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Katsuki pulled angrily at the chain cuffed to his right leg once again, cursing underneath his breath. He looked at his palm for the hundreth time, expecting to see at least a tiny sparkle, anything that would give him hope to see that his quirk was coming back, but nothing had happened.
That goddamn villain--He was weak, fucking useless and he knew it, that's why he obtained that damn support item at the black market. A gun that shoots darts with liquefied quirk suppressants. It was definitely something new, because neither had Dynamight or any other heroes heard of that before. Quirk suppressants were prescription only and only in pill form. Not to mention, it takes at least an hour for them to kick in. Whatever that was, it went against everything that's been known before.
Katsuki yanked his leg again, but still, nothing followed.
Shit, if he'd only been faster-He shook his head--No, the fault didn't lie in his reaction time, he got himself in this situation because he underestimated the villain in the first place. I mean, come on, a villain whose quirk was to control goddamn pollen? It's like a joke wrote itself! But the villain, what lacked in strength, made up with the support items and Katsuki got himself caught like a rookie.
"No wonder I'm fucking number 15. Pathetic." He angirly mumbled and flexed his palm, trying to force his quirk to re-appear, but still, no reaction.
Lately, he's been really in the bad mood and this was just adding to it. The start of the unlucky streak could be tracked to the love of his goddamn life rejecting his hero agency offer, something he and his nerd unspoklely dreamt about for YEARS. He understood that Deku had no vile intentions upon rejecting his offer, he's got a stable job, a one that's very well suited to his docile personality actually, but Katsuki saw the other meaning behind it.
The cruel words he used to tell the freckled boy when they were little kids had finally made their way into Izuku's subconsciousness, and Katsuki wanted to do everything to yank them out of his friend.
He knows what Izuku thought when he refused his offer.
'You know I can't be a hero without a quirk anymore. Not a reliable one anyway.'
Tch. Sure, he and the entirety of Class A spent years collecting money to buy the nerd a super advanced suit, but he wasn't really gonna steer himself into the pro-hero path anymore, huh? And it's partly due to what his bratty, younger self used to hammer into his head endlessly, and the guilt he felt pooling in his stomach was well reserved.
"Kacchan!" He hears a call from afar and smirks.
Speak of the devil.
The pro-hero jerked his head towards an overly-dressed figure with a mop of dark, green hair making its way towards him throughout the debris.
"Kacchan! There you are, I've finally found you!" He's panting with a smile when he finally reaches his best friend and crouches down to where the pro-hero was sitting with his one leg stretched out.
Katsuki reproicates the smile.
What? Oh sure, he was moody about being rejected by the nerd, but that didn't mean he didn't love him and his heart didn't flutter upon seeing his smile!
He eyes him and teases.
"Look at you in the fancy suit and poorly tied tie. You ran right here straight from school, huh?"
Izuku scratched the back of his head.
"I heard what was going on and I kinda... Might have... Let my students go home earlier."
"You ditched your class to get to me? Izuku, tsk tsk, some teacher you are."
Izuku looks away in what Katsuki hopes is shame for giving such a reckless example to his own students.
"You can nag me all about this later, okay?"
"Oh I'm sure Aizawa Sensei will do that for me then."
Izuku rolled his eyes and bit his cheek. Why should he get nervous about such a silly thing, him and Aizawa were coworkers now, right? Equal ground and all that stuff. He wasn't a teenager anymore, he didn't have to worry about getting reprimanded.
"So, what happened? Why are you chained to uh--" Deku changes the topic and lets his eye wander off to where the chain led.
The chain link led all the way to a pile of debris, all of it hiding whatever the link was chained to underneath.
"Huh." He huffs and walks over to the debris, trying to find the answer to his question. "Also, why won't you just blast the chain away?"
"Oh, such a great idea, I haven't thought of that before! Thank god, you got here to remind me of such simple fucking thing I could've done FROM VERY FUCKING START." Katsuki sneered but there was no venom in his voice.
The younger man ignores his friend's bite and continues to dig in through the debris.
"Is the chain made of some special material that goes against your quirk?"
Katsuki raised his palm and opened it and closed it multiple times, trying to get Izuku to understand that his quirk is not working.
That didn't work, because the other man kept looking at him in anticipation, as if he was expecting Katsuki to show him a magic trick or some other shit.
The blonde groaned in annoyance and glared at his friend.
"My quirk is gone."
Suddenly, Izuku's blood drained from his face and his expression turned into one of a mother who just dropped her newborn baby onto the floor--pure horror.
"YOU LOST YOUR QUIRK?!"
"TEMPORARILY, you moron! What, you think I would've been so chill if I knew I'd lost it for good?!"
Izuku exhaled in a big relief but then titled his head to the side.
"But from what I heard, this has nothing to do with the villain's quirk, right?"
Dynamight nodded in response.
"Cheapskate used some new black market shit. He--" Katsuki bit his tongue.
Right, he will have to tell Izuku the fact that he got hit by the dart. Like some kind of idiot. Of course that nerd doesn't wanna start an agency with him. Who would with a failure who can't even dodge a goddamn dart? The failure who claimed to beat the number one hero in the world and ended up defenseless mid-battle?
The pro-hero points at the little red dart, lying discarded on the ground a few centimeters away.
"...he got me. That fucker actually landed a hit on me and now I'm stuck up here, defenseless and utterly useless. Fuck! This is so pathetic." He spits out angrily.
Izuku averts his gaze for a second, as if something that Katsuki said hurt him. He quickly lets it pass however and reaches for the dart.
"This is something brand new, no? Quirk suppressants in liquid form, never heard of it." He mumbles as he turns the dart in his hand, inspecting it.
"Yeah, told ya. I yanked it out as soon as it hit my arm, but it entirely injected itself into my bloodstream immediately so."
Izuku hummed in response, then he put the dart into his pocket and sat next to Katsuki. The other raised an eyebrow.
"Look, I appreciate the company and all, but it would also be nice if your ass could at least try to free me from this trap." Katsuki barked, annoyed with the fact that Izuku suddenly lost his interest in the chain.
