Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Bakugou! Tone it down a little with the explosions please. You don’t need to go all out against your classmate.” Aizawa sensei said in his usual monotone.

Annoyance sparked in Katsuki’s chest at the scolding. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. If they couldn’t keep up that wasn’t his fucking problem.

“If I don’t go all out these losers will never improve!!” He yelled back as he aimed another blast at Kirishima’s torso.

Kirishima managed to dodge with an exasperated look on his face.

“Come on, man. Can you chill out!? We’re just practicing!” Kirishima yelped as he dodged another blow Katsuki had aimed for his head this time. “HEY!”

Katsuki landed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not my fault you can’t handle some basic fucking combat.”

“I can!” Kirishima deactivated his quirk and crossed his arms. Somewhere in the background Aizawa sensei scolded Katsuki half-heartedling for cussing. He ignored it. “But basic combat doesn’t mean try to kill me, Bakugou,” Kirishima admonished but there was humor in the tone.

“Don’t be stupid, Shitty Hair, if I actually wanted to kill you then I fucking would.” Katsuki raised his fists and adjusted his stance to finish the fight. He would win. Like he always did.

“Ah that’s reassuring, you’re such a good friend.” Kirishima joked and lunged first, aiming a fist at Katsuki’s gut. Katsuki grabbed his fist before it made contact, flipping Kirishima onto his back.

With a loud grunt, Kirishima activated his quirk, hardening his body, to lessen the blow. Katsuki was on top of Kirishima before he had the chance to react, pinning his hands next to his head and his body with his hips. Victory.

“Okay, that’s enough. Bakugou wins.” Aizawa sensei said, walking up to them.

Katsuki stood and Kirishima sat up, raising his hand for help from Katsuki. He walked away without looking.

“Aw come on Bakubro, not even going to give me a hand?” Kirishima pouted and stood on his own.

Katsuki ignored his whining and adjusted his gauntlets. “Who’s next?” He said, not looking at his teacher.

“That’s all Bakugou, there’s no one else for you to fight.” Aizawa sensei said. “Class is over, you can all head back to the dorms.”

Katsuki looked up and realized he had already defeated his assigned opponents today. A smug smirk spread across his face. No one had been able to best him in the six months it had been since he was captured by the League of Villains. Since he ended All Might’s career.

“Good job, Kacchan.” That annoying fucking voice came from behind him and he gave Deku a quick glare over his shoulder before turning to face him. Was Deku mocking him? No, he couldn't be, because Deku had lost their match today.

“I thought I told you to never lose to me again.” Katsuki mocked.

Deku was the chosen one. The one All Might passed his quirk onto and yet he hadn’t won today. He told Deku the last time they fought to never lose again, because what was the point of giving shitty Deku an awesome quirk like that if he wasn’t going to use it well? What was the point of him being the chosen one to follow in All Might’s footsteps? Deku swore to never lose again and Katsuki swore he would never be captured by the enemy again. Though, Katsuki’s promise was only to himself. Today’s spar session had been a solid fight for sure, but Katsuki had ended up pinning him down just like he had done with the rest of his opponents.

“I know that!” Deku exclaimed, averting his eyes from Katsuki’s glare. “It was just a sparring match, if we had gone for real then I would have-”

“Shut it, nerd. There’s no way you would have won. You fucking suck at protecting your left flank.” Katsuki started heading towards the door behind the rest of the class.

Deku looked surprised for a split second before responding, “W-well, I’ll work on that… Maybe you could help me… just give me some more time and-”

Katsuki cut him off again, “Don’t care! You lost.” He exited the building, it almost sounded like Deku thanked him as the door closed. He decided to ignore it. He spotted the shitty red hair he was looking for immediately upon walking out the door.

“Oi! Shitty hair!” Katsuki called. Kirishima stopped and turned around.

“‘Sup, Bakugou?”

“Gym.” Was all Katsuki said nodding his head in the direction of the gym and walking that direction.

Kirishima bid a quick goodbye to Mina and Sero before following Katsuki.

----

Katsuki slammed Kirishima down on his back like he did during class. Pinning him to the sparring mat. Another win.

Kirishima groaned, “Okay.. okay. I think I’m done for the day, man.”

Katsuki got off and let Kirishima stand on his own. “Giving up already? That’s fucking pathetic,” he scoffed.

Kirishima gave him an incredulous look, “You just kicked my ass over and over for an hour!”

Katsuki crossed his arms. “And?”

“And if you want me to keep training with you, maybe you could teach me something instead of just beating me up. Teach me some of the things you’re doing and maybe our sparring sessions will be a little more interesting.” Kirishima walked over to his gym bag and started gathering his things.

“First, don’t tell me what to fucking do. Second, how have you not learned a single thing from sparring with me daily?” Katsuki walked over to the bench next to Kirishima and began gathering his belongings as well. Annoyance simmered in his chest from Kirishima insinuating that he was unhelpful.

Kirishima sighed, “Bakugou, I’m not telling you what to do. I’m sorry if it came off that way. It’s just… you seem to know a lot more than me now. Don’t get me wrong, beating my ass helps me develop my quirk, but I’d like it if sometimes, instead of you beating my ass, you’d actually teach some of it to me. Kirishima scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“If you’re too weak then just fucking say that.” Katsuki rolled his eyes and hung his gym bag over his shoulder. “Figure your own shit out, I’m not your teacher.”

“Yeah, man I guess you’re right.” Kirishima gave Katsuki a look that sent his steaming rage into a boiling one.

“What the fuck is that face for?” Katsuki stepped up to Kirishima, ready to fight it out again.
Kirishima backed up and put his hands up in a surrender,

“Hey, nothing man. It’s just…” he hesitated, as if afraid of what Katsuki’s reaction would be if he said the thing he’s been wanting to say for the past 6 months.

“Spit it out, Shitty Hair.” Katsuki growled. His annoyance was at an all time high today, after watching Deku lose their match, when he said he wouldn’t lose again. Did that loser even understand what was on his shoulders? Did he understand that he was destined to fight All For One? If he wasn’t ready for when All For One came for him, he would fucking die. He would prefer it if his rival didn’t die. Who would keep up with him if Deku was gone?

“It’s just that… ever since you were um…taken by the League…” Kirishima cringed at the pure rage that simmered in Katsuki’s eyes at the mention of his kidnapping back at the training camp, “well, you’ve just been quiet…and angrier lately man. I mean like, more than usual, y’know? I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you if you want to talk about it.”

Katsuki grabbed the front of Kirishima’s shirt, earning a small grunt from the boy, “Don’t ever fucking talk about that to me ever again. Nothing about me has changed. What happened with the League means nothing to me other than training harder. Which is what we’re doing here daily. Got it?”

“Y-yeah man I got it. Sorry. I’m just here for you if you ever-”

Katsuki pushed Kirishima back, letting go of his shirt. The boy took a step back and stopped mid-sentence but didn’t lose balance. The push didn’t have any strength behind it. And looking into Katuski’s eyes, he could almost swear he saw fear. But he decided it was just his imagination. Katsuki was afraid of nothing.

“We’ll take the day off tomorrow,” was all Katsuki said before he left the gym. His hands clenched into fists and his jaw working.

----

Katsuki took a couple of laps around the campus before heading back to the dorm in an attempt to soothe the anger coursing through him.

Who did Kirishima think he was to say that he knew what he was feeling? None of these extras knew anything about him. All they knew, and all they needed to know, was that he’s going to be number one in the field. Just like he’s number one in the class. He’s spent the last six months focusing only on improving. Nothing else. He had his routine down. Wake up, workout, get ready, go to classes, go to the gym with Kirishima, go back to the dorms, study, and sleep. No time for any other bullshit. The only one who knew anything about him was Deku.

His routine has gotten him to the top of the class. His grade is higher than even Yaoyorozu’s. He scored exceptionally well on the combat training and got 100% on his quirk theory final last semester. They wouldn’t catch up to him, he wouldn’t let them. And watching Deku figure out the new quirks manifesting in One For All felt painfully slow. Like at any moment the League could attack and Deku wouldn’t be ready. Katsuki knew All Might had been training with him, but he needed to be pushed harder. He needed to be ready.

The image of Deku running towards the portal as Katsuki was pulled through by the villains flashed across his mind. Arms broken and useless at his sides. If he pulled that shit again… Katsuki shook his head. If Deku wasn’t going to be ready then he sure as hell was. The League was not going to fucking win, Katsuki would make sure of it.

----

He walked into the dorm to the sound of commotion in the common room. He looked over to the right to see that everyone was working together to make dinner. Who the hell let Todoroki cut the chives again? He could see that they weren’t cut properly from where he was standing.

“Bakubro! Welcome back! Come join us for dinner, man!” Kirishima called out to him, excitement on his face. He was always so cheerful and outgoing. Katsuki wondered how he managed to act like that all the time. Was he not stressed about the League? Did he not consider that the security that UA had set up wouldn’t be good enough?

All For One had ultimately put an end to All Might after Katsuki’s capture. Did they think some regular guards that weren't even considered pros with insignificant quirks could hold him back if he decided to come here? If he decided to attack them while their guard was down?

He ignored Kirishima’s request and went up the stairs to his room. He could hear the disappointed murmurs of his classmates as he reached his floor.

As soon as his door was closed and locked, his rigid body relaxed. The room was dark, the only source of light being the sunset shining through the window. Alone. No threats. Just his own space with his own belongings. No one to see the look on his face or the hunch of his shoulders. This was the best part of his day.

His shower was as hot as possible like always. The pain of the water running down his back distracted him from every thought in his head. He brushed his teeth without looking in the mirror and put his pajamas on in silence.

As he began to lay down on his bed, his stomach growled. Loudly. Fuck.

He hadn’t eaten since lunch and if he wanted to stay on top of his routine, he couldn’t afford to miss a meal. He didn’t want to admit it but whatever those losers were cooking downstairs smelled really good. Which was shocking in itself since the only one of them that can properly use an appliance is the sugar rush dude. What was his name again? Oh Sato, yeah that’s right.

Katsuki rolled his eyes at the fact that he had to go back down to the common room whether he liked it or not. If he waited until they all went to bed, it would be late as fuck.

He slowly turned the knob of his door and sighed deeply. Maybe they would just ignore his presence and leave him the fuck alone. He knew that was wishful thinking and headed downstairs, hands shoved into the pockets of his pajama pants.

His face was grumpy as usual as he walked into the common room.

