Chapter Text
Chapter 1 | Undisputed Ultimatum
"Sometimes, taking a break allows you to be at your best."
The press must be having a field day after that incident. Why wouldn’t they? They just got word that the current number one hero is admitted to one of the most prestigious hospitals near the wreck site. If that was not headline-worthy, then what was?
Hands loosened the grip on the wheels after minutes of driving when the car was finally parked. The driver took the keys from the ignition and her white coat from the passenger seat before exiting and closing the car door with a loud wham. She hurriedly put the coat on as she ran towards the hospital hoping to avoid the mass media swarming the entrance.
But it seemed that she was too late despite almost breaking the speed limit as she drove to the hospital. Reporters and cameramen were already stationed at the entrance waiting for an official statement from the hero. She clicked her tongue in disapproval, irritated that she had to go through them before she finished her agenda for that day.
Natsume Hirizawa was supposed to be lounging in her home sleeping the day away after being on duty for the last 36 hours leading several surgeries. At this point, she was beyond pissed that the last person she was hoping to see ended up being the person who ruined her day off.
She was a known surgeon in her field backed by numerous achievements at a young age and brought under the tutelage of Pro Hero Recovery Girl, Shuzenji Chiyo. With her quirk, Vital Check, it allowed her to see what’s disrupting the body’s homeostasis thus narrowing the patient’s condition. It wasn’t a surprise that she was Ground Zero’s personal doctor.
The explosive pro hero wasn’t necessarily her patient. God forbid if he really was. But from the looks of it, he already was her patient. They had known each other since he was in UA during his second year when she was introduced as an intern under Recovery Girl. No other doctors could match the blond’s temper that they ended up surrendering to his intimidation whenever he was injured and demanded to be released without any treatment. Natsume had to step up and took him in as her patient right before he started his agency.
She didn’t wish to see a friend destroy himself so needlessly just so he could stay at the top.
The female surgeon took long confident strides towards the entrance bearing in mind that her appearance and behavior could affect the news regarding her patient. As much as she was vexed about her ruined day off, she was still professional enough to remember the effect of the mass media on her patient’s ratings. She didn’t want to deal with any of them anyway.
When she saw the reporters coming her way, she put up a mask, her face void of any emotion. They wasted no time and immediately crowded her space fishing for any kind of information they could get.
“Dr. Hirizawa. Is it true that Ground Zero was severely injured in this mission?”
“Will he be able to resume his work?”
“What is Ground Zero’s current condition right now?”
“How did…”
Vultures. That’s what they are.
Natsume thought as they hounded her with questions as they shoved the microphones and cameras on her face when she, herself, had not even seen the hero’s condition with her own eyes. Though she had an inkling as to what happened, her mouth remained shut following through the doctor-patient confidentiality. She brushed them off like always determined to go inside with a single goal in mind - sneer at her patient after he neglected all of her warnings. That would teach him a lesson.
She flashed her ID at the guards standing by the entrance as she eyed the mass media tailing her. They immediately got her message and blocked them preventing them from entering the hospital.
Denki cautiously approached the window slightly opening the blinds with his fingers to peer at the reporters down below. He sighed when he saw that the crowd was only getting thicker as time passed by. At this rate, they doubt that they would be able to go back to their agency without any altercations. He eyed his friend who sat up on the bed glaring at the wall with all his might at his predicament.
Katsuki hated being here, confined like an exotic animal for everyone to poke and prod at. The familiar smell of antiseptic and the white walls made him scowl feeling like he was going to be trapped here for eternity when he had better things to do. The closed blinds on the windows didn’t do anything to alleviate the tension despite his desire to open it. He left it closed knowing that some of the media would gladly snap some pictures of him sitting down on a hospital bed and create their own version of the news that was far from the truth.
He grabbed the cup of water from the nightstand to cool himself and relieve the dry sensation in his throat. Being here much longer just to wait for his doctor irked him so much so that he ended up crushing the empty paper cup in his grasp.
“Fuck!” That crumpled paper cup hit the wall with a soft thud. Just as another object was about to be thrown around, someone swiped the pudding underneath his touch.
“I’ll uh eat this. Their puddings are the best.”
Denki opened the pudding and took a scoop of it in his mouth ignoring his friend’s irritation that he grew immune to. The blond didn’t hesitate to flip the cup of pudding so that it would land on the floor.
“Hey! I was about to eat that.” The male whined, wiping off the syrup that managed to get on his face with the tissue on top of the nightstand.
“Serves you right, fucker. What are you even doing here?” Katsuki gruffed, folding his arms across his chest eyeing his employee with a scowl.
