The moon hung low in the night sky, casting a gentle glow over Deku's room. The air was still, and the only sound was the soft rustle of leaves outside the window. In the quiet, Deku had poured his soul into the notebook, laying bare his deepest fears and insecurities.
He was interrupted by a shout down the hallway.
He was going to be late for school. After scrambling to get his things together he left in a flurried panic.
He went about his day as usual, forgetting about the what he had written that morning.
Unbeknownst to him, the notebook had slipped from his bag earlier, forgotten in the haste of leaving. Bakugou happened upon it as he walked through the quiet halls of the dormitory. The cover caught his eye, and curiosity led him to open it. As he flipped through the pages, he read the stark rules that Deku had written for himself.
"Rule number 1. I fuck everything up forever and always."
Bakugou's eyes narrowed as he continued through the list, absorbing the weight of each self-imposed truth. A mixture of anger and concern etched across his face.
"Rule number 2. I make everything worse"
"Rule number 3. No one would care if I disappeared"
"Rule number 4. I drive away anyone and everyone that cares about me"
He clenched his jaw, realizing the depth of Deku's struggles. The room seemed to echo with the silence that often accompanied loneliness.
"Rule number 5. I survive."
~•~•~•~
Determined to return the notebook to Deku, Bakugou carefully closed it and decided to keep it safe until the morning. The air outside felt crisp as he walked, the notebook securely tucked under his arm. Bakugou planned to confront Deku, to make him see reason and break free from the suffocating rules he had written for himself.
The next day arrived, and Bakugou approached Deku's room. His knock echoed through the hallway, but there was no response. Frowning, Bakugou tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. As he entered, he saw Deku's room eerily empty, the bedsheets undisturbed.
A sense of urgency gripped Bakugou as he realized Deku had left. He spotted a note on the desk, hastily written.
"Kacchan, had to go out for a bit. Be back soon. – Deku"
Bakugou's grip tightened on the notebook. He knew he needed to find Deku and return it, but as he looked at the empty room, a decision took root in his mind. He sat at Deku's desk and took out a pen.
"Rule number 6. I'm not alone."
Bakugou closed the notebook, vowing to return it to Deku when he came back. For now, he decided to keep the notebook close, a silent promise to himself and to Deku. The weight of the added rule felt right, a beacon of hope in the face of darkness.
Bakugou's curiosity got the better of him. This clearly wasn't an analysis journal, so he decided to read some of the other pages. The next page was a list of self-loathing questions simply titled "Why?"
Bakugou responds to a few of them, just little notes here and there.
"Why am I so useless?"
You're not, damn it.
"Why can't I do anything right?"
You're better than you think.
"Why can't I just suck it up?"
Doesn't mean you're weak.
"Why am I so weak?"
More like stubborn.
"Why did he choose me?"
Because you're worth it.
"Why do I feel so alone?"
You're not, idiot.
"Why do I ruin everything?"
We all screw up.
