A/N: Never did I think I'd be writing BNHA fanfic...well, whilst I love the development between Bakugou and Midoriya from the anime and manga spoilers I have seen, the healing of their friendship is going to slow for me to wait for, hence this fic was born.
It was originally meant to be a one-shot, but haha, uh, I got carried away. Instead it'll be three chapters? (Maybe two), but now as a placeholder I'll say three.

My initial intention for the fic is platonic, but since it is more focused on their development as a whole, I've decided that I'll leave it up to the reader to determine if it means something more than friendship. Because I've found while writing this that the development could honestly be taken either way since Bakugou and Midoriya's relationship is deeply complex as it is.

I hope everyone is staying safe and self isolating when possible. Hopefully this helps take your mind off the worry. Please enjoy!

**I've posted this on my AO3 account, but thought I'd throw it on good old too. It's been a while.

Izuku Midoriya couldn't say that he noticed too many changes to himself the past week. But his friends noticed that he had been particularly run down.

Midoriya didn't want to believe it, but neither could he deny it.

He couldn't help but let out another yawn as he sat down in his assigned seat for class. The bell had yet to chime, so the entire class was scattered throughout the room in their friendship groups talking to each other.

It was the sixth time Midoriya was caught yawning that morning alone. His friends standing near his table noticed it. Iida frowned at the sight.

"You've been yawning quite a lot, Midoriya-kun. Have you been getting enough rest?"

Midoriya slowly nodded with a smile.

"I have. I just don't think I've woken up yet." It was a half of a truth.

In truth, Midoriya felt exhausted. While he had been sleeping it felt like he wasn't getting any resting at all. Not that he would admit it, but it had been like that for a few days before his friends had mentioned anything about it the previous day.

But it wasn't like that being tired was strange. Midoriya would often study into the late hours of the night and awaken early for training before class. He was always tired to a certain degree, but he had to admit, his fatigue had been far worse in the past few days from what he deemed 'normal'.

Despite it, he tried to ignore it, but he found each day it was getting harder.

"I've noticed it too," Uraraka chimed in, her eyebrows furrowed with concern. "You've been looking a little pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

Todoroki too spared a silent glance of concern over at Midoriya that matched the expressions of both Iida and Uraraka.

"I'm okay, really," Midoriya insisted.

At a completely coincidental timing, Mineta had approached Midoriya's table. It was odd. Mineta never came over to talk to them in the morning. But what really stuck out was that his expression screamed of a mix of fear and as if he were busting to tell a secret.

"Midoriya, you scared the life out of me this morning!" Mineta said, almost shaking.

They all collectively and incredulously stared at their shortest classmate. Out of all the things Mineta was going to say, that wasn't something anyone had expected. Midoriya was the first to recover from the shock.

"Huh? How so, Mineta-kun?"

Mineta shook as he explained himself.

"I woke up thirsty around the middle of the night, so I got up to go get a glass of water from the common room kitchen downstairs. But as soon as I left my room, I just saw you standing in the hallway staring down toward the elevator."

The thought of anyone standing in a dark hallway at night sent borderline shivers up their spines, but Midoriya doing such a thing? It was an unbelievably frightening thought.

Midoriya was the most disturbed at the news for the mere fact that he couldn't recall doing that at all.

"I-I did? B-But I don't remember doing any of that!"

Other members of Class 1-A began to overhear the conversation. To some it would have been considered eavesdropping, but to others was it still eavesdropping if they were the only ones talking loudly in the room?

In the commotion a new voice came into the conversation. It was Tokoyami.

"That's because you were sleepwalking. I noticed it a few nights ago."

A beat passed.

What?

"Sleepwalking?" Midoriya asked, his eyes wide.

Tokoyami nodded.

"I heard something in the hall outside our dorms a few nights ago. I went to check it out, and it was you. You were pacing back and forth. I asked what you were doing, but you didn't say anything. It was only then that I realised that your eyes were only partially open. I guided you back to your room. You climbed straight into bed and that was the end of that."

"Really?" Midoriya's face paled. He honestly didn't remember a single moment of that.

Mineta kept nodding during the whole explanation.

"Yeah! If Tokoyami hadn't come out to tell me what you were doing last night, I would've screamed, but I didn't. I'm way braver than to do that." Mineta bragged.

Tokoyami rolled his eyes at the obvious lie. He remembered it well. He had to quickly place his hand over Mineta's mouth to muffle his high-pitched shrieks. He didn't want Mineta to wake the whole 1-A dormitory over something as harmless as a sleepwalking Midoriya. Mineta could only watch in partial fear as Tokoyami gently guided Midoriya, by lightly pushing on his back into the direction of his room. Midoriya climbed back into bed on his own and it was as if nothing had ever happened.

"Sorry Midoriya, I didn't realise you didn't know. I should've told you earlier." Tokoyami said solemnly.

Midoriya shook his head.

"You don't have to apologise, thank you for telling me. I'm just…. surprised. I don't think I've ever done that before."

Uraraka hummed in thought, being the first to recover from the strange new revelation about Midoriya.

"Well, for all you know, you could have been doing it your whole life," she said, piquing the interest of everyone listening. "Of course, you wouldn't know if you were sleepwalking or not. You're asleep, so, how could you know? The only way to know is if someone was awake while you were asleep and caught you doing it."

Everyone pondered about it silently. She had a point.

"My mother is a heavy sleeper," Midoriya muttered, adding fuel to the theory, but he simultaneously thought of something else to dampen it. "But she's also never mentioned anything like that to me before. Not even from when I was little."

Aoyama had elegantly twirled into the conversation. Literally. He had spun toward the group before speaking.

"If it makes you feel better, mon ami, I haven't heard or seen you doing anything of the sort since we've moved into the dorms," Aoyama then had a realisation dawn on him. "However, I do always sleep through the night getting my beauty sleep."

Midoriya half smiled and sighed. The answer was very… Aoyama.

"Thank you, Aoyama-kun," Midoriya's face became more pensive. "More than anything I'm sorry for disturbing the two of you. Tokoyami-kun. Mineta-kun. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Tokoyami shook his head. While Mineta only stopped nodding when Tokoyami spoke once more.

"It's really no problem. There's no need to apologise. It wasn't like you were doing anything loud enough to wake up anyone. Besides, whenever I noticed it, all I had to do was push you back into the direction of your room and you did the rest yourself. I was already awake the times I've seen you walking around. So, I can't say for sure when it started."

Midoriya hummed. Anyone who knew Midoriya well knew that regardless of any reassurance Tokoyami had given him, that he would still feel bad for something that wasn't in his control. So, that in short meant that everyone in Class 1-A knew that for a fact.

Todoroki who had been very quiet during the whole explanation finally spoke his thoughts on it.

"Perhaps that's why you've been more tired lately," Todoroki pointed out. "If you're sleepwalking doesn't that make you more tired?"

Iida nodded.

"Todoroki-kun may be correct, but it brings up the question why have you been sleepwalking only now?"

In the meanwhile, Uraraka had already pulled out her phone and had been giving it a quick internet search.

"Ah," she leaned over with her phone to show Iida. "It says on this article that 'Fatigue, lack of sleep, and anxiety are all associated with sleepwalking'. So, it sounds like to me that you need to get more sleep, Deku-kun."

Iida hummed in agreement as he continued reading the article on Uraraka's phone.

"That sounds to be the case Midoriya-kun. You'll need to get to sleep at more reasonable times."

"I'll try." Midoriya replied, almost unsure what to make of it all.

It was a lot to take in to be suddenly told that he had been sleepwalking – something that he was near positive that he hadn't done before. It was almost frightening to hear of it suddenly. He did however, made it a mental note to ask his mother about it later.

It had been a while since he had called her anyway. So, it was as good excuse as any.

Suddenly the first school bell of the day began to chime.

