Chapter Text
It was one morning, when Eijiro had decided to do extra training. No one had thought much of it, maybe Eijiro had wanted to get some extra stuff in. Anyhow, that left the rest of the Bakusquad on their own. Denki had settled in the beanbag across from where Hanta sat on the end of the couch. Katsuki had settled into the couch next to Hanta. He had the usual scowl on his face. Hanta had pulled out a musty stack of old playing cards he claimed were his dad’s old ones from when his dad used to go gambling. Denki seemed all into the idea, and Katsuki scoffed, but Kyoka noticed the gleam of interest in his eyes. Hanta moved to sit on the floor, telling the others to sit.
“Trust, guys! I’ve got amazing card skills!” Hanta smirked, dealing out cards to the Bakusquad. Mina had been awfully silent for some reason. She seemed lost in her thoughts.
“Sure you do, Sero.” Kyoka rolled her eyes, and Denki nodded, scooting closer to Kyoka, earning himself a side glance from her that looked rather amused than annoyed.
Everyone began playing cards, and Kyoka was winning, making Hanta make all these weird faces that looked like he was trying to shit himself while also trying to figure out if Kyoka was cheating. Denki chuckled at his faces, which Hanta glared at him playfully, but Kyoka’s ears went slightly pink. Mina slammed down a card, smirking.
“I win,” she said simply, looking proud of herself. Hanta’s jaw nearly unhinged itself from his face, and Denki whined dramatically. Katsuki scowled, but he looked mildly proud of her. Kyoka smirked.
“Good job, Mina! I was sure I had it,” Kyoka told her, and she nodded. Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he nodded stiffly.
Sero suddenly groaned, slamming his forehead onto the table. It made a few cards fly from the force of air. One flew straight into Denki’s face, and he let out a small, startled yelp, instinctively gripping Kyoka’s shoulder with both hands, making her frown at him. She didn’t push him off though.
“I swear you guys are somehow more annoying than my three younger siblings! They’re a pain in my ass!” Sero exasperated, looking defeated.
“Speaking of siblings, you guys would not want to meet my little brother,” Denki began, leaning forward and off of Kyoka, placing an arm on the table for support, “He’s a clever kid but talks too much. Honestly, you guys would be exhausted from handling him for ten minutes.”
“Sure, sure. I’ve met him. He’s annoying,” Kyoka agreed, “Glad I’m an only child.” Denki rolled his eyes, and then he looked at Katsuki with a rather curious look.
“What about you, Kacchan? Got any siblings?” he asked, and Katsuki nodded.
“I’ve got an older sister. She’s annoying but I guess she’s okay,” he told them, and Denki snickered. Hanta looked amused.
“Mina? Earth to Mina? You’ve been silent since you won the match,” Kyoka said, snapping her fingers in Mina’s face. Mina blinked, looking slightly startled.
“Oh, sorry! I was just observing,” Mina said, but Katsuki noticed the way her foot tapped the floor and the way she bit her lip as if she were uneasy. She clutched her cards tighter. Katsuki narrowed his eyes. Mina made eye contact with him.
“Does she love you?” Mina asked randomly. Katsuki blinked, caught off guard. He was confused. Kyoka tilted her head (“coincidentally” towards Denki) and Hanta shrugged at Denki.
“What? Where the fuck did that question come from?” Katsuki countered, now suddenly bewildered and concerned.
“Curiosity! Does she love you? Do you love her?” She pressed further like she wanted to know. Kyoka shrugged at Katsuki, and Katsuki sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah. I love her, I guess. She’s my sister. And yeah, she loves me. The damn woman won’t let me forget that,” Katsuki answered, having seemingly recovered from the randomness of the question.
Mina just nodded stiffly like she was taking mental notes. But she clutched her cards tighter before setting them down. She made a “mhm” sound and then smiled.
“Good! That’s good,” she smiled, saying with little emotion. Kyoka looked slightly creeped out, but Denki shrugged. Hanta broke the silence.
