Katsuki remembers. Even with the erosion of time and his perception of the events that took place, he remembers. When he remembers a name, they hold significance, importance. They were the ones who made an impression on him, and unsurprisingly, these were the people he met at the battlefield, whether they remembered him or not.
Toshinori Yagi… Midoriya Izuku… Uraraka Ochako… Those were only a handful of names he listed.
Uraraka was a memorable woman, fierce and protective, for she truly believed in her cause. Her role in the war was priceless. Even up to this day, thousands, the ones who survived and lived to tell the tale, continued to thank her for her service. Her bravery was one many envied. Her quirk was invaluable for rescue. With it, she would enter the fray and touch as many victims as her limitations would allow it. From there medical personnel would rush into the scene to gather as many as possible into a gurney and flee them to the nearest medical tent.
Katsuki had his orders. It was a coincidence that he came across her.
He doesn't remember the exact time frame. Was it a year ago? Was it two?
All he could recall was the moment he explosively entered the fight, guns blazing with a devil may cry grin. He always smiled no matter the circumstances because that was how he instilled fear into the enemies' hearts. People called him a demon for that. Well, they were not wrong.
Uraraka saw him as he crackled explosions from his palms. She felt the pit of her stomach drop and knew that at this rate, they were going to die. Her response team consisted of people who only knew how to rescue and defend with limited offensive ability. Their quirks were not meant for combat, which is why they chose this area of expertise.
She reached a split-second decision. Everyone was going to live- everyone, except for her.
"Go!" she urged her team and sprinted in the opposite direction, heading towards the soldier with the explosion quirk.
As she sprinted to her death, she continued tapping more wounded soldiers in hopes of her team picking them up as they retreat. She doesn't know how much time she can buy for them. She doesn't know how much longer she can distract this volatile man.
When Katsuki aimed his palms, ready to ignite and blow her out of the way, she pressed her fingertips against each other.
"Release!"
Without a moment to spare, she subsequently reactivated her quirk and made herself weightless. She floated to the sky, missing the center of impact by a hair's breadth, but the explosion itself knocked her off her trajectory.
Katsuki smirked, slightly impressed by her quick wit, but those thoughts were futile. He was not allowed to let her go unscathed. No survivors. Period.
However, before he could blow her to bits, she postured herself into an all-too-familiar stance once she reached the ground. His blood turned cold.
Knees bent, and fists raised, she said, without a quiver in her lips, "I issue a challenge."
His blood boiled.
A barrage of explosions erupted from his palms once again, and he took satisfaction as he watched her flinch in fear.
"You think you have the right to challenge me?" Katsuki taunted as he stomped towards her trembling form. "You? The traitor," he spat into the ground, "The traitor who sided with the enemy?"
"We are only enemies to ourselves," she replied cryptically. "But know this," she said with eyes brimming with determination, "I side with no one."
Instead, there was one man she chose to follow, for he made her realize the errors of this war and the faults in its cause. She entrusted Midoriya Izuku with her life, and she will gladly lay down her life to save their people, regardless of which kingdom they fought for.
"Stop speaking in riddles," Katsuki growled. "Tell me who you're working for, and I might even spare your life."
"Then accept my challenge," she told him.
Her plan was an impromptu one and practically suicidal. Her team were tiny dots at the horizon, and for that, she was relieved. However, though they had a good running start, she doesn't want to take any chances.
"Fine," said Katsuki.
He imitated her stance and added, "On one condition."
"What is it?"
"We use our quirks."
Uraraka hesitated.
She weighed her options. "If I win, you won't chase after them."
If she won, then Katsuki would be dead. She would run free. Her team would run free.
"If you lose," Katsuki countered, "Then I can do whatever the hell I want."
Lives were at stake. She would hold herself accountable if more died. She cannot lose.
Uraraka took a shuddered breath.
"Think like a man of action," she recited the code, her heart thundering in her chest.
Usually she would guard her face, but this was a battle of quirks. Even shielding her face would be futile against Katsuki's explosions.
"Act like a man of thought," Katsuki grinned maniacally and spurted forward.
He was deft with his feet and used his explosions to propel himself even faster than her calculations. He went right up to her face, palms alight, ready to scorch the skin off her face until Uraraka bent backwards and dodged his frontal attack. In mid-air, Katsuki aimed his right arm to the sky. He was going to release another explosion to slam into her body, but she strengthened her core and kicked upward, forcing him to move out of the way, which ultimately distanced him from her.
