Chapter Text
2in1 Chapter 1: Starting Point
“Stop following me!”
“But I like you, Kat-chan. I want to know everything about you!”
“Don’t get close to me, damn it! Go away. You’re being creepy again!”
“Kat-chan! Don’t push me, that’s dangerous!”
“I said. Go. Away!”
“NO!”
“Fuck-!”
“Kat-chan!!!”
O*-2in1-*O
If you ask most people around here that know about Midoriya Izuku, they will describe him as a weird kid with a strange quirk. He has 3 legal parents and lives in two homes, according to the day of the week with few exceptions. His appearance is average, kind of easy to forget actually. His height and build are nothing impressive. He has wild, dark green hair and a pair of big green eyes that changes color to deep red every time he uses his quirk. He has freckles too, but that’s still pretty normal, right?
But, if you ask the ex-delinquents in this area, “Do you know Midoriya Izuku?” Then describe his appearance, they will most likely look at you strangely, or like you are crazy, depending on how polite they are. After that, they will certainly tell you the most baffling thing.
“No, that’s not Midoriya Izuku.
The boy you just described is Bakugou Katsuki.”
O*-2in1-*O
“Hey, Midoriya-kun,” Yujin greets his green-haired friend. Midoriya smiles as he pulls a chair with him so he can sit and eat their lunch together.
“Hi, Mikata-kun. Oh, your lunch is different today,” Midoriya observes. The guy notices so many things while being totally oblivious to some matters at times. Yujin doesn’t really mind it. He thinks it’s just another thing that makes Midoriya Izuku so unique.
“Yeah. My mom is really busy this week so I just made sandwiches for lunch. It’s about time I try to do this stuff by myself anyway.” Yujin shrugs. He has to wake up a little earlier every morning but he has fun. It’s no big deal.
They are in the back corner on the window side of the classroom. Most of the noises come from the big group in the middle of the room, but they both aren’t really that good with social interactions. For Midoriya, it’s because he’s too strange for most people to feel comfortable with. For Yujin, it’s because he’s quirkless. Any social interaction with people in his age group usually goes south for him.
Midoriya nods his head in understanding. The boy opens his own lunch box. “So, this morning Kat-chan woke me up really early, like before the sun even rise early, just because he had a sudden urge to cook something! I think he’s just mad at me about something. But because of that my lunch looks really good today. Do you want to try some?” It really does look good, like picture perfect good, in his opinion anyway.
“Sure, thanks. Bakugou-kun, too,” Yujin says while rummaging through his own bag looking for chopsticks. He’s already used to Midoriya’s seemingly strange habit of talking about ‘Kat-chan’. He knows that what most people would call as Midoriya’s imaginary friend is actually real, even if it’s quite hard to believe at first.
The quirkless boy feels coldness on his left hand which is on the desk. He looks up and finds a pair of chopsticks near his hand, but that wasn’t there the first time he looked-
“Aww, Kat-chan finally warms up to you!” Midoriya coos, hiding his smiling face behind his hand. Suddenly, he moves like he is hit on the back of his head. “Ouch! I’m just saying it how I see it. No need to be so violent, geez.”
“Thank you, Bakugou-kun.” Yujin can’t help but smile. He has been Midoriya’s friend for almost a year now, since that day the boy in front of him saved him from bullies. Bakugou has never really show any obvious sign of friendliness to him, not that Yujin can really see him like Midoriya can.
Yujin doesn’t really understand it that much, but from what he has gathered it seems like Bakugou Katsuki is an entity that’s tied to the green-haired boy because of his quirk. It’s not really his business, though. He likes to think that he gets along fine with both of them. There is no need for him to put his nose in a place where it doesn’t belong.
“Midoriya-kun, I’ve been thinking about what Mizu-sensei said this morning…” Yujin tries to start a conversation casually after a pause in talking between the two of them. He fails epically. “We’re already in our third year.”
“She was talking about planning our future seriously.” Midoriya stops, tilting his head a little, then grins widely. “ Yeah! Of course!” Looks like he’s talking to Bakugou out loud again.
Yujin looks down to his own hand, he has already finished his lunch. The boy sighs heavily, now is as good as ever. “I’ve always wanted to help people, y’know. But, I’m quirkless…” He grits his teeth.
“What I’m trying to say is…” Yujin takes a deep, shaky breathe and looks at his friend in the eyes. Dark brown meets bright green. It seems like the whole world holds its breathe. “Do you think that a quirkless person like me can become a hero?”
