Hey, guys! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Elliot. So here's my first BNHA story because it's become a special interest real fuckin' quick. So a few notes before I begin;
- In this Katsuki is hard of hearing. It's a popular headcannon, but because of this I've changed his past a bit. Basically he found out when he was nine, and by ten Izuku was giving him notes so he didn't fall behind and he was reluctantly taking them. At some stage, he asked Izuku how he dealt with being broken. He didn't bully Izuku at school, but he wasn't nice to him (even by Katsuki standards). But after school, they would work together training for a while and then do homework. Izuku was with him when the sludge monster attacked the first time, but he grabbed All Might and Katsuki didn't so Katsuki didn't learn as much. The second attack went pretty much the same way, and afterwards Katsuki avoided him a bit because he was embarrassed, but he got over it and trained with Izuku for UA under All Might. Despite this, he didn't know about One for All until Izuku told him - he thought All Might was just taking pity on Izuku because he was quirkless and he decided to go with it. Mainly because he just appeared at the training sessions and All Might let him stay, so he knew that he wasn't the one being pitied.
I think those are the only things that you need to know going into the story. I also use UA instead of Yuuei because UA is what's in the subtitles and on the wiki. Oof sorry about that. Hope y'all enjoy!
CW: Fighting, blood, guns, deaf-period, anxiety
Ochako had to remind herself to breathe. Even though it was a biological function that she couldn't forget, her chest tightened with every slight flicker back to the scene she had just left. The knife in her hand, the man pleading, him screaming as he rose until the knife flew through his throat-
"You did well."
Ochako took a slow breath - in for five, and out for seven. Another. One more. "Thanks." She didn't stand from her place, curled up against the wall on the pavement. They needed to move, but if she stood up too soon, she was going to be sick.
Chizome squatted down beside her. The blood on his scarf was still damp. "Can you breathe?" He asked.
Ochako barely managed a nod. It was getting easier. One would think that after all this time, she'd have gotten used to the blood and the screams, and the smell of shit, and the glassy eyes. But no. She looked up. She could still see the body floating away. Her head throbbed.
It was easier when they were dead, but not by her hand.
"We need to go. Now."
At least she'd had a few moments to steady herself. Ochako pushed herself to her feet, using the grey wall behind her for balance. The damp dirt stuck to the palm of her hand, staining it brown. It was better than the red.
"Ready?"
In lieu of a verbal response, Ochako pressed the pads of her fingers together and her feet lifted off the ground. Chizome grabbed her by her waist and launched up, scaling the walls of the building with ease. Once on the roof, she pressed her fingers together again and mumbled, "Release." The body would be falling. They had to move fast.
Chizome released her and they landed, running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Occasionally, Ochako would stumble, or the gap would be too wide for her to jump, so she would use her quirk on herself and launch herself forward again.
They avoided the middle of town. Two figures jumping on top of buildings was too conspicuous a sight, especially with one wielding an almost comical amount of blades, and both of them splattered with blood. Their civilian clothes were stashed in a rucksack in an alleyway by an old, abandoned bar. They changed there, with no cameras in sight, and stuffed their costumes into the bag in its place.
Caps replaced masks, hoodies replaced t-shirts, jeans replaced sweatpants. Ochako pulled her hair loose and hooked the bag over her shoulder. "Are you going to tell me what that mission was for now?" She asked as they began walking.
Chizome stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, keeping his head turned forward. "You'll know about it when it's time."
Ochako frowned. "I just helped you dispose of-" He gave her a sharp look. "-way too many McDonald's bags. I deserve to know what it was for."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You deserve to know?" Chizome scoffed and reached up to adjust his hat. "I figured that giving you a bed, food, clothes, and training was good enough." Ochako looked down. "That's what I thought."
"I'm not a child anymore, Chizome."
"Yes you are." The crowds began to thicken. The way home was awkward with the route they had taken to get away, but it was manageable. Just two different trains and a ten minute walk. "And there are certain things that you don't need to know just yet."
Ochako stayed silent as they used their cards to get on their first train, and then off. As the second train came in, she looked up at him. "He was another false hero, right?" Chizome didn't so much as bat an eyelid. "Native. What did he do?"
"He's a racist twat," Chizome spat. "He didn't deserve to be a hero. None of them did."
Ochako's frown returned, and the train shrieked to a stop. The doors opened and people piled in and out. The two found themselves separated for a minute or two, but worked their way back together once they were on board.
