This was it.

Having handed in his report last night before signing out of the agency, the symbol of hope, Quirkless, would officially be missing for the next six months. Izuku didn't want to comprehend the complications of how taking such a break would push him down in the rankings. He wouldn't be surprised if by the end of it all, he was back to where he started- no, even further back than he started. After all, when he debuts again, he'll no longer have the title to latch on to, no longer have a partner to hold and encourage him, and no longer have the massive group of friends to check up on him once in a while.

But, he would take this fall. He'll build everything back from the ground up, starting from zero. That's the kind of hero Izuku wants to be. Hope wasn't invincible. It was persistent. Avoiding failure would inspire people, but taking it head on only to bounce back would empower them to do the same.

With this final resolve swirling in his mind, Izuku left his penthouse to meet up with his mother by the lobby. Today was the day of the surgery. Although nonlethal and the patient would be discharged the very same evening, the anesthesia that they'd hook in would befuddle enough that he couldn't be trusted to make it back home without help.

Luckily not disclosing the exact location and time of the surgery to the public, the hospital was mercifully peaceful when the two arrived. The hero didn't want to trouble those left of his friends too much and insisted that it was unnecessary for them to show up, that this was just like any other treatment he got from Recovery Girl back in high school. Just as well, as he stepped into the threshold of the building and past the sliding glass doors, Izuku wasn't expecting to be met with any kind of reception.

Which was why, seeing a shocking tuff of blond hair in his peripheral, green eyes shot back in a double-take. There, leaning against the wall like he fucking owned the place, was the very doctor who had been occupying Izuku's mind for the past week and a half.

Needless to say, he didn't waste time in bypassing the set of chairs, heart erratic. "K-Kacchan…?"

The addressed looked up from the clipboard in his clutches to give Izuku an unimpressed once-over. "Deku."

Offhandedly noting a passing stretcher, the hero shot himself to the wall beside the blond to avoid clogging up the hallway. He sent the nurse pushing the bed an apology but they didn't seem to notice in their haste. Settling his back against the plaster, Izuku eyed the potted plant then the overhead lights only once before losing control over his curiosity. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy that you're here! I mean, wow, I'm glad that you could make it-"

"Deku," Katsuki repeated, unwavering under the beginning of his companion's jumble of thoughts. "Pop those eyes back in your sockets. In case your tiny brain forgot, I'm your physical therapist. I agreed to take you in before we found out all that shit about your pussy doctors. I never go back on my word."

Ah, so Izuku was included in Doctor Bakugou's list of patients that he'd see through to the end. Izuku bit his lip, stomach dropping the slightest. Katsuki's future career as a doctor was still up in the air. What the man himself was thinking of doing once the last patient left his clinic made the hero to take a jab at that topic, Izuku opened his mouth but was cut off by a timid Inko walking back from the check-in desk.

"Izuku, there's been a small delay with an unexpected emergency case that flew in this morning. They can move you into a room now but it'll still be a while…" Walking up to her son, her voice trailed off as she noticed that he wasn't alone.

Seeing no point in hiding it, Katsuki stared back at her with equal intensity. Continued to maintain eye-contact as her own widened the slightest in recognition. Didn't look away from her even as she instinctively latched onto Izuku's sleeve in a protective hold. Finally, when she broke the interaction first to address her son, Katsuki redirected his attention back to his clipboard.

Weathered green eyes warily crossed back to the blond who ruined her son's most important day of his life before gesturing towards a seat on the other side of the waiting room. Sure, his reckless actions ended up being a blessing in disguise, but the man himself didn't know that when he stormed the church. "Izuku, let's go."

But, he shook his head, green curls flying. "Mom. This… this is Katsuki Bakugou. He's the one who discovered what was wrong with my arm. I owe him a lot."

And at that, Inko had no choice but to snap her mouth shut. She remained that way even as a nurse came to the trio to guide them into the back of the building where Izuku's hospital room would be. Stared at nothing, not acknowledging Katsuki's presence beside them, much after Izuku was ushered away to change into a gown as his street clothes along with phone were stored away in a cubby. The woman avoided looking in the blond's direction all the way through Izuku resting against a hard pillow with a nervous smile aimed at the both of them.

"What are you smiling about?" Being tasked with shaving the patient's left arm, Katsuki sported a pair of sanitary disposable gloves, keeping the limb still on the metal bars of the bed.

Quirking his lips higher to prove a point, Izuku hummed. "Nothing, Kacchan."

It stayed like that for a while, a comfortable nonexchange of words with the sounds of the blade scrapping against rough skin being the only accompaniment. Eventually a third voice, Inko having pledged silence, interrupted then.

"Well, look who the cat dragged in." A woman with brown hair held up in a ponytail sauntered into the room with a kind smile. She was a few years older than Katsuki but still youthful. Addressing Izuku first as a form of professionalism, she nodded towards him. "How are you feeling today, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku relaxed. Misses Tanaka was a good doctor, her demeanor a tad blunt but still comforting. He could understand why the angry blond had recommended her. "I'm feeling good, maybe a little hungry."

She wrote notes down on her sheet. "That's normal. We have to ban food prior to the surgery to avoid adverse reactions to the anesthesia."

