Chapter Text
“It’s… an unusual mutation.”
That was the explanation Midoriya Izuku got at four years old, sitting terrified in a doctor’s office, head buried in his mother’s skirt. He hated hospitals. There were too many people, too many… others.
“You said you had a quirk that allowed you to pull objects towards you, correct?”
“Small objects, yes,” Midoriya Inko floats the fallen All Might action figure towards her with miniscule pulls of her fingers. Her quirk wasn’t heroic in the slightest, but it helped around the office, pulling pens and documents whenever she was busy at her desk. “His father breathes fire.”
“A physical and a psychic quirk,” Dr. Tsubasa strokes his mustache in thought, then gestures to his nurse, who stands and turns out the light, eliciting a yelp from the terrified child. “Izuku, please look at me.”
Izuku slowly untucks his head from his mother’s lap, and she hands him his toy. He clutches it tight to his chest, looking only at Dr. Tsubasa, not the floating head next to him with its shiny white eyes.
“I’m going to shine a light in your eyes, Izuku. Try to keep them open for me, alright?”
He nods, and Dr. Tsubasa pulls a short, thin flashlight from his coat pocket, clicking it on and angling it towards Izuku’s eyes. The boy flinches, but otherwise remains still.
“Hmm,” the doctor clicks it off and the nurse flips the overhead fluorescents back on. “Just as I thought. Tapetum lucidum.”
“Tapeta…” Inko repeats, trailing off in confusion.
“Tapetum lucidum,” he repeats. “A layer of tissue in the eyes of some animals. It seems to be a feature of your son’s quirk.”
“I have… a quirk?” Izuku’s soft voice questions, bringing a smile to the doctor’s face.
“Yes, my boy. Tell me, do you see better in the dark? Or see things others can’t?” He asks, pulling the boy’s file closer and looking over it. Multiple reports of worrying behavior around seeing things that weren’t there, disturbing images of injured and dead people starting around the age of three.
“I… see people. Sometimes. Kacchan and the others think I’m making it up…” He looks off to the side, glancing at the head that now has a shimmering body and is floating lazily, looking at the boy with curiosity. He’s dressed in a hospital gown, small flecks of blood lining the hem.
“Can you see someone right now?” Tsubasa asks, tracking Izuku’s eyes. Shyly, hesitantly, Izuku nods, waiting for the doctor to tell him he’s making it up. Instead, he grabs his notepad and looks at him with intrigue- “Can you describe them?”
“Woah kid, you’re freaky… you can actually see me?” The spirit floats close to the boy as he asks, and Izuku nods, both to the doctor and the floating man.
“He’s…” Izuku hesitates, looking up at his mom. She gives him an encouraging smile, despite her own hesitancy. “He’s in a-a dress. One of the- the blue scratchy ones… when you’re sick.”
”Hospital gown,” The man mutters in annoyance. ”Not a dress.”
“Not a dress. Hospital gown. Sorry…” The man perks up at the small boy’s words.
”You really can see me! Hey, tell him my name’s Hanzou. Kimura Hanzou. A-And tell him thank you, for trying to save me. I was sick for a long time and Dr. Tsubasa tried to make me all better.” The man’s voice softens, pleading his final wish. “Tell him… that I’m sorry I wasn’t a success.”
“He says you tried to make him feel better?” Izuku gains a little confidence under his newly acquired mission. It felt good to help people… Like All Might! “K-Kimura Hanzou! He wanted to thank you. He… also said sorry.”
Dr. Tsubasa’s eyes widened, his mustache twitching. He seems to be shocked, as if he didn’t fully believe Izuku’s quirk was real until he proved himself. Izuku couldn’t see the doctor’s eyes behind his glasses, but he imagined he looked proud of Izuku.
“Mr. Kimura was a… patient of mine. He sadly passed late last night. Fascinating! You have an interesting quirk indeed.”
Izuku snaps his eyes back to the doctor, brain jumping to the one question that has been burning him inside out.
“Does this mean… Can I be a hero?”
*~*
“You want to be a hero?!”
Mud splatters across Izuku’s face as he’s shoved roughly to the ground. It had been raining for nearly a week, and the school yard was a mess of puddles and slick sludgy soil. His brand new raincoat and boots did nothing to protect him from the water that soaks into his pants, chilling him to the bone.
