It's funny how I'm left without a fear or doubt.
Even now, my voice is scattered to the wind and clouds.
His aching hands trembled as he held them up in front of him, shaking like leaves in a hurricane. His best friend, his only friend (his no-longer friend) laughed.
"How many times are you gonna do this shit, Deku?"
Izuku's teeth were chattering, but he kept his bruised jaw clamped shut and merely tightened his fists. Kacchan chuckled once more at the lack of response, hands lighting up like firecrackers.
"What's a pussy like you tryin' to act like a Hero for?" Kacchan asked, swaggering forward slowly. "You can barely fucking stand, but you're still actin' tough? Do you think anyone actually believes that bullshit?"
It wasn't fear that made Izuku shake. It was a cocktail of adrenaline and righteous anger. Any other day, the green-haired boy would have been scared out of his mind at the thought of Kacchan turning his red-eyed glare upon him. But, when he saw the ash-blond harassing one of their classmates, just because they had a less-than-stellar Quirk, all the fear, all the doubts about his own usefulness, were blown away. Izuku planted his feet between the two, took the blows meant for another, and steeled his nerves.
This was not fear.
This was the resolve to protect.
Look away, a million words I don't know how to say.
He was lying on the concrete, black and blue and singed after the rough beating at the hands of his friend-turned-bully. Kacchan stared down at Izuku.
"What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Deku? Are you literally insane? Why the hell do you keep doin' stupid shit like this?" Kacchan asked. There was no concern in his tone- only acid.
Izuku kept his cheek pressed to the sidewalk, not looking up.
Izuku wanted Kacchan to be a Hero, but at the rate the blond was going, it would never happen. One day, he'd mess up, and having the perfect Quirk wouldn't be able to get him out of trouble. Kacchan's record would be ripped apart, and any hope of applying to U.A or another Hero school would've been flushed down the drain.
Izuku could handle this much. If Kacchan just needed to vent, Izuku would be there. If he needed to hurt someone weaker than him, so he could feel strong, then Izuku would be there. Kacchan was going to become a Top Hero, and save so many people, but it wouldn't happen if he ended up becoming a Villain. So, just for now, Izuku would be his punching bag until Kacchan worked out his issues. Just for now, Izuku would protect Kacchan from himself.
But he could never come out and say that. It would just be inviting an even worse beating- one that Izuku might not walk away from. And he couldn't help Kacchan if his mother pulled him out of school.
So Izuku kept his mouth shut.
And every day, you'd ask me but you know I'm here to stay.
"Do you really still think a Quirkless Deku like you can be a Hero?" Kacchan asked after the usual beating.
Izuku stayed silent, just breathing carefully so his aching ribs didn't protest too much.
"Tch. At least say something," Kacchan growled, turning around and walking away. It didn't matter, though; they both knew the answer to that question.
Never knew you had wings, never knew how to fly.
Just like butterflies, we took to the sky.
U.A High. Kacchan's dream. It was Izuku's, too, but until he'd met All Might, it hadn't seemed realistic, even to his delusional self. But here he was. Here they were.
Izuku's hard work had paid off. Kacchan had gotten his act together, and wasn't lashing out wildly, or bullying their classmates. The blond remained snappy and foul-mouthed, but that was as bad as he got, and his attitude was far outshone by his sheer competence, both in the classroom and in the practical lessons. And this was only the start.
Already, Kacchan was making friends, however reluctant he seemed. Kirishima-kun was a calming influence, and Kaminari-kun and Ashido-san were easily able to keep up with the aggressive blond, his insults rolling off their skin like water. Izuku had no doubt Kacchan would continue mellowing out as they moved up through high school, until he was only slightly more ill-tempered than the average member of functioning society. And then, they would be Heroes.
And maybe one day, if Kacchan ever realized what Izuku had done for him when they were younger, they could be friends again.
Kinda sad one-shot. Feels like I'm glorifying a toxic mindset and relationship, but let's be honest, the Midoriya-Bakugou dynamic is nothing if not toxic.