Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya had seen a lot of strange things during his time at U.A.
Villains attacking the school.
Teachers getting launched through walls.
Katsuki Bakugo voluntarily cooperating with other people.
Okay, that last one was still pretty strange.
But nothing—absolutely nothing—could have prepared him for the sight currently standing in front of him.
“Kacchan?”
The blond boy standing several feet away stared back at him.
He was unmistakably Katsuki Bakugo.
The same ash-blond hair.
The same sharp red eyes.
The same expression that suggested he was about three seconds away from yelling at someone.
But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Izuku slowly lowered the notebook he’d been holding.
Beside him, Ochaco Uraraka looked equally confused.
“Midoriya…” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Is that… Bakugo?”
Izuku nodded.
“I think so.”
Bakugo’s eyes narrowed.
“Why the hell are you two staring at me?”
Izuku froze.
That was definitely Bakugo.
But his voice sounded different.
Deeper.
Rougher.
Older.
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“Kacchan?”
“What?”
“You’re…”
He hesitated.
Ochaco leaned closer to Izuku.
“Older?”
Bakugo’s eyebrow twitched.
“What did you just say?”
Ochaco immediately took a step back.
“Nothing!”
Izuku stared.
Bakugo looked older.
Not dramatically older. He still looked like himself, but there were subtle differences.
His face was more mature.
His shoulders were broader.
There were faint scars that Izuku didn’t recognize.
And his entire presence felt different.
Not softer.
Definitely not softer.
But more controlled.
The Bakugo Izuku knew was explosive in every sense of the word.
This Bakugo looked like he’d learned how to keep the explosion contained until he actually needed it.
Izuku swallowed.
“Kacchan… what happened to you?”
Bakugo stared at him.
Then at Ochaco.
Then back at Izuku.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re older.”
Silence.
Bakugo’s expression changed.
Just slightly.
“…What?”
Izuku pointed at him.
“You’re older!”
“I know I’m older, dumbass.”
Izuku blinked.
“Then you know something’s wrong?”
Bakugo’s eyes narrowed.
“What year is it?”
Izuku’s stomach dropped.
Ochaco looked between them.
“Midoriya?”
Izuku answered slowly.
“It’s 20XX.”
Bakugo went completely still.
His eyes widened.
For the first time since appearing, he looked genuinely shocked.
“No.”
Izuku’s heart started pounding.
“No?”
“This isn’t…”
Bakugo looked around.
The hallway.
The U.A. building.
The two teenagers standing in front of him.
His hands curled into fists.
“This isn’t my U.A.”
Izuku stared.
“What?”
Bakugo looked directly at him.
And Izuku suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Because this wasn’t the way Kacchan normally looked at him.
There was no irritation.
No annoyance.
No familiar anger.
Instead, there was something almost like disbelief.
“You,” Bakugo muttered.
Izuku pointed at himself.
“Me?”
“You’re a kid.”
Izuku’s mouth fell open.
“I’m the same age as you!”
“Not where I’m from.”
Ochaco’s eyes widened.
“Wait…”
She stepped forward.
“Are you saying you’re from the future?”
Bakugo didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
Izuku’s brain was already racing.
A time-related quirk?
A villain?
Some kind of accident?
He immediately reached for his notebook.
“That’s amazing! If your quirk transported you through time, then maybe there was some kind of external trigger, or perhaps your body was displaced while your consciousness remained—”
“Midoriya.”
Izuku stopped.
Bakugo was staring at him.
“What?”
“Put the notebook away.”
Izuku blinked.
“But—”
“You’re giving me a headache.”
Ochaco covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Izuku quickly put the notebook away.
“Sorry.”
Bakugo sighed.
Then he looked around again.
“Where is everyone?”
Izuku and Ochaco exchanged a glance.
“What do you mean?” Ochaco asked.
“My classmates.”
Izuku hesitated.
“You’re at U.A. right now.”
“I know that.”
“No, I mean…” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re in our U.A.”
Bakugo’s eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
Izuku took a breath.
“This is my first year at U.A.”
Bakugo stared.
Then his gaze moved to Ochaco.
“And you’re…”
“Uraraka Ochaco,” she introduced herself carefully.
Bakugo stared at her for several seconds.
Then his expression shifted.
“You don’t know me.”
Ochaco blinked.
“Well… I know you.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You don’t.”
Izuku frowned.
“Kacchan?”
Bakugo looked back at him.
“You two aren’t supposed to be here.”
Izuku’s heart skipped.
“What do you mean?”
Bakugo didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Izuku.
Really looked at him.
His eyes softened for half a second.
It was so subtle that Izuku almost convinced himself he’d imagined it.
Then Bakugo looked away.
“Forget it.”
“Wait!”
Izuku stepped forward.
“If you’re really from the future, then how far?”
Bakugo’s jaw tightened.
“Far enough.”
“How far?”
“Far.”
“Kacchan!”
“Stop asking!”
The shout echoed down the hallway.
Izuku flinched.
Ochaco did too.
Bakugo immediately looked away, breathing heavily through his nose.
Then, quieter, he said,
“…Sorry.”
Izuku froze.
Ochaco froze.
Even Bakugo seemed to realize what he’d just done.
Izuku stared at him.
Kacchan had never apologized that quickly.
Bakugo rubbed a hand over his face.
“Great.”
He looked exhausted.
“Just great.”
Izuku slowly approached him.
“Kacchan…”
Bakugo looked at him.
“We’ll figure this out.”
Bakugo’s eyes widened slightly.
Izuku smiled.
“Whatever happened, we’ll figure out how to get you back.”
For a moment, Bakugo said nothing.
Then he gave Izuku a strange look.
Almost sad.
“You really haven’t changed.”
Izuku blinked.
“What?”
Bakugo looked away.
“Nothing.”
Ochaco crossed her arms.
“So… what do we do now?”
Bakugo looked at her.
Then at Izuku.
“First, we figure out how I got here.”
Izuku nodded.
“And then?”
Bakugo’s expression hardened.
“Then I figure out where the hell your version of me is.”
Izuku’s smile disappeared.
“Your version of you?”
Bakugo’s eyes narrowed.
“If I’m here…”
He looked toward the empty hallway.
“…then someone else took my place.”
Izuku’s stomach dropped.
Because suddenly, the situation felt much bigger than he’d thought.
There wasn’t just one Bakugo who had disappeared.
There were two timelines.
And somewhere out there was another Katsuki Bakugo.
One who didn’t belong here.
One who had been pulled into a future he knew nothing about.
Izuku looked at the older version of his childhood friend.
“Kacchan…”
“What?”
“Do you know what happens to us?”
Bakugo went completely silent.
Ochaco looked between them.
And for several seconds, he didn’t answer.
Finally, Bakugo turned away.
“…Yeah.”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“You do?”
Bakugo’s hands tightened into fists.
“I know enough.”
And that was all he said.