"There she goes again." Jiro's bored voice cut through the noisy chatter amongst the girls of Class 1-A as they all congregated in the common room, her earphone jack pointing toward a strange zombie with blonde hair that was shuffling aimlessly near the kitchen.
Ever since returning from their date, Toga has been roaming through the dorms in a love-struck daze, a dreamy smile and far away stare plastered on her face at all times. Small murmurs of elation would spill from her mouth, mostly consisting of her reciting moments of their date or just repeating Izuku's name over and over, each one punctuated by a bubbly round of giggles or a squeal of immense joy.
Needless to say, the group had been unable to question the love-struck girl on any details of her date with the mop-headed boy, Toga seemingly unable to even register other people's existence at the moment, deciding to simply let her be until she came down from her love induced high. None of them expected it to end any time soon, though.
"Do you think we should stop her, kero?" Tsuyu pressed her finger thoughtfully against her chin as Toga entered the common room, the blonde girl completely oblivious of everyone else around her as she stared at the ceiling with a distant look, her fingers pressed lightly onto her fiery red cheeks. Clearly, a happy memory was playing in her mind, if her mile-wide smile was anything to go by.
"Leave her be. I think it's cute." Tooru clapped her hands together excitedly, or at least everyone assumed that's what she did, practically bouncing in her seat as they watched their classmate exit the room and make her way upstairs, climbing up the steps with surprising competence. They all agreed it was cute, in Toga's own strange way anyway.
"By the way, where are Yaomomo and Ochaco?" Turning her gaze between the members of the congregated group, the ever social Mina noted the conspicuous absence of the heiress and the round-cheeked girl, the Class 1-A girls(barring Toga) usually spending their free nights together.
"Ochaco-chan said she wasn't feeling well so she said she'll be heading to bed early." The frog-girl replied, her nasal voice thick with worry, the girls all showing concern for their brown-haired friend. Tsuyu felt bad lying to her friends about Ochaco's true reason for isolating herself for the night, the memory of her best friend crying softly in her arms still sitting heavily in her heart.
"And Momo. Welll…" Glancing out of the corner of her eye, the rest of the girls followed Jiro's line of sight toward the room across the entranceway where the boys of Class 1-A were currently huddled around a familiar broccoli headed boy.
"C'mon, Midoriya! You have to tell us something!" Izuku flinched at Kaminari's loud exclamation, his hands protectively held out in front of him, as the rest of the group nodded in concurrence with their spikey headed classmate. Well except for Todoroki, the two-toned hero merely watching the proceedings with bored disinterest. And yet he stuck around, secretly happy for his first friend.
"Yes, Midoriya. I too would like to know how your date with Toga went." Momo, the only girl in the group, pressed uncomfortably close into Izuku's side, her large breasts inadvertently enveloping his arm as she stared expectantly at the blushing boy, unaware of what her bodies proximity to his was doing to the poor boy.
"How was the coffee shop? Were the reservations to your liking? It wasn't too expensive, was it? Did Toga like your outfit? Did you hold hands? Did you kiss!?'
Izuku wanted to scream out in embarrassment as Momo kept pushing closer and closer into his side with every question. Her black eyes sparkling with wonder and excitement caused the green-haired boy to bite his tongue, however, as he did not want to diminish the Creation user's bouncy aura. It would have been like admonishing an excited puppy.
"MIDORIYA!" Izuku was really not becoming fond of hearing his name right about now, as Mineta climbed the back of the chair he was seated on to glare darkly at the green-haired boy, his small hands wrapping tightly around his throat as the grape-headed pervert began shaking him back and forth.
"Why!? Why is it always you?!" Mineta's words were laced with unbridled, seething jealousy as he strangled his freckled classmate, tears of anguish running down his cheeks as he let all of his frustrations out on the poor wielder of One For All. All Izuku could do was feebly grasp at the hands firmly clasped onto his windpipe, greatly confused at what he had done to draw the grape-headed boys ire.
"Mineta, man. Calm down." Feeling the death grip on his throat loosen, Izuku sucked in several lungfuls of air as he gave Kirishima a thankful stare, the red-headed boy currently trying to restrain the raging midget in his arms, his harden quirk activated to absorb the hits from Mineta's flailing limbs as he tried to get his hands back on the green-haired boy.
