Chapter Text
Kirishima Eijirou was ecstatic for class today. It was a rare occurrence, but today they would be fighting Class 2-B during hero training. He got to work with other heroes, as well as a close friend of his, TetsuTetsu. However, there was one problem. Monoma Neito. Kirishima believed he was someone who could get along with almost anyone and could never hate anyone, but boy was he wrong. The guy had a way of getting under Kirishima’s skin and successfully bringing anger out of him that could rival Bakugo’s.
-
“Oh, well, if it isn’t my favorite duo!” Monoma exclaimed at the beginning of their last hero training with class 2-B. His mocking eyes roamed over Bakugo and Kirishima’s frames while he hysterically laughed to himself. Bakugo had simply scoffed, learning how to ignore the guy (the extra wasn’t worth his time apparently), and stomped away. However, Kirishima stood there still, grimacing at the blonde-haired man. “Well, doggy, aren’t you gonna follow your owner, or are you allowed to be off the leash now?” He continued to laugh to himself like a villain, clearly proud of his remark.
Doggy? Kirishima was seething. Yeah, he and Bakugo were around each other very frequently, but Bakugo saw him as an equal, his partner. They were best friends, so of course, they hung out all of the time. Unfortunately, the amount of time they spent together led to Kirishima gaining a hopeless crush on the explosive man, but he couldn’t stop it if he tried. It also wasn’t the point. He was a hopeless romantic seeking an unattainable relationship with the most dangerous guy he had ever met. However, calling Kirishima a dog and saying Bakugo was dragging him by a leash was the last straw. Kirishima couldn’t control the ripples of hardening that flew down his body out of pure anger.
“ Monoma.” He growled, his pupils darkening and the target locked on the man with a ridiculous cape for a costume.
“Aw, is doggy gonna bark back? Hey, Bakugo! Come get your little puppy before he attacks me!” His derisive laughter only got louder as he taunted. Kirishima began striding forward, ready to pummel him out of existence.
“Oi! Quit it, you idiot.” Out of nowhere, Kendou’s large palms came and whacked Monoma upside the head. He yelped in surprise before getting dragged away by two other class B students, making barking noises as he left. Kendou sighed out of frustration. “I’m so sorry, Kirishima. Even after a whole year, the guy is still unbelievable.” Kirishima’s hardening began to fade away, but his anger remained. Normally the man’s taunts just got under his skin a bit, but this one punctured his heart.
“It’s alright, Kendou. Thanks.” He smiled his bright white smile that was painfully fake, but she only gave a thumbs up in response as she walked away. They still had some time before the training started, so Kirishima had found the closest wall and slid down it with a sigh. He rested his arms on his knees and pathetically hid his face in them. Was he really acting like Bakugo’s dog? He would do anything for the guy and protect him with his life, even though he didn’t really need Kirishima’s protection. The guy had just gripped onto Kirishima’s heart, and the grip was not lessening in the slightest; in fact, it was getting stronger every day. Bakugo was strong, fearless, manly, and smart. Over the past year, Kirishima was able to break down Bakugo’s walls little by little, and the man had started to open up more. Hell, he was starting to accept friendship and yelled a bit less.
Kirishima understood he was rude and brash, but no one else saw the moments when it was just them . The wrinkles in his forehead faded away, and his eyes softened just a bit, even though they continued to hold their fiery intensity that Kirishima loved. Sometimes, when those fiery eyes caught Kirishima’s, his heart skipped a beat, and his face felt like it was on fire. His sturdy frame practically melted under his gaze, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Oh god, and his hair . Kirishima knew it had to be ridiculously soft because he had pet a pomeranian before, so it just had to be. Bakugo managed to melt the sturdy hero just by existing, and Kirishima didn’t know if he was afraid of it or too entranced to care. He had a ridiculous crush, and he knew it; hell, he didn’t even know if Bakugo was gay or bi, or literally anything.
“Yo, dude. You alright?” Kirishima peered up from his arms to match Kaminari’s concerned gaze. He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, trying to forget Monoma’s remarks.
“I’m fine.” Kaminari crossed his arms in disbelief before sliding down the wall next to him.
