"Kacchan! Kaaaa-cchaaan!" A small voice calls cutely from behind a young six year old Katsuki. He turns around and sees the shorter child with those brilliant green eyes framed by luscious forest green curls running towards him. It was Izuku, his new friend who he has grown incredibly fond of. Katsuki had other friends too but Izuku was… special.
Izuku was wearing a sky blue flowy blouse that hangs low to his knees with matching breeches and cute little leather button up boots. Katsuki smirks at Izuku, but then Izuku trips over his own foot and falls straight, head first into the hard dirt of the road. Shocked, Katsuki quickly runs over and helps the smaller boy up.
While sneering Katsuki berates him for his clumsiness. "Deku you dumb dumb! Don't run faster then you can handle! And pay better attention to your feet! Geez your so useless without me."
"S- sorry Kacchan! T- thank you for always looking after me. Hehee" Izuku looks up at the blond boy with a huge grin and fondness in his eyes. Katsuki blushes at the attention that's directed at him and furiously fusses over Izuku's face which is covered in dirt, cleaning it with his sleeve.
It was another hot day. They spent it catching bugs, visiting people in the small town shops, playing some hide and seek, and climbing trees. Once the sun finally starts to lower they decide to go to their favorite spot. A hilltop facing west over the desert. Katsuki is holding Izuku's hand and leads him up the hill to watch the sun set. They both sit with their feet in front of them, never letting go of their hands.
Izuku is humming a nursery song and lightly swaying from side to side happily. After he finishes he lets out a long breathy sigh and leans against Katsuki.
"..Kacchan?"
"Hm?"
"I'm going to miss you. I wish mom and I didn't have to move to the city. I want to stay here with you."
Katsuki squeezes Izuku's hand in response. "Yea."
Silence comes over them again, as the sky turns to brilliant reds and pinks and the sun lowers closer to the horizon of the desert. Rocks and cactus' glow warm around them.
"Kacchan?"
"What?"
"When we grow up. I'll come back. Okay? Then we can be together forever."
Katsuki is silent for a moment, as if taking in what was said. He then looks at Izuku with a frown. "Promise?"
Izuku smiles wide. "Promise!"
"Do you even know what it means to be together forever Deku?" His frown grows deeper but a blush begins to form on his cheeks.
Izuku blushes and looks away then back up at Katsuki. With a shy pout he leans in close, his nose just a few inches away from Katsuki's.
"I-It means I will be K- Kacchan's bride... Right?"
Katsuki heart skips a beat and he flushes with a smirk slowly growing across his face. Looking at Izuku's soft pink lips as he nervously leans closer too.
"Yeah."
He brings his free hand up and gently holds Izuku's cheek as he brushes their lips together.
It feels as though electricity is shooting through his body as his eyes snap open. He hears a rooster as it crows in the distance. Breathing heavily Katsuki is looking up at a wooden ceiling. He was sweating and breathing heavily. It was a dream. A dream of a distant memory.
It's been awhile since Katsuki had dreamt of his first love. Izuku was a kid he met when their moms made friends with each other after meeting at the shop in town. Izuku and his mom was already set out to move to the city where his dad was working a new job as a smithy in a steel making industry. It was good money and their family who had no land to their name was kind of poor. Katsuki's first impression was uninterested but his mom made him play with Izuku who had no friends. His opinion then became that Izuku was clumsy, nervous, shy, and just a typical dainty... girl. A misconception that he was never corrected upon and still believes to this day, fifteen years later. Their friendship was short lived, they played together every day for four months before Izuku moved away.
Katsuki had been approached by young ladies many times in the past. He is a handsome young man, a hardy cowboy with a large family ranch that his family has owned for generations since his third great grandfather came here as one of the the earliest settlers in America. To any lady he was an ideal husband for living in the quiet countryside, with a steady, good income, and dashing good looks.
Katsuki would sneer at them and crudely reject them. It was instinct almost how he would look at their faces and feel like them wanting to be with him was almost disgusting, or just plain wrong. He always expected Izuku to keep his promise until around the time he turned nineteen. He started losing hope as the curly headed cutie never showed up, and it was well past the acceptable age to marry. Now at age twenty one, Katsuki has no doubt that Izuku has long forgotten him. Living in the city, probably married to some prompus rich city boy who can buy Izuku nice high end dresses, jewelry, and a big house. Nice things that all the ladies liked.
Whenever he thought about this possibility he would always grumble to himself about how he is a actual HARD worker and would without a doubt continue selling cattle all across the country and making an amazing business with his family, and that he is a way better suitor then any man in the city. But at this point he feels it's time to move on, but for some reason Izuku was the only one he ever felt he could actually stand being with. And even now as an adult it was hard to find a person who didn't make him want to gag from the stupid shit that is flying out of their mouths. He has genuinely tried.
