Title: Hold On
Summary: Heavily inspired by the song (Hold On by Chord Overstreet). Katsuki had gone back for his school book. He never thought Izuku would listen to him. He was stronger than that. It was infuriating how unwavering the nerd was in his goal, so why...why was Katsuki holding him, drenched in his childhood friend's blood, begging, praying for him to just...hold on.
Anime: My Hero Academia
Pairing: Izuku/Katsuki
Rating: M for Katsuki (I mean, Language) and other sensitive topics. Warnings will be listed as needed.
TRIGGER WARNING:
-Mentions of Attempted Suicide
-Self-Loathing
Chapter Two
"Masaru, have you heard from Katsuki?"
A lot had changed in the Bakugou household since two days ago. The biggest was the interactions between Mitsuki and Katsuki. It would be an understatement to say that their personalities had adjusted to their happenings. The two tiptoed around each other. One is scared to say the wrong thing to her son. The other was afraid to look his mother in the eyes. Both were hoarding the blame of Izuku's jump on their shoulders.
Masaru monitored his family more than ever to ensure neither fell into a depression. Looking out for the signs, watching their health, keeping them both active and openly comings their thoughts... most importantly... making sure they knew they weren't alone. Personally speaking, he'd never had depression, mild or severe. What he knew about episodes of depression was no more than what he'd read online. He was there. He would always be there. He wasn't dumb, though. He knew there would be times when the two would want to have their space, and he would give it.
Masaru had seen his wife watching their son from his bedroom door twice. He'd asked her about it and only received a shrug and the reply, "just making sure he's okay."
That said, they were both still easily irritated and passionate people, just... too worried and too tired to act on those familiar emotions.
"He hasn't called?"
"No, he hasn't." The concern in her voice was heard clearly.
It was pretty late, considering Katsuki was normally showered and asleep by eight-thirty. While, normally, they wouldn't be too concerned, there had been an attack on one of Katsuki's classmates the day Izuku had jumped. The villain had been apprehended... however, the boy didn't survive. The heroes that had arrived on the scene couldn't save him. From where the civilians stood watching, they didn't even try.
Mitsuki had been infuriated by the news. Each one of the heroes on the scene had claimed the same thing. Their quirk wasn't right for that villain. By the time Kamui Woods finally managed to wrestle the kid out of the villain's grip... he'd suffocated. Since then, the news was lashing out almost violently against heroes. Most schools had implemented a buddy- system...Aldera Junior High was not one of those schools.
Standing from the couch, Masaru walked to the entryway and slipped his shoes on. "I think I have an idea of where he is," pulling his jacket on, he opened the front door and glanced back at Mitsuki. "I'll be back with him."
"—us to write about the rise of quirks and decline of mediocrity. I spent most of the lecture thinking about what you would write if you were in class with us. Pretty sure it would be some eight-page bullshit filled with how cool quirks are. You'd probably completely miss the point of the assignment." Katsuki flipped a page in his notebook. While talking to Izuku, he was doing his homework. He hadn't looked at his phone or checked the time, so he wasn't aware that visiting hours were almost over. "I could probably use some of your help with the assignment, but not a lot. …just a second opinion or some shit." He stopped talking, watching a finger move, just a small twitch. The heart monitor fluttered for a moment, and Katsuki smiled.
At first, he wasn't sure if Izuku could hear him. The nurses told him to continue talking to him because he could hear what was being said, which could speed up his recovery, but he hadn't put much weight into what they said. Not until a couple of hours ago. He'd been going on about some villain attack that had caused him to be late to school. Whatever possessed him to pull out a notebook and scribble down what he saw, he couldn't say, but he did. Now he needed a new notebook. Katsuki nearly cringed at how much like the nerd he sounded at that moment. Not that he'd ever tell anyone...except... he did. He told Izuku. It was the first thing he talked about with him. He talked about the villain with the ink quirk and tentacles, how he'd tried to fight Gunhead and was absurdly outmatched. He'd even gone into detail on the quirks and all that he could see from his perspective, drawing a quick sketch for the nerd for when he woke up. And he would.
"Katsuki,"
Turning around in his seat, Katsuki frowned when he saw his dad standing in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"That's a good question; mind if I ask you the same thing?"
Shrugging, he looked back over his shoulder and stared down at Izuku. "I thought I should come and check on him."
"I'm sure he appreciates it, son."
"I doubt it. Considering I'm the reason he's here in the first place."
"Don't do that to yourself, Katsuki."
Feeling his father's hand on his shoulder, he didn't try to push it off. He was honestly thankful for the support. Not that he'd ever admit it...well, maybe he would, one day.
"Visiting hours are almost over, Katsuki. Are you ready to go home?"
He wasn't, but true to his dad's words; it was almost eight-thirty. Not commenting on how late it was, he just put his work and books away before shouldering two bags. Giving Izuku one last look, Katsuki walked into his dad's awaiting arm and let him wrap it around his shoulder. Walking him out of the room and out of the hospital. Katsuki didn't even notice when his dad raised a hand in a silent greeting to someone out of his field of vision.
Inko smiled sadly as she let her hand fall back to her side. Placing a small stack of plastic clipboards on the hospital counter, she leaned back against it and heaved a quiet sigh.
"Inko?"
Looking back at one of the other nurses that worked her shift.
A woman with mousy ears and a mousy nose and tail stared thoughtfully at Inko from next to the cart she'd wheeled into the lobby.
Inko grinned cheerfully at her, "Hey! I just finished distributing the medication around the west end ward, did you-" the arms wrapped around her had successfully cut her off. Holding her, a hand rubbed her back, and before Inko knew what was going on, she had her face buried in the woman's scrubs as she cried.
