Drown in my ocean of black box dye

Chapter 6

Hey, Bakugou.

It's... been a while since we spoke. Which sucks. I miss you, like, a lot.

Haha... maybe that's weird.

***

Kirishima looked around, feeling completely enclosed in the small space of his therapist's office. His discussion with Midoriya had been eating at him for the past couple of days. He had known Bakugou was a bully but he didn't know it had been that bad. He thought maybe it had been teasing and insults - which was bad, but it wasn't this.

On top of that, he'd been ignoring Bakugou. It was like they had flipped roles, Kirishima tuning out the constant buzzing of his phone.

It felt shitty, he had no idea how Bakugou did it for so long. He wanted to flip his phone over and look at the screen so badly, even if it was just to see if Bakugou was okay.

To be fair, he always has been stronger than you.

Kirishima nodded to himself, a confirmation that he was just as weak as everyone thought.

"What are you thinking about," Ito asked, crossing his arms. His face was still kind, but he looked concerned.

Kirishima could feel the bags under his eyes, that neverending presence of tiredness that coated every piece of him all the way to his core. It was so draining, giving everything he had just to stay alive.

Ito coughed, trying to regain Kirishima's attention, "Something to do with school?"

Leaning back, Kirishima resting his head on the back of the couch, "Me and Bakugou... we," Closing his eyes, he sighed, "We reconnected when I came back, y'know?"

"Yes," Ito agreed, "I know. You told me last time you were here. Did something happen?"

Kirishima opened his eyes again, "Yeah."

Ito tapped his pen against his notebook, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

He didn't, not one bit, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep this inside. "He... There's this kid in my class, Midoriya. He's a friend of mine too. They didn't get alone in middle school, at all actually."

His shoulders sunk, teeth clenched tight, "I knew their relationship was bad, but I guess I didn't understand how bad it was. Bakugou, he... told Midoriya to kill himself."

"I could see how that would affect you very deeply," Ito said, knuckles on his lips.

"Yeah well," Kirishima said, burning with anger, "Midoriya keeps insisting that he changed. He says he's not the same person he was in middle school."

"Well, has he changed?" Ito asked, leaning back into his chair.

Kirishima fiddled with his fingers, eyes cast downward, trying to dodge Ito's gaze. Bakugou was different, he could admit that. His explosiveness was still there, sure, but he was kinder - at least outwardly. He didn't blow up as much, and he stayed calm under insults.

And... he and Izuku were best friends. Not just implied friends followed by the excuses of knowing each other forever. Real, genuine best friends.

That was because they had changed, had grown.

Looking up into the round mirror on Ito's left, he caught sight of himself, his sad, weak self.

If anyone hadn't grown, it was him. He was identical to the kid from middle school, with black hair and dark eyes. The same terrified expression covered his face, showing how much of a coward he really was.