Chapter 14
In hindsight, this was a terrible idea.
Their quirks were not working together in the slightest and every single plan Katsuki had made or any hopes he had about being able to fight were lost in the chaos of them trying to flee from the all too determined teams that relentlessly came after their broken teamwork. Hero students were taught how to work in teams, he never was. On second thought, that might've just been natural.
"FASTER YOU IDIOTS, MOVE" Katsuki screamed at both the Lunatic and Eyebags, as they once again got overwhelmed and had to flee their battleplans.
Katsuki's brows fused together in concentration. There was a missing link, he was missing something, it was a huge gap… what was it? As the two people who steered their human pyramid sped up, he found himself deep in thought.
Until it hit him, staring straight at him as though he was an idiot. And he certainly was, for not realizing it earlier.
They weren't utilizing Eyebag's quirk very well, or at all. He could easily antagonize a group who wasn't aware of what his quirk could do, and get them to then attack another group endlessly. Maybe icy boy's group, who also had their hands full with an onslaught of students seeking the million points adorned upon his ugly forehead. But then again, Katsuki wanted to be the one to claim that trophy for himself.
Katsuki began whispering to Eyebags, "Oi, loser, fucking get them to respond to you and utilize your fucking quirk, we need it."
Well, it might not have been his best wording but it got the point across as Katsuki's idea dawned upon Eyebags, him recognizing that it would be their best shot. Plant Girl along couldn't be offense and defense. The Lunatics's machinery had thus proven to be a tad unreliable but otherwise worked quite situationally and Katsuki was their brains so to speak, he didn't hold much of a purpose in his quirkless predicament but that didn't matter much.
"STOP MOVING" Katsuki yelled yet again, much to his team's disdain.
"First you tell us to go faster, and now you want us to stop?" The Lunatic shook her head in disbelief, but a wide grin still sat on her face, which made her appearance seem rather unsettling, and well, to put it plainly, crazy. "What's up with you man?"
"Using Eyebag's quirk, better at a closer range" Katsuki summarized as he skidded his feet and completely stopped his own momentum.
"Logical" Plant Girl hummed her approval from atop her throne, angry vines snapping around her giving her the odd appearance of the evil queen who had come to steal the beautiful princess's life away. Katsuki rather liked her image like this, he respected her for it. She was grace, strength, and gave off a resounding aura of intimidation while seeming peaceful. In his mind, that was quite a feat to achieve.
Eyebags followed Katsuki's suit shortly, skidding to a stop as a reluctant Lunatic was forced to stop or else risk splitting up their pyramid and thus forfeiting the event.
"I signed up with y'all to showcase my babies!" The Lunatic whined, "You have to use them too."
Katsuki felt an urge to slap her, would she ever let this rest? "We will later, I'm sure that little rocket boot spectacle drew plenty of attention regardless" he muttered under his breath. The Lunatic didn't seem to hear him, or rather didn't seem to care about, his snarky comment. If that was one thing he could easily tolerate it would be how immune the Lunatic was to any kind of insults directed towards her, only angering at an insult to her self-deemed 'babies,' and their creation.
With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, Katsuki turned back to the ultra focused purple headed boy. His face was tensed, probably because he realized that if he fucked up now they were all screwed. If they didn't manage to hypnotize this team, they wouldn't be able to fight them off quick enough before the other teams would get there.
Oh well.
They each had a task to fulfill, this was simply his.
The suspense was painful though. Their opposing team got closer and closer to them, but all they could was wait until they were within a good range. Their muscles twitched as the the fight or flight in all of them activated in such a situation, the Lunatic clearly wanting to flee and maneuver from a distance but Plant Girl and Katsuki tensed up for a fight. To each their own, but all of them could agree this situation was not an ideal one to be in.
As most of Katsuki's plans went, they usually resulted in both parties suffering pain of some kind… he'd have to review that later, just because he deserved it didn't necessarily mean these people did too. They didn't expect a self-destructing idiot, so he wasn't going to show them one.
He pushed those thoughts to the back of his find, focusing instead on the advancing team.
"Just a little further" He muttered to himself, hoping the team would take the bait they had set up. Any logical, or at least semi-intuitive person would realize that if the group they were chasing had suddenly stopped that would mean they had a plan or at least it would prompt them to be more careful. Katsuki prayed this team was not made up of any of those people.
It seemed his prayers had been answered as the team only sped up, putting themselves within range of Eyebag's quirk.
"Oi!" He called out, with a mock chuckle "You really pathetic enough you can't even catch us? A few General Education students?"
"Shut up, loser!" Katsuki guffawed at the sound of the teammate perched on top of the opposing team as he answered the question before any of his teammates could hold him back or ponder why they ever decided to ask in the first place.
"Go attack the other teams and stay away from us." Eyebags commanded darkly, using an unsettling tone when addressing his new minion. Katsuki knew he wouldn't ever want to be on the opposing end of that, the embarrassment of being controlled so easily and so viciously would never settle.
But, in this case it was working in his favor, so it was the coolest fucking thing ever. Immediately, the guy turned and started to rush towards the other teams, his teammates gasping in confusion as they slowly started to figure out what Eyebags had done and struggled to catch up with their rogue member before their entire group was disqualified.
It had the exact effect they had intended it to have.
One team was sure not to go near them anymore, and was now actively attacking the others, providing a cover and causing confusion at least among those teams. Now they could focus on their own means of attack. And also fend off the teams that were still coming for them, which were becoming fewer and fewer as the struggle against the time limit was so great most groups went for whatever headbands they could grab instead of chasing Katsuki and his group.
"Where's icy boy?" Katsuki began to survey the field, searching for either the most groups or the most action. There was no team who wasn't interested in getting 1 million points, regardless of how intimidated they were by the skill icy boy had shown with his quirk.
