Chapter Text
DEKU
I pace restlessly around the tiny box of my bedroom. Calves bouncing. Fingers grasping and ungrasping empty air.
The new school year starts tomorrow but I’m itching to be back already. Combat training. Rescue exercises. Hero costumes and saving people .
The teachers told us to relax. To take some time off between our work studies and the start of the next semester so that we didn’t burn out. But it feels more like the adrenaline is going to burn through my veins and ooze out onto my skin.
I look out the window at the street below. A group of small kids is shrieking and laughing, chasing each other down the sidewalk. They can’t be older than six. One of them is wearing a makeshift cape. He stands in a familiar pose—feet apart, fists on his hips—and points a finger at the others. I can’t quite pick up the words, but my imagination fills them in. I’ll save you!
My eyes shift back inside and land on the sneakers tossed against the doorjamb. I pause for only a few seconds before grabbing them and heading out the door.
***
My mind buzzes distractedly, playing various combat moves on repeat like a sports highlight reel, but my feet remember the way. It’s not long before I’m outside a familiar building. Low stone wall out front. Curved roof. Large geometric windows.
The walk felt shorter than it used to. Or maybe my legs are just longer now. I step up to the front door and hesitate, knuckles hovering an inch from the wood. The last time I was here, I was just about eye level with the door handle. I swallow and knock.
After a moment, Kacchan opens the door, already frowning. He hangs in the open doorway and looks me up and down.
“I was wondering if you wanted to spar?”
He stares at me for a second and the door slams shut. I blink—not quite surprised—and take a breath, ready to turn and leave. Then door opens again and Kacchan strides out, still kicking on his shoes and adjusting the strap on his bag.
“Where are we doing this?” he asks, pushing past my shoulder. “We’ll get shit for it if anyone sees us.”
“I was thinking Takoba beach,” I say, trailing behind him. “It’s pretty deserted.”
“Isn’t that place trashed?”
“I cleaned it.”
His feet slow a bit, giving me a chance to catch up. “You...what?”
“When I was training with All Might. Last year.”
He frowns again. “Alright...”
BAKUGO
I shove my fists into my pockets just to give my arms something to do. My veins feel itchy. Wanting to release the stir-craziness that had been building up before Deku showed up at my doorstep.
We walk in silence down the quiet streets. It’s kind of weird, walking side by side through our old neighborhood all these years later. I was used to him always straggling behind me. His constant chatter following me like a persistent soundtrack.
I’m distracted thinking about that when we reach the entrance to the beach. I remember walking past here when I was a kid, hanging out at an arcade a couple blocks away. The place was a dump. What does Deku mean he cleaned it? I expect a patch of sand cleared out in a valley of garbage.
When we crest the dunes, I nearly stop in my tracks. Glittering white sand stretches down both sides of the coast and out to a calm blue surf. A cool salty breeze comes off the waves.
Deku frowns at a crumpled plastic bottle on the ground by his feet before picking it up and tossing it in a rusty metal trash can nearby.
“You said you and All Might cleaned this up?” Am I remembering this wrong? Was I thinking of a different beach?
“I cleaned it. All Might mostly sat on top of the garbage and yelled at me.”
“This is how he had you train with One For All.”
“No, this was how he had me train to get One For All. To get strong enough that my body wouldn’t explode when he transferred it to me.”
“Deku...” I look at the beach again, trying to reconcile the pristine image with the mountains of trash in my memory. “What the fuck .”
He just shrugs and smiles at me. “Come on,” he says walking onto the beach and waving me forward.
I follow, still taking in the surroundings. “We can’t really use our quirks out here. Someone will still hear.”
“Hand to hand?” he asks, dropping into a squat to stretch out his quads. “I know it’s not as fun, but I need to do something or I’ll go insane.”
I plop my bag on the sand and pull my right arm across my chest, feeling the slight burn in my triceps. “You sure? Without quirks, I’ve got you on strength and reflexes. It won’t be that fair of a fight.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.”
“If you say so...”
