Chapter 2
The next day at school, Izuku does something he's wanted to do for ages: He shows off his quirk.
Tsubasa and Inaba are more than willing to help. Tsubasa somehow got a scrape on his knee after Kacchan and Izuku left yesterday, so he bounces up to Izuku as soon as he arrives at school and shows him. If Izuku didn't know any better, he'd say the winged boy almost seemed proud of his scrape.
So, once they've gathered the attention of all of their classmates and a couple of their teachers, Izuku reaches out to heal his scrape. He's nervous at first, almost worried that the previous day had been a dream and he didn't really have a quirk, but like before his quirk seems to activate the second he touches the injury. His peers watch with awe-filled eyes as it fades away into unblemished skin within seconds.
"Wow!" One girl exclaims, "That's so cool, Midoriya-kun!"
"Definitely worth the wait!" Another laughs.
"Oh, geez, what a godsend that quirk is!" One of the teachers whines good-naturedly, "These kids are always rough housing and getting hurt."
Izuku beams at the praise. Next to him, Kacchan puffs up his chest with pride.
"And guess what?" He declares, "When I'm a hero, Zuku's gonna be my healer!"
More 'oohing' and 'ahhing' from the crowd of children. One of the teachers looks amused.
"A hero healer, huh?" She says, "Well, you've certainly got the quirk for it! How did you say it works again?"
Izuku explains his theory of energy transfer and she hums contemplatively, "I've never heard of a quirk like this before. And I bet it will only get stronger as you get older." She winks and pats his curls. "It's always good to see young people with healing quirks. Lord knows there's not enough of them!"
"Doctor Tsubasa-san said it's 'cause healing quirks aren't hera- heredi- um, herd-"
"Hereditary?" His teacher asks and he nods.
The other teacher raises his eyebrows. "Really? I didn't know that."
Izuku opens his mouth to say more, but Kacchan drags him back to the group of kids before he can. They swarm around him, asking him questions about his quirk and how it feels and why it was so late. Izuku answers as best as he can, but soon Kacchan starts to fidget impatiently beside him. After a few more minutes, he clearly gets bored that the attention isn't on him and shoos the other kids away.
Izuku doesn't mind too much, though. All of this attention is new and overwhelming- he's used to just fading into the background and staying by Kacchan's side.
Thankfully, the rest of the school day goes by fairly normally, aside from a couple of kids coming up to him during lunch asking him to heal their scrapes and bruises. Then he briefly gains another small audience while he uses his quirk. He doesn't really know how to respond to praise other than awkwardly smiling and scratching the back of his head, so he doesn't linger very long and the group usually disperses soon after.
Kacchan can't seem to decide whether he wants to boast about having Izuku as his healer or be grumpy that the attention isn't on him anymore.
Inaba tries to reassure him. "Don't worry, it's just 'cause it's a new quirk. I'm sure the hype will die down after a couple of days."
Kacchan merely grumbles inaudibly but Izuku lets out a sigh of relief. "I hope so!" He says exasperatedly, "I don't know if I like all this attention. I feel so awkward."
Kacchan snorts but seems appeased by his response. At the end of the day, the four of them walk home together, Tsubasa and Inaba splitting off a couple of streets before theirs. Kacchan insists on walking Izuku to his door, which is a bit strange and unnecessary, but Izuku doesn't protest much. When his mother comes back from home soon after, she seems extremely relieved when she sees him, but her expression smoothes out a moment later and she announces she's making katsudon for dinner. The prospect of his favorite dish erases immediately takes Izuku's mind off of any oddities he may have perceived, and he later chatters happily to his mother about his first day at school with a quirk as they eat dinner.
Before going to bed, he decides to take out a new notebook and start researching everything he can about hero healers. Just like with his hero notebooks, he begins filling pages with information about individual healers, although he quickly discovers that there's a lot more information about Recovery Girl available than there is for any other healer. His eyes roam over article after article about the healer traveling to other countries to heal people, to heal heroes, to save people that others couldn't save in ways that no one else could.
By the time Inko peeks into his room, Izuku is fast asleep in front of his computer with Recovery Girl's biography displayed on the monitor screen. She ends up carrying him to bed, and from that night on, Izuku's admiration for Recovery Girl only continues to grow.
The second day of school goes just about the same as the first, but the third day is a bit more interesting. It seems that word has spread all over the school about Izuku's quirk. He finds himself being approached not only by classmates but by upperclassmen too, asking him to heal papercuts and bruises and even a twisted ankle. Izuku happily obliges, but as the weeks go by more and more students approach him with their injuries. He never realized how many scrapes and bruises children got until he was faced with them. They're usually the same students too, ones that like to rough-house or play sports.
Kacchan's mood steadily sours as the number of kids to approach Izuku rises. He tries to tell the students to suck it up, especially with those with smaller injuries, but Izuku can't find it within himself to turn someone away when they're asking for help. This results in him sometimes going home extremely tired from using his quirk so much. Kacchan always yells at him when this happens, but Izuku takes it as a learning opportunity.