Catching on to the exact reason why the man was feeling famished, Katsuki scowled and gave his arm a pinch. "Deku, you were out being all heroic and shit last night, weren't you?"

"O-Only a little! It wasn't that bad." At the blond's seething glare, Izuku shrunk back into the pillow.

Seeing the exchange, Misses Tanaka chuckled. It was endearing to watch her colleague, who did nothing but scowl and only become approachable when strictly exchanging medical knowledge, warm up to the symbol of hope. She flicked her pen back into her pockets, choosing to let the two sort this out amongst themselves. "Well, Midoriya-kun. Unless a massive mistake is made which is near impossible with our team, the worst outcome would be that you're back to where you started. However, we still need some time to prepare the room. The surgeon is debriefing with the family right now."

Turning to the last occupant of their space, she nodded towards Inko. "And you must be the mother of the patient, am I correct? It's nice to meet you."Standing herself up, the stout woman went to shake hands with Misses Tanaka before the doctor spoke again. "The patient would benefit greatly from wearing a molded splint for a few hours afterwards. Unfortunately, while the bandages and cast are free of charge, the splint would have to be purchased at the store downstairs."

Nodding in understanding, Inko went to leave her belongings on the chair. She rounded to the other side of the bed from the blond to give her son's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll be right back, Izuku. Call me if anything happens."

The hero nodded, giving her hand a squeeze back. "I will. Love you, mom."

With a small kiss to her son's temple, Inko was off with her purse to find the store. Misses Tanaka didn't stay much longer after that, informing the two on some last-minute contracts that needed to be signed before excusing herself from the room as well. That left Izuku and Katsuki alone, a stunted silence overtaking them now that the distractions were gone.

Surprisingly, Katsuki was the one to break it first. "Deku."

Not looking up from his knees, Izuku played with the tag on the spotted gown. "Hmm…?"

"What the fuck was that text?" Always so straight-to-the-point.

The hero shrugged, the sting of what happened had long turned numb in his heart. "It's exactly as it sounds like, Kacchan."

"So, what?" It must've been Izuku's imagination, but red eyes seemed to narrow the slightest in disgust. "You didn't comply to what they thought was best so your little friends just up and abandoned you?"

"NO, they wouldn't do that!" Shocking himself, Izuku's voice was quick to object and defend them. After everything they've been through together at Yuuei, it was natural that they were a second family to him. Abandon wasn't a word he would use in a million years. "It's more complicated than that! I just- I don't know. I put them through a lot in high school with my breakdowns and choices. They need time away from me for a bit."

"Sounds like they abandoned you to me," Katsuki shot back, merciless. "Deku, I'm not going to make this sound good to appease your own ego. You're annoying as shit. Your stuttering makes me want to punch the closest person in the face. Your hair looks like a paintbrush fell into it and made a home there. If after all of that, you came up to me and gave me the middle finger because you decided to drop your hero career to become a prostitute, I'd call you stupid as shit. But I'd still show up to your own goddamn surgery."

Oh, wow.

Izuku gaped, the familiar feeling of blood rushing to his freckled cheeks keeping his voice strained. He choked a little past the sudden dive his heart took. "Kacchan, are you worried about me?"

Turning away, the blond scowled. "In your dreams."

"Actually," Izuku smiled, cheeks feeling warm. "I did dream about this surgery going horribly last night and my arm bursting into a hundred tentacles, but I'm pretty sure you didn't show up to support me." When the other didn't respond, only making a stronger point by sending the hero the stink-eye, Izuku felt the bubbly sensation of a laugh taking over his lips. "That's- That's really sweet, Kacchan. Promise that you'll be here the entire time?"

"…Fine," Katsuki finally breathed out in a grunt. "Don't think this means I'm going to help your useless ass at the wedding. This and that are two different things."

Izuku sobered down, smile still not leaving. That's okay. This was enough for now. "All right."

It was at that moment that Misses Tanaka decided to march into the room again, well-timed in appearing a good minute after their conversation ended. That bitch probably thought she was being sneaky and discrete about listening in partway through. Katsuki resisted the urge to call her out right then when the woman announced that she needed to debrief with the patient's physical therapist.

Stomping down the hall towards her office, Katsuki made it no secret that he wasn't going to take her bullshit. Thankfully, the doctor seemed to have been telling the truth, for she produced a paper filled with notes for him to take into consideration while creating Izuku's rehabilitation regime. "Seems like you were right on the ball again, Bakugou. It was Lateral Epicondylitis just as you suspected, a case that should've shown improvements after Midoriya-kun started his therapy. However, the condition only worsened. Left untreated for an additional five years, the amount of inflamed tissue that we're removing is much more abundant than we're used to but still doable."

Accepting the files, Katsuki scrutinized them for a long minute, deeming them passable. "He's going to need the full six months."

"For the tears in the muscles to fully repair? Yes." Removing the lid from her pen, she scribbled down a messy signature above where Izuku already gave his consent, passing the contract on to Katsuki to photocopy with an amused glint. "Really, your presence here today was unnecessary. Any complications which arise during or after surgery would've been faxed to your office. You've never once showed up to support a patient like this. Are we having a change of heart?"

Yup, there it was. The bullshit.