“Anyways, let’s play another round!” he challenged. Kyoka nodded, and so did Katsuki—reluctantly—and so did Denki, scooting closer to Kyoka so that their shoulders brushed against each other. Kyoka blinked but didn’t move away. They were about to play another round when Mina stood up suddenly.
“I’m going to go to my room,” she told them, and they nodded. They were somewhat sad; Mina was fun to hang out with. They were also glad the tension was gone, since Mina had been the one creating the tension. It felt… right and wrong at the same time.
Hanta, Kyoka, Denki, and Katsuki were in a deep game of Garbage when Eijiro came back in. He had a towel slumped around his shoulders and his hair was down. They could see his roots beginning to come back since it was down. He didn’t look too sweaty, but he didn’t look energized either. He had definitely done some more training. He was drinking water from the water bottle he was borrowing from Mina; she had a whole stash of randomized water bottles she’d collected, as several had gone unused. Eijiro saw the group.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” he asked, waving at them with one hand.
Denki looked up from his cards, and Hanta placed one down before following suit. Kyoka blinked up at him, but was more focused on the way Denki was fidgeting with her earjack. Katsuki scowled but looked mildly happy to see Eijiro… in his own Katsuki way.
“Playing cards,” Hanta said, gesturing to the card game on the table. Eijiro deadpanned for a second.
“I can see that,” Eijiro said, then his eyes landed where Mina had been. “Where’s Mina at?” he asked them, looking mildly confused, but Kyoka saw the concern in his eyes.
“Oh! Get this! We were talking about our siblings, and then Mina asked Katsuki if his older sister loved him. It was weird, but—” Hanta began, but then Eijiro’s eyes widened. He gripped Katsuki by the shoulders.
“Katsuki Bakugo. Did you fucking answer Mina.” His words didn’t even seem like a question, it was more of “tell me you didn’t”.
“Let go of me! And yes, I answered Mina! I wasn’t not going to answer her damn question! I told her that my sister loves me and I love her! Is that so—”
slap.
Eijiro slapped Katsuki hard across the face, Katsuki’s head snapping left from the impact alone. The hairs on Denki’s arms rose, and his shoulders hiked up towards his shoulders as his eyes widened. Katsuki spat out a bundle of blood that gleamed red in the sunlight coming from the windows that suddenly didn’t fit the scene inside anymore. Hanta froze, and Kyoka looked surprised and startled.
“What the hell, Eijiro?” Kyoka spat, moving forward. She didn’t get far before Eijiro stared up at Katsuki with a glare before speaking again.
“YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Dammit, what’s a worse word for IDIOT and DUMBASS?!” he spat violently. He looked angry. It wasn’t Katsuki’s explosive aggression; it was anger fueled by worry or concern. Katsuki slowly turned his head back. He didn’t wipe the blood from his lip.
“What the hell was that for!?” Katsuki spat, but it wasn’t very loud. Eijiro looked ballistic.
“I should’ve warned you all, dammit! You aren’t supposed to answer those questions when it comes to Mina! Dammit! Shit! Fuck!” he breathed heavily, gripping his pants. His eyes snapped up towards the dorm halls. Kyoka noticed the sudden change of emotion in his eyes.
“MINA!” Eijiro suddenly hollered, but all the emotion in his voice was pure worry and concern. “MINAA!” He didn’t wait for anyone. He yelled her name as he ran to her dorm. He ran like he was running for his life. It was weird.
“So… do we follow him?” Denki asked, sounding uneasy while trying to break the tension. Kyoka just shook her head.
“No. I think Eijiro has it handled,” Katsuki said, his voice wavering slightly. Kyoka nibbled on her earjack like a person would chew on their fingernails.
“I think Shitty Hair knows something we don’t,” he continued, placing a shaky hand on the table.
Not even a minute later, the Dekusquad came in the common room, only to find the scene of all four of them standing there with their eyes fixated on the stairs. They didn’t know that’s where Eijiro had disappeared to, running to Mina like he was scared.
“Woah, what’s with the vibe in here?” Izuku asked, tilting his head. Ochaco nodded, looking confused.
