So from this point on, the chapters are going to get much longer! I'm REALLY excited for this chapter; I've been looking forward to posting it ALL WEEK. And a HUGE thanks to my wonderful beta reader pumkinnutella for making this story possible!

Also, extra points if you know who I modeled my sweet little Quirkless girl off of. :)

Katsuki walked with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, making the conscious decision to ignore all of the noise and the hustle and bustle around him and just breathe. It was one of the few things his therapist had suggested that actually helped him rein in his near-constant anger and anxiety. Ironically, it helped if he tuned into the faint, actually -constant ringing that followed him everywhere these days (a side effect of having explosions next to his ears from the age of five onward; he'd have to ask the support course for some kind of special ear plugs or hearing aids when he got into UA). Before, it had been one more reason to be angry. Now the white noise helped him to tune everything else out, including his own damning thoughts.

It had been almost two years since Dek- rather, Izuku disappeared (and yet he still had a hard time getting his name right!). A lot had happened in that amount of time-he'd enrolled in an anger management course for youth, started drum lessons (it was a fun way to get out some of his aggression), changed schools, even made some new friends that actually kept him out of trouble-but he still refused to say it. Refused to think it. They'd never found a body, after all. He knew it was stupid-the kind of stupid that he would have to bring up with his therapist eventually-but there was still the nagging thought, the desperate hope that maybe there was some chance, no matter how slight, that the nerd was still alive.

Honestly, he still wasn't certain why he insisted on believing that. He hadn't gotten along with Izuku in years. They were hardly the friends that they used to be. Was it just guilt? The horrible pain of knowing that he, indirectly, killed someone? Of knowing that he had put that dim light of despair in Inko-obasan's eyes?

He allowed himself a heavy sigh, tuning those thoughts out as well. They wouldn't help him to get into UA. They wouldn't help him to live out Izuku's dream for him.

It wasn't the sound, but the vibration against his hand that led him to pull his phone from his pocket, revealing the cheesily animated 'message' box on his lock screen. Rolling his eyes, he swiped up, unlocking the screen with his thumbprint, already knowing who it was from.

[Rocks For Brains]

1 Unread Message

[Rocks For Brains] hey man you coming?

[You] yeah yeah calm down

[Rocks For Brains] cuz they have they have a new first person shooter game that your gonna love

[You] hold your horses i said i was coming

[You] be there in 5

[Rocks For Brains] see you soon

Katsuki shoved the phone back into his pocket and set off at a slightly more brisk pace than before. He'd never admit it to the guy's face, but Kirishima was probably the best thing that had come out of his school transfer. His Hardening quirk was convenient for one, especially in the early days of his anger management therapy, and he had the energy and confidence to stand up against Katsuki's crap. If that wasn't enough, he was almost obnoxiously good-hearted, frustratingly patient, and just dense and asinine enough to see a surly, brooding boy in the corner of the cafeteria and decide they were going to be friends, no matter what Katsuki's thoughts may have been on the matter. The guy reminded him of Izuku in that sense.

A flicker of anxiety clenched in his gut at the thought, but Katuski quickly clamped down on it and forced it into submission. This wasn't like the last time. Kirishima wasn't going to end up like Izuku. He refused to let that happen again.

"Heh! Come on little Bluebird! Why don't you fight back!"

Katsuki's head snapped up, instantly alert at the jeering sneer.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!"

His crimson eyes narrowed towards the park on his right. There was a small jungle gym covered in grade school kids giggling and shrieking as they chased one another up ladders and down slides, surrounded by woodchips and then by a neatly-mown lawn. There were benches where their parents were chatting, not paying attention to any potentially disastrous situations. He couldn't see anything obviously wrong, but he knew that tone. Setting his jaw determinedly, he marched through the fence into the play area.

He found them in seconds: three bullies forming a loose ring around two kids, one huddled against the brick wall that had blocked his view up to that point, and the other positioning himself defiantly in front of them, even though his knees were shaking. The whole situation felt… disturbingly familiar.

"What do you brats think you're doing?" he growled, and the three assailants spun towards him in surprise. The two on either side-a girl with black hair and a boy with shifty eyes-each took nervous steps backwards as they sized him up. Only the middle punk-a boy with bright red hair and sharp blue eyes-showed any signs of a backbone.

