Chapter Text
Izuku hears a chain rattle, and he looks down onto his foot. His left ankle had a tight cuff around it, and the chain link led to an entraption on the floor. He pulls at it carefully, and the chain quickly tightens. It was short, and it did not allow him for much movement. It's a bad sign. A really bad sign.
He hears Katsuki curse under his breath just a few feet away from him. He was in the same predicament. He sharply yanks at the cuff around his boot, but it doesn't budge.
"Another one of those sicko's games." The pro-hero states.
"The last one, Dynamight." The villain's voice comes from the intercom hidden somewhere in the room.
Izuku swallows dry. If that was the last test, and all of the previous ones required one of the contestants to die, then...
"What do you think it is this time?" Izuku shifts on his foot, feeling really uneasy.
They both look at their chained feet and then around the room, searching for any clues about what they're gonna have to face next. They get none.
"Hell, if I know. I swear if it's another 'answer wrong and you get fried to death' pop quiz, I'm biting my foot off." Katsuki scoffs.
Izuku puts on a strained smile. Then he remembers the two rookie heroes who died in that challenge, and it disappears because he feels as if he were laughing at their deaths and it was straight up disrespectful. It was all one big game of luck so far. Deku and Dynamight seemed to have enough of it up until now. They both are trying really hard not to think about the implications of this being the last game. If there could be one person alive by the end, then...
Izuku shakes his head. Yeah, the villain could try and pity them against each other, but he knows for certain he won't ever lay a finger on Kacchan and vice versa. If he wants one of them dead, he's just gonna have to come down there to kill them with his own hands.
"What do you think those chains are for, Kacchan?"
"Nothing good."
"Yeah, well, I could already guess that myself."
"All is well? You two are ready to face the reality of being the one and only winner?" The villain speaks up with anticipation.
"Out with it already. What? You want us to strangle each other? You're gonna throw us a knife and watch us try to stab one another? Hold us there until we starve? Watch who'd be the first one to try and eat the other?" Katsuki urges, and Izuku lets out a displeased noise upon imagining all of those situations.
"Oh, please, I already have enough data on human behavior in extreme situations due to all this. However, yes, I did the flesh eating one last year with the previous contestants if you must know. I don't like to repeat my games." The villain simply informs. "I'm quite frankly tired after today and can't really bring myself to do anything fancy for the last challenge. I hope you can forgive me for this lack of effort."
"I'm assuming you're still not gonna let both of us live?"
"You know the rules, heroes. There's only one winner."
"Well, then, tough shit, because whatever is that sick plan you came up with, we ain't just gonna slaughter each other like animals." Katsuki states, and Izuku sends him a grateful look.
Of course they won't! They knew each other since they were toddlers. They watched each other grow up. Kindergarten. Middle school. U.A. Adulthood. The bond they had was unbreakable, and anyone who even dared to think they could waver it was a fool.
"Oh, I am well aware. As I said, the plan is simple. Instead of trying to try to ruin your years of history, I'm just gonna use it against you." The villain casually announces as soon as the intercom turns off, water begins to cascade down the walls.
The two men watch the floor begin to flood at their feet in horror, as they finally get what was the point of chaining them both down.
Izuku yanks his foot, Katsuki does so as well, but with no results.
"Deku. Dynamight. The point of this game is very simple. It's almost insulting to all of my craft so far, but as I mentioned, I am a tired man. You see the cuff on each of your ankles? There, you have slots for a key to use and get if off. Very easy, yes? Well, Deku, since you're quirkless, I felt like you deserve a handicap."
Izuku narrows his eyes. It's a sore spot, for sure.
"When you both were passed out from the gas, I have slipped the key inside your left pocket. You may reach for it now."
Izuku hesitantly does so, not really willing to act all obedient to the villain. His words turn out to be true, however, as the U.A. teacher fishes out a small, silver key out of his pocket. He looks at it with curiosity. That seemed way too easy. Something had to give.
"That's the key to your cuffs. The thing is, you may only use it once. After inserting it into a slot and turning, it's gonna break, leaving one half stuck inside the slot, rendering it useless."
Izuku looks at the key in his hand in utter shock. He sucks in a shaky breath. He already knew where it was headed. He prayed he was wrong.
"To use it on yourself and live, or to use it on your childhood friend and die in a noble way? The choice is yours to make, Deku. Whatever you decide, the person who gets freed will be let out of the room after the other drowns. I am a man of my words." The villain finishes, and the intercom gets turned off for the last time.
One second passes. Second. Third.
The freckled man tries to digest all of the information as water begins to pool around his knees. He forgets to breathe. Once he remembers, he takes one while making a pitiful sound. His heartbeat becomes twisted, and it's almost nauseating. He stares at the key. Then he slowly turns his head to look at Katsuki.
Katsuki's face scares him. His furious, red rubies look him dead in the eyes. He's hunched over, and yet his whole body is tensed up, ready to fight.
Ready to fight him because he had already read Izuku's mind.
Izuku takes a step forward, and Katsuki bails his hands into fists.
"Don't you dare." Katsuki snarls through his gritted teeth.
Izuku is silent. He gets a good grip on the key.
"Don't even think about it. Don't you fucking dare, Izuku. Don't come any closer." Katsuki spats out, his eyes carefully following his friend's every single movement.
The air around them gets heavy. They both try to stare each other down. And then without a warning, Izuku lunges forward, his attention solely focused on Katsuki's cuffed ankle, up until the free one kicks him right across his face, sending him flying backwards. He ends up underwater and quickly gets up on all fours, sputtering.
"Goddammit, Izuku! I'm not letting you die for me!" Katsuki shouts, standing his ground.
The freckled man quickly recovers and immediately gets up and rushes to his chained friend, trying his luck once more.
As soon as he is close, the blonde immediately punches him in the face, breaking nose in the process. Izuku ends up staggering backwards again, but does not lose his balance. He gives Katsuki a desperate look.
"I can't just let you die, Kacchan." He says, the blood from his nose seeping down his lips.
Katsuki grits his teeth and breathes out angrily.
"I can't let you sacrifice yourself for me, either! Fuck!" He yells, his scared eyes not matching his angry tone.
