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 Five

Izuku felt sick. He felt tricked! Was this really going to be how it was every time he met heroes now? Watching as a nervous, finger fidgeting, and very ashamed All Might stood in front of him- meanwhile, the other man, who Izuku couldn't quite pin, but something about him seemed vaguely familiar, took a seat beside Nezu. "...a trap."

"No, no. I assure you, Izuku-San, this wasn't intended to be a trap. I brought them for a reason before I knew the full extremities of your history with our esteemed All Might."

"What reason?" Izuku still hadn't learned why they were there in the first place. Now would be a good time to ask, right?

"A few days before you woke up, your mother came to U.A. It's out of the ordinary for us to let anyone not affiliated with the school inside, but I couldn't seem to send her away. Your mother has a very earnest and genuine soul, Izuku-San."

He knew that. His mother was amazing, and he would have to move forward knowing he was responsible for her tears for the past eleven days.

"It was a pleasant visit. Lasted a few hours. I heard from your mom about what happened. At the time, I suspect it was all she knew; this is all new information, though very informative. Now, we'll get back to the reason I'm here. All Might,"

"Ah, y-yeah!"

"Sit down."

"Right,"

Izuku watched the bulky man take a seat and then...deflate...

"Oh my, I didn't mean for you to release your form."

"Ah, i-it's fine. The kid is already aware of my condition."

Nezu looked at Izuku, who nodded his head in confirmation. He confirmed that these two were also aware of All Might's situation. He hadn't intended on telling anyone about the truth of All Might's form. No matter how hurt he'd felt, it wasn't his secret to tell.

Somehow, the few who knew, Izuku had been brought into that small circle. What a strange string of coincidence.

"Listen, kid, I—"

"His name is Midoriya, Izuku... I think you could do to show him a bit more respect, all things considering."

Flinching at the cold tone from his right, All Might gave a small nod. "Yeah, you're probably right." Looking at Izuku, he started again. "I don't know what to say, Young Midoriya. I still believe that without a quirk, you can't be a Hero. It's got nothing to do with persistence or hard work, but the fact that the people you fight as a Hero are not simple quirkless civilians. You decided to take what I said before and turn to suicide; that proves you are not stable enough to be a hero."

Izuku dropped his head, his eyes burning with tears. He refused to cry. This man had already hurt him enough, and he refused to let him be the cause of any more of his heartache. Biting his lip, he raised his eyes to meet All Mights.

Not sure what he looked like to the three, Izuku glared at the blonde. Finding a source of confidence buried somewhere in the mess that was his heart. "I disagree, sir. With all due respect, sir. My choices that day resulted from ten years worth of emotional abuse and physical assaults that piled up one on top of another until it finally crumbled with those final words. All that my choice proved that day was that I was vulnerable and made a poor decision based on my weaknesses at that moment. I responded to the hurt and betrayal I felt. A hero is supposed to be there for those in need. I was in need. You were more worried about your time running out, leaving me on a rooftop over ten floors high. I should consider myself lucky that those thoughts didn't begin to eat away at me until I was closer to the ground. I think you should leave if you have nothing else to say."

"I agree."

Izuku jumped and looked at the other man. Both Nezu and All Might turned to look at him too. Both with different expressions on their faces. All Might looked annoyed by his continuous commentary. Nezu had a look that was closer to fanatical amusement. Something about this was entertaining, and while Izuku wasn't sure which part of the situation Nezu was enjoying, he could at least cross out the crap that happened to him.

"You can't be serious. Aizawa-San, he'll only succeed in getting himself killed—"

"I'm dead serious." His tone hardened by his own anger.

There was a silent stare-off between the two. Izuku didn't know why Aizawa was angry, but listening to All Might's opinion increasingly upset him. When Izuku didn't think either would speak again, Aizawa shocked him.

"He was weak at that moment, but that doesn't make him weak overall. The fact that he hasn't given up after all that's happened proves that he has what it takes to push forward from this. He'll only get stronger."

"You can't fight villains without a quirk!" All Might boomed in full form as he stood up and glared at Aizawa.

That statement left a bitter taste in Izuku's mouth. Hell, it didn't even sound like it was being directed at him. It sounded...internalized.

"I fight villains without a quirk! You think my quirk works against every villain I go up against?!"

Now that was interesting. A handful of heroes were known for fighting without using their quirk, though most went unknown. It would do more damage than good if it were made known. Izuku knew that and understood it well.

"Alright, that's enough. All Might, I think it's about time for you to do your rounds. I would, however, like to see you later in my office. Shall we say four?"

