I live! Well, I always lived. My other stories were updating, just not this one lol. No worries we're back in track with this one,
"You chomped on a guy's face."
Well, there were worse things to wake up to.
The flat, stoic statement cut through the fog of medication permeating through Izuku's mind, drowning out Omniscience's familiar hum of information. Blinking away the last remnants of sleep, Izuku slowly turns his attention to the weird looking blonde blob at his left side.
It takes a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and for his vision to clear.
A sharp, pointed face, blonde hair and carmine pupils greet him. Tightly pursed lips and a wrinkled nose that betrayed nervousness and worry.
"Oh. Hi, Kacchan."
The narrowing of burning scarlet eyes was his response. Rightly deserved, given the situation.
With half-lidded eyes, Izuku watches as his friend gnashes his teeth, hands twitching restlessly atop of the covers with the need to act.
Katsuki has always been like this. Burning too bright and wound up too tight, filled with the need to do something. Even before he'd assumed this role of protective older brother for Izuku, he'd always been in motion, never stopping, tugging Izuku along who could only hold on for the ride and bask in the radiance of his friend's light.
Mitsuki often used to joke that her son was born feet first and screaming, ready to take on the world within his first breath.
Izuku liked to believe that.
While the blonde contemplates his murder Izuku looked around, using this moment to pull the last of his groggy mind from the darkness of medicated slumber. They're in his bedroom, the door is closed. His favourite chair was pulled up next to the bed, with one blonde in it. The windows are drawn shut; sunlight poured in. The blinds were pulled back, letting it all flood in.
The sky outside was a bright, inviting clear blue. It was serene, the kind of sky he would spend hours watching from his window while doodling in his notebooks.
It's beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Inexplicably, it feels wrong.
(Wrong, that the world kept moving on after what happened.)
Izuku looks at the room again. Now that he was more awake, he noted more things. Small and out of place, that he didn't spot in his initial surveil. Coffee cups lined the drawer. His phone sat on the nightstand. There's Kacchan's dark brown vest thrown over his chair; right under it, Izuku spots Naomasa's tan coat.
So it did happen in this timeline.
Only in this-
Izuku breathes.
"Oi, Deku."
"Hm?"
"You're spacing out, nerd."
"I am." Izuku agrees easily. The medication still flowing through his veins left him sleepy and relaxed, quelling some of the tension in his gut that came with the realization of what, exactly, occurred the night before. At least he hopes its only one night. It wouldn't be the first time he slipped after being put under by his doctors. He's too hesitant to focus on Omniscience and check the time, though. "Shouldn't you be at school?"
Katsuki looks almost too smug when he responds. "I skipped," He tells him, tilting his head back; the sunlight makes his hair gleam a soft, calm gold. "-apparently, my cousin nearly getting kidnapped and murdered is a pretty good excuse to nope out without getting chewed on. It won't affect my perfect attendance."
Izuku squints. "But we're not cousins." He none too helpfully points out.
A snort leaves the older boy.
"Bitch, with the rate my old hag and your mom are going, we practically are." Katsuki grumbles. "Plus, Auntie Mitsuki."
Blue-green eyes blink. "Hey, she likes it!" Izuku defends after a beat, fully awake now.
He gets a lopsided grin in response. "It's goddamn pitiful, that's what it is."
"Like you don't call my mom that, Kacchan."
The blonde glares.
They lapse back into silence. Izuku looks out the window.
A bird flies by.
Too peaceful.
He hates how the world keeps spinning and spinning and spinning, just like his eyes, just as if nothing at had happened. Like his body didn't ache from wounds it did not sustained, like he didn't nearly-
Izuku curls his hands, digging his nails into the fabric of his bedsheets.
Sometimes it's hard, knowing just insignificant things were to the universe. Your loved ones could die, you could go through the worst pain imaginable, have your dreams crushed forever...and yet the universe kept on trucking along, pulling you with it as readily and surely as the Sun pulled the Earth around itself.
It felt unfair. He feels it, the thick painful pressure of something that wanted out crawling up his throat. Repressed anger and frustration molding together to form words that sounded far too weary for someone of his age:
"He panicked."