"Do you love her?" Everyone went quiet as they all gawked at Todoroki in shock, even Mineta had stopped his struggling to gape wide-eyed at the usually stoic boys question. Todoroki ignored everyone else's bewildered stares, his two-toned eyes focused solely on Izuku, the boy in question sitting paralyzed from his words.
"Do you love her?" Repeating the question, Todoroki continued to stare unblinking at his green-haired friend, completely oblivious to everyone else's stares. A cold chill ran down Izuku's back as the rest of the group turned their gazes toward him, all of them eagerly awaiting his answer to Todoroki's question.
"I-I-I," Quivering nervously, Izuku's eyes flickered between all of the expectant eyes looking at him, a feeling of intense pressure filling the air that threatened to suffocate the poor boy. "I have to go to the bathroom!"
Leaping out of his chair, several of his classmates backing away in surprise at the sudden movement, Izuku zipped out of the common room and up the stairs, 13 sets of eyes worriedly following the wielder of One For All as he dashed out of the room. A brief awkward silence fell over the room as they all turned to stare at the boy who's question had scared off the poor mop-headed boy, Todoroki looking at them with confusion written on his face.
"Did I do something wrong?"
A gentle creak echoed through the empty hallway as Ochaco stepped out of her darkened room, her eyes still red from crying as she wiped away the last trails of tears rolling down her cheeks. It had taken a long time after Izuku and Toga had left for their date for Ochaco to finally stop crying, the round-cheeked girl thanking Tsuyu for her kindness before excusing herself to spend the rest of the day in her room.
The tears had returned as soon as she heard the pair's entrance several hours later, Toga's exuberant voice echoing throughout the dorm as she rushed passed Ochaco's room and into her own. Every now and then she would hear Toga wander passed her door, the blonde girl giggling and muttering happily about her date to herself causing the painful stabbing in Ochaco's heart to return.
A light sniffle escaped her as she thought about all of the wasted opportunities she had, all the times she could have gotten over her stubborn denial and just admitted she liked, if not loved, the sweet, heroic boy. Aoyama had even blatantly stated it to her during the Final Exam and she had refused to do anything about it.
Ochaco knew Toga had an interest in him, the girl practically drooling all over him ever since the class year had started, hanging off of him and watching him from day one. The Gravity user held no ill-will toward the other girl, even if they weren't close friends she was still her classmate, and she and Izuku clearly got along, but she couldn't help but be jealous of what she had with the mop-headed boy.
"Ah, Uraraka." Freezing up, her brown eyes going wide in shock, Ochaco turned to find the boy who had been on her mind all day standing just a couple of steps away, his emerald gaze focused on her.
"Eh, Deku-kun? What are you doing here?" Her heart began to beat erratically as the taller boy slowly walked up to her, his hand nervously scratching the back of his head as he looked bashfully at the ground. Even now, with his face scrunched up in anxious nervousness, Ochaco couldn't help but find him cute. And yet, he was not hers.
"S-sorry. I ran up here so fast I forgot to check which way I was going." A small smile came to Ochaco's lips at Izuku's comment, knowing just how frazzled the mop-headed boy could get. He must have been close to a panic attack during his date with Toga. Her expression fell at that thought, a cold feeling running through her chest as she imagined the two of them on their date.
"Hey, Uraraka, are you ok?" Snapping her head back up, Ochaco stared into Izuku's concerned face, his emerald orbs shining with worry. Pain shot through the brown-haired girl's chest as she stared into his green eyes that were filled with so much care and kindness. It made the reality that much more unbearable.
"Y-yeah, w-why wouldn't I be?" Waving off Izuku's concerns, Ochaco prayed that the green-haired hero would let it go, that he would turn around and leave her be. But she knew better than that. Izuku was too nice to do something like that.
"Your eyes are red." Flinching slightly, Ochaco quickly looked away as she hung her head to cover her eyes with her bangs, afraid to tell Izuku why she had been crying. Izuku took a tentative step closer to his brown-haired friend as Ochaco desperately tried to avoid eye contact. "Are you sure you are ok?"
