A/N: Welp, our new highest ranking is now 9th place in #bakugokatsuki lol Σ(▼□▼メ)
Holy poly, we're at 30 chapters!
Credits to @Black_Masked_Secret for this week's cutie~! ( '͈ ॢꇴ '͈ॢ)･*♡
On that night, Izuku didn't sleep well at all.
He dreamt several times during the night, and in those dreams, he was running as per usual. The scornful, mocking voices were back, and they were determined to catch him this time.
The Omega continued to run through an excruciatingly terrifying dreamscape that made all struggles seem pointless. He knew that the outcome was brutal, but was unable to stop anything from happening. All he could do was keep his eyes open as everything irretrievably went to a route of no return.
Making a random turn, he abruptly found himself standing within an empty forest. There, in front of him, was a tree no taller than him free of leaves. A wishing tree.
Without a second thought, he started throwing red ropes at it. There was an entire barrel nearby full of ropes, and Izuku scooped them up and threw them all one by one at that lone, solitary tree.
Hopes. Wishes. Dreams.
Everything he'd ever wanted, but was never allowed to have.
He threw and threw until his arms were sorely aching and the barrel empty, but when he looked up—the tree was as bare as ever. Panting in exhaustion, he glanced at the ground but all those red, red ropes that had his markings had disappeared. There were none on tree or on the floor, so he was about to check the barrel for more and try again when a low laugh caught his attention.
Lifting his head up, he saw someone crouched within the tree's branches. There was a tangled bundle of Izuku's red ropes in his arms. His lips were hooked up in a smile but not a smile at him and asked, "Who do you want to marry?"
Those sharp brows, straight nose, smirking lips and pair of gorgeous shimmering crimson eyes were as edged as knives. He was none other than Bakugou Katsuki.
Izuku opened his mouth to answer, but found himself falling, falling back to that night he was drugged. He dreamed that he lost control and pushed the Alpha down onto the bed, straddling his hips and the scene continued to spiral out of his control—
"WAAAAAAH!"
He jolted himself awake, panting and gasping for air. His heart was going crazy as he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. Why would he dream of something like that?!
Izuku took a long moment to get his breathing under control, before getting up to use the bathroom. He grabbed and pulled on his hair as he stared into the mirror, knocking his head against the glass for good measure.
Turning on the tap, he splashed his face with cold water. Ah well, he didn't have time to think about it. Today was his first day at Ground Zero after all!
Just as he was leaving after breakfast, Bakugou looked over his newspaper and told him, "Good luck."
Katsumi also offered his encouragement, holding his tablet above his head: [Ganbatte!]
The little robot next to the pup let off fireworks, and intoned in a chirpy voice, "Ganbatte, ganbatte!"
"Thank you, thank you!" Izuku kissed Katsumi's brow, and stiffly bowed to the Alpha, unable to meet his eyes. Because in his dreams last night, he almost assaulted Kacchan, how embarrassing...
Standing in front of the imposing tall building, facing a whole new beginning, new opportunities, and new challenges, Izuku's blood boiled up in his chest and pumped him up. As he walked into Ground Zero, he only had one thought in his mind:
No. Freaking. Mercy!
Looking at that golden and eye-catching splendor, Izuku didn't even need to think about it to know that it was designed to Kaminari's taste. He followed the Beta's instructions and took the lift directly to the seventeenth floor, and made his way to the last office on the end of the level. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A calm voice answered him.
After entering the room, Izuku felt that his eyes had been granted mercy. Earlier he almost went blind from the obnoxious display of wealth, while this office was decorated in a minimalistic style, tastefully furnished in shades of black, white, and gray. Sitting at the desk was a familiar purple-haired Beta with dark eyebags.
"Hello, Shinsou-san! I'm Midoriya Izuku," He greeted cheerfully, "I'm here to report for duty!"
"Hello, Midoriya-san. From today onwards, I'm your manager, Shinsou Hitoshi." They shook hands.
"You should already know that I wasn't taking on new actors, but now that Tonnac Rebemer decided to retire, Ground Zero needs a new person to succeed him," he said simply, his lavender eyes sweeping the greenette from head to toe. Izuku stayed still, but it didn't make him feel uncomfortable at all.