Snatching the contract from her, Katsuki glared. Despite all of her patients saying otherwise, he knew the truth of how cunning this lady was. It was what made her such an admittedly unmatched doctor in the first place. But no, she was definitely ballparks off this time on her 'diagnosis.' Katsuki wouldn't let it be any other way. "Fuck off. I saidthat I wasn't doing this job to save anyone and I still stand by it."

She rolled her eyes so far up that the blond hoped they lodged into her brain. "I know. You announced it in front of the entire school at graduation. You were a horrible valedictorian, no matter what our professors said about your grades. You were a horrible role model too."

Slamming the sheet onto the glass and jamming his finger on the button, Katsuki smirked. "And don't you forget it."

Once having all the files collected in his arms, the blond made a show out of ignoring Misses Tanaka as she offhandedly remarked that he could leave now if he wanted. Seriously, she needed to fuck off. Just because her husband was a veterinarian at a clinic around the block and they spent their lives being this goody-two-shoes couple didn't mean that she needed to project herself onto him. Making his way back to the medical wing that Izuku was at, he squinted at the open door down the hall.

The hell, he definitely shut the door before leaving.

But venturing closer, he realized that something else was going on. Voices which started out as muffles but gradually became clearer were emitted from inside. Double-checking the numbers, Katsuki confirmed that yes, this was Izuku's room.

Just shy of marching right into the scene, Katsuki stopped in bewildered silence.

There, surrounding Izuku's bed was a plethora of ranked, recognizable heroes from around the country. Shouto, Ingenium, Froppy, Creati, Can't Stop Sparkling, and Shinsou teetered on the edge of being too close to the patient so he couldn't breathe, but just far away enough to come off as siblings. Further off to the side but still undeniably part of the tight-knit group, Earphone Jack, Invisible Girl, Tail Man, Anima, Sugar Man, and Tentacole made themselves a home by the window. It was quite a sight, one only expected at one of those nerd conventions but was being recreated right in front of the blond's eyes.

They were in the middle of handing the ex-symbol a handful of gifts. Small things like cards and candy were already making a pile on Izuku's bedside. The line of gift-giving was growing shorter, and yet Katsuki still couldn't control his body. Seriously, the fuck was going on? No matter how much he willed his legs to step in, something about the sight kept him glued on the spot. He was frozen there, unable to work up the minimal courage to make himself known. It was pathetic.

Past the excited chatter of Izuku thanking his friends, Tail Man is the first to breach the topic. "We're really sorry about the other day, Midoriya. It isn't our decision. We were blind-sighted by what we thought would make you happy."

Katsuki's feet wouldn't listen. He shuffled further back, just enough to eavesdrop like a coward.

"N-No, no!" A scarred arm shot around in random directions. "I can't blame any of you. You were probably sick of how hesitant I was back in high school with all the…" Here, Izuku gulped in shame. "…dating. I- I dragged all of you into it. Just as it seemed like I would settle down and get out of your hair, I pull this on you. I'm-" Green curls went to bow down as best as they could while bed-ridden. "I'm really sorry!"

Earphone Jack pipes in then, voice soft. "Don't be. As long as you're sure about your choice this time."

And, looking at all of Izuku's so-called friends who abandoned him, seeing Izuku look at all of his so-called friends who abandoned him, who returned just to make amends, Katsuki clenched his hand into a fist at the same time green eyes became overwhelmed with tears. "I am. Thank you so much."

I guess sometimes…as soon as you pass someone, you never look back.

A sinking feeling, one he was familiar with at a certain point in his life, pushed into his stomach. Katsuki stayed stock still, not risking anyone discovering him as the feeling took over his chest. Fuck. He thought he'd gotten over this long ago.

In a show of rearranging the sunflowers on the table, Can't Stop Sparkling gives his friend naught but a moment before questioning the hero in curiosity. "So, is the wedding still on? Should it even be called a wedding at this point?"

Izuku laughed, wiping away the tears from his eyes in mirth. He nodded.

Just let me in! Let me help, damn it!

Katsuki, you can't do anything. You're quirkless.

Katsuki couldn't stop. He wouldn't have been able to stop the terror that shook his core if he wanted to with every fiber of his being. And fuck, he needed to. This scene was just too familiar. The hospital bed, surrounded by a family that, while much larger right now, at one point consisted of nothing but two; a mother and son. Discovering the truth of what happened to his dad after a year of living in the city's worst jail cell only after it was too late.

"In that case, I'm still on for cake duty, right?" Sugar Man, he looked a little off when out-of-costume, shot Izuku a thumbs-up from his spot by his feet. It was such a blatant contrast to how Katsuki's confrontation with Masaru in a very similar-looking hospital room went that it made him want to implode.

"Oh, oh!" Invisible Girl, nothing but a floating sundress and boots, jumped around ecstatically. "Will you get a cast, Midoriya? Let me sign it!" There was no cast that could cover the burn marks, bruises, and crazed look of a once gentle man who had gone insane. A year in prison, and they had beaten his father black and blue. The physical damage was the least of their worries, his mental state having taken the hardest blow. There was no oops, no band-aid that could bring Masaru back.

"Hey, guys. I was thinking…" Earphone Jack rubbed the two tips of her earlobes together, shyness permeating her demeanor. "What if we all signed the cast and incorporated it into the wedding invitations? A little personal touch goes a long way."

