Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    “Class, I have an announcement to make,” Aizawa Shouta, the homeroom teacher of Class 2-A, said early on Friday morning. All eyes fixed on him expectantly, including Bakugou Katsuki’s. 

    Bakugou held a begrudging amount of respect for his teacher, given how many times he had saved their class’s asses. He’d gone to bat for Bakugou when he had been kidnapped, sacrificed himself at the USJ, and even lost a leg in the Final Battle at the end of their first year while he tried to keep Shigaraki from getting to Deku. He was a fucking badass of a guy, so the volatile blond figured he deserved to be listened to when he asked. 

     “On the way to class this morning, a first year management student accidentally activated her quirk on Midoriya,” Aizawa explained. Katsuki’s eyes instinctively flickered to his left, where a wall of windows sat. He frequently used the windows to check the seat behind him, where Deku always sat. He had noticed he wasn’t in class yet, but figured the little nerd must have been running late. Now that it was confirmed that he wasn’t, anxiety began to prickle in Katsuki’s chest. 

     “What kind of quirk?” Uraraka asked from the other side of the room, also seeming panicked. “Is it dangerous? Is he okay?!” 

     “Settle down,” Aizawa snapped. “He is physically unharmed, although…” the man trailed off, then sighed. “Oh, well, I might as well just show you. Midoriya, come in here!” 

    The door to the classroom slowly slid open, and a head of fluffy green curls poked its way into the room. Katsuki noticed immediately what was wrong with Deku when he hesitantly stepped inside, clothed in their middle school uniform and five inches shorter than he had been the day before. Given the gasps that resounded around the room, everyone else had realized what was wrong as well. 

    “Um… hi?” Deku squeaked, his cheeks flushing from all the attention on him. Aizawa waved his hand to beckon Deku closer to him until the greenet stood at his side. 

    “Midoriya was hit with a de-aging quirk that regressed his age to thirteen years old,” the hero declared. “His memories have left him as well, so he won’t know any of you, either. I expect you all to treat him well.” He said this with a pointed glare around the room. Bakugou was aware that his jaw was hanging open like a fish, but he couldn’t bring himself to close it. Deku was… so much smaller than he had remembered. His cheeks were full of baby fat, and his curls were even more unruly than usual, like he had gotten out of bed and sprinted into class without brushing his hair. All of his hard-earned musculature was gone, leaving him swimming in the middle school uniform that Auntie Inko had bought a few sizes too big so he could “grow into” it. 

    His wrists and collarbone were jutting out of his skin, as he was almost scarily thin. He looked like a strong gust of wind could knock him over. 

    “Oh my god !” Ashido squealed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “He’s so cute!” 

   The class began to chatter all at once, each of them asking questions to both Deku and their teacher. The nerd’s giant eyes widened even more, anxiety clear on his face as he began to inch backwards. Katsuki had a sudden flash of a memory; the entirety of their middle school classroom jeering and hurling insults at Izuku when he stood up to give a presentation to the class. They had harassed him until the nerd ran out of the room to cry alone in the bathroom. 

    “OI!” Katsuki yelled, screeching his chair back. He slammed his hands on his desk for good measure, just to make sure he got everyone’s attention. Once everyone was staring at him, Deku included, he sneered at them all. “You’re fucking scaring him, extras!” 

    “K-Kacchan!” Deku stuttered, relaxing slightly at the sight of a familiar face. “We’re in the same class?” 

     Katsuki softened his expression, his heart in his throat. Looking at Deku now, knowing that the nerd hadn’t ever looked down on him, but rather looked up to him, he felt nauseous knowing that he had once destroyed the boy over and over again. He never wanted to repeat that behavior. “Yeah, nerd,” he said. “We’re in the same class.” 

    “But… how ?” Deku asked, a hand fluttering to his mouth to try and hold back his mumbling. “I mean, Kacchan has such an amazing quirk, and I-!” 

    “Deku, you’re not quirkless,” Katsuki said quickly. Deku’s jaw dropped open in shock. 

   “ What?! ” 

     “Yeah, what?” Kaminari asked, furrowing his brow. Katsuki snapped his teeth at the blond for interrupting before he went back to talking to Izuku. 

    “You developed your quirk late, alright? You’re not quirkless,” he explained. Deku’s eyes began to fill with tears, always so quick to cry. 

    “You mean-” he cut himself off, like he couldn’t even dare to say it. 

    Aizawa was looking between the two of them with a hard expression. It occurred to Katsuki then that Aizawa might not have heard the excuse All Might had come up with that Izuku was a late bloomer. It was an excuse they’d used for Katsuki and Deku’s mom, the only two who knew the boy to be quirkless before U.A.. 

    “Bakugou, we will be speaking after class,” the hero said. Katsuki nodded grimly and sat back down, crossing his arms over his chest. Aizawa pointed to the empty seat behind him and instructed Izuku to go sit down. “Midoriya, be sure to take notes throughout all of your classes, even if you don’t understand. They will be important to your future self once this quirk wears off.” 

