He hates the little shitfor daring to get stronger.*
What right does Deku have to do that? To change? To train?
Katsuki Bakugo isn't blind, even if half the class is. He notices how Deku's gym uniform stretches tighter across his back, how he's started lapping the extras during Phys-Ed, how his wheezing and gasping have been replaced by steady, controlled breathing. What right does that quirkless loser have to act like he could ever catch up?
It shouldn't bother him. It really shouldn't.
Even if Deku's suddenly improving, even if he isn't always the last one standing now, he's still Deku. A pebble. A larger one now, sure, but still just a pebble in Katsuki's path.
So he vents. Not to Fingers and Wings—his usual cronies—but to a different idiot, the kind who wears fan merch with Katsuki's face on it. The kind he normally avoids.
Today, though, Katsuki needs someone to blow up, and this extra is fast. Fast enough to make for good target practice.
The extra likes to talk. About Katsuki's quirk, about his own. Katsuki never cared before. But something that day—maybe the looming UA entrance exams, maybe the memory of Deku daring to look down on him—makes him ask:
"What exactly is your quirk?"
The extra shrugs. "Haven't named it yet. When I touch someone with all five fingers, they kinda… go into a coma-like state. Found out by accident. My mom's still in one. That's why I wear gloves."
Bright red gloves.
Katsuki's eyes narrow, catching the color. Red like Deku's shoes. It's stupid. Everything about this is stupid.
But then an idea forms.
If Deku won't learn his place from him, maybe it's time for something different. Something that looks like an accident.
"You know, you could be a hero with that quirk," he lies, that quirk is stupid. What use is a quirk that doesn't allow you to beat up the villains? A useless quirk as far as Katsuki is concerned, but he isn't going to tell that extra that.
He lies through his teeth. It's a cheap power. One touch, and it's over? No skill, no fight. Worthless.
The extra beams. "You really think so?"
"yeah, it's just a shame you have to wear those gloves. I bet if you took them off and used your quirk more, you'd get better at controlling it."
"You think?"
"I know" he lies again, "Trust me."
And the next day, Katsuki's happy to see the extra waving with a bare hand.
He waits until P.E., when the teacher doesn't care what anyone's doing and the class is too busy with their laps to notice.
A nudge. A push.
"Oops!" Katsuki says
And Deku crumples.
Izuku thinks he can't be blamed for ignoring Bakugo these days.
Toshinori's been talking to him. Not just about training, but about being a hero.
The day he came in with bruises and a fresh burn from Bakugo and his cronies, Toshinori didn't let him make excuses.
Not like Mom did.
"All Might—Toshinori—if I told the teachers, they wouldn't care. They never do."
Toshinori sat him down, sighed heavily, and began,"Let me tell you a story, young Midoriya."
He set down his bottle, staring at the wall.
"There was a man back when I worked in the States. He wasn't a villain. He wasn't even a bad person—not at first. Just someone who hated being second place. He latched onto me, said I was his friend, and followed me everywhere. And when the cameras came, he made sure to stand just a little closer. Just in frame."
Izuku blinked. "What happened?"
"He let someone die, Midoriya. Because saving them would have meant admitting he needed help. That he wasn't perfect."
Toshinori looked him in the eye.
"Your friend reminds me of him."
Izuku's throat tightened.
"But you… you remind me of the man I used to be. Idealistic. Stubborn. Willing to get up again. And I want to make sure you become a hero for the right reasons—not because you're running from the pain, but because you believe in saving people."
Izuku had cried after that. Not because it hurt—but because for the first time, someone saw him.
And because he knew… Katsuki would never see him the same way.
So, he let the fantasy of a friendship die. He trained. He avoided Katsuki at school. Focused on his laps. On controlling his breathing. On passing the UA exams.
He didn't expect Katsuki to start following him.
What did Katsuki want? Did Katsuki want him to transfer schools? That wasn't an option. Aldera was all he had. Other schools wouldn't take a quirkless kid, and even if they did, the cost was too much for his mom.
So, he kept ignoring Katsuki
He didn't expect an attack.
He didn't see the kid behind him.
Didn't feel the push.
He just… collapsed.
It feels like being toothpaste. Like someone's squeezing him through a tube.
Hearing comes back first.
"What have I told you, Nagisa? If you wouldn't act like a common animal, if you appreciated the attention boys give you, they wouldn't be so rough! When are you going to stop?"
Sight follows. A woman's hand gripping his wrist. But not his wrist.
It's bone-white. Thinner than his. The arm leads to a body that isn't his. Feeling comes next. The feeling of long hair swishing around his face. He feels oddly like the body he's in could be his. But it isn't.
"My name's not Nagisa," He tries.
The woman's face twists. "I'm not using that made-up name you insist on! I know what's best for my daughter. And that's not some barbarian act!"
He wants to protest, to say he doesn't know what is going on, and yet, the part of him that knows quirks thinks he knows what has happened. It's not talked about much, but body swap quirks are not an unusual phenomenon. He must have been hit with a body swap quirk. He hopes Toshinori will figure this out quickly. Because this is very awkward. What is he supposed to do? Pretend to be this Nagisa person? The part of him that has always been a people pleaser says yes. Do that. The part of him that has trained with Toshinori for 8 grueling months says he should try to find the nearest hero. He decided ultimately to do both.
"I'm sorry, Mother. You're right. I should act like a young lady."
She huffs. "Too late for apologies. The school already expelled you. But there is one—Kunugigioka. They take hopeless cases."
Izuku says nothing. Because what can he say?