16/05/2023
My discord server has a challenge each month. The challenge this month is to "Write about your least favourite character comforting your favourite character who's going through a difficult time". But since we are a nice server, you can do it the other way around if you want.
I Wish You Could Have Saved Me Too
"God, you are such a nerd," Bakugou groused as he watched Deku accept a bunch of flowers from the shop assistant. They were white chrysanthemums, mixed with pink aster.
Deku gave the woman a smile, ignoring the way she almost fawned over him. It was pathetic.
Everyone thought Deku was such a sweet young man, full of promise, but they didn't see that he was just a useless nerd. It was really frustrating watching him. What was worse was when the moron was oblivious to the people around him. Bakugou really thought UA had trained that out of him but there were days… It made him so frustrated he just wanted to blow something up! Couldn't the jerk see that the woman just wanted to congratulate him?
But no…. It was just another example of how Deku looked down on people, how he had no time for people, how he was…
Argh…
Bakugou deliberately turned his back. He couldn't watch anymore.
-iwychsmt-
"Thank you," Izuku said, as he accepted the neatly wrapped flowers and tapped his wrist band to the pay point. He didn't bother to look at the amount. It would probably be too little, and it had taken a while for him to get used to the fact that as a hero people wanted to give him stuff. He couldn't take it. There were rules about that, and when they sent stuff to his agency, there were procedures to ensure it was all documented, declared, and where they were able to, it was donated to an appropriate charity, museum or somewhere the item could be of use.
When he was out shopping though… He'd tried fighting it until a really tired Hizashi had taken him aside one day and just told him to accept it. So long as he never asked for it and never expected it, then if people wanted to take a few hundred yen off his purchases then that was their way of saying thank you. And he should just be gracious and accept it.
That had been hard but it had also worked out in the end. Now he just sighed and made sure he paid something for his purchases. He couldn't take them for free. A hero wasn't about that anyway. A hero was there to help people and since he could afford his purchases, he felt that he should pay.
And today was a special day. Today was… Izuku grimaced. He didn't like remembering it, not really but today was the anniversary of the event that started him on his journey to being a hero. The day he'd met All Might, who'd told him he couldn't be a hero, and the day that All Might had changed his mind after Bakugou had been attacked by the sludge villain the Number One Hero had eventually captured.
It had been years since then but he remembered it almost every day. He'd thought about what happened just about…
Most people would say he was obsessed but Izuku knew he wasn't. He just maintained the memory of his first real step towards heroism clearly, that's all. And last night…
Last night was surreal. The Hero Chart Billboard for Japan had been announced. Izuku moved out of the store quickly, and walked down the street, cradling the flowers.
He'd known he was popular but he had become a hero to help people, not for popularity so when they…
Izuku had gone to the event. A couple of his UA teachers, and peers had rung him when the invitations had been issued and told him it was not negotiable. He could not get stuck rescuing someone from a house fire, or something like that. He had to be there.
He'd been there. His agency had made sure of it, and they'd even followed his instruction for his suit's buttonhole, a red amaryllis.
Izuku ducked into a laneway, and carefully put the flowers down as he forced himself to take several deep breaths. He leaned against the wall, and brought one hand up to rub his eyes.
The amaryllis was for…
He still remembered. He'd always remember.
-iwychsmt-
"Not again!" Bakugou growled as Izuku disappeared into the laneway.
"For crying out loud, you asshole! Pull yourself together!" He snarled. "It's been years! Get over it!"
As usual, Izuku ignored him. That wasn't anything new. Izuku had been ignoring him for fucking ever. He'd thought about when it started.
It was way back in Elementary. The nerd had said he was going to be a hero… Without a quirk that was impossible but no matter what Katsuki did, Izuku just kept on with that belief.
He pushed Izuku over.
The dumbass still wanted to be a hero.
He exploded his books.
The moron still wanted to be a hero.
He tripped him up.
The idiot still wanted to be a hero.
And if Bakugou accidentally fell…
Once, that had happened once and once only and that was because he was practising a new move. And the friggin retrograde had the audacity to offer him help! As if he needed it. Katsuki sure as hell made sure that from then on he did his practising in private. He didn't need the extra trying to help him. He didn't need anyone. He'd work hard, and become a hero and beat up villains.
It had all been so clear.
It was going to take time, but it would happen. It was destiny.
And then…
So what was the nerd crying about now? Six years out of UA, a professional hero and the extra was still a crybaby!
What did it take to toughen him up?
"Quit crying you moron!" Bakugou barked. "What the fuck does it take to make you happy?" He added.