Why? Katsuki turned, back to the wall and still unseen by the occupants of the room. Why did his old pops try to off himself? Despite visiting him in jail every week, a bit of his own personal comment or update on his life all amounted to nothing. The beatings, the gradual chipping away of everything Masaru was happened right in front of his eyes. Cuffed to the hospital bed, the horror of how people like him, how people like Katsuki were seen by society had bile rising in his throat.

Katsuki, you can't do anything. You're quirkless.

He can. Shut up.

Katsuki would prove him wrong.

He'd already done so. He'd become a graduate at the top of his class. Opened up his own clinic, beaten the number five hero in a fight. He barged in on Kirishima's wedding and managed to snap him out of it. The symbol of hope, spineless, was now thriving in certainty and driving his life in who-the-fuck-knows where, because Katsuki had become his wedding planner. Izuku was still a mess who needed him to finish planning the wedding.

Katsuki, you can't do anything. You're quirkless.

Creati, a quiet voice in the midst of the chaos chirped, eyes sparkling. "I know the perfect fabric to weave together to match the theme. We'd have to pitch in to get it cut and measured to the right length, but you can leave the Brides' Maids dresses to me."

…Or did he?

What reason, really, did Izuku have to still want him around? Chancing one last look into the room, Katsuki observed as it filled with passionate heroes prodding at the bed-ridden symbol in excitement. Their prattling about wedding preparations became background noise to the blond's head. Izuku's complete contentment at being around everyone he loved filtering through all of it.

Green eyes shone, Izuku looking at each of his friends in turn in unhindered happiness. "That sounds amazing. I… Let's plan the best wedding ever." His resolve seemed to be contagious. Soon the room erupted into cheers about what should be done to make the tabloids gap and for this wedding to go down in history.

And it was in that moment that the truth came crashing down.

Izuku will be just fine now.

He doesn't need help from a quirk less loser like him anymore. In the hands of these people, the wedding will be a success with or without may have been pathetic enough at one point to look up to Katsuki and aspire to be selfish like him, but that was in the past. He had that determination, that drive himself now. There was no reason to chase a goal you passed, only continue.

And what level of pride at losing did Katsuki have to ruin that?

Finally detaching himself from the wall, Katsuki sighed. He was so fucking tired, just wanted to faceplant somewhere and never move. After a pause, stiff legs walked away from Izuku's room, leaving the scene untouched. He rounded out of the wing, taking the elevator back to the bottom floor before walking out the doors. Not once looking back, he didn't notice the blank stare of Inko Midoriya as the afternoon sun found purchase being directed into his hair.

Once far enough away from the building that he could breathe again, Katsuki swiped his phone open with a dead kind of motion. Resolve already broken in becoming the number one doctor, he could feel another type of resolve slowly crumbling in his chest.

'Deku, I'm not going to come up with some half-ass excuse for why I left.'

'But I thought damn hard about it.'

'If you still want my help with the wedding,'

'My answer is no.'

It was a shame then, that Izuku's phone rang with each notification yet the recipient wasn't close enough to hear it. Vibrating going unnoticed in the locker, the hero was engulfed in a group hug by the class he loved so much. Red eyes and blond hair were the last thing on his mind, though admittedly they never left. Izuku wouldn't ever truly be able to forget no matter how much he tried. And the sentiment was proven when, thirty minutes later, his mother returned and there was still no sign of Katsuki.

"Sorry for taking so long. There was a really long line." The woman, after greeting the class with a warm smile, produced the navy-blue splint from her purse which was wrapped in plastic. Izuku shook his head in understanding, giving his mother thanks and putting the splint aside from all the gifts. Then, green eyes travelling around the room once, seeing every smiling face around him, he frowned.

"Mom, have you seen Kacchan?"

The rest of the room, minus Todoroki, looked at each other in confusion at that, likely wondering what on earth a Kacchan was. Inko paused the smallest second, her chubby hands wringing together. After what seemed like eternity to him, she nodded.

"Yes. He left the hospital a while ago."

His shoulders faltered. No, that didn't seem right. "But he's coming back?"

Not understanding her son's fixation on the man, she could only tell the truth. "I don't know, Izuku."

But Izuku knew, Kacchan would never lie. He wouldn't promise to stay with him until the end only to break it. It was what made him Katsuki in the first place.

So, he kept asking. In between every few minutes of his friends recounting a story from their hero agencies or another wedding idea, Izuku asked about the blond again. As the nurses filed in to prepare to cart him into the surgery room, he never stopped asking. Even after the light was blinding his eyes, door locked to secure the premises, some part of Izuku waited and expected Katsuki to burst through them at any treasured that image past the pinprick of the IV in his wrist.

That was his only thought, hallucinating it faintly in his peripheral, before losing consciousness.

When he came to, it was absolute hell.

There was an incessant ringing at the side of his head keeping him from focusing on anything more coherent other than what the colour of whatever in front of him was. Voices of doctors and friends passed over, but never enough for the words to register. Just when he was conscious enough to recount that he came out of surgery, his left arm a hardened weight against him, a bout of nausea ate away his senses. Izuku could only cough in response.