Something was still off. Chizome never kept things like that from her. Hell, he'd even planned some of the Hero Killer Stain's first attacks with her help.
"It wasn't your idea," she mumbled. "Someone put you up to it."
Chizome's shoulders tensed, and he glared at her. Even after all the years she'd lived with him, that glare still froze Ochako as though he had managed to steal a taste of her blood. "It," he began, voice low, "is none of your concern." He leaned back and looked up at the map, though he knew the route by heart.
Ochako gripped the handrail. Her knuckles turned white, and she was relatively sure that she had accidentally activated her quirk on it, but she didn't want to pull away to check.
She didn't speak for the rest of the journey home. The apartment was small, and the block didn't have any working security cameras, which suited them. They only had two rooms - a small kitchen with a shitty heat-sensing smoke alarm that screamed every time they opened the oven if they weren't careful, and a bedroom with two single beds, and a shared bedside table and locker. Ochako studied at the kitchen table, and they also planned any attacks there. Occasionally, they'd curl up on the one bed and watch a film on the portable DVD player that Chizome had bought Ochako for her birthday.
Chizome unlocked the door and pushed it open. They'd replaced the screws in it with twelve-inch ones, but the door was so weak that one kick would probably break it. Ochako set about feeding the black cat that occasionally whined at the window until they let it in. Chizome insisted that it still wasn't their cat and began to cook. By cook, he put a pre-made lasagna in the grease-stained oven and cut some raw carrots.
Once Ochako had filled the cat's bowl with scraps that they couldn't eat, she washed her hands and began to set the table with plastic picnic cutlery.
Chizome looked up from the chopping board. "You have a mission in a few days," he told her. "You won't be alone, but I won't be there."
Ochako hummed. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for her to deal with someone without Chizome. "Are one of the others back in town?" She hadn't seen her adopted siblings in a while. Especially Sei. She missed him, but he was going straight.
"No. Not yet." Chizome finished slicing the carrots and separated them into two piles, then began to dice one pile. "The League of Villains are planning on infiltrating U.A. High School. I want you to go with them."
"The League?" Ochako walked across the tiled floor to him. She scraped the sliced carrots onto a plate and carried it back to the table. "I thought you didn't want to work with them."
"They're convenient," was all Chizome said on that. "And it'll be a good experience for you."
Ochako pulled two glasses down from the grubby press by the window. Both were stained, so she ran them under the tap for a moment to clean them. "What are they planning that you want me to stop?"
Chizome cracked a grin. "You're too observant for your own good."
"No." Ochako dried off the glasses. "I just know you." She walked over to the fridge to get some juice.
"They're planning on breaking into the U.S.J. and taking out class 1-A, along with whatever teachers are there." The oven beeped. "All Might has started teaching at U.A. and there's a high chance that he'll be one of the three, along with Thirteen and Eraserhead."
"You want me to stop them killing All Might?"
"I want you to stop them killing All Might," Chizome confirmed. "And the children. I'm not in the business of watching kids die because the adults watching them are too selfish. One or two of them may grow to be good heroes. The rest deserve a chance to try." He grabbed a pair of oven gloves and took the lasagna out of the oven. "How much do you want?"
"Not a lot." Ochako leaned on the counter and dug the big toe of her left foot into the ground. "What if they suspect me?"
"You need to make sure that they don't." Chizome cut the lasagna into six pieces and lifted one piece with a spatula. "How's that?"
"Perfect." Ochako nudged her plate with the sliced carrots over to him, and he deposited the pasta on it. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." He got his own food and followed her over to the table.
Ochako poured them both a glass of juice before sitting down. She'd put the juice back in the fridge after dinner. "Anything other than that?"
Chizome took a bite of his food and chewed slowly. He swallowed. "Keep an eye on Shigaraki," he decided. "He's planning something bigger than this attack, and I don't trust him. He's worse than half of the heroes."
Ochako nodded. "Where will I meet them?"
"The bar a few alleys down from where we stash our clothes. I'll send you the coordinates when you need to get there."
Ochako took a small drink of juice. "And when will the attack happen?"
"Three days."
All Might wasn't there. It was driving Shigaraki wild. Ochako could see him worrying his neck with bitten-down nails from where she was standing. If she didn't know him, she might have felt bad for him. His anxiety was one of the most high-functioning forms she had come across. As it was, she did know him, and regretted that she did.
