Chapter Text
There are four elements that many can master: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.
Grandma would tell Ei and I all of the stories of the old days where everyone lived in harmony. The Avatar, the one who would master all four elements, would keep balance and peace between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdoms, Fire Nations, and the Air Nomads.
All of that changed when the damn Fire Nation attacked.
The Avatar is the only one who could stop the ruthless Fire Nation, but when we needed him the most, he disappeared.
It’s been a hundred years since the Avatar vanished and the Fire Nation has seized almost all territory and is nearing victory over the lands.
Two years ago, our father and most of the men of our tribe left to fight the Fire Nation, leaving Ei and I to look after the tribe.
There’s been speculation that after Avatar Toshinori, there wasn’t an Avatar born into the Air Nomads and the cycle was now broken.
Fuck that shit. I don’t believe that one bit.
I know the Avatar is out there somewhere, I know he is. And when he does, the first thing is that I’m gonna kick his ass. THEN he is going to go save the damn world, whether he likes it or not!
“Are you done writing in that thing? We gotta get more fish for the kids!” Kirishima asked as he popped up from behind Katsuki, who quickly closed the journal and scowled at him.
Katsuki placed his journal in his pouch as he stood up, adjusting his winter coat as he followed his step brother out of the tent.
The children played around in the snow as they walked toward the only entrance and exit out of the village. Katsuki saw some children making hand movements to appear to be water bending as the others laughed with glee.
“You know, Kats,” Kirishima joked, wiggling his fingers in jest, “You could show them some moves. Show them what a real water bender can do!”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, not entertaining the idea, “Let’s just get some fish, okay?”
Kirishima shrugged, “Suit yourself.”
The two then made it to the boat and, after gathering their nets, spear, and anything else they may need, Kirishima took the ore and steered them away from the village and toward the open waters.
“I’m telling you, bro, it’s not going to work,” Kirishima deadpanned as he aimed his spear toward the water, a fish swimming nearby waiting to be caught. They have been at this for an hour and so far, no fish were captured. Kirishima shot his spear through the water, but missed the fish by an inch as the fish swam away. He groaned as he allowed the ripples of the water to cease before attempting again, seeing some fish swim over to see the commotion.
Katsuki did not pay any attention as his own eyes fell upon a fish on the other end of the boat. Wanting to see if he could pull this trick off, he took off one glove and held it over the water, concentrating. He felt the familiar pool of coolness through him as the water below him bent to his will, catching the fish in a small bubble of water he lifted into the air.
Katsuki smirked, “Jokes on you, I got one!” He turned to show the fish in the bubble of water, but the end of Kirishima’s spear hit the bubble, causing it to burst as it and the fish landed squarely on the top of his head. The fish then flopped back into the water and swam away, along with the fishes Kirishima was attempting to get.
Kirishima groaned as he fixed his hair from the dampness, “Dude, how come I get wet every time you use your magic water tricks around me?”
Katsuki gave him a look, “First off, fuck you,” He flipped his step brother off, “Secondly, it’s called fucking WATER BENDING! It’s not magic, dumbass! It’s–”
“An ancient art, unique to our culture, yeah yeah, I got it,” Kirishima exasperated as he turned his attention back to the water, “Look, I’m all for you trying to figure that shit out, but personally, if I was blessed with it, I would’ve kept it to myself.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Katsuki scoffed as he crossed his arms with a smirk, “Besides, I’m not the one flexing my muscles on the reflection in the water.”
Kirishima flipped Katsuki off as he slowly pulled his sleeve back down to totally disprove Katsuki’s point when the boat suddenly got swept up with a current. Katsuki grabbed onto the boat as Kirishima took the ore and started to steer them away from the upcoming floating ice.
“Hold on!” Kirishima shrieked as he attempted to maneuver the boat from the current.
“Go left!” Katsuki barked as Kirishima steered left. The stream kept them from doing so as multiple pieces of ice got closer to them and soon, the boat was getting crushed.
The two made it on top of a large piece of ice just as their boat sank. Kirishima had the forethought to grab the spear as they landed. They sat up and took in their surroundings. Katsuki groaned into his hand as Kirishima sighed, adrenaline now coming down.
Katsuki turned to Kirishima and scowled at him, “When I say left, I meant fucking LEFT!”
Kirishima crossed his arms, “Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten into this mess if you had just waterbend~” He said as he wiggled his fingers mockingly.
Katsuki growled, “Watch it, Ei. It ain’t my fucking fault!”
Kirishima turned to his step brother, undeterred by his outburst, “Oh really? Do tell how we got into this mess, oh great Katsuki Bakugou, the sole waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe!”
Katsuki snarled as he stomped his foot, making the water behind him move, “You have got to be the most STUPIDEST PERSON EVER! I swear to fucking SHIT WHAT DID MY MOM EVER SEE IN YOUR DAMN DAD that I’m stuck with a FUCKING IMBECILE?”
“Don’t you bring our father into this!” Kirishima barked, not noticing the water getting higher each time Katsuki got angrier.
“I WOULD and I WILL, dammit! WHY THE FUCK DID HE PUT YOU IN CHARGE, HUH? DON’T THINK I CAN’T TAKE CARE OF MYSELF??” Katsuki shrieked as he stomped some more on the thick ice. The two still didn’t see how Katsuki’s anger started to crack a tall form of ice right next to them, causing it to crumble with each stomp.
Kirishima stood up and pointed his finger at Katsuki, anger seething through his veins, “Our father put ME in charge because I’m more skilled AND I’m older than you!”
Katsuki cackled at the thought, “Oh right! And when mom died, guess who had to do all of the work taking care of the Old Bat and all of the housework while you played soldier?? That’s right! Fucking ME, DUMBASS!”
Kirishima was about to say more when he finally noticed the ice cracking above them. His eyes widened as he tried to warn Katsuki, “Hey, uh… Kats?”
“No, you know what? Fuck you!” Katsuki barked as he continued to stomp and shake his hands violently, “You can take care of yourself from now on, ya hear me? FUCK! YOU!”
With the last two stomps, Katsuki’s bending broke the ice behind them as it then started to fall into the water. The two stumbled forward from the impact of the ice hitting the water and causing them to be pulled away from the waves. The two grabbed onto the side of the ice they were standing on as the waves subsided, leaving them wet, cold, and stranded.