   “Yes, sir!” Deku scrambled to sit down behind Katsuki, practically vibrating with nerves. It was clear to the blond that the kid had a million questions, but he knew better than to go against an authority figure. Katsuki’s chest hurt when he thought about the way their previous teachers had always treated Deku. 

     He knew that Deku forgave him for the way he had treated him when they were younger, especially once the green-haired boy realized that Katsuki had essentially thought that the boy was bullying him right back. Even so, that didn’t mean that Katsuki forgave himself.

     (x)

   “So, how old are you?” Ashido asked the moment she was able to. The lunch bell had rang a few minutes before, and the entirety of 2-A had decided they would be eating lunch inside of the classroom. Once they all got their lunches from the cafeteria, they had moved their desks into a circle so they could ask young Deku questions. The boy had kept his seat next to Katsuki’s, at the older boy’s insistence. He wasn’t going to let this Deku out of his sight if he could help it. He couldn’t help but notice that the nerd seemed a little less stressed out when Katsuki was near, too. 

   “Um… I’m thirteen,” Deku mumbled, biting into his sandwich. He had never been good being the center of attention, not until their first year of U.A.. Katsuki resisted the urge to bury his hand in the boy’s hair, something that always made Deku smile in the present day. 

    “So, you’re in your first year of middle school?” Todoroki asked. Deku nodded, chewing slowly so he wouldn’t have to talk as much. 

    “What’s the last thing you remember?” Katsuki found himself asking. Deku swallowed his food and squinted a bit, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. 

    “I remember walking to school and getting on the train, but after that…” he trailed off and shrugged. “It was like I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was here.” 

    “Interesting,” Iida said, pushing up his glasses. “Well, I think it would be prudent for us all to go around and introduce ourselves to Midoriya-kun!”

   “Ooh, I’ll go first!” Uraraka, who had taken the seat on the other side of Deku, smiled. “I’m Uraraka Ochako! I’m your best friend!” 

    Deku’s eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day. “You… I have a best friend?!” 

    “You have four,” Todoroki said with a soft smile. “I’m Todoroki Shouto, and I’m one of them.” 

   “I’m Asui Tsuyu, kero . Please call me Tsu.” 

   “And I’m Iida Tenya!” Iida said, chopping his arm like a robot. “We are your closest friends here at U.A.! Well, besides Bakugou-kun, of course!” 

    Katsuki flushed at the implication, but didn’t correct Iida. Deku whipped his head around so quickly he must have gotten whiplash. “Kacchan… Kacchan is my best friend too?” 

    “Yes, fuckwad,” Katsuki said through gritted teeth. The truth was, Katsuki considered Kirishima to be his only best friend. Sure, he was close to the other extras in his group, but Kirishima filled a space in his life that no one else had ever had before. Katsuki didn’t quite think of Deku as his best friend. He was… something else. Something closer . But he couldn’t exactly explain that in front of the entirety of their class without looking like a pussy. 

    “Wow,” Izuku said with awe. “I… I don’t know what to say.” 

   “You don’t have to say anything,” Yaomomo said with a soft smile. “My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. We’re friends, as well!” 

    “Yeah, we’re all friends!” Kirishima piped up. “I’m Kirishima Eijirou, nice to meet you again bro!” 

    The rest of the class went one by one, introducing themselves to Deku with enthusiasm and kind words. By the end of it, Deku’s lower lip was trembling and his eyes were shining. He hadn’t cried at the drop of a hat like this in a long, long time, so it was a bit weird to see again. Katsuki  once again had to clench his fists so that he didn’t touch the nerd. ‘ When the fuck did I get so touchy-feely with him?’  

    “Wow,” Deku said again. “I have friends!” 

   “Of course you have friends!” Hagakure chirped. “Why wouldn’t you have friends?” 

   “I’ve never had friends before,” Izuku explained, biting his lower lip. “Besides Kacchan, of course.” 

     The room fell quiet at the admission. Katsuki looked down at his untouched curry, inwardly kicking himself. He was such a fucking asshole in middle school, he knew that. Knowing it and being confronted with it again were two different monsters, though. 

   “That’s so sad,” Ashido finally whispered, looking upset. 

   “Don’t worry Midori-bro, we’ll be friends forever!” Kaminari, who sat next to Kirishima, nudged him. Kirishima reached out and nudged Bakugou in turn, who rolled his eyes and clasped his hand on Deku’s shoulder. The greenet flinched hard at the contact, as he hadn’t been expecting it. 

   “S-sorry!” He said quickly, ducking his head to blush again. He took another big bite of his sandwich, and kept his head down for the rest of lunch. The class ate their own food in somber silence. Katsuki didn’t eat a single bite. 

    At the end of the day, Katsuki stayed in his seat while everyone else packed up. When Deku went to stand with everyone else, Katsuki twisted around to get him to sit down again. “Aizawa wants to talk with us, remember?” 

