Enjoy!
Ahhh. This is the life. Denki relaxed by the fire, with Kyoka leaning on his shoulder. His other friends were there too, resting after the long day.
"That was hard," Mina said staring at her hands. "I've got so many new callouses…"
"I'm just glad none of us was hurt," said Ojiro.
Yeah," Denki said. "And some of you even saved some people! I was stuck on that boat unable to do anything."
Mina smiled. "Those kids were cute…"
Kyoka lightly bopped him on the head. "Even if you had been on land, you wouldn't have been allowed to fight. AMF wouldn't let us."
Probably true. Even that green guy had refused to help them join the fight without hesitation (after getting their autographs first, little weasel).
Speaking of which.
Denki glanced at Bakugo. He was still…brooding. Denki frowned. He'd been out of sorts ever since he got to Scaris, and it seemed to be about the green haired guy.
Said guy had who'd been friendly to them at that exorcism thing (autograph trickery aside). However, the moment he laid eyes on Bakugo, he suddenly became as cold and standoffish as the rest of the AMF. There was obviously a history there, but Denki didn't know what.
He'd been close to Bakugo since High School and he'd never seen the guy before. If it was from before that, then why was it such a big deal? Middle School were the days you laugh off about how dumb you were! How bad does their history have to be for them to carry it a decade later?
Feeling thirsty, Denki stood up to fill his water bottle. Kyoka handed him hers to fill too. He walked to the nearest drinking fountain and began filling his water bottle.
"Oh hey, when you're done can I have that?"
Denki turned around. A slightly pudgy man a few years older than Denki grinned at him. He popped a candy and chewed it. Denki gave him a thumb's up. "Oh yeah, sure."
Once his water was filled Denki, stepped aside. While the guy drank, Denki noticed he was wearing army pants and combat boots. AMF.
Maybe he-
Nah, what were the odds he knew the green haired guy? Denki turned to walk away.
"Hey, Chargebolt right?"
Denki turned around.
"You know Dynamight?"
Denki nodded. "
"Did he ever mention any old friend of his he had a falling out with from middle school? Midoriya?"
Apparently, the odds were pretty good. Denki shook his head. "No. Is Midoriya the green haired one?"
The AMF guy nodded.
"He ever mention Bakugo?"
The AMF guy shook his head. "Not to me, no. Might've said something to Ochako, but she'd never tell me without Izuku's permission."
(So that's how he knew about Mina borrowing her friend's money)
Denki sighed. "Ok. Midoriya, he's not…normally like that, right?"
The AMF guy shook his head. "Never. At worst, he'd tell a Hero to stay out of a fight. He's never like…that. Some of the other guys are, but not him. He's a Hero fanboy!"
"Ok," Denki said. "Why are some of your guys like that?"
The AMF guy shrugged. "The world worships Heroes. Those with "heroic" quirks are praised. Those with weaker, more monstrous, or no quirks…well let's just say for a lot of people here weren't always treated kindly by the world."
Denki winced. He'd heard about that sort of thing before, particularly from Shinso. Heck, it took him half the semester to warm up to Class 1-A. Denki could only imagine what he'd be like if his life had continued the way it was before he transferred.
"A lot of people resent things they associate with their past problems," the AMF guy continued. "The bullies loved Heroes, so their victims hate them. Doesn't help that Heroes get all the glory while we're forgotten. Don't get me wrong, I think it's probably better for us not to be too famous, but- "
"But sometimes it's hard to be ignored when you're fighting and dying. Even when it benefits you to stay obscure," Denki said, remembering a similar conversation with Shinso.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
Denki took a sip of his water. "Thanks for talking. I gotta go. Nice meeting you."
"Same." The AMF guy threw him a piece of the candy he was chewing.
"Gee thanks!" Denki put the one he'd been thrown in his mouth, only for it to refuse to break.
"What's wrong? Mighty Hero can't beat a little Jawbreaker?" The AMF guy said with a playful grin. He took another one and bit it again, almost certainly using his quirk.
"Oh screw you!" Denki said while trying to hide his own grin.
"See you later Hero." The AMF guy said walking away.
"See ya!" Denki finger gunned at him then walked back to his spot. He took a swig of water.
"Denki?"
"Yeah Kyoka?"
"Why's mine still empty?"
Uh oh…
Kyoka glared at him, raising an earphone jack. "Denki…"
I'm dead.
Izuku roasted a s'more on the fire. It had been a long day, and he was happy to just relax on the beach with his team.
Izuku ate the s'more, savoring the sweet taste. Sometimes it really was the simple things. Like the warm flames, the moonlight on the beach, or the sound of crashing waves (why did that last one sound like a high-pitched scream?).