Just a month ago a rather attractive young woman was flirting with him in town and on a whim he decided to ask her out to dinner. She accepted but it was an utter failure. All she talked about was gossip and bullshit involving not even important politics. Like how the governors Son had been sleeping around and passing out drunk on the streets. Or how the banks are monopolizing the people because of some bullshit propaganda that she was fed in the newspapers. Honestly it was just torture for him and so when she started rambling on about how she saw a picture of the first lady and how fat she looked he snapped and told her that she was insufferable to listen to and that he'd rather have the company of a hog or an ass than sit through another 10 seconds of her annoying voice going on and on about nothing. She then shocked and humiliated splashes her glass of cheap wine in his face and storms out of the diner.
This is why still he can only think of Deku. He knows it is ludicrous but for some reason just remembering those aquamarine eyes makes him feel at peace.
Katsuki sat up and ran his hands through his wild blond hair, scraping his scalp with his blunt nails as he lets out a long breathy sigh. The dream wasn't even much to be worked up over. It was just the day he shared his first kiss with Deku. He tried to picture what Deku would look like now for a moment. He looks down and glares bullets at his morning wood. "Fuck." He grumbles.
Choosing to ignore his dream and his desires to be reunited with an adult Deku he gets up and proceeds to get dressed. He pulls on some brown britches with a long sleeved white button up shirt and a black vest. His belt and boots were a dark brown leather.
He then walks out of his room and exits through his front door. He has his own house on their property, a few hundred yards from his parents house. His dad helped him build it for his seventeenth birthday. On the day they finished his mom had approach him saying, "Now all you need to do is find yourself a pretty girl to make your bride and make lots of babies!"
Katsuki looked at her disgusted and blushing furiously, to even say something like that to him was fucking ludicrous. That's when he accidentally let it slip and said. "Fuck no! I'm going to marry Deku!"
She had looked at him surprised. Her eyes wide but then they lowered as she slowly smirked at him. "Oh will you know? Well… good for you son."
That reaction was not what he had expected. He didn't like it one bit, it was like she was above him and knew something that he didn't, but like hell he would ever let her know how much it bothered him. She never brought the subject up again since then and for that he has been grateful.
He starts his day by feeding the horses and chickens, noticing that his mother's horse and their carriage is missing. Once finished he walks over to his parents house and into the kitchen to see his father cooking.
"Hey pops, where's the hag?"
"Ah good morning Katsuki. Your mother is in town. Said something about meeting up with her old friend Inko, ahh Izuku's mother, you remember her right?"
"Deku's mother?! Is she coming here?" Katsuki exclames loudly. Eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
"Ah yea I think so... Want some eggs?" His father asks calmly and unfazed by his sons shock and elevated volume.
"NO! I'm going to meet up with them!" He says hastily. Masaru just smiles as he turns back to cooking.
Katsuki runs out the house and saddles up his horse to take into town. This is so bizarre, having just dreamt of Izuku, what are the odds? Is it a sign? Also he had not realized how desperate he was to hear anything about Izuku until the name had finally once again reached his ears. What was Deku doing now? Why had Deku not returned to him as promised? Has Deku forgotten about him and married someone else? He realized he needed answers and most of all, needed to see Deku again. Even if Deku had married, they need to meet or else he may never be able to move on.
Mitsuki is standing next to her carriage right at the train station. Looking up once she hears the train horn from down the rail she smiles, knowing she was finally going to see her friend who had moved away with her husband after so many years. Once the train stopped, brakes locking and steam hissing, the doors open and a few passengers began to exit the train. Inko steps off and a man working on the train is helping her with all her luggage. Mitsuki runs up to her.
"Inko!"
Inko looks up with a wide sweet smile and small tears creeping out of her eyes from hearing the all to familiar voice.
"Ah! Mitsuki! I missed you so much!"
They hug tightly. After a moment they let go and look at each other.
"My goodness it's been way to long. You should have come sooner! Got used to city life and became to good for the country?"
"Haha oh Mitsuki, of course not. I just had my boys to take care of. But now they are both gone so, I decided to come back… are you sure it's ok if I stay with you?"
Mitsuki looks at her sadly but smile never wavering."Of course! Your always welcome in my home. Here let's load up your stuff and we will get going. We will have plenty of time to chat at the house."
It was at this moment that Katsuki rides up to them.
"MA!"
"Katsuki! Perfect timing help us load up Inko's stuff into the carriage!"
Katsuki looks at her annoyed but complys nonetheless. Getting off his horse he walks over to the women first.