“Stay down, Deku!” A chorus of laughter explodes from the three boys standing over him. Their leader was staring down at him with those burning crimson eyes, daring him to defy his orders. Bakugo Katsuki had once been Izuku’s friend. Best friend. His only friend. Gone were the days of sleepovers and hero parties, of pillow forts and made-up languages. Now all that remained were violent taunts and hurtful nicknames.
Izuku slowly climbs to his feet, ignoring the hot tears that sting his eyes, threatening to streak paths down his ruddy cheeks if he lets his concentration slip for even a second.
“Stop it, Kacchan!” He balls his fists, gripping his raincoat with trembling hands. He doesn’t look at his former friend, keeping his watery eyes trained on the ground. “You’re being mean! If you don’t stop, I’ll-” He glances up at Katsuki, and yelps when he sees the look of fury in his eyes.
“You’ll what, Deku?”
“I’ll- I’ll…” He musters every ounce of courage in his small body. Ten years old, terrified out of his mind, but still able to pull up a shaky smile. Fear not, citizens! Help has arrived!
“I’ll stop you myself!”
Because I am here!
A pause, then more laughter.
“Ehh? You’ll stop me yourself?” Kacchan sneers, crossing his arms like he towered over Midoriya despite only being an inch or two taller. “What’s a quirkless loser like you going to do to stop me?”
“I’m not quirkless!” Izuku counters, rebellious. He’d been told his entire life that he was useless, quirkless. But they were lies!
“Oh right… what was your quirk again?” One of Kacchan’s lackeys sneers. “Imaginary friends?”
With a growl, Izuku prepares to charge forward, but Katsuki stops him with the threat of a blast. “You’ve been saying the same shit since we were four, Deku. Stop playing pretend. With your useless quirk, all you’re good for is the morgue!”
Izuku flinches, and lowers his gaze, gripping his coat tighter. His smile falters, then slips off his face entirely. “K-Kacchan-”
He’s shoved again, and this time, he stays down. The rain starts up again, pattering softly as the boys’ laughs fade away.
A shimmering hand reaches for him, blurry and soft.
“Do you need help?”
*~*
“Do you need help?”
Izuku reaches his hand out to an elderly man. He’s sitting on a bench, edges blurry and slightly see-through. A ghost. The man looks confused for a moment, then smiles, his shoulders relaxing. He’s kind-looking, with warm brown eyes, a weathered smile and denim overalls. A mechanic, judging by the black stains on the handkerchief sticking from his front pocket.
“Perhaps,” He pats the seat beside him and Izuku takes it, setting his backpack on the ground. They sit in silence for a while, just watching the cars pass. Izuku has learned to be patient with the dead. Time becomes rather meaningless when you run out of it.
“It’s… a beautiful day today.” Izuku mutters, looking down at the tiny budding flowers in the cracked cement of the sidewalk. The old man simply nods, and Izuku smiles despite himself.
“I’ve been around a long time,” the man begins, and Izuku gives him an encouraging glance. “I lived in this neighborhood my entire life, all eighty-plus years of it. I was born in my house, and I wanted to die in that house. I don’t think I ever spent more than a week away from it. Now, I… I don’t know where to go.”
Ahh, a lost soul. These were the most common type of ghost Izuku encountered. Usually recently dead, only needing a push, permission to let go. Sometimes they just needed an ear, sometimes a request to fix something they left behind.
Izuku liked these souls.
“How can I help?”
“I’d like to see my house again, I think. I just… can’t bring myself to get up from this bench.”
“I don’t want to go to school. I think I would stay on this bench all day if I could. Why don’t we take the first step together?” Izuku smiles and holds his hand out for the man to take. The old man smiles back, reaching for his hand. It’s cold, like all spirits, but soft and wrinkled, years of work culminating in hardened calluses along the insides of his fingers, smudges of dirt and oil gracing his knuckles. The man stands with a groan, a relic of spending his last few years with a bad back. Gravity may not affect the man’s spirit anymore, but death had a funny way of sparing old habits.