Iida went into 'class representative' mode, ushering everyone to get to their seats before Aizawa entered the room.

The news of Midoriya's sleepwalking spread throughout Class 1-A like wildfire by lunchtime.

Those who hadn't been listening to the conversation that morning, were filled in by those that had been. The spread of the information wasn't so much to do because anyone found it funny or wanted to tease him for it. It was more because it was both interesting and somewhat concerning.

Either way, Midoriya remained blissfully unaware of the fact and went about his day.

It was after lunch that their afternoon was filled with training. Some got into pairs while others went off individually.

Midoriya decided to train on his own. He slapped the sides of his face. He needed to shake off his fatigue. He didn't have time to slow down. He needed to practice his air force attacks and his shoot style.

"Come on. Focus!" Midoriya said to himself as he attempted to clench his fist.

That's when he noticed that his right hand had begun shaking. Immediately, Midoriya grabbed it with his other hand to halt it.

His hand only did that if he got too nervous or if he hadn't warmed them up properly. He had destroyed his arms and hands so many times that some days he really struggled to maintain a clenched fist. The price of using too much of One for All.

"I need to work on my warmup for a little longer." Midoriya said to himself.

Suddenly he was struck by the strangest feeling.

It was like the ground was shifting under his feet. He felt the vertigo as if he had been spinning and suddenly stopped. The only similar feeling Midoriya could connect to it was when he passed out. Except the falling unconscious part never came and instead he felt numb in both a physical and emotional sense.

He knew that he should probably be panicking at such a sensation, but that felt that slip away too.

It was like his focus was being pulled further and further away. Why was he so tired?

In the meantime, Tsuyu and Sero had been training together. Tsuyu was practicing evasion while Sero was focusing on attack. Sero had attempted to throw a large boulder via his tape at Tsuyu.

"Take this!" Sero went in a spin, using a hammer throw technique to throw the boulder with his tape.

However, he had misjudged his momentum as he released it.

It missed Tsuyu by a considerable margin and went straight into the direction of Midoriya, who didn't look like he saw it coming even though he was practically facing them.

"Midoriya, look out!" Sero yelled to get his attention but it was going too fast.

But as if Midoriya had suddenly realised what was happening when it was about to hit, he leapt out of the way, and skidded from landing his one-handed cartwheel.

The sound of the impact of the boulder hitting the wall alerted the others training around them. The dust rose to reveal a sizeable dent in the wall. If Midoriya hadn't of dodged, he would've been flattened into the wall.

Better the wall than Midoriya.

Uraraka who had witnessed the ordeal rushed over to Midoriya along with Tsuyu and Sero.

"I'm so sorry, Midoriya! Are you okay?" Sero panickily asked.

Midoriya took a moment to respond, his eyes staring where he had been standing moments prior.

"Huh? Uh-yeah. I-I'm fine."

"That got awful close, Midoriya-chan." Tsuyu noted. "Why did you wait until the last moment to dodge? Kero."

It was a genuine question. One that Midoriya truly didn't know how to answer. He stared down at his hands.

"I-I didn't notice it until it got closer."

The answer was a bit unsettling. How could have Midoriya not seen a giant boulder coming straight for him?

"Maybe you should rest for a bit, Deku-kun." Uraraka said, the concern evident in her voice.

Midoriya shook his head with a smile.

"There's no need, I'm fine. I was just thinking too much about what I was going to work on today that I wasn't focusing. I'll pay more attention from now on. Don't worry!"

"But—" Uraraka didn't get to finish her sentence.

"If everything's alright, please get back to your training. We're not here to slack off." Ectoplasm, or at least a copy of him, said. It shocked the students into dropping their conversation.

"Ah – Yes, sensei!"

As they dispersed, Uraraka still glanced back at Midoriya, who had his back turned as he begun powering up his quirk. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

In defeat, Uraraka sighed going back to her training. If Midoriya wasn't bothered by it then she'd just have to wait until he was ready – and that was only if she was right and something was wrong. She could only hope that the off feeling she had was wrong.

No one had noticed that Bakugou had been watching the entire time.

It wasn't that he exactly cared for what Deku had been doing, but the fact All Might's chosen one and Bakugou's proclaimed rival had almost let himself get crushed by an incoming boulder right in his view was unusual. It was more for the mere fact that even Bakugou knew that if Midoriya were in deep thought, he still would've sensed it coming towards him right away.

Something wasn't right.

Bakugou felt his blood boil in anger. Why was he wasting so much of his time on something so pointless as analysing Deku!?

He forcibly shook off such thoughts. If Deku got crushed, that would've been his fault and his fault alone for not paying attention.

"Oi Kirishima!" Bakugou's hands already begun to heat up. "Let me blow you up!"

"Huh? Okay, sure! Give me everything you've got!"

"Sleepwalking? Are you sure?" Inko asked.

"Yeah," Midoriya switched his phone and dumbbell over to the opposite hands. "A classmate told me that he's noticed it for a few nights now."

"Well, I can't say that I remember you ever doing that when you were young. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Midoriya sighed. He knew that asking would be a bust but tried to bring it up anyway.

"I thought I was. My friends seem to think I just need to get more rest."

"I agree with them. You need to give yourself time to rest too with all your training and studying. You've probably just overworked yourself."

"Maybe," Midoriya placed his dumbbell down, finishing his reps for the night. "But I don't feel any different from how I normally feel, so I can't help but wonder why this is a thing now."

"Hmm. I can't say that I have any idea either, sweetie. But after this I want you to get some rest. If this gets any worse, I want you to go get it checked out with the school nurse, okay? Just remember that good heroes know when to rest too, Izuku."

"I hear you," Midoriya sighed, admitting defeat. Maybe he did need to get to sleep earlier. "And don't worry, if I can't handle it, I will."

"I love you, Izuku. Good night."

"Love you too. G'night."

Midoriya ended the call, flopping backwards on his bed with a sigh. His mother had only confirmed what he had already assumed. He had never slept walked when he was young.

That meant it wasn't some dormant habit climbing back to the surface. It meant it had surfaced on its own. He didn't know how to feel about that because he wasn't lying. He felt fine. There was nothing out of the normal.

He looked at his hands, turning them to look at his palms. He saw the slightest tremble. That was still normal. Ever since he almost destroyed his arms sometimes when cooling down from working out, they'd tremble slightly.

But that's when he spotted something on his left forearm.

It looked like a small brown bruise, appearing like an 'x'. Midoriya gave it a cautious poke. It had a familiar dull kind of pain to it.

"Just a bruise," Midoriya concluded to himself. "I must've got it during training today."

He shook it off and glanced at the time. It was 8:30pm. Normally, Midoriya would've considered that a time too early to go to sleep. But instead he readied himself for bed. His tiredness was finally getting to him.

By the time he got into bed, his All Might clock's arms pointed to 8:56pm.

Midoriya shut his eyes.

The extra hours would surely do him so good. All he needed to do was get some rest and he was sure that the whole strange debacle of his sleepwalking would come to an end.

Midoriya nearly had the life shocked out of him at his alarm blaring at him. Had he accidently knocked it in his sleep?

As grabbed his clock to halt the alarm, he gasped when he saw the time where the mini All Might's arms had been pointing to.

6:00am!?

Midoriya knew that there was no mistaking it as he saw the morning light streaming through the slits of his All Might curtains.

It felt like he only had his eyes shut for maybe three seconds.

The most jarring part of it all is that his alarm was always set for 5:00am so he could train in the morning before breakfast.

His alarm's snooze feature would rest for 10-minutes before going off again. The only way for his alarm to go off an hour later would mean that he would've had to hit snooze of his alarm at least five times. Something he didn't know that he had done, but that was the only explanation for it.

Midoriya felt like he hadn't slept at all and was even more exhausted than he was the previous day. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to sleeping past seven hours? He didn't know for sure.

