Bury A Friend
Chapter One: Katsuki Bakugou
Past
Muddy and cold, Izuku entered her home as quietly as she could and slipped her shoes off at the door. Despite the living room light being on, it was obvious no one else was home, as the rest of the house was dark. Perfect. She knew her mother had to work but, for some reason, had been hopeful she was home to comfort her. Izuku hardly sought out the comfort when Katsuki and his friends had picked on her, but today had been the last straw.
Being alone, she found nothing else to do than to take a hot shower to wash the mud and dirt from her shivering form. While she normally tried to make her showers quick, Izuku decided to just stand under the scolding hot water until it started to run cold. She then climbed out, dried off and dressed in some warm, black sweat pants and an orange, rather big hoodie.
This outfit had been custom made by Mitsuki for her, for the mornings she decided to take a jog, so of course 'Team King Explosion Murder' was printed up the left leg of the pants, and across the back of the hoodie in red.
Izuku then slowly made her way to her room and opened up her laptop, before typing up a short and simple email.
Dear Katsuki Bakugou;
It's clear that our friendship is over. You haven't been the same since second grade, and I'm not sure how much more I can take from you and your friends. Farewell.
With that, she hit send and grabbed a bottle of medicine that had been sitting inside the drawer of her desk, before making her way over to her bed and curling underneath the heavy quilt. During that time, she stared at the bottle of pills in her hand until she had drifted off.
Present
It had been four years since Izuku had seen any of her old classmates. And while she wanted to keep it that way, she knew returning from America back to her home town would cause her to have to see them. All of them. But, since she had been back, she had met a few nice people she enjoyed hanging out with. And these people had talked her into going out on this particularly nice day to enjoy her summer vacation before they started back to school. Among the group was Shoto Todoroki, Ochako Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui and Tenya Iida.
They found themselves at an arcade bar, where Izuku had dragged Ochako over to the dance game area while Shoto sat with Iida at a table, pizza and drinks at the ready, while Tsu cheered on her two best friends playing Dance Dance Revolution. Neither girl playing realized the crowd they drew as they danced away, both getting high scores, Izuku winning by a mere twenty points. When the crowd around them erupted into applause and cheering, Izuku felt her face heat up as she looked to Ochako, who laughed and clapped her hand on the greenette's back with a grin. "Look at that, Izu, you have fans." The brunette chuckled as they moved off the stages to gather back with Asui, before the three returned to the table, unaware of the red-eyed blonde watching them with mixed emotions written all over his face.
Eijiro, however, had taken instant notice of Katsuki's current situation and hurried over to the blonde, ushering him out of the arcade, and away from prying ears.
As Izuku took her seat with the others, Shoto slid a plate with two slices of pizza in front of her, giving a weak smile as she grinned back and dug in while Ochako and Tenya began to chat about how excited they were for the start of the new school year, Asui rolling her eyes at the two. "C'mon, we still have six weeks. Let us enjoy summer first." Asui pouted, causing Izuku to chuckle and Shoto to shake his head a bit at them. "I have an idea for tonight. We should have a slumber party!" Asui then said, somewhat excited. Izuku seemed to perk up at this as she grinned.
"Yes! Let's do it! But, at who's house?" Izuku asked, looking between the other three at the table. Her place was out of the question, as she lived in a small, two bedroom apartment with her mom. Ochako shook her head.
"Can't do it at my place. Parents are remodeling." The brunette said, glancing then to Tenya, then Shoto.
"We can have it at my place. My old man will be out of town for a few more days, and Dabi's too busy to even pay attention to who I have over." Shoto chimed in then.
"Then it's settled!" Izuku chirped, clapping her hands together, before squeaking when she heard her phone go off. It was her alarm. Dismissing it, she gave her friends an apologetic smile as she picked up her jacket. "Sorry you guys. I promised Mom I'd head home for a couple hours, there's a few things she needs help with. But I'll text you in a bit to get a game plan." She said, hugging the other two girls, patting Tenya and Shoto on the shoulder as she passed them to head home. Shoto watched after her a moment, blushing a dark shade of red when he felt an elbow in his side and turned to see Ochako smirking at him playfully.
