Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/394738. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Homestuck Relationship: Gamzee_Makara/Dave_Strider Character: Gamzee_Makara, Dave_Strider Additional Tags: Rape/Non-con_References, Non_Consensual, Asphyxiation, Blood, Sexual Violence, Violence, Kismesis Series: Part 1 of Painful_Needs Stats: Published: 2012-04-30 Chapters: 2/2 Words: 6317 ****** Asphyxiation ****** by Leticheecopae Summary The hand on Dave’s throat wasn’t shaking anymore, and the pressure was getting him closer and closer to blacking out as he did his best to try and remove it. How had this happened again? How in all that was holy and ironic had Dave ended up on his bed with a hand around his throat and another shoved down his pants? Simple. Dave had lost, actually fucking lost, in a rap against a homicidal clown. Notes See the end of the work for notes ***** Chapter 1 ***** Two months till meteor touchdown and Dave was sitting on his bed, board as hell, when the clown had come knocking on his door. When given the invitation to come in the clown, who he had to strain to remember was called Gamzee, came into his room looking for all intensive purposes like a corpse. He was too thin, too lanky, and the face paint he wore made him look so skeletal that Dave had almost flinched; but this was Dave and his cool had stayed intact. They had stared at each other as Dave sat up on his bed and Gamzee just looked at him. He had rarely seen the clown on the meteor, doubted anyone else saw much of him in the first place except maybe Karkat. Yet here he was, standing in his room in rumpled polka dot pants and a now almost too big Capricorn T- shirt. “You up for making some sick fires?” The question came out scratchy, his voice a bit deeper than the last time he had heard it, and Dave thought he might want to give the guy some water before he spoke again. He imagined blood bubbling up between those sickly thin lips and then the clown keeling over on his bedroom floor. For some reason he thought Kanaya might be miffed at him getting to see Gamzee in his final moments. “You sure you’re up for that?” he asked, realizing it wasn’t the coolest or most ironic response, but trying to be so with Gamzee seemed like a bad idea. Last time he had tried that the troll had gone on a killing spree. That, and the more he looked at Gamzee the worse he looked. Both of his hands were trembling along with the rest of his body, deep bags were under his eyes that make up couldn’t cover, and even his skin looked a shade too light for the troll. “Sure am motherfucker.” He responded, and Dave, never one to abscond from a rap off, went against his better judgment and agreed. He went first, getting up off his bed to stand near the footboard, leaving the troll to close his door and lean heavily against it. Dave had offered a chair, but Gamzee just shook his head. “Come into my room on this rock like a bitch, asking for a fight well my tongues a willow switch,” Dave rapped like he had when he had first started going against the clown troll. Ridiculous lyrics that went with what he thought of as a sick beat made him feel a little nostalgic as he rapped. He thought he was doing pretty damn well, at least until near the end. As he started winding down he saw something burning at the back of those sunken purple eyes and realized something was really, really, wrong. His last two lines were relative shit to his ears as his brain tried to make sense of the change in the others demeanor while his mouth still moved. “So now my song sung it’s time for you to roll, let your clown smile go you sad ass troll.” Silence filled the space between them as Gamzee looked at Dave with a calculating gaze. “Not bad bro,” Gamzee said with a nod, and was it just Dave or did his voice sound more like gravel than scratchy. It made a chill go up his spine that he did nothing to acknowledge. Instead he just waited in silence for Gamzee to start his own beat. The troll started out slow, languid almost as the words started to flow out. Sup, motherfucker? Your beats ain't no good. You walking round lookin like troll ridin' hood. Your pokerface be sportin a nastyass twitch- guess you ain't a fan of bein made my bitch. In just those few lines Dave realized something important; that he had been played. Well played. This was not the same as it had been before. These were not just silly lyrics thought up on the spot, no, Gamzee had actually putting thought into this. To Dave, that could only mean something was up. But it was just a rap off, and besides some broken pride there wasn’t much else the words could do; right? Gamzee pushed himself off the door as he took a step away from it, words coming a bit faster with a growl starting in his throat. I got wrigglin trolls all crawlin at my feet... And I'm clubbing motherfuckers to this sick ass beat. So I’m laying down my rep, it ain’t got no tarnish, while I go round paintin fuckin rainbow carnage. Dave had to admit, he was doing well. Really well compared to the shit he used to see on the screen of his computer. This was high grade, much higher than he thought about when they had started, and he could already tell the troll had won even though he kept his poker face in place. The trolls words got rougher, his pace speeding up and he took a slow step towards the blonde. Something told Dave to abscond, but if he was going to get his ass handed to him in a rap off he was not going to give this clown the privilege of seeing him back-down. Look on your face, I know you're scared of dis shit ‘cuz your seeing now I can take you out with one hit. I make more blood flow than water in the sea So guess what, Motherfucker, you shouldn’t’a messed wi’ me All the while the troll kept coming till he was in Dave’s face, back hunched so they were eye to eye. He could smell faygo on the trolls breath, sweet and sickening as he continued to rap, voice somehow getting guttural though he was talking loudly now. But he kept his eyes on the sunken orbs of purple staring through his shades and didn’t flinch or sniff as Gamzee continued. Slimes done n’ gone so get ready to bow No poison in my blood, I've got power now. I've horns made for goring and claws for tearing wide you’ve made a mistake with this troll jeckel and hyde That was when Dave felt the hand around his throat. He had been so obsessed with staring down the clown he hadn’t been paying enough attention to anywhere else. Before he could attempt any escape, even pull out his strife specibus, Gamzee was shoving him backwards. The back of his knees hit the bed as Gamzee’s rhyme began to assault his ears, the troll leaning in close to say the words. His thin lips touched the shell of Dave’s ear as he spoke, voice lowering. And you can't cut through shit with a sword half broken And you can't rhyme words, best leave them unspoken cuz bitches get frightful, wanna abscond the scene And if I'm the king of black, best you be my queen His hands shot up to grab at the others wrists, really not liking the way Gamzee had said the last few words. But with surprising strength Gamzee simply wrapped the fingers of his free hand around Dave’s wrists. The long fingers locked into place and pulled the human appendages down with a quick jerk as Gamzee lifted Dave by the throat and climbed onto the bed. Dave’s legs banged painfully as he struggled only to be forced down with Gamzee straddling his waist. Gamzee then roughly put one of Dave’s hands under one boney knee, and then did the same thing to the other. 'Cause you can't back your beats to beats like mine And to even try? Motherfucker, don't waste my time. Gamzee was looking at him as he said the words staring down and grinning in a way that made Dave’s heart hammer in his throat. He hated the wheezing noises he was making as Gamzee slowly added pressure to his windpipe. How had this happened, how the fuck had he gotten himself into this mess? But Gamzee wasn’t done as he slowly moved forward again; words bouncing around in Dave’s skull, sounding louder than they should have as his brain slowly became starved for oxygen. I'll go tear out some kills while you hide behind them shades, Said shades were quickly torn from his face and flung somewhere as he stared at the troll, trying to keep cool as he thrashed, but knowing all his fear was showing out through his red irises. And if you need to borrow skills, The trolls free hand slide down Dave’s stomach before roughly thrusting itself into Dave’s pants and boxers, sharp nails grazing over the sensitive flesh there. At this same moment Gamzee’s mouth was right next to Dave’s ear as he finished his rap. Bitch I got ‘em in spades. And for just a moment Dave stilled. Gamzee had won. *** Now Dave, who could do nothing more than wheeze and half heatedly thrash against the troll that was pinning him, was attempting to figure out when he should have realized just how nuts this troll was. How had he miss calculated the skeletal trolls strength by so much? He didn’t get to wonder long because suddenly there was pain as Gamzee bit into the soft flesh just behind Dave’s ear. A wisp of a cry came from his throat as he tried to buck the troll off, though all he ended up doing was pressing his cock into Gamzee’s hand. “Like that motherfucker?” The words came out completely fluid, as if Dave’s blood had washed all the gravel away. Gamzee released the blonde’s throat at the question, hand going down to Dave’s shirt while the blonde heaved in a deep breath. “Fuck you,” he said through a wheeze before his voice was claimed by coughing. “What I’m tryin to do bro,” Gamzee said with a grin, his voice sounding strangely happy as he shoved his nails into Dave’s chest. The cloth of his clothing helped pad against their length, but the tips still pierced the thin skin of his sternum, each one sharp and uneven from nights of being weathered by sharp teeth. Dave did his best to hold in the sharp yelp that wanted to escape. He couldn’t, however, hold back the moan of pain as Gamzee proceeded to tear five lines into his clothing and chest. Gamzee went all the way down to Dave’s belly button where the Troll suddenly jerked his fingers from Dave’s skin and proceeded to tear away the cloth. All the while the hand in Dave’s pants worked in quick, jerking motions against Dave’s cock, making the blonde want to sob at the sharp pain it caused. It wasn’t just pain anymore though, but small sparks of pleasure as Gamzee’s hand stroked him roughly. He did his best not to moan as Gamzee licked against the newly created cuts, dulling the pain for just a moment. “Terezi was right. Red does taste good,” then those sharp teeth went to drag over his now exposed collar bone. “No,” Dave managed to squeeze out of his abused throat. “Don’t,” and damn his pride but he didn’t want Gamzee finding the spot….right…there. The high keening sound that came out of Dave as those long teeth dragged over the place where clavicle met shoulder pulled the darkest chuckle he had ever heard from Gamzee’s throat. At the same time heat had shot down below to harden his cock in the troll’s hand. “Guess you are a fan of being made my bitch." Gamzee bit down, and Dave forgot what words were. He didn’t forget how to scream. Though it wasn’t much of a scream since Gamzee quickly put an end to it, his longer fingers cinching themselves around Dave’s windpipe so that the only sounds he could make were high pitched whines and choking noises. “As much as I want you to get your scream on up in here, I think I want to wait for a little bit longer,” Gamzee just about purred into his ear, at least he thought it was a purr. It was so loud it could have been a growl as Gamzee put even more pressure on his throat, cutting off all air. “For now, why don’t you take a little rest motherfucker,” Dave’s vision started to blur as he attempted to fight off the knees digging into his wrists and the hand on his throat. The tossing quickly used up precious oxygen in his system while his vision began to turn blotchy, his lungs began to burn horribly, and Gamzee’s voice became the only thing keeping him latched onto consciousness. “There you go. Just rest,” He whispered calmly before delivering a harsh bite to the sensitive spot on Dave’s collar bone. It had just the opposite effect that the calm words tried to convey. Dave bucked once more before he passed out, Gamzee’s voice in his ear. “You’re gonna need it.” ***** Chapter 2 ***** Dave was on fire. It was the only thing that explained the pain he was feeling that shot up his legs, was in his lungs, around his wrists, and his throat. But that wasn’t what his brain was trying to focus on as he slowly came up from the black his mind had retreated to, mentally dragging himself back into the waking world. What he was focusing on was the one place where the burning didn’t hurt. It was a burn that he wanted to arch into and wrap around himself as much as possible. He attempted to move his arms, his legs, anything, but it only brought pain that made him stop so he could focus on that lovely sensation. “There you are motherfucker,” the words stabbed into his ears and metaphorically dragged him fully into consciousness. The loss of the half unconscious buffer let everything rip through him as crystal clear pain shot through nerve ending and left him lock jawed and straining. The pleasure point he had been focusing on faded for a moment as he realized why his body felt like it was burning. His wrists were tied together tightly, barely given enough circulation, and pulled towards his tailbone with a braided cord. It kept his arms pointing down towards the end of the bed, keeping them taunt beneath him. Yet that wasn’t what hurt the most; it was what was tied to the head of the bed that had his muscles on fire. He jerked his head to the side too look at the all too familiar red strips of cloth that were tied beneath his knees which were much too close to his head for comfort. The cloth strips looked like a braided mixture of what most likely used to be some of his sheets and his clothing. They were tied and bound around both of his legs, pulling them so that both knees were as close to his head as possible while also spreading them so that either knee was about on level with his shoulders. He thrashed once and hissed. That hiss becoming a cough as his throat could barely expand wide enough to except the sudden intake of air, the muscle severely bruised. The thrash had told him something else though, that there was more sheet rope strapped over his chest and lower belly, keeping him completely in place. “I wouldn’t fight too hard there bro. Might hurt yourself,” then there was that pleasure spark as Gamzee spoke. It made Dave arch in a way that both hurt but brought more of that searing spark against his… “Shit,” Dave barely managed to whisper as he finally looked down his chest, immediately wishing he had just kept staring to the side or the ceiling. Gamzee was kneeling, legs spread wide to either side of Dave’s backside while he leaned back on his hands, a completely flat expanse of chest and stomach exposed. Dave barely acknowledge the fact that the troll had neither nipples nor belly button before he looked right at what was causing the shocks of pleasure through his system. He couldn’t explain what he was seeing wrapped around his astoundingly hard cock. It was slick, coiled twice around him, deep purple in color, and when he saw it constrict around his dick the most amazing pleasure shot through his system. This time when he arched against his restraints he let out a wheezing gasp. “That’s what I want to hear,” Gamzee said with a grin as Dave tried to go limp after the sudden sensation. There was just the barest amount of give in the bindings on his chest to let him arch, but his arms and legs ached when he did, their bindings trying to force the limbs to stay still. From the feel of the muscles he had been like this for a while, the limbs almost locked into place. “Why are you,” his words were cut off by another constriction of the thing around his cock and did his best not to arch. “Oh come on bro, you know why,” Gamzee said with a grin that looked just south of stark raving mad. “Or at least you will.” Dave really didn’t like the sound of that, but thought was quickly eradicated as Gamzee started moving, the thing around his cock tightening as Gamzee shifted. The troll was moving much like how Dave would think of a snake if they had limbs. It was all fluid muscle under that too taunt skin as the troll moved up his body, hands going to either side of Dave’s head as Gamzee slowly lowered his thin frame onto Dave. It hurt, the way it made his legs bend, but Dave tried not to hiss even though he could feel his eyes start well up. “You see, I don’t think you understand just how much I like seeing you like this motherfucker,” his voice was low, though something in the tone seemed to change between sentences now that Dave was being forced to listen; being such a captive audience. “All splayed out and fucking aching for it,” there was a squeeze to his cock that made his body want to arch, but the troll made it impossible. “Never thought I would ever find a part of such a soft human body get so hard,” Dave wanted to say something to that, but nothing but wispy puffs of air came out as Gamzee’s bulge wrapped tighter for a moment and seemed to actually make a stroking motion. Dave’s brain fizzled a bit at the sensation, not understanding how he could be so hard and feeling so much pleasure while the rest of his body was in so much pain. The bonebulge moved off of Dave’s cock soon after the reaction and instead started to make slick patterns against his backside. It felt oddly good, the slickness, and sent small tremors of warmth and pleasure through his skin. For a moment he forgot about the pain as the slick appendage moved against his ass, caressed his balls, pressed gently against his taint, and slid between the exposed cleft of his ass. Everywhere it moved a trail of pleasure followed, and before he could clear his head Dave was attempting to move his ass in a way that would get him more contact with the trolls cock equivalent. “It’s disgusting how much you fuckin want me,” Gamzee growled at him. It brought Dave back from the pleasure just enough that he was able to somewhat block it out. There was something about the trolls bulge, had to be, to make him feel like this. It was like the world’s best fucking aphrodisiac and all he had to do was feel it. “Go to hell,” he hissed, swallowing hard and wincing at the way his throat fought to take what little saliva was left in his mouth. “Only if I can take you with me,” Gamzee said back before striking. Dave turned his head quickly enough to keep the initial contact of mouths from happening, but quickly regretted the decision when Gamzee decided that the ear that had been presented to him would work just fine instead. The trolls tongue darted out and licked the flesh before it was sucked into the heat of his mouth. His ears were sensitive, and feeling such sharp points pricking the flesh had Dave shaking gently as he waited for Gamzee to either bite the lobe off or pierce it, instead the troll sucked hard. Dave made a strangled sound at the feeling. At the same time the bulge pressed against the cleft of his