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“Mitsuki, he’s beautiful!”
“Oh, don’t give me that, Inko, we can both see that he has my scowl. Not even a day old yet and he’s already angry at the world. Your little bundle of joy is barely three months old and already has your earth shattering smile.” Inko chuckled, bouncing her little boy while Mitsuki focused on resting in her hospital bed.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure my little Izuku will adore him no matter how brashly he may act.”
“Knowing you…”
“Uwah!”
“Of course the little brat’s already interrupting me.” The words were harsh but Inko could see the fond look in her best friend's eyes. Katsuki was a healthy baby boy with a strong set of lungs. Despite Inko’s bouncing and rocking, there was no use in trying to keep a young child asleep with another screaming at the world itself.
Mitsuki picked up her little bundled baby as Inko worked on keeping hers calm despite his rude awakening. And then Izuku looked over to see what woke him up. Dark gray eyes landed on light gray and suddenly colors exploded into place. Viridian overtook the darker tones as light gray bled into a vivid crimson. Both babies quieted as they held eye contact, each seeing color for the first time in their short lives. Inko noticed first, gasping loudly.
“Mitsuki!”
“What? What happened?”
“Mitsuki, their eyes!”
“Their… Oh my god their eyes! Our sons are…”
“Soulmates! Our sons are soulmates, Mitsuki!” Inko began to mutter excitedly about fate and friendship and Mitsuki could only stare contentedly. Nothing could top this day. She had her new son, her best friend since childhood was here, and her son had already found his soulmate in the child of her best friend. If only her husband hadn’t passed out during the delivery, it would have been perfect.
—
Katsuki and Izuku were inseparable. They used to cry often as children after play dates when either of their mothers had to leave for the night and it was even worse when they were able to run around together, babbling half words at each other as they went. They seemed to know what the other needed at any given moment and also when one had to leave for the night. It was adorable at the same time exasperating for the two mothers who, as much as they loved each other, had their own homes and lives to live.
Sleepovers were a constant fixture as soon as diapers were off the table. Sure, as mothers they would occasionally change the other’s child, but it was an unspoken rule that sleepovers wouldn’t begin until after potty training. Things calmed down somewhat after the boys were allowed to really be with each other near constantly, and it left their parents with more free time when they could entertain each other in their respective rooms.
The boys shared everything, even likes, but it wasn’t that surprising. They grew up knowing that they were with their other half before they were really even old enough to fully understand it, and when they did it only helped them grow even closer. Of course they were destined to be together, they were going to be the best hero duo out there, even stronger than All Might!
Their drawn pictures were always the best at preschool because unlike their classmates, they could see the colors of the world, and Katsuki made sure that all the extras in their class knew that he and Izuku were the best because they didn’t have to wait for each other. Every day he boasted that he could see colors on the first day he was born and Izuku only had to wait because he was older than him.
It wasn’t a surprise when Katsuki’s quirk came in and was amazing. Explosions, how cool was that? Katsuki was good at everything after all, sports, schoolwork, arts and crafts, he was bound to have the best quirk. Katsuki was sure that Izuku’s quirk would be amazing too, it had to be if they were going to be the best hero duo out there, but after Izuku’s fourth birthday it still hadn’t shown up.
Katsuki was sure that it was just so strong that it had to come in late, it wasn’t that uncommon, and so Inko scheduled an appointment at the hospital. After the initial scan, it was confirmed that Izuku was missing his pinky toe joint and had high chances of having a quirk, but some quirks are harder to discover. Inko was relieved and luckily for her they had a specialist at the hospital with a quirk license to use her quirk for medical purposes.
The woman was very nice and had the ability to identify another person’s quirk after brief skin contact. Izuku was excited when he held out his hand, he was finally going to find out what his special power was! The woman smiled broadly as she took his hand, excitedly turning to Inko and the doctor.
“Well it’s no wonder you haven’t found his quirk yet! Congratulations Izuku, you have a very high functioning regeneration quirk.”
“Regeneration?” The woman nodded exaggeratedly for his benefit.
“Uh-Huh. It means that when you get hurt you heal really really fast!” Inko smiled at her son, ecstatic that he had such a safe and useful quirk.
“That’s great, honey!” Before the conversation could be sidetracked too far, the doctor cleared his throat.
“That’s wonderful news, can you tell us the parameters of the quirk?”
“Oh yes of course. Izuku’s quirk is probably one of the strongest regeneration quirks I’ve ever seen. I might even dare to say it’s better than any I’ve ever heard on record in recent history! Most regeneration quirks are accelerated healing due to rapid cell regeneration, however Izuku’s is more of a reversal of damage, technically more of a time related quirk than a healing one.