“Yeah, dude, you totally look fine. You totally don’t look like a guy pondering his entire life’s existence. Wait. Is that what you’re doing?” Kirishima let out a low laugh, looking at his electric friend with a small smile. Kaminari returned the smile, relaxing his position, so he leaned on one knee while the other fell loosely across the floor.
“It’s just...Monoma.” Kaminari rolled his eyes in exasperation, already knowing how this scene played out. The copycat’s taunts only managed to hit home against the unbreakable Red Riot himself.
“What’d he say this time?” He prompted.
“That I’m Bakugo’s dog.” The redhead muttered bitterly. Kaminari’s eyes widened slightly, looking at his friend's lips which now formed a pout.
“Dog, huh?” He chuckled sarcastically, trying to think of something to distract his pouting pal. “You know, I can’t really see Bakugo with a dog. He’d probably say something like, ‘those disgusting mutts are just distractions trying to stop me from getting number one!’ Or something else just as ridiculous.” That brought out an actual laugh from Kirishima, whose eyes crinkled and his smile showed off his sharp and shiny teeth.
“What are you dumbasses doing? Training’s starting.” Bakugo grumbled at them before stalking off, but the two continued to giggle at themselves. However, Kirishima watched him leave, his eyes practically forming heart shapes as he watched Bakugo’s backside storm away from him. He shook his head out of the trance.
“Or maybe it would be more like, ‘Those disgusting extras would only make messes and smell up my beautiful, pristine room,” Kirishima stated in a ridiculous, pretentious accent.
“Nah, man, that’s way too distinguished for Bakugo.” Bakugo’s glare narrowed at them in confusion, but they didn’t notice. The two made their way over to the groups, and it began.
-
Anyway, the point was, Monoma Neito was an absolute menace and a thorn in Kirishima’s side. Kirishima pulled himself out of his bed, rolling his shoulders and doing some arm stretches before making it to his bathroom. He sighed, lifting a handful of red locks, knowing he had to spend the next hour forming them into spikes so that he could look cool. He began forming the strands with the gel, ignoring the boring feeling and remembering what today had in store. He wanted to fight Tetsutetsu one-on-one again to see if there would be any changes between their duel. The steel boy had become a close friend of his over their training at UA so far, so he was excited to see him during class time again.
After an hour had passed and the spikes were in a decent enough place, Kirishima continued with the rest of his routine, brushing his hair and shaving his face. Throwing his uniform on and his backpack slung over his shoulder, he made his way out of his room. When the door shut with a ‘click,’ his gaze drew over to Bakugo’s door, right next to his. He wished so desperately they could walk to class together every day, sometimes holding hands as they did in the romance novels Mina gave him. Still, he knew logically that Bakugo would rather puke than do any ‘romance, sappy, bullshit.’ However, just the thought was enough to soothe Kirishima’s, hopeless romantic heart.
“Kirishima?” The redhead snapped out of his daydream, a slight pink blush tinting his cheeks out of embarrassment. Behind him stood Shouji, his eyes looking him over with concern.
“Ah, morning Shouji! Heh, sorry, I guess I didn’t sleep well. I’m kinda out of it.” He scratched the back of his neck out of nervous habit, but the man in front of him just crossed two of his arms.
“Are you ever gonna tell him?” Kirishima reeled back and started laughing nervously, grabbing one of Shouji’s arms and dragging them down the hall. They continued to walk, but Shouji’s eyes remained glued onto him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled with a slightly higher octave in his voice.
“Kirishima. I can hear your muttering in the middle of the night. It’s getting painful at this point.” Kirishima sighed, looking at the floor as they walked to the elevators. He should’ve known Shouji would’ve found out, considering he’s on the same floor and because of his quirk.
“I-just. It’s-It’s Bakugo , Shouji. Bakugo Katsuki.” His hands dragged down his face in annoyance. “Telling him any of this is practically signing a death warrant.” The elevator dinged, and the two stepped inside, Shouji’s face still expressionless even underneath the mask.
“You really think Bakugo dislikes you that much?” The tentacle man questioned.