We back away a few paces and circle each other tentatively. I roll my shoulders out one last time and nod. Deku immediately goes on the offensive, launching at me with a series of kicks. Even without using One For All, there’s a decent amount of power behind them. I grit my teeth as his heel connects with the bone of my forearm. That’s going to bruise.
“ Damn¸ ” I mutter. He doesn’t give me much time to shake it off before the next attack.
“I’ve been training with Ojiro,” he says, twisting and striking again. “I warned you not to underestimate me.”
I stay on the defensive for the moment, blocking or dodging as he attacks relentlessly with his legs. But he almost got me like that once before. So when he suddenly switches from a kick to a right hook, I’m ready for it.
I grab his arm, step into the attack, and pivot, flipping him over my shoulder and laying him out on the sand. He grunts as the wind is knocked out of his chest, sand splashing outward in a wave. “Don’t think I forgot about what happened after the internships,” I say, remembering my shock at seeing him use his quirk to fly and flip through the air. “Steal my moves and I’ll steal yours too.”
He sits up, shaking the sand from his hair. He’s grinning. “Should’ve seen that coming. Don’t worry though. I won’t let you get the drop on me again.”
DEKU
It feels almost like a dance. The back and forth. The push and pull. Kick and block, punch and dodge. Pulses racing and breaths quick.
So, when I land weird on my next attack and my foot twists the wrong way, it’s almost like an audible record scratch sounds.
I lose my balance and my butt hits the sand.
“Ow,” I hiss clutching my ankle.
Kacchan relaxes his fighting stance and takes a few steps forward, panting. “You good?”
I gingerly slip off my sneaker and carefully wiggle my toes. Pain shoots up my ankle. I wince. “It might be sprained.” I push myself up and test my weight on the bad leg. It hurts, but considering the injuries I rack up on a regular basis, it’s bearable. “Could just be a bad roll though. Let’s keep going.”
“You should probably get that checked out.”
“It’s fine. I’ll ask Recovery Girl to take a look when we go back to school tomorrow.”
“Fine, then let’s go home. It’s late anyway.”
“One more round?”
“No, you psycho.”
“Why? Afraid you’ll lose?”
“ No , afraid you’ll break yourself even more. Let’s go.” His arms are crossed, and I’ve known Kacchan long enough to know he’s not going to budge, not with any amount of goading.
“Fine,” I mutter. I carefully bend down to pick up my backpack and my shoe and start hobbling a few steps towards the street, wincing.
I hear Kacchan sigh behind me, then feel a tug on my wrist. He pulls my arm around his shoulders and places his other hand on my waist. I stumble into him in surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like, idiot, I’m walking you home,” he says, staring straight ahead.
“Oh…thanks, Kacchan.”
“Shut up, nerd.”
“Right.”
***
“Hey, Mom. I’m home,” I call twisting the doorknob.
“Izuku, I was starting to worry…” she says, coming to the door and drying her hands with a dish towel. “Oh, Katsuki. How nice to see you, it’s been ages.”
“Hey, Mrs. Midoriya.”
“I hurt my ankle. Kacchan helped me get home,” I explain.
“That’s very kind of you Katsuki.”
“Whatever,” he says, steadying me while I lean down to take off my other shoe.
“If you have a few minutes, would you help Izuku to his room? I’ll get you some ice.”
“Yea, sure.” Kacchan kicks off his sneakers and limps me over to my bedroom door.
“Do you mind grabbing the bandages for me?” I ask. “They’re in the cabinet in the bathroom.”
“Fine. I have to pee anyway.”
I hop into my room and sit down on the bed. My mom comes in with a bag of ice cubes and sits down next to me.
“Izuku…” she says carefully, “Were you two fighting again?”
“Not like that. We were sparring and I landed on it wrong. It was an accident.”
She twists her lips, clearly doubtful. “I just... I remember how he used to pick on you.”
“Mom…”
“If he’s still bullying you—"
“ Mom. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“I know, Baby, but it was so hard. You were already so sad about not having a quirk...” She places a hand on my cheek. “Then Katsuki and the other boys started being so mean to you…I should have done more back then…”
I place my hand on top of hers. “I’m fine, Mom. Really. Kacchan’s even actually kind of nice to me sometimes.”
