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Rain pours down from the stark black sky, dripping in streams off of rooftops and pooling in already-overflowing gutters. Monsoon season’s hit hard this year, and Izuku’s ready to go home to a warm, dry bed and a bowl of katsudon.
But he can’t — not when he knows Yuuga’s still out here somewhere in this storm.
However wet and cold Izuku is, Yuuga must be ten times that. And he’s alone, too.
Izuku tugs the hood lower over his head with one hand, adjusting the flashlight brightness with the other as his steps echo on concrete He races down street after street, pausing only to peer into side alleys in the hope that he might find his friend.
“Yuuga?” he calls out into the void. “Yuuga? It’s me, Izuku!”
No reply, as has been the case for the last 45 minutes today and the entire duration of all his searches in the past week. Even so, upon his back is a satchel full of food, some survival essentials, and a blanket just in case he’s able to succeed in his mission.
Izuku forces himself to push on, drawing upon One For All to fuel his speed and strength when he finds himself slowing down.
“Yuuga, please!”
He’s about ready to give up and go home — everyone knows the search is near-futile, and why he even bothers is a mystery. But that’s not entirely true; the truth is that he’s clinging to the tiny hope that Yuuga wants to be found, that he can come back and everything might bear some greater semblance of normalcy.
It’s all wishful thinking, every part of it.
Ever since All For One’s cruel, unceremonious revelation that Yuuga had all along been the “traitor” in their midst, nothing had been the same. Normalcy was a long way gone.
Yet Izuku knew that Yuuga hadn’t wanted to betray his classmates like that. And deep down, Class 1-A knew it too. Looking back, Izuku was a fool not to spot the signs — Yuuga’s ostensibly suspicious behavior after the USJ, his attempt to fail himself and Ochako during the finals, his reluctance to open up to anyone… so that nobody would take it so harshly when they were inevitably hurt by the reveal.
Finally, after all was said and done, Yuuga ran away.
He had underestimated, however, Izuku’s willingness to follow him to the end of the world and try to get him back.
Suddenly, there was a flash of something, so tiny that Izuku almost missed it. His sneakers squeaked as he skidded on the sidewalk, spinning around. Carefully, he walked back in the direction he had come, looking left and right, and sure enough — he spotted the royal purple of Yuuga’s hero costume cape, wrapped around a shivering figure crouched against a wall.
“I-zu-ku…?”
The voice was raspy from being unused, but it was undeniably Yuuga. Izuku’s heart skipped a beat as relief flooded him.
“Yuuga… I’ve been looking for you for a week…”
He approaches cautiously, taking in the sight. The silvery metal of his friend’s costume has long lost its luster, though not from neglect; it’s clearly undergone several polishing attempts over the last week. Yet the surface is scratched, and there’s simply too much fresh mud and grime caking the edges.
Izuku meets Yuuga’s eyes. They’re as dulled as his attire is, and as they focus on Izuku, they begin to well up with tears.
“I’m sorry for making you worry,” Yuuga chokes out. “I had to leave. Nobody wanted me there after they saw all that I did.”
“We do. We all miss you, you know that?” Izuku reaches out to take his friend’s hands in his own, setting down the blanket and bag of supplies as he does so. “Nothing’s been the same. Hagakure can’t focus in class. I’ve lost count of the number of times Mina overslept because she was up late crying. Even Bakugou’s barely yelling at our teachers anymore.”
Yuuga almost smiles at the last one, but his expression quickly sobers again. “I… did not realize.”
“Please come back,” Izuku begs.
Yuuga shakes his head solemnly. “Even now, he will be looking for me. He will be angry at me, so I cannot be near you all. Or else it is over for you.”
“We’ve fought against All for One and won before,” Izuku reminds him. “We can do it again. We’re all stronger now, we’ve trained for two years…”
“He is stronger, too,” Yuuga says, bowing his head. “And I cannot forgive myself. Even if I get over my fear of All for One, I cannot be around you guys without hating myself for what I’ve done.”
“So- so what?” Izuku asks, voice bordering on desperation. “You’ll just distance yourself? Leave us to it? If nothing else, shouldn’t you help us fix what you’ve done?”
The words hit home, cutting into Yuuga’s conscience. But he holds. “I don’t deserve to stand by your side and fight with you. Now go home. I want to be alone.” He’s lying through his teeth, and they both know it. The loneliness aches. He wants nothing more than to follow Izuku, but he would be deluding himself, so he’ll stay put.
Finally, after a long moment, Izuku stands up to leave.
Then he turns back. “Please,” Izuku pleads. “We can figure it out together, I promise — all you need to do is come back with me.”
He takes one step away.
Yuuga’s resolve shatters. “Wait!” he cries out.
Izuku turns, hope shining in those emerald eyes.
Forget All For One. Forget the danger and futility and hopelessness of it all.
It’s just like Izuku said. We can figure it out.
And Yuuga wishes so badly to trust, to believe in the promise made by a friend who has never failed or abandoned him, not even when Yuuga so deserved it.
He gathers up the supplies, the food, the blanket that Izuku had deposited on the ground, and he rises.
“I’m coming with you.”