"Thank you." The words were out before anyone could stop them.

Swift, purposeful steps sounded in the cold, brightly lit hallway. Long legs naturally stumbled their way faster along than their shorter companion's. Furry paws clicked their way beside their loving owner. The shorter man struggled to maintain a natural walk that kept in pace with his guest.

"You're thanking a murderer." There was no dramatic coat to swish behind him as he strode forward like he knew where he was going.

"I'm thanking an old friend."

"We were never even once friends Katsuki."

Anger was blooming in Katsuki's stomach. They both knew where this conversation would lead. "Have you forgotten our childhood?"

Izuku stopped suddenly. So quickly that Katsuki almost rammed into him from behind. "I have not forgotten. You simply have beautified the truth. You're lying to yourself. And I know how unhealthy that is from fourteen years of it's poisonous exposure. I suggest you stop."

Katsuki didn't know how Izuku could speak so calmly; the roiling anger underneath his skin was evident but his words were only curt, not sharp enough to cut. It stung though. "And how have I lied?"

Izuku shook his head, turning away. "You do like asking the same questions time after time, even after I've answered them. Don't you ever grow weary of the repetition?"

"You never give answers I like."

"Hmm." Izuku continued on with barely any acknowledgement of Katsuki's tight response. "How close are we? I would like to get this over with." He ruffled Remy's fur and scratched her ears as Bakugo led him forward. He was alone in this facility. The others couldn't go without being recognized, treated with suspicion, and probably arrested before they even reached the building wherein Katsuki worked. They argued to come, of course. They were faithful and caring like that. Elija even offered to take Izuku in a car ride or accompany him, but he ended staying behind as well. At the mere reminder of the idea of a car ride, Izuku felt his panic prickling and beginning to rise. Remy felt it too. She nuzzled his fingers with her nose and licked his palm.

What a good girl. So empathetic and smart. Even with her odd personality and habits, she made for the best therapy and service dog. A test tube grown, genetically modified, brand new species, Remy was an adorable companion to have. She got a chin scratch for simply existing in his life and a whispered "good baby" from Izuku.

"What IS with the dog anyway? And why can't she have waited outside?"

Izuku covered the area over his heart with a mocking palm. "You would separate a traumatized young man from his beloved service dog?!" The mock accusatory tone in his voice reached a comical level that made Bakugo turn away with another growl. Izuku grinned at his back. He loved winning. And winning against Kacchan still felt new and oh so satisfying.

Izuku winked down at his dog. Remy panted happily in return, tan-gold tail wagging at dangerous speeds.

Katsuki opened a large set of doors, revealing a long set of stairs and rows of electronic archives. Izuku's mouth quirked upwards in pleasure. Knowledge, at his fingertips. This was his favorite tool, simply because he understood how to use it best, and no one could ever take his brain from him. He eagerly sped down the delicate stairs, outpacing Katsuki. His mouth was nearly watering as his eyes landed on computer tower after computer tower. Soft blue light was flooding the room, and Izuku let it fill him up. It was places like this where his blood thrilled in his veins. Training, fighting, parkour: none of it matched what he felt when he was creating or learning. So many things he had done in the scientific realm could have revolutionized the world; he was selfish though, for he hoarded the best for himself and his allies, though mostly for himself.

A ruffled, high pitched half growl sounded from the top of the stairs. Izuku and Katsuki turned to look upwards in sync. Remy was standing at the top of the stairs looking down at them with a wild look in her eyes. She was half whining, half growling, dancing in agitation.

"Remy, baby, we don't have time to play these games." His hands were on his hips, voice disapproving. Remy only moved with more agitation. Not a paw stood over the first step. "I'm not coming to get you." She let out a near bark. Izuku pointed his finger at her indignantly. "What if I was having a panic attack down here, huh? What could you do up there? Growl me into reality? Not gonna happen sweetheart, get down here."

Cautiously, unhappily, Remy climbed down the stairs -- backwards. Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing in disappointment. "Rems, why are you like this? What have stairs ever done to you in your life? Why are you scared of them?" A small nudge in his chest reminded Izuku that he was hypocritical for calling out his dog of all creatures for a strange fear, but he stomped it down. At least he had a semi-reasonable excuse for his irrational fear.

"What a weird dog you have." Katsuki spoke dryly, watching in amusement as Remy made her careful way backwards down the stairs. He smirked as Izuku sighed heavily again.

"She certainly is. You should see how she acts for a B-A-T-H."

"Fights?"

"Opposite; she thinks they're the best thing." Tired of the small steps, Izuku casually jumped the remaining distance to the floor.

He landed silently, proof that a new upgrade to his boots worked perfectly. He approached the main computer hub calmly as Katsuki rushed to accompany him, soft blue light illuminating their faces. Without flair, Izuku plopped himself into a thin wire chair and leaned close to the screen. "Time to get to work. Shouldn't take long."

"I still don't see why you couldn't just base your planning on the notes you already have. Why is all this, getting into the archives, actually important?" Katsuki tried to mask his curiosity with annoyance, but didn't quite pull it off.

