Archive of Our Own ^beta

The rubble crunched underneath Bakugou’s feet as he ran. The billowing smoke seeping from the fires surrounding the piles of concrete pulled tears to his eyes. He hadn’t seen destruction this bad since the Hassaikai raid. Bakugou could hardly tell where he was running to due to the thickness of the smoke, the only thing guiding him was the voices of the other students of class 1-A. It seemed like most of them had conjugated together, spare for the few that were still pulling civilians from the wreckage of the buildings.

Bakugou’s run had begun to slow to a jog once everyone was in sight. As he joined the gathering he looked around. He could tell something was off, he hadn’t realized that something was until Uraraka spoke up.

“Wait, where’s Deku?” she mumbled, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. The blond was surprised that he missed the green haired boy’s presence, considering he made a literal fanclub for the nerd. Usually he was one of the first few back, and he seemed fine when he split off from Bakugou and Kirishima to deal with a considerably annoying villain. The opponent didn’t even seem that strong, considering he had a simple illusion quirk; so Izuku should have been able to take him down with ease.

“We should split up to see if we can find him, he might not be able to find us with all the smoke, that or his communicator could be damaged.” Iida spoke up, doing a small chop motion into his other hand. The group nodded, breaking off into smaller groups to search for their beloved and self-sacrificing classmate. Bakugou was joined by Kirishima and Kaminari, despite insisting he could search by himself.

“Why do you two always follow me when I say I do shit by myself?” He grumbled, climbing past a small hill of rubble.

“Come on Bakubro! You know Izuku will be found faster if we group up. Plus I can use my quirk to help get past some of the rubble!” Kirishima proved his point by punching a large piece of concrete, breaking it into smaller bits. Bakugou bit his tongue and continued climbing, refusing to acknowledge that his best friend was right. 

‘That idiot better be alright. If he’s not, I’ll wait until he’s healed and then beat him for making me worried.’ He thought, pulling himself over the ledge at the top of the pile. Bakugou then saw a crumpled figure in the clearing in front of him. He thought it was probably just a civilian, that is until he climbed down.

Once the smoke began to move from his sight, a dark ruffled mop of green hair, followed by a green and black costume slowly became more visible. His eyes widened as he called out, voice ragged and almost breaking.

“Deku!” Bakugou prayed to any god who would listen that he would hear a response. Tearing down the distance between them, he could still see his chest heaving.

“Kacchan?” Izuku’s voice was barely above a whisper as the blond knelt down. Bakugou carefully rolled him onto his side, face scrunching up in pain. He looked over his best friend to assess his injuries. Blood was streaming down his face from a gash on his forehead, and even more was practically pouring out of a very large and jagged wound on his side.

“It’s me, I’m here. You’re going to be okay.” He spoke in a soft tone that was only reserved for the green haired teen. Kirishima didn’t know if he was saying that to comfort Izuku or more so  himself. The blond gently pulled his childhood friend and crush into his lap and held him. Carefully, he combed a hand through his hair, scared that the slightest of touch would break him more.

More footsteps were heard, drawing closer. Bakugou heard someone gasp, but couldn’t place who it belonged to. Classmates gathered around the two, and Bakugou looked up, immediately regretting it. He had never seen Todoroki cry until this moment, as he was very close to full on sobbing. Uraraka and Mina were not far behind. Iida was refusing to look as he held back tears. Kirishima stared in disbelief at the sight of his broken classmate, teardrops running down his cheeks and neck. Sero was hugging a crying Kaminari while looking away. A weak groan of pain pulled his eyes back to the teen in his lap.

“Kacchan, it hurts.” Izuku’s voice was softer and more vulnerable than Bakugou has ever heard in the 12 years of knowing him. 

“It’s okay Izuku, We’re gonna get you to Recovery Girl and you’ll be just fine. I promise you. You’re going to be okay.” He quietly insisted, not wanting to accept that the boy in front of him was dying. “You’re going to be the number one hero, remember? You can’t give up now.”

Izuku lightly chuckled, which quickly morphed into coughing. Blood trickled down the side of his mouth. He paused after it subsided, tears began to well into his eyes.

“I don’t want to die, Kacchan. There’s...There’s still so much I-I have to do. I don’t want to die yet.”

“Hey hey, I told you that you’re gonna be okay, didn’t I shitty nerd? Now stop talking, it’s gonna make you hurt worse.” Bakugou said, gently wiping the blood from his face. Everyone sat in silence for a while, comforting their dying classmate. He could feel Izuku’s body shaking from the sobs he was letting out.

“Kacchan? Do you think you could sing the song? The one my mom used to play when we were little?” He requested, his voice slowly growing softer. 

Not wanting to deny his last request, Bakugou could only nod.

Kiss me one then kiss me twice.

Bakugou quietly sang, desperate to bring Izuku comfort in his final moments. The green haired boy weakly sang with him.

Then kiss me once again.

One by one, their classmates surrounding them began to sing along to the once popular ballad.

It’s been a long, long time.

Izuku smiled faintly, bringing his left hand up to wipe away Bakugou’s tears. The blond smiled back down at him, holding his own hand over top.

Haven’t felt this way before,

Since can’t remember when.

It’s been a long, long time.

Slowly Izuku’s voice dwindled down, and the light left his eyes. His body grew still. It was then that Bakugou knew he was gone. All it took was Kirishima’s hand coming to rest on his shoulder that he allowed himself to break. Sobs shaking through his body, he bent over the boy under him, grieving his fallen love.

The funeral was only days later. Thousands of people had been in the procession. Everyone fell silent and watched as Aizawa walked up to the podium.

“Most of you knew Deku, the selfless hero with a bright smile. But to those close to him, he was much, much more than that. He was our symbol of hope. He was the one who kept us going when things looked bleak. He was a classmate and a friend. He treated every one of us as family, and the kid did whatever he could to keep every single person he came across, safe. He never faltered. Even when the odds were stacked against him, he always succeeded in the end. He was more than just a hero. He was Midoriya Izuku. My student. A beloved son, and to a few, he was everything they needed. Midoriya knew the risks he was taking when he entered the hero course at U.A. high school, so he took precautions if he ever met his early demise.”

Aizawa stepped back as a video began to play. Izuku’s face popped up, close to the screen of the camera he was recording with.

“My name is Izuku. Countless people will see my death as a tragedy. But I can assure you that it is not. I knew that when One for All was given to me, that I would go down eventually. I knew the pain and suffering I would face in the future, but that did not stop me. I knew as I fell that my death would not be in vain. I knew as life seeped out of my body, as the feeling of pain and agony washed over me. My death will ignite the fire within people’s hearts. I loved being a hero, I loved saving people. But there is no beauty, happiness, or hope without sacrifice. My death will be but one in the numerous to come. But I want all of you to remember this pain, and use it to push forward and save more people. Use it to prevent just one more death. I know you can do it, and I believe in all of you.”

The camera then cut out. Silence fell over every single person watching, soaking in the words, promising themselves to make the boy with the green hair proud.