Izuku's head was thumping and the sun light hurt his eyes when he waited for Eijirou at the train station. He'd felt like throwing up since he woke up, but nothing had come out. Yet. He was sweating, and his heart was beating way too fast. Why couldn't Eijirou hurry up? He just wanted to lie down and die. Finally, the train arrived and Eijirou stepped out. He was wearing a denim jacket and… a Project: Indestructible t-shirt. He also looked as sick as Izuku felt.
"Hi, bro." Eijirou said.
"… hi. Like your t-shirt."
"Thanks. Bought it myself." Eijirou said.
"… if you'd asked, I could've gotten you one for free." Izuku said.
"Wanted to support the cause." Eijirou said and gave a pained grin: "You okay?"
"… no. You?"
"Been better, bro. It was the champagne. I threw up in the morning. It helped. A little." Eijirou said.
"… I haven't been able." Izuku said.
Eijirou bought them drinks. Izuku also got himself a hamburger. He remembered hearing from somewhere that greasy food helped. Getting the thing to go down was torture and keeping it there was a challenge. He drank his soda unhappily.
"… can I ask you something?" Izuku said.
"Sure."
"… what… do you like about Bakugou?"
Eijirou didn't' have to think about his answer.
"I want to be like him."
Izuku stopped dead in his tracks.
"… what?"
"I mean… my Quirk is… kinda bland. Tetsutetsu had one just like mine and… when I was younger it wasn't really good for anything. I never really stood out."
Eijirou crushed the soda can in his hand and smiled.
"Katsuki is never uncertain. He always knows what to do and does it. No regrets."
"… he's a bully." Izuku said.
"Yeah but he's not just… an asshole. If your friend screwed up once… or ten, would you stop being their friend?"
Izuku thought of the way Mei looked at Todoroki. The things she'd said to him.
"… probably not."
Eijirou nodded and then cracked his knuckles.
"Doesn't mean I'm just going to forgive him. I'll be pounding some sense into him. Because that's what friends do. They call you out when you're being an asshole."
Izuku thought about Mei. She was being an asshole and he… hadn't called her out. Like he hadn't told Eijirou what Bakugou could be at his worse. Because he'd been a coward.
"Also, I think he has a cute butt." Eijirou said.
Izuku snorted.
When they arrived at Bakugou's house, Izuku was surprised how small it was. In his memories it had always looked enormous when he came over to play. Izuku took a quick breather before knocking on the door.
Bakugou's mom came to open the door. Unlike the house, she looked exactly like he remembered. An older, female version of Bakugou. And uncomfortably hot.
"Izuku?" Bakugou's mom said.
"… uh… hi. This is…"
"Eijirou Kirishima! That's my name! I'm Bakugou's friend. Is he home?"
Bakugou's mom looked upwards.
"He hasn't left his room in a week."
"Could we talk to him?" Eijirou said.
"Would you?" Bakugou's mom said.
She sounded a bit too desperate when she asked it. Bakugou's mom led them outside. Bakugou's room was easy to recognize by the Fuck Off-sign. Bakugou's mom knocked on her son's door.
"Katsuki?"
"Go away." Bakugou growled behind a locked door.
"You have guests." Bakugou's mom said.
"Hi, bro." Eijirou said.
Bakugou was silent for a moment.
"Go away!"
Eijirou started banging on the door.
"Dude. Please. Come out. I just want to see you."
There was no answer. Eijirou's shoulders slumped.
"… Katsuki… I'll keep coming here. Everyday. Until you come out and talk to me."
When they tried to leave Bakugou's mom grabbed them. Something terrible was building up inside her.
She kicked Bakugou's door off its hinges and dragged them in.
Bakugou had been playing a video game and stared in shock at his felled door. His mother was brimming with fire and fury. The swelling had gone down but Bakugou's face was still covered in rashes.
"Now you listen, Katsuki! I'm sick and tired of you sulking in your room! Your friends are here, and you will talk to them!"
"… not his friend." Izuku said.
Bakugou's mom stomped out of the room.
"Talk some sense to that moron! Slap him around if you have to!" Bakugou's mom roared.
Bakugou's mom marched downstairs like she was off to war. All of them could only stare after her. Eijirou was the first to recover and smiled at Bakugou shyly.