The person before him was completely different from Tonnac Rebemer, who was undeniably handsome with unbridled attractiveness. As an Omega, it'd be too easy for him to 'accidentally' get caught in messy gossip and sex scandals. Upon first glance, he looked too plain and ordinary, but there was something about him had an aura of confidence...
Izuku was a bit stunned when he heard his new manager's words; he was going to be nurtured to succeed Ground Zero's previous number one actor? Wasn't this standard a bit too high?
However, the more difficult and higher the bar was, the more excited he became to reach it. Also, it didn't hurt as that had been his goal all along!
"Although we agreed that Ground Zero will aid you in becoming his successor, let me be straight with you," Shinsou coldly said, shuffling papers on his desk, "The test period is six months. If you can't meet my expectations before your time is up, you're out. You'll still be in Ground Zero, but I won't be managing you anymore."
He slanted a stern look at his new charge. "Understood?"
Izuku immediately nodded his head very seriously. "Understood!"
Someone knocked on the door, and an amiable-looking brunette with a bunch of folders in her arms walked in. She paused and looked at him questioningly.
"This is the actor I've arranged for you." Hitoshi explained, the turned to Izuku, "She'll be your assistant."
"Hi, you must be Deku-kun! I'm Uraraka Ochako, but you can call me Ochako!" She introduced herself with a wide, welcoming smile.
"It's nice to meet you!" He smiled back, feeling somewhat awkward, "But my name is Midoriya Izuku. Deku's my screen name."
"Huh? Oh, is that right? But I heard that Shinsou-san called you Deku... ah, I'm really sorry about that!" She bowed in embarrassment.
"No, it's fine if you want to call me Deku. I don't mind," He reassured her with a laugh. Other than the little mix up, he had an overall nice impression of his assistant. Izuku had a good feeling that they'd get along well.
After making their introductions, Shinsou handed him a clasp of keys. "This is the apartment that Ground Zero has arranged for you. You should make a note to move in as soon as possible."
Seeing those keys reminded him of Kacchan's straightforwardness. Holding back a laugh as he looked through the keys, he noticed the name engraved on the cardkey: Just Platinum Hotel.
Woah! He did a double take and blinked incredulously. They were sending him, a total newcomer to Ground Zero, stay at Just Platinum Hotel?!
The most expensive villa residences in the Capital were at Just Platinum Hills, and the most expensive apartment building was Just Platinum Hotel. Both were projects developed by the Bakugou Corporation. Izuku suddenly remembered that Itsuki was also staying at Just Platinum Hotel...
As expected of Ground Zero — they had insanely deep pockets!
Izuku swallowed, and tried to school his face into a sensible expression, "Thank you, Shinsou-san, but... I might not be able to move in for the time being..."
Hitoshi side eyed him curiously, "Are you staying with someone? A roommate, significant other?"
Seeing that the Beta had misunderstood his words, Izuku hurriedly clarified, "No, not at all! At the moment I'm just staying with some friends to lie low from all that's been going on lately. The security's pretty good too, so I'm safe from the press. Once things calm down, I'll move in as soon as possible. I promise that it won't affect my work!"
Shinsou nodded and didn't ask any more questions after that, but he looked serious. "As long as you're sure that you know what you're doing. I don't care about your private life, but I have one important rule you need to abide by..."
He sighed, shaking his head, "At this point, you're not allowed to date anyone. I don't have to go over the reasons for it, do I?"
Tonnac Rebemer, whom he had looked after as a newcomer, abruptly wanted to retire to start a family; this had been quite a blow to him. The feeling of being abandoned by a comrade, after everything they've been through together, had left him swallowed up by gloom and emptiness.
"Shinsou-san, you don't have to worry about that. Right now, I'm only focused on giving my all to become the best actor I can be," Izuku told him in a determined voice.
The Beta's face remained blank, and he had nothing else to day. As soon as any Omega encountered love, they'd lose their heads. Even if Midoriya swore on his life over a hundred times, it'd still mean nothing to him without seeing it for himself.
After getting that out of the way, Hitoshi briefed the greenette on the company's rules and regulations, handing over a few papers. "Right now, Golden Age is holding a press conference to let everyone know that they're blacklisting you. We'll be holding a press conference on our end as well. It'll be at nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
"What you're holding right now is the procedure and matters that need your attention, as well as questions that the reporters submitted early on to ask at the conference. Make sure to go over and read everything carefully."