“You’re a kind young man,” He pats Midoriya’s hand, smiling at him gratefully. “You remind me of my granddaughter. She’s about your age.” Izuku lights up at the praise, and together, they begin to walk down the road.
They chat as they walk, and the old man leads him away from the busy streets towards a quiet residential area. Laundry hangs from banisters, waving in the breeze, and Izuku can hear the faint sounds of television sets through open windows, a distant piano playing somewhere. The air is thick with the fragrance of chrysanthemums, planted by nearly every house.
Their journey ends at the end of the street, where a fat tabby cat comes bolting off of the rundown old porch of a small, traditional house, leaping up onto the stone fence separating the house from the street. The old man grins, reaching out for the cat.
”Thank you,” He sniffs, stroking the tabby’s head. ”My daughter will take good care of this place, I just know it.” The old man sighs, looking at Izuku with faint tears in his eyes. He looks happy, and Izuku feels warmth blossom through him.
“You can move on now, if you wish. Or you can stay for a while longer… visit.” Izuku can feel his own happy tears welling up, and he blinks them away.
”Thank you,” The old man repeats, ”Truly. I think I’ll stay for a while, make sure my granddaughter is doing alright. We were very close.”
Izuku smiles, watching the old man make his way into the house. The cat stays with Izuku a while longer, swishing its long tail back and forth. He leans against the fence, watching the koi pond in the front yard, surrounded by chrysanthemums just like the rest of the neighborhood. The koi drift in a swirling dance of fins, red and white and gold, speckles of black stars, and Izuku knows why the spirit wanted to return here so badly. It was a peaceful place.
*~*
My dreams have turned into fish food…
All things considered, Kacchan burning his notebook and tossing it into the pond wasn’t the worst thing that’d been done to Izuku, nor were the burnt shoulders on his uniform, or the constant names… even his words.
“If you really want to be useful…” Midoriya gulps, stuffing the notebook beneath his arm without a second thought.
“Stupid jerk,” He mutters, beginning his walk home. If Izuku were to actually follow through with his demands, it would only destroy his future. Izuku would have to look out for Kacchan’s well-being if Katsuki himself wasn’t going to. God, why did he do this? Kacchan clearly couldn’t care less if Izuku were to kill himself, so why does he still care so much about Katsuki’s life?
He knew the answer to that, of course. It’s because Kacchan is so full of life- loud, angry, boastful, with the skills and confidence to back it up. Like the sun, burning and blinding with its rage. Izuku was always so close to death, he had to make sure he didn’t taint the light Katsuki gave off. Maybe then…
“If you really want to be useful…” Kacchan’s voice creeps back into his brain.
“Tch-!” Glaring at the ground, Izuku focuses on the road ahead, one step at a time. He wouldn’t give up, no matter how many times Kacchan shoved him down or stomped on his already fragile sense of self-worth, Izuku would keep smiling. He would prove himself!
Just like All Might.
Yeah!
The ground slopes downwards, heading into a short tunnel. Izuku raises his fist and strides forward, doing his best impression of the hero-
“Look out-”
“He’s coming-”
“We can’t help him now-”
“HAHAHA- huh?” Izuku stops as soon as he hears the whispers, turning to see the pale faces of three ghosts, all looking at him worriedly. Brief shock crosses their face, common when he first looks at the dead, and soon he’s bombarded with warnings.
“Hurry! Run!”
“Not long now, 3… 2…”
“Run, Kid!”
“1… Too late-”
The rumbling, slimy sound of roving sludge rises from the sewer grate beneath his feet and Izuku tries to hop away, only managing to get a few steps before the sludge wraps around his ankles, tripping him. He hits his chin hard on the ground, rattling his teeth in his head and making him yelp. His poor notebook falls from his grasp, landing a few feet away.
“You’ll make a perfect skin-suit for me to hide in, Kid~” The villain’s rough, bubbling voice comes from somewhere in the roiling mass, and Izuku catches a glance of red eyes and sharp teeth before he’s leapt upon and swallowed whole. Sludge fills his mouth, his nose, choking and smothering. Vile mud forcing itself down his throat, trying to fill him, take him over from the inside.
