Katsuki started down at his desk as the teacher rambled on about possible high school options. He wasn't the only one not paying attention. But he was the only one that knew for sure where he was going. He had turned in his application weeks ago, with only one option on it. His top choice, UA.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would make it. Late nights studying for perfect test scores, scouring google for what the practical might be...he was prepared. After all this time, his dream was right in the palm of his hands. And yet…

He wasn't the only one that wanted to be a hero. There was someone else, he knew who had wanted it just as much as he did. Someone who would never get the chance now.

Despite what he'd wanted, Katsuki had been thinking about his old friend more in the last year or so than he would have liked to admit. Sure, there was no way that he would have made it in without a quirk but…

It seemed like everywhere Katsuki turned now days lead him down another path that ended in Deku. Thoughts of his future at UA, random trips to the convenience store, even seeing anything All Might related turned his mind to his old friend.

And it had been meaningless. He had been gone.

Or so Katsuki had thought so anyway.

Now Deku was back. Katsuki knew this. But it wasn't like his old friend had just appeared back into his life, as thought the last five years had just been a blip. Izuku hadn't returned to fill the same space he'd left. It was still empty.

His appearance had only made Bakugo nervous. Especially after the portal he'd seen. When he first spotted Deku he could hardly believe it, five years missing, and now he was just standing there in a convenience store, only a few minutes away from his old apartment, not trying to get the cops, not heading back home, nothing.

And then had pulled out a cell phone, proof not only that he hadn't been as underground as Katsuki expected, but also that he'd had the means to contact someone the whole time. but he hadn't.

Maybe that was why Katsuki had gone to the police the way he did.

There was no doubt, no way to convince himself that Izuku was still a simple missing persons case. No way to pretend that Izuku was something only from his past, something that was incapable of following him out of middle school and into UA. he was out there.

And he wasn't planning on coming back.

And Katsuki was so angry at him for that. for the fact that he had managed to survive all that time. That he had just shown up like that, right as he was preparing to move on, to grow up, to leave the things of his childhood behind. Why come back now? After saying away for so long, why come back at all? Why not come back before?

So Katsuki had spent a sleepless night, and in the morning he'd wandered over to the police station, a long shot, a lost cause, with a tip for a case that he damn well had gone cold a lifetime ago.

Because now no one could say that he hadn't tried. No one could say that he didn't care. But he hadn't expected anyone else to. He hadn't expected an interview. stiff-necked, dry-eyed suite-wearing professionals asking him about a kid that no one had seen in years. That no one had even thought about in years.

So Katsuki had talked.

But he hadn't told them anything.

He hadn't told them about the portal. About the suspicion that was growing in his mind like a pit in his stomach.

He hadn't told them anything.

But it still felt like some kind of betrayal.

Still...it wasn't like he would do anything about it now. Deku had seen him, Deku knew that he knew about the portal. There was no way that he would be stupid enough to return to Musutafu after that.

He'd lost his chance.

It took Izuku several seconds to understand what was happening. One moment he had been running as hard and as fast as he could, and then the ground had fallen away from under him, a tightness around his middle, a rush of wind.

All Might had grabbed him.

Izuku's first instinct was to struggle, but All Might was too fast. Even if he had been able to get away, all that he could hope to achieve was a quick fall to the hard ground. And that was a big if. The arm around him was strong and unyielding. This wasn't the first time that All Might had carried someone like this, and Izuku knew that he was no match for the hero's strength. But…

As they soared over the rooftops, Izuku noticed a bottle in the pocket below him. Inside was a thick greenish sludge. The villain that All Might had rescued him from earlier. It was a long shot, but it was all he had.

"Put me down!" Izuku screamed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Now he did start to struggle, writhing and thrashing, as though trying to escape in earnest. He felt the arm around him twitch, as though it were unsure what to do. Izuku was in no danger of falling, he knew, but his movement was bound to be distracting. Distracting enough that All Might didn't notice when Izuku reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle that contained the slime villain.

"You must stop that." All Might warned.

"Put me down."

There was no response, but Izuku did stop moving, a sign of good faith, and then he dropped the bottle down onto the city below. It was a long shot, but if he could find a way to stall long enough, the villain would have some time to wreak some more havoc. Izuku didn't exactly consider himself a fanboy anymore, but he knew that if All Might was able to rescue someone, he would do it.

It was his best chance.

Now all he had to do was convince the hero to stop close enough to the drop point that he would actually hear the villain once things started getting hot. Izuku took a deep breath. He was being held face down and to one side like a football, leaving him with no leverage. A memory from another life told him that this was a good way to hold cats when you didn't want them to scratch you. He smiled wryly. Hopefully he was a little more clever than a pet.

Izuku lifted his foot, realizing that his toe was directly above the inside of All Might's bent knee. He took a deep breath and bought his foot down. Hard.