Izuku nodded, "Don't worry, Shinsou-san. I'll try my best to do well!"
Although his manager always looked cold and seemed to be very strict, Izuku didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, he actually felt safe and secure with the knowledge that the Beta would be by his side to support him.
Seeing the sincere gratitude and pure fighting spirit in those emeralds, Shinsou gave him a small smile. Forget it, he would give it a try for the time being. While Denki was usually unreliable, at least he had a good eye for people, seeing as all the people he'd ever scouted did end up making it big in the entertainment world.
"Then that should be all. I'll go over the rest of the details later. If there's anything else you don't understand, you can give me a call or text anytime."
"Okay! Then, see you later Shinsou-san!"
When Izuku went to visit Ground Zero this morning, he had driven the sudan Kacchan had arranged for him. At the moment, his recent exposure was so high that he couldn't take the subway anymore, for fear of being recognized. He also made sure to keep an easy disguise with him at all times just in case.
On the way back, Izuku excitedly tried the auto-drive function, and after determining its position and navigation, the car began to drive itself independently. Watching in amazement, Izuku leaned back against the driver's seat and did whatever he wanted. As he thought, it was so cool! Technology these days was too impressive!
Golden Age's press conference should be done by now. Tapping on his phone, Izuku opened Hooter and scrolled through the various reactions on the internet. After the press conference, the netizens' anger had reached unprecedented heights:
[Golden Age did Itsuki justice, this sort of bastard deserves to be blacklisted!]
[He's still so arrogant after that, are you freaking kidding me? It's such a shame for <Zero to Hero>, which had such an inspiring script. I was really looking forward to it...]
[What are you guys doing? Why are we just talking? Let's do something about him!]
[I think Itsuki's too generous, she should just file a case against him!]
[Who the hell is the sponsor helping Midoriya Izuku do all this? Google him!]
Not only that, but whenever someone stood up for Izuku, everyone would instantly rip into that person, so vicious and furious that no one could refute anything.
Itsuki was probably desperate by now. It was obvious that she wanted to suppress her brother to the point beyond recovery and finish him off in one blow.
As Izuku refreshed the app, he noticed that something was wrong. His Hooter account was suddenly blowing up with people mentioning him, and comment notifications were stacking up like crazy...
Eh, what happened now?
The screen on his phone flickered and spazzed out several times before Izuku was finally able to read anything. Once a lag popped up, he instantly understood what was going on. Just a few minutes ago, Kaminari had posted a message on his Hooter:
Pikachuchu: [Welcome, classmate Midoriya Izuku, to our Ground Zero family~ @MidoriyaIzuku ]
What. The. HELL?!
He couldn't stop staring wide-eyed at the shocking message. Rubbing his eyes, he almost thought that he misread it, but no, it was still there.
This idiot . . . wasn't he a little too high-profile?!
As soon as it was posted, all of Hooter promptly exploded, and comments from angry netizens came flooding in:
[God, what the actual fuck did I just see?!]
[Did that bastard actually join Ground Zero?!!!?]
[I don't believe it, i don't belive it, icantbelieveit]
[Someone must've hacked into my adorable little Pikachuchu's account!]
[Yeah, that must be it!]
[That's right! Ground Zero would never do something like that!!!!]
[There's no way they'd ever sign that two-faced scumbag!]
[If this is actually for real, then Ground Zero's going down the gutters!]
[I'll never watch anything from Ground Zero ever again!]
[I always thought that Kaminari was a good person, but who would've thought that he'd be the one helping that lowlife behind the scenes!!]
[That's so disappointing! They could sign just about anyone, so why accept that kind of slut? Just because he's an Omega?!]
[Fuck! Don't tell me that he slept with my precious Pikachuchu?! TTATT]
[Noooobody stop me! I'm gonna kill him!!!!]
Izuku face palmed as he skimmed through the accusations. He knew that this was gonna happen once they broadcasted it...
Did Kaminari have to be this impatient? Why couldn't he wait until after the Ground Zero press conference to announce it?!
He was literally looking for trouble, wasn't he?!
Looking at the outcry of the public, Izuku was starting to wonder whether if he should try to jump in or if that'll make things worse, when in the next second he saw something that left him dumbfounded.
Wait... what just happened...?