He was speechless. Considering all the yelling taking place, Izuku was a bit nervous. He'd become so quiet so quickly. When he turned and started walking away, Izuku wasn't surprised to see him stop. "I stand by what I said. Midoriya, Izuku, you will never be a Hero...and there will never be an absence of the Symbol of Peace."

Was this the same feeling he felt the first time? Izuku placed his hand over his chest, a painful thump and sharp pain pinched beneath his hand, and a small smirk found his lips. "I'll accept that challenge."

Nezu watched as All Might left. Aizawa, who'd stood up in the heat of their disagreement, took a seat. Running his hand through his hair. Feeling the moment's stress wash away once the blonde was finally gone. Not that Izuku could blame him. His own hands were shaking after standing up to All Might. Izuku quickly hid them beneath the blanket on his lap.

"That was brilliant!" Nezu was practically shaking. "Oh, if you will excuse my outburst. I love a good teaser, though, and your future promises to be filled with outstanding feats of valor! I do look forward to seeing how you progress further. Aizawa-San? I don't suppose I need to explain further, do I?"

Izuku was still confused, but he was so happy with what Nezu said that he didn't bother to interrupt him. After completing his entry on Nezu, he turned the page and stared at Aizawa. He still had no idea why he seemed familiar. He certainly wasn't one of the more popular heroes.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally on the same page."

At this moment, his mother returned with a tray of tea. Izuku was decently sure that his mom was waiting for All Might to leave before serving them drinks. "Oh, did All Might leave? What a shame." She placed the tray down. The three sets of eyes that watched her chose not to say anything concerning her clear dislike of the much larger hero. Instead, they let her serve them tea. No one commented when she added two sugar cubes to Nezu's without prompting. She gave Izuku a small smile and a wink before she silently excused herself to go and continue her rounds around the hospital.

Taking a sip of the tea, Nezu gave a small sigh of approval. "Very nice. Listen, Izuku-San, since Aizawa-San just expelled his entire class, he has unlimited time at his exposal! Please, work hard and become the hero I know you can be. The Symbol of Hope the world unknowingly, desperately needs."

'Expelled his entire class?!' Izuku paled considerably at that. What needs to be done for an entire class to face expulsion!?

"Can I ask you a question?" Aizawa placed his hands on the table between them before taking the cup of tea. He didn't drink it, just swirled it around carefully in the cup while watching the amber liquid slosh around close to the edges.

Train of thought broken, Izuku looked up at the man. "Sure?"

Aizawa stared silently for a moment before he finally asked his question. Placing the teacup down as he spoke. "Once you've reached the top and you're standing alone on that pedestal as the Symbol of Hope, what will you do?"

Izuku didn't understand the question. Why would he be alone? There were literally thousands of heroes across the globe, not just the number one hero. So why, why would he be alone. What a scary thought. The wind rustled his wild and untamed hair before he grinned and laughed.

Aizawa was taken aback, wondering which part of what he said had been funny. He would have said something, but Izuku finally calmed down and shook his head.

"Sorry, it's just...what you said...I won't be alone. There are so many heroes fighting for a brighter tomorrow, and even more of them in training for a brighter future beyond the next tomorrow." Shrugging, he looked thoughtfully at his hand, eyes lit with stars, "besides, where there is the Symbol of Hope, there will always be the Symbol of Victory..."

"A Symbol of Victory, now?"

"Oh, this is getting quite interesting!" As if he was invested now in a good book, Nezu jumped down and held a hand up, "no more spoilers, Izuku-San. I will have to wait and see your story unfold. The next time I'll see you will be the U.A. exam. That gives you a little less than ten months to prepare."

"Ah...I understand, sir! I'll work hard!" This time, Izuku stood and bowed to the Principal. The action had the stout creature staring in awe at him before returning the action.

"Aizawa-San?"

"I've got it from here."

Nezu nodded and left for the car that awaited him. When it was just Aizawa and Izuku, the man chugged the drink and looked tiredly at Izuku.

"Sir?"

"Hm?"

"You mentioned fighting quirkless at times."

"I did."

"Could you elaborate?" Izuku still felt the man was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Wracking his brain for anything that might give him the tiniest hint as to who the man before him was, yet nothing came up! By now, this had become almost infuriating.

"My quirk is Erasure. I can—" Aizawa could almost see the light bulb come to life over Izuku's head.

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE ERASERHEAD!" Standing with his hands slammed into the table, Izuku's eyes lit up as he finally realized who the man in front of him was. "You're the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead! An underground Hero who uses a mix of combative martial arts and defensive maneuvering, partnered with a quick capture approach and your quirk to take down villains quickly and shrewdly. Oh, this is so cool! I never considered it possible to meet an Underground Hero, especially one as awesome as you! When did you decide that you wanted to be an Underground Hero? Was that always what you wanted? Have you ever tried to use your quirk on yourself? Can you erase your own quirk, and if so, would it just cancel out your quirk like blinking does or disable it for a while unknown? Have you—"

Shouta Aizawa looked down at his cup, it was empty, and Inko hadn't left a pot or carafe behind. 'Damn it.'