"Thither! The gent battles thither" Plant Girl exclaimed, well exclaimed in her own way as there were little emotional changes in her airy voice.
"Let's go."
"You're seriously not saying we should go there." Eyebags accused Katsuki, "It's a deathwish."
"That's where the most groups are concentrated…" The Lunatic raised an eyebrow, not understanding Katsuki's want to go there.
"Wanted to show off your babies did you?" Katsuki asked, immediately snapping her attention to him, "That's where we'll get the most attention"
"Let's go then! Quickly" Her mood changed as though a flip was switched, her main goal in showcasing her inventions was clear and all Katsuki had to do was spin it to fit his own needs. It was easy.
Eyebags glared at Katsuki pointedly. His displeasement with the angrier boy was written clear on his face.
"Not going to happen" He protested with a stubbornness levelling Katsuki's own.
"Let's go!" It was the first normal thing Plant Girl had ever said, and Katsuki felt proud that it was her both being a sarcastic shit to Eyebags and aiding his own plan of revenge.
His acquaintances were horrible enablers.
"You know what? Fuck you." Eyebags spat at the grinning girl, who was clearly proud of herself and her defiance against him.
"Just don't let me say I told you so" He sighed, already expecting to utter the words at the first sign of danger. Katsuki ignored him, it was of no use to continue the snarky dialogue, they had a task to complete. It seemed as everyone else was in agreeance, as they all made their way, albeit reluctantly from one party, towards the gaggle of groups with icy boy at the core.
Honestly, they didn't have much time left, nearing about five minutes, before inevitably the competition would end. That wasn't enough time for a good fight, but could be enough for a scrappy fight if needed.
Katsuki knew his thoughts were very narrow minded, as he was only really focused on his one single goal, disregarding the needs of his teammates, but he couldn't bring himself to uncharacteristically double check and make sure they really were okay with this. They hadn't held him back, so he'd have to push his doubts aside.
That being said, he knew his team didn't fully trust his plan. It wasn't because they seemed unhappy or had angry glints in their eyes, no. It was much more obvious than that.
On their way to icy boy as they weaved in between unobservant and busy teams, he noticed Eyebags softly calling the attention of different teams and having them toss their headbands to him, leaving the other teammates visibly stumped. He also saw Plant Girl try to sneakily use her vine hair to grab headbands, her success rate being lower than Eyebags but managed to snag one or two low level bands.
All of this told Katsuki that his group was very much expecting to lose their own high points he had procured through the obstacle course simply by travelling through the bundle of teams rapidly.
He felt insulted by the very insinuation of that.
But he actually appreciated them stealing what points they could, because at one point they had fallen to third place as another team was steadily racking up points (hence why a lot of teams began to go after either the big or small fish instead, the medium ones irrelevant) but now they had been placed back into second place.
Katsuki almost laughed at the audience's faces as they witnessed his ragtag team turn out second, and soon to be first, it would be a sight to behold.
That would come later, right now they had a job to finish and Katsuki was determined to ensure that it would get completed.
It didn't take him too long to spot icy boy's shitty split colored red and white hair from the crowd with the huge spikes of ice shooting all around. As well as some electrical sparks that Katsuki knew was most likely the result of stupid Pikachu's quirk, if he remembered the random rambling the boy went on and on about previously. He vaguely remembers him joining up with icy boy, huh, what an odd combo.
Katsuki noticed his own group members had also noticed the team which they were to be targeting, prompting Katsuki to nod as a signal. They would be using one of the Lunatic's so-called 'babies' to perform this plan, which hadn't been fully fleshed out but they all knew this specific piece of machinery would be perfect for their battle.
And what better way to confuse and intimidate your opponents than to run at them screaming bloody murder? Nothing, so that's what they did. Of course it required Katsuki begin to pick up speed, causing Eyebags and the Lunatic to stare at him apprehensively before getting the gist of what he was doing. They too sped up and followed his lead, except for screaming bloody murder. That was all Katsuki.
Although, it did take a few seconds for icy boy's team to fully comprehend that yes Katsuki was screaming at them while running at them with a bored looking purple haired boy, an insane pink haired girl, and an excited religious plant lady. Their plan worked, surprise immindent on all their faces except for icy boy. Fucking emotionless bastard, of course.
Immediately, Plant Girl sent forth her hair, snaking the vines in close to the group and putting them on the defensive.
They tried to bat them away with some metal poles, (Katsuki still remembers Plant Girl's fury the one time he called her hair an it) Katsuki wasn't sure where they got them considering no one in their group was in the Support Course, but then again he forgot some of their quirks, well most of them. Still, it didn't matter because Plant Girl was able to counteract the poles as she had much more mastery over her vines than the group had with the skinny metal poles.
Katsuki withdrew a small gadget that the Lunatic had given him to use within close combat. It might restrict the vine's movement a little bit but would ultimately be worth it.
Drawing his hand forward, Katsuki held up a gun-shaped contraption that had coils twisted all around it, forming an intricate woven pattern. In their line of hero work or whatever bullshit they wanted to call it, it was unlikely they had ever been faced up against a gun, especially if they assumed its contents were gunpowder and lead.
They couldn't be further from the truth.
Katsuki aimed it right at icy boy's forehead, only a few feet apart as the vines had proven to be great distractions to allow the team to draw closer.
He pulled his finger down on the trigger.
Two things happened. One, a large wall of ice sprouted up from the group as a gust of speed drew icy boy's group backward into safety. Two, a large net flung from the gun's nozzle, aimed right at the retreating group.
The gun was faster than the ice, but the ice wasn't slow enough that it let the gun's net do its full effect, parts of it getting snagged in the ice and only ensnaring two members instead of all of them. It could still be counted as a win, of sorts. On the other hand, the ice had startled the vines and with a mind of their own, they had retreated back to the safety of Plant Girl's scalp. A few of them were frozen, causing the girl in question to wince and let out a shiver.