“Don’t worry, I’m just taking over your body. It’ll be easier for both of us if you don’t fight back. It’ll only hurt for a minute. You’ll feel better soon!” Izuku flails against the villain’s grip, but finds himself sinking deeper and deeper. He tries in vain to pull the villain away from his face, and he can hear the worried spirits behind him
”Poor Dear, he’s so young. Too young to die.”
”Too bad, I would've liked to have a conversation. Haven’t talked to a living since… Well.”
”No good. He’s going to die just like we did. Terrible way to go.”
“Grab all you want, my body’s made of fluid! Thanks for the help. You’re a real hero to me, Kid.” He can feel his body getting weaker, and he can’t claw anymore. This is it… Midoriya Izuku had always been close to death. A self-fulfilling prophecy. He was going to die… and no one was going to save him. Kacchan would probably throw a party.
If you really want to be useful…
“I didn’t know he was in the city. I gotta get out of here fast before he tracks me down!” A question in Midoriya’s mind, fading by the millisecond. He needed to do something, anything. He wasn’t going to just fizzle out like a useless spark that couldn’t catch flame, he was going to fight!
A sudden burst of energy, and he wrenches his hand free of the slime, lungs burning and head fuzzy, straning his arm out towards the spirits. They all reach forward at once, cold hands gripping his tired arm… and they pull. Izuku can feel the struggle, the sludge pulling his body back under with confused chatter he can’t hear.
Even so, it’s useless. He can’t breathe, he can’t hang onto the hands, he can’t… he can’t think. Death… was surprisingly peaceful. Kacchan had been right, afterall.
“Texas… SMASH!”
Midoriya comes to after some gentle slaps to the face, the sky above him bright and blue and beautiful. He didn’t think he would see it again. Was he dead?
“Thought we lost you there!”
Izuku’s soul leaves his body for the second time that day. All Might… All Might was standing right before him! THE All Might, the one whose face was plastered across every square inch of Midoriya’s bedroom, was staring at him, waiting for him to rouse. He screams, scuttling back and away from his hero in shock. All Might! All Might was here!
“Well it looks like you’re moving around alright! Sorry about that back there. I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justice-ing. Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe, but it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!” He lets out a booming laugh that matches the rhythm of Izuku’s stuttering heart. “Anyway, you were a big help. Thank you! I've captured the evil-doer!”
All Might holds out two soda bottles stuffed full of the sludgey villain, and all Izuku can think about is how cool All Might looks up close. Even in street clothes, he looked like he walked straight out of a comic book. Izuku needed to get his autograph. Where was his notebook?!
“I’ve got a pen around here somewhere. Please sign my notebook!” He spots his battered book on the ground and grabs it, flipping open to the next blank page and finding, with shock, the most incredible signature to ever grace paper. He shrieks, “He already did!”
He jumps to his feet, bowing rapidly in panic, trying to show just how grateful he truly was. This would be a treasure, a family heirloom, passed down through generations! Kacchan will be so jealous! Don’t show Kacchan unless you want the autograph stolen or burned to a crisp!
“Welp, I’ve gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of them-”
Izuku doesn’t register anything beyond All Might turning, about to take off. He couldn’t leave yet- not now! Not before Izuku got to ask the question that had been simmering beneath his skin since he was born, threatening to burn him alive. He barely registers himself asking All Might if he’s leaving, doesn’t even hear his response, too driven by the need to know, the need to confirm what was pounding in his heart like a drum, pushing him forward. Flecks of mud on his face, sludge in his throat. Useless Deku- If you really want to be useful… I want to be a hero too! Can I-
He’s flying, soaring through the air with nothing but baggy cargo pants keeping him from falling to the earth in a splatter.
*~*
Izuku doesn’t breathe again until his feet are on solid ground. He’s shaking, elbows and knees wobbling as he pants, relishing the feeling of the concrete beneath him. They were still way too high, but the roof of a building was millions of times better than thin air.
“My whole life just flashed before my eyes-” Even his voice was trembling, and he nearly heaved. Izuku would never take solid ground for granted ever again. Who needs flying? Airplanes are overrated.
“Not a very smart move,” All Might waves to him, heading towards the edge of the building. “Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go. See you on the flip side!”
Izuku jolts to his feet, a new fear overriding the last. He had to talk to All Might before it was too late, before he never got this chance ever again!
