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The hallway lights flickered, black boots clicking against white tile, leisurely making its way slowly to the towering door. The shadows seemed to part for the boy and his partner, both dressed in black clothing with their respective collars and patterns. Green and red eyes met, silent exchanges being passed. The room ahead echoed with quiet whispers and pained groans. The two knew what they were up against, they'd planned this for weeks now. The police would be there shortly to back them up, but if everything went right they'd be gone before they could even park their cars.
The severity of the situation weighed heavily on their shoulders, whispering daunting tunes. They couldn't fail this, the two of them knew. People's lives were on the line. It was terrifying. The shorter one frowned beneath his mask, acidic green eyes glowing in the dim light. Sending one last look to his partner, he raised his hand to the doorknob. Warm. The gloves protected his sensitive skin from the burn of the heat, but even still he couldn't help but wince.
The door creaked open to a room of fire. In the middle were two civilians, hostages, with sweat running down their brows and breathing heavily enough for the new arrivals to hear from the doorway.
Five sets of eyes shot towards the black figures, all having some sort of fire proof ability to help protect them against the yawning flames. Two shot out to meet the vigilantes, immediately engaging combat with the taller one. Feet were kicked into ribs and fists were flying into faces brutally. Blood dripping from noses and bruises blossomed, but they remained fighting. The orange vigilante would not be so easily overtaken, grabbing his attacker's hair and bashing their skull together in a display of raw power. They collapsed against the floor, bloody and broken, but alive. "Who are you?" One of the two villain's asked, glaring through bleary eyes and concussion.
But the vigilante didn't answer, not immediately, instead turning to his partner who'd been throwing people into walls of fire. "Oi, Sprout, the hostages?" He called, pulling out handcuffs to wrestle onto the men at his feet.
"I've got it, Dandelion!" Sprout called merrily, wacking the final enemy over the head with a metal staff that he'd stolen from the guards perched out front of the building. "I've so got to make myself one. This is so cool!"
"Focus you fucking weed. We're here to kick ass and take names, not get off on shiny weapons." Dandelion grunted, heaving the two villains he'd taken down over his shoulder. "This building is going up in flames and if you don't want to die then you need to hurry the fuck up." He threw his elbow against the window, coughing lightly as the smoke tickled his throat. "And unlike us, they don't have any fire protection, idiot." He gestured to the hostages, struggling against their binds and tearing up in relief and urgency.
Realization dawned on Sprout's face, curses falling off his tongue as he abandoned the bodies he'd taken down to help the poor man and women curled up on the ground. The vigilante's gear was made of a fire protective material, helping them move easily through the room, But they were starting to heat up, and the smoke was in clouds against the ceiling. Sprout jumped out of the window Dandelion had broken, holding tightly onto the hostages. The taller teen looked out of the window to make sure his partner had landed safely.
Sprout waved back up at him before holding up his hands. As quick as he could, Dandelion tossed down the bodies of the villains, unwilling to leave them to die in the slowly collapsing building. Sprout caught each one, setting them against the wall before motioning he was ready to catch the next one.
Once they were all evacuated, Dandelion climbed down, landing softly against the ground with a quiet thump. He turned his back on the hostages and vigilante, crouching by the men who'd started this whole mess. Behind him, he heard his partner chat idly with the weepy couple. "Oh it's no problem, really! we're just glad we could help!" Even without looking, he knew the exact pose Sprout was making. Hand scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, what's visible of his milky skin dusted an embarrassed pink, shifting his weight from on foot to the other. "The police will be here shortly, make sure you tell them its the Plants who saved you!" Dandelion could absolutely hear the wink made at the end of the sentence.
"I did not agree to that name." He growled, standing up after checking each villain to make sure they were alive and handcuffed. Sprout shot him a look.
