Work Text:
The day he took a swan dive off the roof All Might left him on, he thought he was done for. The backpack and shoes left beside the railings and the large blood stain on the sidewalk were enough evidence for the police to pronounce him dead, claiming that if the impact hadn't killed him, surely the blood loss had. No amount of investigating, however, helped pinpoint where exactly his body went.
When he woke up in a dark space surrounded by strange, green fluids, he felt devastated. Not even death wants someone like me.
That thought was quickly interrupted the moment he saw the familiar face of the doctor who'd diagnosed him as quirkless. The confusion and panic must have been evident on his face, since the doctor immediately started explaining, "Truly, I had been planning on using your body as a vessel for my newest noumu, since quirkless bodies aren't accustomed to quirks and adapt to new ones easier than those with pre-existing ones, but he pities you enough to give you a second chance at life."
"He", as it turned out, was a terrifyingly tall man with tubes attached to what looked like life-support on his head, whose name was "All For One". When the green-haired child was offered a position within the League of Villains, his blood had run cold. Why would someone who's only ever dreamed of becoming a hero suddenly turn to villainy?
—
Apparently, spending some time with said organisation was enough to drill their mindset and ideology in his brain. With Shigaraki constantly cursing hero society, or All For One's pitying promises, his mind was made up soon and whatever was left of his admiration towards the people in his life turned to anger.
At his mother, for always treating him like glass.
At his father, for leaving him the moment he was diagnosed.
At his teachers, for ignoring the bullying he endured.
At All Might, for not even giving him a chance.
But most of all, at Kacchan, for treating him like garbage for most of his life and rejecting Deku's friendship.
All because he was quirkless.
- which is why it came as no surprise when Izuku accepted All For One's offer of getting a quirk as soon as the words fell from his mouth. "A simple physique enhancing quirk to help you train faster. If you manage to keep up, I might even give you something more thrilling."
—
The moment he was deemed healthy enough to be let out of the capsule he was previously stuck in, he was hit by a sense of curiosity and decided to see what had happened when he "died". He was escorted to a bar, which seemed to be their current hideout, and was glad to find a working television. A certain part of him had hoped that maybe society would actually change its ways and try to help quirkless people, but he really wasn't surprised when he saw how little coverage his death had gotten. While some news reporters did express sympathy, majority simply reprimanded him for being "stupid" and spit the words "there wasn't any hope for him in this life, either way", which had infuriated him beyond belief.
If someone with a powerful quirk or great influence died, no matter how badly they've behaved, there would still be more people sympathising with them.
If someone like Kacchan had died, they'd actually feel regretful.
He found out how right he'd been when he saw the other news being reported alongside his suicide:
"Aldera Junior High student badly injured after villain attack"
The footage of the incident showed Katsuki aimlessly shooting explosions and hindering heroes from helping him, as well as hurting nearby civilians after getting captured by the same sludge villain that had gone after Izuku. When the heroes had actually decided to move, he'd already been unconscious.
Instead of criticising the heroes' incompetence and hesitation, the explosive boy had been praised for staying strong all throughout the fight and, unfortunately, for his incredibly flashy quirk. Heroes in interviews even had the courage to talk about offering him an internship if he ever decided to become a hero.
It spiked an even more intense feeling of spite within him.
What if Kacchan had actually died?
Just like that, Izuku started to plan how to take down his dearest friend in the most noteworthy way possible. At first, he thought waiting until his old bully actually became a Pro Hero and publicly executing him would be a good way to deal with him, but he wasn't patient enough and decided the day he'd get accepted into a hero school would do. I doubt he ever got a black mark on his records for suicide baiting me.
The first 9 months he wasn't allowed to leave the hideout, in case he ever decided to ditch the villains. So, he spent that time training his strength, agility and combat with Kurogiri, a noumu he was introduced to about 2 months after Izuku was found. It took a lot of convincing, but after he explained his plans of revenge to his "Sensei", he was allowed to leave. He was also given a traceable phone to contact Kurogiri, should he ever need to get away from someone.