Kirishima blinked as he found his footing, looking at a now bewildered Katsuki, who was staring at the crumbled up ice. He gave him a sarcastic clap, “Congrats, bro, for breaking that ice, we totally needed that to happen.”
Katsuki turned to his step brother and narrowed his eyes at him, flipping him off as he didn’t really have anything to say.
He was just slightly impressed he did that.
Suddenly, the surface of the water started to bubble and glow bright blue as a huge spherical iceberg floated to the top. It caused the two brothers’ ice to be pulled further away due to the current. The iceberg floated around on the surface before it settled and ceased moving, the glow continuing to shine bright.
Kirishima and Katsuki looked at the iceberg in awe, trying to see what just happened. Katsuki took a step forward as he noticed something was inside the iceberg.
He noticed a large creature toward the top as if it was floating, or flying, in the ice laying dormant. It had on a saddle and the horns had some sort of rope around them like someone was riding it. His eyes cast downward to a silhouette of a human below the creature in some sort of meditating pose with both fists pressed against each other. The glow was coming from some sort of arrow tattoos the person had on the back of their hands and part of their forehead. The rest of the head was covered in hair, indicating that the person grew it out after receiving said tattoo. The person was wearing some sort of yellow and orange monk robes that Katsuki only recognized from pictures in books about Air Nomads.
Katsuki squinted his eyes to get a better look at the silhouette, raising one eyebrow. The figure then slowly opened their eyes as the glow shone through them.
No fucking way…
Katsuki’s body began to move before all thoughts could be processed. He grabbed Kirishima’s sword from his back and ran toward the iceberg, ignoring the red heads' protests. Once he reached the ball of ice, he slammed the sword to cut it open.
“Kats! What are you doing??? You don’t know who or what’s in there!” He heard Kirishima shouting at him.
Katsuki continued to hit the wall of ice with the sword, grunting, “Did you not see the eyes opening? They’re still alive there! So I’m gonna get them out and give them what for!”
“But Kats–” Kirishima protested, but before he could continue, Katsuki hit the sphere once more before a giant crack formed around it. The force of air that came out of it pushed both teens away as a beacon of light bellowed out of the iceberg.
The beam flew toward the sky, surrounding it in its light, causing the creatures of the South to swim away and squeal in protest. Katsuki and Kirishima squeezed their eyes shut from the sudden brightness that bathed the entire place as the ice started to melt around the figure and creature.
The beam continued to glow bright as a large war boat with the Fire Nation insignia on it sailed forward. A young man stared at the beam, clad in a royal Fire Nation uniform, as he looked out in awe. His red and white hair was pulled back into a ponytail as his heterochromatic eyes widened. The left eye opened up as much as it could due to a large burn mark that was over it.
The young man turned around to face an older man, no older than 40, as he spoke to him, “Uncle Keigo, it looks like our search is over.”
Keigo looked up from his card game that he was playing and turned his gaze to the beam. He cocked an eyebrow as he contemplated his next words to the young man.
“That could be the Celestial Lights, Shouto. They’re very prominent during this time of the year,” Keigo replied as he placed another card on the board.
Shouto narrowed his eyes, “That didn’t look like Celestial Lights, Uncle. It appeared to have come from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!”
Keigo sighed, “Prince Shouto, we’ve been down this road before. I don’t want you to get your hopes up for this to turn out to be nothing again. Tell you what,” He then placed another card on the board and pointed at the teapot, “Just sit down, relax, and have a cup of Jasmine Tea with me. It’ll really calm you down.”
Shouto’s nostrils flared as he looked down at his uncle, losing his patience with him after all of these years of searching, “No, uncle! I will no longer be placated by your antics! You know I must find and capture the Avatar, no matter what!” He turned his gaze toward the top of the ship, “Helmsman! Set a course for the light!”
“Yes, Prince Shouto!” A helmsman shouted as they steered their direction toward the beam. Keigo frowned as he placed one more card on the board before crossing his arms, concern written on his face for his nephew.
“Fucking hell,” Kirshima said under his breath. He grabbed Katsuki by the shoulder as he pointed the spear toward the light, which was still spiraling wind and shining brighter than it had been.
Something stirred as they saw hands climbing up the side of the iceberg. Kirishima had a death grip on his spear while Katsuki held onto the sword with all of his might. The figure then stood on the top of the side as it looked down at the two, the wind blowing the hair as it shook.
Katsuki and Kirishima stared at the figure, ready to fight if necessary as it continued to stare at the two with the bright, blue eyes. Just before anything could happen, the wind slowed down to a complete stop, the figures’ eyes and arrows dimmed and soon, the body went limp and started to fall toward the two.
Katsuki sprinted forward and grabbed the figure before it could hurt itself from the impact. He held onto the figure, cradling it in his arms as he turned it around to see its face.
Upon closer inspection, the figure appeared to be a boy around their age, clad in Air Nomad robes of orange and yellow. The boy appeared to have freckles painting his face and unruly green hair on top. The tip of the light blue arrow tattoo on his head peeked from his hairline as he slumbered on from his awakening from the iceberg. Katsuki tipped his cheek toward his mouth and sighed in relief that he felt a warm breath coming from him.
Kirishima blinked at the boy as he poked his head with the back of his spear, “Is he alive?”
Katsuki pushed the offending spear away, “Of fucking course he is, dumbass! I just checked!”
“Oh…” Kirishima replied with his mouth forming an ‘o’.
“Yeah, oh,” Katsuki retorted back.
“Mmm… Wha…” The boy groaned in Katsuki’s arms.
Katsuki and Kirishima looked down to see the boy stirring. He slowly opened his eyes and stared up to Katsuki’s crimson eyes with his own emerald ones. He slowly blinked to clear his vision as he brought his hand to Katsuki’s cheek.
Katsuki, who totally did not flush red from the gesture, looked down at the green eyes as the boy whispered to him.
“I… I need to…” He croaked out.
Katsuki looked down at the boy, trying to figure out what the fresh hell he needed.
Did he need water? He didn’t have FRESH water, but he’d get him that. Food? Could probably get a fish or something? Or maybe–
“I need to use the bathroom!” The boy stuttered out, face red as a strawberry.
Katsuki immediately let go of the boy, earning a loud thud and an ‘oof!’ from him. His lips formed a line as he took some water from the sea and doused himself with it to calm his nerves down.