There was a grunt of pain, or perhaps surprise. But Izuku can't allow any time for All Might to realize what had happened. He twisted back, slipping out of All Might's hold and clinging around his leg. There would be no easy way to grab him again without landing.

All Might said something in a language Izuku didn't know, but the meaning was clear as he began to lower them down onto a nearby rooftop. Izuku let go as soon as they were over the building, rolling onto his shoulder to absorb the impact and springing up just as All Might landed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, thanking whatever gods were missing that it had managed to stay with him through the whole ordeal.

He knew it wasn't likely to be much help against someone like All Might, but this was all about buying time. He wished that slime villain would hurry up and attack someone already.

All Might's landing had been quite a bit more controlled than Izuku's. He stood a few meters away, looking grim under his stupid smile.

"I could have dropped you."

"You should have." Izuku spat.

All Might blinked as if the words had been a physical blow. Izuku had been playing the part of the grateful citizen before only because it suited him. But now the jig was up. Now he was sure that All Might knew who he was...or, enough of it to know he was a danger anyway. No more playing around at being a fan. No more playing at all. Izuku had failed the first round of this nightmare, if he didn't do this right it was going to be game over.

All he had to do was stay long enough for the villain he'd let loose to take over someone else. All he had to do was buy time.

"What's your name?"

The same question that had outed him before. Izuku scoffed. It was clear that All Might already knew the answer, or else they wouldn't be in this situation. Still, if he could keep him talking...

"I told you," Izuku said, "You didn't seem to like the answer."

"I don't think it's the truth."

His voice was reasonable. Kind. As though Izuku were just another charity case. Maybe he was. It didn't matter. He knew how this worked. A confession to a good cop could still land you in jail.

"That's not my problem."

It hadn't been what All Might had been hoping for. And this, despite Izuku's racing heart, did give him a little bit of sicking satisfaction. The hero was still hovering where he had landed. Perhaps as some kind of strange way to build trust. He couldn't think of another reason why the man didn't just tackle him...but there was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Just keep talking. That was all he needed to do.

"I've been down at the police station quite a bit lately." All Might said.

Now it was Izuku's turn to be confused. What the hell did that have to do with anything?

"We were just able to open an old cold case."

Izuku definitely didn't like where this was going.

"An old missing persons," All Might continued carefully, "just didn't have enough loose ends to tie together but...he got a witness testimony yesterday."

Izuku swallowed. Someone must have reported him. Tied him to both the murder case and his own. The worst case scenario.

"Old friend of the victim said that he saw the kid here. Back in his home town after all these years…"

Izuku's ears were ringing.

Old friend. Old friend. Old friend.

"Said his name was Bakugo Katsuki."

Despite what Izuku had previously assumed, this was a battle. But not one of knives and quirks like he was used to. This was a fight of reactions. Of facial expression and tones. Mind games.

Izuku took a deep breath, tightening his hand around his knife to quell any left over quivers.

"Never heard of him."

All Might's eyes were shining, boring into Izuku as if they could pull out his secrets, strew his memories across the rooftop as though they had been scattered by an explosion. Explosions….

As he had before, it was clear All Might knew this was a lie. But what else was Izuku meant to do? allow himself to be spirited away to the police station? To sit and wait trial, where strangers would hear the story that the heroes made up for him. Fear and pity. Pity and fear. Izuku wanted none of it, nor the natural consequence of his trial. A cell. A hole to rot in where he could no longer run to escape the weight of his past, of screaming friends and strangers, of fire.

And worse, if they knew about the League. If his mistake today was the first domino in the distribution of the one thing that had been his solace, the only people that could understand the heartbreak that heroes had brought him.

No.

Izuku would not be their distribution.

So what if All Might knew who he was?

So what?

It didn't matter if they knew. It only mattered that he didn't get caught.

Izuku opened his mouth again, waiting for something, anything to seep out, to buy him time, but before the words could make out, there was an explosion in the distance.

Izuku let out a breath of relief as All Might wiped around, glaring over the railing as smoke started to rise from a few blocks away. He had done it. He had stalled long enough. It was all smooth sailing now.

Amidst the smoke and car alarms, All Might turned back to him. This time his expression was different. No longer was that signature smile spread across his face. There was something in his eyes now, a glitter that, if Izuku didn't know any better, he would have called fear.

"What did you do?"

Izuku took up the smile that the hero had discarded. "You should be more careful about how you transport your villains." he said, gesturing to All Might's empty pocket. "You never know when they might slip away."

All Might's expression began to change, but before it could settle, he turned back to the railing. Izuku was done wasting time. He'd done what he needed to. Without bothering to see if All Might was watching him, he ran for the stairs, and flung open the door, throwing himself down full fights at a time. He might have talked his way out of immediate arrest, but that didn't mean he was out of the woods yet. He still had to get out of Musutafu as fast as possible, even if it meant facing an angry Shigaraki, he knew that it would be better than what he'd left behind.

"Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies."

-Breaking Dawn Part One

yeah it's a Twilight quote. Bite me.