The day dragged on and Bakugou was forced to eat lunch in the canteen with the rest of the class since Kirishima wouldn't let him go. It was better not to eat outside in his condition either way... Hero training was hard on him, not that he let anyone notice. It's because he was still ill, like Eijirou had pointed out to him before. But he was too stubborn to admit it. Defeated by your own body was an absolute weakness, he just couldn't allow it.

Yet that stupid nerd had noticed his breathing had been more laboured. Luckily Deku had confronted him about it when they were alone and nobody else heard. He threatened the freckled crybaby with death if he told anyone he was still sick. Izuku must've figured out he was too stubborn to show weakness. They've known each other their whole lives anyway. If anyone knew him, it was Midoriya... It still didn't make him feel any better about the whole situation though...

When school finally ended, Bakugou instantly stormed off to his room. Deku sighed, glancing at Kirishima.

"Are you going to check up on Kacchan today?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I don't think he wants me to... I mean, he's been pretty clear that he isn't sick anymore"

"Are you serious?" Midoriya laughed.

"We both know Kacchan is way to stubborn to admit something that would make him seem weak in any way. Did nobody notice how off he was at training today?"

"Hm? He seemed as angry as usual" Kaminari shrugged.

"Why don't you go check up on him?" Uraraka asked.

"You're the one who noticed"

"Are you crazy? He'll kill me! But I know he trusts Kirishima, he sees him as an equal. That's why he lets you care for him. Nobody else can even get close" Izuku sighed.

"Are you sure about that? I'm not really feeling the equality..." Ei mumbled.

"Aw, come on Kiri~ Don't act like you don't care for blasty~" Ashido teased, poking him. She knew he was gay and she had a hunch that the red head was developing feelings for the ash blonde.

"Mina!" he yelled, his face flushing red just thinking of him and Bakugou that way. He hadn't thought about the explosive teen that way before, but now that the pink girl suggested it, he couldn't stop his mind from going places it shouldn't.

"You know what? I'm going to go check up on him right now!"

Ashido laughed as he escaped the room, causing a lot of questioning looks. Eijirou was a blushing mess as the elevator doors closed on him. He sighed, dragging his hands down over his face. What thoughts had Mina put inside his head?! Somehow he could see him and Bakugou work out... He thought about how he would be in a relationship. Imagining the ash blonde would turn soft for him and they'd cuddle on top of the blankets. That he'd let himself be vulnerable, open...

A small smile graced his lips as his thoughts wandered off to how soft his lips looked... How it would feel to kiss him... He quickly shook his head, slapping himself in the face.

"Get yourself together man" he muttered to himself as the elevator opened again. He took a deep breath, walking into the hallway, all the way to the end. He hesitated to knock, but did so anyway after a few seconds.

"Hey Bakugou! It's me!" Kirishima shouted through the door.

"What the hell do you want?!" he got back.

"Just wanted to check up on how you're doing" Eijirou answered, hearing the door click open a moment later.

"Did that damn Deku put you up to this?" Katsuki hissed, glaring at the shark boy.

"He did, didn't he? Fucking nerd, always meddling with my business..."

"So he's right, you're still stick" Kirishima sighed. It wasn't a question and they both knew it.

"What is it to you?" the blonde grumbled.

"Dude!" Kiri frowned.

"Are you at least taking the medicine Yaomomo gave you?"

Silence...

"Bakugou!"

"Shut up! I don't need that shitty medicine!" he yelled, wanting to slam the door shut, only to be met with a hardened foot between the door and its frame. The wood cracked a bit from the force that was put on it, the strain being too much for the material to handle. Kirishima pushed the door back open, giving Bakugou a fierce glare. One that left the blonde stumbling back a little, his face showing signs of shock. He'd never seen the red head like this before.

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you let yourself suffer! Because you might not see me as your friend, but I sure see you as one of mine, got it?! I care for you Bakugou!"

"Y-you...care..?" Katsuki choked out in shock, staring wide eyed at those beautiful red eyes. The words of his mother rang through his mind. Nobody cares, nobody will.

"You're joking"

"I'm not! Why would I joke about something like that" Eijirou frowned, concerned about the way Bakugou was reacting to all of this.

"You're lying... You don't care- You can't-" the ruby eyed male stammered, his hands gripping his hair as he took a few steps back.

"I do care. What's so hard to grasp about that?" Kirishima asked, taking a step closer, entering the door.

"Because nobody cares!" Bakugou shouted, unable to control the stream of tears that now rolled down his face. Unable to keep his mask up, his façade crumbling more with every passing moment. Eijirou quickly closed the door before running up to the blonde, catching him as he fell through his knees. Katsuki couldn't keep himself from breaking down in his arms, crying as he gripped onto his shirt, allowing Kirishima to comfort him.

"I care Bakugou... Everyone in class cares about you too, in their own way. Just like you care for us, even if you don't want to admit that" the red head spoke, rubbing circles on his back. 'No, that's not true...' Bakugou thought to himself. How would anyone ever be able to care about an egocentric bastard like himself? A loser... A jerk, an asshole, a shithead... Not even his own mother cared so why the hell would Kirishima even bother?!