   “R-right!” Deku plopped back down, playing with his hands. Deku had always had big hands, but at thirteen and still going through puberty, they were small. His thin fingers were perfectly straight and scar-free, and wasn’t that a trip to see. Katsuki faced the front of the room once more, where Aizawa was leaning against his desk to see everyone out. Once the door slid shut behind the last person, the man levelled Katsuki with a hard stare. 

    “Explain,” he said flatly. Katsuki crossed his arms and tilted his chin up defiantly, his brain working hard to come up with excuses. 

    “Explain what?” he stalled. 

   “Don’t mess with me Bakugou,” Aizawa warned. “Explain to me about Midoriya’s quirk. Why was I not aware that he was a late bloomer? When exactly did he develop his quirk?” 

     Deku leaned forward, also interested in the answer. Katsuki rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, wishing that All Might was still alive to help with this. A moment later he pushed the thought down, smirking to himself. All Might would be tripped all over himself to explain, and would no doubt make Aizawa’s suspicion worse. 

    “From what the nerd told me, he developed it during the last few minutes of the entrance exam,” he said. Aizawa’s face would have been comical in any other situation, what with the way his mouth fell open and his eyes widened. Izuku sucked in a breath from behind Katsuki, leaning in even closer. 

    “ Really ? So I really have a quirk then? You weren’t just saying that? What kind of quirk is it? If I only got it during the last few minutes of the entrance exam, how did I get in? What was the entrance exam like?” 

    “Deku!” Katsuki barked, turning around. “I can’t answer all of your questions at once! Slow the fuck down, will you? And get out of your seat and sit next to me so I don’t have to crane my neck to look at you!” 

   “Okay!” Deku bounced to Jirou’s usual seat next to Katsuki, a smile on his face. 

   “You're telling me,” Aizawa said slowly. “That Midoriya had his quirk for two weeks before the first day of U.A.?” 

    “Yeah,” Bakugou shrugged. “He was a late bloomer, like I said.” 

   “ That’s why he broke all of his bones?”

   “Why I what ?” 

   “Yes, alright?” Bakugou threw his hands in the air. “I thought All Might would have told all of the teachers!” 

    “Well, he didn’t!” Aizawa said indignantly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Good god, I was so hard on the poor kid… if I had known…” 

   “You know Deku, sensei,” Katsuki said. “If you gave him special treatment, he would have hated it.” 

    “That’s true,” Young Deku mumbled his agreement. “Everyone always either treats me like glass because I’m quirkless, or like rotting garbage.” 

   Aizawa met the boy’s eyes, seeming pained. “Midoriya, that’s…” 

   “But that’s okay, because I made my first friends here!” Deku clapped his hands, unaware of the pain he was causing his sensei with the words. “I’m so glad!” 

    “Deku, I have to say something,” Katsuki said, ignoring Aizawa for a moment. Deku looked at him with those innocent sparkling eyes, causing Katsuki to falter for a moment. This Deku… this Deku was one who hadn’t faced the horrors of battle. He hadn’t watched people die in front of him, hadn’t fought tooth and nail to climb his way to the top, hadn’t faced down pure evil. Even so, there was something else in his eyes that Katsuki didn’t like. Something dull and dark. 

   “What is it, Kacchan?” 

   Katsuki swallowed hard and gripped the edges of his desk to ground himself. “I… I’m so fucking sorry for the way I treated you for so long. I always thought that you were looking down on me because you knew you were a better person than me, but I realized when we were older that that wasn’t the case. I never should have treated you like shit though, regardless of that.” 

    Deku stared at him for a moment, and in that moment, a horrible feeling welled up inside of Katsuki. This Deku had probably experienced Bakugou’s terrible attitude just a day before, rather than a year before, like the Dek u that Katsuki had last apologized to. What if he didn’t forgive him? Would Katsuki be able to handle that, especially knowing that he deserved it? 

   “Kacchan,” Deku whimpered, his voice hiccuping a bit. “ Thank you .” 

    “I need some time to process all of this,” Aizawa cut in, running a hand through his messy hair. “Both of you may go back to the dorms. Bakugou, you’re in charge of caring for Midoriya while he’s like this. According to the first year, it should wear off anytime between tomorrow morning and two days from now.”

   “Yes, Sensei,” Katsuki nodded, standing up. He refused to acknowledge the feeling in his stomach, or the slight trembling of his hands. “C’mon fuckhead, let’s go.” 

     The two boys headed back to the dorms, leaving their teacher alone to contemplate everything he had learned. Unbeknownst to Katsuki, Aizawa knew better than to take the explanation at face-value. He knew there was something about Midoriya’s quirk that the boys were hiding from him, and he intended to find out what it was. 

Chapter Text

      “U.A. has a dorm system?” Deku asked as the two boys walked back to Heights Alliance. “How come I didn’t know that?” 

     “It’s new,” Katsuki grumbled, not looking at the kid. “We had a lot of villains attack us in our first year, so this was safer.” 

     “Oh,” Deku said. “Cool!” 

   Katsuki couldn’t help but snort. “You would think it’s cool.” Deku wilted a bit, ducking his head down so his curls shadowed his face. Katsuki pursed his lips, reminding himself that this Deku wasn’t the one who would joke with and mercilessly tease him. “I wasn’t making fun of you, shitnerd.”