'Please, Deku. Don't be so kind to me.' She loved how caring he was, it was what made him such an amazing hero. But that's exactly not what she wanted right now. She didn't need a hero. She just wanted his love. Something that was now in possession of another.
"Uraraka," Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, the Gravity users body tensing up under his touch, Izuku lowered himself to try and get a glimpse of Ochaco's face. "if anything is wrong, I'm alw-"
"IZU-KUN!" The gentle warmth of his hand quickly disappeared from her shoulder as a blonde force of nature plowed into Izuku's side, knocking the pair onto the floor. Little squeaks and squeals of indescribable happiness bubbled up from Toga's chest as she quickly snuggled herself into his arms, her cheek rubbing affectionately against his toned chest. "It's been too long!"
"T-Toga-chan!" Izuku screamed out in shock at the sudden appearance of his blonde classmate as Ochaco watched the unfolding scene with great distress. Toga quickly sat up as she placed both legs on opposite sides of Izuku's prone form, effectively straddling the freckled boy underneath her. A devious smile spread on her lips as she provocatively leaned closer to Izuku's face, her tongue running suggestively over her lips as she hovered over his beet-red face.
"Did you miss me cutie~!?" Running a finger down his freckled cheek, Toga seemed to be completely oblivious to the other person in the hallway as she lifted herself back into a seated position, her sweater gently riding up her stomach, exposing more and more of the delicate skin underneath to the increasingly distressed boy trapped underneath her.
"N-ne, Toga. I think Deku-kun wants to get up." A chill ran down Ochaco spine as Toga slowly turned to glare at her, her mind flashing back to the day of the Licence Exam when she stared into those same cold, catlike eyes, the golden orbs glinting with murderous intent and the promise of pain. Eyes of a killer. Ones that were staring right at her.
'I can't believe I got away from that.' Green lightning arced across Izuku's body, Full Cowling crackling over his skin as he went over his nightly routine of studying the moves Iida had so generously written up for him, a flurry of practiced kicks and flips echoing down the silent U.A. campus. 'I'm surprised she listened to Uraraka.'
After Toga's brief show of 'affection', the blonde god had excused herself to go take a bath with a peppy smile on her lips, lightly patting Ochaco's cheek before skipping down the hall, her bright giggles slowly fading into the distance.
After shaking off the latest in a long line of embarrassing moments with Toga, Izuku had gone back to check on his friend, Ochaco's gaze still fixated on where their blonde classmate had just disappeared. The brown-haired girl had quickly brushed him off, her eyes wide with fear as she hurried back into her room, the heavy door slamming shut ringing in his ear.
Izuku was greatly worried about his first friend, Ochaco's usually bright and cheerful personality seemed to have been completely absent. She seemed gloomy and downcast, almost sad. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her cheeks looked rough and still bore streaks as if she had been crying.
He hated seeing her like that. Ochaco was one of the first bright spots in his life after finally making it into U.A., her sweet gesture to donate some points to him after he saved her from the Zero-Pointer at the entrance exam showing him that there was kindness in this world, that it was worth saving. She was a constant inspiration to him and he admitted to himself that at one point he even had a crush on her.
"I should spend more time with her. We haven't seen each other very much since Toga changed the world." Muttering to himself, Izuku grabbed a quick drink of water as he stared up at the stars that were blanketing U.A. in a veil of twinkling lights. Were they still the same as they had always been, back when the big bang brought the universe into existence? Or were they now parts of Toga's creation, left behind in a false veneer to replicate the world to the one before her ascension to godhood?
Deciding those kinds of questions would only cause existential fear, let alone fear of Toga, to set in, Izuku decided to call it a night. Crouching down, Izuku lightly dabbed his face with the towel as he imagined himself laying comfortably in his bed. Maybe this time he would wake up to an empty room, one without Toga floating ominously over his bed.
"Deku." Izuku's whole body seized up at the sudden appearance of another person, his body going rigid as he dropped the towel onto the ground, afraid to turn around as he slowly returned to his feet. That voice. That painfully, familiar voice. A voice that held both happy and painful memories. So many painful memories. Memories of his past.
Shaking slightly, Izuku slowly turned around to find a spiky-haired blonde standing at the edge of the entrance to the 1-A building, his red eyes boring deep into his own, his face devoid of any expression. His hands were situated deep in the pockets of his sweat pants, his patented slouch belying the tenseness in his shoulders.
