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As he flew his way over the sea, the First told him he had a bad feeling at the same time that the Fourth alerted him of incoming danger. He saw it in front of him right away. Unknown villains of all shapes and quirks were coming straight toward him, and Izuku had an idea why.
They wanted to stall him so he couldn’t get to Shigaraki in time.
No matter, he thought. I’ll make quick work of them. Everyone needs me now more than ever.
The familiar sparks of One For All cursed through his skin and he readied all of his senses. He wouldn’t miss this final battle for the world.
And yet, Izuku felt that the First’s warning wasn’t talking about the danger in his direct proximity. There was another feeling laced in the warning that lurked around his chest. As if something terrible was about to happen.
He could only go forward now and worry about that later, though. He hoped that everyone else would be able to stall Shigaraki for long enough.
He had done everything he could.
The Strafe Panzer, his new costume fresh from the support course. His Howitzer Impacts, which he mastered to the point he was able to aim and condense them as clusters—every pore of his body’s worth of nitroglycerin-like sweat combusting into each explosion he ignited.
He had given it his absolute best shot.
And Shigaraki was still standing, getting closer to him with each step, looking as if he had just woken up from a beauty nap.
Katsuki’s everything was worth nothing.
His consciousness was coming and going away from his grip and everything was blurry. He couldn’t quite place every single hit his body had taken from Shigaraki, but he could certainly feel every single one.
Shigaraki was talking to him about Izuku, Katsuki recognized this. But the pulsation of his heart and the hot blood escaping from his ears didn’t allow him to focus enough to grasp at the words leaving the villain’s mouth.
And then all of those gruesome limbs crushed every inch of his body and Katsuki was pretty sure his sweat and his blood permanently became one.
Katsuki looked Shigaraki (All For One?) in the eye as he talked to him about Izuku again. At this rate, the fact that Katsuki was still conscious was a miracle, so he didn’t have any energy to spare to be furious at the man that was playing with him like he was a fucking chewing toy.
Something else happened and Katsuki felt a breeze of air on his face—he had been freed from Shigaraki’s grasp somehow. Soon enough he was back on the ground and Best Jeanist was talking to him about his arm. But his mind was someplace else.
Right side… Finger… Feint.
He remembered their first exam at UA. Battle training. He’d gotten paired up with Iida while Izuku was with Uraraka. Katsuki was in the villain team. At that moment, all he could think of was that Izuku had tricked him for who knows how long—Izuku hadn’t told him he had a quirk. So, against all warnings and common sense, he’d gone straight for Izuku. He’d been about to charge his attack, but then Izuku had grabbed his right gauntlet, completely freezing him in place, and thrown him to the ground with all the normal strength he could muster.
“Kacchan… You almost always lead with your right hook. I’ve seen it enough to know…!” Izuku had said, standing with determination in front of him.
Right side…
He had been thoroughly enraged by this, as Izuku still refused to use his quirk to fight him. He knew now the reality behind One For All and why Izuku didn’t like to use it at the start. But the immature, cowardly Katsuki of that time hadn’t wanted anything more than to defeat who was supposed to be just a pebble in his path; who was never supposed to get as far as having a quirk and thus an excuse to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of others.
So Katsuki had chased Izuku all around the simulation grounds and used his filled-up gauntlets for the first time. He’d saved that special attack for Izuku, after all. All Might had reprimanded him right after the fact—using explosions of that magnitude indoors was never a good idea. In reality, that exam was what gave him the inspiration to learn how to condense his explosions and his cluster moves derived from that.
After cornering Izuku against a window, he’d thought he’d won against him for sure, but then Izuku had used his quirk—the only time One For All was used in that battle. And as All Might announced the heroes’ victory, Katsuki realized that this was real. Izuku did have a quirk. After all those years, even when quirks never manifested past four years of age, and yet he’d never told Katsuki.
He thought back to the very first time he saw Izuku’s quirk in action. It had been during the quirk exam, when Aizawa-sensei had deceived the whole class into thinking the student with the lowest score would be expelled from UA. Izuku had avoided using One For All during most of the tests and Katsuki hadn’t been surprised; the nerd didn’t even have a quirk to begin with. But then it had happened. The throwing test. Izuku concentrated One For All by 100% in just one finger and launched the baseball hundreds of meters away, impressing Aizawa, but also shocking Katsuki to the core.
Finger…
And once again he thought of the battle training exam. After Izuku had used One For All, allowing Uraraka to secure the victory from the fifth floor, he fell unconscious. Right in front of Katsuki. Izuku had tricked him like no one ever before.
Feint…
He circled back and around these events a thousand and one times per every second that went by.
Right side…
He thought of Izuku’s intelligence and battling strategies. Of how he liked to read habits in his opponents to use the knowledge against them.
Finger…
He thought of Izuku’s perseverance and quick thinking.
Feint…
He thought of Izuku’s ability to sacrifice his own body and mind for the sake of other people. The way he could just disregard himself so easily.
And Katsuki thought of how it took him way too long to be able to understand Izuku. His childhood friend. The guy that always came back, no matter how much Katsuki pushed him away. And he had been worried about Izuku’s self-sacrificial nature the whole time, but his pride and cowardice hadn’t let him acknowledge it till recently.
Right side… Finger… Feint…
Katsuki’s renewed sweat merged with his tears as it slid out of his face… and exploded on its own. Hot little booms of stubbornness sparkled around him.
The thoughts in Katsuki’s mind reverberated as he realized this apparent upgrade. That’s new.
Back to the battlefield, Shigaraki had remained unscratched after Tamaki’s best attack.
Katsuki had taken too long to realize the ways he had fucked up, but maybe he wasn’t too late to make amends.
And so, Katsuki knew what he had to do.
“We have to win… right, Izuku?”
His whole body was burning alive as he was able to feel the pain of all the explosions he’s ever inflicted upon others, now happening inside him. He kept moving.
Hey, Izuku. Will I ever catch up to you?
His only regret is that he never got to ask All Might to sign his special edition All Might card.
Izuku punched one villain in the face as he submerged another one in the water with his whips. Most of them were worse for wear and it hadn’t taken too long for Izuku to get them to faint.
He was wondering what kind of weak distraction that was supposed to be when he felt something piercing his chest as if a sharp stake had gone right through his heart. He felt a suffocating tightness clutching at his heart and a huge, sudden surge of nausea almost made him throw up right there.
Confused, he looked around, but there was nothing more than the unconscious, floating bodies of the villains he’d just defeated.
The feeling was getting worse and worse with each passing second. A sentiment of inevitable dread was welling up inside his core and, keeping it company, there was also a sense of the grimmest apprehension he’d ever felt in his entire life. He felt like he wanted to die. Almost as if someone had just taken away forever a primary part of his soul and the rest of him was going to break down into a million pieces as a result. It was driving him mad.
He had been right. Danger sense wasn’t only talking about the villains near him. Something had happened somewhere else.
Before he could wonder where it could be, he felt something else. This feeling was more comforting, but still somewhat dreadful. He grabbed his head with both hands as if the action could somehow stop the feeling from fading and concentrated on it. It was so, so…
So familiar.
His quick heartbeat reached his ears.