It didn't take long for them to be split up as planned, and Ochako knew better than to try to stay near Eraserhead. Some of the novices tried to fight him, but it was those with mutant quirks that were the most effective against him - a type that she didn't possess.
Instead, she hung back until Kurogiri transported everyone. He'd told them all exactly which portals would lead to which areas, so they'd be able to work to their quirk's strengths. Not knowing the quirks of the students made that a little awkward, but not impossible.
Ochako chose the ruins zone. It didn't take her long to find her opponents. In fact, the opponents went looking for them - or at least one did. A boy with spiky blond hair and an explosive costume who laughed as he grabbed the back of one villain's head. His hand exploded.
It was minor; the villain collapsed rather than died. Ochako ducked behind a boulder to watch. The boy's red-haired companion seemed to be trying to calm him down, shouting at him to stop. Despite his complaints, his body turned to rock and he blocked several attacks aimed for the blond boy. An explosion quirk and a hardening quirk. Ochako's lips tugged down. They wouldn't have been her choice of students to deal with, but the explosion boy was making a lot of extra debris that she could use, and a smoke cloud that would hide her.
"Die!" The blond boy shrieked and smashed his knee into the face of one of Ochako's comrades. She couldn't recall his name, or even his quirk, and it didn't matter. He collapsed alongside most of their other companions. His nose looked broken.
Ochako clicked her tongue. She had to start. She tipped various rocks and broken walls and they began to float up above the cloud of smoke. The red-haired boy might be an issue, but she doubted it. They were aiming to kill the blond, not him. She just needed to touch him to get him out of the way.
"Die!" The voice was closer. Too close.
Ochako twisted and managed to block the punch, though it sent her skidding a few inches back. Her eyes narrowed behind her mask. She was on the outskirts, so- She glanced to the side.
Everyone bar her had been taken out. What- what the fuck? Everyone? Everyone. She twisted to avoid an explosion and aimed a sidekick at the blond.
"Bakugou!" The red-haired boy yelled from a few feet away. The blond rolled out of her way.
She lowered her leg. Bakugou. His parents weren't heroes then, nor any family member with that name.
Bakugou rolled into a crouch and glared up at her. "Fucking talk, why don't you?" He spat.
Ochako resisted the urge. If she riled him up enough, he would make a mistake. She twisted as the red-haired boy lunged at her with a loud cry. They really didn't seem to understand that you weren't meant to warn an enemy before attacking them.
Ochako swerved out of the way, but the boy was faster than she'd anticipated. She managed to brush his arm with her fingertips, but he slammed a rock hard fist into her gut.
Ochako staggered back and gagged. Her breath caught in her chest. Breathe. Breathe. She glared at him, though he couldn't see it. It was enough. The boy shrieked as he began to float.
Bakugou looked up, eyes wide. "Fucking grab something, shitty hair!"
Shitty Hair scrambled for something, but Ochako picked up the boulder she had hidden behind earlier and hurled it at him. She had to incapacitate them in some way.
Bakugou raised his arm and pulled something by his wrist. It looked like- "Fuck!" Ochako was thrown off her feet by the blast and she landed hard on the rocky ground beneath her. The boulder was blasted through the windows at the far end of the USJ.
It threw Shitty Hair further away, but it was to his advantage. He had managed to grab onto a tree to stop himself from climbing higher towards the roof. Ochako glanced up. It wasn't enough yet.
She grimaced and dragged herself to her feet. Bakugou was stalking towards her. "I hate cowards like you," he snarled. "Die already!" He lunged and Ochako took the explosion, crossing her arms to minimise the damage. She bent down and brushed her fingers against every rock she could reach.
Once Bakugou could see her, he attacked again. More smoke, more debris, more ammo.
"Bakugou, don't let her touch you!" Shitty Hair yelled.
If Bakugou heard him, he didn't react. Good. Ochako kept close to the ground. Every time she was knocked back, the explosions would uproot more and more rocks and debris.
"Fucking fight me!" Bakugou roared at her, and another explosion followed. Ochako's eyes flickered up. Perfect.
The smoke cleared a second earlier than she expected, and she pressed the pads of her fingers together. "Release!"