His quirk is called Healing Energy- that's what they decide when Inko takes him to get it registered. The next day he asks his mother for a new notebook and begins filling it with notes about his own quirk, rather than those of heroes. At school there are plenty of opportunities for him to practice with his quirk, so he learns a few things as time passes.
The first thing he discovers is that his quirk doesn't work at all if he's injured or sick. A week after his quirk manifests, he accidentally trips down the stairs and twists his ankle. He doesn't think too much of it until he discovers that he can't use his quirk when someone asks him to at lunch. He panics, wondering what happened, and it only clicks in his mind the day after when his ankle is feeling better that it probably had something to do with that. To test this, he has Tsubasa punch him in the arm (much to Kacchan's displeasure) and tries to heal a scrape, to no avail. So there's that.
The second thing he discovers is that skin-to-skin contact is needed to heal. This, he does not discover by accident but because he is genuinely curious. He supposes it should have been a bit obvious.
The third thing he learns about his quirk is that it works best when he's well fed and well rested. This kind of relates to the whole 'it won't work if he's injured or sick', except it's just something he notices over time. Like if he doesn't sleep so well the previous night or skips breakfast before school then his quirk is more sluggish and he tires out a lot faster.
The fourth thing he discovers is that he cannot do anything to help illnesses. He tries futilely to pour his energy into Tsubasa when the winged boy gets a cold during the winter to no avail. Kacchan eventually drags him away to prevent him from getting sick.
The fifth thing he learns is that when he heals someone, he brings them to their absolute best. He discovers this with Kacchan one day during winter break. They're off in the forest again, just the two of them this time, and Kacchan is trying to push the outer limits of his quirk and make bigger explosions. Whenever he overuses his quirk, Izuku heals him and he seems to be extra energized afterwards, making even bigger explosions than before. Izuku wonders if he has an effect on other people's quirks, but he figures that if he brings them to their full health then it's only natural that their quirks would be working at their best.
He can also sort of sense injuries too, which he knew about with the bird's dislocated wing, but it's especially helpful during the first few weeks after his quirk manifests. Kacchan isn't too good at asking for help, even when he knows Izuku can provide it, so sometimes he'll lean against his friend's side and feel with his quirk if he has any injuries (and with a rowdy boy like Kacchan there's almost always some sort of injury). But Kacchan doesn't like to bring it up, so Izuku will just grab his hand as they walk home and let his energy flow. Kacchan never comments on the sudden energy he feels and instead ruffles Izuku's curls into a rat's nest, much to the greenette's displeasure.
Just when he thinks he's learned all he can about his quirk, he discovers something new. It's exciting and quickly comes to love his new power, scribbling down everything he learns into his quirk notebook. He doesn't even mind too much when he goes home tired from healing because it's evidence of his hard work. Inko, however, does mind.
"Please, Izuku, you need to learn how to say no," she says one night during dinner, "I know you want to help everyone, but it's not good for you to be draining yourself so often. You need energy too."
Izuku shoves some rice into his mouth (he always seems to be hungry after a long day of healing) and protests, "But it's good quirk practice! Besides, Kacchan always uses his quirk. Like, everyday."
"Izuku," Inko says with a firm tone, so Izuku sighs in defeat.
"Okay, okay…"
The next day after school, Izuku is waiting just outside the main building, watching kids as they walk home or get picked up by their parents. Kacchan got detention for getting in a fight with another student, which isn't uncommon even though Izuku has made his disapproval very clear, so he has to wait for him to be done. Kacchan had insisted that he wait for him, even though Tsubasa and Inaba offered to walk him home, but whatever. He should be done soon…
"Oi, Midoriya-kun!"
The boy glances up to see a couple of fourth graders approaching him. He recognizes them- Akamine and Furuya. They treat Izuku well enough, but from what he's heard they're a couple of troublemakers. They always come to him with their scrapes and bruises from whatever tussle they got into. Normally, he'd heal them without any complaint, but after what his mother told him…
"Hey, I've got a couple of scrapes, you mind healing them?" Akamine asks as soon as they reach him.
"Sorry, not today guys," Izuku says apologetically.
Akamine looks briefly surprised. "Aww, c'mon, they sting a lot and they're really nasty," he whines, "Look!" He pulls up his sleeve to reveal scrapes and bruises that do look a bit uncomfortable, but are really not that bad. They'd heal in a week on their own.
"Yeah, and I got punched in the face," Furuya states bluntly, turning his head to show Izuku the bruise blooming on his cheek.
The boy sighs, not even bothering to ask how he got it.
"I'm sorry guys, but I've kind of been using my quirk a lot for the past few days and I'm trying to take a break," he explains patiently.
"Yeah, but this won't take that much energy," Akamine insists, "C'mon, man, do us a favor."
Izuku shrinks under the pressure, but a ball of irritation forms in his chest. It's his quirk, he shouldn't be pressured to use it if he doesn't want to!
"Actually , I do you guys a lot of favors," he says, slowly backing away from them, "Pretty much every week, really. So I think this one time you can-"
Furuya suddenly reaches out and grabs his upper arm, pulling him back over to them. He grins down at him, but it doesn't look friendly at all. Izuku suddenly notices how tall these older boys are, how much bigger they are than him. Even amongst boys his own age, Izuku is pretty short, so these guys practically loom over him.