Class Rep, Round Face, Deku, Tape Dude, Shitty Hair, Ears, and Dunce Face were sitting at the table playing a card game. On the couch, Frog Girl and Racoon Eyes were playing Super Smash Bros while everyone else watched. Had they already eaten? Maybe Katsuki should just go back upstairs. He hesitated which caught the attention of Deku and Dunce Face.

“Bakubro!! You’re here!” Dunce Face said, smiling at Katsuki.

His exclamation brought everyone’s attention to Katsuki and his annoyance turned to rage as everyone started welcoming him. As if this gathering meant anything. The fucking losers hung out in the common room every night together. It’s not like this is some special occasion.

“I told you not to fucking call me that.” Katsuki growled as he walked towards the kitchen. This quieted down some of the welcomes he was receiving. The people at the couch went back to their game without another word to him, looking unsure of what to say.

He wasn’t so lucky with the losers at the table.

“Hey man the food is almost ready but if you want to join in on the game we can add you in!” Shitty Hair called to him. “We’re playing Uno!”

“Kacchan, you should join in! Once we’re done with this round the food should be done!” Deku added. Katsuki worked his jaw as he inspected the food they were making. Katsudon. Seems it was Deku’s night to choose dinner again. Did the damn nerd ever pick anything other than Katsudon?

“I don’t want to play your dumb fucking game. And you’re burning the food by the way.” Katsuki growled as he removed it from the heat.

“Whaaa??” Multiple of his classmates yelled out the same reaction as they stopped what they were doing to run over. The sudden proximity of so many people sent Katsuki straight over the edge of the precarious cliff of anger he was trying to balance on.

He trembled as he said, “if you people don’t get the hell away from me, I’ll blow you the fuck up.”

Everyone took one giant step back as a group, except for Deku. Who stood slightly behind Katsuki to look over his shoulder at the food.

“It’s okay! There are enough salvageable parts for everyone to eat! Plus, I’ll just eat the burnt pieces!” Deku looked back at his friends and smiled. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the group.

A small popping sound from Katsuki’s hand made Deku jump and he finally took the step back that Katsuki had wanted.

“Sorry, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, whatever, nerd.” Katsuki began getting plates out and portioning everything out. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he did it, his anger at the unwanted attention barely wrangled. He handed out plates of food to everyone. Deku came up last with a small smile on his face.

“Thanks for serving it Kacchan. That was really ni-”

“Shut it. I’m only doing it because you people are so unorganized. It would have taken so long that the food would be cold if I left it up to you losers.” He handed Deku a plate of food and noticed his small smile had turned into a slightly sad one. Deku was looking at Katsuki with those big green eyes full of sadness for no good fucking reason. Before Katsuki could snap at him for it, Deku spoke again.

“Wait Kacchan I said I would take the burnt pieces.” He had moved his sad eyes down to his plate of food and when those green ones met Katsuki’s crimson ones again, they were full of surprise. Because the food on his plate wasn’t burnt at all.

“It’s fine, shitty Deku. I like my food a little burned anyway.” Katsuki turned away from the boy who was looking at him like he’d just saved his life. There was a small blush on his face that made his dumb freckles stand out. God this nerd was so fucking sentimental and ridiculous. He just hoped he didn’t start crying over it.

“Thank you, Kacchan.” Deku said from behind him, sincerely.

Just walk away.

“It’s not a big deal.” Katsuki started making his own plate. He could still feel Deku behind him, hesitating. “Deku, just sit the fuck down and eat your food you damn nerd.”

“R-right.” Katsuki could hear the smile on Deku’s face.

He heard Deku walk away and released the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. His thoughts were irrational and he knew that. He and Deku had already fought this out. Had already talked about it. Deku didn’t look down on Katsuki. He knew that. He knew that. And yet he couldn’t help but feel like Deku was laughing at him for being nice.

His classmates had left the end seat open for him. Looks like they finally learned that that was his spot. Since the last time they tried to make him sit between people, a piece of Kirishima’s shitty hair had gotten singed.

He ate in silence as his classmates talked animatedly around him. They were the loudest group of people he had ever met. And they had the audacity to wonder why he was always yelling around them. As if they would be able to hear him over their own incessant chatter, always at max volume.

The copious amount of hot sauce he poured on his katsudon helped him ignore the taste of the burnt food. He didn’t hate the burnt flavor but he had been lying when he said he didn’t mind it. Kinda tastes like ass.

Katsuki raised his eyes from his food for just a split second, not wanting to get the attention of anyone at the table. Knowing this group, if he showed any interest in the conversation they would definitely drag him into it. He never actually paid attention to what any of the extras were saying anyway, so it would be meaningless to try and include him.

His eyes caught on Shitty Hair and Deku at the other end of the table. They seemed to be murmuring with each other. Very unlike them, especially Shitty Hair, the loudmouth that he was. Both of them glanced at Katsuki at the same time and when they were met by his glare they startled and went back to eating their food. Were they… talking about him?

“Oi, what the fuck?” Katsuki called to them. Everyone went silent and glanced at him, then over to Shitty Hair and Deku. “You fucking losers have something you want to say to me?”

“N-no no Kacchan!” Deku stuttered. “We were just..”

“We were just talking about strategies for our next combat training. One of us is going to best you.” Shitty Hair finished the sentence for Deku with a wink at Katsuki. Katsuki glared at them, suspicion in his expression as he looked between them both.

“Yeah right. Neither of you lame asses is going to best me at anything.” Katsuki growled and went back to eating his food in silence.

It sounded like Deku was about to say something else before Shitty Hair elbowed the loser’s arm to stop him. Good, shutting the fuck up was the better option for both of them at this point.

When Katsuki finished his food he cleaned his plate and put it away. When his classmates began to walk into the kitchen to wash their own plates, Katsuki silently took them and washed them. Each classmate thanked him quietly before walking away and going back to their games. He ignored their thanks. Until Deku came up with his plate last.

“Thank you, Kacchan.” Deku smiled up at him as Katsuki took his plate.

“Whatever.” Katsuki began washing the plate but once again, Deku didn’t walk away.

“Hey uh… Kacchan?” Deku began. He dried and put the plate away and turned to face him with a sigh.

“What do you want, you damn nerd?” Katsuki looked at him with the usual grumpy look on his face. His voice lacked the malice he had intended it to have and he cursed himself for it.

His anger had been driving him lately, that was true, but after everything that’s happened with Deku over the last six months, he hasn’t held the same searing hatred he had for him like before. After their fight, which All Might stopped. After he learned about Deku’s quirk… He just couldn’t grasp the hatred anymore. It wasn’t there to cushion their interactions from the awkwardness of being former friends and former enemies. They talked somewhat normally now, even though Katsuki still thought Deku was annoying, a crybaby, and a self sacrificing idiot with no sense of self preservation. BUT, he also respected him a little bit more. He respected the weight on his shoulders and the effort he’d been putting into his training. They weren’t enemies anymore. They weren’t really friends either. The limbo they were currently navigating was precarious and was quite honestly pissing Katsuki off. He hated uncertainty. He knew he didn’t hate him anymore, but he didn’t know what to call his current feelings. Annoyance? No, it was something he wasn’t familiar with.

Deku had seen him at his most vulnerable. Not that Katsuki would ever bring that up, and neither would Deku if he knew what was good for him. Deku and All Might are the only ones who have seen him shed tears like that. They’ve seen him be emotionally raw. He would never admit it to himself or anyone else, but having people that understood him and his actions, even just a little bit, was a comfort he had never had before. And after that whole incident, they had made small steps to fixing their friendship during their time on house arrest.

“I just uh wanted to ask if you’re doing okay,” Deku lowered his voice so only Katsuki could hear him. “It’s just that I’ve noticed ever since the… incident with the League… you’ve been yelling a lot less, which is great! But you’ve been quiet… and a little more angry and well… you’ve been…” Deku hesitated which gave Katsuki the chance to let his burning hot anger overflow.

“You think I fucking need your help Deku? You think I’m weak? You think you’re so much better than me because I’m the one who ended All Might and you’re the chosen one?” Katsuki spat while still keeping his volume low. He didn’t need all of Deku’s shitty friends to come to Deku’s defense.

“N-no! No, of course not Kacchan. Come on, we’ve talked about this before,” Deku said seriously. “I don’t look down on you. I never have. You know I’ve always looked up to you.”

He knew Deku was right. They had talked about all of this. Katsuki was just having a hard time letting go of his former way of thinking. Katsuki opened his mouth to say something but Deku cut him off, which pissed him off more.

“Listen, we don't need to go over this again in the kitchen while everyone is out here. I just wanted to tell you that I’m here if you want to talk. Well, everyone is,” he gestured to their classmates in the common room, “But they’ve collectively decided to back off because your silence is a little scary and you’ve been so… well… you’ve been angrier than before. Which is saying something because you’ve always be-”

“I don’t fucking need to talk about anything with anyone. I can handle my own shit so you should mind your goddamn business.” Katsuki spat. He wanted to end the conversation before Deku could start rambling like he always did.

“Okay,” Deku put his hands up in surrender and said, “But I’m here if you need. If something is eating away at you you can tell me.” And before Katsuki could tell him to shut the fuck up about it Deku was scurrying out of the kitchen, knowing he had pissed Katsuki off by saying it again. The little fucker.

Katsuki shook his head, dried his hands, and made his way back to the table. Instead of going back to his room, he sat in the same seat he ate dinner at and scrolled through his phone listening to class 1-A cheer and boo and laugh at Super Smash Bros. The game of Uno had finished and everyone was crowded around the couch watching the matches on the TV. They were playing in groups of four, cycling through so everyone would get the chance to play.

Katsuki glanced up at the game every once in a while. Just to see if anyone was playing as his favorite character or to see who was winning. At one point he glanced up and Deku was looking at him. Deku nodded in a come-over-and-join-us way and Katsuki ignored him, going back to scrolling on his phone.

At 8:30 Katsuki got up from the table and went back up to his dorm room without another word. He was asleep by 8:35.

----

The next morning Katsuki was up, fed, and out the door before anyone else in the dorm woke up. Getting up at the ass crack of dawn was the only way to avoid a crowded kitchen that was too loud for his liking. Seriously, these people never shut up. How can you be at max volume at 6 am?

He arrived at the classroom, sat at his desk, folded his arms on it, and rested his forehead on his arms. Staring at the desk, he went over all of the information needed for today's hero laws test in his head. He had memorized his notes over the last couple of days.

