Chapter Text
He liked to tell himself that the changes made were for the better.
Having been ripped away from their school lives has been arguably more negative toward their health. If anything, the “cautionary protocols” in place carved a way for negative emotions to surface.
He understood that it was idiotic.
Despite no classes being in session, the child soldiers students were still encouraged to live in the dorms with the excuse that it would be easier to keep an eye on each of their physical and mental healths.
He supposed that was alright.
That included constant check-ins with Recovery Girl and a therapist. Even after Izuku swore up and down he was fine mentally, he was still dragged to meet both professionals 3 times a week. Which in his opinion, was rather infuriating excessive .
At surface level Izuku isn't bothered. The check-ups seemed harmless enough. That's when to his absolute loathing the implementation of guards were introduced. Initially, the idea didn't disturb him visibly. However, the feeling of having an outsider endlessly listening in to his personal life, slowly began to irritate him.
They were just doing their job. After a while, however, Izuku grew to hate the constant stalking supervision. He felt like nothing more than a dog on a leash.
Every time his guard, Niko, deemed a sound to be suspicious or an action to possibly have ill intent towards Izuku, he would interfere, shutting it down immediately. Izuku thanks to his impeccable luck was treated like a child due to his inherent ability to be a klutz.
To make it all worse somehow, his particular guard had a mind-reading quirk, so whenever negative or self-loathing thoughts crossed Izuku’s mind, he was immediately whisked away to either Aizawa, Recovery Girl, his therapist, or, if he was lucky, Katsuki and put on suicide watch.
Now, he thought that was a bit excessive to be put on suicide watch for simply wondering and playing out each scenario of what would’ve happened if he had died in the war, but despite his “innocence”, he couldn’t argue against it without risking what's left of his dignity, so he took the 72 hours of being locked away in the infirmary with Recovery Girl checking in on him hourly to ensure he wouldn’t do anything drastic, which he obviously never did.
This whole situation was driving him up the wall with his excessive and somewhat embarrassing 16 stays at the infirmary. He was sure his guard and Recovery Girl were sick of him at this point, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
The only anchor for his sanity was his living arrangement with Katsuki. Katsuki had begun to mellow a part of him that he found becomes painfully impulsive ever since the war. Knowing this, Izuku had bonded almost forcefully with Katsuki.
He liked to think of him and Katsuki as magnets; polar opposites that can't help but to attract.
Platonically. Of course.
Emotionally, Izuku understood he had always been the positive to Katsuki's negative, even in childhood. Though now it's the other way around.
Due to the endless tugging towards each other, they came to the conclusion that sharing a living space would benefit them greatly. So, after endless ingratiation towards their teacher, they gained approval to share a dorm room.
Pushing their eleventh month, the class as a whole was bored beyond belief. Katsuki flipped through the TV channels aimlessly while Izuku hung halfway off his own bed, scrolling on his phone.
A sharp knock came from the door, causing the two of them to jump, and Izuku to drop his phone on his face.
Katsuki burst out laughing as Izuku grumbled, standing up, and clutching his nose. After drawing his hand back, checking for blood, relieved when he didn’t see any, he opened the door.
Izuku had devolved gotten to the point where he wasn't even aware of his self-deprecating thoughts. If he opened the door and Niko was staring back he could usually figure out where he slipped up. However this time, he came up empty.
He was instantly relieved to open the door to an overly enthusiastic Kirishima, rather than the guard he was loathing being faced with.
“Guys-”
“We are not playing another game of Uno with you and Dunce Face,” Katsuki called from inside the room upon hearing the redhead’s voice.
“No, no, it’s not that,” He bent over, resting his hands on his knees to recollect himself.
“Is something wrong?” Izuku's heart sank to his ass. If Kirishima was here, so out of breath, could the school be under attack? But by who? The League? The Hassaikai? No, they're dead. Unless they're not.
A hand gripped his shoulder, grounding him silently. He wasn't aware if Katsuki even knew that he had stabilized him.
“Spit it out, dumbass,” Katsuki barked, clearly growing irritated.
“They’re finally resuming classes!” Kirishima nearly shouted despite the proximity.
“Seriously?” Izuku squealed, the feeling of impending doom instantly leaving his body, bouncing up and down like an excited little kid.
“No fucking way!” Katsuki yelled, tightening his grip on Izuku's shoulder. Too much contact. “You better not be lying, Shitty Hair.”
Kirishima laughed, panting, he probably had been running door to door to spread the word. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that.” He smiled. “They finally determined all of us well enough to go back!”
“About time!” Katsuki cheered, as he wrapped Izuku in a bear hug, toppling them both over onto the nearest bed which happened to be Katsuki's.
“Kacchan!” Izuku squealed as the blond rolled them back and forth, messing up the sheets and Izuku’s already messy hair.
Kirishima left without another word, probably to tell the others, leaving Izuku and Katsuki to celebrate together.
“That was the longest ten months of my life,” Katsuki complained as he released his hold on Izuku.
“No kidding, but we finally get to go back!” Izuku cheered as he grabbed onto Katsuki’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth. “No more of this stupid guard snitching on me,” He flopped back with a thud.
“You know it’s for the best, Izuku.” Katsuki stretched out over top of Izuku, squishing him.
“Yeah, yeah, but it got annoying after the third time,” He huffed. “Now get off, you’re heavy,” He tried to wiggle out from under Katsuki to no avail.
“You calling me fat?” He starfished on top of Izuku, making it even harder to escape.
“Yes, now get off,” Izuku giggled as he shoved the blond.
Katsuki huffed before rolling off, lying parallel to him instead. He draped a leg over Izuku, earning a small sigh, but no protest.
