Chapter 17: My Disadvantage

3:03PM

Deku was dismissed and dashed out of the doors of the school. Friday's day ended, and he was absolutely glad. He hoped that skipping the Journalism club was not a big deal, but worried what his friend thought about it. Although, there was no problem since Kyomi was a talkative and cheerful person. Those who did not have any extracurricular activities went along and occupied the outside with numerous cars parked.

A mass disformed, making it harder to pass through. The green-haired, on the other hand, did not have trouble as he headed to the gates. He saw Kacchan at the right sidewalk with his two friends. Forgetting about the people, he went up to them.

"Come on, Deku. Let's go." Bakugo placed an arm around his shoulders, mutually walking. Deku's heart fastened and his face warmed. "Uh- um... where are we going?" His friends in front chattered with one and another while Bakugo took his friend's phone. He ignored him.

"Kacchan?"

Sighing, he said: "Forget about it, Deku. I told Hag to not expect us to come early. That means we'll get to have a lot of fun." Deku shivered with a terrified face, masking his excitement.

"When I say 'fun' I mean games and all that stuff, idiot." Bakugo smacked his head and went in front to lead his friends. The green-haired's hopes were flooded away.

"Same place right?" Tesaki asked. "Yeah, sure."

They headed to the same direction. They have probably been familiarized to this route they claimed they will be going. Deku assumed it was not such an unrestricted place for his age considering how the managers would have unpermitted these three from participating. Then again, they could go anywhere, anywhere hidden that was meant for deliquent kids like them. He expected nothing good nor bad in this situation, but something that is oddly normalized.

The sun crept in the center of the sky. The walk was quiet at least for Deku's engagement. He was at the back while the front ones conversed. Why did Kacchan invite him? Of course he'll try to do something. The question is: would it be illegal? Kacchan would never go beyond this level if it meant to break a hero's will. Kacchan is not the type to be so careless of his own reputation. He would not even be into these illicit affairs, if he were to be having some.

Nevermind that, he already did something unordinary. He bought or got a hold of a weed chocolate, a piece that he wondered where it was gained. Also, he reminded that Kacchan seized the remaining portion during his temporary walk. He probably did not finish it since his mother would have noticed the effects. He probably had it saved.

"Then after that, we'll go somewhere else, too?" Hashiga asked. "We will be hungry so you'll have to pay for our food."

Deku wanted to know if they were close already. The friends have passed a long sidewalk and two corners, witnessing more urban buildings, and getting into a populated area.

"Oi, Deku, get close to me. You don't want to get lost, do you?" He stopped his steps for the other to catch up. Deku stood at his side without saying anything, but he had many questions. Nonetheless, he could now perceive why this street seemed interactive. There were arcades, casinos, long and dark alleyways, and multiple stores.

"We're going inside, you coming?" Bakugo turned to him as they enterned through an automatic opening-door into a seemingly convenience store. The green-haired nodded repeatively. Inside was cold, and this time there were at least three people on each column. This was different from his town, in which rather resembled a phantom.

The friends visited columns where snacks were set. They also took a look at mint. Some looked for items for "self-defense" though it was quite fishy. They all headed together where Kacchan had called them. Deku went to the back where the last column was. The friends were grinning to each other, making him wonder why. Bakugo went up to him with a mischevious smile and put his arm on his shoulder, dragging him to that corner.

"Look, Deku," he pointed at the items. Taking a look at his direction, they were joking around condoms. He was taken out of surprise since he asked himself why did Kacchan have to show him that, covering his flustered face. His friends laughed at the greenette's reaction. The blond ruffled his hair.

"Want to buy some just in case?" He lightly knocked his shoulder, grabbing two of them and examining it. "W-what? Why?" Deku stammered uncontrollably. "Shut up, you exactly know why."

"Midoriya, why don't you buy it yourself?" Tesaki added. "I can't... I don't have any money on me," he faced him. "Then here, you pay. We'll wait outside." Bakugo handed him 1,000 yen for the other items that they got.