His classmates began filtering into the classroom. They all showed up for class together everyday, chatting and giggling. The conversation seemed to be more serious today, since they were all preparing for the test as well. Katsuki tuned them out like usual.

Deku sat in his seat behind Katsuki and said good morning. Katsuki grunted in response. Just because they were being cordial with each other didn’t mean they had to speak every single time they saw each other. The nerd always had something to say.

The class was uneventful, just Aizawa sensei’s monotone lecturing and then the test to finish off the lecture portion of the class. Katsuki was the first to finish and he turned it in knowing that every single answer was correct.

He got to the lunch hall early and ate lunch by himself. By the time the rest of class 1-A arrived at the lunch hall, he was putting his tray back and heading towards the combat training building.

Kirishima attempted to talk to him, asking him to sit with the rest of their classmates, but Katsuki just shook his head and went straight to the next class.

He changed into his hero costume in the locker room and walked out to Aizawa sensei already waiting. Aizawa turned to face him.

“You’re here rather early, Bakugou.” Aizawa sensei said.

“Yeah, well I finished lunch early. Wanted to get a head start. What’s the goal of the combat training today?” Katsuki adjusted his gauntlets as he spoke in an attempt to not make eye contact. Just in case his eyes showed anything he was trying to repress.

“We’ll be doing another round of one on ones but you’ll pick who you want to spar against.”

“I want my sparring partner to be Deku.”

“I expected as much. I already put you two down to be matched today.”

Katsuki nodded.

“I am here!” The voice of All Might came from the front entrance of the training building. Katsuki turned to see the gaunt, gangly form of All Might jog in. “Oh good I’m not late.”

“You’re perfectly on time for once actually.” Aizawa sensei commented.

Katsuki averted his eyes from All Might’s tiny body with a pang of guilt. All Might said that he would have to be in his true form permanently whether the kidnapping had happened or not, but Katsuki was the reason that it happened so soon and he couldn’t help but dwell on it. And it happened on live television to make matters worse.

“Ah young Bakugou! How nice to see you. Are you doing well?” All Might reached Katsuki and Aizawa sensei and gave Katsuki a smile.

“I’m fine.” Katsuki supplied with annoyance in his voice. Could everyone stop asking how he was doing? It sparked a feeling in his chest that he hated and he felt like giving an answer was a struggle every time.

“That’s good to hear.” All Might looked like was going to say more, much to the annoyance of Katsuki, when his classmates walked in from the locker room entrance. Everyone was chatting as usual, dressed in their hero costumes.

Katsuki began stretching as Aizawa sensei announced the rules for the match ups.

“Midoriya, Bakugou got here first and already claimed you as his match for today. Everyone else, pick your match.” Aizawa sensei stated.

Deku looked over at Katsuki with a shy smile and nodded at him with a determined look in his eye.

He nodded back and looked away, continuing his stretching as All Might walked up to Deku.

Maybe he should have chosen someone else to match with. Icy Hot would have been a good choice, since he’s on the same level as him and Deku. The match with Deku will probably end the same as it did yesterday, but Katsuki had a hard time passing up any opportunity to show the nerd that he’s beneath him.

----

Of course Aizawa sensei made him wait until all other matches were done before letting him go up against Deku. Katsuki walked into the training area, taking count of the jagged concrete pillars that Cementoss had created for the training. Those wouldn’t last long with him and Deku in the ring, but he could use them to his advantage. Deku stepped up across the area from him. Both of them slid into a fighting stance.

“I don’t like repeating myself but since you two always need to hear it: don’t try to kill each other please. I’d rather not have to face your families and tell them you were too immature to handle basic training.” Aizawa sensei said, monotone.

They both nodded, not looking at Aizawa sensei.

“Begin.”

They both moved instantly. Deku’s body glowed and sparked with One For All full cowling. Katuski’s hands popped with the anticipation of the fight, propelling him forward. He was on Deku in an instant.

He went for Deku’s left side first, knowing the idiot struggled to protect it. Deku grabbed Katsuki’s hand as the explosion went off, surprising him. How had the nerd learned how to counter that in just 24 hours?

He grunted as Deku kept hold on his hand and threw him back towards one of the cement pillars. Katsuki quickly flung his hands behind him and set them off, stopping himself from hitting the pillar.

He was propelling himself back towards Deku instantly.

Deku shot black-whip out at him in an attempt to immobilize him and Katsuki reacted instantly, moving his hands directly below him and shooting upwards. He flipped over him and grabbed him from behind.

Deku wasted no time in dropping like a deadweight, surprising Katsuki again. Don’t piss me the fuck off you damn nerd!

He kept his hold on Deku’s costume, his hand glowing red as he readied to set it off. Deku spun, causing his costume to tear under Katsuki’s grasp, and kicked Katsuki’s feet from under him.

Katsuki smirked as he fell, managing to land on his knees and raising his palm right up to Deku’s face.

“DIE!” Katsuki yelled.

“DON’T TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER!” Aizawa sensei used a megaphone this time to get his point across. Where did he get that?

The split second of hesitation cost him dearly as Deku was able to attach black-whip to one to one of the cement pillars and yank himself away from Katsuki, who was still kneeling on the ground.

“Damnit!” Katsuki seethed as he stood. Deku stood across the training area. On opposite sides as they started from. They were both panting as they slid into fighting stances once again.

As he was about to make his move, he noticed a look in Deku’s eyes. The determined look changed to uncertainty and confusion, which quickly turned to a bit of panic.

Katsuki scanned him, keeping that determined, angry look on his own face. What was wrong? Was he hurt? Were… Were Deku’s feet coming off of the ground?

Katsuki wasted no time after seeing the slight panic in Deku’s eyes. He blasted himself forward and tackled Deku to the ground. He pinned his waist with his own, his legs on either side of him. He pinned Deku’s hands on either side of his head, looking into his eyes to figure out what was going on.

The part of Deku he wasn’t pinning, his torso, started to come off the ground as well making Katsuki lurch forward, his chest becoming flush with Deku’s in order to keep him down.

Face to face, chest to chest, he held him down.

“What the fuck is happening you damn idiot?” Katsuki breathed. Their faces were so close Deku could feel Katsuki’s breath on his face and Deku’s green curls were brushing against Katsuki’s forehead.

“I-I don’t know.” Was Deku’s useless answer as his face turned red.

“Bakugou wins. You can both get up now.” Aizawa said from the other side of the area. Once again using the annoying ass megaphone.

“Tch. You owe me for this, shitty fucking Deku,” he said through gritted teeth and then called over to Aizawa sensei and All Might, “Can’t get up! Hurt my leg on that tackle…”

“Wait, did you really Kacchan? Are you o-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU DAMN NERD,” he spat and then lowered his tone, “Obviously fucking not but we need to stay like this until you stop goddamn floating for no reason. As if I would get hurt from a basic fucking maneuver like that. You really think so low of me you asshole?”

“N-no of course not Kacchan. Sorry.” Deku shook his head.

“Okay good, now stop floating.”

“I’m trying to!”

Deku’s body pressed harder against him, making Deku blush harder and Katsuki grit his teeth.

“I said stop floating. Not float more!” he said through his clenched teeth, trying not to think about how everyone must think he’s weak to injure himself like that.

All Might reached them and kneeled down. “Are you all right young Bakugou?”

“I’m fucking fine All Might. You’re fucking protege is floating and I’m trying to keep him down.”

All Might cringed at the foul language but ignored it to look at Deku. “Floating? Oh ah! That’s my master’s quirk! Float.”

“Fitting name.” Katsuki deadpanned, “but he needs to stop floating so I can get the hell off of him.” He tried not to pay attention to the fact that their noses were basically touching at this point. Unwanted proximity to another person made his skin feel hot and prickly.

“Right. Young Midoriya. It’s going to be just like black-whip. You need to visualize the locking mechanism to stop it. We’ll work on controlling it later.”

Deku nodded and closed his eyes to focus.

Katsuki watched, his face inches from his. Deku’s crotch pressing against Katsuki’s ass. Deku’s rhythmic breathing moved his chest against his unmoving one as he held his breath without realizing.

Deku’s body finally relaxed and stopped pressing against Katsuki’s. He was up in an instant and moving away.

“Thank you for doing that young Bakugou. It would have raised a lot of questions.” All Might said as he helped Deku up.

“Yeah, whatever. You won’t be able to hide it for much longer if he continues to unlock new quirks in front of the entire class.” He rolled his eyes and began taking off his gauntlets. These two idiots were always so clueless. They needed to make a plan. Or just tell everyone the truth. He was getting tired of keeping their secret. Black-whip had already caused a stir of confusion among their peers, adding another one right now would lead to outright questioning.

“Yes, I know…” All Might lowered his head for just a second before looking back at Deku. “We’ll figure it out. How about you both come to my office once you’re done with class?”

They nodded and Katsuki began walking away while Deku continued to talk to All Might. He halted when he noticed he was actually limping.

He had been so caught in the moment he didn’t realize he had actually rolled his ankle in his rush to tackle Deku. That fucking nerd. This was his fault. How did a simple tackle result in him actually limping?

“Shit.” He rolled his eyes and sighed. Whatever. It was just a rolled ankle.

He limped back towards the locker room. Avoiding everyone’s eyes. Did they think he was weak? Did they think he couldn’t handle the combat training? Were they whispering to each other that his weakness was the reason why he got kidnapped by the League?

Well they were fucking wrong if they were. He wasn’t weak. Not in the slightest. His strength was his ability to handle pain and fight to his fullest potential no matter what. It was his ability to come out on top in every situation thrown at him.

Aizawa sensei opened his mouth as he walked by but Katsuki spoke first.

“It’s just a rolled ankle. I’m good.” He kept walking.

Aizawa sensei nodded and shrugged, “happens to the best of us.”

That statement, no matter how small and trivial, had the embarrassment sitting in Katsuki’s chest easing just a little.

----

He arrived before Deku at All Might’s office. Aizawa sensei had held Deku back to talk to him about something. Seems like the teachers always had something to talk to him about.
They always had encouraging words or advice to give him. And Deku accepted it all with a smile on his face, excited to learn something new. He had a smile on his face even when he lost the match. Even when being given constructive criticism.

The teachers used to talk to Katsuki too. They tried to give him advice, encourage him, ask him questions. His explosive personality and desire to not be seen as weak had put those conversations to a stop pretty quickly. Aizawa sensei and All Might still did their best to converse with him about his studies, but all of the other teachers had quickly given up. Not that Katsuki blamed them. He had gotten what he wanted, to be left alone. That’s all he wanted. To be left alone. Alone.