“Wait, not yet!”
“No! I don’t have any time-”
“I have to know!”
Every single second of Izuku’s pathetic life had been leading to this moment, this one conversation. He had been on fire since he saw his first spirit. No matter how many buckets of water were thrown on the flame, no matter how many people shoved him down into the mud…
“With a quirk like yours, kid? Heroics just aren’t in your future.”
“I’m sorry, Izuku… I wish things were different.”
“Defenseless Izuku! The school's already crappy, you really wanna embarrass it more by failing so hard?”
“If you really want to be useful…”
“Sometimes I do feel like I'm a failure… like there's no hope for me. But even so… I'm not gonna give up, ever!”
Izuku keeps his head down, teeth gritted and fists trembling, this time from steeled determination. If he just smiled like All Might, he could release the fire within him. He wouldn’t have to feel this fear anymore. If All Might just told him he could do it, told him that merit doesn’t come from quirks, but from the heart- just like he’d always told himself- Izuku would finally be free from everything that had been haunting him since he was born.
“Is it possible to be a hero… Can I be a hero even with a useless quirk?” It’s out. It’s out and Izuku feels a horrible clashing mix of terrified elatement. He needed to know, needed to find out. “I’m just a normal kid, without any flashy quirk or super strength. I- I can’t even save myself from a villain with my power. I’m… I’m only good to those who already died. But even so…”
Izuku gulps, feeling his face heat up, cheeks and ears burning.
“Could I ever hope to be someone like you?!”
There’s a moment of silence, and Izuku is too afraid to open his eyes, fearing that All Might had left him, jumped back into the air. He doesn’t know if his heart can take another beating like that.
“A… useless quirk?” A small bit of hope courses through Izuku at his hero’s voice. It wasn’t a flat out rejection- he could do this!
“People think I don't have a chance. That not having any power makes me some kinda weakling. My classmates like to make fun of me, say I’m as good as quirkless.” The slow, rolling hiss of steam accents his words. Izuku doesn’t notice, doesn’t care. “But you know what? That makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a kid, I've thought that saving people is the coolest thing you can do. I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe. And be the kind of hero everyone in the world looks up to. Just like you!”
He looks up… and his soul leaves for the third time. That couldn’t be healthy.
Standing in front of him was a tall skeletal man in baggy clothing. He looked almost alien in his pose, waiting for Izuku’s reaction. Steam billows around them both, and for a second, Izuku is convinced he’d been pranked.
“I‐ Wait. Who...?” The hair, the clothing… Izuku would recognize his favorite hero in any form. “What happened, you deflated!”
This couldn’t be! Was he a ghost? He looked dead enough- but there were no tell-tale blurry edges. This man was solid. So definitely not dead. But he couldn’t be All Might! All Might... All Might was big and- and muscular. He was on Izuku’s walls and all of his hero daydreams!
“Ah! Where'd All Might go?” He looks around, expecting to see All Might holding a camera. No, he would know about an All Might prank show. He just would!
“You!” He turns back to the thin man. “You're not him. You're a fake! An imposter!” It was the only thing that made sense. Why would All Might, the greatest hero on Earth, save someone like him?
“I assure you that I am All Mi- Blegh!” Ah- make that four times Izuku felt like he died in the span of an hour. All Might spewing blood from his mouth was not something Izuku ever wanted to see.
“Impossible!” He screams, mind racing with a million thoughts.
“You know how guys at the pool are always suckin' in and flexin' and tryin' look buff?” All Might explains. “I'm like that.”
Midoriya’s brain finally falls silent, trying to pull in this new information, process it, and turn it into fact. But it was just all so weird!
“This can't be real! No. I'm dreaming. All Might's a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles, and wins the day with a fearless smile!” He argues, but it falls flat. He was looking at All Might. The real All Might.
“There’s plenty of fear behind that smile,” The hero sighs, dropping to the ground out of exhaustion.
The wound on All Might’s side is horrible, worse than some of the things Izuku had seen from ghosts. He had seen stabbings and shootings and deaths caused by quirks. Izuku had seen the inside of a man’s neck and a woman’s open rib cage… but this was different. It looked painful and angry. Ghosts couldn’t feel pain. All Might could.