"How long ago did you get hit?"
"Hah?"
"Just try to remember."
"Around 7 minutes ago. Why?"
Izuku looks lost in his thoughts. Then he provides an answer.
"You know, one of my students is into chemistry and stuff and... Interestingly, we had a lesson lately about quirk suppressants. And then there was this topic brought up by another student--Why aren't there quirk suppressants in a liquid form? It would be easier for small children to take before any medical procedure, but also it could be a great way to neutralize a dangerous villian--with a dart. Like you have just been!"
Katsuki scowled.
"Not that you're like a villain or anything, obviously! But we talked about it and well-- It just wouldn't be very effective! You'd have to put three times more ingredients into them for them to neutralize a quirk for just a few minutes. Nowadays pills can do that for over a day!"
"Get to the point, nerd, I don't have all day."
"My guess? It will probably wear out on its own in a few moments." Izuku shrugs.
"Yeah, but you can STILL pretend to try and get me out of this trap in the meantime, you know?" Katsuki barked as reached for the military knife in one of his pockets and threw it near Izuku. "Now, get to work!"
"You could've done it yourself, earlier..." Izuku sighed as he reached for the knife.
"You trying to get smart with me?!"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"What is that supposed to mean?" Izuku's expression dropped.
Katsuki glared at him.
"Oh, you know damn well what it's supposed to mean. It's so annoying to watch you pretend to be okay with the mundane life you've chosen for yourself."
"I am not pretending. I like my job--" Izuku tried to defend but Katsuki interrupts him with a forced laugh.
"Oh yes, definitely! Anyone would've chosen to be a goddamn teacher over, you know, your biggest childhood dream? Of being a HERO? What happened, Izuku?" He asks, impatient.
"What happened? Me losing my quirk happened! And hell, saying it was 'my quirk' to begin with feels wrong nowadays, too, to me!" Izuku retorts, lifting up his gaze from the chain for a moment to let Katsuki see the storm brewing behind his eyes.
"Not the 'it wasn't my quirk to begin with' bullshit. It wasn't All Might's or that Kudo's guy either! And all of the previous users. It was given to all of you to shape it and make it your own, shit!"
"Yes, but the point is that I always was gonna lose it eventually. And I--"
"Yeah, when you're like in your late fifties or something! Not right after mastering it when you were still a teen about to graduate from U.A!"
Izuku's eyes soften and he lowers his head to look at the chain.
"I know. I know it was supposed to be like that and that One For All was supposed to be my ally for the almost entirety of my life. But that's just how things turned out. I did what I had to do. Paid the price, and in the end got my old life back."
"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself rather than me."
"Kacchan, it pains me when you're so desperately trying to claw onto the past--my past. I know you only grew fond of me--"
"Pretty strong word here."
"...I know we only became equals because I gained quirk. And that allowed us to compete on the same level. I am well aware that if I were never given One For All, we wouldn't even be on speaking terms today."
Katsuki scoffs.
"You're in no position to decide what any of my possible futures would be like."
"Oh really? You think if we weren't at U.A. together, you'd smile at me like that like you just did when you saw me run to you a few minutes ago?! You think I'm that stupid, Kacchan?"
Katsuki opens his mouth and then closes it, angirly sucking in air through his gritted teeth.
"Look, I told you this already--I am not mad at you for what was between us when we were kids. I forgave you, Kacchan, a long time ago. But don't pretend you didn't view me as lesser because of me being born without a quirk. Don't erase the fact that our fight that only happened because I had obtained a quirk, was our first step towards our relationship's progress. That without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. You aren't a liar."
Katsuki is uncharacteristically silent. He wants to yell, but at his younger self. For being such a selfish prick. For making Izuku feel like this for years. Like he was lesser than a human being. Like he was worthless. He saw him like that. Blinded by his own insecurity and fragile ego, but he did see him like that. And it made him sick.
He doesn't understand how the hell Izuku still wants him in his life.
Yeah, he just said the ugly truth. That if he hadn't proven himself to Katsuki via his quirk, they wouldn't reconnect. And Katsuki hates himself for not being able to deny it.
Now both of their eyes were looking at the chain. Two men letting the words the younger of the two of them said sink in.
"Izuku, I... Fuck. Look, I'm sorry--"
"I already told you, you don't have to apologize to me anymore. You're not that brat from Aldera. But, Kacchan." Izuku lifts up his head and Katsuki follows his movement. "I was born quirkless. You need to realize that it was who I always gonna be. I am quirkless. I don't have a quirk of my own." Izuku says each sentence carefully. Like as if he was trying to teach a toddler a new word.
"I know that. I am the one who was making it awfully clear to you on a daily basis."
"I need to find myself in this world. And do thing my body and abilities allow me to. I can't soar through the sky, lift up heavy debris, throw punches strong enough to send a villain flying or run at an incredible speed." Izuku says with a wobbly smile and Katsuki furrows his brows.
Yeah. He could do ALL of those things he just listed once upon a time, though. This reminisce must have hurt him.
"Most importantly, I feel like I'm gonna lose you any day now. Like the moment is just waiting right around the corner."
Katsuki's expression darkens.
"What are you talking about now?"
"It's just my stupid brain, but since I no longer have a quirk, you no longer see any value in me. I know it's not true but it feels like that to me. I feel like I constantly need to prove my usefulness to all of the people around me so they don't lose whatever bit of respect they have left for me."
"Oi, Deku. Don't talk shit like that."
Izuku sniffles. Katsuki takes a breath and runs his hand across his hair in a quick motion. Whatever he was gonna say next, he really oughta watch out to pick his words carefully. The nerd was already in a mentally bad place.
"You think I'm gonna get bored of you any day now."
Izuku turns his head in a weak attempt to hide his already snot stained face.
"I just really liked what we managed to build." He hiccuped. "I think I'm too weak to let go of it. The thought of losing what we have scares me."