"Kacchan." Izuku's voice came out at barely above a whisper, the wielder of One For All feeling as if he was staring at a specter of his past. Why was Kacchan here? He wasn't part of 1-A anymore, Toga had removed him from Izuku's life and altered his personality to be nicer. So, why was he here?
"Follow me." Turning on his heel, Katsuki slowly shuffled down the street, the spikey-haired boy not sparing Izuku a second glance, sure in the knowledge that the wielder of One For All would follow. And as much as Izuku hated to prove him right, he did.
"K-Kacchan? Where are we going?" A growing sense of unease began welling up in his chest as Katsuki refused to answer him, the hotheaded blonde merely continued his trek at a leisurely pace, the atmosphere growing more and more foreboding the further they got from the dorms. Right now, Izuku really wished he had Toga by his side.
The inheritor of One For All wondered why Katsuki came to talk to him now of all times. The two had not exchanged a single word with each other since that time they bumped into each other in the hallway, the day right after Toga had gotten her powers and altered the universe to her liking. Even then he had not said a single word to him, merely walking away from his former best-friend/punching bag.
Ever since that day, Izuku had not seen hide nor hair of his former bully, their paths not crossing a single time when once their lives were so invariably tied to each other. Katsuki was both one of his greatest inspirations and his worst enemies. Years of verbal and physical abuse had ended with a simple display of Toga's whim. In the crazy days that followed, Izuku had not spared Katsuki a second thought, too busy dealing with flighty fancies of a playful god.
That's why his sudden appearance back into his life was made that much more ominous, his dogged silence only fueling that feeling more.
The pair stepped into the sprawling artificial cityscape of Ground Beta, Izuku remembering it as the place where he had first beaten Katsuki in his original timeline. What had happened now? It had been an eye-opening moment for him, finally being able to stand up for himself and truly learn the difference between his and Katsuki's power. Now it was just another training ground, impressive in scope but wholly meaningless.
"Kacchan? W-Why did-"
"Shut up." Izuku's mouth snapped shut as the explosive blonde finally spoke, his usually loud and agitated voice completely absent, replaced with cold, seething hate that was much more terrifying then if he had yelled at him at full volume. Spinning around, Izuku gulped at the look in Katsuki's eyes, it had been one he had seen many times before. Katsuki was pissed.
"You little piece of shit!" Gulping nervously, Izuku could only watch as Katsuki slowly began pacing back and forth, his shoulders squared as if he were ready to pounce at his childhood friend at any moment, his fierce gaze never wavering from the green-haired boy.
"How dare you try and one-up me!" Greatly confused, Izuku decided all he could do was listen, his gaps in knowledge about the past definitely making this a harder issue to deal with than previously anticipated.
"You think you can just fucking come to U.A., steal my spot in the top class, and get away with it!" Small crackles of explosions sparked in the blonde's hand as his temper rose, his voice getting more and more agitated.
"You think just because I'm in another class I don't hear things! See things! I've seen you, slowly getting better and better with your mysterious new quirk! Which, by the way, where the fuck did you get that?!"
"I-"
"I said shut up!" Flinching, Izuku decided he to just keep his mouth shut. That had always been the best course of action when it came to Katsuki and his outbursts.
"What are you some big man now that you are doing a little better and got yourself some little bitch for a girlfriend!?"
"She's not my-"
"Shut the hell up!" Izuku barely managed to avoid the sudden punch that was aimed at his head, a small explosion ringing in his ear as a wave of heat washed over his cheek. Lifting his arms defensively, Izuku put some distance between him and the explosive blonde, just in case he decided to get aggressive. Well, more so.
"I won it." Quirking an eyebrow inquisitively at the sudden change in tone, Izuku dropped his hands slightly at Katsuki's quieter tone. "I won the damn tournament. I beat that half-and-half bastard right in front of everyone. I was better than you. I was better than everyone!"
"Then why?" Arms hanging limply at his side, Katsuki's features were obscured by his bangs, his eyes shrouded in shadow. "Then why does everyone still keep talking about 1-A."
Lifting his head, Izuku took a step back in shock because Katsuki's red eyes were burning with unrestrained anger and hate.