“Due to the nature of his quirk, I will be submitting the forms for testing rather than putting him through the quirk analysis process, it’s unethical to test quirks of his nature after all, but his quirk will need to be registered within the encrypted database.”
“Is it that serious?”
“Oh yes, Doctor. Izuku’s quirk is very special. Where another person with a very high functioning regeneration quirk may be able to regrow a limb if removed or damaged, Izuku’s body will reverse engineer any injury he sustains, fixing and returning any damage to a time before the injury happened. This includes high functioning areas such as major organs.
It works by using his neurons, so if anything does happen to his head his quirk will be unaffected, unlike many others who’s quirks would stop functioning after a serious head injury. As long as there are neurons available to sense the injury his quirk will kick in, and Izuku’s neurons are especially active, racing around the nerves in his body at breakneck speeds looking out for any damage!”
Izuku was bouncing around in his seat, unable to contain his excitement. Soon he would head home and could tell Katsuki all about his cool new quirk. The Doctor became serious, locking the door to the examination room. Inko was happy that her son had such a useful quirk, but she could sense that things were also about to get a touch more serious.
“Mrs. Midoriya, I do have to warn you of the risks a powerful quirk like his can have.”
“Risks?” Of course she’d heard how destructive Katsuki’s quirk tended to be as he practiced around the house, but this was obviously different. His assistant noticed the change right away and took Izuku to the other end of the room, distracting him by letting him ask any questions he had about his newly discovered quirk while the Doctor spoke with Inko privately.
“In our society, there are many quirks that are sought after by folks with unsavory intentions. Highly flashy or powerful quirks and healing quirks are common examples. Now Izuku’s quirk only affects him as far as we’re aware, but that may not stop others who may see any form of healing in his quirk name and decide to test boundaries that aren’t there. Even worse still, others may see him as an easy target, someone they can take and hurt without consequences or even criminal activities like black market organ donations.
“Now, I don’t mean to scare you, even if someone were to break into our encrypted database and see his quirk, which is a highly unlikely situation to begin with, there are many other quirks that would be around his own that are more flashy and exciting that would make his harder to notice. In the off chance that someone does find his quirk interesting, you need to be aware of the dangers.
“We give this talk to all parents when their children’s quirks come in, but it is especially important to those parents with children who’s quirks go into our encrypted database. Izuku’s quirk is very special and should be celebrated, but if you notice anything out of the ordinary don’t be afraid to contact the authorities or request an investigation if you think that it may be necessary. It is especially difficult to catch acts of abuse or bullying when regenerative or healing quirks are involved, so know your resources and use them wisely.”
Inko nodded seriously. It was a little scary, but hearing her son animatedly talking about his quirk and knowing that Katsuki would always be there to protect her son helped ease her worries immensely. Izuku would be fine, he was a perfectly healthy young boy who would grow up to be an exceptional young man.
“Mom, Mom, guess what?” Izuku ran over, hugging his mom around the waist looking up at her with stars in his eyes.
“What is it, baby?”
“I can’t get sick! My body sees bad germs as soon as they’re inside me and push them out so they can’t hurt me! It’s why I don’t get colds like Kaachan every year, can I stop getting my flu shot?” Inko laughed, patting his head lightly.
“I’m sorry, Izuku, but I’ll always worry about you, so you’ll still be getting your flu shot every year.” Izuku pouted but couldn't stay upset for long, he had his quirk now after all! Inko internally sighed in relief after realizing that her little boy never really did get sick growing up. Little victories.
—-
Katsuki was of course as happy as Izuku when he got the news. His quirk’s name was even better than Katuki’s, even if Katsuki’s quirk was better in practice. Katsuki Bakugou, Quirk: Explosions and Izuku Midoriya, Quirk: Immortal. According to the doctor it wasn’t a far off description given the nature of Izuku’s quirk.
Inko was assured that Izuku wasn’t actually immortal and wouldn’t live hundreds of years, just that as he grew older his cells would have more difficulty reproducing efficiently and he would most likely grow up and die of old age unless something traumatic enough to destroy all of the neurons in his body all at once happened. As terrible as that thought was, Inko was reassured by the very low probability of anything like that happening.
At first, Izuku’s classmates were amazed at Izuku’s quirk. It helped that Katsuki hyped up his soulmate’s quirk. Of course it was a great quirk, he was Katsuki’s soulmate after all, but it wasn’t flashy enough to hold attention like Katsuki’s quirk was, so Izuku fell into the background. He was ok with this. Katsuki always had the spotlight, and why wouldn’t he? Kaachan was amazing!