"I'm sprout and your dandelion. We're plants. deal with it." Spout poked him in the chest teasingly. Dandelion groaned, done with his partner's bullshit. Sirens woke up in the background, a blaring warning of how much time they had left. "Suppose it's time we go, you stay safe!" The grin was evident in his cheery voice, a harsh contrast against the taller's violent aura. But the couple didn't seem so fooled by the welcoming posture, not after they'd seen the small teen body someone twice their size and throw them a good couple of feet.
They left then, climbing up the side of a building with the help of balconies, dumpsters, and whatever weird invention Sprout had managed to make. They watched the scene they'd left from a distance, stationed on the edge of a high placing roof. Their feet dangling dangerously over the edge, neither managing to quiet care for the drop below them. They observed quietly as the police found the hostages in a dark alley, standing awkwardly next to their abductors. They couldn't hear, nor see very well through the curtain of shadows, but even still they could imagine the annoyance that would decorate the detective's face at story of how The Plants once again took down another round of bad guys.
The name given to their team was beyond stupid, Katsuki thought as he slipped off his mask to gulp down a couple mouthfuls of water. Izuku followed shortly, giving an offended scoff when Katsuki slapped the mountain dew bottle from his hands and instead handed him his extra bottle of water. The team name had originated from a stupid nickname the blond had given his green haired friend when they were young. Sprout. Katsuki's name, Dandelion, was made to match. Izuku had picked it out for him, and neither could change it.
Katsuki hadn't even known that those were the names they'd be going with when this all started. Izuku had just panicked when trying to warn him of a villain who'd snuck up behind him, and because he couldn't say Kacchan, Katsuki, or Bakugou, he'd gone with the first thing that popped up in his head, their old childhood nicknames. At the time, Katsuki was tempted to call his partner Deku, just for shits and giggles. But instead he'd gone with the fucking theme. And soon, people would refer to them as such. All because the civilian they'd been saving at the time had blabbed.
It was far too late to change it now, not when they were months deep in this. So, Katsuki just bit his tongue and went along with it. His eyes shifted over to his partner in crime, taking in the distant look. Reflections of fire flickered in his green eyes, the building they'd been in only minutes ago completely engulfed in hot flame.
Katsuki bit his lip awkwardly. He wasn't great with dealing with feelings and emotions, frankly he was rather shit at it. Izuku understood that, he knew his friend struggled with them, always so considering. But nights like these, where even though they saved the victims and everything had turned out the best it could, he cant help but think about everything they could have done better. The green haired teen always jumped so easily from his cheery, bubbly, reckless persona to how he'd been in middle school. Depressed, slow, unmotivated. It hurt to see Izuku like this, so fragile and open.
Katsuki sighed, bumping their shoulders lightly to jog Izuku from his thoughts. He brightened considerably at his friend. As though he'd forgotten he was there. "We did good." He nodded, watching the last of the villains be put into the back of an ambulance.
"Yeah, we did. All thanks to my hard work." Izuku grinned lazily, tilting his head softly to the side. Katsuki scoffed, shoving him lightly.
"I will push you off the roof don't test me."
"I'd like to see you try! OW- Kacchan!"
...
UA high school is the top hero school in Japan. Everyone who has their eyes on the hero course would salivate at just the notion of having a chance to get in. It wasn't a cake walk by any means, an entrance exam of giant robots, physical training each and every day, stretching your quirks to the extreme. Everyone who left always left stronger. Those who did manage to get their hero license having n easier time climbing up the ranks.
Izuku, a quirkless boy, and Katsuki, a teen with an explosive power, had both managed to weasel their way into the hero course. They worked hard to keep their vigilante and hero student lives different. Should anyone find out their nightly activities, their position at UA would be threatened. But they couldn't stop now, not when they were so invested. For months, everything ran smoothly. The USJ, threatened by villains, was the closest they'd come to to revealing their secret identities. Their lives on the lines, completely separated, made them scared. They cared for one another deeply, and it would break them if something happened to the other.
