When Katsuki finally stalked out of the school and into the school yard, his nose wrapped in bandages, a bandaid on his cheek, and his hands wrapped in bandages, he expected to see the nerd standing at the gate waiting like he'd normally be. But the green tuffs were nowhere to be seen.
The teacher had given him a few days detention and called his mom, but she hadn't been phased much, used to him getting in fights over Izuku and somewhat supportive of it. She'd offered to pick him up, but he wasn't hurt bad and he wanted to walk home with De- Izuku.
Gah, he needed to get out of the habit of calling him that.
He started to walk around the schoolyard, wondering if the nerd had gotten lost, no matter how unlikely it was.
He ground his teeth as he thought back to what that Tomage idiot said when they were little.
"Do you even know what Deku means, Katsuki? I looked it up, it means useless! Pretty fitting, am I right?"
Katsuki scowled.
He really had just started calling Izuku Deku as a nickname after he read the Kanji of his name wrong. He hadn't known what it meant, just thought it was a fun name.
Apparently D- Izuku knew and never said anything because he liked the name, and insisted Katsuki kept calling him it because he knew he didn't mean anything mean by it.
That jerk never even tried to stop though, if anything he called Izuku Deku more, in a mocking way. Tonaki followed his lead too.
And now they were full on bullies! They had just freaking- they-!
He growled under his breath as he thought back to what Tomage had said that day.
"Oh, and Deku! if you want to be a hero so bad, just pray you'll be born normal in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building! Someone as useless as you isn't worth living."
The name Deku tasted sour on his tongue now.
He felt his palms start popping again and his adrenaline spiking. He was boiling and felt ready to shred that idiot to pieces, just like he had when he first took off after the boy.
He'd been freaking lucky that the teacher had dared tear Bakugou away, otherwise the guy probably would've been a lot worse off.
But the teachers still didn't do anything but suspend the biy for a few weeks. Which was freaking messed up! The brat should be expelled, at least! Heck, he had half a mind that encouraging suicide was an attempt at murder, he should be in freaking jail!
But those stupid teachers didn't care, they didn't care to what happened to the burden that had they had to put extra money and effort into. They didn't even care that Katsuki cared, even though he was treated like their prized possession that got away with anything and everything, all because they knew he was powerful and would get into UA.
Which, of course he would, but it still wasn't fair.
Which is why once he found the dumb nerd, he was going to the police station about this. As much as he hated it, he couldn't do more then beat the kid up, which he really wanted to do but had pretty much already done.
The only thing he could do to stop this from happening again was to tell the people who could do something about it.
And if they didn't do anything either-
Well, then he would probably burn society eventually because this sucked.
When he'd paced around the full campus and hadn't seen Izuku anywhere, not even in the spots where he would normally go to hide or something, he started to pull out his phone to text him when he remembered that the device had landed in that alley. Maybe the nerd had gone there to get it.
He marched over to the alleyway, noting the sun getting gradually lower in the sky, and then turned into the alley.
The nerd wasn't there, either. He walked further down, but still nothing.
He found the sewer drain that he'd heard the device splashed in. White and orange Coi Fish swam around the murky water. He scowled, but still rolled his sleeve up and felt around the bottom.
It wasn't there. So the nerd had come and grabbed it, but where had he gone then.
He huffed, and this time really did pull out his phone and type a message.
Katsuki: Oi, where'd you go? I can't find you anywhere.
He waited for a minutes staring at the screen, but he never even got the notice that it was read.
That was weird, Izuku almost always read his messages immediately.
He felt his stomach turn with concern as he pocketed his phone. He tried to push it down. The nerd was fine, he could handle himself. He wasn't weak.
He made a point to always think and act like that, knowing Izuku hated being babied and treated like he couldn't do things.
So, he decided to just start heading back home. He lived near Izuku's apartment, so maybe he could run by and make sure he was there before heading home. Maybe he'd just gotten tired of waiting.
But before that, police station. Which was in the opposite direction from his house. Great.
It was rare that he walked the streets of Musutafu alone these days. He was almost always with Izuku, and sometimes that purple haired eye bags too.
So it was a little weird to have no one to argue with or tease on his walk, just making his way down the sidewalks in silence.
