TW:/ Minor character death (kind of?), mention of rape, mention of physical assault, mention of torture, body horror, blood, physical assault, liberal use of curse words
Over the last two years, Katsuki had imagined his reunion with his childhood friend happening a million different ways. He had all the scenarios planned out, the words he would say, ready and waiting for a sad Izuku, a happy Izuku, a scared Izuku, an angry Izuku.
It wasn't until Deku dropped out of school that Katsuki realized how big the hole in his life was without him. His friends didn't give a shit about him. His teachers didn't either. Sure, they liked his quirk, because it was fucking awesome, but they didn't like him . Deku liked him. Deku liked him even while Katsuki was shoving him into a fucking locker and telling him to die.
Katsuki always thought he hated Deku. Who did that nerd think he was, worrying about Katsuki? Who the fuck did he think he was, thinking his useless ass could be of any help at all to anyone ? How dare that worthless Deku think about applying to U.A. University, about becoming a hero, when he couldn't even stand up for himself ?!
He hated that stupid Deku. Seethed at the thought of the dumbass nerd and the way he would keep that stupid, wobbly smile plastered to his face even while fat tears rolled down his cheeks. Katsuki wanted to wipe that stupid smile off his stupid fucking face. And he did, often. He hurt Izuku. Burned his skin until he could smell it cooking. Punched him and shoved him hard enough to break bones. How dare Izuku think he could become a hero? If that idiot didn't realize how weak and fragile he was, how dangerous it was for a quirkless Deku like him, then Katsuki would sure as shit show him.
Despite Katsuki's efforts, that little shit still wanted to go to U.A. He still wanted to be a hero. Their teacher had read out their career applications and Katsuki had gone apoplectic. He had never been so angry in his life. That stupid fucking idiot was going to get himself killed. It would be better for everyone if Deku just cut out the middle man and did it himself if he was going to be that fucking stupid, and Katsuki told him so.
And even after that- even after Katsuki had told that dumb fucking nerd that he was better off dead- Deku had thrown himself at the villain suffocating the life out of Katsuki like he hadn't even had to think about it. And he had helped . Had pulled the sludge out of his lungs for a split second- long enough for Katsuki to suck in a desperate breath- before All Might was able to capture that dumbass slime.
Katuski knows. He knows that if Izuku hadn't intervened he would have died before All Might got there. And that just pissed him off even more. So when Deku dropped out of school, Katsuki thought he deserved it. Laughed along with his friends and teachers at Deku's failure. Stupid nerd couldn't hack it at middle school , he definitely wasn't going to make it into U.A. University.
It wasn't until later- until Deku moved away and Auntie Inko stopped answering the old hag's calls- that Katsuki realized. Realized how dull life was without the nerd. How the color seemed to seep out of the world, everything less interesting and less enjoyable without Deku's stupid-ass muttering in the background grating on his very last nerve.
It wasn't until he graduated middle school and moved into a bigger pond that he figured out why . When he happened down an empty hallway and saw a bunch of drooling idiots beating on the kid that came in second behind Katsuki on their high school entrance exams, blundering about how they were still better than him. Couldn't he see that they were better , they said as they kneed him in the stomach hard enough that the purple-haired boy fell to his knees and vomited bile.
Katsuki had been jealous. Everyone had been jealous. Jealous of Deku's innate light. Jealous of the charisma and kindness that flowed from him in waves, without him even having to try. Jealous that he had been unbreakable; that stupid trembling smile sticking to his stupid nerd face despite how fucked his life was. It made Katsuki so angry, that he had to work so hard to be at the top, to be the best, and that dumbass Deku could sit there and accept his lot in life with a smile. Instead of trying to understand Izuku, Katsuki beat the light he was so jealous of out of Deku because he was too weak to live up to the standard that his childhood friend unknowingly presented.