"No, no... they are not going to let me buy it. They are going to call Mitsuki, Kacchan!" He tried to get himself out from doing so. He could not. His shyness and embarrassment made him resist. The blond mercilessly hanged the plastic basket on his shoulder.

"Are you insisting we should steal, huh? A hero wouldn't do that," he mocked the troubled. "No..." Deku muttered, looking down. He had to give up his protesting. They wanted him to buy it in order to see the clerk's response. There was no beating to it, they would persist him until he did it. He sighed deeply. "Okay, I'll do it."

The friends laughed and Bakugo exited the store. The three waited outside, looking through the window. Once the green-haired reached the plain surface of the register, he put the items on it. More log to the fire, apart from chips and drinks, there was a pack of cigarettes and lastly the two condoms. His hand shook from that realization.

The young woman, before even processing the items, turned her head up concernedly to the boy. Deku kept his vision away. "Will that be all? Did you choose the right things?" He gulped.

"I-I did..." She shoved that pale look and refused to ask. 'I saw the other boys laughing at the back. Maybe they forced him to do this,' she thought. Hopefully, it was solely bullying.

"Have a nice day."

"You too."

"See? I knew you'd be able to do it." Bakugo snatched the plastic bag from him as he exited, and started walking. "Hey, let me see- wait, what? She let you get the cigarettes with no identification?" Hashiga noticed, grabbing the pack.

"No way. What the hell? How?" The three stared at Deku, coming to a stop.

"Ahh, um... it probably was because she thought it was a prank," he tried to reason.

"Still, she wouldn't sell it to anyone under the age of sixteen or eighteen. Maybe it's different here," Hashiga commented as he light his cigarette. "Don't you think it's stupid to smoke that damn cigarette in public? We'll get in trouble, bastard," Bakugo snarled.

"Not really, nobody cares about what others do here. I'm mostly worried when it's in school, though." They walked the busy sidewalk. "Are you really going to use that, Katsuki?" Tesaki barged in, taking the bag and referring to the preservatives.

"I don't know, do you know, Deku?" He teased.

"I don't know..."

"Oh! He didn't even deny it! Katsuki, don't tell me he's going to be living with you while you both rail each other?"

"Ohoho... I bet," he said. Deku's heart quickened again. "Not only has Deku been following me today, he accepted coming with us and did not even disagree with buying the condoms. He only did not want to be the one to get them."

That was a basic yet significant observation of him. He had noticed that Deku was indeed looking for him, instead of escaping from his grasp. The only thing that made him confused was the suddenness and his extensions. There was not much to say about it after all.

"Who knows if he'll do something," he smirked. Deku looked down whilst they walked from behind.

"What time is it?" Hashiga asked to himself as he took out his phone. "3:38PM."

"We took quite our time. Let's hurry up," The finger-extender acknowledged.

The conversation changed topic but kept on being persisted. The four had come to a stop outside an arcade. Deku got enthusiastic considering how he has never been in one and did not expect a fair place.

---

"Good afternoon, my name's Tamadi Tenko, Psy.D., and I'm currently Midoriya Izuku's psychologist. It has been nearly a month ever since he has been attending our meetings. If said meetings are not discussed or gathered appropiately, I recommend you to cancel the payment since it is a waste."

Deku's doctor, after noticing his eternal dismissal has urged to call his mother, Inko. He dialed her phone number and as soon as the caller answered, he spoke since he clearly was frustrated with other meanings.

"I'm sorry... I don't think you have the right person," the caller of a female voice said on the other line. The doctor was confused. "Excuse me?" He politely asked.

"If you're trying to call the previous owner of this phone number, I'm afraid I have to tell you that she passed away a week ago. I think her name was Inko, right?

