I was going to wait a little bit longer to post this but I had a frustrating evening so I changed my mind. And this chapter is longer than most I would usually post, too. I hope that you enjoy it.

Voicing Concerns

Eijiro collected his trash from his dorm, taking a moment to examine the wall which he had charged through the previous night. If it weren't for the fact that he remembered doing it, he'd never known that anything had happened. UA really was amazing.

As Eijiro carried the bag back down, he considered what Bakugou had told him. He wondered how he should go about explaining it when the time came.

While adding his bag to the pile that had formed near the entryway in the time that he'd been gone, Eijiro noted that both Jiro and Shoji were now in the living room.

Eijiro could easily recall how Shoji had quickly rushed over last night and had learned this morning that Jiro had reassured everyone on the lower floors. She hadn't even needed to come up in order to find out what happened because she could hear it all from her room. He wondered if they'd heard Momo gathering people for the meeting or if she had specifically asked them to come down here. Either way, he doubted it was coincidental that the two people with the most sensitive hearing in the class were currently at the exact opposite end of the building from where the meeting was taking place.

The two were taking further steps to ensure their privacy by striking up conversations with others, which was common for Jiro but didn't happen as much with Shoji, who usually kept to himself in his room.

Come to think of it, just how much did they usually hear throughout the dorms? Eijiro pushed the thought away, out of discomfort at the possible answer to the question, rather than a lack of interest in it.

Instead, Eijiro made his way up the stairs, not wanting to keep the others waiting. When he reached the second floor, he could hear voices echoing down from the usually unoccupied hallway. As he made his way over, he noted that more than one door was open. He found out why when he reached his destination at the far end of the hall. He was hardly the first person here.

There were four other chairs in the room, the type that was provided for the desk in each room. Three against the left wall, the furthest from the door being occupied by Uraraka. The last chair, back to balcony doors, was occupied by Todoroki, the curtains pulled open to show a bright blue sky behind the railing.

Against the right wall was the bed, where an unmade mattress had been set. On it sat Kaminari and Mina. They opened up space between them as Eijiro took in the scene.

"Hey Kirishima," Mina greeted and patted the newly formed opening between her and Kaminari. "Come in and join us."

Kirishima sat down on the bed, choosing to let his legs hang over like Kaminari, rather than sit cross-legged, as Mina was doing while she held the pillow, resting her elbows on it.

"So, who are we waiting on?" Eijiro asked.

"Momo's just getting Iida," Uraraka explained. "After he found out you asked to gather the trash for Bakugou, he went to make sure everyone got theirs."

After a few moments, Eijiro noticed the room wasn't quite the same temperature as the rest of the dorms and couldn't help but comment, "It's a little chilly in here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Kaminari replied. "We figure it's because the room hasn't been used."

"We turned up the thermostat, so it should be nicer in a few minutes," Mina added.

Eijiro guessed that made sense, except the temperature hadn't been that cold today. But he supposed it was different when he was relaxing inside compared to walking around outdoors. So, he nodded and accepted the explanation.

They relaxed for a few minutes, talking to each other. Or in Todoroki's case, quietly listening to the conversation, eyes clouded with his own thoughts.

Momo and Iida's approach was heralded by the sound of a flustered speedster, voicing his concern over the open entryways down the hall. This was followed by the clicks of the offending doors being closed as Momo walked in.

Finally, Iida followed in after her. He eyed the chairs that had clearly been pilfered from the other rooms and Uraraka assured him, "I promise we'll put them back when we're done."

Iida visibly calmed down at the statement but still demanded, "be to place them at their proper desks and close the doors behind you when you leave. We should show our respect by leaving the dorms as we found them after each use. Our access to them is a privilege, not a right."

Kaminari gave him a thumbs up and said, "you got it."

"We'll make sure everything is set right when we leave later," Mina also assured him.

At this, Iida finally relented and took a seat between Momo and Uraraka.

After a moment, Momo said, "After discussing it, Iida and I decided to call this meeting because I think we can all agree that whatever is going on between Midoriya and Bakugou, it needs to be addressed. As of last night — and this morning — we can no longer deny that it's affecting the class as a whole."

Judging from his awkward silence, it seemed that Iida wasn't as comfortable with this as Momo. Still, he must've agreed, because Eijiro knew the Class Prez wasn't averse to voicing his objections when he felt the need. He had a feeling that the blue-haired boy was even trying, if failing, to hide his misgivings over doing this.

Momo continued, "You're the ones that I called here because I wanted to keep this initial meeting small and make sure that we had people here who could represent Midoriya and Bakugou's interests as equally as possible. You're all either close to Midoriya, Bakugou or both, and probably know more about what's going on with them than anyone else, even if everyone else in our class also cares deeply for them." At the last part of the comment, there was a touch of regret in her voice.

For the first time, Eijiro realized that despite the experiences Momo shared with them through more than one villainous confrontation, she had never really spent time with either Midoriya or Bakugou during their day-to-day lives.