“No-well, I mean. I-ugh. It’s complicated. He’s just so incredibly manly, and I’m just...me.” Kirishima’s expression fell, but he quickly shook himself out of it. “I just don’t see Bakugo wanting a romantic relationship.” Shouji nodded, feeling empathetic for the poor man. He had no idea what Bakugo said about him in the middle of the night.
“Like, there’s no way the guy would be interested in anything romantic, especially because he would probably call it a distraction. He calls friends a distraction!” Kirishima shouted, his face dropping a bit.
“Well, what if he had a partner that would help him get to the top? Like, I don’t know, a person with strong defensive abilities to watch his back?” Shouij commented, but Kirishima just looked at him incredulously as if he said something crazy.
“Bakugo wants to do it alone.” Kirishima’s gaze dropped to the floor, and the grip on his backpack got tighter. “He doesn’t want to accept help from anyone...even from All Might...maybe especially All Might.” His heart clenched because he knew it was the truth. He knew that it didn’t matter how close he had gotten to the explosive boy because if he was going to be number one, it had to be by himself.
Shouji decided to stay silent before he wanted to start beating their heads together. Then they reached the ground floor and decided to walk to class together, Kirishima filling the silence with mindless chatter.
-
Monoma Neito had come up with a new plan to get under the sturdy hero’s skin. They would be training with class 2-A today, and he just had too much fun messing with him. Monoma kept tabs on everyone he knew at UA in case he ever wanted to copy their quirk. Well, he recalled a specific female in the general studies course named Fukunaga Aiko. She was a quiet girl, who kept to herself mostly, but she was also beautiful. Her eyes were silver-gray due to her quirk, and she had black flowing hair that fell to her shoulders. Monoma remembered when he first met her that her quirk was, in fact, incredible. The girl was able to read the minds of those she spoke to directly if she chose. Of course, the catch was that the person had to directly answer a question given by the user, similar to how the guy Shinsou’s quirk worked. Monoma was able to extend his threshold for Copy to fifteen minutes now, so he just needed to find the girl. He knew roughly what classroom she was in, but he had to hope she would actually be there. As he strode through the halls with his prideful smirk, he made it to the classroom the girl resided in, and sure enough, there she was sitting at her desk reading a novel. He slowly walked towards the girl, gently touching her hand as he passed, and he felt the girl’s quirk rush through him.
“Hello?” Aiko prompted, her brows furrowed in confusion.
“Oh my, I’m sorry, I was hoping to find someone here, but I guess they haven’t made it yet. I apologize for bothering you.” Still skeptical, the girl eyed him up and down but eventually went back to reading her book as he strolled out of the classroom. Now to find Red.
Monoma made it back to the hero course classrooms, scanning for the easy-to-find red hair that stood out anywhere. He saw the man walking in with the odd tentacle guy, laughing about something. Huh, doggy is off his leash. He sped walk to catch up to the pair before standing in front of them. He loved when Red’s expression contorted into disgust and anger just from the sight of Monoma.
“Hello, doggy. Did you brush your nasty fangs this morning?” Kirishima growled before responding.
“Yeah, I did. What the hell do you-” He froze as his red eyes turned into a gray color once Monoma used Aiko’s quirk and felt Kirishima’s thoughts flood into his brain.
Maybe I should ask Bakugo if he wants to walk to class together.
“He’s just so incredibly manly, and I’m just...me...I just don’t see Bakugo wanting a romantic relationship.”
Does Shouji know that I like Bakugo?
God, Bakugo looked so hot last night. His skin looked so soft, and his lips looked so welcoming.
I need to tell Kaminari about the new Pokemon game announcement.
How would Bakugo’s hair feel underneath my fingers?
I want to kiss him so badly.
I’m pathetic. I really need to give this up.
Mom is gonna be upset that I haven’t called.
I want to touch him.
His laughter is so adorable. He would kill me if I said that out loud.
Is it possible that I love him? No, shut up, Eijirou.
The interaction on the outside looked like it lasted five seconds, but Monoma’s mind was reeling with the amount of disgusting and sappy comments this guy made about the explosive asshole.
