Chapter Text
The ringing in his ear, the metallic scent filling the air, all was familiar and nostalgic to Izuku. The wind howled violently as the rain played a rhythmic drumming on the surface he was lying on. He clenched on his drenched daffodil scarf as he heaved, struggling to get breathing in.
This was supposed to be a light patrol, one where he and Katsuki could catch up and talk, but of course, to no one’s surprise, they had been caught up in yet another disastrous situation—one that was unexpected. It was like they were doomed to attract chaos like a magnet.
He had to remind himself constantly not to jump into combat recklessly, although by now it had already become a growing habit of his to move before thinking. This time, however, his impetuousness saved him from getting severely injured by a critical hit.
“Deku!” a voice cried out his name, snapping him back to reality. Izuku instinctively diverted his gaze to the direction where the source of the sound emerged from; His eye caught the attention of a blonde hair. He noticed the iconic and recognizable orangish cross on his costume. his back merely facing him. Slowly he sat up, using his hand and black whip to assist in stabilizing himself in the process.
The warmthness of blood trickled down his forehead. Izuku inhaled slowly, trying to steady his breathing rhythm. He winced at the sharp pain that struck in his head, the harsh rain only made it harder for him to get past the pounding migraine. In the moment, it almost felt like his head was splitting into two, just like how it used to be when he still had one for all and danger sense during the war.
“Can you still move?” Crimson eyes glanced over at him before looking forward to the threat ahead. He placed himself in front of Izuku in a way that could be portrayed as defensive to protect him while he was still in a vulnerable position. Izuku stumbled a bit getting up before successfully steadying his stance.
He dusted himself off. He placed his hand over his chest, observing his suit thoroughly, checking if there were any dents. “I’m fine Kacchan, just focus on the enemy ahead.” Izuku reassured him.
Katuski gave a light nod before they both sprung into action. Explosions cackled in Katsuki’s palms as he lunged straight at the villain to stall the two of them time, meanwhile Izuku focused his attention on the nearby civilians who were stuck under the rubble or were injured. With a combination of float and black whip materializing in his gloves, Midoriya simultaneously captured those who were in need of help, assisting them to safety.
The unidentified villain lifted his hand—nearly in a way to mimic a gun, pointing towards Bakugo. He didn't have to pause and think whether it was a mocking gesture or an attack, he knew instinctively, it was the latter. A red beam shot out, making the villain jerk back slightly from the force.
Swiftly dodging the attack, the blonde retreats, landing right beside the green head. “Any ideas what his quirk is?” he questioned, panting to catch his breath.
Izuku thought about it deeply for a moment, placing a hand on his chin to ponder. He was the first to engage into combat almost immediately after identifying he was an enemy. Given a sample of what could be what, he closed his eyes trying to recall what happened during the fight. Earlier while delivering a kick before passing out, he had noticed a small detail—The villain’s figure distorted almost instantly upon contact with his attack.
“I guess it involves illusions? I d-don't know maybe-” Without hesitation, Dynamite sprung back to action. There were blasts all around the place, leaving Izuku stunned. Lips were parted open as he warned “Wait! I'm not entirely sure if it is!” yet he was left with the eruptions of explosions as a response. For a split second, in his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of something, or someone.
Izuku froze in place, was it an enemy? An ally? Or just a bystander? It could not be possible for a bystander to be wandering in this area, for he had already evacuated everyone to safety and also so that they could fight freely without having to worry. From the corner of his eye he saw white hair swaying gently with the wind. “Reminisce.” he was able to pick up a voice despite the howling of the wind, alerting Izuku even more.
Before he could even quickly turn his head to look properly, it had already disappeared. Leaving him with an uneasy and eerie feeling. The wind went on to whistle normally, there were no traces of anyone being in the area.
As the battle continued, soot arose, leading to Dynamight losing sight of the villain. He spotted a silhouette amongst the soot. If the rain had not been here to interfere and prevent Dynamight from going all out, this fight would've been finished in a flash. With one hand forming a circle and the other behind it, an explosive beam was shot out. His attack clearing out the soot, he was only left with a puzzled look on his face.
