For a celebratory lunch, Auntie Inko escorted Katsuki and Izuku to a small ramen shop in a little corner of Musutafu. The other restaurants and stores seemed to stoop into the ramen shop like cramped passengers on a train, but the bright red-and-gold paper lanterns and gossamer silver kanji written on the windows made up for its tiny size. At night, bright blue and purple neon signs would draw the attention of tourists for miles.
It was a cool aesthetic that Katsuki could get behind, and this shop was the best in a thirty-kilometer radius.
Katsuki sat down on old red cushioned chairs. Katsuki sat in these chairs for the entirety of his life. The way the cushions sank and collapsed with a gusty huff of air was as expected as the sun to rise. Auntie Inko settled right next to him, and Izuku next to her.
A cook sidled up to the three of them and, with the enthusiasm of a 95-year-old man, said, "Welcome. What would you like to order?"
Auntie Inko gave the cook her signature beaming, close-lipped smile. He didn't even blink. "We'd like a tonkotsu ramen, a shio ramen, and one plate of katsudon, please."
"Of course," the cook said with a toneless inflection. He gave their order to another cook, and they got to work, chopping green onions and mushrooms. One of them grabbed a loaf of dough and started stretching and spinning and stretching and spinning the dough. His arms were fluid and his movements graceful. Like magic, the elastic dough curled up into an impeccable twister every time.
"Ah, isn't this so nice?" Auntie Inko gave Katsuki a sweet smile. "You're not going to have time to come out here when you're in high school!"
Nice? It's fucking terrifying.
High school should be a time of specialization and building a steady launchpad to Katsuki's dream career. But nothing calls to him. There's no magical singing that draws him away from his reality.
The same cannot be said for Katsuki's family- especially not his mother's side. There's a mysterious uncle who estranged his family and became a botanist in America. He had watched a plant unfurl on a 3 AM rainforest documentary, and his passion swept him away to a foreign country. And the great-aunt that watched birds so much she literally became one.
Coming from a family renowned for their fiery passion and determination, Katsuki is the biggest disappointment his ancestors have ever seen. He wakes up, goes to school, exchanges insults with Tsubasa, and goes back to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. He'll probably end up inheriting his old man's job, or at least Mitsuki's influence in the modeling industry.
But Auntie Inko was still smiling at him pleasantly, so Katsuki muttered something unintelligible, and turned back to watch the cooks pull the noodles and soak them into the pork broth.
"I think it's nice, Mom," Izuku proffered from the other side of Auntie Inko, leaning forward to smile at Katsuki in a way that said, I'll pick up after your social ineptitudes. But in a nicer, Izuku-esque way.
Auntie Inko gave her son a sweet smile. "Isn't it?"
"Yeah," Izuku agreed, nodding eagerly, "It'll be sad when we're too busy studying. I'll miss this."
Bullshit. They'll end up going to the same high school, and do everything together anyway. Katsuki's overhead Auntie Inko talking with his parents. She can't afford Izuku attending a private school, or the commute to go to some distant public school. The only reason Izuku was at Aldera Middle School was because Katsuki went there, and Izuku might actually die without a friend.
"Ah, well," Auntie Inko suddenly jumped and started twisting around for her purse, "Do you boys mind if I leave you for a second? I need to go wash my hands."
"Go ahead, Auntie," Katsuki said.
"I'll be right back!" Auntie Inko slipped out of her seat, though she was a little too short to smoothly step down, so she just sort of dropped herself down and trotted towards the public bathrooms around the corner.
And then there were two.
Izuku kept eyeing up the space between them with a fervent, anxious look on his face, one that said, I want to do something, but I'm too much of a little bitch to do it. So Katsuki saved them both the trouble and slid into Auntie Inko's seat.
"What?" Katsuki leveled Izuku with a glare that said, Talk straight, you piece of shit, or don't talk at all.
Izuku visibly gulped. His eyes darted around the room, his brows were furrowed, and he was biting his lip. Izuku was nervous, but building up courage.
"Well, um…" Izuku hesitated, glancing towards the completely indifferent cooks. Whether he was looking for eavesdropping or moral support, he found absolutely nothing in their stone-cold faces. "Kacchan, I- uh… need your help."
You usually do.
"And?" Katsuki jutted his chin. Need help with what?
Izuku glanced at his cooks, his hands, the wooden counter, anywhere but Katsuki. He took a deep breath and said, "I…"
Okay, fuck this. Katsuki's here to enjoy a nice lunch with Auntie Inko and his, admittedly only, friend. If Izuku doesn't want to talk about it, that's fine, but he doesn't need to drag Katsuki into his weird, emotional bullshit! If Izuku wants someone to coddle him and patiently wait for him, he can go talk to Auntie Inko.
As if sensing Katsuki's rapidly declining patience, Izuku blurted out, "I want to go to UA!"
…
What?
"UA," Katsuki croaked. The name felt weird in his mouth. UA High School is a prestigious preparatory academy to train the best of the best, the highest of society. For Pro Heroes who have strong Quirks and defeat Villains. It feels almost wrong for someone like Katsuki to say it. He's always known Izuku idolized Pros, almost to an unhealthy degree, but Izuku's Quirkless. How can someone so powerless even conceive of defeating Villains?
"Yes!" Izuku said. He finally looked at Katsuki. His green eyes burned. They bore straight through Katsuki like a javelin. They swirled with fire and so much determination. "I want to become a Pro Hero, Kacchan!"