-
Kirishima shook his head. His mind was a bit fuzzy as he looked back at Monoma. His eyes were glinting, and the smirk that plastered his lips was maniacal and terrifying. “Ugh, what just happened?” Kirishima muttered, looking to Shouji for help, but his expression was still blank as he tried to assess the situation.
“Oh, dear. It seems the little doggy is obsessed. The dog has fallen in love with his master!” He laughed, practically shouting into the hallway. Kirishima’s heart stopped, and his eyes blew into a panic. What did he just say? How could he have possibly found out? Mina knew only about it, but she had kept it a secret for Kirishima’s sanity. His eyes began to leak a few tears, but he shoved them away as pure rage clouded his mind. This had gone too far.
“Shut up,” Kirishima warned, his normal sunshine expression contorting into unbridled anger. His fists clenched at his side, and all he could see was red.
“Oh, what a shame this would be if Bakugo himself found out about this.” Kirishima hadn’t even noticed that Shouji had left to get some help before an actual fight broke out. Kirishima’s eyes widened further as panic ensued in his gut. Please, no. He would lose his entire friendship with Bakugo if he found out. He still didn’t know how he had found out. It didn’t matter right now. He couldn’t lose his relationship with Bakugo. It would destroy him.
“What do you want?” He snarled before dragging the copycat down to a private area in the hallway. His smirk only widened, enjoying firing the redhead up.
“Well, Dog. I need you to make sure class B wins today; I mean, we would win anyway, but just to make sure.” Kirishima rolled his eyes, finding a silly competition useless when they were training to be heroes.
“Fine.”
“Not done. Make sure that reckless man completely embarrasses himself.” Kirishima scowled.
“Listen, you can make whatever demands you want with me, but leave him out of it.”
“Wow, you really are infatuated with him,” he teased, “Fine. I want you to tell him that you need ‘space’ from him at training today.”
“What?” He spat.
“You heard me. I think it’s time you two separate a bit unless you want me telling your precious explosion boy.” Monoma was completely nonchalant; his arms crossed over each other as he leaned against the wall, unphased. Kirishima shook with anger. He couldn’t believe he was getting controlled and blackmailed by this guy over his pathetic feelings. If he had just stomped them down, like he should have done, then none of this would be happening. He could just have his friendship with Bakugo, and everything would be fine. He sighed, fighting the emotions churning in his stomach, and looked back up at the man he absolutely despised.
“Fine. As long as you don’t say a word about this.” He shuddered, his emotions swallowing him as he tried to keep an impassive expression.
“I won’t, as long as you hold up your end of the deal. See you later, dog. ” He laughed once more. That laugh unpleasantly made Kirishima’s skin prickle before the guy finally walked away, his prideful strut making Kirishima sick to his stomach. It would be fine. He just had to make some space between them for a bit, and this was just one day of training. He could put up with it as long as his secret was safe. Heaving in a deep breath, he tried to relax the muscles that ached with the tension they were put under. It would be fine.
Kirishima walked back into his classroom, plastering a smile on his face as he greeted his classmates, stopping his feet that normally took him to Bakugo’s desk. Instead, he reluctantly collapsed into his chair, watching as Midoriya looked up from his notebook with a questioning look. Bakugo wore the same expression, staring right into Kirishima’s soul with that fiery intensity that he normally loves, but right now, he just wanted to disappear. Was it really that big of a deal? Apparently, it was because Bakugo got up abruptly, his desk scraping against the floor as he angrily stomped his way to Kirishima’s desk.
“Oi, shitty hair.” Kirishima gulped, matching his gaze with Bakugo’s crimson eyes that normally send his heart into a frenzy, but right now, he just wanted to wallow alone.
“Uh, hey, bro. What’s up?” He rambled, watching as Bakugo’s face glowered even further. Some of their friends began to watch them with curiosity as his large hands gripped the sides of the desk. Their faces were close now, a blush growing on Kirishima’s pale cheeks at the proximity, but he had to remain strong. But, god, did he want to kiss those lips. Shut up! Get a hold of yourself!
“What the hell is wrong with you, dumbass?” Bakugo demanded, continuing to glare him down as if his glare was a weapon.