The door to All Might’s office opened and Katsuki was dragged from his thoughts as he realized he had just been standing in front of the door with his hand raised to knock for who knows how long.

He fixed his face into his usual grumpiness and looked up at All Might.

“Ah young Bakugou, welcome. Perfect timing, come on in.” All Might opened the door wider for him.

Katsuki walked in, put his backpack next to the couch and sat, avoiding eye contact with the symbol of peace who he had forced into retirement. No… he hadn’t done that. All Might said it wasn’t his fault. But wasn’t it? Maybe All Might was lying when he said it would have happened either way. Maybe he had been trying to spare Katsuki’s feelings because he had seen the state that he had been in.

He had seen Katsuki cry.

“Young Bakugou?” All Might questioned and Katsuki realized he had been talking. He shook his head and forced his eyes to meet All Might’s.

“Hm?”

“I asked how you’re doing.”

“You fucking asked me the same thing earlier. I’m fine.” Katsuki gritted his teeth. He hated repeating himself just as much as he hated that stupid fucking question. It seemed like that was the only thing he heard out of anyone’s mouth lately. How are you? Are you doing okay? Obviously he was fucking fine.

“Yes, sorry, you’re right.” All Might sat at his chair across from the couch with a small laugh. “I heard you’ve been doing exceptionally well in all of your classes. I’m proud of you.” He gave Katsuki a genuine smile.

He had no idea what to say so he chose to change the subject, “People are going to be suspicious if Deku keeps showing up to class with new quirks. With this new one today… I don’t think you’ll be able to hide the truth much longer. Every time he adds a new one, the situation changes.”

“I know. We have to think of the consequences though, if others were to know. It may put them at risk. The word may spread too far. And we’ll have the League on our doorstep again. The idea of his power may also lead to more villains coming out of the woodworks in an attempt to take it from him. I know you’re worried, young Bakugou, I care for young Midoriya as you do and I’m trying to figure out the best plan of action to keep him and everyone else safe.”

Katsuki scoffed and mumbled, “I don’t care about him.”

All Might just looked at him with a small smile and understanding in his eyes. Katsuki immediately averted his gaze to look out the window. Luckily Deku chose that exact moment to arrive and walk in apologizing for being late. He explained that he was going over something with Aizawa sensei.

The conversation produced no new information. They would continue to keep the secret for now.

----

If you hadn’t been so damn weak you never would have gotten caught and caused all that trouble!

He turned the shower to its maximum temperature. The scorching liquid ran down Katsuki’s back as he held his head under the water. The conditioner had been washed out of his hair several minutes ago. He relished the pain of the water running down his body. The pain washed away the thoughts of the words his mother said to him in front of Aizawa sensei and All Might.

She was right of course, but damn that old hag for saying some shit like that in front of his teacher and the hero he’s always looked up to. Had she been trying to knock him down a peg? Trying to make them see him differently? No… No. That wasn’t her goal. She was just being the nagging mother she always was. But why would she say that?

Katsuki shook his head and sighed so harshly that it turned into a growl. The hot water wasn’t enough to stop his brain from thinking. He wanted it to be fucking quiet.

He finished his nighttime routine, got into his pajamas, and fell onto his bed with a huff. Sleep was his own personal paradise. No thoughts, no questions, no expectations.

As his eyes slid shut and his body relaxed, there was a knock on his door.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW??” He jumped up and swung the door open with such force it was a wonder how it didn’t rip off of the hinges.

Racoon Eyes, of all people, was standing there with a worried look on her face. “Bakubro!! I need your help!”

Katsuki’s body went rigid at the look of fear in her eyes. Was something happening? Was there an attack? No, she wouldn’t call him fucking Bakubro if this was serious.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?” Katsuki tried to remind himself not to scream but his eyes had just closed. Sleep had been so so close.

“There’s a spider in my roooooom,” Racoon Eyes whined, bouncing from one foot to the other, “Will you get it for me?”

“Are you… Are you fucking SERIOUS? You have a fucking acid quirk you moron!” He looked at her incredulously.

“I know I knooooow but I don’t want to get close to it and my accuracy isn’t fantastic from distances yet so I might end up melting something else by accident! Pleeeeeeaaase Bakubro!!” She gave her best puppy eyes.

“Goddamnit. FUCK. Fine. Show me where it is.” Katsuki angrily followed her to her room, hands fisted at his sides. These losers were fucking useless. Couldn’t even handle a spider in their room.

----

“Huh… that’s a big fucking spider. Where the hell could that have come from?” Katsuki commented, looking at the spider from the doorway. He could see the fucker from all the way across the room as it slowly made its way up the wall.

“I KNOW right??” She whined.

He had grabbed a glass from the kitchen before heading to the room and swiped a piece of paper from Mina’s notebook. He carefully placed the glass over the spider. (It was almost too big to fit in the circle of the glass, what the hell). He slid the paper underneath it and properly disposed of the creature outside.

“Thank you thank you thank you Bakubro!!!” She cheered and basically jumped on Katsuki with a hug.

He shoved her away, earning a laugh from her. “Shut it. Figure your own shit out next time,” Katsuki scolded her and began walking back upstairs to his room.

“Yeah yeah,” she said, dismissing his angry tone, “You’re the best!” He answered with a scoff and turned the corner at the top of the stairs.

----

“Today’s combat training is a little bit different.” Aizawa sensei began once everyone was in their hero costumes and paying attention.

Katsuki scanned the training area. There were dummies scattered around the area, all in sitting or laying down positions.

“Your goal is to save all of the dummies before the 5 minute timer runs out. The dummies are civilians that have been caught in a villain attack. The 5 minute timer is a bomb timer. If you don’t save everyone before the 5 minute timer is up, you fail.”

Everyone murmured to each other about the strict time limit for the amount of dummies on the field. Katsuki smirked at the challenge. He could easily carry three people at a time. One of each shoulder, one in his arms. Though, there were a lot of dummies.

“Oh and you’ll be working as a class on this one.” Aizawa added as he put the timer on the screen above the training area.

Everyone sounded relieved at the idea of having teammates but Katsuki grit his teeth in frustration. He didn’t need any help to complete this training. They would just get in his way.

“Go.” Aizawa said without any warning, starting the timer.

Everyone startled and scrambled to begin. Katsuki was already on the field when they caught up. He grabbed two dummies and grunted as he placed them over his shoulders. They were fucking weighted dummies. He picked up a third and began taking them to the “safe area.”

“Here Kacchan I can help!” Deku ran up to him with his arms out to take the dummy he was carrying in his arms.

“Back the hell up you damn nerd I can do it myself!” Katsuki spat.

“But Kacchan I’m sure the people you’re saving would be a lot more comfortable if they were carried with more care in mind.” Deku said, still holding his hands out for the dummy.

“PISS OFF! As long as they get to the safe area that’s all that matters! I don’t need help from anyone.” Katsuki moved past him. Deku gave up with a sigh and jumped away to help his other classmates.

He dropped the dummies off in the safe area and blasted back to the training area for more. Easy. So so easy.

----

Katsuki stared down at the All Might shaped dummy. It was fucking massive. Definitely life-sized and definitely an accurate 600 pounds. He kneeled down and tried to pick it up over his shoulders, grunting with the effort. Shit. How was he going to get it across the training area to the safe zone?

He didn’t want anyone coming over and insisting they help. He moved to the head of the dummy, curved his arms under its armpits, and began dragging it back to the safe zone.

30 seconds left as he neared the safe zone, panting and grunting. They just had to put this dummy out there didn’t they? Heavy as fuck for no good reason.

He couldn’t stop, the timer was about to run out, so he started pulling harder towards the end goal. His back fucking hurt from the way he had to drag it and his breath was coming out in sharp bursts now.

“Kacchan!” He heard Deku’s voice coming towards him and looked up. Oh. That was the entirety of class 1-A running in his direction. “That’s the last one! Oh my god it’s huge! Let us help!!”

“All of you PISS OFF AND LET ME DO IT.” He was only a couple of feet from the safe zone. Everyone kept running towards him to help.

10 seconds.

Straining his back, he put one last burst of energy into dragging the stupid thing over the finish line right as the timer went off.

“HELL YEAH!” Katsuki threw a fist into the air sending a small pang of pain to his lower back. He didn’t care.

The rest of the class caught up right at the end and collectively released a sigh of relief.

“Hey good job Bakubro! Super manly of you and all that but you could have had some of us help with that one. That looked heavy!” Shitty Hair patted Katsuki’s back.

“As if I’d need any of your guys’ help,” he scoffed.

“Right,” Shitty Hair laughed, “well good job, man. We passed!”

Katsuki nodded and looked over to Aizawa sensei, who was walking over to them.

“Good job everyone. You all passed the training,” Aizawa sensei said, followed by cheers from Katsuki’s classmates. “Except you, Bakugou.”

Everyone went silent. Katsuki turned to fully face Aizawa.

“What the fuck do you mean I didn’t pass? I’m the one who just finished it out by dragging that stupidly large All Might dummy across the finish line!!” His voice got louder and louder.

“Part of the training was working together and accepting help from others when you need it. Which you didn’t do, Bakugou. In fact, several of your classmates offered to help you throughout that entire training and you told all of them to ‘piss off.” His teacher used air quotes with the words he’d used.

Katsuki opened his mouth then closed it. He could feel the eyes of his classmates going back and forth between himself and Aizawa sensei.

“You’ll receive a zero,” Aizawa finished and then turned to the rest of the class, who were being uncharacteristically quiet now. “The rest of you did a great job. The lesson here is that asking for help, or accepting help when offered, can get the job done quicker and safer than if you do it alone. This is why heroes have sidekicks. If you have any questions, come ask me after you’ve all cleaned up from training. Otherwise, you’re all dismissed.”

Katsuki stood there, glaring at Aizawa sensei as the rest of the class started walking to their respective locker rooms.

“You didn’t fucking say that that was the point of the training.”

“I shouldn’t have to. Helping others and receiving help from others is a part of being a hero. You can’t do everything on your own, Bakugou.”

“I can absolutely do everything on my-”

“No. You can’t. No one can do everything on their own.”

“What about All Might?”

