If you called Izuku crazy, he would agree. Currently, he was running towards a villain that had his childhood bully, Bakugo, as a hostage.
"Get back here you fool! Stop!" A hero yelled behind him.
'It's my fault! That's the same villain All Might saved me from. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened!'
Taking his bag off of his back, Izuku chucked it at the slimy villain. Before getting even closer and shoving his hands into the slimy monster, trying to dig Bakugo out.
'What was I expecting?!'
"Idiot! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I don't know! My legs just moved on their own!" Izuku cried, struggling to pull Bakugo out.
"Stop! You dumb ass, how did you even get here?!"
Izuku didn't understand what he meant. It was just him. Until he noticed another set of arms in the mix. Attached to a familiar mop of blonde hair.
It was his longtime friend, Naruto, standing there next to him. Dazed. Confused. Izuku was sure he hadn't been there before.
"N-Naruto?!"
"What the...?" The blond mumbled, raising his hands in front of his face, flexing his slime covered fingers.
It didn't matter.
"Naruto! Pull!"
"W-Wait! What's going on here?" Naruto shouted. The situation dawning on him. "Izuku? Katsuki?"
"Pull!" Izuku panted, his eyes locked on the disgusting tar seeping into Bakugo's mouth. Down his throat. Choking him. Killing him!
"R-Right!" Naruto said, grabbing onto the same arm as Izuku and pulling with all his might.
'How did I get here?' Naruto thought, mind racing. 'I was...no! I can worry about that later! Right now I need to help Izuku get Katsuki out of this thing!'
"Hold on tight, Izuku!" He yelled. Intent on pulling Bakugo out.
The muscles in his arms were screaming bloody murder. His joints popping. Bones creaking. For a creature made of goop, its hold was incredible!
'If this keeps up, we'll be swallowed in too!'
"A pro should always be willing to risk his life!" Was the only thing he heard before he felt himself be blown up into the air by hurricane-like winds.
After he was set on the ground, Naruto stood back up. His head pounding.
"Izuku, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you N-"
"Huh?" Naruto asked. To his confusion, Izuku's lips moved at a snail's pace, his voice far deeper than it should have been.
"I don't feel so good," Naruto said, or at least tried to say, he couldn't be sure at the moment.
His vision blurred as he tried to walk towards Izuku.
Stumbling he fell forward before everything went black.
Naruto was out of the hospital in a few hours. While he felt okay, he couldn't help but be a little sore from all the action earlier in the day.
'I wonder if Katsuki and Izuku are okay?'
While Naruto didn't particularly like the explosive guy, having a weird slime monster enter your body was not something he wished on him. Or anyone.
He shivered. 'Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.' Approaching the door to his house, Naruto pulled out his keys and unlocked it. "I'm home!"
Not that anyone heard him. He put his skateboard against the wall and took off his shoes. Walking into the living room, he turned on the lights and took off his jacket, putting his bookbag next to the couch.
Making his way over to the kitchen he opened the fridge. Only to frown and shut the door with a tired sigh.
"Right. I meant to get groceries after school."
Without anything else to do, Naruto turned the television on and sat down on the couch. He flipped through the channels a bit before landing on the news. A familiar scene immediately caught his eye.
"Heh. Looks like we made the headlines." Naruto said. He watched for a while, listening to the reports as All-Might grinned into the camera. Before a loud buzz echoed throughout his shabby home.
With a groan, Naruto walked to his door and looked through the peephole. To his surprise, it was Izuku standing with a container of food in his hands.
"Hey, Naruto! My mom made some extra food, she told me to bring it over and check up on you. Open the door I know you're here!"
Naruto grinned. Free food.
"Make yourself at home." The blonde said, opening his door and stepping to the side, allowing Izuku in.
Izuku smiled and walked in, putting the container on the dining table.
"You gonna eat now or should I put this in the fridge?" He asked.
"Nah, I'll eat it now. I didn't have a chance to buy food today. Honey." Naruto responded with a wink. Ignoring Izuku's flustered expression.
Going into his kitchen, he grabbed a fork along with a drink. Went he came back into the living room, Izuku was eyeing a random piece of decor he'd bought at a garage sale.
"Hmm. I don't think that lava-lamp is that interesting unless it has a genie trapped inside."
"N-Naruto..." Izuku trailed off for a moment, looking unsure. "I'm sorry."
"Huh? Why are you sorry?" He asked, popping open the warm container. It was white rice with a side of curry. A rare treat for Naruto. The instant ramen didn't really do much besides taste good and shut his stomach up.
"I know you jumped in to help me. If...If I hadn't been so stupid, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Naruto eyed his longtime friend. Izuku was always thinking. Overthinking to be precise. He couldn't imagine how the guy must have felt while two of his best friends were in the Hospital.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like anyone got seriously hurt or anything. Besides, the way you bolted out to save that hothead. I don't know. I thought it was pretty cool. I couldn't help it!" Naruto grinned.
