Chapter Text
“Is that him ?” Katuski asked, glancing at the man standing in front of him. It was dark enough in the dungeon, and the only sight of light came from the tiny window.
The prisoner stood on his knees, unable to speak momentarily as a tissue covered his face. His clothes were dry, and it was enough to see how he was different from the others and came from the kingdom's poor side.
“Yes,” the other voice said, opening the door. “His name is Izuku Midoriya, and he killed many people, including our king. Do your job, and don’t look at him.”
“Why ?”
The other man laughed. “They say everyone who looks into his eyes finds their worst nightmare. I don’t recommend you this fate.”
It was the last thing the executioner heard before standing alone in the cell. It wasn’t the first time he faced a situation like this. After all, Katsuki was known for years as one of the best executioners in the kingdom. He had no empathy or regrets for doing this because most prisoners were people with no shame and did something unforgettable. This Izuku won’t change the rule.
The blond sighed, taking the bags away and facing the man. His head was down, and he couldn’t look at him, but his messy green hair was the first thing he noticed.
“I guess I’m surprised to see how someone dared to kill this bastard.” He commented, preparing himself. “Everyone knew in this kingdom, but none dared to speak; congratulations, you’re the first one.”
The blond was known for being honest. A part of his job as executioner was to stay with the prisoners and speak with them before their tragic fate, something horrible for an emphatic person, but not for him.
Izuku laughed bitterly. “And that’s the price I pay: my own life.”
“Oh, you can speak ?” The blond commented, still facing the stranger. “I didn’t know deku had a voice.”
“My name isn’t deku. It’s Izuku Midoriya.” The freckled answered with a bitter and cold tone. His hands hurt, and he wanted all of this to an end; if he could choose, he would instead be killed instantly than have to speak with the executioner.
“It doesn’t matter, in a few minutes, you’ll be gone.” Katsuki sighed. “Can I ask you why ?”
The question caught the other’s interest. Since when a stranger like him cared about his life? Since he was broken, no one cared about him or what he could feel, which led him to leave his house at 18. The freckled man tried to survive before meeting the king and asking for help, only to be humiliated in front of everyone. That’s when he decided to take his revenge, to be someone.
“I wanted to make history.” Izuku answered, “I wanted to be someone everyone remembered, and taking the king‘S head was the best thing I could do, even if this led to my death. I don’t have any regrets.”
Katsuki said nothing, taking his time to listen to how Izuku’s voice wasn’t shaking but confident.
“I grew up in a place where the only people that cared about me were the animals at the farm. The poverty worsened things and forced my family to do the best thing for them. They didn’t know anything, but I saw things and wished I could erase them from my memory.”
“Tch, being sold by your parents at a young age, you had a shitty life.” The blond comments, “But it didn’t give you a reason to be the public enemy number one.”
“What was I supposed to do? Keep living in those conditions and killing myself with time? Not fighting for my rights and at least being on my own, for once in my life ?” Izuku asked with a bitter tone.
“At least you would be alive.” Was it…empathy? It must be the most time he was feeling something like that.
Izuku didn’t answer. He knew he had to face this question, but it made him laugh at how naive he thought he could escape. Instead, he was facing the executioner and was about to die.
“Death doesn’t scare me.” He answered, “If it’s the price to pay for letting people be happy, I’ll do it again…even if this means dying all over and facing you.”
Katsuki rolled his eyes. He glanced at his tools and ignored this strange feeling in his chest. Until now, no one had made him feel that way; it didn’t have any reason because the prisoner was a person like the other, but there was something else in his behavior.
“Alright, it’s done.” The blond decided to break the rule and give a face to this name. His hands found Izuku’s chin, noticing how the freckled man didn’t do anything. “Let me see you, deku.”
Izuku laughed. “Isn’t it forbidden? Did you not hear what the other guard said, or aren’t you scared to face your worse nightmare ?”
Katsuki wasn’t impressed, but he could feel the other breath. Why should he be concerned by this stranger's fate? After all, he’ll end just like the other.
“I don’t give a shit about what the others say. I’m here to do my job, but it would be a shame not to see the face of the man who feared the population.”
Izuku sighed. He raised his heart for the first time, and time stopped. In front of him stood a blond with red ruby eyes, with a mesmerizing and breathtaking face. His heart was beating faster, but he could only focus on how he would lose himself in these eyes.
Katsuki’s face went pale when he saw him. People usually described him as a monster, someone they should avoid, especially to fear. The reality was otherwise. Indeed, the blond could face the prettiest eyes he had ever sent. Something was addicting, but looking at the prisoner, with his green emerald eyes or freckled cheeks.
None of them dared to speak, knowing it was a question of time before they found another guard caught them breaking the rule. Katsuki’s hands were still holding the freckled man’s chin, and noticing how his skin was soft, even if it was dry with dirt, and he didn’t eat for days.
“They were wrong,” Katsuki confessed, smirking as his hands left the other.
“People could be wrong about many things,” Izuku smiled.
“And yet, they didn’t tell me how the public enemy number one was the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.“
Izuku ignored the blush on his cheeks and smirked. “Are you flirting with all the prisoners? I know how it could be their wish, especially with someone like you.”
“Only the worth one.” Katsuki stepped back, ignoring how his chest was still melting at the sight of the freckled man before him. “And you’re the first one, freckles. Congratulations.”
Izuku said nothing, hearing the other’s guard voice coming from the background, telling them it was ready and the queen was waiting.
“‘Coming.” The executioner answered, looking at the freckled man, “Katsuki Bakugo.”
Izuku’s eyes went wide.
“My name is Katsuki, dumbass.”
“What gives me the honor of knowing my executioner’s name ?” He smiled but noticed how the blond’s face turned into something sadder.
“I thought it was fair to know before being the one who takes your last breath away,” Katsuki answered. He didn’t know why or even how, but his mind couldn’t forget the sight of the green emerald eyes; they were looking at him with something he couldn’t explain, something tender.
“Nice to meet you, Katsuki Bakugo.” Izuku smiled. This time it was a genuine smile and the thing that hurt him the most.
“The pleasure's all mine, Izuku Midoriya.” The blond answered, covering the freckled man with the previous tissue on his face. It was supposed to be like the other, but why did meeting this man and breaking the rule break someone inside him? He wished he could’ve taken this shitty tissue away and listened to the freckled man mumbling about his life until no hours.
That day, for the first time in his life, Katsuki hesitated before doing his job. The crowd was begging him to kill Izuku; he was a traitor and faced the queen’s gaze.
With a low tone, low enough to be heard by the freckled man, he whispered something he had never said.
“I’m sorry.”
Only if he knew that Izuku wasn’t crying out of sadness; he was crying out of happiness. Happiness because he finally found him after all this time, and they could’ve talked to each other for the first and last time. Izuku knew everything since the beginning, and the first thing he did when he woke up here was to find his soulmate. The freckled man searched for his other half his entire life, only to see him in his last moment. What a cruel twist of fate.
"It’s alright,” Izuku whispered, smiling. “If this means meeting you, it’s worth it.”
With a loud sound, signing his last breath and last words, everything was gone. No more suffering, no more pain, only the joy of knowing that he had met his soulmate and the man he loved again. Izuku could have an entire lifetime and reincarnation for him because they'll be happy in one of them.