Work Text:
[1939]
One foot in front of the other, that’s all there was to it. And yet Eijirou could not help but keep his face scrunched up in his efforts, boy against nature in the most ferocious way possible. If he turned to look behind him, his neighborhood already seemed so far away. The familiar path leading home had since been swallowed up by trees and there was nowhere to go but up.
Eijirou gathered himself together with a huff. The sun shone down bright in its infinite encouragement and it gave him the strength to keep on going, higher and higher, until maybe he could touch the sky itself. Revitalized, he continued on through the morning and then the afternoon, stopping once for lunch and maybe that had been the culprit. Maybe that little break had got him feeling too comfortable. He didn’t know when it had changed but the tree coverage felt denser around him now, a heavy canopy blocking light. The cries of crickets faded into nothing and there was only a thin breeze through the leaves, rustling the occasional branch.
He turned one way, and then the other. “Hello?!” Eijirou called out into the forest. “Someone there? Anyone?”
Hot tears had begun to fall from his eyes and he wiped them away with the back of his hand, very aware of his new sniffling nose and shaking shoulders. He took a few steps forward and nothing seemed to change.
“Anyone?” He repeated himself, his small voice cracking partway through. “Please!”
He began to run down a slope, barreling through the path until his short legs were moving too fast. He didn’t realize it until it was too late and he was already tripping over a stray tree root and his own two feet. Despite the soft-looking dirt path, the ground felt a lot harder when he hit it face first.
And then he really did start crying in a full-body sobbing affair.. He couldn’t help himself. With his bruised and dirt covered face buried in his shaking hands, he could not find the strength to get back up. At least for now. It felt so much better to stay down and to accept that he might very well be trapped in these woods forever -
“Hey, are you okay?”
Eijirou jerked his head up to the voice, wiped the wetness from his face. He pasted a big smile onto his face, to the green haired boy bounding towards him. “Of course I’m okay!”
He had never seen this kid before but that didn’t matter right now. Eijirou imagined that the distance was quickly closing between them, his despair gone in a flash and replaced by this new friend radiating warmth.
“I’m Izuku,” said the boy, holding out his grimy hand. It felt warm when Eijirou took it and let himself be pulled up, back onto his two feet. He seemed to be a little taller than Izuku but not by much. “Are you - from the village?”
Eijirou nodded. His tears were starting up again, definitely not on purpose and he could feel his cheeks burning hot. He wiped at his face and tried to avoid Izuku’s gaze. “We just moved here last week,” he said. “Me and my mom and dad. And I was trying to explore - but I got lost - “
He gulped hard and put his smile back on. He could feel it wobbling at the edges, his vision gone watery. But in the next moment, he could feel warm arms around him, small but firm and holding on tight. Eijirou could feel his heartbeat speeding up and he couldn’t quite pin down why.
“You’re okay,” said Izuku, and it felt so genuine. “C’mon, I can help you get back.”
He let go of Eijirou’s hand, turned around and led the way. It had cooled down a little, the heat of the day not so strong anymore. The sun sank lower and lower into the sky as they continued along the path, downhill; Eijirou following close behind Izuku, taking care to avoid rocks and shiny beetles, who scurried along and vanished into shadows.
“Thank you,” Eijirou said a moment later, once he had fully gathered his thoughts. “I was so lost - I thought I was a goner!”
“You don’t have to worry anymore,” Izuku said amicably. “You’re alright now!”
For such a small kid, he had so much enthusiasm. He practically bounced down the path and his words jaunted along with him.
“I’m so glad I could help you,” he continued talking, his voice fitting so well with the trees and light breeze around them. Above them Eijirou could hear planes, could see them flying low above the treetops, closer enough than ever before. Izuku didn’t seem to notice them. He chattered on with that big smile of his. “I’m so happy that you’re not lost anymore!”
“Me too,” said Eijirou, “It was - a little scary.”
He said this last part a little more quietly, his voice fading when he could finally see the light at the end of the path, glowing sunlight radiating before his eyes. Without realizing it, he broke out into a run, his heart pounding even more when the woods gave way to a great big blue dome of a sky and the village in the valley below, looking just like when he had left that morning. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He turned back to Izuku. “Thank you for everything!”