What he did know is that he needed to get ready for a day he had fleeting energy for. He slapped the sides of his face and forced a smile on his face.

Midoriya was sure that if he gave it some time it would pass. He believed that it would get better given the chance.

He'd just keep going to bed earlier and get his body back on a schedule.

This is fine, it'll pass. He told himself.

It didn't.

A week passed.

A week of restless sleep.

A week of new stories of himself not just pacing the hall on his floor but of him going up and down the stairwell.

He apparently walked up and down and had even walked in the hallway up on the fifth floor. The only way Midoriya had discovered that was because Tsuyu who had heard him and took him back to his room, told him the very next morning.

Whilst Midoriya couldn't say for sure he had been sleepwalking every night, he had been told that he was sleepwalking at least three times.

He took a few guesses at to what days he had been sleepwalking because on the odd day sometimes it felt like he had managed to get some restful sleep, albeit not enough.

For the most part, he functioned as normally as possible. But sometimes, he felt his conscious mind slip and he'd stare silently into space during class. Midoriya thought he had a handle on it, or at least he did until he was caught doing it on their lunch break.

Suddenly Midoriya was drawn back by Iida's clear voice.

"Midoriya-kun, are you okay?"

He instantly returned to himself and he opened his eyes. When had he shut them?

It was then that he suddenly became very aware of his friends with concerned looks on their faces. That's when Midoriya knew he needed to answer the question without worrying them further.

"I'm okay. I just zoned out there for a second. What were we talking about?" Apparently, that had been the wrong response because his friends were all continued to stare.

"Deku-kun, you've been like this since last week. And the bags under your eyes have gotten so dark. Are you sure you've been sleeping?"

And that was when Midoriya felt an instant rage wash over him.

"I've already told I have!" He snapped.

But as soon as the rage came, it vanished just as quick. He shot a hand over his mouth. Where had that come from?

All that felt afterwards was immediate guilt at the shocked expressions at those around him and the slightly hurt expression from Uraraka. His apology came out before anyone else had a chance to speak.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that," Midoriya wearily sighed. "I have been going to bed earlier, but I haven't been sleeping well and I'm apparently still sleepwalking throughout the dorms at night. I don't know, maybe it has me stressed out."

Uraraka slowly snapped out of her shock from the previous outburst and shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. But you are okay, aren't you?"

"Because if you aren't, that's okay too to tell us." Iida added.

"I'm-"

The classic Westminster Chime resonated throughout the halls of the school. It was the warning that they only had fifteen minutes left until their next class.

"I guess it's time to clean up." Midoriya said, collecting his dishes on his tray. "And for what it's worth, I feel okay. I've dealt with worse than a little lack of sleep."

The other accepted that as a good enough answer for the fact the Midoriya hadn't tried to avoid the question even after the bell had interrupted him.

The others did the same as they too grabbed their lunch dishes to return to the cafeteria cooks. That's when Todoroki saw Midoriya's bowl. Half of the katsudon, Midoriya's favourite food, still sat in the bowl uneaten. Midoriya had walked away with a smile.

Todoroki was left to silently worry about his friend.

Just a few tables over from the commotion sat Kirishima and Bakugou. Kaminari and Sero had already left the table to get to class.

"Oi Bakugou, were you still gonna finish that spicy meat bun?" Kirishima asked while gathering up his own rubbish to throw away.

That's when Kirishima noticed that his fiery best friend's attention was on what was in front of them. Kirishima turned his head. In Bakugou's direct line of site would've been Midoriya's table.

Midoriya as well as the others were all getting up with their trays. It was an average site, nothing interesting. Kirishima glanced back at Bakugou, his eyebrows were furrowed like he was in thought or focusing. It was strange to see Bakugou looking so pensive. How long had he been watching them?

"Is everything alright?" Kirishima began to carefully ask.

The caution seemed to snap Bakugou in whatever thought he was drawn into.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Bakugou snapped, instantly getting up to stand. "Grab the stupid bun if you want it. I'm taking my tray up."

Kirishima shrugged it off and took the bun. It wasn't something that paid too much thought to until later that night.

Bakugou was already regretting it coming to study in the common room. He had pulled out of his room by Kirishima to help their 'friends' study according to him.

And so there he sat with Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari and Mina. And never had Bakugou wanted to blow up something more.

Trying to explain physics related formulas to Kaminari and Mina was like trying to teach a fish to walk. Fortunately, Kirishima worked like a translator and whatever Bakugou explained, Kirishima re-explained to the others.

Bakugou grunted. His explanations were fine. It wasn't his fault they couldn't understand him. Even Tape Arms seemed to understand just fine.

Just as Bakugou was finally going to call it quits for the night to get some peace and quiet, a familiar green haired boy came walking into the common room from the staircase. At the sight of someone else, everyone's already fragile attention span was interrupted.

"Oh, hey Midoriya!" Mina waved.

Midoriya was never one to ignore anyone, and yet he didn't even look in their direction and kept walking straight toward the small kitchen area in the common room. His eyes were squinted, and he was frowning like he was angry about something. Such a dark expression wasn't what they expected to see from him.

"Hey Midoriya!" Kaminari tried to gauge a response.

It went ignored once more as Midoriya grabbed out a cup and casually got a glass of water. The expression didn't shift once on his face.

They silently watched from a safe distance as Midoriya silently stood there with two hands on his cup of water, and he appeared to be glaring at something in the distance taking an occasional drink of water.

"Oh man, he looks pissed off." Sero made a note of whispering in case Midoriya heard them. The four of them were all mildly afraid in that moment.

"Who made Midoriya mad?" Mina asked.

"I didn't even know he could get mad, at least not anyone in our class." Kirishima pondered aloud.

"Who said it was a who? Maybe he was working on the algebra assignment. I know that it made me mad." Kaminari noted while slowly ducking his head lower on the couch, as if to hide from Midoriya.

The four were obviously distracted by the mysterious aura Midoriya was supplying. Even Bakugou's eyes had finally darted up from his homework to look up at the strange sight. It last only for a moment. He quickly went back to work on his homework with a short huff.

"Someone should go talk to him," Mina immediately nudged Sero's arm. "Go talk to him."

"Huh? Why me!?"

"Well," Kaminari snorted into the couch. "You did almost crush him with a boulder the other day. Maybe he's mad at you."

Sero groaned.

"Okay, fine!" Sero slowly went to approach Midoriya. He did it gradually like he was getting close to a wild animal. "Hey, Midoriya. Are you doing…..okay?"

There was no response. He instead went to take another sip of his water. Sero would've been unsettled at it all, but that's when he noticed that Midoriya's cup was already empty. He stared for a moment confused.

"…. Midoriya?" Sero waved a hand in front of Midoriya's face. Midoriya didn't seem to register it all. It finally hit Sero, while Midoriya's eyes were open, he wasn't awake. "Oh! He must be doing that sleepwalking thing! This is so weird!"

That got Kaminari and Mina's heads to immediately pop up from behind the couch.

"Wait really?" Mina immediately got up and she too decided to wave a hand in front of Midoriya's face. Still not a hint of a response.

"Wow! Cool!" Kaminari said as the gears in his mind begun to turn. "Wait. How is he drinking water if he's sleepwalking and why is his eyes open?" Kaminari's question finally sparked a response not from Midoriya, but from someone more unexpected to reply, Bakugou.

"Sleepwalking doesn't always mean just walking around with your eyes shut, dumbass. Sometimes it's the weird shit like this."

Kirishima nodded his eyes wide, that was news to him too.

"It sounds like you know a lot about sleepwalking. Did he ever do that when you were kids?" Kirishima curiously asked.

Bakugou stared at Kirishima incredulously for a good solid moment before replying.

"What the hell makes you think I'd know?"

Kirishima got hit with a realisation.