That might turn out to be an issue, plants and the cold don't mix all too well together.
Plant Girl had also mentioned how her vines worked best in large numbers, she usually used them to shield herself, trap an enemy in a cocoon, or cover a large area. Right now she was completely out of her comfort zone, which is usually encouraged by teachers but in such a competitive environment could end up causing them more harm than good.
Hence, it was time for her to utilize what she was good at, and for the rest of their teammates to follow suit.
Quickly, the Lunatic drew forth another gadget, one that she had previously warned could misfire easily as it was still in developmental phases. However, this situation called for such a risky device. Monitoring the invention's small display screen, the Lunatic clicked on the releasing button, causing a switch to flip up for complete control. Out of the machine's nozzle came a bright ball of fire, aimed right at the ice wall.
Now this wasn't just any flamethrower, but a hyper complicated steerable flamethrower.
The Lunatic's eyebrows were fused together with concentration and Katsuki observed the system she had built was working against her, wanting to be wild and explode upon impact where it desired. That and the unpredictability of its effectiveness made it one of the hazardous weapons they aimed to use, but if she could pull it off then not only would she grab the attention she wanted but Katsuki's own goal could be met.
As the fireball flew in the direction of the ice wall it picked up speed per the Lunatic's control on the machine's console, crashing into the ice and splintering it into a million pieces that never had the chance to reach the ground before they were melted into water. At the end of the day, icy boy's ice was just ice and held no special properties. It was weak to fire and would melt just the same.
An ecstatic grin found its way onto Katsuki's face, they couldn't be stopped.
"Shit!" The Lunatic cried out as the machine started to fight back even harder, the fireball jerking in unwanted places and straying too far from the group that was supposed to be its target.
Katsuki's eyes flew around as he assessed their surroundings, their plan of just barreling the fireball into the group wouldn't work now, so he had to adapt, "Fucking hell, I've got a plan."
Katsuki briefed the Lunatic, Plant Girl, and Eyebags on his plan that would ultimately involve all of their cooperation to make it possible. As it turns out, his plan sucked. One look from the group and they all dismissed his plan with ease, leaving him frustrated beyond belief because it honestly didn't seem too terrible. However, the Lunatic pitched a better idea (in the short minutes they had before the opposing team's two members broke free of the net, because even if the ice was cracked and melted the net still was only half effective.)
To her credit, it was much better than all their previous ideas, but that was probably because this plan was more realistic and tailored to each of their individual talents. If he was to be frank, he was rather proud of her but wasn't surprised with her complicated machinery. But, he was angry at how lacking his plan had turned out to be. Deku would've done so much better than him. The fact remained that his plans weren't as good comparatively as any that Deku would be able to conceive, but the more he spent with the boy, the more he improved. If he was still able to spend time with Deku after this… if Deku came back to him.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, again, Katsuki steadied himself. This whole plan could fall apart at any point and his duty, as the only one who had a useless quirk, was to essentially monitor the situation and make sure everything was going according to plan. That was one difference between Katsuki's plan and the Lumatic's, for instance, in his he played a much bigger part but in hers he was basically on the sidelines. The only thing his teammates were depending on him for was his signal, which was fine with him. Less people to disappoint. So, with a final deep breath he nodded his head sharply, spurring the group into action.
The Lunatic quickly jerked the fireball around rapidly, continuing the illusion that she had lost all control over her own device. It would put their opponents at ease, even if subconsciously, if they thought the fireball would no longer be aimed at them.
Meanwhile Katsuki focused on moving forwards, and helping the Lunatic steer, her eyes buried in her machine continuing her faking of an extreme lack of control. Even with the ice wall being thrown up not much distance was created, as the boy with the entines on his calves was one of the ones stuck in the net meaning he couldn't use whatever propulsion quirk he had for fear of confusion.
And that was where Eyebags would come in.
Katsuki noticed both the girl with the black ponytail and icy boy's eyes widened as they realized how close the two groups had become in such a short time. They had made good time in arriving there fast.
Eyebags openly laughed, "Pathetic, getting caught in a trap like that? Is your quirk everything to you because you seem pretty useless without it… I have to say" he mused with a taunting smirk. Katsuki attempted to hide his own matching grin at the spluttering confusion that appeared on their target's face - the engine boy.
"I'll have you kno-" He began, replacing his expression with a stern look, one that quickly turned blank as Eyebags grabbed control of him.
Fuck yes. He took the bait.
"Gotcha" Eyebags murmured in content, uttering his specific instructions of the means of attacking he required to the boy.
In turn, with eyes glassed over and a blank face, engine boy began to grab at ponytail's arm, ignoring her scolding protests as a wrestle between the two broke out. Engine boy was as determined as Eyebags, his resolve unbreaking.
That slip, in which both Shitty Pikachu and icy boy were enraptured by the puzzling sight, not understanding what had happened quite to a massive extent, was perfect. It opened up the opportunity for Plant Girl to strike effectively, her vines already working to snake around Shitty Pikachu. As Katsuki had relayed, his quirk was electricity based and her plants were immune to such effects so if she were to use them against him, he'd be rendered defenseless.
As he had just learned, Plant Girl excelled in cocooning her victims up in a prison of vines, Shitty Pikachu being so distracted by the display that Eyebags had put on, gave her the chance to exploit that lapse of judgement to encapture him completely.
It was amusing to hear the muffled sounds of him yelling, and even hear the buzzing of electricity building up with one sizzle at a time only to fizzle out completely. He had discharged the shocks with all of his power, not recognizing the extreme advantage Plant Girl had.
