(Completed) Press Play {Kiribaku YouTuber AU}

3

***Okay, first of all, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support I've been shown on this book. Seriously, it means so much, y'all don't even know. And second, I need to quickly point out that I have no idea how the actual YouTube staff would handle a situation like the one portrayed in this book, so don't quote me, and don't hate if I'm doing things wrong. It's all for the story. And now without further ado, the chapter!***

Days passed, and the situation only continued to get worse and worse. Kirishima made sure to keep an eye on the Ground Zero leak to see if anything new arose. Bakugo's silence on the matter, even though Kirishima knew he just wanted to wait on a response from the YouTube staff, was only making matters worse. Kirishima had tried telling him that, but he had insisted on sticking to his original plan.

Kirishima had been right about one thing, however. After he released his video, he became a part of the ordeal as well. Some people online had started talking about how he made a good point and how they shouldn't judge Bakugo because of a past mistake. But those people were still plenty outweighed by the ones who hated him now.

Kirishima kept up with the whole thing as well as we could, but refused to talk about it in any other videos he'd made since the first one had been posted. It wasn't until a week after he'd met with Bakugo that he ever received a message in response to the one he'd sent to give him his number.

He was at work, but it was a relatively slow day, so he'd been sitting at the counter and scrolling through Instagram when his phone chimed, and he nearly leapt from behind the counter. The name Bakugo was written across his screen, and he tapped the notification immediately.

Are you doing anything later?

Kirishima furrowed his brow, glancing up to check if there were any customers before turning his attention back to the phone. Not that I know of. Why?

Meet me at the cafe today at five thirty. I'll explain when you get here.

Okay, but what is this about?

I said I would explain when you get here, so be fucking patient.

Kirishima was about to try again when he heard someone clear their throat, and looked up to see a customer waiting on him. He shoved his phone in his pocket and began apologizing profusely, promptly ringing her up and letting her leave. After that, he decided to just wait until he met with him to ask what it was about and focused on work.

An hour later, at four forty five, his shift ended, and he went back home to change clothes before making his way to the cafe. When he arrived, he looked around for Bakugo's spiky ash blond hair, but didn't see him anywhere. Feeling awkward, he made his way to the counter to order a coffee while he waited.

"Hi!" The cheery, green headed guy who was working the counter smiled in a warm greeting. "Hey, I recognize you. You're Kacchan's work friend, right?"

"Kacchan?" Kirisima asked, confused, and he flushed.

"Ah, s-sorry, I meant Bakugo, yeah. I just call him Kacchan because I've known him since we were little."

"Oh, yeah...you're Midoriya, right? He told me about...well, I'm sure you know about the leak."

Midoriya nodded, nervously scratching at his arm. "Yeah, I know...but that was a long time ago, Kacchan and I are really good friends now, even if he won't always admit it. A-Anyways, Kacchan should be here soon, so what can I get for you in the meantime?"

"Just a black coffee." Kirishima said, digging some money from his pocket and handing it over. Midoriya gave him his order with another warm smile before moving onto the next customer.

He went to sit at the same table they'd sat at the first time they met up here and settled in to wait on Bakugo. Kirishima scrolled through some of his comment sections to pass the time, and before he knew it he heard the sound of the chair across from him scraping across the floor.

Kitidhima looked up to see Bakugo, and he looked irritated. "Sorry I'm late," he grumbled as he plopped down into his chair, pulling a black laptop carrier bag from off his shoulder and bringing out the laptop inside. "I figured I'd beter show this to you." He turned the laptop around and clicked on an email so it filled the screen.

Just from reading the first few words, Kirishima knew why Bakugo looked so irritated. It was an email from the YouTube staff to him, and its contents were far from satisfactory.

Dear Mr Bakugo,

We have read and discussed the email you sent in regards to what has happened recently, but we need more time in order to decide on a plan of action. In the meantime, you will not be allowed to monetize any videos you post on the site, and any payments that have yet to be received for recent weeks will be delayed until further notice. We're sure you can understand why we must do this, and assure you we will get back to you as soon as we come to a final decision.

Sincerely,

Team YouTube

Kirishima reread the email twice before pushing the laptoo back towards Bakugo. "They're seriously taking your payment?"

Bakugo nodded with his teeth grinding together as he shut the laptop and returned it to his bag. "Yeah, those fucking idiot bastards. I'll be okay for about a month at least, but after that if this shit is still happening, I'll have to find some other way to get money."

"I'm sure they'll get back to you before then." Kirishima tried to sound reassuring, but in all honesty he had no idea if they would or not. After all, he'd hardly ever had to contact the YouTube staff. His channel of around 500,000 was just a baby compared to Bakugo's 10 million.

"We'll see, I guess." He groaned.

"So..." After a few minutes of awkward silence, Kirishima decided to bring up tge thing that had been bugging him for a while now. "Can I ask why you wanted to neet up with me again? I mean...I honestly figured the first time would be the last, so it kinda surprised me when you asked to see me again."

Bakugo didn't look up from the tablecloth as he spoke up. "Dunno," he mumbled. "Guess I just wanted to rant to someone who knows about this sort of shit. You're...really the only other YouTuber I've talked to more than once."

"What, seriously? B-But...you go to the events and everything, and there are lots of other YouTubers there. You mean to say you never talk to any of them?"

"Tch, most of em are jerks anyways. Why the fuck would I wanna make friends with them?"

"They can't all be bad." Kirishima started to say before something dawned on him. "Hey, wait, does that mean...did you say you wanted to make friends with me?"

Was he blushing? It kind of looked like it, but Kirishima couldn't tell since hishead was still turned to the side. "You're not so bad, I guess." He grumbled after a while, bringing Kirishima to grin.

"You really mean that, man? Holy crap, that's so awesome! So, can I call you Bakubro now or what?"

Bakugo bared his teeth and slammed a fist onto the table. "Do it, and you're fucking dead, Shitty Hair!"

Kirishima burst out laughing. "Alright, okay, fine. Then...just Baku?"

"Fuck no!"

"Bakubabe?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Fine, fine...ooh, I know!" Kirishima snapped his fingers excitedly. "I'll call you Kat!"

"Kat? What the fuck--"

"You know, like, short for Katsuki?" Kirishima grinned. "And hey, you can call me Ei!"

"I'll call you whatever the fuck I want to, Shitty Hair."

"And I'm glad to call you my friend now, too, Kat!"

***I'm...gonna be totally honest. I'm not entirely sure what direction I want this book to go in? It may take me a bit of time, but I'll figure it out, like I always do because who has the time to plan out a story before publishing? I mean, I have the time, just not the patience or willpower. Anyways, it's midnight and I have school, so I'll be posting this and then heading to bed. And thanks again for all the comments/reviews!***