He watches as Katsuki stiffen. Slowly, the blonde draws closer, brows knitted together in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Izuku allows the silence to stew. Knowing him, knowing that he needed a moment to gather himself, Katsuki allows it.
Izuku barely heard his friend's softer than usual voice. His ears felt like they were filled with cotton, and his mouth continues to move without his explicit consent:
"He panicked." Izuku repeated blandly. It's only when he feels a light touch against his stomach that he realizes he's drawing a invisible line over his skin, following a invisible diagonal cut. "I screamed. He panicked. He took his knife and stabbed me in the gut. Eight times."
Katsuki is silent. Encouraged by the lack of response, spurred on by Omniscience's slowly increasing presence in his head Izuku continues, moving his hand up to his chest.
"Cornered. Panicked again. Wanted to make a example out of me. Two stabs."
Then he slowly, almost gently drew a finger over his own throat.
"Nurses were coming. Sirens -he heard them. Knew it was over. Slit my throat in front of-" He pauses, swallowing. "...of Naomasa."
Oh god, he could still remember that one. It was branded into his memory, the look of pure horror and shock, the cry of anguish the detective let out as the man ran the knife across his throat. Seeing his reaction hurt him more than seeing any of the alternative paths.
Despite this, his mouth kept moving. Independent of his mind, it kept talking.
"Rei was too late. Hesitated. Iced too much. He got through Naomasa but slipped down the stairs, lost his grip -I broke my neck of the sixth step."
Silence. There's guilt not his own swallowing him, drowning him.
Omniscience ripples, low and soft and terrible.
Finally, he presses his hand to his own chest. He could feel his heartbeat under his fingers, and he focused on it; reminding himself that it was still there, still beating.
"Naomasa didn't arrive on time." He murmured, softer now, as if speaking any louder could somehow cause the world to shift on its axis and drag him down that path. "He -he brought me to the man who sent him. He brought me to All for One."
Unconsciously, both of his hands slide up to his face, resting over his glowing, spinning eyes. Izuku barely registers the warmth of his palms against his eyelids -he's more focused on how his vision was darkened, narrowing his attention to the paths spread out in front of him. A endless maze that never stopped growing, stretching out towards the horizon.
"He stole it."
His eyes did a single spin -then something slipped through the cracks of the dam, pressing white-hot against the back of his eyes. Against Izuku's will, a tight, punched out sound leaves his throat.
cold so cold black digging in too much pressure he won't it won't he can't that's not how it works you can't steal it it hURTS
Fingers dig into his wrists, wrestling his hands away.
Izuku blinks blearily at the sudden light, startled by the interruption. He looks up to meet burning red. Katsuki was half on the bed, lips curled back in a sneer. At that moment, he looked like a lion, about to roar in fury at those who dared trespass upon its territory.
"Stop that." Katsuki hisses, voice sharp like a viper, yet Izuku could hear the wavering undertone hastily hidden under all that fury. "Don't fucking say that, you idiot."
"It's the truth." Izuku looks away -his gaze strays to the window. "I saw it." He mutters.
Katsuki is silent at his side.
"I felt it."
Tiny, choked. Izuku makes a odd, croaked sound, the words he tore it from me dying in his throat long before they made their way out.
Wordlessly, Katsuki crawls over from the chair to the bed and grabs him by the front of his shirt, dragging him into a bear hug with characteristic roughness. Izuku sinks into it, huddling in like a child, grateful for the strong, powerful arms wrapped around him -keeping him close and safe and here, just like Naomasa's had hours ago.
Izuku knew that he would never be harmed as long as he was here.
His Kacchan would not allow it. Katsuki, who fierce and protective and so so bright. He would be safe with his friend at his side, hands that will be one day capable of demolishing entire street blocks folding around him, holding him tight and together as Omniscience languidly pulls itself out of its medicated slumber.
Truly, Katsuki would make a fine hero someday.
(Izuku quietly hoped he would be there to see it. Not through his visions, but be there, physically, standing at his side and smiling as his friend caught the attention of the world.)