ass moved so that the tip, at least as thick as three of his own finger, pressed against his entrance. “Don’t,” he coughed though his body betrayed him and arched forwards. Whatever it was about the troll’s bulge that caused such pleasure was setting every nerve around his ass on fire. He was actually aching to feel it press inside, to feel how good it would be in him if it felt this good out. That was wrong though, becausehe didn’t want it even if his body did. So he forced himself to try and thrash away from the probing bulge though there wasn’t really anywhere to go. “Sorry bro,” Gamzee said in response though he didn’t sound sorry at all. With little warning those strong fingers were grabbing Dave’s chin and forcing him to look at Gamzee, his throat aching in protest from the sudden movement. Dave didn’t get to think on the pain much however since a much more prominent sensation was starting. Gamzee’s bulge was pressing into him, and the troll was forcing Dave to show him every emotion that crossed his face. It started with pain, pure pain that not even the slick substance that dripped off the trolls bulge could mask. Dave’s mouth opened in a silent scream as he was breached, and in that moment he found a slick tongue thrust down his throat almost to the point of gagging and sharp teeth pressing against his lips. It was barely a notable distraction as Gamzee finally got the tip of his bulge inside, not slowing down as more of it quickly followed. The muffled scream he let out was answered by some weird growling as Gamzee’s tongue retreated and instead his teeth went to work on Dave’s lips. They left small slices in the flesh as Dave panted and cried out as he felt the thick thing inside him. His throat protested every sound, and though he tried, he couldn’t stop them from coming. “Feels so fuckin good,” Gamzee murmured against Dave’s mouth, and for the first time he could hear something akin to arousal in the troll’s voice. “So motherfucking tight up inside you,” the troll practically purred it as Dave cried out again, throat feeling raw as the cries suddenly went sharp. That time hadn’t hurt, at least not as badly. The bulge was having whatever effect it had had on his skin only while inside him, and the next time it thrust inside Dave gave out a moan. “Muthafucking miracles,” Gamzee breathed against Dave’s bloodied mouth before suddenly lifting himself off the blonde. As he did so the bulge slid in deeper, so deep that felt like it was going up past his gut. Dave realized with horror that only a fraction of the bulge had been inside him. He could actually feel the thing follow the curve of his insides, and had no control as his body reacted violently as the bulge pressed against one of his inner walls and brushed something that flared to life. He came. It was sudden, harsh, and left him feeling like he had been choked again as his body tugged at its bonds, one of his shoulders on fire as he finally stopped arching against the ropes. “So that’s what your genetic material looks like,” the words seemed far away as Gamzee dragged a finger through the cum that had made it as high as Dave’s chest. Gamzee looked at his fingers, smearing the white cum over the tips. “I thought it would be redder,” was his only comment before licking one finger obscenely. The strange humming Gamzee made caused unease to settle in Dave’s stomach. He moved slightly in discomfort only to moan. The small movement had reminded his body that there was still something deep in him, and that the thing hadn’t lost its ability to fill him with heat. “Sounds like you’re up for round two bro,” the troll said with a lazy grin as he wrapped his hands tightly over Dave’s sides, pushing hard into his ribs and making breathing a pain. Dave watched Gamzee move himself forwards until Dave felt the others hips press flush to his backside. Things weren’t supposed to go that deep inside humans, he decided quickly as he felt the end of the bulge twitch somewhere around his colon. Things that deep weren’t supposed to feel that good either. In just a few shallow thrusts Gamzee had Dave hard again, his cock swollen and red as the aphrodisiac produced from Gamzee swam through him. It was lighting up the closest things to nerves his insides had, and made them feel good; so very good. “S-stop. God stop,” but even to his ears the words sounded hollow with the moans and slight sobs that followed them in his horse voice. The residue of the slime on his cock was tingling pleasantly in time with his erratic heart beat while his insides seemed to quiver and try to tighten around the bulge inside him. They must have achieved this goal because Gamzee only let out a purring noise and muttered something about him feeling so tight. He couldn’t be sure though since it was at that moment Gamzee decided that he had been being too gentle. With a sudden forceful thrust he pulled back his bulge, and shoved the full length back inside. Pain tinged the pleasure this time but his insides were already so saturated with the stuff that he only barely registered it. His inner depths actually felt like they were welcoming the intruding muscle that curved along with his insides. “Fucking, ah,” Dave bit his bloodied lips and tried to remember how to speak without moaning, or to just stop completely. He wanted this to stop, he wanted to get out of these bonds and shove his sword through Gamzee’s chest. Pin him to a wall and shove his cock up the trolls nook or whatever it was the troll had and make Gamzee feel powerless and small. When that thought registered Dave let out a small sob through the pants he was making as Gamzee continued to thrust in deep. Sometimes he would barely brush over that spot that had set Dave off before, sometimes making sure the sliding pressure over it was strong and forceful. It was building Dave back up towards climax, and he knew that even if he didn’t want to he was going to cum again. He let out a choked ‘stop’ that was more moaning and cough than actually syllables. “What was that Strider?”Dave started at the use of his last name, not sure why it had made his cock twitch like it just had. He didn’t like the troll using his name, but his body did. It was so wrong, hearing his name coming out from between those lips that had been chewing on him,just so fucked up. “Sh-shut uuuuaaAAH,” his head fell back as Gamzee wrapped a hand around the hardness of his cock, still thrusting into the other with little care of how harshly he was doing it. Dave took a deeper breath now that one side of his chest was no longer constricted, but he could feel the other hands nails digging into his flesh as he did so. “Come on Strider, talk to me,” and the Clowns voice sounded half gone with lust. Apparently he wasn’t gone enough because he seemed to notice Dave’s body’s reaction at hearing his name. Not only did his cock twitch, but he had actually given a true moan and hated every second of it. Somehow the stuff was getting into his blood, working its way into his head. His body was betraying him, and he couldn’t do shit. “You like it when I say your name Strider,” and the name was overly emphasized as the troll spoke. Dave managed to stifle the moan, but when he arched this time it was to such a degree that his shoulder, which had started to calm down, flared back to life with sharp searing pain. “You do don’t you motherfucker. Like it when I say your name.” “F-fuck you,” he got out as Gamzee began to slow his pace a little, playing with Dave’s cock in ways that were just shy of gentle but not quite rough. “Well I’m actually fucking you Strider,” his voice holding something close to a taunt as he suddenly shoved in roughly and made Dave arch hard again. He felt something pop this time and when his body attempted to relax after the onslaught the muscle in his shoulder did not. With the pleasure in his veins running rampant and the pain adding something almost pleasurable in itself Dave felt himself cracking. He didn’t want this, he didn’t want this, he didn’t want… “Please just,” he was cut off by a gasp from another hard thrust.“S-s- stoooOOOOOOp,” this time the thrust was combined with a sharp nail sliding over the slit of his cock. “No fucking way Strider,” Gamzee said repeating the action to the same effect. “You sound too fuckin good,” and from the way his voice had dropped into a husky tone with little grunts of pleasure Dave believed him. He arched again from another sudden thrust that made sure to brush hard against the spot inside him, though he forced himself not to cum. There were tears building up now, his already cracked composure starting to disintegrate. “I fu, fuUUuh,” he swallowed hard and just barely got his voice under control as he felt tears fall, eyes cinching shut. “I fucking hate you.” Everything stopped and Dave opened his eyes. Still buried in to the hilt Gamzee was staring down at Dave with the strangest look on his face. Inside himself Dave could feel the bulge twitch gently, feel the pleasure still singing through his system, felt the tears in his eyes that he couldn’t stop now. “What did you say?” and Gamzee’s words were quiet, and slow. He was thinking hard but Dave didn’t much care anymore as to what. Gamzee was perfectly still, face practically blank as he stared down at Dave. “I hate you,” and Dave was only slightly proud that he could keep out the worst of the waiver. “I fucking hate you Makara,” he got as close to yelling as he could with the last few words as he barred his teeth at the troll and strained his neck just so that he could glare at Gamzee. It felt good to finally get the others name out, though the slight feeling of triumph quickly disappeared. His body jolted when Gamzee’s bulge thrashed inside him. “I knew it,” the troll whispered, and Dave stopped breathing when the troll was suddenly kissing him. Gamzee had to hold Dave’s head still with one hand to keep the kiss going, finally relieving Dave’s ribs from the pressure while the other hand still held to his cock. The bulge, now slightly pulled out, still thrashed inside him as the troll pressed their mouths together so hard Dave thought his entire mouth would bruise. When he finally pulled back he licked a line over Dave’s lips that made the blonde shiver, both out of fear and because his body was so close to completion, so close to getting what it wanted while his brain sat detached and afraid. “I knew you were my Kismesis.” Dave felt the world break away for a moment. Saw it fracture and split as some sort of morbid understand hit him. Gamzee was using him for a quadrant, hated him to the point that he just wanted to fuck him into oblivion and leave him broken. How had he not thought of that? How could he have forgotten about the one thing Karkat never shut up about? How? Dave was suddenly panting eyes wide and tears flowing in fear as he stared at Gamzee and waited for him to say something else, anything else. But Gamzee was done with words, and taking Dave’s open mouth as an invitation he began to fuck said mouth with his long purple tongue and began to move his hips again. Dave’s body reacted almost instantly from the sudden onslaught. First his teeth clamped down hard on the trolls tongue, he tasted faygo and the tart tang of troll blood, felt the spot inside him get hit dead on, and came. He arched up hard despite Gamzee’s added weight, and felt a painful pop as his shoulder finally dislocated. At the same time something hot flooded his inside. As soon as it started the bulge started to retreat, but it continued to fill him up. The stuff dribbled from his entrance when the bulge pulled out, and he felt the slightest amount pooling on his stomach as the bulge slid over it. He could feel it retreating into Gamzee’s body until the only thing he felt pressing against his backside was something hard and smooth; like bone. Throughout the whole thing he stayed latched to the others tongue, trying not the choke on the blood as he panted and sobbed every once and a while. Fighting against the receding pleasure of his orgasm that made him want to sleep Dave tried to bite down hard enough to bite the others tongue off, but all he got was more blood to choke on and little give. Apparently a trolls tongue was just as tough as the rest of him. Gamzee was panting opened mouthed as he stared down at Dave, their eyes locked, though Gamzee’s looked fogged over. When they finally cleared the troll grabbed Dave’s jaw and pressed at the hinges, forcing it open so he could retract his tongue. Dave spit out a mouth full of blood and choked on the rest he was forced to swallow. “Motherfuckin miricles man,” Gamzee whispered with hints of pain and a slight hiss as Dave tried to keep the blood down. Blood dribbled between Gamzee’s thin lips and all Dave could do was stare. He had pictured this very sight when the troll had entered, blood bubbling out between thin lips, and here it was. He barely registered that Gamzee was cutting something when one of his legs was released. It hurt like a bitch and he bit back a cry as the muscle seized and bunch. When Gamzee cut the other one he did cry out, and if not for the blood now lubricating his throat he was almost positive his own vocal cords would have bled. The troll gave him little time to recover. Making swift work with his nails Gamzee sliced the rest of the cords whiles Dave’s legs twitched and spasmed horribly above him, his hips refusing to let him lay them down straight. When he was rolled to the side it was a blessing that allowed his hips to rest from having to keep his legs up and let the muscle bunch in a less painful way. The reprieve was short lived though when the pain in his shoulder flared as Gamzee pulled his arm straight up and pushed in all in one fluid movement. All the pain washed over him in a sudden tied of black, and he was lost to it. *** Dave woke up sore, sticky, and not totally sure where he was. He thought he was in his room, but the bed looked like an animal had slept in it and his top sheet and pillows were missing. There were also splotches of something that looked black against the red, and in other places a deep purple. It took him a moment to realize it was both his and Gamzee’s blood, his brain coming back slowly from the second forced shut down. He was sticky with the stuff, and not just his own. There was more covering his chest and stomach, and when he moved… Reaching around behind himself he touch his entrance. There was a mixed sensation of pain and a pleasant tingling as he felt the strange purple goo seep out of him. Bringing it to where he could see his hand he saw slight tints of red mixed with the purple. Suddenly all he wanted was a shower. Surging to his feet he quickly found himself on the floor, his feet refusing to work as he looked at the short distance between the bathroom and where he was. He tried to crawl, but his shoulder flared into such wondrous pain that all he could do was lie there and pant heavily. He managed to get on his side again and was shocked when he found himself facing the reflective surface of the base of his turn tables. He could see the color, though muted against the shinny blackness, of the deep purple that was all over himself, even staining his mouth. He could see bruises blossoming everywhere, and rope burns around his thighs. But what he stared at the most for the next hour, before his legs could move and he could finally crawl to the bathroom, was the mark. It below the large bite mark where his clavicle met shoulder, just to the left of his heart. There, carved into his flesh, was a spade. And inside it was the symbol of the Capricorn. End Notes A/N:Written for the lovely Veraeatslemurs here on tumblr and Greenbird over on Y! gallery for this image, —->http://www.y- gallery.net/view/855072/ Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work! ittle shit. We have a fucking class to get to. It’s not like I can fucking reciprocate like this.” He gestured to himself and to Izuku as he said that. Izuku beamed. Katsuki still couldn’t say he loved Izuku back, but he was able to show it and that’s what mattered. “Then later? After school?” Katsuki grunted in agreement. “Your place.” He leaned in and kissed Izuku, without the bite this time. It was warm and firm and held a promise of so much more. Izuku’s knees trembled and he had to brace himself on Katsuki’s solid, and currently bare, chest. Pulling away, Katsuki grumbled, “C’mon. Finish getting dressed, you fucking idiot.” Izuku absentmindedly licked his lips and turned to do so.   ===============================================================================   Toshinori looked over the crowd of students with pride warming his heart. They looked eager and determined. This would be their first test, their first chance to really prove themselves and he could tell they were excited about it. Some, it seemed, more excited than most. To say that the hero-worship in Midoriya’s gaze didn’t affect him would be false. Toshinori had a great deal of affection for the young boy and such a pride in seeing how far he had come. Where once a quirkless, scrawny child had thrown himself into a fight he couldn’t win, there stood a strong, self- confident young man who would throw himself into any situation knowing he could get out of it again. Admittedly, the boy’s uniform was a little different than Toshinori expected. He’d thought there’d be more green or blue, but Midoriya was dressed all in red and black. There was a terrifying aspect to his uniform with that color and the grinning mask he wore over his mouth. Even though Toshinori could see his eyes through the clear visor, it only showed the boy’s determined look. With boots that matched Bakugou’s except they were red where Bakugou’s were orange, and the long-eared hood that covered the rest of Midoriya’s head, he looked like a red, black-footed rabbit. There was a moment where Toshinori thought the ears were to represent his own hairstyle in his strong appearance but even that did nothing to change the look. Simply put, Midoriya standing next to Bakugou in that red and black with that big grinning mask looked like some sort of little murder bunny. And now that Toshinori saw it, he couldn’t really unsee it. Explaining the activity went easily enough. The students didn’t bat an eye at pretending to be villains against other teams. As he went through the information, he saw Midoriya shift his attention to Bakugou. There was too much dependency- Toshinori had seen it even more clearly after Shouta had pointed it out. Swallowing down his nervousness, Toshinori began to separate the kids out into teams of two. The moment he listed Midoriya and Uraraka, he paused, anticipating a meltdown. What he got instead was Midoriya peering over Bakugou’s shoulder to meet the girl’s gaze. Bakugou looked straight ahead, brows furrowed and frowning. He did, however, glance over when his teammate- Iida Tenya- was announced. Step one, complete, Toshinori sighed silently in relief. So they could handle being on separate teams. That was a good thing. But could they handle fighting against each other? “Our first combatants will be… Team D as the Villains and Team B as the Heroes! Do your best young students!” He beamed at the class; his gaze was focused on Midoriya and Bakugou. Again, they acted counter to what he had imagined. Bakugou elbowed Midoriya in the side and said loftily, “You better watch your fucking back, nerd. I’m coming after you.” “Didn’t you hear sensei?” Midoriya retorted, “You’re defending a bomb. I’m the the one coming after you. ” They jostled each other a bit more while Toshinori began to feel like, somehow, his and Shouta’s plan hadn’t… worked. At all. There was no animosity as the teams separated and were given their ear pieces. Midoriya seemed nervous speaking with Uraraka whereas Bakugou was clearly sizing up Iida’s worth. Clearing his throat, Toshinori guided the other students to an observation location. He gave one last reminder that this was a practice battle and that he could hear them speaking through the earpieces before the teams were sent to prepare. “How is this going to go?” he overheard the students whispering to each other as they waited. “Do you think they’ll go easy on each other? I mean, they’re like… dating or something right?” “Bakugou go easy on Midoriya? I bet he was just waiting for an opportunity to go all out.” Toshinori cleared his throat again. The students went quiet. He glanced at them and said, “Pay attention to your classmates. You’ll be going through the same kind of test, but with an advantage, since you didn’t have to go first. When you’re out in the field, you should use every advantage you can to ensure the safety of others and the capture of the villain. Understood?” The students murmured their agreement. Looking back to the monitors, Toshinori prayed that they hadn’t made a mistake in pitting the two boys against each other.   ===============================================================================   “Kacchan and I know each other really well,” Izuku was explaining to Uraraka as they headed to the building. “Which means that we can predict each other pretty well. I can figure out what kind of plan he’ll try to use and he’ll be able to figure out what kind of plan that I would use. That’s why you have to come up with the plan, Uraraka.” She blinked at him. “What? Me? But I-” “You’re going to be a hero, right?” Izuku asked, “You can do this.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. Um.” She looked up at the building before they stepped inside. “How much do you know about what Bakugou can do?” “Everything,” was Izuku’s reply. “Uh. And do you know anything about Iida’s quirk?” Izuku nodded. “From what I’ve observed, I have a pretty good idea of how he fights. I don’t know how he thinks, though.” “Okay,” she nodded and tightened her hands into fists. “Tell me what they can do and I’ll see what I can come up with.”   ===============================================================================   Katsuki shut the door behind himself and brushed off his hands. “That’s the last of the shit. Time for part two?” “With the area prepared for Uraraka’s inevitable arrival, it is time to deter our heroes from collecting the weapon!” Iida said in his mock-villain voice. “Go forth, my villainous companion!” Katsuki stared at him for a second and then rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He headed to the exit, grinning, “I’ve been itching to go head to head with that little fuck all goddamn summer.” With All Might around they hadn’t been able to do nearly as much of their mock fighting or experiments or really anything dangerous and thrilling. He knew that All Might was listening in, so of course he didn’t bitch about the man out loud but in his head? Everyone was fair fucking game. At the door, just before he shoved it open, he looked back to Iida and said, “Don’t fucking fuck this up for us. I didn’t let you be the damn boss for no fucking reason, shithead.” Then he walked out before Iida could reply. Of course, after a minute or so of spluttering (which Katsuki heard over the comm) Iida denied being made ‘the boss’ of their villainous duo. Katsuki ignored that too. He had only listened to the obnoxious student because he was an unknown variable. Iida’s involvement would make Izuku second guess any of Katsuki’s plans because it wasn’t just Katsuki he was planning against. Katsuki walked slowly through the hallway, listening for their voices or footsteps. He heard nothing. Coming to a stop, he held his breath and listened intently. Oddly enough, he heard a small dripping sound. Dripping usually came from above so- “Now!” A girl’s voice- From above- Katuski twisted around to look up and saw Izuku headed towards him, fist first. The girl was jettisoned forward, floating along the ceiling of the hallway. “Fuck!” Katsuki shouted, jumping out of the way and tumbling. Izuku landed so he was between Katsuki and Uraraka. “You sneaky sunnovabitch!” Izuku put up his fists, eyes focused, “That’s just rude, Kacchan. You’ve met my mother! You’re the one who’s the son of a bitch.” Katsuki grinned. He tapped his ear and said, “Iida, floating chick is headed up your way. I’ll put Deku down for, say, five minutes and then help you deal with her?” “Can you for sure put him out of commission for five minutes?” came Iida’s reply. “Give or take a few seconds,” Katsuki said with confidence. “It depends on how much I hit.” “Go ahead,” Iida confirmed. Katsuki dropped his hand from his ear and in that next instant, Izuku lunged for him. “You want to put me down, huh,” Izuku taunted as Katsuki dodged his initial swing, “Far cry from the first time, isn’t it, Kacchan?” Katsuki caught Izuku’s leg from his kick, but the bastard had put a bit of juice into it and it swung him off and bounced him into a wall. Katsuki pulled back, getting to his feet. “You were the one who cried the first time, Deku. But it’s good to see you’re taking this seriously. I wouldn’t want you to come at me half-assed.” “Full ass it is then,” Izuku said. “Let’s see how bad a villain you can fucking be.” The fighting itself was so quick. They had done this before, though never in costume, though never quite so seriously. Katsuki found his gloves made his flame brighter, hotter, his explosion more violent. He also found that his grenadiers weighted his arms significantly, making his hits take more energy but hit harder. It was his legs that kept buckling under the force of Izuku’s attacks. He used his fire to make up for that, propelling himself around, adding force to his attacks and maneuvering with them. They kept working towards as stalemate and the thought of that put a bad taste in Katsuki’s mouth. After a parry and a toss from Izuku, Katsuki got shakily to his feet and held his arm out in front of himself. “Let’s try a little experiment, Deku.” Izuku came to a stop twenty feet away. Half of his hood had been burnt off, but he still had most of his face covered. “Yeah? What kind?” “External explosive force,” Katsuki said, gripping the pin for his bomb arm, “Direct hit to the chest. How long would you say? Five minutes?” “Five forty-five,” Izuku said, arms up to brace himself, “Less if it’s just the chest. I take it you’re tired of holding back?” “Why bother having these if you don’t use them?” he said with a shrug. “Bakugou-” cut in a voice, All Might’s voice, in his ear. But it was too late. Bakugou pulled the pin and let the fireball go. Right before it hit, Katsuki saw Izuku’s green eyes light up with orange flame. Then it struck him and spilled around him to the building. Katsuki threw up an arm to protect his face from the flying concrete while the building rocked and teetered. He distantly heard someone screaming while Iida shouted “what just happened!?” in his ear. As the light faded, dust filled the air of the demolished hallway. There were scorch marks up and down the walls and a hole had been blown in the side of the building. Katsuki started to count under his breath as he walked forwards. The building listed slightly above him, but he didn’t pay attention to that. “Can you finish floaty off or not?” Katsuki asked between his counts. Iida gave him confirmation and so Katsuki didn’t give a second thought to that part of the fight. He found Izuku’s shoe, still attached to his leg, and lying close to his other one. In fact, both of his legs were mostly intact up to the hips. Seeing something glittering on the ground, Katsuki bent down and was surprised to find Good Luck. “Must have dropped it to protect it from the blast,” Katsuki mumbled. He slid the knife into his pocket, to return to Izuku later. “Sensei?” Katsuki asked, looking over the bloody smear that used to be Izuku’s torso and arms and, well, everything from the hips up. “Do you have visual of me or Deku right now?” A pause and then, “Your blast destroyed the cameras. Can you … can you confirm Midoriya’s status?” “Unconscious,” Katsuki said, eyes staring down at the part of a spine he could see. “He’ll be back in five or so minutes, at most. I’m counting. Also, I might have burnt off most of his clothes.” “Might have?” Came the question. “Uh huh.” That shrill scream came again and Katsuki looked up from the smear of blood. He saw a pink blur go past the hole in the wall and then the scream suddenly cut off. “The fuck was that?” He hurried over to the hole. The building creaked ominously. “Iida?” “The explosion opened up a large hole up here as well,” Iida replied, slightly out of breath. “I was able to crash into her before she got to the bomb and uh… threw her out?” Katsuki looked down over the edge. He saw the girl floating safely in the air, spinning slightly, and nodded. “Nice job. I think that’s a win for us.” “...What, exactly, was that explosion?” Iida asked. “Eh. A hand cannon, basically.” Katsuki said, turning his back on the outside world. Looking to Izuku, he saw some reformation. It was weird, the way he came back. It wasn’t all at once and it wasn’t from the inside out. It was like a ribbon was unspooling and winding him back together. It took a little longer with things like this, where so much of his body was lost. Katsuki searched the debris, looking for any pieces that had been blown off. Sticking out from under a rock, he found a few fingers. Lifting the rock he found part of a hand. He took the whole thing over to Izuku, muttering, “A few seconds faster if there are more pieces around…” He didn’t find anything else, though. After five minutes passed, Izuku was whole again, lying on the concrete and surrounded by a smear of blood that had turned black and cooked from the heat of the explosion. He was staring off to the side, not at Katsuki. “Hey,” Katsuki nudged him with his toe. “You lost, nerd.” “What?” Izuku blinked. He rubbed his eyes and turned his head to Katsuki. “Damn it. I thought for sure Uraraka would be able to reach the bomb and rescue it.” “Well, she didn’t. Sorry.” “No, you’re not.” Izuku sat up. He ran a hand through his hair and then seemed to abruptly realize he was naked down to his hips. “Kacchan! You ruined my costume!” “Make it out of bomb-resistant material next time.” He held out his hand to Izuku, who took it and allowed Katsuki to pull him up. Izuku scrambled to hold up the bottom half of his jumpsuit. The belt and waistband had been burnt off, leaving the cloth loose. “Kacchan! Look what you did to me!” “Oh quit bitching. Now come here. I won, I get the winner’s kiss, we agreed.” He pulled Izuku closer and then moved his hands up to Izuku’s cheeks. The grenadiers made it difficult to hold Izuku, but he managed. That first kiss after a death always tasted a little bit like blood, especially if part of Izuku’s head was damaged and regenerated. Katsuki didn’t mind, though. What mattered more was that Izuku was alive and kissing him. That his mouth was warm and pliant and that he kissed back with the same kind of eagerness. There was a buzzing voice in Katsuki’s ear and he completely ignored it in favor of multiple kisses. Eventually, though, Izuku pulled back and said, “C’mon, it’s time to go.” His lips were swollen as he spoke, which only made Katsuki want to kiss him more. He settled instead on picking Izuku up and hefting him over a shoulder. “Hey!” Izuku shouted. “What are you doing?” “Can you walk and hold up your pants without looking like an idiot? No. This way, no one will think you’re weird.” “Your neck thing is digging into my side,” Izuku complained, “And they’re going to think I’m weird anyway.” He paused and then said quieter, “They already do think I’m weird. Uraraka said so.” Katsuki gave Izuku’s ass a comforting pat as he carried him off. “Don’t worry. If they keep away because they think you’re weird then they don’t fucking deserve to know you anyway. You’re better than all of them, Deku. You can’t fucking forget that. They don’t matter like you do.” “Kacchan…” Katsuki rolled his eyes and ignored the sniffling that he heard. He had his hands on Izuku, could confirm that he was alive and would stay alive for at least the next little while. It didn’t matter if Izuku wanted to cry. He always said coming back to life could be a little overwhelming. Katsuki understood.   ===============================================================================   “Is it just me,” Ashido whispered as Bakugou and Midoriya came out of the thrashed building, “Or are they somehow even closer than before?” “Well, physically they’re closer than normal,” Yaoyorozu said quietly. “I don’t think we’ve seen Bakugou carry Midoriya before.” “What the hell happened in there?” Ashido asked, looking at the screens. At least three of them were fuzzy from missing cameras. Eijirou, standing behind the girls, wasn’t looking at the screen at all. He was looking at All Might, who might as well have been made out of stone for all that he moved or breathed. That was what made him worry. All Might wasn’t laughing this off. He wasn’t ignoring it. He wasn’t addressing it in a pithy way. He just stood there. Staring. It was weird. Really weird. Eijirou shifted uneasily and looked to Kaminari beside him. Their eyes met and Kaminari said, “Bakugou didn’t hold back at all on Midoriya. I thought he was going to kill him with that last attack.” “Do you think his enhancement quirk saved him?” Eijirou asked. “Like how my quirk hardens my skin?” Kaminari shrugged. Eijirou bit his lip and looked at the monitor that showed the four students gathered outside of the building. Iida seemed to be apologizing to Uraraka. Bakugou had set Midoriya down and was paying some attention to their argument. His arm was around Midoriya’s waist, where Midoriya had to grip his red pants to hold them up. Midoriya was staring off at something while he leaned against Bakugou’s side. Eijirou shivered. The moment was broken when All Might turned to speak with them, but Eijirou couldn’t get it out of his head. Something had just happened. He didn’t know what, but it was something. With a little shake of his head, Eijirou shook off the oppressive feeling and did his best to listen to All Might. After all, he had his own mission to accomplish soon enough. He didn’t have time to worry about the weird things that Midoriya and Bakugou were up to anyway. It wasn’t like they were friends or anything. And yet, All Might’s stillness remained with him. What had he seen? What had made him freeze up like that? Had it been fear or surprise? What could All Might, number one pro hero, the mightiest hero around, fear? ***** mutual feelings ***** Chapter Summary today we find out Katsuki's idea of a celebration. Chapter Notes I added some tags. That Underage warning that's been on this thing the whole time? Yeah. That's in full effect in this chapter. “Mom!” Izuku hitched his backpack up higher on his shoulder as he trots down the hallway, “Mom, I’m headed out!” He went past the kitchen, poking his head in to say goodbye. Inko sat at the kitchen table, a large photo album laid out in front of her with a myriad of pictures laid out around it. She paused in her cataloging and asked, “Do you need some lunch? Or some money to buy something?” Izuku shook his head, “Kacchan is making lunch for us. We probably won’t be back until tonight. ” “Sounds good. Let me know if the two of you are having dinner here or at Katsuki’s.” She waved her finger at him, scolding him lightly, “And don’t get too dirty outside! You keep getting all your clothes muddy, Izuku. You’re fourteen! You really should know better by now.” “Sorry, Mom,” Izuku said sheepishly, glancing to the side. His muddy clothes usually had blood on them as well, but Inko would never question the blood if she only saw him rinsing out the mud. She wouldn’t even see it. “You know how Kacchan likes to wrestle.” “I know! But please be careful. You’re going to go out onto the mountain again, aren’t you?” “Well, I don’t know, but probably. Kacchan said it was going to be a surprise, but he also really likes the mountains.” Izuku glanced up at the clock on the wall, “And I’m going to be late if I don’t go now. Bye! Love you!” “Love you too, Izuku!” Inko said with a smile. “Have fun!” “Will do!” Izuku called back as he pulled on his shoes and headed out the door. As he headed down the street, Izuku’s phone chirped in his phone. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He had just seen who the message was from when he came upon Katsuki walking towards him. “Hi, Kacchan!” Izuku greeted him, leaning in for a kiss. Katsuki met him for it, curling his fingers in Izuku’s shirt collar to keep him close. Pulling back from the kiss, Katsuki said, “Did you bring what I asked?” “Uh huh,” Izuku said. His cheeks began to burn, “And I have our usual gear.” He bit his lip, “Um, what did you want thatfor anyway?” “It’s a fucking surprise,” Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Surprise.” “Yeah, but Kacchan-” Katsuki cut him off with another kiss. Izuku tried to talk but Katsuki wasn’t having any of it. He eventually gave up and just kissed back until he had to grab Katsuki’s arm to support himself. When Katsuki pulled back, this time, Izuku smiled at him. “Come on,” Katsuki said. He took Izuku’s hand or tried to. Izuku was still holding his phone, though he couldn’t remember why anymore. Katsuki put Izuku’s phone in his own pocket and gripped Izuku’s hand. “Let’s hurry up.” “Where are we going?” Izuku asked, happily walking at Katsuki’s side. “Fucking Christ, Deku. Do you want the surprise to be spoiled?” Katsuki said. “Just shut up until we get where we’re going, idiot.” “Okay.” Izuku fell silent. Izuku didn’t mind walking in silence with Katsuki. There had been so much that had happened during the week that he still needed time to think it all through. There had been the other classmates, some friendly and some who seemed indifferent to him. There had been the teachers too. All Might had been an incredible teacher, and so had all the others. He was still a little nervous about Aizawa and his power, though. Not knowing how Aizawa would affect his resurrection quirk was a worry that gnawed at the back of his mind. There was just no way to test it.At least, not without telling Aizawa about what he could do and prove that it worked. Then again, Aizawa probably wouldn’t want to use his quirk on Izuku if there was the off chance that he would actually really die and not just sort of die. It was a problem, a considerable one, that Izuku worried about. After all, what if there was a villain out there that could stop quirks as well? Or what if a villain tried to copyhis own? How would that work? Would they be able to? “Of course,” Katsuki said suddenly. Izuku jerked out of his thoughts to look at his friend. Katsuki saw his bewildered look and rolled his eyes. “You were mumbling again.” “Oh. Sorry.” “It’s fine. It’s not like you can stop your damn brain from running even if you try to shut your fucking mouth.” Katsuki shrugged a shoulder, “But to answer your question, of fucking course. It’s your quirk.That means if someone has a quirk that copies other people’s quirks, they can copy yours too.” “I just wish there was some way to test it,” Izuku said. “Like with Aizawa. Except with a copycat quirk, I don’t know anyone who can do that. I don’t think even if we do find one we’d be able to tell them what the test was. Even more so with a copycat.” “We could surprise them, but that’s probably a terrible idea,” Katsuki said. “Yeah.” There was a beat and then Katsuki said, “You still want to test it, though. Right?” Izuku nodded. “Nerd,” Katsuki said tugging on Izuku’s hand to pull him closer. He leaned in and whispered into Izuku’s ear, “Don’t look so damn sad you don’t get to test out your fucking quirk. It’s fucking depressing like a kicked puppy.” “Kacchan-” “Maybe something will happen,” he whispered, “And if we get the opportunity, we’ll try it out, okay?” Izuku smiled. He smiled broader when Katsuki finished with a kiss on the cheek before pulling away. They stood together at a bus stop with a few other people, far enough away that their whispering couldn’t be heard. This was one of their neighborhood bus stops so they didn’t a second look by their neighbors that came on or off the bus. Izuku and Katsuki were a common sight on the streets here, even hand in hand. On the bus, they sat together near the back. Izuku fell back into silence, resting his head on Katsuki’s shoulder and watching the world pass outside the window. They held their backpacks on their laps, obscuring the way they held hands there, but only incidentally. Katsuki occasionally rested his cheek on Izuku’s head and at one point Izuku was certain he dozed lightly. Izuku held still and resisted dozing himself. He didn’t want to miss their stop just because it was so comfortable he’d fallen asleep at Katsuki’s side. When they did get off the bus, they were the only two who did so at that stop. Izuku grinned as he looked up at the path ahead of them. Katsuki tugged his hand to pull him forward. “Don’t get so fucking smug yet, asshole,” Katsuki said, “You don’t know exactlywhere we’re going.” “That’s okay,” Izuku said, “If it’s with you I know it’ll be amazing, Kacchan.” The tips of Katsuki’s ears turned red at that and he squeezed Izuku’s hand tighter, saying nothing but a mutter of “stupid Deku” under his breath. Katsuki leads him up the hill that turned slowly from a residential pathway into a mountainside. The first things to fade were the street lamps and the buildings. Then the railings went. And lastly, the boundary walls until all that was left of civilization around them were the stone steps they walked up. There were a few places where Izuku hesitated, recognizing underbrush paths that they’d taken before, but Katsuki steadily led him up the stairs instead. Near the top of the stairs, where Izuku knew there was an overlook of the city, Katsuki took a sharp turn into the woods. “When did you find this place?” Izuku asked. He kept his voice soft, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere that settled over them. “One of those times I was trying to find one of your arms or something,” Katsuki replied, surprisingly quiet. “I figured we could use it for another test but the right one never came up. Until now.” Izuku blinked, “We’re doing an experiment?” They hadn’t discussed anything. “Sort of.” “Oh that’s helpful,” Izuku muttered to himself. Katsuk squeezed his hand tighter. They finally pushed through the underbrush and into a small clearing. Izuku stopped up short at the entrance. Katsuki, for the first time, let go of his hand and walked into the clearing. He stopped and turned to face Izuku. “So? What do you think about it?” The wild grass in the clearing easily went up to their knees or higher. The long blades were dotted with all sorts of wildflowers. Though Izuku couldn’t recognize them all, he could tell there were at least four different species with variants of the species there. There was enough space to let sunlight in through the trees above, but the surrounding woods were so bunched together that it felt entirely enclosed once he was inside. “It’s pretty,” Izuku said, “It’d be a shame to get blood all over this.” “Yeah. I figured you’d say that.” Katsuki walked to the center and pulled down his pack. “That’s why I didn’t suggest it. It’s better for a different sort of experiment.” “Kacchan,” Izuku frowned, “Won’t you please tell me what kind you’re talking about?” Katsuki finished pulling out a blanket from his bag and looked up at Izuku. He narrowed his eyes, saying, “How much of a fucking idiot are you? Did you buy what I told you to or not?” “I got it,” Izuku mumbled, “But I don’t-” Abruptly, he shut his mouth with a snap. His face flamed so badly that he had to cover his cheeks with his hands. With a hiss, he said, “Kacchan, you want to have sex?” Katsuki finished spreading out the blanket, a small one, in the middle of the clearing. There was about half sun, half shade on the blanket itself, making the bright blue of it stand out even sharper. His cheeks were red as well as he met Izuku’s gaze. “Not all the way. I just wanted to try something. What? Don’t look at me like that.” Izuku did not believe Katsuki. It showed on his face. And in the way he folded his arms. “You had me buy lube!” “You can use lube for lots of things.” Katsuki retorted. “I’ve done a lot of reading. Lube is important. A must have for anything more intense than like, fucking kissing or whatever.” “It is not,”Izuku said. “We’ve done plenty of things without lube.” “Well, I wanted to try something different this time.” Katsuki said, “Is that a problem? Do you not want to do this experiment with me?” He gestured around them, “We’re alone, Deku. On a fucking mountain.No one is going to hear us or see us. And if they did this is a hell of a lot less suspicious than our other experiments.” “Fuckingmountain is right, it seems,” Izuku muttered to himself. Katsuki’s glare only increased. “Okay. You’re right. I do want to. I just- Next time, can you buy the lube?” “Fine. Now get your ass over here, Deku. Right the fuck now.” Izuku complied, dumping his backpack onto the ground at the edge of the blanket to help hold it down. He met Katsuki on the blanket, kneeling down in front of him. He felt suddenly awkward like he didn’t know where to put his hands or that there was a wrong way to start this...whatever it was. Katsuki rolled his eyes at Izuku and crawled past him. “We’re going to need that lube now, idiot,” he said as he dug through Izuku’s backpack. At the same time as he took out the small bottle, he put Izuku’s phone into the bag and then zipped it up to get it out of the way. Sitting back on the blanket, he looked over the bottle and gave a satisfied nod. “Good. You got exactly what I said.” “Kacchan…” Izuku said, getting his attention. Katsuki turned and looked at him. He sat in mostly sunlight, where the light caught on his hair and his skin. Izuku bit his lip as he reached out to him. Katsuki held still as Izuku touched his cheek, running his fingers over Katsuki’s smooth skin and moving back to slip them through his hair. That was enough to spark Katsuki into action. He shifted so he faced Izuku properly. Even though he held the bottle in one hand, he reached out and grabbed Izuku by the shirt and shoulder and drew him in. The first kisses were eager and quick, heated by the sun and the fire that was kindling in Izuku’s gut. Their kisses quickly evened out as they matched their eagerness with their desire not to bump noses or teeth together. Katsuki pulled back, at one point, gasping for breath, and was the first to pull his shirt off. Izuku followed suit, tossing the shirt away and leaning back. Sure enough, Katsuki bent over him, held up on his knees and an elbow as he kissed Izuku down into the cloth. His free hand slid down Izuku’s chest, igniting tingling nerves that made Izuku’s hair stand on end and goosebumps rise on his flesh. He gasped out Katsuki’s name when Katsuki’s mouth found its way to his throat. He shuddered when Katsuki’s fingernails scraped over the skin of his abdomen above his waistband. “These have to come off,” Katsuki murmured, “Okay?” He had a pair of fingers tucked under the waistband and pulled them up. Izuku’s hips arched up with the motion, making Katsuki chuckle. “Okay,” Izuku breathed. His hands shook as he reached down and undid the front of his pants. He began to wriggle out of them, but Katsuki grew impatient. Izuku bit his lip as Katsuki stripped him down the rest of the way, pants, shoes and socks all coming off until he was naked on the blanket. “Kacchan?” Izuku asked, voice trembling slightly. “Don’t worry,” Katsuki said, leaning in. He now knelt between Izuku’s legs and when he was close enough to kiss, Izuku could feel the cloth of his pants against the inside of his thighs. “I’m here.” He ran kisses up Izuku’s throat and jaw to his mouth. Each time his mouth touched Izuku’s skin, Izuku closed his eyes to focus on the heat of Katsuki’s touch. “I’m not going anywhere without you,” Katsuki said against his lips. “I’m going to make you feel good, Deku. I promise you.” Izuku blinked blearily up at Katsuki, struggling to keep his eyes open in the warmth of the sunlight and under Katsuki’s attention. He reached up, pulling Katsuki in so he could keep kissing. He didn’t know why he deserved Katsuki’s attention like this today, he hadn’t doneanything for Katsuki recently. Had he? Why did Katsuki want to make him feel so good? He lifted his chin as Katsuki shifted back down again. Anticipating Katsuki to tease him with his chest, like he’d done before, Izuku was startled when the next Katsuki’s lips skimmed down ribs and abs to go to Izuku’s hips. Izuku got an elbow up under himself when he heard the plastic cap of the bottle pop open. He had Katsuki’s name on his tongue when a familiar hand gripped his cock and thoroughly derailed his thoughts. It was a little different than usual, slicker, as Katsuki used some of the lube to ease the friction of his rubbing hand. When Izuku’s arm trembled too badly to hold him up, he fell back onto the blanket with a sharp exhale. He always forgot how goodit felt to have Katsuki’s hand on him. He knew exactly what it felt like to have a knife sever each of his major arteries and could call up that feeling in an instant, but every touch of Katsuki’s hand on his body was like a new memory being carved into his mind for the first time. “This,” Katsuki said, his voice distant to Izuku’s ears, “Is what I wanted to try.” There were fingers that slid over Izuku’s skin slick with lube and with that same confident pressure that Izuku associated with Katsuki’s touches. His breath hitched in his lungs and then again in his throat as Katsuki’s fingers found what they were looking for and he slowly began to push one in. Izuku bit his lip. It felt weird, at first, but as Katsuki kept one hand moving up and down on his cock and didn’t stop pushing in with a finger, the feeling in his gut twisted to one of heated desire. Soon, he was biting his lip to keep back the soft gasps and grunts that wanted to escape. His hips lifted as Katsuki shifted his hands this way and that. Izuku tried, in vain, to keep still, but so long as Katsuki didn’t bitch about him squirming he didn’t think it was thatmuch of a problem. Katsuki’s fingers squeezed his cock as he slid his hand up slowly. Izuku whimpered as he thrust his hips up, anxious to get more than that. Katsuki had started quickly, why was he slowing down now? “Hey. Look here.” Izuku blinked, looking up. The sky was so incredibly blue above them. Had Katsuki said something to him or was that in his head? “Deku, idiot, look at me.” After a few moments, in which Izuku realized that he was an utter mess and it was Katsuki’s fault and Katsuki did not seem to understand how much of a mess he was considering he was making such unfair demands, Izuku pushed himself up onto his elbows. “K-kacchan?” “I didn’t want you to miss this bit,” Katsuki said. His cheeks were flushed too, though Izuku wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as though he was the one sweating and gasping for breath as- Katsuki dipped his head down, sliding back on his knees so he could make the angle, and licked up the side of Izuku’s cock. Izuku shuddered, fingers digging into the cloth as he fought his body’s instinctive reaction to finish right there. He felt himself tighten around Katsuki’s finger and couldn’t stop from groaning out Katsuki’s name. He didn’t know if he wanted to grind his hips down on his finger or thrust up into Katsuki’s hand. The problem was solved for him as Katsuki, with a smug look that Izuku thought was well deserved in this particular instance, began to move his hands again, thrusting with one and stroking with the other. He kept adding teasing kisses and licks with his mouth, and Izuku was sure he would lose his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, to try and block out some part of it, Katsuki would stop until he looked again. Izuku’s mouth tried to say something about how he was so demanding of attention but his tongue didn’t work like that anymore. It could only say Katsuki’s name. It could only beg for more, more, more, please, Kacchan! Please! Then Katsuki sucked on the head of Izuku’s cock and that was it. He came with a choked out shout, body arching and finishing. Katsuki pulled his head back out of the way and moved his hand lazily, milking Izuku’s orgasm for all it was worth. Izuku lay back, panting for breath. Distantly, he was aware that Katsuki was cleaning up. He felt a cleaning cloth- Katsuki brought them pretty regularly now- across his skin. He shivered at the sudden chill of the damp skin with the mountain air against it. In fact, the sweat on his body was beginning to chill him. After Katsuki finished cleaning up, he straddled Izuku’s hips. He still wore his pants, but he had pulled them open. Izuku rubbed his eyes and then looked up at him. “Kacchan, do you want me to-” “Shut up and let me enjoy this,” Katsuki said, “You only look this fucked up once in a while.” He stroked himself with one hand; his eyes were hooded as he stared down at Izuku. “Next time, though, you’ve gotta do something do for me, okay?” Izuku nodded. He would have insisted doing something now but it had been a while since he’d felt this wrung out. Instead, he lay there and looked up at Katsuki, knowing that Katsuki wanted him to watch. He’d seen Katsuki get off by himself a couple of times and though Izuku didn’t understand exactly why Katsuki liked it best when he was being watched, Izuku didn’t mind to comply. He liked to watch Katsuki. He liked to see the shine of sweat as it beaded up on his skin. He liked the way Katsuki took in shallow breaths until he forced himself to take deeper ones to try and control himself. He liked the way that Katsuki looked at himas though there wasn’t anything else he’d rather be looking at while he masturbated. And if he liked the way it felt when Katsuki came on him, hot and sticky across his chest, well that worked out for the both of them, didn’t it? Katsuki’s expression after is orgasm was smoothed out with bliss. Izuku stared up at him, hungry to see that face, and had recovered enough to reach up and tug him down. Katsuki kissed him lazily, half-assed really, for a few minutes before he pulled away to clean up. Izuku lay back quietly during that. His mind was always clearest in those few minutes afterward, so long as he hadn’t fallen asleep. Katsuki soon joined him on the ground, lying next to him. Turning to his side, Izuku faced him. Katsuki had his head pillowed on his arm as he looked at Izuku. “What?” He asked abruptly, cutting into the silence around them. “You got a weird look on your face, Deku. Spit it out.” “I have to tell you something,” Izuku said, dropping his gaze to Katsuki’s throat, to his collarbone. “...What is it?” “You know yesterday?” Izuku said, “When I came back from your grenade blast?” “Yeah. I remember. Took you about five minutes. What? Did something happen? Do you think someone saw?” Izuku shook his head. If someone had seen they would have said something right away. He was sure of that. People didn’t overlook half-mangled bodies. They had learned that one the hard way. “It’s not what someone else saw, it’s what I saw.” Izuku reached out, nervous, and picked at the thread of the blanket. “I saw it again. The black rabbit.” Katsuki lay in silence so long that Izuku made himself look up to his face to make sure he wasn’t asleep. Katsuki was staring up at the sky, his brow furrowed but with only a slight frown. “The same one from last year?” “Yeah. Ears and claws and everything.” “Did it say anything this time?” Izuku shook his head. “Huh.” Katsuki sighed. “But um… It did something.” Katsuki turned his head to  look at him. “What did it do?” “It was looking at something? It would follow me around, right, but whenever we stopped, it would stop too and turn to look in the same direction.” Izuku said, “You know how like the second time it looked around like it was keeping watch? Remember?” “Yeah,” Katsuki said, “I remember.” “Right, like that but it looked in only one direction. Every time. It didn’t look around at all.” Izuku scooted closer, whispering, “What do you think it means?” After a thoughtful moment, Katsuki said, “It’s gotta be part of your quirk somehow.” Izuku nodded. He’d thought the same thing. “And if it’s part of your quirk,” Katsuki said, turning to look back at the sky, “Then you should be able to control it. Right? That’s the thing about quirks. You should be able to control them. Simple as that. You'll just have to learn how.” “...I’ll come up with some new experiments,” Izuku said. He lay there, watching for a moment, to see if Katsuki would say anything more. When he didn’t, Izuku closed the distance and put his cheek on Katsuki’s shoulder. “Should we nap? And then have lunch?” Katsuki grunted in agreement, eyes closing. Izuku smiled and did the same. He fell asleep thinking of ways to summon the black rabbit and what to do when he had.   ===============================================================================   Secrets were a terrible burden. Toshinori understood the weight of them better than some. His body suffered under his greatest secret. His mind suffered under all the rest. As his skeletal, emaciated self, no one looked twice at him. He could sit alone at the bar, sipping his drink and trying to figure out what the hell to do. Even the bartender paid little attention to him, only coming over to check on the level of his drink whenever he pushed it forward. He was keeping it to a minimum today; nursing his drink for as long as he could. He needed to keep his mind clear. He needed to preserve what little worth his body had left. Because if he was right in the source of those black particles, he was going to need every ounce of strength and wit to survive. Toshinori held a lot of secrets close to his scarred and battered chest. The one that he kept closest to his heart, though, was the wish that he was wrong. Wrong about the particles. Wrong about Midoriya. Wrong about the strange black rabbit creature he’d seen staring at him. Wrong about his paranoia. Toshinori wanted to be wrong so badly it ached almost as bad as the bunched skin did on his chest. He sat, one hand over his eyes, the other holding tightly onto his drink, and hoped for the best, despite what he knew he had seen. ***** routine ***** Chapter Summary routine helps pass the time from day to day Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Returning to school encouraged Izuku to fall into routine and he was never one to fight that. Now that he and Katsuki had taken the first solid step into their future together, what mattered was staying the course. There were some things that carried over from their last summer. They continued to monopolize each other’s time outside of school.. Where those hours had been filled with training and the typical rowdy behavior of a couple of teenaged boys allowed to run free during the summer, they now refocused on homework and studying, training and practice and, of course, delving into the new aspect of Izuku’s first quirk. In the morning they woke just in time to get breakfast, get ready for school and head out without being late. Katsuki was ready first; Izuku hurried to meet up with him at the corner of the street. They walked to school together, usually in silence, unless Izuku had something exciting he wanted to talk about. School itself was a set routine that the boys threw themselves into wholeheartedly. Classwork and their battle training got their focused attention, perching Katsuki and Izuku near the top ranking in their class in terms of grades and progress. The greatest variable for school wasn’t the activities or their interest in them, but whether or not Katsuki had made lunch. Very quickly they settled into a pattern they’d established in middle school. They sat near enough to each other in class that they could confer quietly if they had questions. Study sessions or homeroom class was spent completing homework, to make time for other things after school. From time to time, Katsuki made them lunches and they would either enjoy them in the classroom, the cafeteria or outside. When he didn’t, they found a table in the cafeteria to eat in. They were each other’s first choice if they had to pair up and quickly found a few other students that both Izuku liked and Katsuki could tolerate for larger groups. It wasn’t long before they figured out that their teachers were purposefully trying to keep them separated by assigning groups or flat out calling them out and telling them to pick someone else. That, too, was like middle school. They listened to their teachers, but they never stayed apart long. Izuku would meekly obey, giving Katsuki a sidelong glance. Katsuki would obey with a roll of his eyes and a disgusted expression.   (“It doesn’t matter how much they try to pull us apart,” Katsuki whispered. His mouth was at Izuku’s throat, at his jaw, his ear, kissing and speaking in a low, heated tone. “The harder they pull, the stronger we bounce back. We’re together,Deku. That was the promise. Together. Forever.” “Forever,” Izuku repeated. His hands dug into Katsuki’s shoulders; his breath faint, his heart pounding. These meetings in bathroom stalls and around the hidden corners of buildings, too, became part of routine. Katsuki had his own list of things to experiment with and Izuku was more than happy to help.)   After school they went to one of their two homes. It changed depending on the day, depending on how they felt, depending on whether or not Katsuki’s mother would be home that afternoon. Homework was finished, indoor exercise followed by outdoor exercise and then came, at last, the time to relax and eat. Those few hours a week where they did nothing but watch terrible TV or sit at the table and eat with Inko were treasured. Not necessarily by the boys themselves, but by Inko, who saw Izuku at his happiest when he and Katsuki were squabbling over which show to watch or were going back and forth in telling her about something they learned in school. Most nights, this was where it would end and they would go back home, or one would stay the night and they would pass out together, Izuku’s cheek smushed against Katsuki’s shoulder and Katsuki with both arms around Izuku. Some nights, this was where it only began. This was one of those nights.         Izuku swiped his house key off its hook and tied it around his wrist so he wouldn’t lose it. He tucked the piece of metal behind Good Luck, so that it didn’t swing and catch on anything. His shoes were already on and his hand on the doorknob when he heard his mother faintly call from farther in the apartment, “Izuku?” Wincing, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, “Yes?” “Are you… You’re heading out?” She came walking down the hallway, a slight frown on her face. She checked her watch and the frown deepened. “Honey,  it’s after ten.” Izuku tugged at the hem of his hoodie. “I know.” “Where are you going? Did you need something from the store again?” Izuku flushed, shaking his head, “No. I’m not going to the store. I just, um, I couldn’t sleep and I was wanting to go see Kacchan?” He realized he was fiddling nervously with his hands and so he shoved them into his pockets. “Is that okay?” “You’ll see him tomorrow at school though, won’t you?” Inko said. “And it’s a school night… I don’t want you running around and getting into trouble.” “I don’t do that!” Izuku said indignantly. “I’m just going to go straight over to Kacchan’s house, Mom!” He turned away, muttering, “Besides, we never get caught so it’s not like we’ve ever reallybeen in trouble.” He knew his mom hadn’t heard him when she sighed and said, “All right. All right.I guess you can go over there. Just be safe on your way over, okay? There’s been this weird report on the news about troublemakers vandalizing things out at night and I don’t want you to get caught and accused of that.” Izuku held perfectly still for a second and then forced himself to relax. “Mom, vandals won’t want anything to do with me or Kacchan. Besides, we’ll probably just end up watching a movie in his room. It’s fine. I just… couldn’t get to sleep.” Inko closed the distance and gave him a quick hug. Izuku hugged back, feeling a bitter taste in the back of his throat for lying to her. He breathed in her scent, comforting himself with the way she smelled and felt in his arms. Inko pet his hair with one hand for a moment before she stepped back. “Be quick and careful, son. I love you.” “Love you,” Izuku replied before ducking out. He worried his lip with his teeth as he headed down the sidewalk. It felt like he was always leaving his worried mother behind. He had thought she was already asleep this night but she’d surprised him with that conversation. Sure, rushing off to school didn’t feel like sneaking, but after dinner, even if he was only running to the market, it felt… devious. He couldn’t really shake the feeling until he reached the corner, where Katsuki waited by the light pole, hood up on his own hoodie. Izuku lifted his own up as he approached. “Kacchan?” Katsuki straightened and scowled. Izuku opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when Katsuki snapped, “My mother got on my case about heading out tonight. She didn’t want me to go.” “Mine too,” Izuku said. “I had to tell her I was staying the night at your place.” “Great.” Katsuki grimaced. “That’s what I told mine. Although that seemed to just piss her off more. I swear, she’s become such a fucking bitch lately. I wish I knew what crawled up her ass and fucking died there.” “Oh. This is gonna be a weird night,” Izuku said. “If your mom thinks you’re at my place and mine thinks I’m at yours-” “We’ll just go back to your place,” Katsuki said, “Your mom is more lenient than mine anyway. She won’t mind.” “But I told her I was going straight to your place. What would we say to her? That your mom kicked me out?” Izuku shook his head, “We’re going to be out for at least two hours, Kacchan.” “Then we’ll figure it out then. C’mon,” Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s wrist, “Let’s go to the park. There’s no point in arguing about this shit. Worst case scenario is we sleep in the park or something.” “That reminds me,” Izuku said, following Katsuki, “People have seen some of the leftovers of the last experiment. There was apparently something on the news about a vandal?” “Yeah, I saw that at dinner,” Katsuki said, “Dad was watching it.” He cut across the street and lead Izuku through an alley, taking the back way to their destination. Izuku picked up his pace a bit so they could walk side by side. They spoke quietly with each other so their voices didn’t carry very much. They were the only two out in the neighborhood and in dark hoodies with their hoods up, Izuku knew they probably looked pretty suspicious. “I wish we had a junkyard or something we could practice in,” Izuku said. “Like the beach, before it was cleaned up.” “I checked there the other day,” Katsuki said, “It’s still pretty clear. There’s nothing but sand and sea.” “Wouldn’t that be a good place to test? We haven’t done any water experiments and it’d be good to know if footprints showed up.” Izuku said as they came out the other side of the alley. Katsuki paused and looked at him. “Actually… yeah. That wouldn’t be a bad place at all. Let’s go to the beach.” Izuku smiled and agreed.   ===============================================================================   The steady roll of the waves upon the shore filled the air. The sound of two pairs of feet walking across the sand added a soft schff schffto the night. The clear beach was a beautiful sight under the light of the full moon. The sand nearly glowed and the ocean was inky black where it didn’t reflect the silver of the moonlight. Katsuki came to a stop first. Izuku carried on a few paces before he turned to face Katsuki. “Okay. What’s our focus tonight?” “Interactions between Usagi and sea water,” Izuku said, lifting up his hand. He ticked off each item on his fingers. “Interactions between Usagi and sand. A second data gather for the test of Kacchan against an invisible enemy. Aaand,” he drew out the word as he wracked his brain for the last objective, “Distance data gather three. This is the last one until this weekend, when I want to do an endurance run.” Katsuki grimaced. “We’re really doing that second data gather at night?” “Night or day it doesn’t matter, Kacchan. Usagi is still invisible to you and the sunlight won’t help.” Izuku said as he slid his backpack off his shoulders to dig out his flashlight and his notebook. “Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki grumbled. “And you have to be practiced at fighting people even when not at your optimum,” Izuku continued as he crouched down in the sand. He opened the notebook and laid it across his knees. “You won’t run into your only villains in the morning when you’re refreshed. Sometimes it’ll happen late at night or just after a long day.” “I know.”Katsuki snapped. He pulled off his hoodie and tossed it at Izuku. “Fighting in sand is a bitch enough, Deku. I don’t need your snide comments to back it up. Now bring up that rabbit bitch already.” Catching Katsuki’s hoodie, Izuku tucked it into the bag and then focused his attention on his friend again. “Okay. Usagi-chan, time to come out.” He held his breath for a moment as a rush of somethingfilled, overfilled and spilled out of him. The black creature that sprang forth was as black as the ocean’s waves at night. Izuku could see the edge of moonlight on the elongated ears and on the long claws at the end of what passed as paws or hands for Usagi. Izuku held his breath as he saw her feet dig into the sand, leaving clawed toe imprints behind. He inched forward, so as not to disturb them, and sketched the outline in his notebook. Usagi, he’d discovered quickly in his experiments, could work independently of his conscious attention. She picked up on his desires faster than he was able to really recognize them himself and if he gave her a direct instruction, whether it be out loud or thought in his head, she listened. Now she was doing what he wanted her to: nonlethal attack with Katsuki. So while he was able to take notes on the imprints of her feet- enough to use to search the internet later to see if they were similar enough to any animal to pass- Usagi fought Katsuki on the beach. When he’d finished his drawing, Izuku gave his attention back to the fight. Usagi’s moves were slowed. To Izuku, it would have been easy to see them coming and prepare for them. For Katsuki, who had to listen to every shift of sand, every whisper of air, it was just about the right speed for him to locate, translate the sound in his head and react to it. Izuku watched them both with calculating eyes. He had a rough estimate of how strong Usagi was and a better idea of how sharp her claws and teeth were. Stone, concrete and wood were nothing to her physical weapons. Metal could be scratched deeply or clean through, depending on its own hardness level, and if not scratched it could be crunched up if she could get some muscle put behind her attack. If she were going flat out against someone like Katsuki, someone who couldn’t see her, he didn’t doubt that she could take them down. She was an incredible defense. Izuku knew she would be invaluable to him as a hero. She could carry anyone, cut through anything, was obedient and swift. The only problem was that she didn’t last very long. Izuku wrote a note to push his endurance with his tests in his notebook before turning his attention to Katsuki instead. This test wasn’t just for Usagi, after all. Katsuki was quiet during his fight. His eyes moved constantly and he never dropped his guard. In the moonlight, his hair was paler than usual. He looked washed out, except for his burning red eyes and the dark smudge of his lips, parted for his panting breath. Without using his quirk, Katsuki was even more at a disadvantage than normal, but using it would have brought them more trouble than it was worth. Izuku thought it was a shame. He wished he could see the flame bursting in the air. Katsuki never looked quite so alive as he did with both hands smoldering and the flashes of red-orange and gold lighting up his skin. Of course, Katsuki was fully dressed so it wasn’t like Izuku was able to see much of that skin anyway.That, too, was a shame. Usagi twisted around, ducking under a punch and reaching up with a clawed hand. Izuku expected her to push Katsuki back, to dislodge his footing, as she tended to do, but instead, her wrist twisted and her claws hooked up under the edge of Katsuki’s shirt. With a lift of her arm she sliced Katsuki’s shirt in half. “Oi!” Katsuki snapped, “Bitch!” Izuku blinked, surprised at her actions. He took more notes, edging around to get a better view. Katsuki lunged after Usagi, but she was quicker on her feet. The sand really didn’t seem to hamper her at all, just like long grass or gravel or concrete. Izuku watched as she went in again. She avoided another strike, hooked a claw under another strip of shirt and rent the back of Katsuki’s shirt in half. He stood there for a second, indignantly grinding his teeth. Katsuki whipped his head around and glared at izuku. “The fuck is your bitch doing? Deku. Answer me!” Izuku couldn’t. He had lifted his notebook up to half-hide behind it. He stared, unblinking, at Katsuki. He couldn’t quite put into words what he was seeing. Katsuki, in the moonlight, was beautiful. He wanted to say so, but the word choked him up and sat in his throat like a stone. Izuku saw Usagi dart forward, but, somehow, he could tell she wasn’t fighting anymore. Neither was her mood simply playful. She slipped past Katsuki, the tips of her claws skating over his skin and making him whip around to try and hit her. She was teasingKatsuki, Izuku realized belatedly, as she dashed past to do it again, making Katsuki spin around again until his back was to Izuku. Katsuki stood between Izuku and Usagi, facing the black rabbit. Usagi crouched low, resting a hand in the sand. She cocked her head to the side, and though she had no discernible facial features, Izuku knew she was looking at him. She tilted her head to the other side and shifted in the sand. “You bitch,” Katsuki snarled. “...Kacchan…” came a whispered voice, distant and eerie and belonging to neither Katsuki or Izuku. “Kacchan is beautiful.” Izuku’s heart leaped into his throat, dislodging his words, but that didn’t make it any easier to speak. Katsuki lowered his fists for a second, faltering in obvious surprise. He glanced over his shoulder, looking towards Izuku. That was the moment Usagi lunged. She took off from the sand and cleared the space between where she was standing and where Katsuki had stood without touching down again. She collided into his chest, knocking the breath out of Katsuki and cutting his exclamation off short. Izuku yelped, reaching out, not wanting Katsuki to hit the ground too hard. Katsuki landed with a thump on the soft sand and immediately twisted in an attempt to dislodge Usagi. “You shitty bitch, get the hell off of me!” Katsuki shouted up at the impassive face. “Kacchan,” Izuku said, walking over. It was useless for him to yell. Usagi wasn’t even looking at Katsuki, but was looking up at Izuku, head to the side again. “Kacchan, you’re being too loud!” “I’m being too loud? Your rabbit monster is sitting on me!” Katsuki snapped, moving his head so he could glare at Izuku.  “She’s fucking won. I fucking get it. Now get off!” “Usagi-chan,” Izuku said to his ghost. He crouched down beside them. “Can you get off of Kacchan now, please?” For a moment, it looked like she wouldn’t listen, but then she pulled back slowly. At the same time, she began to unravel, like a black silk ribbon loosening around a rabbit shaped frame. The black particles that made up her body seeped into the air. Izuku made a soft sound as he reached out to her. Every time she vanished he worried about her, hoping that she’d be okay and she’d come back again. With Usagi’s weight gone, Katsuki sat up, rubbing at his chest. He waited with a glare as Izuku said goodnight to Usagi. Then, when she was gone, he turned, grabbed Izuku by the front of his jacket and rolled him to the ground. Izuku gave a surprised noise and for a moment clutched tighter at his notebook. At the look in Katsuki’s eyes, though, he tossed it and the pen aside and reached up. Katsuki met him for a sharp kiss, one that he spent half the time biting Izuku’s lips. Drawing back, between kisses, he said, “Your damn rabbit ripped my shirt up and called me beautiful. What the fuck was that about?” “She’s connected to my subconscious,” Izuku mumbled back. “At least, she acts like she is. That’s why she acted the way she did the first few times she showed up. I didn’t know I could control her at the time, but she did what I needed to do but couldn’t do on my own.” Katsuki glared down at him. “So she ripped my shirt off because, what? You wanted to?” “Uh. Yes?” Izuku blushed. “I mean. I just… In the moonlight you look so… And I might have gotten a little distracted and she just…” His voice faded away as he worried his bottom lip. Katsuki slid his hand up from Izuku’s shirt collar. It curled lightly around his throat, his fingers in position to feel Izuku’s pulse race. “You owe me a new shirt,” Katsuki said. “I have spare ones,” Izuku said. He always brought spare shirts. He couldn’t meet Katsuki’s eyes. Or rather, he couldn’t look up from Katsuki’s mouth. Katsuki leaned in, “We have other tests to do, don’t we?” “Usagi should rest for a while before she comes out again,” Izuku said. “And doesn’t this count as an experiment?” Katsuki’s grip tightened slightly. “Is… Is that what you think of this? That it’s an experiment for, what, sex data?” Izuku opened his mouth. Katsuki squeezed harder. “Think before you fucking answer that one, Deku. Think. Really. Fucking. Hard.” He gave a little nod and Katsuki eased up his grip. “Kacchan,” Izuku said, “I don’t care what we call this, what we call what we are. Boyfriends or best friends or partners or whatever. It doesn’t matter. There isn’t anyone else I want to do this with; there never will be. I love you, Kacchan. I don’t love anyone else.” There was silence from Katsuki for a minute. The waves rolled against the shore, a constant rush-rush of water that was as steady as their beating hearts. Katsuki bent down and whispered, “Good answer,” before he kissed Izuku again. Katsuki quickly overwhelmed Izuku’s senses. There was no source of heat in all the world except for Katsuki who sat above him, knees against Izuku’s sides, hands on Izuku’s body, mouth on Izuku’s own. Izuku quickly became lost in their shared kisses, in the feeling of Katsuki’s rough hands running up the underside of his shirt and hoodie. Izuku arched his back, his heels digging into the sand, as Katsuki dug his teeth into the side of his neck. “K-Kacchan-” Izuku panted. “W-wait.” Katsuki pulled back. He was breathing heavily as well. His eyes were full of burning desire as Izuku met his gaze. The sight made him shiver. “For what?” “I don’t really want to do this in the sand,” Izuku said, “I mean, it’s going to get everywhere. It always does.” Katsuki rolled his eyes, “Mood killer.” Izuku flushed, “I didn’t mean to-” Katsuki shut him up with a kiss. “Don’t worry about it. We shouldn’t get too carried away anyway.” “You say that,” Izuku remarked, “But you’re not actually getting off of me.” Katsuki sighed. His breath was warm against Izuku’s neck. Izuku absently turned his head. He enjoyed the feeling of Katsuki’s lips at his pulse. The faint ache of his skin told him he had a couple of hickeys, but they were a problem for Izuku of the future. Izuku of the present had a very different problem. “Kacchan…” “Are we calling it a night or are we getting back to testing Usagi?” Katsuki pulled up again. His fingers fiddled with the drawstring of Izuku’s hood. “I want to try the distance,” Izuku said. “Last time we got to the end of the block before we had to call it off. This time I want to see if we can go farther.” Katsuki nodded. He finally got off of Izuku and began to brush sand off of himself. “Sounds fine. My house is farther from the beach, so we’ll head there. We can climb in through the window and if my mom throws a fit, well, just ignore her. What can she fucking do about it anyway?” “Okay.” Izuku helped brush Katsuki off until he was shooed away. Collecting his things, he shook out the sand from his notebook and handed Katsuki back his jacket. Katsuki picked up the scraps of his shirt while Izuku kicked the footprints left behind by Usagi the first time. They were still learning the best way to cover their tracks, but with the sand it certainly made it easier. Before they left, Izuku turned towards the ocean. He focused for a moment and felt that rush before Usagi appeared in front of him. She almost instantly crouched down, looking up at him and then getting into a comfortable position. Or he assumed it was comfortable for him. She was going to wait as long as she could. “Goodnight Usagi-chan,” Izuku said. “If you get lonely, you can look up there, okay?” He pointed to the moon. “That’s where the moon princess you were named for lives. You can talk to her and she’ll listen to whatever your problems are, I promise.” Usagi tilted her head to look back at the moon and Izuku smiled. “Come on, nerd,” Katsuki said, taking Izuku’s hand. “Fucking Christ, dude, you’re such a fucking sap.” “Say goodnight to Usagi-chan, Kacchan,” Izuku said as he was tugged away, “Please?” Katsuki rolled his eyes. Over his shoulder he shouted, “Goodnight Usagi. You keep an eye out for any illegal dumping, okay? We want this beach to stay spotless. Deku worked damn hard on getting it there.” “Kacchan!” Izuku said, “Don’t give her conflicting jobs!” “She can do both,” Katsuki said confidently. “Now come on. At this rate we’re going to have to be doing these fucking experiments all weekend too. We have to get ready for the fucking field event next week, or did you forget that? We won’t be able to waste time dicking around every night.” “I guess I’ll rearrange the schedule a little bit,” Izuku said, “Since we are losing focus so late at night.” He tapped thoughtfully at his chin, letting Katsuki guide him as he chattered through his thoughts. His voice faded fainter and fainter the farther he got from the shoreline.       Usagi stayed crouched on the sand, head tilted up to the moon, waiting. After the boys had gone for a full minute, Usagi began to hum a half recalled song from Izuku’s childhood. She remained that way, singing to herself, until her time ran out and she unravelled into black matter. Chapter End Notes ghost-bunny usagi-chan is my new favorite thing and im not sorry at all edit: i made a small fuckup with a bit of dialogue so if u read it before i made this edit and r like "WAIT HWAT" chill. my bad. i got my timeline events crossed lol ***** out of control ***** Chapter Summary the day at USJ does not go according to anyone's plan Chapter Notes theres a lot of fighting in this one and some mentions of dismemberment. *finger guns* Usagi is really cool. im glad u all like her, here she is for her encore. See the end of the chapter for more notes The morning of the disaster field training event, Katsuki stood with his classmates in the loading zone. They all wore their hero costumes, including Izuku who had just gotten his replacement the day before from the support department. Izuku had his hood and mask pulled down for the trip out to the field just like Katsuki wasn’t yet wearing his gloves and grenadiers because of their size. Iida counted them one by one as they got onto the bus, performing his duty with his usual efficiency. He checked their names off on his list as they walked past. Izuku gave a brief, polite smile to Iida as he passed, more interested in the seating on the bus than the class president. Katsuki followed suit. Izuku was the one who led them to the back of the bus. Standing in the aisle, he turned to Tokoyami who had found a seat towards the back. “Excuse me, Tokoyami-kun, do you mind if I sit here next to you?” Tokoyami looked up from the window to stare at Izuku. His red gaze flicked to Katsuki and met his eyes before he answered Izuku with, “There’s only one seat. You both can’t sit there.” “Well obviously,” Izuku said, “That’s why I asked if you mind if I sit next to you.” Tokoyami blinked slowly. “...Are you sure you don’t want to sit next to each other?” Katsuki rolled his eyes. Shouldering past Izuku, he dropped into the seat behind the two of them and slouched in the chair, getting comfortable. Izuku laughed as if he suddenly understood what Tokoyami’s problem was. “Actually, I have a few questions about your quirk that I kind of wanted to ask if you were okay with that.” “Excuse me?” Tokoyami asked. “You have a unique quirk with your companion, Tokoyami-kun, and I was hoping to ask you a few things about you and your quirk if I could,” Izuku explained. Katsuki watched him silently. He had taken the window seat, leaving the other one open in case Izuku was denied. “Why? What do you want to know?” “I have a few questions about visibility and connection and early development,” Izuku said. His hands were automatically patting his pockets, seeking his notebook, and fell lamely limp to his sides when he realized that he didn’t have one. Katsuki dug a hand into his pocket and held out a small notepad. “Here. You left this behind. Be fucking grateful I grabbed it for you.” Katsuki handed it over. Izuku gave him a beaming smile as he took the paper. “Why do you have these questions?” Tokoyami asked. Izuku glanced to Katsuki, who shrugged in reply to his silent question. It was Izuku’s quirk that had generated Usagi. He didn’t care how much Izuku talked about the rabbit, especially since there was no way to connect her to Izuku’s death quirk. Bending in, Izuku dropped his voice to a whisper, “I think I might have, uh, developed something similar, but it’s a new thing and not very well known. I was hoping I could get some first-hand account from you on a shadow body quirk.” “Midoriya-san, you have a body enhancement quirk. That's. All.” Tokoyami said, slowly, like Izuku was an idiot. Katsuki kicked his chair. Tokoyami shot him a sharp glare. “Kacchan, that is not helpful,” Izuku said primly. “Tokoyami-kun is right. I do have a body enhancement quirk. But it’s, um, a bit unusual. Like with the healing.” “Uh huh. Healing.” Tokoyami said. He glanced out of the corner of his eye towards Katsuki again. Izuku’s ‘healing’ sessions had always been done with Katsuki- and it was always obvious when Katsuki was missing. Katsuki didn't like the implication in Tokoyami's gaze. He was itching to kick his seat again. “Midoriya-kun!” Iida called from the front of the bus, “Please take a seat! We are ready to go!” “Look,” Tokoyami said, “I’m not really comfortable talking about Dark Shadow with… you. Or anyone, really. No offense intended.” “No no, I understand,” Izuku said, “That’s fine!” he stepped away. “If that does change and you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions, will you let me know?” “...Sure,” Tokoyami said, turning away. Katsuki saw the brief flash of disappointment on Izuku’s face. He reached up and grabbed him by the arm, tugging him down into the seat next to his own. “Don’t pout,” Katsuki muttered into Izuku’s ear as he put an arm around his shoulders. “We’re in public. You know how I feel about you pouting where other motherfuckers can see you.” Izuku rolled his eyes, but he smiled and that was what Katsuki was going for. “I know, I know. Possessive bastard.” Katsuki pulled Izuku closer to his side. “Hey, I just gotta fucking protect what’s mine, you know?” Izuku laughed, tickled by Katsuki’s breath at his lobe. “I know. I know!” He ducked his chin a little, looking down at the notebook in his hand. There was a sticker of a rabbit on the front, as well as a glittering red and gold heart shaped gem. The word Usagi-chan was handwritten across the front. It was disgustingly cute, like most things about Izuku that Katsuki had to deal with. In an attempt to distract Izuku further, Katsuki bit Izuku’s earlobe, tugging on it while his free hand reached for the notebook. “Let’s put this away for now, hm?” “K-Kacchan-” Izuku murmured. His grip relaxed on the notebook and Katsuki put it back in his pocket. Izuku’s own uniform had pockets, but since he was much more likely to utterly ruin anything he wore for any length of time, Katsuki’s pockets were a much safer location for his notes. “We’re sort of technically in class.” “Uh huh,” Katsuki said, “We’re at the very back of the bus, too. What’s your point?” After putting the notepad in his pocket, he had a free hand. That free hand was instantly put to good use, sliding up the inside of Izuku’s thigh. Izuku squirmed in his chair, not pulling away but clamping his legs shut in a futile attempt to slow the steady advance of Katsuki’s hand. “Kacchan,” Izuku hissed, “Please.” “Please, what?” Katsuki asked, “Use your words, Deku. I can’t understand you when you just whimper like that. You could mean anything with a little sound like that.” He squeezed a handful of Izuku’s thigh and held his own breath at the way Izuku’s body tensed and arched slightly under his touch. “We’ll get the uniforms dirty if you go too far,” Izuku said. “And I just got mine back from the last time you fucked it up.” His breath came in short pants. His voice was strained. Katsuki’s hand had stopped short of his groin and kneaded his thighs teasingly. “So afterward,” Katsuki said, “When our uniforms are already fucked up? How about then?” Biting his bottom lip, Izuku nodded his head enthusiastically. “I guess I have to be satisfied with that, then,” Katsuki grumbled. He pulled his hand away but kept Izuku held close to his side. He heard a relieved sigh from the seat in front of them and kicked the back of Tokoyami’s chair again. “Kacchan!” “He started it.” “He didn’t do anything,” Izuku said. He glared at Katsuki. Lowering his voice he added, “And I want to ask him things for Usagi later. So please. Don’t.” Katsuki sighed. It was going to be a boring bus ride after all. At least the disaster field practice promised to be more interesting. Katsuki couldn’t wait to see what the teachers had in store for them.   ===============================================================================   It happened far too quickly. One minute they were listening to Number Thirteen explain the arena and what they were going to be doing that day. The next Aizawa was shouting to stay put and stick close to each other because there were villains.  Izuku blindly reached for Katsuki’s hand as the villains declared their intent to kill them, the students, in order to summon All Might. “Kacchan-” He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Aizawa’s fight. He so rarely got to see a real fight with a pro hero and he’d never been able to see Aizawa really fight before. “Everyone hurry!” Iida’s voice carried over the crowd, “We are going to evacuate!” Katsuki tugged on Izuku’s hand with enough force to start him stumbling back. A sudden black mist rose around them, surrounding them, filling the air. “Kacchan,” Izuku yanked on Katsuki’s hand, “Do you see that mist?” “Yeah,” Katsuki said back. “This isn’t like your weird black shit. Fuck. What the hell is going on?” Izuku squeezed his hand for a brief second before he let go and lifted up his hands. “This is going to be a real fight. Kacchan, are you ready?” As a voice came from the black mist, ever so eloquently asking if they could extinguish All Might, Izuku dashed forwards. There was no reason to listen to the threats of a villain. There was no reason to wait for him to attack them. Instinctively, Izuku went left to compliment Katsuki going right. They both struck, Izuku channeling his quirk through his arm with enough force to fracture the bone and create a shockwave. He struck a second before Katsuki did so that their attacks didn’t cancel each other out. “Wait, you two!” Called Number Thirteen from behind them. “You need to run!” “Heroes don’t run,” Katsuki said with a grin. “Heroes win. Right, Deku?” “Right!” The mist that they had cleared came back in full force, swirling around them. The voice was amused praising them for their tenacity. Izuku didn’t listen. His eyes were searching for the source of all the mist. There had to be a source, the main body. His eyes caught on the glimmering metal in the middle of the mist. There! That has to be it! But before he could say a thing, the villain attacked. “Boys!” Thirteen shouted. “Run!” “You will be scattered,” The mist rose swiftly, sweeping over them, “And tortured.” Izuku stepped back and to the side, closer to Katsuki. “And slain.” Suddenly they were not just surrounded but swallowed in the mist. “Kacchan!” Izuku shouted. He heard, the sound growing distant, Katsuki shouting his name back. He reached through the mist towards where he knew Katsuki should have been but his fingers grasped nothing. Enveloped by darkness, Izuku didn’t feel his change in location. However, when the mist parted and he saw light again, Izuku was instantly aware that he was falling. The dropping sensation was incredibly familiar. His body adjusted as well as it could. He spun around until the dark blue that he saw wasn’t sky but water below. Also below was a ship, listing in the water, a prop from the disaster course. “Shit,” he hissed, looking around for Katsuki, for anyone. “Shit!” As far as he could tell, he was the only one falling this far. Without any way to alter his trajectory, Izuku braced himself for impact. From this height, the surface of the water was just as dangerous as the boat’s deck. If he were lucky, he’d hit the boat, giving him ground to work with. If he weren’t lucky, he’d hit the water. Mere feet from his landing, Izuku curled up, ducked his head and folded his arms protectively over the mask attached to his suit. Unlucky, was Izuku’s last thought as he struck the railing of the boat, bounced off and headed for the water. He was dead by the time his body struck the waves.   ===============================================================================   “Deku?” Katsuki came stumbling out of the mist shouting Izuku’s name. “Deku!” He turned, his boot gritting against the concrete floor, searching for Izuku. They’d been pulled into the black mist at the same time from the same place, after all. However, the second portal that opened up dropped out Kirishima instead. There was a second when he stared, wide-eyed, at Katsuki. The portal closed behind him, leaving the two of them isolated. Katsuki gritted his teeth. “What is everyone’s fucking deal with trying to separate me and Deku? Stupid fuckers,” he muttered to himself. Were even villains keeping them apart now? Fuck that. Fuck it all. “Uh-” “Be useful or don’t, I don’t give a shit,” Katsuki said as he stalked forwards. He could hear footsteps approaching. Either they were other students or more villains. He was personally hoping it was the latter. “Either way, stay the fuck outta my way, shitrag.” “We’re on the same side, Bakugou.” Kirishima said, “I mean, we both want to get back to the others and get out of here, right?” “That doesn’t matter to me,” Katsuki said. In the side of the wall that was open in front of them, he saw the top of a head appear. He rolled his shoulders and  “I don’t give a shit about the rest of you. First I’m going to find and murder that misty asshole and then I’m going to get back to Deku. No handful of villainous mooks is going to stand in my fucking way.” “Bakugou-” “Oi! Motherfucker!” Katsuki shouted to the villain that came vaulting into the room, weapons at the ready. “You fucked up, asshole! You fucked up real bad!” He grinned, racing forwards, palms crackling with the fire of his quirk, “Time for you to fucking die, fuckwad!”   ===============================================================================   Izuku’s heart was in his throat. The creature that held onto Aizawa was inhuman in both strength and appearance. Beside him, Asui and Mineta were frozen with fear in the water. His impact with the boat had fixed his fractured arm from attacking the mist villain but his escape from the water had left him down a finger on one side. Not that it mattered. Izuku could hardly feel the pain these days. A broken finger, a stubbed toe, a fractured rib- it was all temporary pain for him. The blood and injuries that Aizawa carried now couldn’t be healed in the blink of an eye. Izuku ground his teeth. As the villain with many hands lunged towards them, aiming for Asui, he pushed off the ground with more force than necessary, cracking the stone and throwing himself at the man. “Fuck off and die!” Izuku shouted as he bore him to the ground. He felt a hand curl around his upper arm as the man shouted in aggravation. The feeling of his skin curling back, his flesh being exposed was raw and new for a second but Izuku simply refused to focus on it. Instead, he drew back his other arm and swung it in, aiming for the man’s ribs. His strike hit true, knocking the hand villain away from himself with enough force that he skidded across the ground. Izuku rolled up to his feet, hands up. He glanced at his injured arm and saw blood running down from the open wound. He flexed his hand. He rolled his shoulder. “Still works,” he muttered, “Good enough.” “You little brat,” the man with hands coughed. Between the fingers, his eyes were wide and wild. “I’m going to kill you first.” “If that’s supposed to scare me,” Izuku retorted, sliding one foot back and keeping a protective stance in front of Asui and Mineta. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the big Noumu beast leaning forward, clearly losing interest in Aizawa. “Then you really should up your game. Death means nothing to me.” “Oh is that so?” Hands said with a little laugh, “What do you even know about death, kid?” Izuku made his eye roll incredibly apparent. He desperately wished Katsuki was there, just so he could share this moment. “More than you ever will. Obviously.” “Midoriya!” Mineta shouted from the water, “Why are you taunting him!? He’s going to kill you!” Izuku snorted. “He doesn’t have the guts.” Hands gave an outraged shout, but it was the beast that attacked Izuku. He came in from the side, hands reaching for Izuku, and crazed eyes focused on him. Izuku braced himself for impact, for the second time that day, but this time, he wasn’t prepared for what hit him. The Noumu thing slammed a fist through the arm he had up in defense, snapping the bone and continuing right through to Izuku’s jaw. He felt rather than heard the snap of bone as he went flying back. Someone shouted something and Izuku felt something tug around his stomach, yanking him back, but he ignored all of that. He focused his fast fading thoughts on one thing. Usagi. Protect my classmates!     Izuku came back with a flutter of eyelashes and a grunt. His cheek was resting against a shoulder, and for a second he was perfectly relaxed, thinking that it was Katsuki that held onto him. Then the person took a breath and he realized that someone else held him. Izuku opened his eyes and looked up to see Asui, eyes wide, staring at him. “M-Midoriya? How are you- What happened?” “No time to explain,” Izuku said. He sat up, pulling out of her surprise- weakened grasp. “What happened while I was out?” He turned towards the fighting. He probably hadn’t been out for more than a few seconds, by the look of it. For one thing, Hands was shouting “What the hell is going on!?” For another, even the Nnoumu seemed confused. Usagi stood crouched between Izuku and the Noumu. Her back was to him, ears up, and there was red on her claws. The Noumu had several long scratches along its arms and side that were healing through what looked like accelerated regeneration. It panted with its mouth wide open and eyes wide, searching wildly from side to side. “Something attacked the monster,” Asui said. Izuku appreciated that she had such a calm head when she evenly explained, “There, do you see? There’s something there with blood on it. You can just barely see it.” Izuku nodded. Then he was right with his hypothesis. Only he could see Usagi. He got to his feet, dripping water, as he walked up. Hands’ attention riveted to Izuku in a second, “You!” he shouted, “How are you still walking? What did you do?” Izuku smirked at him. He thought Katsuki would be proud of that expression, from the lift of his chin to the tilt of his brow. “I knew you didn’t have the guts to kill me. You sent him to do it. Well, two can play that game.” Lifting his hand, Izuku pointed to the Noumu. The thing focused on him as well. There was something exhilarating about the way Izuku had their attention, had control of the situation. He knew things they didn’t. He could see things they couldn’t. He could save Aizawa and protect his classmates. He could do anything. “Usagi-chan, please help me rescue Aizawa-sensei. Be careful. He’s injured.” “Aizawa-sensei is hurt. Be careful.” Usagi whispered back in confirmation. The Nnoumu heard her and seemed to finally see the red on her claws but it was too late. Quick as her namesake, Usagi leaped forward, claws outstretched to take down the Noumu. “What the fuck-” Hands began. “What kind of cheat is this?” Izuku lost the rest of his words as he ran forward under Usagi’s attack. She landed square on the Noumu’s chest, her toes splayed out on his chest as her claws dug into the creature’s shoulders. Usagi tore the muscle and tendons, completely fixated on disarming the creature permanently. The Noumu staggered back, screeching up at her, reaching out blindly as blood sprayed from the injury. Izuku skidded to a stop at Aizawa’s side. “C’mon sensei, we gotta get you out of here.” He slung one of Aizawa’s arms around his shoulders and hefted the man up in his arms. Aizawa was lighter than he expected so Izuku had to shift his footing quickly. “Midoriya,” Aizawa coughed. He looked awful, covered in grime and blood. Izuku grits his teeth and shook his head, cutting Aizawa off. “Don’t waste your strength, Sensei. It’s okay. Let Usagi and I take care of these guys.” He turned to run out of the fight. However, the man with the hands came after him, visibly furious. “You!” He reached out with both hands, not aiming for an arm this time, but something more vital. “I won’t let you heal another time. I’ll make sure you die once and for all for what you did!” Izuku bunched his quirk in his legs and sprang up into the air, mimicking Usagi’s movement in an attempt to escape the man with the hands. As he leaped up, he passed something- or someone- coming crashing to the ground. Izuku saw a flash of red, blue and gold and his heart began to beat hard in his chest. “All Might!” A cloud of dust rose from the ground where All Might came crashing down. Izuku was grinning when he landed again, stumbling forward as his legs absorbed the shock badly. He came to a limping stop, grimacing as his joints screamed in agony. Yet, he had reached safety and was able to put down Aizawa. “Here, sensei. You’ll be safe here.” “Midoriya,” Aizawa grabbed the front of his uniform and tugged him down before Izuku could get away. “Sensei?” Aizawa opened his mouth and then shut it again, pressing his lips together in a thin line. Shaking his head he muttered, “You’re right. There’s no time for this right now, but after this, we are going to have a conversation. A long one.” Izuku gave a weak laugh, nervous under Aizawa’s intense gaze. “...I have a feeling there is going to be a queue, sir. But okay. Afterwards. I need to go help All Might now.” He let go of Aizawa and trotted back into the fray.     Izuku held a lot of expectations for what he would walk back in on. All Might and Noumu fighting. All Might and Hands fighting. Someone fighting at least. What he found confounded him. All Might stood, staring and silent, with one fist upraised. His expression was frozen. He wasn’t turned towards Hands, though, but towards the Noumu. Or what was left of the Noumu. Blood spread across the ground in a slow, steady progression like the unstoppable flow of an erupted volcano. Izuku had seen this before, in those few moments when he didn’t die on impact and slowly bled out. It was different, seeing it from the outside, but it didn’t bother him too much. Izuku was quite used to blood. The Noumu was a headless, armless lump on the ground in the epicenter of the blood puddle. Izuku saw not just one pair, but several pairs of half regenerated arms cast off to either side. The removal of the head must have stopped his regeneration, though, because there was only one of those and it lay on the ground nearly twenty feet away. Usagi crouched on the Noumu’s chest, shoulders tucked in, making her body look small and compact, with her face turned towards All Might. She twitched an ear as Izuku approached, looking at him for a second before turning her attention back to All Might. A little worried, Izuku stepped up, hand upraised, “Usagi-chan, stand down. All Might isn’t an enemy.” All Might jerked abruptly, turning to look at Izuku. “That- You-” He was pale. His hand shaking as he lifted it up to rub across his mouth. “What a vicious little hero you’re teaching, All Might,” Hands said, his voice low and filled with venom. All Might turned slowly, as though he were mired in molasses. “Look at what you’ve taught him to do,” he gestured towards the Noumu. “All Might didn’t teach me that,”Izuku said sharply. Usagi lifted her head, her attention turning towards Hands just as Izuku’s did. He stepped forward, concerned that All Might was so frozen in place. “Usagi-chan just gets a little overzealous when I tell her to do something.” A distant fiery explosion lit up the sky. Izuku turned, wide-eyed, “Where was that from?” He recognized the size and color of it, though. There was no way he couldn’t, when only a week or two ago that same fireball had consumed him. “Kacchan?” “Kacchan?” Usagi echoed. Izuku spun to look at her. “Usagi-chan, go to Kacchan. Check on him. Protect him.” “Protect Kacchan.” Usagi agreed. She bobbed her head and then leaped up into the air. Izuku turned from her. With the Noumu down the danger was- Black mist swirled into existence around Hands. When he spoke, he coughed, although his mouth was no more visible than before, “We must depart. This is, as you put it before, a game over. There is no possible victory here.” “This isn’t over, All Might,” Hands declared as he was absorbed into the blackness. “I won’t be satisfied until you and everything you stand for is torn down and destroyed!” “Eh!? He’s escaping!” Izuku took a step forward, but All Might grabbed his arm and held him back. In a matter of seconds, the mist swirled away, vanishing both the man with his hands and the mist itself. Izuku blinked and looked up at All Might, surprised. “All Might-” All Might crouched down until he was eye level with Izuku. He turned Izuku around, hands resting on his shoulders. “Midoriya, my boy,” His expression was serious, lacking in his usual smile, and was still pale from before, “You must explain that black ghost creature to me. Are you the source of it? Did you find it somewhere?” “You mean Usagi?” Izuku blinked, “You saw her? But no one can see her except for me.” He wished, suddenly, he hadn’t sent her away. She had been splattered with blood, so maybe All Might had just seen that, but he had called her a black ghost.Izuku couldn't properly test his theory with Usagi so far away.  “All Might, how did you see her?” “She was- She was perfectly visible.” All Might said, “What do you mean others cannot see her?” “No one can see her.” Izuku reiterated, “Except for me. And you.” His eyes widened and he leaned in, whispering, “All Might, is she from that quirk? That would explain why you could see her too.” “...You know what-” All Might began but he was cut off by a shouting voice getting louder. “OI! DEKU! You little shit!” Izuku whipped around, smiling already. Usagi was returning as quick as she could run, her arms working as forelegs to carry her swiftly across the ground. Katsuki was on her back, holding onto her shoulders. As she came to a skidding stop, he hopped down and came up to Izuku. All Might let go of Izuku just in time for Katsuki to grab Izuku and whip him around. Izuku didn’t mind in the least. Katsuki was always a bit grabby when he was worried. “Kacchan, you’re safe!” “Yeah you dumb shit. Of fucking course I am! What about you? What the fuck happened to you? Look at your fucking uniform! And why the hell are you soaking wet!?” Izuku looked down at himself for the first time since the chaos had started. His left sleeve drooped down, a gaping hole in the cloth from where Hands had begun to disintegrate his arm. His right sleeve was ruined from the wrist to elbow, where the Noumu's fist had gone through his arm on its way to his face. His gloves were bloody, gritty and the seams popped from when he’d broken his fingers to escape with Asui and Mineta. There were more popped seams and the zipper was broken on his chest from his collision with the railing on the boat. Sheepishly, Izuku shrugged, “I fell next to a boat in the flood zone. Asui, Mineta and I had to swim back. But I’m okay! Nothing is broken anymore. Since you weren’t here I had Usagi help me rescue Aizawa-sensei from that.” He pointed to the mound that had been the Noumu. The blood had stopped spreading a while ago. “You have to be more careful, you little shit. People can’t see her! Remember that? I nearly blew her the fuck up when she showed up. I only didn’t because she sounded like you, calling me Kacchan and whatever.” Katsuki shook Izuku back and forth. “What part of fucking invisible do you not understand? She was bloody and scared the shit out of that hairbrained asshole.” “All Might can see her,” Izuku said immediately. “What,” Katsuki said. “Midoriya, if you wouldn’t-” All Might said. “It’s okay, All Might,” Izuku said, looking up at All Might, “I trust Kacchan. I tell him everything.” “I- Everything?”  Katsuki shook Izuku again, “Deku. Focus. Answer my question.” Obediently, Izuku focused on Katsuki. All Might was immediately put to the back of his mind as he took in Katsuki’s appearance and expression. Katsuki didn’t look worse for wear, though maybe a little sweaty. He must have been running around a lot, which Izuku thought was a fair statement. “Where did that Black Mist asshole go? Did you see him? He fucking thought he could get away with the shit he tried to pull? Hell no. I’m going to find his body and blow it to smithereens.” Katsuki’s grip tightened and he shook Izuku when he said smithereens. “He escaped. The guy with hands all over his face went with him. They left after Usagi killed the Noumu thing.” Izuku pointed to the Noumu again. “Protect classmates,” Usagi said, slinking over from her spot alone to crouch beside them. “Aizawa-sensei hurt. Gentle. Find Kacchan. Pretty Kacchan.” “And you!” Katsuki snapped to Usagi, “Don’t call me pretty!” Usagi tilted her head to the side. “Beautiful Kacchan.” “Ugh. Deku! Stop her.” Katsuki kicked him in the shin. Izuku winced. “Usagi-chan, thank you for your help today. We’ll play again soon, okay? Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” She tilted her head back, looking up at the sky and said, “Goodnight Moon.”  Her body unraveled into the black particles, seeping back into Izuku. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in during the moment where Usagi reconnected to his body. “You got her all weird about the moon,” Katsuki muttered.  “I think it’s good for her,” Izuku retorted. “She needs a friend that can see her too.” All Might cleared his throat. “Boys. I believe a conversation between the three of us is long overdue. However, we must wait until this situation is fully contained. Please return to the front of the park with the other students.” He looked somberly at them both. His arms were folded over his chest. Izuku couldn’t quite shake the feeling that All Might was incredibly disturbed. He didn’t have that fond, warm, proud look in his eyes when he looked down at Izuku. All Might looked at him as though Izuku could be a hidden danger and that hurt worse than the punch to the jaw had. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll talk later.” Katsuk grabbed Izuku by one arm and began to drag him off. “Come on, Deku. We’re done here.” Izuku nodded, ducking his head so he didn’t keep looking up at All Might. Katsuki walked them around the blood pool, silent and grim as he dragged Izuku off.           When they were safely out of earshot and well on their way to the front area, Katsuki hissed, “How many times, Deku?” “Twice,” he said quietly back. “Sorry.” Katsuki shook his head. He tightened his grip on Izuku’s arm, holding him closer. “...It’s like the world is out to fucking separate us. First our teachers. Now these fucking villains. Fuck. Don’t they understand we’re a fucking pair? You can’t have one of us without the other.” “Kacchan,” Izuku dragged his feet. He slowed to a stop, making Katsuki have to stop too. “Um...” Katsuki turned to face him. “Yeah? Um what?” “Maybe we’re not… Maybe we’re not close enough.” Izuku whispered, “If the universe is out to separate us, maybe it doesn’t realize how close we really are.” “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? How can we get any closer than we are? It’s not like we can fucking move in with each other, Deku. Get your brain back from the boat, you fucking left it behind, idiot.” Katsuki rolled his eyes. “First of all, I crushed my torso on the railing, my skull remained mostly intact all day depending on whether or not you count my jaw as part of my skull,” Izuku said, “And secondly, we can get closer. We just. Haven’t. Yet.” He stepped closer, putting his hand over Katsuki’s on his own arm. “We’ve done lots of other stuff to be together, though.” “What do you-” Katsuki bit his tongue, silencing himself. His cheeks reddened with a sudden blush, “You’re talking about fucking. Like actualfucking. Right now? After this? You’re talking about literally fucking each other after we just got attacked by villains?” “I. Um. Er.” Izuku looked down, mumbling, “I just. We don’t have to do it right now, obviously. I was just thinking… It’s the one thing we haven’t really done yet and you’re right. Everything keeps trying to pull us apart.” He felt his own face heating up and new that he was probably blushing far worse than Katsuki was at this point. “And you know how it is after I come back a couple of times. I just want to feel things, to feel alive again. You understand, right?” Katsuki lifted his face with his hand under Izuku’s chin. “If you still want to, later, let’s do it.” He gave a smirk and looked Izuku over pointedly, “I mean, you fucking ruined your costume, again. A little more fucking around wouldn’t hurt.” Izuku grinned and leaned in, closing the distance for a kiss. Katsuki met him eagerly for the kiss. Izuku had to be the one to pull back, reluctantly, and tug Katsuki along again. There would be plenty of time for that later. After all, they had a long bus ride back to the school ahead of them. Chapter End Notes PS: there's at max 2 more chapters left. more likely there is 1. but we'll see. after that is another intermission ayy ***** unforeseen consequences ***** Chapter Summary the messy, messy aftermath. two leave it closer than before. one leaves tormented inside, one leaves determined, and