ILY - [BKDK] | MHA - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

The cafeteria buzzed with the usual midday chaos—laughter, clinking trays, and the hum of countless conversations merging into one. Katsuki sat on the far edge of the table, furrowing his brows and stabbing aggressively at his food. His friends—Kirishima, Mina, Kaminari, Sero, and Shinso.
Katsuki wasn't paying attention. His mind was elsewhere, replaying the events of the past few days. The note weighed heavy in his pocket, and he'd been fighting the urge to crumple it up and toss it to the trash. The words scrawled across the paper gnawed at him like an int h he couldn't scratch. He hasn't told anyone about it—not yet, what good would it do?
"Yo, Bakubro," Kirishima said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You've been unusually quiet. What's up?"
"Nothing," Katsuki muttered, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth.
"You sure?" Denki piped up, leaning over to get a look at Katsuki's face. "You've had that stormy 'I'm about to blow up' look all day."
"Is your food not spicy enough again?" Mina joked, leaning her elbows on the table with a grin.
"Shut up, pinky." Katsuki growled, but there was no real bite to his words.
Sero added. "Seriously, though, something's bothering you. What gives?"
Katsuki didn't answer, looking over at Shinso. "Have you talked to Izuku yet?" He asked, his voice unusually soft.
Shinso shook his head. "He hasn't talked to me. He won't talk to me, actually. Ever since the fire alarm few days ago, he... hasn't." He sighed.
Before Katsuki could respond, Kirishima's attention was drawn to something sticking out of Katsuki's jacket pocket. "Hey, what's that?"
"What's what?" Katsuki snapped, his eyes darting to his friend.
"That paper in your pocket," Kirishima said, pointing. "You've been fiddling with it all day. Come to think of it, yesterday too. And... the day before that."
"None of your damn business." Katsuki barked, but it was too late, Denki reached over and snatched the note before Katsuki could stop him.
"Give that back!" Katsuki snarled, lunging for Denki, but the blond ducked out of the way, holding the paper high.
"Woah, chill, dude!" Denki laughed nervously as he unfolded the note. "What's the big deal?"
Ejirou grabbed Katsuki by the shoulders to hold him back. "Calm down, man. Let's see what it says first."
As Kaminari's eyes scanned the note, his usual, carefree demeanor disappeared, replaced by a look of shock and disgust. "What the hell..." He muttered.
Mina snatched the note out of his hands, her brows furrowing as she read it. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
Kirishima and Sero leaned over, and Shinso walked over, standing behind Mina to read the note from above.
"Who wrote this crap?" Kirishima's jaw tightened.
Katsuki yanked the note from Mina's hands, shoving it back into his pocket. "Stay out of it." he said, his tone sharp.
Shinso was silent, connecting the whole thing to everything he knew so far.
"Bakugo, this is serious! Someone's targeting Midoriya!" Kirishima's voice was rising.
"And they know something about him," Sero added, his tone grave. "Something he's trying to keep hidden, I bet."
Katsuki slammed his fist on the table, silencing them. "I said stay out of it!" He didn't want more people risk their grades and reputation into this when he already knew he'd ruin his own soon.
"Bakugo," Kirishima said softly, his grip on Katsuki's shoulder firm. "We just want to help. If this is about Midoriya, then we can't just ignore it. He's our classmate. Our friend."
Katsuki's jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the table. He knew Kirishima was right, he couldn't ignore this. Not when it involved Deku.
With a heavy sigh, Katsuki leaned back in his chair, his hands balling into fists. "I found it after the fire alarm a couple days ago." he admitted it reluctantly. "I don't know who it belongs to, though. Whoever it is, I bet that bastard was probably planning on giving it to Deku."
Shinso cocked a brow. "Can I have a look at it?"
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but nodded, handing the paper over.
Shinso took one good look at the handwriting, trying to figure out if it was familiar.
"Monoma." He mumbled, his eyebrows furrowed. "It's Monoma's handwriting. I used to be in the same class as him last year until I transferred to your class. It's definitely Monoma."
Katsuki growled. "That piece of shit..."
"Monoma?" Mina echoed, her voice laced with disbelief. "Why would he do something like this?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Kirishima sighed. "It's because he's a useless asshole, that's why." Katsuki spat.
"Do you think Midoriya knows about this?" Denki asked.
"I'm assuming he doesn't," Katsuki shrugged.
"Then we need to tell him." Sero said firmly.
"No." Katsuki shook his head. "We're not telling him anything until I figure out what the hell that Monoma bastard knows."
Shinso sighed. "That's not a good idea," he said, trying to cover for Izuku. There must be a reason Izuku has kept his deafness a secret for so long.
"Yeah? Well guess what, Eye Bags, you don't get to tell me what to fuckin' do!" Katsuki flipped him off.
"Bakugo..." Kirishima started, but Katsuki cut him off.
"I'm handling this," he stated firmly, his voice brooking no argument. "You idiots just stay out of my fuckin' way."
His friends exchanged uncertain glances, and continued to convince him into not doing anything stupid, but he wouldn't listen.
