Chapter Text
“Kacchan! What are you doing? Did I miss something important?!"
A small boy with unruly green hair and bright emerald eyes raced across a bedroom littered with toys. He stumbled over a stray Lego block, but caught himself just in time to reach his best friend. The blonde boy, barely taller than him, was furiously packing action figures and Lego sets into a large, half-full cardboard box. His crimson eyes were focused, determined—but behind that determination was something harder to name, a blend of sadness and reluctance he was too proud to show.
"I'm packing up, Izuku. We’re moving. We’re leaving Musutafu."
Izuku froze, his breath caught in his chest like a hiccup he couldn't get rid of. "You're... you're leaving Kacchan?"
As the weight of the words sank in, his eyes filled with tears, and a soft whimper escaped his lips. Katsuki paused mid-pack and turned to face him. His usual scowl softened, and he reached out to pull Izuku into a tight hug, pressing their tiny bodies together as if trying to save the moment into memory.
"Don't worry about me, Izuku. I’ll call you. Every day, I swear. We’re still best friends, right?" Katsuki looks at the emerald eyed boy. "Always Kacchan!" He smiles at Katsuki. Izuku had never been happier hearing those words from his best friend.
Izuku sniffled and nodded into Katsuki’s shirt. “Promise, Kats—Kacchan?” he murmured, the question hanging in the air like a fragile thread.
Katsuki let go and gently flicked Izuku on the forehead—just enough to tease, not to hurt. "Come on, you still can't say my name properly? It's Katsuki."
"KATSUKI BAKUGOU! YOU BETTER GET YOUR TINY BUTT INTO THE CAR! WE HAVE TO GO!!"
Mitsuki stomps up the stairs and into the empty room that was once Katsuki's. The boys look up at Mitsuki. She looks slightly tired but she takes a deep breath and stays as calm as she can."Alright Katsuki..say goodbye to Izuku."
The blonde looks at the greenete. His Crimson eyes fighting back tiny little tears. "Goodbye Izuku." He hates the small crack in his voice, the tiny twinge of hurt radiating inside his chest. A brewing storm in his mind about this bittersweet ending in Japan. "You know Kacchan, goodbyes aren't forever!" They hugged again before slowly stepping down the creaky steps of the now disowned Bakugou house."Hey! You haven't even bothered learning my name yet!" The blonde boy says, the tone going back to the usual. Katsuki taps Izuku on the head, not hard but not too gently either. "Ahhh Kacchan! Not nice! Plus I can't pro..noun..ciate it or whatever my mom says." Katsuki holds in his laugh not wanting to ruin the moment as Izuku tries his best with that sentence.
"Brat, Are you even ready to go yet!! The car is packed,your father and I are waiting for you!!" Mitsuki shouts from outside of the house."Izuku help me pack up! Quickly!" The two boys scramble to pick up the toys that are left around the house, Izuku stops at the last one. He picks up the best superhero, All Might. The figure is slightly worn out after all the times they've played with it. "Aww...i'll miss playing with your All Might figure Kacchan!" He slowly walks over to put it in the box.
"Keep it! I'll just ask my mom to buy me a new one!" Katsuki says nonchalantly and starts to close the box.
"Wait?! What? But you got this for your birthday! I thought All Might was your favourite superhero!"
"It's fine Izuku..Mom! Pick up the box!!"
Mitsuki walks inside of the house and furiously grabs the box filled containing Lego and action figures from the floor, saying nothing. The boys stay just as quiet as her and follow her out of the house. Katsuki takes one more look around his empty childhood house. He spent 6 years living in, playing with Izuku and having the time of his life.
Masaru and Inko are talking on the driveway of the house. Inko's eyes are red and puffy and Masaru's face looks a bit solemn as well. Katsuki prances over to the green haired women. "Goodbye Auntie Inko. As Izuku told me goodbyes are forever...or whatever he said.." he hugs his aunt before jumping into their car. Mitsuki crouches down to hug Izuku and Masaru does the same before getting in the car.