The doctor remained silent. 'Midoriya passed away? She's dead? What about her son? What about his medication? More importantly, where is he now?' It was evident that his job did not relate to saving a person's life by watching their steps. However, he could not help but doubt his whereabouts. If he were not mistaking, he remembered how Izuku told him that he did not have any other family members nearby. That the only close or trusted person that he and his mother had were Mitsuki, the blond's mother.

"Hello?" The female tuned. "Ah yes, I apologize. It seemed that I had the wrong number. Thank you for being patient, have a nice day." He ended the call with no answer back. Even more frustration... His job was to get them off the list, but if Mitsuki was in charge of Deku, then she must do so herself or else it will get disposed. The rest of the business was not his concern, but he wanted to help. Help at least the minimum as possible.

---

"It's so big..." Deku squealed when looking at the tiles and the magnificent ceiling. It was only an arcade, but it was his first time entering one. The others walked ahead so they avoided his saying. The green-haired rotated as he moved, looking around the countless machines, tables, and chairs. The walls painted red and the entire floor covered by a rug. Kids like him were here as well. He did not feel so left out.

"What are you going to play?" Tesaki handed Bakugo a coin, wandering and inspecting each machine. "Whatever game's the hardest."

"Donkey Kong, I guess," Tesaki chuckled. "Seriously? That's the hardest?" The blond rigiously gave a glare. "The hardest in this arcade."

"Fuck it, I'll do it." He handed the plastic bag to Hashiga, who had already discarded his cigarette. Then, inserted the coin, and grabbed onto the handles. This was an excellent chance for Deku to see Kacchan play a different type of game. He could evaluate his skills, flexibility, and the plan that he had in mind. His friends circled behind to see.

Bakugo selected single player mode. The screen showed the monkey taking the "hostage" that was assumed as the girl that must be saved. He sat at the highest point while she was in a even higher distance. A 8-bit music was played, and the flooring was arranged unstraightfully. Once starting, the animal dropped the barrels for them to reach the player. Bakugo moved so he could also avoid the fire dispenser behind him.

He climbed the cyan ladder and took the wooden hammer. He punched the button to slam the upcoming barrel into pieces, gaining three hundred points. 'I guess Kacchan prefers to get rid of the barrels instead of avoiding them.'

He could not climb the next ladder, not after the hammer disappeared. He cursed. Now, Bakugo yelled at the screen while slamming the button, making the tiny character jump eternally. His friends laughed from his aggressive attitude. It was only the first level.

Every jump was not worthless, however, he received one hundred points for each barrel leap. He was in the second highest flooring, receiving a wooden hammer. Of course he'd slam everything that was in his way until reaching the last stairs. There, he quickly climbed and reached the girl. He sighed.

"Not yet, Katsuki. Still like three more levels until one hundred meters." Tesaki pointed at the screen with a smile. "I know." The other lightly pushed him away.

"Unsurprisingly, Kacchan uses a destructive tactic in which refers to him destroying everything that gets in his way. He would avoid avoiding what tries to distract him or put him at discomfort. It's a good attribute for the game, but implications such as critical thinking are needed. Even so, at least he has good reflexes," Deku murmured while writting it down on his notebook.

His attention directed to other machines. Before going to the other side, he took a look at Kacchan. He was mesmerized by him, visualizing his struggles.

'I wonder if I can come here again. It's fun.'

Deku did not have any money, and he did not dare to ask for some to the friends. Anyway, he was entertained similarly by watching others play. The only problem was that he could not help but analyze everybody's form of playing. Instead of giving up on his thinking and writing, it was like second nature for him to look and note down. Some stared at him, showing clear discomfort. The times he noticed, he apologized.

"How long has it been? Has Kacchan won already?"

Going back to where they were last seen, they were not there anymore. Deku panicked, looking around the place. He took his phone in order to call him but... he remembered, he didn't have his phone. And he did not know his friend's number.Not knowning what to do, he called his name hysterically.

"Kacchan? Kacchan!"

The mass luckily did not turn their heads to him. Although, no answer was heard.

'He could not have left me here alone...'

