Chapter 12

Uraraka chatted animatedly to Izuku along with Iida and Tsuyu down in the common room. They had asked him about why he and Katsuki were called out by All Might, but Izuku told them that the pro hero had wanted to inform them about a villain attack near their home. As to why they were gone for the rest of the day and his bandaged hand, he said that Katsuki started a fight with him and got them in trouble. The trio seemed to have bought the lie since they didn't ask any more questions and were quick to change the topic.

Lying to his friends made him feel guilty, but none of them knew about his mother. For some reason, he didn't want them to know. Especially now that the cause for his mother's death was uncertain and under investigation still. The thought of his father being behind it all was surreal, but at the moment he was only a suspect. There was still so much to uncover, and he didn't think he was ready for any of it.

"Hey, guys..." Uraraka whispered, snapping the greenette out of his thoughts. They all turned their attention to her, wondering why she was whispering. "Has anyone noticed that Bakugo has been glaring at Deku-kun this entire time?"

Izuku immediately tensed, instinctively looking over his shoulder. Sure enough, Katsuki was glaring at him with a scowl on his face. Kaminari and Mina were at his side trying to get his attention, but the blonde simply ignored them or brushed them off every now and then. He didn't want to take his eyes off Izuku, knowing that the greenette would take the chance to flee and hide. Katsuki certainly wasn't in the mood to go around playing hide and seek with his childhood friend.

"But Bakugo-kun is always glaring at Midoriya, ribbit," Tsuyu pointed out, her index finger pressed against her lower lip.

"It's true, but ever since he came down earlier he hasn't taken his eyes off of him. Don't you think it's a little odd?" Uraraka countered, looking at Izuku in concern.

It was true. Only a few minutes after Izuku's panic attack, Kirishima came pounding at the door in search of Katsuki. The blonde, of course, sent him off with a mouthful of curses and insults, making the redhead laugh and say he'll wait for him downstairs. Using the distraction to his advantage, when Kirishima disappeared to his own room Izuku bolted out, grabbing a spare key and successfully escaping the blonde's room. Lucky for him, his friends were downstairs, so he went to them immediately.

Not long after, Katsuki made his appearance in the common room and didn't waste any second in sending a deep glare in Izuku's direction, although it went unnoticed by the nerd. That was until Uraraka decided to bring it up and having seen said glare sent shivers down his spine.

"I-I'm sure it's nothing," Izuku said, turning back to them while scratching the back of his neck. "He's probably mad that he didn't get the fight he wanted."

"That is probably true," Iida agreed, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. "Although he should stop trying to solve problems with violence! It is completely unprofessional for a future hero to pick fights with his comrades over futile things!"

"If you think about it, the only person that Bakugo picks fights with more often than not is Deku-kun. While he does tend to pick fights with other people, the one he's constantly taunting is Deku." Uraraka said, crossing her arms.

"I always found it interesting that you have both known each other since you were little, has he always been like that, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked, drawing all the attention to the greenette now.

"N-Not really," Izuku admitted with a hint of sadness in his voice. He spared another glance towards the blonde who was certainly still drilling holes at the back of his head, and quickly averted his gaze.

"It is clearly a topic that Midoriya is not comfortable with. Let's talk about something else," Iida intervened, and Izuku was silently grateful. There were too many things going on between him and Katsuki that he'd rather not talk about him anymore. Thankfully, the girls were quick to change the topic and didn't press him on the matter.

As much as he tried to concentrate on the conversation, Katsuki's unnerving glare kept him distracted. He feared for what would happen once he was alone, and the fact that he was supposed to sleep in the same room as the blonde didn't help in the slightest. Maybe he should go find Aizawa and beg him to have him sleep in someone else's room. Perhaps if he got on his knees and promised to do whatever Aizawa wanted, the teacher would concede his wish.

Oh, who was he kidding? The pro hero would rather see him suffer along with Katsuki.

"What did you do to Bakubro? He surely has been giving you the stink eye for a while," Kirishima's voice came up behind him suddenly. Izuku jumped in place, startled by the redhead's sudden appearance.

"You noticed too?" Izuku joked, giving a light chuckle.

"I think everyone has noticed," Kirishima laughed. "Tell you what, I'll try and distract him to get him off your back. How does that sound?"