Yujin exhales, his whole body is shaking. Why did he do that? The answer is obvious. Of course there is no way that- “Of course you can.”
“What!?” Yujin cannot believe his own ears, did Midoriya really said that?
“Of course you can become a hero, Mikata-kun,” The green-haired boy says it so confidently, his green eyes show only conviction, “Anyone can-”
Midoriya stops abruptly, his eyes change color to red, his expression change to irritated. Yujin sits up straight. The boy in front of him is no longer Midoriya Izuku.
“Bakugou-kun?” Yujin feels out of his depth right now. Why did Bakugou stop Midoriya from saying that sentence?
Bakugou sighs explosively, rolling his red eyes while doing so. He hold himself very differently from Midoriya, it’s a little disturbing. “Look, it’s not that I don’t like you or anything, but I can’t let Deku just lies and gets your hope up like that. Not everyone can be a hero,” The boy states very clearly, “Stop. I’m not fucking done yet.”
Yujin takes another deep breathe, trying to hold back his tears at least until he hears what Bakugou has to say. He knows deep down he has to face reality sooner or later.
“I mean, you can try, but I don’t think you are fit for Pro-heroes’ work. You don’t really like fighting or conflicts, do you?” Yujin shakes his head. “That’s what I thought. You said you want to help people.”
“Yeah, I do.” Of course, it has always been his dream.
“Does it really matter how you do it? There are so many fucking ways to help people. You’re not that dumb. Figure out a different way to do it.” Just like that and he’s gone. The boy’s eyes change back to green. Midoriya groans loudly and rubs his head. He’s muttering under his breathe, and then he sits up really fast.
“I’m so sorry, Mikata-kun! Kat-chan was really mean to you and I couldn’t take my body back in time! I’m so sorry!” Midoriya apologize so loudly that people start to look their way. Yujin feels a bit dazed. What Bakugou said…
“It’s okay, Midoriya-kun. I think what he said is what I really need to hear.” Yujin sighs. He has a lot of thinking to do.
“Well, maybe this will make you feel better,” Midoriya straightens himself, “A hero, by definition, is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”
“Okay?” Yujin is quite confused by that statement. He has a small smile on his face anyway.
“I think Mikata-kun has a lot of noble qualities,” the green-haired boy says gently, “And I’m certain that no matter what field of works you decide to go into, you’ll definitely achieve many great things.”
“I- Thank you. Thanks a lot, both of you.” Yujin’s eyes are a little blurry again, this time with completely different reason. He’s so lucky to have such a great friend. He uses his wrist to wipe the tears away. “What about you? You want to be a hero, right?”
“Yeah!” Midoriya rubs the back of his head bashfully. “That’s why I feel so bad that Kat-chan told you that you can’t be a hero. I feel like a hypocrite.”
“Don’t worry about it. I feel so much better now. I really don’t like violence anyway. I can always try to be a hero in other ways.” It really does feel so much better now, especially after Midoriya told him that moving message. Maybe he should try to study to become a doctor, his grades are good enough. That way he can still save a lot of lives. “I think you will become a great hero one day, Midoriya-kun.”
“Mikata-kun!” Midoriya starts to become teary eyed. “Thank you for believing in me! I’ll do my best!” His voice is drawing attention to them.
“Midoriya wants to be a hero? What school are you gonna get into?” A boy with straws for hair asks laughingly, like the thought of Midoriya becoming a hero is such a funny joke. The green-haired boy is too caught up in his own emotions to notice the scorn. He answers the question earnestly.
“U.A. of course!” A brief silence follows that statement. Then chaos commences.
“What!!? U.A High School!? Are you kidding me?!”
“That national school!?”
“Get a grip, Midoriya! There’s no way you can get into U.A! What can your quirk even do?!”
Many different voices clash against each other. At this rate, the other class, maybe even the teachers, will notice this ruckus. Even with that in mind, Yujin can’t take his eyes off the boy in front of him. Red eyes, Bakugou is in control again. The green-haired boy stands up slowly, a wide craze-looking grin stretches on his face. He brings his hands together.
Boom!
With the help of his explosion, the sound is loud enough to make everyone goes silent from shock. Yujin hopes that Bakugou has enough control over his explosion that the sound doesn’t reach the teachers’ room. The explosive boy (Ha!) is still grinning, the expression looks strange on Midoriya’s face.