He gulps.
"Aww, c'mon, Midoriya-kun!" Furuya sneers, "Don't be like that…"
He grabs Izuku's hand and puts it on his bruised cheek. To Izuku's dismay, he feels his energy begin to leave him through his fingertips and he struggles to pull away.
Another thing he's noticed about his quirk is that it automatically activates when he touches an injury. He hardly ever has to think about turning it on, but it's only now that he realizes he has no idea how to turn it off. He panics when Furuya refuses to let go of his hand and Akamine starts reaching for his other arm.
"Hey, stop it!" He snaps, "I said no! I said no!"
"You wanna be a healer, don't you?" Akamine jeers, grabbing his forearm and pulling him closer, "What kind of healer refuses to heal?"
He starts to bring Izuku's hand towards his bruised arm, but no matter how hard Izuku pulls, he can't break out of his grip.
"Stop it!" He cries out, his eyes welling with tears, "Let me go! Leave me alone!"
He yelps as Furuya squeezes his arm hard and he thrashes futilely, panic making his heartbeat rabbit. The two boys are so much stronger than him- he's never felt so helpless before. He hates it, he feels like he's going to be sick, he doesn't understand why they're doing this because he said no!
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!"
Izuku nearly cries with relief at the sound of Kacchan's voice. Akamine and Furuya both pause as they look up at the blond boy rushing out the building towards them. Izuku has never seen his friend look so angry, but the two upperclassmen don't seem intimidated.
"You fuckers!" Kacchan shrieks, "Get your hands off him!"
Izuku tries to pull away again, but Furuya doesn't let up.
"Or what?" He laughs.
Akamine snickers, "Yeah, what are you gonna do about it, first-grader?"
In response, Kacchan lets out a battle cry and crashes into them with explosions dancing on his palms. As soon as their grip on him is broken, Izuku turns around and flees. His heartbeat is pounding in his ears, but he can still hear the cacophony of explosions and yells behind him. For a second he feels a flash of worry for his friend, but he knows that he would only get in the way if he went to go help him. So, he takes cover behind the nearest tree and waits for it to be over.
For all their talk, Akamine and Furuya don't last long in this fight.
"Oi, oi, get off me, you're freaking crazy!" Akamine shrieks. There's the sound of scuffling feet and Izuku hesitantly peeks out from behind the tree.
Kacchan stands with his back to him, facing down Akamine and Furuya who are covered in multiple burns and bruises. They stare at the blond with wide eyes that are somehow both angry and terrified at the same time.
"We're gonna tell Yo-san!" Furuya snaps, "You'll pay for this tomorrow!"
Kacchan merely raises his fist threateningly in response. The upperclassmen both tense up before gritting their teeth and fleeing.
"You're gonna regret this!" Furuya shrieks before he disappears.
There's a moment of silence. Then, Kacchan wipes his nose on his arm and turns around, clearly looking for Izuku.
Tears blur his vision as Izuku jumps out of his hiding spot and runs over to him. "Kacchan!" He cries out, "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you- oof!"
He collides with Kacchan and wraps him into a tight hug. He's too busy sobbing into his friend's shoulder to realize that his quirk isn't naturally responding to the cuts and bruises that litter his skin.
"I-I was so-so scared!" He hiccups, "They-They kept pulling on me an-and forcing me to use my quirk even though I told them no!"
"Hey, hey, what are you even saying?" Kacchan growls without heat, pushing him off, "I can barely hear you when you're-"
He pauses, staring down at Izuku's forearms. Izuku looks down too and sees that his sleeves have pushed up slightly, revealing angry red bruises forming from where Furuya and Akamine grabbed him.
"O-Oh," Izuku sniffles, trying to wipe away his tears.
Kacchan is eerily still for a few moments, then almost quite literally explodes. "I'LL KILL THEM!" He screeches, whirling around as if to look for the two older boys.
"Kacchan!" Izuku yelps, pulling him back, "It-It's fine, it doesn't hurt that bad. Although, I-I don't think I can really heal you…"
He takes Kacchan's hand in his and tries to pour his energy, but nothing happens. Kacchan's eye twitches.
Izuku lets his head hang. "I'm sorry."
"What are you fucking apologizing for?!" Kacchan snaps, "I'm the one who's supposed to-" He cuts himself off, his teeth grinding audibly as he glares at the ground.
They're both quiet for a few moments, Kacchan silently seething while Izuku tries to get his tears under control. He sees the other boy glancing at his bruises and is surprised to find not only anger in his eyes but… guilt?
Izuku blinks.
"You… you were really cool back there, Kacchan," he says softly, "I can't believe you took on two fourth graders and won."
Kacchan straightens up and lifts his chin. "The best hero always wins. No matter what, they always come out on top!" Despite his words, his voice lacks the usual enthusiasm it usually has when he says something like that.