"Th-Throw up… need- I-" He coughed again, offhandedly noticing his body being turned over by several hands so he could dislodge whatever smallamount of content was in his stomach onto the sheets beside him. The action required his stitched arm to move. No matter how slight because it was practically bandaged to his chest, it was enough to have him wince in pain between chokes.

"I-Izuku…" His mom was giving his back some comforting pats.

"You did well, Midoriya." It was Shouji who spoke this time, his extra limbs were helpful in propping the hero's body up.

Jirou whispered, mindful of his headache. "Deep breaths."

"K-…"

"It's okay, don't try to talk." It was his mother again.

But Izuku wasn't listening. He coughed again, delirious. "Ka-…Kacchan-n."

Vision swirling and unfocused, no one in the room was equipped with any knowledge to know what to do or what Izuku wanted. Only Todoroki, who had some semblance of understanding for how his friend felt, could force himself to the front of the group. He reached out, hand tangling comfortingly in green curls.

"It's okay, Izuku."

The ex-symbol leaned into the touch, voice distraught. "But he i-isn't here…"

"Shh, I know, Izuku. I know…" Being careful not to upset the hero, Todoroki uses his gentle strokes until the strain hidden behind frecklessubsides. Green eyes slowly fall shut as sleep snuck in, Shouji helping to lower his body back onto the mattress.

The last thing that his dizzy mind could register before the fog of sleep took over was the bandaged form of his arm, stiff with sutures but resting in front of him at an angle that used to be excruciating but now only felt mildly irritating. The second last was the sight of his friends, all relieved and accepting, no doubt supportive when the Symbol of Hope returned with a new drive. He'd make it to number one this time. He'll be a hero who can believe that he's done all that he can.

But suddenly, without Katsuki there, all of it felt empty.

It wasn't until that very night, as he was sliding his street clothes back on with an uncoordinated hand that the thought of checking his text messages crossed his waiting for him by the check-out, she peeked into his hospital room when her son didn't show up after half-an-hour, only to gasp at the sight.

Lights turned off, the bright screen of Izuku's phone staved off the darkness just as well as it highlighted the tears streaming down his freckled cheeks.

-HH-HH-HH-HH-HH-

Katsuki wanted to punch himself in the face.

Maybe run off a cliff somewhere, not high enough to kill but surely to bring pain.

There was no step-into-someone-else's-shoes way to look at it. Katsuki was absolutely disgusted-

With his arms going through the motions of driving back to his apartment instead of simply exploding on the spot just so the car would stop. With his foot that kept firm on the acceleration which was easy to blame as the cause of the blond getting further and further away from the hospital. With the shitty weather, which decided that this was the pristine time to start pissing on the streets like it was trying to rain a hole through every single person.

But mostly, with himself.

Years of boasting his own pride, being honest and tackling everything head-first, yet Katsuki still ran away. He ran away from Izuku. The blond snorted without humor. The thought let-alone actually performing the deed was ridiculous in of itself. Yet he couldn't bring himself to turn back. Something was stopping him, a discombobulation of opinions which all amounted to one conclusion: that the freckled nerd did not need an asshole like Katsuki in his life.

An asshole who was insensitive enough to not realize that his very own father was deteriorating every damn day that passed. An asshole who couldn't do a fucking thing as Masaru was taken away, couldn't even get his clinic more than one step off the ground before utterly failing. An asshole who based his entire goal to prove that he was better than those shitty heroes, that he was a doctor, just to have the foundations behind that point crushed before his very eyes.

Fuck.

He needs to get wasted. Or at least kick someone in the face.

It was a juvenile desire. Reminiscent of days as a teenager when Katsuki would sneak into a random fight bar or club unannounced just to let off some steam. Ignoring the drugs and alcohol, he needed a clean record after all, he'd plow through foes twice his size in hopes of finding some relief from whatever was plaguing his mind. Fighting, it seemed, was always what helped him find answers.

Making sure to double-lock his car across the shady side of town, he swung on his shoulder bag containing his wallet and sauntered in to the shittiest bar he could find. Flashing neon sign, broken fence, and a homeless person sleeping by the trash? Check.

Given the circumstances, no one could really blame Katsuki for entering the fight arena and expecting some burly drunk guys slugging at each other in desperation to earn a quick buck. Subsequently, when he entered the fight arena and saw a very-not-burly woman with a bob-cut, tipsy but still sharp in her movements, he was shocked shitless.

Uravity, in the flesh, gave a mighty yell in the middle of the ring as she won her allegedly thirteenth match in a row. Her bet table was a freaking warzone, the nonbelievers quickly adjusting their bills in her favour.

Intrigued, Katsuki turned towards a woman by the bar in a purple dress that left little to the imagination. "What are the rules?"

Letting out a puff of smoke, she eyed him appreciatively. Katsuki rolled his eyes, about to step away and ask someone else when she opted to answer his question. "One-on-one, single elimination, quirks are allowed, first one to be knocked out of the circle loses. You're too late though, sugar. It's already the finals."

Finals or no, it definitely wasn't much of a finale. Uravity's next opponent was a large bald man with multiple gold-plated piercings. Seeing as she wore a helmet to most of her on-site missions, it seemed no one in the bar except the blond himself had recognized her as the number eleven hero. Even if they did, she was much more known for rescue work that many forget her prowess in kicking ass.