"Hey, stay out of it weirdo," the bully huffed. "You have no business meddling with heroes!"

"Ehhh?!" Katsuki leered, bending down and thrusting his face towards the redhead's. The bully flinched at the sudden proximity, the first flickers of doubt in his eyes. "You knock a kid to the ground throwing out insults and you have the balls to call yourself a hero? 'cause let me tell you, you little turd, that sounds like something a villain would do to me."

The boy's eyes blew wide and furious as he spluttered out a reply. "Y-You can't say that! My dad's the hero Vermillion-"

"I don't give a damn about who or what your father is, got it?" Katsuki snarled, pulling his hand from his pocket as his temper flared so the sharp pops of flame and light crackling across his palms wouldn't set his jacket on fire. "Just take a hike punk, before you make me do something we both end up regretting."

"C-Come on, Vas," the other boy stuttered as he reached for his boss's shoulder (not his friend; kids like that didn't have friends-Katsuki would know), his shifty eyes finally still and fixated on Katsuki's still-smoking hand. "L-Let's just go."

"Yeah, this extra isn't worth it," the girl agreed, tossing her hair back as though it would hide the fear causing her voice to tremble. "And anyway, this park is lame. We can hang out at my place instead."

"Yeah, whatever," the redhead huffed, shaking off his lackey's hand and turning on his heel with all the arrogance a brat can muster. Katsuki watched them go, glowering until they were well and truly out of sight before turning back to the other pair of kids.

The boy, the one that had been standing, was on his knees, gently pulling the bullies' intended victim to her feet. She didn't look any older than seven or maybe eight, with long blue hair to her waist and equally blue eyes. "Are you okay?" the boy asked softly. The girl simply nodded, scrubbing at her wet eyes. "Thanks for helping us," he continued, looking up at Katsuki with silver eyes half-hidden under shaggy, black hair.

"Don't mention it," the blond boy replied gruffly, kicking at the ground. "Does… Does that happen often?"

The boy's eyes slid back to the girl's, sadness almost glowing in them. "Yeah," he sighed eventually. "Kira's quirkless, so…"

Katsuki felt himself stiffen, and although he hoped that it didn't show, things just became way too close for comfort. "Well, uh, being quirkless isn't… I mean, it's not a bad thing," he managed to force out, trying not to cringe at how stupid he sounded.

" I know that," the boy sighed, apparently oblivious to the older boy's uncertainty, "but they don't think so, even though All Might keeps reminding everyone that quirkless people are just like everyone else."

Another uncomfortable twinge gripped Katsuki's chest at the realization that this boy was also an All Might fan (just one more reminder of him). He glanced away, rubbing the back of his head. All Might's Quirkless Advocacy campaign had started just over a year ago, and it had certainly helped the general public's view of such individuals. Katsuki couldn't help but wonder if it was just a coincidence that All Might had started it so soon after Izuku's… disappearance. "Well, he's right. Even if you're quirkless, you still have your own hopes and dreams," he said finally, "and you still have just as much a right as anyone to chase 'em."

The girl blinked up at him with those huge, luminous blue eyes. "Y-You really… You th-think so?" she whispered, barely even audible.

"I know so," Katsuki corrected her, maybe a little too sharply, but she didn't seem too taken aback by it. In fact, she smiled shyly, even though she also ducked her head so that her hair hid her face. Her friend grinned encouragingly at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Katsuki felt a rueful smile twitch at the corner of his mouth as he watched the interaction.

That should've been me. "Hey kid."

"Yeah?"

"Be sure to stick close to her, got it? She'll need a friend like you."

The boy blinked, clearly surprised, but then he smiled, those silver eyes of his bright and determined. "Don't worry. I will."

Katsuki smirked through another twinge of regret, reached out to roughly tousle the boy's hair, pat the girl's head a little bit more gently, and turned away. He felt the vibration in his pocket a moment later and, rolling his eyes, pulled out his phone and swiped up.

"Geez, I said I was coming," he grumbled.

"Yeah. You said you'd be here in five minutes. That was almost fifteen minutes ago, Bakugou!"