Chargebolt entered the scene late though he was present in the rescue tasked to power up the backup generators to make the rescue easier for the heroes present on the site. He had also been present when Katsuki’s arms started acting up and they were forced to sedate him to keep him from going back inside the collapsed building to rescue more people. The male pro hero should be back at the agency filing the report but he was here instead.
Denki sheepishly scratched the back of his head avoiding eye contact with their boss staring at the ground as he shuffled his feet. “Uh, Ei told me to keep you from killing the doc.”
“He what?!”
That’s it. Katsuki had enough. He was going to leave with or without his doctor’s orders. It wasn’t like this was the first time he had ignored her words. He stood up removing the IV on the back of his hand and shoved Denki out of his way who was trying to stop him. He trudged towards the door but just as he was about to open it, the door opened on its own. On the other side was the very doctor he was waiting for.
Clad in her white coat and a stethoscope hanging on her neck, Natsume crossed her arms at her patient who was searing with anger. She raised one of her brows finding that he was about to leave the hospital without being properly discharged. Again.
She always found his impatience annoying to the point that she wanted to keep him further admitted without any means just to make sure that the feelings of vexation were very mutual.
“Mr. Bakugo. I believe that you are paying me to get the better. So why don’t you put your ass back on the bed and let me do my job?” She said tilting her head up to meet his smoldering eyes. From the inside, she could discern Denki closing his mouth with his hand fighting to keep his laughter in.
“You’re gonna discharge me anyway. What’s the fucking difference?”
The female doctor sighed, uncrossing her arms, and raised her right finger to flick the blond's forehead. “You can’t leave this time.”
Katsuki glared and fired up his quirk to intimidate her but to no avail, he ended up wincing at the sharp pain that flared in his arms. He tried activating his quirk again meeting the same result.
“What the fuck?!”
“I was afraid that would happen.” The doctor eyed her patient who was incredulously looking at his arms trying to use his quirk without feeling any pain. She entered the room and turned her head toward the other pro hero. “Mr. Kaminari, do you mind if you leave for a while? I need to talk to this idiot over here.”
Denki chortled, patting his friend’s back which Katsuki immediately removed and twisted it putting it on his back. He winced, taking his arm back and shook it to relieve the pain.
“Take care of him doc.” He said glancing at his boss who was glaring at the doctor.
“Oh, I am. It’s not my fault he refuses to take care of himself.” He laughed when he saw her eyes rolled at her own statement. He gave a mock salute before finally leaving the room to get some food at the cafeteria hoping to get some pudding.
The doctor closed the door taking her patient’s arm, clutching it tightly to bring back the pain the blond felt when he activated his quirk. She made him sit on the bed as she stood near it crossing her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m not letting you leave until you hear what I have to say.” She said with a tone of finality adamant to get her point across to her patient who probably didn’t give a single damn about her words. Katsuki continued glared in retaliation like a petty child who didn’t get what they wanted from their parents.
“Katsuki. I’m serious here. You felt the pain in your arms earlier at the rescue site, right. That was no different from the pain when you tried to use your quirk on me. Face it. You need to take a break!”
The explosive male stood towering over her to use his height to his advantage in his intimidation. He mirrored her actions and growled, “I heard you the first time, Natsume. And I made myself clear. I’m not taking a break. I became number 1 for two whole years. I’m not going to fucking change that.”
The staring contest went on neither backing down as they glared at each other using their eyes to convey their points towards the other party. They both stood their ground staying true to their decisions.
“Fine then. You can leave,” said Natsume then added, “You leave me no choice. I’m declaring you unfit for duty. Until then, you can thank me for saving your career and your life.”
The clock ticked with every passing second Katsuki spent on waiting for a phone call from his doctor as he sat on the edge of his bed. Three days flew by and he was sick of staying at home when he could be kicking villains' asses left and right to secure his spot as the number one hero.
As if he would let IcyHot steal what was his in the first place.
He glared at the phone, opening and closing his hand in anticipation. When he thought about wasting another day just idly sitting, his patience reached its limit. He reached for the phone and dialed the number he wished he didn’t know by heart.
“I was wondering when you were gonna call,” Natsume greeted with a grin on her face which the blond can’t see.
“You fucker. You better clear me right now or else I’ll-”
“Katsuki, you of all people know why I can’t. I already told you this.”
“Of course you can. My arms feel fucking fine already.” Katsuki huffed glaring at the wall.
“I know you understand how grave your condition is if you continue without therapy.” He heard her sigh. “I just don’t understand why you keep on pushing me to clear you for duty.”
Katsuki snorted rolling his eyes. “Then fucking heal it with a quirk or something. Aren’t you the doctor?!”