Quiet settled over them as Izuku traced shapes with his eyes on the popcorn ceiling. Once he was certain no more shapes could be imagined, he allowed his other senses to wander. He concluded that sounds would be his next form of entertainment. He listened for things that typically go unnoticed: the a/c turning on, the faint whistle of wind coming into the cracked open window, the footsteps of his classmates in the hallway, and of course, Katsuki himself. Katsuki's rhythmic breathing, the wood bed frame creaking as he moved, the subtle grinding of his teeth, and… The quiet and hardly audible pumping of Katsuki's heart tugged him ruthlessly back into reality.
“Do you think it’s gonna be hard to go back?” Izuku broke the silence.
Katsuki lifted himself onto his elbows so he could meet Izuku’s eyes as if he were looking for something, looking bothered when he couldn't find anything. “Well, that depends on us. We're all going to have to take some time to readjust and you’re gonna struggle a little bit without OFA, but you’ll manage. You always do…” Katsuki’s voice faded as Izuku zoned out of the conversation and trailed his eyes back to the ceiling.
The blond continued to speak, but Izuku didn't comprehend any of the words coming out of his mouth.
It's not like he hadn't considered how difficult this all would be after losing his power. He just preferred not to think about it as if it's not the only thing he really thinks about.
Did he even deserve to go back after murdering Shigaraki?
Does UA accept murderers?
He can’t keep up with the other students now that he’s powerless again.
What if they start to treat him differently? They hadn’t yet, but what if their minds change after they see how weak he is?
It would be like middle school all over again.
Since he killed Shigaraki and Katsuki, and he was weak now: a deku, again, maybe he should atone; show people that he’s truly sorry in a way he’d never be a bother again-
“Izuku,” A deep, male voice came from the door.
Izuku stiffened, locking his eyes on Katsuki, who stopped talking at the interruption, refusing to meet the guard’s eyes. “Dang it.” He sighed, as he willed himself to turn around.
“Please, Niko,” He clasped his hands together as he begged. “Let it go this one time. The last 16 times, I obviously didn’t do anything. Why would this time be any different?”
“It’s protocol, Izuku. The whole reason why I’m here is to keep an eye on you and make sure you’re safe,” Niko tried to negotiate, but Izuku wouldn’t budge.
“I am safe!” Izuku argued.
He was met with nothing but an unimpressed look.
“Fine,” He sighed. “What if I give Kacchan everything that I could, not like I want to, hurt myself with? Please, Niko, I can’t do another three days in the infirmary. I’ll go crazy for real,” He looked up pleadingly.
Niko seemed to weigh his options for a moment before coming to a decision. “Fine, but you give Katsuki everything,” Izuku sighed. “I mean it, Izuku. If I hear anything like that again, you’re going. Then, you’ll have to miss your first day back at school, and I know you’d hate that. So, don’t screw this up. This is the first and last time I’m letting you off the hook,” The guard scolded.
“Fine. Thanks, Niko,” Izuku muttered and got up to rummage through his belongings for anything that could be considered dangerous to himself.
In his head, it was incredibly unfair that he was assigned to Niko rather than any other guard. Katsuki's guard was actually normal and just popped his head in every so often to make sure Katsuki was okay. Unlike Niko, who was on Izuku's back 24/7.
“What the hell were you thinking about?” Katsuki asked as Izuku dropped a pile of items onto the blond’s bed: his razor, his sheet, nail clippers, his pocket knife, his pain meds, and a variety of other things.
Izuku looked up to where Niko was standing with his arms crossed by the door. He was given a curt nod to signify Niko wouldn’t count rethinking it to tell Katsuki against him. God, he hated this guy's quirk.
“I thought about atoning… somehow,” He avoided both men’s eyes as he dug through his drawers, pulling out a few more miscellaneous things.
“Atone how?” Katsuki asked, abnormally quiet.
“It doesn’t matter. It was just an intrusive thought, nothing I’m actually gonna act on,” He smiled up at Katsuki weakly; barely reaching his eyes.
Of course, Niko knew he was lying, but for all of their sakes, he kept quiet.
“You swear?”
“Of course. Why would I lie to you about that?” Izuku muttered as he took off his chain necklace, adding it to the pile. “Besides, what would I gain from doing something stupid like that?”
“It’s not about what you gain. It’s about what the rest of us lose, Izuku,” Katsuki placed his hands on either side of Izuku’s face, forcing their eyes to meet. “Don’t try to pull shit like that when you know damn well the class, hell, the world, puts you on a well-deserved pedestal. Even thinking about that is selfish, and you know it.”
“Alright, I get it,” Izuku shrugged Katsuki’s hands off of him, an uncomfortable look washing over his face for a split second. “I'm not gonna do anything, I promise. Besides, you should have everything,” He smiled up at Katsuki so sweetly that the blond, without context, would've believed Izuku would never even consider the thought.
Katsuki knew better.
“You aren't leaving my sight today. Got that?” Katsuki pressed his finger into Izuku's sternum earning a wince from the latter.
“Don't you think that's a bit overkill?” Izuku backed away, rubbing at the now sore spot on his chest.
“Izuku,” Niko spoke up. “You have to listen to Katsuki,” He rubbed his temples as though he was already starting to regret his decision.
“Yeah, you gotta listen to me,” Katsuki sneered.
Niko, getting the memo he's no longer needed, starts to back out of the room. “I take it you two have it covered. Don't make me regret this,” He sent one last authoritative look over his shoulder.
“Thank you, Niko,” Izuku called out.
The door clicked shut, leaving the two boys in an awkward silence.