   “Okay,” Deku said, although he didn’t sound convinced. They walked the rest of the way in silence, mostly because Katsuki didn’t want to say anything else wrong. When they entered the dorm building, it was to find the entirety of their class waiting for them in the common room, obviously excited to hang out more with little Deku. 

    “Hey you guys!” Ashido said, bouncing out of her seat and over to them. “Midori, since we know you love quirks, we thought it would be cool if we all showed you ours!” 

   “Midori…?” Deku blushed, but still nodded his head. “That sounds good!” 

   Mina took his head and led him over to the couches, already beginning to explain her quirk. Katsuki trailed behind them, plopping down next to IcyHot in an empty seat. Todoroki glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking him if everything was okay. Katsuki wouldn’t go as far as to call them friends (no matter how much IcyHot said otherwise), but their joint license training and their internship with Endeavor in their first year had brought them closer. He answered the question with a shrug, then turned back to watch Deku geek out over everyone’s quirks all over again. It was kind of cute to see it now that he knew Deku wasn’t looking down on him. (He would take that thought to his grave.) 

    By the time the greenet had exhausted himself, it was almost Katsuki’s bedtime. Deku said goodbye to the extras, and Katsuki led them to the staircase, since Deku’s room was only on the second floor. 

    “Everyone’s quirks are so cool,” Deku gushed, his eyes sparkling with a light that Katsuki hadn’t seen in a while. Young Deku always walked around with hunched shoulders, like he was expecting someone to hit him at any second. It made him sick to his stomach for the umpteenth time when he thought about why exactly that was. Deku prattled on until Katsuki stopped in front of his dorm room’s door, gesturing to it. 

    “This is your room,” he explained. “There’ll be clothes in there for you, although future you is bigger than you are right now. Class starts at eight tomorrow, so meet me downstairs at seven forty-five and we’ll walk together.” 

    Deku looked at him like he hung the moon in the sky. “Really? Kacchan will walk me?” 

   Katsuki’s ears burned, and he looked away. “Yeah, dipshit, I’ll walk you. Goodnight.” He turned to go, but Deku grabbed onto his sleeve before he could take a step. 

    “U-um, Kacchan?” 

   Katsuki faced him again. “Yeah?” 

    Deku seemed to falter for a moment, that dark look coming back into his eyes. “...Nothing, nevermind. Goodnight.” Katsuki didn’t have a chance to say anything before Deku disappeared into his room. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, but he didn’t want to overstep, either. Not when Deku was obviously terrified of him. 

    He didn’t sleep well that night. 

     (x)

    Izuku was overwhelmed. He had always wanted to go to U.A., and lord knew he had prayed for a quirk for his entire life, but finding out that he actually got here? That he shared a class with Kacchan? Not only that, but Kacchan was nice to him now? He couldn’t help but think that this was all a dream he was going to wake up from. 

    When he entered his dorm room, he found it suspiciously empty of All Might merch. He frowned to himself, wondering if this was really the right room, but he trusted Kacchan. Sure enough, when he dug through his drawers and opened his closet, clothes that looked like his style filled the spaces. He found a well-worn set of pajamas and put them on before he sat on his bed, hands gripping his knees. A familiar itch underneath his skin pulled at him, and he swallowed hard. In his pajamas, his wrists were bare, showing the cuts and scars he had inflicted on himself over the years. 

    He knew objectively that cutting himself wasn’t a good idea, but when he started the habit at eleven years old, he hadn’t cared about that. It gave him an outlet to let out his emotions, and as twisted as it was, it calmed him. In his own time, he had a small black box in his bedside drawer that held his collection of blades; a few razor blades he had bought at the convenience store, some pencil sharpeners he had dismantled, and the blade to an exacto knife he had for school. He glanced at the bedside drawer in his dorm room and wondered. 

   ‘ Surely now that I’m here, I don’t do it anymore… I have friends, I have a quirk, I got into U.A.! I can’t still do this to myself… can I?’

     He almost didn’t want to check, in case he was wrong. It would break the fantasy he had of a perfect life. 

    He checked anyway. The black box was hiding in the back of the drawer. 

     (x)

    Katsuki entered the classroom with Deku on his heels. The boy’s U.A. uniform hadn’t fit him well at all, so the two of them had come up with a new ensemble for him to wear. It was just one of Deku’s long-sleeved plain t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that he’d had to roll at the waistband so they would fit, but it was the best they could do until they got a hold of Yaomomo to hopefully make him something better. 

    “Glad to see you both made it,” Aizawa drawled from the front of the room. He eyed Deku’s outfit, but thankfully didn’t say anything. Katsuki would hate to explode his teacher’s face for making Deku feel bad. “Go sit down, you two.”