Running until opening the doors from the outside, he looked at both sidewalks. Gripping on his straps, he wondered if they have gotten too far, shaking. The sky was already dark, and was colder than ever. The door from the arcade opened.

"Where do you think you're going?" The blond restrained him with a hand.

"Kacchan! I thought you left me." He tightly hugged his chest when hearing him.

"Alright, alright, get off of me." The little one's warmth embraced him. "We're leaving, the food in here sucks so better go somewhere else."

Tesaki and Hashiga exited, and they started moving.

"Oh right! Kacchan, did you beat the game?" He hopped in front, aside.

"'Course I did! Who do you think I am? But I'll have to come back again, I didn't even make it on the leaderboard," he grunted afterwards. His walking speeded up, making him and his friends catch up. Deku remained at the back again even though he was the one told to not get lost.

Excluding the rest, Deku thought it has been really fun going out today. He thought he spent a good time since Kacchan was with his friends, so less scary than usual. Not to mention that he hasn't been able to go to other foreign places since he was caught with school. Not everything was bad.

It was getting louder, and the streets were congested with adults. Music playing and seemingly disco lights changing the wall's color from inside. Within this darkness, the boys stepped beneath the shadows of the sidewalk. They were reaching the entrance of a building in which seemed pelicular. All kinds of people in a hangout were present: the ones who smoked, the ones who were drunk, the ones who flirted, and the normal ones, basically. Deku glanced at them.

"What is this place? Is this a club?" Deku whispered to Bakugo, who almost did not understood what he said. "Club? No, it's a tavern." Very colorful and scandolous for a tavern, then. Speaking of which, were they going in the tavern? It was obviously prohibited, but they would probably head to simply eat. The concern was that they were only three middle-school boys entering the area. Wouldn't an adult care for whoever's parents these kids belonged to?

As Deku got distracted, he did not realize that a young woman with ginger hair had snatched him from his backpack, making him stumble behind.

"Hey cutie, are you lost? I could help you find your way back if you follow me." Her voice trailed off in-between. She was drunk and playfully hugged his neck. "O-oh! I-" Deku was stunned with fear since he could not reply but luckily Kacchan yanked his collar forward.

"He's with us. Fuck off," Bakugo pulled the middle-finger as he brought Deku inside the building. The girl moaned from frustration. Inside, it mostly looked like a bar area since no kids were there apart from them. The adults laughed and talked with their drinks. It was so noisy it was hard to hear each other. The dominant light that colored the walls was purple, meaning, that the light bulb of the place was fluorescent. If the weirdness was shoved aside, Deku would say it was cool.

"You pay." Tesaki elbowed his shoulder. "I know."

Hashiga continued to smoke and it seemed that the staff nor the bartender had a problem with it. Heck, it seemed that nobody cared for what these kids were about to. Whether they'd drink, whether they'd lose their innocence or probably pass out and be found dead in the morning, nobody cared. It almost seemed as they were accepted equally. As Tesaki followed Bakugo to order food, Deku followed Hashiga, who had left from his vision. He did not want to get lost, and he guided him to a wooden table. The plastic bag was put underneath it.

"Give me eight pieces of tsukune and for the drink water for four," Bakugo battled between the noise. The man nodded. "Is that all?" "Yeah."

Deku was totally out of place. He felt tension yet no eyes looked at him. Everybody was busy talking, maybe it was the density of the air in which all inhaled. Maybe it was the smell of alcohol and smoke. He sat with his fists on the round table. Hashiga sat oppositely, in front of him, with the cigarette, and his phone on his hand. Still, his mind clinged to that thought: 'why am I here?'

'Is so full... Are we even supposed to be here? What if Mitsuki finds out? It's already dark, and she's probably worried.' Deku looked outside the window. 'Or mad...'

Bakugo groaned as he sat alongside Deku on the curved, wooden seat that was around the round table. The greenette was taken by surprise. Tesaki sat too with Hashiga. They both used their phones. Deku's cheeks rose and his heart fastened. He looked away, outside. He had many questions.