[ @BakugouKatsuki rehooted @Pikachuchu's hoot! ]
The Alpha's Hooter account was usually lifeless, full of generic stuff such as Bakugou Corporation's anniversary, the introduction of new departments, the completion of important project collaborations, or professional economic jargon that no one could make heads or tails out of, but seemed impressive anyway...
But Bakugou Katsuki had a lot of fans. He was highly revered after all, so even if he updated seldomly, and it was all business advertisements, there were still air-headed fans who followed his account.
Bakugou Katsuki, who was only concerned with big corporation news, had forwarded Denki's hoot, and even added a few words: [Welcome, Midoriya Izuku]
This wasn't something as sadistic as a hacker anymore. This... was serious! The traffic on Hooter immediately surged. The system couldn't handle the sudden onslaught and even crashed for several minutes before it could recover.
Afterwards, for some reason, the online public opinion had miraculously reversed!
[Seriously, what's going on?!]
[I think I'm about to throw up!]
[If it was just one, the account could've been hacked, but why wouldn't it be true if Bakugou Katsuki himself forwarded it?!]
[So Ground Zero really signed him??]
[Seems like it. What is the world coming to??!]
[Since he rehooted it, it must be the real deal and he agrees with Ground Zero's decision!]
[Yea, Kaminari's head might be turned by sex, but there's no way Bakugou Katsuki would be!]
[Ground Zero might be up to something big. Let's wait and see]
[I really want to know already! :<]
[I'll wait patiently for the truth! Trust my waifu! <3]
To sum things up, after Bakugou forwarded the hoot, the previously outraged public opinion pulled back at last. Shaking off their anger, the netizens retreated back to neutrality and cleared their minds to think more carefully back on recent events.
As Izuku scrolled through Hooter, this magical change made him shake his head and sighed in incredulity. Just as he thought, whenever Lord Explosion Murder made a move, it was powerful!
After all, ever since he took over Bakugou Corporation, he had yet to make a wrong decision. In the economic crisis five years ago, when numerous companies declared bankruptcy, not only did the Bakugou group remain standing, they also kicked off the trend to climb to the top. His image was too perfect, and there was no one who wouldn't believe his words...
Meanwhile, back in the living room at the Bakugou Residence, Denki was holding his phone was rolled around crying on the floor, "Seriously, what the hell! What do they mean that my 'head might be turned by sex' but you won't?! I can't stand it! You're the one whose head was turned by sex! It's you, you-you! WAAAAAA—"
As he was howling, Izuku walked in to see him disgracefully curled up on the carpet. Clearly weirded out, he asked, "I could hear you screaming from the front door. What are you going on about?"
"—AAAaaaah... Uh, nothing!" Kaminari sat up, scratching his head. "I, uh, just stubbed my toe..."
Even if he had been unfairly accused, he couldn't say it.
"Okay then..." Izuku gave him a funny look and left it at that.
Bakugou, who hadn't spared his cousin a single look when he was rolling all over the place, lifted his gaze from his computer. "You're back. Did you see Shinsou Hitoshi?"
Izuku nodded his head enthusiastically, beaming, "Yes! Shinsou-san's really nice and completely my type. I feel better when I see his cold and unhappy face!"
The Alpha said nothing. It seemed like everything went smoothly, but why, when he heard Izuku's praise, did it make him feel unsettled?
With those words, Izuku turned his attention back to the Beta. "Kaminari, you're too early. Why did you hoot that I signed with Ground Zero earlier?!"
He gave the greenette a knowing look and held up his phone. "Obviously I was trying to boost your popularity! See, look at how famous you are right now—everybody's talking about you!"
Izuku snorted and rolled his eyes. "It it weren't for Kacchan coming to the rescue, we both would've been bashed for being an adulterous couple, okay?"
When Kaminari heard this, he felt a little guilty. Scratching his head, he muttered quietly, "Well, if they want to talk, just let them! They're gonna find out the truth tomorrow anyways!"
He knew that the netizens would be angry, but he hadn't expected that their slander would be so malicious, going as far to think in that direction... Even Bakugou's face turned green after reading those comments...
"Post an announcement about the press conference tomorrow," Bakugou reminded them.
Once Izuku posted on his Hooter, Kaminari forwarded it, and not long after, so did Shinsou Hitoshi.
'A phone call is here-!'
