Ugh. I'm so freaking sorry about not updating anything in WEEKS. I've been tweeting about it ( Agirl2223), but for those of you not following me on Twitter, someone at work stole my laptop and I just saved up enough to get a new one! I'll be doing my best to update everything as I can...
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A Day In Your Life
Chapter 5
Bakugo opened his tired eyes as the morning sun filtered in through the blinds, letting him know it was way past when he usually woke. He knew he really needed to get up, but just the thought of moving drained his motivation.
He worked slowly to unkink the forever sore muscles he was now stuck with, rubbing each section of every limb carefully. Even through the sweatpants someone—likely Shoto—had put him in, he could feel those haunting scars. He'd already deduced that the most recent marks were from a year or so ago, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe this mystery person Izuku had fallen for had somehow gotten him to stop.
Of course, he'd be grateful if that was the case—it truly made him sick to think that Midoriya was so overwhelmed or depressed that he felt doing that to himself was necessary. But… it also irritated him to consider, which only served to make him feel even worse because he was likely the reason for them in the first place. What kind of asshole pushes someone to the brink like that and then gets upset when someone else steps up to help?
Bakugo huffed angrily to himself, finally managing to get to his feet. He could hear someone else moving about as he entered the hall, finding none other than Izuku trailing around his kitchen in All Might themed bunny slippers.
"Oh fuck no…" he mumbled, finding the sight disturbing since it was his body wearing them.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya startled, jumping slightly. "You scared me… Sorry if I woke you up, I was trying to be quiet I swear and—"
"Deku, fuck, it's too early for you to start that word-vomit shit." Bakugo interrupted in exasperation, his head still hurting from too little sleep on top of everything else. "Where's shitty hair and candy-cane?"
"Oh, um… well, they had to leave before sun-up to get to their shifts so, it's just us here…"
The blonde blinked, slowly realizing that he'd been played. Kirishima had practically begged for them to take his car and ride together, going on and on about how manly it was to protect the environment and save gas; he'd also said he had yesterday and today off. Clearly, he'd had every intention of ditching him there and that's why he didn't take his unconscious ass home last night.
"I can call you a cab… or something…" Izuku offered nervously.
Bakugo's eye twitched a little, already planning where he was going to bury that bastard's body the next time he saw him. "You're a top hero, Deku. You can't just have a damn cab come to your house; fucking everyone would know where you live, dipshit."
"Well yeah, but…" he trailed off, shrugging in that timid, 'I'd do anything to make you happy' way he always did.
Katsuki shook his head and lightly stomped towards him, taking the bowl Izuku had been tending to. "Just go and sit your ass down; I'm hungry and you can't cook to save your life."
"I can so!" Midoriya protested even as he relinquished the rest of his utensils.
"Tsk, I've never seen such a mess as when you, four-eyes, and round face tried to make pancakes for our dorm. Then there was the cookie disaster with eyebags and that tech-spaz… and the ice-cream meltdown with icy-hot. Or how about when you tried to help froggy bake that 'will you go out with me dinner' for that shadow freak?"
Izuku scrunched up his nose as his cheeks flushed with happy embarrassment. Aside from when it concerned hero work, he didn't think Katsuki paid any attention to what he did; it felt nice finding he was wrong. "Alright, you can cook, but I maintain that I've gotten better! And they have names you know! Iida, Ochaco, Shinso, Hatsume, Shoto, Tsu, and Tokoyami; how would you feel if they called you something weird like… like… Well, I can't think of anything, but you know what I mean!"
"Yeah, yeah," Bakugo scoffed, watching out of his peripheral as Izuku shook his head and smiled, going to sit at the nook area. Maybe it wasn't so bad to talk with him without being a total dick… Maybe.
"Do you really think it was a good idea to leave them alone like that?" Todoroki mused allowed as he patrolled with Kirishima.
The redhead shrugged, a triumphant smirk on his lips. "I mean, they seemed to do alright together yesterday, right?"
Shoto nodded but wasn't entirely convinced. Years of seeing Izuku fall apart because of Bakugo made him overprotective and distrusting even if it did seem like something had finally broken the wall between them.