—
Katsuki's blood boiled as he stared down st the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He's decided he'll do it today. He'll confront Monoma today. The fact that his friends tried to stop him only riled him up even more. Now that he knew who it was, he couldn't wait. He looked all over the school to find him, eventually finding him outside the school. A bunch of other students hung outside, eating their food as well, but Katsuki could care less.
His eyes scanned the area, searching for the familiar blond hair of the smug bastard that had dropped it. Neito Monoma. Katsuki's hands clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms, the crumpled note trembling under his grip. His friends called out to him, but their voices were distant echoes, drowned out by the roaring fury in his chest.
He spotted him near the edge of the field. He was leaning against a tree as if nothing in the world could touch him. That infuriating smirk plastered across his face made Katsuki's vision blur red.
"You bastard!" Katsuki bellowed, his voice cutting through the murmur of students. Heads turned, but he didn't care.
Monoma straightened, raising a brow as Katsuki stormed towards him. "Ah, Bakugo. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Katsuki didn't bother with the pleasantries. He shoved the note into Monoma's chest, hard enough to make the other boy stumble back a step. "What the hell is this?"
Monoma's smirk faltered for a second, but then he recovered, his lips curling into the same smug grin. "A piece of paper, clearly. Are you having trouble with basic observations?"
Katsuki's fists lashed out before he could think, slamming into the tree trunk, next to Monoma's head. The crack of wood splintering echoed around them. "Don't play dumb with me, you sick bastard." Katsuki growled, his voice low and dangerous. "This was for Deku, wasn't it?"
"Midoriya?" Monoma tilted his head, feigning innocence. "And if it was? What business is it of yours?" He slowly moved away from Katsuki.
Monoma adjusted his collar lazily, acting like Katsuki wasn't just inches away from lunging at him. "You're like a dog with a bone, Bakugo," he drawled. "Always barking. Never biting."
That was it. Katsuki didn't even think— he just moved. His fist connected to Monoma's jaw in a sharp, sickening crack, sending the other boy stumbling back against the tree. Gasps erupted from students nearby, but Katsuki didn't care.
Monoma groaned, his hand flying to his face as he straightened, but the smugness never left his expression. He wiped the corner of his lip, and chuckled darkly. "Oh, is that all you've got?" He sneered.
Katsuki didn't wait for a response. He grabbed Monoma by the front of his shirt and shoved him hard into the tree, the bark digging into Monoma's back. "You think you're funny, don't you? What the hell is even your problem? He's done nothing to you!" Katsuki barked.
Monoma chuckled, his smug grin returning. "Oh, Bakugo. so quick to defend your little friend. I honestly didn't think you two would get so close. Isn't that sweet? But maybe—just maybe—you don't know him as well as you think you do."
Katsuki paused, giving the other blond an opportunity to hit.
Monoma shoved back, catching him off guard. Katsuki stumbled, giving Monoma just enough room to land a jab to Katsuki's ribs. The pain was sharp, but Katsuki barely registered it.
"Oh, you've got guts." Katsuki growled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he charged again.
"Bakugo, stop!" Kirishima's voice cut through the chaos, but Katsuki ignored him.
Katsuki's fist reached Monoma, but this time it didn't connect. Kirishima grabbed his arm mid-swing, dragging him back with all his strength. "That's enough, Bakugo!"
"Get off of me, Shitty Hair!" Katsuki shouted, struggling against Kirishima's hold.
"You're going to get yourself expelled, man!" Kirishima barked, his voice stern.
Behind Kirishima, Denki, Mina, Sero and Shinso rushed forward. Denki shot Katsuki a wary look. "Dude, what the hell are you doing? You can't just beat him up!"
"He deserves it! He wrote Deku that damn threat! Who knows, he might've already sent more!" Katsuki snapped, his breathing ragged.
Monoma dusted himself off, his smirk faltering slightly. "Prove it." Monoma said coolly, thought there was an edge of unease to his voice now. "You have nothing. No evidence. Just your big mouth." He took the dirty crumpled note on the ground, throwing it into a puddle.
Katsuki lunged again, but this time, Sero stepped in front of him, his hands raised. "Bakugo, seriously. You've got to chill out."
Shinso also placed his hand on Katsuki shoulder, shaking his head. "Don't waste your energy on this bastard." He muttered.
Kirishima tightened his grip on Katsuki's arm, his expression full of concern. "We'll figure this out the right way, man. Don't let him drag you down to his level."
Katsuki glared at Monoma, his chest heaving. Every fiber of his being screamed to finish what he'd started, but Kirishima's words sank in, just enough to hold him back. With a final shove, he freed himself from Kirishima's grip and stalked off, his fists still clenched.
"This isn't over," Katsuki muttered under his breath, his voice low and dangerous.
As he walked away, Monoma watched with a wary smile, but there was no mistaking the tension in his stance now. Katsuki had made his point. But this wasn't over—not by a long shot.
"Yes, it is. It's over." Aizawa stated sternly as he approached the group.