"-consider the type of combat styles one needs to know to adapt to different Villains. Being able to fight without a quirk is an amazing skill set. I wonder if I should ask mom to join some kind of self-defense class—"

"What should I call you?" He interrupted him. He had to. Izuku was running at a speed he couldn't process without at least two more cups of this caffeinated tea... at least.

"Izuku! Please, Izuku. I mean... if that's not too forward."

"Right, right, Izuku-San."

"N-no...just Izuku. Until I'm your student, please call me by my name."

"...sigh, understood. I won't lie and tell you this is going to be easy. I didn't know what I was getting into when Nezu dragged me out here, but now that I've committed to this, you better give me your all."

"Nezu-San said that you expelled your whole class. Can I ask why?"

Rolling his eyes, Shouta shook his head, "I expelled them for a series of reasons, none that I intend to explain to a possible future student. However, I will tell you that those students weren't removed from U.A., just the Hero Course Class 1A. I had them reinstated under another homeroom teacher that's now in charge of their futures. To say that their ideas of heroism didn't align well with mine would be an understatement, but they will be all the better for the lesson they took away from the one class we had."

Izuku seemed to notice his longing gaze as he stared sadly into the empty cup, considering he pushed his untouched cup towards him.

"I'm not thirsty. Rather, I need to write some things down while you finish that off before I forget them."

Shouta had no problem with that plan at all. Relaxing in the sun's warm ray of light that had found him through the terrace, enjoying the gentle breeze, and watching Izuku draw him.

He became increasingly more interested in watching Izuku sketch a draft of him without his goggles. Not that he didn't have them on him, Izuku just couldn't see them from where he sat. Reaching into his scarf, Shouta raised the goggles and lifted them over his head. Placing them in front of him, he watched Izuku turn his eyes to the yellow goggles before reaching out to touch them.

For a moment, he seemed almost cat-like. Shouta watched as Izuku stopped moving, his hand lingering a few inches from his goggles before looking up to meet his eyes. Shouta stared back for a moment, then nodded and watched the boy lift the goggles excitedly after he'd been given permission.

"Cool, the breaks in the lense are so villains can't see when your quirk is active, right?"

He nodded.

"Can I see your quirk?"

He did as requested.

"You have goggles to cripple your opponents' ability to tell when your quirk is active, but you have some anti-gravity field that covers a small area around you. Your hair, and your scarf, both give you away. I don't expect a ponytail or even a braid will keep that from posing an issue unless it was weighted, then that might work. A bun would work. Put your hair into a bun."

Shouta raised a brow as the boy shifted between talking to him and talking to himself. Still, Shouta did as the kid asked. Pulling a hair tie from his wrist before he pulled his hair back out of his face and tied it into a low bun at the base of his neck. Activating his quirk a second time, Izuku nodded, "your bangs still float." He laughed at the new look, "it's like you've got horns."

"Might work to intimidate my enemies or students," Shouta smirked, releasing his quirk. "You do this stuff for fun?"

"Yeah! It's... just a hobby, though." Izuku shrugged. "Not a big deal." Placing the goggles down, he sketched them in the corner and wrote down what things he'd come to notice during their meeting.

"Do you have an empty journal in that bag of yours?" He would need to fine-tune their training around his school work, but the kid would first need to get out of the hospital. They had time.

"Oh, not on me." Looking down at the bag beside him, Izuku sighed, "that's eleven days' worth of homework. But I have one at home that hasn't been used yet."

Inko watched with a fond smile from a window on the hospital's second floor. It was already three. She knew Katsuki would be arriving soon, opening up another possibility. Inko would then step back and let Aizawa take care of her boys. She knew she could only do so much, but hopefully, this would set the gears in motion to repair ten years' worth of damage.

Inko couldn't help but feel that she hasn't been involved enough before, so hopefully, she wasn't coming across as overprotective or overbearing. Looking down thoughtfully at the carafe on the cart beside her, she hadn't left it on purpose. Maybe she was dabbling too much? Whatever happens, she was doing this for her son.

Moving into one of the rooms across from her, she checked the medication requirements for the patient and placed the pills on the tray for the patient as they sat up. Smiling, she talked for a bit with the patient and asked about the flowers on the counter. Their grandkids brought them. Inko tried communicating with her patients, always wanting them to feel comfortable, even if their visits weren't long-term.