Aizawa sensei sighed, “All Might was trained by people, which is receiving help. He also trained other people, which is helping others. He was always in the spotlight and on TV, yes, but what you didn’t see in the background of those rescues, were the heroes helping. There were always other heroes who were either there before All Might and required his backup, or arrived after All Might and helped with clean up and rescue. Getting help from others does not make you weak. Unless you think All Might was weak?” Aizawa sensei pinned him with a questioning look, making Katsuki avert his gaze from his teacher.

“That’s what I thought. At some point you’re going to have to accept help from others without accusing yourself of being weak because of it. You are deserving of help. The pro heroes showed up that night to rescue you because heroes support other heroes. All Might showed up with other pros right? Not just by himself. Anyone could have been taken by the League. It has no reflection on who you are as a person or as a hero.” Katsuki snapped his eyes back to his teacher. Rage boiling in his crimson gaze at the mention of his kidnapping.

“You’re dismissed, Bakugou.” Aizawa sensei began walking towards the exit.

“My grade…” Katsuki seethed through gritted teeth.

“You can make up the grade by writing a 3 page essay on the benefits of sidekicks,” Aizawa tossed over his shoulder, “Turn it in by the end of the week.” The door closed behind his teacher before he could respond.

Small pops came from his palms and he glared at the ground, attempting to take deep breaths before his quirk displayed the amount of anger coursing through him. Failure.

He stood there glaring at the ground long enough for his classmates to finish changing and start heading out of the building.

He had never asked for help from anyone before. Why would he start now? He didn’t think All Might was weak… But what would others think if Katsuki started actually asking for help? That made him feel weak.

“Hey, Bakubro,” Shitty Hair was standing next to him. When had he gotten there?

He looked up at him but didn’t say anything.

“We going to the gym today? I’m prepared to have you kick my ass again after taking the day off yesterday.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Whaaat? Why not, man? We gotta keep training hard if we want to be pros, right?” He punched the air a couple times for emphasis.

“I have somewhere to be today. We’ll go tomorrow.” Katsuki started walking towards the locker room.

“Okay, man. You uh… You doing okay? You look a little… upset,” he said the last word hesitantly.

“I’m fucking fine, would everyone stop asking that?!” Katsuki spat, “We’ll go to the gym tomorrow, shitty hair.”

“Okay okay,” he put his hands up in surrender, “I’ll uh… see you back at the dorm then.”

Katsuki ignored him and walked into the locker room.

He pulled his shirt over his head and closed the locker, revealing Todoroki standing behind it.

“Bakugou.” Katsuki jumped back and held up a palm which began popping.

“JESUS CHRIST ICY HOT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SNEAKING UP LIKE THAT?!”

Katsuki put his hand down and gave Todoroki a what-the-actual-fuck look.

“I was here the entire time. You didn’t notice me?” Todoroki deadpanned.

“Obviously fucking not. Jeez. What the hell do you want?”

“I wanted to check on you. Because you’re my friend.”

“We’re not friends, you idiot.” Katsuki glared at him, “and I’m fine! Why the hell does everyone keep wanting to check on me?!”

“You seem angrier than usual, and you look tired and when you’re not angry you’re just quiet. Also Midoriya was talking about how he’s worried about you but doesn’t want to make you more angry by checking on you.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes so hard he almost saw his own fucking brain.

“I’m fine for fuck’s sake. Deku can mind his own goddamn business. And so can you, Icy Hot.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. And we are friends. We hang out and talk often, so I think that counts. So if you need anything, we’re all here for you.” Todoroki turned around and walked out the door without another word and quickly enough that Katsuki couldn’t yell at him anymore.

If one more goddamn person comes up to him and asks him if he’s okay, he might actually go clinically insane. Which wouldn’t bode well for his future career as the number one hero.

“Icy Hot bastard…” he grumbled.

----

Katsuki had gotten clearance from Principle Nezu to leave UA grounds and visit his parents for the evening. It was his mother’s birthday after all, he should probably give her a gift.

He got on the train and grabbed onto one of the handles. A man came rushing in just as the doors were closing and ran right into Katsuki.

“Tch. Hey, watch it!!” Katsuki barked.

The man grabbed his arm and bowed his head, apologizing profusely.

“Yeah yeah whatever. Just watch where you’re going,” Katsuki growled and yanked his arm away from him.

The man’s dark blue eyes met Katsuki’s as he bowed his head one more time before moving away and sitting down. Katsuki ignored his existence and turned the other way. Clumsy loser.

----

Katsuki pulled the gift out of his backpack as he walked up to his house. As he settled the backpack back on his shoulders and stepped towards the walkway to his front door, a single footstep behind him had his body going rigid.

He spun around to see who it was, but before he could, there was a cloth over his nose and mouth. He heard the loud popping of his quirk before everything went black.

----

As class 1-A cleaned up the common room and kitchen after dinner, Izuku Midoriya couldn’t help but notice that Kacchan hadn’t come back from his home visit yet. At least, that’s where Izuku assumed he went. He wasn’t necessarily close with Kacchan’s family. And he couldn’t necessarily consider himself “close” with Kacchan right now either. Though, their relationship was a lot better than when they first started at UA.

It was a lot better than when Kacchan told Izuku to swan dive off of a building.

Either way, Izuku knew it was Kacchan’s mom’s birthday, he had a calendar book specifically for people’s birthdays. If he learned someone’s birthday, he wrote it in there. Whether he actually spoke to or knew that person or not. He knew it made people happy to have their birthdays remembered, and he loved surprising people who thought he didn’t know.

Izuku continued to glance at the door, or out the window at the front steps. It was late, almost 8:30, which was the time Kacchan always went to bed. Well, maybe he was just enjoying the time with his family, eating cake and chatting. He supposed Kacchan would be willing to break his routine of going to bed early for his family. Though, he needed to be back by the 10 pm curfew.

Then again, Kacchan has never spoken very fondly of his family. So would he even be really enjoying himself over there enough to stay late? But also Kacchan never really showed any kind of emotion for anyone… Izuku went back and forth about what made the most sense in his head.

He knew for sure that Kacchan cared about people. He just had no idea how to show it. He did pretty well with doing small actions for others. Like telling Izuku he needed to work on protecting his left flank, getting rid of the spider for Mina, cleaning the dishes for everyone, and taking the burnt pieces of food for himself even though he wasn’t the one who burnt it. He knew that everyone else saw it too, because if they didn’t they would probably avoid Kacchan all together. His actions spoke volumes while his words… well they could use some work. But everyone seemed to shrug off his aggressive words because they could see that Kacchan was actually a good guy, he was just too emotionally constipated to show it any other way. Most of their classmates actually considered Kacchan’s attitude endearing.

“Deku, are you going to stay down here?” Uraraka called over to him from the bottom of the steps.

“Oh yeah, I’m going to do something really quick and then head upstairs. You can leave the light on for now thanks!”

“Okay! Goodnight Deku!”

“Goodnight Uraraka.” Izuku gave her a smile, which she returned before heading upstairs.

He waited in the common room until curfew. Maybe Kacchan got clearance to spend the night over there. If he knew that Izuku had waited up for him, he would tell him to mind his own business and that he was being dramatic. He just had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had been doing his best to not be too overboard about their healing relationship. He didn’t want Kacchan to see how eager he was and distance himself again.

He decided he was being a little too paranoid and turned off the lights, heading upstairs.

He tried to remind himself that just because Kacchan didn’t necessarily hate him anymore, he needed to be careful about pushing him too far. Don’t try to force friendship on him too quickly or he’ll go right back to how they used to be. Don’t let him know that he cared too much, lest their current relationship be ruined. Don’t let him know that he…

Izuku laid in bed looking at the ceiling overthinking about Kacchan until his eyes eventually closed and he drifted off to sleep.

----

In the morning, Izuku got ready for class and began walking down the hall towards the stairs. He stopped at Kacchan’s door, hesitating to knock. What if he had gotten home late and wanted to sleep in just a little? Unlikely.

He knew Kacchan would probably be annoyed beyond understanding if he knocked on his door at 7am, but he just had to check. He just needed to ease his mind that he was fine. He was sure that Kacchan was fine, but he just wanted to check. Just in case!

He knocked… and waited.

“Kacchan?” He said, gently. “I uh…” What could he say that would piss Kacchan off less than saying he was worried? “I was wondering if you wanted to walk to class with me?” Right… yeah that was totally not weird and very nonchalant of him to ask. An embarrassed blush rose to his cheeks.

No answer came from within the dorm room.

He looked at the clock at the end of the hallway. He needed to get going if he didn’t want to be late. Kacchan always arrived to class way earlier than anyone else anyway, so checking his room was probably a big waste of time. He felt slightly relieved that Kacchan didn’t hear his awkward question and decided to just go to class.

He was almost late, so the last stretch down the hallway was completed in a light jog. He turned the corner into the room, his eyes immediately settling on Kacchan’s desk. His empty desk. He wasn’t there. Maybe he should have just looked inside his room. He hesitated in the doorway. Should he go back to the dorm and check? Kacchan was never late to class. Ever.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to take your seat?” Aizawa sensei’s voice behind him made him jump.

“Aizawa Sensei! I-I uh… Yes. Yes I’m sorry.” Izuku moved into the room and sat at his desk. The space felt different without Kacchan sitting in front of him.

Aizawa sensei stood behind his desk at the front of the room and looked over the class. His eyes landed on Kacchan’s empty seat.

“Where is Bakugou? Has anyone heard from him?”

Izuku looked to his classmates for an answer other than his own. Everyone shook their heads and looked at each other. His heart rate picked up.

“He left campus last night to go see his parents,” Kirishima spoke up.

Aizawa sensei’s eyes narrowed, “He didn’t come back?”

Izuku was standing now, without realizing, “I can go check his room. Maybe he overslept.”

Aizawa sensei nodded, “Midoriya and Kirishima, go see if he’s in his room.”

They were both out the door in seconds. The tension had been high ever since Kacchan’s kidnapping and the fact that the League had been so quiet. With the absence of All Might to protect them, everyone was on edge about when the League would strike again.

Panting from running the entire way, Krishima and Izuku made it up the stairs to the room.

“Ay, Bakubro! You in there? Class started! Aizawa sensei is going to be pissssed if you don’t show up!” Kirishima said.

No answer.

Izuku’s patience had run out, the quick beating of his heart forcing him to act instead of speak. He grabbed the doorknob and turned, expecting it to be locked like usual. It was unlocked.

He swung the door open to reveal a dark, very clean, room. With no Kacchan inside.

They looked at each other. Worry evident in both of their expressions.

“Where could he be?” Kirishima asked.

