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MASSIVE VILLAIN ATTACK LEVELS 25% OF HAMAMATSU
Yesterday afternoon, Hamamatsu was hit with one of the largest villain attacks since the end of the war that started with a giant-quirked villain’s rampage and ended with an explosion so large it took out a quarter of Shizuoka prefecture’s most populous city. Miraculously, the casualty count so far is only around 32 of the approximated 200,000 people in the area at the time, thanks to the evacuation and rescue efforts of hero agencies like Kitsune and of hero students from UA High School who were in the area on a school trip…
Continue reading on shizuokanews.com
Hamamatsu Villain Attack: Deku and Dynamite Among the Missing
…Among the roughly one hundred civilians reported missing in the attacks are internationally known former-vigilantes Deku and Dynamite, UA students in the area for a school trip best known for their defeat of All for One only seven months ago. Survivors of the attack report last seeing the two battling the villain, and the explosion detonated about an hour later. Rescue efforts for those missing are in process, but the affected area is surrounded by high rubble and heroes and police are forced to slowly comb through the wreckage to search…
Continue reading on japannational.com
--
Izuku woke up the next morning to a loud boom resounding through the empty store, startling to his feet and activating his quirk as quick as trained, experienced instincts and an aching body would allow.
“Fuck!”
Kacchan.
Without a second thought or even a first, Izuku darted through knocked over clothing racks and dust-covered rubble back to where he knew Kacchan was, finding the other boy laying on his back on the ground, face contorted in pain and breathing heavily.
“Kacchan?” Izuku said, trying to keep his voice steady. Kacchan’s eyes snapped open, and he stared up at Izuku with wide, almost terrified eyes, sitting up partway. Did he not recognize him? “Kacchan, it’s Deku,” Izuku said gently, lowering himself to the ground. He knew from experience what waking from a nightmare felt like, had once tried to fight his own mother just for trying to touch him.
Kacchan stared at him a moment longer, then finally the haziness cleared from his eyes, and he dropped his head back to the ground, glaring at the ceiling. “I can fucking see that.”
Izuku swallowed nervously, heart racing like he was tiptoeing around a field of landmines. “Did you-”
“Shut it.”
Izuku bit back the instinct to apologize again and just nodded, sitting down fully on the floor beside Kacchan and pulling his knees into his chest. Kacchan kept panting at the ceiling, and a bead of sweat on his brow had Izuku reaching out to press the back of his hand against his forehead. Kacchan growled and slapped his hand away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“You’re clammy,” Izuku told him, wiping the back of his hand on his hoodie and trying to slow the panicked racing in his chest as everything Aizawa-sensei had ever told them about blood loss and symptoms of shock ran through his head, “and cold.”
Kacchan kept staring at the ceiling, then wiped a hand across his forehead and dropped it to his side. “Well…” he sighed, “Fuck.”
Yeah.
Izuku forced in a deep breath, looking down at Kacchan’s leg to see the shirt still tied around it, having probably loosened overnight. He got to his feet. “Just wait here, Kacchan, I’ll be right back,” he assured, starting off towards the racks of clothes.
“Where the fuck would I go,” he heard Kacchan mumble before he got just out of earshot. He might’ve laughed it the situation wasn’t so bleak. He found the store’s clerk desk that, luckily, hadn’t been crushed by anything, and shuffled around in the cupboards and drawers behind it before finally finding a first aid kit, thank the stars. Grabbing another hoodie and thin t-shirt as he went, Izuku returned to Kacchan with the supplies and set them down beside him.
He folded the hoodie into a square, then warned Kacchan quietly before he lifted his injured leg up and shoved the hoodie under to give it a little relief. He saw Kacchan’s jaw clench, but he didn’t make a sound.
Then, using the meager contents of the first aid kit and the t-shirt, he removed the old shirt from around Kacchan’s leg and bandaged him back up, tying it off as tightly as he could and wincing at Kacchan’s hiss of pain.
“Are you al-”
“I’m fine, Deku,” Kacchan interrupted in a way Izuku was sure he meant to sound harsh but just sounded pained as he drew in another shaky breath.
Izuku frowned. “Are you sure? How’s your-”
“I said I’m fine,” Kacchan snapped, glaring at him, “Stop fucking worrying about me.”
“No,” Izuku blurted more forcefully than he meant to, looking Kacchan in the eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “You worry about the people you care about, Kacchan, that’s how it works.”
Kacchan stared back at him for a moment, a flash of something passing in his eyes before he averted them to the ceiling with a huff. “How the hell are we getting out of here?”
Izuku glanced down at Kacchan’s wounded leg. “If you still can’t walk, I’ll have to carry you.”
Kacchan sneered at the ceiling. “Fucking wonderful.”
“I mean…you could use me as your cane instead if you can stand,” Izuku said with a barely-there smile.
Kacchan furrowed his brow, then snorted a laugh that startled Izuku so much he almost fell over. “You were a shitty cane.”
“Well then I’m sure I won’t be much better as a wheelchair,” Izuku said, smiling a little wider.
“Maybe if you shut the hell up for once,” Kacchan grumbled, almost like a tease if Izuku was being hopeful, then pushed himself up a bit so he was sitting upright, hands propping him up. “Let’s fucking get this over with.”
“Okay, Kacchan,” Izuku said, getting to his feet and reaching out to Kacchan, “You need to stand then get on my back, it’s easier to carry you that way.”
“Yeah, for a weak ass like you,” Kacchan snarked, grabbing Izuku’s hand and allowing him to be pulled up on one leg, keeping his injured one off the ground to avoid putting weight on it.
