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There was no response. "Look, I know you are in there because I can see the light peeking under the door."

Th door swung open. He was now wearing a tight vest which hugged his torso, the same khakis worn below. I think I may have just disturbed him from bed. Droopy and tired eyes focussed into my face, "Go away". His voice cracked.

"No, I am legit. I need to talk." I was fighting the door being pushed to my face. Distant and narrow eyes tried to fight the light in his face. "Can I come in?" I suggested. "No," he replied. I wasn't defeated yet. "Can we talk?" I suggested instead. He wiped the sleep from his face. "Wait," he left into the darkness of his room. A sound of jingling keys approached the door. I stepped back as he locked the door behind him. He pulled a thick hoodie over his vest and we took the elevator to the first floor.

"You don't have much time," his voice was hoarse, still recovering from the lingering sleep. "I-I just wanted to call it a truce. You know- apologize,"

"Okay," he didn't seem to care. "Hey, I'm just doing it because a friend asked me to." I can't admit that I felt bad. Not worth it.

"Deku?" He asked. The elevators opened and we walked down the hall. "He wouldn't let it go, I know it. So, sorry..." I lied. 

"Okay," He spun on his heel without warning and walked toward the elevator. Bastard!

"No wait, there's more I need to ask." I raised my voice so he'd stop. "From Deku?" he turned to me.

"No, well. He didn't tell me anything. But he did say that it upsets you. I thought I could ask..."

"Why?" He scowled.

"Heck, I just want to get to class tommorow, okay?" His indifference was making it harder for me by the minute. "I wish I didn't have to be out here with you but I have no choice," I threw my hands out. "I'm sure you want to get to class tomorrow, right?" I think the information slowly penetrated his drowsy head. He turned around.

The cold air of the night hit my face when we stepped into the lawn. Bakugo covered his mouth the neck of his hoodie. I could see his puff of breath escape his nose. Meanwhile, I had to rub my palms ocassionaly to keep warm.

"What is it that hurts so much?" I broke the silence.

"What?" He frowned.

"I mean, the-the stuff you saw in class. It's in the past right? You're stronger now, aren't you?" I warmed my cheeks with my palms. He huffed, leaving a puff of air escape his mouth. "I can't tell, it's a secret" his voice became stronger and heavier. "Keeping secrets doesn't help the situation." I reminded him.

"This is not your problem. Stop poking your nose in it," He wa firm now. "I never wanted this to be my problem. Now I don't have a choice!" I shouted back. "Find your nose poking around someone else's business." A flaming punch met my lower ribs.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do!" The street lamps exploded, cascading electric sparks around us.

"You don't have the strength to fight me. Fight someone your own size," Another kick met my lower jaw. He was too fast.

"Says the one who I blew up in his face with his own quirk," I grimmaced, wiping a bead of blood escaping my lip. He dodged my kick and I was met with a punch to my head, blurring my vision.

"Stop it!" It was Midoriya's voice. We had once again gathered an audience. "Stop fighting, both of you!"

"Shut up, Deku. This is all your fault anyway!" Bakugo jabbed an index into Midoriya's chest. Midoriya's round eyes seethed with rage. "Move out of my fucking way," He shoved past him to the dormitory.

All Might and Aizawa had joined where the rest of the class had gathered. I was wiping blood off my lips once again. "What happened?" Midoriya knelt to my side. I vomitted the pool of blood in my mouth. Midoriya patted my back and Aizawa ushered the class to return to their rooms.

"Young Bakugo," All Might called him. The blond paused and turned to the teacher. "I'm sure you had your reasons to vent on Young Rylie," he began.

"This isn't about me. It's up to Deku," Bakugo looked sternly at Izuku. All Might turned to Izuku, the two of them exhaning glances. All three of them looked so distant now.

"What?" I felt like I was being wrongly accused. "All I asked was if Bakugo can move on from his past. Why was it so hard to answer that?"

 He gritt his teeth. "Because this is Deku's dumb secret. Not mine," He barked. Midoriya placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "What do I not know?" I thought I could trust him. Bakugo tore away from All Might's grip and left for the dormitory. Midoriya collected his thoughts before he spoke.

"Kacchan and I are similar in alot of ways. The dream of coming to U.A, the dream of meeting All Might and the dream of becoming the best hero was all the same. But there was one difference that made Kacchan better than me."

I looked at All Might and back into Midoriya's eyes. "I was born quirkless."

My eyes widened and a ton of questions errupted inside me. "Wait, then-how?" Nothing made sense anymore.

"I was lucky to train under All Might with the power that he lent to me,"

My eyes shifted to All Might. "One For All," I repeated with Midoriya.

"Kacchan spent his entire life dreaming to surpass All Might one day. But all that great power that made the Symbol of Peace who he is, came to me,"

"W-Why?" I waited.

"He was quirkless but had the will of a hero." All Might spoke instead. "All I wanted was to give this young boy a chance. I never meant to think any less of Young Bakugo." He sulked, "but he hasn't forgiven me since,"

"He didn't want to tell behind your back even when I asked," I admitted to Midoriya.

"I know," Izuku smiled. "Kacchan is reliable," The words rung strongly in my ears.

"Excuse me," I scrambled to my feet. "I think I need to apologize to Kacchan." The words slipped out of my mouth. "And thank you," I bowed to them. "Thank you for entrusting this secret to me. I will keep it safe. "Good luck!" Midoriya smiled and threw a thumbs up at me. "And remember," He brought a finger to his lips. I smiled, mimicking his gesture. "Secret, I promise." I assured him.

All Might yawned. "It's bed time you two," He turned away. "Don't want to be late for class tomorrow."

                                                                                         ***

I waved Midoriya good night and continued in the elevator to the fourth floor. Bakugo had indeed gone to bed since the lights to his room were switched off.

I couldn't get a wink of sleep that night. Midoriya and Bakugo's words echoed in my memory. A bad rumbling feeling grew in the pit of my stomach and prevented any sleep. The pain in my stomach grew as the night turned into dawn. Too much light painted my room, killing any possibility of causing me to drift to sleep.

I decided to get dressed into my jersey and trousers and take the basketball out for a spin. The sound of the basket did little to distract my thoughts.

"Alone?" A familiar voice made my heart jump from my skin. All the voices in my head from last night came rushing back. Tell him you're sorry.

"Mind if I try a few shots?" Bakugo extended his hand for the ball. He was dressed in sports shorts and a loose jersey, revealing a bit more of the muscles on his chest. "Try and take the ball from me first," I grinned. I dribbled the ball away from him with my right and elbowed his chiselled hard chest with my left. Rylie, tell him you're sorry.

I watched his messy bangs hit his forehead, the beads of sweat forming dew on the ends of his locks. He leaned in close, inches close to my face and my eyes darted towards his lips. I lost balance and hit my butt on the ground. "Hah, that wasn't so hard." I watched the ball pocketed into the basket. "Try again harder next time." He tossed the ball to me.

My chest was elated with a warm feeling like it was springtime. My cheeks were hot as the vision of his lips flashed back in my mind and there was an uncomfortable rumbling in my stomach.

I tried to push my thoughts away. No, I wasn't going to entertain them.

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-Next: Rylie, please understand your thoughts better!-