"Katsuki…"
Bakugou couldn't look Eijirou in the eyes and turned his glare to Izuku.
"Did you come to laugh at me, Deku?!"
The shy smile disappeared from Eijirou's lips and he seemed to be possessed by Bakugou's mom.
"Texas Smash!"
Eijirou punched Bakugou in the face. Bakugou was knocked off his feet and left rubbing his jaw on the floor.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Eijirou screamed.
"… what?" Bakugou said.
"I come all the way here because I'm worried and you won't even see me! Even when Izuku brought me here you still treat him like shit! We're your friends! This is why no one else came to see you!"
"… still not his friend. And I'm not worried about him. Fuck him." Izuku said.
As usual, he was ignored.
"What are you doing?! Hiding like a coward?! That's not manly at all!" Eijirou said.
"… what?" Bakugou said.
"You heard me! If you fuck up, don't pin it on Izuku! Take it like a man! You're coming back to school tomorrow! You're on parole! Aizawa-sensei won't put up with this much longer!"
Bakugou laughed and got up.
"And who's going to make me? You?"
"You are goddamn right I will! And then I'm making you apologize to Izuku, you whiny little bitch!" Eijirou said and cracked his knuckles.
Bakugou threw himself at Eijirou.
"… I'm leaving." Izuku said.
Amidst the flurry of blows, they didn't even notice him leaving. He climbed down the stairs hoping that Eijirou was feeling better. He sure as hell wasn't. Bakugou's mom was waiting for him downstairs.
"Izuku?"
"… yeah?"
"Are you hungover?"
Izuku stopped. Eijirou's and Bakugou's fight was growing more heated above them.
"… what?"
"I partied pretty hard in college. I know what hangovers look like. Want an aspirin?"
"… I… yeah. Sure."
Bakugou's mom poured him a big glass of water to wash the aspirin down with.
"Feeling better?" Bakugou's mom said.
"… no."
"You will. Thank you. For bringing Kirishima over. I… saw the video and I know that you must hate him. I don't blame you. Katsuki should never have said that and… how long has it been going on?"
Izuku didn't answer. Bakugou's mom sighed.
"That long, huh? I knew something was wrong when you stopped coming over to play but… I didn't do anything. It's… easier not to notice things." Bakugou's mom said and laughed: "He used to tell us how he'd marry you when you grew up. It was so precious."
The look on Izuku's face killed all the mirth in the room. Upstairs the fight was dying down but Izuku hoped Eijirou had enough strength left to punch Bakugou's face in.
"I'm sorry. It's not just Katsuki's fault. We should have done a better job raising him and… we didn't."
Izuku put the glass down.
"… thanks for the aspirin."
Bakugou's mom nodded.
"You're a good kid, Izuku. Don't let that change."
Izuku spent rest of the day resting. He'd never been so tired. When Mei and Eijirou texted him, he didn't have strength to answer them. His sleep was restless and… his dreams were worse than nightmares. In them he was born with a Quirk like everyone else. A powerful pyromancy Quirk that let him control green fire. Hisashi had never left. Mom didn't have to worry about money. He and Bakugou were still friends. Everything was… as it was supposed to be. When he woke up, it was only five AM, but he dared not continue sleeping. He left for a morning run and sweated out the last remains of his hangover.
On the way to school, all he could think about was Hagakure and how he'd face her after… what had happened in the closet.
When he got to school, Bakugou was there. He and Eijirou had taken a corner in the classroom all to themselves and were chatting oblivious to the other students and the looks they were getting. Both were covered in scratches and bruises. Bakugou's right eye had swollen shut and there was a chip in his tooth. Eijirou's lip was split and his nose swollen. Neither could have been happier.
Then Bakugou noticed him.
"De… Midoriya."
Izuku threw his backpack on his desk.
"… what?"
"Can we talk?" Bakugou said.
Eijirou gave him a pleading look. Izuku sighed.
"… fine." Izuku said.
They left together. Before they got out the door, Tsu called after them.
"Hey, Bakugou." Tsu said.
The sound of Tsu's voice made Bakugou flinch. He turned to face her slowly.
"What?" Bakugou said.
"Ribbit." Tsu said.
Bakugou grew pale and stomped out in a huff. Izuku followed him to an empty hallway where the other students' voices couldn't reach them.
"Midoriya… Izuku…" Bakugou said.