"You know I can't comfort for shit," Katsuki breathed next to his ear, his frustration clear despite his attempts at sounding composed. Izuku could feel that rage right under his skin with the way his arms were tight around him. "-so I won't."
Izuku almost snorts at the bluntness.
"The fucker wants your Quirk? Okay. Nothing you can do about that." A pause. Alright, Katsuki really was going for the throat of the matter. Izuku's throat felt dry at the reminder of why he'd been assaulted just a scant few hours prior. "But you can do a lot to keep it from happening. So the question is now," Katsuki continues, pulling away just far for their eyes to meet. The look in his gaze was focused and knowing.
Izuku's grip unconsciously tightens on his friend's shirt.
"...what are you going to do?"
The question hangs in the air like a challenge, the tone ever a classic of his friend as the explosions he could produce.
Izuku doesn't speak up at first.
Acting….acting was not his thing. Izuku knew that. He was the informant, he gave other people what they needed in order to get things done. Izuku never had to bother about strategizing, especially against a man that was practically a cryptid in Japan's criminal history. He merely let others be aware of what was ahead and let Naomasa sort it out for the most part, because that was his role.
Natural disasters were nigh inevitable. They were events that Izuku could grasp from the stream of information Omniscience gave him because of that very same fact; they were like boulders in a stream, piercing through current. Strong, tall; inevitable. Build ups over months or years or decades that could not be avoided.
He could predict humans, but not very well. Humans were too different. Fickle. Chaotic.
It was as fascinating as it was annoying.
"I...I don't know." Izuku finally mutters, looking down at his lamp."-but...I'll think of something."
Katsuki snorts, pulling away fully to sit back on the couch. Izuku didn't try to defend himself as the taller teen reached over and used a lone finger to poke him in the forehead.
"It's a start."The blond huffed, a lopsided shark grin tugging at his lips. "Don't dwell on it too much, nerd. You'll overcook that big brain of yours."
"I-"
He's stopped by the door opening.
Katsuki immediately tenses on the couch, hands reflexively clenching in that familiar pose they took when he was about to unleash his Quirk. Izuku blinks, startled for once. Omniscience had begun acting up, but it was far from the constant stream of information he was used to.
There's no need for panic however, as the person who steps into the room is intimately familiar. Izuku could spot that mess of short black hair from miles away.
Naomasa Tsukauchi makes no noise as he closes the door behind him. His shoulders are hunched, his steps lumbering as he makes his way to the bed. Izuku side-eyes Katsuki, who had slowly relaxed once again on the couch. For a moment, Izuku is reminded of a tiger, all soft and calm as it stretches out in the sunlight for a catnap -but ready to spring onto its feet and fight at a moment's notice.
Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, Naomasa has none of Katsuki's elegance, however. Izuku doesn't know what to say -what he could even say after that- so he lets the man approach.
Still, he's not expecting the man to suddenly slump on him.
"Nao..?"
"Kid." Naomasa's exhausted exhale ruffles the top of his hair. "Don't do that."
Izuku hums quietly. "Do what?"
"Your eyes were bleeding." Naomasa hissed out through gritted teeth against his hair. Oh. "They had to get someone with a scanning Quirk to take a look at you because they were worried your Quirk caused internal hemorrhaging in your brain. Izuku, you could have died and it wouldn't even be because of that bastard but because of stress."
"Oh."
"Oh indeed." Naomasa says, his voice muffled and exhausted. "...I think Inko wants to just fly you out to a abandoned island to live there so you could stop being such a mess. Frankly, I agree."
"I'll start packing." Katsuki commented wryly. Izuku squirmed away from Naomasa's entrapping embrace and squinted at the older boy, who glared right back smugly. Even wiggling his brows at him, which didn't fail to make Izuku's lips curl up in a tiny smile.
Against him, Naomasa let out a heavy sigh.
As if he had a mind reading Quirk, Katsuki jumps up from the sit and sits down next to Izuku's legs, leaving the chair free for the detective to flop over. Which the adult does with a grateful groan, limbs slack against the furniture.