"It's not like that, Uraraka." Shoto tried to defend himself, shooting Tenya a glare when the other male spoke up.
"It kinda seems you do have a thing for her. You watch her quite often." Tenya spoke up this time, giving a nervous chuckle when Shoto's glare landed on him.
"She's had it kind of rough, I just worry about her well being. That's it."
"If you say so, Shoto." Asui spoke up this time, laughing with Ochako at the darkening blush.
Outside, Eijiro had just barely managed to keep Katsuki from having a public melt down, and Katsuki had finally convinced the redhead that he'd be fine to head home on his own, because he just needed to lay down and rest some, promising that Eijiro would still be welcome to come by later to stay again. And, as he was just a few blocks away, he stopped to stare at the apartment building he used to frequent. He hadn't seen Izuku, or Inko for that matter, in a few years. Part of him wanted to go up, to see if they still lived on the third floor. However, his train of thought was interrupted by a way too familiar nickname.
"Kaachan?" Katsuki felt his blood run cold as he snapped around, coming face-to-face with the object of his nightmares.
"Fuck! Shit, what the fuck, Deku?!" He snapped, trying to calm himself as he glared. Though, he couldn't believe the transformation he was seeing in front of him. The baggy t-shirts had been replaced by a form-fitting, long sleeved crop-top. The baggy pants and shorts replaced by tight, short shorts. Her once short hair was now at mid-back length while pulled up into a pony tail, and was that makeup he was seeing? And, although she was still wearing boots, these were a little more on the girly, combat-boot style. "You can't fucking sneak up on people like that, you know." Katsuki then covered, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Haven't changed much, have you?" Izuku asked with a frown, glaring back for a moment, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Ah well, can't win them all, I guess." She muttered, digging into her black, leather jacket for a set of keys, carefully walking past the blonde. "Either way, you're welcome to come inside. Mom isn't home, though." She muttered, heading towards the stairs. For whatever reason, Katsuki couldn't help when he reached out and grabbed her arm, causing her to flinch and jerk away as she spun around, glaring at him. "Do not touch me again." She growled out, clenching her keys in her hand, startling the blonde.
"What the fuck ever, Deku. Look, just...where the fuck have you been for the past four years?" Izuku paused at this, raising a brow as she tilted her head. As the question processed, she let out a small, bitter laugh.
"You want to know where I've been for the past four years? I've been in America. There were things I needed to get away from here, and Mom found a great doctor over..."
"Doctor? What the hell for?! And why the fuck are you wearing long sleeves and a jacket in the middle of summer?" Katsuki cut her off, watching her carefully. Izuku let out another sigh, shaking her head.
"I don't think that's any of your business, Kaachan. I have to get inside, though. I have a few things I need to take care of before tonight. So, if you're not coming in, then leave please." Izuku then said, turning to head up the stairs. This only fueled Katsuki's anxiety and anger, and he let out a low growl, clenching his fists.
"You're still a little worthless, piece of shit, Deku!" He yelled after her, instantly regretting the words as she paused halfway up the first flight of steps and turned to him with the same dead look she had given him four years ago.
"Yeah, I kinda figured you'd say that. Goodbye, Katsuki." And she continued up the steps. Katsuki wasn't sure which one stabbed the deepest; the look she had given him, or the lack of the nickname she had so lovingly given him when they were toddlers. He couldn't pull his eyes off her form as she made her way up to her floor and towards her door. There was a part of him that wanted to yell out to her, to say something, anything, to keep her from disappearing behind that door. However, his pride kept him from doing so. So he watched as Izuku unlocked her door, and disappeared inside the apartment. There was nothing left for him to do but to head home himself.
Once inside the comfort of his own room, Katsuki kicked his shoes off and walked over to his laptop, pulling up his emails and clicking on a saved email from four years ago. He read and reread those life-changing words, the 'final' goodbye, and couldn't help but wonder what had happened to cause her to have to leave the country to find a new doctor. And without thinking, or even knowing what he really wanted to say, he started to reply to the email.