“So-” Izuku started but was abruptly cut off with a flick to his forehead. “What was that for!?” He rubbed his fingers over the spot on his head.
“For being stupid. You're lucky Niko was willing to compromise,” Katsuki huffed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry.”
“You better be.”
Izuku shifted his weight between his feet awkwardly. “What do you wanna do then?”
The silence was thick and awkward as both boys thought up a way to entertain themselves with the limited options they had.
“You want to play that new video game you bought last week?” Katsuki offered.
Despite living together for quite a while, the two of them hadn't played video games since before the final battle. Izuku had always shut it down before Katsuki could even finish his sentence. Usually, Katsuki would refrain from bringing it up, but they had done practically everything else even remotely entertaining in the dorms. This time, he decided Izuku needed something else to cheer him up.
“Not sure that's a good idea,” Izuku muttered.
“What? Scared of losing?” Katsuki challenged. He was concerned with lightening the mood, doesn't mean he was going to be nice.
“As if, jerk.” Izuku scoffed, shoving Katsuki back playfully.
“Then you won't mind us playing a few rounds.” He shrugged, smirking.
“You're on.”
Katsuki moved over to hook up the gaming system to their small dorm TV. Izuku watched intently as he bounced his leg, anxiety flowing out of him.
Katsuki, distracted as he fumbled with the chords in an attempt to properly set up the console, failed to notice the awkward tension that clung to the air. Izuku, however, even if he had tried, he wouldn't be able to ignore the unease settling in his gut.
The blond stood up, brushing off his pajama pants. He tossed a green controller lightly at Izuku, taking the orange one for himself.
“You're going down,” Katsuki said as he took a seat next to Izuku, brushing their thighs together.
“I wouldn't be so sure of that,” Izuku huffed, leaning subconsciously into Katsuki's body heat.
If Katsuki noticed how easily Izuku melted into his side, he didn't mention it.
────୨ৎ────
“Oh come on! You clearly cheated!” Katsuki jumped to his feet as he yelled at his side of the screen which flashed with 2nd Place for what seemed to be the billionth time.
“Don't be such a sore loser, Kacchan,” Izuku laughed, maneuvering the joystick under his thumb to select New Round.
The blond huffed but readjusted his grip on his controller anyway, planting himself down beside Izuku once again.
He had no idea when Izuku got so good at video games, but he wouldn't let that deter him from being the absolute best.
This game was far more intense than the others. Katsuki was not fond of the idea of losing and it was clearly reflected in his gameplay.
His moves were more aggressive and desperate as he and Izuku traded between first and second place.
Unlike Katsuki who was enjoying himself, Izuku was getting more irritated by the second. Video games were his forte and he was not ready to lose to Katsuki and his mediocre playing style.
In the final round, Katsuki jabbed Izuku harshly in the side, causing Izuku to loosen his grip on the controller. Taking the opening created, Katsuki maneuvered his character around Izuku’s at the last moment, taking first place.
A small gasp left Izuku's mouth as Katsuki jumped to his feet in excitement.
“Hell yeah!” Katsuki cheered.
Izuku was unusually silent. Instead of congratulating the blond on his win and moving on to play another game, or even making a heatless comment about Katsuki's integrity, he sat staring at the screen as though it had personally offended him.
His hands shook and his grip tightened around the handles of the controller as Katsuki's cheers faded into background noise.
The sound of breaking plastic broke the moment. In the next second, a blur of green whizzed past Katsuki and slammed into the wall beside him before clattering to the ground.
“That was cheap and you know it!” Izuku yelled. A soft glow coursed through his body as if he were trying and failing to summon One For All.
Katsuki winced, hoping Niko wouldn't come in again.
“And you called me a sore loser?” The blond scoffed. “Come on Izuku. It was one round.”
“Yeah and you fucking cheated!” Izuku seethed.
“Jesus calm down will you? It's a video game. No need to get all pissy over it.”
“Tch, whatever,” Izuku scoffed, getting up to move to his bed. He shoulder checked Katsuki hard.
Katsuki didn't intervene. He decided it was best to leave Izuku alone. It's not like he can't keep an eye on Izuku across the room, so he let it be.
However, he was starting to piece together why Izuku always avoided video games. In a way, it was relieving to see Izuku display such intense emotions besides sadness. However, it did leave a bad taste in his mouth.
Anger had never looked right on Izuku in his eyes. Such a violent display of emotion seemed far out of his character.
────୨ৎ────
Izuku had ignored Katsuki for the rest of the day and decided to sleep his anger off.
Katsuki didn't mind Izuku's disinterest in him. Out of anyone, he understood wanting to sleep and ignore strong emotions, so he left him alone.
The next morning, Monday, was their first day back at school.
Though he wouldn't admit it, Katsuki was beyond excited to resume classes. It had been torturous to know their education was postponed primarily due to his health so it was a relief to know they'd be going back to normal. Katsuki Bakugou has always hated being a burden.
Still expecting to receive the cold shoulder from Izuku, he left him alone to get ready himself.
He knew his alarm went off about 15 minutes before Izuku's, so he used that time to get up and shower.
He certainly didn't turn the heat on higher than usual.
After he got out of the shower, he stood at the bathroom sink to shave his face, nearly jumping out of his skin as the door slid open.
Izuku smiled sleepily, seemingly unaffected by the fact Katsuki was standing in front of him with nothing but a towel on.
“Morning, Kacchan,” Izuku yawned.
“Jesus, Izuku. Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock?”
“Oh come on. It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before,” Izuku reasoned as he rubbed his eyes.
“Yeah, when we were like six,” Katsuki grumbled.
