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

Chapter Four

The number of days that had gone by before Nezu received a phone call had put the Principal of U.A on edge. Not that five days were that long compared to how long Inko Midoriya had to wait. When he had finally received a call from Midoriya-San, he'd been in the middle of talking with a potential new teacher for their Foundational Hero Studies. He was not particularly sold on his teaching ability; however, Nezu would have to make it work considering his situation. With that said, he'd decided that, for this meeting, he wanted to bring a couple of people with him to meet the young boy. That wasn't until this afternoon, though. Nezu had made sure both would be available, and while, for one of his teachers, that wasn't an issue. Especially considering he'd up and expelled his entire class. The prospective teacher was more prone to being busy with daily criminal activity.

Stepping outside the school, he made his way around the school as he took in the landscaping and fresh air, a smile on his face. He couldn't help but sympathize with the child in the hospital. Not often did parents come to him seeking out a Hero, so he felt some moral obligation to do something. So he had two Heroes who had, in Nezu's opinion, nothing but free time now. Well, outside of their Hero work, which took place at night or was only able to work for a few hours before his body rejected his quirk, and yes... that's pretty much what was happening.

"Morning, Principal Nezu!"

"Good morning~ Good morning~."

The day was breathtaking. The sun was bursting through clouds that cast a scattered canopy of shade across U.A.'s grounds. All was well here. All was safe here. U.A. had become the epitome of security among Hero schools. Their students never had anything to worry about during their schooling here. It was true that some students were lost over the years during their Work Studies, and those were wounds that could never be healed. Not with all the time in the world. Nezu dreamed of making U.A. an impenetrable force of protection and security, where his students would always be welcomed, and safe should the need arise.

Inko signed the last of the paperwork that would allow her son to take part in Physical Therapy. When she'd mentioned possibly getting him some counseling, Izuku had told her no. Not wanting to force him, she agreed, but with the promise that he would talk with someone. It didn't have to be her, but she needed him to talk to someone. He couldn't hold everything inside. He promised her, and she hoped he kept it.

A rough thirty minutes later, her son was rolled out in a wheelchair, and Inko took the handles. "Thank you," she looked down at her son, who was looking through the bag that Katsuki had dropped off with him yesterday. Now that had been a cute moment.

Yesterday - Sunday - 2:09pm - 04/17/2117

"K-Kaachan!"

"Why the hell do you sound so shocked to see me!? I was here last night, you fucking nerd!"

"I-I know! I just didn't expect you t-to come back!" Izuku yelled, his cheeks burning in embarrassment. When Katsuki lifted a bag and threw it at him, Izuku grunted at the sudden lack of breath when it caught him in the chest. "Th-that's not nice, Kaachan!"

Inko laughed to herself at the two. It was a different kind of energy that was in the air. While Katsuki was still a bit rough around the edges, he no longer spoke to Izuku with the intent to hurt him. The meaning behind his long list of nicknames had changed in a matter of two weeks. She was grateful that at least something good came from this whole ordeal. She'd keep that thought to herself, though. Not exactly proud of the thought in general, she would rather not mention to her son that she was glad he could rekindle his friendship because he jumped from a two-story building. It wasn't very pleasant, but she couldn't help but be happy with the outcome.

"K-Kaachan, what is all of this!?"

"Your homework, nerd. Subjects are separated by folder, notes that I took are in the left pocket, and class assignments are in the right pocket. Homework is written down in the notebook or the black folder if handed out."

Izuku looked so confused that Inko could only smile sympathetically at the boy.

"What's that look for, nerd?" Katsuki shoved his hands into his cargo pant pockets. Turning his head away, equally as flustered as her son was. "I just did what you would do. Don't think too much about it."

"Right," Izuku opened his bag, and his eyes widened, "the folders are tagged!" He pulled one of the folders out, opening it up. His eyes actually sparkled. "Kaachan, your notes are so neat! What even is this!? You have bulletin notes in the margins!"

"SHUT UP! DON'T FUCKING MAKE THIS MORE AWKWARD THAN IT ALREADY IS, NERD!"

"Katsuki, no yelling inside the hospital. Izuku, don't get too excited yet. You're still recovering, so try and take it easy over the next few days." Inko said this while watching the heart monitor. The BPM increased to nearly two hundred as her son became excited over the treasure trove hidden in the bag Katsuki had brought him.