Cars drove down the road, people passed by him chatting. It wasn't silent, it wasn't quiet at all.
But it felt weirdly so.
Eventually he realized he was lost after trying to take a short cut down an alley Izuku had led him through once to get to that block. Somehow Izuku had still always been better at directions than him, even though not even being able to see their surroundings in much detail.
He grunted and grumbled in frustration, kicking a weird slime filled water bottle that was on the ground. It hit the wall and the kid came open, the slime starting to spill out.
He didn't pay it any attention, pacing back and forth a few times in the alley, trying to remember where he went and how to get back.
This was just his luck, how could this get any worse?
Katsuki paused as the light from the entrance of the alley was suddenly blocked by a shadow that gradually grew larger and larger. He finally acknowledged the weird liquid rushing noise from behind him.
"Man, this is my lucky day. Another brat," came a deep voice.
Katsuki spun around, hands already popping.
He took one look at the towering sludge-made form with two large eyeballs staring down at him, and let out a shocked breath.
Then the sludge flew at him, and he couldn't take that breath back in.
—-
Izuku was doing his best to dry the tears before they fell, blink or wipe them away as he walked down the sidewalk.
That hurt. All might basically telling him he'd probably die if he tried to become a hero just cause he could see like others can? Yeah, that hurt.
But, he kept trying to remind himself that a "don't do it" wasn't a "you can't do it". All Might didn't say no, he just said not too.
And while maybe he was right, maybe he shouldn't, he was too determined to quit just because someone told him to. He'd been told plenty of times before and he'd never quit.
And it definitely did not mean way more because it was the man Izuku had looked up to and wanted to be like his whole life.
Nope, he could still do it. He would still do it. He would be a hero, the first blind hero.
He just needed to work harder. He needed a way to pass the entrance exam, a way to fight. Maybe-
His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he heard an explosion from down the street.
He froze. He knew those explosions. He could practically smell the nitroglycerin from here.
Another explosion.
They were too panicked, too desperate. They were never that unorganized.
He took off down the street. Something was wrong with Kacchan.
He heard two more explosions and followed the sound of them until he heard the familiar sounds and vibrations of a crowd, packed tight around something. Trying to see something.
Wonderful.
He pushed through the people, doing his best to ignore the overwhelming amount of sound and vibrations for the sake of reaching the front where his vibrations would go somewhere other then peoples feet.
Finally he knew he'd made it up front when he felt tape in front of him and stopped.
He stomped three times, as hard as he could. He was certain it drew attention, but he didn't care.
It was a narrow street, there was damage and cracks in the cement and surrounding buildings, one of which seemed ready to come down any minutes. If the heat and sound of a water hose said anything, there was fire scattered about.
In the center of it all was a gap in the vibrations, the same way he'd felt earlier.
The Sludge Villain.
But, All Might caught him, how did he- oh. It must've fell out when he grabbed onto the heroes pants. The villain was at large again, and it was his fault.
He stomped again to get a read on the bodies behind the tape when he heard yelling from the area. After some listening and deductive reasoning, he concluded that there were the heroes Backdraft, Death Arms, Kamui Woods, Mt Lady, and Slugger, as well as some police officers.
Backdraft was hosing off buildings, Mt Lady couldn't fit in the small street, and the others quirks didn't help against the slime. But none of them were even trying. Why weren't they pursuing the villain?
And where was Kacchan?
Then he heard it, someone a few feet away from him muttered something about the hostage still struggling, but obviously running out of energy.
Izuku felt his eyes widen.
No.
He jumped this time, desperate, and was just able to see enough to tell the sludge was shifting a lot, as if something- no, someone, was moving in it.
Moving brashly. Panicked. Struggling.
"DANG IT! Let me go you slimy-"
The scream cut off and was muffled, but Izuku heard plenty enough to recognize it.
It felt like his world froze and started spinning ten times faster in the same moment.
Kacchan.
Izuku took on,h a second to process.
When Izuku was trapped, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe, or move, or escape, he was completely stuck. Kacchan was stuck. Kacchan couldn't breathe.
Kacchan was dying! He'd been dying, he would've died if All Might hadn't come just in time. All Might saved him, but no one was even trying to save Lacchan. They were all just standing around uselessly!
Kacchan was going to die and no one was helping!