Something deep, deep in Katsuki's belly shivered. Is this the will of a man driven to desperation? This- this crazy, manic energy that wouldn't drop for anything? It's rare instances like this where Katsuki suddenly remembers that Izuku is so much more than a sputtering nerd.
Finally, Katsuki found his voice. "Are you fucking crazy?"
Izuku didn't cower. His nostrils flared, and something momentarily flickered across his face, but all he said was, "I'm not crazy, Kacchan. I'm going to shoot for UA."
"And what- go Pro?" Is he serious? "Izuku- you're fucking Quirkless."
Izuku's eyes narrowed. "I know, but I can do it! It's not like you need a strong Quirk to become a hero."
"Yeah, but you still need something," Katsuki retorted, "Do you have a death wish or something?"
"No!" Izuku protested, sounding way too offended for something like this.
"Then why?" Why would Izuku want to become a Hero? Didn't he see the kind of deep shit they got into? The fights, the bloodshed, the deaths- and they had Quirks! They had strong abilities that defied logic and reason. What did Izuku expect from such a harrowing, perilous industry?
Izuku paused. He looked towards the cooks again. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard.
Then he said, "Kacchan, do you remember when we were kids, and you fell into a river?"
"First off, it was a creek at best," Katsuki snapped, "And secondly, what does that have to do with anything?"
He continued: "You fell in, and all I could do was panic. 'Ah! Kacchan fell in the river!' and, 'Oh no! Is he hurt?'. That was all that was going through my mind."
Izuku looked back at Katsuki, and the full force of his will struck him again.
"And when I reached out my hand, and helped you?" Izuku paused, reminiscing. "When you took it, I- I… it was like magic. When I saved you, it was like magic."
"So what- you're going to throw your life away because you like helping people?" Katsuki scoffed, "You idiot. You know there's something called charities and volunteer work, right? Stuff that won't make your mom white-out in stress."
"It's not just that!" Izuku protested. He looked deep into Katsuki. Like- if Katsuki didn't understand him right now, the whole world would implode. It was Izuku's Look at me! Understand me! face. "I want to save people. I want to run through the city and rescue them. From bad guys, from fires, from wind and rain- I want to save them. Kacchan, that's my dream."
In the yellowed lights of the ramen shop, Izuku never looked more ready to set himself on fire to see this dream realized.
Something ugly reared its head in Katsuki's chest. This was exactly the kind of passionate drive that his parents would want out of him. The old hag was renowned for her unyielding strength and tenacity, and the old man was known for his doggedness and steady fortitude. And yet Izuku, the Quirkless best friend, got all that resolve and devotion. A Quirkless nobody has more grit and determination than Katsuki.
Wait, why is he thinking these things? Izuku is his best friend. Katsuki should be happy that he knows where he wants to go. He should be pleased and relieved that Izuku has a dream and the will to get there. Not this- this jealousy.
"So? The hell do you want me to do about it?" Katsuki muttered. What kind of pathetic fuck-up is jealous of his own best friend?
"You're the smartest, bravest, strongest person I know," Izuku admitted, and didn't that just boost Katsuki's ego? "If anyone can figure out how to get into UA without a Quirk, it'd be you."
"So, what- you wanna mooch off of me?" Katsuki snarled. He can't believe this- after all that, Izuku is just begging for Katsuki to do the hard shit, while he reaps the benefits? Is Izuku serious? They've known each other for years; Izuku knows how much Katsuki hates liars and cheats. Like hell is Katsuki going to "help" him.
"No!" Izuku insisted, "I just- I need- like, training and stuff."
"'Training and stuff'," Katsuki parroted. He can't believe he's entertaining this. He should be shooting Izuku down back to Earth!
"Like- just," Izuku floundered, sputtering and puffing, "I don't know, Kacchan! I just- I know I can't get into UA right now, but- if I just… if I could- could take on someone like- like Tsubasa-kun or- or Yashioka-kun, I might actually stand a chance!"
Katsuki scoffed. Did Izuku not understand how impossible this was? "Izuku, let me get this through your stupid brain, alright? Those idiots from school? They're nothing like actual, fucked up Villains. You can't expect for UA to accept you because you can beat up some idiot with wings or prehensile eyes."
Seriously. What was the school going to say, 'Oh man, this kid is so amazing! He can beat up someone whose greatest power is their eyeballs!'? Bullshit!
"Well…" Izuku glanced down at his clenched fists resting in his lap. "Don't you feel like it's a good first step? I need to get stronger but, what is strength without a measure? What is a line without an end?"
"Spare me your proverbs," Katsuki grumbled. He's heard this all before. Can't Izuku just speak plainly? Why does he have to sound so profound all the damn time? It pisses him off. It makes incredibly stupid ideas sound like the fucking Storming of Normandy.
"I just want you to understand, Kacchan," Izuku continued, slouching a bit, "I… I'm asking you for help, but if you can't help me, that's fine."
Like hell it was. If he didn't help Izuku, who would? Without Katsuki, he'd probably manage to get hit by a car because he was too busy staring at someone's Quirk. But because of his little baby face and obnoxious freckles, he'd get hauled to the hospital, and someone would come in and give him a lollipop because it must've just been so terrifying, you poor, poor baby. Why did that evil, evil man try to hit you?
"I never said that!" Katsuki snapped.
Izuku perked up like a dandelion, "So you'll help me? You'll help me get to UA?"
This is so fucking stupid.
But Izuku was staring at him again, in the way that Katsuki never learned how to resist, and at this point, there's no way for Katsuki to stop him anyway.
Even though it felt like admitting defeat, Katsuki slammed his fist onto the counter. "Fucking fine!"