She sighs, and leans in to kiss my forehead. “Okay, son.” She places the ice in my palm, then gets up and leaves the room.
Kacchan walks in a few seconds later. He tosses the roll of bandages to me and looks around the room. “It’s like an All Might convention threw up in here,” he says, looking at the rows of collectables lining the bookshelf. “Must be weird now that you have his power.”
I unroll the bandage, stretching it in my hands. “Did you know he didn’t have one when he was a kid?”
“A what.”
“A quirk.”
Kacchan turns to me. “Yeah right.”
“Yup, he was born without one. Just like me.”
He looks away and picks up a frame on my desk—it’s a photo of me as a toddler, in an All Might onesie, laughing in my mom’s arms. He swallows. “You didn’t…listen to any of that stuff I said to you when we were kids, did you?”
“What, like about me being a quirkless loser?” I ask, wrapping the bandage around my ankle. He’s silent. “Some of it,” I admit. “But it didn’t stop me from wanting to be a hero anyway.” I tie off the knot and press the ice on top, wincing at the sharp cold.
“I head you and your mom talking, I…I shouldn’t have been such a jerk to you.”
I look up, but can only see the spiky blond hair on the back of his head. “Why were you?” I ask softly.
“I don’t know. I was insecure, I guess. And I needed to make you seem weaker in order to feel strong. I…I’m really sorry.” He turns to meet my eyes. “Izuku.”
I hold his gaze for a few seconds. “Thanks,” I say finally, turning my attention back to fiddling with the bandages. “For saying that. But I already forgave you a while ago you know.”
“You did?”
"Mm. When you started helping me train with All Might. That was your way of making up for it, wasn’t it?”
“It was, but...that wasn’t the only reason.”
“Ah right, so you said it was so you could beat me. Something about me being a stepping stone on your path to Number One?” I ask dryly.
“No, I—” he sounds frustrated. “You know all that talk is bullshit, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know it’s all bullshit,” I confirm with a small smile. I glance up. Kacchan’s looking away, at something small and flat on my desk.
He slides it off with two fingers and holds it up, the holographic backing sparkling in the light of my lamp. I wonder if he remembers that trading card. We both pulled the same one that day. Screeching and bubbling with joy. It felt like magic. Like destiny.
He’s talking at the flexing image of All Might on the card when he says, “I like it. Training with you. I...missed this. Us.”
When he looks back at me, it’s with an expression I’ve rarely ever seen on him before. Shy almost. “Yeah, me too.”
Kacchan clears his throat and the expression disappears, back to his usual brash exterior. He places the card carefully back on my desk. “Well rest up, because combat training starts back up tomorrow and I want the satisfaction of crushing you at your best.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay. Good night, Kacchan.”
***
When I open the door the next morning, Kacchan is waiting there, leaning against the railing outside my apartment, looking bored as usual. Uniform wrinkled. No tie in sight.
“Kacchan? What are you doing here?”
His eyes flick down to my shoes. “How’s your ankle?”
“Better.” I rock it back and forth a little subconsciously, feeling the tenderness against the pull of the bandages. It had gotten better after some rest...but then I got up early to do my usual morning workout and the injury got strained again. I’m going to get an earful from Recovery Girl later.
Kacchan narrows his eyes like he doesn’t believe me, but doesn’t say anything. Just holds out his hand, palm up. Like he’s shaking me down for cash.
I stare at it a moment, not understanding what he wants from me.
“Your bag,” he says. “I’ll carry it. Unless you need me to carry you too.”
“O-Oh. No, I can walk.” Is this why he’s here? To walk me to school?
He keeps his hand out, his expression slipping from boredom to impatience. I slide the straps of the backpack off my shoulders and hand it to him. He slings it over his own and starts walking towards the stairs.
“Th-Thanks.” I say, trying not to hobble as I take a few quick steps to catch up.
“Whatever,” he mutters.