Uraraka crouched down and ran towards him. Katsuki twitched his fingers, felt his palms slick with sweat, and blasted at her direction. By luck, she dodged unscathed. Uraraka prolonged the duration of the fight by running and dodging while also leading them in the opposite direction. However, Katsuki was a tenacious fighter. Both knew the outcome. Her stamina would not last for long.
Debris was everywhere and clouded his vision. He clicked his tongue and stood still as his eyes roamed around. He was foolish. Even though he was experienced, he shouldn't have been caught up in the momentum of the fight like a goddamn rookie. By forgetting to minimize his quirk usage, he had set up the perfect opportunity for her to launch a surprise attack.
Women were fearsome warriors. Katsuki knew that, for he learned from the best – his mother. She was no delicate flower. She was at the peak of the hierarchy for a reason. Katsuki knew better than to underestimate his opponent because if he did, his mother would have uprooted him from his grave and slaughtered him herself.
He sensed a presence behind him.
He whipped around and lunged forward, his hand reaching for the shadow in front of him. His instincts screamed for him to go back, and he realized his mistake as he grabbed onto fabric without a human attached to it.
"Shit."
Once he let out the expletive, he turned around to face a huge ass boulder coming straight for him. She must have used her quirk to fling it at him. Without a second thought, he obliterated it, creating even more debris than before, and in chess terms, that would have been Uraraka's checkmate. The smoke parted, and there she loomed over him with a dagger in her hand.
In theory, she would have won if she plunged it into his neck. It would have been instant death. She would have survived. However, life was cruel and unfair, and her luck ran out as Katsuki reflexively used his arm to block and allowed her to stab it. Without anywhere to take cover, Katsuki hit his target.
Boom.
A wretched scream ripped from the woman's lips as she crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop. She wheezed in pain as she held onto her charred side with blood and skin coating her uniform. A crippled cry escaped her as tears stained her cheeks. She pounded the ground, frustration oozing from her debilitated form. She lost.
Katsuki wore a somber frown as he pulled out the dagger in his arm. It was only a flesh wound, and she didn't stab a vital spot. This victory does not bolster his pride. She was a worthy opponent, but it was an absolute shame that she had to die by his hands instead of cultivating her skills for the future. It was like nipping potential in the bud. Even though she was untrained, she maneuvered herself, adapted to her surroundings, and fought tooth and nail. He doesn't want to kill her, but he must. Those were his orders.
"Yield or die?" he asked.
"I was born and raised in Nethereal. You know my answer," she spat.
A person with honor and dignity will always choose death.
Her breaths were heavy. She sounded like a deflated chew toy when she spoke. "A deal is a deal," she said in a feeble voice. "A loss is a loss."
"Midoriya…" She grunted in pain as she held her wound. "Midoriya Izuku… That is his name."
Some called her trust misguided, but she believed in Midoriya Izuku regardless of the rumors. This war was stupid, pitting people against each other while darkness worked behind the shadows. They succeeded, robbing the innocents of peace and security while manipulating the bigger players like puppets. She doesn't stand for that. She stands for justice. She stands for the symbol of peace.
Katsuki's face lit up in recognition when he heard the name. The angel of the battlefield was known for rushing into the front lines, saving any soul without checking if they were friend or foe.
Uraraka spoke again, but this time, it was for a favor.
Katsuki sneered. With the current circumstances, he had an inkling of what she was going to ask of him.
"If you're gonna beg me to spare your life, don't waste your breath."
Uraraka laughed derisively. It was a mocking, grating laugh. "I'm not that pathetic, you ass."
She then groaned in pain, and it was a harsh reminder that she was bleeding out, just moments away from her destruction. Patches of her skin was singed. Dirt-filled air clogged her throat.
"Please…" she pleaded. "After you finish me off… Can you perform the proper funeral rites for me?"
Katsuki stared, confuzzled.
He shook his head. "I don't understand…"
Uraraka smiled sadly. "The Kingdom of Esphur do them differently."
With her free hand, she patted the ground. "When their soldiers die, they bury them, so that their bodies would decompose and return to the soil, where they can contribute back to nature and all the living things that walk upon it."