Izuku sniffles once more before smiling. "You're already my hero." Kacchan's eyes widen slightly and Izuku lets out a wet chuckle. "You are. You saved me, didn't you?"
Kacchan stares at him for a few moments before his lip twitches up into a half-grin. "Yeah, I did. I saved you." Izuku smiles back at him and the boy full on grins, puffing his chest up. "Well, c'mon then, Zuku. Let's get going!"
Helplessness is a feeling that Izuku soon grows to hate.
Inko panics when she finds out what happened later that day. She puts ice packs on Izuku and Kacchan's bruises and then calls the school. Surprisingly, Kacchan doesn't get in trouble for fighting again. The administration is extremely apologetic, although a part of Izuku wonders if they would have been as concerned if he were another student. He knows most of the teachers tend to like him since he's polite, doesn't cause trouble, and helps prevent kids from going home with whatever minor injuries they acquired that day. Furuya and Akamine get a harsh scolding and are suspended for a couple of days.
Still, the 'incident' remains fresh in his mind for the next couple of weeks. He stays a bit closer to Kacchan than before and even Tsubasa and Inaba become more protective. He still heals people once his bruises are gone, but he learns to limit himself and say no to smaller injuries like paper cuts. Most people are understanding, but Kacchan is quick to chase off anyone who's persistent. He almost looks like he enjoys it too, but Izuku tries not to pay too much attention to that.
Things are fine for a while. They all start to relax more as time passes. Kacchan and Izuku still basically spend all day together, but they're not as attached to the hip anymore. Like now, for example.
They're back in the forest once more with Tsubasa and Inaba. Kacchan has just turned seven and decides that he wants to claim the entire forest as his territory. They usually only go a little ways in, but Kacchan knocks down the perimeter fence with an explosion and leads the way. So now they're exploring deeper than they've ever gone before. Izuku is trailing a few feet behind the others, glancing around at the scenery. He's a little nervous, if only because they might get in trouble if they're caught, but he finds the trees and plants to be very pretty. It's the beginning of May so everything is in full bloom.
"Hey, check out that river!" Kacchan shouts, pointing at a shallow creek with a fallen log over it, "Let's go cross it!"
"Yeah!" Tsubasa and Inaba cheer. Izuku just smiles and trails after them.
The log is a bit slippery from moss, but is large enough for the boys to cross confidently. Kacchan's high-pitched voice echoes amongst the trees as he chants some song he's made up for his future hero agency, fearlessly leading his posse across the log. It's amusing until the blond's foot slips and he falls off the log into the river.
"Kacchan!" Izuku cries, already scrambling off the log and making his way down the riverbank.
"Hey, are you okay, man?" Inaba calls down.
As soon as Izuku steps into the river, Kacchan re-emerges from the water and shakes his head. He looks unharmed, but Izuku still worries.
"Are you alright, Kacchan?" He asks, finally reaching him.
"Don't worry, Midoriya-kun!" Tsubasa says, "You know Bakugou-kun. He's tough!"
Izuku grabs onto Kacchan's hands and starts feeling for injuries with his quirk, but the blond rolls his eyes and pushes him away. "I'm fine, I'm fine, relax!" He complains, "You think I'm gonna get hurt from falling into a little river?"
The greenette pouts, "You could've hit your head…"
"C'mon, guys, get back up here!" Inaba says.
"Sure!"
As Kacchan starts back towards the shore, clearly intending to cross the log once more, Izuku pauses, tilting his head. He heard something, just then. It sounded like a meow, but what would a cat be doing in the middle of a forest?
He's about to brush it off, but then he hears it again. This time, he looks around and pinpoints the source of the sound.
"Zuku, come on, hurry up!" Kacchan calls out. He's already climbing back up the shore.
The cat meows again. It sounds distressed. Izuku's heart clenches and he knows he has to do something about it.
So, he turns away from Kacchan and begins climbing up the opposite shore.
"Hey, where are you going?" His friend questions, "Zuku- hey, stop! Wait up!" He starts wading back through the river but Izuku doesn't wait for him. He's already at the top of the slope. "Come back here!"
"I heard something," Izuku replies, "I wanna check it out."
"Wait up! Hey- I said wait for me!"
"Midoriya-kun, what's up?"
Tsubasa and Inaba reach him first since they were already halfway through the log, but Kacchan is catching up. He looks irritated and stomps over to him, dripping wet.
Before he can start yelling, Izuku says, "I think I heard a cat."
"A cat?" Inaba raises a brow.
"It sounded like it was in trouble." Izuku points to the direction where the sound came from. "I think it's coming from there. I wanna check it out."
Kacchan scowls. "Idiot! What the hell would a cat be doing here-"
"Oh, hey, there is something there!" Tsubasa says.
The four of them look over to see where he's pointing. A flash of silver peeks out from the distant shrubbery. Tsubasa and Inaba glance at Kacchan, but Izuku is already making his way over. Kacchan growls and trots after him.
As they get closer, they realize that the flash of silver is really a wired fence. It looks old and is full of cobwebs, but that's nothing compared to what's on the other side. It's strange, seeing a place so barren and devoid of life in the middle of the blooming forest. The ground is dry and dusty and there's only a few scraggly-looking trees. In the middle of the large "yard" is a rickety old shed, looking as if no one had been in it for years.