Last night… The Hero Rankings had been last night. Bakugou had been there. So had the nerd. He'd been there every year since UA Graduation, except for the first year, with the Cerberus gang, and second year with the supposed son of Mr Compress, and the third year with… fuck it, what was it that year? Oh yeah, the smuggling ring that had been broken up with Asui's assistance, and fourth year with… Banged up in hospital and last year was that guy with the quake quirk…
No wonder the moron's agency had made it clear he had to show up this year. But did they have to flower?
Bakugou knew there was already speculation online as to what it meant. The speculation had begun the moment Izuku had appeared. The freak. Why did people pay attention to him?
And really, how dumb were the extras? The flower meaning was fucking obvious!
He'd worked it out the instant he saw it.
He always knew what they meant.
Deku was transparent that way, and now he was crying in an alley.
Some hero he was.
Bakugou heard the scream at the same time Izuku did, and while he didn't have to grab the flowers, they both emerged from the alleyway at the same time.
-iwychsmt-
Izuku gulped, and swallowed hard to pull himself together. It had been a decade. He should be… It shouldn't hit him so hard.
But it was hard, and it still hurt. Sure, All Might had chosen him to be his successor from that day, and while that was a moment of joy, it was tainted with sadness. If he'd just been a bit stronger… or acted a bit faster…
It wasn't his fault.
Izuku knew that.
All Might had told him that. His mandated therapist had told him that.
Mt Lady had told him that, so had Kamui Woods, Backdraft and Death Arms. All the heroes who had been present that day had told him it wasn't his fault.
Death Arms had even gone to his knees and apologised.
And since then, in the years Izuku had been a hero, and through UA while he was training, he had learned that with other people and he knew that you couldn't save everyone. Sometimes it just wasn't possible but…
He had always wanted to be a hero. Izuku had known since he was about three that he wanted to help people and if he couldn't save them then… What good was a hero who couldn't save people? Who couldn't sav-
A scream broke through his introspection and before he could consider anything further, he grabbed the flowers and raced out of the alleyway.
It didn't matter who he hadn't saved in the past.
He had someone to save now.
-iwychsmt-
"Tch," Bakugou spat when he saw the scene.
The villain was just a purse snatcher. He didn't warrant the attention of the newly crowned Number One Hero. And from the looks of the villain… the guy was shitting himself over the attention his rather petty crime was getting.
Katsuki laughed. Having the Number One Hero appear would put a crimp in any villain's day, even those who had delusions that they could fight.
It wasn't even a fight. Izuku just grabbed the back of the purse snatcher's neck and held him in place until the cops arrived. The guy struggled but didn't even budge Izuku, or take a single petal off the flowers.
The nerd was such a show off. Sure, he'd gotten All Might's quirk but yeah… sheesh… he could have left the crime to someone else… especially with the way the crowd gathered and was watching with adoring eyes.
It was pathetic. It was such overkill and it was …
It was just a fucking purse snatcher. That was hardly a villain! But no, the nerd just had to stick his nose into things. All. The. Fucking. Time!
It always happens this way. People always thought the idiot was great for interfering, for helping. And the one time he'd been held back… and had only broken free later, that was the one time that-
Bakugou shook his head. That was the past. A decade in the past. He didn't need to remember it.
And the moron hadn't changed since that day. He still cried his way through everything. He still stuck his nose into other people's business. He still…
Argh, it was so annoying.
The police were fast and had the purse snatcher trussed up quickly and they were on their way again.
At least, they were once the nerd ditched the civilians. Six years a hero and the nerd still blushed at fans!
-iwychsmt-
Izuku felt a bounce in his step as he managed to get away from the civilians. After last night, they were all eager to thank him, even when he'd laughed and said it was just his job. In the end, he'd had to tell a little lie, claiming he was late to an appointment and then they couldn't let him go fast enough. Most of them had smiled as he'd moved off, except for an older lady. She'd stared at the flowers, and then at him and…
Izuku sighed. She knew he wasn't telling the whole truth but she hadn't called him on it. She probably realised what the flowers meant, but didn't know exactly what they were for.
People forgot so fast. Except those affected… They couldn't forget. They could move on with their lives but they never forgot.
He never forgot.
He travelled out of the busy shopping areas, moving into a less populated suburb before beginning to walk uphill. Near the top there were terraces and he needed the fourth one. Izuku bounced up the stairs, not even using his quirk. It was steep but that didn't matter. He didn't need his quirk for this. He was in the best shape of his life and the journey to fitness had started that day.
Exactly ten years back.
Each terrace had a narrow path, lined on both sides with markers. Each marker had a carved name on it. He didn't bother to read them. Izuku knew where he was going and when he reached the fourth terrace, he turned left, walking lightly along the path.