"Actually, they did really well together yesterday. I wonder what's gotten into Bakugo… I know he's always had a soft spot for Midoriya deep down, but… It's like REALLY deep, you know? I'm a little shocked he's made so much progress all at once." Eijiro continued, seemingly picking up on what was running through his partner's mind.
Though he didn't say anything, Todoroki was almost certain the attitude shift was due in large part to the scars Katsuki had found on Izuku's body. It relieved a little of his anxiety knowing that the blonde would likely hold back the worst of his disposition out of fear of what his behavior could cause, but that also led Shoto to a different concern.
Yes, it was great that they weren't at each other's throats, but if Izuku got it in his head that Bakugo was pitying him and only being kind out of remorse, it could very easily make things worse. As he'd told the blonde the night before, Midoriya wanted to earn the respect of being his equal, not have it given to him out of guilt.
"Hey, it's going to be fine, Todoroki…" Eijiro stated, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as he smiled brilliantly. "They're going to work out whatever caused the rift between them in the first place, and then the four of us can be best bro's!"
Shoto couldn't help but let a grateful chuckle breath past his lips, a gentle smile softening his usually sharp features. "Are you always this optimistic?"
"Hmm…" Kirishima pretended to consider, "Yep, I'm pretty sure I am!"
Todoroki inwardly calmed himself, deciding that he would push himself out of his comfort zone and attempt to start up a conversation—one that didn't have to do with their partners—for once. Just as he turned to speak, however, he saw lightning crackle down from the otherwise clear sky not far from their position.
"Ugh, another?" Eijiro huffed. "Midoriya and Bakugo had better get switched back soon or we're going to be in trouble."
The dual user couldn't help but agree; crime had skyrocketed when the news story broke about their medical leave. Heroes were working overtime to pick up the considerable slack their absence caused, but it simply wasn't enough.
The only reason that Deku wasn't already Number 1 on the 'Top Hero' list was that he was still young and gaining a fan base. In terms of numbers, Midoriya took down more criminals and saved more civilians than all of the Pro's ahead of him in the rankings. Bakugo was extremely effective as well, but he was also young and honestly just scared people a little too much.
"We'd better go see if the heroes patrolling that section need our help…" Shoto sighed, getting a nod from Eijiro. They could already hear loud crashing and screams, the sounds becoming louder every step they took.
Detective Tsukauchi rubbed his temples, trying to keep his cool after spending the past two weeks attempting to get 'Swap' to divulge the specifics of her quirk. As a member of law enforcement, he knew all too well how dire it was that Deku and Ground Zero return to work, but the woman refused to say a word.
She'd just sit there and smugly grin at him, fully aware that the longer she held out, the more likely it was that they'd give her a deal. It was maddening, to say the least, and the detective felt the heavy burden of knowing that every citizen injured while two top Pros were out of commission fell on his shoulders and his inability to break the criminal responsible.
"You are not going to get immunity for your crimes… If anything, you're going to be in much bigger trouble since your indirectly responsible for the rise of criminal activity. Tell me how to reverse the swap so that Deku and Ground Zero can return to their jobs, please."
The woman picked at her nails and fluffed her hair, giving off the impression that she was rather enjoying herself. In all honesty, prison wasn't that bad once everyone found out you'd single-handedly 'taken down' Deku and Ground Zero; she was considered something of a celebrity to the many who'd been arrested by those two.
"May I go back to my cell now?" she questioned, "it's been a long morning and I really just need some 'me' time."
"This isn't a joke," Tsukauchi stated impatiently. "Innocent people are getting hurt and two good men are having to adjust to living each other's lives. They've worked hard to get where they are and the people they protect rely on them to keep them safe. Do you have no decency?"
"Maybe you should watch the video of my 'capture' again," Swap dismissed, for once taking the bait and speaking on the subject. "I was almost attacked by that 'hero' for no reason."
"Ground Zero can be rough, but he's never crossed the line before." The detective argued. "And even if you don't like him, Deku is also being impacted by your refusal to cooperate. He was kind to you, wasn't he?"
