Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya woke up to the sound of someone arguing.
“—told you, he’s awake.”
“Keep your voice down, Icy-Hot.”
“I am speaking at a normal volume.”
“You’re annoying at a normal volume.”
Izuku blinked.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar.
He slowly sat up, immediately regretting it when his head throbbed.
“Ugh…”
The arguing stopped.
Two faces appeared above him.
One was half red and half white, his mismatched eyes watching Izuku carefully.
The other had spiky blond hair and an expression that looked permanently irritated.
Izuku stared at them.
The boy with the mismatched hair spoke first.
“Midoriya?”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“Todoroki?”
Todoroki nodded.
“You remember me.”
“Of course I do.”
Izuku looked toward the blond.
His stomach twisted strangely.
The boy was glaring at him.
Izuku searched his memory.
Nothing.
He knew that face.
He knew that voice.
He knew the general feeling that came with being around him.
But his name…
Nothing.
The blond clicked his tongue.
“Oi, Deku.”
Izuku froze.
Deku?
He knew that name.
That was his name.
At least, according to everyone else.
Izuku looked between the two.
“Todoroki…”
“What?”
“Who is he?”
The room went completely silent.
The blond’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
His eyes widened, and something almost like disbelief crossed his face before his usual scowl returned.
“You serious?”
Izuku swallowed.
“I… don’t remember.”
Todoroki looked at the blond.
The blond looked back.
Then he turned toward Izuku.
“Bakugo.”
Izuku repeated it quietly.
“Bakugo…”
“Yes.”
Izuku tried again.
“Katsuki Bakugo?”
Bakugo’s eyebrows twitched.
“Yeah.”
Izuku stared at him.
He knew the name now.
Katsuki Bakugo.
His classmate.
His friend?
His brain hesitated.
Izuku frowned.
There should have been something there.
A memory.
A conversation.
A fight.
Anything.
Instead, there was just an empty space.
“I know you,” Izuku said slowly. “I know your name now. I know you’re in Class 1-A. I know your Quirk is Explosion.”
Bakugo’s expression became even more confused.
“But…”
“But what?”
Izuku lowered his eyes.
“I don’t remember anything else about you.”
Bakugo stared at him.
Todoroki’s expression remained calm, but Izuku noticed the slight crease between his eyebrows.
“How much do you remember?” Todoroki asked.
“Most things.”
Izuku looked around the room.
“I remember U.A. I remember our class. I remember All Might. I remember training. I remember the Sports Festival…”
His eyes moved back toward Bakugo.
“But I don’t remember him.”
Bakugo’s hands curled into fists.
“Great.”
“Bakugo—”
“Don’t.”
Todoroki stopped.
Bakugo turned away.
Izuku watched him carefully.
Something about the situation felt wrong.
Not just because he’d forgotten someone.
Because of the way Bakugo was reacting.
He looked angry.
But underneath that anger was something Izuku couldn’t quite identify.
Hurt?
Izuku frowned.
“Bakugo.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
Bakugo looked over his shoulder.
“For what?”
“For forgetting you.”
Bakugo’s expression tightened.
“You didn’t forget me.”
Izuku blinked.
“What?”
“You forgot everything about me.”
He turned around fully.
“You still remember the name. The Quirk. The class.”
Bakugo’s voice became quieter.
“You just forgot the part that mattered.”
Izuku didn’t know what to say.
Todoroki glanced between them.
“Midoriya, the doctor said the memory loss is probably connected to the Quirk that affected you.”
Izuku nodded slowly.
“So it isn’t permanent?”
“We don’t know.”
The answer made Izuku’s stomach drop.
Bakugo scoffed.
“Don’t start freaking out.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You were.”
“I was not.”
“You were absolutely freaking out.”
Izuku frowned.
“I don’t know why you’re so angry.”
Bakugo went silent.
Izuku immediately regretted saying it.
Todoroki looked at Bakugo.
Bakugo looked at the floor.
After several seconds, he muttered,
“Because you’re an idiot.”
Izuku blinked.
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not explaining it.”
Bakugo shoved his hands into his pockets.
Izuku studied him.
There was something familiar about him.
Not his face.
Not his voice.
Something else.
A feeling.
Like there was a missing piece between them.
A piece Izuku couldn’t reach.
He closed his eyes.
For a brief second, he saw—
Green.
A distant voice.
Someone shouting his name.
A warm feeling in his chest.
Then it vanished.
Izuku’s eyes snapped open.
Bakugo was staring at him.
“What?”
Izuku shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Todoroki tilted his head.
“You remembered something?”
“I don’t think so.”
Bakugo scoffed.
“Then stop staring at me like you’re trying to solve a damn puzzle.”
Izuku looked down.
“Sorry.”
Bakugo clicked his tongue.
Todoroki sighed.
“This is going to be complicated.”
Izuku looked between them.
“Yeah.”
He touched his forehead.
He remembered almost everything.
His school.
His classmates.
His teachers.
His friends.
His life.
Everything was there.
Except one person.
Katsuki Bakugo.
And somehow, Izuku had the feeling that remembering him was going to be the hardest part.