"Oh yeah! You stopped being close after kindergarten, right? You both would've been too young for sleepovers."

If anyone other than Kirishima had said that, Bakugou would've taken it as a snarky commentary on his old and fractured friendship with Deku. Luckily it had been only Kirishima to say such a thing.

"Shut up." Bakugou's tone held no bite to it. He turned his attention back to his homework, but he couldn't bring himself to bring his focus back to it.

The only reason he initially avoided Kirishima's question was because of the honest answer.

And truth was no, to his knowledge Deku never slept walked. And he knew that because when they were friends, they did in fact have sleepovers albeit only a handful of times.

While they had been very young, Bakugou and Midoriya had also lived quite close to each other in their neighbourhood, and their parents had gotten along very well.

The memories of those times were vague, but despite the fog of forgetfulness, Bakugou remembered enough to know that Midoriya never slept walked during any of those times. Bakugou was and had always been a light sleeper. He knew that if Midoriya had slept walked at any point that he would've woken up to hear it.

Besides, if anything, he himself was the restless sleeper and not Deku. In fact, Midoriya barely moved at all in his sleep unless he was subconsciously kicking off a blanket due to the heat.

Bakugou remembered that during those sleepovers he noticed that no matter what position Midoriya was in while he fell asleep, he would always roll onto his side where he would remain until he woke up.

Out of all the things he remembered from such a time, that was the memory that was the clearest. It was strange. From all the things he could have remembered, it was the smallest details that stuck with him.

But of course, Bakugou wasn't about to admit all that to Kirishima.

So instead, he stayed silent.

Mina in the meanwhile had experimentally poked Midoriya's cheek for a response. Midoriya yet again did nothing.

"Wow. He must really be out of it." She noted aloud.

"Let me try!" Kaminari got up and he too poked Midoriya's cheek. They both heard the smallest grunt come from Midoriya. There was finally a response although a small one. "Oh! Do you think he'll remember that?"

"Come on guys, leave him alone!" Kirishima knew someone had to step in before Kaminari would curiously and inevitably keep trying to test his luck to see what a sleepwalking-Midoriya would be willing to put up with.

When Kirishima slowly took the cup out of Midoriya's hands he got to see how out of it Midoriya truly was. He looked a bit like a zombie.

"Should we try and wake him?" Sero cautiously asked.

"Well, he's still asleep and we're talking right in his face and he's not awake. Should I zap him to see if that works?" Kaminari's question finally sparked another response from Bakugou, whom had been trying his best to focus back on his work which of course failed.

"No one wants to see your dumbass mode, dunce face," Bakugou slammed his book shut, finally looking over to them. "Didn't you hear Bird-Face the other day? You just need to bring him back to his room and he'll go back to bed on his own."

In all honesty, Kirishima had been listening to that conversation too that morning. But what he didn't expect was for Bakugou to not only listen too, but to acknowledge that he had paid attention to it as well. Because unsurprisingly, Bakugou had appeared to be ignoring the whole conversation that day.

Kirishima was frankly shocked at the revelation, but also the strangest and littlest amount proud at Bakugou. Kirishima knew that while Bakugou would never admit to it, he wouldn't have paid attention to such a conversation unless he thought it was important or relevant to him in some way.

It certainly piqued at Kirishima's curiosity, but the priority in that given moment was Midoriya.

"Come on, buddy. Time to go back to bed." Kirishima said softly. He lightly pushed on Midoriya's back, with his other hand resting on Midoriya's shoulder. Midoriya complied and shuffled in the direction Kirishima was pushing.

Kirishima had left and returned in less than five minutes.

"That was quick!" Kaminari commented as Kirishima came strolling back from the elevator.

"How was he? No trouble then?" Mina asked.

"As soon as we stepped foot in his room he collapsed on his bed and was down and out like a light. It doesn't look like he'll wander out again any time soon." Kirishima said, honestly surprised at how easy it was.

When he imagined someone sleepwalking, he didn't know why but he had expected more trouble. Perhaps his idea of it was wrong or Midoriya was an exception. Either way, it wasn't what he expected.

"In the morning should we tell him that he came downstairs on his own?" Sero asked, his mind obviously in thought on the whole matter. "He'd want to know, right?"

Bakugou scoffed.

"Why? It's his own weak-ass fault for having to make sure he got back to bed like some toddler."

Kirishima prepared to scold Bakugou for his insensitivity since Midoriya didn't have control over it.

"Bakugou—" Kirishima didn't get the chance as Bakugou continued to speak.

"Unless the nerd asks if he was being stupid, there's no point bringing up something so meaningless. It's dumb and it'll pass. So, quit worrying about it. It's stupid Deku's own damn fault."

Over the course of their friendship, Kirishima had grown to understand and pick up on what Bakugou truly meant underneath certain words or actions.

And what Bakugou had just said stuck out to him.

Kirishima wasn't blind. He knew that Bakugou and Midoriya's relationship was…. in a word, tense. But he had also noticed a change shift in Bakugou. It had been after the two had been put under house arrest after fighting.

And it wasn't just Bakugou's attitude towards Midoriya that had changed, it was to their other classmates as well. Bakugou didn't exactly changed all that much, but he had eased up. It felt like a misunderstanding that ate away at him had been finally cleared up, but of course Kirishima couldn't tell for sure. Bakugou had never told Kirishima what had unfolded during and after his fight with Midoriya. But Bakugou didn't have to.

Kirishima knew that Bakugou was better at conveying how he felt with actions more than words could.

It was also why Kirishima was so shocked at Bakugou's words. Underneath the seemingly harshness, whether Bakugou realised it consciously or not, was that there was no point stressing Midoriya out any more than he already was about the sleepwalking. In a way, he was telling them to keep quiet about it for Midoriya's sake.

It sounded very much like concern. But Kirishima knew better than to call it that. Because he knew that if he pointed it out, he would never be able to get Bakugou to admit such a thing. Showing kindness wasn't in Bakugou's forte, especially if it was regarding Midoriya of all people.

Why Bakugou refused to allow himself to show anything that resembled care was beyond Kirishima's understanding.

He guessed that Bakugou didn't realise his own denial about it. Bakugou had always been an honest person, even if he hid niceties under the guise of ruthlessness or 'tough love'. But regardless of Bakugou's social constipation, Kirishima was glad at Bakugou's slow change of heart toward his old childhood friend.

Midoriya was Kirishima's friend too after all.

Kirishima knew how much Midoriya cared about Bakugou.

So, Kirishima supposed that it'd be nice if Bakugou would let himself see that too for a change.

That following morning in class Bakugou discovered that Midoriya was quiet. Well, unusually quiet for him.

Normally during class he'd hear Midoriya mumble under his breath about the notes that their teachers would write up on the board. It drove Bakugou up the wall on any normal day.

But not that he had been paying attention or anything, but he noticed that Midoriya wasn't constantly writing. Ordinarily, Bakugou would hear the manic movement of his pen.

It wasn't until toward the end of the lesson that they were given sheets to pass around to each other. Bakugou held the paper over his shoulder, waiting for Midoriya to take it from him. It was already a second too long when Bakugou turned around to yell at Midoriya for being too slow to grab it from him.

But he stopped at the sight.

Midoriya was resting his head in his hand asleep.

So, he was falling asleep in class now? Well, that explained the lack of hearing his frantic notetaking.

Bakugou prepared to yell which in turn would embarrass him in front of everyone in the class, but that's when Bakugou noticed the very dark circles under Midoriya's eyes.

Never had he seen Midoriya so run down. He glanced down at his books. He had started taking notes from the first five minutes of the class by the look of it but had likely fallen asleep after that.

"Oi." Bakugou muttered as he nudged the desk enough to make it shift slightly.

Midoriya jolted awake at the motion.