Katsuki, who had moved his observations to icy boy, saw the realization dawn upon him that he was the only one in his team who was currently unoccupied in some way. Engine boy and that other girl were fighting, Shitty Pikachu was trapped, and icy boy was soon to find himself immobilized too.
But, as all plans go, something went wrong.
The girl that engine boy had grabbed ahold of slapped his harshly on the cheek, and in that moment Katsuki knew that whatever she had just done had broken Eyebags' control over him, his grip on her arm slackening and confusion growing.
Shit, without those two occupied they had absolutely no chances of succeeding, whereas before it was somewhat probable, now they were against a speed quirk and a creation-type quirk it seemed with the way she gripped the metal pole in her hands, like there was no other option for her. It was desperation.
Katsuki was feeling the same exact emotion, in his very polar circumstance to hers he still understood they were both fighting to move onto the next round with high points.
Luckily for Katsuki and unluckily for her, he had an unpredictable lunatic on his side who would do anything to show off one of her babies. And that's exactly what she did, molding the plan so that instead of the fireball attacking the left side where Shitty Pikachu was, due to icy boy being likely to attempt to free him, it was now moved specifically to attack the right side at angle that would hit the girl and engine boy, grabbing icy boy's direct attention and thus providing a great distraction.
The Lunatic's plan had consisted of her putting up the fake distraction of the fireball to lower their guard allowing Katsuki, Plant Girl, and Eyebags to get right in close so Eyebags could use his quirk, confuse them further and take out two team members, allowing Plant Girl to slip in and take out a team member. Then ideally the Lunatic would have gained control and sent the fireball barrelling into icy boy, but this shift worked just as well as their original plan.
Icy boy's attention had left Shitty Pikachu and his vine wrapping completely, instead his arm stretched out, ice forming as he thrusted it in the direction of the fireball, trying to stop its ultimate collision.
Everything from there on felt like it went in slow motion.
Katsuki, positioned in front of Shitty Pikachu, saw the moment that icy boy let his guard down, forehead exposed and too busy producing ice to notice how close Katsuki was getting to him. His own arms outstretched and grabbing for the largest and brightest headband positioned on his head, he could already picture the million points on Plant Girl's forehead, claiming their victory.
But he underestimated the people around icy boy, the ones who weren't as enraptured by the distraction as they should have been.
"Todoroki" A feminine voice called out, "On your right!"
Icy boy's eyes shifted as his focus darted to catch Katsuki right as he was grabbing towards him. He had limited options, either let the headband get taken or let his teammates get flamed to bits with him along with them. Katsuki knew he could make it, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they wouldn't be able to win this.
However, just as Katsuki's fingertips grazed the cool fabric of the headband, icy boy's right up flew up almost subconsciously. It startled Katsuki, who hadn't seen the boy use his right arm and especially because he had plenty of time to use it, so why now?
Unbelievable as his arm went up, Katsuki noticed flames started to lick his arm. He blinked suddenly, but it wasn't a trick of the light, flames were raging on icy boy's (that name was no longer appropriate after Katsuki had discovered this new quirk) usually static arm and up the left side of neck to his scarred eye.
Icy boy gasped, as though he was as surprised as Katsuki was as he waved his arm around almost as if trying to put out the fire. Instead, he managed to bat Katsuki's hand, which had just grasped the headband, and the shock of the burning pain that leapt up his arm was enough for him to curl his hand back, horror visible in his eyes.
This was not supposed to happen, why was this… this stupid iced fire boy conceling his quirk so much? Did we want to play dirty and fool everyone around him? No, going with the terrified look Katsuki had seen in his usual emotionless eyes, which had scared him equally to the actual flames, this was unplanned for him too. Only to be used in the last case scenario? Katsuki didn't know nor did he particularly care as fire was being waved near his arm and face, leaving no opening for Katsuki to grab the headband.
On the other side, it seemed the shock from the flames still hadn't deterred the scared icy fire boy from reenforcing the layer of ice the fireball was quickly burning through. The two would-be victims of the fireball were staring in shock, so at least one aspect was going right.
Katsuki still had a chance, he could still do this.
But then, he looked in the icy fire boy's eyes.
He recognized that exact look.
He had seen it in his own eyes whenever he looked in the mirror after that fated event. He swore a part of him had died then, too lost in the perils of his quirk to see anything else, too blinded by pain and terror.
Seeing this exact look in someone else's eyes was too much to handle. Icy fire boy was reaching out for comfort with his eyes, but all Katsuki could see was his own mistakes.
He flinched backwards, a tremble overcoming his hand, it was barely noticeable but it was enough to count. It was enough to ruin the entire essence of the plan. It was enough for the next moments to be seared into Katsuki's mind as just another one of his many weaknesses.
For he hadn't noticed it at first but a large ring rang out across the field. It echoed in his brain and froze all of his senses. He knew what it meant, but he couldn't bring himself to move an inch or look up as Midnight announced the ending of the Cavalry Battle. The ending of Katsuki's chance to prove himself. His past had come back to haunt him worse than Deku ever could try.
They had lost. No, He had lost.
FUCK.
This was his one chance, his one opportunity after his complete failure in the first activity. And he blew it, completely and utterly blew it.
His legs couldn't support the weight he was carrying, luckily Plant Girl had already climbed off of his shoulders, so when his knees buckled and he collapsed, he didn't take anyone down with him.
Laying on the dirty floor, with no care in the world Katsuki resorted to what he always did; his own thoughts.
He felt so empty and lost at his prospect. He had lost like the pathetic weakling he was, and the plan was going so well too… Eyebags had created the distraction with the Lunatic helping and Plant Girl went on the offensive to neutralize one opponent, the Lumatic once again switching gears to distract icy boy and attack the two opponents Eyebags had been distracting. That left Katsuki open to attack icy boy who was half occupied already, and then the complete and ultimate unexpected had happened: an element they hadn't counted on. Katsuki was stunned yet again in the presence of the boy, to the point where he wasn't able to move forward, losing in the same exact circumstances.