"You don't need to be so strong, Inko. We understand how difficult this is for you. Talk to us, don't just smile through it."
"If I let my mind wander for even a moment, I'm so scared of what I'll start thinking about. Izuku never showed signs of being bullied. He never said anything to me. I can't believe that..." she stopped herself from saying it aloud. 'No, I don't; I don't think he did this because of Katsuki. As much as Katsuki has taken the blame for all that's happened, I know something else took place that day. Something that no one else saw.' Closing her eyes to her tears, she cleared her throat and pulled away from the hug, smiling at the woman who'd held her, "I need to keep smiling because I know it's what Izuku would do."
Another couple of days came and went. It was now clockwork for Katsuki to come to the hospital after school ended. He'd collect all of Izuku's school work in organized folders that he kept in a second bag. On his way to and from school, Katsuki would take the time to stop and take notes on Heroes and Villains alike. Whatever he saw, he took it down.
After asking Auntie, Katsuki was permitted to grab Izuku's No.13 Hero Analysis from his school bag. Why? Katsuki stated a No. 14 Hero Analysis, and to get it as close to Izuku's format, he was using it as a guide. While on break at lunch, Katsuki would write down everything he'd scribbled into his own notebook in the new one for Izuku. Would this make up for half the shit Katsuki had done to Izuku over the years? Absolutely not. Still... he had to start somewhere. He couldn't just sit there twiddling his thumbs, expecting everything to be okay when Izuku woke up. He knew better.
Sitting alone at lunch, Katsuki had broken away from the crowds he'd normally entertained a couple of days ago. Ignoring the majority of the shit the teachers said to him. All of which was assumed up into shoddy ass reassurance, talking about how his future and permanent record wouldn't be affected by what happened to Izuku.
How badly he'd wanted to blast their homeroom teacher into another millennium.
Taking a bite out of his lunch, he savored the spice that burned the back of his throat. Turning a page of Izuku's notebook, his eyes missed no charred corner, the dark burns that had gone through multiple pages of the book. The water damage that came from tossing the book into the fountain. The blue writing that he could still read, but barely.
On another page, Katsuki stopped and stared at a crudely drawn outfit. 'Nerd...I refuse to be seen next to you in a green bunny outfit...' No matter how he flipped the book or what angle he looked at the picture in, that's what he saw. Turning another page, and another, then a few more; a few more quirks and heroes he recognized...and... "What the hell?"
Katsuki looked at the autograph written in bold strokes across two pages. Something about the name seemed off. It was the last thing written in Izuku's notebook. The last thing before he'd jumped. The last person he saw before he jumped... was All Might?
"Izuku," Katsuki was out of breath when he stopped in front of Izuku's bed. He'd run all the way there after the school bell tolled. Tossing both bags to the side, he looked at the heart monitor; still a steady beat, no changes... he supposed that was good. "Izuku," he said his name a second time, "you know I went to your place and got your notebook. The most recent one you were working on?" Asking like Izuku might answer him back, Katsuki felt almost ashamed for thinking he might.
He sat down and took Izuku's hand, hoping that he'd feel his friend move some.
"I was reading through it the last two days and, well... you're Hero Uniforms concept design is crap... but while you're sleeping, I suppose I can clean it up for you." Pausing, Katsuki waited for a sign that Izuku had heard him. "Don't feel obligated to use the design. I figured, whatever you decide to go with, will be perfect for whatever type of hero you want to be." THERE! A small squeeze! He grinned. "Izuku, if you and I are going to be the top Heroes... you need to wake up. Sooner, preferably over later, dumbass. I can't imagine how much muscle you've lost over the last six days, what little muscle you had." There was another twitch of his fingers. Katsuki felt his chest tighten, and his heart starts to race.
"Izuku, come on. Auntie misses you so much; she needs you to wake up. I- I need you! I screwed up so badly, and I know I did! I'll make it up to you somehow... I'm not sure what I can do to fix things, but I promise you I'll spend every last breath doing better and being better! So..." He dropped from his chair to his knees, head pressed into the bed, "so please, wake up."
He cried a lot during this visit and still didn't ask about the autograph like he was planning on.
When his dad came to pick him up, that was how he found him. He was on his knees, asleep, griping Izuku's hand like it was a lifeline. At some point, a nurse presumably came in with a spare blanket and covered him if the light blanket was anything to go by.
They could only assume it was Auntie.
Inko was pulling her sweater on and getting ready to head home. It was seven in the morning, and the sun had started peeking through the windows. "Yumi, be safe on your way home!"
"You too, Inko!"
Grabbing her purse, Inko approached the door after the other nurse left the room. Walking down the hall, she stopped by Izuku's room and smiled genuinely at her son. "Izuku, honey, I'll be going home now. I'll see you again tonight." Leaning down, she brushed a kiss against his forehead. Running her fingers through his hair. Glancing at the end of his bed, she took the clipboard with his information and looked over the file. Stable Condition was always the first word she keyed into, which impacted her emotional state. She was able to leave the hospital feeling more hopeful every time she looked at those words. Stable Condition.
The doctor in charge of her son had written a few notes on another page. Nothing she hadn't considered herself. For instance, he recommended that once Izuku wakes up, he undergoes physical therapy and receives treatment to help improve movement and relieve pain. She was determined to do all she could to ensure Izuku received the help he needed. More than that, she had something else she wanted to do. This one, before he woke up. Placing the clipboard back in the plastic bag at his bedside, Inko told her son goodnight and left with a determined look on her face. Her next destination... U.A. Academy.
Me: Here's hoping you guys are enjoying this story! I'm not accustomed to writing things like this, so I hope it comes out well.