"Kacchan? Wha—" Midoriya stopped when he saw Bakugou silently hold out the handout to pass down once more. "Oh! Right. Sorry!"

Midoriya took a sheet and turned to pass them on to Mineta behind him with an apology. Bakugou turned back in his seat by the time Midoriya faced forward.

And that's when Midoriya saw it on his desk. It was three sheets of paper worth of notes.

"Fall too far behind and I'll kick your ass." Bakugou suddenly said.

Midoriya slowly smiled glancing down at the notes.

"Thank you, Kacchan." It was a quiet reply that got no response from the latter.

Midoriya knew it was rare for Bakugou to do such a thing. He didn't want to waste such an opportunity.

He had copied one page by the time the bell went ending the class. The next class their training.

"Come on now, Midoriya-kun. We'll be late for training?"

"I'll be there in the minute, Iida-kun." Midoriya said, hastily writing down. "I just need to finish this up."

"Well alright but be sure not to dawdle!" Iida did his chopping motion and stepped out of the room.

With no one else paying attention to Midoriya, Bakugou groaned as he stood up from his desk.

"Write it out later. Just give back the notes later tonight or I'll kill you."

Midoriya stopped writing.

"Is it really okay?"

"What the hell did I just say?" Bakugou snapped walking toward the door.

"Thanks, Kacchan!" Midoriya beamed.

Bakugou grunted and left without any other form of reply. As soon he had left, Midoriya frowned. He wasn't a fool. He didn't fail to notice that any form of sympathy toward him was unlike Kacchan.

That's when Midoriya knew that his change in behaviour due to his consistent tiredness had been noticed by Bakugou.

It wasn't like it was exactly hard. He had kept accidentally falling asleep in class that morning.

Midoriya couldn't help but slightly wonder if it was Kacchan had been worried. Midoriya shook his head. No, that wouldn't be like the Kacchan he knew at all.

His restless mind was coming up with the craziest things.

Midoriya had wanted to practice his air force attacks on a moving target. Iida had agreed to help him, swiftly moving about dodging Midoriya's attacks.

Delware Smash Airforce! Midoriya charged up One for All and began firing. Iida wasn't showing any signs of struggle. Growing annoyed he tried to guess where Iida planned on running and turning. But his movements and shots were too slow to catch up to Iida.

With his training straining what energy he had managed to hold on to was slowly slipping away.

Midoriya's vision began to get fuzzy. He grunted and shook his head as an attempt to regain his composure.

No! I can do this! He told himself.

Midoriya kept shooting off blasts. Each blast was straying further and further away from its target. Frustrated, Midoriya sent a large barrage of air blasts toward both Iida's he saw.

Wait both Iida's?

Midoriya didn't even realise he had fallen to his hands and knees until Iida came running over to him.

"Are you alright, Midoriya-kun!?"

Midoriya placed a hand to his forehead, his vision slowly straightened back up as he looked up at his friend.

"Sorry, Iida-kun. I lost my balance there for a second."

Iida did not look convinced at all, even as he helped Midoriya back on his feet. And neither did Todoroki who had been watching it all unfold.

"Midoriya, this has gone on long enough," Todoroki turned and called out to Ectoplasm. "Sensei, Midoriya isn't feeling well. I'm taking him to see Recovery Girl."

Ectoplasm didn't object to it, giving Todoroki a mere nod.

"Todoroki-kun—" Midoriya didn't get to finish his inevitable insistence that he was okay.

Iida placed a hand on his shoulder and silently shook his head. It was his way of agreeing with Todoroki.

"Come on, Midoriya." Todoroki said.

Midoriya silently sighed. They were right. It had gone on long enough. He let himself live in the denial of it for a week, but it was starting to wear him down too much.

He was exhausted all the time and he wasn't getting better, only worse. And now he was near-collasping during basic training.

Midoriya walked out with Todoroki trailing behind him. Midoriya could feel the eyes of his classmates curiously watching them leave.

Kirishima frowned at the sight.

"I hope Midoriya's okay."

Bakugou was watching too but said nothing. He silently watched on.

Iida noticed the onlooking spectators. To save Midoriya some future embarrassment he stepped in with his signature hand movement of chopping.

"Come on now everyone. There's no cause for concern. You should all return to our training."

Almost instantaneously Bakugou sent an explosion Kirishima's way. Kirishima had luckily acted on instinct and hardened before he could feel the complete blow.

"Bakugou! What the heck, dude!"

"You heard Four-Eyes, stop gawking!"

"But you were looking too!"

Midoriya could've swore that the ticking of the clock got louder as the silence stretched out.

"Narcolepsy?" Midoriya slowly repeated.

Recovery Girl nodded.

"Yes. Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder. Those who have narcolepsy suffer from chronic daytime sleepiness and episodes in which they fall asleep unexpectedly during the day."

"And you think I have it?" Midoriya asked, trying to process what he had heard.

"Not quite, I said it was a possibility. It is too soon to say, but your symptoms sound like it may be developing. And you said you've been sleepwalking?"

"Ah, yes. Only recently. I haven't done it before."

"That is a little worrisome," Recovery Girl admitted as she tapped on her clipboard in thought. "Have you been stressed more so than normal recently?"

Midoriya shook his head.

"No, not at all. Nothing outside of what's usual for me at least."

Recovery Girl hummed, writing something on her clipboard. Todoroki noticed how panicked Midoriya was getting.

"Is there a cure for all this?" Todoroki asked.

Recovery Girl sighed. She knew she had to be blunt.

"A short answer would be no, there is no cure for narcolepsy only treatments, but luckily I don't think it is narcolepsy. It's to my belief that you've overexerted yourself, and what you've been experiencing is an intense response to your growing fatigue and in turn your stress levels," Recovery Girl passed a notebook and a small bottle of pills to Midoriya. "These are some light sedatives to help encourage both REM and deep sleep. And a journal to track what you do throughout the day. This has to include what you eat and drink and how you feel from when you wake up from when you're about to go to sleep."

Midoriya nodded. That was simple enough.

"How long did I need to do this?" He asked.

"For three days. And during that time, I would like you to stop training outside of class and to rest at every given opportunity. I will have to inform your teachers about temporarily cutting up your physical training during this time."

"But I—"

"No buts! This is for your wellbeing, Midoriya-kun. All this will help in the long run. I just wish you came to me sooner. And because I know of your recklessness, notice how I said only asking your teachers to only cut-up your training, and to not sit you out completely."

Midoriya guiltily darted his eyes down into his lap. Midoriya knew that Recovery Girl knew him too well. She had healed too many of his wounds to not be aware of how hasty he could be. She knew that he'd still try to train, so she was giving him a chance to still do so during class, although it would be less.

"However, if there's no change in your condition, we'll have to discuss more options then. But my hope is that we don't need to get to that point. In the next few days if it gets too overwhelming for you at any point, please let your teacher know and you may come here to rest. Understand?"

Midoriya frowned his hands folded in his laps. He didn't want to fall behind. But it was only for three days. He could do three days. It was better than a whole week. He'd survive it.

"Yes, ma'am." Midoriya quietly said.

"And Todoroki-kun," Recovery Girl began. "I would like you to make sure that Midoriya's okay during this time if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all. Midoriya's my friend."

That got Midoriya to look up and give Todoroki a weary smile.

"Thank you, Todoroki-kun."

Recovery Girl smiled at the exchange.

"Alright back to class with you two. Just remember to take it easy, Midoriya-kun."

Bakugou's patience of being around people burned away very quickly by the time it was time to return to the dorms.

He had gotten sick of the gossip floating around the class to do with Midoriya. There was only so much he could hear of one person's name and he had reached his limit.

When Midoriya returned to class, he assured everyone that he was alright, but said how was advised to rest so he could recover. That itself unloaded a whole bunch of other questions that Midoriya had avoided.