His phone suddenly flashed with an incoming call. It was Neito. Izuku answered it. "Hey, Neito-"
"Midoriya Izuku! You actually signed with Ground Zero?! Why didn't you tell me?! DID YOU SEE THE EMAIL I SENT YOU OR NOT?!?!" The Alpha roared down the line. His loud voice made the Omega feel a little embarrassed.
"Eh, aren't you busy? I didn't want to disturb you..." Izuku smiled at Kacchan awkwardly before excusing himself to take the call with him upstairs, muttering, "...Anyways, what does it have to do with the email you sent me?"
Behind him, Denki tapped on his chin, and gave his cousin a meaningful look. "Oooh? It seems like someone's trying to get in your way! Heh, poor thing, to like the same Omega as you! Thank God he's not my type, phew..."
To be a rival in love was just too scary!
On the phone, Neito was about to die from all his anger. "ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME? IT'S BEEN THREE FREAKING DAYS!!!"
"I'm sorry, so sorry! Was it that important?" Izuku sighed, rubbing his aching eardrums,"I thought it was another spoof video or something..."
The blond took a deep breath, and carefully enunciated each word in a low and scary tone, "You, right now, at once, immediately, this very second, open your inbox and look at what I sent you. Don't you dare freaking hang up on me and open it right now!"
"Okay, okay! I'll look at it right now!"
Resigned, Izuku turned on his laptop and searched through his mail to find Neito's email. He then downloaded the attachment and opened the folder that popped up on his desktop. It contained an image and an audio file. He clicked on the image first. A screenshot of a Hooter conversation:
[Oh, my grandson's so adorable! What the hell, is that actually Katsuki?]
[Katsuki, who chose those clothes for you and Katsumi? Was it that Omega you like?]
[Yes.]
[I knew it, you would never choose this style! Look how bright the color is, it looks so good!]
[It's a miraculous change from your usual. Why, Katsumi looks so lively! There's no doubt about it, your household really needs an Omega's touch!]
[Were the pictures also taken by him?]
[Yes]
[Not bad]
[Heck, my future brother-in-law's unbelievable! He can actually make you wear this color, and you even let him take pictures! Last time I gave you clothes like that, you just threw them in the trash in front of me!]
Reading through the chat, he saw that it was between Kacchan, his parents, and Kaminari.
"Are you looking at it?" Neito asked him urgently.
"Yes..." Izuku answered absentmindedly, with a complicated expression on his face as he went to open the audio file. After a few rustling sounds, Neito's voice rang out:
"Uncle — what exactly are your intentions towards Midoriya Izuku?"
Then there was the sound of Bakugou's voice: "Towards Izuku..."
"Yes! Don't you think that you're being... too nice to him?" Neito asked. "Aren't you being too intimate with him?"
Bakugou's tone was both languid and dangerous, "I thought it was obvious, but since you still don't get it..."
Listening up to this point, Izuku's heart was suddenly in his throat, as if he could feel what Neito must've felt as he waited for the Alpha's reply.
Kacchan... What would he say?
He waited five seconds, which felt a lot more like five years.
Then Bakugou's voice suddenly sounded again, "Have I made myself clear?"
Izuku was bewildered. Clear? Clear about what?
Just as he was about to replay the audio again, thinking that he might've missed something, Neito's cold voice stopped him. "You don't need to listen to it again. That's all he said, but before that last sentence, he kissed you in front of me."
"Wait..." Izuku stammered in confusion, "W-Wha-what... Why didn't I know about this?"
"You were drunk that night ," Neito reminded him matter-of-factly, " It happened after the UA production crew had that welcome dinner for me."
After giving it some thought, the Omega finally remembered...
It was the night when he had walked into the wrong room, and Roue Rehcel had tried to take advantage of him. Kacchan rescued him... and walked him back to the production crew's room, then told him to wait after they were done... and that they would go back home together...
Much later, Izuku had been so drunk when he saw Bakugou, and he had no memory of what happened after that. But Neito was with him at the time, so maybe that was when they had that conversation...
Noticing that Izuku hadn't said anything in a while, Neito, who hadn't been very hopeful to begin with, became even more cynical.
"You still don't believe me, is that it? I know that I've given you isn't exactly concrete proof. Maybe my uncle was only pacifying his parents in the screenshot. And with the audio, I can't believe that I missed out on recording the grand finale. You only have my word for it..."