“You were saying?” Bakugou asks mockingly, just a look into his red eyes are enough to put fear into everyone in this room’s souls, except Yujin of course. The red-eyed boy is kind of scary sometime, but there’s no way that he will seriously harm anyone without a just reason. Even if Bakugou lose his temper, there’s still Midoriya who will take the control back before anything gets too far.
“Listen carefully, fuckers! I’m gonna get into U.A. and then I’m gonna become the best hero! Even better than All Might!” The boy declares with confidence. Yujin notices that he avoids using his or Midoriya’s name. Is it because he doesn’t like using Midoriya’s name, or it’s actually a we instead of an I?
“There’s no way you can be better than All Might!” A brave soul cries out.
Bakugou just grins. He says, “Watch me,” before he fades away again. Midoriya smiles, tilting his head seemingly innocent. “ We wouldn’t know if we don’t try, right?”
The bell signaling the end of Lunch period rings before anyone can gather their wit. The green-haired boy just collects his things to go back to his seat, a smile still on his face. Yujin mouths at him silently.
“You guys are Amazing.”
O*-2in1-*O
“Come on, kid! Is that all you got?” the man with a big scar on his face taunts the fallen boy, “At this rate you won’t be able to fight without your quirk before your entrance exam!”
The green-haired boy pushes himself up. His green eyes are sparkling despite just being thrown to the floor not even a minute ago, but the kid is strange like that. “That move was amazing! Akira-san, please teach me how to do it!” The boy bows his head. He acts really different from when his eyes are red, it’s quite shocking at times.
“What a strange kid,” The ex-delinquent speaks out loud, a small fond smile on his face. The crowd surrounding them mutters their agreement.
Before he met the kid, Akira used to commit many petty crimes. A lot of people didn’t know what to do with their life, in this society that praises the heroes for anything and everything, especially some of them that have quirks better suit for villainy. But that was a long time ago. Now, all the ex-delinquents in this area have a legal mean of income and a reliable support system. This community is a lot safer too; all just because they lost a fight against the green-haired scrawny kid with fire-like eyes named Bakugou Katsuki.
“Alright! We’re all counting on you to become a good hero, kid!”
“Yes, sir!”
O*-2in1-*O
“We’re home!” Izuku shouts cheerfully despite feeling tired to his bones. Kat-chan is still giving him pointers for improving his hand-to-hand combat skill in his own brash way. Mostly insults that criticize his shortcomings, but he’s used to that by now.
“Welcome home! I’m in the kitchen!” His mom yells back.
“Let’s go hug Auntie,” Kat-chan suggests, which Izuku immediately agrees out loud. Looks like his friend is in a rather affectionate mood, which isn’t all that strange when they are with Izuku’s mom. Kat-chan loves her as much as Izuku loves her.
Izuku takes off his shoes and makes his way toward the kitchen of this apartment that he and his mom have been living in since he was six. It’s not as big as Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru’s house, but it’s still comfortable. His mom works really hard for this place, too.
In the kitchen, Inko has already put on her apron. There are many ingredients on the counter, she hasn’t started cooking yet.
“Looks like we’re having hamburger steak,” Kat-chan concludes after staring at all the ingredients for a bit. His form is floating slightly above the floor.
“Hi, Mom.” Izuku leaves his school bag on a chair and goes straight for a hug. His mom gives the best hugs, although Kat-chan might disagrees that his own dad’s hugs are better. Not that they argue on this matter much, either way the hugs are still nice.
“Good evening, Izuku.” The green-haired woman hugs her son back whole-heartedly; even when Izuku lets Kat-chan has the control of his body. Most people are uncomfortable when they watch him switches with his friend, but his mom isn’t even fazed by it. “Hello to you too, Katsuki.”
“Hi, Auntie,” Kat-chan greets her softly. The boy is about to switch back when Inko stops him with a pat on his(their?) arm.
“Would you like to help me with dinner, Katsuki? Sometimes I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you,” Inko asks with a kind smile. Kat-chan just nods his(their?) head. He has always been more subdued in Izuku’s mom’s presence.
Izuku wants to complain so Kat-chan leaves for a bit, “No fair! You never ask me to help you cook.”
“She doesn’t want you to set the whole building on fire,” Kat-chan teases while directing Izuku to move so he can put his apron on.