Katsuki is glad Izuku is avoiding seeing his face at the moment, because his usually nonchalant facade had been crushed. He looked like he was sick.
He was. The guilt was seeping out of his gut and spreading all around his body, making him feel nothing but pure disgust towards his past self.
'I'm the one who made you this way. I'm the one who did this, all of this to you. Please stop crying. I already made you cry enough times. I'm sorry, Izuku. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'
He repeats his apologies like a mantra in his head, but does not dare to say them out loud.
Katsuki clears his throat.
"You think I'm like one of those extras? You think I'm gonna toss you aside like you're nothing? That's quite insulting to me, ya know." Katsuki tries to comfort Izuku, in a only way he knew how.
"No, that's not it." Izuku barks back, picking on that Katsuki was trying to make this about himself.
"Then? If you're so sure I'm not gonna do it, why are you crying right now? It ain't much of a proof to me."
Izuku wipes his face with the back of his sleeve and Katsuki cringes a bit (I mean come on, how much does dry cleaning of that fancy suit of yours cost??)
"I just wish you could accept my life as it currently is. I feel like you hate the fact that I became a teacher and this makes me insecure about my place in your life. I mean obviously Im doing something that displeases you so it's just one of many things on your list before you potentialy cut me off."
Katsuki snorts.
"One of many? What are the others then, please enlighten me!" He urges, in bit of a playful manner.
"The fact that I'm such a crybaby, for one." Izuku flatly responds.
"And another?"
"...The fact that when you sometimes pick me up from work I don't order at the same bar you do because their food is too hot for me to handle." Izuku replies but his lips slightly move upwards as he finishes his sentence.
"Go on, next. You said it yourself that list is big." Kastuki teases.
"When you--that you--that you have to listen to me mutter nonsense at the end of the day, after you had a rough patrol." He tries to sound serious, but he ends up giggling despite himself.
"Yeah, damn. Those sound like reasonable factors to kick someone out your life. I mean yeah, fuck you, Izuku for not liking Chef Daisuke's spicy chicken, how more evil can you get?"
Izuku starts laughing, wiping any remains of his previous breakdown off his face and Katsuki relishes the sweet melody that is Izuku's laughter. He loves that nerd. He'd do anything to keep him like that.
"Gosh, talking about it with you makes me feel like I want to punch you in the face." Izuku states after a while in a light manner.
"Do it then." Katsuki replies, dead serious.
Izuku blinks, his brain processing if he had heard this just right.
"Huh?"
"Punch me, nerd. But I guarantee I will punch you back because I see you as equal. So, you know what that means. No taking it easy on you."
"...You mean it, Kacchan?"
"Yeah."
Izuku faintly smiles and resumes cutting through the chain.
Katsuki watches his movement, growing rather bored. He'd rather be out there kicking that pathetic wanna be villain's ass than sitting there, practically chained to the ground. But his own cockiness got him there so now he was gonna wait it out. Shit.
He flexes his palm again, hoping to see any sparks appear but nothing happens. Izuku peaks at him and Katsuki lets out an annoyed "tch" and lets his arm flop on the ground. Not yet, huh.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The area underneath them begins to crumble. Izuku panics as he tries to cut the chain faster. He knows if the debris that Katsuki's leg was attached to, falls, it's gonna drag him with it. Right into the sea underneath them.
But everything happens so fast. The ground underneath them cracks and the heavy piece of metal is balancing at the edge. It's only a matter of few seconds before it tilts forward. Izuku is staring at the scene with wide eyes and grabs Katsuki by his shoulders.
"Kacchan, look, whatever happens-- " He's not allowed to finish his sentence, because the villain returns and attacks him from behind.
He strikes back, trying to land a solid blow all while Katsuki thrashes and shouts threats from the distance. He eventually gets injured on his side from one of the blades the villain was holding. He ignores his wound however. He had to protect his best friend.
The other doesn't get to see the whole fight however, because the ground rumbles again, and the heavy piece of metal finally loses its fight against gravity and lunges forward.
Katsuki plummets down until his body makes a harsh contact with cold water. The debris attached at the end of the chain mercilessly drags his leg down with it.
The pro-hero is pretty strong, but there's only much human body can do once it's submerged underwater. His kicks, although impressively strong on the surface, were proven useless in his current situation. He's dragged all the way until the chunk of metal hits the sand at the bottom.
He looks up. Yeah, thankfully the area near the shore was pretty shallow. He wasn't stuck somewhere deep and unreachable so if he manages to somehow free himself, he won't have any trouble swimming up to the surface even if he were at his limit.
But he was still stuck. The clock was ticking. He kicks his legs again, hoping that maybe somehow he will be able to swim to the surface while dragging the unwanted weight with him. But the chunk of metal doesn't budge.
Figures. He could barely drag it behind him on the land, of course it was gonna be worse for him underwater. It was just physics.
Godamn, fucking, physics.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Katsuki knows it's best to stay calm and keep a cool head when it comes to these situations. He always got praised for being able to come up with quick solutions in stressful situations. He is aware of the fact that he's number 15 just because of his attitude, not his abilities as a hero.
Setting his mind ablaze at such a crucial moment is the worst thing that he could do to himself now. He needed to find a way out. Before he ran out of breath.
Okay, think, Katsuki, think.
He flexes his palm.
Option A: His quirk miraculously comes back in the approximately next 30 seconds, he lets out an explosion strong enough to snap the chain, frees himself and then kicks the living shit out of the villain.
He looks at his palm. Yeah, that didn't seem like it was gonna happen.
He looks at the merely chipped chain.
Option B: He tries to snap the chain on his own. Frees himself. And then proceeds to beat the villain's ass.
He yanks his leg. The chain rattles, but that's all it does. Yeah, no fucking way this piece of garbage was gonna give in. It wasn't chipped off enough.
(If only had Izuku focused on cutting the chain more, instead of crying.)
(....If only Katsuki didn't make him cry.)
Option C: .........
He dies. To some D-lister.
Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, Japan's number 15 pro-hero dies to a villain whose quirk was controlling pollen. Yes, you heard it right, folks, he lost his life to a overgrown bee.
The blonde yanks his foot again in a fury at his own thought. Fuck, no, come on. Not like this.
A bit of air escapes his lips. A grim reminder of how little time he had left.
Come on. At least let him have a meaningful death. Let him die while fighting a great villain. Let him die in glory. Let him die while saving civilians. Don't make him look like another extra. Don't make him pass away in such a crappy, undeserving way.
A splash comes up from above him and Katsuki snaps his head at the source of the sound. If it's the villain, he swears to god, he's gonna--
His angry expression falters.
It was Izuku.
Katsuki feels something funny inside his chest.
Of course it's him, who else would it be?
Izuku swims down to his level, rather slowly, thanks to the injury on his side and reaches for the chain, searching for the part he was trying to cut back at the surface. He finds it and takes out his knife and tries to nib at it again.
If the blonde weren't stuck underwater, he would've let out a dry laugh.
It's way too late for that now, Deku.
Izuku fumbles with the knife, his movements slow and sloppy. There was no way in hell he was gonna cut the chain enough for it to break before Katsuki was gonna run out of air.
Speaking of which, he was beginning to feel the tightness in his lungs. Unless the nerd had a plan, there was no way out for him.
Katsuki unwillingly finds himself making peace with his upcoming death. How will his parents react? His mother will be disappointed. Such a pathetic way to go. Her son, a pro-hero with a blessing of a quirk, killed by a small villain that didn't pose any real threat to anyone. She probably won't bring him up in any of her conversations for the rest of her life.
His father? He will be heartbroken. He will probably hire the best lawyers and get the villain the punishment he deserves for killing his only son. His son with such a bright future ahead of him.
He peeks at Izuku. How he will react? He can only imagine how he was feeling right now, as he was desperately trying to cut the chain, knowing that his best friend was running out of time next to him. He notices the way his brows were madly furrowed, the way his eyes were sharply focused on the chain only. He was determined as hell, his goal set on getting Katsuki outta this death trap alive.
(Fuck, his lungs were burning.)
He finds it comforting to face his doom with the person he knew almost his entire life. He's glad Izuku is there. He's glad, that although injured, he jumped after him and tried to save him. He just wishes Izuku didn't have to see him like this. To watch him succumb, to watch him get defeated.
He hopes Izuku never blames himself for his death. And he hates the fact that he knows that after he dies, Izuku won't ever forgive himself. Although this whole situation wasn't his fault, he knows that Izuku will manage to find a way to blame himself for this somehow.
More air unwillingly makes its way out of his lungs and he angirly slaps his palm over his mouth. It catches Izuku's attention.
Fuck him and his stupid, weak lungs. He is supposed to be better than this! Plain civilians last longer at swimming pools for crying out loud. What, he was gonna give in so soon? How pathetic. He hopes Izuku takes what he just saw with him to his grave.
Katsuki pretends to not see the pair of big, green eyes filled to the brim with worry staring right at him. He doesn't want to be acknowledged at such a pathetic moment. Izuku loses interest in the chain and swims up to where his best friend was floating, only his chained leg holding him down.
Could it be it? Will he not be able to save Kacchan? He's so mad, his brain is rushing with incoherent thoughts. Izuku, who always comes up with great plans at a moments' notice found himself utterly useless in this situation. Because what could he possibly do? He won't be able to cut the chain in time. He needed Uravity's zero gravity to make the debris weightless and let Katsuki swim up. He needed Red Riot's hardening who would cut through the chain with a swift hand motion. He needed Sugar Rush's strength to rip the chain apart like it's a piece of paper. But he got none of these abilities.
Kacchan was doomed because of him.
Izuku's eyes widen as an idea flashes in his mind. It's weird. It doesn't make sense. It's way too personal. But in their current, godforsaken situation, it was the only solution he had. It had a slim chance of working, but he was a hero at heart. And a hero grasps at every, even the tiniest opportunity to save someone.
Katsuki's face is scrunched up, eyes closed tightly, him being clearly at his limit. The sight although it hurts Izuku to witness, it only motivates him to act even more.
He gently moves away Katsuki's hand away from his mouth and the other cracks his eyes open to look at whatever his best friend was trying to do. Izuku stares him deep in the eyes, almost as if asking for a permission. Katsuki dislikes how he's unable to read Izuku's face and guess his intentions.
What was the point of moving his hand? What, did he want him to drown sooner?
Izuku hesitates, he wants to be sure he was granted the permission for what he was about to do first, but suddenly another burst of bubbles escape the blonde's mouth and Izuku's mind automatically flips into panic mode. Another reminder his best friend didn't have much time left. In one second, he forgets all of his previous doubts. He mindlessly cups Katsuki's face with both of his hands, closes his eyes and leans in, connecting his mouth with Katsuki's.
Katsuki's eyes shoot open and he's frozen still as his brain was struggling to process what was going on. The first shock passes quickly, however, when he realizes that the other wasn't trying to be romantic with him. The burning feeling in his chest slightly fades away, as he feels Izuku sharing his own bits of oxygen with him. It's human nature and he hates himself for it, but he eventually finds himself melting into it, as he savors the relief that was filling his starved lungs.
Well, that was not how neither of them had ever imagined their first kiss to be like. If you could even begin to call it one, though.
Izuku's eyes are glued shut, all bits of him focused on not breaking contact with Kacchan's mouth--He's never done anything like that before, hell, he didn't even peck someone on the lips in his life! And the thing he was trying to do now, he only saw in movies. Romantic, kitschy movies. So he was totally green on this subject.
He moves his mouth slightly against Kacchan's, still sharing air when he feels way too much of it was escaping their lips due to how rushed the whole motion was. Fuck. He sucked at it. Kacchan needs him, dammit! He needs to focus harder, this wasn't a joke, his best friend's life was at stake here. He was gonna depend on him, as long as that chain didn't allow him to surface.