"Ms. Inko, It's been a long time. It's nice to see you." Inko gasps.
"My goodness is this Katsuki?! My how you've grown into a handsome young man! Why it is so wonderful to see you too. I wish Izuku was here to see you as well."
Katsuki stiffens at the name, he blushes as he asks his question.
"Where is De- I mean.. Where is Izuku?"
Mitsuki looks at him knowingly, seeing his blushing face at hearing about Izuku and not from the complement on his looks. She grins menically as she remembers that Katsuki always called Deku with she and her pronouns, and the "I'm going to marry Deku!" incident. Mitsuki never corrected him, and she now decided she never will. He needs to discover it on his own she muses while laughing internally.
Inko sighs. "I'll tell you all about it at the house. It is partially why I had to come here. Izuku asked me to come to you Katsuki."
Katsuki feels something heat up in his core as he takes in this information. Deku sent her mother to him. Deku needed him, at the very least. And he just realized now, that he will do anything for Deku.
"Yes ma'am." Katsuki responds. He then quickly gets to work on the luggage.
Once back at the house they are sitting at the dining table eating breakfast with his father as Inko begins to fill them in on Izuku's wearabouts.
Mitsuki is watching Katsuki closely.
"I don't know where Izuku is right now. He left home for the first time one year ago. Left with a man who turned out to be very bad kind of man. I don't know if my Izu knew right away but he came back home a month ago and told me that I was in danger and that I should come here and to send for you, Katsuki. Izuku needs you."
Mitsuki is worried about this situation, hearing about Izuku getting involved with dangerous folks but cant help but be amused by her son. Katsuki did notice the initial 'He' in Inko's explanation then got side tracked when he learned that Izuku ran off with a dangerous man. Her son was very intelligent for a boy raised in the country but sometimes was also such an idiot, and it amused her to no end.
Katsuki stands up, determination in his eyes. "I will leave immediately. Where was Deku headed to last?"
"Hmm he wouldn't say but Izuku left north of the city. So I would start looking for clues in Garrisburg... Katsuki are you sure this is ok? I know this is a very selfish request of us to ask you to just up and leave your home."
"Don't worry Ms. Inko. I'll make sure she is back with you and safe."
Inko looks at him confused. "Sh-?" Mitsuki then taps her arm interrupting her, Katsuki thinking to himself is unaware of Inko's confusion.
"Inko while Katsuki packs I'll help you get settled in, ok?" Mitsuki gives her friend a certain smile that Inko knows means mischief.
"A- ah.. okay then."
Katsuki immediately dismisses himself. Walking out the front door to go to his house and pack.
Inko looks at Mitsuki disapprovingly but then she lets out a sigh unable to contain her smile any longer. "You haven't changed one bit. I'm glad."
"Ha! Well Katsuki always thought little Izuku was a girl, probably because of how he was dressed as a kid."
"Well you know when we were still living here new clothing for Izuku was unfortunately not and option. I had to dress Izuku in my clothes from when I was a little girl, since Hisashi had none of his old belongings from when he was a boy. But I still altered the clothing! But I guess perhaps it was still to girly looking huh."
"I thought it was cute! And seeing my Katsuki fawn all over your little Izuku was so hilarious! My only regret is not being able to see his face when he finds out!" Mitsuki lets out a loud hearty laugh, Masaru who is now sitting at the table sips his coffee and smiles while he subtly shakes his head at his wife's crude sense of humor.
Both mothers then exit up the stairs to the guest bedroom to unpack Inko's things.
After a few hours had passed and it was getting close to noon Everyone was outside seeing Katsuki off as he finished loading his things onto his horse. He was now sporting his long black coat, his black leather stetson hat and a dark red bandana around his neck. He is wearing a shoulder rig with two holsters holding twin pistols under his coat and a cartridge belt hanging on his hips.
Garrisburg was a four day ride from their home and Katsuki was anxious to find Izuku as soon as possible. The thought that Izuku might be in trouble with this unknown man was starting to make him pissed and anxious the more he thought about it. Inko said nothing about Izuku being married so Katsuki was hanging on to the hope that this guy was not some asshole who Izuku decided to run away and god forbid elope with. Inko said this guy was bad news, and Katsuki would be damned if he allowed this bastard to be with his Deku.
Katsuki then mounted his horse and adjusts his black leather hat on his head to get the sun out of his eyes as he looks down at his parents and Inko.
"Okay brat now behave yourself. Don't get yourself into any trouble. Just find Izuku and get your asses back over here okay? I don't want to read the paper and learn that your both in jail or christ even found dead in a ditch!"