It was a lovely approach to the afterlife, but they differed from what the people of Nethereal preferred. For them, the deceased would be cremated after a full day of prayer, and afterwards, their ashes would be transported to the peak of a mountain where the wind would carry them away. They desired to be closer to the stars and travel as far as the wind would take them. The philosophy was to be everywhere and anywhere, for though they were a speck in this vast universe, they were a speck that could go the distance.
If Uraraka died on Esphur soil, she would have been buried beneath the ground, and for her, that would have been a cruel fate. Yes, she fought for Midoriya Izuku, but if possible, she does not want to be buried against her wishes. Her friend was a sensitive and understanding man, and he promised to cremate her if he found her body, but he also warned that this was a war, and wishes were difficult to fulfill in these troubling times. Those were the risks, and Uraraka accepted them graciously.
But here, she had an opportunity to ensure her wishes would be respected.
Katsuki doesn't know what overcame him at that moment. Years later Izuku would tell him that it was compassion that made him hold Uraraka's hand, gripped it so tight so that she would be at ease, but that couldn't be right. There was no space for such frivolities in this war.
"What is your name?" he asked quietly.
At first, there was silence, and Katsuki feared that she breathed her last.
"Uraraka… Ochako…" She answered him. It sounded frail and weak.
"I will," he told her as he placed his hand on her head. He would make this a swift death to end her suffering. "Rest assured, Uraraka Ochako, I will forever remember your name."
Traitors deserved execution. They didn't deserve mercy, but as Katsuki tried and failed to smile, he knew this execution felt wrong. However, he was a soldier first, and a human second.
Before he ignited his sweat, before his hands were stained with blood once more, he heard the ear-splitting screech of an engine flaring to life.
"Recipro Burst!"
An armored leg swung for his head, and though Katsuki attempted to move, it still made contact against his cheek. The force of the kick was powerful, powerful enough to fling Katsuki into the air as the intruder scooped Uraraka into his arms and sped away. Katsuki should have followed them. His wounds were only cosmetic with a couple scuffs on the exterior. He would have won, too, if the puttering smoke on the knight's legs and the deadweight in his arms were evident enough.
A deal was a deal. A win was a win. If he won, he could do whatever the hell he wanted.
Katsuki rubbed his cheek and hissed. There was no question that he would sport a nasty bruise by nightfall. He turned around, exhausted of today's events. Later he would return to camp and report to his superiors on the lead he had on Midoriya Izuku, for he was a person they have been targeting for ever since he raided enemy territory and freed a bunch of war prisoners.
Even so, he doesn't like these orders. He never expected them to stoop so low to target medical teams. It seemed like a coward's move, but he bit his tongue and moved on because there was no room for debate. An inner voice in his head told him to not mention Uraraka Ochako and the knight in shining armor, and to his surprise, he listened to it.
This was not mercy, he told himself. He was just honoring the code. He did whatever the hell he wanted.
However, not everything was just water under the bridge, for this decision would come back to bite him a month later when he was assigned his new mission: to assassinate Midoriya Izuku.
At the crack of dawn, the boys woke up, sore and aching and well-slept from last night's activities. After showering, Katsuki hurriedly applied makeup to any areas with noticeable scrapes or discolored skin, which were few and far between. Sure, it was reckless of them to spar in the first place, but they were extra careful. They don't want to provide the tabloids evidence of a possible abusive relationship. That would be preposterous.
This was slightly unrelated and Katsuki doesn't want to brag, but he won last night's match.
The two went off in their respective directions. For Katsuki, he promised to eat a hearty breakfast with his parents and escort them to the rose garden where they would meet Izuku's parents. One major concern about the wedding was the meshing of their clashing cultures, but their wedding planner took that into account and somehow managed to seamlessly accommodate for everybody.
One change was the visitations. Traditionally in the Kingdom of Esphur, the groom's parents visit the bride's hometown where they would formally greet the bride's parents and offer them a lavish dowry. For the people of Nethereal, those formalities were arbitrary. Instead, there was a bigger focus on the ceremony itself.
Their families compromised on meeting at the rose garden to exchange the gifts and presents there since it was only for presentation. There was no actual bargaining taking place, and the setting was casual enough for Katsuki's parents to accept the terms. At first, the boys were hesitant for their parents to meet and mingle since they were previous enemies in a decade-long war, but those concerns were dashed as they saw Queen Mitsuki reunite with her old childhood friend. Izuku even got misty-eyed over the reunion with his mother bawling her eyes out on Queen Mitsuki's shoulder.