Deku…
It's been four fucking years. You disappeared for four damn years. There was no word about what happened to you. Everyone just assumed you died or something. Not even the old hag would tell me anything. She and your mom haven't spoken much either. It's like they avoided each other at all costs. I think you owe me a fucking explanation, nerd. What happened to you? Why did you go to America for a doctor? And why on fucking EARTH are you wearing long sleeves in the middle of the God damn summer?! It's too hot for that shit! Just...Fucking tell me where you were and why!
And before he could think twice, he sent the email and stared at the computer screen for almost an hour without realizing he had been. When he snapped out of the trance he was in, Katsuki got up and was about to angrily slam his laptop shut when it dinged at him, alerting him to an email. He couldn't remember a time he was so quick to see what it was, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about seeing the response he had received.
Katsuki,
You really wanna know? We'll see how this year goes, huh? This is all I'm giving you. If you can't play nice, what makes you think you deserve the answers you're looking for. I'm not as much of a push over as I used to be. Hope you sleep well at night, Kaachan.
And for the first time in his life, Katsuki wasn't sure how he felt about something so short, that seemed to be...kind? Yet at the same time, almost felt like a threat. Calmly, he shut his laptop and walked over to his bed, collapsing into the black and orange bedspread before drifting off.
For what felt like the first time in ages, Katsuki found himself in the middle of the woods, near a lake with a large boulder a few feet from the ledge. And who would be sitting atop said boulder but Izuku Midoriya, age nine, wearing a once piece swimsuit with a pair of swim trunks. Her hair clung to her face and neck as she stared up at the sky through the trees. "Hey, Kaachan?" Her soft voice echoed a bit as she turned her head to look at him. Looking down, he found he was in his own nine-year-old body, wearing a pair of black swim trunks with an orange 'X' across the front, from hip to them hem.
Slowly, Katsuki lifted his gaze back up to meet Izuku's, finding her already on the ground and walking towards him. "What is it, Nerd?" He found himself asking in that gruff way of his. "Why are you so mean to me around the other kids? I don't get it. We've been friends since we were infants. And you're kinda nice when it's just us two..."
"I'm not mean. I'm just teasing." Katsuki defended, folding his arms as he shifted his weight to one leg. "Besides, when you blush, it kinda brings out your freckles." He added, looking away a bit. Izuku frowned some at the response she got, but sighed and shrugged it off, before smiling as she reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back towards the lake. "Okay, fine. C'mon, I wanna swim some more!" She said, and Katsuki found himself following after her and jumping in. When he emerged for air, however, he found himself as a thirteen-year-old, staring at Izuku's back. Her hair was at shoulder length, she was wearing a short sleeve, baggy shirt, and dark blue jeans. But something definitely felt off. "Deku?" He called out, swimming to the ledge and pulling himself out of the water. Getting no response, he slowly started to inch closer, reaching out. "Hey, Deku, look..."
Katsuki sat up right with a scream of fear, eyes wide. After a few minutes of trying to calm his frayed nerves, he dove to the side of his bed and snatched his phone off the nightstand, searching for the familiar name in his phone, hoping to everything holy it was still the right number.
To: Deku
From: Katsuki
I don't know what kind of fucking witch-crafty hex you put on me, but you better fucking stop you little shit!
From: Deku
To: Katsuki
You text me...Was gonna ask how you got my number, but it hasn't changed, so…
From: Deku
To: Katsuki
Also, I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm over at Todoroki's place, tho, so please leave me alone. Good bye, Katsuki.
Katsuki stared, once more in disbelief at the response. He could not, for the life of him, figure out how to respond to this. With an angry growl, he decided to respond.
To: Deku
From: Katsuki
Don't fucking lie to me! I can't sleep without waking up from a damn nightmare. It's like a fucking gory ass horror movie! I know this is your fault some how! Stop!
From: Deku
To: Katsuki
It's sweet that you dream about me, but uh...Again, I didn't do anything, Katsuki. I've only been back for about a month now.