The view was nice. This far up the hill, the terraces had a nice view of Musutafu. If you knew what you were looking for you could see Aldera Junior High. You could see the senior school too and it was more recognisable by the playing fields.
And if he looked to the east he could see Dagobah beach. This far away, while Izuku could see the water, it didn't sparkle. It was just a mass of blue that extended to the horizon. He had heard that the Prefecture was considering building a small theme park near the beach. Every year he made sure he had a day there, and cleaned up any trash that had gathered over the year.
Izuku was happy that there wasn't much. He did that in winter, when no one was there because, as All Might had told him, all those years back, a hero wasn't after adulation, a hero just wanted to help. And that was his little bit of help to the community.
UA was not visible.
That was kind of a relief. It would be cruel if the High School was visible.
Izuku shook himself, careful to make sure he didn't damage the flowers. He could look at the view another day. Today, he was here for a reason.
He had to speak to an old friend. The thought forced his eyes closed while he fought back tears. The bitching he'd get for crying here…
That thought brought a ghost of a smile to his face and Izuku looked at the marker. He let his eyes trace out the kanji, without reading them before he leaned forward and carefully placed the flowers into holders. The chrysanthemums look nice in the stone vases, and he arranged the pink asters across the bottom.
Then he knelt, and actually let himself read the kanji.
Bakugou Family's Ancestral Grave.
Just reading it brings tears to his eyes again and Izuku bites his lip, not bothering to hold them back.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
-iwychsmt-
"You fucking useless crybaby!" Bakugou screamed, watching as tears form in Deku's eyes. He's as bad as ever. Worse today! What would the public think if they could see him snivelling here?
How the fuck did he get to be the Number One Hero?
At least he could recover quickly. He didn't just sit there blubbering any more and Bakugou watched as the moron laid out the flowers.
They were sort of nice. Though were the asters really necessary?
And then he's crying again.
Bakugou shakes his head and takes back any thought that the idiot can recover quickly. He's a blubbering mess!
"I'm sorry," Izuku whispers.
Bakugou froze, and then stared at Izuku.
He's sorry… What the hell?
What the hell does Mr New Number One Hero have to be sorry for… It's yet another example of his uselessness.
The nerd still apologised for everything , so hearing that he's sorry is just like hearing his voice on repeat.
"I know it was your dream, Kacchan, to be the Number One Hero, so I hope you don't mind that I am."
"You are kidding me?" Bakugou demanded. He was not hearing this! He couldn't be hearing this. The nerd was…
Of for fucks sake… He really, really wanted to blow something up.
"It's been hard," Izuku continued. "There were times when I thought I wouldn't make it."
"No shit, Sherlock!" Bakugou growled. He'd been there. He'd seen them. The nerd still had no self preservation instinct. If there was a way of taking out a villain where he didn't get beaten up, the moron never took it. He always got injured.
Thanks to All Might's quirk, the injuries were minimal but… Always.
You'd have thought UA trained that level of stupidity out of their students but apparently not.
"There were times when I think you could have done better," Izuku said.
That went without saying. Bakugou could have done about a thousand times better than the nerd. And if he'd have gotten All Might's quirk, then…
There wouldn't be a villain left in Japan. He'd have beaten them all to a pulp.
The nerd was too soft.
"And there are times when I've lost people but, you were-"
The asshole didn't finish the sentence, thank the lord for small mercies. Bakugou huffed. Geez. The nerd was still such a crybaby, was still such a deku… He'd even picked that as his Hero name…
Though, that was a relief. Bakugou had seen the name the idiot had considered. He did not need the extra to have called himself Kacchan thank you very much. So Deku was a relief. It was accurate at least, even if no one admitted it.
Izuku looked back at the carved stone. He gave it a sad smile. "I wish-"
"Don't you fucking dare!" Bakugou roared. He knew what the moron wished. He knew…
Izuku got up, brushing dirt from his pant legs before touching one of the flowers, straightening it slightly. "I wish-" he repeated, before he sighed. "I'll see you next year, Kacchan," he said as he turned away.
"Fucking Deku!" Bakugou growled. The nerd was the same every year. He never changed. And Katsuki knew what the dork wished.
Katsuki looked at the stone, and then out at the view.
He sighed. "I wish-" Bakugou whispered, clenching his fists.
I wish you could have saved me too.
-iwychsmt-
Amaryllis - Associated with Aries (March 20 to April 21 - Bakugou born April 20.)
Aster - means remembrance
Chrysanthemums - generally left on graves in Japan
My discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!
-iwychsmt-
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