Izuku felt sorry for the man. Which was weird, considering who the man was… but Izuku could sympathize. He wanted to be a pro hero more than anything else in the world. If he were to achieve that, only to have it torn away from him in such a painful way- if he couldn’t do what he loved to do because of his own failing body… All Might had always been stronger than Izuku, he knew that- but this… this proved it.
“Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. So, can you be a hero?”
Izuku holds his breath.
“Not without the proper quirk.”
And his world is shattered. Izuku can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t feel. The fire roaring inside him… felt like a few pitiful, dimly glowing embers buried beneath sand.
“I see…”
“If you wanna help people, there are plenty of other ways to do it,” Every word from All Might sinks Izuku further and further into the sand, until he’s choking on it. “You could become a police officer. They get crap because the heroes capture most of the villains. But it's a fine profession. It's not bad to have a dream, young man. Just, make sure your dreams are attainable. Realistic. Understand?”
Izuku understood. He’d been hearing the same words his entire life. His quirk would be very well suited for a police officer. He could easily solve murders by talking to the victims… but police officers weren’t pro heroes. That wasn’t what he wanted, what he craved more than his body craved water, food, air… Izuku needed to be a hero.
But this was All Might… All Might couldn’t be wrong.
Izuku didn’t even notice the man had left until he was alone.
He steps to the edge of the building, looking down and seeing just how high up he was. A distant rumble and a large cloud of smoke barely registers in Izuku’s mind as Katsuki’s voice comes floating to the foreground.
If you really want to be useful… take a swan dive off the roof of the building, and join all your friends.
There were only a few times in Izuku’s short life where he genuinely contemplated ending it early.
Once when he was only nine, after he witnessed his first evil spirit, the damage it caused. He was the only one who could stop it, but it left him so drained of energy that he could barely think. He couldn’t get out of bed for days afterwards. He scared his poor mom so badly that he considered killing himself out of pity for her, before he even knew the words to describe what he was contemplating. He knew better though, and he shoved those thoughts out of his head, spilling them across the pages of his ‘Dark Journal’, the one he kept hidden beneath his mattress where his mom wouldn’t find it.
The second time was when Izuku was twelve. He wasn’t sure what caused it, he’d just been feeling… horrible. Everyone around him could tell, to the point where even Kacchan backed off of him. Maybe he just didn't like that Izuku was no longer a challenge, maybe he felt some form of empathy. Izuku didn’t know, couldn’t ask him. The thoughts just became overwhelming, until he was burying his head beneath his pillows, wishing everything would just stop. He found out later there was a ghost in his room, an honest-to-god monster in the closet that was feeding on his emotions. It was tied to an old book he’d picked up from the thrift store. He cleansed his room with smoke and salt and felt a lot better after that.
The third and final time was when Izuku was thirteen. It had been a brief flash of melancholy as he was crossing the street. He faltered in his steps, wondering what would happen if he were to just stop walking, lay down in the street. Maybe he could do more good that way, as a ghost. He didn’t stop for more than a millisecond, the thoughts a brief flash before he continued on his way, but it had terrified him. He vowed that day that he would never make his own mother bury him. He would never take death for granted.
On the roof of the building, his hopes crushed and dreams shattered, Izuku didn’t once contemplate stepping off the edge. It felt silly, to end it just because of some harsh words from his friend, and a reality check from the man he looked up to. He would go home, take a burning hot shower to rid himself of the lingering sludgy feeling, and cry into his pillows for a few hours. Then he would get up, go to school, and repeat. Until the end of time. Who cares about his dreams? He could settle… He could. He just had to face reality.
Coming down from the building felt like it took ten years off his life. Each step was a new career option. Police officer, detective, accountant… Maybe a lawyer, like his mom? Or he could be a welder overseas like his dad. Far enough away from the action to bury any dreams of grandeur. Maybe he could go into the UA support course? He was analytical enough. Maybe someone would pay him to be the little voice in their ear when fighting… but that would just make him envious. It was either hero or bust.