“What,” Izuku smirked, turning around slowly to let Kacchan get on his back, “you’d rather I carry you princess-style again?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Kacchan shot back as he grabbed Izuku’s shoulders and allowed himself to be hoisted up, “I’ll kill you.”
“Right,” Izuku smiled, grabbing Kacchan’s thighs and adjusting his weight on his back. Kacchan sucked in a sharp breath and the small movement and Izuku froze, too worried about hurting him to get flustered about the fact that Kacchan was literally breathing on the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
“Fuck,” Kacchan groaned, dropping his head onto Izuku’s shoulder, so close Izuku felt like he was holding his breath. “Think ‘m gonna puke.”
Izuku winced. “Please don’t.”
“You deserve it,” came Kacchan’s muttered response against Izuku’s hoodie.
Izuku sighed, starting out of the store while moving Kacchan as little as he could. “Fair.”
He spent the next hour or so walking or floating down the city streets, keeping vigilant attention on Kacchan’s breathing and any sound around them that could single another attack. The villains from yesterday were a surprise, as he didn’t think there would be anyone still around the area, let alone non-civilians. But maybe they had been with the mountain villain, some sort of planned chaos or terror attack on a recovering city. It had happened a few times since the war ended, most attempts in downtown Musutafu where any Pro Heroes left were constantly on guard. The ranking system was gone, the Heroes’ Commission was gone, the only people left were civilians, police, and the people who became heroes for more than fame. And thankfully for the world, there were a lot more of those than some people might have thought.
Many of those heroes were probably working to help anyone else trapped inside the blast zone like Izuku and Kacchan were. When he flew up to get a better view of the city, he could just make out people on the other side of a wall of rubble around the affected blast zone. It might take time for them to work through, but they’d be able to do it, and Izuku could always fly them over the wall anyways. They’d be fine. It was only a few more hours until he could get Kacchan the help he needed.
“’m gonna murder you,” Kacchan suddenly muttered right by his ear, making Izuku startle out of his zoned-out mutterings with a tiny yelp. Kacchan hissed at the noise. “You’re too damn loud.”
“Sorry,” Izuku squeaked, face burning.
“Take a fuckin’ break, Deku,” Kacchan grumbled, “You keep shifting me ‘cause you’re tired and it hurts like hell.”
Izuku started to protest and insist that he was fine, but his arms were aching, and he didn’t want to hurt Kacchan, so he caved and made his way to the curb to gently lower Kacchan to the ground. The second he pulled away, Kacchan flopped back on the sidewalk, closing his eyes and heaving in deep breaths. His face was far too pale, and Izuku resisted the urge to scoop him right back up and sprint the rest of the way. Instead, he grabbed the spare water bottle he brought from his hoodie pocket and offered it to him. “Here.”
Kacchan cracked one eye open, then snatched the bottle out of his hand and chugged half like he hadn’t tasted water in days. Izuku mentally cursed himself for not handing it over earlier.
Not to mention the guilt that he couldn’t stop some low-rank villain from shooting Kacchan right in front of him. That was pathetic. No wonder Kacchan didn’t believe him, he-
Izuku’s train of thought was cut off by a half-empty water bottle hitting him square in the forehead then bouncing to the ground. “Ow!”
“Oi, dumbass,” Kacchan snapped, glaring at him, “wipe that dumb look off your face. I’m the one who got myself shot, not you.”
Izuku really shouldn’t be surprised at this point, so he just sighed and sat on the curb next to Kacchan. “I know, but I could’ve-”
“You couldn’t have done shit, Deku!” Kacchan interrupted, whacking his arm, “Hell, you’re annoying. And confusing. I hate it.”
Izuku frowned, glancing over at Kacchan who was glaring at a point in the sky like that one specific cloud had done something to him personally. He was confusing? “What do you mean?”
“I mean you need to make up your fucking mind,” Kacchan muttered.
“About…what?” Izuku asked, only feeling slightly guilty about pulling answers out of Kacchan he knew he wouldn’t get if the other boy weren’t halfway to delirious.
“Kacchan’s amazing!” Kacchan answered in a mocking high voice, performing half-hearted jazz hands as he did, “But also fuck that guy. Except I meant what I said.” Kacchan closed his eyes, scowling. “Fuck you.”
Izuku stared down at his oldest friend and thought of a million things he could do or say, but none of them felt like enough. Not nearly enough, so he sighed and laid back on the sidewalk beside Kacchan. “For what it’s worth,” he started quietly, “I made up my mind.”
“We’ll see.”
It felt like Kacchan had at least unlocked the door, even if he was still to hurt to open it or invite Izuku back inside. That was fine. Izuku could wait.
--
Katsuki considered cutting his own leg off once or twice as Deku carried him on his back, wondering if that would at least make the pain in his head go away or if that was a separate thing altogether. But the one thing he did know was that he was thinking about giving Deku that chance, and he hated it. He hated Deku’s soft voice and that he couldn’t think straight and did he mention that his leg fucking hurts? He’d been stabbed through the stomach twice now and he might prefer it to a gunshot to the leg, at least he passed out after the stab wounds. This was just constant pain.
He felt Deku lay down next to him and briefly wondered why before deciding he didn’t give a shit, but unable to brush off his I made up my mind with another fuck off. Because no matter how mad he was, how much he wanted to punch Deku in his stupid face, he wanted to believe him just as badly. And if that wasn’t scary and frustrating as hell.
His train of thought was cut short by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, and he shot up at the same time Deku did, both whipping their heads around to face the girl running towards them as she suddenly skidded to a stop, panting and shaking. She couldn’t have been older than eight, her face covered in dust and scratches, and Katsuki knew a terrified child when he saw one.