Their relationship with the class grew deeper. Katsuki found himself surrounded by his squad of idiots. Kaminari, Mina, Kirishima, Sero, and sometimes Jirou. Cracking idiotic jokes and brining on a sense of normalcy. It made it all the more obvious on just how bad Aldera middle school had been, with neglectful teachers and rowdy kids who found excitement in threatening their peers. It wasn't like that at UA.
Izuku and Katsuki slowly stopped talking during school hours, enraptured in their different friend groups. Their time spent breaking laws at night suddenly felt more precious, more of a privilege than it had before.
...
The bus ride was long, bringing them to a summer camp. The rest of 1A chatted, letting out soft jokes or loud cackles. In the back corner, Mina, Kaminari, Sero, Iida, and Todoroki were playing Uno. Near the front was where Jirou, Tokoyami, Shouji and Shinsou were all doing Tarot readings. Other students played on their devices or told stories. Izuku and Katsuki sat side by side, debating about their next outing. The conversation contained topics of slime, oobleck, and home-made playdough. Normal things that didn't make anyone bat an eye.
"I'm just saying," Izuku huffed, rubbing his head with a scrunched expression, "that we cannot put a gallon of Oobleck into someone's backpack that would be morally wrong, Kacchan."
"You know, of all people I would have thought that you would support me." Katsuki responded, sounding incredulous. "Because like you haven't put a bunch of slime into someone's purse."
"She deserved it." Izuku crossed his arms over his chest, pouting childishly. Katsuki rolled his eyes, bringing up his had to flick his forehead. Izuku swatted him away, scowling.
"So then why can't I use my Oobleck? Hm? What's the difference?" Katsuki hissed back. His friend just turned his head without answer.
...
They arrived to their destination at sunset. The sun beat down on their backs heavily, drawing groans and moans from the tired class, having been ejected from the bus at noon, forced to travel through the forest.
Katsuki laughed heartedly, gathering weirded out looks from his class, when Izuku got punched in the crotch by some kid.
The work was grueling, pushing them to their limits and then past it. When the test of courage arrived, no one was truly prepared. They were tired and soar, and the last thing they needed was a treck through the woods in the dead of night. Paired together, Izuku and Katsuki would face the jump scares planned by class B.
Of course, their entire walk consisted of arguing and pent up energy. Many times, a fist or boot had been sent flying into faces and kneecaps, when a poor 1B student decided to try their shot at scaring them.
The air was clear, and the night chirped with tired life. Nocturnal animals watched from the cover of plants, peeking their heads out and staring with wide eyes. But a good couple of minutes down their path, Izuku froze, muscles locking and shoulders rising.
Katsuki noticed immediately, shooting him a look. Izuku stood stock still, hand raised. He breathed slowly, eyes dawning a glassy look. "Smoke."
Katsuki focused more at that, narrowing his thoughts onto the brief whiff of smoke tickling their lungs. He hadn't noticed it at first, not as observant as the freckled teen, but now it seemed like a blaring light. So obvious that it's there that it made him ask how did he miss this.
Slowly, they wandered off the path, following the path of smoke until light blue flames licked lush green plants. It roared, and stretched, but controlled.
"We've got to warn Aizawa Sensei! Someone's infiltrated the camp!" Izuku shot out his hand to grab Katsuki's forearm, dragging him back through the maze of trees.
...
They'd managed to grab Kouta before running into their Sensei. They stayed side-by-side, finding Todoroki defending against a psycho rambling about eating people. They were quick to help their classmate, and soon they were packed in a group.
Mandaley's voice wrung out through their heads, warning them of information they already knew. Who the league was after. But try as they might, the villains still managed to get the upper hand, swallowing both Izuku and Katsuki in Kurogiri's portal.
The two were immediately chained and apprehended. At first, they'd thought the villains had figured out that they were The Plants, but quickly found their concern for naught.