Kirishima blinked confusedly at the scene in front of him, his sphere still ready to strike in case things go awry. He cleared his throat before spewing out, “Uhh… Just… Go in the water?”
The boy stared at Kirishima before he stumbled up onto his wobbly feet and slid toward the edge of the iceberg.
“TURN THE CORNER AND PISS THERE, DAMMIT!” Katsuki shouted angrily, face still red from embarrassment as he shook the remaining water off of him.
“Ah! Right!” The boy mumbled as he turned the corner.
Kirishima and Katsuki waited a minute or two as the boy relieved himself before he turned back to meet his saviors.
“Th-Thanks, I uhh… I was kinda holding that in for a while…” The boy sheepishly said, fiddling with his fingers.
Kirishima was the first to ask the questions that were on everyone’s mind, “Okay, so, question for you. Who are you? Why were you in that iceberg? Why weren’t you frozen and dead? What is even going on here?”
“That’s uhh… That’s more than one question, b-but I guess those are legitimate and understandable, given the circumstances,” The boy muttered under his breath as he then heard a low growl from the iceberg. He turned with eyes widened and gasped, “Appa!” He scrambled up the iceberg again and ducked in where he was held captive. Katsuki and Kirishima turned to look at each other as they followed suit.
They watched as the boy struggled to wake up the very large creature that they noticed before, but didn’t realize the size of the beast as they got closer. The boy was patting the head of the creature before trying to open its mouth with his whole body.
“Come on, Appa,” The boy grunted as he kept up the pace. The creature then opened up its mouth and licked the boys’ entire back, making him laugh gleefully.
Katsuki’s stomach flipped just hearing that. He’s not sure why, but there it is.
“Appa! I’m glad you’re okay!” The boy smiled as he petted the large creature. The creature then nudged its large head in the boy's embrace like a pet.
Kirishima, once again, was the first to break the ice, spear pointing at the creature, “And what’s that thing?”
The boy turned around and gave them a confused look. He then made a face of realization as he introduced his creature, “Oh, right! This is Appa, he’s my flying bison!”
Kirishima narrowed his eyes, “Right, and this is Katsuki,” he gestured to the blonde, who was only standing there unnaturally quiet, “My flying brother.”
Katsuki gave him a look, shaking himself out of his stupor, “Fuck you, Ei.”
The boy gasped, causing the two to look at him quizzically as he tried desperately to cover the bison’s ears, though he could only manage one.
“Don’t use that kind of language! What if there were children around? Wait, do you guys live here?” The boy stated.
Katsuki was about to say something when Kirishima interrupted, pointing the spear in the boys’ face, “Oh no, we’re not going to fall for that! The beacon of light probably signaled the Fire Navy! How do we know you’re not working for them?”
The boy tilted his head, “Fire Navy?”
“Ei, use common sense,” Katsuki stated, gripping Kirishima’s shoulder, “Does he look like he works for the Fire Nation?”
Kirishima looked into the boy's green eyes, which were unnaturally doe looking, before he sighed and lowered the spear, “No, I guess not.”
Katsuki nodded as he stepped forward, “Pay no attention to him, he’s just paranoid, though I can’t say I blame him.”
The boy blinked, “Oh no, I get it. When someone melts out of an iceberg, you tend to think that way.”
“Heh, glad we’re on the same fucking page,” Katsuki smirked as the boy gasped again from the foul language, “Anyway, that’s Ei, or Eijirou Kirishima, my brother,” He pointed to Kirishima, who quietly waved, “And I’m Katsuki Bakugou.”
“Wait, you said you were brothers. How come you have different last names?” The boy genuinely asked.
Katsuki rolled his eyes, “His father married my mom, so we’re step brothers. They got married when we were really young, so we’re used to each other being under the same roof.”
“We didn’t bother changing our names,” Kirishima added, twirling the spear in his hands.
The boy nodded, “Okay, I understand I guess… Oh! Where are my manners?” The boy then beamed at the two, “My name’s–”
Just as he was about to introduce himself, he sneezed so loud and fierce, the force pushed him upward into the air, roughly ten feet from the ground. He caught himself midair and gently lowered himself back onto the ground, looking back up the bewildered brothers.
He sniffed his nose, “Sorry… I’m Izuku Midoriya! That’s… That’s what I was going to say,” He said sheepishly.
Katsuki blinked, “How the fuck did you do that?”
The boy named Izuku huffed, face scrunched up as if offended, “Seriously, what’s with the language? The monks never used that kind of language, even when the kids weren't around!”
“Dude, answer the question! You literally FLEW TEN FEET INTO THE AIR!” Kirishima shouted in amazement.
Izuku looked at them like they had five heads, “Oh really? It felt more than that, actually…”
Katsuki stared as his mind reeled at what just happened in the last few minutes.
Beam of light, wind blowing at them as the iceberg burst opened, the Air Nomad robe, the tattoos, a flying bison, mentioning monks, the guy sneezing into the air…
“You’re a fucking airbender!” Katsuki exclaimed.
Izuku grinned at the realization, ignoring the curse accompanying it, “Oh, took you long enough!”
This little shit…
“Hey, uhh, I just realized something,” Kirishima interrupted the two as he pointed out into the open ocean.
Oh. They were stranded.
Izuku cleared his throat, “You know, I’m sure Appa would love to give you a ride back to your village if you wanted.”
Katsuki and Kirishima shared a look, wondering if they should trust Izuku and the bison. However, with nowhere else to go and no other mode of transportation at their disposal, the two silently agreed that this was probably the best solution right now.
“Fine, get us back home, okay?” Katsuki grumbled as Izuku beamed.
“Will do!” Izuku exclaimed as he helped the two climb on top of the bison and onto the saddle. Once situated, Izuku sat on top of the bison’s neck and held onto the rope attached to its horns.
“Hold on to something!” Izuku warned as he then turned to Appa and shouted, “APPA! YIP YIP!”
Grabbing onto the side of the saddle, Katsuki heard the bison growl as it leaped into the air…
… Only for it to land in the water and paddle in the ocean like a boat.
“Appa?” Izuku asked confusedly, “Appa, Yip Yip!”
The bison continued to swim in the water instead, ignoring Izuku’s command.
Kirishima sighed, “You sure this is a flying bison? This is more like a swimming one!”