"Hah, sorry, Auntie. I actually need to finish my own homework, so..." he shrugged, "I figured I'd stick around and help out where I could."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't fucking offer if I didn't want to help!" Realizing what he said, he quickly back-peddled, "Not that I want to help you! I just know if you fall behind, you'll...have a hard time becoming a hero. I need to catch you up so we can start training for the U.A. physical exam."

"...w-wait." Izuku stared in a daze at Katsuki. "Say that again. I think I misheard you."

"Shut up, nerd. Pull out a pencil, and let's get started."

Present - Monday - Noon - 04/18/2117

"Some guests are coming to talk with you, Izuku. Do you want to find somewhere outside to meet with them, or would you prefer the recovery room?"

"Outside," Izuku answered, "who's coming?"

"You'll see. I'm not completely sure myself." She smiled. Hopeful that things would turn out well for her son. Nezu had told her that he was bringing with him two heroes, but not who they were. Rolling the wheelchair out to where the sidewalk wrapped around the garden, she pushed him towards the pavilion and parked the wheelchair where Izuku wouldn't be able to see his guests arrive.

"It's not the police... is it?"

Inko shook her head. "I told you I wouldn't get them involved. I'm pretty upset by a lot that happened, but you didn't want that."

"It wasn't like he told me that with the intent to kill me, mom. I did that. He gave me an answer to a question I asked, which wasn't the answer I wanted."

"It wasn't the answer he should have given."

"It's the answer everyone gives."

Inko flinched a bit, though Izuku couldn't see her behind his wheelchair. She didn't say anything in retaliation as she pulled out a soft, light blanket and laid it across his legs. When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she pulled it out and smiled, "your guests have arrived; I will go greet them. Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes, sweetie?"

So engrossed in his schoolwork, Izuku just gave a small nod. Inko gave him a final look, something she'd been doing a lot since he ended up in the hospital. Treating every goodbye with care. Following the cobblestone sidewalk around the front, she was happy to see the Principal waiting with two others. Until she realized who the other two were. "Wh-why is All Might here?"

"Oh, he is one of the teachers I have that has the next ten months open."

Her fingers tightened at her side, and Inko quickly hid them behind her back. 'I shouldn't say anything. But what if he causes Izuku to... what if he does something stupid again!?'

"Midoriya-San? Is everything okay?"

"Great! Oh, um...Izuku's wheelchair is facing away from this direction, so he won't see us approaching. P-perhaps it'll be best for you to speak to him first where these two can hear him but not be seen? Ah! I'm so sorry! I never properly introduced myself!" She bowed, "I'm Inko; Midoriya, Inko! I don't know if Nezu-San has explained everything to the two of you, but please know how much it means to me that you've come out here to see my son."

"Honestly, Nezu hasn't said much about what we're doing here. Could you explain to me—"

Nezu walked past the two and held a hand up to the man speaking, "this is Aizawa, Shouta, and of course, you know All Might-San. You needn't explain anything."

Inko nodded slowly, recognizing Aizawa as the man she'd stumbled into a couple of days ago; she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. Inko turned her attention to the Principal, who turned to face the two. "I want you both to stay within hearing distance, but let me meet the child first. Don't interrupt no matter what you hear, understood?"

"...hai."

Izuku heard the steps before he saw anyone. "Mom?"

"It's me, sweetie. I brought our guest." She stepped in front of him with a stout-like creature/man. Taking him in, Izuku ducked his hand into his bag without paying attention and began to mumble under his breath. "Izuku, this is Nezu, the Principal of U.A."

"Oh wow! It's such a pleasure to meet you!" Moving to stand, Izuku made it halfway up before his mother put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back. Her nurse mode was fully activated, and the look she gave him was of a woman ready to go to war if he even tried to stand again. "S-sorry, mom."

She smiled, "I had some tea prepared before this meeting, so I'll be right back. Please, get to know each other."

"The Principal of U.A... wow. Based on your appearance, you have an animal mutation quirk; oh, no...that can't be right. The Principal of U.A. is pretty famous as an Animal with a quirk, so it likely is something intelligence-based? How totally amazingly cool it is to be in your presence! A real hero, someone who takes care of our future heroes until they can fight back against society's injustices."

"You're quite the analyst, less than a minute with me, and already you've settled on my being an animal with a quirk. Then based on my position at the U.A., it's most likely an intelligence-based quirk."

"Ah...s-sorry. It's a habit."

"Not a quirk?"

"N-no, sir. I'm quirkless."

Nezu nodded, his smile never slipping from his face. "I heard that you recently went through an ordeal. Could you tell me exactly what happened to lead you down that path?"

"...I would rather not."