"Midoriya." Izuku said.
"Huh?"
"Never call me Izuku. We're not friends." Izuku said.
For a moment Izuku saw a flash of the old Bakugou he knew all too well. The cruel, mocking brute who didn't let anyone tell him no. It was snuffed out fast but not fast enough for Izuku to miss it.
"You're right." Bakugou said and steeled himself: "Midoriya. I'm… sorry. For everything. For… what I said. And… how I've treated you."
"You mean the bullying?" Izuku said.
"I… you…" Bakugou stuttered and then sighed: "Yes. I'm sorry for the bullying. I'm sorry for everything."
"… okay." Izuku said.
"So… uh… we cool?" Bakugou said.
"Are we cool? No, Bakugou. No, we're not." Izuku said.
"Look. I said I was sorry."
"And I said I don't forgive you." Izuku said.
Izuku didn't know what kind of a script Bakugou had crafted in his head for this but it was getting quickly rewritten.
"Okay. I get it. If I let you punch me, would it make you feel better?" Bakugou said.
Izuku thought about it.
"Maybe."
"Okay." Bakugou said and put his hands behind his back: "Hit me. As hard as you can."
Izuku slid out of his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He threw a punch.
A punch that turned into a faint.
Then he kicked Bakugou in the balls.
Bakugou let out a mute scream and fell on his knees. His whole body convulsed while his brain tried to reboot itself. Izuku kneeled next to Bakugou.
"You torture me for eleven years and then think you can fix it by apologizing? Bakugou. I will never forgive you for that." Izuku said.
Bakugou was gasping for air and spitting out bile. There were flashes of rage amongst the pain but Bakugou was in too much agony to do anything about it.
"What… what was I supposed to do? Tell… lie that you could be a hero?" Bakugou slobbered.
Izuku pulled Bakugou's head up by his hair.
"I wanted you to ask me over to play! I wanted you to stand up to me when the bullying started! I wanted you to let me know we were still friends! And you didn't! Because the great Bakugou was too good to be friends with a Quirkless freak!"
Bakugou had started to cry and… Izuku realized he was crying too.
"What was I supposed to do?! You… you lied to me! We were supposed to be heroes together! You weren't supposed to be Quirkless! We were going to…" Bakugou said but couldn't continue and started sobbing: "I'm sorry, Midoriya! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Izuku got up and wiped his eyes. This would be the last time he cried for Bakugou.
"And I don't forgive you. I loved you once and you… you threw me away! Live with it, you bastard."
Aizawa-sensei didn't say anything when Izuku showed up to class ten minutes late. Or when Bakugou dragged himself in ten minutes after him. Their classmates shared nervous looks but none of them dared to say anything. When the bell declared class over, Izuku fled. He didn't want to speak to anyone. They'd want to know what was wrong and what could they do to help him. Izuku didn't think there was anything they… or anyone else could do. Hisashi had been right about one thing. There really wasn't nothing that could make up for that kind of betrayal. Eijirou was left hovering confused between him and Bakugou.
Izuku headed to the workshop. He… if he could tell Mei how he felt… how revenge or apologies hadn't given him any peace… maybe she would…
"What do you mean you can't help?! You built a power armor! If it's about money…!"
Izuku recognized Iida's voice but it sounded… ragged. Like he'd been crying and howling for a week. Mei sounded even worse. Desperate and… scared.
"It's not about the money! I can't help him because we don't have that kind of technology!" Mei said.
"Then invent it! You're a scientist!" Iida yelled.
Iida sounded close to tears.
"I'm an engineer! That… it's not my area of expertise."
Iida couldn't' speak and just let out a tortured scream. When he stomped out, Izuku hid behind a corner. Iida looked terrible. He'd lost weight and judging from the circles around his bloodshot eyes, he hadn't slept in days. He wasn't even wearing his school uniform. Just jeans and a t-shirt.
When Izuku dared to enter the workshop, all light had gone out of Mei's eyes. She stared at the wall and saw nothing.
"… Mei?"
Mei turned to look at him.
"Izuku."
"… Iida? Was he… alright?"
"No. No he was not. A villain attacked his brother." Mei said.
"Ingenium?! What…?"
"Paralysis. From the waist down." Mei said.
Izuku stared at her horrified.