“Uh, nothing?” He quickly responded, having trouble keeping himself together when they were so close. It just wasn’t fair to his heart. Bakugo could always read him like a book, so it was useless to lie to him, but he had no choice. In normal circumstances, the fact that Bakugo paid enough attention to him to notice something was wrong would make his stomach do a flip.
“What the fuck is wrong? I won’t ask again.” Oh, shit. He was so screwed. He can’t even make a half-ass lie because Bakugo would see right through it. Well, guess he had to fulfill his side of the deal sooner than he thought. Ignoring his own sadness, he regained his composure to say his next words. His composure was already slipping, falling in love with Bakugo’s face all over again, even as it was twisted into an angry grimace.
“I think we need some space from each other. We’re just always together, yanno?” The words felt like bile in his mouth. The mindless chatter from his classmates immediately died after he spoke, and soon, all eyes were on them. Kaminari, standing nearby, dropped the papers he was holding as his mouth dropped, almost comically. Bakugo’s face, however, was the worst. It only was there for a brief moment, but Kirishima saw the sadness that washed over his best friend’s features before he covered it with a face that said, “Why?”. He had to hold his composure just for a bit longer, even with all of his classmates’ eyes on them. Bakugo’s mouth opened and closed before he took his hands off the desk and gritted his teeth.
“Whatever, fine.” He muttered, his head hanging low as he went back to fall into his desk. The class remained stunned, watching the duo break, just like that. Kirishima’s friends looked at him with suspicious glares, knowing something was wrong. His heart ached. He never wanted to see Bakugo wear such an expression in his life, and he was the cause of it. It was unmanly of him, but he wanted to cry. He so badly wanted to grab Bakugo’s hand and tell him that he didn’t mean any of it. In fact, Kirishima wanted to continue being with Bakugo even in the future. He wanted to continue to be that partner he could rely on and help him achieve his dream of being the number one hero, just as Shouji had said to him earlier. He could see his best friend’s eyes were sullen, and the scowl he was wearing held little malice. It was all Monoma’s fault. No, it was Kirishima’s for falling in love in the first place.
His best friend’s eyes didn’t glance his way again the entire period as Present Mic droned on about English. Kirishima didn’t care. When the bell rang, Bakugo bolted out of the room faster than he could blink, but his friends immediately surrounded his desk.
“What the hell was that?!” Mina shouted. Her eyebrows were furrowed in anger, and her arms were crossed across her chest. Kaminari and Sero were no different. Even Jirou watched them with a confused expression.
“Yeah! Did he say something to you? Did he do something to you?” Kaminari yelled.
“No, no, he didn’t,” Kirishima muttered unhappily. He hated everything about this. He hated lying to his friends all because of his stupid feelings. It was pathetic.
“Then bro, why the hell would you say that? I mean, you two are like, always together.” Sero commented.
“Listen, guys, nothing is wrong with a guy wanting a little bit of space. C’mon, we need to,” He started.
“Uh-uh. Something’s up, and we’re gonna figure it out.” Mina interrupted. It seems Bakugo wasn’t the only one who could see right through him. The trio paraded out of the classroom as Kirishima let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Kirishima.” Jirou had stood up and was now looking at him thoughtfully.
“Yeah?”
“It’s okay to want some space sometimes. They’ll get that eventually.” She offered a small smile, and Kirishima returned one of his own.
“Yeah.” Except the last thing he wanted was space from Bakugo.
-
Kirishima stood in the locker room. Casting careful glances in Bakugo’s direction, he sneered when he caught him looking. When Bakugo had his full costume on, he strolled over to the mirror, beginning to put on the eyeliner deep around his eyes. Kirishima frowned. He normally helped Bakugo with his eye makeup because he never got it exactly the way he wanted, but Kirishima had grown up with three sisters and learned how to apply makeup. Bakugo was clearly struggling, shouting out numerous amounts of “fucks” and “shits.” How could one afternoon tear them apart this much? Oh right, Bakugo could be petty when he wanted to be.
“Hey, Kirishima!” Midoriya greeted happily, even though he could tell he was upset by what was going on as well.
“Hey, Midoriya.” He greeted back.