It was as familiar to Izuku as the palms of his own hands but he still couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Yet another feeling came in, but he did recognize this one. It was one of the vestiges of One For All interacting with him. No… trying to communicate with him. As much as he focused though, he wasn’t able to discern any words. Then, the vestige and the so familiar feeling merged and he knew it was one and the same.
What? None of the vestiges had felt so close to me before. Could this be All Mig…
And then he saw a flash of ash blond hair.
In one second, Izuku realized what it was.
Always so close and so far. Stirring inside him the desire to strive for higher and higher heights. Making him stay on his feet and get out of his comfort zone. Confusing and temperamental, and yet loyal and brave. Nitroglycerin igniting detonations of all kinds. Rumbling laughter, crackling bangs. The most vivid red Izuku’s ever seen. His Symbol of Victory.
In the next second, Izuku almost divided the oceanic waters as he zoomed his way off toward his destination. Enough speed didn’t exist in the universe to make him feel satisfied as all he wanted to do was reach that damn flying dome he had been taking too long to get to.
Izuku had to check on him. Because this feeling was wrong. It was just Izuku’s own negative thoughts building up.
But he was okay. He had to be okay. He was not inside One For All because that would mean he was—
Izuku didn’t finish that thought. He had arrived at the arena.
He found devastation everywhere. More than one entrance to the dome had been forcefully created through its walls, seemingly the result of some very powerful attacks that had gone off course. His eyes skimmed the place. Outside the dome, he saw Aizawa-sensei, Monoma-kun and the hero Manual. Inside he saw glances of the Big Three and Best Jeanist. He even saw Shigaraki floating in the air close to the center of the arena.
But he only cared to find one person.
He did, soon enough.
And his heart stopped at the mere sight of him.
Izuku’s body moved on its own to float closer because his mind wasn’t functioning enough to command it. The dread he’d had before was nothing compared to the way his entire soul felt now.
Kacchan was lying face up on a section of grass. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were open but unfocused. Devoid of any emotion or sensation, of any stimulation that derives from the subconscious. Devoid of…
No.
Izuku kneeled down by Kacchan’s side. Staring at his childhood friend’s face, he could see more blood than skin. Kacchan’s masterfully designed winter costume had been mostly turned to shreds and there was a hole in his chest. There was so much dark red that Izuku began to hyperventilate. Or was he already doing that and had realized it just now?
“K…” he tried to say the whole name, but all his jaw muscles were quivering so hard he couldn’t get past the consonant.
He’s just resting.
Kacchan wasn’t moving. At all. He was still as a picture. His chest didn’t heave and his eyes didn’t flicker. He looked like a cruel mannequin of the real thing.
Just taking a little nap. He’s always been a peaceful sleeper.
“K… K–Ka…”
Izuku placed a finger on Kacchan’s neck. A new sob throbbed in his throat each second that passed without him feeling a pulse.
He’s unconscious, that’s all. If we get him to someone with a healing Quirk, he’ll be back on his feet in no time.
“Ka…cchan…” Izuku clenched his teeth as his vision went completely blurry. His mouth felt so dry, even when so many of his tears were wetting his lips.
He became desperate. Sliding closer, he positioned a hand on each side of Kacchan’s head and looked him in the eye.
“K–Kacchan, w–wake up,” he pleaded. The most broken, high-pitched of sounds came out of his throat when Kacchan’s pupils didn’t focus on him right away like they always do. Kacchan was the most focused person he’s ever known so why wasn’t he looking back? “Kacchan, that’s enough, come on, wake up. We have a…” He sniffed every three words as it was getting hard to speak and his throat felt like closing up. “…a v–villain to defeat. Remember, Kacchan?”
Izuku began to laugh mirthlessly as he shook Kacchan’s shoulders.
“G–good one, Kacchan. You got me! Hahaha—you always get me! Now it’s time to stop, okay? Is this an effect of your quirk, perhaps? You found a way to pretend you’re…”
Izuku trailed off and stared at Kacchan soundlessly.
One, two, three, four, five seconds.
The sheer silence was the last drop needed to break him.
“Kacchan!”
All his crying sounds were dying in his throat and coming out in an unstable, frightened, cracked pitch.
He began to grab at Kacchan’s face from all angles, trying to get some kind of reaction from him.
“Ka–cchan!”
Izuku shook Kacchan’s shoulders again, now with more strength. His green and white costume was getting redder and redder as more and more of Kacchan’s blood smeared all along the leather and the fabric.
“Wake the fuck up!”
Give me something.
“Wake up and get angry at me for interrupting your goddamn sleep, Kacchan, please!”
Give me anything at all.
“You can’t do this to me! No— you can’t do this to yourself, Kacchan! You need to get back up and help me defeat Shigaraki and All For One so you can become the Number One hero and prove to me and everyone else that you’re stronger than we all think, that you can protect everyone by being your awesomely heroic self! You need to be my hero, Kacchan, please, please, please continue being my hero!”
He kept screaming and touching Kacchan. The blond’s face remained perfectly still. Like a ragdoll.
Izuku couldn’t bear looking at that and, instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his forehead down to Kacchan’s chest.
“Please,” he whispered, barely getting the sounds out. “Wake… Kacchan. Kacchan, please. You’re not… I can’t do this if you’re sleeping. You need to be here. You need to fly around me with your Quirk and yell every time you speak and tell me I still haven’t seen everything there is to your power so why aren’t you saying anything?!”
“Everyone here can guess the answer to your question in a split second,” Shigaraki’s voice purred from the sky. Izuku kept his head down on Kacchan’s chest. “I thought you were a genius, Midoriya? Or, what did he use to call you, was it Deku?”
Izuku whipped his head around to glare ignited daggers at Shigaraki–All For One.
To be fair, right now, he didn’t give a shit about whom it was supposed to be anymore.
“Why so grumpy?” Shigaraki asked. “You didn’t like the gift I left here for you? I thought you liked studying heroes and the way their Quirks work. If you’ve never tried an autopsy before, this is your best chance at performing one, and it’s with none other than your dearest Bakugou Katsuki.”
“Don’t say his name.” Still glaring at Shigaraki, Izuku reached out for Kacchan’s head and gently turned it so his cheek rested on the grass like before.
Shigaraki shrugged with nonchalance. “It seems like your friend’s untimely departure has affected you deeply. It’s very sad, really. Such melancholy.”
“Stop. Talking,” Izuku all but roared. He stood up from Kacchan’s side and One For All engulfed his entire frame like never before. Sparks were coming out of his eyes like he was made out of the energy itself. He faintly heard Aizawa-sensei calling out to him from outside the arena. He didn’t take his eyes off Shigaraki, inspecting the insane amount of limbs and other extremities Shigaraki now had.
“So many commands you’re giving me,” Shigaraki said. “I’ll just tell you one thing: at the end of this battle, One For All will be mine for the taking no matter what… just like your friend won’t ever come back alive, no matter what you do.”
Izuku’s tears were floating from all the energy flowing through and outside of him. He was in front of Shigaraki before either of them blinked.
Shigaraki, however, didn’t look fazed. He smiled almost amicably. “Well, if you somehow defeat me, then you truly won’t be able to get him back. But, if I can be honest with you, not even I would want something like that.”