There will always be jealousy in the world though, and those people who are able to find the weak points in anyone’s armor. It was hard to find Katsuki and Izuku separated for any reason, but on one such day a little after Izuku’s fifth birthday Katsuki found himself alone at school. He was a bit too late to miss the original party, but Izuku’s dad had managed to get some time off work to come home and visit his family, flying back to Japan as soon as he had the time approved.
Katsuki would be fine for the day, his mom was taking him straight to the Midoriya’s after school after all. Of course one of the older kids approached him on the playground during lunch. Katsuki wasn’t going to let this damn extra bother him. He hadn’t found his soulmate yet and his quirk was some dumb anthropromorphic quirk, letting him have animal faces or some shit. Ok, sure, Katsuki may have made fun of him asking why he had such a long face after he turned into a horse that one time, but he was willing to put up a fight if the kid swung first.
“Hey, Bakugo.”
“What is it? Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“You’re pretty brave, you know that?”
“Uh, yeah, duh. Is that all?”
“You misunderstand me. Not everyone has the confidence to say they’re going to be a hero and protect dead weight at the same time.”
“What did you say? You’d better not be dissing Zuukun!”
“But am I wrong? You? You’re amazing, you can just explode villain’s with your quirk. But Midoriya? What can he do? Sure, he won’t die with a quirk like immortality, but all he’s gonna do is get in the way and get hurt. You must be really strong if you think you have the power to fight villains and keep him safe at the same time.”
“Shut up, we’re going to be the best soulmate hero duo out there and no one’s gonna question our power!”
“Sure, sure. Enjoy your lunch. Hope you have fun worrying about your soulmate for the rest of your life.”
Katsuki glared as the boy walked away, but what did he know? It wasn’t like Izuku was quirkless. Katsuki would never ever let a villain get close enough to land a fatal blow, but even if it did happen, which it wouldn’t! Izuku would be there to finish off what he didn't. Izuku couldn’t be weak if he could do something Katsuki couldn’t. There was no way.
The conversation was forgotten as soon as Katsuki showed up at Izuku’s house and had more cake with the second party being held for his dad’s sake, but it would still bother Katsuki from time to time randomly. Izuku wasn’t weak. Sure, he cried a bit more than the other kids, and he was nicer than he was tough, but they were going to be heroes together! There was no other choice. Then one day at the park, when Katsuki had to go to the bathroom and Izuku was left alone with their new All Might ball, Katsuki had his first near heart attack.
He was minding his own business, sitting in the stall when all of a sudden, the brown plastic of the stall door went gray. Katsuki’s stomach sank as he finished up and rushed outside, looking wildly for Izuku. There was a crowd of people gathered at the far end of the park, sirens screaming in the distance as Katsuki ran over. He barely realized that color returned to his eyes as he ran to Izuku, tackling him in a fierce hug as the boy sat on the sidewalk looking dazed.
“Zuukun, are you ok? My eyes went gray!” Izuku blinked wildly as he looked around at the crowd, finding his mother’s eyes as she bawled kneeling next to him. Then he looked to the street, seeing the red car that had a minor bump to its side, awkwardly parked in the middle of traffic.
“Our ball. Another kid wanted to play with it, but I said no ‘cause it was yours. He took it from me and kicked it out into the street.”
“I don’t care about the stupid ball, Zuukun, are you ok?” Izuku gave a crooked smile, a little shaken after realizing he must have been hit by the red car, but knowing that Kaachan needed him to be strong.
“I’m ok, Kaachan. I’m immortal, remember? Sorry if I worried you.”
“I wasn’t worried, you dummy!” But there was no heat to his words and tears spilled from his eyes. The police and an ambulance arrived shortly after, taking statements and checking everyone involved for injuries. The boy who threw their ball was given a stern talking to, but he was also pretty upset at the turn of events and was let off with just a warning. Watching a young kid get hit by a car is a traumatic experience, even if a minute later there were no injuries to be seen afterwards.
Katsuki made the discovery that Izuku could get hurt that day. He may be immortal, but seeing the world go black and white again was terrifying, and having it happen in the middle of a fight with a villain would be really distracting. Izuku was amazing, the nicest bestest person he knew, but was he really hero material? Katsuki didn’t want to doubt his soulmate, he really didn’t, but that was really scary and he didn’t want Izuku to get hurt like that again.
Life went on as normal, but Katsuki started to look out for anything that could hurt his soulmate, not that Izuku knew he was looking out for him. It’s why when they went out to the woods to look for imaginary villains that he went first over the log bridge, to test it to make sure it was sturdy enough for his soulmate to cross safely. He wasn’t expecting to slip and fall into the creek, and he especially wasn’t expecting his powerless soulmate to run down the steep slope to hold out his hand for him.