If Izuku could hug him without seeming desperate, he would've.

"You have no idea how much that would help me," Izuku muttered, making Kirishima laugh once more. The redhead gave him a toothy grin and patted his shoulder, walking away towards the blond. Izuku watched eagerly through the corner of his eye as Kirishima wrapped an arm around Katsuki and dragged him away forcefully, earning insults and face explosions. When Izuku deemed it safe to run, he didn't waste any second as he dashed away towards the elevator.

It was starting to get rather late, so he hurried over to Katsuki's room to grab his toiletries. When he got in, the first thing he noticed was a rolled-up futon thrown on top of Katsuki's bed. Aizawa must have come in earlier to drop it off, making the situation even more real than he wanted it to be. How would he continue avoiding Katsuki if he had to sleep in the blonde's room? Just why did things keep taking a wrong turn?

Not wanting to spend more time than necessary inside that room, Izuku hurriedly grabbed his things and left for the bathroom. He made sure to be extra cautious and keep an eye on his surroundings for any possibility of the blonde's presence. Only when he got to the bathroom unscathed and without a sign of Katsuki around could he finally breathe normally. Some of the few boys in the bathroom gave him weird looks but didn't mention anything as Izuku made his way inside a stall.

There was faint chatter going on inside the bathroom as he stood under the hot water, but he didn't join in or pay any attention to the others. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on his small bag of toiletries. His fingers twitched, itching to grab the bag and take out his razor blade. The reasonable part of his brain told him not to, that it was an incredibly bad idea. However, the dark part of his brain edged him to do it, to grab the blade and slice it across his skin. His thighs itched, begging for Izuku to cut them and make them bleed.

Giving in to his urges, Izuku grabbed the bag with shaky fingers. He hesitantly rummaged around for his razor, taking in a deep breath once he found it. Deep down he knew he shouldn't do it, but everything that had happened that day had him feeling too overwhelmed. He needed some sort of relief, and what was better than the feel of his cold blade against his skin?

Before he could contemplate it anymore, he pressed the blade down against his thigh, holding back a hiss. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, but he held them back as he kept slicing with shaky hands. His heart pounded against his ribcage with adrenaline, enjoying the pain he was inflicting on himself. Blood trailed down his legs into the water beneath him, but he paid no mind to it as he focused on the blade. A small smile finally graced his lips, finding satisfaction and an odd sense of calmness in the slight dizziness that rushed to his head.

Washing away the blood and sweat off his body, he noticed how there was no more chatter inside the bathroom. That meant that he was pretty much alone, and he let out a relieved sigh at that realization. Once he was done washing up, he made sure to clean up whatever blood was left behind before grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist. His cuts weren't bleeding as much anymore, so he wasn't really worried about staining his towel.

As Izuku reached inside his bag for his bandages, he could hear a commotion outside the bathroom. He furrowed his brows in curiosity, wondering just what could be happening to create such a fuss. His question was soon answered by someone barging furiously inside the bathroom, causing him to jump and drop his bag on the floor. A silent curse left his lips as he watched the bandages roll onto the wet floor, but it was soon forgotten the moment he heard the oh-so-familiar voice of an explosive blond.

"Deku! I know you're in here, you shitty nerd!" Katsuki growled out, making Izuku tense up. The greenette rushed to grab the things that spilled out of his bag, praying to All Might that he didn't leave anything out before zipping up the bag. Katsuki's stomps neared his bathroom stall, and Izuku was sure that the blonde would most likely barge inside his stall.

"K-Kacchan wait! I-I'm not dressed yet!" Izuku stuttered out, hoping that Katsuki would stay put. Fortunately, Katsuki's footsteps stopped right outside his stall.

"You've got fifteen seconds before I kick this door down, I don't care if you're butt naked," Katsuki grumbled out, and Izuku didn't even bother drying himself properly as he put his clothes on in record time. The fabric of his boxer briefs rubbing against his freshly bruised thighs felt uncomfortable, but he didn't dwell on it as he quickly opened his stall door, not wanting for it to be kicked down.

Katsuki stood in front of him with his arms crossed, glaring straight into his green orbs with a snarl. "And the little rabbit is once again cornered by the hungry wolf. Now the question is, how many times does the rabbit has to get caught to realize that it can't run forever?"