Thanks for the interest in my story. I'd love it if you'd drop a review.
~James
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It was inevitable.
It was bound to happen eventually.
In this timeline, Izuku had already been informed by the doctors that he would never have a quirk of his own. The old Katsuki had bullied him relentlessly for it, taking joy in crushing the smaller boy's spirit.
Being five, even an astoundingly intelligent five-year-old, Izuku did not question Katsuki's sudden transformation from bully to best friend. After all, he'd already borne witness to Katsuki's sudden shift from best friend to bully. Izuku's mother, however, was a bit more skeptical of the change, and for a good several weeks after Katsuki found himself in his preschooler body she made sure to keep the doors open, to keep a close eye on their play.
However, Inko was a kind woman, who shared the same breed of heart with her son. She was quick to forgive Katsuki – who, in her eyes, was just a child who was going through phases – and to welcome the boy back into her good graces. Katsuki's own mother didn't notice any change, which Katsuki found both amusing and…a bit sad, actually.
His father might have noticed, but it wasn't in his nature to say anything.
Anyway, the quirkless Izuku soon found that it wasn't just Katsuki who would tease him for his quirklessness, and many not-Kacchan bully's tended to be more vicious than Katsuki had ever been. And, considering that in their past life Katsuki had literally told Izuku to kill himself, that was saying a lot. Young children, cruel in the way only ignorant children can be, would use their budding quirks with intent to hurt, to do damage. Mostly because they didn't have the life experience or mental capacity to comprehend what it was, exactly, that they had the power to do. However, that didn't change the fact that Izuku was starting to gain bruises, and they weren't coming from Katsuki.
Inko, at first, had been afraid that Katsuki had reverted back to his old ways. However, that fear was soon put to rest when Katsuki blew up at the realization "Deku" was hiding injuries from him.
Because the other children didn't torment Izuku when Katsuki was anywhere nearby. They weren't that stupid, apparently. They would wait until they were separated, until Izuku was playing by himself, and then attack all at once.
In the past life, Katsuki guessed that it must have been himself who kept all these other fucking losers at bay. No one wanted to get between an angry Katsuki and his favorite prey. Now, though, Izuku was just one of his many friends.
(And Katsuki did have many friends….somehow, he'd ended up sort of being the class clown….?)
Nevermind that Izuku was Katsuki's nerd. His Deku.
His Best Friend.
"IMA FUCKING KILL EM"
"Ka-ka-Kaachaaan" Izuku grabbed one of his arms with both of his tiny hands. "They're just playing! I-I don't think th-they knew exactly how much it h-hurt…" Katsuki pulled Deku into an aggressive hug, squeezing as tightly as he could. "Kaachaan~~" Deku wheezed.
"Youre my nerd," Katsuki said quietly. Behind them, Inko – who was only a few feet away, making dinner - snorted, but covered it up with a dainty cough and sniffle. Both little boys ignored her. "Only I get to beat you up, because only I know how to do it right!" Katsuki was getting angrier, his hold on Deku getting tighter.
"Kah-Kaachaaan~"
"*snort*"
"IMA BLOW UP THEIR NOSES AND STUFF THE HOLES WITH BROCCOLI!"
"Kachaan~ Nooo~"
Katsuki released Deku, who stumbled back and started gasping for air. Katsuki but his hands on his hips, taking a stance he remembered his mother adopting at many, many points during his life. "And why not?"
"B-b-because you'll get in trouble," there were tears in his eyes.
"Stop being a cry baby," Katsuki told him automatically. Inko reprimanded Katsuki half-heartedly. Then the firecracker of a child took on a very considering look, and both Midoriya's looked at one another in apprehension. "You're right." Katsuki said calmly. "Because you don't have a quirk, assholes who think that makes you a loser will always try to beat you up."
Izuku started crying in earnest. "Katsuki!" Inko said, "That was mean!"
"What was?" Katsuki looked at her in bafflement.
"I-I'm sorry, Kacchan!" Izuku wailed. "I wish I were strong like you!"