Izuku turned to Kirishima, “Appa’s probably just tired after being frozen for a bit! Trust me, when he’s fully rested, he will soar us into the sky and through the clouds!”
Kirishima shrugged as he held tight the side of the saddle. Katsuki, on the other hand, stared at the green haired boy, contemplating why he had survived being frozen in an iceberg.
He must have stared for too long as Izuku asked, “Everything alright, Kacchan?”
Silence filled the group, with the exception of Appa paddling toward their destination.
Kirishima burst out laughing, causing the blonde to growl at him, “BWAHAHAHAHA KACCHAN???? THAT IS PERFECT!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Katsuki felt an artery pop in his head from the nickname that the airbender had bestowed on him. He never even uttered his actual name and yet here he was making a stupid nickname for him like they were childhood friends.
… And yet…
Izuku seemed to have picked up on that as he stumbled on his words, “Oh, umm… I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to call you that! I-It just slipped out, I’ll just call you Katsu–”
“Kacchan’s fine,” Katsuki said without a second thought.
The two looked at him like he just spoke a different language. Kirishima was eyeing him up and down trying to see if something happened to him that caused his brain to malfunction.
Izuku merely looked at him as he rubbed the back of his head, “R-Really? You don’t mind?”
Katsuki, realizing that he seriously didn’t mind it at all, simply shrugged as he crossed his arms. The breeze billowed around them as Appa swam them toward their village.
Kirishima turned to Izuku, “Dude, it took him YEARS to get used to me calling him Kats and for him to call me Ei! You took TEN MINUTES and he’s okay being called ‘Kacchan!’ What’s your secret?”
Izuku flushed from that as his gaze went back forward toward their destination, shrugging to answer the question before asking his own, “Is he always like this? So brash and assertive?”
Kirishima nodded, “He can be if and when he needs to. So when you call him Kacchan, I thought he would have thrown a fit,” He then wiggled his eyebrows, “Looks like he has a soft spot for green haired boys–”
The remainder of that statement was met with a splash of water hitting his face. He sputtered and wiped his face dry as he turned to the culprit, who did not hide the fact that he bended water to flick it on him, smirk prominent.
“Dude! Not funny!” Kirishima whined.
Katsuki flipped him off, chuckling at his reaction.
Shouto looked out toward the horizon where the beam burst through the air. He took a deep breath as he felt his heart pounding in his chest about the possibility of capturing the Avatar at last.
Three years of hunting him down, and now he is close. He could feel it.
He heard a loud yawn from behind him and the tuttering of lips before the voice spoke, “You need sleep, Shouto.”
Shouto turned to see Keigo standing behind him, wearing his sleeping robes. He rubbed his eyes as he sighed, “Shouto, even if you’re right and he’s alive, there is no way you’re going to find him. Your father, grandfather, and great grandfather; they had all failed to find him. So don’t get your hopes up if it turns out it’s nothing.”
Shouto huffed in response, “They all failed due to one reason: Their honor wasn’t hanging in the balance like mine is,” Shouto’s gaze hardened as he continued to stare into the horizon, “Him hiding for one hundred years is over.”
Keigo took a deep breath, knowing his attempts were futile, and shook his head, “If you change your mind, your bed is waiting,” and with that, Keigo left without another word.
“So,” Katsuki started to fill in the silence between the group after an hour of Appa swimming.
Izuku raised an eyebrow, “So?”
“You’re an airbender, hah?” Katsuki asked, raising one eyebrow.
Izuku nodded, gesturing to his outfit, “I guess the outfit didn’t scream Air Nomad, but continue.”
Katsuki huffed at the audacity of this guy, “Did you know the Avatar, by any chance?”
Izuku looked at Katsuki like he opened his private journal that was filled with secrets. He looked around the area, still surrounded by water and ice, as he cast his eyes downward, “U-Umm… N-No… I-I haven’t met him… I mean, I knew people who did know him, but I never met the guy nor have we interacted with each other.”
Katsuki looked at Izuku for a brief moment; he could tell he was hiding something, judging by the eyes and the sweat going down his face, and normally, he would fight tooth and nail to get the person to speak and tell the truth. However, as if the guy himself has put him under some damn spell, he instead shrugs and mumbles an, “Okay…” before shuffling back toward Kirishima, who was looking at the edge of the saddle down into the water, watching the fish swim away as Appa continued to paddle along the surface of the water.
Kirishima looked up and found Katsuki only staring at Izuku, his back turned as he laid down on the fur of Appa’s nape of the neck. He raised one eyebrow as he asked, “Everything alright, dude?”
Katsuki huffed, “He’s hiding something, Ei.”
“I gathered that much,” Kirishima replied, “Now that you mention it, he doesn’t seem like an airbender that we read about. They’re Monks, right? Don’t they shave their heads and such?”
Katsuki nodded, sharing the same sentiment, “I also asked him if he knew the Avatar–”
Kirishima groaned, “Kats, seriously…”
Katsuki looked down at him ferociously, “No, Ei, listen. I asked him and he gave me this look, like he was fucking nervous to answer my question. He stumbled on his words and sweated a bit about it. So it stands to reason that he may know more than he’s leading on.”
Kirishima looked at Katsuki with a mix of quizzical and irritation before sighing, “I don’t know, Kats… If the Avatar really still exists, where would he have gone? He’d be very old by now! And why did Izuku suddenly show up in an iceberg? If he knew the Avatar, that would mean that he would have been there…”
“Which means,” Katsuki continued, “That the nerd here might be over a hundred years old…”
Katsuki looked over at Kirishima, who gave him a look, “No, that can’t be right…”
Katsuki shrugged, “That’s just a theory, but it would explain why he was frozen and we found an airbender after so long…”
“Still, frozen in an iceberg? Surviving afterwards??? That can’t be possible!” Kirishima exclaimed, trying to find a logical reasoning behind this.
“Ei, shut up, I can hear your brain shaking in there,” Katsuki joked, but keeps a firm grip on the red head, “But seriously, I see your point. Let’s just keep this to ourselves for now, get back to the village and figure this shit out there, okay?”
Kirishima rubbed his temples, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Kats…”
Katsuki nodded as he looked at the now snoozing green haired boy. He raised one eyebrow as he contemplated his brother’s words.
Honestly? He didn’t have a plan, but what was he to do right now? All he could focus on is getting the airbender back home, let him rest, and figure the rest out later.