"How you liking the place?" Bakugo asked him. "Um." Deku took advantage of his saying to instead asking something less trivial. "Are we even allowed to be here? Isn't it for adults?"

The other chuckled. "Nobody bothers to care whether you're an adult or not. Since this place is hidden from the town, anyone can come here regardless."

"But why aren't there kids like us in here more regularly?" He lowered his head.

"There are, but none came today. They were probably caught."

Deku lightly nodded and looked outside again. Both were silent, but were obviously interrupted by the excessive chattering from the older ones. The green-haired never thought he'd be somewhere like right now. He wanted to be a hero, and what was he doing in a tavern? What was Kacchan doing? Did he come here daily? He had so many questions but could not bring himself to ask casually.

"Hey," Bakugo voiced. Before Deku turned his head, the other clenched his hair and brought him forward. He connected his lips to his, kissing him, and closed his eyes. Just for that short time, he aparted and loosen his hold. "You look pale, lighten up." Deku could not progress during the moment, so after, his flusterness bursted, looking away.

Tesaki and Hagashi looked up, perplexed as Deku was. Bakugo really just did that in front of them and in the exposure of anyone who noticed. The blond sat back jerkly. "What?"

"Nothing," both said in unison, going back to their phones. Deku tried to convince himself that it was unconditional; that it was inevitable. He was not gay, he insisted. There were just strong feelings between the two that made it seem less understanding. Although, the kiss made him want another one, and another one, too.

Two minutes later, the water arrived. Eight minutes later, the food was given. The two friends saved their phones and grabbed the skewer stick from the tray. Bakugo ordered two sticks for the four, though, he expected them to be hungry later.

"Cheers!" Tesaki and Hashiga said to themselves and knocked the glass of water. Deku refused to eat. He felt like he could not since it would make him feel as if he was part of this whole situation. As if he sighed up for it. Even if it looked delicious, he had to resist. He could not identify its smell when the mixture of chicken, burning gas, and bitter drinks were combined.

Bakugo ripped the meat with his teeth, and looked aside. He took another skewer. "Take it, you haven't eaten anything." He held the stick to his view. "How do you know that?" Deku questioned.

"'Cause your mouth tasted like nothing." Tesaki suddenly spat his water to Hashiga, wetting his face. Deku's cheeks blushed, then glanced at the food. Maybe he had been a little inconsiderate? Eating the food did not mean anything wrong. Kacchan was solely offering him it without anything in return, and he even paid with his own money (Mitsuki's money, actually).

There was no reason to decline. He'd be starving for his own stupidity if he did so. Grabbing the skewer, he munched the meat, and it tasted so good. It was a mix of chicken and beef covered by the sweet soy. It was not bad trying after all.

...

"Damn, my stomach feels overload." They currently were walking down the empty sidewalk, beneath the shadows of the buildings. Deku thought that after eating, it will all be over, but it seemed that they were still as bored. The path they took was not congested, but aproximately four miles away, an upbeat music was audible.

"No one told you to refill your glass four times, idiot," Bakugo snarled at the black-haired, who wasn't smoking due to his pain.

"It's so dark in here, you sure we won't get assaulted?" Tesaki got anxious. The blond ignored his saying and stopped. He sparked an ignition with his explosive quirk as light source. "Probably."

A hooded man appeared from a voided alleyway. The friends yelped and jumped. Deku was struck, and Bakugo led the way, unbothered. When the stranger was about to fling his arm in order to use his quirk, Bakugo had cruelly blown his face. The man collapsed on the floor, having not inflicted harm nor the recognition of his power.

"Tsk, idiots... They think they can take us down, huh?" Bakugo growled.

"H-how did you even know that he was there?" Hashiga regained his stand with a shaking voice.

"It's not just a feeling, it's the accustoming of predicting the worse in the most unpredicting event."

Deku's eyes slowly widened. He took his notebook and wrote down what Kacchan said. "Anyways, let's hurry up. It's seven and we don't know how much darker it'll get."