He was a drooling idiot, just like those degenerates beating on Eyebags just because they were too fucking stupid to place well on the exam. Katsuki snarled and grabbed the asshole closest to him, ignoring the yelp of surprise, and punched his teeth into his fucking skull. Beat all three into the ground and pretended the faces he was crushing into the tile were his own.
Eyebags was crumpled on the ground, sheet-white and staring at Katsuki's bloody knuckles with big, bloodshot eyes (they weren't the same- droopy and tired and a little terrified and not sparkling with curiosity and sunshine) and Katsuki did something he should have done when he was four.
He held out his hand.
Katsuki always knew that his reunion with Izuku would be by chance. He didn't deserve to reach out and apologize, to force himself back into Deku's life without permission. Deku wouldn't reach out to him , Katsuki knew that much.
So, it would happen by chance if it ever happened at all. Katsuki had every scenario planned so he wouldn't screw it up. So he could convey how fucking stupid he is. He doesn't deserve to be Izuku's friend again, but he wants Deku to at least know that Katsuki was wrong, and Katsuki will swallow every last shard of his pride to get the message across. Deku isn't worthless. He isn't useless. Not at all.
Then the old hag had gotten the call from Auntie Inko, panicked and terrified, and all of his plans had shattered. Izuku had already been missing for a week at that point. The local police had already given it up as a bad job, citing the statistics for quirkless suicides. He had disappeared on his seventeenth birthday. Only 16% of the quirkless population lived to see legal adulthood at 18. Izuku had dropped out of middle school due to bullying. They explained this to Katsuki slowly and soothingly, like he was fucking stupid.
Katsuki knew they were wrong. Izuku would never fucking do that, not to Auntie Inko, but the police at the precinct just smiled at him and nodded sadly as he screamed at them that they were wrong . They didn't reopen his case. When another week, and then another, and then a third went by with no word, a heavy, ice-cold lump formed in Katsuki's chest and refused to melt.
He was gone. Izuku was gone, and he would never know that everyone had been wrong .
Despite knowing from the beginning, despite telling himself it would have to be a coincidence, Katsuki still couldn't believe his fucking luck when he spotted a familiar green head of hair inside a cafe while he was walking home after spending the night at Eyebag's apartment.
Eyebags lived in a bad part of town, but his apartment was clean and tidy, and quiet. Katsuki wouldn't even call them friends- Eyebags is fucking annoying and takes far too much pleasure in riling Katsuki up- but at least he isn't fucking fake like everyone else at their school. At least he doesn't smile to his face and then talk about how unhinged and explosively angry he is in hushed whispers as soon as he walks out of the room. So Katsuki partners with Eyebags on group projects whenever he can. It helps that the insomniac is quick as a whip, smart and cool-headed where Katsuki is all bluster, fire, and confidence. They work together well when they aren't trying to kill each other.
So Katsuki is on his way home after staying up way past his bedtime while working on a project with Eyebags. This part of town is quiet in the morning; beer cans and broken glass littering the ground after a late Friday night. It is by chance that he glances through the large glass windows of a quaint little cafe that doesn't fit with its surroundings. It is by chance that his eyes land on that green head of hair before Katsuki is sprinting across the street and pushing open the door to the cafe before he can even think about it.
Katsuki scans the cafe, heart lodged in his throat until he sees him. It's Deku. It really is. Deku sees him too, and the lump in Katsuki's throat grows larger when those big, green eyes widen in recognition and then wild, animalistic terror .
Izuku breaks his gaze, dropping to the floor, and Katsuki is stomping over and grabbing his sweater before he can stop himself. It's only then that he notices the bruises on Izuku's face. The way that he isn't standing quite right. The way he trembles like a leaf in Katsuki's hold. The little horns poking out of his hairline and the long, inky black tail blending into the boy's baggy all-black ensemble.
His grip tightens on Izuku's shoulders. Katsuki's ears are ringing. He can't hear what Izuku is saying, only registering that Deku's dumbass anxious stutter is worse than it ever was in middle school.