"Calm down Rocky, I just had to take care of something."

"Like what kind of something?"

"None of your business, that's what," Katsuki snorted, glancing back towards the two kids heading towards the opposite side of the park and then allowing his eyes to drift a little further towards their destination. A frown tugged at his mouth as he saw a person standing nearby, watching them. They looked sketchy as hell, short and swamped in gray sweats and a black hoodie, hands shoved deeply into their pockets and a notebook tucked under their arm. The only identifying feature that he could make out were the strands of dark curly hair sticking out past the fabric that almost looked green in this lighting.

All at once, he felt his heart stutter, his vision tunneling. It can't be…

"Bakugou, did you get into another fight? You did, didn't you! I swear one of these days you're gonna get in serious troub-"

"I'm gonna be a bit later than I thought."

"Huh? Baku-"

He didn't wait for Kirishima to finish. He just hit the 'end call' button and took off running. "HEY!" he yelled as he rushed past the two kids he'd helped out earlier. For a moment, the person seemed to freeze. Then he bolted, shooting down the street with the speed of a startled doe. "HEY HOLD ON A SEC!" In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to try opening up a conversation with the stranger by charging at him, but that didn't stop Katsuki from redoubling his pace because he had to talk to him.

He had to know.

The guy was quick. Quick enough that Katsuki almost wondered if he had some kind of speed or agility type quirk because if not, he was hiding a lot of muscle under those sweats. Of course, he wasn't so quick that he couldn't catch up with a few explosions, but that was a big no-no without a license, so Katsuki just gritted his teeth and forced himself to run faster. His quarry was about to turn onto a more populated street; if he didn't hurry, then Katsuki would lose him in the crowd. Dammit, why did the kid have to be so short?! It was too easy for him to slip between people! But Katsuki was nothing if not tenacious. He managed to catch a flicker of gray and black ducking into an alleyway just ahead, and he all but dove after it to find-

-nothing. There was nobody here. It was as though the guy had just… vanished. But that… That couldn't be right. He had to be here, Katsuki had to talk to him!

"DAMN IT, DEKU!" Katsuki bellowed before he had time to think it through. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU YOU FRICKIN' NERD?!" He felt the miniature explosions crackling across his palms before he clenched them and slammed one fist against the brick wall of the building next to him (partially to vent his frustration, but partially because his heart was pounding from the chase and having a buildup of what was basically nitroglycerin on his hands was never a good idea), then slumped against it as something cold and heavy settled in the pit of his stomach. "Please," he mumbled, rubbing a hand down his face. "Izuku, if you're really still out there… Please, just… Just tell me if you're still alive…"

"Hold it right there!"

Katsuki's head snapped up at the cry, glancing further down the small street at the group of people sprinting towards him. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, still urgently trying to read the exact nature of the situation. There was something else, something positioned between him and the rapidly approaching group of people in gaudy outfits. Hang on, are those pro heroes? In that case, that amorphous thing rushing towards him-

"Well kid, it's not ideal, but you'll do!"

"Shi-!"

All at once, Katsuki couldn't breathe. He could move , sorta, but it felt like he was thrashing in the middle of the ocean, a hundred feet deep, wholly unable to actually break the surface, and wholly unable to actually grab onto whatever had seized hold of him and force it to let him go. He could feel it moving though, swirling around him, somehow both untouchable and yet tightening around his wrists. He had to break free, before he died of suffocation. Gritting his teeth, he imagined the heat rushing through his blood and concentrating in his hands before, with an inarticulate bellow, he unleashed his power.

The resulting explosions ripped through the sludge that held him captive, causing the creature to recoil sharply, pulling away from his hands and face just long enough for him to suck in a sharp breath through his nose before it rushed back, cutting off his air supply once again, that horrible squelchy voice cackling in his ear, the grip on his arms tightening, that disgusting liquid junk seeping into his nose and prying at his mouth.

"Well it looks like I got the jackpot!" the villain crowed. "All I was hoping for was a hostage, but that power of yours looks too good to pass up!"

"Hey, get away from that kid you creep!" a voice shouted, rushing over. One of the heroes probably. Something changed then, something terrifying: his quirk went off on its own, and someone screamed.