Izuku nodded, beaming still. “Don’t worry about it!” He began to walk away and it seemed that they were headed in opposite directions, in order to make it back to home and parents and a hot dinner waiting - but before they were too far away from each other, Eijirou could see Izuku cupping his hands around his mouth, forming a megaphone - “Just let me know if you want to play together!”
“I will!” Eijirou shouted back, waving with broad strokes. Like painting the sunset and the scene before him, watching Izuku leave - but just for now. Because the next day, and the day after that, and for all the summer days filled with sunshine and warm air, Eijirou always found Izuku in the streets of their little village - petting the baker’s cat, chatting with the butcher, sitting on the beach and watching the tide come in. It never took long for them to meet each other in this unspoken agreement and Izuku always lit up with his entire body when he saw Eijirou coming. His mood was downright contagious each and every day.
And when the last dregs of summer passed them by, evenings taking on a bite of cool air and the leaves changing color - the ocean water quickly becoming too cold for swimming - Eijirou and Izuku were sitting on some of the elementary school’s playground equipment, catching their breath. Night was quickly approaching over the eastern horizon and stars had already begun to twinkle in the sky.
“My dad,” said Izuku, “is leaving soon.”
He said it so matter of factly, it took Eijirou a moment to take in. “Wait, you mean - leaving forever?“
“My mom said he’s getting deployed,” Izuku explained, his voice already beginning to shake. In that moment he looked so small, so vulnerable, his whole world crashing down and him beginning to realize it more and more. “She said he’s fighting for Japan - he’s defending us all. But I want - I want him here, I want him with me - “
It felt natural to Eijirou when he leaned over and hugged Izuku tight, breathing in time with him and the sun passing over their heads. He didn’t know when he let go but he was only aware that Izuku was waving goodbye, stepping into his house with his mother waving too - and then Eijirou was on the way home, sky darkening above him and sirens wailing from far away.
He could not find Izuku anywhere the next day. And summer had long passed by the time Eijirou realized he wasn’t going to find Izuku again, not at the beach, or the town square, or the entrance to the wooded trail. The newspapers and radio blared on about war - something that Eijirou didn’t think he quite understood until the day his father was reading the paper out loud - speaking with a new terrifying edge in his voice. He went to bed that night with the sound of airplanes outside his window, far away explosions echoing over the hills, getting louder and possibly not so far anymore.
Eijirou fell asleep anyways, despite the noise. He kept his eyes shut so he could not see the first bombs falling, slipping into dreams even as the house shook. Maybe he had been having a particularly nice dream but it became irrelevant in a flash - blinding white for one long moment, and then nothing more. And so his memories of Izuku vanished along with everything else - slipping into the wind, gone but only for now.
[2001]
The neon lights of the city melted into a blur when Red Riot kicked his bike into gear and sped off on shiny chrome and asphalt, his bros close behind. They sped through the streets, navigating the urban canyon and never getting lost. Someone might have shouted but it was impossible to understand. Red Riot laughed because of it all, revved his engine at the stoplight, grinning big - even as he and his bros raised hell through the night, burning rubber and skidding to a halt at their favorite convenience store, parking their bikes in one mass. A couple of them went into the store, and a few stood guard. Red Riot found himself wandering off on his own, brain on autopilot.
“Hey, Kiri - “ Suneater called out to him, his voice shaking - “You alright?”
His voice already sounded so far away and Red Riot turned back for a moment - smiling, waving away Suneater, his gaze lingering long enough to catch his reaction and then he had turned away and continued walking. There was something about tonight that made him want to explore a little.
Right now the streets seemed as normal as ever - cars passing by in a steady stream of lights, the low roar a form of white noise that Red Riot had long grown accustomed to. He knew this street and he passed by the storefronts without a second thought - the laundromat, the butcher, a jewelry shop, all boarded up with metal fences at this time of night. Their dark and hollow centers were illuminated by stray moonlight but more often the fluorescent streetlights that never seemed to glow quite right. There was a library branch on the corner and Red Riot didn’t pay much attention to it - he wouldn’t have thought for another moment about it if it weren’t for the kid that collided right into him as he turned the corner, bodies smacking against each other with one loud thud.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” the kid wailed. He seemed to have dropped his books and now he was on his knees, right in front of Red Riot, picking up his things and trying to get them back in order. But his shaky flustered hands kept making mistakes and he might have fallen apart for good at this rate, with the blond man beside him - a friend, possibly? But it seemed unlikely.