It was insane to think about, he had lost in the same way as before.
"Oi loser, loser, loser." He felt a pressure against his outer thigh, "Loser get up, you okay? Seriously man come on!"
But Katsuki didn't want to get up, he wanted to stay on the floor. He wanted to be alone in a huge empty stadium, well it didn't matter if it was empty or not because he frankly couldn't bring himself to give a single shit about the eyes on him during his dramatic meltdown.
He felt more nudges in his side, but didn't move an inch.
His crumpled form was going nowhere.
But then, he heard a deep sigh, "I'm sorry for this" He could tell it was Eyebags who had spoken as he knelt down to him, "Hey Katsukiiiiii, let's get up!"
Immediately Katsuki felt his neck snap to look directly at Eyebags eyes, almost subconsciously yapping out, "What?" not sure if he heard the boy correctly.
"Stand up. Wave with us as we walk back into U.A for our breaktime." He commanded and that's when Katsuki lost control of his own body.
Mentally he was cursing himself out as he felt his legs gain control and push himself off the ground and back towards his group who were staring at Eyebags with a stunned look. He should've seen this coming when Eyebags had spoken his first name. He felt like even more of an idiot as he tried to break free but found himself instead taking steps forwards next to Eyebags.
Why couldn't he just stew in frustration and pity? It was almost as if no one wanted to let him suffer in peace, instead forcing him to move forwards and ignore how horrible he truly was and how much of a letdown he continued to be.
Involuntarily a lone tear found its way sliding down Katsuki's cheek as the only way he could express his discontent while being under control. Each drag of his feet was like a sharp sting to his psyche.
It seemed as if Eyebags had noticed the shiny tear on Katsuki's cheek, a strong look of guilt and pity settling in his eyes. It was overwhelming, and Katsuki wasn't even sure what it was exactly that he felt guilt for, but what he did know is that he didn't want the pity. He never wanted pity. Pity was for people who were pathetic enough that the only validation they ever got was from people who looked down on them as inferior and deserving of lesser treatment because of some 'tragic' incident that had befallen them
He was sick of it.
If he hadn't been brainwashed Katsuki would've swung his fists at Eyebags right then and there, his insides screaming to stop that gleam in his eyes, to stop the pity he was receiving.
Alas, he could do nothing as the only movement he could muster was his waving at the crowd.
Katsuki knew the pain of causing someone else's death, he just never knew not being in control of your own body could feel almost as worse. Each step he took only drilling it in further - he was no longer in control. He was no longer free. He could be killed off right this second and it wouldn't even be him dying. He was just a shell to be used and used again.
Inside he was shaking with fear and sobbing for it to stop.
Mind control seemed to be pretty straight forward at first, but the longer Katsuki felt out of control of his own body, the longer Katsuki had to endure this kind of pain, the more he felt like breaking apart. It was like Katsuki was a quilt, and the mind control was a seam ripper. Slowly each of the threads holding him together was being snapped and broken into shreds, leaving him with pieces of fabric and nothing to go off of.
He wanted it to stop. He never wanted to be controlled like this, he never consented to it, nor did he care if thousands of people saw him meltdown on live television. Anything was better than this, anything was better than this hell of being trapped in his own body that he couldn't even control.
Mentally he tugged and struggled, he screamed until his throat would've been hoarse. Then he screamed some more, begging to be let out and to be free.
Still, not a single word was uttered from his mouth.
The second they got past the crowds and the need for formalities and entered the hallways, Eyebags released his hold on Katsuki. It was relieving, like he had been submerged underwater all this time and was finally let up to breathe the clean air. It felt like the choking hold on him had finally let up. He immediately started gasping for air as though he hadn't tasted it in years. Never before had he valued living in his own body.
He never wanted to experience that ever again.
Ignoring the pure pain and guilt in Eyebags' eyes, Katsuki ran away from the solemn group.
He ignored their calling after him as he continued to gasp and clutch his chest where his heart would be.
He ran and ran, until he came across a television screen in the middle of the hallway.
He knew it would pain him to see that fucking icy fire boy in first place, but he had to check the standings anyway.
Still, Katsuki was reeling with anger. He was steaming with discontentment at his loss. Sue him if he was a sore loser, but in this case it was completely warranted. He had been so close to winning before those fuckers got the better of him using bullshit tactics and managed to even steal one of his group's headbands. Luckily enough, they had enough to cushion them in case that exact situation happened, as he recollected, but it didn't matter.
Was their plan that imperfect, the Lunatics's machines not used the best, Plant Girl overutilized, Eyebags underutilized, and would they have won if Katsuki himself had decided to use his quirk? Questions were surfacing the longer he kept himself from peeking at the scoreboard. His own fears very much holding him back, the idea of failure too great for him to see. However, he mustered up whatever courage he could and took a look.
As he peeked at second place, he was shocked to find another group's name staring back at him instead of his group's. The cover image wasof that watered down blonde boy Katsuki saw using acid against Pinky and her group… but he didn't particularly care who these people were, only that he was no longer in second.
His group had been knocked to third.
Katsuki. In third place.
The conditions for it were beyond stupid, and even now his fists were clenched in fury at the simple thought of it. He had time before the start of the next activity, but he felt hopeless. The first two events he would attempt quirkless to prove he could still be on top, but neither time did he actually make it. And now, in the last challenge he had to use his quirk for Deku.
Katsuki unclenched his fists and buried his face into his hands. Tears formed in his eyes as a sob climbed its way up his throat, he didn't want it to come to this. He thought he would be able to win without it, and now… he really was pathetic wasn't he?