'Trauma Induced Quirk' , his mind whispers insidiously, quoting a book he had read a lifetime ago when he found out his best friend was quirkless and had tried to find a solution, 'A one in a million biological failsafe that only manifests after continued exposure to extreme pain. Found almost exclusively in torture victims.'
Katsuki panicked. He forgot his lines. He saw the look in Deku's eye and knew the boy was going to bolt. Katsuki tried to grab him, but that little shitnerd was faster. He chased Izuku out of the cafe, the panic in his chest constricting his lungs and threatening to overwhelm him. He had to find Deku. This was all his fault. He shouldn't have taken his eyes off that stupid idiot. That dumbass had the worst luck. He couldn't walk two steps without finding trouble. It was stupid to think that would have changed without Katsuki there to ruin his life.
He was frantic, running down a dark alley when he thought he heard someone crying.
Then something hard hit him from behind and everything went black.
It isn't until Deku is standing over him, face shadowed and fists clenched so tight blood is dripping from his palms, that Katsuki truly understands.
Izuku is special.
One of a kind.
A self-sacrificing fucking idiot that will throw himself on the sword ten times out of fucking ten if it means his childhood bully can live another day. Despite Izuku's bluster, despite the biting words coming out of his mouth and the fist that cuffs his chin, Katsuki is certain. Fucking certain that the nerd has a plan. That he would never really hurt Katsuki even if he's pissing him the fuck off, stuttering and sniveling like a goddamn coward. That he would never hurt anyone if he could help it, bleeding heart that he is.
The crusty-faced bastard stands too close to Izuku (runs his fingers along him possessively, presses his lips to Izuku's while Deku stares back at him blankly), the lust and possessiveness in his blood-red eyes so blatant it makes Katsuki's stomach twist with nausea. He doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't want to think about what it means that this nobody is so casually all over Deku, touching him and kissing him and biting his ear while he switches off Deku's quirk suppressor. His collar . Welded to his neck and surrounded by sickly purple hand-shaped bruises. He doesn't want to think about what it means that Deku stands there empty-eyed and does nothing to stop him.
Then Deku is stepping forward and Crusty is stepping back, and his childhood friend is leaning in close, pressing a trembling hand to Katsuki's shoulder.
"I'm going- I'm going to show you how s-strong I am now, Kacchan."
Deku blinks down at him and although his teary, terrified expression doesn't change, an ominous pressure falls over the room like a blanket. The temperature drops and the air crackles with some ancient, omnipotent force that makes his back slick with cold sweat as his base instincts react.
Danger , his mind blares in alarm. Run, run, runawaygetaway.
"I'm- I'm sorry, Tomura-san," Deku blubbers like his eyes aren't glowing so bright with power that they leave an imprint on Katsuki's eyelids. Inky black lines etch themselves into Deku's cheeks and leathery wings flap out behind him, and he lifts up shaky fingers to touch the metal of his collar.
The thing is just gone .
Before Katsuki can blink, the hand on his shoulder presses down as Izuku leans into him with his full weight.
"If his hand touches you, you'll die," Deku whispers into his ear as he vaults over his shoulder, nervous stutter suddenly gone, before he is bracing his weight on Katsuki and planting his feet on the back of his chair. Katsuki draws in a breath to respond, but then Deku is pushing off his chair and launching himself headfirst at the Mist-head guy.
Katsuki doesn't catch what happens next, because the move sends his chair careening across the room in the opposite direction (far away from both villains). He slams gut-first into a table and looks down to realize that the quirk-suppressing cuffs on his wrists are gone. Gone like Deku's collar- a dusting of ash on Katsuki's pants the only proof of their existence. He hadn't even seen Deku do it.
He growls and gathers sweat in his hands, explosions popping angrily as he burns through the ropes binding him to the chair. By the time he is up and turned around, it couldn't have taken him more than ten seconds, the scene had changed dramatically.