What could happen?
Izuku flew Appa as the rain poured down on them both, causing the bison to be swept in the wind. He was getting tired of flying, but Izuku pushed him further as they were approaching another area to hide out. His newly grown hair was getting damp and matted on his head as he tried to steer Appa away.
Four years on the run and he’s still paranoid about the whole thing.
“We’re almost there, Appa, you’re doing great!” Izuku shrieked through the torrential storm, trying to soothe his companion.
There was a loud, thunderous clap of lightning that spooked the bison and they were soon met with a wave that crashed into them, pummeling them into the sea.
Appa swam to the surface as he tried to keep himself afloat. Izuku gritted his teeth, trying to come up with something to get him out of the water.
Another wave hits the two and pulls them down into the depths below. Appa was losing his strength by the second and drowning in the water. Izuku lost focus and suddenly found himself with no oxygen in his lungs. He felt his eyes starting to close and his head getting fuzzy as he started to be consumed by darkness…
Until something unusual happened; his tattoos suddenly glowed bright and when his eyes opened, they were glowing as well. He jammed his fists together to form an air pocket for both him and Appa. He then found the air pocket being surrounded in ice and soon, the two were getting colder and colder–
Izuku gasped as he lifted himself off of the soft mat he was laying on, pulling the covers off of him. He took in his surroundings and saw that he was in someone’s hut and laying on their bed. He noted that his torso was exposed, but he didn’t feel cold for some reason. He looked to his right and sure enough, Katsuki was sitting there watching him amusingly, a smirk painted on his face.
“For someone who was frozen in an iceberg for fuck knows how long, you sure were tired,” Katsuki jested, showing off his canines.
Izuku flushed at the statement as he fidgeted with the blanket, “I wouldn’t say that, Kacchan… But umm… I do feel a bit refreshed.”
Katsuki hummed in response before he stood up and headed toward the only entrance, “Come on, the village wants to meet you, go get your clothes on.”
Izuku blinked before he realized that he did indeed need to get dressed. He jumped out of the bed and found his outfit, quickly putting it back on. He felt eyes roaming his body, but he didn’t pay any mind as he finished putting the shirt overtop of his head. A hand grabbed his wrist impatiently as he was dragged out of the hut, a muffle of protests filling the void between the two.
Izuku found himself surrounded by a large wall of ice and no more than ten tents and a hut. Confusion ran over his body as he was dragged toward a small group of people huddled together, some holding onto their children for dear life as Katsuki pushed him in front of them.
“Aight,” Katsuki started as he gestured to the group of people, “This, nerd, is our village, the Southern Water Tribe. Everyone, meet the nerd. Nerd, meet everyone.”
Izuku grinned and waved at the group, “Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you all!”
The group looked suspicious toward him as he looked at them with confusion. He turned to Katsuki with a quizzical look, “... Did I say something?”
An old woman, the spitting image of Katsuki, stepped forward as she greeted Izuku, “Don’t worry, they just haven’t seen an airbender in a long time,” the old woman crosses her arms and smirked, “Everyone thought they were extinct until my grand-brats found you and brought you here.”
Izuku’s eyes widened as he clutched Katsuki’s shoulder for stability, “Wait, what do you mean extinct?”
As if no one heard him, Katsuki cleared his throat, making the green haired boy look at him, “That’s the Old Bat.”
“The name’s Kazumi Bakugou, brat,” Kazumi barked back, arching an eyebrow at her grandson before turning to Izuku, “Please, call me grandma, don’t listen to Katsuki. I may be old, but I’m not out of commission yet!”
Izuku chuckled, “Well it’s nice to meet you. I’m Izuku Midoriya!”
“Yo, Izuku!” Kirishima ran over with a stick in his hand, “Couldn’t help but notice this on your bison over there. What is this exactly?”
Izuku looked at what he was talking about and noticed what he was holding, “Oh!” His eyes widened in recognition as he took the object in his hand, grinning cheek to cheek, “It’s my glider! I use it to get from place to place sometimes!” Emphasizing his point, he holds the staff and out pops large and small orange wings on each end of the staff.
He then turns to the children, who were watching with awe, as he explained, “I use it with my airbending, letting me control the air currents to let me fly!”
Kirishima furrowed his eyebrows at the statement, “But humans can’t fly!”
Izuku smirked, “Watch and learn!”
Izuku then positioned himself in front of his glider and, grip tightened, he flung himself into the air, leaving the village in awe and gasping at his performance. He sailed along the air, propelling him forward and doing some tricks to entertain the children. He looks down to see Kirshima’s eyes widen and mouth agape while Katsuki’s arms are crossed with a small smile on his face, looking impressed.
Izuku beamed down at the gesture, not realizing where he was going and landed into a pile of snow, earning some laughs from the villagers. He pulled himself out and gently landed back onto the ground as he flicked some snow off of his hair.
“Oh COME ON!” He heard Kirishima shout as he ran to the pile of snow, “That was my watchtower!”
Katsuki cackled, earning a scowl from the red head, “That needed to come down anyway, it was an eyesore!” His attention then turned back to Izuku, whose face was tinted pink from the cold and embarrassment, “Thanks, Deku, I needed that laugh!”
Izuku sputtered from what the blonde just called him, “Th-That’s not my name! It’s Izuku!”
Katsuki huffed, still smirking, “And Kacchan is not mine, yet I let you call me that, so we’re fucking even!”
“Th-There are CHILDREN around! You can’t keep using that kind of language!” Izuku shrieked, closing his glider so it was only a staff and gripping it tightly.
Katsuki waved his hands dismissively, “They’re used to it,” His features then softened as he looked down at the green haired boy, “Seriously, that was impressive. You gotta be a fast learner to have mastered airbending at your age.”
Izuku’s face flushed at the compliment, scratching his chin in the process, “Oh uh, thanks, Kacchan… Wait…” Izuku looked up to the red eyes as he spurted out his question, “How old do you think I am?”
Katsuki blinked, clearly not expecting that question as he shrugged, “I don’t know, 12?”
Izuku’s nostrils flared in offense as he flailed his arms, “I’m 16! How old are YOU even?”
“17, dumbass,” Katsuki scoffed, his softened features now hardening a bit from the accusation, “Enough with playing 20 questions and just take the damn compliment!”