From: Deku
To: Katsuki
Hey, this is Ochako. Katsuki Bakugou, right? Izu went to the bathroom, upset. You should stop texting her. Kay? Thanks! Bye.
To: Deku
From: Katsuki
BULLSHIT! PUT HER BACK ON!
But Katsuki wasn't exactly sure what his end-goal was at this point. Maybe he just wanted her to suffer the way he was? But...that would just make him as bad as he used to be. And his mother had told him he needed to "straighten the fuck up before he killed someone".
There was no response, so he did the most rational thing he could think of. He threw his phone across the room, subconsciously thankful for the phone case his parents had bought him, before he stormed down the stairs only to find Kirishima sitting on the phone, texting with someone.
To: Kiri
From: Todo
Not sure what's going on, but Bakugou is harassing Midoriya. Maybe get him to stop? Dunno what their connection is, but she's getting visibly upset. If he keeps it up...He's gonna have a lot of people on his ass.
Eijiro looked up when he heard Katsuki come down the stairs and rose a brow. "Hey man! Oh, damn. You look like you've seen a ghost! You good, bro?"
"No." Katsuki replied, heading straight for the kitchen. "There's a little fucking bug that won't seem to go away." He muttered, slamming things around while getting things together to make dinner.
"Uh..." Eijiro muttered, following him into the kitchen. "Hey, do you know an Izuku Midoriya?"
"What of it?!" Katsuki snapped at the question, looking over to his friend, who held his hands up instantly.
"Just...Maybe back off? Todo and their li'l gang of people are getting a little ticked at ya." Eijiro replied, tilting his head. "Bad break up or something?" Katsuki paused and looked back over to the redhead with a glare that could kill.
"What? Fuck no! I never dated that damn nerd. We used to be friends, and then she just fucking up and disappeared with no explanation or anything. Our mom's used to be close friends, and when she disappeared, her mom stopped talking to mine. It pissed me off because I saw how it kinda hurt the old hag. I'm pissed and I want answers." Katsuki then said with a shrug. "That's all you're getting out of me." He added, starting to make dinner. Eijiro shrugged, happy with what he had, and sat down, beginning to make small talk about whatever it was that the blonde was cooking, knowing it would help clear Katsuki's head.
Once the two had finished eating, and the dishes were taken care of, the boys found themselves chilling out in Katsuki's room once more for the night, watching a horror movie at Katsuki's insistence. And, as 8:30 rolled around, Eijiro looked over to see his blonde friend passed out. With a chuckle, the redhead slid off the bed, changed to movie to some random animated show aimed for a more mature audience, and settled in to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, miles away, Izuku found herself staring at her phone while her friends were engrossed in some Rom-Com movie she had brought back from the states. With a lot of hesitation, she typed up a text, her finger hovering over the send button.
To: Kaachan
From: Izu
I...Understand that you want answers. A lot has happened in the past four years. I know I 'disappeared' without a trace, or so much as an explanation. But, Kaachan...I can't just outright tell you everything. You have to stop and think long and hard about the past. Try and come up with the answers for yourself. I'm not the same girl you used to know, understand? You'll just have to try and figure things out on your own. With that being said, I won't stand for anymore harassment. If you continue to cuss me out and accuse me of things I've not done, I will cut you out of my life for good, and pretend as if we've never known each other. If you want to talk tomorrow, I'll be home alone after seven. Mom is pulling an all-nighter at her job. Drop by, you should know where we keep the spare key. Good night, Katsuki Bakugou. I hope your dreams are better than they have been.
She had every intention of just deleting the entire text, but as she heard her name, she lifted her head and, in the process, accidentally brushed her thumb against the 'send' button, completely unaware she had just sent the message as she set her phone aside to assist Ochako in retrieving more snacks and drinks for everyone.
T.B.C.
A/N: Alright! Thanks to those who have followed this story! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, as I'm trying to drag this out a little. I've been extremely hard on myself when it comes to my writing for a very long time, so I suppose it comes with the territory? Anyway, please let me know what you think in a review? I'd love to know how you guys feel about this. Anyway, sorry for making you wait, but...Life. XD Anyway! See ya next chapter!