Grunting in a way that tore at his throat all the way to his heart, Izuku charged all of the stored energy he could muster into a punch that sent Shigaraki spiraling down many yards. Even then, it was far away from a powerful attack. Izuku glanced at his own fist with confusion and his breath hiccupped when uncontrollable tears fell one after the other on his gloves, dampening the leather.
He was shaking against his will.
He was the holder of One For All. And he was so weak.
Come on, Izuku, it’s not the time to waver.
“You know, in all my years of collecting Quirks, I’ve seen and possessed all kinds of helpful powers. Many of them can be used to destroy and conquer, but many are also used to heal and comfort other people,” Shigaraki said as Izuku started to bolt back toward him at full speed. “Some time ago I found out a very particular Quirk. It was said to bring people back to life.”
Izuku halted mid-kick.
“I tried to use it multiple times,” All For One continued, “but it just wasn’t working. It was later on that I realized that you can’t bring someone back to life if you don’t catch their soul somehow before it escapes from our realm. ‘It’s impossible then!’ I said that one time. Until one day my most beloved pet hamster died, and do you know what happened? I caught its tiny soul thanks to the help of another Quirk I didn’t even remember I had! The world really has variety, wouldn’t you agree?”
Izuku knew he should not listen to a single word this man was saying. He knew he should be beating the living hell out of him. But, for the first time since he can remember, his body stayed still instead of moving on its own.
“Anyway, I tried it out and, what do you know, my hamster lived! Its cute beady eyes recovered the light of life that had left them just some moments before. Such a miracle, indeed. I wish I could do the same thing for your friend here.”
“You did this to him,” Izuku muttered with immeasurable rage, still not capable of admitting to himself what ‘this’ meant.
All For One didn’t acknowledge that comment and even seemed to perk up with curiosity. “You have One For All, which houses the vestiges of the previous holders. But I’ve felt something rather peculiar from your aura since you arrived. Think about it, Midoriya. Could your friend be inside One For All as well?”
Izuku was glowering. All For One didn’t have the right to intrude in any affair happening within One For All and the vestiges, much less if it also has to do with Kacchan.
But he was right. Once Izuku recognized Kacchan’s presence there, he couldn’t stop acknowledging it. Only the despair of seeing Kacchan’s… physical body had managed to overwhelm him enough to forget the connection. But it was coming back. Kacchan was there. There was still a chance.
A… chance?
“I’ll take from your rather impolite expression that I’m right. Your friend’s soul is within One For All. That just shows how close you were, hm? And that closeness just might end up saving his life…”
Izuku kept glaring on the outside, but on the inside there was a flare of hope. It was as small as a ladybug, but it grew up with each word All For One spoke.
Kacchan, he is…
No. He’s still here.
But there’s no way to bring him back to the Kacchan he should be.
…Is there?
Everything inside him cried out that there had to be a way.
“What do you mean by this?” Izuku asked cautiously, never lowering his guard.
All For One grinned, revealing the morbidly sharp teeth of Shigaraki’s mouth. “You’re finally listening. I’ll keep it simple to save us the trouble. You give me One For All… and your dear friend gets to live again and be with you like you’ve always wanted. You’ll never leave each other’s side and you’ll be the best of heroes. What do you think? Isn’t that perfect?”
Izuku’s heart shrunk.
Giving up One For All is not an option. Never has been.
But it’s the only way for Kacchan to realize his dream.
Giving up One For All is the only way for Kacchan to come back.
Izuku imagined Kacchan’s fierce and lively smile. His messy-looking but somehow always neat ash blond hair. His chest heaving up and down with exertion as he trained every morning. His weird and yet endearing expressions when he’s surprised or completely lost in a conversation. His loud laughter that raises just a few pitches over his normal voice when it’s genuine. His screams as he tells everyone and their mother that he’s going to be the best hero ever. His face contorting with a vulnerability that he shows when and only when Izuku’s around. His insecurities, fears, hopes, beliefs, ideals, dreams. The nightmares that haunt him sometimes and that have to do with Izuku somehow because he later ends up opening the door to Izuku’s room at night to make sure he’s still breathing. The visible relief on his face when he sees Izuku is okay… and the fact that he doesn’t know Izuku is also looking at him every night it happens.
The feel of Kacchan’s hand the day Izuku shared his power with him. The augmented intensity of Kacchan’s gaze every time his eyes land on Izuku that doesn’t happen when he looks at anyone else.
The sight of Kacchan’s body breaking apart when he saved my life and took the attack all by himself as a result. The rage I felt that day after almost losing him.
The despair I would feel now if his soul goes away for good.
This time, everyone in and out of the arena was yelling things to Izuku as he stared down All For One, the latter waiting for his response with a calm smile and analytical eyes.
The voices didn’t seem as important anymore. Izuku was too devoid of anything other than pain and hope to contemplate what accepting this deal would trigger, or if there was a better option than this.
Izuku knew that this was going to be the worst decision he would ever make. He also knew that he was not going to regret it.
Everything hurts. It hurts like hell itself. And yet there are some parts of his body that he straight up can’t feel at all. So it’s more like most of it hurts. Things make zero sense sometimes.
His eyelids are heavy and they flicker as he slowly lifts them. His body is begging him to go to sleep, but Katsuki has a feeling. No, quite literally, he feels like he’s being watched, and he hates not knowing what that’s about. So he pushes through and opens his eyes against his body’s wishes.
When his blurry vision starts to get clear enough for him to see, he makes out a shape by his side. It kind of looks like broccoli—if broccoli were painted blood red in addition to their usual green color. He doesn’t need to fight with his vision for longer than that. Of course he knows who it is. He’d recognize those freckles anywhere.
Izuku is kneeling right next to Katsuki and staring at him in silence. He’s drenched in bright tears from his face to his costume and it looks like his eye bags have more eye bags under them. His hair is beyond disheveled like he’s pulled on it out of distress multiple times and again, as Katsuki noticed before anything else, his costume is worryingly bloodied.
But something is clearly out of place here. Izuku seems perfectly fine, so where does that blood come from? Also—Katsuki notices with a squint—Izuku is known as a crier (and an ugly one at that) so seeing him crying isn’t a strange thing by itself. But he’s not doing it out of sadness or helplessness, Katsuki can tell.
Izuku looks like he just had the most life scarring mental breakdown of his life. So why does he also look so… happy?
As Kacchan wonders, Izuku just keeps staring. He can’t believe All For One actually kept his promise.
Kacchan is here. He opened his eyes and he’s breathing—look at his chest rising and lowering! Look at Kacchan go! He’s so good at living!
And even though he basically rattled Kacchan just some minutes ago, he’s too afraid to touch him now. What if Kacchan disappears or closes his eyes to never open them again? What if Izuku is too dangerous to even be around? Well, he doesn’t have One For All anymore, so he doesn’t think villains will have a preferential desire to kill him now, but still…
“What’s that goofy smile for?” Kacchan asks and Izuku’s heart just performs an entire sequence of the Olympics. Kacchan’s voice is hoarse, throaty and almost nonexistent because his vocal cords were heavily damaged but it’s Kacchan’s voice and it’s Izuku’s favorite sound.