“Oi, Deku,” said the blond, “Hurry up.”
“Just a sec, Kacchan - “
He gasped a little when Red Riot reached out, acting without thinking - putting his hand on the kid’s shoulder with enough impact to make him jolt - and yet Red Riot hadn’t meant to scare him, he had only wanted to comfort him, honestly. Maybe his new smile could make up for it. And it did already seem to be working.
“Don’t worry!” he said, meeting Deku’s gaze - actually he wasn’t a kid at all, probably close to Red Riot’s age - he had just given off a very youthful impression. He was small for his age, probably - Red Riot couldn’t tell for sure. But despite that he smiled broadly and helped him with his books, gathering them up and giving them back one by one. “There we go, you feel better?”
Deku nodded, taking in the sight of Red Riot - his ripped sleeves, decked from head to toe in leather and studs - radiating confidence from every part of his being. Was he - was he trembling just now? He made as if to run away, to follow Kacchan. But Red Riot grabbed onto his arm before he was even fully aware of it, acting without thinking.
“Wait a sec - you’re not in a hurry, are you?”
Deku glanced over at Kacchan, who had stopped up at the intersection. He was looking back at them and shifting in place, his scowl visible even from far away.
“I don’t - I have time,” Deku said quickly, and then he coughed a little, raising his voice when he called out to the blond. “Kacchan, you can go without me!”
Kacchan seemed to be considering this for a moment. But he finally shrugged, crossing the street when the walk signal turned on - his voice fading into the night along with him. “Suit yourself, Deku.”
Red Riot laughed a little to himself. “That’s an interesting name. Deku.”
“Oh, um, about that…” said Deku, cheeks blushing red in the dark. “It’s kinda like a nickname.”
Red Riot nodded. He couldn’t think of what to say and frankly, he had no idea what he was doing when he led them down the street, walking by a complete stranger. He had never seen Deku before in his life - or had he? Somehow he found himself second guessing his actions and he didn’t know why. With his bike and his bros he was so confident, and even without them too. And yet he found himself uncharacteristically silent when he didn’t expect it - when he would normally be so chatty and eager to talk. His heart was pounding something fierce in his chest and it couldn’t calm down so easily.
But as they continued down the block, Deku began to talk - quietly at first, almost like he was mumbling. Red Riot had to strain a little in order to hear - but not for too long. Because as they walked through the streets of Tokyo, the city glowing all around them - Midoriya got louder and louder - sharing his story and answering the questions Red Riot asked him, one after another. In this way Red Riot found out that Midoriya was a student, who happened to be burning the midnight oil tonight, at the library - just before he had run into Red Riot and irreversibly changed the course of the night. But he didn’t mind at all - definitely not - please don’t make that face - wait, what was your name again?
“Red Riot,” Deku repeated to himself, after hearing it for the first time. “That’s - that’s incredible.”
He smiled openly now, his face lit up under the street lights, casting shadows on the planes of his cheekbones. It was enough to make Red Riot weak all over again, to realize that nothing else mattered but this night - but maybe he was forgetting something else too -
“OH NO!” he cried out suddenly. “SUNEATER!”
He grabbed onto Deku’s wrist without warning and began to run. How long had they been walking and talking for?! Red Riot had no clue, the time had just flown by and the city offered no clues - not on a Friday night like tonight, the streets as alive as ever and the dark sky an impossible black.
“Suneater?!” Midoriya said, halfway between a statement and a question. “Who’s Suneater?”
“No time to explain!” Red Riot hollered, and pulled Deku along, shamelessly jaywalking and forcing Deku along. He couldn’t find the air to breathe until they made it back to the convenience store, a 24/7 joint still lit up on the inside - but with two bikes parked out front, and one person sitting up against them. He looked like he was about to fall asleep, but when he caught sight of Red Riot, he managed to rouse himself, standing up and tilting his head at Deku.
“SUNEATER!” Red Riot cried, and fell to the ground on his hands and knees. “HOW CAN I EVER REPAY YOU?!”
