Chapter 13

As if time has frozen up, Izuku stood still with tense shoulders while Katsuki stared him down. The greenette wouldn't even dare breathe in fear of falling apart right there and then. It was evident that his time had run out and he could no longer avoid the prying eyes of his predator. Heart beating a thousand miles per hour, he mustered up enough courage to look Katsuki in the eye.

"I'm not a rabbit," was the first thing to come out of Izuku's mouth. Taken aback by the retort, the blond lifted an eyebrow, his stern expression faltering for a second before glaring at Izuku.

"Save the tough front for one of those stupid villains, you can't fool me," Katsuki said, then continued with an eye-roll. "Besides, you only need some stupid bunny ears and a stupid fluffy tail to finish the look."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" The greenette gasped, crossing his arms over his chest. By the flat look on Katsuki's face, Izuku knew that he wasn't going to fall for his offended act. Of course, he wasn't offended. He himself has thought of how he could resemble a rabbit sometimes, plus, his hero costume didn't help in the matter.

"Drop the act already, Deku. I'm sick of it," Katsuki snarled. "I have known your stupid ass for most of my life. I know you are hiding something from me, something you so desperately don't want me to know, and that irks me."

"Kacchan, I-"

"Don't fucking 'Kacchan' me if you're just going to blabber a useless excuse! You are going to take your fucking ass to my room and you're going to tell me whatever the fuck is going on before I blast your face off." The blond said with a deep scowl.

No.

That was what went through Izuku's frantic mind.

No, no, no!

"Bullseye," Katsuki muttered when he noticed Izuku's widened eyes and speechless state. His expression was the clear definition of a deer caught in the headlights. The blond couldn't hide the frustration he was feeling towards the greenette as he let out a deep sigh and ran a hand down his face.

It wasn't like Katsuki to show so many emotions in front of anyone, much less in front of Izuku. Under his angry gaze, Izuku could see genuine concern towards him, which made him feel guilty for a minute. But, it was impossible for Katsuki to be worried about him...wasn't it?

"Get your stupid ass moving already," the blond grumbled out. "And I swear to All Might if you use shitty hair or someone else to distract me again you're going to be in much more trouble than you are in now."

All Izuku could do was raise his arms in mock surrender and proceed to grab his things. Katsuki waited for him by the bathroom doors with his arms crossed, watching his every movement. When Izuku stepped out of the bathroom stall, Katsuki noticed a roll of bandages on the wet floor and glanced at the greenette's bruised knuckles. Certainly enough, the bruises were at full display, showing the ugly black and purple.

Izuku wouldn't meet his eyes, but he already expected that. It's a habit that Izuku had developed every time he would get caught lying. Katsuki knew that the greenette felt guilty, and it would take a while to get the entire truth out of him.

Just what was it that the nerd was keeping a secret?

Katsuki feared that his childhood friend was being threatened by some villain. Perhaps they were blackmailing him with something. It could be a possibility, although something told the blond that that wasn't the case.

Izuku walked ahead of him as he tried to avoid the curious eyes of his classmates and the guilty look in Kirishima's face. The red head had failed to take Katsuki off his back, but even so Izuku felt grateful for his attempt. It did give Izuku some time alone to dwell on his dark thoughts and relieve some stress. It didn't last for long, but it was still appreciated.

The greenette could feel the blood from his cuts slowly staining his boxer briefs, and panic started settling in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't been able to bandage his wounds thanks to a certain explosive blond almost barging into his bathroom stall. He couldn't help but to lightly tug at the hem of his basketball shorts, afraid that the blood would start going down his legs.

"You are awfully quiet," Katsuki grumbled out. Normally, Izuku would be blabbering nonsense under his breath when he was panicking or deep in thought. It was odd that he wasn't doing that while he was panicking and deep in his thoughts. Was the situation that severe?

"Well, you're kind of holding me at gun point since you so clearly want to squeeze information out of me," Izuku muttered. The blond glared at him as they reached their temporarily shared dorm room, letting out a snort.

"So, are you admitting that you are, in fact, hiding something from me?" He asked, reaching into his pocket for the key.

"I'm not admitting anything," Izuku said, averting his eyes to the end of the empty hall. "Even if I were, it's none of your concern."

Boy was that a bad choice of words for poor Izuku.

Fuming, Katsuki opened the door to his room and pushed the greenette inside. Izuku's eyes widened, stumbling a little before catching his footing and regaining balance. He was going to snap at the blond, but the sound of a slamming door made him shut his mouth. Straightening his back, he scowled as he turned to look at Katsuki.