"I don't think we have much of a choice here anyway. One of us has to die, Kacchan. I'm not letting it be you!" Izuku cries out, trying to get closer again.
"Go to hell, Deku! Go ahead, try and get to me. Try again, I break your hand. Try again after that, I break your leg. Just watch me." Katsuki gives a warning.
Izuku out of all people should know he isn't all bark but no bite. When he says something, he means it and god be the witness of him being a man of his word. He doesn't want to hurt Izuku. He loves him. He. Loves. Him. That's why he needs to keep him away. There's no way he is gonna let that nerd sacrifice his only ticket outta there for his sake.
Izuku does not let up. He marches forward, but both of their movements get slower as the water reaches their hips now. The pro hero can't count on making a solid kick now. He's gonna have to use his fists only.
When Izuku closes the distance once more, Katsuki feels more furious than ever. Of course he could go ahead and break every single bone in Izuku's body and he would still crawl to him with the key in between his gritted teeth. He knows that. He understands that.
He would've done the same thing.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Katsuki mocks.
Izuku doesn't respond. Instead he sucks in a sharp breath and disappears under the water surface.
"Son of a bi--" Katsuki hisses and dives in right after.
He gets a strong grip at the back of Izuku's black suit and roughly pulls him upwards before he can reach his ankle. When they both break the water surface, he immediately catches both of Izuku wrists and holds them in the air firmly. The other grunts and tries to slip away but Katsuki remains stronger.
"Dammit, Kacchan! Don't make me watch you die!" Izuku begs, his voice cracking.
"Oh, but it's totally okay for me to watch you die? Fucking asshole!"
They struggle for a short moment as the water reaches their chests.
"Give me the key." Katsuki demands.
Izuku only lets out a frustrated grunt as he tries to yank his hands free out of Katsuki's grasp.
"The key, Izuku!" Katsuki roars again as his eyes land on Izuku's right hand in his grip, bailed into a fist.
He guesses that's where the key was.
"No! Kacchan, you can't do this to me!" Izuku cries out as he sees Katsuki staring at his palm where he was hiding the key.
"I can't let you die for your old bully's sake either." Katsuki says with a low voice.
Izuku's eyes widen and then lets out a dry laugh.
"You really wanna bring this up now? It's not gonna work on me. I forgave you years ago."
Katsuki clicks his tongue, trying to think of anything that he could say that would make Izuku resent him enough to abandon him. But that's stupid, there was nothing he could do and say that could possibly ever make Izuku resent him. Years of bullying and putting him down on every possible occasion couldn't do it, so a few petty words now wouldn't either. They just were this dedicated to one another.
"Think this through, Izuku. There's no way I'm letting you do this."
The water is so high, they both float now. Their chains would soon begin to hold them back.
Izuku looks at him with angry, wet eyes. He never ceases to stop trying to pull himself away from Kacchan. Katsuki's grip never lessens either.
"Keep the key for yourself. Your students need you to come back to school tomorrow." Katsuki orders with a fond look in his eyes.
Izuku's breath hitches.
"But I need you to be alive tomorrow. And the day after that." Izuku sniffles. "Forever. For much longer than me."
Katsuki tries to ignore the weird, prickly feeling in his eyes.
"You're all what Auntie Inko has. My parents at least will have each other." Katsuki insists.
Izuku shakes his head frantically.
"Don't. Don't drag my mom into this--She will understand if it's for you." He says bitterly as tears begin to roll down his cheeks.
"Come on, Izuku. I'm not letting you go until you make the right choice."
Izuku vividly breaths in and out, like a kid that's about to throw a tantrum at a store. He looks right into Katsuki's eyes, furious and betrayed. But the blonde does not falten.
"Fine then. You want me to choose?" Izuku mutters and opens up his right hand.
The key slips right out of it and disappears below the water surface with a faint splash.
"You--" Katsuki stammers, trying his damnest to remember the exact spot where the key had fallen in.
He still doesn't dare to let go of Izuku's wrists. He knows what he did that for.
Izuku gives him a shaky grin.
"You always wanted to compete. Go ahead, I made it fair for both of us now. If I get the key first, I'm freeing you. If you get to it first, you will have things your way."
Katsuki's breath unevens. For some reason, he still doesn't let go of Izuku. There was way too much at stake here.
He's actually scared to lose.
He's a great swimmer. He's great at everything. And yet there was this slim chance that Izuku would still get to the key first, and then he wouldn't be able to stop him from inserting it into his cuff and...
"Don't be a coward, Kacchan." Izuku says, his voice broken.
He sobs.
"Kacchan!" Izuku hollers, desperate to get a reaction out of his best friend.
Katsuki gives him a defeated look. That motherfucking villain was right all along. He knew exactly where to strike them. He didn't need to ever learn their weak spots--They were each other weaknesses already. Such a simple exercise, a childish plan and yet it was crushing them both.
There are fat tears streaming down Izuku's face. The snot mixes with the blood still seeping down from his nostrils. This hurts him as much as it hurts Katsuki.
They were doomed.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with you, Izuku?" Katsuki asks hopelessly.
Izuku sobs at that.
"I love you. It's just that. I love you. I love you, Kacchan. I can't allow you to die for a quirkless nobody like me." Izuku chokes out
"Don't say stuff like that. You mean way more to people than you can imagine. I'm sorry I made you feel this way about yourself." Katsuki mutters softly. "I can't live in a world without you."
Izuku lets out an ugly sob as he weakly tries to wriggle out of Katsuki's grasp.
"But I have to?" He asks pitifully.
Katsuki's heart cracks open at that.
Before he can think of an answer, Izuku tries to hastly yank his wrists out, and he barely manages to hold onto him.
"Stop squirming so much, goddammit--"
"We're running out of time." Izuku urges and looks down at the water. "If you keep this up, then neither of us will make it out alive!"
"Just swear to me you will use the key on yourself, and I will let you go." Katsuki insists.
"Scared you're gonna lose to me?" Izuku croaks out with a forced, crooked grin.
"I'm scared to lose you, moron!" Katsuki howls.
Izuku immediately drops his facade at that, and his eyes get bigger than his stomach. A heavy silence falls in between the two. For a moment, the only sound in the room is the one of the trailing water down the ceramic walls and an occasional sniffle from Izuku.