There's a pause as Naomasa catches his breath and composes himself. Then his head crans up and his eyes lock with vibrant blue-green.
"You need to meet All Might."
From the sidelines Katsuki merely blinks, as if he was already expecting it. Izuku was having none of it however and made a wordless noise as he flopped back on his bed. Arms over his face, nose tucked in a elbow. It's childish, but Izuku can't help it.
Just Naomasa saying it brought a whole package of emotions he wasn't ready to deal with.
The detective wasn't taking his silence as an answer this time. "Izuku, it needs to happen."
"Hmmm."
"He's still in the hospital."
Never before did Izuku stand up so fast in his bed. "What?!"
Naomasa looks down at him with a somber expression.
"He was with me when I got your call. I didn't tell him -but he figured out some things." The man explains, biting his lip as he falters. "I didn't let him see you. But he knows you're here. I'm barely able to keep him away right now, much less the media and the police." The grimace he makes at this is shared by the two other occupants of the room. Izuku looks own at his lap. "This dynamic we have, it can't keep going."
Izuku stays silent.
Unfortunately, Naomasa doesn't need his agreement to continue.
"I already spoke to your mother. She agrees we are going to need to move you from this hospital. We don't know where yet, but it's too risky for you to stay here."
"...I understand."
Naomasa falters.
"I'll be back in half an hour, with him."
"Okay." The single word that bubbled out of Izuku's lips sounded even meeker and defeated than he'd thought they would. "Okay."
He hears Naomasa swallow.
"Okay." The detective parrots; Izuku peers through his arms to see him exchange a glance with Katsuki whom so far, had been watching the conversation with narrowed eyes. "You won't regret it."
"I'm already regretting it."
Katsuki chortles. Naomasa makes a small, soft noise.
"Of course." Naomasa tells him kindly. "Rest. I'll handle things for now."
Izuku frowns. "But-"
"Izuku." The detective tells him sternly and Izuku remembers, suddenly, that this person wasn't just his friend but a adult as well. A member of the police force, no less. The authority drips from Naomasa's lips as he pins him in place with one look. " Rest. Don't give me that look, I know what you're thinking." His gaze softened. "Let me handle it right. You nearly died last night. I'm not letting you step a toe out of this room and if I didn't have to do this, trust me, I would. But my hand is forced."
Izuku ducks his head. "Right," He murmurs. "-you're right. I understand."
And he did.
Things could not continue the same way. His anonymity was gone, and hiding in plain sight would only endanger those around him -helpless, sick people, who Izuku would rather die than use them as body shields. The villains wouldn't care if they hurt the people at the hospital if it meant getting their hands on him -All for One wouldn't even blink.
They had to change tactics.
He had to change tactics.
Just before he went, Naomasa turned to look at the silent blond slumped at the end of the bed. Izuku watches as Katsuki peers at the adult with dark, narrowed eyes.
"You don't need to tell me shit, old man." The blond says, expression resolved and calm. Solemn. "Go. I'll take care of this fucking disaster, you handle the one outside."
"H-hey!"
Naomasa nods.
"I'll be back before you know it. With All Might."
That sobered up the two children.
.
.
.
When Naomasa dragged him out of the police station, hat forgotten and coat barely dangling from one of his arms, Toshinori was unsure what to think.
One moment the phone rang and Naomasa peered at it. The next thing he knows, they're all but flying out of the office, Naomasa shouting indiscriminately at the cops around him -barking for them to dispatch several cars to a hospital's address. For those who were available to drop anything they had that wasn't urgent and move.
It was a side he'd never seen to the man before. His friend was panicking, a strange mounting terror that emanated from the detective's body and found its way under Toshinori's skin.
He knew, instinctively, that he had to hurry as well. And when Naomasa gave him the address, he wasted no time picking up the smaller man under an arm and leap, One for All crackling through his body like a barely contained thunderstorm.
What could have brought his friend to such a state?
What was in danger?
Who was in danger?