Predictably, the man sought to overpower her with some type of absorption quirk which rendered all blunt attacks aimed at him to half their effectiveness. This didn't deter the woman though. Switching her fighting style from power to precision almost immediately, she ducked under a punch sent to her jaw and tripped the man out from under his own feet.

Smiling, that made grabbing onto his forearm and sending him flying to the other side of the bar as easy as eating candy. The glow of her quirk deactivated just before he crashed into a stray table. His own weight sent condiments and plates scattering to the floor, the choked sounds of his own battered state the only affirmative that the man was alive before the room erupted into cheers.

Katsuki whistled. Looks like he'd get a good fight today.

The same scantily-clad bitch from beside him turned out to be much more important than she let on, for the attention turned to her as she made herself a pathway to the stage to declare this week's champion. Despite all the praise, Uravity herself seemed unsatisfied, still jumpy and full of energy when the prize money was handed to her.

It was a good thing Katsuki knew how these types of places tend to run. Counting by the line-up, it wasn't stupid to assume that the night was most likely short and filled with miss-if-you-blink matches. The bar would want a real show to attract customers. With that thought in mind, the blond made his way just shy of the ring to wait for his opportunity.

The purple-clad woman went to lift the hero's wrist with a flourish. "And with fourteen wins and zero loses, Gravity is the champion!"

Really? She couldn't have come up with a better name?

Cat whistles sound out from around him. It was blatant that a few patrons planned to butter her up later in the night to get a taste of that cold-hard cash. A select few of the audience, either not interested or already with a significant other, didn't seem too thrilled at the announcement. Those were the few that Katsuki was going to play like a fucking fiddle.

"Really? That's fucking it?" He spoke loudly, just enough to be heard but short of bringing attention to himself. No doubt there'd be guards on him already if this was a more reputable place. "I paid for a triple-priced steak to see this?"

Another man, one in the back, followed up. "Yeah! I was expecting some real thrashing!"

The bar quieted down when a chorus of yells joined in. It only took one person to make the first jump for everyone else to follow. Soon enough, a round of napkins and disposable cups were being thrown into the ring by angry costumers. The woman, cigarette forgotten, looked to the side at the manager in annoyance. Clearly, her pay didn't cover dealing with this shit. Deciding to bring these pathetic people out of their misery, Katsuki found the closest glass and slammed it down to command everyone's attention.

Assured that all heads were honed in on him, he smirked. "I'll fight round-face over there."

And really, the ring was in no position to object. Katsuki was hefted to the circle, shoulder bag and all, didn't even have time to change out of his professional attire, by his second blink. The referee scurried off to the sound of cheers, leaving Katsuki alone to deal with Uravity with nothing at his disposal but the garbage littering the floor and the clothes on his back.

"H-Hey!" Squinting her eyes at him, Uravity swallowed back a burp to address him with a shaky finger. "I know you."

Well shit, looks like she was much drunker than she seemed from far away. Katsuki cracked his neck, watching her every move no matter how drunken it looked. "Likewise, round-face. I didn't peg you for the type to break a poor pansy's rib cage like that."

She didn't rise to the bait, swaying dangerously. "You…" And Katsuki swears, all he did was blink and she was suddenly in front of him, padded thumbs making a grab for his stomach to throw him overhead. "Give I-Izuku back!"

Knowing that her quirk was activated by contact and that he was screwed the second he was touched, the blond made a hard turn to the right with his hips. The momentum carried the blunt side of his bag straight into her face. The primary goal to gain distance worked. But what he didn't count on was for her arm to swing out and smack his bag into the air, the force from years of strength-training enough for it to swoop off of his shoulder.

Vaguely registering the sound of clipboards and exercise equipment flying out of his half-opened bag and straight into the bar, Katsuki cursed. He just lost about twenty possible ways of winning this fight. He didn't even want to think about what would've happened if he used a limb or hand to smack her away instead. The match would've been over already in that scenario.

That would've been humiliating considering Uravity was still drunk as hell. The hero was also affected by the exchange. Despite countering what Katsuki threw at her, the inertia from the hit pushed her head back, upper body following and tumbling to the floor. The very fact that she was drunk was proven when she stepped back to realign her weight just to fall flat on her butt after a teetering moment.

The bar erupted into mocking laughter. The jeers had the woman seething. "Don't make a fool out of me-" Legs wobbly, she stood back up, never taking her venomous glare off of Katsuki. "-out of Izuku. Give him back! Turn him back to normal!"

This was beginning to piss Katsuki off as well. He didn't like to be accused for things he didn't do. "For fuck's sake, I don't have him, you crazy woman! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU-"

"STOP PLAYING DUMB!" They circled each other on the ring. The familiar flow of adrenaline and fear at losing pumped through Katsuki's veins. It's been a while since he fought someone with a quirk, since he was in a match where the odds were stacked so against him. This knowledge had the ends of his mouth twitching up in excitement just as the woman screeched again. "GIVE HIM BACK HIS WEDDING! GIVE HIM BACK ATSUKO!"