Kacchan was going to die, Kacchan was-
Kacchan was not going to die.
Izuku's body moved on its own, feet flying forward before he knew it. He barely registered the blockade he felt in his way before he was jumping over it, racing past the crowd, past the police, past the heroes, and ignoring every protest and call sent his way.
He ignored it all in favor of running forwards, as fast as he could towards that blob of space he couldn't see.
"You again!" Came the sickening voice of the sludge villain just ain't don't of him. He ripped his back pack off his back.
He couldn't aim, he knew he couldn't aim, of course he couldn't aim. He was blind, for goodness sake! He couldn't even see where the sludge really was.
But he still flung the backpack forward towards where the voice had come from, hoping to hit his face, just for a distraction while he got closer. He nearly laughed with relief and at the luck he had when he heard the villain yelp and groan about his eye as a Izuku skid to a stop in front of him.
He didn't know where Kacchan was in the slime, he didn't even know how far in front of him the slime was. But, desperate, he just reached forward blindly. And he felt slime run between his fingers.
He shivered, the feeling bringing back the far too fresh memories of clawing at this same sludge pressed against his mouth, going down his throat. But he pushed it down and forced himself to claw again.
He knew it wouldn't work. It didn't work the first time, why would it now? But he had to do something. And he wasn't thinking real clearly behind the desperate panic.
Something he'd done must've helped, if not the clawing then the distraction of the backpack, because he heard a sharp gasp of someone greedily gulping down air after being deprived from it.
"Kacchan!" He said, still clawing but feeling tears on his face and relief at the fact that his friend had finally gotten some air.
"Gah, Deku!" Came the blonde's voice, angry, but also just as panicked as Izuku, and quite possibly concerned and scared. For Izuku? "What are you doing, you idiot!? I don't need your help, you'll get yourself killed!"
"I'm not just gonna let you die!" Izuku yelled right back, no real heat behind it.
"You brat!" Came the sludge villains voice again, seeming to finally get a hold on himself and striking a new note of panic down Izuku's spine. Kacchan didn't respond with anything more than a muffled grunt, which meant the slime was probably back around his mouth. Not good. "You'll pay for that!"
Izuku was just starting to feel the sludge creeping up his own arms, preparing to take him over again as well, when thee ground suddenly shook as something landed hard behind him.
"Never fear, citizens!" Came a booming voice that had Izuku practically laughing in relief. "Because I am here!"
"Dang it, not again!" The villain screamed.
Izuku, hearing All Might begging his signature Texas Smash yell and sludge still half way up his arms, pushed one hand in deeper until he grabbed onto something. Kacchan's arm.
And he held on tight as All Might punched the villain and blasted all the slime away at top speeds with a powerful gust of wind. Izuku and Kacchan went flying.
Izuku's back slammed against the wall of a building hard, and his vision went dark.
When he came to again, it was to Kacchan's voice over him. "Oi, nerd! Wake up before I punch you!"
"Kacchan?" He groaned, rubbing his head which was throbbing.
"Thank goodness," Kacchan let out under his breath before walking Izuku on the head.
Then began the first of many scoldings that day.
—-
By the time Izuku finally escaped, he'd been given a harsh scolding by the heroes on the scene. Especially after they realized he was blind. Kacchan, of course, revived nothing but praise.
The ambulance that arrived had checked over Izuku and verified that he was fine. But because Kacchan was the actual victim, he had been required to have more thorough of a check done.
He'd been planning to wait for his friend to finish but then he got a panicked message from his mom begging him to come home so she could be sure he was ok. He guessed the news of the attack spread pretty fast.
He'd shot a message to Kacchan, letting him know where he went, and then started home. Luckily he'd been in an area where he knew how to find his way back home, so he just used his footsteps to find his way down the sidewalks.
He sighed and shrugged his backpack on further. He)d been so stupid, what was he thinking? He ran right into a fight that he couldn't even see, and hadn't even managed to help. He just ended up getting in the heroes way. He'd almost gotten himself killed for the second time that day, for nothing.
Actually, wait, no. It wasn't for nothing. It was for Kacchan. The heroes hadn't been doing anything, they were just standing around because their quirks didn't work well in the situation, but Izuku managed to let Kacchan breathe again, even for just a second, just by throwing a backpack. Surely the heroes could've done something!