    Deku had saddled himself with a few notebooks, one for taking class notes, and another for his nerdy quirk notes. He’d started that one the night before when he interviewed each of their classmates, much to Katsuki’s amusement. The guy really never changed. Classes were boring as usual, since Katsuki liked to read ahead in textbooks and thus tended to already know whatever their teachers were teaching most days. Deku wasn’t mumbling behind him either, which felt odd. It left him twitchy and anxious, which led to him having to burn the nitroglycerin off of his palms more than usual. If anyone noticed anything, then they had the good sense not to say it to his face. 

    By lunchtime, Class A decided to eat in the classroom once again. Present Mic released them all to leave when the bell rang, but Deku was so focused on his notes that the nerd didn’t seem to realize. Most of the class had brought their own lunches in for the day, but Katsuki had been so anxious about the situation that he had forgotten to make him and Deku lunch. When he stood up to leave, he turned around to tell Deku to get up too. 

    “Oi, nerd. We need to go buy lunch.”

    The smaller boy jumped at the sound of Katsuki’s voice, peering up at him. “O-oh! Sorry, Kacchan!” He put his pencil down between his notebook pages and stood, smiling weakly. “Um, are we eating in here today?” 

    “Yeah, we are!” Uraraka popped up out of nowhere. “C’mon Deku-kun, let’s go!” She reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist, a common occurrence. Normally, present day Deku would let her lead him wherever she wanted him to go, smiling and giggling off into the sunset. Today, the boy yelped and snatched his wrist away from her, cradling it to his chest like he’d been burned. The class turned to stare at him curiously, exchanging looks with each other. Uraraka looked hurt at his reaction, but tried to smile through it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

   “I-it’s fine!” Deku said, waving her off. Katsuki might have taken it at face-value, if he didn’t see the blood beginning to bleed through his white shirt. 

    Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Deku’s hand, pulling his wrist toward him. Deku barely had a moment to stammer out a protest before Katsuki grabbed his sleeve with his other hand and yanked it up. There, on his thin, bony wrists, were what looked like hundreds of scars, all overlapping on each other. Some of them were shallow and silver, having already turned white with age, while others were much deeper and bright red. Over top the older scars were fresher cuts that looked to be a week or so old, and even over those were ones that looked brand new. Ones that must have been made last night. 

    Deku yanked his wrist out of Katsuki’s hold and yanked his sleeve back down, but it was already too late. Katsuki, Uraraka and Sero, who were the closest to the boy, had already seen them. The three older teenagers were frozen in shock, mouths hanging open. Deku’s eyes began to fill with panicked tears. 

    “Oh, Deku-kun…” Uraraka said softly. 

   “What? What happened?” Kaminari asked from the middle of the room. Katsuki’s breath had halted in his chest, holy shit, he couldn’t fucking breathe-

    “Dude,” Sero said, sounding choked up. “Are- are you cutting yourself?” 

    Present Mic whipped his head around to stare at their little group, having heard what Sero said. The entire room heard what Sero said, and now they were all staring at Deku. The boy reached up with both hands to cover his face, his shoulders beginning to shake. Katsuki’s body reanimated before his mind did, stepping close to Deku to block him from everyone else’s view. He turned to glare at the rest of the room, growling out a command through gritted teeth. “Everyone, get the fuck out. Now .” 

     They didn’t have to be told twice. Class 2-A shuffled out of the room, although Deku’s little entourage looked like it was the last thing they wanted to do. When the door slid shut, the only ones left were Katsuki, Deku, and Present Mic. The loud teacher cleared his throat and approached the childhood friends, doing his best to keep his face soft and kind. 

    “Hey, little listener,” he said. “I think you guys need to come with me, okay? Recovery Girl is a great nurse, she can make sure your… cuts … are well taken care of.” 

    “No,” Deku moaned, refusing to take his hands away from his face. “No, no, no .” 

   “Deku,” Katsuki said, then quickly stopped himself. He didn’t know what to say. He had never suspected… how could he…? 

    “It’s alright,” Present Mic continued, reaching out to rest a comforting hand on Deku’s shoulder. “Bakugou will stay with you, won’t you Bakugou?” The blond gave his student a hard look, which helped to snap Katsuki’s mind back on track. The explosive boy nodded firmly, reaching out to grab Deku’s hands away from his face. His cheeks were bright red with humiliation and tear-stained, his eyes big and watery. 

   “C’mon, Deku,” he grumbled. “We gotta listen to him. Recovery Girl will help you.” 

   Deku met Katsuki’s eyes. “I’m sorry Kacchan, I’m sorry-” 

   “Hey,” Katsuki cut him off. “Don’t- don’t fucking worry about me, okay? Let’s just go to Recovery Girl, okay? She’s a hero, you want to meet her, don’t you?” 

    Deku nodded slowly, seeming to realize that Katsuki wasn’t going to bite his head off. “...Okay.” 

     Present Mic walked with them to the nurse’s office, a trouble expression on his face. Katsuki had no doubt that Aizawa was going to be hearing about this the moment the two of them were out of earshot. Deku was biting so hard on his lower lip that Katsuki was afraid he might draw blood, no doubt to keep himself from mumbling. Katsuki really hated that he kept doing that; he’d grown used to hearing Deku’s inner monologue, and thus how he was feeling at any given time. 