“Bakugo! What has happened to your face? A bruise is forming on your cheek!” Tenya pointed out, making sharp hand-chopping motions like he usually did.
“Eijiro hit him,” Denki said blankly, still staring at the staircase. Kyoka nodded, and Tenya froze.
“That is unmanly and very uncalled for—” Tenya was cut off by Katsuki.
“Nope. It was very called for. Whatever Shitty Hair knows, it was obviously worth slapping me over,” Katsuki said, his eyes glued to where Eijiro had gone up the stairs still.
The room froze. It must be serious, because there was no way the king of explosions had just admitted to having been in the wrong, much less that he deserved Eijiro hitting him. And since when did Eijiro—the manly, cheerful, friendly guy everyone knew—hit someone!?
“The fuck you mean ‘Eijiro hit you’!?” Izuku exclaimed, confused and offended.
“I mean exactly that, Izuku. Eijiro hit me,” Katsuki replied. He had little emotion in his voice, it was devoid of anger. It didn’t even sound concerned. Just… a statement of fact.
WITH KIRISHIMA + MINA:
Eijiro had been by Mina’s side since middle school; and he wasn’t about to not be. He was the only one who truly knew everything about her, and all her secrets. Mina and Eijiro had told each other everything—even the ugly. And they trusted each other to keep it secret. However, now Eijiro was the only one who could help her.
Eijiro found Mina exactly where he expected—on the floor of her bathroom with bloody wrists and arms. Eijiro sat next to her and took the blade. Mina just stared at her pink, sliced skin. There were old scars from middle school, and now these new, fresh, bleeding ones that made Eijiro frown.
“Please stop hurting yourself, Mina,” Eijiro told her, setting the blade on the tiles next to him. Mina was crying, her tears silent.
“I can’t! Fuck, I deserve it, Eijiro!” Mina exclaimed, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“…” Eijiro didn’t have words for her. Mina was right. Mina did deserve it. But Eijiro wasn’t about to let her hurt herself either.
Instead, Eijiro grabbed the white bandages from the cabinet like he always did after she relapsed.
“Eijiro…” Mina whispered, but she just sniffled, more tears coming from her eyes.
“I told you to stop asking those questions, Mina,” Eijiro said firmly but his eyes were gentle. He carefully cleaned her wounds. Mina sniffled, she didn’t reply. Her eyes were focused on his calloused hands wrapping her pink skin that was now covered in red.
“I can’t help it. I want to know…” Mina sniffled.
“Yeah, but it only ends up with you relapsing and hurting yourself again. I thought I found all your blades,” Eijiro said quietly, and Mina nodded.
“Mm. I got a new one,” Mina told him, her voice barely even a whisper. Eijiro frowned.
He finished wrapping her wounds, and then let go of them. He stood on his knees, wrapping his arms around Mina’s shoulders and neck and hugging her tightly. She buried her face in his gray hoodie, and Eijiro could feel her tears soaking through the thick fabric.
“Oh Mina… shh. It’s okay. No one’s mad at you,” he comforted her, and she just cried more.
“How could no one not be mad at me!?” she wailed, but it was muffled by the hoodie. Eijiro held her tighter, pressing his face into her hair.
“I don’t know exactly. I just know that no one is ever going to be mad at you. You need to stop beating—or cutting—yourself over this, Mins,” Eijiro told her softly.
She didn’t protest further, but she didn’t seem to agree. Eijiro knew from past experience that this usually meant she didn’t want him to know that she wasn’t going to listen and she’d just find another blade.
“Mins, I’m fucking serious,” Eijiro pulled back slightly, cupping her face with one hand as he looks down into her raccoon-looking eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes he’d ever looked into, and they only belonged to her. He wasn’t about to lose those eyes either.
Mina just broke into tears, and this time she let out choking sobs. She didn’t try to push him away. She just let him hold her as she broke down. Eijiro was all she had from her life before UA. She didn’t want to lose him.