Izuku was about to retort as the pile of snow hit Kirishima square on the head from the now destroyed watchtower. He brushed the snow off of his head as he crossed his arms and groaned, “Great, now I gotta rebuild that,” He turned to his brother, who rolled his eyes, “Looks like you got another bender to finally play with, bro. Have fun, I guess,” Kirishima then turned to try to rebuild his watchtower, unaware that Izuku now looked at Katsuki with sparkles in his eyes.
Izuku gasped, “Wait, you’re a waterbender??? Why didn’t you say anything??? You could show me some of your moves, Kacchan! I bet they’re really amazing!”
Katsuki, with his ever loving patience, tried not to scowl at the questions thrown at him before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Kazumi gesture for him to follow her, which he did just that, leaving the poor airbender mutter under his breath about how ‘cool’ waterbending must look like and how ‘Kacchan’ must be a master at it.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, brat,” Kazumi whispered to him, making him flinch at the fact that he had been caught, “That boy just woke up from being frozen in an iceberg, and without a proper waterbending teacher, you could hurt someone.”
Katsuki growled under his breath as he glared at her, “Grandma, I finally meet a bender and you’re telling me I can’t take advantage of this? Look,” He gave his grandmother the most sincere look he could muster, “I get it, he’s younger than me, he’s an airbender, but fuck it, he seems to know a lot more than I do! How am I going to master waterbending without a fucking teacher? Trust me, I tried the self-taught route, and look what happened there? I’m a stubborn motherfucker, but even I know when I need some help every now and then!”
Kazumi raised an eyebrow at her grandson before she smiled sadly, “You are just like your mother, you know. Always setting your mind on what you want until it is yours.”
Katsuki’s glare turned into a somber look, hands reaching for the small ribbon necklace around his neck with the waterbending emblem on it. Normally, women of the Water Tribe would wear it, as it is a betrothal necklace given to women by the men, but being her only biological child before his mother’s remarriage and eventual death, and the fact that her death hit him more than Kirishima, it was passed down to him as a keepsake and the only thing reminding him of his mother.
Katsuki sighed, clenching the necklace in his hand, “I know…”
Kazumi held his arm and gently squeezed it, assuring him that the feeling is mutual. She then frowned and gave him a warning, “Just be careful, Katsuki… Something tells me that trouble is coming…”
Katsuki looked into her red eyes, wondering where she was coming from, as he then turned to look at Izuku, who was playing with the children and showing some tricks with his staff, a bright smile on his freckled face.
What kind of trouble would this nerd get them into?
“Shouto, you’re doing it again,” Keigo sighed, watching his nephew train with two other soldiers on his moves. He stepped forward and showed him, “The power of firebending comes from the breath, not your muscles. Your breath becomes energy from the body, and the energy extends past your limbs,” Keigo explained as he moved his body as he talked, showing the breath and swaying his arms to form a fist, “And that,” fire burst through his fists and misses Shouto by mere inches, a grin forming on Keigo’s face, “becomes fire.”
Shouto raised an eyebrow at his uncle; while wise and thorough with his teachings, which he appreciated, he was running out of time, and he needed to speed up his training.
Shouto stepped forward toward his uncle as he narrowed his eyes, “Teach me the next set, I’m more than ready.”
Keigo shook his head, “You’re becoming too impatient, Shouto. You haven’t even mastered the basics. Now go try again,” He then gestured toward the drilling sergeant, who posed for another round of drills.
“Uncle,” Shouto demanded as he glared at him, “The Sages have told us that the Avatar is the last airbender. He has to be over a hundred years old by now, and had over a century to master the four elements. I do not have time for basic training,” He angrily pleaded with his uncle, who wouldn’t budge, “Teach me the next set. Now.”
Keigo stared at his nephew with one eyebrow raised. He sighed as he stood up, “Very well, but let’s take a five minute breather and replenish our energy. I have some soba noodles here, since we’ve been drilling almost the whole day.”
Shouto took a deep breath, knowing his uncle had a point. He needed to push himself to know more sets and how to defeat and capture the Avatar, and logically, he couldn’t do that tired and hungry. Conceding, he sat down next to his uncle and slowly ate the noodles.
He didn’t notice the small smile on Keigo’s face, clearly having won the small spat, as he dug in.
“When you enter here, you are mere children,” Kirishima instructed a group of children, one picking her nose as he continued his speech, “But when you leave, you will become soldiers! Protectors of the Water Tribe! It is important to show no fear when you face the Fire Nation! In our tribe, we fight until the last one stands, for how can we call ourselves soldiers without courage? Any questions?”
A hand was raised as the child spoke up, “Can I go pee?”
Kirishima facepalmed himself before groaning, “Fine, who else needs to pee?”
All of the children’s hands rose; Kirishima inwardly screamed as he waved his hands dismissively.
The children scurried off to the area of the tribe where they can use the toilet as Katsuki came into his view, a scowl written on his face.
“Oi, where’s Deku?” Katsuki asked.
Kirishima raised an eyebrow, “First off, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like that nickname. Secondly, I thought he was with you?”
Katsuki’s eyebrow twitched, “He calls me Kacchan, so I’m calling him Deku!”
“But you gave him permission to do so!” Kirishima explained.
“The irony is not lost, but still,” Katsuki sighed, “Seriously, where is he?”
“WEEEEEEE!!!” The two heard a child squeal. They both turned to the source and sure enough, the group of children were playing with Izuku and his bison, sliding off of his tail and landing into a pile of snow at the base, causing each child to laugh. Izuku beamed at the children as they played on Appa, allowing them to have fun.
“Izuku, come on! We don’t have time for this!” Kirishima shouted as the group of children gasped, clearly caught, and ran from the bison. Izuku looked at Kirishima quizzically as he slid off of Appa, with Kirishima continuing his tirade, “The war is still going on! If we don’t train these children now, who knows what will happen to our village?”
“War? What war?” Izuku asked, eyes now widened.
Katsuki and Kirishima blinked; there was no way Izuku didn’t know about the fucking war even if possibly frozen for a Century.
Just as Kirishima was about to explain the situation, Izuku’s eyes fucking sparkled and gasped loudly like he won a sack of coins. His smile grew and grew as he shouted, “OH MY GOODNESS IT’S A PENGUIN!!!!”
A whooshing sound was the last thing the two heard and saw as Izuku sped toward the poor penguin, disappearing in the distance.