Izuku remained silent. After quite a long time, there was a sigh on the other end of the line.
"...Neito, whether I believe it or not, it doesn't affect my decision to sign with Ground Zero. Even if Kacchan really had feelings for me, he would make a clear distinction between work and personal life. Not even once did he use his position against me, and it's more than that, he'd never force me."
When Izuku said those words, Neito instantly knew that it was over. Never in a million years would he have thought that the greenette would trust Bakugou Katsuki to this extent, even though they had only known each other for a few months...
Still calm, Izuku continued, "Thank you, Neito. I know that you're worried about me, but I have my reasons. There's going to be a press conference at Ground Zero tomorrow, and I need to concentrate on preparing for the final battle. Once this is over, let's meet up to talk about it, okay?"
When this is over, you'll be in his trap and won't be able to escape anymore! Neito thought, then bitterly realized that his friend was already in too deep. It was too late now. A deep sense of powerlessness came over him. "Alright, you're busy. I'll see you later."
"Mm, bye."
Izuku ended the call. Suddenly, it felt like his entire body had been completely drained of strength. He flopped back onto his bed, his expression blank as emeralds stared hazily at the ceiling above him.
He was still recovering from Neito's words: "He kissed you in front of me."
Based on the audio and the explanation Neito gave him, with his actor's sense of framing scenes and picturing narratives, Izuku could almost completely reconstruct the scenario of that time in his mind...
His heart beat faster and faster at the thought of Kacchan leaning in to kiss him...
Izuku picked up his phone and quickly typed up a message to send Bakugou:
[ Kacchan, I want to go through and memorize the plan for the press conference, so need to call me for dinner tonight. It's enough for me to have some fruit. I ate too much meat last night, so I should be watching my weight anyways (^-^;; ) ]
He tried his best to make it sound like nothing was wrong. With this, the Alpha shouldn't be able to tell, right?
Even though pretending was the one thing he was best at, he had no confidence in front of Bakugou Katsuki. But for both of their sakes, he had to try.
Downstairs in the living room, Bakugou looked at the text message that Izuku had just sent him. He lifted his narrowing eyes slightly, and looked in the direction of the Omega's room with an indecipherable expression on his face.
Kaminari crept closer to sneak a peek, only to look deeply disappointed after reading the text. "Aw man, brother-in-law's not cooking tonight? I was looking forward to it all day for nothing..."
After saying this, something occurred to him, and he put his arm around his cousin's shoulder and asked meaningfully, "Did we push Neito too far this time?"
Bakugou scowled and looked away, his face increasingly pinched with worry. He knew beforehand that this day would come sooner or later, and he had been waiting on eggshells for it. This was already the best situation he could have hoped for.
The only thing he could do was to wait.
Looking at the ash blond's expression, Kaminari couldn't help but feel worried about him. The Alpha had almost used up his whole life's worth of endurance and restraint in the last few months. If something went wrong, the Beta didn't want to imagine what he'd be like then...
Ever since he met Izuku, Bakugou had changed, and not just a little. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was a whole transformation. And Kaminari really, really didn't want him to revert back to the person he used to be, or to become even scarier...
( ੭⌯᷄௰⌯᷅ ू'l|)
Izuku, who said that he had wanted to memorize the plan, had been laying in bed for at least two hours. His mind was completely empty, and completely clear of any thoughts he might have. Whenever he encountered something difficult to solve, he would relieve the pressure by meditating. But if this method failed to work, then he could only turn to extreme distractions...
However, it had been a long time since he had been bothered by something to this extent.
It was only when he saw on the wall clock that it was almost ten o'clock that Izuku finally got up, and spent an hour memorizing the procedure Shinsou had given him. There was quite a hefty load of information for him to go over, but the script was solid and easy to follow, so he had no problems with it.
Once Izuku finished, he suddenly realized that Katsumi hadn't come in looking for him the whole night, likely because Bakugou had explained to his son that the greenette was busy. After going through the documents one last time, Izuku was ready to check on the pup.
At the door to Katsumi's room, Izuku was sure that he would be asleep by now, so he opened the door as carefully and quietly as possible. But to his surprise, a ray of light seeped out of the room. He couldn't be sleeping with the lamp on, right?