“Do your best today, okay?” He placed a hand on Kirishima’s gear that covered his shoulder reassuringly. Kirishima’s heart warmed at the action. He gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, trying to put on the best smile he could muster before Midoriya walked away, and his face fell back into remorse once more. Bakugo stomped back over to his locker, casting a look at Kirishima before slamming the locker door as hard as he could, causing the boy to wince at the action. This was the absolute worst.
Once outside, Kaminari appeared at his side. “Hey man, I’m here to protect you against Monoma taunts for today.” His smile was cheerful, truly trying to help his friend, who was clearly upset.
“Thanks, man.” His eyes were trained on the back of Bakugo’s head. Why did he have to like such a petty guy too? What if he actually wanted space?
“Dude, you look like a kicked puppy. Stop it.” Kaminari demanded, his finger pointed accusingly at Kirishima’s chest. Did it really look that bad on the outside? “We’re gonna find out what’s actually going on here and fix it. I can’t handle not having my cheerful best friend around. I can barely handle the angry gremlin.” Kirishima wanted to laugh, he really did, and it was so stupid, but he couldn’t help it. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and this was impossible to deal with.
“Well, hello, 2B!” The copycat asshole had made his entrance.
“Dude, hey! Stop!” Kaminari shouted in his face, and he looked down at the blood that began to trickle down his chin. He had stabbed his lips with his teeth...again. He wiped the blood off with the back of his hand and kept his back turned to the asshole who caused all of this.
“Alright. Let’s start explaining today’s training.” Mr. Aizawa droned, standing above them with Vlad King, his hands rooted in his black pockets. He looked bored as usual, pointing a remote to the screens behind him to show a bracket. “We are going to have groups of three for this exercise.” Kirishima visibly tensed. He had many friends, but if he had to stick to Monoma’s stupid deal, he would probably have to make them lose. He heard Bakugo scoff from a few feet away, and normally he would sling an arm over his shoulder and give him a bright smile while saying, “This is gonna be great, man! We’re gonna do great!” But he couldn’t. The classes began to talk amongst themselves before Vlad King shouted at them to quiet down. “You will be competing against a group from the other class. You will imagine the other team as villains that you have to hold off while retrieving the hostages on the other side. The goal is to free the hostages safely while fending off the villains.”
“So Capture the Flag?” A student from class 2B piped up.
“I guess if you want to think of it like that, but with lives on the line, fine. As usual, no limits on quirk use unless it leads to severe or fatal injuries. Bring the hostages to the designated area once you retrieve them and make sure to keep them safe and relaxed. The team with the better cooperation and least amount of damage and best statuses on their hostages will win the round, understood?” Both classes shouted their understanding, adrenaline rushing through all of their veins. Now that they were older, their situations were sometimes simpler but a lot harder to accomplish now that everyone was stronger. Kirishima really didn’t want to cause his group to fail, but he had to. It broke him inside. This wasn’t manly or heroic.
“Alright, group up! You have ten minutes to strategize!” Vlad King announced.
Immediately, Bakugo’s heavy boots stomped over and grabbed Kaminari by the collar, dragging him away. “You’re with me, dunce face.”
“Hey! I didn’t consent to this! I want Kirishima!” He struggled and shouted.
“That’s too fucking bad.” The blonde muttered while walking over to Jirou. This absolutely sucked.
“Hey, Kirishima. Would you like to group up?” Shouji stood in front of him now, casting a concerned glance down at him.
“That would be great.” Kirishima sighed, watching his two best friends form a group without him. It tugged at his heartstrings. Kaminari and Bakugo had become a constant presence at his side and were always there for him but differently.
“I heard what happened, Kirishima.”
“About what?”
“Monoma is blackmailing you, isn’t he?” Kirishima’s eyes saddened as he nodded. “Is there anything I can do?” The boy chuckled in response, unable to think of anything else that could be done. Bakugo always calls him an idiot, so maybe he was right.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine, seri-”
“Hey, guys! Could I join you?” Midoriya came trotting up to the group, a huge grin on his face.
“Really? You want to join us?” Kirishima asked. He expected Midoriya to be with Todoroki, Iida, or Uraraka like he always did. The proclaimed “Dekusquad” was fairly solid, and his surprise was evident on his face.