He decided there was no use in arguing, choosing to continue shaving.
“Not much different. Is it? I mean it's the same parts so I don't see why it's an issue,” Izuku continued to argue as he started pulling off his shirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Katsuki glared at Izuku through the reflection of the mirror.
“Taking a shower. What's it look like?”
“Can you wait till I'm not in here?” He whipped around, placing his hands on his hips.
“No, I can't actually. Class starts in 30 minutes and you know very well how long it takes to detangle my hair,” Izuku shot back, continuing to strip while maintaining eye contact.
“Fine, whatever, perv,” Katsuki huffed, turning back around to hold an intense staring contest with himself in the mirror.
Izuku was right, they have seen each other naked hundreds of times so he didn't understand why this was any different. Regardless, he avoided looking in the reflection of the guy behind him for his own sanity.
Katsuki was nearly done in the bathroom. The only thing left in his routine happened to be his least favorite, putting in his hearing aids. After cursing multiple times and dropping them a few more, the water turned off and Izuku stepped out with a towel around his waist.
“You need help?” Izuku asked, voice purposely louder, scrunching his hair with a hand towel.
“They won't stay in my damn head,” Katsuki muttered, reluctantly placing the aids into Izuku's outstretched hand.
“Here. Sit on the toilet seat,” Izuku instructed.
Katsuki obeyed, plopping himself down onto the porcelain. Izuku straddled his legs and leaned forward until he was inches from the blond's face.
It felt oddly intimate with Izuku over him like this, both of them only wearing towels.
Of course, things like this aren't weird between friends.
Izuku fiddled with the device for a few seconds before leaning back.
“There. Feel ok?”
Katsuki moved his head around to make sure they were secure and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, I guess.”
“No problem,” Izuku smiled with a look in his eyes a little too close to love, which Katsuki pretended not to see.
Izuku moved to get up, but with the condensation in the room, Izuku lost his balance and slipped backwards.
Before he could land flat on his ass, however, Katsuki grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him back.
Apparently, the blond overestimated how hard to pull because Izuku flew forward until their chests were pressed flush against each other.
“Idiot, you're gonna crack your skull open. Be more careful,” Katsuki sighed, trying to ignore the heat crawling up his neck. If ever asked about it, he'd blame it on the hot stream in the air, never because of their proximity.
“Right. Thanks, Kacchan,” Izuku rambled out, quickly getting up, more carefully this time.
“We good now?” Katsuki asked, cutting through the suddenly awkward exchange.
“What do you mean?” Izuku cocked his head.
“Your little tantrum yesterday. What else?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that,” He blushed, finding the steam-covered mirror more interesting than meeting Katsuki’s gaze.
“Now I see why you never want to play video games. You're competitive as hell,” Katsuki laughed, as he opened the door that leads back into their dorm room. “Don't crack your head open while I get dressed.”
“I'll try,” Izuku laughed.
Once the door clicked shut, Izuku gripped the sides of the countertop and hung his head limply, letting a shaky breath out.
────୨ৎ────
After their awkward bathroom encounter, they were nearly late for class. Katsuki had to practically drag Izuku out of their room after Izuku refused to leave until every little knot in his hair was out which, Katsuki reminded him multiple times that achieving that was practically impossible with his curly hair.
Izuku tripped over his feet as he stumbled through the class 2-A door. Katsuki trailed behind him, grabbing onto the back of his shirt to make sure Izuku didn't fall on his face.
“Sorry we're almost late, Mr. Aizawa,” Izuku panted as he put his bag down next to his seat and collapsed into the chair.
“We're not even late, so I don't know why you're apologizing,” Katsuki spoke as he, much calmer than Izuku, tossed his bag to the floor and sat in his seat the same moment the bell rang.
“Lucky timing, you two,” Aizawa said as he unzipped his sleeping bag, stepping in front of the class. “Alright, let's get to it,” He muttered as he picked a clip board up off his desk and flipping through a few pages. “Today, we're doing practice group patrols.”
At that statement, the class erupted.
Katsuki tried to ignore how Izuku stiffened.
“Really, on our first day back?” Kirishima spoke up, directly toward their teacher.
“I don't see why not. I'm sure you all are itching to get back on the field, so might as well get right into it,” He reasoned.
“Alright!” Kaminari cheered.
“You'll be divided into groups and assigned a low-level villain. The goal is to detain each villain with minimal casualties and property damage,” He rattled on as he read off the paper.
“There will be five groups of four:
Group A: Tsu, Koda, Shinsou, and Yaoyarozu.
Group B: Sero, Ojiro, Jirou, and Uraraka.
Group C: Bakugou, Midoriya, Kirishima, and Ashido.
Group D: Shouji, Sato, Todoroki, and Aoyama.
Group E: Hagakure, Iida, Kaminari, and Tokoyami,”
Multiple cheers rang out to celebrate their groups but quickly quieted after a glare from Aizawa.
“Continuing: Each group will receive a file on their assigned villain. You'll have about 20 minutes to look over your files and make a plan to capture them.
A pro will accompany each group to the part of the city necessary and will evaluate accordingly. They are also there to ensure nothing gets too out of hand. Group A, your assigned hero is Cementoss. Group B: Mount Lady. Group C: Myself. Group D: Present Mic. And Group E: Snipe.
I will now pass out your files.”
The moment the manilla folder hit his desk, Izuku was instantly flipping through its pages.
“What kind of lame ass name is Psychosis?” Katsuki spoke up as he read over Izuku’s shoulder causing the latter to jump.
“Not sure, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight,” Izuku teased, earning him a smack upside the head.