"Why do they keep talking about YOU!? The boy who saved his girlfriend during the Villain attack at the Summer Camp! The boy who disobeyed orders and went to rescue his kidnapped classmate! The boy who passed the fucking Licence Exam when I didn't!"
While grateful to finally have an answer to some of his questions about what happened in this timeline, he had no time to celebrate as the spiky-haired boy slowly stalked up to him, sparks crackling between his fingers as he glared at the young hero.
"And then there's All Might." Eyes widening in fear, Izuku could feel his heart plummet into his stomach at Katsuki's words. How could he have figured that out?! In this new timeline, he would not have felt bad about lying to Katsuki and revealed to him that he had gotten a quirk from someone else. And Katsuki had explicitly mentioned that it was one of Izuku's classmates that had been kidnapped by the League of Villains, so that means he would not have been around to see All For One and All Might's fight up close.
"That point, the one he made after beating that powerful villain in the Kamino ward. It was directed at you, wasn't it?! I've seen the two of you, talking in the hallways and spending time in the teacher's lounge. All Might has taken a special liking to you and I bet it has to do with your mysterious new quirk! What can he possibly see in a wimp like you?!"
This wasn't good. Katsuki was getting more and more heated the longer he was allowed to rant, his anger toward Izuku growing more and more in intensity as he let out his frustrations at his former friend's achievements. Izuku had to diffuse this and quick, before Katsuki's anger couldn't raise anymore and he decided to get physical. Izuku had no way to gauge the Explosions user's current skill-set ever since they had been separated by Toga.
"K-Kacchan it's not like that! She's not my girlfriend!" Izuku wasn't sure why that was the first thing he decided to deny, especially when the words felt hollow as soon as they left his mouth. He would have to analyze that later when he wasn't being stared down by a rampaging explosion machine.
"I only met up with All Might because he's our teacher and you know me, I wouldn't turn down the chance to talk to my idol. It's like you said. Why would he have an interest in a wimp like me?"
A nervous laugh was all Izuku was able to muster as an uncomfortable silence fell over the former childhood friends, the green-haired boy's wobbly voice echoing down the empty streets of Ground Beta. A cold sweat broke out on Izuku's forehead as a deep growl rumbled out of the explosive blonde's chest, his whole body shaking with barely restrained rage. Katsuki was like a pot sitting unattended on a hot stove, the water slowly bubbling up beneath the surface before finally exploding with white-hot rage.
".…Do you think I'm an idiot!?"
And just like that, the pot overflowed and Katsuki attacked.
"Nice and clean~ Nice and clean~ Time to find my Izu-kuuuuun~"
Toga excitedly sang a self-made song as she bounded down the main staircase, taking two steps at a time as her blonde hair flew behind her, unrestrained from their usual buns. Dressed in her U.A. branded pajamas, the godlike girl rushed through the dorms entranceway, the classmates still situated in the common room watching as she burst through the front doors with a loud bang.
Jumping down the small set of stairs that led up to the building, Toga excitedly whipped her head back and forth, her face falling as she failed to locate the broccoli headed boy.
"Izu-kun?" Walking over to his abandoned belongings, worriedly picking up his discarded towel, Toga knew right away that something was wrong. He would never leave his stuff behind like this. Izuku always took great care of his belongings, especially his beloved notebooks.
Dropping the towel back on the ground, a tinge of worry coursing through her heart, the godlike girl ran back into the dorm before rushing over to the group of boys in the common room, noisily slamming her hands on the back of the couch. Several of the boys jumped at her sudden entrance, the frantic gleam in her eyes causing them to look at her with apprehension.
"Where's Izu-kun?" Toga tried to keep her voice level, but she couldn't help the tinge of panic that wormed its way into her voice. In her frazzled state, she had failed to realize that she could easily just have him reappear right in front of her or look into the past to see what happened. But her concern for Izuku's safety had overridden any sense of rational thought she had left. Her Izu-kun's safety was her only priority.
"Umm, some blonde guy came over to talk to him and then they both left." Sato's whole body flinched when Toga's crazed stare was centered on him, her golden eyes boring deep holes into his soul as a dark growl started to rumble through his strange classmate's chest. He really wished he hadn't said anything, as she suddenly stood ramrod straight, her small body shaking with boiling rage.