“It’s okay to cry, Mins. I’m here for you. But please stop hurting yourself!” Eijiro exclaimed again, but Mina’s eyes dulled as her gaze landed on the bloodied blade beside Eijiro’s shoe. Eijiro forced her to look back up at him.
“No,” he said firmly. Mina just shook her head just once, and Eijiro frowned. He pulled her into a hug again. This time, Mina didn’t cry. She just closed her eyes letting herself be held.
BACK WITH THE BAKUSQUAD + DEKUSQUAD:
“Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. Mina asked a weirdass question, and then went to her room, and then Eijiro went haywire, slapped Katsuki, called him ‘worse than a dumbass’ and then ran to Mina?” Ochaco deadpanned, trying to get their explanation to make sense. Denki and Hanta nodded vigourously in sync.
The Bakusquad—well, Denki and Hanta with input from Kyoka since Katsuki had gone into the kitchen to “cool off”—had recounted the series of events since they had started talking about siblings. Shoto had a blank expression, and Tenya was too in shock from the amount of out of character-ness Eijiro had performed in less than a minute. Ochaco seemed mildly confused, and Izuku was just bewildered. Tsuyu just blinked and let out a small “kero- ribbit”.
Shoto blinked up at where Eijiro and Mina—who was now wearing Eijiro’s hoodie, which was two sizes too big for her—came down. Shoto pointed up at them with his blank expression, his eyebrows lifting slightly.
“Speak of the two, there they are,” he said monotone, in that same calm voice he always did. Ochaco nodded at his words, looking at where Eijiro kept an arm around Mina. Her face was dull and her eyes were puffed slightly. Shoto’s gaze hardened at Mina’s demeanor, she seemed so out of character for her usual cheerfulness. He exchanged a glance with Tsuyu, who frowned.
“Ribbit, you okay, Mina? Kero,” Tsuyu asked her, stepping forward. It was Eijiro who answered.
“She’s… going to be alright. Let’s get you that tea, Mins, and then you can take a nap.” He blinked back down at Mina, who just nodded. Eijiro rubbed her wrist softly, offering comfort. He knew it comforted Mina when he did that, since it made her feel comforted. Eijiro didn’t really know why it did, as Mina hadn’t really an answer herself.
Katsuki’s eyes narrowed, he knew something was seriously wrong with Mina, and Eijiro knew exactly what is was. Katsuki would probably never admit it, but he thought of Mina as his sister—heck, the entire Bakusquad were his second siblings. He wasn’t about to let one of them get away with hurting and not telling him. Katsuki wanted to confront her, to approach, but he saw how the shine was completely gone in Mina’s eyes, how her pink skin had tear tracks down her face. He wasn’t about to make her uncomfortable, or push her too much. He knew Eijiro had it handled, but it hurt him that he knew Mina was hurting but he wasn’t able to help her. Shoto seemed to have noticed, because he put a hand on Katsuki’s shoulder.
“Sometimes the best thing you can do to help is just to stand by. Sometimes trying to help can do the opposite of what you intend,” Shoto told him, his voice quiet but firm. Katsuki didn’t even look at him, didn’t nod, didn’t blink. But Katsuki knew Shoto was right.
“Okay,” was all Katsuki had to answer for it. Shoto nodded, and roughly squeezed Katsuki’s shoulder before walking away.
Izuku approached, and stood next to Katsuki as Eijiro and Mina headed back upstairs.
“Hey, Kacchan…” he started, glancing at Katsuki.
“The hell do you want, Deku!?” Katsuki growled, snapping out of his “protect Mina at all costs” mode.
“Are you okay? You seemed pretty upset. I get that. If one of my squad was hurt, I’d probably be on all detective mode too, you know? It’s like—” Katsuki cut Izuku off.
“Shut the fuck up before you start muttering,” he snarled, sparks flying from his palms.
“Alright! Alright!” Izuku half-laughed, throwing his hands up in a surrendering gesture, making Katsuki shove his hand back in his pocket. His expression softened slightly.
“Stop looking at me like that!” Katsuki growled, stepping away, but his ears were tinted red, “I’m just worried about the damn Raccoon-eyes!”