Izuku supposed that with his biological father's death, the queen was more susceptible to bury the hatchet and rebuild those burnt bridges. Also, she seemed to trust Toshinori Yagi more than his late father. He doesn't blame her. His surrogate father was revered as one of the greatest knights in history, and as a king, he was a benevolent ruler despite his inexperience in ruling a kingdom. Rather than raging an all-out war, Toshinori approached politics with a kinder but firmer stance. He was not the type who shot first and asked questions later.
Albeit begrudgingly, Katsuki remembered this man. He was a fearsome opponent who overpowered anyone who stood in his path - himself included. It left a bitter taste in Katsuki's tongue to admit that he had to retreat whenever the legendary All Might stepped foot into the war zone. Even so, the man held insurmountable strength and fierce dedication for his people. In his book, that deserved respect. It was a rarity to find a person of his caliber.
There was another pest like him, Katsuki thought as he eyed Izuku. He was about to leave him be, but then he stopped. One look at the nerd, and he figured out that he was upset.
Katsuki roughly kicked against Izuku's calf with the heel of his foot. Izuku jumped and swung his head to glare at him. Katsuki glanced at their parents. He doesn't want them to overhear their conversation, so he spoke in a lowered voice.
"What's the matter with you?" he probed. He tilted his head and searched for any obvious tells.
Initially, he assumed that Izuku was a sore loser, but that was ludicrous. Izuku was a competitive person, but he wouldn't get upset over a simple tussle.
True to his character, he replied, "Nothing."
If nothing meant wearing a sad and forlorn expression as if he murdered a puppy in cold blood, then yeah, sure, it was nothing. Nothing, his ass.
Katsuki quirked his lips in annoyance.
"Wow," he scoffed. "What? You don't trust me enough to tell me what's hurting you?"
Still, Izuku said nothing back. Katsuki clicked his tongue.
"I guess after everything I told you, you can't do the same for me."
He briskly walked away. "Some friend you are," he left those last words in hopes that it struck Izuku's core. He was playing dirty, but he doesn't have the time to dance around his fiancé's sensibilities.
Oblivious to Katsuki's absence, his parents were comfortable at the gazebo they resided in as they were served biscuits and tea. Izuku's parents laughed along with them, most likely reminiscing the old days or nostalgic shit like that.
He waited for a few seconds.
"Kacchan, wait!"
Bingo.
Izuku jogged to his side, the soles of his feet slapping against the brick road. He clutched onto the sleeve of his shirt with a guilt-ridden look.
"I'm just…" he fumbled over his words. "It's what Iida-kun told me this morning," he confessed.
Katsuki wasn't expecting that name to come out of his lips. It doesn't ring a bell.
"Who?"
"Iida-kun, my best friend," he explained with earnest.
No offense, but it's cute that Izuku thinks that Katsuki cared enough to memorize who his friends looked like. Hell, people in general were lucky if he christened them with a nickname after their first meeting.
Izuku caught on that Katsuki doesn't remember and blew out a puff of air in frustration.
"Blue hair and glasses," Izuku cited off some of his notable characteristics. "When he gets enthusiastic, he gesticulates a lot. His quirk allows him to have engines on his calves."
A bespectacled man flashed in his mind, but it was brief. If he recalled correctly, he was at Uraraka's side when he saw her arrival, but then another thought occurred to him because now he knew that Iida had engines on his legs. The knight who intervened in his fight against Uraraka had the same quirk. To dampen the panic, he played off nonchalance.
"I think I saw Four Eyes once. What about him?"
Besides the slight irritation of the nickname, Izuku looked as if he struck a nerve. When he asked that, Izuku casted his eyes to the ground and gripped the hem of his shirt, thumbing it incessantly until it wrinkled and creased. He would have torn it apart, too, if he wasn't having too much trouble formulating words.
He explained detachedly, "Iida-kun was supposed to be my best man for this wedding."
He paused and let the realization sink in. Izuku doesn't have a best man. Uraraka ended up as his maid of honor.
"He doesn't…" For Izuku, the sting was still fresh even though it has been months ever since the rejection. "He doesn't accept our marriage, so… He won't attend the ceremony or reception."