“Hello,” Deku started gently, getting to his feet with his hands held at his sides to show the girl they meant no harm. She jolted back all the same, and Deku froze. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m Deku, and this is Kacchan,” he said, gesturing to Katsuki on the ground. “Who are you?”
“Go away!” the girl shrieked, clenching her fists in front of her.
“I’m sorry,” Deku responded, keeping his hands held out, “I don’t mean to scare you. We’re heroes.”
The girl sniffled, looking him up and down. “You’re…you’re a hero?”
“Yeah,” Deku answered, smiling back at Katsuki, “Right?”
“Yup,” Katsuki answered, trying not to scowl or wince and pain as he slowly bent his good leg and lifted himself off the ground, bracing himself against the neighboring wall so he could keep weight off his injured leg.
“My mom…my mom doesn’t like heroes,” the girl said quietly, taking another step back. Katsuki bit his tongue to keep from responding to that. “But…I saw a lady on TV who was cool.”
“You did?” Deku said, taking a hesitant step forward. The girl didn’t move away, instead nodding where she stood but keeping her fists up. “Who was it?”
“A bunny lady,” the girl answered, dropping her hands the slightest amount. Katsuki grinned. “She beat all the bad guys.”
“You know, kid,” Katsuki cut in, making Deku glance back at him. “I’ve met the bunny lady.”
The girl’s eyes widened a bit. “Really?”
“Hell yeah,” Katsuki said, nodding, “She’s real cool.” Mirko was probably one of the only Pro Heroes he respected anymore. She just did her shit and took none of it from anyone else. Badass.
The kid sniffled. “I wish she was here.”
“We’re here,” Deku offered, “and we can help you out, okay? Are you alone?” The little girl nodded.
“Everyone was running away but I fell down,” she sniffled, tears bubbling in her amber eyes, “Mom said to hide in the basement if things got bad, so I did and…it was so loud.”
“That must have been scary,” Deku sympathized, now only a few feet from the young girl. He knelt down and held out a hand, palm up. “If you come with us, we can try to find your mom, okay?”
The girl was quiet for a moment, looking between Deku and his hand, then slowly nodded and placed her palm in his. Katsuki saw Deku visibly deflate with relief, but his own was cut short by the sudden feeling that he was being watched, a small noise from the building he was leaning against. He shuffled forward as Deku asked the girl for her name again, and his heart dropped to his ass as he spotted a willowy figure through the shadowed window. FUCK.
“Mizu-”
“DEKU!”
It all happened in a matter of seconds, a total blur and Katsuki threw himself at Deku and the young girl on the ground, snakes darting forward in the corner of his eye, only for Black Whip to slam into his chest and send him back again as Deku curled protectively over the kid, fangs sinking into his shoulder. WHAT THE HELL?
Katsuki, letting out a yell of pain as he did, wrapped his arms around one snake and wrenched it forward until the villain appeared, gearing up a straight shot at his chest and sending him flying back into the building again with a deafening explosion and crash. Fuck that guy.
With another cry of pain, Katsuki forced himself up on legs that felt like paper, then stumbled forward and confirmed that the villain was covered in rubble and, at the very least, unconscious. He promptly collapsed to his knees, dragging himself forward until he was next to Deku, who was still kneeling in front of the now-frozen-in-terror girl, one hand covering her eyes and the other pressing her close to his chest as he muttered things into her hair. He glanced up when he heard Katsuki approach, eyes wide and full of tears and a question.
“Yeah,” Katsuki panted, “he’s down.” Katsuki’s gaze switched from Deku’s face to his shoulder, which was quickly soaking with blood. Shit.
“Mizuki,” Deku murmured to the shaking kid in his arms, voice wavering just barely under his façade, “It’s okay, the bad guy is gone. I’m sorry you had to see that.” The girl, Mizuki, just whimpered against his chest and Katsuki resisted the urge to rip her away from Deku so he could help him. Deku slowly distanced himself from the kid so he wasn’t holding her so tight anymore. “Can you keep your eyes closed for me?”
“W-why?” Mizuku asked, her voice small and frightened as she reached up to grab onto Deku’s hand over her eyes.
“Because…I got a little hurt, and I’m embarrassed,” Deku lied. The kid was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay.”
“Thanks, Mizuki,” Deku said, slowly dropping his hand. True to her word, the kid kept her eyes squeezed shut tightly, gripping onto Deku’s sleeve like it was a lifeline. “Mizuki, I’m going to give you to Kacchan now, alright?”
Both Katsuki and the kid tensed at that, and Deku glanced over at Katsuki with a silent plea. Katsuki snarled at him and shook his head, but Deku was already using Mizuki’s death grip on his sleeve to lead her over to him. Fucking fine.
“Hey,” Katsuki said as gently as he could, holding out his hand, “You can open your eyes now, kid.”
Mizuki complied immediately, wide amber eyes staring up at Katsuki and quickly filling with tears. She tried to look back behind her, but Katsuki put a hand on her cheek before she could and kept her facing him.
“Ah, ah, kid, Deku doesn’t want you to look right now,” he chided, keeping a light grip on her chin, “I gotta help him out, but you can’t run away.” Mizuki just sniffled at him, and he bit back and exasperated groan, panic starting to knot in his stomach as Deku tried to quietly remove his hoodie behind the kid. “If you just stay with us, I can ask bunny lady to send you a letter, how about that?” he bargained, 99% sure Mirko would laugh in his face but desperate for anyway to get the brat to listen. Her eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Katsuki confirmed, “but you gotta be good, promise?”
The girl studied him for a second, then nodded. “Promise.”
Thank fuck.