Opening the door a bit wider, Izuku saw the pup leaning against the headboard, playing with a Rubik's cube with fixed, single-minded focus. Bakugou was sitting on the edge of the bed, a trace of helplessness on his awkward, grumpy face.
"It's ten fifty-four. In six minutes, it'll be eleven," said the Alpha sternly.
Meaning that it was very late, and time for bed.
Click, click, click.
As if he hadn't heard him, Katsumi continued to turn the cube in his hands, assembling it within seconds so that the colors on each face matched, before shuffling and reassembling it again, in a repetitive and tireless cycle.
Click, click, clickety-click.
Bakugou picked up one of the storybooks Izuku had bought; it had a colorful drawing of a little rabbit and a wolf on the cover. He asked expressionlessly, "Which story do you want to listen to?"
Katsumi finally lifted his head to look at his father, but his eyes seemed somewhat disdainful.
Katsuki pinched the skin between his brows, then picked up [Corduroy].
Katsumi was dismissive.
Katsuki showed him [The Pigeon Has To Go To School].
Katsumi looked unimpressed with the implication.
Katsuki offered [When I Am Angry].
Katsumi was still uninterested.
Katsuki tried handing him [Are You My Mother?].
Katsumi gave him a pitying look before he went back to ignoring him. Click, click, click.
Katsuki finally gave up. Looking at his watch, his face began to darken. "It's eleven o'clock..."
Seeing that Kacchan was about to lose his temper, Izuku quickly coughed and knocked on the door, asking in a singsong voice, "Ka-tsu-mi~? Why aren't you asleep yet?"
As soon as he came in, the stubborn pup threw the Rubik's cube away and ran towards the Omega like a little magnet. He clung to Izuku's leg and tilted his little head back, his big shining hazel eyes blinking up at him.
Izuku clutched at his chest, as if he had suffered a critical hit to the heart.
Bakugou looked relieved to see him, finally free of this deadlock. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, I'm almost done with memorizing the whole thing." Izuku nodded, carried Katsumi to bed, and tucked him in. The pup immediately reached underneath his pillow for a colorful fairytale book, featuring a dragon and a little boy looking at each other, and gave it to Izuku, excitedly gesturing for him to read it.
"Continuing from where we stopped last night?" Izuku asked, flipping through the book.
Katsumi's little hands gripped the edge of the quilt and he nodded sweetly, not a single trace of the sullen lion cub to be seen..
"Well then, let me see..." Izuku cleared his throat and began with his best Iida impression, "'Your highness! How many moons has it been since this started? The ninth? Tenth?'"
"The prince answered"—He switched back to his normal voice—"'It's the seventh time you've rescued me, Sir Knight'."
Chopping at the air, he protested, "'But things cannot go on like this! It's too dangerous-!'"
"'I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm. ' He looked back at shrinking cave behind them wistfully. ' I mean, he hasn't tried eating me yet... '"
"'But you never know! ' The knight declared worriedly, ' One of these days he might —!'"
"'I don't think so. I think he's just lonely. And he lets me go every time. You don't have to fight him either... ' The prince began to mumble to himself as they walked through the forest, 'I can't believe he managed to slip through the traps I set for him again... Can we drop by the bookshop on the way back? I want to pick up some new books.'"
"'To visit that witch again?' The knight muttered distastefully.
"'Hey! ' The prince pouted, 'Just because she dabbles in potions and magic and such, that doesn't make her a witch, okay?!'"
As Izuku read the story, Bakugou sat in the chair next to him, listening quietly to his soft, sweet voice. Now he seemed to understand why his son insisted on listening to such childish stories every night before bed. What mattered was not the story, but who was reading it.
The knight escorted the prince to the bookshop, where he placed a new order and talked with the owner about dragon research. The next time the prince was kidnapped, he learned that the dragon couldn't talk, but could write a few things. Over the course of five moons, he taught the dragon writing, translating symbols, and finally figured out the dragon's name to break the spell.
Katsumi was fast asleep by the time the bookshop keeper and knight got married, and prince and dragon were heading off on another adventure.
"Sorry to trouble you," Bakugou thanked him, shamefaced.
"It's no trouble at all." Izuku reassured as he tucked Katsumi in. Looking down at the sleeping pup, he felt the sudden need for a confession. "Actually, Kacchan, did you know...?"