In response to the question, Izuku just breaks into a quivering smile, tears flowing even faster now that he’s heard Kacchan talk again—he needs every confirmation he can get. He shakes his head at his childhood friend. “It’s nothing… Kacchan.”
Katsuki looks behind Izuku’s shoulder and sees Shigaraki floating high in the air just some yards away. The memories are coming back to him and he’s even more confused than before. Why is Izuku calmly sitting by his side and looking like he just won the lottery when the main bad guy is still looking pretty fucking peppy?
“Izuku, what is going on?” he asks.
It’s like those words break the spell Izuku was in. Izuku suddenly lunges forward and holds him as if Katsuki was his lifeline (a more accurate statement than even Katsuki realizes). He quickly notices that Izuku’s hold is clingy but not constricting. Almost like he wants to hold onto him forever but remains mindful of Katsuki’s injuries. That’s just Izuku for you.
Katsuki almost shivers when he hears Izuku’s soft hiccups as he cries. This time there is sadness in there, but it’s intertwined with bliss. Like some kind of distressed ecstasy.
“I wanted to see you again,” Izuku says. His voice hiccups just like his sobs. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to be the hero I always strived to be. You were right, Kacchan. I wasn’t made for this.”
Katsuki raises the arm that still works—his left one, he feels there’s some kind of sardonic message in there—and surrounds Izuku’s middle with it. He doesn’t understand what’s happening as he still hasn’t received an answer but he’s too busy drowning in Izuku that he doesn’t care about their surroundings. There is, however, one thing he knows it’s a fact. And it’s that, if Midoriya Izuku isn’t a hero, then by definition no one else is.
“Don’t say those idiotic words ever again,” he tells Izuku, glad that the nerd still understands him even when his voice is utter shit right now. “I was wrong this whole time. I am the one who can’t catch up to you. So stop crying. I still hate it when you do that.”
Izuku backs off slightly to look Katsuki in the eye and gives him another smile, this time looking bigger and more genuine, as big, blurry green eyes twinkle with absolute admiration for him. He’s currently straddling Katsuki and he, for once, doesn’t mind the proximity.
“Will we become a hero duo sometime, Kacchan?” Izuku asks.
Katsuki doesn’t answer at first. He moves his hand to stroke Izuku’s dirty, freckled cheek with his gloved thumb. He accidentally smudges some of his blood on Izuku’s cheek by doing so. Oh, so that’s why Izuku’s costume is like that.
Well, weirder fucking things have happened.
When he does answer, he means it. “We’ll be the best hero duo the world will ever see. We’ll show those fuckers what heroes are made of.”
Izuku starts to carefully glide his fingers through Katsuki’s hair to caress his scalp. “We’ll always win…”
Katsuki huffs. “No, dumbass. We’ll save. We’ll always save, and that’s how we’ll win. I didn’t take this damn long to realize that just for you to change your mind at the last minute.”
Izuku’s chest buzzes and his voice cracks as his laughter vibrates through. “But I love to see you win, Kacchan. You’re the best at it.”
Katsuki doesn’t have it in him to frown. He doesn’t quite feel his face anymore, either way. He just clicks his tongue. “You damn nerd.”
Kacchan’s eyes seem to recover some of their color right then—they go back to the passionate, lively red they’ve always been. Izuku gets drawn to that gorgeous, intoxicating color and never wants to let go.
Katsuki speaks again, “You’ve always had exactly what it takes to be a hero. Humble, kind, determined, selfless, insane—like, seriously, you’ve got too many screws loose in that peabrain of yours.” Izuku laughs once again. The sides of Katsuki’s eyes wrinkle at that. If he has to die to the sound of Izuku’s laughter, so be it. He’s very effing ready. “But even when you’re out of your goddamn mind, you’re still the best hero out there, you little nutcase.”
Izuku’s eyes are tingling and burning. It stings to keep them open, but he does it anyway. He keeps them open. Because Kacchan is right here and he’s breathing and focusing his eyes on Izuku and talking and he’s alive.
He knows he failed the rest of the world and maybe even the universe in a single second, but he simply doesn’t regret it. Because in that single second he took the one decision that gave him one last chance. Kacchan’s heart is beating again as the direct result. That’s all that matters to him.
Kacchan’s questioning gaze as the blond visibly wonders what’s happening makes him feel the happiest he’s ever been, even if that makes absolutely no sense. Kacchan is right, as always. Izuku is insane.
Because Kacchan’s still staring but he’s not asking. He doesn’t take his gaze off Izuku, not even to look around again and figure out what’s happening on his own.
It’s like the world around them doesn’t exist nor matter anymore.
Kacchan was able to understand—he’s always been so brilliant—that this is the end and has come to accept it for what it is.
Izuku sees a small object next to Kacchan’s head and gasps. He hastily shoves his hand inside one pocket of his hero costume.
“What?” Kacchan simply asks, voice barely leaving his throat.
He looks back at Kacchan with a grin as he pulls out his very own All Might card.
“I kept mine too, Kacchan!”
Kacchan’s eyes widen ever-so-slightly. Then he clicks his tongue again as a way to shake his head. “Every time I think I beat you to something you just go and do the weirdest shit. How the hell’s your card in even better condition than mine? I give that damn card a better treatment than I give my parents.”
Izuku beams at him. “I’m a nerd, remember? We know how to keep what we love in pristine condition, all safe!” His smile wears off just then as he lays his All Might card next to Kacchan’s on the grass. “Kacchan. I’m sorry I didn’t get to keep you safe. I…” His eyes start to roam Kacchan’s body, looking over all his injuries.
He can’t even begin to imagine what Kacchan had to go through before Izuku arrived. It hurts him too much to even try. How would anyone think his childhood friend deserved any of this? And he could’ve stopped it had he been paying more attention as he should have once they all had gone through the portals at the start of the skirmishes. He screwed up. He was the target so he should’ve been the one receiving the hits. He could’ve been here to help like he was supposed to. But he wasn’t, and Kacchan’s paying the price for Izuku’s ineptitude, just like the time he got kidnapped.
The tears are coming back.
“Izuku,” Kacchan says. Somehow, even with his decimated vocal cords, his voice doesn’t waver nor hesitate, not ever, as he pronounces each syllable of Izuku’s name. It should sound foreign—he’s been calling him Deku for most of their lives. But somehow, it feels just right. It does feel weird in a way that warms Izuku’s core because there’s an underlying softness to it that rattles his heart.
Izuku both loves and hates the way things turned out to be.
“Look at me,” Katsuki talks again once he doesn’t receive an answer. “Hey. Don’t you fucking ignore me now.” Izuku finally looks back at him, his forehead more wrinkled than a sheet of crumpled paper. Katsuki hates to see his usually merry face so contorted. “If you didn’t get your ass here sooner it was ‘cause you couldn’t. You did everything you could and that’s the end of the story. You can’t always save everyone. You’re not a fucking god.”
Izuku is distraught. “But you are the one person I wanted to save the most because you’re Kacchan and how you’re here and I just gave up One For All for a last chance to see you because I’m a complete failure and I wasn’t here to help you when it mattered the most and, and you—”
“You did what?” Kacchan asks, cutting off Izuku’s rambling. The now Quirkless boy doesn’t answer and just looks at Kacchan dejectedly.