    When they got to Recovery Girl’s office, the woman was already standing up like she was waiting for them. She had a grim expression on her face that matched what was no doubt on Katsuki’s, and the blond had a moment to wonder how Present Mic had notified her without him noticing. Recovery Girl held out her hand for Deku take, and when he did, she led him further into the room. Present Mic stayed in the doorway, unsure if he should stay present or not. Katsuki gave him a slight shake of his head before he stepped into the office and slid the door shut behind him, blocking Present Mic from the room. He knew that the more people stared at Deku, the worse off he would be. 

    Yamada Hizashi watched the door click shut behind his students, and let out the breath he had been holding. He knew his husband had dubbed Midoriya “Problem Child” for a reason of course, but he never could have expected this . Given the looks on the rest of the class’s faces, he wasn’t the only one. Bakugou had looked down right haunted , and didn’t that just make Hizashi feel one-thousand times worse. 

    He took a step away from the door and took his phone out of his pocket. His hands were shaking when he dialed Shouta’s phone number and put the device to his ear. When the man picked up, he let out a shaky breath. “Shouta, we have a problem.” 

Chapter Text

    “Just keep an eye on him,” Recovery Girl said softly to Katsuki. The two looked across the room, where Deku was staring down at his bandaged wrists. They were standing near the door of the infirmary, keeping their voices low so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I think maybe he should spend the night in your room, at least until he changes back.” 

    “And when will that be?” Katsuki pressed, aggravation pulling at his brow. 

   “It will either be tomorrow or the next day,” Recovery Girl replied, ignoring his attitude. “I just don’t want him to be left alone for too long. The cuts he inflicted were…” she trailed off. Katsuki didn’t need to hear it to know what she meant. They had been long and deep; pretty serious. 

   “Alright,” he mumbled. He turned to Deku and gestured at him to get up. “Come on Deku, we’re going back. You’re spending the night with me.” 

    Deku jerked his head up to look at Katsuki, wide-eyed. “I… I am?” 

   “You are,” Katsuki said. Deku leaped off of the hospital bed and followed Katsuki out of the infirmary, allowing the blond to lead the way out of the main building. The walk back to Heights Alliance was filled with painful silence, as both of the boys contemplated what they had been through that day. They had a few hours before classes would end, so Katsuki wasn’t worried about bumping into any of the extras, who would no doubt bombard the nerd with questions. Finally, while Katsuki was using his keycard to get into the building, he acknowledged the nerd. “It was really shitty of Tape Face to call you out like that. I’m sorry.”

    Deku blinked at Katsuki, his face turning scarlet. “...Yeah. It wasn’t fun.” 

   They stepped inside and took off their shoes, putting their house slippers on. “You don’t have to worry about them asking questions. I’ll take care of it.” 

   “Thank you, Kacchan.” 

   The elevator ride was just as awkwardly silent as the walk had been, but Katsuki couldn’t get something out of his mind. Once they stepped off onto the fourth floor, Katsuki side-eyed Deku. The boy was looking down at the ground, the tips of his ears still burning bright red. He wondered briefly if the boy would cry, although he pushed the thought away. 

    “Deku, I need to ask you something.” 

    The thirteen year old bit his lower lip, but still raised his eyes to look at Katsuki. The blond pulled out his key for his door and unlocked it, ushering the smaller boy inside. “What is it?” 

    “Where…” he trailed off, his voice locking in his throat. He wasn’t really sure he wanted to know the answer. Still, he knew the question would eat at him until it was answered. “Where did you get the blades?” Deku paused right inside Katsuki’s door, fists clenching at his sides. He looked like he didn’t want to answer him. Katsuki pressed on. “Do you… carry them on you?” 

    Deku shook his head, bouncy curls bobbing. “...No. Future me… they were in his bedside table. That’s where I usually keep them.” 

    Katsuki closed his eyes, forcing himself to keep his expression neutral. He was aware of Deku looking at him, his gaze burning into the side of Katsuki’s head. Bakugou almost wasn’t sure what he’d wanted the answer to be, but regardless, he was unprepared for it. “I see,” he said. 

   “Are you… upset?” 

   “Of course I’m upset!” Katsuki snarled. Deku ducked his head down again, and Katsuki sighed. “I’m sorry. I just… I don’t like that you do this. I never knew…” he trailed off. Deku peeked at him through his eyelashes, holding on to his injured wrist shyly. 

    “Sorry, he whispered. Katsuki closed his eyes, shaking his head. 

   “Let’s just get our minds off of it, okay? Wanna watch an All Might movie?” 

  Midoriya brightened up, and that was how the two of them spent their night. They didn’t go back downstairs. 

    (x)

   “That was a pretty shitty thing to do, Sero,” Mina frowned at her friend. Sero rubbed the back of his neck, his shoulders tightening. 

    “I was shocked, okay? I wasn’t expecting…” 

   They knew what he meant. Finding out that Midoriya was hurting himself, even if he was age regressed, wasn’t something they had expected to find out. It appeared like his closest friends were really beating themselves up about it. 