Izuku pulls away, when he feels he's out of his air supply, hoping that this was enough for the other for now, and when he sees Katsuki's intense glare, he swears it would've made his breath hitch if he weren't underwater.
Is he mad at him? Did he cross a boundary? Was there any other way Katsuki would prefer to be saved? Did he have a plan?
It's not like Izuku could ask him that there. He quickly pulls his face closer to him and makes their foreheads touch... well, bonk was a better description because he does it in such a rush, because his lungs are demanding a refill. It's a quick "I will be right back" promise from him, and he kicks his legs and swims back up to the surface.
When he makes contact with the outside world, he coughs and quickly takes in as many breaths as he can--He knows Katsuki is waiting for him down there and he was gonna need to come back to him fast.
Yeah, so this was his plan. For now.
He doesn't waste any more time, sucks in one last big breath and dives back in.
When he swims to Katsuki's level, their eyes meet again and Izuku is not sure if Kacchan was okay with what he was doing. He probably stole his first kiss (and gave up his own, but it's not like he was gonna lament about it to the blonde) and what, was Kacchan supposed to be act all happy about it? Stuck in a situation where he is not even capable of protesting?
Izuku cups Katsuki's face again, but doesn't lean in. He awaits for Katsuki's permission. He didn't ask for it the first time and regrets it, but he blames it on being desperate, his mind way too clouded by panic and worry to make any other rational choices. He saw the way his best friend was at the verge of passing out and had to act.
Katsuki's red irises never leave his and his expression is rather...Neutral? Izuku can't actually tell if Katsuki's is mad at him. He's really curious about what the blonde is thinking about this whole situation though.
And Katsuki hates being the damsel in distress here. He hates the fact that as soon as Izuku put his mouth on his earlier, he greedily took it all in, like he had no self control. Didn't question it, didn't hesitate, didn't try to push Izuku away. And fuck, alright, half of it was because he's been helplessly love with that bastard for quite some time and the other was his oxygen-depraved brain that was registering everything in slow motion. And maybe, just maaaybe he quite liked the kiss. Not the context in which it happened, but the gesture itself.
Katsuki reaches out his hands and cups Izuku's face as well, and the younger man's eyes widen at the sudden gesture. He gets the hint though--He was granted the permission. So he closes his eyes and leans in for the second time.
Izuku is trying to not mess it up as he thinks he did the first time. He turns his head a bit and tries to find a better angle, Katsuki's lips follow his movement and it causes the green haired man's heart to beat a little bit faster.
Yeah, call Katsuki a bastard, but he was enjoying it. Well, what did he have to lose? If he was gonna die in this wet shithole, drowned by some fucking D-lister he might as well get and enjoy what he was yearning for for quite a long time. And yeah, he knew it wasn't a real, genuine kiss from Izuku and that was only reserved for Round Face in a not so distant future, but it's the best thing he could get as for now.
He slightly cracks his eye open to look at Izuku's expression. His eyes are closed shut, and his face is scrunched up with a tiny blush covering his cheeks. Katsuki's chest flutters at that sight. That was probably the nerd's first kiss as well. Even if they both wouldn't qualify it as a proper kiss, it definitely felt like one and Katsuki wishes that the situation was different.
Izuku eventually pulls away and the blonde hesitantly lets go of his face and the other returns to the surface.
Izuku coughs and gasps. Shit, he needed to ration his oxygen more responsibly, he cannot risk passing out on Kacchan down there, considering that he was somewhat his last chance for getting out. He was Kacchan's only way for survival.
He was currently improvising. But what was his actual plan? By doing what he was doing, he was only prolonging the inevitable.
He lowers his chin down, facing the water where his best friend was still trapped. Hell, for how long could he keep this up? Sure, those little trips were efficient enough if it was all he focused on, but if he just kept on swimming up and down, he couldn't try and find a way out for him. And he didn't know for how long Kacchan could hold on without him, and he wasn't willing to test that limit out.
Because once he passes out, it's over for him, Izuku won't be able to bring him up to the surface and try to resuscitate him.
He feels a sharp pain on his side and he grabs it, hissing. Yeah, that also was making things more difficult for them.
He takes another deep breath and dives in, hoping that when he next returns, it will be with an actual plan.
He swims down and is relieved to see Katsuki still conscious at the bottom. He's grateful that despite the unlucky situation, Katsuki wasn't thrown somewhere deeper. He can't imagine if things would've gotten so smoothly if his trips up and down were to take longer.
His movements are way slower than earlier, and that's because his adrenaline was wearing off, causing him to no longer ignore the wound on his side.
He reaches the pro-hero and the other guides him to his lips. Their mouth moving against eachother feels so nice, Izuku is capable of brushing aside the pain for just one second. It's gentle, it's needy, it feels way too personal than just 'a mere method to save someone's life'.
But suddenly another flash of pain strucks his injured side of his body and he unwillingly breaks the kiss and clutches his side, teeth gritted.
Katsuki would've whined at the sudden loss of contact, but then he sees the way Izuku is in pain in front of him and his eyebrows rise up. The previous One-For-All holder's hands are clutching at the bleeding wound, and Katsuki doesn't like the unpleasant feeling spreading in his gut. Fuck, his injury already seemed bad back on the land. And by staying in water, he was only making it worse. Katsuki knows that water causes wounds to bleed more. And Izuku was endangering himself. For him. Fuck. Fuck.
Izuku shakes the feeling off of him-- He had a job to do. First, he needed to save Kacchan, only after that he can whine about being in pain and feel sorry for himself. He leans in again, their lips make a short contact until Katsuki roughly pushes him away, breaking the kiss.
Izuku blinks.
Yeah, Katsuki knew Izuku best in the world. And that idiot as ALWAYS wasn't taking his wellbeing into consideration. He was ignoring his injury and prioritizing saving Katsuki. And it was making the pro-hero pissed. No fucking way in hell he was gonna let his best friend bleed out for him.
Katsuki is glaring daggers at him. Trying to wordlessly make him understand. But Izuku is slow when it comes to these things. He questions himself, what caused Katsuki to suddenly wish to no longer be saved.