As their car drives off Izuku runs down the road trying to chase the red vehicle, but his little legs can't even compete with the speed that the Bakugou's drive at. Katsuki turns around and waves to Izuku one last time before the car is out of his sight. Inko walks to pick up her green haired child who has already started crying from the loss of his best friend and holds him dearly to her chest.
"Where is he going mama?!" He half shouts it at her grabbing onto her shirt. "Somewhere far away Zuku..but..you can always call him..and look! Katsuki even left you his All Might toy!" Inko slowly rubs her child's back, doing her best to calm him down. Much to her unavail it does close to nothing.
"That doesn't matter if he's not even going to be here to play with me!!" Izuku cries out for the whole country of Japan to hear.
_________________________________
Izuku later learned after a couple months, Katsuki had moved to Canada for Mitsuki's job. She worked in the clothing business and got a really good offer in the North. Apparently it was an amazing one and scored her a really good position down in the Toronto area. Not that Izuku would know much. Izuku and Katsuki's friendship could only be described as looking into muddy water. Some memories here and there but nothing was fully clear.
Time passes, as it always does. Daily calls slowly turn into weekly catch ups. The weekly calls slowly integrate into..well nothing at all. A gap, a void of a lost friendship. A radio silence struck between the boys. By the time the two reached 13 they completely lost contact. The pressure of homework and new friends sparked other things to do rather than sit on the phone all day.
The thought of not being in contact with Katsuki always made Izuku's chest tight. He missed his friend that he used to play at the park with and mess around pretending to be superheroes from the Marvel movies they watched. The boys always admired the superhero All Might and was an inspiring character to the two.
Izuku couldn't help but think about that red eyed menace when crossing the street and seeing their park, the one they used to spend hours at. Running, playing, jumping. Those memories were just a time in the past.
The greenete always wondered what it was like In a country half across the world. Katsuki lived around 20 hours away. What happened to the 5 minutes it took to walk down the street? Izuku thoughts sounded something like this:
Has Kacchan learned English?
Maybe even French?
Is it freezing cold like Kacchan would always complain about many years ago?
Did the Canadian summer hit as hard as the summers spent in Japan?
Was poutine and ketchup a real thing to rave about?
What's so good about Dollarama?
Is the CN Tower all that amazing?
One question Izuku stored at the back of his mind always hurts to think about..
Does he even remember me?
The question..just the thought hit him like a ton of bricks. The boy he spent the best 6 years of his life with probably doesn't even remember him. Why would he? Izuku is not anyone special. Just another kid who played at the park with him. Realistically, Izuku and Katsuki would've never been friends if it wasn't for their mothers. Izuku always thought Katsuki was an interesting kid, but he grew on him. Did Kacchan think like that about Izuku?
-PRESENT-
Today was a beautiful day in Musutafu. The trees rustle in the wind, flowers shine in the sunlight. The students of Akita High enjoy the early summer breeze. A group of students sit on the field talking about what they will do after senior year. Shoto Todoroki, a quiet and usually timid boy, decides to break the comfortable silence of the group of four.
"I want to apply to a medical school."
"Really?" Uraraka exclaims.
"Well after all the family drama it would be good if I can help people."
"You're a good man Todoroki-chan." Ida says in his usual monotone."I'm planning on joining my brother's car company."
"That sounds amazing Ida-kun!" Uraraka says. "I'm thinking about working as a flight attendant to travel the world! And also I live for flying on planes and stuff! What about you Izu?" Her brown eyes sparkle.
"Hey Midoriya.." Shoro nudges him.
Izuku snaps out of his trance and looks up at his heterochromic friend.
"What?? Sorry I was zoning out"
Uraraka chuckles softly "what do you plan on doing Izu?"
She takes his hand, brushing her thumb on his palm. "honestly..I have no idea.." Izuku rubs his temple at the thought. Half of him wants to move away from Musutafu but how could he? On the other hand he has his amazing group of friends, an amazing girlfriend! He can't bear to even think about leaving his mom all by herself.
The bell rings signaling the end of lunch break. The entire field of people started to pack up their lunches and homework sprawled out on the grass. The waves of teenagers walk into the building of education which some call hell, but Izuku sticks to saying the building of education.