Someone cleared their throat next to Katsuki.
Holy fuck.
He jumped in surprise, too wrapped up in his own pity to notice someone was standing right next to him, just watching him breakdown.
On one hand, that was extremely creepy and why the fuck would someone do that? Some weird ass kink or something and second of all why did they think it would be okay to approach him? Was it some person who also wanted to look at the rankings? Fucking idiot.
Katsuki quickly flipped to the person in question to give them a verbal chewing out, regardless of his red eyes and wet cheeks ruining his angry image, to which he didn't care.
But all the words he kept on the tip of his sharp tongue seemingly dissolved once he glanced at the split red and white haired boy with his emotionless, albeit looking a bit uncomfortable, face.
"I have a request of you." He got right to the point, which Katsuki respected but it was also completely uncalled for.
"I'm preoccupied, fuck off"
"What I say might interest you."
Katsuki snorted, "The only thing you could say that would interest me would involve you leaving."
"I won't interact with you again if you do this for me now" He proposed, seemingly unfazed by Katsuki's harsh demeanor.
Of course the exact moment he finished his sentence had to be when the sob building in Katsuki decided to break past his lips, causing a loud hiccup-type sound to burst loose. He cursed, hiding his face away from the other boy in embarrassment.
"Oh." The sound made Katsuki peek at icy boy, seeing a new gleam appear in his eyes, "I suppose if you come with me I will forget I caught you crying and swear never to tell anyone."
Shit.
So that's the game he wanted to play, huh?
"You really think that'll work?" He scoffed
"Yes."
Katsuki's reddened eyes narrowed in frustration, he was getting on his nerves, "Why would anyone believe you?"
"I don't joke around much."
Katsuki chuckled, that was as clear as day. He was nowhere near a good conversationalist and didn't seem the type to endorse jokes, especially not aimed towards someone like Katsuki.
However, that just made this all the more difficult. For all he knew, icy boy was going to lure him into a spare janitor's closet and off him before he could beat his ass to the ground. That might not be likely, but when assessing how the boy could be full of possibilities since he was hard to read and Katsuki didn't know him well enough, nor wanted to, he didn't think it was too much of a stretch.
"Either me getting outed as a crybaby or I get subject to whatever you have in store for me?" Katsuki crossed his arms, hoping to get a rise out of the boy or some kind of cue that could give him information.
"Yes."
Damn it.
There goes that that it had much hope to begin with, as Katsuki could not be considered the best person to assess motive based on facial and body movement.
But what he did know is that icy boy was desperate and Katsuki had something to lose if he didn't take the bait. It was a mental battle, but he could feel himself losing by the second. After a few seconds of thought, he relented.
"Fine, let's go"
Icy boy (he still needed a better name for this annoying fucker, one that really summarized how much of a pain in the ass he was) nodded his head and started to walk away from Katsuki.
Shit, he meant right now?
He groaned and began to follow the stoic boy, pensive about his fortunes and what was to come of him. There was a break time currently, as established, but how much longer would it last and how long would this whatever he wanted going to last?
Katsuki right now was a ticking time bomb with a very short fuse that if provoked was sure to start burning to the stem and cause a massive boom. It wouldn't be pretty, and it wouldn't be fun, for anyone.
Walking in pure and utter silence made Katsuki's thoughts only amplified as his anxiousness started to seep in and take control.
Wasn't it odd they hadn't come accorss any classmates or teachers in a while? Where were they even? Were they still in U.A? Was he so distracted something had happened and he didn't realize? Was icy boy still here even?
Katsuki whipped his head out of his thoughts to check, seeing the boy still plowing on ahead of him. Well, at least he could be sure of that in these quiet halls. Much to Katuki's relief, a few moments later two girls from what seemed to be another General Education class came strolling towards them, chatting and giggling, signifying an answer to most of the worries he had posed in his own mind.
He decidedly ignored the way the two girls grew quiet the second they were next to him and icy boy, not picking up their conversation until they were down the hall, resigning only to hushed whispers.
This kept getting weirder and weirder as the seconds passed.
Finally, after enough time to get Katsuki very paranoid about his current circumstances and wherever icy boy (Katsuki realized he had gone back to calling the boy this mentally, finding it easier than icy fire boy… maybe he'd just use Fucker) might be leading him. However, by the looks of it they were just in an abandoned hallway far from any sounds of near-chattering, the only voices coming from the loud stands situated above.
Icy boy leaned his body against the wall with a heavy sigh.
"Alright, let's make this fast then?" Katsuki sniffled, his eyes still red from his earlier venture.
"You interest me." Icy boy began, much to Katsuki's disbelief, "I have vowed to never use my left side, as a marking of defiance against my father, the number two hero, Endeavor. Yet you managed to devise a way to get me to use my locked half."
"For fuck's sake, it wasn't even my plan, what does it matter?"
"Your plan or not, it was your execution was it not?" He challenged, "Was it not you who almost grabbed the winning headband?"
"Get to the point." Katsuki crossed his arms to signify his unwillingness.
"I thought I ought to explain this." His voice grew stern with anger, "I'll win with my mom's power alone is what I told myself before the start of this festival."
"And?"
"Clearly I was not able to fulfill that." Icy boy lifted up his right hand, slowly clenching and unclenching it. He stared at it like it was an alien that had been transfixed to his body.
"So what, because I somehow got you to use the forbidden half of your quirk I unlocked your sob story?" Katsuki snorted at the boy's logic, he didn't have time to carry someone else's regrets and sadness "Sorry, not interested."
Katsuki uncrossed his arms and with a final assessment of the boy he turned and began to walk away.
"Wait" He commanded, "Seeing as I beat you twice, I will take this as my reward."