He tries to lean in again, and the other turns his head around.
Izuku looks like he's about to cry. He would if they weren't underwater.
He needed to save Kacchan. He hates being denied of the opportunity to save him.
Katsuki rolls his eyes and faces him again. Of course that dumbass didn't get the hint.
He reaches for Izuku's wound, he doesn't dare to touch it and the other flinches at the motion anyways, bit of air escaping his mouth. Deku's mad at himself for that. It was meant for Kacchan. He was down there for Kacchan after all.
The wheels in his brain finally turn and he looks with wide eyes at Kacchan. Katsuki no longer glares at him, his expression softens a tiny bit when he realizes that Izuku had finally taken the hint.
Izuku processed what that meant, that Katsuki was pretty much asking him to give up on him. He wants to protest. He won't ever do that. His eyebrows furrow. He won't give up on trying to save Katsuki. He shakes his head, his emerald eyes refusing to look anywhere but at Katsuki's ruby irises. Katsuki's expression is unreadable. Izuku ignores the way his lungs burn. He should swim up. He doesn't.
He reaches for Katsuki's face yet again, but he doesn't have much air left to share with him anyways. So he just caresses it with his one hand, the other still on his injury. He should give up. But he won't. His movement are weary, his wound making it harder for him to move. Another wave of pain hits him and it causes the tiny last of air he had managed to keep in his lungs until now to escape in a few tiny bubbles. He automatically covers his mouth with his hand, but then removes it in order to not worry Kacchan. He hopes that the blonde ignores it.
He realizes that now it's too late, he wouldn't make it to the surface even if he tried. But that's okay, because that option was never on the table for him anyways. Katsuki stares at him. Izuku can't stomach the worry in those red eyes he had caught a glimpse of and instead closes his eyes, waiting for his demise.
But the pro-hero wasn't gonna accept their doom. Today doesn't have to end with both of their deaths.
He doesn't think, his body acts on his own (such a familiar feeling in his case when it comes to Izuku's safety) and he forcefully yanks the younger man towards him and crashes their mouths, returning the last bits of oxygen he had received. It's not much, but he only needs enough for Izuku to make it safely back to the surface.
Izuku is frozen still for a moment, but then fear fills his body when he realizes what Katsuki was doing.
'No, stop! You need it, Kacchan! You need it more than me! You're not supposed to save me, I'm supposed to save YOU.'
He struggles to get away, but he's way too weak in current condition against the pro-hero. His efforts are for nothing.
Katsuki pulls away finally and Izuku's expression is full of grief, betrayal even. Katsuki has the nerve to look so damn proud of himself, on top of that.
He feels as if he has no choice but to swim back up. By staying down there, he would be spitting on Kacchan's sacrifice. Fuck. He hated him at that moment.
He doesn't register the fact that he's swimming back up angrily, until fresh air hits his face. He coughs, he gasps.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He yells, slapping the water surface uselessly.
Every breath he takes, feels stolen. He shouldn't be up there. Not alone. He should've brought Kacchan up there with him. He should've saved him long time ago. He takes another shaky breath and feels like a total scum. An ugly sob escapes his mouth.
Goddamn Kacchan. Taking away his chance to die together. Turning the table. Flipping the whole situation to make it about himself. Of course he'd do that. Of course that bastard would do that!
Izuku is angirly sobbing. He had the nerve to think Katsuki was getting bored of him and abandon him when the blonde in fact didn't dare to hesitate to pick Izuku's life over his. And he would do the same for him.
He runs his hand across his wet hair and tries to steady his breathing. What was he supposed to do now? Just swim back to the land? Walk back to Katsuki's agency and tell everyone he died? That he chose some quirkless loser's life over his pro-hero career? That they can go and fish out their boss' body out of the sea now?
How was he gonna show up in class tomorrow?
"Hello, my dear students of the hero course! Today I'm gonna talk about how your teacher left his childhood best friend to drown just a mere hours ago! You know, like every hero does! I sure hope I make a great example to all of you!"
Izuku lets out a pained, but furious groan.The anger and pettiness he felt towards Katsuki gave him a solid energy kick, and before he knows it, he dives back in. Screw what Kacchan did. There was no way in hell he was gonna live the rest of his life without Kacchan in it. He either gonna get him outta there or die by his side. No other option. Absolutely no settling for any other option.
When he reaches him, he's surprised to see Katsuki still conscious. Barely, but still it relives him to the core, he feels like he's been blessed, given another chance.
Katsuki notices him and scowls. And Izuku couldn't be happier to see that.
They stare at eachother.
'You really don't fucking know when to quit, do you, you goddamn nerd.'
Izuku leans in for the final time. Katsuki pulls away, but Izuku manages to capture his lips again. He closes his eyes. Katsuki eventually does too. It feels wrong to him. Izuku had an option to flee. He gave him that option. Forced it on him. But he returned to him. He always did. And Katsuki was a fool to think that it could ever be another way. He would be lying if he said he didn't expect him to come back. The burning feeling in his lungs seizes down, for what he thinks is the last time.
They pull apart after a long moment, and Izuku hides his face in the crook of Katsuki's neck, arms wrapped around him awaiting for death to come collect them both. There was no way of getting his best friend out of there. So he chose the second option.
Katsuki holds him. He doesn't know what to think. He hates how helpless the whole situation is. How neither of them managed to save eachother. Yeah, Izuku had bought him a little bit of time, but for what?
He yanks his foot uselessly, but the chain does not lessen its grip on his leg.
Is this it?
But Katsuki doesn't know what real helplessness feels like until it hits him like train, once he feels Izuku going completely limp against his body. His arms that were holding him tightly, in a mere way of providing comfort, now unwrapped and floating uselessly. Katsuki feels his heart drop. One, two seconds of nothingness in his gut, then a sudden, burning dread spreading all across his body when he had realized what just happened.
No fucking way. No fucking way that was it. No way Izuku had just left him.