Shitty Hair yelled as he fell from the tree, and Bakugou looked up. Ochako saw his eyes widen. Ochako ran forward. Now, now, now. Bakugou extended his hand and blasted the rocks away. A few still managed to hit him and he stumbled back. Smoke descended over the area again, and Ochako tore her hoodie off. Now, now, now.
She flung it one way and slipped the other, behind Bakugou. He aimed a blast at it, and turned a second too late.
Ochako's fingers stretched forward. Now.
"Don't touch him!" Shitty Hair barrelled into her side, knocking her away from Bakugou. Ochako hissed as she landed on her side. Shards from her broken rocks scraped at her arms.
Ochako forced herself to her feet. She hadn't been counting on him recovering so quickly.
Bakugou took a step towards her and Ochako brought up her guard, just like Chizome had taught her. On her toes, one fist protecting the front of her face, one fist protecting the side. "Why are you here?" Bakugou demanded.
"That's none of your business." Ochako darted forward. Shitty Hair didn't expect her speed - he hadn't been fighting her. Bakugou moved to protect him, hand raised to blast Ochako back. Instead, he staggered and gripped his wrist. He had reached his limit, probably several minutes ago.
But Ochako didn't change her target. She twisted and ran past him, touching a broken pillar three times her size.
"I'm sorry." She lifted it. Only Shitty Hair reacted to her words. "I wasn't planning on this." She swung at them. Both boys braced themselves for impact, but the door to the USJ burst open and Ochako dropped her weapon.
"I am here!" A voice boomed. She was a bit too far away to be a hundred percent certain, but there was only one person who had made that their catch phrase, and he didn't seem to be smiling.
Even Katsuki heard the door crash open and All Might's voice, so he wasn't surprised when the chubby girl dropped the pillar and stared. Bakugou hit the pillar away, and it floated up to the roof. What he was surprised to see was that she didn't seem scared. No, it was like she was looking at All Might with awe.
Katsuki's fist clenched. "Look at me when you're fighting!" He sprinted forward, but the girl touched her fingers together and kicked off the ground. His explosion hit nothing - if anything, it only propelled her closer to where she seemed to want to go. All Might.
Kirishima grabbed his arm and said something. Katsuki had to turn to face him to catch it fully, because it sounded like Kirishima was being muffled by cloth.
"-need to go help All Might."
"I fucking know that!" Katsuki glared after the girl but started running. He couldn't use many more blasts, and he wanted to save them for fighting. Not a showy arrival. "Hurry up, Shitty Hair!"
"My hair's fine!" Kirishima was closer than he'd thought.
Katsuki ground his teeth. Maybe he should have- no. No, he didn't fucking need them. He didn't. He wasn't broken. He pushed himself faster, faster, following the floating girl. All Might was fast, and though Katsuki estimated that he was somewhere in the middle of the USJ, he couldn't see him.
The villain could.
"Where the fuck's Pikachu?" Katsuki growled. "We need him!" Kaminari could just shock the fuck out of everyone.
"Probably… -rent section…"
Katsuki couldn't quite hear the entire sentence. It didn't matter - Kaminari wasn't there, so they couldn't use him. Katsuki turned right at a fork in the path, towards the shipwreck zone. Someone came up beside him. Not Kirishima - he saw a flash of white. Todoroki.
"You'd better not slow me down," Katsuki snarled. If Todoroki replied, he didn't hear it. The trees surrounding the path faded and they emerged in the shipwreck zone.
And Deku - stupid fucking Deku - was running towards the middle of the goddamn fight. He was going to get himself killed.
Katsuki fired an explosion behind him, launching himself forward as the void appeared in front of Deku. "Get the hell out of my way Deku!"
Deku jumped back and Katsuki's hand caught something metal. He slammed the creature down, tightening his grip.
"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," he hissed. "You use your mist to hide your body, right? I'm guessing if this metal brace gets destroyed, you will too." He allowed his palm to heat up. "Do you think an explosion would do the trick?" The void didn't attempt to escape, and ice froze the giant creature with the protruding brain to the spot. It was half submerged in the void, holding All Might, and with Bakugou holding the body down, neither of them could move. The ice stopped just before it reached All Might's body and he jumped out of the creature's grip.
Kirishima lunged at the guy with skin so dry it hurt Katsuki's face.
"Release!" The girl dropped from the sky and landed on Kirishima. She touched his back and he began floating up.
Shit. Katsuki's grip tightened on the metal cylinder. He had forgotten about her. And her boulder had crashed through the windows near here. A wrong move and Kirishima would be gone.