"What the hell is this place?" Kacchan frowns.
"Do you think anyone lives here?" Inaba asks, "I think I can see a house over in that shadowy area, but it looks old."
"It's kind of creepy," Tsubasa admits.
As he says that, Izuku hears the same 'meow' once more. It's a lot louder now and it seems like it's coming from the shed. He perks up.
"Did you hear that?" He asks excitedly, "That was the cat! It's here!"
"I didn't hear anything."
"Me neither."
"But it's here," he insists, pressing his face closer to the fence, "I think it's coming from that shed!"
The other boys are silent, sharing dubious glances between them. Then Kacchan scoffs and turns around. "Whatever, this is lame. Let's keep exploring."
"Yeah," Inaba agrees, following him.
"What?" Izuku asks, dismayed. His friends are already walking away. "But- But we have to save it!"
Kacchan is starting to get irritated again. "There's no cat there, Zuku! Now, come on."
Tsubasa glances back to where he's still standing and gives him a pitying look. "If someone does live there we could get in trouble for being on their property," he points out, "Let's not cut our adventure short."
Izuku watches them walk away, his anxiety growing with every step they take. He glances to and fro, wondering what to do. He's not crazy, he did hear a cat! He knows it's in that dirty old shed- he just knows it! Why didn't they hear it too? Why don't they believe him?
The boy looks back at the strange yard and frowns. The shed doesn't look that far away… And he wouldn't be cutting their adventure short, not if he's fast. Just a few seconds, in and out, that's all he needs! There's a weak spot on the side of the fence too…
He hesitates.
The cat meows again, weaker this time, and his mind is made for him.
"Hey, Zuku! You coming or wha-" Kacchan hears metal clanging and glances over his shoulder just in time to see Izuku slipping through a weak spot in the fence. "ZUKU!" He shrieks, spinning around and running back, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Tsubasa and Inaba panic too and run after him. He slams into the fence and tries to force his way through the same spot Izuku got through, but he's bigger than the other boy and it's not as easy for him to slip through. "ZUKU!"
"Midoriya-kun, come back!"
"Is he crazy?!"
Meanwhile, Izuku is still dashing across the yard as fast as he can. He can hear his friends yelling behind him, but for once he doesn't care. He's almost halfway to the shed when a sudden volley of deep barks stops him in his tracks. He looks up to see a large dog charging across the yard towards him, snarling furiously. It must've been snoozing in the shadows of one of the trees because Izuku is certain he otherwise would've seen it- the dog is massive and is charging right at him and it looks really mad and oh God what does he do what does he do-
He can hear his friends telling him to run, but he can't help it- he freezes in fear, staring with wide eyes at the snarling dog. Panic rises in his chest and he finds his mind thinking back to the incident with the two upperclassmen, the horrible feeling of helplessness returning with a vengeance. What was he thinking? He's not like Kacchan or Tsubasa or even Inaba- he can't defend himself! He can't even run away! What was he thinking running in here like that?
The dog is only a few feet away from him before he manages to react, and even then he only has time to stumble back a couple of steps before the dog is upon him. Teeth flash before his eyes and he screams-
Suddenly, the dog lets out a yelp just as two hands wrap around Izuku's arms and he's lifted into the air. Wings flap on either side of him and he gasps, looking down to see Kacchan aiming his explosions at the dog. He snarls even more ferociously than the mutt and keeps swiping at him, making the biggest explosions Izuku has ever seen him make.
The dog flinches and whirls around, quickly running away with its tail between its legs. Kacchan's explosions don't stop until the dog disappears back to where it came from, and only then does he relax. Tsubasa returns a shaky Izuku back to the ground as Inaba catches up.
"Midoriya-kun, are you okay?" He asks worriedly, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder to steady him when he wobbles. "That dog almost got you!"
Izuku struggles to catch his breath as he trembles uncontrollably. The overwhelming relief has him feeling faint, as if he just healed a bunch of people all at once, but he swallows hard and nods.
"I-I'm okay," he gasps, "I-I just-"
His words are cut off when Kacchan suddenly stomps over to him and gives him a hard smack on the back of his head. He yelps, more out of shock than pain, and stares at his friend with wide eyes.
"Hey!" Tsubasa yells, but Kacchan ignores him, his red, furious eyes locked on Izuku's.
"What the fuck were you thinking?! " He roars, grabbing the front of Izuku's shirt and pulling him close so he can snarl in his face, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have a fucking death wish?! You listen to me, idiot! If I tell you not to go somewhere, don't go there! And if I tell you to run, you run! Never freeze like that! Do you hear me?!" He roughly shakes Izuku, who cries out and nods rapidly. "What if that dog had gotten to you before I did? You can't even throw a fucking punch- you would have died, Izuku! And I-"
The blond cuts himself off, struggling to find his words as he seethes. "You- I just- you fucking- GAH! FUCK YOU!"