“I don’t know…”

If it was the League then what could their motive be? They had already taken Kacchan before and their plan didn’t succeed. Kacchan would never become a villain, surely the League wasn’t ridiculous enough to try the same stunt all over again? If it was the League then they had to have a different plan. Izuku was the one they wanted, it was his quirk that they desired. Did they take him to try and get to Izuku? They knew that he cared for Kacchan, after his reaction at the training camp when he was being dragged through the portal. As well as the fact that Izuku was one of the ones that showed up to save him as All Might faced All For One.

It didn’t make any sense. Because if it wasn’t the League then who was it and what did they want with him?

“Let’s not jump to conclusions that involve villains,” Kirishima said, seeing the look on Izuku's face, “He might have just stayed at his parents’ house or maybe he’s sick.”.

Izuku nodded slowly, not convinced, “You’re right. Let’s head back and let Aizawa sensei know.”

He knew that Kirishima was being more rational than he was. But he couldn’t remember the last time Kacchan had ever been sick with anything more than a cold. And even then, Kacchan had never missed class for being sick.

He didn’t mention that as they ran back to class.

“Well?” Aizawa sensei asked as Kirishima and Izuku entered the classroom panting.

“He wasn’t there, Sensei,” Izuku breathed, worry etched into his features.

Aizawa sensei motioned at them to sit in their seats, an assignment sitting on their desks for them.

“I’ll be right back. Work on the assignment while I’m gone. Behave yourselves,” Aizawa sensei said the last part with a glare before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Izuku tried to do his work, but he couldn’t stop glancing at Kacchan’s empty desk. What if something really had happened to him while he was off campus? What if the villains had been waiting for one of the students, any of the students, to leave the protection of the campus to attack them? Was he injured? Did he need help? Kacchan would hate the fact that he worried he might need help, but he couldn’t not think that. He cared that Kacchan was okay. He knew he could handle himself. But like Aizawa sensei said (when he was eavesdropping on his conversation with Kacchan yesterday), every hero needs help sometimes. Even All Might. Even Kacchan.

He stared at his paper, tapping his pen.

“Psst. Midoriya. You’re doing the muttering thing again,” Kaminari whispered to him.

“Oh. Sorry,” Izuku gave him an apologetic smile.

“I’m sure he’s fine. This is Bakugou we’re talking about!” Kaminari was doing his best to reassure him. He appreciated the effort, but unfortunately it wouldn’t stop the thoughts racing through his head.

He gave Kaminari a small smile and a nod, “You’re right. Thanks Kaminari.”

He went back to staring at his paper, keeping the muttering to a minimum.

----

Izuku’s paper was half filled out when Aizawa stepped back into the room. The sound of the door made Izuku’s head snap up, paying close attention to Aizawa sensei’s face. His face was indifferent, as always, but his eyes met Izuku’s for just a split second which sent Izuku’s worry through the roof.

Aizawa sensei didn’t say anything about Kacchan, he just went back to lecturing in his usual monotone voice. Izuku didn’t hear a word he said.

----

By the time Aizawa sensei finished lecturing, Izuku’s leg was bouncing so fast it could power a small home.

“You’re dismissed for lunch. Combat training is cancelled today. The training area was damaged by class 1-B yesterday so they’re fixing it. Enjoy your free time after lunch.”

Most of the class was excited for the extra free time, but Izuku could see through the lie. It seemed Kirishima, Kaminari, and Todoroki felt the same.

Izuku went straight to Aizawa sensei’s desk as the rest of the class filtered out of the room.

“Midoriya,” Aizawa sensei sighed, “Let it go, we’re working on it.”

“What did you find out?”

Aizawa sensei’s eyes slid over to the classroom door where Kiminari, Kirishima, and Todoroki lingered outside. His glare was enough to get his friends to disperse from the doorway. Izuku knew they were staying nearby though. He looked back at his teacher.

“Listen, Izuku. The pros and the school staff will handle this.”

“What’s going on?”

Aizawa sensei sighed heavily, knowing he wasn’t going to get Izuku to go away without answering him.

“I contacted Bakugou’s parents. They said he never arrived at their house yesterday.”

Izuku’s heart slammed in his chest. Where was Kacchan? Before he could say anything, Aizawa sensei continued.

“They said they found a gift on the ground at the end of the walkway to their house, but couldn’t find him. We’ve already set up a search for him so don’t go doing anything stupid. We’re putting you guys on lockdown. You’re not allowed to leave campus.”

Izuku clenched his fists at his side, “Let me go after him.”

“No.”

“Aizawa Sensei-”

“No Midoriya. We’re not sending a student out on a search mission. We have pros for things like this. You only have a provisional license anyway, if you were to face a villain, you couldn’t fight them using your quirk without supervision from a pro. The answer is no. Go eat lunch with your classmates. Let us handle this.”

Izuku averted his gaze to the door, flexing his hands and then balling them into fists again.

“Okay. I understand.” Izuku walked out the door with his head down.

Kaminari, Kirishima, and Todoroki looked at Izuku as he left the classroom and fell into step around him.

“What’s going on, Midoriya?” Todoroki asked.

“Kacchan is missing.” His three classmates exchanged a look. “He was supposed to go to his parents’ house for his mom’s birthday and he never arrived. They found the gift he was bringing outside on the ground. Someone took him.”

“We have to find him. Can we go after him?” Kirishima looked at his classmates with determination in his eyes.

“Aizawa sensei said they’re putting the UA campus on lockdown until he’s returned safely. He said to leave it to the pros…” Izuku said as they turned the corner to the lunch hall.

“Well what do we do? If they’re putting us on lockdown there’s no way we’ll be able to sneak off campus,” Kaminari chimed in.

“I know… But I think they know better at this point that they’re not going to be able to stop us from helping. I think we can convince them to let us help look in the perimeter of UA. Once we convince them to let us do that, they won’t be able to stop me from going after him,” Izuku said, determined to find Kacchan before something terrible happened to him.

“That’s dangerous, Midoriya. You could end up being taken too.” Todoroki commented.

“I don’t care.”

----

Katsuki couldn’t get his fucking eyelids to obey him. Open goddamnit.

Someone was groaning near him. He evened his breathing out and relaxed his body, taking note of what senses he could use.

He could hear, he heard the groaning and the steady drip of water nearby. Otherwise it was quiet.

He was in a sitting position… in a chair. He could feel that his hands were bound behind the chair and each of his legs were bound to the legs of the chair. He could feel… rumbling? In his chest. Wait no… he was making noise. The groaning was him. He shut himself up as he assessed what else he was feeling.

His wrists and ankles hurt from the ropes obviously, but his head was killing him too. There were a couple of spots on his body that were stinging, like he had been cut.

He moved his hand slowly and realized that not only were they tied behind him, they were submerged in a bucket of water. Whoever had grabbed him knew who he was, and knew his quirk. Shit.

He did his best to keep his breathing even. Was it the League again? He had gotten fucking taken again. Rage surged through his body. Rage at himself, at whoever kidnapped him. How could someone sneak up on him? He never let his guard down, especially being outside of UA. There was no way. He had to get out before he doomed another pro hero’s career. Or his own.

He slowly opened an eye and glanced around the room. He was alone. He raised his head and opened both of his eyes.

He was at the back of a small room, the metal door directly across from him. His backpack was next to the door and the rest of the room was empty. His hero costume was in his backpack, minus his gauntlets which were back at UA, but something was better than nothing.

He looked down at his body and the chair. Of course the chair was made of fucking metal. He couldn’t just break it. He had small scrapes and cuts all over his body, like he had been dragged. His muscles ached, probably from being dragged and whatever drug they had used to incapacitate him.

His legs were tied all the way up to his knees, he couldn’t move them at all. He shrugged his shoulders as high as he could manage, seeing if he could get his hands out of the water. He was able to get the bottom half of his hands out of the water. That was all he needed. His hand began to heat up, he concentrated on keeping the popping to a minimum. He had mastered his quirk at a very young age, so precision came naturally to him.

Right as he was about to burn through the rope binding his hands, footsteps sounded outside of the door. Katsuki froze. He relaxed his body again, relaxed his eyelids so they would droop. There’s no guarantee that whoever took him wouldn’t drug him again once he saw that he was awake. He had to act drugged.

The door opened and in walked a man. He was tall, and thin. Katsuki could overpower him easily. He had black hair tied back into a bun at the base of his neck. His eyes were… dark blue. Holy shit it’s the guy that bumped into him on the train to his house. How long had he been following Katsuki without him noticing?

He had been so in his head lately he hadn’t noticed people standing right next to him. He cursed himself for his lack of awareness. He had always been alert, oriented, aware of his surroundings. You would think after being taken by the League he would be even more aware, but his brain refused to shut the hell up and he had let his guard down. What a fucking failure on his part.

He looked up at the man, letting his eyes droop.

“Ah! You’re awake!” The man smiled at Katsuki with excitement in his eyes. He was acting much differently than he did on the train. On the train he seemed shy, pathetic, and clumsy. This man was confident and excitable. Katsuki knew he needed to plan his moves carefully.

“You can drop the act like you’re still drugged. Your eyes are sharp, you’re tracking my every move. And I’m not an idiot, I know the drugs should have worn off by now.” The man stepped right up to Katsuki, bending down to his eye level.

Katsuki opened his eyes and straightened his body, glaring at the man, “Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you want?”

“AH there he is! Katsuki Bakugou. What was it you wanted to call yourself? King explosion murder god… something like that,” the man laughed, “You are amazing to watch you know that? You’re confident, strong, and your quirk is awesome. I wish I could be like you.” The man had looked off to the side, as if daydreaming.

Katsuki watched him but didn’t give him a response. The man continued.

“But I’m weak, can’t gain muscle no matter how hard I try. And I was born with a quirk that has its uses but it’s not enough! Nothing like your explosions. Ah your quirk is just so awesome. I could kick ass just like you if I had it!”

“What’s your fucking point?” The longer this guy monologued about his evil plan, the angrier Katsuki got.

“Yes yes, sorry. I know you’re not a very patient person. But you’re totally ruining my big moment by rushing me. I’ve been following you for months, ever since your escape from the League of Villains. It was pretty easy to get a job at UA,” he chuckled and Katsuki tensed at the information. He racked his brain for the man’s face. He had been around him for months but Katsuki couldn’t recall seeing him before the train incident.

“Hey.” The man’s tone became angry, “eyes on me!” Katsuki snapped his attention to the man, not realizing he had looked away.