A couple of Sakaki's team were also here, but there was no sign of Sakaki himself, or his driver/partner Yuko Tani.
"They're over there," one of Sakaki's team said, a big guy with porcupine quills for hair. He pointed at a nearby fire. "On their own. Again."
Tani had been a close friend of Sakaki's before he'd joined the AMF. She'd joined G-Force a year after Izuku and immediately partnered with Sakaki. They worked together ever since. "It reminds me a lot of how me and Ochako used to be."
"I wish," said Zeni returning. Because Izuku apparently said that out loud.
Izuku smirked. "You're just saying that because you'd prefer to watch me fight Godzilla from a safe distance!"
Zeni shrugged with a cheeky grin.
"Hey guys," Akiba said. "Since we're all here, who do you think would win? Anguirus or Rodan?"
"Definitely Rodan," said Hayama. "Aerial superiority. Anguirus wouldn't stand a chance."
"I lean toward Anguirus!" said Akiba. "Rodan has to come to the ground to fight him and Anguirus is freaking tough!"
"Rodan could just pick him up and drop him from a tall height!" said Kisaragi.
"One, he'd have to avoid the porcupine quills covering Anguirus' back!" said Akiba. "Two, Anguirus would absolutely hang on and starts attacking him in the air! He might even make him crash!"
"Come on, that's totally a stretch!" said Hayama.
"It does sound like something Anguirus would try," said Yashiro. "Also, he could use his ball form to hit Rodan while he flies low."
"Thank you!" said Akiba.
"I vote Anguirus too!" said Zeni. "He's a tough bastard!"
"Exactly!"
They all turned to Izuku. Izuku felt some sweat on his brow.
"Well? You're the kaiju expert?" said Hayama. "Who'd win?"
"Well that depends on a lot of factors, such as location of the battle, the combatant's current condition, what abilities they use- "
Everyone groaned.
"There he goes," said Hayama.
"What'd you expect?" said Yashiro. "It's Midoriya!"
"I expected him to side with Anguirus," said Zeni. "I mean he's practically Izuku's spirit animal!"
Everyone stared at him.
"What?" said Zeni. "He's just like Izuku! Short."
"Hey!"
"Has no powers, and occupies a station he by all rights should not have and fights enemies way more powerful than him while coming out alive due to sheer stubbornness! That's totally Izuku as a kaiju!"
They all looked thoughtful. Then one by one they nodded.
"Yeah sounds right.
"Good point."
"Definitely Midoriya."
Izuku wasn't sure if he should feel complimented or offended. Probably both.
"By the way, Midoriya," Kisaragi said. "I was talking with my boyfriend a while back- "
"You have a boyfriend?!" said Hayama.
"He's a mechanic, works on the big hardware. Utterly obsessed with machines," Akiba said. "I'm pretty sure he's in love with them more than Azusa!"
Kisaragi punched him. "As I was saying, he said something about how the AMF used to have better tech than it does now. You're the history buff. Is that true?"
"Well, yeah," Izuku said. "Between the worldwide destruction inflicted by King Ghidorah," Half the world turned to cinders according to Murakami, "and the chaos following the Dawn of Quirks, a lot of technology was lost, and a lot more set back. Heck, even maser technology took until a few decades ago to fully return. We still haven't rebuilt our biggest stuff."
"Bigger than the giant robot that can fight Gargantuas?" Hayama said. "The one they use cheap wimpy versions of in the UA Sports Festival?"
Izuku nodded. "Well yeah. Those things are big, but they're not Mechagodzilla- "
"Hold on!" Zeni said. "Stop. We had a Mechagodzilla?!
Izuku held up his hand. "Two." Technically three, but the first was destroyed before it could even be activated.
"Are you kidding me?! Robot Godzillas?" Zeni leaned backwards. "I wish we had stuff like that!"
"Yeah, me too." Izuku said.
"You just want to pilot one!"
"Of course!" Izuku said with a smile.
"By the way Midoriya, what's with you and Dynamight?" said Akiba.
His smile vanished.
Kisaragi elbowed Akiba.
"What? We're all thinking it!"
"That doesn't mean you can just say it, you ass!"
Izuku sighed. "That's a long story. We knew each other in Middle School. It was bad."
"What, he take your lunch money or something?" said Hayama.
Izuku glared at him. "It was a bit worse than that." And Godzilla's only a bit tall for a lizard.
Zeni leaned forward. "He ever apologize or- "
"We haven't spoken since halfway through our last year in Middle School. He said he wanted to earlier today, but I was busy."