What was he thinking? It wasn’t that bad a fall. Did he think Katsuki was weak because he didn’t have a healing quirk like him? Didn’t he see how hard Katsuki was working to keep him safe? He was acting like he was already a hero when in reality, Katsuki was way closer to being a hero than Zuukun would ever be! Before he could really process what he was doing, Katsuki had smacked Izuku’s hand away.
“I was fine, dumbass, it wasn’t that far a fall. You didn’t have to run down that damn slope to check up on me. C’mon, let’s go.”
Izuku was shocked. Kaachan had never used that tone with him or called him bad names ever. Did he do something wrong? He just wanted to be sure his soulmate was ok! Kaachan didn’t look back as he trekked further into the woods and was in a foul mood for the rest of the day. They didn’t have a sleepover that night. Bakugo insisted that they were getting old enough now not to be attached at the hip. But then they didn’t have a sleepover the next night either, or the one after that.
Bakugou started to avoid Izuku in school, and Izuku had no idea why. What did he do? Without Katsuki there to protect him, the vultures descended. Katsuki had pissed off many students, and everyone recognized that Izuku was the weak link in their relationship. Of course, they still never touched him when Bakugo was around, just in case, but Izuku was meek enough that he could never get a full sentence around when he finally did have his soulmate around to talk to.
Finally, Katsuki got tired of Izuku following him dejectedly all the time. He hated ignoring his soulmate. He knew that he was mad for a dumb reason, but that didn’t change the fact that he was mad and that if Izuku was close to him he would just get hurt, so after school he lead Izuku to the back of the schoolyard. Izuku was happy to follow as soon as Katsuki spoke to him, he would follow Katsuki anywhere. It only hurt both of them more when Bakugo faced Midoriya, giving him the most serious look he could muster.
“Look, Izuku, we can’t be a hero duo anymore.”
“What? Why?”
“Izuku, you can’t be a hero! You’re gonna get hurt. You don’t have a quirk strong enough to be a hero.”
“Kaachan, we promised we would be heroes together! A villain can’t defeat me, my quirk is too strong for that!”
“Izuku, you were killed by a car, and don’t say you weren’t dead because my eyes don’t lie. Yeah, you came back, but that’s not the important part. It doesn’t matter that you can come back to life, if you’re not strong enough to defeat a villain, they’re just going to kill you over and over again. And it could get me hurt too! If the world turns gray and I get distracted, a villain could hurt me real bad and I don’t heal like you do. Being a hero is dangerous and I don’t think you can be a hero without strength. I’ll become number one for the both of us, ok? You just worry about working a normal job and having a normal life.”
“No!”
“What did you say? Didn’t you hear me? Being a hero is dangerous!”
“I refuse! I don’t know what happened to you Kaachan, but you changed. You never told me I couldn’t be a hero and you never left me to be alone, ever! I want my old Kaachan back, I don’t like how you are anymore!”
“This is reality, Zuukun! I’m tired of you following me around every day like a lost puppy. I know we’re soulmates, but grow up! Being a hero is dangerous and you’re not cut out to be a hero, end of story. I’m never wrong and you know it, so just listen to me and after we graduate and I become a hero, we can just get married and you can watch me kick villain butt on TV every night.”
“But…”
“No, shut your face. Until you can tell me how you can defeat villains with a healing quirk, I don’t wanna hear it. Unless you want to get me killed while I watch out for your sorry ass, stay away from me. I don’t wanna see your face unless you promise me you’ll stop trying to be a hero. It’s not gonna happen so just give it up already.”
Katsuki walked away without giving Midoriya the chance to respond. He could hear the quiet sobs but he didn’t dare turn around to look as he left. This was all for Izuku’s safety, he would thank him later. Even if he didn’t, he was better off hating Katsuki than getting hurt every day as a hero. This was the right choice.
—-
Midoriya was crushed. He knew that Katsuki was pulling away from him, but he didn’t know why. And then to hear from his other half, the only other person who knew him as well as he knew himself that he couldn’t be a hero, it was a painful thought. Of course Katsuki was right, Izuku couldn’t think of a way to use his quirk to defeat villains, and there weren’t any quirkless heroes. Everyone knew that, but it still hurt that he would outright say those things to him.
Izuku listened to Katsuki. If he wanted Izuku to stay away then he would, but the bullies got more comfortable. It was just hurtful teasing at first, kids being mean to get back at Katsuki, even if he didn’t know it, but then it got worse. Getting tripped in the hallway here and there, maybe a tack in his shoes if they were being especially bold, but as they got older, it only grew harsher.