Izuku noticed Katsuki’s blush like he noticed everything visible. It made his own face start to flush.
“I-I mean of course you are! I just—” He was cut off by Katsuki again.
“Stop making this weird you damn nerd!” Katsuki exclaimed, before stomping away. Denki made teasing whistles and Hanta snickered. They were quickly shut up by Katsuki’s glares.
“I do not understand what just happened,” Shoto blinked, his heterochromic eyes looking between the two flustered boys. Denki laughed and leaned a hand on Shoto’s shoulder.
“You’ll understand someday!” Denki laughed, trying to compose himself. Katsuki had already gone upstairs. Izuku just fidgeted with the hem of his clothing, before walking into the now empty ktichen.
BACK WITH MINA + EIJIRO:
Eijiro had taken Mina up to her room, intending for her to get sleep. The sleep would allow her body to heal better. Mina just shook her head when Eijiro tried to tell her to lay down and sleep.
“No… I’m not tired…” she said sleepily. Eijiro shook his head and sat Mina on the bed anyways.
“You idiot. Mina, you’ve got to get some sleep,” he insisted, and Mina just frowned at him. Mina gripped his sleeve suddenly.
“Eijiro… do you think I’m a villain?” she asked, her voice still tired. Eijiro froze.
“No. I don’t think you’re a villain,” he told her firmly, gripping her hand tightly but careful not to hurt her. Mina just sniffled.
Eijiro knew why she was asking that question. He’d seen her diary. It made him sick to the stomach, just thinking about it. His eyes went to where she had her diary hid, where he’d found it a while ago. He had already known about everything before finding the diary.
“Mina, I know you feel guilty. You were a dumbass back then, okay?” Eijiro told her, frowning.
“Yeah a dumbass who killed someone,” Mina whimpered. Eijiro wrapped his arms around her.
“Mina, stop. You crossed out your name and wrote “murderer” instead. One mistake doesn’t define who you are. You’ve proven that you have changed from your old ways, Mins,” he whispered, hugging her tighter. Mina sniffled, and didn’t nod.
She didn’t object either. Eijiro thought maybe she was starting to get it, but then she said something that made him freeze up.
“Hell, I tried to kill myself after that. I didn’t have the willpower to, but I wanted to die so badly, to maybe see him again. I wanted to apologize, to somehow make up for all the shit I did to him,” she said softly, tears flowing around her hands, which she’d brought up to cover her face. Eijiro didn’t seem surprised. He went still, frowning.
“So you cut yourself instead…” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. It was more like he was recalling a fact than trying to understand anything.
“Yeah. I figured putting myself through hell could make up for putting him through pure torture,” she spoke softly, “I deserve to die.”
“Don’t say that. No one deserves to die, no one,” he said, and then Mina suddenly shoved him off of her.
“I took his life away from him! He was seven, Eijiro! I was supposed to love him, to care about him! He loved me so damn much, and he clung to me even though I pushed him away. I bullied him and hurt him and outright told him I didn’t love him! He was my own brother! I’m the shittiest sister in the world!” Mina exclaimed. Eijiro stayed calm, though his jaw clenched so tight it looked like it might crack.
Mina stood up, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as tears fell down her cheeks. Eijiro frowned, but he didn’t press. He knew Mina got all stressed out over it, she felt so guilty and so deserving of hell.
“Mina, you are one of the best heroes I know. You changed yourself for him, and that’s a good thing,” Eijiro told her softly, standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders. She sniffled. She didn’t agree, but neither did she disagree.
BACK WITH THE DEKUSQUAD+BAKUSQUAD:
Izuku had long since left the kitchen with a tea just as Katsuki came back down from his dorm with his earplugs and a romance manga that Izuku swore belonged to Kyoka.
“Hi Kacchan!” Izuku exclaimed, smiling at Katsuki. The blonde just stared at him for a second with an unreadable expression that made Izuku pause.
“Tch. Whatever, Deku,” Katsuki scowled, but there was no anger in his voice. Izuku blinked, and then walked up to Katsuki.