"Have you considered…letting him?"
Izuku tightened his fists. Of course he had. He'd also considered slugging Kacchan, ignoring him, and pretending he didn't exist. Izuku's mind swung back and forth between whether to try and reconcile with Kacchan or blow him off.
Part of him recognized that it was best to heal, even if he and Kacchan weren't friends anymore. The other was still indignant about the ten years of misery and wanted to cling to that rage, no matter how self-destructive.
This was so much easier with All Might. However much his words hurt, Izuku knew he always meant well. Kacchan though? He'd just been a self-centered, narcissistic bully who enjoyed tormenting Izuku for ten years, until Izuku was a barely functioning husk who moved through life on autopilot.
"Grudges aren't the best thing to hold Midoriya," said Hayama. "Take it from someone who knows." Yashiro nodded.
Izuku glared at Hayama. "This is a bit different than blaming a teammate after your brother's killed by Godzilla! This is actually someone's fault!" Izuku leaned back. "And for the record, Sakaki holds grudges and he's just fine!"
The guy with porcupine hair looked at Izuku like he'd just manifested a quirk. "Really? You're using Haruo as a role model?"
"He's functional!" Izuku said. That time he punched a foreign officer (and got punched right back) notwithstanding.
"Midoriya," Yashiro said. "Neither you nor Dymamight can change your past, but neither of you like where you are right now. You could at least try to bury the hatchet."
"Yeah! If it goes bad we'll gladly hold him down so you can wail on him!" Zeni said, while Akiba and Hayama nodding in agreement.
Izuku groaned. He hated to admit it, but they had a point. He could at least try. And if it failed, at least he could finally give Kacchan a long-deserved punch to the face.
He stood up. "Fine. I'll be back. Wish me luck."
To the chorus of several "good lucks", Izuku walked toward the Heroes' campfire.
Katsuki stared at the flames, vainly hoping their gentle flickering would calm the minefield that was his brain.
What would Izuku say if he apologized? What if it failed? Hell, what if it worked? Would they be friends again? No. Whatever their past relationship had been, they barely knew each other now. But at least they wouldn't be enemies.
However, for that to happen, Katsuki would actually have to get around to giving said apology. This was a problem because both times Katsuki had spoken to him he'd frozen!
Why did sincere apologies have to be so much harder than the fake ones?! He wished he could just hit someone like he did that extra from the Commission at his last apology!
To Katsuki's side, Pikachu finished one of his s'mores. "So, Bakugo…"
Pikachu looked uncharacteristically nervous, meaning he was probably about to ask about a certain green-haired ex-friend of Katsuki's. Katsuki took a breath and said, "What is it Pikachu?"
"What exactly happened to you and that Midoriya guy? I've known you since High School and never even heard of him- "
"Because I knew him in Middle School. You idiot." The insult was out of habit, devoid of any real bite. Pikachu seemed to notice. He looked worried.
"You're really carrying baggage from more than ten years ago?" Pikachu said. "Why? Even at the start of High School you were mostly bark. So, what'd you do to that guy?"
"That's a long list."
Katsuki whipped his head around. Izuku was standing a couple meters away, arms folded, glaring at Katsuki. He stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "Kacchan, you wanted to talk. Let's talk."
Izuku turned and walked away.
Katsuki stood to follow. He felt Pikachu's hand on his shoulder.
"You sure you want to do this Bakugo?" Pikachu said.
Katsuki nodded.
Pikachu nodded. "Ok. I hope it goes well."
"Thank you Kaminari," Katsuki said, using his former classmate's name for once.
He followed Izuku away from the Heroes' fire, toward the AMF's. At the midpoint between them, Izuku stopped. He turned around and glared at Katsuki.
Katsuki glowered back, his hands in his pockets. It was almost funny, he'd faced thousands of people who were infinitely more than Izuku. Yet few of them ever made him this nervous.
Despite his nerves, Katsuki would not back down. He made this mess, he was going to at least try to fix it.
"Alright Kacchan," Izuku said. "Let's start."
Fun fact: The officer Haruo punched and was punched back by was none other than Douglas Gordon! Due to them being...themselves, the whole issue was pointedly ignored by their higher ups.
Also I finally address the lost technology between Half Century War and now. Basically the back to back destruction of Ghidorah, the emergence of quirks, and the constant threat of kaiju set humanity back in technology and numbers. Needless to say, there's a reason people don't want to remember the 21st century in much detail.
Next Chapter, Izuku and Bakugo actually talk!
Hope you enjoyed! Reviews make me smile!