“I know. It was the worst possible decision I could’ve made. And it was so selfish and horrible and despicable. But I didn’t even care about heroics anymore once I realized you were gone. Because you were gone, Kacchan.” Izuku can’t help the way his voice breaks when he finally acknowledged out loud the reality. Against the pain, he keeps going. “You were gone just now. You were slipping away. And this world just isn’t my world when you’re not in it. When you’re not with us. When you’re not with…” His cheeks were already colored pink from all the exertion of his emotional crying, but they become completely ruddy as he whispers, “With me, Katsuki.”
Kacchan gulps and Izuku knows it’s as painful as it looks. The blond sighs heavily as he stares at Izuku’s face all over, still not replying.
Izuku continues, “I know I doomed humanity and all their efforts aren’t worth anything now because of my own selfishness and I know you’re mad at me. You deserve to be mad at me. At the unfairness of this world. We’re both going to die anyway but I just really had to see you again, I…” Izuku smiles weakly at him. “You can tell me what you feel about me now before it’s too late. I can take it, Kacchan. I can take anything if it’s you.”
Katsuki can’t believe this boy. He doesn’t wonder anymore why he wasn’t able to understand a single thing Izuku did when they were younger. This guy is just all over the place. And that makes Katsuki feel like he’s going to pass out from the intensity of his own emotions. The feelings are there and they’re so strong and present he can almost touch them, but he’s been running away from them instead of confronting the truth.
Considering his life is about to end (once more), he’s fucking sick of running away.
“You know I’m no hypocrite, nerd,” he starts, and Izuku’s determined face doesn’t waver, waiting to receive some kind of rebuke. Katsuki stresses each word to make sure Izuku gets it, no matter how much that might fuck up his throat. “Even though I don’t say much, when I do speak I always say my truth. And being angry at you for what you did would be the most hypocritical thing I could do. Well, no, it’d be a close second.” Izuku seems lost and yet mesmerized as he listens to him. “It’d be more hypocritical of me to say that I don’t care.”
Izuku tilts his head in the most adorable of ways. “Care?”
“Do I really have to spell it out for you?” Katsuki sighs as a way to stall, if just little bit. “I’m only doing this ‘cause you saved my life. Again.” He scoffs at how ridiculous this is. “I care about you, Izuku. There, you happy?”
Izuku’s eyes have become a healthy forest green as he nods effusively. “Very!”
Katsuki frowns. “You shouldn’t be.” At Izuku’s confusion, Katsuki prepares himself for the conversation he’s been avoiding since he apologized to Izuku under the rain. “Izuku, I’m going to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”
“I’m always honest with you,” Izuku answers without missing a beat.
Katsuki sighs again, taking longer this time. His chest hurts, both because he breathed in too deeply before sighing and because he’s so not ready for this. But he doesn’t matter in this equation. Izuku does. So he speaks up.
“This is the first time in our lives that I see you doing something selfish, and I know you since we were the littlest of brats. Why for me, of all people?”
Kacchan looks genuinely affronted as his eyes regard Izuku’s, trying to pull the truth out of them.
Izuku shrugs like it’s the most obvious thing on the planet. “Because you’re Kacchan.”
Katsuki shakes his head and quickly stops with a grimace when his body reminds him of the reason he shouldn’t be moving much. “Precisely because I’m me means you shouldn’t bother. I wasn’t looking for you to forgive me when I said all of those things to you that day. I just wanted to tell you the truth for what it was. You don’t… You shouldn’t forgive me.”
The Quirkless boy simply smiles at him, and Katsuki hates that he’s not able to find a single smidgen of rejection in his expression.
“Izuku, seriously, were you dropped when you were a baby? Are you fucking listening to anything I’m saying? I don’t deserve anything you’ve done for me.”
Izuku’s hand, which had gone back to caressing Kacchan’s hair, slides slowly over Kacchan’s cheek until it cradles his chin. Izuku’s smile turns softer as his pupils linger on every spot of Kacchan’s face like each of them requires all of his attention.
“Maybe you don’t deserve it,” he says. “But I still do it. I’d do anything to keep you safe and happy. To keep that sparkling flame inside you alive.” His gaze now focuses on Kacchan’s partly opened lips. “I took a long time to figure out how I feel about you too, Kacchan. We’re both quite slow at this! But today I finally understood.”
When Izuku glances up to meet red eyes, he finds Kacchan looking so shocked it almost seems like someone just slapped him with a fish straight through his pretty face.
“Iz…” Kacchan starts before his voice cracks. He tries again. “You—”
The world comes crashing back down to them as they hear All For One’s lengthy monologue—was he talking the whole time?—growing stronger. They see the ominous bluish aura that surrounds Shigaraki’s body. One For All’s energy crackles and dances on his pale, jagged skin and extends to some of his countless limbs. His maniacal laughter can be heard miles away from the flying dome.
Izuku isn’t capable of feeling anything for him anymore. No pity, no compassion, no sympathy. Even hating him would require some energy and Izuku can’t afford that when all he wants to focus on for the short rest of his life is the way Kacchan’s heart beats, so full of life after Izuku thought it wouldn’t be possible ever again.
He knows what’s going to happen and wishes he could still stop Shigaraki and All For One somehow.
“You can’t save everyone,” Kacchan’s raspy voice reminds him and Izuku looks back at him.
Even as the dooming consequences of his decision are about to rain on them, he simply doesn’t regret it. He allowed himself to be selfish just this once and he’s ready to dance with Death itself, as long as he gets to dance with Kacchan right afterward.
He doesn’t take his gaze off Kacchan, not even to look at the man that’s about to kill them all now that he’s reunited the two most powerful Quirks known to humankind. Instead, he smiles at his childhood friend, who looks as gorgeous as usual, and says, “‘Don’t try to win this on your own.’ That’s what you told me, right?”
Kacchan lets out a breathless laugh. “So you do listen to me sometimes. Well, it’s not like you ever follow up on my advice anyway.”
Izuku has the mind to look sheepish at that. He then feels Kacchan’s hand sliding to the back of his neck. Kacchan does a gentle tug, like he wants to bring him closer.
It’s Izuku’s turn to be surprised. “Kacchan?”
The blond tugs again. “C’mon. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
Izuku finally gets it. The tears are back once more, but this time they’re not quick and unrestrained like the two faucets he usually sports. They’re small, barely noticeable, slowly welling up at the corners of his eyes. He sniffs and nods before he lowers down and buries his face in the crook of Kacchan’s neck. Like clockwork, Izuku surrounds Kacchan with his arms and holds onto him in a way he had never dared before. He won’t get to do it ever again, so in all honesty, he’s tired of overthinking everything and he’s ready to just feel.
Katsuki, in turn, ruffles Izuku’s hair with his working hand, feeling the gentle pressure of Izuku’s body on top of his own. Both of them can feel each other’s breath against their skin and their heartbeats across their chests. Kacchan breathes heavily into Izuku’s scent and slowly lets it out.
“Remind me to help you bathe next time. You still smell like shit.”