He sobbed, not telling him that out loud as he let himself sink into the soothing warmth, allowing himself to drift off. Eijirou soon realised that the ash blonde had fallen asleep in his arms after a few minutes of them sitting like that. He sighed, letting his fingers trail a path through the soft blonde hair. It always looked so rough and spikey from afar, but it was actually really smooth. Carefully, making sure not to wake Bakugou from his slumber, his rose from the floor.

With one swift movement, he picked up his friend, surprising himself with how light he actually was. Kirishima placed him on top of the orange covers, frowning as he noticed how Katsuki curled in on himself, as if in pain.

"Why..?" Eijirou mumbled, staring down at his friend with worry.

"Why do you react so repulsive towards any sign of affection..?"

He was answered with a whimper from the sleeping boy, breaking his heart some more.

Kirishima sighed, sitting down in the chair at Bakugou's desk, glancing around the room. There was nothing to give away his personality, no decorations on the walls, no patterns on his things... Just plain soft colours. Everything was super neat as well, as if a cleaning lady came by every hour to make sure not a spec of dust was able to settle in. The red head turned around in the chair, being faced with Katsuki's desk.

Like everything else in the room, it was organised. He couldn't help but notice that the left drawer stuck out a little, as if it had been opened and not closed properly. That was the drawer with all the drawings, right? He peaked around, seeing Bakugou was still soundly asleep, before opening the drawer completely. He normally wasn't one to poke around in other people's stuff like this, yet he couldn't help but feel curious.

Kirishima instantly saw the dark brown notebook. It was out of place with everything else, like it had just been thrown in there without a care. Maybe Bakugou was taking it out before he arrived? He carefully took it out, opening it.

Property of Bakugou Katsuki

The rest of the page was blank, making Eijirou even more curious. He slowly turned the page, looking over his shoulder again to make sure Katsuki was still sleeping. 'The Problem' it read on top, followed by the next few paragraphs.

I want to find to problem

I want to find the source

What's causing all these troubling things

Everywhere I go

People are so happy

They smile

They laugh

They cheer

Then I come along

They run

They cry

They fear

I want to find the problem

I want to find the source

Why are people scared

Everywhere I go

Everything is fine

The next moment everything is crumbling down

I want to be like others

But mess up every time

Why is it so hard for me

To understand

To fit in

To smile

I want to find the problem

I want to find the source

When will the pain stop

Everywhere I go

They tell me I'm mean

That I say all the wrong words

But that's what I've learned

I don't know any another way

They tell me I'm aggressive

Always ready to fight

I just want to defend myself

The way that I've been taught

I want to find the problem

I want to find the source

How do I make friends

Everywhere I go

People make it seem simple

Just like saying hello

So why is it so hard for me

To greet people properly

Deep down I already know

That darkness follows me

Everywhere I go

Never leaving me alone

I am the problem

I am the source

I make people hurt

Everywhere I go

Kirishima choked back some noise as he covered his mouth with his hand, biting down on it a little to stop himself from screaming. Is this...how Bakugou really thought of himself..? He took a shaky breath, quickly turning around to stare at the blonde, who was still curled in on himself, his hands clenching the blanket.

"N-no..." he whimpered in his sleep, his face scrunching up.

"Please... No... S-stop..."

Eijirou's breath hitched as he dropped the notebook on the desk and wandered over to his friend. The red head carefully placed a hand on Bakugou's shoulder, only for him to flinch and jerk away, his breathing getting louder. Only a second after, his ruby eyes shot open, darting around the room to orientate himself.

"A-are you okay?" Kirishima asked, carefully placing his hand back on Katsuki's shoulder.

'No, he clearly isn't, you idiot!' he mentally scolded himself.

"I think you were having a nightmare, you were talking in your sleep-"

"Talking?" Bakugou interrupted, a fearful look evident in his eyes. What had he said? How much did Kirishima know? If the old hag found out he told anyone about his home life, about his childhood... She would kill him...

"Just a few words" Eijirou said, trying to calm the blonde down as he sat up.

"It seemed like you were...begging... Like you were in pain... Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Fuck off" Bakugou hissed, glaring at him.

"What the hell are you even doing here?! I didn't give you permission to be in my room! Get the fuck out!"

"I'm not leaving you like this Bakugou, you're clearly upset-"

"I said LEAVE!" Katsuki yelled, pushing the red head off the bed so he fell to the ground.

"Get away from me damnit! Get out!"

"Bakugou, please, I just-" Eijirou tried, wanting to help him, wanting to talk about the things he just discovered.

"FUCK OFF!" the blonde yelled, pulling him up and throwing him towards the door. Small explosions were leaving his palms and Kirishima's eyes widened. Bakugou was willing to use violence to get him to back off. It shouldn't surprise him... That's how he has always kept people at a distance, isn't it? His tone was aggressive, threatening, but his eyes showed sadness. Bakugou was hurting...

"I do care, a lot" Kirishima stated, standing up and glaring at the blonde.

"I'm not giving up on you Bakugou"

With that he left, knowing it was no use trying to talk to him in this state. Katsuki's anger fell as he started to sob. Chasing Eijirou away was hard, but he had to. He didn't want to get hurt... He didn't want to hurt him either... He glanced aside with a shaky breath, his eyes widening as he noticed the notebook on his desk. He was certain he put that away before Kirishima entered... Which means-

Oh no