"Because," Izuku sighed, "you could easily forget who all is going to be a part in this, I am liable for the same, and new developments may have happened that neither are yet aware of. Plus, this way, if any do arise, we both will already be fully up to date. Now shut up. This takes concentration."

And, silencing any further conversation between them, Izuku got to work. He plugged a long USB cord into the computer hub, and fumbled the other end into the back of his neck; his implants didn't simply allow him to materialize his suit from head to toe, it monitored his emotions and hormonal levels, as well (not to mention the port on his neck, which allowed him to control and move through any piece of technology as fast as his brain could allow). He was a living test subject for cyborg technology. Quite the successful subject as well.

Katsuki stared in wonder at the man before him, screens across the room flickering from subject to subject. If it wasn't for his ummistakeable traits (the green hair and eyes, those facial scars, and the name "Kacchan"), he doubted if he would have recognized Izuku at all. They had only really met once after Izuku's battle against All Might, and while he had changed plenty at that time, he'd changed so much more since then. So much had happened between them. It was hard to even recognize the memories of their younger selves.

Katsuki had been chosen personally by his idol, given the quirk of One for All, and was quickly rising to become the next top hero just as All Might had said he would.

Izuku had been left in the dust, taken in by a murderer, and trained to be one of the most dangerous people in Japan, having taken down even All Might (though the pro was weak already, Izuku was weaker and blinded at the time).

They had fought when they had met up again. It was only months after the Incident, and very special circumstances, but they had fought. Both had driven each other to the edge; time after time after time. Each battle, Izuku came out on top. No matter how many times Katsuki pushed himself back to his feet, no matter how many times he landed a blow, no matter how many tears were held back on either side, Izuku won. He had failed all his life to Kacchan, but now, since he was taken in by Akaguro, Izuku had never failed.

A gentle click of heels alerted Bakugo to someone approaching him. He didn't have to turn to know who it was. He was all too familiar with that gentle, yet almost hasty, high heel walk.

"Hey babe." He greeted quietly when a calloused hand rubbed his shoulder.

"Hey." Ochako Uraraka gave her boyfriend a side hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "You looked moody when I came down here. Thinking about old times?" A grunt answered her question. "You brood on the past too much I think. Izu would say the same I bet." Another grunt. "Speaking of, what is he doing?"

Katsuki waved a hand vaguely at Izuku sitting still and motionless. "Researching details on every Pro who is going to be a part of . . . you know what. He says it'll help him plan. Dunno what his weird dog is doing though."

Said weird dog was curled up in her owner's lap, far too big to fit and far to big to care. She licked Ochako's outstretched fingertips with an inquisitive look in her eye that said, "who are you? Do I like you? I like you."

"What a cute girl, but that's not what I meant. The, cord?"

Katsuki shrugged. "How would I know? He wouldn't tell me things like that even if I asked."

"I always thought he liked people to ask, so he could show off."

"Definately not asking then." Katsuki's voice was tight, but Uraraka didn't press. She knew how stressful and tense the situation was between them.

"I'll ask then, when he finishes. I like sciencey, futuristic things." A couple small dog treats she kept in her purse earned her more licks and increased tail wagging. She passed by a cute dog every day to and from work, and you never knew when you might pass a dog on the sidewalk.

"Have it your way."

Izuku had already finished his research on the Pros involved (and some who weren't) and a list of possible ideas for attack, among other details that would be beneficial to his planning. But they didn't know that. Didn't need to, honestly. He had a little surprise planned for a friend of his, and opened up a new string of files, stealing from right under noses of Pros themselves. It was far from his first time.

-- later that day --

"Thanks for this by the way Izuku. I've been needing a day out for a while now."

"Ahh, don't mention it M'issa. I'm allowed to spoil friends aren't I? Besides, think of it as an early birthday present."

Melissa Shield chuckled around a mouthful of steak. The American style restaurant was rather empty while still providing enough ambient conversation to keep them from having to whisper. For once in their strange friendship, Izuku and Melissa could talk at normal volumes, like normal people, about very abnormal and sensitive material, without worry that anyone would hear. It was quite relaxing. Food wasn't half bad either.

"'Zu, my birthday wasn't long ago."

Head bent down to his food, he turned his gaze upwards and quirked one eyebrow the same. "Late present then. Picky."

She had a delicate laugh, even when they started playing their little teasing games. "Heh heh heh. So, I take it there's some reason you randomly asked me out on a friend date? Is it important?"

Izuku shrugged, stuffing mash potatoes and gravy into his mouth with desperate vigour. "Nah, not really. Just got ya a little something and wanted to catch up. Got some actually important things going down right now, and I need a stress relieving break before I face that."

"Gotcha. Just got out of one of those. Nightmare, that was."

"Ugh, yeah. Talk about whatever really. I'm open."

A strange smile slid it's way onto Melissa's face, eyes glinting mischieviously. "Anything?"

This question gave Izuku pause, gaze returning back to his friend's face. ". . . Yyyyes?" Mistake.

"So, even, a certain, just hypothetically you understand, Miss Hatsume?"

Izuku's face may not have been totally visible, but his ears were, and they were a tale tell shade of pink. And oh, that gave Melissa all of the wonderful teasing best friend feelings, watching him squirm and trying to hide it. To be fair, Izuku handled himself with dignity. For a little while.