He was thankful that it was a peaceful form of protest, but it was disheartening to not have his best friend be there to support him, to congratulate him. He was even more heartbroken when Iida told him beforehand that he wasn't here to change his mind but to only escort Uraraka here safely.
"Well," Katsuki said awkwardly. "That sucks. Why?"
There was a complicated answer and a short answer. The short answer would have been Iida's protective streak for the people he loved and cared for. The complicated answer ran deeper, for it was Iida who strung Izuku into his personal grudges and besought Stain's head on a pike. It was Iida who shared Izuku's burden of an innocent child's death and helped him bury her grave. It was Izuku who brought him back to the light and punched reason into his revenge-addled brain, and it was Izuku who was going to marry a violent man, one who nearly killed one of his closest friends.
This morning Iida came across Izuku during the time he left to fetch his parents. The man expressed his concerns again and tried to persuade Izuku to leave Katsuki at the altar. He wanted to give him a way out, but Izuku's answer was the same as last time. He loves Katsuki. He won't run away. Iida cannot change his mind.
He doesn't tell Katsuki the complicated answer, but he told him about what transpired this morning.
Guilt-ridden, Katsuki finally blurted out, "I think it's my fault. I have something to say."
"If it's about the fact that you almost killed Uraraka-san," Izuku said, "Then yeah, he was also salty about that."
Katsuki widened his eyes. "You knew about that?"
Izuku nodded. There was an unsaid pact between them to not disclose too much about their past in fear of bringing a can of worms to the table. Izuku was aware of Uraraka's near-death experience; he was the one who mainly treated her. He never knew Katsuki was the one who inflicted those scars upon her until he revealed the news of his engagement to his friends.
"I found out when I told my friends that I was going to marry you."
In hindsight, that should have been obvious to Katsuki. Izuku would have found out sooner or later.
"Then why did you still agree to marry me?"
"Iida-kun didn't take the news well. He was livid and wouldn't speak to me for days." For the first time ever since they started this conversation, Izuku lifted his head and stared into his eyes. "I was doubtful about this engagement. I was having second thoughts, but then Uraraka, of all people, vouched for you."
Katsuki was speechless, and Izuku nodded because he understood his bafflement. No sane person would defend their attacker, and he was partially right.
"Don't worry," Izuku said as if he wanted to reassure Katsuki that his friend didn't lose her marbles, "She still doesn't understand why I fell in love with you, but something she said stuck with me."
Katsuki stared straight ahead. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. The roses were in full bloom. The temperature was just right. Minus the bags under his eyes, Izuku looked handsome in his suit.
Katsuki blinked. "What did she say?"
Izuku gave him a crooked smile. Uraraka was a traitor. She was called a scumbag who left her kingdom to join Izuku's ranks even though her crime was just abandoning her post to save as many people as possible. Even though her people threw her away, she never threw away her people, her origins, her loyalty.
"In my opinion," she said back then, "You guys don't seem compatible at all. For some couples, they're a match made in heaven, but for you two, you guys are a match made in hell."
"Can you believe that?" Izuku laughed. "She said that to my face."
Katsuki snorted. Indeed, they were a match made in hell.
"She told me that despite everything, you were an honest man."
Izuku remembered how stern she sounded, how certain she was in her statement. An honest man was hard to find in this pointless war. Most of them were dead.
"I don't know what you did for her," Izuku said, "But it must have been important. I don't need you to be nice, or sweet, or caring. I just needed someone trustworthy enough to pull this deal off, and I got what I wanted."
"I see," Katsuki said because there was nothing else to say.
Then, he asked, "Do you regret it?"
"No," Izuku said without hesitation.
Even though his relationship with Iida soured, he knew their friendship was stronger than this spat. A wise person once told him that he shouldn't half-ass this war, that there would be tough sacrifices along the way. Iida was one of those sacrifices, and it was a sacrifice Izuku was willing to make.
"But it's not all bad. It's just my best friend not going to my wedding," Izuku tried for levity. "How much worse could it be?"
"Emergency! Emergency!"
As if on cue, Kirishima sprinted towards them, disheveled and frenetic. His hair was a gelled mess, and his clothes were in disarray. If Katsuki didn't know any better, he thought they were under attack. Kirishima blubbered and flushed red as he stuttered out the reason why he was here.
"We lost the ring!"
Never mind, Katsuki thought, it just got worse.