It was not the villain he attacked inside the smoke but rather a car—now damaged. Wait, was that Deku’s? Now was not the time to get closer upon inspection,
Bakugo perked up, he had sensed a presence behind him. By impulse, he turned around with explosions cackling in his palm, already prepared to attack the enemy. He suddenly felt black whip wrap around his waist; it pulled him to the side.
He gave an even more perplexed expression as he looked at Deku. He shook his head with one brow raised. Izuku simply raised his hand to point at what's behind him; The unamused, real villain, as he commenced to clap when it dawned on Katsuki.
Katsuki twitched his eye in irritation, placing one hand on his hip. “Are you going to stop hiding and fight me head on or what?” He questioned sarcastically, narrowing his eyes as he studied the villain carefully if he was planning to attack them suddenly.
“No.” The unnamed villain answered back flatly. A sudden flash of bright white light attacked both Izuku and Katsuki’s eyes. Izuku winced, using his forearm to quickly cover the brightness. Once the two regained sight of what was happening, it was already too late. He was running off by now.
“Kacchan, he’s getting away!” Deku announced, pointing at the direction he was going, eyes widening in disbelief at the boldness the enemy had. Was he seriously going to try and run away? Izuku wondered but pushed the thought aside; activating float then attaching blackwhip from his gloves to the building. He was already prepared to chase down the villain.
Just before he was going to take off he felt a firm tug on his worn out yellowish scarf. He whirled around, astonished to see the blonde trying to use all the strength left in his body to stop him from leaving. “Have you lost your mind, you idiot?! You know full well the two of us aren’t in the best condition to fight.” He panicked, worrying that Izuku might as well completely forget that he’s wounded and get reckless in battle.
“I’m completely fine Kacchan!” Izuku protested but altogether disabled the quirk (in his suit) to listen to him. All Bakugo did was give an expression that read ‘seriously? We know you’re lying.’ as he narrowed his eyes towards him. Izuku pursed his lips, forming a thin line.
Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a tired sigh. “Look, as much as I hate it, It’s best if we retreat for now, the rain isn’t going to stop any time soon, if one of us gets seriously injured, back up would take a lot of time to arrive.” he frowned.
“Oh, and I think I broke your car.” He added, a hint of hesitation in his voice. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, not meeting his eyes in an almost guilty way.
Deku stared in disbelief, almost like he wanted to say something but decided not to. He rushed away to the area where he parked it beforehand, with Katsuki following right behind him. All Izuku did was let out a horrified gasp. Katsuki poked his head out from behind to see what happened. There it was, the now busted car standing right in front of them in all its glory.
“Hey it's not my fault, blame the extra who ran off!” Katsuki blurted out loud. He wanted to face palm himself so badly at that moment for not considering at least a second what he just said. Did he just accidentally provoke Deku? He wasn’t willing to wait and find out.
Izuku turned on his heel to face Katsuki. To Bakugo’s surprise, Izuku gave a soft smile, shoulders slumping. “It’s alright Kacchan.” he said pitifully.
“I’ll get my agency to fix it up for you; furthermore, I’ll pick you up and drop you off home." Bakugo replied without missing a beat.
“Eh? Oh you don’t really have to! It’s fine, really-”
“SHUT UP! CONSIDER THIS AS MY APOLOGY.”
Amber light suffused in the empty classroom. Soft scribbles and rustling of papers filled the silence, the source of the sound emerged behind the teacher’s desk. There seated Izuku, buried by the piles of stacked papers. He was occupied in grading and writing feedback of student’s homework that was turned in this morning.
Beyond the window, the rain from earlier had calmed down. Giving a breathtaking scenery, painting the sky with a golden hue. The laughter of kids could be heard outside the building.
From time to time, he would spot drawings made from his students hidden at the back of the paper, he’d doodle pro heroes like All Might or Dynamight alongside the sketch then write a compliment on how amazing they drew.