“Watch it, asshole.”
“Yeah yeah,” Izuku muttered as he continued to read the file.
At this point, Kirishima and Mina had joined them, crowding around Izuku's desk.
“Quirk is listed as manipulation. It resembles Dictator's quirk quite a bit actually. It should be relatively easy to avoid, looks like she can only use it through physical touch of 5 seconds. So we should avoid close distance combat. Our best bet is to have Kacchan weaken her from a distance first, then the three of us can move in and land a series of attacks until we can subdue her.”
“Sounds good!” Mina cheered.
“I'm sure, Bakugou is happy he gets to be the main attacker. Isn't that right?” Kirishima sneered playfully.
“You bet your ass I am,” Katsuki smirked confidently.
Izuku smiled to himself before continuing. “Lastly her most recent attacks have been just a few blocks away. It looks like this shouldn't take us long at all.”
The other three group members nodded in agreement.
“Alright, time's up. Your assigned pros are here. Get changed into your hero costumes. You're expected to be finished with the job by 6pm tonight.”
The class split off to their respective locker rooms to get into their outfits.
Most of the class had upgraded their costumes greatly after the war either due to damage or functionality issues. Katsuki’s and Izuku's had changed the most out of the class.
Katsuki had requested they slim down his gauntlets for easier range of motion. Izuku had also managed to convince him to add ear protection which was connected to his mask to protect what was left of his hearing.
The overall design was very similar to the original with a few minor tweaks. He had told the support course to add chest padding and make the outfit itself bullet proof due to paranoia, though he'd never admit it. He also asked to add more green for ‘aesthetic purposes’.
Izuku's outfit, however, changed almost entirely.
The once baggy suit was now nearly skin tight and a deeper shade of green with orange stripes around his wrists.
The ‘bunny mask’ was no longer a part of his outfit, now replaced by a hood, similar to the one of his stealth outfit.
Despite the changes, he kept the metal mask as a part of the suit, even going as far as getting thrown out of the support course room for arguing with Mei when she couldn't reconstruct the original.
Despite wanting a reconstruction of his outfit, he was unable to part with the shabby, yellow scarf that was gifted to him by Gran Torino. Though Hatsume had fought him over the aesthetics of the outfit, but ultimately failed to Izuku's persistence.
He had also disposed of his red shoes after they were torn to shreds, having replaced them with custom made black sneakers also courtesy of the support course.
Katsuki, of course, noticed this.
Ever since the war, Izuku had been odd regarding the color red. The only exceptions being Kirishima's hair and Katsuki’s eyes. In other words, the uncontrollables.
He hadn't spoken about why what was once his favorite color now seemingly disgusted him, but Katsuki could connect the dots.
Group C congregated outside the locker rooms and followed their teacher out of the building and into one of the vans the school had explicitly for missions.
The four of them settled into the comfortable leather seats arranged in an open layout. Izuku reiterated the plan as their teacher drove them to their destination.
The van came to a stop on the corner of a block which happened to be a part of a shopping district that UA kids were notorious for visiting.
The students unboarded the vehicle as their teacher ensured they hadn't left anything vital in the seats.
While Mina and Kirishima took in their surroundings as if they had never stepped foot in this part of town, Katsuki’s eyes wandered to Izuku, who was facing the van still.
Katsuki moved towards Izuku, placing his hands on the former's shoulder. “Hey.”
Izuku startled at the sudden contact and shook off Katsuki’s hand as politely as he could muster.
The blond, out of realization his actions had made Izuku uncomfortable, glued his hands to his sides. “You good?” Katsuki proceeded awkwardly. He decided that what Izuku was looking at was far more interesting than trying to gain eye contact. With his new revelation, Katsuki took the open sidewalk next to Izuku and started staring at the van also.
“Yeah, sorry,” Izuku muttered, eyes still scanning the vehicle. “You'd think for missions where we're trying to apprehend a criminal, they wouldn't send us out in a van that has a huge UA logo on it. It just screams “Hey we're looking for villains, this is your chance to run!”” Izuku mocked the fake scenario as he sighed.
“I guess, but you really think some low-life villains are capable of thinking that hard?” Katsuki laughed, nudging his shoulder.
That earned a small laugh from Izuku.
“Alright, she should be in this general area. You should patrol as a group until you find her. I'll be watching you all from rooftops to evaluate your fighting and to assist if needed,” Aizawa announced, stepping out of the vehicle, drawing all four pairs of eyes to him.
“Yes sir!” Mina squealed, far from Katsuki's liking.
If he wasn't on a mission with Izuku, Katsuki would have definitely turned down the sensitivity of his hearing aids.
The thought must have been visible on his face because Izuku shot him a look that clearly said don't even think about it.
Katsuki shivered.
Aizawa drove off to park the van in a discreet location so as to not draw attention to them, much to Izuku's relief.
The group began to walk around, looking for anyone matching the description the file had detailed: female with long white hair, piercing purple eyes, and estimated 160 cm tall.
“Midoriya, I like the new suit!” Mina cheered as she got close to Izuku to further inspect the outfit.
“Me too! What made you decide to do a whole revamp?” Kirishima joined in.
“Eh it just felt right after the war. The other costume didn't really feel like me anymore, you know?” Izuku shrugged as Katsuki sent him a questioning look.
“Yeah I get it,” Kirishima laughed awkwardly.
“It looks super good! It suits you,” Mina affirmed, not affected at all by the awkward air.
“Thanks, Ashido,” Izuku blushed.
“Sorry to interrupt your weird poly thing over there, but I think that's her,” Katsuki nodded toward a café across the street from them.