The thoughts swirled in his head, growing deeper and more chaotic the longer he flew through the dark, dusky air, eyes locking on the hospital when Naomasa picked it out amongst the lights of the city and shouted there, that's the one! Practically right in his ear.
So with the urgency of the situation, Toshinori was most confused when Naomasa stumbled away upon landing, panicking limbs flailing to keep in balance after the dizzying flight like a newborn fawn, and told him to stay put with a garbled voice while heading for the backdoor he'd insisted All Might landed near.
At first, he resisted.
"Naomasa, you can't be serio-
"Toshi." Naomasa growled, turning his head to meet his gaze and holding it. At the dark, flat tone, Toshinori froze. "I'm serious. Don't follow unless I yell for you."
"...alright. I trust you."
The detective's eyes softened. "Don't you worry, I know what I'm doing. Keep a eye out for trouble, friend."
And with that, he was gone.
Which led him to where he was now, hours later, sitting in a chair that struggled to keep his weight, holding a cup of coffee that was just the right size for him to hold comfortably. It's starting to get cold in his hand.
Not exactly what Toshinori was expecting.
He feels completely out of place here. He rarely visited hospitals beyond the visits to children and charities, and the occasional fight that left him with a few scrapes.
Idling by, waiting for something to happen left him off-balance and unsure.
So when he finally spots his friend again, scruffy, unsteady but here, Toshinori can't help but perk up. Naomasa was approaching him rapidly; his coat was gone, but he looked like death warmed over. Despite this relief courses through him as Toshinori offers the other man a blinding grin, a hopeful attempt at cheering him up.
"Hey, Nao-"
Naomasa sat down next to him, takes the large, tepid cup from his hand and promptly drinks it down in one go.
Toshinori can only stare, wide-eyed, at this god given human form.
"Media's on my ass." Was the first thing his friend says as he licks his lips, eyes darting around, still looking for more caffeine. Toshinori silently hoped it was only his second one for the night but even if he was an optimist, he was certain this was far from true. "The chief of police, too. Can't keep things hidden anymore. At least, not as well as before."
Hidden. How peculiar of a word.
Hesitantly, he posed the question burning at the tip of his tongue. "...is this about the reason we came here?"
"Yes." The detective muttered as he leaned back, head hitting the wall behind him with a dull thud that made Toshinori wince in sympathy. "There was a security breach. Someone important nearly got..." Naomasa's face did a peculiar little twitch as he resolutely stared up at the ceiling. "-taken. The kidnapper was apprehended before permanent harm was dealt."
Toshinori let out a soft, questioning sound. Who was it, he wondered? A member of the government? A hero in recovery?
Wait, did he say permanent harm? His mind flashed back to the screaming he'd heard from the depths of the hospital. He'd nearly barreled into the building right there and then, and would have if a very flustered officer had told him the situation had been taken care of.
"Are they alright?"
"He's fine." Naomasa muttered lowly, gazing at the wall opposite to where they were sitting. He had a far-away look, the kind he made when he was knees-deep into a case and trying to brainstorm a solution. "He's recovering at the moment. It was too close for comfort."
Toshinori observes him quietly, not knowing what else to say. He. So it was a man? He tries to rake his mind to find a male of enough importance to send a normally well kept and professional man such as Naosama in such a flurry-
-it's at that moment that he catches it. Naomasa's eyes flicking down to Toshinori's left side, contemplating. It's not even guarded or furtive, but rather slow and deliberate, as if he's trying to communicate something only he could understand but could not voice out loud for fear of being heard.
Information only a select trio knew, as far as Toshinori was aware.
And two of these individuals were sitting in the hallway.
No way.
Cold sweeps up his spine at the realization.
"You mean…"
Naomasa turns an exhausted, worn gaze towards him. There's bags under his eyes and he looks like he's about to fall over but somehow, his gaze still manages to carry a strange, hardened look of resolution Toshinori had never seen before.
"You wanted to meet the Sybil, Toshi? Here's your chance."
.
.
.
"I'm gonna meet All Might."
"Yes."
"I'm gonna meet All Might."