Despite his constantly mumbling brain and his analytical habits, Izuku was scarily good at zoning out. He needed it to pass by all the ghosts on the street without drawing their attention. He liked helping them, sure. But there comes a point where it’s overwhelming. He wanted to help them when he wasn’t drowning in his own self-doubt and sorrow. He wasn’t any good to anyone (living or dead) when he was like this. He was good at zoning out… so when the ground beneath his feet rumbles and shakes like it’s about to open up and swallow him whole…
He didn’t even realize that he had been walking towards the blast until he was there. Was the fight between Mt. Lady and that giant villain still going on? Izuku was sure that cleared up while he was there…
The crowd at the mouth of the street is chattering, and Izuku can see flames and smoke. Something was definitely happening… did his feet bring him here without asking?
“Is that him?”
“It’s the kid from before!”
“Hey, he survived.”
Three familiar whispers hit his ears as he joined the crowd. A memory of sludge in his lungs. Oh…
Izuku looks past the crowd.
Oh-
A horrible realization washes over Izuku. This… This was all his fault. If he hadn’t clutched onto All Might, the villain would still be safely in his pockets. Oh no… Oh no no no!
“Hey kid, calm down-”
“How can he?”
“At least this one survived. Can’t say the same for that one.”
That one?
“It looks like they've met their match. Plus, the villain captured a kid. Things aren't looking good for him.” A voice in the crowd echoes the ghosts, confirming Izuku’s fears. The villain captured someone else. How were they still alive? He was struggling in that goop for only a few seconds and was sure he’d die…
Izuku stands on his tiptoes, trying to get a better look as the crowd chattered about All Might. It only made him feel worse. If Izuku hadn’t wasted All Might’s time and energy, this wouldn’t be happening. It was all his fault.
He was buried beneath layer upon layer of dry, desiccating sand. It was filling his lungs, choking him. There was nothing he could do. He didn’t know anything about this villain. He couldn’t… He couldn’t help. He couldn’t save anyone…
All Might was the only one who could save whoever else was taken. All Deku could do was see ghosts.
Ghosts… If you really want to be useful…
“Did you see what happened?” He asks the ghost to his right, the one that wanted to have a conversation with him earlier. The man looked shocked, a bit of sludge creeping down from his nostril as he shook his head.
“We got left behind at the tunnel. Took us a while to catch up with him. When we did… well,” The spirit nods towards the scene. Izuku nods, pinching his chin as he thinks.
“Does this villain have any weaknesses?”
“His eyes,” The female spirit supplies, seemingly happy to be able to help out. “Those and his teeth. They’re the only parts that can’t turn to sludge.”
Izuku should tell a hero. That would probably help them out a lot. Maybe they would even thank him for helping? The thought sent a tingle through to his toes, like a drop of rain to a stranded man. Maybe support course was the way to go after all. He could still help, even in tiny ways. He pushes his way to the front, ready to reach out and tap Death Arms… when an all-too familiar sight catches his eye.
Spiky blonde hair was poking out of the sludge villain. It couldn’t be- It wasn’t. Crimson eyes open, catching Izuku at the front of the crowd and looking at him with an expression that screamed help me!– before being enveloped in slime, pulled under the surface.
Kacchan… the villain had Kacchan.
Izuku’s feet are moving before he can stop them, breaking past the barricade and the heroes. He feels almost like he’s flying, clinging to cargo pants and trying not to die. He was moving faster than he ever had, trying to reach his first ever friend. Every mean word said to him, every useless thrown his way, none of it mattered. He needed Kacchan to be safe. The world wouldn’t be right without Kacchan. Izuku can’t just stand and watch him die!
What could he do? What could a useless person like him do? Death Arms and Kamui Woods were yelling for him to come ba- Kamui Woods! PAGE 25!
Before he can think any further, he’s shrugging his backpack off, spinning around and launching it at the Villain. It rears back with a scream, uncovering the very tips of Kacchan’s hair. There!
Izuku claws at the sludge. He knows it won’t help, but he can’t stop, screaming for his friend. Everything fades away to the background. He can’t feel the heat of the fire, the burning smoke, the sludge beneath his nails, the worried yelling behind him. None of it matters. Izuku doesn’t matter. His safety, his journal, the ghosts and heroes watching him kill himself to get his friend- it doesn’t matter. But Kacchan? He mattered- He would be a hero even greater than All Might and help the world!