“What’cha reading?” he asked, and Katsuki grunted.
“It’s a damn romance manga called Twin Stars and I’m borrowing it from Earphones.” He grumbled. Izuku was surprised that Katsuki had even answered him until Izuku saw how red Katsuki’s ears were.
Izuku paused, unsure how to break the silence and tension Katsuki had created—Izuku guessed it was unintentional.
“Er… that’s cool, Kacchan!” Izuku smiled, though his own face was beginning to flush from just knowing that Katsuki was blushing. It felt odd, since Izuku had never seen Katsuki so flustered—or flustered so easily.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, nerd,” Katsuki rolled his eyes, but Izuku could see the glint of amusement in his eyes.
The two boys stood there for a long moment, the manga open but not being read. They didn’t say anything, but Izuku was pretty sure that Katsuki knew that Izuku had noticed Katsuki blushing, since Katsuki’s cheeks began to flush red.
“Erm, I’m going to read my fucking manga now,” Katsuki suddenly said, and Izuku nodded.
“Yeah! Uhm- you do that!” he exclaimed, before quickly walking away. His eyes glanced up to where he knew Eijiro and Mina were. He wondered how they were doing. He was trying to get his mind off Katsuki’s red ears.
The Next Morning…
Denki hadn’t ever seen Kyoka so worried before. It made sense. She knew just as well as Denki that something was up with Mina. The way she’d looked yesterday was all wrong and broken. Denki frowned. He knew Kyoka knew that Mina wasn’t okay.
“Kyoks?” Denki half-asked. The name was a question that was half-asking her if she was alright.
“I don’t know, Denki. It’s scary. Mina’s the girl I’m closest to out of the girls in Class A, you know? We both know something’s seriously wrong… but only Eijiro knows about it,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. Denki blinked. This was only the second time Kyoka had truly opened up to Denki.
“Yeah, I know. Mina’s one of my closest friends. I know someone who I would put before her, though,” he said, his voice light like he was trying not to be super angsty with Mina’s situation.
“Who?” Kyoka asked. She seemed genuinely confused. Denki chuckled.
“You, silly,” he half-laughed. He walked over to her and took her hand gently. Her ears reddened and her earjack twitched.
Kyoka grumbled softly, and Denki just squeezed her hand, smiling. Kyoka rolled her eyes, but then hugged him. Denki froze for a second, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected the hug. He didn’t blame her, though. Everyone was kind of devoid of their usual moods since Mina came out looking how she did. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her waist. Denki was still slightly surprised by it, and he didn’t want to mess it up. His cheeks and ears flushed red, as he held Kyoka close. She just buried her face in his thick yellow hoodie.
“Comfy?” Denki murmured, and Kyoka nodded against his shoulder.
“You’re still a dumbass,” she grumbled, her voice muffled against Denki. Denki didn’t mind when it came from her. To him, it sounded like a compliment.
“Mkay, but I’m your dumbass,” he chuckled softly, and she glared up at him, though there was no real malice in her eyes. He smiled down at her and her ears turned redder.
“Shut up…” Kyoka grumbled, but Denki only smiled wider as she gripped his hoodie tighter, clutching the fabric and curling it around her fingers.
“I hope Mina’s okay…” Kyoka began, and Denki nodded.
“Me too, Kyoks,” he said, and hesitated for a moment before placing a small kiss on Kyoka’s head that made her go redder, but she just hugged him tighter, leaning against him. Denki smiled.
“Mm. So I see—” Kyoka didn’t let Denki finish. She poked his side with her earjack, and Denki yelped in surprised, holding Kyoka firmer.
“Don’t start,” she muttered, but she sounded amused. Denki just nodded, before resting his face in her hair, and she just let him.
“Yeah, okay,” he chuckled. Denki hadn’t used his quirk recently, he was well of mind. He could focus properly onto Kyoka’s beautiful purple eyes as he pulled back jusst enough to. He gazed into them like if he looked away, they’d disappear.
