I'm Trying

↭ Chapter 6: What Waits Behind the Door ↭

I honestly thought I had published this already, I'm so sorry!

Bakugo's P.O.V:

'The number you are trying to reach is unavailable' the automated voice said, making me growl in frustration.

"Damn it Deku, answer the goddamn phone!" I yelled, making several heads turn.

"Maybe we should go back to my apartment. Maybe he's in his apartment." eyebags suggested, placing some crumpled notes onto the table as a tip. I 'tch' in response, but followed the purple haired insomniac.

"So you're telling me this guy is my new neighbour?!" Shinso said, looking surprised.

"Neighbour?" I was confused.

"I knew I recognized the name Midoriya. I just forget that was his last name." he muttered. "And after seeing him argue with you here, I saw that he had moved in next door." he said, looking back up at me.

"Were there any kids with him?" I asked. Would they be living with him? Had he raised them by himself? "Not that I saw. Just him. They may have been in school though." he replied.

"Think he knows about his father?" Shinso asked, taking a sip of his drink. "Damn nerd followed the hero news as a kid, and if he's the same as before, then yeah, he'd know. It was in the news, it was pretty big. I didn't even know he'd escaped."

I relayed the previous conversation with the irritating purple eyed man in my head as we walked down the streets of Tokyo.

Now that I thought about it, it was odd that I had never seen him around. Not once. I shrugged these thoughts off, choosing to stare at the blue sky and the bustling streets. Rows and rows of shops and businesses squashed together, the smell of food wafting around from the many restaurants scattered between.

I followed eyebags to a moderately nice apartment in silence. He didn't seem to mind the quiet, and I was glad. If it had been any of my friends, they'd have never shut up.

"Right here." Shinso said, finally speaking up. He pointed to the dark green door, the brass numbers that had been nailed in place rusted. I knocked, waiting for a response.

Silence.

"What do we do now?" Shinso asked. "I don't fucking know," I said, sighing.

"Want to come in?" he asked, unlocking his door. "Yeah sure," I replied, following him inside.

It was a decent sized apartment, relatively mess free aside from a few stray dishes. I noticed a few photos with Shinso, Aizawa and Present Mic. One had a little smiling Shinso, holding up a picture, with a look of absolute delight across his face. The picture was of the three of them, saving people together. Written in purple crayon was a messy scrawl, the letters H-I-S-I the only ones clear enough to see. I assumed it was likely his name, Hitoshi.

He had once explained to someone who had asked why he had kept his last name, and he had told them that it didn't feel right to get rid of his parents last name. That it was all he had left of them, and he didn't want to lose that.

"I'd offer you something to drink, but we uh, just got coffee, so..." he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. I nodded in acknowledgement. "So what's the plan chief?" I said in a slightly mocking tone. He let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Honestly, is everything just a big joke to you? Your friend's in danger. And technically I'm off the case now. I was only supposed to call you." Eyebags said. "You can sit on the couch if you'd like," he added.

I let out a huff of frustration. "So what, you're giving up?" I said, exasperated. I walked over to the couch, plopping down.

"I'm not even allowed to interfere any further. I was just supposed to call you and tell the people working on the case the info." he said, reaching down to pet a black cat. "Why didn't those dumbasses just call me then?" I hissed. He gave me a look that seemed to say are-you-fucking-serious-right-now.