Chapter Text
The brightly lit building had a huge array of everything that could printed on paper. There were four floors filled to the brim with a fair mixture of anxious and calm students. Finals were getting closer, of course. The marble tile squares that decorated the ground gave the building an elegant and expensive look and light "clicks" and "clacks" could be heard as students walked through.
Izuku was always in the library. It was arguably his favorite place to be, his second favorite being the lab. In the library, he could consume so much knowledge and just completely envelope himself in it. Often he would stay in there for the entire day, studying and researching, and whatnot until his eyelids became too heavy to do anything but sleep.
Izuku always wanted to be a hero, however, due to his lack of a quirk that dream was practically impossible. He had that thought so graciously hammered into his head every time he stepped out of line. When someone stronger than him—which unfortunately was a lot of people— decided to use brute force he couldn't ever win against them.
However, as young Izuku grew he realized that what he couldn't achieve with his hands he could achieve with his head. That's when he decided to explore engineering. With technology and support gear, he could level the playing field and stand with everyone else.
However, he still couldn't be a hero. At least not in the traditional sense, but he did enjoy what he was doing anyway. He also worked with a lot of hero's to research support gear and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a little cool. Sometimes. Sometimes it was pretty cool.
Izuku looked down and checked the time on his phone. "It's getting late." Izuku lives pretty close to university, in a nice apartment his scholarship pays for, but he still didn't want to walk back late at night. His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating in his hands.
Message from: Y U Y U MO
A Twitter notification lit up and Izuku didn't recognize the sender. He opened it up as he was placing the books he already read back. When he read the message his brain felt as if it stuttered.
"Listen Midoriya. Everyone knows it was you who was bullied the most by him. I didn't want to out you cause you always stay to yourself but Bakugou can't get away with this. —Momo Yusuke."
Where did that come from? Izuku recognized that name. Momo was a quiet kid in their class who usually kept to himself. He never bullied but he didn't stand up to anyone either. What reason could he have to contact him now? He hadn't been messaged by his middle school classmates in years.
A quick swipe through his timeline and he didn't see much out of the ordinary. Granted he only followed a few heroes and close friends but he would have seen something if it's a big deal... right? He messaged them back:
"What do you mean?"
It's short, yeah. But to ask longer questions means he has to be a little less confused.
Less than a minute later, he hears a ping and sees a screenshot of the name Bakugou Katsuki next to trending in Japan and a video that he can't watch. "Oh right, I forgot I blocked him and muted his name." He was blocked after making it in UA and muted after winning the UA Sports Festival. It's not like Izuku was upset that Bakugou was doing so well, it just made him feel like a loser. He blocked him years ago and never unblocked because there was no point.
Despite him not following his social media presence, Bakugou's success was very loud. His merch was sold in every store and he had a very dedicated fanbase—as to be expected by the number 3 hero.
He unblocks (and unmutes) Bakugou and refreshes the page. His timeline takes a strong shift. That block and mute function was the protective barrier that kept Bakugou's current #HeroDrama from flooding Izuku's peaceful timeline. Now the flood gates were open. The innocent "finished my homework （＾∇＾)" was slaughtered by "BAKUGOU DESERVES NO RIGHTS."
So things were worse than he thought. But still... what does any of this have to do with him? He went back to his messages to watch that video. He placed his earbuds in and braced himself for what was to come.
"Okay Extras,"
Oof. Bad start.
"It's come to my attention that people are getting upset with middle school me for the actions I made back then."
Izuku leaned in. He can't stop the hope from bubbling in his chest, he feels an anticipation that he can't contain as he watched the video expectantly for an apology he hadn't even realized he wanted.
"But let me tell you something, I don't give a fuck about that shit at all."
After that line Izuku could feel the hopeful giddiness in his chest dissipate. Instead it was replaced by... disappointment. Which is silly because to be disappointed you need to place hope or faith in something in the first place. He really did believe for a second that Bakugou had changed. The video went on and Izuku realized the only regret Bakugou had was that he wasn't mean enough. He felt like he should've bullied him more.
How can someone be so vile?
It's one thing to be a child... but Bakugou is an adult now.
Another ping causes him to look down.
"Now's the time to speak up Midoriya. People will listen."
Izuku turns off his phone because he really needs to think. He doesn't really want to speak out. Not because he wants to protect Bakugou, but it seems like it'll just be a huge inconvenience. He'll have the media's eyes on him as well as Ground Zero's crazy fan girls trying to kill him, a bullying story just doesn't seem worth the effort, he gets nothing out of it regardless.
Still, seeing Bakugou act so rude and almighty definitely pissed him off, but whether it pissed him off enough to go through the hassle of seeking revenge was debatable. He slides his phone in his pocket and begins to head out the doors through the brightly lit lobby. He opened one of his books and proceeded as he quietly muttered to himself.