“Thanks, kid,” Katsuki said, letting go of her chin, “now just sit tight here for a second and…count to a hundred or something. Bunny lady likes counting.” Katsuki left the girl where she was, crawling over to Deku who had since moved to laying on his back, lightly feeling over the puncture wounds in his shoulder, face contorted in pain. “What the fuck, Deku?” Katsuki hissed as soon as he was close enough, “What is wrong with you?”
“Can we talk about this later, Kacchan?” Deku groaned.
“No, fuck you,” Katsuki snapped quietly, slapping Deku’s hand back to the ground and taking off his own hoodie, then lifting up the bottom of his shirt to rip a strip off with his teeth. “You fucking used Black Whip on me!” He wadded the strip of fabric up into a little ball, pulled Deku’s shirt sleeve up to expose the wound, and shoved it in one of the wounds. “Why the hell would you do that?” he continued over Deku’s whimper of pain.
“Because you – ow – because you were about to do it again, Kacchan,” Deku whispered as Katsuki ripped off another bit of fabric from the bottom of his shirt.
“Do what?” Katsuki snarked, wiping some of the blood off Deku’s shoulder with his finger as he crumpled up the second strip of fabric, “Save your ass?”
“Yes,” Deku answered, looking Katsuki dead in the eyes and making him freeze. “At the cost of yourself, again.”
Katsuki glared at him. What the hell was that supposed to mean, only Deku was allowed to sacrifice himself? He huffed, shoving the second wad of fabric in his wound possibly a little too hard because it made Deku cry out, and in a second there was a brat at Katsuki’s side.
“Deku!”
Deku’s eyes went wide and Katsuki quickly grabbed Mizuki’s shoulder and tried to turn her away, but it was too late. The kid’s eyes were full of tears again as she shook out of Katsuki’s grip and stared down at the injury.
“Mizuki…” Deku started, but was cut off by the girl’s loud sniffle followed by a sob as she yanked on Katsuki’s arm and forced him to look at her.
“You’re gonna help him, right?”
“Yeah, of fucking course I am,” Katsuki said, ignoring Deku’s tiny slap to his arm at the cursing, “I’m helping him right now, but you need to let go of my arm so I can do it.”
Mizuki sniffled. “I don’t like counting.”
Katsuki resisted the urge to bang his head into a wall. “That’s okay, bunny lady will still send you a letter. But you have to sit right here and let me help Deku, alright?”
“Okay,” the girl conceded, letting go of Katsuki’s arm and sitting on the ground beside him, then looking back over at Deku. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Deku said as Katsuki took off his shirt entirely to wrap it around his shoulder, “I’ll be fine.”
“Nerd’s been through worse than this,” Katsuki added, tying off the shirt around Deku’s shoulder then grabbing his discarded hoodie to put back on. “And he’s strong as shit, so you don’t gotta worry about him,” he continued, pointedly not looking at Deku as he did. Mizuki frowned up at him, then looked at Deku, then back to him.
“Promise?”
Katsuki huffed a laugh. “I fuckin’ promise.”
Mizuki nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes with the heels of her palms. “You swear a lot, Kacchan.”
Katsuki frowned at the nickname she’d picked up from Deku, but any protest he had was cut off by Deku’s swift slap to his arm and a, “He does, doesn’t he?”
“What, you don’t like swearing?” Katsuki said, returning the slap where Mizuki couldn’t see it.
“My mom says it’s not good to say bad words,” Mizuki said, fiddling with her hands.
“Well, your mom sounds like a-”
“Kacchan!”
Katsuki tried to hold back a laugh as Deku whacked his arm again, slowly sitting up to glare at him properly. “Listen, kid,” he said, turning his attention back to Mizuki, “I’m a hero, and I say swear words, so they can’t be that bad, right?”
Mizuki furrowed her brows and evidently though very hard about that. “Mom says heroes are bad too…”
“Bunny lady swears.”
Mizuki gasped. “She does?”
“Kacchan, stop it!” Deku scolded.
“Yeah she does,” Katsuki answered, ignoring Deku.
Mizuki made a small ‘hm’ noise, staring up at Katsuki for a moment of silence. Then, very quietly, “Shit.”
“Mizuki!”
“Nice.”
“Kacchan!”
Katsuki snickered and turned back to find Deku sitting up fully, glaring at him like a protective parent. “Come on, Deku, don’t be boring.”
“You are teaching a seven-year-old to say the f-word,” Deku hissed.
“That’s fuck,” Katsuki and Mizuki responded in tandem, and Katsuki decided right then and there, looking at Deku’s scandalized face, that maybe this one kid wasn’t so bad.
“Okay,” Deku said, getting to his feet, “That’s enough from you two.”
Katsuki leaned in a little closer to the little girl at his side. “He’s just made because we’re cooler than he is.” Mizuki giggled at that, then shook her head.
“No!” she gasped, “Deku’s cool too! He saved me!”
Katsuki frowned at her. “Well I saved him!”
“You did?”
“’Course I did, I’ve saved this nerd…” Katsuki trailed off mid-sentence, eyes slowly widening as something finally clicked. “…a bunch of times,” he continued, looking up at Deku who watched him with faint confusion. “Oh my god.”
“What?” Deku asked.
“Yeah, what?” Mizuki echoed.
Katsuki just stared up at Deku in shock, his words from earlier echoing through his head. At the cost of yourself. That’s why Deku ran. That’s why he fucking ran, it was some fucked up thing in his head where he was stupid enough to think that would stop Katsuki from jumping headfirst into fire if there was even a chance of him being on the other side. Some shitty way of protecting him in the same way Katsuki used to try and protect himself from Deku – well, he knew firsthand how well that fucking worked.