Izuku opens his mouth, but then he closes it. There's nothing to be said there. Their lives were not up to negotiation. Neither of them was gonna let up on saving the other. They were heroes, after all. Best friends first, however.
Feeling their time running out, Izuku hastly pushes himself forward, and their mouths collide, their teeth clacking as he kisses him hard. Katsuki lets out a yelp of surprise, but soon, way sooner than he anticipated, he finds himself roughly kissing Izuku back. Their mouths move against one another feverishly, and the blonde finds it hard to keep on holding Izuku down. He wants to reach out and cup his face, to run his fingers through his curls, to touch him in a more affectionate manner, but at the same time he's afraid Izuku is trying to trick him somehow.
Neither of them dare to break the kiss, as their lips keep hungrily capturing one another. Katsuki deepens the kiss, and Izuku desperately tries to keep up. They keep at it for a long while, their breaths running short, but they pay it no mind, bathing in the momentarily bliss that allowed them forget where they were right now. At some point, Katsuki decides to risk it, and he finally lets go of Izuku's wrists, but he does not let his guard down, as he readies himself to dive in after the man at any given moment.
Izuku, however, does not betray his trust as he immediately wraps his arms around his friend's neck. Katsuki also reaches for him and he cups his face into his palms and keeps on kissing him more and more and more.
He caresses his cheeks and then lets his hands wander through his wet and tangled curls and then goes back to caressing his face once more.
At some point, they are forced to pull away. Both men try to catch their breaths, and Katsuki takes this opportunity to try and wipe away the mixed, bloody mess around Izuku's broken nose with his thumb. He wants to say he's sorry for doing that, but he really doesn't want to bring the key up again. Izuku's eyes watch his every gentle movement, and he hurriedly grabs Katsuki's face again and pulls him into another kiss. The other wastes no time to kiss him back, re-ignting the passion from before. Hungry, desperate kisses.
Their lips are already swollen, but they don't care.
Katsuki hates that he's probably being watched right now. This was his and Izuku's most vulnerable moment in their lives, and it was probably on display in some shitty villain's lair right now as he watched the two of them kiss each other goodbye. Being so damn proud of himself for putting them through this in the first place.
Their lips move against each other hungrily. Izuku melts into the kiss so much that it makes Katsuki's chest flutter. He's so lost in the action, so lost in making it known to Izuku how much affection he had had for him for years when suddenly, Izuku's hands slither off of him and in just a moment's notice he pushes himself out Katsuki's loving grasp and disappears underwater.
And Katsuki's entire world collapses.
He feels angry. He feels frustrated. He feels hurt. He feels bitter. He feels betrayed. He's scared. He's fucking terrified.
Of course Izuku would do that to him.
Of fucking course he'd just--
Katsuki doesn't even take a breath, he dives in right after. He tries to move as fast as he can, but Izuku, given the unfair headstart, makes it there first. He immediately spots the key lying at the bottom, snatches it right from under Katsuki's nose, and goes straight for the cuff around his best friend's ankle.
Katsuki manages to get a hold of his arm, however, and he roughly pulls it back, trying to keep him away from his foot. He can't let him do this. He can't. He just can't.
They struggle for a moment. Izuku proves to be stronger this time as he manages to free himself from his friend's grasp, and before Katsuki can try and reach for him again, the freckled man inserts the key right into the slot on the cuff on his ankle.
He turns it over in front of Katsuki's wild eyes. The lock mechanism inside gives out, and at last, the cuff snaps open, releasing its hold on Katsuki's leg.
This, however, was not a happy sight for the pro-hero. He watches in horror as the key breaks in half in Izuku's scarred palm as it was foretold, ultimately sealing his best friend's fate for good.
Panic raises in his chest. He doesn't even think anymore. He immediately grabs Izuku and heads for the surface. Once they make it, Katsuki is able to fully emerge out of the water, while Izuku's chain kept him down. He had to fully raise his chin up in order to not inhale water, but it was very obvious he was struggling to stay up.
Katsuki grabs his face with both of his hands, trying to help him.
"What did you do?! What did you do?! Idiot! You fucking idiot! What did you do?!" Katsuki yells, his throat awfully tight.
Izuku doesn't have anything to say for his defense. He got things his way.
"Moron! You complete asshole! You're going to--Fuck! Fuck you! To hell with you! Do you know what you just did?!" Katsuki continues to shout, his vision blurry.
"Kacchan..."
"Don't. Shut your fucking mouth. What you did was nasty. Just straight up nasty." The blonde says, his fingers digging into his friend's cheeks. "You don't do stuff like that. You just don't. What the hell, Izuku..."
Izuku's bottom lip trembles as he realizes he had genuinely hurt Kacchan's feelings.
"You're being unfair. You'd the same thing if you had the key!" Izuku defends, but some of the water makes it inside his mouth, and he sputters.
"Shit, shit, shit--" Katsuki curses under his breath, his expression softening.
He lets go of Izuku's face and reaches down with his hands to Izuku's waist. He hooks his arms around it and tries to lift Izuku up, to try and make it a little bit easier for him to stay above the water. The chain around his ankle harshly pulls him down. But he knows it's only gonna buy Izuku a few more seconds best. The water does not stop cascading down the walls for one moment.
"Kacchan. I'm sorry."
"Spare me, I don't need your fucking sorry." Katsuki barks as he looks around the room, searching for anything that he could try and use to set Izuku free as well.
But there's nothing.
"You're a dirty liar who has no restraints." Katsuki says with a scorn, but his hands keep on desperately pushing Izuku upwards.
Izuku takes a moment to process and then his eyes grow wide.
"No--For what it's worth, I really did want to kiss you." He admits.
He never even dreamed of wanting to use Kacchan like this. It was not his intention to play with his heart like it was a toy. He didn't think about that earlier, but now it seemed clear to him that to Kacchan, this must have felt like a cruel joke.
"Bastard." Katsuki murmurs.
"I'm telling you the truth!"
"I don't believe you!"
"Kacchan--!" Izuku tries to say, but he ends up gritting his teeth. Katsuki is pulling him pretty hard.
