ILY - [BKDK] | MHA - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Izuku had always felt like an outsider in his own life. The weight of his secret was something he had kept hidden for so long, but after telling Ochako, it felt like a crack in his armor. There was no going back now, and a part of him wished he could, but the other part, well, it was grateful for her understanding.
But it wasn't just that. No matter how much he tries to go back to normal, it wasn't the same anymore. Even a simple trip to the cafeteria was enough to make his nerves spike. He felt exposed now, vulnerable.
"Deku!" Katsuki called, approaching his desk. Izuku flinched as he felt the vibration of a hand slamming on his desk, looking up to see Katsuki staring at him, his brows furrowed in a familiar, aggressive way.
"You look like shit." Katsuki said, his voice gruff.
Izuku gave a weak smile. "I— I'm fine, really. Just, uh, distracted."
"Oh, I bet you are," Katsuki scoffed, leaning closer. "Tell me, you hiding somethin'? You've been acting all weird."
Izuku's stomach lurched as he read his lips. "I-I'm not hiding anything!" His voice came out too quickly, too high-pitched. "Maybe I just need... some downtime."
Katsuki felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest. Izuku had told her. Ochako. Not him. He wasn't sure what hurt more— the fact that Deku had been hiding something big for so long, or that when he did finally cracked, Katsuki hadn't been the one he trusted. It stung in a way he couldn't explain, like a punch he hadn't seen coming. They'd become such close friends over the past few months. Katsuki was even stupid enough to think he was the closest to Izuku. Yet, when it mattered most, Izuku had turned to someone else. Katsuki clenched his fists, anger bubbling up to mask the ache beneath it.
Katsuki raised a brow, his tone filled with underlying anger. "Downtime? The hell are you talking about? You've been really jumpy these past couple of days." Katsuki knew he needed to figure out what he was hiding. "All of this is bullshit. Complete bullshit."
Izuku shifted in his seat, but before he could respond, Ochako jumped in.
"Hey, Bakugo! You leave Deku alone! He's just really tired, alright? You don't have to be up his business all the time." Ochako said.
"Don't you have someone else to bother, round face? I'm talking to Deku here. Not you." Katsuki snapped.
Kaminari ran into the classroom, a wide grin on his face. "Guys! You won't believe what happened last night!" Katsuki rolled his eyes. "I just want one minute of peace without you yelling in my—"
"I totally crashed my parents' lawn mower into the fence while I was trying to do a drift last night. I mean, who knew grass could be so slippery?"
Everyone stared at him. Katsuki facepalmed his forehead. "Every fucking day I wonder how they handled you for so long."
"I wonder that too!" Kaminari grinned, like it was the greatest thing to ever happen in history.
Ochako had ended up writing down what had happened with Denki as Izuku didn't pay enough attention to read his lips. Thankfully, Ochako stood right next to him.
Izuku chuckled slightly. "You crashed it into a fence?" The green-haired male asked, to which Denki nodded. "Yup!" He was proud of his accomplishment.
Katsuki briefly felt his nerves cool. "How are you even alive up to this point?" He sighed.
"You guys just don't appreciate my skills." Denki huffed.
"You mean lack of skills." Katsuki rolled his eyes.
Izuku could start to feel the tension start to slip away with his friends' antics. Maybe this wasn't so bad.
Katsuki noticed this suspicious interaction between him and the brunette.
But so did Shinso.
It was true Shinso didn't talk much, but he did hang out with both friend groups quite frequently, and he was slowly starting to get the sense of what was happening.
—
At lunch, a sudden roar of laughter erupted from a nearby table, pulling Katsuki from his spiraling thoughts. He glanced over to see Kirishima wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his uniform, sniffling dramatically.
"Dude, it's The Lion King," Kaminari said, patting Kirishima's shoulder in mock consolation. "You've seen it, like, twenty times."
"But the scene where Mufasa dies!" Kirishima wailed, his voice breaking. "It's so sad, man!"
"Not again," Katsuki groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If you cry over another Disney movie in front of me, I swear I'm throwing your ass out the window."
"I'm not crying!" Kirishima protested, though his watery eyes betrayed him. "I just... I have feelings, okay?"
"Bro, it's an animated movie," Kaminari teased.
"You're one to talk, Denks." Shinso swallowed a bite of his food. "Just last week, you went on a twenty minute rant about how The Sonic Movie was an underrated cinematic masterpiece, you even tried to convince everyone to watch it during movie night." Shinso earned a smack on his head from the yellow haired male.