"Shut up, Deku," Katsuki told him, helping him to his feet. "You're plenty smart, and that's more important than strong. Anyone can be strong if they exercise. But only smart people can be smart. Stupid people just memorize stuff and that's not the same."
Izuku blinked watery eyes up at him. "You really think so?"
Katsuki grinned, wide and confident. "YUP! That's why I don't bother with school. School is for stupid people."
Izuku's tears came back. "B-b-but you need to do good in school so you can be a hero!" Izuku suddenly grew quiet, and looked down at his feet. "And I need to have a quirk so I can be a hero. But I can't, because I'm a stupid deku."
Katsuki huffed impatiently. "Noooo," he said. "You're Deku because I'm Kacchan. You're quirkless because you're Izuku."
Both Izuku and Inko looked like they weren't sure what to make of that statement, whether it was a compliment, an insult, or just a fact of how Katsuki's mind worked. "Besides," Katsuki continued in that same thoughtful tone. "You're right."
"I am?" Izuku looked hopeful.
"Yup." Katsuki nodded, decidedly. "I can't blow their faces off, because that's what you gotta do."
"WHaaat!"
"Don't worry," Katsuki said in what he thought was a reassuring tone. "I'll stay right by you until you're strong enough. You're smart enough, but now you gotta learn to be strong like me."
"What do you mean?" Izuku looked interested. Inko looked concerned.
"Follow me," Katsuki told him, imperiously.
Inko watched the two little boys march out of her kitchen (well, Katsuki marched out with a grip on Izuku's wrist as her little boy was more or less dragged out after him). She wasn't sure whether or not she should intervene. After dinner was set to cook, she peeked her head out the window towards where the two of them were playing. She muffled a snort as she watched the two of them run in circles, then stop to punch at the air, do a few jumping jacks, try to do push ups and sit-ups, then keep running.
She also had a hard time not giggling when Katsuki informed her of the changed that needed to be made to Izuku's diet, with her sun listening carefully, promising to do as "Kacchan" said. Well, all the changes Katsuki was asking for were pretty healthy, so Inko didn't see any harm in playing a long.
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Aizawa hated his life.
He hated getting up at four in the afternoon so that he could adult for a few hours before going off on patrol until eight in the morning just to repeat it all again.
He hated his stupid best friend with his stupid loud quirk and his stupid extroverted personality.
He hated hanging out with said best friend and his other equally stupid friends.
He hated his stupid dry eyes that made it so much harder to just life in general.
He hated that stupid rat who kept trying to rope him into teaching worthless wannabe hero brats.
He hated those two little kids who would wander around the city by themselves at three in the morning, because damn it the city isn't safe for naïve little brats like them.
He watched, almost numb with how exhausted he was as the two kids walked hand in hand talking quietly. Like every night for the past two months, they walked the same route through back alleys to some random empty lot, where they were exercise until they collapsed. The green haired boy would stick with martial arts and regular, physical exercise, but the blonde would practice using his explosion quirk by plunging his little hands into a barrel filled with collected rain water, then blasting these tiny little puffs above his head (though as the nights passed, Aizawa could see a marked improvement in the puffs of smoke becoming crackles of flame). It always made Aizawa irritated (worried) when the two boys would just lay down and close their eyes, tiny chests heaving and hands intertwined, before getting up and racing each other back to their apartment complex, where they would say good night (Aizawa did not coo when the little blonde kissed the greennette on the cheek) and part ways.
He could respect that the little boys, who couldn't have been older than eight or nine, wanted to get themselves into shape, but how naïve could they be? Just relaxing like that in the middle of the open, city night. He chest constricted in an unfamiliar way as he thought about how young and innocent they must be, that the evils present in the world must not even occur to them.
For the most part, he'd just follow from a distance while doing his normal patrol, keeping one eye roaming back to check up on them every now and then. A few times, he'd intercepted unsavory characters before the boys had even noticed, beating the crap out of them for even thinking about harming or abducting those two innocent brats.
They were just little kids who hadn't learned to be afraid yet.