"… I… he…"
"He wanted me to fix that. And I can't." Mei said.
In a moment of fury, she pushed all the tools and papers off her desk.
"I can't! I should, and I can't! We… we're working on that two-hundred-years ago! Before the Quirks came. We lost so much progress."
Izuku sat down. Neither knew what to say.
"… the villain. Who was it?"
"Some psycho called Stain." Mei said.
Izuku thought that was the worst news he would get that day. Then he started getting a series of notifications on the group chat he'd set up with the other students in 1-A. He and Mei looked at their phones to see what all the ruckus was about.
"… no." Izuku gasped.
All For One sat in his office while his doctor did a check-up on him. Tubes from his throat connected him to a life-support system that forced his maimed body to stay alive. After five-years you'd think he would have gotten used to the machines constant humming, but he never had. Every day it drove him a bit crazier and made him hate Toshinori a bit more. For five-years now he had been nothing more than a ghost forced into hiding. Even his sight had been stolen for him and he had to examine the world through an infrared Quirk that painted everything with scarlet.
He started tapping the armrest in his chair impatiently with his fingers. Dr. Tsubasa got the message and hurried his examination. Finally, they were done and All For One buttoned his shirt.
"Well?" All For One said.
"You're stable." Tsubasa said.
"Not the news I wanted to hear, doctor. Has there been any improvement?" All For One said.
"Sensei… these things take time and you've already improved a great deal from five-years ago. The regeneration Quirk has done wonders." Tsubasa said.
All For One sighed in defeat.
"Yes. I suppose it has. Thank you for your help, doctor."
Tsubasa took his leave and All For One leaned back in his chair. He picked up his phone and after a few voice commands, music drowned out the sound of his life-support. Sometimes he wondered if this was all worth it, but he was a survivor. He'd find a way out even from this. All For One turned off his infrared Quirk and tried to get some sleep while the music washed over him.
"Have you heard what they said on the news today
Have you heard what is coming to us all?
That the world as we know it will be coming to an end
Have you heard, have you heard?
He sees them in the distance when the darkened clouds roll
He could feel tension in the atmosphere
He would look in the mirror, see an old man now
Does it matter they survive somehow
They said there's nothing can be done about the situation
They said there's nothing you can do at all
To sit and wait around for something to occur
Did you know, did you know?
As he stares across the garden looking at the meadows
Wonders if they'll ever grow again
The desperation of the situation getting graver
Getting ready when the wild wind blows."
There was a knock on the door. All For One groaned and hit pause.
"Come in."
Kurogiri opened the door and rushed in. All For One had never seen him so agitated. Even after the failed attack to U.A he'd had more self-control. Unlike everyone else who he saw in shades of red, the mist that coated Kurogiri's body made him appear as a gray pillar of smoke in All For One's radar.
"Master. You need to see this." Kurogiri said.
"Do I? Cruel joke to play on a blind man. Come closer." All For One said.
Kurogiri placed his iPad on the table and gave All For One his hand. All For One activated one of his many Quirks that allowed him to see through other people's eyes when he touched them. On the iPad was an article.
All-Might's Secret Out by Seito Kawada
The article didn't interest All For One but the video that came with it…
Toshinori was wheezing and panting after his fight with a Noumu and then… smoke erupted from him. When it cleared, All-Might was gone and in his place stood a haggard, sick man. All For One played the video again. And again. And again. And again, until it was burned into his mind. He let go of Kurogiri's hand. His mouth was dry, and his palms were sweating.
"How has the world taken the news?" All For One said.
"Not well. People are scared and… angry."
"Hmm. Both things that make them stupid. Well, dumber than usual anyway. Thank you, Kurogiri. That will be all."
When he was alone, All For One started laughing. He laughed until it hurt, and then he started coughing but the pain couldn't ruin his mood. He'd won! The wound he'd given Toshinori had finally caught up with the eye gouging bastard! Now, all he had to do was sit back and watch as the people Toshinori had sworn to protect tore him to shreds.
All For One clicked play and the rest of the song came roaring out.
"Have you seen what they said on the news today
Have you heard what they said about us all
Do you know what is happening to just every one of us
Have you heard, have you heard?
There will be a catastrophe the like we've never seen
There will be something that will light the sky
That the world as we know it, it will never be the same
Did you know, did you know?"