Deku is crouched over a teenager with a puff of blue hair, and Mistguy is nowhere to be seen. He is pressing repetitive pumps into the teen's chest, and it takes Katsuki an embarrassing number of seconds to realize Deku is performing CPR. Katsuki looks over to Crusty, who looks as pale and confused as Katsuki feels. He seems frozen to the spot as he watches Deku with his scarred, chapped lips twisted into a frown.
Katsuki stands rooted to the spot, feeling more unsure than he ever has in his life. It isn't until Deku gasps in relief, falling back onto his butt as his wings awkwardly try to catch his weight, that Katsuki blinks himself out of his daze.
"We h-have- we have to- Hospital. He has to g-go to a hospital Tomura-san," Deku stutters shakily, looking like he saw a fucking ghost. 'Tomura' stares blankly for a second before his entire face twists into a fiery rage so suddenly Katsuki feels his heart skip a beat.
"No," Crusty snarls, stalking forward and grabbing Deku's hair to pull him away from the blue-haired teen. Deku fucking lets him. "You did this, Izuku. What did you do ?"
"I-I…" Deku blubbers, eyes filling with tears, "I d-don't know! I- something- t-there was something w-wrong! I… we have- have to get him to a h-hospital, he's- he's barely b-breathing!"
"No," the scarred man says again, and Deku crumbles under his gaze.
"He's- I thought Kurogiri-san was your f-friend. He's- Kurogiri-san is g-going to die!"
"This doesn't change anything, Crybaby," and Katsuki takes a step back as Crusty starts to pull him closer to Katsuki by the hair, "You are going to complete your quest and punish your bully."
Deku's face twists then, into something broken and suspiciously close to grief.
"No," and this time Deku is the one saying it, his voice hard even as his chin wobbles. He looks up then, and the eyes that meet Katsuki's are shining and determined and not empty at all.
Izuku moves , so quickly that Katsuki can't say he can fully describe what happened. One second he is struggling under Crusty's grip, hand tangled in his hair, and the next he is kicking up, bending himself nearly in half as the wrist of his captor cracks like a gunshot under the weight of Deku's sole.
"Go inside and find the cat! It will save K-Kurogiri!" Deku yells at him across the room as he uses his grip on Crusty's broken wrist to flip himself up before wrapping his thighs around the older man's neck. Katsuki immediately bristles at the orders, opening his mouth to tell Deku to fuck right off, before Deku is meeting his eyes with nothing but blatant trust and confidence. Deku knows he can do it. Isn't even questioning it.
Katsuki screams in anger, turning on his heel and barreling towards the metal door Crusty had dragged Deku through earlier even as the villain drops to the floor, slamming Izuku back-first into the hardwood. Katsuki hears the breath woosh out of his childhood friend's lungs before the heavy door slams shut behind him and he is using his explosions to blast up the stairs and into the first room he can find.
He stumbles and can't help the vomit that crawls up his throat after he kicks the door down. The room is empty. Blood paints the walls in spiraling, splattered patterns. It coats the carpet and crunches under Katsuki's boots. There are bloody, unclean bats and whips and glinting knives piled in the corner, stained towels haphazardly strewn throughout the room like an afterthought.
When the smell of sex hits his nose Katsuki can't help it. He hunches over and empties his stomach onto the ugly brown carpet. He can't think about it right now. He has to push it down. He can't fuck this up. He has to help Deku. He has to find some stupid fucking cat and get Deku the fuck away from that monster.
He tries the next room, then the next, then the next, and explodes the door off of the last room with more force than necessary in his annoyance. Of course it would be the last fucking room he checks. Katsuki stalls in the doorframe, eyes widening at the bubbling purple tubes and floor-to-ceiling machinery before he slips into a feral grin, palms popping in excitement.
There is an ugly fucking excuse of an animal in a too-small cage in the corner. Katsuki assumes this is what Deku meant by 'cat', although it sure as shit is not one. He carries the cage into the hallways before sending a barrage of fire into the room full of expensive equipment, watching with glee as purple liquid seeps into the floor and machines hiss with smoke.