Scowling back at him, the blond stomped forward and grabbed a fistful of Izuku's t-shirt. "Listen here, you shitty nerd. You don't get a say on what is or isn't my fucking concern."

The anxiety that Izuku felt was slowly morphing into anger. Anger towards Katsuki's confusing emotions towards him.

"It has nothing to do with you, Kacchan. There is nothing that you out of all people need to know. Drop it already." Izuku snapped. He wasn't necessarily lying. After all, Katsuki shouldn't know about his twisted mind and self-harming habits. He didn't want him to know.

"If it has nothing to do with me then why are you so desperately trying to hide it from me!" Katsuki snapped back, pushing him against a wall, making him drop whatever he was holding in his hands. They were both getting angrier by the second, glaring deep into each other's souls.

Izuku couldn't take it anymore.

"Why do you care?!" He raised his voice, poking Katsuki in the chest forcefully. His eyes started to burn as he let his emotions get the best of him slowly. Katsuki, slightly taken aback, let out a huff.

"I dont!" He lied, raising his voice as well.

"Then don't fucking act like you do!" Izuku finally screamed, pushing Katsuki away from him and making him let go of his shirt. Tears slowly brimmed his green eyes as his hands slowly started shaking. Hearing the blond confirm that he didnt care broke him on the inside. It was extremely rare for him to curse out loud, so Katsuki knew it was serious.

"I'm not," Katsuki denied, biting the inside of his cheek and averting his eyes. Surprisingly, he didn't match Izuku's tone. Instead, he spoke quietly, almost timid.

Something inside of him twisted as he watched the hurt in those green orbs of his childhood friend. He regretted saying that he didn't care. He always did. But it always came out in autopilot and Katsuki didn't know how to deal with his emotions.

Izuku's mind became fogged as his anger instantly dissipated. He felt exhausted and the aching in his thighs increased. The voice of his mother taunted him inside his mind, mocking him. He needed to get away from Katsuki.

Feeling the blood from his cuts slowly trailing down his thigh, he quickly turned to the bathroom. Before he could get inside, however, he was yanked back by Katsuki. "This conversation is far from over."

"There is nothing else to be said," Izuku rushed out, slapping Katsuki's hand away.

"I agree to disagree," Katsuki huffed, taking a hold of his elbow and holding it firmly. "You are not getting away from this."

"Kacchan, let go," Izuku pleaded, trying not to sound desperate. The blood was reaching his knees, and he feared that his basketball shorts weren't long enough to hide it. He tried to get out of Katsuki's grip, but the blond held on too firmly.

"I'm not going to let you fucking go, Deku," Katsuki grumbled out. The panic in the greenette's eyes became evident, making him furrow his brows as he studied his face. "What. Is. Going. On?"

"Just let me fucking go!" Izuku snapped, pushing Katsuki with a little too much force. The blond stumbled on his feet a little but still didn't let go. Growing frustrated, Katsuki kicked the back of Izuku's legs and sent him to the ground. Izuku landed on his back with Katsuki looming over him, pushing him down with his hand.

"Stop it already, Deku!" Katsuki yelled. Izuku, instead of trying to push the blond off him, held the hem of his shorts to avoid them from rolling down and revealing his bruised thighs.

"Get. Off." Izuku said sternly, trying to keep it together.

"Make me," Katsuki snapped. The greenette glanced at his thighs, noticing that now the tip of his fingers were coated in his own blood. A dark spot started appearing in his already dark shorts. That wasn't good.

Katsuki found it odd that Izuku didn't retort. Inspecting his face, he noticed how Izuku's panicked eyes shifted from his face to something else. What was the nerd looking at?

Following his gaze, Katsuki felt every muscle in his body grow stiff. He instantly took both of Izuku's wrists and pulled them away from the shorts, noticing the blood coating the greenette's fingers. "You're fucking bleeding!"

"I-It's nothing s-serious!" Izuku stuttered in panic, desperately trying to free his wrist. When Katsuki's eyes met his, he started shaking his head hoping that the blond wouldn't look at his thighs. His body trembled and his heart felt like it was about to explode inside his chest.

No, no! Please, for the love of All Might, don't look. I beg you, please!

Katsuki's heart dropped when he decoded the message behind Izuku's frantic gaze. Ignoring the silent plea, he moved his gaze down to Izuku's thighs.

"Don't!" Izuku yelled, accidentally activating his quirk and sending the blond flying across the room.

But it was already too late.