"Hey, Deku."
The familiar phrase caused Izuku to stop in his tracks and he tore his eyes away from his book. His emerald orbs met with striking ruby. A familiar blonde head of hair lightly shaken by the wind. He was breathing heavily and covered in a thin layer of sweat.
"B-Bakugou?" Izuku eyes widened a fraction in surprise. Out of all the things Izuku expected to see it wasn't his childhood bully turned hero celebrity. Especially not in his designer shoes and name brand clothing. And... wait... is he wearing his own merch? Izuku cleared his voice to speak up. "Did you run here? Why are you out of breath?"
"I came to talk to you." He continued taking deep breaths until he finally calmed down and stood up straight. "Obviously." Last time Izuku stood side-by-side with Bakugou they were around the same height. Now Bakugou stood at least half a foot above him and packed on way more muscle than Izuku; a clear testament to their different lifestyles.
"Isn't it kinda late?" Izuku closed his book and slid it in his bag, hoping Bakugou caught the double meaning of his words.
"It's only ten, and I wanted to get to you before, well..." he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Have you been on the internet recently?"
Izuku thought back to that video, and that old classmate who messaged him. "...No, I haven't."
Bakugou's face practically lit up after that response. "So I came here to apologize."
"Oh... okay." The silence continued a couple seconds and they just awkwardly looked at each other waiting for someone to respond. "Wait was that supposed to be the apology?"
"Yeah, now it's your turn."
"What the hell? What am I apologizing for?"
"No-what." Bakugou was thrown off by the less than polite language. "You're supposed to say you forgive me." He smirked and laughed as if it was the most obvious thing ever, like they were just old pals who had a misunderstanding.
Izuku's eyes hardened as if in that split second he relived all the torment that he was put through. In that short moment he felt the pain and isolation his middle school self had to carry all alone many years ago.
"I don't forgive you."
At that Bakugou visibly stiffened.
"And I lied earlier. I did watch your video. You didn't seem very sorry then." Izuku stared right through Bakugou. "Why would I forgive you when you're only doing this to save your career. You didn't even properly apologize. Did your PR manager tell you this will fix everything?"
Bakugou balled his fists in anger. The lighthearted and casual composure he had before had completely vanished.
"I guess I still do feel kinda bad for you for some reason. What was it you said when I was in my worst state? Something about a swan dive?"
Rage and frustration grew in Bakugou's chest. "Shut the hell up, Deku. Get off your fucking high horse I'm not taking this shit from a quirkless loser like you."
"Don't call me that."
"Yeah, you're right, my manager told me to apologize to your pathetic ass. But if you're gonna give me all this fucking attitude I can put you back in your place just like old times."
"You're gonna get violent? Really? You haven't changed at all. You're the exact same impulsive middle schooler from before."
"Except now I'm a famous hero battling villains while you're just a nerd that battles depression."
"You know what! Fuck you Bakugou I wasn't even going to say anything about middle school and I haven't! But you're pissing me off. First you go out of your way to make a video that essentially condones bullying and now you've tracked down my college to demand that I forgive you?!" Izuku stepped closer his face flushed and irate. "What's happening to you is karma. You did this to yourself so deal with it."
"Wow! Look how tough you've gotten, Deku. Think you're a hot shot just cause you go to a fancy university? You'll always be a loser."
"Yeah well who's losing now, Bakugou? Hero number 67?"
That was just the sore spot that caused Bakugou's hands to flare with small explosions. "You dumb piece of-"
"Bakugou!" Their argument was interrupted by a lady in heels with her purple locs tied up neatly. She looked like she ran there as well. Her skin reflected a shine and she had a stern look on her face. She took heavy and deliberate steps towards them before grabbing Bakugou's head and forcing him to bow as she bowed as well.
"I'm so sorry. On behalf of Genius Office I truly do apologize for what my client has said to you. Will you please keep this incident between us? We can compensate you monetarily for the trouble." She bowed deeply and faced the floor. A heavy silence came through except for Bakugou's heavy, angry breathing.
"Thank you. But you're apology doesn't really mean anything." She slowly stood up straight and released Bakugou. "You're just trying to save your career, too. Why even waste the time. And I don't want your money. I don't take handouts from people who's only goal is to cover their ass. Leave me alone." Izuku walked the opposite direction opting to leave the building through a different exit.
Bakugou watched him go. He didn't look like he'd act that different, at least on the outside. He wore sweaters that were too big, and his hair was still a wild nest of curls. His build wasn't impressive at all and he was a lot shorter. But that was misleading. There was a fire inside him that wasn't there when they were kids. A burning flame so powerful he couldn't get near him, not like he could when they were younger. This Izuku was a completely different person from the one he remembers.
And like a moth, he was drawn to that flame.