Katsuki just stared at the direction Izuku ran off to, ignoring Kirishima’s exasperated sigh and declaration that, “You deal with him, Kats, I’m gonna get the kids,” and he was left to his own devices.
He really is joking about not knowing about the war, right?
Katsuki groaned as he started to walk toward where the damn nerd disappeared to. To his utter shock (note, not shocked at all), when he reached his destination, Izuku was running around to try to catch a penguin, only for him to successfully scare them off and run away from him. His determined face and tongue sticking out made the entire scene amusing to Katsuki as he chuckled a bit.
The damn nerd may be 16, but he acted like a kid sometimes.
“Come on, I just wanna do some penguin sledding!” Izuku muttered under his breath as he slowly stepped toward a penguin. The penguin noted where he was and stepped away before Izuku could catch it, causing him to fall into the snow with a loud ‘oof!’
Katsuki laughed at the sight, earning a small squeak from the green haired boy as he lifted his head up from the snow, dusting it off with embarrassment.
Katsuki stifled his laugh as he responded, “Seriously, you’re okay. It’s kind of funny, I’ll admit, but I’m merely interested in why you’re doing this, nerd.”
Izuku perked up a bit from the softness as he beamed, “I wanted to go penguin sledding with them! I’ve never done it before, and I heard it was fun, so I kinda wanted to catch one to do that! I never really did many fun things growing up, actually…” His smile then faltered a bit, and Katsuki had to bite back the sudden ache in his chest seeing the boy look so sad.
Judging by what he has seen, this poor boy didn’t have a normal childhood. For what reason, he didn’t know, but something compelled him to reach out and help. Plus, it could benefit him in the long run, too, just to see if he would help him with his waterbending.
“Oi, how about this: I’ll help you catch a penguin, and you teach me some waterbending, okay?” Katsuki asked, a small grin on his face.
Izuku gasped, “Really?” He then smiled, “Okay, deal!” He rose from the ground and brushed the snow off of his pants before sudden realization hit him, “Wait, how could I teach you waterbending? I’m an airbender, Kacchan! And even so, you’re older than me, so you should have mastered it by now! And even so, why don’t you go to a mentor in your village to teach you?”
Katsuki’s eyebrows furrowed; he knew this was something risky, but the confusion on Izuku’s face melted him as he sighed sadly, “I can’t find a mentor that will train me because there are no benders in my village. In fact,” He crossed his arms as he took a deep breath, “Deku, you’re talking to the only waterbender in the entire South Pole. I’ve been trying to teach myself, but that is obviously not working out, so yeah…”
Izuku looked into Katsuki’s sad red eyes, a feeling of dread coursing through his veins. There’s no way he could have known or is trying to weasel a confession out of him, but he seemed genuine in learning waterbending. But the real question was at the tip of his tongue as he spurt out, “... That’s not fair…”
Katsuki gave him a look to elaborate, so Izuku did just that, “You being the only waterbender here with no mentor to help you master waterbending? I’m so sorry to hear that…”
“Hah? What’s that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on me???” Katsuki barked, earning a squeak from Izuku, raising his hands defensively.
“I-I’m not looking down on you! I’m just saying that you need a mentor!” Izuku stuttered, “A-And I honestly don’t know waterbending, so I can’t r-really help you!”
Suddenly an idea popped into his head, which would make sense and it would benefit Katsuki in the long run, “Kacchan! What about the North Pole? I’m sure there are tribes up there and have waterbenders that could teach you!”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow and was about to rebuttal, but quickly shut his trap. Realization dawned on him as he thought about Izuku’s words.
“That… That’s not a bad idea, nerd,” Katsuki said, nodding his head, “There’s just one problem: we haven’t had any contact with the sister tribe in a long time. Plus, how would we get there? It’s on the other side of the fucking globe.”
Izuku winced at the casual curse word and simply responded, “We can travel on Appa! Remember, he’s a flying bison! We could take you there and we’ll find you a master to help you with your waterbending!”
Katsuki stared at the green haired boy like he just spoke gibberish. He then shifted his weight onto the other leg as he contemplated.
He had never left the South Pole ever, so the thought of traveling to a completely different part of the world made him feel a bit dizzy and unnerving. The thought of leaving his people, especially Kirishima and the Old Bat…
That didn’t sit well with him.
A hand shook him out of his thoughts as Izuku suddenly was closer with his hand on his shoulder. Katsuki stared into the green irises as they spoke to him, “Just think about it, okay? I see you’re having a battle in your head about the thought.”
Katsuki merely nodded before Izuku beamed again, “Besides, you were going to show me how to catch a Penguin, remember?”
Crossing his arms, Katsuki felt the unnerved feeling go away and was replaced with relief. He smirked down at the green haired boy, who was looking at him with sheer awe.
“Alright, Deku,” Katsuki then positioned himself, keeping his feet still on the snow as he placed his hands on his hips, “Pay close attention, because this is a ‘blink and you miss’ situation. This is going to be very fucking difficult, so I hope you brought your A-game!”
Izuku nodded, eyes sparkling once again.
Katsuki grinned, “Okay, listen closely to my instructions on how to catch a Penguin,” he reached into his pocket and took out a small fish. The penguins turned his attention and started to head toward Katsuki. He then tossed the fish toward Izuku and he caught it in his hands. He made a gagging noise at holding the wretched fish, but the results were instantaneous. The Penguins turned toward Izuku and charged forward to get the fish.
Katsuki cackled loudly at the sight of Izuku scrambling to get out of the hold of all of the Penguins swarming him.
He hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
The Penguins skirted to a halt at the end of the long journey down the slopes as Izuku hopped off of the back of his Penguin with a huge grin. He turned to Katsuki, who was still sitting on his, unmoving and still.
Izuku snorted as he poked Katsuki, who suddenly remembered what just happened in the last five minutes, and flopped off of his Penguin. The two creatures scurried away as the blonde stood up from his graceful landing and dusted off his pants.
“Listen, Deku, I hadn’t done that in a very long time, okay? I forgot how fast that can go, so forgive me if I puke all over you,” Katsuki said in a shaking voice.
Izuku chuckled at the reaction, “Okay, Kacchan,” his gaze then turned to something in front of them and he let out a low whistle.
Katsuki turned to what Izuku was looking at and his blood ran cold.