The main leader, a stringy man by the name of Shigaraki, stood relaxed by the bar. At his side, a blond girl twirled a knife between her fingers, a bloodlust expression on her face. Behind the bar stood Kurogiri, studying them through narrowed glowing eyes. "Two hero course students, one who was chained against his will Infront of the entire world. And another who endured the backlash of growing up in a society praising the stronger powers while walking over the weaker ones." His voice was rough and grating as he mentioned the green haired teen's quirklessness.
"What do you want from us?" Izuku demanded, pulling lightly on his chains. Katsuki sent him a look laced with warning. They'd been in this situation before, only their mask had blocked their identity, and everything they knew and cherished weren't at stake. This was new territory for them, an encounter they couldn't deal with through jeering taunts and flying fists.
"Calm down now." Shigaraki smiled, pulling off the hand covering his face. Suddenly, his lips twitched down in a frown, sighing in annoyance. "I said not to chain them up. We're better than those so called heroes."
Kurogiri turned his accusing glare onto the man. "Are you sure that's a wise idea, Tomura? They will fight back and try to escape." He pointed out smartly, but Shigaraki waved him off, a manic grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Not if they know what's good for them." Something about that tone almost made Katsuki think the villain wanted them to retaliate. He bared his teeth as one of the villains perched at the side -Magne- inched over and slowly undid his chains and quirk canceling cuffs. Instead of instantly firing off an explosion like his instincts rushed him to do, he brought up his hand and slowly rubbed his wrist to dispel the aching pain. Izuku followed his lead, scratching at the indents some of the heavier wear left.
"See?" Shigaraki said proudly, waving a confident hand in their direction. "Besides we want them to trust us so they can accept my gracious offer."
"Which is..." Izuku prompted, muscles tensed in preparation for whatever the villain was going to throw at them. Katsuki did the same, reaching to plant a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"We, the league of villains, invite you to join us as villains and take revenge on those who've wronged you."
That being the last thing the two vigilante's expected, they broke out into wild laughter.
...
When Toshinori heard of young Midoriya, the quirkless boy he'd saved from some sort of the sludge villain, the last thing he'd been expecting was for him to appear in UA after rejecting his One For All offer. He'd knew Midoriya had a drive, and had worked briefly with him to help clean the beach. Often, he'd brought his blond haired friend (who he would soon call Young Bakugou) to help move the process along.
Seeing him at UA made a pride swell in him unlike any other. Living, breathing proof that had Toshinori tried, he too could have become a quirkless hero had he not accepted One For All. He doesn't regret his decision, not after how far he's come and all he's accomplished. But it brings him warmth knowing he could have. And that someone has.
His faith in Midoriya never wavered. Not when he got particularly violent in battle training or stalkerish mutterings got too loud and detailed, the air around him was filled with heroic power that told stories of he could do, and most likely would do. The boy had a heart of gold, and no one would deny such a fact.
But Toshinori knew a secret about the boy he was sure no one else had come to figure out yet. It had been an accident when he came across it, an unlabeled brief case that had fallen out of the boy's locker when He had forgotten to close it. So, like the responsible adult the old hero is, he'd picked up the clutter that had fallen out and set it back. Only, when the brief case landed, the hatch that hadn't been fully closed, opened, giving him a perfect view of the vigilante, Sprout's, suit. He'd panicked and stuffed it all back and slammed the locker close with eyes as wide as Saucers.
At first, he'd been betrayed. He'd trusted Young Midoriya, had put his faith in training the boy and watching over him. Maybe a bit protectively and playing obvious favoritism, but their time spent on the beach had lead to a lot of bonding. Later, after seeing the same boy, known for brutally taking on villains twice his size down with ease, whisper soft reassurance and concerns to Uraraka when she'd broken her ankle, he'd come to terms with the fact the boy he'd once asked to be his successor was a regular law-breaker.
So when he heard the boy he'd become to care for so much had been captured by the league of villains, he couldn't not jump to help.
