A Fake Villain?!- A short BNHA story

8: An Unexpected Confrontation

Midoriya made his way up to his room, still lost in his thoughts concerning the interactions he'd just had with his rival and mentor. He couldn't help but feel some anxiety seep into his stomach as he ran over the possibilities, again and again, only stopping to unlock his room and grab his things.

After a while of brainstorming, which in reality had only been a few minutes, he came to the conclusion that whatever Bakugo wanted to talk about most likely was related to the incident earlier. Nothing other than that had happened recently, much less something that was significant enough to warrant Bakugo seeking him out directly. He could have just told him any other day if it had nothing to do with the event. Maybe he was overthinking things, but his reasoning was mostly sound.

Making his way down the stairs again, he nervously eyed the dorm's main doors. He could see the outline of his childhood friend through the window. He gulped before quickly walking over, opening the door, and stepping outside.

The chilly night air instantly sent a shiver down his spine, and he felt goosebumps appear on his arms. Looking to his right, he made eye contact with the boy in front of him.

"I'm not here to fight if that's what you're thinking, Deku," Bakugo said in a low voice after a short time. "I just need to talk."

"A-about what?" Midoriya asked, letting out some of his built-up tension after the blonde said those words.

"Today." He answered bluntly.

"A-ah."

"What that copycat bastard said was fucking low," he continued. "And I wanted to beat his ass right then and there. But then you stepped in to defend me. Why did you do that? Do you think I can't protect myself? Are you looking down on me?"

When Midoriya didn't answer, mostly because of shock, Bakugo threw his head up to glare at him. "Huh?!"

"N-no! It's not that at all!" He defended, waving his arms around. "I-I know that whenever I try to help you, you always think that I'm looking down on you, but I'm not." He desperately tried to get his point across that he'd only ever been able to once in the past. "I look up to you. I thought we clarified this last time we talked. Today was just another example of that. I couldn't watch someone say something like that about you, even if you are my rival, when they don't even know the details. I'm sorry if I offended you, but I don't regret my actions. But... Helping even when it's not your problem is the essence of being a hero, right?"

Bakugo seemed to take a second to process what the greenette had just said before his glare melted into a neutral look. He sighed.

"I didn't need your help." He said finally, taking a few steps towards the door. Midoriya was just glad he didn't explode, both emotionally and physically. "But," he perked up at that. "And if you tell anybody I said this I'll kill you, I..." He seemed to muster up his will to not yell. "I... Appreciate it." He whispered, before immediately walking inside and shutting the door.

Midoriya might as well have had a heart attack. If he was shocked before, he was beyond shocked now. The Katsuki Bakugo has apologized to him, Izuku Midoriya. Was this a dream? Was he imagining this? No. He could still feel the cold autumn wind nipping at his exposed skin, and could still faintly smell the scent of caramel in the air. Too vivid to be a dream.

He didn't know how long he stood there, opened mouthed and staring into nothing, but by the time he snapped out of it, his mentor was walking out of the dorms with a concerned look on his face.

"Young Midoriya?" He called, instantly noticing the dazed look on his successor's face. He panicked a bit. "What happened?! Did you two fight?! Do you have any injuri-"

But his excessive dad worrying, which honestly warmed Midoriyas heart, was cut off by the boy himself.

"He-" he started, still partly processing the ordeal. "He thanked me."

All Might looked almost as surprised as he did.

"He... He thanked you?" He asked skeptically. "For what exactly?"

"H-he said it was for me defending him earlier. At first, he thought I was looking down on him, but then he seemed to understand and thanked me more or less." The greenette explained.

"I... I hadn't realized how far your relationship with him had progressed." All Might said, pride welling up in his chest at the fact that his successor could make friends with practically anybody, even his former bully and rival.

"I hadn't either." He chuckled. "It honestly makes me so happy." Being who he is, a few tears pricked his eyes, but he forced them away. This was a serious milestone when it came to their relationship and possible future friendship, and he never thought that they'd ever get to this point again. He sighed happily, before thanking his mentor for his concern, sharing a bit of comfortable small talk, and walking inside.

Aaaaaaaa sorry, this is so late! I know it's already almost December, but I hope you like this book anyway. Also, sorry for it being so short! Hopefully, my next chapter will be extra long to make up for it (keyword hopefully) Hope you liked it!