Izuku didn't say much after that. The two sat in a comfortable silence while Naruto shoveled food into his mouth. Until...
"I-I think you should apply to U.A," Izuku said.
Naruto blinked. "What? Why would I do that?"
"I don't know...I think you could help a lot of people with your quirk."
He laughed. "My quirk is useless, remember?" There's no way Izuku had forgotten about his quirk already? "You didn't hit your head that hard, did you?"
"N-No! The paramedics even checked me after All-Might saved us," Izuku responded. "Do you not know what happened? I thought you ran up to help me, but everyone was talking about how you teleported!"
"Teleported?" Naruto asked.
"It's true! Heroes were even talking about how they wanted you to be their sidekick!"
"I don't remember teleporting though." He crossed his arms and relived the moment. "All I know is looking at you, and that feeling of desperately wanting to save both you and Katsuki. But I was too far..."
"Exactly!" Izuku yelled before his face turned red. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. A-Anyway, that's the thing. A lot of the people there said you just...appeared."
Naruto hummed aloud.
Izuku put his hand on his chin. " I don't know how you did it, but you definitely teleported. I don't know how though...?" Naruto watched his friend enter what he dubbed, Izuku-Think mode. "Wait..it couldn't be? But...hmm. Maybe? Yes! No. Yes? No! Or..."
This went on for another minute when finally, Izuku came up with an idea.
"I got it! Remember earlier today when you found my notebook?" Izuku asked.
Naruto nodded along.
"Well, I think… Why?" Naruto asked, not sure what his friend was leading to.
"That's the reason you teleported!" Izuku said matter-of-factly.
"Do you think we could test it out somehow?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm. Maybe. Do you have paper anywhere?"
Naruto pointed at his bag. "In there. Tear a page out of any notebook I don't care." He got up and made for the kitchen. His dishes in hand.
"You should really tidy up your bag, Naruto!" He heard from the living room.
Naruto muttered something under his breath, "So how are we going to test this theory of yours anyway?"
"You'll see! Come here and put your mark on this, please!"
Grumbling, Naruto went over to Izuku and placed his hand on the paper. Where his palm used to be, now lay an inky, black spiral, that measured about an inch and a half in diameter.
"Ok. Now what?"
"Go back into the kitchen and, well...do whatever you did against the villain! Think really hard! Focus!"
"Easier said than done," Naruto remarked. Sighing, he walked back into the kitchen. "Okay. How should I do this?"
Closing his eyes, he tried his best to relive the moment. Izuku and that hotheaded idiot. How frantic and chaotic it was. How scared he felt, watching his only friend risk his life.
A boy with no quirk. The biggest wimp he knew. Leaped into action, abandoning all thoughts of self-preservation.
How angry he felt. That he couldn't do the same. He couldn't move his legs. He wanted too, but he couldn't!
That feeling!
He never wanted to feel like that again!
"Holy shit..."
"Izuku?" Wait. That sounded a lot closer than before. When he opened his eyes, Naruto met the stupefied expression of his best friend and uttered a single word.
"What?" Then it hit him.
"It worked!" Izuku cried,
"Whoa...It worked?" He managed a single step before losing balance. A sudden wave of nausea hitting him.
"Naruto! Are you okay?!" Izuku asked, catching him mid-fall.
"Yeah. Yeah...just tired." Naruto said, grabbing Izuku's hand. "That was weird."
Izuku helped him regain his balance. A wide grin on his face. "See! I told you! That's why I think you should be a hero! Think of all the good you could do with your quirk!"
His friend's enthusiasm was infectious.
"This. This is so cool!"
Without a word, he bolted out the front door of his own place.
"Wait! Naruto, you're still hurt! Where are you go...ing?" Izuku didn't finish get to finish his sentence. Naruto was right in front of him. He needed only blink.
"Izuku. Izuku, I'm freaking out man. You have no idea how much fun this is!" Naruto wrapped a total four more times before suddenly stopping. His once tan features now ghost white.
"Why did you stop?" Izuku asked.
"I think I'm gonna hurl..."
"Oh."
Naruto proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach, while Izuku panicked. This proceeded for a full minute before the blond fell back with a loud groan. Obviously exhausted.
"Note to self. Don't spam. So, are you still going to apply for U.A?" Naruto asked, still laying in a half-pool of his own vomit.
"Y-Yeah. I think I have a good chance of getting in too." Izuku responded. Pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Really? What makes you say that?"
"It's just...a feeling I have."
"Yeah? Well. If anyone can, it's you." He didn't see the blush that spread across Izuku's cheeks. "By the way, do you want me to wash the bowl and bring it over tomorrow?"
"You can keep it for the night."
"Alright. I'll see you out then." He tried getting up but failed. "On second thought, I'll just hang out here. See you later, Izuku. Thanks for everything."
Izuku chuckled nervously, "Right. See you later."
Thanks to my friend Cats for betaing this chapter.