But they didn't, Izuku was the only one who tried to help. And even if it hadn't worked in the end, he couldn't bring himself to regret it, no matter how many people yelled at him for it.
Izuku stopped as he felt running footsteps approaching the corner of the street behind him. The figure came around the corner and he heard the footsteps coming closer, rushing to catch up. "Oi! Nerd, wait up!"
Izuku turned around to face Kacchan as the other teen skidded to a halt. "Kacchan?"
"You idiot," Kacchan sounded out of breath and his voice came out breathy. "I am so freaking mad at you for that, you could've died!"
Izuku didn't try to speak when Kacchan paused, panting. Izuku could tell there 2as more he wanted to say as the other boy shifted on his feet.
Finally his voice came, quieter and reluctant. "But thanks, I guess."
Izuku gaped. Kacchan never said thank you. To anyone. For anything.
When it became apparent that Izuku wasn't going to say anything, Kacchan continued. "And- I'm sorry, for yelling at you. It was messed up that everyone there yelled at you, when you were the only one that freaking did anything! All those heroes were just gonna stand there and watch as I-", he cut off, his voice cracking and Izuku heard his teeth hit as he clenched his jaw.
Izuku couldn't see his vision blue, obviously, so he didn't realize there were tears until his cheeks were wet. Kacchan just said thank you and sorry in the same minute, that was a new record for the explosive boy.
He knew he'd be pushing his luck, but in that moment, there was nothing else he could think of to do, nothing he wanted to do more. So he reached forward, stepping closer to where he knew Kacchan stood, and wrapped his arms around his friend, partially in hopes of comforting the other teen after the traumatizing event that just occurred, and partially to reassure himself that Kacchan was alright. He was alive. They were alive. They were ok. His best friend was ok.
Kacchan tensed slightly at the sudden contact and stayed frozen for a long moment. Izuku worried for a second that he was about to be blown up at, but then strong arms slowly wrapped around him as well, and a chin rested on the top of his head.
Izuku relaxed and squeezed back tighter. He often forgot how surprisingly good at hugging Kacchan was. Hugs were rare from the explosive boy. But after what they just experienced, they both knew they needed it.
They stayed like that for a long, quiet moment, just soaking up each others warm presence and reassuring themselves that they were fine.
Finally Kacchan spoke, quieter than he normally would. "Y'know, with how much I was panicking, I really didn't need the heart attack you gave me when you ran in like that."
Izuku chuckled. "Complain all you want, I don't regret a thing."
Another beat of silence passes before Kacchan pulls away first, and Izuku lets him, knowing the boy isn't great with contact like that and that it was a miracle he'd lasted that long.
They stand there in quiet again, this time because neither is quite sure what to say next, and then it's disturbed by Izuku's phone going off three times in a row. He smiles, recognizing who it's from by the sound of the notification.
"I should get going, mom's worried and Hitoshi's blowing up my phone."
Kacchan huffs. "Figures, those worry warts. I need to go anyways, im still supposed to give my dumb statement and then the old hags picking me up."
Izuku smiles, trying his best to direct it at his friend. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kacchan."
Kacchan grunts in affirmation, then spins around and stalks off, though his footsteps are more relaxed than before.
Izuku smiles fondly and pulls out his phone to listen to the multiple messages he has from both his mom and Hitoshi.
Mom: Izuku, please try to hurry home, it's getting dark and I'm worried.
Mom: You should be here by now, are you ok what's happening?
Mom: Izuku?
Hitoshi: Hey, you never came to the cafe. Everything alright?
Hitoshi: I just saw the news, it said the students were from your school. You weren't involved, right?
Hitoshi: Izuku, are you ok? Your moms texting me now and she said Bakugou's not responding either.
Hitoshi: Please respond
Izuku groaned as a pang of guilt his him after his phone also told him he had over ten missed calls, some from each contact.
He might be grounded to his room for the rest of his life, and if not, Hitoshi was going to kill him for worrying them both.
This was the absolute worst day ever, he decided as he sent each a message assuring them he was alright and he'd explain in person.
According to the responses, he was definitely in big trouble.
He sighed and started home, accepting his fate.
Still didn't regret it though.