4. Fireflies
You and I
We're a couple of fireworks
Falling from the sky
You and I
We're beautiful for a moment
And then we die - '4th of July Live Blackbox Recording' By Elliot Moss
When Katuski thinks back, it's hard to tell why he even wanted to be number one in the first place. As the wind lashes past cheeks, harsh and yet cooling against his warm skin, his hands wet and reaching out stride after stride to ride the momentum like a blanket over the city, it's really only this that he's ever wanted.
Well, that and…one other thing.
"Kaachan!" He hears the voice streak amongst the wind, as a flash of neon green lightning dances past him. "Over there," Midoriya nods to him, his wide gaze planting into his, alerting him to the explosion before continuing on ahead of him with a sound akin to the sonic boom.
He smirks to himself, watching the cloud of smoke that he passes through it. He no longer burns with the urge to be first, or be quickest or indeed the strongest. Events over the past few years have taught him to just…be. Besides, his own kit is heavier than it used to be compared to his UA days. Far bulkier but infinitely more useful, now for a wider range of different features to accommodate nearly any circumstance. Now adorned with lock-on Missiles and projectile contraptions. All lightweight and powder-based, mere fuel to his already fiery quirk. But with all of that comes the added pounds, and the need for a back to support such a load. But he's more than up to the challenge. He's no longer as lean and wiry as he used to be in his teens. Indeed, his twenties have been a very different kind of flavour altogether, but if anything he's learned to adapt. His thoughts flick to Izuku then, noticing a flash of green streak in an arch-like shape ahead of him. They've both changed a lot over the years, that's for sure. Finally both Pro Heros, able to call the shots, just like they had planned.
His mind wipes the thought, focusing on making up the miles as he watches Deku light up the growing call of the night. Sometimes he catches himself, like a mere spectator, watching the sheer spectacle of gold and green, like the dance of the fireflies against a tropical storm. Izuku is lazer sharp and shockingly fast nowadays, darting from one assault into the next without so much as a beat in between. But he's not without his openings, and luckily Katsuki Bakugou is the kind of Hero to offer a different kind of edge to a fight. A complimentary skill-set, you could call it.
Deku and Dynamight. A literal force to be reckoned with. God help any villain in their wake…
Katsuki's attention catches, as a large cloud of smoke pummels the air. His eyes search for Deku as he swoops in, descending into an unnaturally thick fog as his hands blow a counter burst, allowing his feet to collide slowly with the concrete below, his knees bending to brace him.
He squints, looking around. He can barely make out the edges of the buildings from this angle, and a birds eye view hadn't given him the adequate warning. What he had first thought of as a simple smoke cloud, now seems…different somehow. Like it is… alive . Sentient. Purposeful. He frowns, waving the fog out of his eyes.
The call out had spoken of a bungled bank robbery gone sour, with only two suspects. One, a lizard-man of sorts, with a retractable neck frill that could assault the crap out of you, and a woman who could bend her form into shapes that could encase anything.
But this was…something else entirely.
"Deku!" He shouts into the grey thickness, frowning for more than just his absence. Deku's superhero name was the only remnant left over from their complicated past. All other things had either been transmuted, or dissolved in place to allow other things to grow and and form and flourish. But Katsuki didn't miss a thing and so every time he swallowed a distaste at using the name. The real definition of a bitter pill.
He looks around, frowning at the unnatural silence. He clocks the ripe absence of sounds that have become second nature to him over time. But not a beat after, he watches a sharp green light glow emit in front of him, like a held explosion, oddly oval for Izuku's regular moves, with a pinkish red tinge in them, as if he is…encased somehow.
Bakugou's eyes widen as he strides forward, a worrying hunch building up in his gut as he pushes further into the fog, wincing as it starts to increase in density, becoming thicker and fuller and unyielding. He growls then, feeling the air tightening in his lungs as his hands line with nitro-glycerin. This fucker is going to suffocate him, maybe Deku too if he doesn't act, and fast with it. His hands begin to lash out in front of him as panic rises in his chest, crackling with a flickering assault of small explosions. The younger him would have raged and torn and shredded with fist flying between the edges of fight and flight. The older, wiser him knows that focus, even in the worst of circumstances always wins out, every time. He watches as the fog almost darts with a reflex, twitching away from every minute blow. Relief settles over him then and he smirks, something feline and cruel as he increases the intensity of his blows, watching as the fog begins to dissipate, or more probably move away from him in streaks of avoidance. But just as the fog begins to streak apart with openings of light and air and space, his eyes widen at the sight before him. The lizard guy has engulfed Deku in an umbrella of slightly see-through skin, the frill stretching into the shape of a cocoon.