“As I told you yesterday, healing it with a quirk is a temporary solution. Your arm’s mobility will continue deteriorating if you keep this up. If we did heal it, then what’s next? You’ll keep that relentless streak of your villain fighting. You’ll end up overexerting yourself again. Katsuki, I don’t think I’ll be able to treat your arms next time. That’s already a lot coming from me. Will you listen to me just this once? If not as your doctor, then as your friend?”
The blond heard the soft plea evident in her tone that cleared the haze of anger clouding his mind. Katsuki knew what he was getting himself into when he dreamt of being a hero. And even now, he had no regrets. He would keep on winning and winning because that was just who he is. Nobody could take it away from him.
But if Natsume’s words were true, then the person that would take that away would be himself. That was because he was foolish and haughty that he denied himself treatment.
Ever since Natsume told him his arms’ condition was, Katsuki brushed it off thinking that it was just something he needed to push through - something that could be fixed if he trained his body enough. It seemed that it only resulted in what he was avoiding. He was in denial of how severe his condition was. Hearing from Natsume - the very same doctor who prided herself with her accomplishments - that she wasn’t sure if she could treat him, it was enough to finally cease his feelings of denial.
The blond heaved a sigh balancing his right ankle on his left knee. “Then what do you fucking suggest?”
The question surprised Natsume but she didn’t dare to tease him about it fearing that he would take it back. She inwardly smiled at the phone and answered his question.
“I’ll give you the number of the best doctor I know from overseas. Luckily, he’s staying in Japan right now. He’s highly certified... degree and everything. And most importantly, he can handle an asshole like you,” she remarked with a chuckle.
“Oi, I’m fucking paying you, remember,” Katsuki scoffed.
Natsume retorted with a smirk, “And I’m treating you so that you can keep on paying me.”
“Fuck you,” He spat then asked, “What’s his na-” The ringing end of the line cut off his question. “Fucking bastard ending the call like that.”
It wasn’t until an hour ago that Katsuki received a text from her regarding his therapist.
“I already called him and he agreed. He’ll be there by Monday morning so I suggest you clear out your workout room. You can do the therapy there if you don’t want “extras” buzzing around.”
It was a Monday morning - a day Katsuki loathed with all his heart remembering the villain attacks during the rush hour. It was one of the busiest times of the day filled with the bustling crowd’s chatter, the morning commute, and villains ready to make a mess just because they spent their weekends planning for their witless crimes. Maybe he was slightly grateful that Natsume gave him the time off.
He heeded his doctor’s orders and arranged his workout room. He made sure that there was plenty of space so that they wouldn’t have to move anywhere else. Just like Natsume said, he didn’t want to be gawked at during his therapy. He didn’t want to show that he was weak. The press already did most of that. They were too much of a headache when he declared that he was going to take some time off from hero work to focus on his recovery posting endless and useless headlines about his absence.
When he heard a knock, he was on autopilot and opened it knowing it was just the therapist his doctor recommended. He never thought that it would turn out to be his childhood friend whom he hadn’t seen since middle school.
Katsuki knew he wasn’t mistaken. Even if those memories were blurred by the time, he was sure that it was his childhood friend. Those unmistakable forest green of curly unkempt hair, emerald doe eyes glimmering with curiosity, and prominent freckles powdering both of his cheeks across his nose.
“Kacchan.”
And that childhood nickname no one would dare to utter in his presence. Katsuki remained a head taller than him but comparing the past Deku to the future Deku, he wouldn't believe himself that it was truly him if it weren’t for those facts he mentioned.
Ground Zero had faced countless dangerous villains and not once did he falter. Yet, seeing the man before him from his childhood calling him by a nickname he hadn't heard for so long made Katsuki stagger.
Who would have thought that the twink, Midoriya Izuku, Deku, would grow up to look so fucking built like that.
He was taken out of his thoughts when he noticed that Izuku was muttering. Just like before.
“Kacchan? Or is it Ground Zero? Mr. Ground Zero? Mr. Zero? Mr. Bakugou? Mr. Katsuki?” Izuku realized that he was about to mutter that he put his hands on his mouth to stop himself. He sheepishly smiled at the blond slightly lowering his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous and excited to meet you after so long. I didn’t think that I would meet Kacchan again like this.”
Nothing really did change. He was still Deku who gawked and geeked about heroes.
“Whatever’s fine. Now are you going in or do I have to kick your ass in?”
Izuku beamed at him when he trudged in almost blinding Katsuki at the sudden smile.
"Then, I'll call you Kacchan."
Fuck!
Katsuki may need that therapy but he wasn't going to need it for his arms.