It was no surprise to Inko that Katsuki found her ten rooms later. She was still on the same floor as Izuku's room. So, Katsuki, being the smart boy he was, could easily find her with her cart out in the hall.

"Auntie, Deku isn't in his room."

She smiled; Katsuki had surprised her and apparently his own parents. The thought of losing Izuku had been something of an eye-opener for him. "He's outside. You can find him talking with a gentleman who will train him for the next so-or-so months. I'm a little lost on all the details, but if you could do me a favor." She turned to face the boy properly, "I wanted to introduce you to him and bring out some more tea anyways. Are you free for the rest of the evening?"

"I'm free, but why do I need to meet him? He's here to help Deku."

"I just have this feeling that something good will come from this. Besides... aren't you going to be the best heroes in the world? Together?"

"Yeah... yeah!" He grinned, "Is that the tea canister on your cart?"

"Mmhm, he's out by the gazebo."

"I'll take it then!"

Watching him run out of the room, she smiled to herself.

"Are you meddling, Inko?"

The little old woman behind her gave a small laugh before taking the pills in the little paper cup.

"Does it look like I'm meddling?" Even as she asked, she laughed it off. "I guess I can't help it. I feel like I failed as a mother. For years, my son has been bullied verbally and physically, and I failed to notice there was a problem. I didn't meddle back then... So, I'm choosing to meddle now to make up for it. Will this be good for them? I don't know, but I also feel like I should at least try. Izuku admires Katsuki...he's always looked up to him, and perhaps that played a part in why I couldn't say anything to him when he admitted to being partially responsible for my son...doing what he did." Most of the hospital knew what had happened. The news had spread like wildfire, and condolences had been given by patients, nurses, and doctors alike. "I wanted to scream, tell him to stay away from Izuku...but Izuku, he'd never forgive me for something like that. Izuku would fight tooth and nail for Katsuki, so I owe it to my son to do the same. Besides that...I love Katsuki as if he were my own son too. I would have hated hurting either of them."

"But there's a point in every mother's life where she needs to step back and let her child steer their life in the direction they choose. When it's time, will you be ready to let go of the reins?"

"Is a mother ever really ready to let go?"

"Never," the old woman cackled. A brought a glow to the patient's cheeks as she gave a hearty laugh.

Shouta heard the footsteps before he saw the blonde with the golden grail...mn, carafe. He watched as Izuku's smile widened and felt himself frown. "A friend of yours?"

"Kaachan! He's come by every day since... well, and we've been working on our homework together too."

He nodded, "I know that name. You said that he was one of the people responsible for what happened; why are you and him still so close then?" He watched the blonde carefully. He paled, his hands tightened against the handle of the carafe, and his eyes looked... engaged and ashamed.

Izuku stared down at his journal, flipping back a few pages. He looked at the autograph in his book that All Might left behind. "Sir, would you say All Might's words make him a bad guy?"

"Not so much a bad guy as he is an ignorant idiot."

A small smirk found the blonde lips. Shouta nodded. Understanding that the boy also disliked All Might. What an interesting day today was turning out to be.

"With room to grow and learn,"

Shouta raised a brow as Izuku added that. As if Shouta had left that part out. He didn't. He said exactly what he meant.

"Well, I don't think what Kaachan said or even did makes him a bad kid, either. I think he was ignorant and blinded by the reassurance that no one would ever punish him or call him out for what was said or done. This is as much the adults at Aldera's fault, if not more. We're kids, and we will make mistakes. That also means we can learn from them. Kaachan is already learning, sir. I... Kaachan is my bestfriend."

"Would you have jumped off if he'd not told you to?"

"Maybe... maybe not. A lot played into that, not just Kaachan, so I can't say for sure. However, if not for him being there, I wouldn't have survived the jump. He did save my life that day. Sir... If you want us to learn from these mistakes, teach us. I swear to you, we won't let you down."

Shouta felt a weight added to his shoulders at that last part. 'If you want us to learn from these mistakes, teach us. I swear to you, we won't let you down.' He nodded, "Focus on your physical therapy, get your schoolwork and homework caught up, and once you're back in school and functioning as a normal student again... we'll start."

The day ended with an exchange of phone numbers. Shouta promised to check in with the two periodically and without their knowledge. "Only call me if it's an emergency. Text me once you've become acclimated to school life again. For any other reason, and you'll face dire consequences." Shouta finished the last of his tea, stood and stretched, then started to walk off with thoughts for an almost ten-month-long training Bootcamp for the two boys staring after him.

Me: I hope you enjoyed chapter five. Somehow I struggled with this chapter more than the last four, but I finally felt good about it by the end. Let me know what you think!