"And what, hypothetically, would we talk about concerning Miss Mei?" Voice, carefully neutral. Face, set in stone. Head, lifted slightly to imply he had nothing to hide (though it was still rather bent towards his food).

"Well, hypothetically," she grinned, for she truly loved playing games with Izuku. "We could talk about what she likes to talk about a lot."

"Hypotatically, what would that be?"

Time to break him. "Well, hypothetically in this totally hypothetical situation that has ABSOLUTELY NO real support in our every day lives, she could, hypothetically still, talk about a certain revolutionary mechanic and scientist, who hypothetically has revolutionized society and could, hypothetically, revolutionize our way of living ten times over. And, completely hypothetically, he is sitting right in front of me, red as a Corvette."

All semblance of dignity had abandoned Izuku now. He was gripping his knife tightly, glaring up at Melissa behind a mess of curly green bangs. His voice was strained, clearly struggling to get even one word out.

"Why."

"Beacuse I love you and I want to see you suffer." Her smug demeanor dominated Izuku's weak defenses. He crumbled.

"How? How is that love?"

"That's bestie love, my bro. This is how it goes."

He jabbed a finger in her face. "No. I have a best friend, and he, he," the finger fell away. "Oh who am I kidding. Toy would do the same."

Melissa laughed, laying a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "You're hopeless 'Zu. C'mon, I thought you were this amazing, hardcore, death metal killer. Get yourself together and catch up with her. Be a gentleman, bro."

He sighed, all fight leaving him. "For the record, I am all those things. And, just for you, I'll consider it. Still got that important crap to do."

"Great! What is that anyway?" Victory was sweet and Melissa was enjoying it while it lasted.

"Top secret, big villain and Pro stuff. It's all the League again. They're making an army and everything, planning to destroy society in one big move, yada yada. You can see the situation that comes of that, and how I'm not supposed to be telling you these things." He winked slyly, the flush leaving his face.

"Psht. We both knew you would tell me regardless. Got a plan?"

"Yeah, working on one. Kacchan got me into the Pro Hero archives so I could see who I'd be dealing with. Did a little exploring too, which is where I got your gift." He handed over a small USB drive, which was completely ordinary looking.

"What is this?" Her voice was filled with excitement and she looked the small device up and down.

"Its a USB."

"Thank you, oh wise one. Truly, you are beyond me. Seriously though. What's on it."

"Plug it into your miniature laptop you keep with you and you'll see," Izuku managed through his chuckling.

"Hey, how do you know I have one? Rummaging through a lady's purse?" Despite the tease, the sleek computer was already sitting before her.

"I looked for mechanical devices when I entered. Do that all the time now." Izuku decided it was due time for a return tease.

"Really?! How long have you had that?!"

"Oh, that old installment? Let's see, I've had it since, about," he sent a quick glance down to his watch "ten seconds ago. OW!" She swiftly kicked him under the table, already scanning the files he'd brought her. "What was that for?"

"Never tease a lady Izu."

"You -- literally -- I was -- ugh, never mind."

Marissa was staring wide eyed at the small screen, ignoring Izuku's muttered empty threats. He'd brought her scientific and technological files, long forgotten; an old Pro's theories on what kind of support items would benefit his quirk the best, an assistant tech with a brilliant mind for designs but lacking in skills and resources to fulfill his plans, detailed lists on various quirks and how they could be enhanced. It would bump her research and work up to a whole new level. "Woah, Izuku! This is awesome, thank you!"

"Welcome, annoying bestie."

She snapped the laptop shut and smirked at him. "I'm sharing this with Mei," she half sang.

Izuku felt his pale face flush once again. "I repeat, annoying bestie."

And with that, they were back to their food, talking like normal people again. Nothing about them would ever be normal, but it was fun to pretend that they were once in a while.

A/N

So, another long update time. I got sucked into SVTFOE, and whoo boy I got obsessed fast. Anyway, next chapter I am planning to jump right into the big battle WHOO, and that's all fighting and big important things. Big fight's going to be three chapters at most, probably two. Again, this book is gonna be short, bear in mind. T'will hopefully be quite the rollercoaster.

That mention of a time when Izu and Kacchan met up and fought a bunch is actually a part of a crossover I wanna do with Cruel here and canon bnha. Assuming I ever get my lazy and indecisive butt to write it. And whenever the "Incident" is mentioned, that is just Izu's fight with AM.

Also, if you guys have any suggestions for the Cruel Oneshots, like certain times you wanna see (izu's initial training period, more concerning certain events talked about in story, after end of either first or second book) ideas you've come up with, or other things, tell me. I'm still planning on going over Chisaki and Eri, and DARCRY1's reveal suggestions (no I haven't forgotten, I'm just lazy (idk if you're even still here, ya havent commented in forever, but I promised my fren)).

Dieokileteous, sorry I took so long, hope the shortness doesn't disappoint.

And CadB, my man. I left '--*hero name here*--' on purpose, since I was, again, too lazy to think of one, and legit, he doesn't matter.

That's all, thank you all for sticking with me and SO LONG LOVIES!