The extras had known not to push it anymore in front of Midoriya but still voiced their concerns on their classmate. Bakugou left for his room and decided to get down deep into his homework. He didn't have time for to listen to all that. He had better things to do.

It was nearing to 8'oclock when he was murdering his homework while listening to music and he heard something that didn't suit the music.

Bakugou pulled his earphones out and he heard it again. There was a soft knocking on his door. It was too soft to have been Kirishima, he would nearly punch a hole in it every time he knocked.

That meant that whoever it was didn't normally come around.

"What do you want!?" Bakugou yelled out. It didn't matter to him who he was addressing. Whoever it was knew that it was his room.

"Ah! Kacchan! It's me. I've come to return your notes. If you're busy I can just leave them by the door if you'd like."

Bakugou sighed and opened the door. Midoriya looked shocked that Bakugou had chose the face to face option. Regardless, he handed them back with no issue.

"Thank you for lending them to me," Midoriya smiled. "Your notes are very detailed. It helped a lot."

Bakugou planned to say nothing, but that's when he noticed something on Midoriya's arm. His eyebrows furrowed at it.

"What's on your arm?" The question slipped out Bakugou before he could stop it.

"Huh?" Midoriya looked down to his arm and traced his fingers over the 'x' shaped mark. "Oh, you mean this. It's just a bruise. It's taking it's time to fade though."

Bakugou didn't think much of it after that. There was silence. Neither knew if there was anything else that needed to be said.

"Well, I'll be leaving now," Midoriya awkwardly said. "Good night."

While their relationship was, in a word, better, since their fight long ago on Ground Beta, it was still distant. A better way to describe their connection was that it was slowly mending.

Midoriya took a total of four steps away before Bakugou's voice halted him.

"Deku."

He stopped and turned back to Bakugou.

"Yeah?"

Bakugou stared back. The distance between them made him more comfortable to speak.

"With you…..does it have to do with….. your quirk?"

Midoriya stared in shock for a moment. He knew what Bakugou meant, he was wondering if the strange strain of fatigue had been because of their shared secret with All Might. He immediately looked around to see if anyone was about to come out and listen to their conversation.

"It's not about…." Despite no one around, Midoriya still hesitated to say 'One for All' aloud. "….that."

"Okay."

Another silence stretched out between them. Bakugou had gone to shut his door and Midoriya went to walk away, but Bakugou stopped himself and called out once more to Midoriya.

"Even if it isn't, you should still talk to All Might."

Midoriya was stumped once more by Bakugou.

It was solid advice. It had only then dawned on Midoriya that he hadn't spoken to All Might alone in a while. And Recovery Girl more than likely would've told him about his current condition.

All Might would want to know what was going on, and Bakugou knew that.

It wouldn't hurt to talk to All Might.

"Right. Thanks, Kacchan." Midoriya smiled.

Bakugou thought it looked quite pathetic to be honest. To see such a smile from someone with such large eyebags seemed like a contradiction on some sort.

"Go get some damn sleep. You look like you're about to fall over." Bakugou scolded.

Midoriya stared for a moment before letting out a jaded chuckle.

"I will, Kacchan," Midoriya's smile faded, his train of thought obviously shifting. "Actually, Kacchan…um."

He was hesitating.

"What?" Bakugou urged.

Midoriya stared back silently before he slowly shook his head.

"Never mind. It's nothing. Good night."

Bakugou didn't reply. He shut his door as Midoriya faded from the hall of the fourth floor.

Midoriya went straight to the elevator. He wanted to tell Bakugou what Recovery Girl had told him.

He had already told Uraraka and Iida exclusively. Midoriya didn't want too much getting out to the class. He didn't want any pity or embarrassment to come out of it.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to tell Bakugou.

It was because more than likely Bakugou would just roll his eyes as such a confession and not think twice about it. But if Midoriya was expecting any less from Kacchan then he wouldn't be Kacchan. Even if they were close once more, Bakugou hadn't exactly grown up into the kind and comforting type.

If anything, as his rival, Bakugou would more than likely berate him for something to slow him down. That's how Midoriya saw it at least.

It wasn't that he was complaining. It's just that while Midoriya felt ready, they weren't quite there yet in terms of their mending friendship.

As soon as Midoriya got back into his room, he collapsed on to his bed. The exhaustion was taking him. He smiled into his pillow.

Never had Kacchan offered him notes before, but he finally did. That's what friends did. Thanks to All Might, they were slowly becoming friends once more.

They weren't quite there yet, Midoriya knew that. But they soon would be one day. He looked forward to that day very much.

Bakugou flopped back into his chair, dragging a hand over his face.

He didn't care. Or that's what he kept telling himself.

He hated it.

He used to be able to turn a blind eye to whenever Midoriya was hurt, emotionally and physically. And yet, there he sat in his chair wondering why the hell the eyebags on Deku's face had gotten so dark and why he was falling asleep in class.

Hell, he even lent him notes. Something he wouldn't catch himself doing just a few months earlier.

Bakugou groaned.

He didn't care and he wasn't worried. He was…. disappointed, that was it! How could the great chosen one of All Might let himself get so bad!?

Yes, Bakugou concluded, it was disappointment.

He leant back in his chair. Bakugou glanced over at the pile of paper that was his English homework from a few days ago.

A memory can crawling back into his mind.

Three weeks ago, by randomised partners, both he and Midoriya had been paired together for a presentation for their English class. Present Mic had encouraged the students to come up with creative ways to present it. Kaminari had practically struck gold when he was paired with Yaoyorozu for the presentation, much to the dismay of many in the class.

In the meanwhile, Bakugou and Midoriya had been stuck with each other. Not that it was what either would call the worst thing that could've happened to them, but it wasn't exactly the best thing either. But from where they now stood, it also meant that Bakugou wasn't not going to complain being paired with Midoriya. It wasn't that Bakugou hated working with Deku, it was just that he'd prefer if he didn't. To anyone other than Midoriya it would be hard to tell the difference.

Regardless, despite a few minor disagreements, the two had somehow agreed upon making a large poster for their English presentation. And so, the two had gotten permission to leave the campus the Saturday before their presentation to buy the supplies.

"Of course, I'm stuck with you. I have better things to do today than to be your babysitter."

"I could've gotten someone else to come with me, you know." Midoriya's comment had halted Bakugou's excessive complaining for a single moment.

"And let you choose the colour scheme? I don't think so." A weak excuse, Bakugou knew, but regardless it was the truth.

If it were up to Deku solely alone, it would solely be All Might coloured. Not that it bothered Bakugou all that much, but he didn't want Midoriya's 'nerdiness' being the essence of their project.

Midoriya sighed.

Kacchan was still…well, Kacchan.

"This buddy system is stupid. Why the hell would they implement this suddenly!?" Bakugou grumbled.

Midoriya felt his memories surface from when he fought against the villain that called himself 'Gentle Criminal'.

He nervously chuckled.

"I'm sure they just wanted the students to be safer." Midoriya of course failed to admit that the new 'buddy' system had been implemented because of him.

Bakugou grunted as a response.

It had been no doubt because of Midoriya's fight with the villain off campus during the school festival. But the thing was everyone, including Midoriya had kept quiet on such a situation. And with that discretion, UA had subtly made a few new conditions if a student needed to leave the campus in the future.

It was a simple rule that didn't rouse much suspicion for the other students. It was if someone needed to leave the campus, another student and or teacher needed to be with them as an escort and as for a sort of back-up if they were to face an unexpected obstacle. A safety in numbers situation.

Since they were partners in their shared assignment, it was only a natural assumption that Bakugou would go with Midoriya. Bakugou had of course complained but complied which lead the pair to walk together to the shop down the hill from UA.

"Welcome!" The workers greeted as the two entered the store.

The shopping part had honestly not taken as long as either thought it would. The two had settled on a green and orange colour scheme.