The police will need evidence. Proof that Katsuki and Deku are acting in self-defense. So even though Katsuki wants more than anything in the world to blow this entire disgusting place sky-high, he clenches his fists and carries the hissing abomination to the stairs as fast as he can without jostling the creature.
He had been counting the seconds in his head. Less than five minutes. It had been less than five minutes. There is no way Deku has gotten himself killed yet. There's no way. Katsuki won't believe it.
Katsuki kicks the door to the bar open, one hand holding the cage and one popping and ready to go. His eyes scan the room wildly because he has to be sure, he has to make fucking sure- and Deku is there, breathing, alive.
He breathes out in relief before he takes in the full scene and his lungs constrict all over again. Deku is sobbing, kneeling over Crusty and slamming his head into the floor over and over and over and over and over again. Crusty's dry, bloodied fingers are twisted all wrong, bent in every direction. Deku is screaming and sobbing and keening in grief all at once as tears splatter his captor's unconscious cheeks. Katsuki's heart stutters and the moment feels so intensely personal and private that he feels an embarrassed flush crawling up his neck.
Still, Katsuki won't let Deku become a killer.
He hauls the cat creature across the room, dropping it with a loud clang that does nothing to shake Izuku out of his hysterics. Katsuki swallows, remembering the way energy swirled in the emerald of Deku's eyes, lighting him from the inside with some unholy power that raised goosebumps on Katsuki's skin. It's okay, though. Deku would never hurt him.
He reaches his hand out.
Deku startles when Katsuki touches him. His skin feels hot through the cotton of his sweater. He whips around to face Katsuki, his face shiny with tears and snot. Deku blinks for a second before looking back down at Crusty, taking in the blood pooling on the floor and soaking into powder-blue hair in a terribly artistic contrast.
His breathing picks up, chest starting to heave in panic. Deku holds shaking fingers to Crusty's pulse point and his shoulders slump a bit with whatever he found there. Katsuki isn't sure which outcome would make Deku more relieved.
"He's-...H-He's alive," Deku says, pushing himself off of Crusty's chest and walking unsteadily to the bar where he digs around for a moment before returning with a roll of tape. He systematically wraps tape around each of Crusty's broken fingers before binding his arms and legs together.
"What the fuck," Katsuki says, because what the fuck.
"I… I don't- we d-don't have t-time right now," Deku says, limping over to the other blue-haired teenager unconscious on the floor and opening the cage with the disgusting stitched-up creature. The thing hisses and bites at him, but Izuku runs a gentle hand down its spine anyway.
He brings the creature to the teen and places it on his chest. The thing stretches its long claws, digging through the boy's clothes and skin and drawing blood. It howls . Shrieks.
Katsuki grimaces and fights the urge to hold his palms to his ears. The pitch gets higher and higher until the grimy windows are shaking with it and Katsuki's teeth are rattling in his skull.
Then it explodes .
Blood and guts and viscera coat the room in red. Deku splutters and stumbles backward, falling on his ass again like a fucking dumbass. Katsuki gargles as he chokes down a laugh because it isn't funny but he doesn't think Deku would look as struck-dumb as he does right now if Katsuki hit him over the head with a frying pan. Deku's mouth opens and closes in surprise, shocked into silence for the first time in his entire fucking life, probably.
"T-That-" Deku starts, then gapes at the intestines dripping from the ceiling for a few more seconds before trying again, "That w-wasn't supposed to happen."
"What the fuck ," Katsuki tries again, cringing in disgust as he tastes blood on his lips.
"I…Hm…" Deku looks lost as he looks down at his blood-soaked sweater, or maybe that's just shock, "We- Hm… We n-need to get e-everyone to a hospital."
He shuffles forward, still limping badly, and makes an aborted move to reach down and grab Crusty before he gasps and grips his side suddenly. Then he's collapsing too, falling face first into blood and guts with a wet splatter.
" WHAT THE FUCK, " Katsuki screams angrily into empty air, with no one conscious enough to hear him.