His leg hurts, the chain is completely strained, and the water starts to get into his mouth again. If it weren't for Katsuki's arms holding him up, he would be already fully submerged. And it causes Izuku to panic. Because soon enough, the water is gonna catch up anyway, and he can't die with Kacchan despising him. He can't. They spent years of their life trying to fix their relationship. He can't just die with all of it back to square one. He has to make up for it. Beg Kacchan for forgiveness tremendously until he accepts it. Make him believe that his feelings were true. They were. He just chose the most shittiest way to express them.
"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!" Katsuki cries out, as he realizes he no longer can hold out on what's inevitable for Izuku.
Izuku tries to say his apologies once more, but the water raises up to his nostrils.
"No, no, no, no--Come on, just--Shit, take a deep breath. I will try to think of something!" Katsuki orders and unhooks his arms from around his friend.
The water claims him instantly. Katsuki dives in right after and swims down to the chain. He tries to yank it off the floor with the strength in his hand alone, as he couldn't count on his quirk, but it's a lost battle already. Izuku looks down at him with a clear urgency in his eyes, but Katsuki doesn't dare to look at him yet.
He opts for the key. He reaches for the cuff that was once holding him back and frantically tries to dig the broken half out of the slot with his fingers. His gloves are thick, he figures he can't do much in them, so he chomps down on his middle finger and pulls the glove off with his mouth. He continues to dig in with his bare hand, but his fingers are still too big to reach for what was left of the key.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Katsuki feels his heart beat rapidly in his chest, almost as if it was about to jump out of it. Dread fills up in his stomach. They were running out of time. Izuku was running out of time. And Katsuki realizes that they had fully ran out of luck now. He can't get him out.
Katsuki swallows the hard truth. He can't get him out.
Izuku swims down to his level and touches his shoulder, causing the blonde to finally spare him a glance. It's full of shame. He's ashamed that he can't do the same thing that Izuku had done for him.
Izuku looks right at him. So much love and care and affection crammed right into his big, sad eyes. He's not mad or disappointed in Kacchan. He could never be. He made his choice after all.
At last, he reaches for his best friend's face and presses his lips against Katsuki's, softly. He had nothing to gain from it. This was his last shot to prove to Kacchan that he was honest about what he had previously said. He loved him. He cared for him. If he dies today, he needs Kacchan to believe him.
Katsuki, although taken back, wearing the most pained expression on his face, weakly pulls away. His heart is still sore from Izuku's betrayal, and he thinks he might try to trick him into something again, even in the current state, but he knows it's just him being petty.
Izuku sees the blonde's apprehensiveness and looks down, rather mournfully. Like a kicked puppy, Katsuki finds himself thinking. Making him more angry. He hated that expression.
But the freckled man does not push his childhood best friend's boundaries any further. He remains where he was, his fingers clutching onto the fabric of Katsuki's hero suit, almost as if he was making sure to hold on to him until his time runs out.
And Katsuki lets out an angry little noise at that, and before his brain can actually process what he was doing, his hands shoot up and yank Izuku forward, pulling him into that goddamn kiss. Because he will be damned if Izuku dies and his last dying memory of Katsuki was of his best friend rejecting him.
Izuku doesn't get to kiss him back because shortly after, he completely goes limp against his friend's hold. Katsuki's eyes widen once he no longer can feel Izuku's fingers that were desperately holding onto him, and he pulls away, his thumb now brushing across Izuku's face.
He tries to look into Izuku's eyes, but they're closed. And the realization of what had happened strikes him, and it strikes him hard. His heart drops at the bottom of his churning stomach. He gives Izuku a slight shake; but he deep down knows it won't do anything.
In his mind, he begs for a miracle, for someone to arrive and help them, shit, at least to help Izuku, but nobody comes for their rescue. It was only them. It was only him now.
And Katsuki contemplates his options. He wants to stay down there. He wants to go with Izuku. He doesn't want to live the rest of his life, knowing he only gets to do so because Izuku had paid for it with his own. But then again, he feels like just rolling over and dying would be disrespectful to Izuku's sacrifice. It all would've been for nothing if Katsuki gave up on his own life now. As long as he makes it out alive, he can still try and at least get revenge for his best friend afterward. Arrest the villain and bring him to justice. And Izuku deserved at least that.
So, with a heavy heart, Katsuki chooses to keep himself alive. He stays down with Izuku for as long as he can, however. Pressing their foreheads together and caressing his scarred cheek up until he no longer can ignore his lungs' painful scorching. He second guesses himself a lot during those few seconds but ultimately ends up swimming back up.
As soon as he breaks the water surface, he sucks in air rapidly and ends up hating himself for that. Each breath he takes up there feels stolen. Because his childhood best friend is actively dying right below him, and he can't do anything about it. Defeated, he leans against the ceramic wall and finds himself choking on a sob.
The sound of static echoes across the small room, and Katsuki tries to completely hide his face away.
"Interesting. Very interesting. My bets were that you both weren't coming back up." The villain's voice comes back from the intercom.
Katsuki's face scrunches up as he regrets his decision for the hundredth time this minute.
"But alas, why I keep on doing my studies. You can never fully predict how one is gonna act under inhumane circumstances. Fascinating. For instance, I would have never predicted that Deku would've brought himself to emotionally manipulate someone in order to trick them as well. I was also certain you're gonna get that key from him in a span of two minutes. So many things I bet on, and all of them turned out to not be true. Dynamight, you and Deku turned out to be excellent test subjects. I thank you for that." The villain speaks with a monotone voice, as if he were announcing the weather forecast.
Katsuki grits his teeth as he looks around furiously. He wants to threaten the villain. He wants to cuss him out and swear to get revenge, but he's gotta pinpoint the cameras' possible whereabouts first.
"You see, if it were Deku who was being saved by you--Which by the way, was my first assumed outcome of this test-- Then I just assumed he wouldn't have come ba--" The villain continues to report, until a loud bang comes from somewhere in the background and interrupts him mid sentence.
The intercom gets hastly switched off, and Katsuki raises his head up, trying to listen for more of the weird noises to understand what was going on. He is left completely confused and alone for a couple of seconds until the intercom comes back on and a familiar voice comes through it.
