A/N: Hi everyone! I'm finally back. I've been working on this chapter for a little bit now. I also got really burnt out so I had to take a break, but I did not abandon this fic! There also might be some differences in characterization and plot structure between now and when I last posted. (It's been nearly a year since I started this fic, too!) Also to clear up any confusion on time, I am using a 24-hr clock structure for the texting segments.
I wanted to bring Bakugou into the plot a little bit and show what's going on from his perspective, so we get a little bit of that in this chapter!
As a small update I have changed my username! I used to be PetrichorMists but I'm LemurianJade now!
Anyway enjoy!
For Izuku the next few weeks were filled with a sense of...hope. His newfound friendship was a nice distraction from his classmates at school who seemed intent on making his life a living hell, and their frustrations were apparent as their attempts no longer seemed successful. There was one person, however, who refused to let up - Katsuki. With Izuku's strange behavior before, he had to get to the bottom of it all. And so, one day he found himself doing something that he would have sworn he'd die before doing a mere two weeks ago.
He waited out in the school courtyard. Like clockwork, Izuku came strolling out of the school entryway about twenty minutes after the last bell rang. Fucking typical Deku. He was texting someone, and...he looked happy? He'd been doing that a lot lately. Smiling. What the fuck did the nerd have to be happy about? It was pissing Katsuki off, frankly. Seeing him like that, it gave Katsuki half a mind to just leave and let the nerd do whatever weird shit he was up to. But he'd already made his mind up. As Izuku passed by him, Katsuki grabbed Izuku by the collar and out the school gates.
"Kacchan?" Izuku choked in surprise. "What are you-"
"Auntie invited me over for dinner." Katsuki lied. "So shut up and come on."
Izuku blinked in surprise. "Huh?! Um, oh wow, I wasn't really-"
"You've got somewhere else you need to be?" Katsuki asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes at Izuku.
"N-no!" Izuku said frantically. Katsuki could see the gears in the viridian-haired boy's head spinning. "No. I didn't expect you to come over. Or...anyone, really."
"Well too bad, you're wrong today, chucklefuck. Now let's go. Don't make me drag you all the way there." With that, Katsuki released Izuku's collar, and Izuku righted himself before falling in step with Katsuki.
The walk to Izuku's apartment was uncomfortably quiet. Katsuki spent the first 10 minutes or so trying to look at somewhere, anywhere else but Izuku. He just needed to get answers, that was it. Then he would never have to deal with stupid Deku again. About 15 minutes in, Katsuki noticed something strange. It was...too quiet. normally by now Izuku would be filling up his ears with his shitty nerdy mumbling and he would of course punch the shit out of him to get him to shut up, the way they were used to. But there was no noise; not a whisper, not a mumble, nothing. It should have made Katsuki feel calm, but it made him...nervous?
What?
What the fuck?
Apprehensively, Katsuki decided to sneak a glance at Izuku. The nerd looked wary, and as he caught Katsuki's eyes, he broke contact, as if it were a crushing weight. But at the same time, he looked thoughtful, and there was a sort of peace in that expression of his.
"Kacchan, why did you decide to come over today?" Izuku finally said. "You never seem like..I mean I'm happy that you are, but-"
"I'm not doing it for you, shitty nerd." Katsuki quickly deflected. "I just wanted to see Auntie, that's all."
"Oh...right." Izuku said in a resigned manner, as if saying, 'Why did I expect anything different?' and it made Katsuki want to scream.
'Fuck this.' Katsuki thought, and was about to give Izuku a piece of his mind, when he noticed something odd. Out of the corner of his eye, out of the people they passed by, a pair of eyes seemed to be following them. No. Following Izuku. A chill struck Katsuki, and the annoyed feeling was quickly wiped away as his mind went into overdrive. Who the fuck was following Deku?
'I'll kill them.' Katsuki growled inwardly. He needed to get Izuku out of sight, and quickly. Needed to lose this fucker. Off to the side he noticed a reasonably sized department store, and he grabbed Izuku's arm, pulling him towards the entrance.