"It's okay babe." Mina comforted her boyfriend, Kirishima. "Mufasa was too young to die." She pat his shoulder. "What the hell? Not you too." Katsuki scoffed.
"Hey man, you can't exactly be talking either. I know you read that secret stash of shoujo manga you have under your bed. What was it? Fruit basket, A sign of affection, In the clear moonlight disk, Banana--"
"Don't bring up Banana fish. I don't wanna talk about it." Katsuki scoffed, taking a bite of his food.
"See what I mean?!" Kirishima laughed. "That doesn't fucking mean anything! I just happened to know the names! And- And Banana Fish isn't even shoujo to begin with!" Katsuki argued.
—
During fitness, Katsuki had his complete attention on Izuku.
Who knew the green haired boy was a tank under the school uniforms U.A. provided? Broad shoulders, defined arms, and a full-sleeve shirt that clung a little too snugly to his chest whenever he stretched.
The long sleeves were a bit strange, though. Everyone was in regular tank tops or short-sleeve tees, their skin slick with sweat as they moved from one station to another. Izuku, however, wore a long-sleeved shirt, pulling at the cuffs every few seconds like he was afraid they'd ride up. The excuse of "It's cold in the gym." had stopped being convincing to Katsuki weeks ago.
From his spot by the squat rack, Katsuki couldn't stop staring. It wasn't obvious, of course; he made sure of that. He was busy loading weights onto his bar, gritting his teeth to act like he didn't notice the way Izuku's muscles flexed under the fabric as he adjusted the grip on the bench press bar. Damn idiot was stronger than he looked— and he already looked like he could knock someone out with a hug.
Little did he know, the whole reason Izuku worked out so much, was so something like that would never happen again, because this time, he'd be able to defend himself.
Still, the long sleeves bugged him. Come to think of it, he'd never seen Izuku in a normal t-shirt before. He'd always end up wearing a full sleeve no matter how bad or good the weather was. Hiding something?
"Yo, Bakubro," Kirishima called, patting his shoulder, which snapped him out of his thoughts. "You're staring again." The red head teased, leaning in with a grin n that Katsuki wanted to wipe off his face.
"Mind your own fucking business, shitty hair." Katsuki hissed, turning his attention back to his task, though the image was burned into his brain.
"You comin' or what?" Kirishima smirked, not really minding the insult.
"Shut up, I'm coming," Katsuki snapped, though his eyes flickered back to Izuku for just a moment. The idiot had moved on to the pull-up bar now, sleeves rolled down to his wrists despite the heat from so many people in the gym. His face was slightly flushed from exertion, a few strands of green hair sticking to his forehead.
As Katsuki approached his station, Kaminari leaned over, whispering just loud enough for him to hear. "Bet you ten bucks hiding some tattoos under there."
"Dumbass," Katsuki growled, glaring at him. "Deku wouldn't know cool if it hit him in the face." But his chest tightened at the thought. Tattoos? No, not Izuku. It was something else. It had to be.
—
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the group made their way back to the dorms. Izuku felt a sense of calm settling over him, though it didn't last for long.
As he walked through the crowded halls filled with students trying to go back to the dorms, he ended up bumping into a few of them.
He mumbled a few apologizes before he finally managed to get out of the crowd, but not before one last person accidentally pushed on him.
"I'm sorry—" he mumbled once more, looking down to his feet to notice a small, white piece of folded paper.
"Hey! I think you dropped somethi..." He paused.
He wouldn't have thought much of it, except for the fact that his name was scribbled on the front.
Frowning, Izuku picked up and unfolded it.
"I know."
The words were scrawled messily, but their meaning was clear. Someone knew his secret.
His vision blurred as he scanned through the hallway, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, He could see his friends at a distance. No one seemed to be paying him any attention.
But someone had to have written it. Someone knew.
Wait.
Who's that?
He watched a blond guy walk away in the distance. He was eerily familiar. No way. Could it...
"Haha! Let's see how you can hear now, Midoriya!"
"You're broken."
His ears began ringing again.
"I know."
Two words. Just two words, but they hit him like a freight train.
Izuku quickly shoved the note into his pocket. his hand trembling as he gripped the fabric. He needed air. He needed to get out.
The hallway felt colder than usual as Izuku stumbled through it, his breaths coming in shorter and faster. He turned to an empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind him and leaning against it, as though someone was chasing him.
The walls suddenly felt too close, the air too thick, his chest heaved, his lungs refusing to cooperate.