“Stop staring at me like that dumbass,” Kyoka grumbled, though she held his gaze. Denki moved his hands up to cup her face, holding it gently. He smirked, and Kyoka rolled her eyes before looking back at him.
Denki looked down at her face. His eyes kept darting to her lips, but he wouldn’t ever admit it. As much as he loved Kyoka, he wouldn’t risk making her upset or uncomfortable.
“Still worried about Mina?” he asked randomly. Kyoka nodded solemnly, looking down and pressing her face into Denki’s hoodie. His chin sat on her head gently, and he stared at the wall, his hands and arms moving back down to hold her by the waist.
“Of course I am,” Kyoka whispered, and Denki could barely hear her since she was muffled. He could feel her breath through the fabric.
“Yeah…” Denki stiffened for a second, stifling a breath, “…I’m here for you, mkay?”
Kyoka paused, but then wrapped her earjack around him, pressing herself flush against him. Denki smiled softly, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“So… Friday nights still avaliable?” he asked. It was something they’d been doing for a while—cuddling every Friday night. Denki wondered if this Friday would be the first time they’d consider it non-platonic.
“Yeah, yeah you big cuddle hoarder,” Kyoka teased, her voice clear but muffled by the hoodie. Denki chuckled.
Denki saw as Mina and Eijiro come down the stairs, and Eijiro was hovering. He seemed protective of Mina. They both slumped down on the couch, and Eijiro handed the remote to Mina. Mina herself looked a little better, but then Denki saw the bandages on her wrist ever so slightly when the sleeve got pushed back a little back. He went rigid, but quickly composed himself.
He kissed Kyoka’s head briefly before pulling back from the hug to lead her over to the other couch, where they could sit down and watch whatever show Mina was about to put on.
WITH IZUKU:
Izuku went up to his dorm room, his mind spinning. He was flustered just thinking about it. He didn’t understand why now out of all the time he’s known Katsuki why now he starts getting butterflies just talking to him like he has for years. It was weird, something was different now. Just then there was a knock on his door.
“Hey, Deku? I think something’s up with Eijiro and Bakugo,” a voice said. It was Ochaco’s voice. Ochaco was Izuku’s best friend, and so he got up. He went to the door and opened it.
“Something up with them?” he asked her, and she nodded. Izuku could hear faint yelling from the common room. He frowned, and they both went downstairs.
Inside the common room, everyone was either watching or trying to descalate the situation, because inside the kitchen, Katsuki was hollering at Eijiro. That wasn’t the shocking factor. What was the shock was that Eijiro seemed just as angry and was yelling back. Izuku caught the end of their dialougue.
“—YOU FUCK! I THOUGHT YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING HAD A BRAIN!” Katsuki shouted, and Eijiro grit his teeth.
“YOU’RE THE ONE ALWAYS BEING AGGRESSIVE! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED THERE!?” Eijiro yelled. His voice was full of anger, and his eyes were full of malice. Izuku frowned. It didn’t seem like a normal argument, especially if Eijiro was this out of character. Izuku wondered where his friendly persona was.
“OH YEAH!? MAYBE YOU’RE WHAT HAPPENED! I LEFT TO SAVE YOUR ASS!” Katsuki hollered straight back. Izuku stifled a gasp, his eyes widening. He didn’t know what Katsuki was talking about. Eijiro seemed to know.
“I NEVER FUCKING ASKED YOU TO COME WITH ME! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO INSISTED YOU CAME!” he practically screamed at Katsuki, but Izuku could hear his voice wavering.
Suddenly Katsuki’s voice became quiet. He stepped back, and his shoulders slumped from the hiked position they had been in.
“I see then. Nothing that happened at Sage Tracks during the Incident meant anything to you,” he said, a disbelieving tone in his voice as he spat out a single laugh. Eijiro’s eyes widened. He suddenly became somewhat like a cornered cat.
“Kat… hey come on now… you don’t mean that—” His voice was suddenly full of regret and worry, like he didn’t want to believe Katsuki meant that. He spoke carefully like he was trying to get reassurance, like he was trying to salvage their friendship. He tried to step forward, but Katsuki glared at him.