Katsuki's eyes snapped open slightly and he twisted in place, frantically trying to see what had happened. One of the pros was staggering away, clutching an arm covered in blisters.

No.

The villain was laughing now, thrusting his-and with it Katsuki's-hand towards the street. Towards the cautiously gathering civilians. He could feel his quirk building against his will, and with it the panic in his chest.

NO!

He barely managed to wrench his hand away in time, but he couldn't stop the explosion. The flames roared from his hand, slamming into the wall and blasting heat and debris from crumbling brick back into his face. The villain in his ear, in his head and in his frickin' body snarled in frustration. Katsuki could feel him trying to exert his control, forcing more explosions out of him and wrenching his arms in ways that he didn't know they could twist. He could feel his head getting foggy and his lungs burning just as brightly as the fires, probably from the lack of oxygen, although he could still vaguely hear people screaming in the background, hear the pros shouting for everyone to stand back and let the heroes handle it but if the heroes were gonna handle it, then why weren't they doing anything?! He was gonna hurt someone, his quirk was gonna hurt someone and he could feel his consciousness fading fast and there was nothing he could do about it but this was a fight that he couldn't lose because he had to protect them, he couldn't let anyone else get hurt, he couldn't but it was too late and he was going to die-

"Heteromorphic or perhaps a transformation quirk, apparently with further emitter-like properties in body possession and forceful quirk activation."

What…?

"The initial explosion did cause him to back off temporarily, but didn't seem to cause any actual damage, so the flame aspect of Explosion doesn't mean much to this guy, just the impact."

I… know that voice…

"Of course, he's wary of a direct attack now, not to mention that he has at least limited control of the victim's body and quirk, but if he can summon even limited power, maybe there's a way to attack indirectly, such as through the wind pressure? Or perhaps he has a weak point, such as his eyes?"

Katsuki forced his eyes open, pushing past the insistent grasp of unconsciousness, and for an instant, he could see a shadowy figure and two bright pricks of radioactive green light, looming out of the flickering shadow cast by his own flames and seeming to penetrate his very soul with just a glance.

"Well, it's your move now, Kacchan."

Kacchan?

He didn't really think about what he did next. Honestly, in his half-conscious state, he barely even remembered what he did. All he knew for sure was that the effort to lace his fingers together before setting off the biggest explosion he could manage was a battle won on sheer adrenaline. He roared in pain as much as the sludge villain as the impact crashed through him, but the wind pressure of the condensed blast had the effect he'd been hoping for. His assailant's amorphous body was blown off of his arms, freeing him enough to reach back and fire off the sloppiest, most frantic explosion he'd ever created.

But it worked.

The shriek of pain that resulted from his attack would have had Katsuki clapping his hands over his ears under any other circumstances. But just then, as the villain peeled off of him, clutching his eyes, all the boy could do was collapse, coughing and retching and dragging in one shuddering gasp after another until the world stopped spinning and he could finally breathe through the fires in his lungs.

Izuku.

Groggy and dazed though he was, Katsuki fought past the leaden weight in his limbs to lift himself a little bit more upright, his eyes desperately searching the alley for another sign of-

"Bakugou!"

"What do you think you're doing, kid?!"

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT YOU LITTLE- AGH!"

Katsuki flinched as he felt someone grab his arm, hauling him to his feet before he was half-carried, half-dragged towards the safety of the main road. Weakened though he was, he found himself resisting them, his head craning back to stare over his shoulder, eyes still frantically seeking to pierce the flame-shrouded darkness past the villain as they pulled their hands away from reddened eyes.

Whether it was a shade born or blood or burns, he didn't want to think about.

"Come on dude, work with me. I have to get you out of here!" a voice grumbled next to his ear. Katsuki finally tore his eyes away from whence he'd come, instead peering unsteadily up into a pair of bright red eyes, almost hidden by a fringe of over-long, black hair.

"K-Kirishima?" he groaned weakly. "What are you…" His friend barely spared him a glance before redoubling his pace, practically sprinting by the time they reached the barrier the heroes had created to keep the civilians back. Katsuki vaguely heard a few shouts of, "that was far too reckless!" and "what the heck were you thinking?" but he didn't have the mental awareness to discern who was yelling at who. "Wait…" he mumbled, still dazed. "What about…?"