Izuku laughs like it’s the funniest thing in the world. He laughs even harder when Kacchan audibly breathes in again despite what he just said.
“Since when do you like smelling shit, Kacchan?”
He hears—and feels—Kacchan humming. It almost feels like a purr. “Potty mouth,” Kacchan has the audacity to say. “And I’m used to it. You smell like a shitty nerd all the time. Always wearing that cheap ass All Might cologne. It’s never been good.”
Izuku tightens his hold on him the tiniest bit, bringing them as close as possible. “And you feel like Kacchan. Never stop feeling like Kacchan. Please.”
“What kinda bullshit’s that,” Kacchan says more than asks, starting to slur his words. He’s falling asleep due to exhaustion and Izuku’s impressed the blond didn’t start doing it sooner.
Light tears slide the length of Katsuki’s cheeks as they wait for the worst.
Izuku closes his eyes and drowns in Kacchan’s presence as much as he can. He can only hear what’s happening behind him.
The crackling of One For All is getting closer to them. He recognizes the sound of All For One charging an empowered attack right in their direction. Izuku squeezes his eyes with all his strength at the same time he feels Kacchan tightening his grip on him. For someone who can only use one arm, Kacchan’s hold is firm. Protective.
They’re ready to meet their doom as All For One starts to move toward them with the final blow when, suddenly, the sounds of the air whooshing and the crackling stop, all at once. Izuku opens his eyes with a frown and turns his head to be able to see what’s going on. Kacchan looks just as confused as him as he stares up at the villain.
All For One had halted in the air right in the middle of his charge. He’s looking at his hands as if they’re refusing to work for him all of a sudden. He tries to activate One For All again and it works, just to quickly shut off again. Izuku and Katsuki share a look.
“What the hell is happening,” All For One mutters.
To everyone’s surprise, all the countless limbs that Shigaraki’s body has been developing start moving uncontrollably and in frantic motions. They’re completely out of control. The little color that’s left on Shigaraki’s face drains as panic settles in.
“He’s not in control,” Katsuki mumbles softly, astounded.
“Do you think it’s like what happened with me when I first got One For All?” Izuku asks him. Katsuki can already hear Izuku’s intelligent brain working at a million miles per hour.
Katsuki shakes his head. “This seems different.”
Suddenly, the villain screams, and his eyes are big and unfocused. He holds his head and grasps his scalp with a sense of urgency.
“No. Stay there. I am your Master and ruler. I own you.” He screams once again and One For All comes back to him, though he doesn’t look like he had wanted to activate it this time.
“It’s… It’s the vestiges,” Izuku exclaims. “They’re fighting All For One inside him.”
“They’re rejecting All For One like Star and Stripe’s Quirk did,” Katsuki surmises.
The duo shares a look once more, but this one is more meaningful.
“Do you think that…” Izuku starts.
“They might win?” Katsuki finishes. “I have no idea. But this is a good time to help ‘em out as they beat that motherfu— Aghhh, shit.” Katsuki grunts in pain and lies back down soon after he tries to get up.
Izuku looks at him disapprovingly. “Kacchan, you literally died less than an hour ago because you’re completely wrecked. How do you expect to go out there if you can’t even defend yourself against such chaos?!”
Katsuki frowns back at Izuku with outrage. “Now you get what it feels like to watch you jump straight into the lion’s den almost every fucking time you can and not ever knowing if you’ll make it out alive.”
Izuku opens his mouth to answer but finds himself at an utter loss for words. He settles for, “I’m… I’m sorry, Kacchan.”
Kacchan’s gaze softens. “Just promise you won’t do that shit again. That is if we actually survive this, anyway.”
“I promise,” Izuku says.
An even more deranged scream gets their attention back to the action. They’re shocked to see a blinding light coming out of Shigaraki’s mouth and eyes as the villain seems to be in immeasurable pain, both inside and outside.
Everything else happens in a flash. The Quirks rebel and cause an uproar inside All For One way worse than what the havoc in Tartarus ever was. Shigaraki himself—Izuku believes it was the little kid inside him—rebels against All For One in a battle for his body and identity.
The other heroes in the arena get over their shock soon enough and help the battle that One For All and New Order began by wearing off the distracted body from the outside. Izuku and Katsuki have to keep each other in check every time one of them wants to stand up and help. They’re lucky both of them are equally stubborn as they are reckless.
They’re shocked when they get pulled into a hug by Aizawa-sensei in the midst of the battle.
Their homeroom teacher isn’t keen on losing any of his students, and the possibility of losing his problem children struck a chord within him strong enough to make him lose his chill. Hugging the crap out of them was just the obvious course of action. Izuku is happy to see Kacchan get the affection he deserves. Kacchan, however, doesn’t seem to be having as much fun as he hides his grumpy (and bashful) face away from Izuku.
The three of them stare at the battle unfolding before their eyes.
Izuku blushes with surprise when he feels Kacchan’s hand sliding onto his own. He turns at his childhood friend, who looks him in the eye like it’s some sort of silent promise.
A promise to continue doing their best if they make it out alive.
A promise to be the strongest hero duo the world has ever seen, saving by winning and winning by saving.
Izuku lied when he promised Kacchan he wouldn’t throw himself in harm’s way ever again and he’s sure Kacchan knows he did. Because they’re capable of risking everything they have if that keeps the other half of the duo safe.
Izuku smiles sadly as he realizes he doesn’t really have a Quirk anymore, which will be permanent unless they don’t only survive but also manage to find a way to get One For All back to him. Will he have to eat one of Shigaraki’s hairs?
Oh, god.
Kacchan seems to read him perfectly because he’s smirking as he holds a long, gray hair right in front of him. Where did he even get that?
“Care to do the honors?”
He looks from the hair to Katsuki and his shocked face is so ridiculously silly that Katsuki bursts out laughing. “It doesn’t even work like that!” Izuku exclaims, embarrassed. “The holder must want to pass One For All on to me!”
“You can ask Shitgaraki’s corpse later, I’m sure he’ll say yes,” Katsuki replies and they start to bicker.
Aizawa-sensei simply looks at them and shakes his head fondly. Some things just never change.
The battle of the Quirks ends quicker than anyone could’ve guessed.
They win. It’s over.
As Kacchan silently draws circles on Izuku’s palm, they continue to stare at the setting sun on the horizon for a while longer. Everything is so surreal that Izuku thinks he might be dreaming it all.
He doesn’t know if he should feel good or bad when absolutely no one looks disappointed in him for dooming humanity as a whole for his own desires. Not even a single stink eye, nothing.
He guesses everyone had someone they would give up the world for, as poetic as that sounds. Or maybe it has to do with the way Kacchan preemptively glares at everyone that walks by them as some kind of warning.
“Hey, Kacchan,” he says.
Kacchan turns at him “Hm?”
Izuku smiles. Be it real life or a dream, he’s exactly where he wants to be. “Let’s get your ass to the hospital,” he says before he leans back and pretends to analyze Kacchan’s rear for a while. Kacchan flushes with hilariously sheepish outrage as he scowls at Izuku in disbelief. Izuku casually comes back to his normal stance and shrugs. “Or, well, whatever’s left of it. It took quite the beating back there.”