"Hey, Asshole!" He barks, marching with effort towards the villain, trying not to focus on the way that Deku's hands spread out against the frills, his white gloves pressing into the membrane, the imprint of the right side of his face watermarking into the veins and arteries that map their way against the stretched out skin.
He is suffocating. Quickly. Whether due to the fog or being encased in skin like a fifties version of an alien invasion movie, Bakugou isn't sure. And he doesn't care. Without thinking, he presses a button on the wrist of his gloves.
"Thunder Cloud Explosion!" He shouts, his voice gravely with intent as a metal armature rises above his head, tiny missiles dropping like a cascade in layers, firing off in a divine shower. They shoot ahead of him, two groups of missiles curving like hands as they collide with the sides of the cocoon, splitting it in two with a pop and a squeal as the fog rips apart from the middle like a swarm of locusts. He watches as Deku lurched forward, heaving a heavy, almost choking breath, his hands bracing his fall, dripping with a goopy film.
Katuski swallows the urge to run to him and check his vitals, instead presses his wrist console to reload another set of 'Go fuck yourself' firearms. He watches the lizard-guy, neck-ripped and bleeding something acidic as he stumbles forward apace, choking on his own wounds.
"Take another fucking step and I will end you." He barks, red eyes flashing the warning, before looking at the fog. "Same goes for you, curtains." He says, watching keenly for Deku to make it fully to his feet. It takes him a moment, a familiar sigh and a pouted puff of air, his expression a finally mixture of relief and bashfulness.
Wide eyes meet cats eyes and the exchange is palpable, yet fleeting.
The police aren't far behind, having found the other villain knocked unconscious less than a block away, it doesn't take long to arrest the lizard guy and strangely, after some investigation the fog monster turns out to be the lizard's teenage son, so one wasn't going anywhere without the other anyway. A sad story of desperation and fractured family ties.
All in a days work, Katsuki thinks dully as he straightens, cricking his neck as he leans casually against the brick wall behind him, watching Deku finish up the report with a portly looking Sargeant. He takes the moment to observe the young man as he saunters over to Katsuki, long and lean with shoulders that round slightly with an tiredness against hips and swing slightly with that tempered confidence that his younger self could have only ever dreamed of attaining. He reminds Katsuki of one those cats who saunters over the edges of buildings, owning the neighbourhood but only ever one whisker away from a fight to the death.
And then Deku opens his mouth, and it's all caramel and accusations. "Why is it that every time you accompany me on missions, I end up in trouble?" Izuku's voice peels with humour as Katsuki throws him a small towel that an EMT had loaned him earlier.
"I dont know." He shrugs, noncommittal yet unable to hide the enjoyment in his smirk. "Maybe you just like to play the damsel in distress when I'm around." He quips, arching an eyebrow.
"I think your track record alone weakens your argument," Deku notes lightly, referring to Bakugou's colourful history. It is a brief reminder of a truth that they prepare for every day. He looks to him then, with wide and affectionate eyes. "But.. maybe I just like to keep you busy." He shrugs one shoulder.
"Oh, I think we both know you keep me plenty busy." He counters, nudging Izuku's shoulder roughly.
"Fine. Next time I'm bringing Shoto." Izuku throws the words, letting them hang in the air as bait.
Katuski just laughs. They are long past involving Shoto Todoroki in their fickle games, and he is long past reacting irrationally. "Oh, I'm sure he'll love being your Knight in shining armour." He agrees, his smirk only widening, like a cat that truly got the cream.
"Oh yeah?" Deku chuckles then, his eyes searching a recent memory. "Momo'll love that, I'm sure." He blushes.
"She still hasn't forgiven you for interrupting their honeymoon." Bakugou reminds him, baring his teeth in a seering expression, playing up the fact.
Katuski is met face first with a towel as Deku's face grows thoughtful at the reminder. "Yeah…I should…really work on making up for that." He agrees, frowning slightly as he rubs absent-mindedly at the back of his neck.
"You do that ," Kastuki smirks, licking his lips as he pushes off of the wall. "I'm gonna," he gestures, never wanting to be the hero that stays.
He walks a stride or two, before turning back to face Deku, knowing that his eyes have already followed his retreating form.
"Try not to get in trouble between now and when I next see you?" He plants the words, a sparkle of fire and mirth in the man's crimson eyes. He watches as Deku rolls his eyes enough to look disinterested, but not enough to rid himself of the smile that creeps across his face.
They both know he'll be late for dinner.
He almost always is.
Katsuki reasons that were he the one in charge of cooking, they'd both probably entirely starve to death.
'Cause you said love
Was letting us go against what
Our future is for
Many of horror
Our future is for
Many of horror
I still believe
It's you and me 'til the end of time
- 'Many of Horror' by Biffy Clyro