"Give him here!"

Katsuki blinked a little more of the bleariness from his eyes as someone in a paramedic's uniform rushed forward, pulling him away from Kirishima. He shook his head slightly, still trying to turn back towards the alley where the pro heroes were starting to move in now that they weren't dealing with a hostage situation. "Wait!" he croaked again, a little bit more insistently, shoving weakly against the paramedic's hands. "Wait, there's someone else!"

"Just calm down, young man. You're just a little disoriented. Take a seat here while we check you for any injuries."

"But he was there; I saw him!"

"Bakugou, buddy, just calm down," Kirishima interrupted shakily, gripping Katuski's shoulder as involuntary explosions popped across his hands.

"No, Kirishima, I saw him! I saw Izuku!"

His friend froze. Kirishima didn't know everything about what had happened, didn't fully understand the reasons behind his guilt and trauma, but his eyes still softened. "Buddy… I know you were worried, and this probably brought back some really bad memories for you, but there wasn't anyone else down there. I promise everyone's fine."

"High levels of stress can cause a person to develop an… overactive imagination."

"I wasn't-!"

A cheer cut him off, dragging his eyes back towards the alley. The heroes were victorious, it would seem. Good.

Katsuki shoved his way past Kirishima, ignoring the alarmed exclamations of the paramedic. "Hey man, wait up!" his friend yelped, chasing after him as he wove and pushed through the crowd. With the danger gone and the heroes flexing in the spotlight, hardly anyone cast him so much as a second glance as Katsuki ducked back into the alley, closely followed by his overbearingly concerned friend.

"Dude, Bakugou, this is insane; it might still be dangerous!" Kirishima cried frantically. Katsuki felt him draw another breath to voice another plea for reason, but he was brusquely ignored in favor of-

"Oof!" his friend grunted in surprise when he smacked straight into Katsuki's broad back. "What the heck, man? You… You okay?"

Katsuki shakily stepped forward, bending over to gather a dirty, slightly scuffed notebook from the ground, the front marked with familiar handwriting. "I… I have to go," he mumbled, almost in a daze. "I have to get home."

"Um… Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital, dude?"

"Meet you at the arcade another time."

"Dude, wait! Bakugou!"

Katsuki didn't answer. He didn't even glance back as he started running, racing faster and faster until he was heading towards home at a dead sprint. His breaths were coming in ragged gasps by the time he reached a familiar stairwell, which he took two at a time. Gulping air like water, he threw the door open without knocking, barely conscious of the startled squeak from the other side of the room.

"K-Katsuki! Oh my goodness, I just saw the news; are you okay?! Does your mother know you're okay? Katsuki, sweetie, please answer me!" a familiar voice fret anxiously while soft hands fluttered close to his cheeks. Unable to speak, he thrust his find towards her.

"Wh-What's this?" Inko-obasan managed, accepting the object.

"F-Found it," Katsuki gasped back, leaning heavily against the doorframe as he sucked in air. "In… In the alley. I found it."

"Katsuki, what-?" Abruptly, she froze, just as he had done, as her eyes finally focused on the title. With trembling fingers, she reached out, slowly tracing the characters of the words Quirk Analysis No. 32.

"You remember, right?" he asked softly, his heart still pounding, but his lungs finally starting to overcome the burn of his race to get there. "When Izuku disappeared, he only had eleven."

So, what'd y'all think?!

Apologies for any weirdness in the formatting of the text message section; I couldn't figure out a way to give anything a right hand just orientation. Also, just to clarify, in this AU Izuku met All Might two years earlier than in canon, when he was twelve.

Also, if you recognized Kira and her friend from Empyrea, you'd be right! Anyone who didn't, you should TOTALLY read it! It's a beautiful webcomic by Ohkates; if you like the fantasy/steampunk genre and want to see some gorgeous art, I'm including the link because it is SO worth the read!
en/fantasy/empyrea/list?title_no=1407

Anyway, next update coming April 11! Until next time! PLUS ULTRA!