He holds Izuku and tilts his head back a bit to look at him. That bastard better be not pulling any pranks on him. But he wasn't. His face was still, eyes closed, as if he was just resting. Katsuki really wishes Izuku were just resting.
No fucking way that his childhood best friend had just let himself pass away in his arms. No fucking way he LET him do that.
His eyes are wide as he stares at Izuku's blank face, searching, BEGGING for any signs of life. But nothing appears. He tries to shake him awake, but nothing happens. Of course nothing happens, that idiot just let himself drown. For him.
Katsuki feels like he's gonna cry. But if he tries to sob, he's gonna swallow water and die. But that sounded stupid, he was gonna run out of air in a few seconds anyway. He might as well fucking do it now.
One small, bit of hope flashes in his mind, when he remembers what Izuku had told him about the suppressant, and he flexes his palm in front of him, the other arm still holding Izuku close to his chest. Well, that was it. For both of them.
That's what Katsuki thinks; until water around his hand boils a little bit, and bubbles form around his hand.
His heart skips a beat. He blinks in utter shock, not quite believing the view in front of him and tries to use his quirk again. Heat forms around his palm once again. It's tiny. Not even close to what he was capable of doing on land. But it only meant one thing. His quirk was coming back. The quirk suppressant was wearing off. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. A new wave of energy ran throughout his body. A glimmer of hope rushed in his veins like a drug.
New plan appeared. He only needs to hold on until his quirk is fully restored. Or at least until he's capable of making an explosion big enough to snap the chain. He kept on flexing his hand, causing the water to boil around it, more and more each time. Just a little bit longer.
'Izuku, please, just few more seconds.'
He hates how his quirk worked slower during winter. He needed more time for it to heat up. Naturally, doing it underwater was making it even harder for his quirk to fully work. But he needed to get his shit together. He had to get Izuku out of this death trap. Save him and then yell at him for being so damn reckless.
But he was running out of air himself. Fuck. He was flexing his palm over and over, repeatedly screaming in his mind at his quirk to work.
He tries to savor the last bits of air Izuku had given him. He couldn't let it all be for nothing. But his sheer will isn't enough for some of it to not escape from his lungs. He buries his face in Izuku's hair, closes his eyes and keeps trying to activate his quirk.
'Please, please, just work. Fucking WORK. I NEED TO GET HIM OUT OF THERE.'
It goes on for a few more seconds, when he finally feels like he's capable of creating an explosion strong enough to destroy the chain. He swims down towards it (never losing his grip on Izuku) and grabs the chain with his free hand. He lets his hand heat up and then detonates it. The blast wasn't strong enough yet, however.
Katsuki clenches his jaw, shuts his eyes in order to not think about the fact that he's almost out of air and tries again. Fuck. Come on. One more time.
He holds onto the chain, his grip strong as if he was trying to crush it with mere force. He lets it heat up. Again.
Last bits of oxygen fly out of his mouth as he puts all of his body's energy onto activating his quirk.
A small explosion echoes across the cold, blue sea and the chain snaps in two his hold. Finally separating him from the heavy chunk of metal.
Katsuki doesn't even have the time to process his victory. He doesn't even fully register the fact that he's free.
Getting Izuku out of there was the only thing on his mind, as he kicks his legs and rushes towards the surface.
Once he reaches it, it feels like he's reborn. He coughs, gasps, coughs more. He pants, greedily sucks in air, all at once. Holding Izuku's head above the water all the time. But savoring the surface world didn't matter to Katsuki. What mattered was the green haired U.A teacher in his arms that still haven't regained consciousness. He shakes him.
"Oi, Izuku we made it!" He rasps, his voice still rough from the lack of getting fresh air for a long time.
No response.
Fuck.
The pro-hero doesn't waste any longer time, he knows what he has to do. He swims towards the land. He's so fucking grateful that the villain didn't throw him any further into the sea at that moment. He quickly makes it to the shore and his feet eventually touch the ground, and he's dragging Izuku through the shallows until they make it onto the sand. Katsuki places Izuku on his back and sits on his lap.
He takes a breath and tries to clear his head.
'Okay, you've nailed every CPR training. You make all of your employees at your agency take it every year. You know what to do. You can still save him. He's not dead yet. You won't let him.'
With that in mind, he places the heel of his hand on the centre of Izuku's chest, puts his other on top of it and presses.
One, two, three, four.
He counts all the way to thirty. Then he tilts Izuku's head back, pinches his nostrils shut and blows a rescue breath into his mouth. He bents his head a bit to check if his chest had rised up. It did. He blows a second one and then returns to doing chest compressions.
Izuku's absence was getting to him. The beach was empty and the only sound around available for him was the one of the waves from the sea that had held him as its prisoner just a few minutes ago. It was nerve wracking, to see Izuku's limp body spread underneath him. He already looked dead.
"Oi, Deku. It's time to wake up." He grunts.
"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen--Come on, come back to me."
"Twenty-nine, thirty--You don't get to pull the rug on me, bastard!"
He tilts his head back, closes his nostrils, blows two rescue breaths. The goes back to pumping the life back into his childhood best friend.
He knows that he should also attend to the bleeding wound on his side, but not yet. Not until Izuku takes a breath on his own.
"One, two, three, four-- lzuku, dammit!"
After the fifteenth, a weird sob escapes Katsuki's mouth. He tries to imagine a world without Izuku in it and the outcome seems to terrify him.
"I'm gonna drag your screaming soul back to Earth and shove it into your body, if I have to, you fucker! Eighteen, nineteen, twenty--"
"You son of a bitch. I hate you. Of course you had to go and do this about yourself! Goddamn All Might wanna-be." Katsuki growls and tilts his head back again, and leans down, breathing for his best friend.
He goes back to doing chest compressions, a few tears drop from his his cheeks from time to time.
"Don't do this to me. Come on. Don't. Just don't."
"Twenty-two, twenty-three. Izuku, wake up. Fucking wake up already!" He yells, his voice cracks. Only a few seagulls in the distance hearing his display of weakness.