Did Katsuki even love him? He avoided him like the plague. He must be the worst soulmate ever if he was rejected by his other half so easily. And of course, even though it seemed impossible, he never gave up on his dream of becoming a hero, so Katsuki kept up with his silent treatment. Bakugo could tell that things were bad for Izuku, but he didn’t know just how bad until one night he was sitting in his room, getting ready for bed and all of a sudden his sight shifted back into a familiar gray.
Katsuki was out of bed and halfway down the stairs screaming for his mom before he could even fully process what had him so panicked. Mitsuki of course called Inko who found her son in the bathtub with their toaster plugged in. Not thirty seconds after unplugging the appliance, Katsuki let out a relieved breath as color returned to his gaze. Mitsiki relayed the info to Inko who was reassured despite her son still being unconscious.
Izuku woke up shortly after, crying but otherwise unharmed. Mitsuki hung up the phone to let them talk about things, giving Katsuki a long meaningful look before heading upstairs, not prying despite how much she must be wondering what happened to make Izuku so upset in the first place. Izuku was able to somehow convince Inko that he wasn’t committing suicide, only testing out his quirk though it was extremely stupid, and he avoided having to get proffesional help by the skin of his teeth. Katsuki wasn’t convinced.
“Don’t you ever do anything like that again you damn nerd, I had a freaking heart attack! It’s not gonna work so don’t bother trying, all you’re doing is stressing me out. Not being a hero isn’t the end of the world so stop acting like it is. And unless it’s a promise to not become a hero, I don’t wanna hear any of your excuses!” Again, Katsuki left Izuku standing alone as he walked away. He knew his words were harsh, but he also knew that Izuku could feel his worry laced in with the anger he was projecting.
Izuku was fine again after that, for a while at least. No one at school knew about it of course, they didn’t have to know. He was fine. Izuku could remember the pain of the electricity locking his muscles in place and the tacs in his shoes didn’t hurt so bad anymore. Maybe everyone was right and he was wasting his time on his dream, but he just couldn’t let go.
It was another few years before he would try again. Middle school was infinitely harder than before. Not as many people knew him and Katsuki from the old days, and most assumed that Katsuki hated Izuku despite them being well known soulmates. The bullying spread to new faces. Izuku healed quickly, and these older kids weren’t afraid to use their quirks to hurt him with no evidence left behind.
It was hard on his psyche. His soulmate didn’t seem to care for him, his dream seemed impossible, and every day was filled with fear and agony. Why even bother? High school was bound to be even worse than this, and why even finish the year when life was already so miserable? Katsuki had a right to know where he planned to go. He knew his mom wouldn’t find him, so under the guise of staying over at Katsuki’s house for a long overdue sleepover Izuku grabbed a rope and took a train out to suicide forest. Cliche but fitting.
He sent his location to Kaachan as he set up his rope on the tree he climbed. It was definitely sturdy enough to hold him, one of the kids at school was helpful enough to tell him if a branch was thicker than your arm then it should be able to hold your body weight. He wasn’t sure if it was true, and the context for the statement wasn’t the best, but the branch was at least as thick as his neck so he was sure he'd be fine. He sent Kaachan one last goodbye text before taking the plunge.
He woke up to a hysterical blond scream crying in his face. It was dark now. He must’ve been out for a while. He felt stiff, and looking over to the ground next to where he was laying he saw that the rope he’d used was burnt in half, the part tied to the branch still swinging in the wind. It took a minute for Izuku to actually hear Katsuki talking.
“I told you to cut that shit out, Zuku! My eyes went gray for an entire fucking hour! The train was slow as fuck and all I had to find you was my shitty GPS tracker. The service in this fucking forest sucks and then I saw you and do you know how much that fucking sucked? Can you imagine how you’d feel if you saw me hanging from a tree in black and white? That shit was awful and you’re awful for putting me through that! Fuck you!”
The feeling In Izuku’s limbs slowly returned to him as a fuzzy staticy feeling, and then back to normal as his blood started flowing again. He was sure that cutting off oxygen to his brain for a prolonged period would kill him fully, but he was wrong and woke up with an angry distraught soulmate fussing and cursing over him.
“I told mom I was sleeping over at your place. I promise I won’t hang myself again, can I actually come over? I miss you, Kaachan.” Katsuki sniffled angrily, wiping his face with his sleeve roughly.