    “Do you think they’ll come downstairs?” Ojiro asked, twisting his tail nervously. Kirishima shook his head, holding out his phone screen. 

    “Baku-bro doesn’t want him to see any of you for now,” he explained. “He’s afraid it’ll send him into a panic attack.” 

    Sero winced again, looking down at the ground. The entire class was crowded around the common room, all of them thinking about what they had learned that day. Eventually, Kaminari, Kirishima and Tsuyu started a mario kart marathon, and the rest of the class went about their usual business. Still, none of them could get the niggling thought of their friend out of the backs of their minds.

(x)

    Izuku woke up with a pounding headache. He groaned, sitting up in his bed before he reached out for his phone. When he patted around his bedside table and couldn’t find it, he squinted open his eyes. Immediately he went on high alert, realizing that the bedroom he was in was not his own. From the numerous study sessions they had, he knew he was currently sitting in Kacchan’s bed . 

   He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember what had brought him here, but came up with nothing. All he remembered was walking to school in the morning and bumping into a first year, and then… nothing. It was all a blur of fuzzy shapes and bright colours, but nothing distinct. Before he could spiral too far down into his panic, the door to the room opened, revealing Kacchan. The boy was freshly showered and rubbing a towel into his hair, which meant it was already late enough that he had finished his morning workout. He and Kacchan met eyes, and Izuku was surprised to find that the blond looked shocked. Did he sneak into Kacchan’s bedroom at some point without him knowing?!

    “You’ve changed back,” Kacchan said, closing the door behind him. Izuku wrinkled his brow.    

    “Changed back? From what?” 

   “So you don’t remember anything,” Katsuki said evenly, going across the room. He tossed his damp towel in his hamper, along with the dirty clothes he’d worn to the showers. He hung up his shower caddy on the back of his door before he turned to Izuku and crossed his arms. “You were hit with a quirk that turned you thirteen years old again.” 

    Izuku raised his eyebrows. “Well, was it a time-traveling quirk? Was it just my body that changed or did I retain my memories? Will my past self be sent back knowing everything that happened here? What if-” 

    “Slow the fuck down!” Katsuki snapped. Izuku clicked his jaw shut, nodding. Katsuki huffed a breath of air and ran his fingers through his damp hair. 

    “No, it wasn’t a time travelling quirk. Your past self wasn’t actually affected at all. No, you didn’t have your memories. But there is something else you need to know.” 

   Izuku nodded vigorously, readying himself for more news. “Alright. Tell me.” 

  Katsuki watched him for a moment, apparently trying to choose his words. “Your younger self… when he was here, he found something in your room.” 

    “Found something…?” Izuku asked, wrinkling his brow. “What did he find?” 

   “Your razor blades,” Kacchan admitted. 

    Izuku’s entire world stopped on its axis. 

   “He ended up cutting himself pretty bad,” Katsuki continued, heedless of Izuku’s reaction. “And… and Sero saw, and he told the entire class.”

    Izuku was suddenly glad he was still sitting down. One of his biggest secrets was now out in the open. He had been hiding this for so long now that it was second nature to him, and now… everyone knew. Everyone knew that Izuku used to cut himself, and now Kacchan knew that he sometimes still did it. What else was he supposed to infer from the fact that Izuku had kept his weapons? How the hell was he supposed to react to this? 

    “Deku, breathe,” Katsuki commanded, reaching out to flick Izuku’s forehead. The green-haired boy inhaled sharply, not having realized he was holding his breath. He blinked a few times up at his friend, dread sinking into his stomach.

   “Kacchan,” he croaked, his voice tight. Katsuki shook his head, holding up a hand. 

   “Just… don’t,” he said, looking away. “Worry about yourself first, alright? The extras are going to have a lot of questions, and you need to answer them.” 

    Izuku nodded again, swallowing hard around the lump in his throat. He could feel panic clawing at his chest but ignored it, pushing it away. Now was not the time to freak the fuck out. 

   After all, he had friends to attend to. 

Chapter Text

   “I’m glad you all came,” Izuku said, looking around the common room. His classmates circled around him, sitting on the furniture in the room. They were all staring at him, causing anxiety to flare in his chest. He took a deep breath and pushed it away. He needed to do this, for both their sakes and his. “I know… I know you probably have some questions, so… fire away, I guess.”

    Sero spoke first, in a rush. “I’m sorry, dude. I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just- I’m really, really sorry.”

   “Thank you,” Izuku said. He didn’t say that he forgave him, because he couldn’t quite do that yet. One day, he would. 

    “Why?” Uraraka asked in a small voice. “Why would you do that to yourself, Deku-kun?”

   Izuku bit his lower lip while he thought about his answer. “Well… when I was younger, I didn’t really… like myself. It was a way to get out my anxiety and emotions that I couldn’t handle. It was an addiction, and I didn’t see anything wrong with it.” 