If looks could kill, Izuku would be six feet under already.
“Just wait until I’m recovered you absolute piece of sh—” Kacchan stops when Izuku leans forward until they’re face to face. He raises an eyebrow. “What now?”
Izuku shakes his head softly. “Nothing. I just really like seeing your face.”
The aforementioned face turned an even darker shade of red. “You’re dead meat, Izuku, dead fucking meat.”
“And I love when you say my name.”
“Can you just shut up already.”
The road back home that day is everything but expected after such a battle.
One For All is cursing his veins once again before he knows it and Izuku just can’t believe his luck. Somehow, things turned out okay for everyone.
Well, most things did, at least.
Katsuki hates the rain.
He’s standing under his black umbrella as he wears his formal attire. He also hates formal attire, but he had no choice today. He didn’t even get rid of the annoying tie this time. It isn’t the day for that kind of behavior.
Izuku’s standing next to him in his own formal wear. They’re closer to the front than everyone else as they look down at the grave.
The battle inside One For All required a lot of energy from everyone to work. Izuku himself was able to feel the vestiges roaring and fighting even when he didn’t possess the Quirk at the time, and he had sent as much energy to them as possible. But it hadn’t been enough, he had realized that same day after it had been over. They had been about to lose everything. But one of the vestiges gave up enough of his energy to make it count right by the end. And with enough, Izuku means all of his vital energy.
It hadn’t been Izuku, contrary to the usual expectations, since he didn’t even realize the state of the battle when it was happening.
When Izuku, Kacchan and the rest had come back to UA, they had been informed of the news.
All Might had passed out during the One For All uproar after he reportedly struggled to keep the link between his normal self and his vestige inside the Quirk. No one quite understood what happened after that. No one except Izuku, who comprehends the workings of the Quirk more than the rest.
After passing out, All Might’s conscience was still in the battle and he wasn’t about to give up. In an impressive display of control, he managed to stabilize the link that bound him to his vestige. He had a full view of the battle even when he wasn’t even near All For One’s physical body.
“Such willpower and strength. It’s the least you could expect from someone like All Might,” Kacchan commented when Izuku explained it to him.
Izuku agrees.
Once All Might had secured the link and realized the vestiges were about to succumb to All For One’s control, the former Number One hero had made a decision.
That decision allowed all of them to stand in front of Toshinori Yagi’s grave today, safe and sound.
Katsuki looks at Izuku as the latter regards the tomb. Izuku’s profile is slightly fuzzy thanks to the rain, but Katsuki can see each emotion he’s experiencing as if they were painted on his freckled face. The soft glint of silent pain and sorrow in his green eyes is accompanied by his small, almost invisible smile. A smile that told thousands of different stories Izuku got to live with his now deceased mentor from the moment they first met. The tears are also present because of course they are, though they could be easily mistaken for the falling rain.
Katsuki guesses that his own face can be read just as easily. He looks back at All Might’s grave and heaves out a sigh.
After a long while, they hear voices as the rest of the class speak among themselves about All Might. They see Shouto get closer to the grave and kneel in front of it to leave the bouquet of white roses the class dedicated to their teacher and hero. Kirishima goes to stand next to Katsuki and places a hand on the latter’s shoulder. Katsuki pats it softly with his left hand—his right arm and hand are still out of commission. Uraraka walks toward Izuku and they share a tight hug.
The hours go by and no one from the class leaves. Most of them don’t remain still. They sit together on the wet glass and stand up to walk around the area, smiling at the anecdotes they tell each other about their precious moments with All Might, sometimes fun, sometimes interesting, sometimes informative, and always full of admiration. The ones that don’t move as much during that time are Izuku and Katsuki, who always stay around the grave. All of their friends go and talk to them every few minutes and Izuku shares many anecdotes of his own.
Another student that doesn’t move much is Aoyama. He sits some rows away from everyone else, on his lonesome. He’s holding an umbrella in his arm, but he never actually opens it to take shelter from the rain. The class tries to integrate him back into the group, but he just smiles and thanks them for their kindness before going back to his lonely vigil of All Might’s grave.
The class 1–A students aren’t the only ones at the funeral, of course. Today’s ceremony event was held for the people closest to All Might, which includes other heroes, students from other classes and personal friends of him. At some point in the day, Izuku catches Gran Torino’s eyes and they share a long, meaningful look before the latter leaves the cemetery. Katsuki has a feeling he’ll come back soon enough to talk to All Might as his student and friend Toshinori once everyone leaves. Endeavor and his family are seen standing somewhere close to the reunion as well. Izuku smiles and Katsuki nods when they see the Todoroki family talking and sometimes sharing gentle smiles among themselves. They know All Might isn’t the only person they’re mourning in this ceremony. Toya survived the fight against Shouto, but he didn’t magically change his opinion on his family. They are finally ready to let go of his haunting memory. Not to ever forget, but to move on. Endeavor focuses on All Might’s grave for way longer than the rest like he’s making a promise to him.
The Midoriya and the Bakugou also stay together most of the day. Mitsuki willingly hugs Inko every time the latter needs comfort and rubs circles behind her back. Izuku locks eyes with Masaru Bakugou more than once, and the man’s big, kind smile feels somehow encouraging to him.
The last time this happens, Masaru and Mitsuki are ready to leave the cemetery and they offer Inko a car ride home. They say goodbye to Izuku and Katsuki and share a prayer for All Might’s soul before they head for the entrance. Masaru looks back at Izuku one last time.
‘Take good care of my boy, will you?’ Masaru mouths at him. The man then watches his son—who stands by Izuku’s side and is unaware of this exchange—with a loving smile for a few more seconds before leaving the cemetery.
“I will!” Izuku shouts loud enough for Masaru to hear. The man doesn’t turn back but Izuku knows he heard him. He smiles.
“What the hell are you screaming about, Izuku,” Kacchan is quick to berate him. Izuku flushes with shame after he remembers that they’re at a funeral and he really shouldn’t be doing that.
One look at All Might’s grave makes him feel renewed, however. He isn’t as sad as he first thought he’d be about losing All Might because he’ll always be inside One For All in one way or another. Izuku can still feel his soul flowing around, watching Izuku in a similar way to how Masaru watches Kacchan. He thanks All Might for everything he’s done.
He wouldn’t be Kacchan’s friend right now if it wasn’t for him, as specific as that sounds. Was all of this butterfly effect or just the destined course of events?
That doesn’t really matter to Izuku. What matters to him is that Kacchan is still here, by his side.
Most people have left the cemetery as it was getting late, and the people that are still left are talking some yards away from them.
As an afterthought, Izuku places his thumb on the side of Kacchan’s neck, which makes the blond scoff.
“If I’m standing you should already know I’m alive, dumbass.”
“It never hurts to be totally sure, right?”
Kacchan watches him with the softest expression Izuku has ever seen on him. It’s just so Katsuki that Izuku has to make a conscious effort not to lose his footing.
“Did I ever tell you that you’re a nerd?”
“Every day you do, Kacchan.”
“Well, I mean it.”
“I know you do. You mean everything you say.”
“I love you.”
Izuku’s own pulse skips at least three beats. And then it picks up the speed until it reaches his ears.
