “No need, Izuku! You look like you’re about to fall asleep anyway! Might as well let the brat tuck you in!” The elder bitch replied with a wide grin.

It surprisingly didn’t take that much of a fight to convince Deku to actually leave. ‘He must know that fighting her is useless. At least this dumb ass nerd has some brain left.’ Katsuki surprisingly didn’t think about protesting Aunties decision, nor about defending himself against his mom.
He can use this opportunity to snoop around more.

For what? Something useful? Don’t ask.

“So, um… make y-yourself c-c-comfortable… you can sit wherever you like… I d-don’t have any games we can play together sorry… uh… d-do you just maybe want to read something? I-I bought a magazine that has a special report on how the right diet c-can affect the p-power of someone’s quirk and maybe that could be interesting f-for- ah! W-W-Wait I’m not criticizing your d-diet! IT’S JUST... that... uh…“

“Deku.”

“Y-Ye-Yes?”

“Shut the fuck up.” The blond sat down at the edge of the nerds’ bed, who is still standing next to the door, scratching his knuckles with blunt nails, pale lips twitching with the urge to break the silence. Katsuki felt like he was looking at some poor and beaten animal, and he almost felt sympathetic.
Just almost though.
“Well? Sit the fuck down. This is your damn room, Deku.” He lifted his hand and loudly patted the spot next to him, causing the freckled boy to flinch, before slowly making his way towards his own bed. Katsuki didn’t have to look to know that Deku sat down at the edge. He surprisingly had enough meat on his bones that the bed made a good dip down. The greenette put a good distance between them, his back hunched and his fingers still making knots of themselves.
‘So, what’s next? Sit and count the flying dust?’

“Hey… Kacchan…” To Katsuki's surprise, the Nerd is quite talkative today. The blond grunted at him to continue. “You… didn’t mention to anyone that… me and… y-you know…”

‘Oh for fucks sake. Can we stop butting this bitch in for like 5 MINUTES?’
Katsuki had enough bullshit (and Tofu) on his plate today. “Do I look like I do that shit?! You’re not worth my time, nerd.”

“And yet you…” Oh, so now the nerd can speak.

“I, what?”

“N-Nothing!” Deku hides behind his hands, covering his face slightly. As if Katsuki is going to think that skip off the tongue was ‘N-Nothing!’. With his left hand, the blond grabbed onto the nerd's collar, pulling him close and snarling.

“Fucking. Spill it.”

He can hear the freckled fuck let out a gasp, before exhaling a shuddering breath. “K-Kacchan spends his time to make sure I get home safely… you’ve been doing it for the past week. So that has to mean that you care…”
The closeness of their faces must be the thing to warm Katsuki's chest up. It couldn’t be anything else.
“As if. I was making sure the old hag won’t have my head for dinner.” He replied, voice gruff but surprisingly quiet.

Deku slowly blinked. “T-That… make sense… but still… I’m glad that it’s Kacchan that’s helping me out.”
The blond could’ve started interrupting, but it’s been a while since he heard Deku brabble around so clearly. He needs to listen for how long his vocal cords can handle the stutter less language. Besides, he’s feeling rather cozy… isn’t Deku getting even paler?

Without realizing it, Katsuki leaned in even closer, examining the face of that useless shithead that hasn’t left his mind since last week. The greenette must have taken it as a sign to keep going, so he did: “I think I would be w-worried if someone else helped me out. But Kacchan was the one to carry me home, so I wasn’t concerned. Y-you’re a-amazing.” The nerd's face is as red as a tomato, drops of sweat rolling down his face. He keeps mumbling some more stuff, around the lines of “hoping to get along” and “can you move back a bit?”, but it’s not like the blond is listening to it that much. He’s too busy analyzing the situation.

It’s so obvious what’s happening, Katsuki is surprised he didn’t see it sooner: Deku is buttering him up.

Maybe he’s making fun of him. Sure, that green fuck might sound all sweet and honest, but he could be thinking ‘Ooh that dumbass Kacchan wastes his time on me, which means he spends less time training, meaning he’s getting weaker, meaning he becomes less special. I’m gonna step him down, acting all high and mighty like All Might even though I’m quirkless and useless!’
Katsuki should beat him up for even considering looking down on him. He’s Bakugou-fucking-Katsuki. Future Number One Hero, the one with the infinite winning streak. Deku is nothing, he is a tiny creature that you can’t help but feel sorry for.

The room is starting to feel really hot. Katsuki sees the nerd's neck bobbing, hears a tiny throb of a heartbeat due to their closeness. He also feels his own blood pumping through him, ending up somewhere in his brain.
He knows he has to teach this quirkless dipshit a lesson, but he can’t find himself to do it.

He feels strangely less pissed off. Might just be the feeling a hero gets after being thanked by the damsel in distress.

Deku is probably expecting an answer, his eyes shut off strongly. Not knowing how to respond after a few more seconds of just staring at the pale, shaky, and sickly looking face of Deku, Katsuki let go with a soft grunt, his throat to dry to do anything else. The greenette squealed, bowing down towards Katsuki, the stuttering returning at full force. “S-Sorry! I- I thought that- I am- It was just so nice of you to help and- even if you did it for mom and Auntie I’m still grateful and-“
“Calm the fuck down, you look like you’re about to have a panic attack, and I’m not dealing with your pathetic ass any longer if you keep fucking stuttering everything!” Katsuki became louder and louder while talking, so the nerd went quieter and quieter.

“…I’m grabbing some water. You better got a game or something prepared until I’m back, stupid Deku.”

this story and the account is going to be abandones (not orpahned, account will stay up, but i wont continue), that was the rest of what I wrote for chapter 3. i am currently ashamed of being alive and ill seek therapy. i dont want to pressure myself to continue something i have no passion for anymore

to sum everything up for chapter 3:

-Katsuki listens in to a phone call in which Kikan tells Deku to go out on a date and meet her father

-he stalks them throughout the date

-apparently Midnight is a distant relative of Kikan and her father

-Katsuki angrily confronts Kikan and tries to make her jealous

-Deku discovers them and passes out from stress

-He's sent to the hospital and Katsuki pieces everything together: Kikan has a sedative quirk and Deku has become addicted to it. He's constantly in a state between addiction and withdrawal

-Kikans father is called and apologizes in behalf of his daughter, who will be sent into a specialized Quirk facility for underage people

-all of this was 2nd year middle school, Inko kind of discovers that Katsuki is mean to Deku and therefore cuts ties with the Bakugou family, which makes Mitsuki lose her shit

-in the beginning of 3rd year, katsuki is set out to bully Deku with a clearer head, because he's still in denial of his love for the green blob

I will write the last chapter a bit more properly and post that too (I started writing chapter 4 before chapter 3 because it was a massive time skip, but I also kinda that one).

As for my stories; you can do whatever you want with them, maybe even finish them.

if you do want to do that, you can mention me as vocanin somewhere in the description, you don't have to though.