Red in Different Shades

28. Moonlit Thought

What a shitty day.

First, he'd failed that damn exam. Then almost lost to Deku of all people. And now, his mind was tangled up in the mess of All Might's and Deku's secrets. On top of it all, he'd landed himself in a four-day house arrest for brawling in the middle of the night.

Seriously, what a shitty day.

Bakugou Katsuki shoved his hands into his pockets, his steps hard and steady as he walked down the campus streets toward the dorms. Deku was quiet, which suited him just fine. They'd said way too much for one night, anyway.

They crossed the last street, the soft rustle of hedges filling the silence as they neared the dorm. His eyes had been trained to the concrete for almost the entire walk back, his mind storming with all the new information he had been told. All Might, Deku's Quirk, that villain boss bastard...

It had pissed him off, knowing all the hints were there and connecting the dots himself, but never really knowing for sure. Now it somehow annoyed him even more that he was both right in his suspicions and able to figure out such a massive secret. Stupid fucken Deku, why the hell did that scrawny bastard tell him in the first place? It was annoying.

"Well, aren't the two of you just a pretty sight on such a beautiful night?"

"Niwa!?" Deku yelped, flinching back, his hands flying up in startled surprise.

"Tch." Katsuki hardly had the energy for Niwa's antics tonight, but his gaze shifted up from the pavement anyway, trailing higher... and higher.

"What the hell are you doing up there?" he asked, his tone carrying a sharp edge, though lacking his usual bite. What the hell was she just hanging out on the roof for?

"Stargazing," she replied with a shrug, swinging her legs over the edge of the rooftop as if she belonged there. "The fireworks sound so pretty, too. Wish I could've seen the show."

Fireworks. Yeah, right. Crafty little shit.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and stepped through the door, leading the way into the building with Deku trailing after him. The elevator ride was filled with tense silence, both of them avoiding eye contact. When the doors opened, Deku quickly stepped off first, leaving Katsuki alone at last.

The moment the doors opened, Bakugou stormed down the hall to his room.

At first, he considered just going to sleep. But with everything going through his brain, Katsuki knew he had zero chance of getting a good enough sleep, even if he was tired as hell. Grinding his teeth, he got up, sliding the balcony door open to let in the night air.

"You're there, aren't you?"

The silence stretched, enough that he almost thought she'd actually gone to bed. But then, with a graceful swing and a light landing on the bars of his balcony, Niwa appeared.

Her eyes scanned over his body, probably looking over his scrapes and bruises.

"Looks like green-bean landed a few hits." She commented.

"I don't want to talk about it." He sighed, strolling over to lean on the metal next to her, staring out at the night.

"Then... do you wanna talk at all?" she asked, her voice quieter now.

Somehow, he felt like he understood this girl better than he understood Deku, even after all these years. She never asked questions, never got in his way, and didn't need things spelled out. Meanwhile, Deku, the guy he'd been telling to back off since they were kids, just wouldn't get the message. How many times had he made it clear? How many ways did he have to say it for it to sink in?