Chapter 4: Kacchan. Katsuki Part 1

Izuku let out a sigh as he plopped down on the bench, carelessly tossing the 7-Eleven bag to his side.

He gingerly leaned back, careful to avoid his bruised parts. With his eyes closed, he did his best to tune out his thoughts — just focusing on the sound of the crickets, and the birds coming back to roost.

-Rustle!

His eyes snapped open, "A leaf?" Izuku whispered to himself, peeling it off his face.

-Rustle!

His eyes peered further up, catching sight off the squirrel scampering off into the hollowed refuge of the aged oak. His gaze returned back to the leaf resting upon his palm, gently tracing its brittle edges under his thumb.

Under the waning light of the yellow star, Izuku caught a glimpse of its browning exterior. 'That's right, it's almost spring.'

It should have been obvious to him, after all there was no was one more obsessed than him. Well, maybe except one the greenette thought to himself with a wry smile. "He wouldn't have beaten me up this badly otherwise, ha ha — fuck!"

He doubled over, clutching his side.

'Breathe in, breathe out — just like coach Amanda said.' Izuku counted to 3, before relaxing his posture. After all, it wasn't like pain was a stranger to him at this point. Sparring hurt sometimes, going to the gym hurt sometimes, and of course getting the shit kicked out of him definitely hurt like a motherfucker.

Still, it was the only way to get stronger.

-Buzz! Buzz!

Izuku blinked in confusion, when his eyes widened in realization. Sure enough, a familiar caller-id entered his sight when he dug out his phone from his trouser pocket. "Mom? Yeah, I'm almost back — the academic supervisor just wanted to talk to me about the UA examinations coming up…yeah…yes, I'm sorry for worrying you; I just lost track of the time. Yeah, I got the stuff you asked for…ok…I love you too."

Izuku placed his phone flat down on the bench, massaging his forehead with his palms. He let out a deepbreath, trying his best to stifle his nerves.

-Tap! Tap!

Having gathered his wits, Izuku grabbed ahold of his right leg. He slung on his backpack, pacing back and forth in front of the bench until his limp was gone. Satisfied, he wrapped 2 fingers around the grocery bag and made his way to the underpass.

"If I remember correctly, there should be a public fountain on the other side." The greenette thought out loud as he fished through the grocery bag for the detergent.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" A high pitched, nasally voice called out.

"WHO?" Izuku spun around, immediately dropping whatever he was holding, assuming a boxing stance. His eyes darted around wildly, searching for the source of the voice, but all he was met with was the flickering shadows of the concrete structure.

"I'm afraid…"

Izuku froze as he felt a cold, slimy sensation wrap around his leg.

"You're looking at the wrong place." Was the last thing he heard, before it attacked.

-Splish-Splash!

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" The greenette desperately pushed and pulled through the viscous fluid searching for a foothold, but there was none.

All his training, all the hours he had spent drilling, and it meant nothing. He couldn't fight back. He couldn't get out.

'I CAN'T BREATHE, I CAN'T BREATHE, I CAN'T—'

"Don't be afraid boy — this is a good thing." It whispered into his ear as its tendrils coiled around his body, squeezing tighter and tighter.

-Splish-Splash!

"Thanks to you, I'll be able to escape."

-Splish-Splash!

"You really are my hero, ha ha!"

Izuku tried to speak, but his word came out garbled. His limbs felt heavy, his ears were clogging up, gagging and gagging, but there was nowhere to spit out the foreign entity that had forced its way down his throat.

His mind felt foggy, he could barely formulate a thought. 'I wish…that I could've…that I could've seen her at least—'

Like an explosion, the slime villain was ripped apart from Izuku's body splattering roughly against the pavement.

"I'm here…" A gruff voice murmured, catching ahold of the green-haired teen's body.

"You done, uncle?" Another voice echoed soon after from the left side.

All Might frowned, staring at down at the boy in his arms, before fixing a smile as he turned around. "I am indeed, Rumi-shoujo!" His voice boomed across the underpass.

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Tone it down will ya — I almost burst an eardrum cause of ya!" Mirko grumbled, removing her hands from her ears with a wince. "Shit, it's still ringing cause of…" The words in her mouth died off, as her eyes were glued to the boy in her old mentor's embrace.

"Rumi-shoujo?" All Might cocked an eyebrow — in all his years of knowing her he had never seen her this quiet before. 'Is it because of this boy?' He wondered.

"Do you know him?" He tentatively asked.

"I…" She began. "I just met him today."

"Oh." All Might nodded — it wasn't much of answer, but it was better than nothing. "Don't worry, he's gonna be alright. Nothing a quick trip to the ER can't — huh, he's already waking up?"

-Groan!

Izuku squirmed in All Might's bewildered grasp, wrapping his arms around his head. The number 1 hero of the world gently set him on the ground, allowing him to come to on his own.

After a minute or two had passed the greenette removed his hands from his face, taking in his sights with his hazy vision.

"You good dude?" A concerned Mirko peered down at him, her fuzzy ears just barely touching the tip of his nose.

Izuku vaguely nodded his head.

-Blergh!

Before vomiting out the contents of his stomach for the second time today.

This chapter is a 2-parter so the expect the juicy stuff in the next installment. Once again thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed so far