...

What a wreck. This time, Deku was for sure that they were on a nightclub. He did not even need to ask. Tripping lights, illuminous as a spotlight, shined the scene. Likewise previous location, it turned from blue to red, to purple, and repeated. Surprisingly, every user in the place seemed young, younger than their thirties. It was even probable that some like Deku's age was there in the midst of the crowd. Compared to normal nightclubs, at least it wasn't as chaotic, but it was sure loud.

Tesaki and Hashiga were not present. Who knows where they went, and the green-haired did not even want to know. Maybe doing themselves, doing each other, or doing someone they've met. He recalled them talking to a chick who was introduced as Rebecca Wang, a full-blooded chinese. Not that he was a stalker, but a good listener.

At the same time, Deku reminded his position as a middle-schooler. Why was this being normalized? Why was it being done so casually? He could not believe what he was doing, thinking, and the fact that he was in a nightclub. He just simply could not believe it!

He and Kacchan sat at the back of the party. It was hard to perceive whether they sat on a large couch or comfy seat. Kacchan was half-asleep. He refused alcohol, of course, since he claimed that it would affect his cognitive thinking. Reasonably, he did not want his body to worsen before entering U.A. Since they were both alone, Deku had to keep the plastic bag.

"Kacchan," he raised his volume. A few more name-callings, and the blond groaned, blinking several times to ease his vision. "It's too late and you're sleepy, can we go home now?"

Bakugo turned his head aside, where Deku sat on the same couch, and smirked. "You've been insisting to leave for hours, why can't you just relax?"

"It's dangerous. You're the only who knows how to get back, right? We can't wait for those two to come out anymore." Deku stood, grabbing the bag. "You gonna order me around now, eh?" Bakugo forced his eyes to remain open, though it was evident that he was slowly descending to sleep. The green-haired pulled his arm towards him. It did not matter if he attacked, he had better things to worry.

"Kacchan! We need to go!"

Deku placed his arms around his shoulders, inspecting the occupied floor. He turned on his phone, noticing that is was 9PM yet they haven't arrived home. Kacchan did send Mitsuki a message that they will go out for a while, but it was not surprising that the greenette had eleven missed calls from her. He got shivers.

"Kacchan, you're heavy," he groaned. Picking up the irresponsible spiky-blond home by himself was impossible. It was hard to remain cautious, sustain his weight, and kepping his own pace simultaneously. They needed a taxi, and needed Kacchan to wake up. What could he do in order for him to mantain his eyes wide opened? Deku thought... and thought... but he came up with a regretful idea.

Placing Kacchan on the floor, he rested his body in which breathed profoundly. He breathed in and sighed a long pause. 'I'm sorry for everything for which my life has come to an end,' he prayed. Then, he roughly slapped Bakugo's face with his palm, and he rapidly, in just an instant, provoked the deepest rage inside.

Bakugo shamelessly used his harmful quirk. "FUCKING DEKU!" He exploded in his direction, standing, but Deku rolled over and dodged. He ran the quickest he could to the exit doors. Outside, it was so quiet for a short period. The blond catched up and applied his weight on his back, making the greenette fall frontward on the concrete floor. "Eeh!-ow!"

"What was that fucking for?" His flaming breath contacted him. "T-that really did work," he stammered by his thoughts. Bakugo gripped his hair, and he wailed.

"Ahh! I woke you up so you would call a taxi. We'll also need to hide the bag."

The blond snatched the said plastic bag. He got off of him. Before throwing it away, he took the two items inside as they were the only things in it. He saved them in his pocket.

"I'm tired, too, Kacchan... We've been carrying our backpacks the whole day!" Deku sat down for some reason. "Give me your phone."

Deku hesitated but did so since it was to call a taxi after all. The position turned meaningless so he remained standing. After fifteen minutes, a nearby cab arrived. Bakugo payed the driver and informed where they were supposed to be left off.