Eijiro tried to think of a way to assure her that she belonged here as much as any of them. That she was showing how much she cared by being manly enough to call this meeting in the first place.

But, the moment to tell Momo any of this left as quickly as it came when she continued, "I understand that Iida and Uraraka talked to Midoriya, and that Kirishima had a conversation with Bakugou this evening to check in on them."

"Is it really appropriate for us to discuss what they said to us?" Iida finally asked. "I agree that we should discuss what we've seen as a group, but should we breach their privacy in such a way? Neither Midoriya nor Bakugou have invited us to step in..."

A couple of the others looked uncomfortable at the comment and Eijiro found himself wishing he'd worn a sweater as the temperature of the room drew his attention more than ever.

"Yeah," Uraraka added, "I'm not sure Deku would like it."

"I think Bakugou kind of asked," Eijiro replied.

"'Kind of'?" Uraraka asked, sounding a little skeptical.

Mina and Kaminari's eyes widened in surprise, both immediately extremely worried by his comment. They understood the significance of that in a way that the others wouldn't.

"Bakugou would never straight up ask for help," Kaminari explained. "If he really went so far as to imply it, he must be desperate."

"He did," Eijiro declared. "He didn't even get angry when I told him he could talk to me later, if he wanted to." He kept his features neutral, refusing to let himself actually frown as he continued, "He… also told me not to expect Midoriya to say anything."

And with those words uttered aloud, Eijiro realized something. He voiced his suspicion immediately. "I think that… might be his way of asking us to help Midoriya, too. It might've been why he was so open about everything this evening… I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into it."

"That's ridiculous!" Uraraka exclaimed. "Deku knows he can come to us for help, whenever he needs it!"

"Just because you say you'll help him if he asks, it doesn't mean he'll seek it out," came a quiet response from an unexpected source. Everyone looked toward the speaker in surprised. because Todoroki was well known for his silence. Everything about him controlled and hard to read. So, to hear him speak out now was startling.

Right now, however, something was different in his whole demeanor. He was still hard to read, but there was a determined shine in his eyes. The glass of the sliding doors at his back had built up a layer of condensation on the outside, droplets running down the pane, and Eijiro suddenly had a suspicion that the buildings temperature control had nothing to do with why the room was so cold.

He also knew that if he said anything right now, the other boy would probably shut down.

So, instead, Uraraka pierced the silence to ask, "What do you mean, Todoroki?"

Shoto stared down at his hands in his lap, fingers interlaced and thumbs overlapping, so that they made a hole. He used his Quirks in a controlled manner, so that wisps of mist generated between them. They were probably too small for the others to see but he focused his gaze on them. He watched as they danced between his palms, knowing that if he looked up, he'd lose his will to keep going.

But he needed to, for Midoriya. "It can be really…" Scary. "Uncomfortable… to ask for help, sometimes." He bit his lip, "Not everyone feels safe asking for help, you know." Or, bringing attention to themselves at all. "Even to friends. And even then, asking directly, just… It won't happen. Simple as that. It's why I knew it had to be trouble when he sent out the location text in Hosu." Even without words, it was an obvious call for help and Midoriya just didn't do that. He guessed maybe on some level he'd realized the other boy's behavior even if he hadn't consciously acknowledged it.

"Even pointing it out right now is hard," Todoroki admitted. "I wouldn't even bring it up, but thinking about it last night, I realized he's like me. Only, instead of being quiet about himself, he turns the conversation back to the other person he's talking to. It's why I never noticed before. I've never seen it done that way." Rather, Shoto was used to conversations being stopped with warning flares of Quirks, causing major shifts in temperature around his home and occasionally resulted in iced surfaces or sparks of flame.

Of course, it was just like Midoriya to find some nonviolent way to draw the line… Or rather, curve it back around, Shoto supposed.

Shoto heard a sigh and looked up to see Kirishima had not only lost his smile but looked down. "I've seen something like it."

No, Shoto understood, looking at the other boy whose hair had started to lose its fight with gravity as the gel he'd put in this morning had started to lose its effectiveness. He'd been doing it. And from the way he was right now, it looked exhausting.

Unlike Midoriya, he didn't hide it from everyone though, if Mina patting him on the back was anything to go by.

"I would have thought that I'd notice it, anyway," Shoto commented. "But clearly, I was wrong," especially since there was at least one more classmate who used that kind of approach.

He sighed; that wasn't the important thing right now. "He was there for me when I needed it. For all of us. He always gets to the heart of things to fix it, but he hasn't let anyone do that for him. I'm scared it's because of what he must be hiding, to be as good as he is at seeing our problems."

Just because Shoto wasn't good at talking didn't mean he was clueless. He knew people didn't come up with ways to avoid talking about themselves if they were happy. How much was Midoriya hurting, without them knowing?

"Surely, we would've noticed if it was that bad," Uraraka replied, but she didn't sound so sure.