    “Do you… still do it?” Ojiro asked, wringing his tail in his hands. Izuku had been dreading this question, because he didn’t know how to answer it. If he was honest, then his friends would undoubtedly feel concern, and perhaps they would treat him differently for it. If he lied, then there was always the risk of being found out later. Kacchan already knew that Izuku had kept his box of tools, although Izuku knew he could trust the blond with his life. If there was one thing Bakugou could do, it was keep a secret. 

   “...No,” he ended up saying. “No, I don’t.”

   Breaths of relief filled the room. Izuku glanced at his childhood friend, who stared back at him with a frown. He had always been able to tell when Izuku was lying, and could probably see on his face that he was now. They would have to talk about this later. 

    “That’s good,” Jirou said, smiling at him. “We were all just really worried about you, Midoriya-kun.”

   “I’m sorry I worried you,” he apologized. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to look at me differently.” 

   “If it was in the past, then it was none of our business,” Todoroki said, shrugging his shoulders. “I think we’re all just glad that you aren’t still doing it.” 

    Voices chorused their agreement, and Izuku internally winced. ‘ Well, now I feel like shit.’  

   “Right,” he ended up saying. “Well, um… if that’s all, then I’m really tired. I think I need to go sleep the quirk off.”

    Everyone understood, so Izuku shot Katsuki one last glance before he headed to the staircase that led to the second floor. The blond followed him without a word to anyone else. Only once they were locked safely inside of Izuku’s room did the boy demanded answers. “Where?” he asked without any explanation. Izuku contemplated playing dumb, but decided that Kacchan wouldn’t like that. 

   He swallowed, his voice breaking a bit when he answered. “On- on my thighs.” 

   “How often?” 

   “...It varies,” he said eventually. “The last time was a few months ago.” 

   Katsuki exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “That’s better than I was thinking, at least.” 

   “Kacchan-” 

   “Don’t,” the boy said shortly. “I already said it earlier. I know you’re going to say something stupid, like apologize or something. You’re not the one who should be apologizing, here.” 

    “Kacchan, no ,” Izuku blurted, a hand fluttering out. He decided against touching the boy, pulling his hand back. “Believe me, it wasn’t about you. Well, maybe it was a little bit about you.” The blond flinched, and Izuku immediately regretted his words. “Back then it was. But Kacchan, my life… my life was shit . You could never understand what I went through, even when you weren’t there. Trust me, you weren’t my worst tormentor.” He gave the boy a self-deprecating smile. “I was.”

    “Deku,” Katsuki said, then shut his mouth, like he wasn’t sure what to say. Izuku didn’t speak, knowing he should give Katsuki a moment to collect his thoughts. Sure enough, a few moments later, he spoke again. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

    “I know,” Izuku said gently. “And… and when I do it these days, it’s not about you. It’s just… sometimes, the stress of everything…” he waved around the room, gesturing to everything. “All of the villain attacks, the PTSD, All Might’s death… it gets to me sometimes. But being here, having friends, being your friend, it really helps. It’s just an addiction that I need to kick.” He looked down at the ground, laughing without humor. “I’ve been doing it for so long now that I sometimes forget that it’s a bad thing. That it could make people upset.” 

    “Well, it does,” Katsuki said. “It makes me really fucking upset, and I want you to stop.” 

    Izuku blinked at his friend. “I don’t-“

    “Don’t argue with me,” Katsuki snapped, cutting Izuku off. “Listen, I’m not a fucking idiot. I know it’s an addiction, and I know that it’s going to be hard to quit cold turkey. Just- fuck , if you feel like doing it again, fucking text me or some shit. I don’t care if it’s three o’clock in the fucking morning, just don’t go through it alone, alright?” His crimson gaze bore into Izuku’s soul. The green-haired boy couldn’t help but blush a bit at the intensity. “I… I fucking care about you or some shit.”

    “Kacchan,” Izuku croaked, his eyes turning wet with unshed tears. He’d been through so much in recent times that these days, it took a lot to make him cry. Of course with Kacchan, he had to embarrass himself like this. “I care about you too.”

    “Obviously,” the blond grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So, do you promise?” 

    Izuku nodded his head, reaching up to wipe at his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I promise.” 

   Katsuki nodded once, satisfied. Izuku wasn’t the type to promise something and not mean it. “Good.” He turned to leave the room, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, he turned back around. “I would take it back, if I could. I would take it all back.”

    Izuku bit his lower lip. “...I know. Thank you, Kacchan.”

   Katsuku nodded again, leaving the room. Izuku stood in the middle of the room for a few more minutes, replaying the conversation in his head over and over again. By the time he sat on his bed, he’d already made a decision. He reached into his nightstand drawer and found the black box with his tools sitting there, right in the middle. His younger self must not have put it back where he’d found it. He winced a bit, feeling guilt eat at him from the fact that Kacchan had to see his wounds, but pushed the thought away. 

   He wouldn’t have to see any more. Izuku grabbed the box and brought it to the attached half-bathroom, standing over the small trash can next to his sink. Without any hesitation, he dropped the box inside. After all, he kept his promises.