The man smiled when he got Katsuki’s attention. It was an unsettling smile, like the man took offense to Katsuki not looking at him. Like he could cry if he felt ignored.

Seems the man wasn’t quite right in the head. Obviously he was fucked up, being a villain and all, but something in his mannerisms gave Katsuki the creeps. “There you are. Pay attention. "I'm saying important things right now!” The man’s voice wavered as if he was trying his best to keep his emotions in check.

“I’m just so happy you’re here. I thought you would never leave that goddamn campus! Oh where are my manners! My name is Natsuki Mori, our first names are similar aren’t they?” Mori said with a smile that spread across his face, “I picked it specifically for that reason! I’m your biggest fan, Katsuki Bakugou. Oh and since you asked, I brought you here so that I could take your quirk with the help of the League and All for One. They said I would be a valuable asset to their team! Especially once I get my hands on your quirk.”

Mori was jumping between topics like a mad man but Katsuki’s heart started beating so hard at the mention of the League that he thought it might burst through his chest. Mori was working with the League, with All for One. The situation just got infinitely more dangerous, considering the League may also be in this… whatever this place was. A stronghold? Some kind of base? Katsuki wasn’t dumb enough to think he could take the entire League on by himself.

If the entire League was here… Katsuki hated to admit it and annoyance tightened his chest as he did, but he needed backup.

“Is the League here with you, Mori?”

“OH please call me Natsuki!” Mori stood to his full height in front of Katsuki and patted his head which made Katsuki jerk back. Rage suddenly burned in Mori’s eyes, “DON’T BE RUDE!” Then, his demeanor changed again, “See I even got your anger down!” He smiled again.

Katsuki glared at the man, who seemed to be figuring out what he wanted to say next. Great. He had been taken by some crazy motherfucker who was obsessed with him. Just because he was so caught up in his own head that he didn’t notice someone following him for months.

“Anyway,” Mori said with that creepy-as-fuck smile on his face, “I’m just waiting on All For One to come take your quirk and give it to me! Your quirk is just one of a kind and super useful for combat! No one else in the world has a quirk like you. All For One has been so kind to give me a couple of extra quirks just to keep you at bay, since you’re so… well.. Explode-y.” Mori laughed at his lame ass joke while Katsuki looked at him with a pissed off look on his face. “But if you want to try to escape, it would give me the opportunity to try some of them out, which could be fun!”

“You didn’t answer my question Mor- Natsuki.” Katsuki gritted out, ignoring most of the man’s blabbering.

“Oh the League? No they aren’t here right now. They have bigger fish to fry apparently. Just me and you” Mori winked at Katsuki, sending a shiver down his spine. Creep.

Katsuki was so out of here as soon as this fucking loser left him alone.

“I’m sure you’re hungry! You’ve been here for 2 days now and it took several days just to get you here. I had to keep you knocked out while I got my new quirks. It was quite the adjustment!

Okay, multiple things did not add up here. All For One was in prison… recently defeated by All Might. So how the hell did he give this dude quirks? And how was he communicating with him? Katsuki didn’t know how long it had taken to get here, wherever here was, but if it had been 2 days since then, which means he’s had his new quirks for 2 days. He’s had no time to learn them, let alone use them.

Easy.

Mori looked like he was about to start walking out to get food for Katsuki but Katsuki stopped him.

“Oi, asshole,” Mori turned back towards Katsuki with an unreadable look on his face, “Your little story has some plot holes in it. All For One is in jail.”

“You’re so cute when you cuss at me,” Katsuki’s frown deepened and Mori’s smile widened, if that was even possible. It looked like the dude’s face could split in half with how hard he was smiling. “You think a Villain like All For One can be stopped by prison walls? I know you, Katsuki, you’re not that naive.”

Anger settled in his chest and spread through his body at the use of his first name by this asshole and Mori assuming he actually knew anything about him.

“Don’t act like you fucking know me, loser. You’re insane if you think I’m going to cooperate with you.”

“Oh I didn’t plan on you cooperating,” Mori lost his smile, looking innocent, “That wouldn’t be like you at all! I want the real Katsuki Bakugou. Oh! Let me go get you food.” Mori seemed to remember what he was doing instead of finishing whatever the fuck he was about to say and walked out, closing and locking the door behind him.

“I’ll fucking show you the real Katsuki Bakugou you damn maniac,” Katsuki grumbled.

As soon as he heard the footsteps walk away he shrugged his shoulders up again, getting the bottom of his hands out of the water. At this point in his life he could basically force his hands to sweat. He focused on keeping the popping to a minimum like earlier, heating his hands up and aiming the small pops at the rope.

His hands were free in less than 15 seconds. He bent forward and did the same thing to the ropes around his legs. Small, precise explosions. Mori was right about one thing, his quirk is fucking awesome.

Hopefully that crazy loser was taking his time with the food. Katsuki ran to his backpack but hesitated to pick it up. Surely this dude wasn’t that fucking dumb to leave his belongings with him? Or maybe his delusions about Katsuki led him to believe Katsuki would play along. Whatever the case, he knew he needed to move quickly, before Mori came back.

He unzipped his backpack and looked inside. It looks like everything was where it should be. He put his ear to the door to listen for footsteps and heard nothing. He was in his hero costume in 25 seconds flat. Practicing that for emergency situations had actually come in handy. Having his hero costume would free up his mobility to fight this guy off.

He flexed his hands in his gloves and smirked. His provisional license was slightly sticking out of his wallet and he hesitated again. He technically wasn’t allowed to use his quirk against villains without supervision from a pro. Would his future as a hero be at risk if he fought this guy? No, this was an emergency situation and he couldn’t wait for the pros to show up. He would ask for forgiveness later. He dug to the bottom of his bag and pulled out a walkie talkie he had been given by the UA guards when he had left for his parents house and turned it on.

“This is Katsuki Bakugou. Can anyone hear me?” Katsuki waited for an answer but got nothing but static. And his phone was dead. Fucking great. He figured the radio might not work, since he was probably underground, but he had to try. He left the walkie talkie on just in case someone was able to get through and threw it back into the bag, slinging it over his shoulders.

He took a deep breath as he faced the door. A smile spread across his face at the prospect of blowing that guy’s fucking face off. He lifted his hand and blasted the door off the hinges and ran.

He ran down a hallway, there were no doorways on either side so he kept running. How fucking long was this goddamn hallway?! He propelled himself forward with his quirk until he saw daylight at the end of the hall. That was… easy. Except it wasn’t daylight, it was the bright ass lights of a kitchen. Fuck.

Katsuki didn’t even blink, one second he was running toward the kitchen, and the next Mori was in front of him with his hand out. Katsuki’s face ran right into his hand.

Mori swung Katsuki by his face into the wall.

Katsuki grunted as pain shot through his head.

“Bastard,” Katsuki gritted out. How had he moved like that? How had Katsuki not noticed his presence?

“That’s so sweet of you to say!” Mori smirked and pressed Katsuki’s head into the wall harder. “I knew you would escape quickly but damn! That’s some kind of record for sure. And though this is really fun, I do actually need you to stay here.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Katsuki brought his knee up, right into Mori’s balls causing him to yell and stumble back, letting go of Katsuki’s head.

Katuski brought his fist around into Mori’s pained face, making the man crumple to the ground.

“Stay the fuck down.” Katsuki felt the back of his head, no blood. Good. He checked that Mori was properly knocked out before moving towards the kitchen again. Mori said it took several days to get here, so if Katsuki was going to have to escape on foot, he would need food.

Did this dude live here? Why did a secret villain lair that was most likely underground have a full fucking kitchen?

He stuffed as many food items into his bag as possible, leaving behind the clothes he had been captured in to make more room. He checked the walkie talkie, still no connection.

“You know…” Katsuki stiffened at Mori’s voice being directly behind him. There was no fucking way. He had knocked him out cold! “I knew this would be fun… to see you in action and everything. And trust me it’s been, gosh, totally amazing.” Katsuki turned to face him, dropping the backpack on the ground. “But the nut shot? That was low Katsuki. I mean, totally not a surprising move coming from you! But damn that fucking hurt,” Katsuki eyes locked with Mori’s and he couldn’t fucking move.

He struggled against whatever was stopping him but his limbs wouldn’t obey him.

“Oh shit that’s so cool. You actually can’t move? See All For One really has access to the coolest quirks. You look into my eyes and you can’t move anymore for a minute! That’s amazing. Imagine what I could do with this and your quirk Katsuki.” Mori smiled.

A small pop came from Katsuki’s left hand, making Mori jump and look down at it. As soon as the eye contact was broken Katsuki could move and he wasted no time.

“Fucking DIE.” Consequences be damned, Katsuki was using his goddamn quirk. He slammed his palm onto Mori’s face and set it off.

Mori screamed and staggered backwards, “SON OF A BITCH THAT HURTS.”

Bakugou grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders again with a smile on his face. This dude was weak as fuck and didn’t even know how to use his quirks. Clearly that wasn’t Mori’s original quirk. And it was rendered useless now that Katsuki knew not to look into his eyes.

He scanned the kitchen as Mori lay on the floor holding his fucked up face. Katsuki didn’t have time to think if he permanently damaged the guy. He saw a different hallway at the back of the kitchen and sprinted down it. Why were there no other hallways? No other way to go but straight?

There’s no way the layout of this place was the room where he was held, a long ass hallway, a kitchen, and then another long ass hallway.

As he ran, he noticed his footsteps echoed off to the left and he halted. He put his hand on the wall and it phased right through.

“Are you fucking serious?” Katsuki growled, “Illusions?” He ran down the hallway, careful to listen for echoes.

“Katsuki…” Mori’s voice came from the right of him and he spun with his palm out.

Mori jumped through one of the fake walls and tackled Katsuki to the ground. They both grunted and Katsuki swung his leg over Mori, forcing them to roll. Katsuki landed on top, pinning him down.

Before he could pin Mori’s arms, his hands were enveloping Katsuki’s head with his thumbs on his temples.

Katsuki tried to jerk away but Mori’s grip was stronger than expected and Katuski’s head began to feel like cotton.

“I bet you’re wondering why you can never detect me,” Mori smirked as Katsuki’s eyes became unfocused. “That’s my quirk. Never noticed me before huh? Except on the train and well… that was on purpose. I can completely hide my presence from others. Meaning no matter how alert you are, you’ll never see me coming. Ugh Katsuki! I’m having so much fun with this!!” Mori seemed to be becoming more manic.

Katsuki fought through the brain fog and rolled off of Mori in order to get away from his hands.