God damn Aizawa's pathetically sappy heart, but he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Tonight, though, the boys hadn't moved from their sprawled out, starfish positions for a bit longer than usual, and Aizawa was starting to get concerned that the two of them had actually managed to pass out. Aizawa kept his ears focused on the police radio chatter, and one eye on his own private radar hooked up to detect quirks being used around the city. The other eye, remained on the boys.
Usually, they began heading back to their homes around four. Plenty of time, he assumed, to slip back into bed before their parents woke up.
The digits on his screen crept closer and closer to five. Five fifteen. Five twenty.
Aizawa was swinging down, off the roof and towards the kids before it even registered just what it was he was doing. As soon as he got within twenty feet, to his surprise, the boy with the poofy blonde hair snapped upright, looking straight at him. Aizawa slouched casually, hands visibly relaxed, trying to communicate a non-threatening aura.
It didn't seem to matter in the end, because the boy just smiled at him. A wide, friendly smile. Something squeezed in Aizawa's gut because, holy cow, did this tiny human have no idea the kind of bad people that were out there? No sense of self-preservation?
"Hello, mister!"
Apparently not.
The blonde boy's shout woke up his little friend, who mumbled a bit before rolling up into a seated position. His eyes widened as soon as he saw Aizawa. At least this one looked nervous as he inched towards his friend, and grabbed the blonde's arm in a death grip.
"…K-Kacchan…."
"What?" Kacchan asked his friend. The greennnette just shook his head and pulled them both to their feet. He tried to back away, not taking his eyes off of Aizawa, but his friend was apparently much stronger than him, because Kacchan didn't budge, just looked at his friend with the most innocently confused look Aizawa had ever seen.
Jesus, how sheltered is this child?
"You boys are out pretty early," Aizawa drawled, stepping closer, keeping his stance open and relaxed.
"We're training to be heroes!" said the blonde boy, still smiling that bright, happy smile. Aizawa was about to respond, but his mind was forced to come to a complete stop when he heard when Kacchan said next.
"Like you!"
Both the green kid and Aizawa looked at Kacchan, the former in bewilderment the latter in confusion.
"H-how?" Aizawa didn't know what to say. He was relatively new on the scene, only having gotten his pro hero license a few years ago. Besides from that, he was an underground hero. His whole career depended on no one knowing much about him.
Well, that explained why "Kacchan" wasn't afraid of him. "You know who I am?"
The green haired boy shook his head, dumbly. The blonde just shrugged. "I couldn't find your name when I looked for it, but I saw you save a lady once."
"Save a lady once", well that was helpful.
"W-w-w-who are you?" asked the green haired boy. Aizawa looked at the two of them for a second, watched as the smile on the blonde's face slowly began to fade, a look of uncertainty and disappointment taking it's place.
No.
No.
Not the puppy eyes.
Anything but that.
Damn it.
He sighed. "Eraserhead."
"That's a fucking stupid name."
"KACCHAN!"
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It had taken years to find his sensei.
But Katsuki was nothing if not determined. For the past several years, he and Izuku had managed to build up their bodies as much as they could without damaging themselves. They ran and swam and practiced martial arts they learned from YouTube videos. Katsuki could say with no small amount of pride that he and Izuku were ripped for little kids.
Of course, he was very, very careful of Izuku, careful not to push him past what was healthy, despite his friend trying his best to go above and beyond at every turn.
Now that they were in middle school, everyone noticed their friendship. A lot of people thought it was weird, even. They called Izuku a doormat, Katsuki over protective. They said that they had an unhealthy codependency on each other. They said Katsuki had an unsettling obsession with Izuku.
Yeah, well, try watching your best friend die and see how clingy you are for the next few years, especially when said best friend is the cutest fucking little kid on earth. So what if Katsuki like to squeeze Izuku, or pinch his cheek, or ruffle his hair, or peck little kisses all over his chubby face. Katsuki was like, forty by this point and Deku was a baby. His cute tiny baby Deku and he loved him and he'll fucking kill any shithead who tries to interpret his love for the cute tiny baby Deku as something gross and sexual.