—
With only one more month left before UA's entrance exams, he let himself get teleported to Musutafu and was hit with a great sense of nostalgia. Apart from the once neglected Dagobah Beach being spotless, nothing had truly changed. He felt a strong urge to see his mother, even after deciding to write her off as just another enemy, but he knew he had work to do — said work being gathering information on Bakugou.
It had been surprisingly easy to break inside Aldera at night and access the footage of the cameras on campus. It's like they knew they wouldn't have to hide anything because no one cared enough to check. After just about a week of sneaking in and out of the school, he'd had more than enough evidence to prove just how guilty their star student was.
Next came Kacchan himself.
Izuku was careful enough to keep his distance so his plan wouldn't get ruined by some minor inconvenience, like a passerby recognising the supposedly dead kid from a couple of months ago, so he always kept the hood of his black sweatshirt up, wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face and tried to blend in with the crowd in public places.
From what he'd been able to find, Katsuki hadn't changed much. He was still grumpy and thought everyone within a meter range was looking for a fight. At school, when Izuku would hide in one of the huge trees, he still paid attention and accomplished all the tasks perfectly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a high-pitched voice squealed "Kacchan sugoi!", but Izuku dismissed it.
Afterwards — just as Izuku expected — the boy he was following trained for UA. In the backyard of his parents' mansion, he'd set up dummies or cans and train the accuracy, strength and visual of his explosions. Just like his studies, the hold on his quirk was near perfect. Izuku knew that even if Bakugou didn't take the UA entrance exam, he'd still somehow get in.
And yet, there were still some things that were confusing to him, like how Bakugou wasn't as cocky as he used to be. He was, dare he say, skittish even. Of course, he still barked orders at people, but it didn't go unnoticed by Izuku how his hands shook everytime he did so, and how he never used his quirk to actually threaten anyone anymore. His lackeys seem to have left him, considering that he always spent breaks alone in the classroom going over subjects.
With just a week left, Izuku dared enough to climb up the tree next to his target's house, hoping to find out what may be causing him to act so strange — and he did. Just when Izuku decided to give up, he caught the blonde reaching for something — upon closer inspection, a pill bottle — from a drawer in his desk, and popping one of the pills in his mouth. The young villain was left to wonder what that bottle contained. Are those drugs? Vitamins? Or did he develop a medical condition?
When Bakugou left for school the next morning, Izuku sent the exact coordinates of Bakugou's room to Kurogiri to get inside without leaving any evidence of his break-in. Once inside, he made a beeline for his desk and picked up the container.
"...Antidepressants?"
It was... surprising, to say the least, but it didn't take long for Izuku to finally connect the dots.
The sludge villain! That's probably why he's more cautious than before, or why he prefers to stay alone! He's traumatised embarrassed that he was broadcast for everyone to see — at his weakest point!
Right?
—
Finally, the week had passed, and it was time for the entrance exams. Izuku wasn't worried about Bakugou not making it — UA would be foolish to reject someone as powerful and smart as him. After watching his old tormentor calmly make his way to UA, Izuku called Kurogiri to take him back and used the time he had to either relax or compile the evidence in a neat folder and a USB drive. From photos of his scars and burns, to the marks on his records and to recordings taken by either his classmates or security cameras, he had everything ready to expose the one kid society had high hopes for.
I'll wait till he gets accepted, kill him and then I'll broadcast the evidence of his bullying on the news. That way, no one will sympathise with him. No, they'll all hate him for what he did.
—
He only returned to Musutafu a week later at night, knowing that either Bakugou was about to get his acceptance letter, or already had it. With a yellow backpack containing multiple weapons and the evidence against the soon-to-be-dead boy slung over his shoulder, he made his way through Kurogiri's portal and landed in said boy's room. Only, he was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling panic rise, Izuku looked everywhere in his room. His bed, his drawers, his closet — nothing. No letter, no Bakugou. He even stepped out of the room and looked around the rest of the house, careful not to disturb Katsuki's parents.