"Deku, fucking do something!"
Deku jumped, not as high as he normally would, and managed to grab Kirishima's wrist. With his weightlessness, Deku was able to pull him down and to safety, but until the girl released him, he'd be out of commission. They both would be.
"Nice work, Infinity." The words sounded almost like a whisper, but Katsuki could hear them clearly. He winced. He didn't like it. "Kurogiri, how could you let them get close to you like that?"
Around Katsuki, the void's 'body' writhed restlessly. Katsuki grinned and leaned closer, letting off a few light explosions. Just enough to hurt. "I thought I told you not to move. Try anything funny and I'll blow your ass up right here."
Behind him, something cracked. He turned his head to see the creature All Might had been fighting force its way up. Todoroki had entirely frozen its right side, and its arm and leg broke off.
"Noumu," the corpse-looking fucker muttered. "Get him."
The arm and leg were back, and Noumu lunged towards Bakugou. He didn't even have time to tense up - a force hit him and flung him back, and he skidded to a halt in the middle of the three boys.
Deku hardly noticed him. Hell, Katsuki hardly even noticed the movement himself. "Kacchan, you dodged?"
"Shut up," he hissed. His chest ached.
The Noumu was standing right where he had been, and several trees beyond were split in two. Smoke and dust kicked up from the attack faded away and All Might stood. His arm was still raised from blocking, and part of his shirt was torn due to the force of the attack. "You went full force on a child?"
"I had no choice." The corpse scratched his neck. "He was threatening my companion." Kurogiri was beside him again. None of them were even looking at Katsuki, though they had been ready to kill him.
Katsuki staggered to his feet. "He's outnumbered."
Deku nodded, and his body tensed. "We need to help-"
All Might raised a hand, as though to block them from getting anywhere near the villains. "Get out of here!" All Might called to them. "I'll handle it." Katsuki scowled.
"You would have been in trouble without us earlier." Todoroki flexed his fingers. They seemed stiff - he'd already overused his quirk. "You need us."
All Might lowered his hand again and turned his back on them. "I can handle it. Just stand back and watch a pro at work."
Katsuki scanned the villains. Super strength, regeneration, and shock absorption, from the look of it. Warping. And whatever the corpse's quirk was.
He narrowed his eyes. But where was the fucking floaty girl? He saw her a second too late, as All Might and the Noumu lunged at one another.
"All Might!" Deku screamed.
The girl landed on the Noumu's back, touched its neck, and then leapt off, just as All Might attacked. Shock absorption was effective against damage, but it couldn't do much about force. Not when the Noumu was weightless.
All Might's first punch hit, and his second. His third hit the air, the Noumu already crashing up through the windows. The lights exploded around them, the USJ dimming.
Katsuki stared.
"Did she just-?" Kirishima began.
"A villain saved All Might…"
All Might landed on one knee. He was still bleeding from where the Noumu's claws earlier. It looked bad, even through his shirt, but it could have been so much worse.
The corpse could only stare for a second. "You!" He snarled, voice hoarse beneath the hand shielding his face. He turned on the chubby girl, who pressed her fingers together.
"Release!"
Bakugou looked up. She had pulled a similar trick to the one on him, though he didn't know when she had gathered the rocks. Perhaps when he was running after her and she had gone out of sight.
The corpse didn't even react, stretching his hand towards her face. He was right not to - Kurogiri had already taken care of her rocks.
Deku jumped - properly jumped, far faster than before. Katsuki heard his bones crack. Kirishima stayed grounded.
"Don't you touch her!" Deku's fist was already pulled back, and the chubby girl's hand was reaching forward. A portal appeared in front of all three of them. Deku's fist went through one, aimed at the chubby girl, and she grabbed his wrist instead of the corpse's. The corpse reached through the portal for Deku instead.
Move. Move! Katsuki braced himself and All Might was already running, but they wouldn't be fast enough- A boom stopped them. Blood spurted from the corpse's hand and he shrieked, pulling it back. The chubby girl yanked Deku through the portal before it could close and- and cut off his wrist or some crap like that. Katsuki didn't fucking know what that quirk was fully capable of. Deku fell and stayed down. He didn't look like he could move if his life depended on it.