"Dynamight! I have managed to restrain the villain!" Best Jeanist announces.
"IF YOU'RE THERE, TRY TO FIND A WAY TO RETRACT THE WATER FROM THE ROOM I'M IN!" Katsuki immediately roars.
"I don't think I can do that yet. I ended up knocking the man out and it's gonna be difficult to figure the controls on this thing out on my own--" The pro hero tries to say, but Katsuki knows what he has to do in a split of a second.
He takes a sharp breath and dives right back in before Best Jeanist can even finish his sentence. Once he makes it to Izuku, he swims down to the chain, takes it into his grip and activates his quirk. Upon doing so, the water around his palm furiously boils and then the chain snaps in his hold in two, at last setting Izuku free. The blonde wastes no time as he hooks his arm around his passed out friend and hurries with him to the surface.
Once they both make it to the surface, Katsuki grabs Izuku's shoulders and shakes him. He doesn't move. So he digs his fingernails hard into his shoulder blades, hoping that the pain will cause Izuku to flinch, to react in some way. Receives no reaction. He's still, so still, his head is hanging helplessly on his side. He can't get Izuku to wake up. He looks like a broken doll, and goddammit, he's not moving at all. He's not breathing, and it's causing Katsuki's stomach to swirl.
He uses one hand to pinch the unconscious man's nostrils shut and then presses his mouth against Izuku's, blows two rushed rescue breaths, and then immediately turns for help to the Best Jeanist.
"Is he--?" Best Jeanist asks with dread in his voice upon discovering there was someone else in the room besides Bakugo.
"I need you to retract the water or find a way out of this room. I have to bring him back." Katsuki pleads as he pinches Izuku's nose shut once more and repeats his previous motion. "Come on, Izuku, hold on just for a while longer."
There's some commotion coming through the intercom, as the pro hero hurriedly rushes through all of the visible controls, trying to make any sense of them. Katsuki awaits, holding Izuku close, he is grateful for Best Jeanist's arrival, he really is so that's why he tries his best to hold his tongue down and not yell at him to hurry the fuck up.
"I don't think I can retract the water. I can't find anything that would indicate this option." Best Jeanist mutters, but does not stop pressing the buttons.
Katsuki lets out a frustrated huff.
"Okay, fuck, I got my quirk back, I can probably just try to blast through one of the walls--" Katsuki suggests and flexes his palm in order to activate his quirk, but as he does so, an automatic door somewhere below the water surface opens, causing the water to rapidly flow out and flood the hallways outside of it.
"Oh. I think I got it!" The pro-hero shouts through the intercom, as he sees the water level lowering on the cameras.
Kastuki doesn't have anything to say, he will say his thanks later, but for now, he needed to take care of Izuku.
When the room finally gets emptied of all of the water, he gently lies Izuku down on the wet floor. He kneels next to him and undoes his green tie with shaky and flimsy hands. Then he undoes a few buttons from his shirt until his torso is revealed and hastly climbs on top of him. He strangles his lap as he places the heel of his right hand on the center of Izuku's chest and then his left on top of it.
"Keep at it, I will try to find my way to you two!" Best Jeanist promises and rushes out of the villain's lair.
Katsuki grunts out something incoherent in response, knowing that whatever he says will probably not be heard and presses down a couple of times. Curses under his breath. It's definitely way too shallow. Dammit, he had no time to fuck around now, Izuku was on borrowed time.
Katsuki had taken CPR classes a lot in the past, they're one of the most basic requirements for a hero, but he never was in a situation where he actually had to perform it on a living being. The fact that it was his childhood best friend- turned lover laying below him wasn't making his hands shake any less; just the opposite. He actually had something huge to lose which was only making his brain more vivid, his memories less trustworthy.
There's nothing too stressful about practicing on a plastic doll-- It's just a thing after all, can't feel, it doesn't have an actual heart that needs to be restarted, it doesn't have actual lungs that need to be filled with enough air. If you break it, you can just buy a new one, if you fail, there will be no casualties.
But Izuku was no training dummy. He was a human, flesh and bones and blood and actual heart, and God, his life was literally in Katsuki's hands.
That realization sobers the pro hero up as he attempts the compressions again. He just has to put more backbone into it, but that was no issue to him-- he was never the gentle type anyways.
"One, two, three, four..." He begins to count, now more satisfied with his performance.
Izuku's limp body slightly jerks with each press down, and there's something unsettling about the display. Makes Katsuki's blood run cold. Fuck, Izuku really was...
"Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen -" Katsuki continues, until a sudden crack makes his breath hitch.
He stales for a moment, but just a moment. Then he swallows the bile at the end of his throat and forces his hands to continue what they were doing. He does this against himself, but he trusts what had he been taught during all of his training. That's normal. It happens. That's just human biology, bones tend to break when an adult, muscular male keeps on notoriously fucking pressing down on them.
Or maybe he just fucked up.
He gets to thirty. Then he pinches Izuku's nostrils shut again and tilts his head back. He inhales and then presses his mouth against Izuku's cold lips and slowly exhales.
"Shit." He breathes out after detaching himself from Izuku's mouth and sharply sucks in air to repeat the motion.
This felt like a quite cruel déjà vu.
He was praying to God he was doing it correctly.
He blows another rescue breath, but Izuku still shows no signs of life, so Katsuki has no other option but to continue.
He unsurely places his hands on Izuku's chest as the previous sickening crack echoes in his mind. He doesn't wanna hurt Izuku again. But he also has to continue making his heart beat.
He cautiously begins to press down on Izuku's chest, trying to ignore that one, odd-feeling bone underneath his palm. He apologizes for each compression that might have felt too rough in his mind.
"Seven. Eight. Nine. Izuku. Izuku, come on."
In the meantime, Best Jeanist manages to find them. He rushes inside, but upon seeing what was going on, he takes a step back and leans against the doorframe as he cautiously watches his old apprentice try to bring his friend back to life, ready to take over for him if needed.
"Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Dammit, Deku!"
Katsuki makes it to thirty again. He doesn't like it. He wants Izuku to wake up, and he needs him to do it right now.
He pinches his nose shut and presses his lips against Izuku's still and clammy ones and finds himself thinking he very much preferred when they were moving against his. Blows two rescue breaths carefully and then goes back to compressions.