Before Izuku knows it, Kacchan has his arms wrapped tightly around him and is growling obscenities into his hair. "Stupid… stupid fucking idiot… moron… you little fucking-"
Izuku blinks in surprise, the fear dying down a bit. Kacchan is hardly ever the one to initiate hugs. It's a bit uncomfortable- he's squeezing a bit too hard and Izuku's chin is trapped against his shoulder, but he can feel just how fast his friend's heart is beating against his chest. His eyes widen slightly.
Oh.
He scared him. He scared Kacchan . He almost doesn't believe it at first; he never thought Kacchan could be afraid of anything . But the evidence is here, in the heartbeat he can feel thumping against his chest, in the arms wrapped tightly around him as if they'll never let go.
Izuku nearly cried after the dog almost attacked him, but now his eyes are watering for an entirely different reason.
"Ka… Kacchan," he croaks, his voice muffled against the boy's shoulder, "I… I'm sor-"
"Hey, guys," Tsubasa interrupts nervously, "If there's a dog here then that probably means there's people too. We should go."
Kacchan pulls away and wipes his nose with a sniffle, but before he can say anything a high and very audible 'meow' reaches their ears.
Izuku freezes. He'd completely forgotten about the cat.
Inaba perks up. "Oh! I heard that!"
"Me too," Tsubasa says a bit uneasily. His eyes glance towards the house in the distance.
Kacchan meets Izuku's gaze and he must have a pleading look on his face because the blond grits his teeth before letting out a huff.
"Well, we've come this fucking far," he bites out. Then, he fixes Izuku with a hard glare and leans close. "But you better fucking listen to me this time! I'm going first and you're gonna stay behind me."
Izuku swallows, but he's not going to argue with Kacchan when he has an expression like that on his face, so he simply nods. Kacchan turns and leads the way as the four boys hurry the rest of the way to the shed. The blond cautiously opens the door before peeking his head inside. Izuku and the others wait with baited breath, watching him anxiously, but then he steps inside and waves for them to follow. Tsubasa goes first and Inaba brings up the rear, keeping Izuku between them.
The inside of the shed is even more ragged and dirty than the outside. A heavy layer of dust covers everything and lingers in the air, causing Tsubasa to sneeze.
"Well?" Kacchan asks, "Where's the cat?"
"I dunno." Izuku frowns, glancing around, then begins calling out, "Kitty! Kitty, where are you?"
"Idiot, it's not gonna come just because you-"
"Mrrrow? "
"Of course." Inaba snickers at Kacchan's deadpan expression, but the explosive boy just shoulders him roughly before moving towards the source of the noise. Izuku follows at his heels and peeks over his shoulder when he stops in front of a dusty, broken table. Kacchan squats down and Izuku does the same, his eyes landing on a lump of fur leaning against the wall.
He gasps, but it turns into a coughing fit when the dusty air hits his lungs. Kacchan rolls his eyes at him as the other two boys join them.
"It's a kitten," Kacchan says, "I think."
"Are you sure?" Inaba asks skeptically, "It kind of just looks like a giant, furry-"
The lump of fur lets out a loud meow.
"-Oh, nope, nevermind, that's a cat."
Kacchan snickers and Tsubasa puts a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Hey, you were right, Midoriya-kun! Good job!"
"Don't encourage him," Kacchan snaps, "It was still the stupidest thing he's ever done."
Once his coughing is under control, Izuku starts crawling underneath the table. As he gets closer, two pale yellow eyes appear from the mass of fur and stare at him. Even though the kitten is fairly small, Izuku still finds himself intimidated by that gaze.
"Be careful, Midoriya-kun," Inaba says, "It might be mean."
Izuku cautiously reaches out with a hand to let the kitten sniff him. It does, and the boy smiles when its whiskers tickle his fingers. He gets the feeling that the kitten isn't too impressed with him, but he takes the chance and gently touches its belly, brushing aside its long fur.
He immediately gasps.
"He's hurt!" Izuku says, then frowns down at the wound, "It looks like it got bitten by something."
Inaba tilts his head. "Hey, maybe it's that dog? Maybe it chased the cat into here and trapped it!"
"Maybe, but let's hurry up," Kacchan says, "I don't want to risk getting caught by whoever owns that dog."
Izuku nods and turns back to the kitten, pressing his fingers to its skin and letting his energy flow. The dog bite is the most serious wound he's ever healed, but it isn't very big since it's on a cat, so it doesn't take too much energy to heal. The kitten relaxes beneath his fingers and blinks up at him, letting out a curious meow.
"Come on out, little kitten," he coos, "Don't worry, we're nice. We're gonna take you somewhere safe."
The kitten continues to stare at him, not making any move to get up. Thankfully, he doesn't make much of a fuss when Izuku just picks him up, tucking him into his arms as he clambers out from underneath the table.
"Oh my gosh," he whispers, "He's so cute!"
"It's dirty." Kacchan wrinkles his nose.
"Well, yeah, 'cause he's been living in here for who knows how long," Izuku says, readjusting his grip, "Let's get him out of here."