It started as a tingling sensation in his fingers, like they were falling asleep. Then it spread—up his arms, into his neck, his chest. His hands clenched and unclenched, shaking uncontrollably as he tried to steady them.
I can't breathe.
The thought hit him like a punch to the gut, his legs buckled. He slid to the floor, his back pressed against the door as his knees cuddled to his chest.
Focus. Just breathe. In, out, in, out.
But his brain wouldn't listen. His breaths came in shallow gasps, barely able to fill his lungs. He felt like he was drowning on dry land.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt, a relentless ringing in his ears. Sweat dripped down his temple and his body shook. He clawed at his chest, his nails digging into the fabric of his shirt as though he could physically tear the panic out of himself.
It's happening again. They know. Someone knows. Is he back? Is he here? That's impossible, right? Right?
The note felt like a weight in his pocket, dragging him down.
He squeezed his eyes shut, his mind spiraling back to junior high. To the students. The pranks. The screaming. The begging. The crying. Neito Monoma.
He'd never forget that name in his entire life.
No. Stop. It's over. It's over.
But his body didn't care. The memories kept coming, blending with the present until he couldn't tell where he was anymore.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. It took him several seconds to register it. his trembling hand fumbling to pull it out.
The screen blurred through his tears, but he managed to open his messages app and type a shaky response to Ochako.
Someone knows.
His thumb hovered over the send button. He couldn't do it. His chest tightened even more at the thought of her response, her questions, her concerns.
He then felt the door vibrate behind him. It was a knock. He looked up to see Ochako through the window.
"Deku?" She slowly walked in.
His tear-streaked face met hers.
Ochako closed the door behind her quietly, and crouched in front of him. Her expression was calm but laced with worry.
"Hey, it's okay," She said softly, her hands hovering near his but not touching him. "You're okay. You're safe." She made sure he could see her lips. "Focus."
"I can't—" His voice cracked, barely audible. "I can't breathe."
"Okay, let's do it together," She said, her tone steady and soothing. "Just focus on me, alright?Breathe in with me. One... Two... Three..." She numbered her fingers.
She exaggerated the motion, breathing in deeply and holding it in for a moment before slowly exhaling.
Izuku tried to follow, but his breath hitched halfway through. His hands clawed at his knees, and he shook his head. "I can't—"
Ochako pat his shoulder, interrupting him. "Yes, you can," She made sure he could look at her. "You're not alone. I'm right here."
She knew her words wouldn't help much, so she settled with gentle touches and rubs, to help him know she was here for him.
It took several minutes, but the tingling in his fingers began to fade. His chest loosened enough for the air to feel less like knives.
"See? You did it." Ochako smiled softly.
Izuku's lips wobbled, and before he couldn't stop himself, he whispered, "I'm scared."
Her expression turned serious. "I know. But whatever's going on, you're not dealing with it alone. We'll figure this out, okay?"
He nodded weakly after reading her lips, his throat too tight to speak.
She sat next to him. Neither of them spoke for a few moments.
Izuku eventually pulled out the note from his pocket and handed it to her. Ochako's brows furrowed as she read it, her grip tightening on the paper.
"Who gave you this?"
"I don't know," Izuku said quietly. his voice hoarse. "But they know, Uraraka. They know I'm deaf."
The brunette's jaw clenched, but she kept her tone calm. "Then we'll figure out who it is. And we'll deal with it. Together."
A soft knock made Ochako jump slightly.
"Midoriya?" came Tenya's familiar voice, muffled, but worried.
Ochako glanced at Izuku. "It's just Iida and the others," she spoke quietly. "Do you want them to come in?"
Izuku hesitated before nodding weakly.
Ochako stood and opened the door, revealing Tenya, Shoto, Tsuyu, and Shinso. All of them looked deeply concerned, their eyes scanning the room before landing on Izuku.
"What happened?" Tenya asked, stepping forward. "Are you alright, Midoriya?"
Izuku couldn't bring himself to respond. He was still trembling, but he nodded slightly.
Shoto was the first to sit beside him, his usual calm demeanor replaced with a quiet worry. "Did something happen? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to... but, we're here."
Tsuyu crouched on his other side, her large eyes watching him closely. "You don't look so good, can I get you some water or anything?"
Izuku shook his head.
Shinso leaned against the wall, his arms crossed but his face softer than usual. "You look like you've been running a marathon. Did someone mess with you?"
"Let's just give him a minute." Ochako suggested, stepping back.
The group nodded, but none of them left the room. Instead, they stayed close, their quiet presence grounding Izuku in a way he didn't expect.