“Fucking fine, but only for tonight. I miss you too, but I still think it’s too dangerous for you to be a hero. Just for tonight, we can call a truce. I’ll tell the hag we went to the park or some shit to hang out, but you need to promise me you won’t do anything like this again.”
“Why bother trying, right?” It wasn’t enough and they both knew it, but Katsuki expected an answer like that after how he’d treated the boy, so he let it slide. He already promised he wouldn’t hang himself again and there weren't many other things he could try that might work either. He was right, why bother trying?
“Get up, the last train’ll be leaving soon and I don’t have enough for a cab back to Musutafu.” It took a minute, but Izuku was soon able to stand and walk again properly. The big angry mark around his neck was gone by the time they reached the main road, and aside from the dirt on both their uniforms, nothing seemed amiss with the two boys commuting home.
Katsuki listened as Izuku complained about his bullies, angry with himself for ignoring his fucking soulmate enough that other people thought they could hurt what was fucking his. He heard the jeers every now and again when people thought he wasn’t close, but he’d never seen the physical aspect to it, and to be honest it disgusted him that he wanted to become a hero but couldn’t even save the one person he would gladly trek through hell and back for.
The physical bullying ended by the end of the week. Katsuki was sure to put the fear of Kami into anyone who physically touched what was his. The verbal bullying he begrudgingly let slide. It was mostly true, and having people voice his inability to be a hero might get it through that thick skull of his that it was impossible. It was all for his own good, it had to be.
—-
The words rang in Katsuki’s head repeatedly, annoying the hell out of him. Sure, he’d beat up the kid who’d said them in the locker room after school let out for the day, but Izuku didn’t know that. It was fine, normal, the other kids teasing Izuku about his desire to become a hero. It was fresh in everyone’s minds after their teacher put him on the spot like that in the middle of class, but it took a turn when one of the bolder kids backhandedly insulted his quirk.
“If you wanna be a hero so bad, why don’t you take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a better quirk in your next life? Oh wait, you’d probably survive that. Guess you’ll just have to wait a hundred years of uselessness before getting your next chance!” A few other kids laughed, but most had left the room for break so it wasn’t too crowded.
Katsuki knew he was an asshole, but that was way beyond crossing the line, and they all knew it too with how some of the others in class shot him wary looks. It was well known that though the two had their differences, Izuku was his, and people didn’t fuck with what was his unless he allowed it, end of discussion. The kid knew it too when they locked eyes and Katsuki’s piercing gaze sent a pang of panic down his spine.
Katsuki knew that the boy wouldn’t mess with his Zuukun anymore, not after today, but he was still frustrated. Every time his soulmate had that fucking kicked puppy look he wanted to strangle whoever put it on his face, but he had an image to uphold and a mission to accomplish.
This was all to keep Izuku safe in the long run. He couldn’t help but take his anger out on whatever was around him. It felt great to kick a near full soda bottle at a wall in the alley he and his friends were walking through after school. At least it was until the villain that was trapped inside broke free and decided that Katsuki would make a fine meat suit and hostage. The fucking heroes were all standing back, doing fuck all to help. Couldn’t they see that he couldn’t fucking breathe?
He was going to die here. He was going to die without ever having made up with Izuku. They wouldn’t make up and he wouldn’t ever be able to apologize for being such an ass. He hoped the nerd wasn’t watching the live news feed he knew was being captured by the fucking truck on the street. He didn’t need to see Katsuki’s death in full color.
And then Katsuki looked over to the crowd again and red eyes met green. Izuku’s eyes had always been Katsuki’s favorite color, and he was glad he’d said so over and over again when they were kids. As fucked up as it was, he was glad he got to see them again one last time. At least he was until they were running straight towards him.
Go away you bastard! Get away from here, it’s too dangerous! The green headed boy didn’t heed Katsuki’s internal screaming, he only let out a strangled battle cry as he swung his backpack into the eyes of the sludge villain, and then Katsuki gulped in a breath of fresh air.
“What’re you doing? Get back to safety!”
“I’m not leaving you here to die, Katsuki!” And wasn’t it oh so sweet to hear his name on the lips of his other half, even if this wasn’t the place to be having such thoughts. All Might showed up to save the day right after, but Katsuki couldn’t help but get caught up in the fact that Izuku still wanted to stick by his side even after all the shit he’d put him through. What did he ever do to deserve such a good soulmate? Sure he was great at everything, but did he really deserve such devotion? No, he couldn’t doubt himself. He had to remember that his actions now were a mercy, that they were all for Izuku, and the nerd had to know that on some level too.