"Sorry everyone!" A voice boomed. Katsuki looked towards the main entrance. "Sorry we're late!" From what he could see, every teacher was making their way towards various zones. Explosions wracked the area, and shrieks that even made Katsuki wince. Present Mic was on his way to them.
The corpse gripped his wrist. "They're here." He backed up a few steps. Katsuki couldn't catch what he was saying anymore. He was too damn quiet. But it didn't matter. Another shot - again - again - again. The corpse collapsed and Kurogiri wrapped himself around him as a shield.
He was getting smaller, but he was being pulled back by something- Katsuki turned to see Thirteen behind them, being propped up by Soy Sauce, or whatever his name was.
A piece of Kurogiri shot out in a thin string and expanded beneath the chubby girl. She cursed and reached for someone. All Might - Deku - Katsuki.
"No!" All Might lunged for her - so close. She fell. His hand closed around black mist.
The corpse laughed and All Might turned to face him. "I may have failed this time, but I will kill you next time, All Might, Symbol of Peace." His face vanished, along with the end of the dark mist.
Katsuki could see Deku struggling to stand, he could see the smoke that seemed to come from All Might, he could see Kirishima trying to engage him, but his ears were ringing too much to take it in. Not from overusing his quirk, though he had. He just stared at the spot that the chubby girl had been taken from.
He couldn't do anything right.
By the time Izuku woke up, it was dark out. His mom had already been notified that he would probably be home late, but she had been told he was relatively unharmed, along with all of the other students. All Might had told her, of course. She might not have believed it from anyone else.
Once Recovery Girl deemed him able to leave, he dressed again and left the room, but he stayed in the infirmary. He couldn't leave. Not without seeing how All Might and Aizawa were doing. He peeked into various rooms, but all bar two were empty. In one, Kacchan was still in the bed, though he was awake - which was odd. Izuku hadn't seen him getting hurt.
He paused there for a moment until Kacchan saw him. With a grunt, Kacchan jerked his head in a way that indicated Izuku could come in. "Can you talk right now?"
Izuku hesitated, and then nodded. "Yeah." The day had been overwhelming, and he was almost surprised that he hadn't gone non-verbal. "Can you hear?"
Kacchan hesitated as well; he didn't have to answer.
Izuku grabbed one of the plastic chairs and pulled it up beside his bed. 'Are you doing okay?' He signed.
Kacchan followed his hands for about half of the question before scoffing. "I'm fine," he decided. "It's not a big issue. It happens. They're just keeping me in because of my wrist."
Yes. It had been happening more and more since they were nine, and Kacchan had gone up to him one day in the bathrooms after missing a week of school to ask how Izuku coped with being broken. It had been happening more and more frequently since then. Now it was happening after nearly every battle - training or otherwise, it appeared. He still hadn't told any of the teachers that he was going deaf.
'You need to start wearing your hearing aids.' Izuku's hands faltered when Kacchan glared at him, but he kept going. 'It's bad that you can't hear what's happening-'
"This-" Kacchan pointed at his ear. "-is happening because my explosions are too damn loud in the first place. I don't need hearing aids."
'What about earplugs?'
Kacchan laughed. "Yeah, fat lot of fucking good they'll do." He shook his head. "I'm not going to accept being broken unless someone kills me, got it? I'm going to be a pro-hero, no matter what."
Izuku ground his teeth and stood up. 'You're being selfish,' was all he signed before he left the room. Kacchan didn't call him back.
He hated this. Kacchan had been doing better - he'd tried to blast farther away from his ears when he was practicing, and Izuku had even helped him to learn sign language and offered him notes, in case he'd missed anything in class. He'd taken the help privately, though they kept up a largely tense-appearing relationship in school. Kacchan hadn't wanted anyone to know that he was broken.
Then came All Might. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. There was no point. He paused at the next closed door. Kacchan had trained with him under All Might when Izuku was preparing to receive One For All, even if he hadn't known why All Might had taken such interest in Izuku, or what they were planning. He had done exactly what he'd been told, but his own practice sessions with Izuku had stopped being fun. They went to class, then sparred, Izuku gave Kacchan the notes, and they went their separate ways. Some days without talking.
It was his fault.
"It was my fault."
Izuku blinked a few times and shook off the dissociation as best as he could. He moved a little closer to the door.
"Toshi, that's not true."
"I let them take her, Naomasa- God, she's a child. She couldn't be older than 1-A."