"What the fuck?" Katsuki turned his head sharply, which tweaked his neck but at the moment he didn't care, head still reeling from the words the boy had spoken, "Your reward? What kind of bullshit is that?"
But, the boy's analysis of Katsuki's honor and pride had seemingly been greater than he had expected it to be, "I would have expected someone of your caliber to honor a win. And there is still the matter of your secret."
Fuck that bastard.
"What the fuck is so important you have to tell me?" Katsuki turned his body with a scowl set on his face, leaning against the wall as he prepared himself for more information than he ever wanted on the boy in question.
"Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?" He started off.
"No." Katsuki deadpanned, "Just get into it already, we don't have that much time."
"Quirk marriages consist of two individuals marrying so their offspring will have a stronger quirk, it's considered illegal but when you're a Pro Hero no one really cares" Icy boy mused with his permanent emotionless facial expression remaining unchanged. It had long begun to bother Katsuki. "And that is what my father did. He married my mother to produce the perfect child to beat All Might, since he never could…"
Katsuki thought that sounded like a really fucking selfish thing to do, who the fuck had motives like that? But he found himself surprised the longer he listened to the story that he wanted to believe was fake, was fabricated as a way for someone to pull a prank on him. But no matter how hard he wished for it, all the clues pointed in the opposite direction. Icy boy's burn scar and the way it splattered over his left eye in a way only a liquid could, the way Katsuki had seen him look so afraid when flames started to get drawn out of him during the Cavalry Battle. From such an emotionless person it couldn't be fake, none of it could, and that scared him.
He knew Pro Heroes weren't perfect, both him and Deku had seen enough evidence of that through his death and from what Katsuki had seen during his intervention at the USJ with how horribly it was managed.
"I don't want your pity." Icy boy finalized with a reprehensive glance at Katsuki, as if trying to gauge his reaction after learning his entire story.
Katsuki snorted and began to play with the hem of his pants, "Good fucking thing I don't have any to give."
A curious glance was sent his way, clearly this wasn't the expected reaction.
"So what was the point in telling me? Are we going to blow your father up? Become all buddy-buddy and commit arson?" Katsuki chuckled, "Your life sucks sure, but what's the point in all this?"
It was the question that had been on the tip of Katsuki's tongue the entire time.
Why would he tell him this? Katsuki of all people?
Icy boy just looked down at the ground, eyes focused on the many tiny particles of dirt and the sparse footprints that circled this small crevice.
Finally after a few moments of gathering his thoughts or just keeping Katsuki in massive suspense, he spoke.
"Two reasons."
"Which are?"
An annoyed glare came his way. So the elusive icy boy could feel emotions and get annoyed, who'd've thought?
"One, you managed to force me to use my left side. I wished to educate you on why that meant so much to me, and why I now need to beat you without it." As he spoke, he lifted up his left hand to cup the scar over his eye, a burning memory seared into his skin, "Second, I know you too are hiding the natures of your quirk. I saw it during the Obstacle Race. You're in hiding, just like me. I thought you would understand because we're in a similar situation."
With that, he pushed off from the wall and walked away, leaving a shell-shocked Katsuki in his wake.
"WE'RE NOTHING ALIKE." Katsuki yelled after him, his throat rough after his previous yelling throughout the day, but he didn't care, icy boy's words swimming around his head like bathwater that started to drain, water swirling like a tornado overwhelming him with its potency. Who knew it only took a few words to set the water spiralling down?
"You're in hiding, just like me"
The words bounced around his mind, creating a poisoned trail wherever they landed. He wasn't hiding, he wasn't like that boy whose past was so broken that anyone else would curl up and sob when hearing it.
And that's exactly what Katsuki began to do.
But it wasn't the past that got to him, not even close. Instead it was why icy boy even decided to share it in the first place, it was because he wasn't alone, it was because no matter how hard he tried he was still hiding.
Long into the hour Katsuki found himself paralyzed in that same position, curled on the dirtied floors of a small crevice in the area building where a pitiful boy took him to unleash his burdens and where he, a broken boy, picked them up and let them infect his brain too, instead of discarding them. It was there that Katsuki truly for the first time ever felt alone.
Izuku had missed more of the Sport's Festival than he had wanted to. He loved seeing the extravagant interviews and entrances featuring heroes of all kinds, but by the time he found a few people on the street watching it being broadcast through a large television displayed through a shop's window, it was too late. Maybe if Kacchan used his quirk and the two mended their relations then he could get the boy to rerun the beginning of the festival. Because of his lateness from where he saw the television positioned, the students were halfway through what seemed to be an obstacle race. Aha! So he didn't miss the entire first part of it, and from what it seemed Kacchan was still in the runnings! That thought alone pleased him to no end.
He beamed at the small girl whose delicate hand was clutched in his own. Nozomi shared her own smile with him, they had decided to watch the Festival together and then go find her mothers seeing as Izuku was very desperate, not wanting to miss seeing how Kacchan did, regardless of their fight.
He would always be proud of whatever Kacchan achieved, he had been since they were nothing more than babbling babies and he would until they were old men on their deathbeds.
Yet, having Nozomi there comforted him in ways he couldn't explain. Maybe it was the feeling of having a little sister figure to care for, or maybe it was having someone who understood the situation he was in and could relate? Whatever it was, it gave him the confidence to face whatever Kacchan had chosen, to use his quirk, or to not use his quirk.
Izuku directed a soft and assuring smile at Nozomi before squeezing her hand and taking them to a good position where they could see the screens without anyone blocking their way, but also not to close so that they had to strain their eyes to see the full image.
"Which is Kacchan?" Nozomi asked eagerly, taking an interest in what she knew of Izuku's life and leaning closer to the screen to see all of the small figures making their way across a large chasm with pillars built in between them.