When he'd first arrived to the location, he'd been expecting quiet please and murmurs. Maybe a guard or two perched out at the front, but instead he was met with manic cackling. He'd originally thought it was the villains and fear had engulfed him, but then the voices registered. Young Midoriya and Young Bakugou were the ones laughing, loud enough the entire block could hear them. Punching down the door, he and the rest of his team came face to face with Shigaraki, the supposed leader of the league of villains tied up and blood.
They stared, astonished, as Bakugou and Midoriya snapped their heads to face them, looking like dears caught in headlights. Their cloths were heavy with blood, and in Midoriya's hand was most definitely a bloody knife. "Uuuuhhhh..." the boy said intelligently. "What if I told you some creep named All For One was still alive?"
...
After the dorms were implanted, the vigilantes Dandelion and Sprout were suddenly gone from week days. The chance of the even appearing on the weekends were slim. In truth, Katsuki and Izuku were stuck within the walls of UA, rarely getting the chance to run free. they were growing restless, and it showed. Slowly, they climbed the ranks as the class pranksters. Nobody knew it was them, letting them deprive joy from the mystery jokers haunting 1A.
The class had wrongfully assumed the two were always at each other's throats. It wasn't surprising, the way they quipped and insulted one another. Battle training fit with the two beating each other black and blue. But that's what happened when you grew up like they did, their entire friendship based on playful banter. So, as their next great prank, they did the unthinkable.
Deep into the dark of night, in the 1A common rooms, was Izuku and Katsuki. In front of them sat a small table, both having to sit on the floor for it to be useable at their height, covered in small cups and plates of cookies. Both boys were dressed in a colorful assortment of dresses, speaking to each other in feminine, forced voices.
Kaminari had been tired and had simply wanted a late night snack, not expecting to stumble upon the tea party and be offered a steaming cup of tea. He'd just laughed, turned, and walked back up to bed. When he'd waken up in the morning, he'd chalked the experience up to some crazy dream. However, he was overcome with fear when he saw the same cup he'd been offered last night sitting on the empty table, the only proof of what had happened that night.
Katsuki and Izuku felt no guilt for traumatizing their friend, gaslighting him every time he'd brought it up to their class. No one else had seen it, and with being so sure of the two boys rivalry, neither had they believed it.
Even though they filled their usually crime filled nights with pranks on their poor peers, it never could quite scratch the itch. They were becoming desperate, and their names were slipping from the media. So, despite the risk, they'd snuck out. And succeeded.
Their feet beat against the rooftops with fury. Behind them chased a familiar hero, capture weapon shooting out to try and catch them. They roof hopped with expert practice, only so much time spent around the man letting them weave through his charging scarf. They were out of practice, what with being gone for so long.
But slowly they were running out of breath, going in loops. Their savior came in the shape of a man with a bird mask, a pool of blood at his feet with a shaking girl pressed flat against the alleyway wall. They'd jump down, Katsuki landed on the villain and sending them tumbling, blood smearing across their clothes a skin. Katsuki jumped landed a heavy blow on the man's face, ripping off the mask to expose his face. Erasure head jumped down behind him, eyes aglow. Izuku covered the little girl, milky skin covered in rusty bandages.
The villain shouted, throwing his hand against the wall. It rippled, showing his quirk had come back to him. Brick extended in a sharp spike, shooting out a a blurring speed. Katsuki panicked and pushed Izuku out of the way, wincing at the spike nicked his cheek and through the mask. ErasureHead was quick to reactivate his quirk, wrapping the villain in his capture weapon. The two vigilante's took the window of opportunities to run, confident their sensei could deal with the villain and the girl.
Sneaking back into UA had been hard, but neither of them were put off, skillfully making their way to the dorms. They wondered briefly about how easy it was, before the security camera scanning the area nodded at them. Nedzu knew, had probably already knew, and still let them continue their work.
The next morning consisted of their classmates asking about the cut on Katsuki's cheek. He deflected easily, Shouting about how it was none of their business and that they needed to fuck off.
The moment Aizawa walked into class however, his coal eyes fell onto the light pink streak. Instead of calling them out on it however, he simply gave them a nod and continued the day.