In math class, Izuku sits beside his girlfriend and Todoroki and Ida sit in front of them.
"Hey Izu.."
Izuku looks over his emerald eyes and focuses on Uraraka.
"What's up?" He murmurs softly.
"Are you free to hang out today? I mean..it's been a while since it was just us two?" She whispers in a low voice to avoid the teacher's attention.
"Ah..sorry Chaco..I have basketball practice. Our tournament is next week." Izuku is almost saddened by the realization.
"Don't sweat it! Plus I'm totally going to watch you play Mr. Star Player!"
That comment sends a look from the teacher, Mr. Aizawa
"Look I get it, it's senior year and it's May but math still needs to be done." he states to the class with his focus especially pointed to the two on the corner. Shoto turns around to look back at them to give Izuku a look, basically saying something along the lines of "Midoriya, what are you doing? Stop flirting and do the work sheet."
At least that's how the greenete interprets it.
Izuku sighs and shakes his head looking back down at his desk. He jots down the answer quickly and he lets Uraraka take some peaks at his sheet. Her face is filled with a bright smile as she copies the answer but Izuku can't shake this weird feeling. He can't tell if it's sadness or..well loneliness. The greenete has been out of it all day and even his friends are starting to notice. He hasn't told anyone but he plans to move away for University but..Inko..his sweet and caring mother! Since his father wasn’t around much he felt even worse leaving her all on her own. His closest friends, Ida and Todoroki who helped Izuku fill the empty void in his chest after Kacchan left. They were his best friends! And he couldn't forget his amazing and supportive girlfriend! He met her when he was twelve! A five year friendship and two years of being in the best relationship..Izuku couldn't just throw it all away. Hell they were seven-teen now, she always talks about moving in together for their college years but how can he tell her?
Izuku doesn’t even plan on staying in the continent.
After school ends, Izuku and Uraraka say goodbye. She hugs him then kisses his freckled cheek. Izuku's face illuminates with a bright pink.
"Midoriya are you alright your face has turned red!" Ida hand chops his way through his sentence. You would think he did karate as his extracurricular but nope! Just a normal mannerism for the teen.
"Yeah Midoriya..you look like a tomato!" Todoroki murmurs, making Uraraka laugh and Izuku blushes even harder. The look they give the emerald eyed boy is enough to male him want to disintegrate into thin air.
"Ah stop!" Izuku covers his face to avoid further embarrassment. Ida and Uraraka head out of the school while the two turn on their heels to start walking on the other side of the high-school.
Izuku and Shoto head down to the gymnasium slowly taking the stairs to prolong the 18 laps they warm up to. Izuku hates running around the court due to his asthma. He’s always been the type of guy to never give up, but those laps were made straight from hell. He hates how tired and out of control his breathing gets after them. Thankfully, his coach completely understands his condition and lets him sit when he can tell Midoriya doesn’t look alright. Recently, his stamina and endurance has gotten better which Izuku is more than grateful for. Thank God or whoever the heck is up there.
"Midoriya.." Shoto says in a quieter tone. "What's up?" Izuku looks over at his friend as they step down the stairs. "You've been.. acting slightly odd. I just wanted to check if everything was alright?" Izuku looks at his friend. He stops on the last step and looks down. "Midoriya?" Shoto steps down the stairs and moves to stand in front of him. "I..I'm thinking of moving away from here for university." Izuku stammers. "Alright? That's all?" Shoto is confused by Izuku's dilemma.
"Can we talk about this later?" Izuku has a new interest in his shoes and stares down. "Of course Midoriya. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here, alright?I know..I’m not the easiest to talk to.." Shoto places his hand on Izuku's shoulder and gives him a small, comforting smile.
They start to walk over to the gymnasium. Shoto swings the door open and they are greeted with a loud shout from Eijirou Kirishima. He's a senior as well, Kirshima shares the same homeroom and PE class with the four. His bright smile always lights up the mood of the room.
"Hey! You two!! You guys were almost late! Hurry up and get changed already! This is so unmanly of you!"
