Chapter Text
Izuku recognized the faces of some of his classmates immediately. Well, movements, seeing as Hagakure was invisible. Her shoulders were slumped back, and her back was tilted, ever so slightly.
It was like she was a puppet without strings.
He recognized the look of sheer horror and despair on Mineta’s face, the kind of face that doesn't eminently scream fear. The slightly open mouth, the barely wide eyes, the neutral eyebrows.
He’d seen that face in the mirror one too many times.
And Kacchan…
He had the same numb look that Izuku had when he was told that his dream was unattainable. For a moment, a cruel part of him wanted to laugh at the poetic irony, but he held steadfast.
Aizawa’s expelling game hurt them more than the underground hero could see, and once Uraraka had calmed down, he would begin to fix this. It’s what All Might, no, ANY hero would do.
( Underneath his skin, One For All hummed. )
Izuku knocked at Bakugou’s door, angst running all over his skin. He felt like something bad was about to happen, and with Kacchan’s face earlier, he knew exactly what the explosive teen was planning.
He had once thought the same thing, a long time ago. Then, he didn’t have anyone to hold him up, to give him a reason to keep on living.
He wouldn’t let Kacchan suffer the same.
He couldn’t let that happen .
Mitsuki let him in, trying her best to be nice and polite. She turned to shout at Kacchan, but Izuku stopped her.
“The last thing he needs right now is someone yelling at him.” Izuku said, with such a calm voice that made Mitsuki freeze.
That wasn’t the warm, happy tone that Izuku usually used.
Something was wrong.
So, she stepped aside and let Izuku walk upstairs, knocking on the bathroom door.
No answer. The door was locked, but Izuku could still hear Kacchan’s breathing on the other side. Good.
Izuku knocked again. “Kacchan. Open the door, please.” He kept his voice straight and calm. He couldn’t let it waver.
Again, no answer. “Kacchan, if you don’t unlock the door I will break it. Please.” He said once more.
( One For All sparked under his skin, and anxiety creeped into his bones. He heard the sparks sputter into creation, and he had already moved. )
A single, clean kick knocked the lock out of place and revealed a dull eyed Kacchan, raising his sparking hands to the sides of his skull. Izuku moved, hands wrapping around Kacchan’s wrists, pulling them away.
Kacchan didn’t resist. He was like putty in Izuku’s hands, carefully placing him down onto the floor, where Izuku kneeled before him.
“Breathe, Kacchan.” Izuku said- no, Ordered. It took Kacchan a minute to realize that he stopped breathing, and his lungs shakily started up again. Izuku’s hands were still wrapped around his wrists. Not that Kacchan was going to do anything. Not with him there.
And if Izuku succeeded, no, When he succeeded at helping him, Kacchan wouldn’t try it again.
Step one, figure out what Kacchan was thinking.
That one was easy. Kacchan had never been told no before, at least, with it being effective. The only time someone had tried to stop him was Izuku himself, all those years ago. And Aizawa expelling Kacchan and the rest of the class was basically him telling them all no.
This was worse, though. Kacchan’s dream of being a hero was given the metaphorical middle finger. Being expelled was one thing, being expelled from UA, on the first day, within the first hour?
Practically Damnation.
Being a hero was the only thing Kacchan ever thought about. Without heroics, what was the point?
Now, Step Two, figuring out how to help in the present.
Well, he had already done that. Stopping Kacchan from popping his head like an egg ( Izuku ignored the thought ) was pretty much that.
At this point, Izuku had pulled Kacchan into an awkward hug, the blonde not fighting it. Izuku’s hold was tight, and he made sure Kacchan’s hands were in front of Izuku. He couldn’t move them forward without putting up a fight, and for once, Kacchan had no fight in him.
Step Three, how to help in the future.
That was a tough one. And, one out of his hands. He had called All Might, telling him about what happened.
The Number One hero was openly furious at Aizawa, swearing that he would regret the day he was born.
( Izuku wanted to see it happen himself. )
“Hey, what’s going on in he- Katsuki?!” Mitsuki finally decided to come upstairs. She saw the broken down door, and the dead looking Kacchan held in Izuku’s arms. Soft green sparks lifted themselves off of his skin, and the occasional burst of red rushed through his veins. Izuku silently turned to her.
“Could you call my mom and tell her to expect company? Tell her it’s a bad situation.” He said, eyes stuck in-between anger, disappointment, and urgency. It, from someone who barely knew him, looked like boredom.
Mitsuki nodded, rushing downstairs to grab the phone and her very confused husband.
Izuku looked back down at Kacchan. He was shuddering, the reality of the past few minutes hitting him. Izuku rested his chin on the blonde’s head, whispering to him softly.
He refused to let his oldest friend suffer.
Because he had Someone To Notice Him .
( One For All rumbled. For once, for the first time in 200 years, they all agreed on something. )
( The Ninth was the perfect successor. )