Besides, they're physically eight. What did they think they were getting up to behind closed doors? Fucking filthy minded perverts.
And Deku himself had no problem with it. Izuku always reached for Katsuki's hand as they walked side by side. Izuku loved cuddle time. And even though Izuku blushed and mumbled at Katsuki's quick pecks, he always leaned into them, sometimes returning them in an adorably awkward and clumsy way.
The moment Izuku grew too old, started pulling away or protesting, Katsuki would stop. But, until then, he would enjoy this tiny, squishable version of Deku.
"WHAT YOU LOOKIN AT YOU FUCKING ASS NUGETS?" Katsuki howled at two of their classmates who were laughing at Deku holding on to his arm.
"It's okay, Kacchan," sweet tiny chubby baby Deku assured him. "They don't bother me when you're here."
"Shut up Deku," Katsuki said automatically, bumping his forehead against Deku's. "I'm never gonna be not here."
He watched, pleased, as Deku's round little cheeks turned pink and he hid his face in Katsuki's shoulder. "Kacchaaaan"
"What, nerd?"
"Love you, too"
"FUCKING SHUT UP YOU STUPID FUCKING DEKU"
Anyway, it was only a matter of time before Katsuki found Aizawa-sensei. He'd taken to wandering around the city in the early, early hours of the morning, looking for any sign of his old teacher. He figured that if he ended up getting attacked, it might even lure Aizawa-sensei straight for him.
He didn't end up needing to resort to that, however, because one night, he stumbled across a woman about to be raped in an alley. He clenched his fists, and was getting ready to intervene, when a blur of movement tackled the guy. He watched, his heart twisting with affection and nostalgia as his teacher quickly worked to secure the rapist and get the woman back to her feet, before calling the police and an ambulance.
See, Katsuki had this idea. He had no idea how Deku convinced All Might to give him his powers, so in the small chance that Katsuki somehow fucked things up, he needed a back up plan that could get Izuku into UA anyway. Aizawa was a teacher, he could refer people. Not only that, but he could teach Izuku to fight in a way that Katsuki couldn't. With Aizawa's quirk being what it was, he was the ideal person to see the potential in someone like Izuku.
Except, he wasn't quite sure how to get Aizawa's attention. So, he took to patrolling the same area he suspected Aizawa did. At least, he tried to. That very next night, as he was creeping up the front door of his apartment, he walked right into Izuku, who had been standing there waiting for him.
"Deku?" Katsuki asked, bewildered. "What are you doing up?"
"What are YOU doing up?" Izuku demanded. His eyes were wet, and his cheeks were spotchy. Instinctively, Katsuki reached out to give Izuku a hug. His hands were slapped away. Stung, emotionally and physically, Katsuki stepped away from Izuku in surprise.
Izuku's bottom lip trembled but he stayed standing there, firm. "You can't go wandering by yourself, Kacchan!" He cried, though he kept his voice low. "You'll get hurt! Or-or kidnapped! What are you even doing? Where are you going?"
"I'm training…." Katsuki said. "In an old empty place. No one goes there."
"Why? We train every day?"
"My quirk, Deku," Katsuki lowered his voice, slowly reaching out for Izuku's hands, relaxing a little when Deku let him. "I'm practicing my quirk, out where I won't get in trouble. I need it to get stronger, so I can be a hero. Right now…right now it just isn't strong enough…And you know the fucking school or the old hag would let me practice if they knew."
Izuku was quiet, then he said "Take me with you, Kacchan. If there's trouble, two are better than one." Katsuki bit down the scathing words that jumped to his tongue, and nodded, leaning forward and gently kissing the tip of Deku's nose.
"You won't tell?"
"…." Deku squeezed Katsuki's hands. "I won't tell."
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Izuku had a best friend.
He had the best best friend. His Kacchan.
His Kacchan was strong, strong enough to carry him even though they were the same age. Strong enough speak up when he thought someone else was wrong or he was right. Strong enough to stand up to bullies. Strong enough to fight the bullies who picked on Izuku or other kids. Strong enough to win.
Strong enough to teach Izuku to be strong, too.