Katsuki growled, grabbing Deku’s arm to pull himself to his feet with a small wince of pain. “I hate you,” he snarled under his breath, grabbing the collar of Deku’s shirt to pull him a little closer as he balanced on one leg, “You’re the stupidest person I’ve ever met.” He paused as Deku stared back at him in wide-eyed confusion, studying the stupid face he saw in his dreams and his nightmares. “Besides myself, apparently,” he muttered.
“Kacchan-”
“You made up your mind,” Katsuki said, forcing it to be a statement, not a question, “You…” he trailed off, then clenched his jaw and pressed on, “love me.”
Deku sucked in a shaky breath, then nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“What are you saying?” Mizuki asked from behind him, but Katsuki didn’t turn to look at her.
“Close your eyes again, kid,” he warned. Then, he yanked Deku into a kiss.
Because he was stupid enough to believe him, he was stupid enough to trust him, and he was stupid enough to know that he’d never stop trying to protect this asshole. Might as well let him know that too. He only held it for a few seconds, pulling away just as Deku started kissing back, worried he wouldn’t at all if he let that go too far and still a little pissed at this dumbass.
“It doesn’t fucking matter how far away you get, idiot,” Katsuki told him, “I’m not gonna stop jumping in front of you and I know you ain’t either.”
Deku stared at him with wide green eyes, mouth opened slightly, shock written all over his dumb freckled face. “I...okay.”
Katsuki smirked. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here.” Deku nodded, and Katsuki pulled him on close one more time. “If you fuck up again, there will not be a third chance,” he threatened, only for Deku to grab him by the back of the neck and pull him into yet another kiss so fast he only fell over on his precariously balanced one leg.
“EW!” Mizuki shouted, apparently having not kept her eyes closed, and Deku pulled back with a start. Katsuki snorted a laugh at his red face.
“I-” Deku cleared his throat, “I’m not planning on it.” He smiled a bit. “Fucking up, that is.”
Katsuki stared at him for a second of silence, sizing him up. “How could you say a word so crass,” he deadpanned, and suddenly Deku was cracking up.
--
The rest of their walk to the edge of the blast zone went slow, what with Izuku having to carry Kacchan on his back with an injured shoulder and keeping pace with Mizuki, but Izuku’s heart felt lighter than it had in years. Beyond all belief, Kacchan was giving him a second chance, and by god was he not letting that go. Not to mention that Kacchan kissed him. Twice.
Maybe the snake was poisonous, and he was hallucinating some version of paradise…if so, what a way to go.
If it wasn’t a hallucination, then it was a blessing from some generous kami, and Izuku was going to do everything he could to earn it. Kacchan was right, he was an idiot, and he should’ve known he could never change the mind of someone so stubborn and amazing.
Finally, after hours had passed and Izuku’s feet were aching, his shoulder burning, the three of them came up upon the edge that Izuku had accurately guessed took the form of a wall of rubble and crumbling buildings. But he could hear people on the other side, and he almost broke down sobbing at the sound.
“We made it,” he said instead, glancing over at Mizuki. The young girl looked up at the buildings, furrowing her brows in confusion. “On the other side of that wall is the people who can help us,” he explained, and her eyes widened a bit.
“How are we going to get over?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Deku can fly,” Kacchan answered for him, making Mizuki’s eyes blow wider.
“Really?” she gasped.
“Yup,” Izuku smiled, kneeling down while keeping his grip on Kacchan’s thighs. “I can carry us all over, but you gotta grab onto me.” Mizuki nodded, throwing her arms around his neck and latching onto his front like a koala. He wrapped her in a few strands of Black Whip to be safe, making her gasp again in surprise. “Hold on tight, you two.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Kacchan grumbled, making Izuku grin.
“Yeah,” Mizuki agreed, squeezing around his neck tighter, “don’t tell us what to do.”
Izuku rolled his eyes, bending his legs to launch into the air. “You’ve corrupted her, Kacchan.”
“Nah,” Kacchan countered, “she’s just picking the cooler one to be like.”
“Well, I think I can get some cool points for this,” Izuku grinned, then shot up into the air. Mizuki yelped and shoved her face into his neck, but his worry was soothed when she started giggling. “See? I’m cool too!” he shouted into the air, floating them high above the rubble.
“Yeah!” Mizuki laughed.
“Show-off,” Kacchan growled, making Izuku snicker as he slowly brought them down on the other side to the gasps and shouts of EMTs, civilians, and heroes below. He touched lightly on the ground a knelt back down to let Mizuki down, then Kacchan, who held onto Izuku’s arm with one hand to keep himself balanced as they stood again. The quickly gathered crowd stared at them in shock, and Mizuki reached up to grab Izuku’s hand, making his heart melt.
“Sup, fuckers,” Kacchan deadpanned at the crowd.
“Sup, fuckers,” Mizuki echoed. Izuku sighed. Oh well.
“Hello,” he said, trying for a smile, “we’re wounded, and she needs her mother, could you-”
“Mizuki?” a voice from the crowd suddenly cut in as a woman pushed her way to the front. “Mizuki!”
“Mom!” Mizuki yelped, letting go of Izuku’s hand and darting forward into her mother’s arms.
“Well, that was easy,” Kacchan noted, and Izuku smiled and bumped his shoulder.
“We should be glad for that.”
Kacchan scowled at him. “Never fucking said I wasn’t.”
“I’ll miss her too,” Izuku teased, earning a whack to his head as he laughed.
Soon enough, Kacchan and Izuku were approached by EMTs and offered a ride to the hospital and call to their parents which Izuku gladly accepted, thanking them for their help as they shuffled the two boys into the back of an ambulance. Kacchan immediately took up the entire stretcher bed, responding to Izuku’s protests with a middle finger. Izuku was considering pushing him off when, suddenly, a voice called his attention the open doors and outside.