With that final scream, Uravity charged again into his personal space. Katsuki didn't back down no matter how out-matched he was in close-combat. He twisted around, avoiding the pads of her right hand and struck down on her wrist, forcing the limb to the ground to give him room to send a right elbow careening into her cheek.

"Hey, kid! Use your quirk!" A bastard from the audience commented.

"Geez, so brutal on a woman. A real man would just take the loss." Another whispered just loud enough to be heard.

Katsuki would've given the both of them the middle finger if he had the time to, only getting away from her fast enough to avoid the strike her left arm made towards his hip. Despite being so careful, so practiced in his movements, he still felt the weightlessness on his back signaling that his jacket had been tagged.

Nursing a bruising cheek, the brunette lifted herself from the floor again, eyes wet. "Stop underestimating me…"

He seethed. Oh, that was the last thing he was doing right now. "Who the fuck gave you that idea?"

"I'm not going to st-…" She hiccupped, something in war within her. Her eyes were beginning to lose focus. Katsuki had the distinct feeling that she wasn't even talking to him anymore. "I'm not going to stand here and let his happiness be taken away again…!"

She was breaking down. But fuck that, Katsuki wasn't about to go easy on her- on anyone just because of that. Realizing that staying on the defensive would be handing his opponent the control over the match on a silver platter, Katsuki surprised the crowd by being the one to charge head-first this time. The familiar twitch of his right arm preparing for a mighty swing, he went in on full throttle.

In a moment of clarity, Uravity recalled the blond's fight with Izuku at the altar, how he started with a big right punch. In accordance, she lifted her arm up to defend the right side of the body, not expecting Katsuki to feint and slap her on her left temple instead. The force was enough to send her flying almost out of the ring. Even the audience winced at this.

"Hey, blondie!" One of the viewers snapped up. "Let up on her already!"

"Fuck off, nosy shit." Satisfying the long urge to flip the shouter the bird, Katsuki didn't take his eyes off the trembling form as he marched over to kick her the final feet to the other side of the line.

Before his foot could connect though, he caught a glimpse of round cheeks shaped into a smile. "Release." Uravity whispered dizzily.

Katsuki went stone cold at this. Cursing, he didn't even need to look up to know to jump back and avoid a direct hit from his half-full shoulder bag falling in a crumpled mess with a snowstorm of garbage following suit into the ring in front of him. He briefly registered the increase in weight on his back as well. Taking advantage of the distraction, Uravity ran straight through the rain of trash to tackle him, arms around his waist and screaming.

Damn. Not even Deku was this tenacious in their fight at the altar.

The blond cursed again but taking advantage of her proximity, managed to aim a strike right at the nerve in her spine just as she relinquished her hold on him at the edge of the circle. Two things happened then. Uravity's legs became jelly beneath her, forcing her to face plant right into the floor outside the ring. Meanwhile, her opponent's bottom half nicked into a chair which forced his body into a mid-air somersault straight into the opposite wall. After an awkward pause, the quirk wore off so he could land stomach-first into the cement with a half-hearted groan.

It was a tie. An indisputable tie of both opponents touching outside the ring at the same time.

Despite the anticlimactic ending, the crowd yelled their approval, chucking money where Uravity was lying still and adjacent to the bar. Unexpectedly, Katsuki who had taken the harder hit detached himself from the floor first, a familiar throb in his limbs convincing him that this is the best that he's felt in years. He quickly went to collect his belongings from where they landed, stuffing them back into his bag in the ring and hauling it over his shoulder.

Taking note that the bob-hair wasn't moving, he gave her body a small kick. "Not bad, gravity-lady." But stopped when he heard the haphazard sobs aimed into the cement. "Holy hell, are you so drunk that you're beyond the state of sanity?"

A voice, muffled from her face still kissing the floor and sounding raw from crying, piped up so quietly that Katsuki nearly missed it. "Go away. You wouldn't know anything about sanity."

But despite the voice sounding so broken, it was no longer slurred, advertising a clarity that can only come from being sober. "I see you're back to the land of the coherent."

"Breaking a nose does that to a person." She lifted herself up. Nose crooked, bruise forming on her already-round cheeks, she was a complete mess. Katsuki sighed. Looks like he wasn't going to get out of listening to patients no matter where he went. It would be so easy to walk home and forget this happened, but the familiar stab of disgust at running away from Izuku prevented him from doing so. He wasn't going to do it twice in one day.

Signaling to the bartender for a giant glass of water, Uravity was unresisting in response to his commands to take a seat near the corner of the room. He was pretty sure if he told the woman at this moment to stick ice cream up her nostrils, she'd do it. However, after a full minute of background noise, she refused to touch the drink.

"I didn't drug it, if that's what you're thinking." Silence. The blond felt a familiar headache coming on. He sat back, looking at the ceiling. "So, number eleven Uravity known for singing to animals is actually a brute, huh? Who's the banshee now?"

That got something out of her. She made a face. "It's still you. Fighting helps me think, you probably just swing into people's lives and ruin them for fun."

"Fighting gets me answers."

Uravity went silent at that. Staring at the water in front of her, she hesitantly takes a sip. The cool liquid was a nice compress to the burn of alcohol that became her throat's best friend the past two hours. The sips soon evolve into larger gulps. She hadn't realized how quenched she was until now. Once downing half the drink, the glass was placed back down to the table much more gently than was needed.