But boy was he stupid.
It confused Izuku, because he was sure that if Kacchan only tried he could do well in school, but he didn't. It seemed like he listened at least sometimes in class, but whenever testing came around he either failed outright, getting everything horribly wrong, or only just barely passed. It worried Izuku, every time testing came around. He worried that Kacchan would end up getting held back a year and they'd be separated. He tried offering to help Kacchan, but Kacchan would just laugh it off, like it was silly Izuku would be able to help him.
Even still, every year, Kacchan managed to just barely get by.
Aside from school, Kacchan didn't seem to get some things.
Mom told Izuku that Kacchan might be somewhere on the autism scale, more towards high functioning, but still there. Kacchan's mother got angry when his mom suggested he get tested though, which made Izuku angry. Angrier than he'd ever been in his life. Kacchan needed help. He needed to be diagnosed so that people would understand he wasn't a bad guy. He just didn't understand.
He couldn't understand.
Izuku's heart always hurt when he saw that one, specific look in his Kacchan's eyes. That Am I doing something wrong? Was that bad? I'm confused. Is this right? Look that he got when people pointed out that something he was doing was weird, or disrespectful. Like when he referred to people by a physical trait rather than their name, and someone got mad. Or when he punched someone in the nose for making fun of Izuku's hair, and Kacchan got in trouble. Or when he and Izuku saw a villain fighting a hero and Kacchan just casually began to walk towards them.
Some things, Kacchan just didn't understand, and it was always really obvious things.
In his private research, Izuku found that autistic people tended to act younger than they were, but the specific behaviors depended on the person. Izuku could easily see how that had to do with Kacchan. He threw temper tantrums over silly things, he got irritated easily.
He was very, very cuddly.
It never really bothered Izuku before, except recently he started to feel a bit weird about it. But, he was always patient because it was his Kacchan. His strong, silly Kacchan who needed him. No one else saw Kacchan the way he did. The teachers just saw a stupid kid with a temper and weird habits. No one else saw the shy smiles when he did something kind, or his fierce defense of his own moral code of honor.
Yeah, it was a little…different when Kacchan would kiss his cheeks or cuddle up next to him, or pull his hair or squeeze him so tightly Izuku couldn't breathe. But it wasn't bad. And it wasn't done with a bad spirit either. The look in Kacchan's eyes was always so…pure? Innocently happy? All Izuku knew, is that Kacchan had been behaving exactly how he behaves since they were babies. That clear, bright look in Kacchan's eye was a life-long constant.
His Kacchan needed him. So Izuku cuddled him back, kissed him back, loved him back and made sure that he never ever felt like he was wrong or different or bad. Because there was nothing wrong with Kacchan. He was just special.
He was Izuku's special, bestest friend.
Which is why Izuku thought his heart would climb out of his throat when he saw Kacchan wander off in the middle of the night. He hurried to climb out of bed, where he'd been watching from his window, and rush outside. But by then Kacchan was gone from sight. Izuku had cried and waited by his window until he saw Kacchan return the next morning, looking no worse for wear.
The next day, it was like nothing had happened. Except Izuku stayed a little closer to his Kacchan, hung on a little tighter.
The next night, Izuku was ready. He managed to catch Kacchan before he got too far.
What Kacchan said broke Izuku's heart.
Kacchan wanted to be a hero. Izuku had always known this, despite Kacchan joking all the time about becoming a villain (just another thing that Kacchan didn't get – it was bad to joke about that, because villains actually killed people.) But knowing that Kacchan, sweet Kacchan, was out training to be the best he could be worried Izuku.
Izuku had to get stronger. Had to become a hero, because there was no way he'd ever make Kacchan be on his own, among people who didn't understand him.
"Take me with you, Kacchan"
Take me with you.
His whole life, summed up in five words.
Take me with you, Kacchan.
So that they could be together.
So that he could protect Kacchan.
So that Kacchan never felt unloved.
So that neither of them were ever alone.
He remembered something Kacchan had said a long time ago.
"You're Deku because I'm Kacchan."
Take me with you, Kacchan.