“Excuse me?” a woman Izuku recognized as Mizuki’s mother said, this notion confirmed when Mizuki herself scrambled into the back of the ambulance and ran to hug Izuku’s leg. “Mizuki!”
“Oh!” Izuku said, reaching down to ruffle Mizuki’s hair, “Hello again, Mizuki.”
“Thank you for saving me, Deku and Kacchan,” Mizuku sniffled into his leg. Izuku grinned despite himself.
“Anytime, kid,” Kacchan said, propping himself up on his elbows.
“Heroes always help those in need, right?” Izuku said, kneeling down as Mizuki let go of his leg and wiped her nose. She nodded and he opened his arms for another hug that she gladly gave. “You’re always welcome to come visit at UA,” he said, glancing up at the girl’s mother who was watching her daughter like she might cry. She looked up and met his eyes.
“I…thank you,” she said, “I owe you everything.”
“You don’t owe us shit,” Kacchan answered before Izuku could respond, “We’re heroes, it’s in the job description. Now, kid, get over here.” Mizuki pulled out of Izuku’s hug and went to the side of the bed where Kacchan lay, holding his fist out to her. “Be good.”
“I will!” Mizuki grinned, bumping fists with Kacchan then running back to her mother. With one last wave to the both of them, Mizuki and her mother were gone, and an EMT came to shut the ambulance doors and start the ride to the hospital.
“You know I’m injured too, right?” Izuku grumbled, pouting down at Kacchan who spread his arms and legs wider in response, taking up even more of the stretcher. Izuku huffed and let himself fall forward onto Kacchan’s chest, making him wheeze.
“Oi!”
“This is what you get,” Izuku said, muffled into Kacchan’s hoodie. He crinkled up his nose. “You smell bad.”
“Fuck you.”
A short ride later, they arrived at the hospital, Kacchan was transferred to a temporary wheelchair, and they were ushered into the packed, busy emergency room. A random nurse showed them to two neighboring beds and Izuku helped lift Kacchan into his, waiting until a doctor came to assess their shirt-patched wounds and burns. She said Kacchan’s injury would require surgery to remove the bullet.
“Just fuckin’ get it over with,” Kacchan grumbled in response.
“Alright then,” the doctor said, nodding, “We’ll get you into that right away…have you been able to contact any guardians yet?”
“No, but that would be great if we could,” Izuku answered.
“Of course, feel free to speak with the receptionist,” the doctor told him, smiling kindly, “I’ll be back soon.”
“I ain’t talking to the fuckin’ hag right now,” Kacchan grumbled as soon as she left, making Izuku laugh softly.
“Don’t worry, Kacchan, I got it,” he assured, slipping off his bed and enjoying the almost total lack of pain in his shoulder thanks to the doctors minor healing quirk and the proper bandages. He paused before he left the room, stopping at the edge of Kacchan’s bed to plant a quick kiss on his cheek then dash out, leaving Kacchan’s Oi! on the other side of the door. The receptionist, a kind young woman with hair made of water, gladly gave him a phone to call his mother. She picked up after a few rings.
“Hello?”
Izuku’s heart stuttered in his chest at how weary she sounded, only just then realizing what people must’ve thought happened to him and Kacchan. “Mom?”
There was a clatter on the other end, then his mother gasped, “Izuku?”
“Hey, mom,” Izuku smiled, holding back tears, “It’s me. Uh…calling from the hospital to let you know me and Kacchan are okay.”
“Oh my god,” his mother sobbed, which meant Izuku started crying too, “Oh my god, my baby, you’re alright. You’re alright.”
“Yeah, mom, I’m alright,” Izuku confirmed with a shaky laugh. The receptionist smiled at him and gave his hand a pat. “I can tell you everything later, but right now Kacchan’s going in for a minor surgery and we need to get back home.”
“Oh god, a surgery?” his mother gasped.
“He’ll be fine, mom, nothing Kacchan can’t handle,” Izuku assured.
His mother let out a shaky sigh. “Okay. Okay, I’ll come get the both of you. Where are you?”
“Uh…” Izuku said, glancing up at the sign behind the receptionist desk, “Seirei Hamamatsu Hospital. I’ll call Auntie Mitsuki to tell her, too.”
“Please do, darling,” his mother said, “Okay, I’m on my way, just sit tight. I love you so much, honey.”
Izuku sniffled. “I love you too, mom. See you soon.” His mother hung up, and by some miracle Izuku collected himself to remember Kacchan’s mother’s phone number. Auntie Mitsuki sounded just as weary when she answered. “Hi, Auntie Mistuki, it’s Midoriya Izuku.”
“What,” came the immediate response.
“Uh, yeah, I’m calling to let you know Kacchan- I mean Katsuki and I are okay.”
“Holy shit,” Mitsuki said, “Holy fucking shit you’re alive.” Izuku lifted the phone away from his ear a bit when she screamed for her husband, then went right back to freaking out in his ear. “Holy shit, you two will never cease to amaze me. God dammit. Where are you?”
“We’re at a hospital in Hamamatsu,” Izuku answered, “My mom’s coming to get us, but I should let you know that Kacchan has to go in for a minor surgery.”
There was a pause on the other end, then a sigh. “Nothing the brat hasn’t handled before.” Izuku smiled at that. “Alright, call me from Inko’s phone the instant she gets you two.”
“Okay, Auntie,” Izuku promised, and Mitsuki hung up the phone. He went to hand it back to the receptionist, then stopped himself. She gave him a questioning glance. “I’m sorry to be nuisance, but is there any way I could call one more person?” he asked.
The receptionist sighed and gave him a comforting smile. “Of course, darling, call whoever you need.”