Izuku leaned closer. He recognised All Might's voice, and felt like he should know the other. Naomasa.
"She still attacked the school with them." That was Aizawa. "Villain's aren't all of age."
"She's a child," All Might repeated. "She could have been forced or- I don't know that I could have beat Noumu without her, and she also saved Young Midoriya."
Izuku swallowed. There had been a small bruise forming on his wrist before he'd fallen asleep, but it seemed to be gone now. Of course it was. Bruises didn't stand a chance against Recovery Girl.
"We have to find her."
Izuku's head jerked up.
"Toshi," Naomasa murmured, "we know nothing about her aside from her quirk, rough age, and hair colour. She was working with the League-"
"They took her," Aizawa mumbled. His voice sounded muffled. "I tried to block the one who could teleport - to erase his quirk. She was trying to get help."
He should have been close enough. He should have been able to help. Izuku raised a fist and knocked on the door. For a moment, there was silence. Then the door cracked open and a dark-haired man in a shirt and tie peered out.
"Detective Tsukauchi-" Izuku bowed his head. Naomasa. That was him. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see how All Might and Aizawa-sensei were doing and-"
"It's alright, my boy," All Might called. "Come in."
Tsukauchi held the door open for him, and Izuku almost crept past him. All Might was sitting with Present Mic, beside Aizawa's bed. Izuku's body flushed cold when he saw Aizawa.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Aizawa said, before Izuku could even regain enough muscle control to close his jaw. His homeroom teacher was covered in bandages entirely - everything but his nose, eyes, and mouth.
"I think you're scaring him more than you would have if you said nothing." Tsukauchi sat down in his seat beside All Might again.
Izuku shook his head. "N-no, it's fine." He hesitated. "Did Recovery Girl-?"
"She did what she could do." Aizawa shifted a little. "My legs are fine, and the rest of me will be soon. I'll be back to normal within a few days."
Present Mic scowled and launched into a flurry of signs that Izuku couldn't quite read from his angle. He only stopped when Aizawa nodded at Izuku, and he lowered his hands. Aizawa cleared his throat. "Maybe two weeks," he amended.
"What about you, All Might?" Izuku looked over at him.
All Might just grinned. "Right as rain, Young Midoriya." He flashed what could have been a peace sign, but it wasn't. They both knew it, even though Midoriya wasn't meant to - not in front of people who didn't know about One For All. Two. He had reduced his limit again to only two hours.
Izuku's throat tightened. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be of more help today," he mumbled. "I'll work harder and-"
"You shouldn't have had to deal with that in the first place," Tsukauchi commented. "We're working to make sure that it never happens again."
"Besides-" Aizawa shifted again and ignored the frown on Present Mic's face as he did so. "-you did well. All of you. But for now you should go home and rest. Your mother will be worried."
"Thank you for taking the time to check on us." All Might stood, pushing off his knees with his hands. He moved stiffly, despite his reassurance that he was fine. He placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Izuku paused and scratched the inside of his thumb with his index finger. He should have brought his fidget cube. "Can I ask one more question?"
All Might nodded and squeezed his shoulder. "Of course."
Izuku tried to focus on his face, but found himself looking at each of them in turn. "What are you planning on doing about the girl with the gravity quirk?"
All Might hesitated for a second too long before he smiled. "She's your age, and likely to be there against her will. We'll get her out safely."
None of the others spoke.
Izuku nodded. "Thank you." He turned towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."
"You too, Midoriya," Aizawa sighed.
Izuku slid the door closed behind him, but waited. Just a minute. Then he would go. No one spoke for a few seconds.
"You shouldn't have done that, Toshi."
"We'll find her, Shouta. We have to."
"We all know that we mightn't be able to." Aizawa sighed again, heavier this time. "You can't save people that you can't reach."
Katsuki threw his bag down at the door once he was inside and kicked off his shoes. His mom was on him immediately, checking for any injuries.
"The school called and said there was an attack, and you weren't picking up-"
Katsuki's fists clenched. He could barely hear her. "I'm fine, hag," he snapped. "I just want to fucking sleep."
"Don't speak to me like that!" Mitsuki yelled. At the very least he never had any issues hearing her once the initial effects of using his quirk faded. "I was worried sick about you, brat!"
"Well I'm fucking fine, aren't I?" He pushed past her and stormed upstairs, slamming his door behind him. It shook on its hinges. He flopped onto his bed, and the angry tension that had flooded his body since the villains appeared just drained away, leaving nothing but exhaustion and a slight twinge of guilt.