“Yeah! I hope it’s okay...I want to practice with more of our classmates instead of the same group every time. It’ll make me stronger!” He held a fist up in determination.
“Alright!” Kirishima shouted excitedly, but dread started to fall on him. How was he supposed to lose the round with Midoriya on his team? The kid was an absolute monster. He easily shot to being one of the strongest in their class, maybe the strongest, but Kirishima knew that Bakugo was still on equal footing with him (or maybe it was a biased opinion). This was a disaster. Monoma would spill it as soon as they won, and all because Kirishima decided to group up with one of the strongest in their class, idiot. It would be all over for him, and he knew he was being dramatic, but Bakugo had slowly consumed his life. He was becoming his world, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
-
Bakugo knew what was happening, even from afar. Kirishima was getting one of those stupid anxiety attacks when he got too stuck in his head. His breathing was labored, and he held on to Deku’s arm like a lifeline as tears dripped down his cheeks.
“Aren’t you gon-”
“NO.” Bakugo spat, his eyes glued on the redhead from afar, using all of his strength to stay put.
“Stop being petty.”
“I’M NOT BEING PETTY!” He shouted angrily at Kaminari, who was anxiously looking back and forth between the pair. He grabbed his blonde hair in frustration, wanting to scream at everything. However, Bakugo continued to grit his teeth as he watched his best friend struggle to recover. Something was incredibly wrong, and it was pissing him the hell off. Need some space, his ass. Something was going on, and he knew the idiot was probably doing some selfless act again.
“Bakugo...you know how to handle his attacks best.” Earlobes reminded him, and he grimaced. He knew that. They had been helping each other through their attacks since early first year, but he wanted space. Aizawa had jumped down to try and resolve the situation, failing at snapping him out of it. Bakugo was getting impatient. C’mon idiot. You can do it. Nothing was working. He wanted space so that he could handle it on his own.
“Oh dear, is the doggy crying?” Bakugo recognized that grating voice anywhere and sputtered back. Doggy? Did he just say doggy?
“FUCK THIS!” Bakugo shouted, quickly removing his grenade bracers as he stomped over to the scene. “Kirishima, I swear to god if you don’t get out of that shitty mind of yours, I’m going to kill you!” Kirishima looked up with his glossy eyes from the floor, his eyebrows raising to his hairline.
“Bakugo.” His teacher warned.
“NO! Kirishima, whatever shitty ass things you’re thinking right now fucking stop it.” He crouched down to meet eyes with the redhead whose eyes were blown out of his skull. Bakugo sighed, reigning in his anger a bit to properly handle the situation. He grabbed the calloused palms that were shaking and held onto them tightly. “Whatever the hell is going on, I swear to god we’ll fix it. So I need you to take some deep breaths and get yourself together.” His voice had lowered, and he spoke as calmly as he could muster. The redhead nodded, beginning to match deep breaths with the boy in front of him. The rest of the class and teachers watched in amazement at the scene. Bakugo began rubbing small circles on the back of the boy’s hands, trying to soothe him. After a few moments, the shaking ceased, and the tears stopped rolling down his pale cheeks. “Better?” Kirishima nodded, his cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Alright, now get your shitty ass up. We have training to do.” Kirishima gave a small smile, slowly getting off the floor and turning to Mr. Aizawa. He bowed in front of the man.
“I am truly sorry! I realize I made a big scene for no reason and interrupted everyone’s training!” Aizawa nodded slowly, trying to round everyone back up.
“It’s alright, Kirishima. We can discuss this matter later.” The classes began to forget the scene and go back to their chatter as they watched the brackets form on the board. The pair stood in silence while Kirishima rubbed his arm awkwardly. Bakugo could see on his face that he wanted to talk. It was clear as day.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s going on or not?” Bakugo glanced over, watching his friend inhale a sharp breath, his eyes downcast.
“I can’t.” He mumbled, and Bakugo’s anger began to rise again steadily. Wasn’t this idiot supposed to be his best friend or some shit? He was getting worried about this stupid ass situation.
“Tch, whatever.” He walked away back to his group, trying to ignore the aching pain in his gut.