“Don’t call me that, you fuck. I mean what I say, I don’t say shit I don’t.”
Katsuki walked out of the kitchen, leaving Eijiro in silence. Mina walked up to him and hugged him, but Eijiro didn’t move. He was frozen, looking seriously defeated. Denki, who was still cuddling Kyoka, had frozen. Kyoka swallowed hard, her jaw clenched. She didn’t understand what had happened—hell, no one did. She clutched Denki’s hoodie tighter, just as uneasy as everyone else.
“What just happened?” Ochaco asked, blinking around. Shoto shrugged, glancing at Tsuyu.
“Ribbit. It started when Bakugo tried to take the kitchen knife from Eijiro,” she croaked, tilting her head. She placed a finger on her chin, looking thoughtful.
“I don’t think this was about knives, Tsu,” Shoto grunted, crossing his arms. His eyes were fixed on where Mina was trying to drag Eijiro from the kitchen, but it seemed as if Shoto had frozen Eijiro’s feet to the floor.
“Come on, Eijiro!” Mina tried, but then she glanced up at him and froze.
A single tear welled up in Eijiro’s eye and fell down his face. The whole room stiffened. They hadn’t ever seen Eijiro cry like that.
“Eijiro…?” Mina frowned. She stopped shoving on him. She thought she knew him. They shared everything with each other, right? Right…?
Without another word, Eijiro turned heel and walked out of the kitchen. Mina turned to Izuku, desperate.
“Midoryia, do you know something about Bakugo? What’s the Sage Tracks?” she asked him, her voice wary and full of concern, but he shook his head. He didn’t know what the Sage Tracks were, or what “incident” Katsuki had been referring to. Mina stared down at her wrists for a long moment, before following Eijiro.
“Eijiro! Wait up!” she called after him, her footsteps becoming quieter until they ceased.
Two Days Later…
The tension between Eijiro and Katsuki had not disappeared. They avoided each other like the plague. Mina seemed back to her cheerful self—or for the most part. Kyoka and Denki knew that Eijiro was helping her through that, but they believed it might be Mina’s turn to help Eijiro, because right now, whatever was going on with Katsuki, Eijiro needed someone there to be right by his side. Hanta, the ever tension breaker, tried to shove Eijiro into the hallway while Katsuki was in there. The two just blinked at each other until Katsuki said something.
“The hell do you want, you—” Katsuki was cut off by Hanta, who appeared from behind Eijiro.
“Listen, man, this isn’t cool,” he began, “I don’t know what happened, nor am I going to ask. But you can’t keep ignoring him.”
“I can ignore him all I want to, tape-face!” Katsuki growled angrily, his eyes narrowing.
“Er, I think Sero has a point…” Eijiro said. The three boys in the hallway froze.
“Has a point?” Katsuki scoffed as if in disbelief. “Has a point!?” he repeated.
“Look, I don’t like this tension! I don’t think... I don’t think Aki would just let us stay separated like this, Kat,” Eijiro frowned.
Hanta backed out of the hallway and darted for where Denki and Kyoka were headed to Denki’s room. Hanta noticed the knowing look from Shoto as he nodded at the two. He knew that Denki and Kyoka were going to cuddle since it was Friday.
“Don’t bring her into this!” Katsuki spat, his posture becoming defensive as he glared daggers into Eijiro.
“How could I not! This needs to stop, Kat, I’m serious,” Eijiro replied, frowning deeply. Katsuki paused for a second. The tension in his body eased slightly as he thought about it.
Eijiro had a point. Aki wouldn’t have wanted the two to keep squabbling like enemies. She would have found someway to break the tension like she always did—not that Katsuki and Eijiro fought often that is.
“Fine. For Aki’s sake, I guess,” Katsuki finally said after a long pause. Eijiro’s gaze lit up and he smiled.
“Thanks, Kat,” he said, his voice just above a whisper.
“Whatever, Eiji,” Katsuki replied, but his voice was just as soft with a hint of amusement in it.
The End.
TBC…