Izuku hummed to himself, adjusting his reading glasses. He gradually made his way through the piles of stacked papers, the height of it decreased over time. A notification popped up on his phone, causing him to bring his attention towards it.
From: Kacchan!!
Yo nerd, coming in 10 mins to pick you up
He eyed the time on his lockscreen, it was nearing time for him to take his leave. He took the rest of the stacked papers and evened out all the sides before inserting it into a folder.
“Izuku Midoriya” a voice called out his name, Izuku tensed up, stopping to a halt. There was a change in the atmosphere. It could not be a student or Bakugo, if it was, he would’ve heard the door open by now.
By instinct, his eyes searched for where the source of the voice came from, he diverted his eyes at the entrance of the door in the classroom.
Jade eyes met rubies.
He abruptly arose from his seat, the folder still in his hand, now being clenched on. His breathing was hitched, his heart kept beating rapidly like a drum. He was now facing the very person who he failed to save—Tomura Shigaraki. Was all his efforts in order to save him led to a naught?
When was it exactly the last time he saw Shigaraki? Possibly during the war where he fought All for one and then witnessed him say his last words before disintegrating to dust, or maybe even when he got his suit and then spotted him on a rooftop. Well it didn’t matter at all anymore, he was now standing in front of him.
“Why are you still here?” A breathless, shaky voice was all he could force out of his throat. His lips trembled. Was this the effect of not getting enough sleep? Or was this the villain’s quirk’s doing from previously? Could this be a dream? He pinched himself, yet nothing happened.
He carefully observed Shigaraki. He had a twisted, yet gentle smile on his face. It was similar to the one he last received during their last conversation together, he could not find any maliciousness behind it.
“What? Did you forget me already?” He asked back, dodging the question. Shigaraki tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as he examined the teacher from head to toe. It haunted Izuku for not being able to save him in a different, or yet better way, but forgetting him? The thought of forgetting him broke Izuku down even more.
Deep down, Shigaraki always haunted him. He wanted to do more than saving him from the grasp of All for one, he wanted to see him turn his life around for the better—but he knew that it would be unrealistic.
He clenched his necktie as if it would ease the pain and relieve him of the ache in his heart. He heaved heavily, vision blurring more than necessary. His eyes started to sting like crazy, he knew better than to let the tears stream down his face, yet it couldn't be helped.
“No, I never did.” It was barely louder than a whisper; Izuku wanted to say more, say so much more than what was said. The lump in his throat prevented him from talking, nothing could come out of his throat.
The villain merely chuckled, not in a mocking way, but rather a relieved way.
Suddenly, the door swung open as another voice joined in. “Damnit nerd, how long are you going to make me wait? Parking ain’t free ya know?!” The blonde barged in crudely.
Katsuki scanned the area, it was a total disaster. The room was an entire mess, with sheets of paper scattered across the place and his childhood friend sobbing like crazy. His jaw dropped, confusion written all over his face.
Izuku stared back at him, an uncomfortable, deafening silence played in the room. Wet sniffles were only heard as he quickly wiped his tears away. Katsuki wasted no time, he ran over to Izuku and brought him in for a hug. He was unsure if it would significantly help even, in the slightest.
Izuku leaned his entire weight on him, burying his face in Bakugo’s chest. He didn’t mind at all on how his shirt was being soaked by his friend’s tears, he didn’t care at all. It pained him to see Izuku trembling uncontrollably, his choked sobs being muffled.
“I couldn’t save him.” Izuku slurred, looking up with stinging, teary eyes. He wanted to cry his heart out, but knew that now was an inappropriate time.
Bakugo’s gaze softened, he was carefully selecting the right words to stay. “Tell me everything when you feel like you’re ready.” he answered back with such gentle and tenderness. Izuku only nodded in response.
Deku was the first to pull out of the hug, taking a step back. He went to collect all the papers that were scattered on the floor, placing it back in the folder one last time. He turned around to face the blonde. “Let’s go? I wouldn’t want you to pay extra for parking.”
Katsuki gave a thumbs up, they later left the building and entered his car.