They both stood, facing each other. Katsuki slid into his fighting stance and for just a moment he wished he was facing Deku during combat training instead of this shit. He wished he was back at UA.

“I’ll fucking kill you,” Katsuki spat.

“GASP. Katsuki,” Mori sounded disapproving, “That’s not very hero-like of you,” his tone turned mocking.

Katsuki’s head still felt a little off but it was clearing up. Whatever he was trying to do, whatever quirk he was attempting to use, he had failed.

“Would you shut up already you damn loser?” Katsuki moved first with a wicked smirk on his face. Mori’s smile was one of pure glee as he readied himself.

His backpack was limiting his mobility but he couldn’t afford to drop it. He dropped to his knees and slid, catching Mori by surprise.

Katsuki slammed his palm to Mori’s stomach and set off a blast. Mori grunted but recovered quickly, grabbing Katsuki’s hand and pulling him towards him.

Katsuki dropped like a dead-weight and slid between Mori’s legs, pulling with all of his strength. Mori yelped as he was pulled forward, his face going straight to the ground. He let go of Katsuki’s hand in order to catch himself.

Katsuki spun, still kneeling, and as he pushed himself into a standing position behind Mori he set off two blasts next to the man’s ears. That should take out one of his senses for a little bit.

“FUCK!!” Mori gasped and then laughed, “You are one hell of a fighter Katsuki! It’s amazing!!” He continued laughing. Fucking weirdo.

Katsuki placed his foot on Mori’s back and pushed him down. He hit the ground with a grunt and Katsuki didn’t bother saying anything since he was sure the man’s ears were still ringing. He needed something to bind his hands and legs.

He kept his weight on Mori as he opened his backpack again. He shuffled through the food he took until he found the extra pair of socks he had for after combat training.

It wouldn’t hold him for long, but if he could knock him out and bind him as tightly as possible, it would buy him enough time to get out. So he did just that.

He bound him as tightly as he could manage with the socks.

Mori’s hand snapped out and grabbed Katsuki’s wrist, startling him.

“You won’t get far,” Mori whispered to him. Katsuki glared at him and knocked him out with a precise hit to the head. Mori’s head lolled to the side and he finished tying him up.

His goal was to get out of this place and get back to UA. If Mori decided to come after him he would deal with it, but he wasn’t about to haul him all the way back and waste his energy on saving a villain.

Surprisingly, the illusions were still up even though Mori was out cold and it took Katsuki a decent amount of time to actually find the exit.

The walls of the hallways eventually turned into jagged rocks and he could actually see sunlight at the end. What an annoying fucking labrynth he had just walked through.

He shielded his eyes as he stepped out into the sun, blinking as he took in his surroundings.

“Oh…shit,” was all Katsuki could say as his jaw dropped and eyes widened.

Sand dunes, as far as the eye could see. The hot sun beating down on him, not a cloud in the sky. Just sand.

He gritted his teeth, “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? WHERE THE FUCK AM I?” He spun around, he had come out of a cave. In the middle of the fucking desert? Japan didn’t even have a desert like this… Where the actual fuck was he?

“You did not fucking take me to a different country I swear to god I’m going to roast you over a fire if I ever see your stupid goddamn face again. Goddamnit!!! You fucking crazy bastard!” Katsuki yelled at the top of his lungs towards the cave entrance even though he knew the son of a bitch wasn’t conscious to hear him.
It hadn’t even felt fucking hot down there. Did that asshole somehow install A/C inside of a cave system? WHY WAS THERE EVEN A CAVE IN A DESERT?

Katsuki tried to think back to his geography class to figure out possible places he could be. Fuck there were too many, he could be in fucking California for all he knew.

He yanked the walkie talkie out of the backpack. “This is Katsuki Bakugou. Does anyone copy?”

Static.

Cussing up a storm, Katsuki began moving without even knowing if he was going in the right direction.

----

Katsuki decided to follow the setting sun, figuring it would get him somewhere closer to Japan than just going north would. Pretty soon it was pitch black, the only source of light (if you could even really call it that) were the stars. Because apparently tonight just had to be a new moon. So incredibly fucking helpful.

He was drenched in sweat and his anger that he had failed to suppress had small pops going on around him all day. He used his quirk to exhaustion, propelling himself forward as fast as he could for as long as he could. Nothing changed. Just more sand and more sun.

The nights didn’t even cool off.

After several days, he was sweating and panting and could barely pick his feet up through the sand anymore. His muscles were screaming at the effort of wafting through sand all day, his mouth dry. He had already drunk through two of the water bottles he took. Leaving him with 1 more until he was out completely.

He tried the walkie talkie every couple of hours with no success.

At some point he collapsed in the sand, rolling over to his back and staring at the stars.

He was strong, he was smart, and he was the top of his class. This was nothing. He could keep going. No matter what. He had to get back. He had to tell the pros that All For One and the League were still making moves, and that All For One being in prison apparently meant nothing in regard to communication and even giving people quirks to do his dirty work.

Why was the League so obsessed with Katsuki? He’s not even the one with One For All, Deku was! So why the hell did Katsuki need to be kidnapped fucking twice by these damn losers. And why was Katsuki fucking weak enough to get captured twice.

He scoffed at himself. Pops going off around him as his anger boiled under his skin. Fucking worthless. Fucking weak just like his mom had said. He knew everyone was probably talking about how pathetic and useless he was to be captured again. Having to face them was almost not worth going back. He deserved to be laughed at for his carelessness.

Damn. He had been trying so hard to improve. Putting his all into becoming stronger and smarter so that he could protect others. Now, once again, he was the one who was in danger.

He supposed he was glad it wasn’t one of his classmates. He was glad it was him and not Deku out here. He wouldn’t wish this kind of hell on any of them. They didn’t know that, of course, because no matter how hard Katsuki tried to change his tone, he just couldn’t help the rage coated words that left his mouth. He had probably hurt his classmates more times than not during any of their conversations.

He appreciated Kirishima a lot in regard to that though, because Kirishima knew that Katsuki was trying to be better and he never got offended by the shit that he said. He usually just laughed about it (not at him) and bantered back with Katsuki.

And Deku. Fucking Deku cried about everything and took offense to most things. Well… he’s still a crybaby, but Katsuki had noticed improvement with Deku. Like when he yelled about something, Deku had been smiling about it lately. It was a small, pathetic, almost sad smile, but it was better than him being seriously fucking offended and crying about it like he did before. Katsuki was just messing with him most of the time. Because whether he liked it or not, Katsuki had kind of started enjoying being around the fucking loser. Their relationship had taken a turn after their fight. Luckily, it turned in a positive way, since they probably would have had to be put in separate classes had it gotten worse.

He took a deep breath and thought back to what the school counselor had said to him. (Absolutely no one knew Katsuki had ever seeked help with his overabundance of thoughts and no one ever would.) He had only ever gone once, just for some advice. The thoughts of his classmates laughing at him or thinking he was weak weren’t true. It was just his mind freaking out over something he couldn’t control.

They were probably searching for him right now. Everything would be fine, but he had to keep going. Mori was definitely awake by now and probably coming after him. Katsuki didn’t know if he had a quirk that helped him travel quickly like Katsuki could, so he needed to keep moving just in case.

He grunted with the effort of getting up and winced at the soreness of his muscles.

He pulled out one of the granola bars he took and began eating it. It was some North American brand. Fuck maybe he really was in the U.S. That would really fucking suck.

----

Katsuki no longer had a sense of time. The hot sun was directly above him, assaulting his senses. His head throbbed and he smacked his dry mouth trying to get some saliva going. Anything he could use to cool off, he didn’t care at this point.

He was dragging through the sand and there was no end in sight. He swayed back and forth with each step and couldn’t form thoughts anymore. He fell to his hands and knees for what felt like the millionth time and retched. Throwing up bile onto the sand.

He would not fucking die to heat and sand. That would be the stupidest fucking way to go out. His shame would follow him into the afterlife. There’s no way he was really in this situation.

He wasn’t even sweating anymore. He knew what that meant but he refused to acknowledge it. He downed the last bit of water from the final bottle and sat there, staring out at the endless sand dunes.

“Katsuki…”

He lifted his head with the strength he could muster and looked at his surroundings. It all looked the fucking same. Maybe he had imagined that…

“Katsukiiii…”

His senses went on high alert as he recognized the voice to be Mori’s. No fucking way. There’s absolutely no way he caught up.

Katsuki stood, sliding into his fighting stance on instinct. He was so weak, so tired. But he would defend himself to his last breath if he had to.

“Aw Katsuki, it looks like you’re not doing well.”

Katsuki spun around, swaying slightly as his eyes landed on Mori. Other than his burnt face from Katsuki’s blast yesterday (or was it several days ago now?), the man looked unharmed and not tired in the slightest. Fuck. Katsuki was at a major disadvantage.

“Look at you, ready to fight and everything. I gotta say you really are so cool. But you’re starting to piss me off. Chasing you was fun at first but now I’m just tired. So why don’t you just come back with me?”

“Fuck…” Katsuki panted, “off…”

“Mmmm I don’t like that answer. How about a little incentive to come back to me?” Mori, the bastard that he was, held up a large water bottle. And it looked cold.

If Katsuki’s body could produce anything other than bile from his stomach, he would be drooling at the sight of that water. He glared at Mori with all of the wrath he could muster.

He had used his quirk to exhaustion a long time ago but a new wave of adrenaline had his palms popping.

He only had enough sweat on his palms to fire off one or two good shots and he didn’t have time to waste on making this fight long.

Two shots. That’s all he needed.

He slammed his palms down, pointed them behind him and blasted himself straight at Mori, who seemed shocked that Katsuki had any use of his quirk at this point.

As he got close enough, Katsuki slapped his hands together and aimed.

“AP shot!”

A single condensed shot flew straight through Mori’s abdomen, piercing his liver (if Katsuki was remembering his anatomy class correctly).

Mori fell, gasping, eyes wide.

Katsuki snatched the water bottle from his hands and relished in the feel of the cool water entering his body.

“Kacchan…”

Okay now… now he might actually be going crazy because he could have sworn he just heard…

“KACCHAN!”

Katsuki turned back towards the way he had been walking and his jaw dropped.

“Oh my fucking god. DEKU?” Katsuki rubbed at his eyes in disbelief.

In the distance he could see him, in his hero costume, sprinting towards Katsuki at full speed. And Katsuki had never been happier in his entire life to see the damn nerd.