This is his third set, he thinks. He can't tell if it's still little or if it's dragging out for too long. He heard of people who were getting resuscitated for hours. He watches the way Izuku's body is moving to the rhythm of his presses and can't imagine watching this obscure display for much longer. He will break all of Izuku's ribs by then. But for god's sake, he will do it all day if he fucking has to.
"Izuku. Come on. Wake up. You gotta wake up." He urges.
Twelfth. Thirteenth. Fourteenth.
"Izuku--Izuku, goddammit! Wake up already!"
He's not sure if he's keeping up the right tempo anymore. His breath hitches, and his eyes sting, making his vision blurry. The reality of the situation starts suffocating him, his mind goes back into a hazy.
What the fuck is he gonna do if Izuku doesn't wake up? What if he can't bring him back? What if it's too late?
"Seventeen. Eighteen. Izuku, come back. Come back to me right now. I'm not fucking around." He tries to sound firm, but his voice cracks.
He feels the heavy weight of Best Jeanist's concerned look on him from just a few centimeters away.
This all feels like a universe's cruel joke. He was the one who was supposed to die today. All odds were stacked against him today, even the goddamn villain said so. But Izuku, that fucking martyr, just had to go and pull the rug. Had to change the whole course of fate to just try and swap their situation. And unfortunately, he did. Now it was Katsuki sniffling like a brat, begging him to wake up when today was intended to go the opposite way.
He once again reaches the thirtieth compression, as he still hasn't managed to get Izuku's heart to work yet. He shifts on his knees as he readies himself to blow another set of rescue breaths, but his own breath loudly hitches. His eyes burn with tears that build up out of frustration and the feeling of helplessness.
"Bakugo... Let me take over." Best Jeanist gently offers and takes a step forward.
Katsuki brushes his old mentor's patronizing words off and bends down and pinches Izuku's nostrils shut.
"Izuku. Please." He attempts to beg as he feels himself losing the battle against the lump in his throat. "Please."
He puts his mouth on his best friend's and breathes for him.
"Don't do this to me." He chokes out after pulling away, his throat painfully tight.
He can't live with the fact that Izuku died for him. Because of him? Many interpretations could be adapted, but Katsuki would blame himself for each one. And Izuku can't do that to him--To force him to live out the rest of his days, spending years living in wallowing his own guilt. That's such an asshole thing to do, to sentence the one you love for such future. If Izuku truly cared for him, then he wouldn't bestow such a future for his friend and wake the fuck up.
"Dammit. Dammit, Izuku! IZUKU!" Katsuki wails in despair and shakes his unconscious friend's shoulders as the realization that Izuku might be already somewhere where he can't ever reach to try and pull him back nabs at him.
He doesn't even know what he can try to say to Izuku to try and get him to wake up. Should he continue to beg? Scream? Threaten? Nothing seemed to work, and the lack of options was causing the pro hero to panic even more.
He lets out an ugly sob and bends down again to blow the second rescue breath, as Best Jeanist silently prepares a few threads to try and get Bakugo, who was very obviously beginning to lose it, away from Midoriya, so that he could try and resuscitate the young man himself.
But as he is about to intervene, the body beneath Katsuki suddenly jerks, and Izuku lets out a violent cough, sputtering water before the blonde could've reacted and fully pulled his mouth away. Katsuki pays it no mind, however, as he feels his heart return from where it was lying at the bottom of his stomach at the sound.
The sound, as relieving as it was, it also sounded horrid and painful, and Katsuki's hands immediately reach towards Izuku, as the man continues to hack and sputter on the ground.
He really can't have Izuku be brought back to life just for him to choke on the water right after, so he quickly maneuvers his distressed friend onto his side. Once it's done, Izuku continues to throw up all of the water he ended up swallowing, while Katsuki and Best Jeanist are instantly by his side, where they can't really do much other than to rub his back or mutter words of comfort.
Izuku struggles and wriggles in pain like a wounded dog, small breaths he is desperately trying to take immediately get interrupted with another lung-tearing coughs and he is spasming and retching on the ground, as the amount of water his body was trying to expell never seems to lessen for some reason.
Katsuki can only imagine how hurtful it must be to cough so much with a broken rib(s). He's been through that, back during the war. Hell, the tiniest movement and inhales hurt like a motherfucker with his chest torn open. Sure, Izuku wasn't that badly wounded, but the pain must have been similar.
"Shhh. Shhhh, you're fine. You're fine, that's it, let it all out." Katsuki tries to calm Izuku down.
Fact is, he has no idea what he should be saying to him. He feels like he's trying to cheer up am intoxicated friend at a party who drank too much and now is spilling their guts out with their head in the toilet bowl rather than person who had nearly just fucking drowned. His head was rushing, he was so overwhelmed.
He wants to aid Izuku properly, but he's never been in a situation like this before.
"You're okay now, you're okay." He repeats as he draws circles on his friend's back.
Izuku doesn't respond, as he pitifully continues to hack, tears and snot dripping down his face.
"It's over. It's all over, you're safe, you and me both. Easy, Izuku, it will pass." Katsuki continues to repeat, his voice low.
And after what feels like hours, Izuku finally stops coughing, and Katsuki sighs in relief. It's clear Izuku is still struggling in order to take a breath, but at least the worst was behind them.
Before Katsuki can ask Izuku if he's alright, he slumps over, and Katsuki quickly gets a hold of him.
"Izuku? Hey, talk to me!" He calls out, his voice already cracking again, as the fear that he might be losing him again strikes back.
"Calm down, Dynamight. It's normal, he won't make a full recovery right away. He needs to get transported to a hospital as soon as possible, however." Best Jeanist says and gets up.
Katsuki places Izuku's head on his lap and runs his hand through his tangled, wet curls while still calling out to him.
"I'm gonna get the other pros that came here with me, and we will get an ambulance. In the meantime, keep Deku's breathing in check. It will all be over very soon." Best Jeanist calmly reasures the young pro hero and then heads out.
"Hey, Best Jeanist?" Katsuki meekly says, causing the man to halt.
"Thank you for coming. If it weren't for you then... I--He--" The blonde tries to say, but the older pro hero raises his hand up in order to silence him.
