Remember (Todobaku)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kirishima liked to say he was an observant person.

How else would he be able to read Bakugo so well and be known as the 'Bakugo whisperer' for so long?

That being said, it wasn't surprising to him when people came up to him and asked him about Bakugo when he was acting strangely during class.

It was not very obvious at first. He wasn't hunched over in class or staring out the window like usual.

His hand was in his school blazer pocket.

That meant whatever it was, it was bad.

Sure, Bakugo had his ups and downs but his downs were so dramatically low that it always had Kirishima on edge. Bakugo wasn't a dramatic person when it came to his health, so if it was really weighing on him, it was harder to tell.

But Bakugo's hand was in his pocket for the whole day. Even through lunch which he barely touched, but that's normal for him.

Kirishima knows that Bakugo has this comfort item.

Only ever seen it twice and Bakugo yelled and threw things when he realized that the red head had the first time. It wasn't on purpose.

He had been let into Bakugo's room and right next to his pillow was the item.

A big piece of Aizawa's capture scarf.

It was dingy and stained with what Kirishima could only assume was blood.

The second time was when Bakugo had had his hand in his pocket almost all day just like today. Kirishima can't remember why now, but Bakugo had rushed to take his hand out of his pocket and in the process, the scarf had accidentally peaked out.

It wasn't obvious, but Kirishima noticed and as soon as he could, he told Bakugo. Quickly, and turning red, Bakugo tucked the scarf back into his pocket. He looked ashamed.

They separated after that, Bakugo going where he needed and Kirishima back to what he was doing.

Later that day, there was a knock on his door. It was quiet, so he'd expected Mina or Sero, but was surprised when he saw the angry blond instead.

"Listen," he said, voice low, "it just makes me feel better. I'll kill you if you tell anyone, Kirishima, I swear to fuck."

Kirishima understood that. Even related to that.

Kirishima was offended that Bakugo thought he'd do such a thing, but shook it off when he realized that Bakugo was just a cautious person and he shouldn't take it to heart.

"I promise, man. No need to be embarrassed by it either. For me, my hair being red makes me feel better. It's like my comfort thing," he'd said.

So now he knows why Bakugo has his hand in his blazer pocket.

He's having a hard time.

It hurts to know. Bakugo is his best friend.

Kirishima doesn't spend a lot of time with Bakugo anymore. Yeah that hurts, too, but Bakugo is comfortable alone sometimes and just doesn't feel like being around people, so Kirishima isn't mad. Now he's got Todoroki, too and that's awesome.

Kirishima is glad for Todoroki and Bakugo. They're both happy together but Kirishima wishes they could hang out again. Like old times.

He knows it's not the same anymore. Bakugo has been through hell and back and that leaves unwanted memories and scars.

He knows that Bakugo is still healing, and that's okay. He fully supports that, but you can't blame him for missing his best friend. Maybe asking Bakugo to hang out, even if it's just the two of them, it could make Bakugo feel somewhat better?