"No, you wouldn't," he replied, finally looking up. Upon seeing all of the concerned gazes focused upon him, he realized that doing so was a mistake. He looked back down and tried not to lose his nerve. "You don't know how to look." Almost everyone in this room probably grew up counting on their family and friends to love and support them, and could be sure they would always be there later when they left the house. They'd never been referred to as a 'creation', or had someone they loved not even be able to stand their face. He suppressed the old urge to rub his scar with an ease that came from years of practice. They'd never had to watch their household halve before their very eyes; each missing family member pulled from their lives without warning.

He'd never known just how different it could be before U.A. Then he'd heard the others talk about their families and realized just how many worlds apart their lives were from his. Not that he'd want them to go through what he had. No, he wouldn't wish that on anyone but…It was hard to listen to sometimes.

"Midoriya talks to us all the time, though," Uraraka defended.

"Yeah, about us. Not him," Shoto countered with a cold logic that would have made Mr. Aizawa proud.

Momo interrupted, "As important as this is, I think we need to focus on Midoriya and Bakugou's fighting. I think that this is something to address, though. Maybe among yourselves."

Like putting in flame retardant furniture and replacing burnt carpet before trying to discuss self-control with temperamental occupants of a household with fire producing Quirks. It might not be the most central problem, but it needed to be addressed more immediately.

Shoto could still find signs of the altercations between his Father and Touya in the form of a couple rough spots in the paint job. The house had been reinforced before he'd come of age, so he hadn't ever done any real damage but it helped to imagine that the original damage might've once acted as a way for his eldest brother to spite their father. Natsuo had once talked about how Touya's 'flare ups' occurred most commonly around things like their father's favorite comforter or awards the man had proudly had framed and hung in various rooms of the house.

Shoto had also taken part in the latter from time to time and could speak of the catharsis it brought from personal experience…absolutely worth the extra intense training sessions afterward.

"All right. So, Iida, Uraraka, what did Midoriya tell you about what's going on?" Momo asked, drawing his attention back to the current issue.

Iida opened his mouth to say something, probably to once again defend the other boy's privacy, judging by his angry expression. Then it suddenly went blank for a moment before he declared, "He said 'not to worry'."

Yeah, that sounded about right.

"Surely, he must've said something more than that," Uraraka said, but clearly not able to come up with anything else.

The two exchanged worried looks before their eyes tracked back to Shoto.

This time he did hold their gazes, letting them see the point he'd been making. "If it makes you feel better, I really didn't even realize it until last night, either."

"Alright," Mina said. "How about you, Kirishima? It sounds like Bakugou was more than happy to tell you something."

Ah, Bakugou. Shoto felt his anger, a cold burn that he was ready to feed and find out how intense it would become. The same anger had long burned similarly for his father with an unbearable heat, until Midoriya had helped him cool them to a smolder that only occasionally flared back up but he was hoping might one day cool to the ashes of indifference.

Was Bakugou to Midoriya, as Shoto's father was to him? That was the biggest question that had bothered him all day. He kept his face a perfectly unreadable mask, so as not to let the others see how much Mina's question had piqued his interest.

Kirishima sighed, and nodded. "He did, but you're not going to like it."

This conversation started as mostly from Kirishima's point of view, tacked on to the end of chapter 24 which is why the beginning portion is from his perspective.

I wanted to keep the meeting small and I wanted a set up where Bakugou and Midoriya were equally represented, neither of which would have happened if everyone who cares about them were present (I feel that it would definitely be in Midoriya's favor and with good reason).

Then, I got to Todoroki talking, and realized that I wanted to express more about his situation than he would ever outright say and realized that I had to switch perspectives for him. Especially, considering the decision he made toward the end of this talk. So, I swapped over to his perspective.

So, the talk about the others knowing their family members would eventually come home was from an aspect of Shoto's life I hadn't thought about until now but must be another extremely traumatizing thing to go through. He has had to live with people he cared about not coming home multiple times. His father sent his mother off to an asylum. Touya is (believed to be) dead. Natsuo seemed to have gotten out of the house as soon as he could and I get the impression that he stayed away from there for a long time before even visiting on occasion while Endeavor was gone. The only stable person he could count on was Fuyumi and considering that two out of the three people who disappeared from his life did so unwillingly, it must feel like she could easily vanish, too. I can only imagine what that must be like on top of having to deal with everything else he's gone through.

One that might even extend to his time at U.A., and why he's so quick to worry when others are in legitimate trouble, beyond simply wanting to help people. He has experienced what it's like for people he cares about to be 'gone' and I can't imagine it's something he ever wants to repeat. I also imagine it's something so ingrained that he doesn't even realize it's a drive.

My transitional chapters end up blowing up into their own little arcs. What was supposed to be one chapter to get through the morning turned into three and now what was supposed to be one chapter for Izuku and Bakugou doing chores before the evening turned to 4, including the next one.

But, it's worth it, if both I and most of my readers are enjoying it.