"K-kacchan?" Izuku said in confusion.
"I...my mom...she told me she needed something picked up from here, I almost forgot." Katsuki mumbled. "Come on."
Izuku furrowed his brows, not quite understanding, but nodded and followed Katsuki into the store. Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief heading further back into the store.
"Wait, Kacchan, the pick-up area-"
"I know."
"Then-"
"Shh!" Katsuki shushed Izuku, warily watching the entrance of the store. "Someone's following you."
The viridian-haired boy's mind seemed to blank. "W-what?"
"Shut up and get down." Izuku found himself being unceremoniously shoved down out of sight, under a display table. The next few moments passed by painfully slow, and it would have been with bated breath for Izuku had he found he were able...to breathe. Absently he reached for his water bottle to take a sip of water to fight the coughing fit he could feel coming on, only to find it empty.
...
...Crap.
'Don't panic,' Izuku told himself as he wheezed slightly, 'it'll be fine. Probably.'
After a few moments, Katsuki ducked his head down. "They're gone. I don't know what the fuck they wanted but they're gone. Let's get the hell out of here."
"Right," Izuku coughed out, "Thanks Kacchan."
Katsuki's eyebrow raised. "What the fuck is wrong with your voice?"
"Dry mouth." Izuku said in a deadpan tone, wanting the subject dropped. As much as he cared for Kacchan, he didn't really feel safe letting him know about his...issue. In any case, he was glad for his gloves, which would hide the discoloration that was sure to be climbing up his fingers right now.
"Tch," Katsuki sneered. "Whatever."
Without another word, the two of them left the department store and walked the remaining five minutes back to Izuku's apartment. By the time they'd reached the front door, Izuku felt like his throat was closing up, and flecks danced in his eyes. Unable to handle it anymore, spasming coughs erupted from Izuku's throat, and he collapsed, unable to focus on anything anymore. At that point Katsuki was screaming something at him, but his ears muffled the sound, and he blacked out.
Katsuki stared at Izuku with wild eyes. What the fuck?!
"AUNTIE!" Katsuki pounded on the door. "OPEN THE DOOR! SOMETHING'S WRONG!"
Barely a moment passed before the door swung open, a worried-looking Inko behind it. Her face paled as she noticed Izuku collapsed on the ground. "Izuku! Oh God, no not again!"
Katsuki's mind blanked as his mind attempted to take in what Inko said.
"...again?" He whispered. "What do you mean, again?"
"I'm sorry Katsuki, It's a long story." Inko grunted as she attempted to lift Izuku up. "Please, help me get him to his room."
Katsuki nodded as he took hold of Izuku's left side, shifting his arm across his shoulder, while Inko took a hold of Izuku's right side. When they brought Izuku to his bedroom, Katsuki noticed two things. The first was that Ikuzu's bedroom was completely bare of All-Might merchandise and posters. It was really eerie, and the strange feeling that he'd been getting regarding Izuku gnawed at his insides again.
The second thing was that the shitty nerd's room was humid as FUCK.
"Oi, I'm going to drown, Auntie. Why is it so moist in here?" Katsuki groaned.
"It's for Izuku." Said Inko, shifting over to a humidifier tank and switching it on. Katsuki could feel the sweat pooling across his skin, and not for the first time he wondered what the fuck possessed him to come here today. But then his mind went back to how Izuku was being followed, and an ugly feeling rose within him as he considered what might have happened had the nerd been alone. But he'd never dare tell anyone else that, and if the nerd asked about it...it was for Auntie's sake. That was all. "The humidity helps him when this happens. I know you have your differences, but thank you for...being with him, Katsuki. I don't know what would have happened if he'd been alone."
'You have no idea, Auntie.' Katsuki answered silently. "What exactly happened to him?"
"It's...well." Inko paused for a moment, seemingly piecing her thoughts together. "It's a condition that Izuku got when he was younger. But it's not really my story to tell, Izuku should be the one to tell you."