"Hm, let me find him." Izuku squinted his eyes and studied each of the students he could see, before the camera's angle changed to close-ups of some key students who were more ahead or utilized their quirks in cool ways. He seldom recognized any of them, the students from Class 1-A and Kacchan's friends being the exception, even if he didn't know them too well. After a few cycles the camera found itself in the view of a spiky blonde haired boy with angry red eyes.
"That's him!" Izuku exclaimed in joy, pointing at the screen as Nozomi looked at his best friend in wonder, drinking in his appearance.
He didn't have any context for the situation Kacchan was in, but he was smirking devilishly as the rope connecting the pillars came crashing down. Immediately Izuku knew Kacchan had caused this to happen, he definitely wouldn't put it beyond the boy who often used harsh techniques to secure a win. He shook his head with a sigh, classic Kacchan, he never changed. That wasn't meant in a bad way, just the nature of his attitude towards those he held no care for was unchanged. Izuku didn't know if he was sensitive to it or if it was that obvious, but it seemed as though the camera was focused on Kacchan much longer than the other participants as it showcased him continuing his climb onto a new rope to get to another pillar.
It was a shame that Izuku and Nozomi were outside the shop because they couldn't hear any audio, and inside the shop none of the TVs were displaying the Sports Festival, making this was their only choice if they wanted to avoid searching for good audio and sound all night.
But, in this exact situation Izuku was worried about what the announcer would have to say about Kacchan's unorthodox strategy of causing those around him to fail so he himself could win. It wouldn't be full of compliments, and Izuku wasn't sure how that would affect his friend's fragile psyche. On the other hand, they could be complimenting the boy for an out-of-the-box approach. Izuku really hoped for the latter.
"WOW!" Nozomi stared at the television in wonder, "THAT WAS SO COOL! Did you see how he just took them all out?" She began a happy blabber. It pleased Izuku to know there was another Kacchan admirer out there, one he could trust.
But funnily enough, her excitement reminded Izuku of himself when he was her age. So innocent to the world, seeing the coolest new hero on television and idolizing them forevermore. He just hoped she wouldn't have to go through what he had to, wouldn't get let down by the one who she loved for their work as a hero, one who inspired her. But, it seemed like Kacchan was going to be her new inspiration and Izuku really wasn't sure how that could play out. On the other hand, Nozomi now meant something to Izuku and he knew if Kacchan got to know her, he would agree fully!
After smiling fondly at the girl and providing his own observations and analysis, he went back to closely watching the screen. There was not a single doubt in his mind that Kacchan could make it far, he had to, to boost himself up and prove his own worth or himself.
If he thought Izuku hadn't noticed the mental breakdowns, nights where he spent crying his eyes out and begging for forgiveness, his restless dreams where he screamed in bed, and his irregular mood swings and behavior then he was mistaken. Izuku was observant, and he knew Kacchan needed to win this to prove his strength. Even now, he couldn't help but look up to the blonde boy's perseverance and strength. There must be something wrong with him.
Lost in his own thoughts, Izuku almost missed a moment where Kacchan passed on screen, Nozomi pulling on his sleeve to alert him of his friend's appearance.
Wow!
It looked like he was clearing a minefield… but why was he just standing there? Izuku knew Kacchan well enough to know how impatient and eager to win he was, the only reason he would stand around was if he had something planned. Moments later Izuku was proved correct in his theory as Kacchan spurred into action.
"What's he doing?" Nozomi's eyes widened in worry, "He's wasting time! He won't win!"
Izuku patted her head, "You see how he's gathering all the mines into one place?"
"Uh huh"
"That's because he has a plan!"
"But what if he won't make it?"
Izuku chuckled, "He's Kacchan, he'll always make it."
Nozomi seemed satisfied with his answer, eyes roaming back to the muted screen as the camera zoomed in on the angry boy who was shovelling dirt with his hands to uncover mines and strategically place them into a pile. A small shard of metal was clenched between his teeth as he scooped and piled with a high amount of speed, a few classmates of his surpassing him as he worked with curious or uninterested looks on their faces.
The audience was interested and so was the competition it seemed.
Kacchan was on everyone's radar.
Izuku wasn't sure whether to feel proud or apprehensive about it, instead feeling a mixture of both emotions swirling inside him. He knew Kacchan's tells, so he could determine just how focused he was on his task, which eased some of his nerves if he was being honest. If Kacchan was enraptured with his project, it would mean the pressure on him and curiosity would go over his head.
At least that was the scenario Izuku was praying for.
Even so, he had to trust Kacchan and his abilities… he had to trust Kacchan as hard and wild as that might have seemed to any third party watching in considering their rocky relationship. Yet, they always found a way to climb those same rocks and overcome them.
Izuku adopted a smile as he and the rest of the audience watched in suspense as Kacchan finally stacked an adequate number of bombs together.
There was a pause as everyone held their breath, Izuku bracing himself for the worst possible situation as Kacchan took the metal shard in his hands, knuckles white with concentration and force, moving to position himself right towards what Izuku presumed was the final gates. A million thoughts seemed to cross Kacchan's mind, and Izuku faintly hoped he was at least one of them, as the boy gripped the knife and swung it, throwing it right into the core of the piled mines.
The enormous pink explosion that followed was blinding.
Even with Izuku's fear of explosions because of the burns that had lined his arms, even with the years he spent cowering from the orange-yellow explosions that had plagued his nightmares, he wasn't afraid.
He stared straight at the screen in wonder as the civilians around him blocked their eyes from the harsh lights.
But, Izuku felt no fear.
When Kacchan shot forward, lit up by a pink light that was boosting him from behind, Izuku could only stand in astonishment.
A single thought came crashing through his mind: He had never seen a more beautiful sight.