“Shut up, Kat-chan! I can definitely cook without setting something on fire!” Izuku says, feeling rather offended that Kat-chan would imply that he can’t cook at all. He isn’t that bad!
Inko is shaking her head fondly; her hands are moving to start preparing dinner. “Izuku, dear, you are a disaster in the kitchen.”
“Mom!” Even his own mother! This is a betrayal!
Kat-chan is now laughing at Izuku’s expense, his whole body is shaking and he’s floating again. While hearing Kat-chan’s laughter will always be nice, Izuku is feeling rather petty. “Mom! Kat-chan is laughing at me again!” he says while pointing at Katsuki.
“Katsuki, Katsuki,” His mom plays along and scolds Kat-chan gently, “Laughing at other people is not nice nor polite, dear.”
Izuku lets Kat-chan has the control again. “Whatever,” his friend says with a small smile, still amused. After that, they start to cook together. It doesn’t take that long. Inko makes small chatters with Katsuki, like how his day was, and reminds him that he needs to call his parents before Izuku goes to sleep. When they finish Izuku takes the control back to eat dinner with his mom.
They talk to each other over the meal. Kat-chan is using what power he has left in that form to find something to do from their school bag to give Izuku and his mom some form of privacy. Kat-chan can’t really wander off too far away from him.
“I’m a little worried about Mikata-kun,” Izuku mentions to his mom.
“What about him, hmm? Did something bad happen?” Inko listens carefully to her son’s explanation.
“Now I’m worried that Kat-chan’s words were too harsh. Mikata-kun is a really interesting person, too!” Izuku glares at his friend’s head a little. The blond just ignores him.
“It’s going to be fine, dear. Mikata-kun sounds like a pretty strong boy from what you told me. If he said he’s fine then it’s probably true. If you are still worried then you can continue to support him and be his friend,” his mom advises.
“That’s true…” Izuku chews his food thoughtfully. His mom’s cooking really is the best. “Thank you, mom!”
“You’re welcome, dear.” She waits for a bit, and then decides to share what is on her mind. “I know that you have Katsuki with you, but I’m still worried. Being a hero is a dangerous work.”
“It’s going to be fine! Right now I’m training really hard to get ready for U.A.’s entrance exam. I have ten months for training to fight without relying on Kat-chan all the time. Kat-chan is training, too. Although figuring out how to divide our training time is a little tricky, I think we’re gonna be fine. There’s no need for you to worry, mom,” Izuku rambles on, frantic in his attempt to reassure his mother, until Kat-chan puts a hand on his mouth and stops him. Seeing that the green-haired boy finally stops, Katsuki goes back to whatever he was doing. (Reading their science school book apparently.)
“Won’t training with the professionals be better? May be you should go to a gym or something along those lines, I don’t really have a lot of knowledge on these matters,” Inko suggests.
Now that I think about it, going to a gym would probably be better than only sparing with everyone. I have to think about building my strength, stamina, and other things too. Then there’s matter of overworking which will set back my progress. It will probably be better if I go to gym on Saturday, relax on Sunday, and work on my combat during the week days after school hours. So I have to go talk to Uncle Masaru and Aunt-
“Stop. That’s annoying as hell,” Kat-chan grumbles as he hit the back of Izuku’s head hard enough that his forehead almost hits the table. The green-haired boy pouts as he rubs where he was hit even though it doesn’t really hurt. What did he do wrong again?
“You were mumbling your thoughts out loud again, Izuku,” His mom answers his internal question. Sometime it’s like she can read his mind (which as far as he knows only Kat-chan when he has the control can), but it’s probably because she’s used to their antics by now. Izuku mumbles his apologize and goes back to eating.
After finishing the meal and doing the dishes, Izuku takes a shower. There isn’t really anything interesting that’s worth mentioning until after Izuku and Katsuki finish their homework (It’s actually Izuku’s homework, but they work on it together like almost everything else in their lives.) and the phone call to Mitsuki and Masaru.
“Hey, Kat-chan. We will definitely become a hero together, right?” Izuku asks right before he goes to sleep.
“Of course, and we’re going to be the best! That’s a given.” His friend’s response makes Izuku chuckles. Not long after that he’s already asleep, he did train really hard today after all. But that makes Izuku misses how Katsuki frowns and grits his teeth. After a while Katsuki sighs, his face is without any strong emotions, he picks out a random book to read by using the street lights from outside the window.
He has a lot of time to kill before the sun will rise after all.
TBC.