"He'd better, if he knows what's good for him." Katsuki growled. Inko looked quite amused, but decided not to dig into that at the moment.
"So, Katsuki. Can you come with me for a minute?" Said Inko. "I have something I want to ask you."
Katsuki nodded, and followed her out of the bedroom. As they passed the threshold, Inko closed the door behind them - to keep the moisture in, Katsuki assumed - and led him to the living room.
"Would you like any tea, Katsuki?" Inko asked as he sat down on the couch. Katsuki nodded, and Inko went to the kitchen to heat up the kettle. As she did so, Katsuki took in the atmosphere of the apartment. It was slightly different than he remembered. For one thing, there were some newer pieces of furniture. The couch he was sitting on, for example, was much nicer - and softer - than the one that had been here ten years prior. The pictures along the walls had also changed. When he had last been at the apartment, there had been a multitude of pictures from the Midoriya wedding, and a bright-eyed little Izuku standing by Katsuki. Now, the wedding photos were all gone, replaced by pictures of Izuku with his mother. But the Izuku in these pictures, although he was smiling, the look in his eyes was empty, and there was something about his smile that was pained. Katsuki closed his eyes, refusing to think about that.
After a few minutes, Inko came back with two cups of green tea and sat down next to Katsuki, placing one of the cups in front of him on the coffee table. It was quiet for a few minutes as Inko sipped from her cup, then she placed the cup down on the table and asked, "Have you noticed anything strange about Izuku lately?"
"Yeah, I have." Katsuki said without hesitation. "That's actually why I came over."
Izuku woke up slowly to the soft sound of the humidifier and the afternoon light streaming in through his window. His head was throbbing, and he could feel a coughing fit working its way up from his lungs. Instinctually, his hand shot out towards his nightstand, where he always kept spare water, relieved when he felt it grasp a water bottle. He uncapped it quickly and drained it in about ten seconds, letting out a sigh of relief when he'd finished. Finally, his vision and his mind began to clear, and he recalled that Kacchan had come home with him. Had...seen him collapse.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Kacchan had seen that, because of course he had.
"The universe can never give me a break, huh?" Izuku muttered. His eyes glanced towards his hands, relief flooding them as he saw his gloves were still on. Well, at least that was something. Peeling them off slowly, Izuku inspected the full extent of the...damage? If discoloration could be counted as damage.
The entirety of his hands down to his wrists were completely blue, which was nothing new, but there was something strange about his fingers this time. They seemed to have turned a shiny emerald green color, the same color as his eyes. It was strange, but fascinating. And as far as his condition went, he had been used to the idea of his skin turning blue due to lack of oxygenation, but...green? That didn't seem normal. It almost seemed as if he actually might have...
Izuku shook his head, shoving his hands back into his gloves. Nope. No way. That was impossible. If he had a quirk, someone would have told him by now. Or he would have figured it out himself. And neither of those had happened, so that was all.
Still, it didn't stop the voice in the back of Izuku's mind from asking him, 'And what if everyone was wrong?'
A buzzing in Izuku's pocket alerted him to the fact that someone had messaged him. He pulled out his phone and opened up him phone to find several messages from Shigaraki.
[Shigaraki] 15:58: hey pipsqueak, are you busy tomorrow?
[Tomura] 16:40: You good? You usually respond faster...
[Tomura] 17:42: Izuku, seriously. This isn't funny.
[Tomura] 18:00: whatever. Bye.
Izuku's stomach dropped as he saw the current time: 19:37. Tomura must have thought he'd stood him up or something. The last thing he needed was for Tomura to assume he'd abandoned him, so Izuku quickly started typing up a response.
[Izuku] 19:38: I'm so sorry Tomura! There was...an issue when I was going home.
The answer was almost immediate, as if Tomura had been waiting by his phone.