"I'm a piece of shit."

Katsuki rose an eyebrow at that. No- scratch that, if he was drinking anything, he would've choked on it. Uravity, always known as being chipper and genuinely saccharine sweet, was the last hero that he expected such profanity from. It took a second for the words themselves to register. But when they did, Katsuki suddenly felt like they applied to him just as effectively. "You and me both."

"I just-" She made a motion with her hands, something that was no doubt picked up from her best friend. "I don't understand Izuku at all! He follows people around with those big doe eyes and that infallible heart. Makes you fall in love with him, but withdraws to himself as soon as you return his affections! He's- He's so frustrating!"

And Katsuki knew the reason why he acted that way. Flashes of the hero breaking down and nearly sending them both off a cliff in panic bled into his memory. But through it all, he recalled the fear Izuku felt as Atsuko touched him, violated him, the most clearly. Fear, wanting to commit but not wanting to ruin another friendship so thoroughly.

Uravity continued, not noticing the slight change in her seatmate's demeanor. "Did you know he was a huge romantic back in high school, dreaming of falling in love?" Her tone sounded so dry at the end, the woman going in to finish off the last of her water for the sake of having something to slam into the table in her rant. "If you wanted him to lower you to a field of flowers, or bring you out to a candlelit dinner, he'd do it! Not only without complaint, but sincerely! He..."

Here, she choked, tears forming again. "He deserves the best but won't accept if it's handed to him- again and again. He stepped away from so many relationships if it didn't reach his standards and I…" She wiped her eyes, refusing to cry more than she has already. "I'm not good enough for him."

Izuku will be just fine now.

He doesn't need help from a quirk less loser like him anymore.

"See, Deku? This is who I am."

The freckled nerd did not need an asshole like Katsuki in his life.

"Run to the hills far the fuck away from me while you still have some dignity."

The blond bit his lip, feeling frustration coat his head again. Fuck, he and gravity girl were more alike than he thought. He breathed, letting out a heated stream of air out from his nose. "Can it, round face. If you confessed to him and he couldn't conjure up the balls to either return your affections or reject you honestly, then he's the one who is- was a piece of shit."

Uravity frowned. Her basic instinct to defend her best friend rose to the surface the briefest of moments, before she stomped it down. She just couldn't- couldn't defend Izuku when her mind was hazed with alcohol and rage still flowed in her veins. She just wants this one night, this one night to vent her true feelings out to a stranger who probably hated Izuku and wouldn't judge her for it. Instead, she says. "He's gotten better. He's been trying so hard. You were there at the wedding, I mean of course you were. You ruined it, but it was so beautiful."

The blond snorted. "Looked subpar to me."

She artfully ignored that remark. "Atsuko- she was so happy. Izuku was so happy too, finally finding the person who matched him. But now he's just doing it again. He's stepping away again like an idiot. I don't want him to go back to the way he was before. It's selfish of me but-" Uravity shook her head, Himiko Toga was a topic she didn't want to breach right now. "I'm a piece of shit." Just as she began, she ended with that statement, adding on an extra sentiment. "I should go apologize to Izuku, but I want to punch him in the face too."

"Yeah, well…" Katsuki averted his eyes back to the ceiling, "get in line."

They don't speak much after that. The silence was ubiquitous but not uncomfortable. Simply having a presence that one could say anything to without worrying about repercussions was enough to keep them both seated against the backdrop of rowdy cheers as the basketball game shone on the screen for who knows how long. By the time the next word was exchanged between them, Katsuki was already nursing his own cup of beer as Uravity sported some fancy salad.

"I still love him." She looked straight at Katsuki when she said this. The confession had the blond pause on taking another sip, attention rapt. "I really do."

And, to be completely honest, that was the exact thing he didn't want to hear from her.

Katsuki, who had been aligning his own feelings for Izuku to Uravity's, dreaded these words coming from her mouth with such certainty. Some part of him knew they were coming, denied it, hoped the night would just end with the woman saying nothing else. But of course, life had a funny way of coming back just to fuck him over.

It was all too much. The revelation of feeling that way about Deku was ridiculous. However, the more he talked to Uravity, the less ridiculous it seemed. What he felt wasn't as strong as what she felt, but those emotions were still there. Mocking him. Teasing him for being sucked into the plethora of people who had fallen for Izuku in the exact same way, inevitably leading to rejection. To Katsuki being rejected.

Oblivious to the turmoil going on in her companion's mind, in his heart, she snapped her head up in suspicion, only just now realizing the consequences that admittance held. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

Swallowing the sudden lump in his throat, Katsuki looked away. "And what if I do? The public should mind their own damn business instead of labelling you as this shitty messiah who understands anything from everyone at all times. They all need to fuck off."

At hearing this, the woman wore her trademark smile. Her shoulders relaxed. "Thanks, I guess." At the blond's evident constipated look, she shrugged. "For not underestimating me."

The rest of the night wore on without any other incident. Posed to go their separate ways, the last thing either of them say to each other occurred when Uravity- Uraraka turned to him with a curious glint to her eye. "How about you? Did you get those answers you were looking for?"

He grunted, eyes glued to the people passing by. "Some of them."