Stiffly turning around, Toga quickly walked out of the building, her classmates watching on with worried stares as she disappeared down the front walkway and down the street before she was completely out of sight.
Every fiber of Toga's being was buzzing with barely restrained fury, the godlike schoolgirl barely able to contain her powers, the air around her buzzing and crackling as the little pockets of space and time began warping around her.
As soon as she knew she was out of eyesight of any prying eyes, Toga tapped into the universe, searching for the familiar life sign of her beloved Izu-kun. Every being in the universe shone in her mind's eye, a sea of limitless life, some fading away forever as more sparked into existence, but her focus was set on the brightest shining light of them all.
"There you are." Finding Izuku's location, Toga quickly teleported away, her body popping out of existence without leaving a trace.
"Stop running!" Another explosion rung in Izuku's ears as he barely avoided another ferocious attack from the enraged blonde, the heat from the blast singeing his already torn shirt, the young hero grabbing his side as another painful sting ran through his flesh at the sudden movement.
Katsuki had taken advantage of his unwillingness to fight, the green-haired boy trying to his best to merely avoid the explosive blondes frantic attacks, Izuku's body and clothes littered with small tears and burn marks, reminiscent of his time as a kid being bullied by who he thought was his friend. Apparently, Katsuki's skills had only improved since the reality shift, as the aggressive boy seemed to attack him with almost relentless fervor, seemingly going for the kill with every blast.
Crouching low, Izuku tried to leap away to a safe distance, just to try and find an opening where he could run. While cowardly, he preferred to settle this without violence, his dream of attending U.A. hanging in the balance should anyone witness the pairs fight.
Unfortunately, Katsuki's instincts were too great and he easily telegraphed Izuku's next move, the foul-mouthed blonde cutting off his escape route and catching him in mid-leap. Grabbing the freckled boys' face, Katsuki punched the poor boy harshly in the stomach before letting off a series of explosions from his hands, launching Izuku several feet into the air before skidding painfully across the unforgiving concrete.
Pain wracked through Izuku's whole body as he tried to suck in lungfuls of air, his chest feeling like it was on fire as the searing heat on his face refused to diminish. He surely suffered some first, if not second, degree burns from that last attack. Katsuki really wasn't holding back.
Heavy footsteps stalked up to Izuku's prone form, the green-haired boy staring up at Katsuki through hazy eyes, the blonde boy standing over his bruised and battered body, a triumphant sneer spread across his lips as he lifted his arm into the air, poised to land the decisive blow.
"I win." Right as Katsuki was about to finish his childhood nuisance for good, his outstretched palm preparing to slam down onto Izuku's defenseless form, a cold chill down his neck causing his whole body to freeze up, primal fear engulfing his whole body as his instinct to run went haywire. Something was behind him. Something powerful.
"Wh-what?" Frozen in place, forehead matted with anxious sweat, Katsuki stared down at his rival, Izuku's gaze not fixated on him but at something behind him, the green-haired boy's eyes wide with fear and terror that he had never seen before, not even after the years of torment he had dealt toward him.
Turning stiffly, trying desperately to keep his whole body from shuddering at the oppressing aura that was blanketing the whole training grounds with hateful fury, the Explosion hero saw a female student standing several feet away, her body silhouetted in darkness, only a pair of golden catlike eyes shining within the black veil of the night.
A/N: Well, I'd say it was nice knowing Katsuki but I'd be lying.
So Katsuki is back and just as angry as ever. Katsuki is such a big part of Izuku's life and story that he had to show up eventually. Everything seemed kind of nice until he showed up. Well, unless you count a sad Ochaco as nice.
All the pieces have been laid out for the next character and story beats with this and the coming chapter. Of course, I had to throw in a little bit of lovey-dovey Toga because goddamn I love it. Of course, Toga is nothing if not volatile, especially when it comes to her beloved Izuku so you all might have an idea what will happen next time.
Thank you all for your continued and new support. Hearing all of your reviews and knowing people like this story always makes my day so much better. I hope to keep bringing you the best story I can make! I've got a couple of other story ideas with other girls for when I finish this story so I hope you look forward to those!
Stay safe and have a wonderful day! Love you all!
