Chapter Text
Izuku had always admired Kacchan, from their first meeting all the way up til now, even if they’d lost touch after middle school graduation. All he’d ever dreamed about was being a hero, to fight villains alongside Kacchan with his amazing quirk. But the world hadn’t been so kind. Izuku had tried to get into UA, had gone to the entrance exam only to get knocked out after the first five minutes and be dragged away by medical staff. But Kacchan had gotten in, with the highest score on the exam…like he’d be anything less than perfect.
So, while Katsuki worked hard to be a hero, to live out their dream for the both of them - even if the blonde refused to acknowledge Izuku’s dreams - the greenette went to a boring high school, where he got a boring education. And while school was boring, Izuku never stopped dreaming about what could have been. In the first couple months of high school, the freckled boy had gone so far as to knock on Katsuki’s front door just to ask what it was like being at UA. He’d gotten chased away with the threat of the blonde’s quirk. But no matter how much distance grew between them, Izuku never stopped admiring his Kacchan.
Three months after high school graduation, Pro Hero Dynamight was already featured in magazine articles, nighttime talk shows, and he’d even given the opening speech at the annual hero gala that summer. Izuku soaked up every bit of information, always too nervous to reach out after their long, rocky history, but still rooting for his favorite hero. Well, technically All Might was his favorite hero, but in light of the icon’s retirement, Dynamight now filled that role.
At the end of his rookie year, Dynamight had risen into the Top 100 on the Hero Charts. And with that fame came a constantly revolving door of PR events, galas, interviews, and conventions. Izuku had bought tickets to the Hero Convention in Tokyo that Autumn, including a pass for a photo op with the explosive hero, but he chickened out at the last second, unable to imagine a reunion where he wasn’t called some belittling name as the blonde threatened him with the bright pops and crackles in his palms. That was almost 30,000 Yen down the drain.
Three years out of high school, Kacchan fought villains and Izuku fought deadlines. The greenette was so close to finishing his Bachelor in journalism. If he couldn’t fight alongside the heroes, then he’d work to tell their stories, to show the world the real person behind the costume. In the years Izuku followed the news coverage and social media frenzy around Pro Hero Dynamight, he’d realized that so many idolized heroes to the point of completely ignoring reality. While teenagers screamed about how handsome and fierce Dynamight was, going so far as to come up with ridiculous realities concerning his sex life and personality, Izuku knew the truth…well somewhat. He knew the middle school version of the angry blonde, not the pro hero version. But he still felt like he knew his childhood friend far better than the person next to him. And if most of what was circulating around the internet about Dynamight was just rumors and fallacies, then what did that say about other heroes? Who were they? What did people get wrong about them? Izuku wanted to tell their stories, the most honest version that really offered a glimpse into their world and not the silly reconstruction horny teenagers created on the internet.
Just two more months and Izuku would be walking across that stage to receive his degree, beaming out into the crowd as he found his mother’s teary emerald eyes. But first, he had to finish these damn papers. One on the history of quirks and the development of heroism as a career track, the other on the unethical treatment of the quirkless individuals in a society that equated quirks with value. Normally, Izuku could talk for hours on either subject, but today, he just could not focus . Not while the cafe he’d set up in streamed a news channel playing the current fight between Dynamight and some villain with a water-based quirk.
The way the explosive hero moved, so much more refined than when they were kids, was just incredible - body twisting out of the way of blasts of liquid, moving so fast the cameras could barely keep up. Izuku felt like he was 12 years old again, mesmerized by his best friend turned bully. He’d always known Katsuki was a hero at heart. He just had a lot of things he needed to work through emotionally and watching him now, the way Dynamight put himself between the villain and nearby civilians protectively, every movement made with confidence, Izuku just knew his childhood friend had risen above his old insecurities. It made his heart flutter and stomach twist with an emotion he thought he’d gotten over a long time ago.
The fight was over a few minutes later when Pro Hero Shouto appeared, freezing every drop of water the villain released, giving Dynamight the opening he needed. And while the police gathered the wrongdoer, the news cameras continued to focus on the heroes. The icy hot hero’s face was schooled into one of boredom as the explosive blonde laid into him, no doubt telling the other hero he had the situation under control. Izuku let out a short huff of a laugh. Okay maybe Kacchan hadn’t changed that much.
“Earth to Midoriya,” a feminine voice called to him, hand waving in front of the emerald eyes that had been staring off into space for the last few minutes.
He blinked rapidly, the ginger haired woman coming into focus. “Hi, Kendo,” Izuku smiled.
“Don’t give me that,” she scoffed. “What were you thinking about? You had that serious look on your face, like you were trying to solve all the world’s problems in one train of thought.”
A blush burned at his freckled cheeks. “It wasn’t anything that serious. Just thinking…about a lot of things. And trying to finish these damn papers.”
Kendo grinned, “Well, once you graduate and are working at the most prestigious of jobs, I better be the first pro you interview.”
“Deal,” Izuku chuckled. “I’m gonna need a lot of recommendations once I’m working in the field. I mean, what pro hero is gonna want to talk to a greenhorn journalist?”
“Eh, I don’t think you’ll have nearly as much trouble finding willing participants as you think you will,” the ginger woman shrugged. “Besides, you’ve got me and Shinsou to put in a good word for you.”
“I really don’t know what I’d do without you guys,” the greenette sighed.
An enlarged hand moved across the table, and the heroine’s index finger jabbed him in the forehead. “You need to have more confidence in yourself, Sir.”
“Stop that!” He hissed, cheeks bright red as curious eyes watched from around the cafe. “People are staring.”
“Yeah, cuz they can’t get enough of heroes!” she giggled. “And neither can you. So, finish your papers, get your degree and come find me when you’re ready to ask me all about my life story.”
“Diva,” Izuku huffed under his breath.
“Stay out of trouble,” Kendo said, giving him a pointed look as she stood. “No more running into danger for ‘research purposes.’”
He waved her off, “I haven’t done that in like a year.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
Izuku turned his eyes back to his laptop, throwing his focus back into his work, and completely ignoring his friend’s stare. She sighed and emerald eyes flashed up to catch Kendo with her hands on her hips.
“Just promise me you’re taking care of yourself,” Kendo demanded.
“I am,” Izuku nodded. “I eat…most days. And I have a semi-regular sleep schedule now.”
The ginger woman rolled her vibrant blue eyes and huffed an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I know I can’t smack you around and yell at you to take care of yourself, but I really want to.”
The greenette laughed, “That wouldn’t be very heroic.”
“It would be if it kept you from killing yourself.”
It was Izuku’s turn to roll his eyes, “I’m not that bad.” He took a deep breath, “But I promise to take care of myself. Only a couple months left and then I can get a better paying job and actually afford food that isn’t of the instant variety.”
Kendo snorted. “Alright. I’m gonna hold you to that, Mister.” A device clipped onto the hem of her jeans beeped and she hit a button to silence it. “Gotta run. See you later!” And before Izuku could yell back, she was out the door.
The greenette sighed and threw himself back into work mode, trying his best to ignore the curious stares from the other patrons in the cafe. The cursor blinked against the blank page, mocking him. The television above the counter played the interview between a reporter and Dynamight in the aftermath of the villain attack. Though there was no sound, Izuku still found himself captivated by the calm demeanor in which the pro hero answered every question. Maybe one day, he’d get to find out who the real Dynamight is - not the angry middle school version, or struggling high school version the news stations and media outlets liked to berate and criticize, but the calm and confident man that now graced magazine covers and spoke at charity functions. Izuku swallowed, Why’d you have to go and grow up without me, Kacchan?