Izuku and Shoto stop to say hi before they b-line it to the change-rooms before getting stopped by their coach, Mr Torino grunts out of disappointment. They immediately halt to look at him.
"I know you two boys well..you can do better than this. I need 20 laps and give me 50 push-ups after. Don't even try to skip laps next time or else I'll make you run triple."
That statement earns a groan from Izuku and Shoto stays quiet, as usual. They walk to the boys' change-room and quickly get changed into their basketball jerseys.
Shoto puts his on, the green clashing with his colourful hair.His last name is printed on the back of his jersey TODOROKI spelled out with his number 18 on the back. Shoto turns around with an elastic in his hand and a nonchalant expression on his face.
"Can you tie my hair for me?" He asks in his quiet voice.
Izuku smiles and ties his friend's hair into a half up-half down situation.
"Ahhh I tried, I'm sorry Shoto!!" Izuku exclaims after realizing the catastrophe he just bombed onto his innocent friend's head. Shoto chuckles softly. "Don't sweat it Midoriya. I actually don't mind this.."
"Your hair has gotten so long Todoroki! It's almost on your shoulders! I wish I could have my hair like that!" He twirls his green hair in his fingers.
Izuku quickly changes into his jersey and shorts. He rolls a white sleeve on his right arm, it's always felt comfortable having the one arm covered for an unknown reason. His jersey has MIDORIYA on the back with his iconic number 13. The duo heads out of the change-room and is greeted with a group of 10 other boys waiting for them.
They start to run laps around the court which is taxing as hell but at least the whole team is there with them. The practice started later due to some students (ahem Mr. Todoroki and Mr. Midoriya being the main source of the problem.) leading them is Izuku and Eijoru. Eijoru talks the whole time while Izuku just focuses on ensuring that he doesn't mess up his footing and smack his face onto the floor.
"Anyways..I started talking to this girl named Mina Ahsido! She's really sweet and-"
"Blah blah blah! Kiri, we've heard of her millions of times!!" Hanta Sero snaps at him in a joking manner. The remark makes the group chuckle and even Shoto-flipping-Todoroki cracks a smile.
The group of boys jog around the court 10 times. Izuku stays quiet the majority of the time while Eijoru and Hanta go at it. Although, Izuku is happy that Kiri was able to find someone he likes and keeps a smile on his face. "See! Sero why can't you be like Midoriya?! He's just smiling through the torture!"
"Mr Midoriya!" Mr. Torino's voice fills the entire gymnasium. The group of 12 stops running and Izuku speed walks over to his coach. "Your device has been buzzing for the past 5 minutes. You should probably pick it up." He says in a stern voice.
Izuku grabs his phone to see the caller ID. It's his mom, why would she be calling if she knew he had practice? Something terrible must have happened. Izuku's brain moves at a mile per second. "I have to leave!!" He exclaims before grabbing his bag.
"Izuku."
The greenete turns around to face his coach. "I hope everything is okay,but you still owe me 50 push-ups." Midoriya cracks a smile and nods. The seventeen year old runs out of the building. He picks up his still buzzing phone once he gets out of the gym.
The call goes straight to voicemail. This really freaks Izuku out. The boy runs down the street, he swears he’s never ran faster. What if something horrible had happened?! Even worse, what if his mom was caught up in a terrible situation?!
The second he gets to his apartment scrambles up the stairs thinking the most horrid thing had happened. All the fear and anxiety fills Izuku’s body. He braces himself for the absolute worst.
He yanks the apartment door open as soon as it's in his reach and is surprised to see his mom in the kitchen making tea with a wide grin from ear to ear.
"Is everything okay?! What's going on?!" Izuku semi shouts. Inko turns around and smiles at her son.
"We have guests Zuku." She smiles and nudges her head to the living room. Sitting on the couch is a blonde family of 4. The teenage boy with his feet up. He wears brown baggy cargo pants and a black sweater with a skull. Spiky hair and a piercing on his right ear.
Izuku was never able to forget one thing..those crimson, red eyes.