“Thank you,” Izuku said, typing a number into the phone he’d memorized way back in first year when the whole class was given it for emergency villain attacks only. Izuku figured this was important enough.
His teacher picked up with a weary sigh and a gruff, “Aizawa Shouta speaking.”
“Midoriya Izuku speaking,” Izuku responded nervously, “Thought you’d want to know Kacchan and I are alive.” There was a long pause on the other end of the line, long enough for Izuku to start wondering if Aizawa-sensei had hung up. Then, a long, exasperated sigh.
“Problem child…” Aizawa-sensei groaned, “How in the hell-you know what, I don’t need to know.”
“Are…is everyone else okay?” Izuku asked, the question that had plaguing him the entire time.
“Yes, the rest of the class made it out with the evacuation teams,” Aizawa-sensei answered. Izuku felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and he deflated with relief. “Because they, unlike two certain someones, listen to logic and orders.”
Izuku laughed nervously. “I mean, technically no one ordered us to not fight the villain.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to have listened if they had,” Aizawa-sensei huffed, “Do you two need me to come get you?”
“No, my mom is coming,” Izuku assured, “but thank you. Could you just tell the class we’re okay, please?”
“Of course, kid,” Aizawa-sensei said.
“Thank you, sensei.”
“No problem. And…thanks for calling.”
Izuku smiled as his teacher hung up, handing the phone back to the receptionist with a thank you for her patience and returning to the room he shared with Kacchan just in time to catch him getting wheeled out of the room.
“Good luck, Kacchan!” he called after him. Kacchan flipped him off and he laughed, relishing in a certain warmth finding it’s way back into his chest from what felt like so long ago.
After Kacchan had had his surgery, Izuku’s mother drove them both back home, and only as they pulled up in front of the Bakugou’s house did Izuku realize he really didn’t want Kacchan to leave. Not after everything that happened, not when they had so much to talk about.
“Mom?” he said, leaning into the front seat from where he sat next to Kacchan, “Can I…can we stay at Kacchan’s house for the night?”
His mother gave him a look like she was about to cry, eyes soft and smile watery. “We can ask his parents, honey.”
“What, I don’t get a say?” Kacchan said as Izuku opened his car door.
“Nope,” Izuku answered with a grin, getting out of the car and offering his arm for Kacchan to hold onto, seeing as his leg still wasn’t completely healed, “You’re stuck with me.”
Kacchan stared up at him with strangely soft red eyes from his seat in the car, then smirked and grabbed his arm. “Well, that sucks shit.”
“I’m sure it does,” Izuku grinned wider, yanking his arm forward and making Kacchan stumble into a hug.
“Oi, watch it, nerd!” Kacchan snapped, shoving Izuku’s head to the side as the shorter boy laughed. Izuku tilted his head up a bit to meet Kacchan’s eyes, then reached up to grab his face between his hands.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, voice earnest as he swiped a thumb across Kacchan’s cheekbone. Kacchan’s eyes widened slightly, and, if Izuku wasn’t sorely mistaken, his cheeks flushed pink.
“Fucking hell, nerd, coming on strong here,” he said, and Izuku just smiled and pulled him close.
“That’s the point.”
Kacchan stared down at him, leaning in slightly until his eyes fluttered closed and–
“KATSUKI!”
The nose shocked Izuku out of his stupor so badly he nearly jumped out of his skin, stumbling back from Kacchan and almost falling on his butt on the grass as Mitsuki raced out of the house and wrapped her son in a tight hug, then whacked the back of his head.
“Oi, hag, what the hell?” Kacchan snapped, glaring at her.
“Do you know how fucking terrified I was?” Mitsuki snapped right back, hand on her hip, “What kind of son does that to his mother?”
“The kind who doesn’t run from a fight,” came the answer from Kacchan’s father, following his volatile wife out of the house and hugging his son just as she did, this time without the slap. “It’s so good to see you safe, Katsuki.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki muttered, patting his dad on the back.
“You too, Izuku,” Masaru said, pulling away from his son and turning to Izuku.
“Thank you, Uncle Masaru,” Izuku said, bowing slightly. His mother gave him a look. “I was…uh, I was actually wondering if I could stay over at your house tonight, maybe. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I mean, since-”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Katsuki grumbled, hobbling over to grab Izuku’s good arm and drag him towards the door, “Deku’s staying over, deal with it.”
“Your family is welcome anytime!” Uncle Masaru called after them as Izuku’s face burned. Kacchan dragged him all the way to the stairs, which he stopped in front of and glared up at. He turned around to face Izuku again.
“Float me up, I’m not fuckin’ dealing with those.”
Izuku blinked in surprise, then grinned. “Anything for you, Kacchan.”
Kacchan’s cheeks flushed pink again. “Shut the hell up, that was cheesy as fuck.”
“But it was true,” Izuku said, moving to hoist Kacchan into his arms again then activate his quirk and start up the stairs.
“Wait, fuck, this doesn’t hurt your shoulder, does it?” Kacchan asked, looking at him with concern.
“No, it’s okay,” Izuku assured him, “That doctor’s healing quirk helped a lot, it’s mostly just achy.” He reached the top of the stairwell and navigated to Kacchan’s room without being directed, having retained some memory from a childhood spent partially in this house. He set Kacchan down in front of the door, following him inside where he promptly flopped face-first onto his bed. Izuku settled in his desk chair instead.
“I could sleep for a damn week straight after that,” Kacchan grumbled into his pillow.
“Really?”
Kacchan flipped over on the bed. “No, but I wish I could.”
Izuku hummed in agreement, and a silence fell over the two of them, not necessarily uncomfortable but certainly tense. Izuku took his time to look around them room he hadn’t been in in years, noting the smaller number of posters on the walls and figures on the shelves. He wondered if Kacchan had thrown them away or just hid them.