There were real tears on his face and Suneater squatted down, patted him on the head. “Don’t worry about it, but - you were gone a while - “ His gaze darted back over to Deku, and then to Red Riot. Something seemed to halfway click in his brain, but before he could contemplate it over with the hard evidence in front of him, Red Riot had already gotten back on his bike, revving the engine. Somehow Suneater managed to find his voice again. “Are you okay? Is everything - is it okay?”
“Everything’s perfect,” said Red Riot, smiling again. He patted the seat behind him, making a pointed gaze at Deku. As he clambered onto the bike, gingerly wrapping his arms around Red Riot’s torso - the final pieces seemed to fall into place in Suneater’s mind. He blushed a deep red and almost immediately buried his face in his hands - hurrying to get back on his bike, revving the engine, getting the message loud and clear.
“I’m gonna find Mirio and the others,” he called out over the new mechanical roar, “I’ll see you later.”
“See you!” Red Riot yelled, and from there, the world became a blur. Trembling all around and under them, flying over pebbled asphalt beneath the tires and the occasional pothole. The engine between their legs hot and blaring and burning rubber whenever Red Riot skidded to a stop - which gradually became less and less often. They seemed to be leaving the city, skyscrapers petering out to shorter buildings, and then residential areas. From far away Deku could see the horizon touching the ocean, the first light of sunrise peeking over the water’s edge, turning it pink. He squeezed on tighter to Red Riot who did not seem to react - he hadn’t said anything in a while, it was almost impossible with the noise of the bike’s engine.
He slowed down a little when the road got narrower, twisting along in hairpin turns. He didn’t turn his head back but he spoke to Deku all the same, the vibrations of his voice echoing through their touching bodies. “How you feeling?”
“I’m alright,” said Deku, half yelling because it was necessary. He didn’t know what else to say. He had no words for that first brilliant ray of sunlight breaking the dawn, filling the world with new light. They were far from the city now and it was nearly silent around them, with the white noise of the wind and chirping birds filling the space. The beach far below them sparkled in its sands and the water that went on endlessly. He seemed to have zoned out all at once and it felt mesmerizing to Red Riot to watch him. Neither of them were saying a word but it felt right that way.
Red Riot could suddenly feel his hand being squeezed and when he looked back at Deku, his cheeks had gone pink. He might have been trying to avoid Red Riot’s gaze but he was failing miserably.
“You know, this is incredible,” he finally said. “Even though we’ve only just met today - and I went on a joyride with you - ”
He stopped talking, smiled a little, tilted his head to the side.
“But I feel like I know you from somewhere,” Deku added, “I just can’t remember exactly.”
His face scrunched up while he was lost in thought, his big eyes still looking straight ahead at the ocean before them. Red Riot shrugged even though he couldn’t be sure if Deku happened to be looking at him or not, or maybe just out of the corner of his eye - being sneaky out of bashfulness.
“You think so?” Red Riot said quietly, thinking out loud too. Within the last year he had already made so many new memories - the city electric at night, the smell of gasoline, laughing with his friends. Crying with them too. But when he was alone during the day and would pass by a park, or an alleyway - catching a glimpse of stray sunbeams and a path leading to anywhere - his heart would pang and he would never know quite why.
They rode back to the city in relative silence, neither saying a word. The sun rose higher and higher in the sky and eventually Deku began to give Red Riot directions - turn right, straight for a while, turn left, turn right. They made it to a suburb with tree lined streets, families walking around and the light hum of traffic all around them, gradually becoming louder as the morning went on.
“Up ahead’s fine,” Deku murmured. “Just the apartments in one block.”
Red Riot found himself braking, pulling off to the side - the weight of Deku’s arms gone from around his torso and Deku himself walking away - turning backwards with his lingering gaze. Like he might not have wanted to go.
“I had a good time,” he said, his voice shaking - covering his mouth in such a bashful way - but before Red Riot could do anything, say anything, Deku had already run away, out of sight. Out of reach from Red Riot’s grasping hand extending out to empty air.
That night, he dreamed strange things while he tossed and turned - scene after scene, curtains drawn after each act and opening up to something brand new each time. It threw him for a loop. But he found himself getting drawn into each new story, watching from high above as two people moved through each part of the dream. The world kept changing around them but there really wasn’t much of a difference between each scene. Red Riot could always see these two side by side - always together no matter the setting. They shivered through the cold and sweated out the summer, taking long walks through the city and the mountains and the countryside, heads bowed and talking in low voices - laughing at unexpected moments and making Red Riot jolt in place.