[Tomura] 19:39: Took you long enough. Do you know how nerve-wracking it is for your new Player 2 to go AWOL? Anyway, what happened?
Player 2. Izuku felt a smile slowly take over as he looked at those words. Izuku wasn't really a gamer, but he knew enough about the gaming community to know that that was not a title to be taken lightly. Izuku sighed in relief at that, knowing that Tomura wasn't truly angry at him, but rather concerned. He'd try not to break that trust.
[Izuku] 19:43: So I was walking home with a classmate, and we were almost home but...he told me it seemed like I was being followed...so we hid in a department store. Then...well...when I got home...it would probably be better to tell you about it in person honestly. I'd feel kind of weird writing it down where people can read it.
[Tomura] 19:44: Holy fuck.
[Tomura] 19:46: Did you see who it was? I WILL use decay if they touch you.
Izuku smiled at that; the statement made Izuku feel safe and grateful. He was about to respond when Tomura sent him another message.
[Tomura] 19:47: Also, why not call me if you want to talk?
Izuku bit his lip, thinking. He wanted to call Tomura, he really did, but as far as he knew, Katsuki might still be in the house, and he didn't want his mother finding out about his new, less than savory, friend. As if summoned by the thought, he heard footsteps approach his bedroom door, and Izuku quickly pocketed his phone. The door opened softly to reveal his mother standing on the other side.
"You're awake." Inko said in relief. "I was worried, when Katsuki saw you like that it was a big shock for him, too."
Izuku felt his heart plummet into his stomach. "Does...does he know?"
Inko shook her head. "He doesn't know much. I suggested he talk to you about it, if you're willing."
"Does it have to be now?"
"It's up to you, Izuku."
Izuku got the sense that he was vaguely walking into some sort of trap. "I don't want to."
"But Izuku...Katsuki is your friend. If you told him, don't you think he could help?"
Hearing his mother call Katsuki his friend made his skin crawl. His friend, who had used his quirk on him more than once, or mocked him in front of their classmates and laughed as those same classmates bullied him as well. How could he help Izuku? No...how would he?
"I don't think he can help me."
"Even after..."
"Even after what?" Izuku regretted the sharpness in his words as soon as they came out, but it was too late to take them back. Hurt flashed across his mother's face, and Izuku wanted to kick himself. "Mom, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Izuku." Inko said in understanding, her features softening. "Get some rest. It's your last two weeks of middle school, after all, so you'll need it. But Izuku...please think about it. Katsuki is worried."
Izuku's emotions spun through a circle of concern - defense - anger - regret - sorrow. Talking to Katsuki about this...he wanted to believe that Katsuki cared enough to worry, but...he could never be sure. After all, he didn't seem too worried when he'd told Izuku to kill himself just a few weeks ago.
Go and take a swan dive off of a building and pray for a quirk in your next life!
He'd smiled about it, too.
So Izuku smiled now as he lied. "Okay mom."
After Izuku's mother smiled and closed the door, Izuku crept over to the door and put his ear to it. He could hear his mother and Katsuki faintly talking from down the hall. Opening his door a crack to hear better, he listened.
"What did he say?" Katsuki said.
"He didn't really want to talk about it."
"Tch, typical. If he dies I'll kill him."
Izuku saw red, and he shut the door immediately. He laughed sardonically at Katsuki's show of concern. The nerve of him, to act like he cared after spitting on Izuku for the past nine years? But why should that surprise him? He was always a dumb Deku until it suited Katsuki, particularly when he was around Inko.
And for a moment, Izuku knew why Tomura enjoyed using his quirk on those who deserved it.
Tomura. Shit.
Izuku pulled out his phone. Tomura had sent him a message a couple of minutes ago.
[Tomura] 19:57: Izuku?
Izuku glanced at the door for a moment, then made up his mind and hit call.
A few moments passed before the call picked up. "...pipsqueak?"
"Hey Tomura. How early are you available tomorrow?"
A short, raspy laugh came from the other line. "I thought you'd never ask."