His attention eventually returned to Kacchan, as it always seemed to do, who was staring up at his ceiling in silence with a face that could’ve been sad, could’ve been thoughtful. Izuku should really say something.
“Kacchan,” he tried, standing from his chair and sitting gingerly on the end of the bed, “I…I know words don’t mean a whole lot to you, but I feel like we should talk. Or at least that I should talk.”
Kacchan blinked up at the ceiling, then slowly pushed himself up to sitting so he was adjacent to Izuku on the bed. “Fine.”
Izuku nodded gratefully, taking in a deep breath to steady himself. “I’m not going to wallow, and I’m not going to waste time with this,” he started, twisting a bit of the comforter over between his fingers, “I’ve wasted too much time already being scared of losing you, and I…I didn’t think about how pushing you away might hurt you just as much as it hurt me.” Kacchan scoffed quietly, but Izuku didn’t let the guilty pain in his chest stop him. He looked up to meet Kacchan’s eyes, desperate for him to understand just how sincerely he meant this. “I meant what I said. I meant it then and I mean it now, Kacchan.” He swallowed a lump in his throat as tears bubbled in his eyes. “I love you so much it scared me.”
And it might have scared him more that Kacchan might have loved him back.
Kacchan stared back at him in silence, and Izuku steeled himself for him to say he didn’t actually feel the same, it was just the shock, he didn’t mean the first kiss or the second. But instead, Kacchan said, “Prove it.”
Izuku sniffled and wiped the tears from his cheeks. “I will, Kacchan, I promise I will.”
“No, goddammit,” Kacchan huffed, grabbing the front of Izuku’s shirt and yanking him further onto the bed, “I meant right now.” He lay back on the bed, pulling an increasingly flustered Izuku down on top of him until their face were inches apart. “No time like the present,” he murmured, combing a hand through Izuku’s hair, fiery red eyes locked on Izuku’s cool green, “Kiss me like you fucking mean it.”
Izuku didn’t need to be told twice.
He and his mother stayed over at the Bakugou’s house for the next week it took for him and Kacchan to heal enough to return to school, his mother sleeping in the guest room while Izuku stayed with Kacchan and slept the best he had since the war started. Like his unconscious fears were soothed by Kacchan’s presence alone, the knowing that if he did wake from a nightmare Kacchan would be there to comfort him back to sleep, and he for Kacchan. It felt like something had finally clicked into place, like a part of his life he’d been missing had returned, and he knew that’s exactly what it was. Willingly living a life without Kacchan was the worst decision he’d ever made, and he’d made a lot of questionable decisions in his lifetime. At least, this time, he got the chance to fix things.
Kacchan’s mother drove them to school the next Monday morning, Izuku practically vibrating with excitement and anticipation as his hand tangled with Kacchan’s on the seat between them. He’d convinced him to drive to UA early so they could visit the dorms before class, and he practically dragged Kacchan out of the car when they arrived, shouting his thanks to Auntie Mitsuki as he did.
“Fuck’s sake, nerd, chill,” Kacchan grumbled, still allowing himself to be pulled along. A few students milling about campus in the morning spotted them and waved their hellos, but none from their class. Izuku almost took off running when they finally approached their dorm building, squeezing Kacchan’s hand excitedly as he raced up the stair and burst through the doors.
“Guess who’s alive!” he yelled, immediately getting tackled by a pink and brown blur named Uraraka. He let go of Kacchan’s hand to hug her back as she literally lifted him off the ground.
“Oh my god, Deku!” she wailed, squeezing him almost tight enough to hurt, “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She finally set him back down on the ground, only for him to be tackled by more hugs, these from Tsuyu and Hagakure. The rest of the class was there too, and Kacchan was currently yelling at Kirishima and Mina to let him go. Izuku snickered at that.
The next to approach him was Todoroki, who he quickly pulled into a hug that the taller boy awkwardly returned. “I’m glad you guys are okay, too,” he said, pulling back and smiling at his classmates.
“Blasty, I thought you were gone!” he heard Mina wail as Kacchan shoved her back with a scowl.
“What, you think Deku n’ I could be defeated but some weak fucker like that mountain man?” he snapped.
“Dude, he blew up the whole city,” Kirishima protested.
“Weak,” Kacchan insisted, making Izuku laugh again, “No explosion’s gonna put a stop to me.”
“Of course not,” Izuku grinned, making his way back to Kacchan, “You’re the king of explosions.”
Kacchan smirked at him. “Fuck yeah, loser.”
“Mean,” Izuku pouted. Kacchan’s eyes flitted from his face to his lips then back up again, and Izuku grinned. “You’re supposed to be nice to me.”
“Who the fuck ever said anything about that?” Kacchan scoffed.
“Me,” Izuku said, wrapping his arms around Kacchan’s neck and pulling him down a bit, “’cause I love you.” Kacchan’s eyes widened, darting from their classmates still surrounding them to Izuku, who grinned wider with the realization. “I wasn’t planning on keeping it a secret,” he said, “especially if I’m trying to get you to believe me.”
“Okay, Deku, you-”
“Maybe I’ll shout it from the rooftops,” Izuku suggested. He sucked in a deep breath, only for Kacchan to slap a hand over his mouth, face definitely pink.
“Shut up,” Katsuki hissed. Izuku grinned and kissed him palm, making him flush even darker and wrench his hand away. “Deku!”
“Off to the rooftops I go,” Izuku grinned, sliding his arms off Kacchan’s shoulders and darting for the doors.
“Deku!” Kacchan shouted, running out after him as Izuku laughed freely, both of them leaving the rest of their class feeling strongly like they had missed something very, very big.