The four turn to leave, but freeze when they hear pawsteps right outside the shed. The dog is back, snuffling at the door and bumping it with its head. Izuku tenses up, but Kacchan strides forward and yanks the door open, snarling as he lets out a bunch of explosions. The dog immediately yelps and runs away again and Kacchan puffs up his chest, looking smug.
"Come on, then!"
They make sure the coast is clear before running back over to the fence. Turns out Kacchan had blown a bigger hole in it in order to get through, so they slip through it easily and make their way back to familiar territory. They stop by the river to wash some of the dirt off the kitten, and to their surprise he actually seems to appreciate it.
"Heh, he is kind of cute I guess," Inaba admits, scratching behind the kitten's ear gently. The feline sneezes on him in return.
"He's adorable!" Izuku squeals, "I wanna keep him!"
Kacchan rolls his eyes.
Izuku uses his shirt to dry off the kitten and now that he's clean the boy can see that his long fur is a mottled mix of blacks and greys, with more of the latter covering his neck and chest. His paws are pretty big too, which makes Izuku wonder what breed he is.
They continue trekking through the forest, the kitten sitting comfortably in Izuku's arms, and by the time they reach their neighborhood the sun is starting to set. Inko must be wondering where he is, so he and Kacchan bid goodbye to Tsubasa and Inaba before heading over to his place.
The soft scraping of their feet against the sidewalk is the only sound that fills the air as they walk beside each other. Izuku casts a sideways glance at Kacchan. The blond's hands are shoved deep in his pockets, jaw set and shoulders hunched as he glowers at the sidewalk beneath his feet. Somehow Izuku can tell that the scowl on his face right now is different than his normal one.
"Hey, Kacchan?"
Kacchan grunts.
"Maybe let's not tell mom about the thing with the dog?" Izuku suggests sheepishly.
Kacchan lifts his head to glare at him silently for a moment. Then, he grumbles, "Only 'cause I'm too tired to deal with her freaking out right now."
Izuku lets out a sigh of relief, but his friend's not done.
"But don't you ever do something that stupid ever again!" He snaps.
"I won't," Izuku promises.
"I mean it," Kacchan warns, "That… You… You…" He lets out a frustrated growl and practically spits out, "You fucking scared the shit out of me back there, dumbass! I don't know if you've realized, but you might as well be quirkless when it comes to fighting! So you leave that shit to me, alright?"
He huffs and turns away sharply, as if to end the conversation, but something stops Izuku from letting him do so. A flicker of irritation and frustration blooms in his chest and he can't help himself from snapping, "I'm not helpless!"
His voice is loud, surprising both him and Kacchan, who stops and turns to face him. Izuku clenches his jaw and readjusts his hold on the kitten. "I… I'm not helpless," he repeats, quieter this time, "I… I hate that feeling. I-I don't want to be helpless. But… But b-back with Furuya-san and Akamine-san…" His eyes prick and he squeezes them shut as Kacchan stares at him. "Th-They… They were just so much stronger than me and they kept grabbing me and-and I hated it and I hated that I couldn't do anything to stop it and- and- and now this thing with the dog?!"
The kitten in his arms shifts and rubs his face against Izuku's chest as he clearly becomes more and more distressed.
"I just…" He struggles to find his words. "I just always thought I'd get a quirk like mom or dad's, you know? Something I could become a hero with, something I could… be strong with. And- and what I have now is great but… but…" He sniffles and rubs his eyes on his sleeve, although there's no point in trying to stop the tears from flowing. Head drooping, he mumbles miserably, "I just… Kacchan, I love my quirk, but I just wish it wasn't so useless…"
His tears drip into the kitten's fur as he sniffles pitifully. Kacchan is silent for a moment, then-
"That's fucking bullshit, Zuku!"
Izuku looks up in surprise, his vision blurry from tears. "Huh?" He croaks.
Kacchan's jaw clenches and his nostrils flare as he huffs. "I said that's fucking bullshit!" He snaps, "Your quirk isn't fucking useless and you know it! It… It's fucking cool, alright? And rare as shit! You healed a dog bite in like two seconds. Yeah, it might be kind of useless in a fight, but that's why you've got me! I'll gladly kick anyone's ass for you, just name 'em!"
Izuku chuckles wetly and wipes his eyes on his shoulder sleeve. That's probably the nicest thing Kacchan has ever said about his quirk, even though he sounded pissed off the entire time. He smiles sadly at his friend and says, "I know… I know I can rely on you, Kacchan. Of course I know that. I just… I just wish I could rely on myself too, you know? I mean, don't tell me it doesn't get annoying following me around all the time…"
"Well, too fucking bad 'cause I'm telling you that," Kacchan growls, "Trust me, I'd much rather hang out with you than those damn extras that keep tagging along with us."
"Kacchan!" He scolds lightly.
Kacchan snorts and gives him a contemplative look. Sniffing, he glances away and feigns nonchalance. "As for relying on yourself… well, I suppose I can show you some moves."
Izuku frowns. "Moves?"
"Yeah, you know." The blond gestures vaguely with his hand. "Teach you how to fight. I don't want my future healer to be completely useless in a battle." He arches a brow and gives him a sharp look. "Not that you will be fighting, but just in case."