The other three turned in the direction Katsuki was referring to and sure enough, a woman with silky long, white hair and purple eyes scanning over the pages of a book as she sipped on a hot coffee.
“She's so… normal?” Kirishima said more as a question than a statement.
“Well, I mean villains are people too. They don't have to be doing something evil all the time to be considered dangerous,” Izuku reasoned.
“True, so should we wait for her to leave?” Mina asked.
Despite having so much experience with villains in their young careers, they had never seen a villain just sitting there seemingly going about their day like an average citizen.
“Well, it'd be weird for us just to cause a scene,” Kirishima hesitated.
“I say we catch her off guard now, detain her, and be done,” Katsuki voiced as he started to walk in the direction of Psychosis.
“Kacchan, we shouldn't just-” Izuku was abruptly cut off with a sharp kick to his gut, sending him flying backward into a building.
“Izuku! What the hell?” Katsuki pivoted to find the woman they were just watching a moment ago standing in front of them.
“Did you say Izuku? As in Izuku Midoriya? The kid who defeated Shigaraki?” She spoke, eyeing the place she had kicked Izuku off to.
“What's it to you, crazy bitch?” Katsuki barked.
She ignored him, making a move toward the now damaged building. “You oblivious kids just did me a huge favor without even knowing it,” She grinned over her shoulder at the three still standing.
Moving quickly, Mina and Kirishima attacked, using a combination move they'd been working on: Kirishima hardens his arms and Mina coats them in acid, creating a toxic, impenetrable offense move.
Kirishima swung, missing the woman as she dodged. Before he could recollect himself, she kicked him in the stomach, making him keel over.
Katsuki used Kirishima's distraction to fire his gauntlet at her, trying to catch her off guard.
Despite his efforts, she managed to dodge the explosion fired at her, slipping under the cover of the smoke created.
The three of them lost track of her for a moment, only finding her once she grabbed Katsuki by the forearm, flipping him onto the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs and slamming his head into the pavement.
“What the hell?” Katsuki coughed. “I thought her quirk was supposed to be manipulation, not fucking super speed,” He winced as he struggled for breath.
Mina was holding her back with hand-to-hand combat. Which Katsuki had to admit was pretty impressive on Mina's part.
Pinky threw a left hook, landing a hit on the villain’s cheek. Blood splattered out of the woman's nose, but it didn't seem to slow her down in the slightest.
She attempted to sweep Mina's leg, which luckily the hero jumped over. In the split second Psychosis was on one leg, Mina used that gap to fire an acid shot to her stomach.
The woman somehow managed to dodge and kick Mina across the face, disorienting her. She stumbled back and Psychosis kneed her in the stomach and shoved her to the ground.
At that, Kirishima regained his composure and tackled the woman off his girlfriend and took a hardened knee to her chest, pinning her.
“Bakugou,” He panted. “Cuffs.”
“Yeah, got it,” Katsuki hoisted himself up on to a knee and unclipped a set of handcuffs off his belt, throwing it to Kirishima.
“You guys are cute,” The villain teased.
“Sorry, who's the one pinned to the ground?” Katsuki shot back.
“Not me,” She laughed.
“The hell you mean you're literally-” Katsuki was cut off as, in a matter of seconds, he was kneed in the gut and pinned to the ground with sharp nails digging into his neck.
“Get offa me,” He croaked as he clawed at her hands.
“Hm, I don't think I will.”
Suddenly, the weight was taken off his chest as a flash of green took her right back to the ground.
“About damn time, Izuku,” Katsuki groaned as he rubbed at his bleeding neck.
“Sorry, I was thrown into a damn building. Forgive me for not coming to your service immediately,” He barked.
“Not very heroic of you I.zu.ku,” The villain sneered, emphasizing each syllable of his name.
“Shut up,” Katsuki and Izuku said in unison.
“For The Symbol of Hope you're a brat. You'd be much better as a villain in my professional opinion.”
“As if, lady,” Izuku snapped.
He held her arms down with his knees as he pinned her shoulders with his hands.
What he didn't account for was how flexible she was.
In one moment she was pinned, the next she had launched Izuku off of her with a what shouldn't be anatomically possible of a kick.
He skidded back, trying to maintain his balance. She jumped at him, unlike she had to the others and cupped her hands around his face.
“What are you doing?!” He struggled to back away, but her grip was surprisingly strong.
Frantically, he searched for his friends, only to find Mina and Kirishima passed out next to each other and Katsuki struggling to get back on his feet.
“Get off of him!” Katsuki yelled, trying to make a move to divert her attention to give Izuku the room to escape.
“I'll be done in a moment. You both need to learn some patience,” She tisked as if she were scolding young children.
“Let go of me!” Izuku flailed desperately.
Katsuki met Izuku's eyes and the fear in them was unnatural. Izuku was never terrified of villains like this.
The realization dawned on him.
Izuku had always loved physical touch, so after the war when he started avoiding it at all costs, it threw Katsuki for a loop. He never explicitly asked the reason for this change. He had just assumed the war had matured Izuku. Despite it worrying him, he decided it was best that he left it alone.
But at this moment, it all came together. Izuku hated touch because of the violent correlation to Shigaraki engraved into Izuku's consciousness. Physical contact terrified him. Katsuki hated that he hadn't noticed until then. Izuku was experiencing an entirely different scenario than the rest of them.
At that moment, Izuku was defenseless. He was nothing but a terrified little kid at the mercy of this psychopath, which Katsuki deduced was not a low-level villain.
Psychosis pulled Izuku in closer to her and pressed their foreheads together. “It's okay, Izuku. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to let you see who you really are. There's no need to be scared, sweet boy,” She cooed.