Right in front of them was a supposed abandoned Fire Nation war boat, the insignia still bright and shining for everyone to see. It was surrounded by ice and spikes, indicating that there was a battle between the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation, with the tribe winning.
Izuku looked in awe as he asked, “What is that?”
Katsuki didn’t know if he was joking or not, but he narrowed his eyes as he clutched his mother’s necklace, “It’s a Fire Navy ship…” His eyes cast down toward the ice, “And a horrible reminder to our people…”
The two stood there in silence for a brief moment, letting the scene sink in. Katsuki then heard movement as he looked back up and saw Izuku walking toward the boat.
“Deku, that could be booby-trapped! Don’t fucking go near it!” Katsuki responded, but Izuku continued to push forward, ignoring his warnings.
Izuku then spoke up, turning to face Katsuki, “You’re a waterbender, right?”
The hell kind of question is that?
“Yes?” Katsuki said, raising an eyebrow.
Izuku then grinned, “If you’re going to master waterbending, then you have to let go of fear.”
Katsuki’s eyes widened at the train of thought. He… Never really thought about that… But it makes perfect sense that if you want to master any element, all you have to do is put your big boy pants on and show no fear.
He took a deep breath in and out to calm his nerves, “If we get caught,” Katsuki started before a hand was held up, shutting him up for good.
“We won’t!” Izuku gested, a toothy grin plastered on him.
Son of a–
Conceding, Katsuki walked toward the ship with Izuku in tow. The silence was welcomed for the most part, because then Katsuki wouldn’t have to think of the dreaded feeling he had approaching the ship. The two climbed up some ice and debris before finding a hole to climb into and stepped into the threshold of the ship.
The two walked around, noting every part of the ship was made of metal. The now abandoned ship had snow filled inside and part of it was rusting from the exposure. Izuku seemed to look in awe and curiosity while Katsuki was trying to shake the nerves off.
Katsuki was the first to speak after some time and walking into a room filled with spears and other weapons, “Fucking shit… It’s one of the first ships to attack our tribe when the Old Bat was a kid…”
Izuku looked at some of the weapons as the words Katsuki said sunk in, as if he didn’t believe it one bit, “Kacchan, I have met people from all over the world. I’ve made friends with them, even those in the Fire Nation. There was no war that I know of.”
Katsuki looked at him with concern, “Deku… How long do you think you have been fucking frozen for?”
Izuku turned to him with confusion, “I-I don’t know… A few days?”
“Deku…” Katsuki said with the most sincere look on his face, “This war has been around for about a hundred years… If you don’t remember a war going on… That means you’ve been frozen for that long…”
Izuku shook his head, “That can’t be right… Do I look 116?”
“Fucking– Deku! Try to understand the words I am saying!” Katsuki impatiently shouted, making the green haired boy shut up, “You don’t remember the war, right?”
Izuku nodded as Katsuki continued, “The war is a Century old! That’s the only explanation as to why you don’t remember it happening! Fucking THINK!”
Izuku looked like his brain was going a million miles as it finally caught up with Katsuki’s words. He hoped he didn’t spook the boy as his eyes widened with sudden realization and fear. Izuku slumped into the wall of the ship and sank down, cradling his head in his hands.
“A hundred years… I-I was f-frozen for… A hundred y-years…” He choked out through a sob.
Katsuki noticed that the eyes, once filled with sparkles and joy, were now dripping tears down his freckled cheeks and into his lap. The boy was shaking like a leaf as the whole weight of it all dawned on him.
Oh for fuck sakes…
Katsuki crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his back as if to soothe him. He’s used to doing this to the kids, so why the fuck wouldn’t it work for a 116 year old boy.
Katsuki cleared his throat to stifle the silence, “Sorry to bring this up to you. I’m sure you’re going to have a big existential crisis for a bit. Look, there’s gotta be some good from all of this. Lean onto that and latch on if that will make you stop fucking crying.”
Izuku sniffed as he wiped his teary eyes as he thought about what he said. He then turned to Katsuki as his eyes widened, “Actually, there is one thing.”
Katsuki raised one eyebrow as he let Izuku elaborate on it. Izuku smiled at him, his face warm and fuzzy as he declared, “I got to meet you, Kacchan!”
Katsuki’s face flushed red from that. He always received compliments, yes, but they were from people of his village. To get one from a complete stranger? Someone that he just met?
This was new fucking territory.
Katsuki shook the thoughts away as he stood up, extending his hand out, “Come on, this place is giving me the creeps. Let’s get back.”
Izuku nodded, grabbed his hand and stood up to follow the blonde out.
But not before his foot met with a taut invisible string.
The only exit out of the room was suddenly blocked off with a metal cage. Katsuki ran over to try to push it off its hinges, but to no avail.
“FUCK!” Katsuki cursed as he turned to the green haired boy. Izuku sputtered apologies from his flustered mouth as some sort of contraption started to work its magic. Soon, the two saw a burst of light fly into the sky from the window.
It was a flare for help.
“There’s a hole here! We can get out of here through this,” Izuku pointed at a hole in the ceiling, something that they didn’t notice until now.
Izuku grabbed Katsuki and pulled him into a bridal style, much to the blonde’s protests.
“The FUCK? I’M NOT A DAMSEL IN FUCKING DISTRESS!!!” Katsuki snarled.
Izuku was sweating bullets a bit, realizing what he was doing, and tried to rationalize with the fuming blonde in his arms, “I-I’m sorry, but trust me, and hold on!” Before Katsuki could shout some more, Izuku shot themselves into the air and through the hole, leaving the ship for good.
Shouto watched the flare in the air through his binoculars and the scene unfolding miles away from him. He saw the silhouette of the Avatar carrying a man in his arms out of the abandoned Fire Navy ship and, using his airbending skills, landed safely into the snow.
Shouto raised an eyebrow, noting how agile the Avatar was, despite his age. The Avatar and the man started to run toward a small village that he spotted further away, the raised ice forming around and a single plume of smoke coming from a hut of some kind.
He put his binoculars away and turned to his soldiers, “Wake up my uncle and tell him that I found the Avatar, as well as his hideout.”
“Yes, Prince Shouto,” the soldiers shouted as they marched inside their own ship. Shouto turned back toward the area where the flare was spotted as he narrowed his eyes.
He now has the Avatar in his sights, and he will not leave the South Pole without him.