Chapter Text
Izuku sluggishly opened his eyes, momentarily blinded by the bright hospital lights. His head was searing with pain, making his thoughts a little cloudy, so at first he couldn't explain why the first thing he said was, "Where's Kacchan?"
His mother and friends stared back at him in shock, an oppressing silence hanging over the room. It was only then that Izuku noticed that their faces were pale and thinner than usual, like they'd been missing meals for a few days at least. Iida and Uraraka both had puffy eyes like they'd been crying only minutes before, while Todoroki had deep circles beneath his eyes. His mom looked like she'd been crying for hours, days even, yet fresh tears poured down her face at the sound of her son's voice. Izuku was worried about all of them but for some reason when he opened his mouth to ask if they were okay, only one thing came out:
"Where's Kacchan?"
Izuku tried again, but the same question escaped his lips, "Where's Kacchan?" The words echoed in the silent room, bouncing off the white walls and the beeping monitors. Izuku's head was still foggy but he realized that someone was holding his left hand. With excitement, he turned away from his mother and friends, confident that the other hand must belong to Kacchan. After all, holding hands was a thing they did now! Izuku remembered (how could he forget one of the best moments of his life), Kacchan had taken his hand during the final bat- … the final… the final battle…
Three facts came crashing down on Izuku all at once. One: All Might was the one holding his hand. Two: All Might, the Symbol of Peace who was always smiling, was definitely not smiling. Three: Kacchan wasn't there.
Izuku's breathing sped up, his eyes scouring the room as if any moment Kacchan would magically appear, swearing at him for not noticing he was there all along.
"Where's Kacchan?" he asked, frantically this time as opposed to the calm, matter-of-fact way he'd done before.
He repeated his question over and over, louder and more panicked each time but the room remained silent. It was like they were all trapped under some spell that wouldn't break and this only increased the dread Izuku felt in the pit of his stomach. At this point he was practically screaming because why wouldn't anyone answer him? Why was this question the first thing he said before he was even aware of what he was saying? Where was Kacchan and why was Izuku afraid of the answer?
No one answered him; they remained trapped in stunned silence with tears dripping down their faces, unnoticed by their owners. Eventually a team of nurses rushed in, alarmed by all the noise, and one with red eyes like Kacchan (or was that just Izuku's imagination?) injected him with something. Izuku could feel his eyelids growing heavier and his movements slowing down but he refused to stop asking. He'd never stop until he got an answer. WHERE IS KACCHAN? WHERE IS… where is Kacchan? Where? Where is Kacch- Kacch…
***
"Do you think Midoriya will be okay?" Tenya asked fearfully, "He's been in worse physical shape but that's never been able to stop him. However, he's always cared deeply about his friends and with Bakugou…"
The unfinished sentence hung morbidly in the air, its speaker too choked up to continue. Uraraka put a warm hand on Tenya's shoulder as he struggled to maintain his composure. As the class president, Tenya felt that it was his responsibility to stay calm in order to reassure his classmates. Truthfully, Tenya was grateful for the responsibility because it gave him a reason not to fall apart. The reality of the situation hadn't really sunk in yet - that after All For One had been defeated in one great and final battle, Bakugou Katsuki was nowhere to be found.
Tenya didn't remember everything that happened that day, most of it was a blur of adrenaline and sweat, but he would always remember the moment he found Midoriya. He'd been racing across the battlefield all day and was long past the point where the mufflers in his legs had screeched with every movement and the microscopic tearing of his muscles had weighed them down like lead. But still, he'd kept moving because he had to. That's what it meant to go plus ultra, anything less would've mean their defeat.
He'd been too far away to see the details of the final showdown, but anyone could see the tornado of green lightning from miles away. Midoriya, he'd thought with pride, you can do it! He hadn't even been planning to go towards his green-haired friend, figuring that he would be more useful elsewhere, but that all changed when he heard Midoriya's blood-curdling scream. Tenya knew his friend fought passionately and had heard him yell countless times in battle before but this was different. The only time Tenya had heard his friend make a noise like that had been when their other classmate, Bakugou, was kidnapped by the League of Villains. The scream was raked with pure anguish and loss; it had been terrifying back then and it was bone-chilling now. Without a second thought, Tenya raced towards the green lightning. He didn't know what he'd do when he got there but all that mattered was that something was very, very wrong.
By the time Tenya found Midoriya, the scene was much different; All For One lay unmoving on the ground and Midoriya was still standing but he had bloody gashes all over. Just as Tenya processed that they'd finally won and it was over, Midoriya's legs gave out and Tenya had to rush forward to catch him. He froze in shock when he felt a hand grip his arm tightly, he'd been so sure that the greenette had passed out from blood loss and exhaustion. But that shock was nothing compared to what Tenya felt when he looked down at his friend; he'd never seen someone so close to death look so determined. The intensity behind those green eyes reminded Tenya of the Hero Killer Stain and how he'd been able to freeze a group of pro-heroes, including Endeavor, in their tracks with one glare.
"F- Find Kacch-an," Midoriya said, tightening his grip on Tenya's arm, "F-Find him."
As soon as Tenya nodded, confirming that he understood, Midoriya passed out and went limp like a ragdoll in his arms. Tenya called out for help on his coms, informing everyone that All For One was defeated and that the new priority was finding Bakugou, and raced to bring Midoriya to the nearest healers. He knew that his best friend would prefer for him to look for Bakugou first, but he also knew that those wounds were bleeding fast and required immediate medical attention.
For the next three days, every surviving and physically able pro-hero in the vicinity searched relentlessly for Bakugou Katsuki. The members of Class 1A continued to search even after the pros gave up, stopping only after a week passed and the explosive blond was declared dead. Even then, Class 1A did not go willingly; it took 5 teams of pros to track down all the members and physically drag them from the battlefield. Truth be told, it probably would've taken even more pros if a quarter of the class hadn't been unconscious or out-of-commission in the hospital. None of them could believe that the Great Bakugou Katsuki, who had been determined to be the undeniable winner, could die without a trace.
Tenya shook himself out of the memories; if he allowed himself to dwell on what had happened, the realization would set in and he'd never be able to stay strong for his classmates. He was aware that Uraraka had said something that was probably encouraging but he'd been too lost in his own thoughts to process her words. They'd been unable to break the news to Midoriya and Tenya still couldn't imagine how to do it. He glared at the floor, once again distracted by his anxious thoughts that he almost didn't hear Todoroki. Almost.
"I miss him," Todoroki said simply.
Tenya looked up in time to see new tears fall down the face of the red-and-white-haired boy. Todoroki's hands were shaking by his sides, making no attempt to wipe away or conceal the tears.
"I… I just never thought he wouldn't be here with us. He's our friend. He- He should be here. He should be yelling at me not to walk in front of him and he should be baffling us with his arrogance," the tears poured faster down Todoroki's face but his voice remained steady until his breathing hitched at the last word.
Tenya and Uraraka stepped closer to Todoroki and opened their arms, asking permission to hug him. Even though Todoroki didn't move closer to them, he nodded immediately, signalling that it was the very thing he needed. They held him tight, their own tears staining his shirt, but Todoroki didn't seem to mind.
"That hot-headed jerk should be here," Todoroki repeated through the growing numbness, "He should be here."