Katsuki, always defensive when his mother nags sneers at her annoyed. "MA! Shut the hell up! I'm not going to wind up dead in a ditch! You always fucking exaggerate! AND I will never allow harm to come to Deku!" He looks at Inko, showing a much kinder face to the shorter woman. "I swear. I will go help Deku and bring her back safe and sound Ms. Inko. You have my word…"
Inko now knowing Katsuki thinks Izuku is a girl blushes a little and smiles sweetly at him. "Thank you so much Katsuki. But your mother is right. Please be careful. The world is a dangerous place. Even getting lost in the desert. Be sure to stay hydrated and well nourished."
"Yes Ms. Inko." He says politely.
Mitsuki huffs up. "Oh so you listen to her but when your own motha' worries over her own son she gets a Shut the hell up?! I never raised you to be this disrespectful. Masaru, he's all yours. Because I don't know who he is, I swear, I-"
Katsuki runs a hand over his face as he rolls his eyes at his mother's dramatic display. Knowing there was no end to her rant she was now on, he hopped back off his horse and pulled her into a strong bear hug. She was immediately pulled out of her string of words as she choked out a little sob.
"Sorry mom. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Who the hell do you think I am?!"
She sniffles still stiff in his hold.
"My overconfident asshole of a son who I know will get into trouble if he doesn't watch that mouth of his. Please don't do anything stupid, you hear me?" She grips the back of his coat as she holds him close and nuzzles into his shoulder.
He rubs circles on her back and he feels her body relax in his arms.
"Yea yea, I hear ya." Inko and Masaru just look at them with smiles on their faces. After a moment Mitsuki pulls away from him and leans up while tugging him down to kiss him on the forehead.
"Okay brat. Get the hell outta here."
Katsuki hops back onto his horse and looks at his father. Masaru smiles, giving him a rare look a determination.
"Good luck son. Be sure to bring your love home safely." Shocked Mitsuki and Inko look at him. Katsuki blushes, but silently nods to his father and he then commands his horse to take off.
They watch him ride off but Mitsuki looks back at her husband with a sly grin on her face.
"You sly dog you! AH! Now I reaaaaaally want to see his face when he learns the truth! Daaamnit all!"
Masaru looks at Inko apologetically. "Sorry Inko, I couldn't resist teasing my son either. I don't know how things will turn out between our sons but I don't know if your okay with them being together."
Inko simply smiles at him. "Dont worry. So long as my Izuku is safe and happy, I'm happy. I do know Izuku always missed Katsuki after we left. I just hope Katsuki won't be to shocked. The poor dear."
Mitsuki scoffs. "Hah! Don't worry. He will probably be pissed after the initial shock yes, but his little Deku was the only one he ever had eyes for. So if he is anywhere near as cute as he was as a kid there should be no problem." She then grins, having no doubts that Izuku is still just as adorable in both looks and personality as he was as a kid if he's anything like his mother. And that Katsuki will still be smitten with him.
In a small town area east of Garrisburg called Dayton a short man wearing a brown ragged cloak runs into a saloon. His green eyes discreetly looks around the room and see's just a few people in the bar, and several pretty ladies with beautiful dresses chatting amongst themselves. A few of them look up at him suspiciously. It was the middle of the day, not many people visiting during this time and unfamiliar faces usually brewed trouble.
One girl struts up to him confidently with a smile, ready to serve a customer but also ready to fuck shit up if he did anything. Her hair was brown and cut to a bob shape, bangs hanging just above her eyebrows. She wore a magenta dress and was quite busty. She wore a black choker and a feathered hair piece with intricate beaded designs on it.
"Hello sir. Your a new face. My name is Ochako. Can I get you something to drink?"
She links her arm around his and pulls him towards the bar but then slows as he pulls his hood off, seeing his face more clearly now.
"Thank you. I would love a drink and also, a place to stay for a few days or so. I will work if you ladies need any help around here I am more than happy to provide. I can work as some muscle. Make sure no one causes any trouble around here."
Another woman comes over to them, over hearing the newcomer. She had on a black and red dress and was not as developed in the bust but was very pretty nonetheless. She had short choppy black hair that framed her face and a sour expression on her face.
"You don't look like you have much muscle to get the job done. Probably with a baby face like yours you'd do better with a dress on." She smirks at him, feeling clever, that is until he smirks right back.
"I can do both, if that is what it takes." He counters.
Suddenly and girl with rosy blush skin and unnaturally pink fluffy hair in a purple dress is hopping up and down by the bar and is brimming with excitement.
"I'll go get Mistress Midnight!" She then dashes to the staircase that leads up the the balcony floor above them.
The girl named Ochako then look back at the newcomeber and continues tugging him to the bar. "So what's your name?"
He follows her and smiles. "Izuku! Nice to meet you!"