He couldn’t say he minded, not at all. For in the way that dreams move and shift, he found himself almost a part of their story too, even as an observer. But not fully, not ever. Just one step behind them and he could never quite catch up.
But he would chase this forever, wouldn’t he? He couldn’t imagine otherwise, even in the small space of this one dream, this short night quickly changing to dawn. Behind his closed eyelids he could sense the beginnings of light and yet he was not quite ready to wake up. Not if it meant leaving behind the motion picture playing before him and he so desperately wanted to know how the story ended. Just a little more to go to reach out and take Deku by the hand - walking together into the haze of dreams that his living corpse could not enter, moving fast and faster into the breathing world, leaving his dreams behind until tomorrow night and all the nights afterwards - all the times he would pass by Deku’s apartment in the coming weeks that turned to months, passing the corner where they first met - coming up short every time and yet he could always rely on closing his eyes each night to see a similar dream play over and over again, a little different each time but not by much. Bringing a smile to his face only tainted a little by what he could not have in this moment, what he could not have for now.
[2200]
Kirishima woke up with light streaming through the window and right into his squinting eyes. He vaguely remembered not getting enough sleep last enough and he would have been more groggy if it weren’t for his freshly pressed uniform on its hanger - only worn once before, just to try it on - but today was the big day, his first day at U.A. and the beginning of something great.
He did everything with more enthusiasm this morning - eating his breakfast with big chomping bites, putting on his uniform in such a manly way, brushing his teeth with gusto. The day greeted him with shameless sunshine and he couldn’t help but smile at everyone he saw - the mailman with a stack of letters and magazines in his hands, the mom with her baby in a sling - the kindergarteners on the train beside him, giggling while the city became a blur outside the windows and the sun rose higher in the morning sky.
And while the train slowed down at the next station, then picked up speed again, Kirishima could not stop his beating heart from pounding straight through his chest. He must have been anticipating something but he could not be sure exactly what. For the next 20 minutes he could not hold onto one pure thought but maybe that was okay too, getting off the train and walking the two blocks to U.A. The building rose tall and proud behind the fence and Kirishima forced himself to slow his breathing - in and out, out and in, gathering himself bit by bit when he walked through the open gates, passing by his future classmates - they too were staring up in potential awe at their new school and he couldn’t help but empathize.
He had not been looking where he was going and so he bumped into someone - almost knocking them over. Both of them stumbled a little, almost hitting the ground, but picking themselves up just in time.
“I’m sorry!” exclaimed Kirishima. “Are you okay?!”
He held out his hand to help him up - the boy his age, with dark green hair and big eyes, meeting Kirishima’s gaze for an unexpected moment. For a second, neither of them could breathe. Words seemed to be forming in Kirishima’s throat but he couldn’t turn them into sound, no matter how hard he tried - straining so hard until he finally found his voice -
“Have - have we met before?”
The boy cocked his head to the side. “I don’t remember - maybe? You look kinda familiar…” he said, his voice trailing off, until he suddenly looked very alarmed, out of nowhere. “I’m sorry, that sounds weird, doesn’t it - “ he added on, until a giant coughing fit attacked him out of nowhere, one full minute of hacking throat noises that ought to have made Kirishima run for the hills. Yet it was somehow endearing.
“It’s not weird at all!” said Kirishima, and extended his hand. “I’m Kirishima.”
“I - I’m Midoriya.”
When they shook on it - that touch of skin against skin and their interlocking hands - Kirishima could swear he felt a jolt in his heart, a sudden flashback to an era he had not been alive for - all the generations before him standing here in the present day. Like some primal sensation he could not fully know either, but maybe he could try to get to understand it a little - him and Midoriya both.
He glanced at Midoriya and there was that flash of recognition too - glimmering in his green eyes and something that didn’t need to be said. If Kirishima tried hard enough he imagined that he could remember something, fuzzy and vague at first but becoming clearer soon enough - the contrasting images of sunny summer days and a city at night, melting together with Midoriya and the world around them, both of them moving forward in time the only way they knew how.
“Nice to meet you,” said Kirishima, and when Midoriya smiled back it was warm like sunlight that would surely endure forever, no matter what.