He makes it to thirty, pinches Izuku's nostrils, bends down. The second rescue breath he gives him is shaky.
His hands make it back on Izuku's chest, pressing desperately.
There was no way, he was gonna owe Izuku anything. He saved his life back when he was stuck underneath the sea, now it was his turn to return the favor.
"Come back to me, already! Fuck, fuck, fuck. Eleven, twelve, thirteen. Come back. Come back, you goddamn nerd!"
'Please don't go where I can't follow.'
"If you don't wake up, I swear to god I'm gonna fucking--"
Suddenly, Izuku hacks and Katsuki gets off of him, and in an instant turns him on his side as the other tries to get rid of the water in his lungs. He coughs and reetches violently and Katsuki is right next to him, running his hand across his back in a soothing manner.
"Easy, get it all out. It's okay, you're okay." He repeats it like a broken record player.
When Izuku's coughing seizes down, he collapses onto the sand, as if all of the energy was drained out of him. Katsuki guides him onto his other side so that he wouldn't have to lie with his face down in the mess he just spewed out. He continues to rub his back as the other tries to steady his breathing.
"Ka-Kachan..." He manages to rasp out.
"Don't 'Kacchan' me, I hope you know that it takes all of my self control to restrain myself from just slapping you across that fucking, stupid face of yours right now."
"Huh?" Izuku huffs out like a kicked puppy.
"What the fuck was that back there?!"
Izuku swallows. Yeah, he knew that talk was coming.
"I'm sorry, Kacchan. I know I'm the last person that you would've wanted to have your first kiss with but--"
"HAH??? YOU THINK THAT I CARE ABOUT THAT? You're more of a fucking idiot that I gave you credit for. You know what, nevermind." He said as he lifted his hand up to his mouth, chomped on his glove and began to take it off with his teeth. "Hold it, Imma deck you in the face after all."
"Hey, hey, wait, WAIT--" Izuku squeaks out and raises his arms in defense, but the sudden motion caused him to clutch his wound again.
Katsuki stops and examines it.
"Alright, let's get you to a hospital first. You probably lost lots of blood because of it."
"Kacchan?"
"What?"
"I'm really sorry about what I did back there. If I crossed a boundary with you, even if it was unintentional then--"
"Izuku. I don't give a shit about that. You did what you had to do, to get me to stay alive. I get it. I'm talking about you fucking DYING in my arms." He growls and glares at Izuku, trying to mask the way the whole situation scared him to the core.
Izuku blinks.
"I mean, what, was I supposed to just leave you there?"
"YES, that was MY FUCKING POINT!" Katsuki throws his arms angirly.
Izuku looks at him in disbelief.
"...I couldn't do that. Not to you, Kacchan. Never to you."
Katsuki pinches the bridge of his nose.
"I know that. I know that and I hate it."
The whole conversation was pointless.
Izuku sits up.
"And if it were me in your place, you wouldn't leave me either."
Katsuki doesn't respond. Izuku is a bit hurt by the lack of verbal confirmation. But he doesn't really need it. He KNOWS it deep in his heart.
"You wouldn't. You gave me the last bits of your air to allow me go back to surface. You tried to save me too. At the expense of your own life." Izuku goes on. "And it made me mad."
"Oh, it made YOU mad? Well, then try to fucking gues what I felt when you went limp against me down there!"
"Kacchan--"
"Guess what I felt when I had to drag your half-dead body back to the beach. Guess what I felt when I was trying to resuscitate your ass! Guess what I felt when I was trying to get your heart to beat again!" Katsuki snaps.
"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for scaring you. But you scared me, too."
"Tch. I wasn't scared. Don't make up your own bits of the story. I was pissed. Pissed that you won't wake up and that I will owe you for the rest of my days." Katsuki scoffs.
Izuku stares at the sand for a bit and then after a while, he awkwardly starts to speak again.
"So, uh...I guess my plan wasn't so bad after all. We made it."
Katsuki scoffs again.
"I'm assuming thanks to you more, though. How did you manage to free yourself?"
"My quirk returned. Like you said it probably would. So you know, you can give that student an A for their correct thesis or whatever."
Izuku chuckles. Katsuki is so damn grateful to be able to hear that sound again.
"Sorry, again. I'm probably a crappy kisser." He tries to say it nonchalantly, but the blush creeping on his face gives him away.
"Do you say the same to the training dummy after giving it a CPR? We weren't kissing, you were trying to keep me away from passing out." Katsuki casually replied, completely denying the fact those 'kisses' from Izuku, out of all people, made him happy back there.
That, even, when he was facing his doom, he still had the nerve to feel lucky that this happened to be the only way to save him.
"Leave that apology to Round Face."
"Uraraka?! Why her?" Izuku squirms.
"What, you two didn't make out yet? Even back at U.A or something?"
"Kacchan!!! No way!" Izuku hides his flustered face in his scarred hands.
Katsuki's eyebrow perked up in amusement. So his theory was true. He WAS Izuku's first kiss. And why was he so flustered by just talking about kisses, they weren't teenagers anymore? There was no way a grown ass man in his mid twenties was getting so worked up over that.
Which only makes the pro-hero more flattered. If kisses hold such a deep meaning and value to Izuku and he still decided to give them up in order to save HIM, then just how much did he mean to Izuku, for him to act against his own values?
A soft smile appears on his face.
"No, seriously, let's get your ass to the hospital. You're definitely gonna get some stitches for that." Katsuki changes the subject and gets up.
"Yeah, let's do that." Izuku nods his head and grabs the hand Katsuki had offered him in order to help him stand up.
"You think you can walk?"
"Yes." Izuku replies with a full chest and then proceeds to head forward on rather wobbly legs.
Katsuki groans, walks in in front of him and bends down.
"Get on my back."
"Huh?? Kacchan, I just said I can walk."
"Yeah, no. I want to make it to the hospital, preferably TODAY. Or before you bleed out."
Izuku squints at him and crosses his arms.
"Mean."
Katsuki smirks.
"You adore that about me."