It was eerie to witness. She spoke like a mother should, sweet and loving. Katsuki felt sick witnessing this, but he couldn't get up to do anything about it. He fought against his body just to keep himself up on his knees. The blow to his head must've been harder than he initially thought.
A soft purple light radiated off of the woman's forehead onto Izuku’s. For some unknown reason, it seemed to calm him.
Once she had finished, she lowered the both of them to their knees. She cradled Izuku to her chest and rocked him back and forth like a mother trying to calm her child after a nightmare.
She brushed his hair off his forehead and carefully laid him on the ground, caressing his cheek before she stood, moving over to Katsuki.
The woman moved her hand under Katsuki's chin and harshly jerked his head up to look at her. The sudden head rush made bile rise in his throat. All the mother-like love she had just given Izuku had vanished.
“You listen to me brat,” She hissed. “I'm going to give you your options with your boyfriend over there. My quirk is called Torment. When I first use it, there is no real effect,” She scoffed as though that fact irritated her. “but when the affected goes to sleep,” She perked back up. “their worst fears are surfaced and amplified until it breaks their minds.”
Katsuki winced at her words.
“Outcomes vary based on their past traumas, ranging from extreme fear to unbridled anger. Nothing can be done about it until it is nullified or I deactivate it, leaving the victim the choice to remain awake and deteriorate from lack of sleep or lose their sanity,” She dug her nails into Katsuki's cheeks. “And based on your pasts, he's going to hate you,” The villain smiled as if the thought pleased her.
“Do what you will with that information. I believe it's time for me to get going,” She stood and brushed dirt off her pants.
She stopped over Izuku again, kneeling down to stroke his face again. “Good luck, sweet boy.”
Izuku curled in on himself and grabbed onto the roots of his hair and winced. Katsuki let out a breath of relief. Izuku was still awake.
The villain lifted herself off the ground and waved at the boys before disappearing into the smoke that still laid thick over the air.
Katsuki mustered his strength to army crawl over to Izuku. “Hey, you're okay. C'mon Izuku. Don't fall asleep on me, please.”
The four laid there, completely out of commission. Katsuki would periodically nudge Izuku to ensure he wouldn't fall asleep. Though, he hoped the villain was lying about her quirk.
After the smoke in the air cleared, their teacher swooped in seemingly out of nowhere.
“What the hell happened?” He asked, his question directed at Katsuki, who seemed to be the only coherent one of the four.
“You guys did not do your research. There is no way in hell she's a low-level,” Katsuki huffed as he nudged Izuku again.
“Why are you moving him?” Aizawa observed Katsuki's movements.
“She said her quirk takes effect when he falls asleep, so I'm trying to keep him up.”
“But it was to my understanding her quirk was just basic manipulation, no?”
“That's not what she told me. It was weird. She pressed their foreheads together and used her quirk. Said her quirk was called Torment and it only takes effect if he falls asleep,” He moved his hand to wrap around Izuku's. “If he does, she said the outcome would be shit,” Katsuki repeated to his teacher.
“Alright,” He sighed. “I'll call Recovery Girl and get you four fixed up. In the meantime, please do your best to keep him awake.”
“Okay.”
────୨ৎ────
“Keep him awake!”
“But that means I can't use my quirk on him and he's bleeding from his head!”
“You can't use your quirk! He'll be okay, the bleeding isn't that severe.”
Katsuki blinked up at the irritating fluorescent lights in the sterile white room. He figured the voices arguing were Aizawa and Recovery Girl.
He couldn't remember when he fell asleep, but he was glad Aizawa was enforcing what he had told him.
“But that's irresponsible of me as a hero!” Recovery Girl countered.
“It's also irresponsible to let him fall asleep without knowing what could happen!” Aizawa was fighting pretty hard for Izuku.
Katsuki appreciated that he took his word about the villain's quirk. From what he was hearing, he could assume Izuku was still awake which was good.
The lights irritated his head but he forced himself upright. He scanned the room to find Recovery Girl and Aizawa hovering over Izuku on a bed.
“You can't expect me to neglect my duties as the healer! You don't even know if the quirk actually works like that!” Recovery Girl continued to argue.
“Exactly! We don't know, so we can't risk it!”
Right, they were fighting about keeping Izuku awake.
Katsuki pushed himself off the bed onto wobbly feet and made his way over to Izuku's bedside.
Izuku was curled in on himself much like he was after the villain used her quirk on him. His knees were pressed against his chest as his hands tugged at the roots of his hair. He rocked himself softly back and forth as if he were trying to console himself.
The two adults turned to look at Katsuki who should not have been standing at that moment.
“Bakugou, get back into bed. You need to rest,” Recovery Girl shifted her tone from the argument she broke from.
“I'm fine. I need to tell you everything,” He swayed slightly so he opted to sit by Izuku on the bed.
“Go on,” Recovery Girl insisted.
“Early on in the fight, the bitch kicked Izuku into a building,” Aizawa winced at the blond's language. “The rest of us tried to detain her multiple times, but we couldn't keep her pinned. Once Izuku regained himself, he came back and fought her. He was really disoriented so she grabbed him pretty quick. He looked terrified. I think he was having a PTSD attack. I've never seen him look that scared, but it wasn't because of her,” He moved his hand so he could rub Izuku's arm in an attempt to console him.
“She held him and spoke to him how you think a mom would,” Katsuki scrunched his face up in disgust at the memory. “Then, she pressed their heads together and glowy purple shit came off her forehead onto his. Then she rocked him back and forth like she was trying to calm him down or something.