He was livid when the heroes all berated Izuku, but he didn’t stop them. A few seemed to understand when it was muttered that Katsuki was Izuku’s soulmate and they chalked it up to a lover’s instinct, but they still acknowledged that it was dangerous. Katsuki left when they all started praising him for his quirk. Yeah, his quirk was amazing, but it didn’t do jack shit to help him when he needed it.
If there was one thing he had to do though, it was catch up to the nerd and say something after what’d just happened. It was easy to slip away from the damn reporters after All Might saved the day, they all wanted to interview the number one hero who’d been abroad for so long and was finally back in Japan. Izuku was walking home with even less pep in his step than normal, and that left a bitter taste in Katsuki’s mouth.
“Oi!”
“Kaachan?”
“Shut up and listen, ok? Thanks. I’m only gonna say it once so don’t let it get to your head! You got lucky back there, that’s all. There’s no way you can become a hero with your quirk, and throwing a backpack in a villain’s face won’t keep them down every time. You may have helped out a little, but it was All Might that saved me, you got it?”
“Yeah. Ok, Kaachan…”
“Psh, I don’t care what school you apply to, just be sure to apply to gen ed where you belong. Leave the hero work to me, I’ll be strong enough for the both of us, so stop doubting my power and think about a future that doesn’t involve putting your safety on the line.” Izuku didn’t say anything else, only hanging his head down as Katsuki started walking home.
That meek acceptance aggravated Katsuki to no end. He hated how he had to treat the boy, but he was so damn stubborn trying to follow a dream that could get him killed for good one day. Sure, that was a possibility for everyone, but at least heroes had quirks that could help them put up a fight. If the boy had managed to effectively hurt himself bad enough that Katsuki’s world went dull more than once, surely someone out there had a quirk strong enough to kill each and every neuron Izuku had to spare. Katsuki had to make sure that Izuku stayed safe, no matter what.
—-
He couldn’t believe it. Even after all these years of defying Katsuki’s sound logic, the nerd had gone and applied for the UA entrance exam anyways! He didn’t know what the physical exam would have, but he knew it would be far too dangerous for someone with a non-combative quirk like Zuku’s!
No, he couldn’t think like that. This was UA, there was no way they would let anything bad enough to seriously harm a student slide during the practical exam. Zuku would be fine. His vision wouldn’t turn gray, and even if it did, this was Zuku! His quirk was too good to let anything keep him down for long.
Even when he was fighting robots, even when the behemoth of a zero pointer came out, Katsuki never let himself lose focus. He couldn’t afford to, he had to make it to the top for both his and Zuukun’s sakes. He would keep his promise to Zuku, even if Zuku couldn’t be there to stand there with him at the top. He just had to work hard for the next four years and then when Zuku finally realized his dream was hopeless, they would rekindle their relationship and get married.
That was the plan. It was always the plan. So why did Zuku walk into his classroom on the first day of school? This was the hero course! And worse yet, the annoying blue haired extra recognized him? What did he mean he underestimated Zuku? Regardless, he would beat him into the ground for doing so later, but how’d his soulmate manage to impress another hero hopeful? And then the round faced brunette said he saved her? How?
Did he put himself in the path of a robot for her? Did Izuku get into the hero course by using himself as some kind of glorified meat shield? Did he know about the rescue points beforehand, or was he just that selfless? No, this was Izuku, it had to have been the latter. How dare he put himself on the line like that!
Zuku was avoiding his gaze, as if he could feel Katsuki glaring holes in the back of his head. Hah! A quirk aptitude test where the weakest link would be sent home packing? He liked his teacher already. He was right to get those not cut out for this line of work out early. Sorry Zuukun, but it’s for the best. Katsuki kept his eyes on his soulmate all throughout the test, nothing really standing out, at least, not until the ball throw.
Izuku stepped up to the circle, ball in hand, muttering quietly to himself, sweating with his nerves. This was it, the final test that would seal his fate to gen ed where he would be safe. Katsuki sighed in relief when the ball didn’t go too far, not really expecting anything anyways, but then their teacher spoke up.
“I erased your quirk. I don’t care that you can heal, every second on the battlefield is precious. How can you hope to save someone if your own quirk renders you incapacitated, even if only for a minute? Try again, but I will not hesitate to remove you from this class if you maim yourself beyond what a normal person could bounce back from.” Erased his quirk? What did he mean by that?
And then the ball went flying. Izuku was clutching his hand, and Katsuki could see the angry purple that was slowly receding along Izuku’s finger, but their teacher was grinning like a madman, as if he hadn’t expected Izuku to overcome the obstacle he’d placed in his path. Izuku was better than that, old man!