The walk back from the shops was borne in silence. However, silence wasn't a surprise for the two. It wasn't uncomfortable. They were growing used to it, and yet part of Midoriya still wished for a more talkative side of Bakugou. While Midoriya was happy with how it was, he also wished that Bakugou would at least attempt to talk to him like they used to all those years ago.

When they were young, they could talk about anything. But then again, they were four years old at the time. The stuff they talked about wasn't exactly what Midoriya would call profound. The most personal conversation that had back then was comparing what All Might collectables they had.

And once Bakugou got his quirk they stopped talking like that. After that all that came from Bakugou was insults and snide remarks.

Midoriya was drawn out of his thoughts as they suddenly heard a voice calling out to them.

"Someone! Please stop that from rolling on to the road!"

Midoriya and Bakugou were immediately drawn to the direction of the voice as they saw something ball-like rolling toward them.

Bakugou stepped forward and stomped down, blocking the path of whatever was rolling with his foot. Midoriya's eyes furrowed as he went to pick up the circular object. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sight.

It appeared to be a dismembered doll head. Even the self-proclaimed ever-stoic Bakugou had his eyes widened at the sight.

"Sorry! It slipped away from grip!" An older man stepped out in front of them. "That marionette always seems to lose her head."

The middle-aged man had a bit of a dishevelled appearance. Aging looked like it did him no favours. But what was the most notable thing about him was that he was holding a headless doll attached to strings.

"Thanks for catching it." The man said, bringing the boys back to their senses.

"No problem. A Marionette?" Midoriya passed the head back to the man.

"A puppet with strings," The man easily screwed the head back on. "Good as new!"

"I don't think I've seen a puppet like that before," Midoriya couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him. "Very old fashioned, aren't they?"

"Indeed, they're hard to come by now. I collect them. You could call it an old hobby of mine," The man laughed. "Wait! I know you two! You go to UA High! I've seen you in the sports festival on TV."

"A-Ah, is that so?" Midoriya asked, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.

"Yes! You're….." The man had to stare at Midoriya for a good while as he thought of the name. "…. Midoriya Izuku, right? And you're Bakugou Katsuki, the winner!"

Bakugou sneered at the man. Of course, he would be recognised so easily.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You have a bright future ahead of you, young man! Such incredible strength and power for a hero in training!" The man praised.

Bakugou honestly wasn't paying attention to anything the man was saying. He stopped caring the moment that he had thanked them. If he was being honest, he was getting too distracted with the appearance of the man. More specifically, the man's eyes.

Seeing different eye colours in each eye wasn't something new to him. Todoroki had different eye colours for one example. But there was something about the old man's eyes that unsettled him.

He wasn't afraid of them.

He was disturbed.

There was a difference.

One eye was gold and the other a green. Not like Deku's green though. The man's green eye was a pale milky green, like a single drop of food dye had been mixed into a large glass of milk.

The man continued to talk with wide gestures of his arms as he practically bounced around with excitement.

Never had Bakugou encountered such a talkative old man. Bakugou supposed it made sense too. The man must've been lonely because who would want to hang around someone that talked so much?

"And the explosions you're capable! What great power! I'm sure you'll be a fine hero some—AH!" The man appeared to trip over his own feet in his own exuberance.

"Are you okay!?" Midoriya frantically asked.

"Ha-ha, yes. I'm just clumsy," The man reached a hand towards Bakugou. "I have a bad knee. Do you mind giving me hand?"

Bakugou stared at the man's hand before a moment before he scoffed.

"You fell because you were being stupid. Get up yourself, old man."

The older man's expression almost looked like it flashed disappointment when Bakugou had begun walking away.

"Hey, wait-" Midoriya gave up trying to scold Bakugou and instead turned back to the man. "Here, sir. Allow me."

Midoriya extended out a hand.

Bakugou had stopped walking and with the roll of his eyes and halted to wait for Midoriya. Normally he would've kept walking, but if he arrived back at UA without Midoriya, he knew that the teachers would more than likely scold him about the 'buddy system' and reprimand him for leaving his 'buddy' behind.

The man hesitated for a moment, but he slowly grinned and placed both his hands on Midoriya's forearm. Midoriya thought it was strange that the man didn't reach for the hand he had been offering and instead grabbed his arm, but that was a thought in the back of his mind.

"Thank you very much, young man," The man maintained strong eye contact with Midoriya. "You'll be a fine hero someday."

The weight of the eye contact made Midoriya's anxiety shoot up through him. And to make matters even more nerve wracking, the older man took his time letting go of his tight grip on Midoriya's arm.

"I-It's no problem," Midoriya forced a smile. "Take care."

The man smiled back at him before turning and walking away. He took less than three steps before Bakugou abruptly called out.

"Oi geezer!"

The man turned; his head muzzily cocked to his side like he was attempting to imitate an innocent child. Something about an elderly man doing such a motion made Bakugou feel more unsettled.

"What's your name?"

The man was visibly shocked at the question. A pause hung over them as the breeze hastily brushed past the three of them.

"Deguchi Jun."

Bakugou silently glared back at the man.

Midoriya stood between the whole exchange, feeling the entire tension between them as the man, Deguchi and Bakugou stared intensely at each other. Midoriya looked over at Bakugou. He looked as if he were about to start throwing blasts at the man. That's when Midoriya knew he had to step in to nip it in the bud whatever was sparking such nonsense before it could grow out of proportion.

"W-Well. Goodbye, Deguchi-san. It was nice meeting you."

Deguchi suddenly snapped his glare away from Bakugou and smiled at Midoriya.

"Goodbye, Midoriya Izuku. Be sure to take care of your…. hardened classmate." Deguchi's voice was hushed to make sure Bakugou couldn't hear him.

Midoriya recognised that 'hardened classmate' was Deguchi's polite way of calling Bakugou rude.

And with that, Deguchi finally turned and left. The head of the puppet, not being screwed on properly loosely turned, appearing backwards on the body. It was as if it was staring at both Midoriya and Bakugou as he walked away.

Bakugou let out a huff before turning to walk off once more. Midoriya hastily caught up to Bakugou's quickened pace.

"You really didn't have to be so rude to him, Kacchan," Midoriya said in a stern tone, which was a feat that he wouldn't have been capable of a year ago. "He didn't do anything wrong."

Bakugou's eyes remained forward, not sparing Midoriya a single glance.

"Shut up. Don't tell me what to do, Deku! Besides, I don't have to talk to some weirdo like that if I don't want to. He was a freak."

"He was a little strange, yes, but he was just…." Midoriya really struggled to find a good word for it, when the only thing he could think about was that creepy puppet. "…. eccentric."

Bakugou let out a scoff that reeked of doubt. Midoriya frowned. He thought perhaps that Kacchan was bothered because it was reminder of how it wasn't a satisfying win all that time ago at the sports festival.

However, what Midoriya did know was that he didn't want to press on it anymore. Whilst Kacchan had been harsh, he did have a point. He didn't need to speak to anyone he didn't want to.

The two began to walk back side by side. It had been quiet between them once more. However, it didn't last long as Bakugou loudly let out an annoyed groan.

"That old man's grip couldn't have been that tight," Bakugou suddenly said, startling Midoriya. "You can knock it off if you're looking sympathy or something."

"Huh?" It was then that Midoriya realised that he was absentmindedly rubbing his left arm. "Oh."

He stopped by shoving his hands into his jacket's pocket. Midoriya honestly couldn't say why he had been doing it in the first place. It didn't hurt or anything. The silence stretched out between them once more. Strangely enough, Bakugou was the one to break it once more.

"That man," he began, his voice lacking its usual hint of rage. "Something wasn't right with him."

Midoriya blinked. Kacchan wasn't the type to say something like that after such an encounter. Or at least, he wouldn't sound as serious if it were something normal.

"How so?"