The woman pursed her lips, unable to deny that if she was going to get caught, Deku wasn't that bad of an option. But still, it didn't serve her to give in that easily. She sat back in her chair once more, returning to picking at her cuticles in silence.
Shoto panted heavily, his movements and coordination slowing from the hypothermia he was experiencing. He had no qualms about using his fire quirk anymore, but the last thing the already blazing area needed was him adding more flames and he simply didn't have the stamina to continuously heat himself while icing several city blocks.
"Todoroki!" Kirishima shouted just as he was knocked back by another explosion, his body flying like a rag doll into the nearest building.
The dual user ran that direction, panicking as the complex creaked ominously. It was already on fire thanks to one of the villains that were wreaking havoc and was structurally unsound before Kirishima had crashed through the exterior brick wall.
Todoroki's right leg gave out just as he made it over, forcing him to use his hand to send as much ice as he could upward in a towering, thick wall that wrapped around the entire structure. The other hero team at the scene was not faring well either, both barely dodging the lightning that continued to crackle down everywhere, but Shoto could only focus on getting to his partner.
His ice wall would keep the damage confined in one area, but it couldn't hold the already crumbling form up indefinitely. If Eijiro was still in unbreakable mode, he wouldn't be hurt by the fire or the building when it inevitably collapsed… but Todoroki had the most disturbing feeling that he wasn't. Both of their quirks had already been pushed well beyond what they should have been.
"Kirishima!" he shouted, expending just enough energy to get the muscles in his hypothermic right leg moving again. "Are you okay?"
There wasn't an answer. Todoroki limped through the gaping hole in the wall to find the redhead, knowing that with how long this battle had been going on, it was possible his stamina had run out and his unbreakable mode had failed with it.
"Answer me, Eijiro!" he pleaded, using his friend's given name for the first time as he struggled to get through the debris.
Todoroki looked around frantically when there still wasn't a response, adrenaline so high he could almost feel it coursing through his veins. When he caught sight of red peeking out from under a large pile of fallen ceiling beams, he damn near sobbed with relief… until he made his way over and saw the extent of the damage.
Kirishima wasn't conscious and there was a pool of blood beneath his head. Todoroki had been right; he hadn't been able to maintain his quirk during that last hit. "Shit!" he cursed internally, knowing he had to get them both out of there soon or risk being completely buried.
It was never a good idea to move someone with a head and potential neck or back injuries, but he didn't have a choice at this point. Todoroki carefully used his ice to prop up the thick metal beams so that he could pull Kirishima out from under them, wondering how the day had gone so terribly wrong.
If Deku were there, none of this would have happened—hell, he'd have even happily taken Bakugo at this point. His eyes blurred with tears as he struggled to drag his temporary partner over the mess of fallen ceiling and destroyed office furniture, though even as he succeeded in getting back to the street, they were far from safe.
In the few minutes it had taken Todoroki to retrieve his heavily injured partner, the two heroes who'd been there before had been taken down. More heroes were on their way, but with crime rising so quickly across the country, every sector struggled to send support units as it would leave those areas unprotected.
"Well, well, well…" the woman with a lightening quirk mused, panting with exertion but otherwise on her feet. "Looks like Red Riots unbreakable mode isn't so unbreakable after all…"
The other villains that were with her were equally as beat up from taking on four Pro's at once, but they'd had the advantage of causing destruction before Todoroki and Kirishima had arrived. Had they not needed to focus on evacuating citizens from the burning buildings first, they may well have been able to beat the surprisingly skilled group.
Todoroki had collapsed again, panting while he half leaned over Kirishima protectively. There wasn't anything he could feasibly do at this point other than attempt to block any attacks with his ice and he knew it.
The villain raised her hand and called down a thick purple strike, Todoroki closing his eyes as he cocooned himself and Kirishima with what protection he could even though it wouldn't be enough to stop the lightening entirely. "Please take care of Izuku, Bakugo…"
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Please let me know what you think :) I'm so excited to get posting again (for this story and my others!)