Izuku pushes himself into the slime, reaching and reaching until he grasps something solid. It’s Katsuki’s hand, limp and cold but there.
And he pulls.
“Kacchan- Kacchan!” Something gives, and he feels his friend’s body shift, but then it’s pulled back, dragging Izuku along with it.
“Not this brat again!” The villain roars as he regains himself. “You just don’t know how to give up!”
“Take this! T-Texas Smash!” Izuku balls up his fist, punching with all his force- right into the Villain’s eye. Another shriek, and then it happens. Cold hands wrapping around his shoulders, aiding him, giving him a rush of strength and hope. An overwhelming feeling of never again!- and together, the four of them pull.
Katsuki comes tumbling from the villain, landing heavy and hard on top of Izuku, both of them sprawling from the force of it. A brief moment of victory before the Villain wraps its sludge around Izuku’s ankles once more.
“If you really want to join the other skin suit that ba-”
“I really am pathetic…”
Before the villain can drag Izuku away, All Might steps up, and a deep feeling of relief courses through Izuku’s exhausted body. All Might is here! All Might will save Kacchan! A thick hand wraps around Izuku’s shoulder, pulling him away from the villain as the hero winds up a punch.
“I told you the traits that make a great champion, but I see now I wasn't living up to my own ideal. Pros are always risking their lives! That's the true test of a hero!”
Izuku feels the wind pull around them, as if all the air on the street is collecting itself around All Might’s fist.
“Detroit… SMASH!” The villain screams as he’s blown away, and Izuku can only cower against the force of it, clutching onto Kacchan as they’re anchored by the hero.
When the wind dies down and the first drops of rain hit the ground, Izuku shivers. It had been a clear day, no reports of rain. He should have brought his umbrella…
Wait.
Rain?
He lifts his head from where it’s tucked against Katsuki’s uniform, blinking away the mixture of tears and sludge as the droplets turn into a downpour. Did… Did All Might’s punch change the weather?
“K-Kacchan- you have to see this…”
There’s no response, no movement. No useless Deku. No shoving Izuku off of him with a scowl. He was unconscious.
No… That wasn’t it. Katsuki wasn’t unconscious. Unconscious people could still breathe. Katsuki was lying still beneath him, mouth shut and nostrils blocked by slime.
“Kacchan…” There were cheers around them, but Izuku could only focus on his too-still friend. “Kacchan, hey, wake up. The- The villain’s gone. It’s okay… You’re safe.”
Nothing.
Izuku felt sick. He was going to be sick.
“Kacchan!” He shakes Katsuki’s shoulder. “Wake up! Hey!” Tears are falling from his face, plopping onto Katsuki’s uniform and soaking in.
This is wrong. This is all wrong. Bakugo Katsuki was always so full of life, so angry and mean and amazing. He wouldn’t die from some random villain on a random street before they even finished middle school. He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t. Katsuki would wake up, laugh at him, call him a useless Deku for crying over such a stupid prank, and they would go home. Maybe Inko would call Mitsuki and they would be forced into a dinner together. Kacchan would glare at him the whole time, kicking his shins under the table and then show him a new limited edition All Might comic that Izuku didn’t have and make fun of him. He would… he would be breathing. He would be okay. They would feel like kids again, before Izuku became useless.
Kacchan would be fine. He had to be.
Izuku doesn’t feel the hands on his shoulders until he’s being pulled away from Katsuki, flailing in surprise.
“No! Kacchan!” He’s being hauled backwards, unable to fight as wood crawls along his chest. He can’t- He can’t leave Kacchan’s side! What would Mitsuki say, knowing he let Katsuki lay on the street, dirtying his uniform. Mitsuki hated stains! “Let me go, I need to- Wait! Kacchan, wait! Matte yo!”
“Poor kid.”
“What a terrible way to go.”
“Another one… Hope this is the last one.”
Izuku looks desperately around the street, trying to find those stupid ghosts to tell them they’re wrong. Kacchan was fine! He was always fine! He was amazing! He could do anything! Kacchan wouldn’t be beaten by that stupid sludge villain!
But as his gaze catches sight of crimson eyes, bright and flaming, even through tears, all the fight leaves his body.
“De…ku-?”