He swallowed a lump in his throat, "...I used to hate pups."
"Hate?" Katsuki echoed. He didn't seem surprised, only curious.
Izuku nodded, but decided against telling him the real reason. "I just thought that they were really annoying. Society's expectations and whatnot. I wanted to hide every time I saw one." He sighed, smiling helplessly, "I never thought that I would come to adore Katsumi as much as I do now... I don't know how to explain it, but I always feel like there's some kind of special connection between us."
He laughed lightly, "It's probably fate, like in the stories!"
Bakugou grinned, somewhat amused, "As luck would have it."
"I guess you're right..." Izuku yawned, "Anyway, it's late. I'm going to have a bath. Kacchan, you should go to bed as well!"
"Alright." The Alpha nodded and suddenly leaned towards him.
Izuku was startled from the sudden closeness and leaned back reflexively. Katsuki came so close that he was almost cheek to cheek with him, but he just moved past the Omega, kissed the little pup behind him, and said in a low voice, "Goodnight."
Later that night, while Izuku was half asleep, he felt like he had another dream. He dreamed that Kacchan was sitting on the edge of his bed, kissing his lips, and rumbling softly, " Goodnight, I love you..."
Well, another strange dream...
Why did it feel so real even though it was only just a dream...?
(｢๑•₃•)｢ ʷʱʸ?
Meanwhile, at Just Platinum Hotel, there was an extremely oppressive and stifling atmosphere in Midoriya Itsuki's apartment. It was very late in the night, but the lights were still on, glaring and relentless.
Mineta and Yarra sat on the sofa, neither daring to make a sound. Since it had come to this, was Itsuki going to blame them again?
Who could've thought that Izuku would sign on with Ground Zero right after he left Golden Age?
It would've been easy to deal with him if it were any other company. Those other, smaller companies would never dare to promote an actor blacklisted by Golden Age. But this was Ground Zero they were talking about!
Ground Freaking Zero!
In front of Ground Zero, Golden Age's ban was no better than pissing into the wind!
Mineta wanted to comfort Itsuki and tell her that Izuku was so infamous that even Ground Zero wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but she didn't have the confidence to say anything.
After all, this time even Bakugou Katsuki himself had came out...
Not only did they underestimate Izuku, but they had underestimated him to such a foolish degree!
To them, the press conference being held by Ground Zero at nine o'clock tomorrow morning was akin to a ticking time bomb. Anything could happen...
Golden Age's press conference had only just ended, but Ground Zero's reaction was so fast that there couldn't be any doubt that it had been premeditated.
At the moment, even their fan army couldn't reverse the public opinion. People everywhere were waiting for tomorrow's press conference. All of the city's media correspondents would most likely attend.
Irritated, Itsuki stomped through the mess of smashed objects, prowling about like a maniacal banshee. "What exactly is Ground Zero's press conference supposed to be about? You haven't heard anything yet?"
Mineta shook her head. "We've tried all kinds of methods, but tomorrow's press conference is only known by some members of Ground Zero's senior management team. No one else heard anything about it until they read Kaminari's hoot. We can't find out anything!"
"What about Shinsou Hitoshi?" The greenette scowled, "Didn't he forward Izuku's hoot as well? He must be his agent! Try talking to him!"
Looking at her frightening appearance, Mineta sighed and reluctantly told her, "Don't you remember that he manages Tonnac Rebemer? Last time we fought and grabbed his role. Why would he tell us anything?"
"Goddammit!" Itsuki was still pissed. "This doesn't work, that doesn't work! Don't tell me that we have to wait until the morning!"
Her manager said nothing, but her silence implied that there was really nothing they could do but sit and wait.
Itsuki downed the rest of her wine and slammed her glass down on the table, an eerie light flashing through her eyes. "That country bumpkin! So what if he joins Ground Zero! So what if he has them backing him! Does he really think that he'll be able to rest easy after signing with Ground Zero?!"
With wine-stained lips, she snarled, "I'll tear him down no matter what!"
"Yeah!" Yarra hurriedly jumped in to say something encouraging, "Itsuki-san, as long as he still has that stain, he'll be unable to lift his head before you all his life! Besides, there must be an inside story to him joining Ground Zero, so we'll have plenty of chances to catch him in the act!
"With people like him, Ground Zero will also be incriminated by association sooner than later..."
~*~