Katsuki closed his eyes. He wasn't even bothered to change out of- wait. His eyes flashed open. Shit. He sat up and pulled off his shirt, and then his binder. He stretched his arms above his head and coughed. He'd worn it for twelve hours again. Plus he'd fought in it. He pulled a t-shirt on instead of his uniform shirt and fell back onto the bed. His ribs ached, and with the lack of pressure, he felt the day's toll on his body. He let his eyes slide closed again and didn't wake until he felt a hand on his arm.
He jolted awake, the vague memory of Kirishima floating up, up, up out of his reach and his life fresh in his mind from the dream. His dad's brown eyes watched him, and Katsuki lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. His body shook against his will. His father returned the hug, arms tight around Katsuki's body.
"I've got you," Katsuki heard him whisper. It sounded like a whisper, anyway, even right next to his ear.
Katsuki's eyes flickered around the room. Dark - night. Hallway lights on - before midnight. Masaru's shoes on - just home, at least half seven. Mouth dry - dehydrated. He closed his eyes and tried again. The curtains were drawn, but the streetlights didn't shine enough light in to have disturbed him. It cast an eerie gloom over the room, painting it navy and gold. His alarm tick tick ticked, and his binder was thrown on the carpet alongside his blazer and shirt. He had no idea where his tie was.
He forced himself to take a slow breath. What was he doing? Why was he so freaked out, what was the dream even about? Maybe it was just the sudden wake-up? Katsuki forced himself to release Masaru and glanced at the clock. Almost nine.
Katsuki rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to sleep that long."
Masaru shook his head. Brown hair tumbled over his forehead. "It's alright, Katsuki. Your mother left you some dinner."
Katsuki grunted and lay back, closing his eyes. He heard a low mumble, and opened his eyes again. "What?"
'Do you need a minute to wake up?' His dad signed.
Katsuki huffed. "No, I'm fine." He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Just a weird dream." Had it something to do with a shark? He couldn't remember anymore.
"It's alright." Masaru patted Katsuki's leg. "We were worried about you today."
Katsuki huffed. "It's not like they called you while I was still fighting, so you knew I was fine."
"We didn't know what had happened to you." Masaru leaned back a little bit, propping himself up with one arm on the mattress. "All we were told was that you were involved with a villain attack and that Recovery Girl had taken care of your injuries. We didn't know how severe they were, or if-" If his hearing had gone again.
Katsuki looked away. "I'm fine," he repeated. "All Might was there." If he hadn't been, Katsuki would have died. The chubby girl wanted to save All Might, for whatever reason. Not a bunch of kids like him.
Masaru blinked slowly, almost like a cat. "Are you feeling okay?"
Something welled up in Katsuki's throat - something thick and heavy. "There was a kid there," he mumbled. "Someone my age. She was a villain, but she saved All Might, and-" He shook his head. "They took her with them. She tried to reach out for someone and I was close enough but I couldn't-" He'd tried to reach, right? Or had his arms been glued to his sides? He couldn't even remember.
"Hey." Masaru moved closer to him and wrapped his arms around Katsuki again. "Hey, it's okay. You did your best, and I'm sure the pros will find her."
Katsuki shook his head, rage building again. It wasn't fair - he knew that. His dad hadn't done anything wrong. But she was his age. "What if they don't?"
Masaru squeezed him. "You have to believe that they will."
Katsuki wasn't sure that he could. Heroes were one of Deku's special interests, and because of all of his rants and their shared enjoyment of watching documentaries, he knew that too many missing person cases went unsolved. They didn't know her name, family, where she lived - nothing. They barely even knew her quirk.
But Katsuki nodded, to calm Masaru. He didn't want to make his dad even more anxious. "Right."
Masaru clapped Katsuki's back and slowly pulled away. "Do you want to come down and eat?" He asked. "It might help with the exhaustion. Healing can take a lot of energy."
Katsuki shrugged one shoulder, but stood up to follow his dad downstairs. "Yeah, sure."
It wasn't like he could do much else.
Oh also yeah I killed Native instead of having him in the fight with Stain during the internships. Nothing changes in that fight, really. Just a different hero with that blood-type. Hope you guys enjoyed! I'll do my best to update weekly. Please review and let me know what you think!