What was with that power though? Was the damn nerd, his own fucking soulmate, keeping secrets form him? Sure, he hadn’t let him get in more than half a sentence in a long time, but he’d said that if he could find a way to make his quirk better for heroics that he had to tell him! If Katsuki had known that Izuku had the strength to fight back, then he wouldn’t have… It didn’t matter, Izuku had some explaining to do!
—-
Katsuki was looking forward to the battle simulation. He’d hoped that maybe, just maybe, he would get paired with Izuku. Luck wasn’t on his side as he was paired up with the annoying blue blood with a stick up his ass, but then his opponents were announced. Oh Katsuki would play the villain alright, and he would get answers from the damn nerd if he had to beat them out of him. Gently. Without the use of his quirk.
“ZUKU!” He rounded the corner where his prey was waiting. He paid the brunette no mind, she didn’t matter. In fact, this exercise mattered less than the answers he so desperately needed.
“Kaachan?”
“The hell is up with your quirk? Since when did you have the strength to fight back? Hah? I told you to fucking tell me when you knew your quirk could help you fight off villains, so how long have you fucking kept this from me?”
“Kaachan wait, it’s not what you think! I… I activated a new part of my quirk on the day of the entrance exam!” It was the truth, Katsuki could feel it in his core, a sort of soulmate sense, but he could also feel there was more to it. Instead of responding, Katsuki rushed over, fist raised, and was then promptly flipped onto his back with a huff. What?
“I… I’ve been watching you, Kaachan. I’ve always watched you, and I know that whenever you get into a fight, you lead with a right hook. I’m not as weak as you think I am, not anymore. I’m going to be a hero. I’m going to be the best hero, and no one’s going to tell me that I can’t be anymore!”
He thought he’d be angry, but the only emotion flowing through Katsuki at the moment was immense pride. There was the drive, the will to push forward that he’d always wanted to see in Izuku, and if he could take Katsuki down that easily, even if only once, then maybe, just maybe, they could do it. They could become heroes together like they’d both always wanted!
Katsuki didn’t have time to marvel at the determined face Izuku was wearing, couldn’t commit every detail to memory like he wanted to. As soon as Izuku brought out the capture tape he was on the move again, using his explosions to dodge away, but never to hurt Izuku. Never. Bakugo wasn’t even mad when he lost the exercise. He still had questions, no doubt about that, but seeing the determination Izuku had, what did he have to worry about now? Izuku had power, and isn’t that what Katsuki had always wanted?
“Kaachan!” Katsuki halted in his steps. Izuku had run after him. Maybe now that they were outside, away from everyone else, he could actually get some answers. Turning around, he was blown away by how different Izuku really looked. He wasn’t a twig anymore, he had toned muscles. The nerd really had worked hard over summer break, hadn’t he?
“You gonna explain things now?”
“I, I can’t tell you everything. It’s not my secret to share, but I can’t lie to you. All I can say is that this power isn’t mine, not yet. Someone gave it to me, and it’s up to me to make it my own so, I’m gonna join you. At the top. And we’ll get there together. Are you… Are you still willing to wait for me to catch up so we can be the best together?” Katsuki smirked, though it wasn’t his usual feral grin.
“Well, now that you can actually hold your own, I can keep my promise. And, Izuku?” His grin faltered as he actually struggled to continue. “I’m sorry. For everything. I was waiting for…”
“I accept!” Katsuki looked up, shocked, and Izuku had that determined look on his face again. It took Katsuki’s breath away.
“I know you, I know you so well, Katsuki. Yeah, it sucked, all of it, but I also know that deep down you thought you were protecting me in your own way. I’m not gonna lie, it hurt. It hurt a lot and I’m not going to forgive you for everything right away, but I can feel that you want to change. You want to make it up to me, so I’m going to give you that chance.
“I’ve wanted nothing more than for you to acknowledge me for so long, I’d be stupid to throw that chance away now. But I want… No, I need you to understand that I’m not going to make it to the top with you just because of my new power. I’m going to make it to the top because of all the hard work I’m going to put into getting there!” And Katsuki believed every word. Not that he would ever admit it, but perhaps he’d be ok with being number two as long as it was Izuku pulling up ahead of him. Izuku had followed him through hell and high water, it was the least he could do to follow him back.
“Yeah, I believe it. But you got a late start so we’re gonna train together and I’m not going easy on you!” Katsuku started walking away, knowing that Izuku would follow with that dopey grin of his. Izuku fell right into step beside him.
“I’d be disappointed if you did!”
From a distance All Might looked to his protege, happy that the boy was finally able to bridge the gap that had been bothering him throughout their training. Yes, the future was looking bright indeed.