The rain stopped a while ago. Kacchan closes his umbrella and stuffs it in his bag. He does the same with Izuku’s.
All the while, Izuku stares at those red, vivid eyes as his jaw loses its strength and his mouth hangs open.
Kacchan’s gaze doesn’t waver. Izuku doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to look away.
“Wh… What did you just…”
The blond fully turns toward Izuku and the quickest flash of fear goes through his face, disappearing as fast as it comes. But Izuku catches it.
Kacchan’s as terrified as he is. And yet he’s pushing forward.
“I didn’t get All Might to sign my card,” Kacchan says, “but I did get advice from him. Most of it was advice I didn’t ask for, but you know how he is.” Izuku chuckles at that as Kacchan makes a face. “And he told me to be honest with you before it is too late. I realized the old man was onto something when I almost died so I’m not making that mistake again. I love you, Izuku,” he repeats. “And you don’t have to answer. Just like my apology, I’m not expecting anything from you in return.”
Izuku takes one step closer to him. “What if I want to answer?”
“I… You…” Kacchan looks like he both expected that and also has no idea what that might actually mean. In summary, he looks very, very lost.
Izuku remembers that time when they were kids and Kacchan fell into the river. He had been so lost right then as well, but he was too scared to let it show. Current Kacchan is also scared. The main difference is that he’s finally done hiding. And Izuku is too.
“If I reach out to you,” Izuku says, taking the final step forward, “will you accept the hand this time?”
Vulnerability looks oddly beautiful on Kacchan’s face. “Only if you accept the help too when someone offers it. I ain’t the only one going down here.”
Izuku nods with amusement. “You always manage to win somehow, don’t you, Kacc—”
He trails off and shivers when Kacchan’s left hand glides through his cheek. Even with the rainy weather they’d been having all day, he suddenly feels like the temperature is very, very high.
But… No! He won’t be defeated by Kacchan yet again!
“Tell me your hero name, Kacchan,” Izuku casually says like they aren’t in the middle of a completely different conversation.
Kacchan stares at him like he has grown at least six heads. “The fuck does that have to… This is getting genuinely worrying, Izuku.”
“Just do it! Please, I want to hear it from you!” Izuku presses on.
Kacchan squints at him with suspicion before he gives up and sighs.
“Listen up, then. My hero name is Great Explosion Murd—”
Izuku interrupts him with a kiss. Lips on lips, heart to heart. It’s chaste and ephemeral, and yet it still makes everything slow down for both of them. Sooner than later Izuku backs away and bites his lower lip with a grin when he sees Kacchan’s eyes are as big as saucers.
“What. The. Fu…”
“Sorry, Kacchan, what did you just say?” Izuku asks innocently.
Kacchan stares, but soon enough he speaks up.
“Great Explosion Murder Go—”
Izuku kisses him again. But little does he know, he fell right into Katsuki’s trap, because Katsuki doesn’t let go as easily as before. Instead, Katsuki deepens the kiss and his hand starts to play with Izuku’s fluffy hair—Izuku thinks Kacchan might have a thing for it.
Izuku almost melts as he follows the blond’s lead. He surrounds Kacchan’s neck with both of his arms and brings them even closer. It is slow and so, so enticing.
They part when it’s time to get air back in their lungs and proceed to gaze at each other for some seconds, cheeks flushed and hearts in their throats.
Realizing their surroundings, a panicked Izuku breaks the silence. “Kacchan, was… was our first kiss in front of All Might’s…”
Kacchan leans forward and Izuku thinks that he’s going for a kiss again, but then feels the slight pressure of Kacchan’s forehead making contact with his own, and a sense of peace overcomes all of his insecurities in an instant.
“Where else could it have been?” Kacchan asks him, voice soft and devoid of any sarcasm or mockery.
A familiar feeling of reassurance flows through Izuku. But this time it doesn’t come from Kacchan. He closes his eyes as he thanks All Might once again.
Izuku hums, content. Kacchan hums back.
They stay like that for a while. For how long, exactly? It could’ve been five minutes or one more hour, neither of them is sure.
What everyone else does know is that Deku and Dynamight grow up to form the most awe-inspiring hero duo the world has ever seen.
They win by saving and save by winning. After each battle, they tend to each other’s injuries, sometimes complaining about the other taking unnecessary risks, but always adoring each imperfect aspect of their other half.
They visit All Might’s grave—along with the rest of their class if they’re available—once every month. Izuku’s All Might card is still as good as new and Katsuki still doesn’t understand how he does it.
On the anniversary of the final battle against All For One, both of them take time off work to talk about the decision Izuku made and the things they said to each other that day. As time goes on, that day stops being the only time they ever have such a close call with death, but somehow the first time resonates more strongly inside them than any other occasion.
“I love you too, Kacchan.”
“Took you long enough to say it.”
“You said it before we kissed! It’s been like, what, fifteen minutes since that?”
“Yeah. You were fifteen minutes slower than me.”
“You’ll never let this go, will you?”
“I’m always the winner. That’s what you said, Izuku.”
Izuku sighs before he gets on his tiptoes and kisses Kacchan’s forehead.
“There. I was the first to kiss you there.”
“So there’s a first for each part of our bodies?”
“Um… I guess…? I mean, I was thinking about the face, mainly—”
“Game on.”
“What? Hey! Ah! Don’t kiss me on the wrist, it tickles!”
“Too bad ‘cause I’m going for the other one.”
“You’re the worst, Kacchan!”
“This guy, I think his name is Izuku, he said he loves me anyway, so I guess I must be doing something right. I genuinely don’t know what the fuck that could be, but yeah.”
“I love you the way you are, Kacchan.”
“Awww… Disgusting.”
“Says the guy that’s kissing my neeeeck— K–Kacchan, Kacchan! This is a cemetery!”
“All riiight, I’ll stop. You’re lucky you’re annoyingly endearing.”
“Thank you… I guess?”
Aizawa is asked to officiate their wedding. He’s not even fazed when the ceremony ended with Izuku casually lounging on the destroyed wedding cake as a horrified Sato watches the scene, a drunk Katsuki competing with an equally drunk Shouto to see who can spin faster in place with their quirks (only stopping once they accidentally reach the planet’s mesosphere as they realize they are spinning up instead of in place), Kaminari getting sent to Nicaragua by mail somehow, Iida and Jirou singing Can’t Help Falling in Love in the karaoke while Toru and Tsuyu clap for them, Uraraka accidentally wrecking the living quirks out of a table during a sugar rush originated from eating too much of the cake Izuku was still lying on, and Kirishima and Mina’s bet on who was going to get the wedding bouquet crashing into pieces when it turned out that there were two bouquets for the two husbands, not to mention that Sero then steals both of the bouquets with his quirk before running away from Kirishima and Mina all the while howling with amusement like a hyena, among many other things.
Izuku and Katsuki share a dance at nightfall. They dance slowly, leaning on each other and whispering things to each other’s ear that no one else is able to hear, laughing the night away. Midoriya and Bakugou, Izuku and Katsuki, Deku and Kacchan.
Aizawa’s problem children were growing into problem dumbasses (adults) and, honestly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.