"I'm just doing what I swore to do when I took this job, Dynamight."
"The villain's quirk--It's similar to Eraser Head's. He can generate a quirk-cancelling forcefield around him up to few meters. That's why I couldn't free Deku right away." Katsuki feels the weird need to inform Best Jeanist that he hadn't freed Izuku before he lost consciousness not because, he didn't feel like it at the moment, but because he literally couldn't use his quirk.
Dynamight is well known for being harsh, and dirty mouthed and an asshole and whatever, but he'd never just refuse to save someone. But he is insecure enough to try and desperately explain himself to the other pro.
"I would...I swear I wouldn't let things turn out like this if I only had the option." He croaks out and looks down at Izuku lying on his lap, not knowing whether the sentence was aimed at him or for the pro hero.
_________________________________
Katsuki sat on the small plastic chair, right outside the room Izuku had been put into some time ago. His wet clothes were sticking to him, making him uncomfortable, but he refused to head back home to change or rest until he was one hundred percent sure Izuku was gonna be alright. The plastic chair creaks loudly underneath him with his every, even the slightest movement, drawing the unwanted attention of other people sitting or walking nearby.
He tries to focus on anything else, so he stares at the flickering light panel at the end of the hospital hallway with an irritated look on his face. He hears a pair of footsteps approaching him, but he pays it no mind, as it is a huge and busy place and people keep walking past him non-stop. But then the chair next to him creaks, and he turns his head with curiosity to see who had joined him.
"How are you feeling, Young Bakugo?" All Might asks with genuine care, as he fondly takes in the sight of his old student.
Katsuki swallows, surprised.
"I kind of assumed Auntie Inko would be here first." He tries to avoid answering the question.
"Oh, Miss Midoriya had come here with me. I am the one who drove her. She stayed behind to look for doctors and find out more about Young Midoriya's condition. I would've gladly assisted her, but those old bones are not really feeling their best today." All Might explains, and sinks into the chair further.
"But, you're feeling alright? Are you--" Katsuki's mood shifts as he fully turns towards All Might.
The old man swats him away with his hand nonchalantly.
"Yeah, yeah, no need for all of the sap, it is not me that we should be worrying about, but Midoriya. And well, you, of course. Because you still haven't answered my question." All Might softly brings up.
Katsuki forms his lips into a thin line and looks back at the flickering light. This was so stupid. He wasn't the one who nearly drowned! Who the hell gives a crap about how he's feeling at the moment? He's fine! He's alive! The last time his heart stopped beating was eight years ago, Izuku's mere two hours. They all should be solely focused on him.
"I'm okay, All Might, and that's the problem. Because me being okay came at a cost of Izuku NOT being okay." Katsuki scoffs, looking down at his boot.
All Might looks at him for a long time, waiting for the man to finally turn his gaze on him. When it doesn't happen, he lets out a faint, defeated sigh and also decides to look elsewhere.
"I heard about what happened. All of it."
Katsuki only hums in response.
All Might awkwardly pats his hands on his knees.
"I mean. Everything. I uh, got to see the footage from the villain's cameras. He had tapes." All Might slowly tries to get Katsuki to understand where he was going with this.
Katsuki fails to catch on yet.
"Damn, pretty quick, considering we just left like two hours ago. Guess having pals in higher places has its own perks, like getting a peek at the evidence before it's even registered." Katsuki shrugs and crosses his legs over.
All Might blinks. Okay, fine, they can get to it slowly.
"To make you both choose something like that. To put two people who care for each other in such a scenario... I'm so sorry, Young Bakugo. I can only ever imagine what it must have felt like." All Might expresses his sorrow and unsurely places his hand on Katsuki's shoulder.
He feels appreciated when the blonde doesn't try to lean away from it. But he still doesn't look at him.
"Giving Young Midoriya the key was surely... A choice. You know how impetuous he can get when it comes to putting his own life over someone else's. I bet the villain knew it would guarantee him a good show. "
"No, a good show would be if I had received the key, and Izuku would keep on jumping on me like a feral dog to try and take it." Katsuki clicks his tongue and starts bouncing his leg in discomfort.
All Might lets out a chuckle. He then stops, however, and clears his throat, as it feels wrong to make fun of what had just happened.
"It's okay, you can laugh. It sounded funny in my head, too." Katsuki murmurs, but All Might doesn't take the offer.
"I was not surprised to see when he had freed you, but I also knew it must have been so hard on you to see it happen." All Might continues. "Given the way he, uh..."
Katsuki opens his mouth to respond, but then the voice in his throat dies and he feels all of his blood drain from his face. The realization of what exactly the man next to him was implying struck him like a steam train. Still, with his jaw on the floor, he slowly, veeery slowly turns his head to look at All Might with eyes as big as saucers.
"Y...You...You mean you saw..." He stammers, gaze wild.
All Might awkwardly squirms on his seat.
"Yes. I have seen everything." The old man answers truthfully.
The blonde doesn't know what to say to that. Stripped out of any dignity, both by Izuku and the cameras today, he sits on the chair and lets his mind scream.
"He fucking tricked me." He finally barks out after a long and uncomfortable silence.
"Is that so?"
"What do you mean 'ohh is that so'? You saw the footage, didn't you? He distracted me and then straight up went and--" Katsuki shouts and angirly waves his hands around.
"Young Bakugo, don't take it the wrong way, but... It didn't seem like you were trying to, erm, to get Young Midoriya to stop." All Might awkwardly scratches the back of his head, as the flashback of Katsuki cupping Izuku's face in order to smush their mouths closer to the point that they looked like they were about to swallow each other flies through his mind.
Katsuki lets out a frustrated groan and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Can we NOT talk about this and focus on the fact that he's a dirty little manipulator that won't stop at NOTHING when it comes to getting what he wants? I mean everything, but THIS? What, you taught him to be so ruthless? Cuz I doubt that." Katsuki complains vividly, as the bitter feeling from before returns.
All Might shakes his head, lost in thoughts and they go back to being quiet for a while again.
"For what it's worth, I know Young Midoriya very well. I genuinely believe that when he kissed you--" All Might unsurely speaks up and gets interrupted by Katsuki's annoyed grunt. "When he kissed you, he had done so with no ill intentions. The idea to slip away probably came to his head after a while."