It's the middle of the night. Where the hell is he?!
The villain returned to the previous room & and tried to look for details, anything that might seem out of place. Something scratched at the back of his mind, making him reach for a certain drawer in the desk.
There aren't any pills.
Making his way out through the front door, Izuku started running through the dark streets. He didn't know where his feet were taking him, or how long he'd been running, but he registered someone yelling at some point. Turning around, he saw a cop frantically running after him, shouting, "Midoriya!". Only then did he notice that he had completely forgotten to put on his disguise, thinking he wouldn't need it because he'd planned on killing Bakugou and returning to the hideout as soon as possible.
He must've recognised me.
Quickly ducking in an alleyway, he took off his backpack and pulled out the first weapon he found — small throwing knife. I'm not very good at aiming, but I can stab him with this too.
Waiting for the cop to turn up, Izuku pounced. Clearly taken by surprise, the policeman didn't even register the blade slicing his throat until it was too late. Realising this was the only man chasing him, Izuku relaxed, leaned against the wall and took in his surroundings. There were scorch marks and holes all over the place, and overall, it just seemed like an awful fire had happened here. Once he regained his footing, he made his way outside, but turned around just one last time. That's when it clicked.
Isn't this where Kacchan was attacked?
Frowning, he walked in a direction that looked familiar and it didn't take long for him to find out why he'd recognised it in the first place. That stain on the pavement—.
Realising where he was he looked at the building in front of him and a sense of nausea hit him.
"Sorry, young man, you just can't be a hero without a quirk."
He sighed. Even after changing paths, he just couldn't do anything right. All he wanted was to get his revenge and go back home, but just like always, he was too useless to do—
THUD! CRASH!
Huh?
Izuku snapped out of his thoughts when he heard something hitting the ground and shattering. He looked down and saw right next to his dried blood stain what looked like a disc. He walked closer and crouched down, reaching to inspect it.
Isn't that UA's—
His eyes widened and he agonisingly slowly tilted his head up. His gut filled with dread once he saw a silhouette standing behind the railings. He didn't even look too closely, because even without recognising him, he knew exactly who was up there. Without even realising it, he started sprinting up the fire escape attached to the wall.
He didn't know how long it had taken him to reach the rooftop, but he knew that Bakugou was too far away to reach in time, as he was already on the other side of the railings and was leaning over the edge. Izuku's eyes filled with tears of desperation, and for the first time in ten years, he felt just like a little kid.
Just like back then, he ran up to the boy he'd always admired and reached out his hand—
"KACCHAN!"
The blonde flinched and turned around, but it was too late. He'd slipped off in his haste and started falling.
"NO!"
Izuku dove right after him, the weight of his backpack letting him reach Bakugou just in time to see the recognition flash through his bloodshot eyes,
feel him pull him close,
sense the tears of shame and regret roll down his neck,
and hear him rasp
"I'm sorry, Izuku. I couldn't do it without you by my side."
Before he could stop himself, the tears started flowing. He didn't even register that they were falling from a skyscraper. All he knew was Kacchan. Kacchan. Kacchan.
He felt stupid for not realising it sooner.
It wasn't the sludge villain that affected him.
It wasn't the publicity that affected him.
It wasn't UA that affected him.
It was Izuku.
Kacchan was willing to end his life just to be by my side again.
Both of them couldn't stop bawling and and clinging to each other and crying out desperate apologies at one another, but soon enough, they hit the ground. All throughout their deaths, they felt like vulnerable children, holding each other close, even as the world around them started to fade.
—
This time both of them died with far more regrets than before — ones they never thought they'd have. For Katsuki, it was knowing that Izuku had been alive, and if he hadn't jumped, he might've had the time to properly talk to him. For Izuku, it was not letting go of his childish admiration and being blinded by others' beliefs.
And if anyone noticed the spider lilies and notebooks left next to the shoes and letter on the roof, no one dared to say anything.