Izuku stares at him for a few seconds as the words process, then tilts his head. "Kacchan, do you even know how to fight?"
Kacchan glares.
"I-I mean, like, without your quirk," Izuku stammers, "Professionally, you know?"
"Who cares if it's professional? What only matters is that it works ," Kacchan snorts. "So it's decided."
Izuku blinks. "Eh?"
"We'll start tomorrow after school."
"Eh?!"
Without another word, Kacchan turns around and continues walking down the street. "C'mon, Zu. I can't wait to see Auntie's face when you bring home that fleabag!"
Izuku glances down at the kitten, who is gazing after Kacchan rather judgmentally. He sighs and follows, wondering just what he got himself into.
As he leads the way back towards Zuku's house, Katsuki hears his friend continue walking behind him. There's a brief shifting of fabric, and then a soft coo. He doesn't need to glance over his shoulder to know that Zuku must be fawning over that ugly-ass cat. That ugly-ass cat that he almost got his fucking face ripped off for.
Katsuki's fists curl.
His mind replays the encounter with the dog over and over again. The irritation and anger he'd felt when he'd seen Zuku slip through that fence even though he told him not to, how in a split-second it morphed into cold, heart-stopping fear as soon as he'd heard the volley of barks, as soon as he had seen the massive dog charging towards his best friend, his healer, his Zuku-
He'd never felt fear like that before. It was such pure, utter terror in its most unadulterated form, terror because what if he didn't make it in time what if he wasn't fast enough what if he wasn't strong enough Zuku was going to get hurt Zuku was going to get KILLED-
Like a horse kicked with a spiked heel, the fear had spurred him into action, giving him the strength and speed he needed to cross that field in a matter of seconds. The icy daggers in his heart melted into a burning fury that he'd aimed at the mutt for daring to attack what's his , then at Zuku for being naive enough to do something so infuriatingly moronic in the first place, and now…
Now he aims it at himself, glaring at the ground as he quietly seethes.
That was by far the stupidest thing Zuku has ever done, but Zuku is stupid and soft and Katsuki knows this because he knows everything about Zuku and he should have known he would have gone after that fucking cat. He loves animals, and he hardly ever says no to healing people , and Katsuki was an absolute idiot for thinking his friend would just forget about an animal being potentially hurt just because Katsuki told him to. Although the thought of Zuku ignoring his orders, of not listening to him and nearly getting himself killed for it, leaves a bitter taste in the back of his throat.
He grits his teeth.
That was way too close. And Zuku is right, of course, even though Katsuki reassured him, his quirk really is fucking useless when it comes to fighting, there's no denying that. So of course he can't have a healer that can't fight, that's an easy fix, he can teach him, but he also can't have a healer that won't listen to him- that might prove to be a bit more difficult, depending on just how stupid Zuku is insisting on being, but maybe this incident will scare him straight and he'll think twice before disobeying Katsuki again.
"Aren't you the cutest little thing?" Zuku coos in a sickeningly sweet voice behind him, "Huh? Aren't you?"
Irritation claws at his heart and his scowl deepens.
But of course it won't be that easy. Because Zuku is timid and gentle and cries easily and so unlike Katsuki in so many ways- but that's alright, because where Zuku is weak, Katsuki will be strong. He can be more than strong enough for both of them.
Remnants of the fear still lingers in his chest, however, like the stubborn stench of smoke that refuses the air even after the raging wildfire has long gone. His mind unwittingly flashes back to the incident- clanking metal, quick footsteps, vicious snarls, Zuku's scream - and his hands twitch, sparks threatening to pop. His chest feels tight, and he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It comes out shaky.
That causes him to become even more angry with himself. Why the hell is he shaken? It was just a stupid dog- and he beat it anyways! What's he so scared about? He did his damn job and he did it well! He protected Zuku from the dog, just like he protected him from those two upperclassmen assholes because he's the strongest! That mutt didn't even touch him!
He blames it on the fact it was such a close call, and that a dog is much more dangerous than two elementary school bullies. Even if he did teach him how to fight, Zuku couldn't have done anything against that thing, not without a combative quirk. He really is so weak …
Which means that Katsuki needs to be better. Stronger. He can't make a mistake like that again.
Zuku hates feeling helpless? Fine. Katsuki can help him gain a little self-confidence.
And in the meantime, Katsuki will continue to work to become even stronger, faster, better, to protect him from any form of danger that comes their way.
"Kacchan?"
Zuku's voice cuts through his thoughts and he abruptly stops. The freckled boy is standing in the middle of the walkway up to his house, gazing at him in confusion. Katsuki had been so lost in his own mind that he had unknowingly started to walk past his house.
Zuku tilts his head. "Aren't you coming?"
Katsuki's eyes drop down to the kitten in his arms. Snapping jaws flash in his mind and his heart gives a little jolt. He clenches his fists.
And fear?
"Of fucking course I'm coming!" He snaps, marching towards Zuku and roughly shouldering past him.
Fear can go fuck itself!