"Of course you're defending him. He is your star pupil after all, so I don't really have much to say here." He scoffs and crosses his arms, disappointed.
"I would not defend Midoriya for using someone's vulnerability like this, even if it was to save them. I'm just saying what I think. You, of course, are allowed to have a different opinion. It's your heart that got toyed with here." The old man says, sounding neutral.
Katsuki drags his hand across his tired face. Thing is, what All Might had said may actually be true. Once Izuku had fallen underneath and awaited his demise, he chose to kiss Katsuki. He had nothing to obtain from it. He was at the verge of dying and the last thing he wanted to do, was to kiss him. If the first kiss was nothing, but a mere distraction, performed in order for Katsuki to lower down his guard with no genuine feelings involved, then why would he kiss him again when he was about to die?
"I guess. I dunno. I guess I'm just pissed." Katsuki mutters out eventually.
"Yeah, I can tell. Then again, think of a scenario where it was you who ended up with the key. Would you be willing to comply with Izuku's wish to free yourself?"
"Don't play these 'what ifs' games with me. Things turned out the way they were. There are no alternatives." Katsuki scowls.
"Oh, I know. I'm just trying to ease off some of the frustration you hold towards Young Midoriya. I know you are mad at him for getting his way and freeing you, but if things were the other way, you'd do all in your considerable power to save him as well. No matter the cost." All Might explains patiently.
Katsuki doesn't answer.
"You wanted to save him. He wanted to save you. Don't be mad at him for doing something you were willing to do as well."
_________________________________
After a long moment of nothing, but silence between the two men, they both turn their heads towards the quiet sobbing coming from the end of the hallway.
Izuku's mother sadly drags her feet towards them. Once she approaches, Katsuki immediately jumps out of his seat in order to give it up for the crying woman.
"Auntie, please sit down..." He requests and gently guides her down until she's fully sitting.
He can't help but feel like a complete sack of shit, even though she hadn't said anything to him yet.
"Oh, Katsuki, I'm okay, really." Inko tries to reasurre him and attempts to wipe her tears dry. "You know I just get overdramatic. I have no reason to be crying. My Izuku is gonna be alright."
Katsuki and All Might feel relieved upon hearing that.
"I am guessing we can go in and visit him?" All Might asks with hope.
"Yes, yes, of course. It's just--" Inko tries to say, and ends up sobbing again. "Oh it's just so scary. You two had been gone for two days, no signs of life and then I learn what he's gone through and that actually he almost--" She doesn't get to finish as a fresh set of tears begins to roll down her cheeks.
Katsuki would like to offer her a tissue, but he has nothing on him. Feeling guilty for allowing all of this to happen in the first place, he still feels obligated to aid her with something. He reaches down for the piece of clothing hanging around his neck and pulls it upwards. Then he unsurely holds his black mask in front of Inko's face, waiting for her to grab it.
She stares at it, confused.
"Don't have anything on me. You can, uh, wipe your face with it, I don't mind." He offers, looking away in embarrassment.
The mask, as every other bit of Katsuki's body, is soaked through. It drips down on Inko's skirt and he immediately snatches it away from her, feeling like an absolute idiot.
The woman, however, gives him a wobbly, but genuine smile.
"Oh Katsuki. You don't want me blowing my nose on your hero clothes!" She attempts to giggle, but she still sounds sad.
The blonde bites the inside of his cheek. The crooked smile reminded him so badly of Izuku's one when he was teasing him to race for the key. God, of course Izuku was a walking, breathing copy of Auntie.
"Would it be okay for us too see him now?" All Might saves Katsuki from embarrassing himself any further.
"Yes, you two can go ahead. I just want to get a hold of myself before I enter. Can't always let Izuku see me being a total mess." Inko shakes her head and wipes her face again. "I will see him in a minute."
All Might nods and quietly slips into Izuku's room, probably feeling bad about doing so first before his actual parent does. Leaving Inko and Katsuki by themselves. As Inko continues trying to get herself to calm down, Katsuki flops down on the chair previously occupied by All Might, right next to her.
He awaits.
"All Might told me what the villain made the two of you do." The woman eventually says after her sobs quiet down.
Katsuki's mouth feels dry.
"I'm--" Katsuki tries to choke out, but Inko speaks up again.
"I know he's like this. I know my son better than anyone. I can't blame him for that. I can't get mad at him for having such a caring heart." She says, and Katsuki catches her staring at the flickering light as he had previously done. "But it's exhausting. I know he's the greatest hero ever, but it's killing me as a mother."
Katsuki remains silent. She turns to face him and suddenly he feels like running away. The soft gaze of her caring eyes makes him stay however.
"I don't know what happened there. But I know for a certain that you didn't just let Izuku free you." She says with a proud smile.
"What do you mean...?" Katsuki asks in a low tone, eyes wide.
She shakes her head again and looks at her hands.
"Katsuki, as soon as I heard what went down, I knew you'd think I would come to the hospital and try to blame you. I want you to know, that I had also known you since you were in your mom's belly. I am certain you didn't let Izuku free you without putting up a fight first." She explains, and Katsuki feels something weird in his chest again.
"So. How many hair out of his head have your ripped out?" She tries to joke, her voice still shaky.
"...None. I uh, broke his nose, when I punched him, though." Katsuki admits.
Inko's eyebrows perk up at that.
"Look, I'm sorry about punching Izuku across the face, but I told him to stay away and he just WOULDN'T LISTEN." Katsuki angirly throws his hands up in defense, ready to face the mother's wrath.
And Inko laughs.
She freaking laughs.
Not loudly. Not happily. But it is a light little chuckle as if she were told a funny, short anecdote.
"What else did you have to do to keep him away?" She asks, amused.
"I had to kick him, too." Katsuki is unsure if sharing this information was okay.
"This does not surprise me at all."
"Your son is a one, stubborn bastard, alright?" Katsuki rolls his eyes forcibly, but feels like a lot of his guilt had been just lifted off.
"Yeah, because he always tried to be like you." She replies with fondness in her voice. "Alright. I think we can go see him now."