She came over to me and told me what her quirk does. She said something about it only taking effect when the person falls asleep and it brings up every bad memory and amplifies it so it screws with their personality. She said the only way to prevent it was to keep him awake or nullify it,” He moved his hand up to Izuku's back and rubbed circles. The motion was for Izuku's calming as well as Katsuki's own peace of mind.
“I see,” Recovery Girl sighed. “Then I fear there's nothing I can do. The only solution we have is to keep him awake for as long as we can. Feel free to take him back to your dorm, but you must keep him awake.”
“Alright, thank you,” Katsuki moved to pick Izuku up, but Recovery Girl stopped him.
“Let me heal you a bit more first.”
“Fine,” He scoffed as he sat back down on the bed. Normally, Katsuki would refuse the help, however he was in charge of bringing Izuku back to the dorms and he'd be damned if he was too weak to carry him.
She kissed him on the cheek and relief washed over him. “Ashido and Kirishima are in their dorm rooms already so there's no need to worry about them.”
“Ok, thanks,” He stood, notably steadier than before.
He hooked one arm under Izuku's knees and the other under his shoulders. Instantly, Izuku clung to him, albeit shakily. It felt like he was being held onto by a koala, which he found quite cute. He'd never admit that, however.
Holding Izuku tightly to his chest, he made his way out of the building and to their dorm.
The moment Katsuki stepped inside the dorm building, he was swarmed by their classmates. Apparently, he'd been out for a few hours and it was past his usual bedtime. He seriously debated walking back out of the building.
“Oh, Izuku!” Uraraka yelped. “Is he okay?”
“Sort of,” Katsuki answered, feeling Izuku's grip around him tighten.
“What do you mean “Sort of"?" Tsu cocked her head.
“Alright, you idiots gotta listen cause I'm not repeating myself,” He announced as he carried Izuku to the couch and sat down.
“He was hit by a quirk that messes with his personality. But it only takes effect if he falls asleep, so we have to keep him awake until we figure something out.”
A few people gasp, mostly the girls.
“So he's not allowed to sleep at all?” Yaoyarozu asked with a hand over her mouth.
“Not at al,.” Katsuki sighs.
“Do you need us to help keep him up?” Kaminari offered.
Katsuki weighed his options and against his better judgement, nodded. “But, I choose the people. Some of you I don't trust with a hot pocket much less Izuku,” He sighed. “I can handle it tonight, but I'll need people to alternate with me after.”
“I'm only going to trust Shinsou, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami,” He was way too exhausted to make an effort to use their assigned nicknames. “Figure out a schedule or whatever,” He got up to head to the room and paused. “Actually, Shinsou, come with.”
Shinsou stood and followed the two to the elevator.
The silence was heavy as the three waited for the bells of the elevator to chime. Shinsou could feel the questions at the tip of his tongue, but decided irritating Bakugou was not his best bet at the moment.
Despite the uncomfortable silence, Shinsou felt as though he were intruding on something intimate. He understood that Bakugou and Midoriya were just really close childhood friends, but he couldn't help but come to another conclusion.
After an eternity of the awkward air, the too-high-pitched-for-Katsuki's-hearing-aids elevator bell chimed.
At the movement of Katsuki boarding the elevator, Izuku clinged tighter onto the blond's shirt collar.
“Hey, chill out, you're going to stretch out the fabric, stupid,” Katsuki said softly with a bit too much kindness in his voice.
At that moment, Shinsou concluded he was in for an awkward night.
────୨ৎ────
The days dragged on miserably. Izuku still hadn't snapped out of whatever emotional barricade he'd built up when the villain had triggered him. Not a word had left his mouth for four days. Whether that be because of exhaustion or emotional stress, Katsuki had no idea.
The blond had made multiple attempts to start up a conversation. He attempted to divulge in Izuku's interests to get even a weak comment or two from him but gained nothing but a one sided conversation about Izuku's favorite hero magazine. Usually, words would flow easily between the two, but now, he was met with silence.
Yaoyarozu had made a schedule consisting of four hour shifts so the four in the cycle each could get some sleep.
During the day, however, there were no assigned shifts. They decided to have Izuku in the common room so there's always someone there to ensure he didn't fall asleep.
With each day, the exhaustion became more apparent on Izuku's face and Katsuki feared when they wouldn't be able to keep him up any longer. The police were no closer to finding out how to neutralize the quirk and Aizawa's quirk had no effect.
On day five, Izuku was swaying more than he had been. Kaminari and Shouto sat in the common room, both on their phones, Kaminari occasionally nudged Izuku with his foot.
Katsuki walked into the room, exhaustion obvious in his posture. He sat beside Izuku on the couch. The latter sat himself up for the first time since the incident and pressed himself into Katsuki's side.
“Izuku, what are you-”
“I can't.”
Katsuki stiffened. “Can't what?”
“Stay ‘wake,” Izuku nuzzled his head into Katsuki's shoulder.
“Yeah you can come on,” The blond sat up straight, grabbing Izuku by the shoulders. “You fought a war at 16, you can stay up a little longer,” Katsuki reasoned. “Please, Izuku. You got this,” His begging and encouragement sounded stupid in his head, but at that moment, he didn't concern himself with what the congregation of people pouring into the common room saw. If raw emotion would get Izuku to push harder, he'd start crying if necessary.
He never got around to letting his emotion run loose, however because Izuku leaned forward into his chest.
“‘m sorry,” Izuku's muffled voice came from the fabric of Katsuki's shirt. Before an intelligent response could be formed, Izuku's breathing evened out and his weight pressed against Katsuki’s body.
“Yeah you better be.”