"Midoriya-San...ah, would it be possible if I called you by your first name? In return, please, call me Nezu."

"Oh! T-totally! I mean, y-yes, sir!" Blushing, Izuku ducked his head.

"Then, Izuku-San, I know that the past two weeks have been hard for you and your family. To understand, I would be quite appreciative if you trusted me with your story."

"N-no offense, Nezu-San, but the last hero I trusted... ultimately, I ended up in this chair. Not like he pushed me, but I wasn't strong enough to fight the demons in my head. I let them drown out what had always kept my flame burning."

"Then please, Izuku-San, give this Principal the chance to do better."

Izuku pulled his blanket into his chest, playing with the material before meeting Nezu's eyes. In them, he saw something. Not quite able to put his finger on the emotion buried in the Principal's eyes, Izuku still felt himself resonating with it. "I—" he took a deep breath and counted in his head before retelling his tale from the beginning. He led the Principal through all the ups and downs of his life. The happiest he'd been, being a little boy watching the All Might debut videos and promising his best friend Kaachan that the two of them would become the best heroes in the world. Heroes just like All Might. Then the day he'd been diagnosed as quirkless. How he still carried around the never-dying belief that he too could be a hero. Then he walked through the lowest point of his life, which ironically also revolved around both All Might and Kaachan. How a vulnerable boy with a barely flickering flame of hope, carrying a multiple times shattered dream in his heart, was saved by the Symbol of Peace, and on the same day... that same Symbol of Peace crushed everything Izuku had believed.

Having tried so desperately to continue to smile through the hurt, the abuse, his classmates' bullying, and the scars he'd carried for the last ten years. Then he was told by his best friend to take a swan dive off the roof and hope that he'd be born with a quirk in the next life. The fact that no matter how hard he tried, he'd never be good enough if he was quirkless. Finally, Izuku told Nezu that he hadn't intended to kill himself or even try to. He'd been heading home. How he got from the roof of whatever building the hero had left him on to his school... he didn't know. His feet had taken him to the familiar sight of his middle school's courtyard. He told Nezu that he'd gone inside, passed by his classroom, which was empty, walked up to the roof, and just stood there for about ten minutes. Thinking.

Nezu waited for Izuku to continue, being sure to give the boy the time he needed to say what was on his mind, or in his heart, at this point.

"I thought... I'd spent the last ten years of my life, what should have been spent enjoying life as a kid, picking up the pieces of a dream no one saw was possible for me to attain. I spent ten years telling myself that no matter what anyone said, I was the only one who could decide what my future held. I wanted to be a Hero. I wanted to save people. Stand up to those who would harm others. I wanted— no, I needed someone to tell me that I could be a Hero, in any manner of words. With hard work and persistence, I could achieve those unrealistic dreams. But at every corner...I was shot down. While looking down, I never noticed my foot stepping away from the edge, I just felt the rush of wind, and I can only remember my last thought vaguely."

"..."

"I apologized. I'm not even sure who I was apologizing to. My mother, Kaachan...All Might... maybe? Or maybe myself. That was lost on me. I remember waking up eleven days later, Kaachan sitting across from me, distracted by his schoolwork. I didn't dare say a word; I thought it was a dream. I felt that the illusion would break if I spoke, and I'd fall back into the darkness."

"Did you get a chance to talk with your friend?"

"Y-yeah! Things are great on that front. I... he was the one to find me that day. I felt so horrible, never wanting Kaachan to be the one that found me. Hell, I didn't want anyone to find me. I-I didn't want to die either, though. Kaachan...he saved me that day. Whether he realizes it or not, he was a hero and didn't even need his quirk. Years of telling me I was nothing but a useless quirkless Deku... and one of the first things he said when we were finally able to talk, '—get better soon. If you want to be a hero, you'll have to train your butt off.' Only in Katsuki-speak. So that's the plan now. After some rather eye-opening, mind-numbing, and emotional experiences over the last two weeks, I've decided to pick up the scattered shards of my dream one more time. Where All Might is the Symbol of Peace, I no longer wish to follow in his footsteps. I learned a hard lesson that day. No matter the hero's greatness, the hero is still only a human, and humans are flawed. They can't do the right thing every time. I don't want to follow in All Might's footsteps. I will pave my own path and become a new symbol with these hard-won lessons. I want to become the Symbol of Hope...in the absence of Peace. Th-that's what I decided...sir."

Nezu's eyes sparkled. Looking past Izuku, he smiled and held a hand up, "go ahead and take a seat, you two."

Me: Here is chapter three! I hope you all enjoyed it!