"Fucking yes." Katsuki stresses out the last word, grinding his teeth in irritation.
"Just let me die." Izuku croaked, fiddling the bedsheets. "I'm not ready for this.
His childhood friend grumbled noisily from the chair, crossing his arms. "Oi, don't die on me. Your mom will have my head." He wrinkled his nose. "The old hag will too."
"But you won't miss me?"
"Fuck no, you're a headache."
"Meanie." Izuku sighs, falling back against his pillows. The warm softness swallows him up, but fails to comfort him as much as it should. His stomach felt too tight and twisted for him to relax. "Why do I put up with you?" He babbles, trying
"Because your chances of survival dramatically rise if I'm here to keep watch over your ass." The blonde muttered, nonplussed by the nervous fidgeting. "Just calm down."
"I don't feel ready." Izuku admits, swallowing as he gazes up the ceiling. "Is that even a thing? Should that be a thing? I need to meet him."
God, why did that feel like a death sentence? Was he being melodramatic?
"-with All for One making his move, I need to make sure we are on the same page and talking through Naomasa is not enough anymore. There's really nothing I can do to avoid this can I? I can't do this -oh god they're coming here right now-"
Izuku halts, brows furrowing as Omniscience did a odd little squirm at the back of his head. Abruptly he turns to Kacchan -only there was no blonde sitting by his bed. Instead, he was standing next to the window.
The very much open window.
He even had a leg sticking out through the frame, as if he was about to leap out from the second story of the hospital. And Katsuki doesn't even look guilty. If anything, his expression is set into a different look of innocence -which contrasted with the absurdity of the position he was in.
Izuku can't help but splutter as he connects the dots.
"Wait no -Kacchan you ass!"
The shark-like grin the other offers is not comforting. "Don't worry, you've got this, Deku! I trust you to not fuck up."
"What?!" It's so out of left field that Izuku balks. "You barely trust me to cross the street alone!"
"Exactly!"
"But..." Izuku pauses to stare at the smirking teen, dumbfounded, his medicated brain struggling to piece the puzzle parts together. "But that doesn't make any -hey!"
He scrambles out of bed too late, his movements too jerky and slow to get him upright in time. It was a familiar betrayal from his weary body, but it didn't fail to irritate him. In the meantime Katsuki had already taken advantage of his lapse in attention and without even saying goodbye, he jumps out the window, even yelling out as he uses his Quirk to land safely below.
Hearing the explosions didn't make Izuku feel any better. Clutching the edges of the window, he peeks his head out and glares down at the mop of blond hair two floors below.
"Kacchan, you dick!"
Katsuki doesn't respond. Even with his back turned, Izuku knows the older boy was smirking as he darts out of sight. They'd known each other since practically diapers, he could read him like a open book.
...which meant, he really should have expected this.
So much for one of the most powerful foresight Quirks in recorded history.
Izuku grumbles under his breath. In all honesty, he can't find it in himself to be truly angry at the blond -god, if he could jump out after him he totally would and for a moment he thinks about doing just that and making his friend catch him. As angry and antisocial as Katsuki was, his hero instincts were on point and it felt like he was born with a built in alarm to detect Izuku's bullshit.
But as he thought that, the tiny part of him that was responsible and followed such horrible things as logic and manners reminded him that he's metaphorically chained to this room. At least, until that door opens again and his cover is finally blown.
At this reminder, Izuku can only let his shoulders drop in defeat. He sighs deeply, letting his head rest against the windowsill.
"Okay."
I'm going to kill him.
"I can do this."
No you can't.
The door behind him opens.
Fuck.
Sike, All Might seeing tiny bean boi again is next chapter. Apologies for that, the chapter needed to be cut in half because otherwise it will take me another month to finish it lol.
Next update is going to be MUCH faster. I already got like 40% written out and it's already fully planned out, and that's half the hassle when it comes to writing.
See you soon!
Next Chapter:
All Might doesn't know what to feel. Izuku feels too much. Naomasa just wants vacation time at this point, honestly.
Oh, and Shigaraki lurks in dark corners.