"Were we not looking at the same old geezer?" Bakugou sneered. "Besides, that doll…."

'Ah!' Midoriya felt like he had solved why Bakugou had been feeling off about the man, Deguchi. Midoriya hid his smile.

"Don't worry, I thought the puppet was scary looking too."

A vein on Bakugou's head looked like it bulged out.

"That's not what I was saying! Don't try and lump me with your wimpy ass!"

"Then what did you mean?" Midoriya began to cheekily smirk which only pissed Bakugou off more.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face! Forget it!"

They turned around the corner back to the front gates of UA. The memory of the meeting with that strange man had faded away into the back of their minds.

They had gotten full marks for that presentation.

It was another testament to what All Might had said about the two of them. That if they worked together that they were capable of great things – Not that Bakugou would ever accept that as a fact, of course, but it couldn't be denied that it had gone surprisingly well.

But the memory of the man with the puppet still bothered him. Even weeks later, Bakugou still felt like something was wrong, and now suddenly Midoriya had been acting weird.

Bakugou felt compelled by his own logical mindset to brush it off. The guy had been a creep – sure, but surely it wouldn't have anything to do with what was going on with Deku.

Even if the man was somehow involved and it was a hidden quirk of some sort, the max time for all known emitter quirk effects were only capable of lasting a day at most unless there was a direct and constant source or if the person effected by the quirk was still in range.

All quirks always had their limits.

One example would be the Hero Killer: Stain. After his capture it had become widespread knowledge about his quirk, bloodcurdle. He needed to ingest a person's blood to paralyse them, but there was a time limit on how long they'd be paralysed depending on one's blood type. But say if he had a constant stream of the person's blood, he would continuously be able to paralyse them once the effects had worn off. But even then, there had to be timing involved in such a situation due to such limitations on his quirk.

With that knowledge in mind, Bakugou knew that it meant that whatever had been going on with Deku couldn't have been man. The encounter with the man had been weeks ago and Deku was only consistently acting strange the past week.

Any emitter quirk would have already worn off, and it wasn't like the man had taken anything from Deku or made any link. If the man had, Bakugou would've seen it. In short, there was no source to connect it and continuously emit it.

Unless that weird looking bruise meant….. No! No. He was jumping the conclusions. Deku himself had said it was just a bruise.

And there was also the fact that Deku had never taken proper care of his wellbeing. He coveted his progress, both academic and physical, over his health. Bakugou would've called him an idiot for it, but if he did, he would've become a hypocrite.

Bakugou angrily tousled his own hair with a screech.

What the hell was he thinking!?

Deku could take care of himself, and it wasn't like he was worried about the shitty nerd.

Out of the many things that Katsuki Bakugou was gifted at, denial was the one thing he didn't realise he was good at.

Bakugou abruptly stood up and left his room to get a bottle of iced green tea from the common room fridge. There was always an abundance of those for anyone to grab.

When he got down there, he was very disappointed to find that someone else was also in the kitchenette are. It was Todoroki and he had a bottle of iced tea. He must've had the same thought during studying.

Bakugou's plan was to completely ignore the latter, grab what he wanted and leave. But of course, Todoroki didn't know how to read his mood. As Bakugou was walking off with the bottle, Todoroki unexpectedly spoke.

"Recovery Girl mentioned that he might have narcolepsy."

Bakugou blinked and stopped his tracks, turning back at Todoroki.

"What?"

"Midoriya," Todoroki clarified. "Recovery Girl's unsure, but he might have narcolepsy. It's a sleeping disorder that –"

"I know what it is," Bakugou interrupted. "But why are you telling me?"

It was a genuine question because it was also due to a basic deduction. Since no one was talking about it as the new gossip, Bakugou figured that Deku didn't want news of it to spread so it was a secret. And yet, Icy-Hot was stating it like a well-known fact.

Bakugou couldn't help but think to himself, 'Is this what Deku wanted to tell me before? So now instead need to hear it from Icy-Hot?'

He didn't have time to unpack his own thoughts as Todoroki replied to him.

"You seemed worried, so I thought I'd tell you what was going on."

Bakugou stared.

"You can't be serious." Bakugou scoffed. He thought that surely, Todoroki was joking. He quickly discovered that he wasn't.

"I am." Todoroki replied. The deadpanned and slightly confused tone said it all. Bakugou's rage went from an ember to a full flame.

"What makes you think that I'm worried about that idiot?"

"For the past few days, I've seen you watching him too. Don't worry, we've all been. It's not just you." Todoroki bluntly stated it with no hesitation or shame.

Bakugou was left speechless because it was something he couldn't deny. He had been watching Midoriya. And what's worse is that Todoroki had noticed it too without him realising. Bakugou immediately registered it as one thing.

A weakness.

Todoroki sighed at Bakugou's lack of response.

"If you care about someone you should make sure they know that you do." Todoroki stated it so easily like there had been nothing wrong with it.

Bakugou couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Don't pretend like you have any idea about what you're talking about, because you don't. I don't care about what mess Deku has gotten himself in. Leave me out of it!" Bakugou snapped, turning his back on Todoroki.

"I guess I was mistaken," Todoroki's voice held a little more bite. "But I do have to say that sometimes I have to wonder why Midoriya didn't just give up on your friendship years ago. You don't exactly treat him like it's worth it with everything you throw at him."

Bakugou immediately turned back on his heels, grabbing Todoroki by his shirt's collar.

"Do you want to say that again, you Half'n'Half bastard?"

Todoroki didn't even flinch. He just stared back Bakugou's enraged face with a calm expression. This only succeeded to piss Bakugou off more.

"I don't get you, Bakugou," Todoroki radiated an intensity that was almost threatening. "You were childhood friends. Everyone knows this and you've never denied it. Not even once. So maybe you should swallow your pride and act like a proper friend for once."

Bakugou's grip on Todoroki's shirt tightened.

"You think you know me?" he hissed. "You don't know anything about me, least of all about me and Deku! So, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, unless you want me to shut it for you."

Bakugou knew he didn't need to explain himself to anyone, let alone Todoroki of all people.

"And what happens if there's a day when Midoriya finally stops reaching out to you; to decide that he's done? What would you do then?"

Bakugou silently gasped. That had caught him off guard. The two continued to glare at the other. It almost looked as if one of the two were about to throw a punch.

However, the murmurs of voices coming from the stairs drew them both out of their stare down. Todoroki placed his hand over Bakugou's, shoving the latter's hand off his shirt.

Bakugou chose to back off with a grunt.

"You're not worth my time." Bakugou muttered, turning his back once more on Todoroki.

However, Todoroki still had one thing left to say.

"Midoriya clearly cares about you. And I can see that it's gotten better between the two of you, I have. But even as things as they are now, do you really need to keep pushing him away?" Todoroki's words had halted Bakugou.

Bakugou stayed silent. Todoroki merely took that as permission to speak his mind further.

"It wouldn't kill you to admit you're worried like the rest of us. Especially since you keep pretending that you don't care about him, when we both you know that you do."

A beat passed in silence.

Slowly, Bakugou walked away.

There was just silence.

He had no insult. No comment. No retort. No attempt to tell Todoroki that he didn't know what he was talking about and that he had given Deku his notes from class.

Not even denial nor acceptance at the statement.

Bakugou just simply had nothing left to say back to that.

What Bakugou didn't know was that he would remember the words clearly on a cold night to come.

And on that night to come, Todoroki's words would echo back in Bakugou's mind as he would helplessly watch the life fade from Izuku Midoriya.

A/N: I hate reading cliffhangers but I love writing them. A double edged sword, I suppose.

About 2/3 of the next chapter have already been completed, and let's just say it's about to get wild and I loved delving more into Bakugou's character.

I hope you enjoyed. If you did please let me know via review. I'll see you peeps soon! Happy Easter everyone!