one gets delightful news. Chapter Notes don't fret. this is not the last section. we'll have a brief intermission (much like the two previously) and then the next section will be the Sport Festival. I'm anticipating that one to be a bit longer. (i've two addendums in the works, too, and those'll go up when i finish them. im not going to halt the main project for those.) “Figures,” Katsuki muttered under his breath. He had his arm over Izuku’s shoulder and the two of them stood near the back of the group of students, “There was no damn way we were just going to get the hell out of here, was there?” At the front of the group, there were a dozen Pro Heroes and half as many police officers counting and speaking to the students. The moment Katsuki had seen the adults, he’d tugged Izuku to the away from the center of attention. Avoiding the police had been how they’d survived together for the last three years and he had no intention of letting anyone take Izuku from him now. Izuku leaned against his side, his hand up so he could hold onto Katsuki’s and his head resting against Katsuki’s upper arm. He gave a little sigh and closed his eyes, “The police are just doing their job, Kacchan. When we’re heroes, we’re going to have to deal with them too. We should try to stay on their good side.” Katsuki tightened his grip. Izuku shifted his head, adjusting one arm to loop behind Katsuki to make up for the fact that he was now pressed even closer than before. He dropped his voice down, not wanting to bicker about the police when there was something more important to discuss. “You still serious about… you know?” His heart jumped a little when he felt Izuku’s fingers tighten in his side. Izuku opened one eye and looked up at Katsuki, “... Are you nervous? Do you not want to?” “Fuck yeah, I do!” Katsuki said quickly, “I want to. I totally do. I’m not fucking nervous. That’s your job.” Izuku opened the other eye and stared up at Katsuki. He was so close that Katsuki could make out the shades of green in his irises. He dug his fingers into Izuku’s hand, squeezing tight. Looks like this made up for all the times he saw the life fade out of Izuku’s eyes. Looks like this made Katsuki’s guts twist up inside, made him want to hide Izuku away. Katsuki wanted to escape away from here, to curl up in the back of the bus with Izuku half in his lap and nothing to do but make him giggle and squirm the whole way home. Instead, he was faced with this- Izuku with his clear, steady gaze, looking up at him as he said, “I’m not nervous. I know you’ll take care of me, Kacchan. You always do.” It was too much. Katsuki leaned in and pressed a sharp kiss to Izuku’s lips. Izuku immediately responded, turning into the kiss. Katsuki put his other arm around Izuku’s waist, fingers splayed so he could feel the movement of muscle beneath his palm. Izuku claimed to have fully recovered from both of his resets that day but still Katsuki worried. He had taken Izuku for granted once in his life and had nearly lost him because of that. There was no damn way that Katsuki was ever going to do that again. Someone rudely cleared their throat nearby, interrupting Katsuki and Izuku with a strained, “Excuse me, boys, if you could stop so I could speak to you?” Katsuki opened an eye to see who was bothering them. He knew all of their classmates knew better than to, and indeed he saw movement out of the corner of his eye as one of them covered their face with a hand and sighed. That wasn’t what made him stop, though, it was the fact that he recognized the man who interjected. And he wasn’t one of their teachers. Katsuki pulled back, feeling ice thicken the blood in his veins. He bit back his first response, “What the fuck are you doing here?”and went with the more obvious choice of, “What the fuck do you want?” He didn’t let go of Izuku, couldn’t. This was the same detective that had come sniffing around their middle school when they were twelve; Detective Tsukauchi. Izuku didn’t make any complaint at being wrapped up in Katsuki’s arms still, he just leaned against him, watching quietly. “It was reported that one of you two took serious injuries and needed to be taken to the infirmary,” Tsukauchi said, “I’m on my way there and wanted to escort him there.” He gave a pleasant little smile, but it just made Katsuki sick to his stomach. “I’m fine, Detective,” Izuku chirped up with one of his polite smiles. Katsuki felt his friend’s fingers tighten and dig into his side. He said nothing. He just endured the pain. “I don’t have any injuries. And besides, I won’t leave Kacchan behind.” Tsukauchi lowered his voice, leaning in to speak quietly to them, “I’m sure you’re aware that there are some questions that need to be answered.” “Nothing Deku did is illegal, unless we all did something illegal,” Katuski said, resisting the urge to turn Izuku away from the man’s direct gaze. “He acted in self-defense against the villains just like the rest of us.” “I understand that,” Tsukauchi nodded, “And he is not in trouble. There are just some questions about the use of his quirk during the attack. In fact, these concerns are primarily held by your teachers-” “Then why the fuck are you bothering with the questions?” Katsuki demanded, “Have them ask, or are they fucking incompetent?” “Kacchan,” Izuku whispered, “Don’t talk that way about our teachers. You know that some of them got injured… They’re lucky All Might could get them to medical treatment as fast as he did.” Tsukauchi blinked and straightened up slightly. “Ah,” he said, dropping his fist lightly into his palm, “I was right. We havemet before. I had thought you two looked familiar.” Katsuki’s white-knuckled grip on Izuku’s hand was matched by Izuku’s clamping fingers on his side. “Yeah? So what?” “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just glad to see you two come so far. You were very adamant about becoming heroes before. It is good to see that you have progressed well on your path.” He smiled at them like he was genuinely pleased. Katsuki automatically sneered at him in response. He didn’t care what Izuku said about being on the good side of the police. There were other cities that they could work in if it became too much of a problem. What mattered more was staying together through school so that when those future years came, they could do whatever they needed to live together. “Thank you,” Izuku said, though even Katsuki was aware the silence had dragged on too far. “We worked hard.” “I need to go check on those in the infirmary,” Tsukauchi said. “I’m sure we will speak together again, but I suppose I will leave those other questions to your teachers. Excuse me.” He ducked away with a little wave goodbye. When he’d gone, Izuku leaned into Katsuki, lifting his head to whisper to him. His breath was hot on Katsuki’s skin and they were so close that he was sure he could feel Izuku’s heart thumping like a rabbit’s in his chest. “Kacchan- he-” Katsuki bit his lip to shut him up. “Don’t worry about it,” he muttered against Izuku’s lips. It was a futile command, though, Izuku was a worrier. “Try to relax, okay? Everything will be fine as long as we’re together.” “Um,” another voice interrupted, “Before you two go off again, can I ask you something, Midoriya?” Izuku gave an honest smile to the girl that approached them. Katsuki tried to relax, but he was too on edge from the detective. “Asu- I mean, Tsuyu,” Izuku said to her, “What is it?” She pointed to her own neck and asked, “Is your neck okay? It was twisted pretty badly. I wasn’t sure that you would… Well, I wasn’t sure how strong your healing was. I’ve never seen it before. None of us have.” She gestured a little to the other students around. They jerked back, some of them surprised to have been included in her statement. “Yeah!” The grape idiot piped up, pointing with one hand at Izuku, “And what the hell did you send to that monster thing? Why was it invisible? Where did it come from?” “Kacchan,” Izuku whispered, “Should I… Should I show them?” Katsuki vigorously ignored the way his heart caught in his throat. He scoffed instead, “Show them what? She’s fucking invisible. They should just be glad that you had her defend them.” “Are we talking about the rabbit girl?” Kirishima said, walking over. “I sort of saw her. I mean, she was invisible but uh, covered in blood so… I could see her a little bit.” He scratched a cheek and ducked his gaze when Katsuki shot a glare at him. “Is there no way to make her visible, Midoriya?” “I haven’t found one, yet,” Izuku said, “Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out all the things she can and can’t do. You see,” He came to a muffled stop as Katsuki put his hand over his mouth to shut him up. “Deku shut the fuck up. And the rest of you, stop fucking pestering him. It’s been a long ass day and I’m sick and fucking tired of all of this bullshit.” Izuku reached up to tug at his hand and so Katsuki tightened his grip until he knew it hurt Izuku. “You need to shut up.” Katsuki said threateningly, “Do you fucking understand? Stop. Fucking. Talking.” “If you’re trying for not suspicious,” Added another girl, the one that Katsuki had seen trying to be Izuku’s friend ever since they were teamed up, “You should know you’re really, really failing at it.” She had her hands on her hips and a frown on her lips. “We all know by now that Izuku has some weird development to his quirk. I think we’d be more comfortable knowing that he has some decent control over it.” Izuku thumped his fist lightly on Katsuki’s chest. It felt like a secondary echo to his heartbeat. Katsuki ignored him. “Deku can control her just fine. He just likes to be thorough.” “You know, he probably likes to breathe, too,” Round face said, “You’re aware you’re suffocating him, aren’t you?” Katsuki froze. He turned his head, looking to see that his hand had covered Izuku’s mouth and nose. Izuku looked sheepishly up at him and shrugged. “Dammit,” Katsuki muttered, moving his hand away. “Sorry Kacchan,” Izuku said quietly. “Oh don’t apologize to him!” Round face said taking a step forward, “We talked about this, Izuku. You can’t be a- a- doormat to Bakugou! He’s going to really hurt you one of these days and he won’t even notice!” “I’m not a doormat-” Izuku began. She cut him off with an angry gesture, “Yeah right.He pulls you around everywhere. He makes you kiss him. He drags you into his lap. I can’t believe I’m saying it but even  his making you lunches is controlling! He monitors what you say and who you talk to and what you eat! What you two are doing isn’t healthy and I’m not the only one who thinks that!” She turned to her immediate left, where the frog girl stood. “Right?” “Midoriya was extremely concerned with returning to Bakugou during our time together in the flood zone,” Asui said, “It seemed to be his focus, in fact, until we came across Aizawa-sensei in peril.” “Who the fuck cares what any of you think,” Katsuki shouted. “You don’t know anything about us. You don’t have any fucking clue what you’re talking about. I’m not making Deku do anything against his fucking will. He wants to be at my side and I made a place for him there. If you try to take him away from me I’ll-” “You’ll what? Threaten to kill us?” Uraraka shouted back at him. “Is that how you got Izuku to stay at your side? Did you threaten to kill him if he ever left you? Is that what you based your fucked up relationship on? Death threats and bullying?” Katsuki’s brain stopped like it hit a brick wall. Her fundamental misunderstanding of their relationship was so grossly apparent that he just. Couldn’t. Wrap his head around it. Izuku ducked his head. His dark hair brushed against Katsuki’s jaw, sending electric charges down his skin. He looked down to Izuku and saw him trying to hide a smile and stifle his giggles. Katsuki felt his anger seep away at that expression. He reflected Izuku’s smile, gently running his fingers through those messy curls. Izuku’s hair was still damp from the water and so there were little flyaway pieces that were drying and curling before the rest of his hair. He looked incredibly cute, giggling behind a hand and trying to stop. He threw a smug look at Uraraka, who looked baffled at Izuku’s reaction. She slowly lowered her arms, deflating under Izuku’s giggling. “...What is it?” She asked, “What did I say?” “Sorry, I’m sorry,” Izuku said, though it hardly sounded sincere with his giggles in between his words. “It’s just that Kacchan is right. You don’t understand. Kacchan and I didn’t become friends because he threatened me. I asked himto be my friend and he said yes.” Katsuki felt a touch of a hand on his cheek and turned away from Uraraka to look down at Izuku. The light in Izuku’s eyes made Katsuki’s breath catch. His green eyes were so bright; his face so lit up it was as if Izuku held the sun under his skin. There was a pink flush to his cheeks and his lips were still reddened from Katsuki’s kissing earlier. Izuku ran gentle fingertips down the side of Katsuki’s jaw and whispered, “Kacchan promised to be with me forever. He wouldn’t do anything to threaten that and he would stop anyone who would.” “Deku,” Katsuki said breathlessly. He couldn’t possibly put into words the swelling of emotion that rose up from his gut and filled his chest, his mouth, and throat. So he did the next best thing and kissed Izuku. The hair on the back of his neck was on end, as he was fully aware that they were being watched by most of the class at this point. It didn’t matter. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was the warmth of Izuku’s body against his own, the roughness of Izuku’s callouses on his skin, and the way Izuku opened his mouth to Katsuki’s eager, almost desperate kissing. When they finally pulled apart, Uraraka and her friend had gone off and Present Mic was there to herd the kids back onto the bus and to the school. Izuku and Katsuki sat in the back row of the bus. No one sat adjacent or in front of them.   ===============================================================================   In a private room near the infirmary, where loved ones often went to wait, Naomasa found Toshinori. Even emaciated as he was, Naomasa had never seen Toshinori look quite this exhausted or disturbed. Toshinori sat with his face in his hands, not even looking up when Naomasa took a seat beside him. “I tried to speak with the two you mentioned,” He started, pulling out a notepad from his inside coat pocket. “They were obstinate at best, threatening at worst. Honestly, not much has changed since the last time I saw them except for the fact that they were clinging to each other like monkeys.” That got Toshinori’s attention. He jerked his head up, blinking, “You’ve met them before? Both of them? I wasn’t aware they had any juvenile issues.” “They don’t, as far as I know anyway,” Naomasa shook his head. “I met them during an investigation at their middle school a few years ago. Do you remember all those random blood splatters that were found over about, say, four or six months? I was working on that case for a year.” “I remember the pictures on your wall,” Toshinori admitted. “You took a year to close it?” Again, Naomasa shook his head. “I never did. The marks stopped and we never were able to connect that to anything or anyone.” He scratched the back of his head and sighed, “The first place where that blood showed up was at that middle school. There was a theory that it was related to someone’s quirk and perhaps one of the students had been testing something out but… nothing was ever confirmed one way or the other.” Toshinori closed his eyes. He rubbed his hand over his face. He seemed to curl in on himself, fingers pressed over his mouth. Naomasa didn’t worry until he saw the slight tremor in Toshinori’s hand as he reached out. Without looking up, Toshinori put his hand on Naomasa’s wrist. “What I’m about to tell you… There are only a very few people who know. Even fewer than those who know about my quirk, Naomasa.” Despite his frail looking body, Toshinori’s grip was strong. Naomasa held his tongue, knowing that he had to let his friend talk at his own pace. “There is a man who can come back from any death,” Toshinori said, “He was once here, in this town, many years ago. At first my mentor, Nana, she attempted to arrest him, but he would escape easily. Then she began to use more violent force. He seemed to… I don’t understand it, but he seemed to delight in this. The more violent she became in putting him down, the harder he pushed back. “Then, during one fight, she actually killed him.” Toshinori paused, drawing in a shaky breath. He let it out slowly. “She killed him and it hurt her to do so. But it didn’t matter. Not her pain. Not his death. He came back. He came back and said that now they could reallyget to business.” Toshinori let go of Naomasa’s arm in order to rub his hands together. His bony fingers moved nervously over each other, “She must have killed him more than a dozen times. It didn’t seem to matter. He would only leave when he was bored and would come back to press her again. He harried her, haunted her, this man who could come back from death. And nothing I could do could help. I was still getting used to the power of One for All. “She grew weaker as I grew stronger. I think the man sensed that she was weakening. Ultimately he…” Naomasa waited for several long minutes in silence before he dared prompt Toshinori. “Ultimately he what?” “All for One was attacking at the same time,” Toshinori whispered, his eyes looking off to the side, seeing something beyond the room they were in. “She couldn’t carry the burden of both fights. The man who could not die ultimately killed her. All for One vanished, possibly furious that she’d been taken away before he could do it himself. I don’t know. The man who could not die left too. He said that I was nowhere near my mentor’s level. He grew bored and he… left.” Toshinori let out a sigh so deep that Naomasa’s lungs ached in sympathy. “He killed her and then was too bored to bother sticking around.” Naomasa considered this in silence. He hadn’t looked at the case notes for the blood in months so he wasn’t fresh with them, but considering that Toshinori was talking about this now…Well, there had to be some connection. “Do you… suspect he is back?” “I did, but now I am not so sure.” Toshinori admitted, “He had this ability to summon a creature that was invisible to most people. It was black and appeared like a ghost. He created it out of this black smoke that no one else could see, either. I… I saw that. Recently. That black smoke and that ghost creature- except the source of the smoke was not that man and the ghost creature looked completely different in shape than the other one, the first one.” He stopped rubbing his hands together. Instead, he interlaced his fingers and clenched them tightly. “The ability to come back from death… any death? That must be an incredible quirk.” Naomasa said, “One of your students has it, you think?” “Not just one of them,” Toshinori said. “The one I took under my wing. The one I chose as my successor. The one I gave my power to. Midoriya Izuku. I believe he has the power to return from death and to summon a black ghost to fight for him.” Naomasa opened his mouth and then shut it again without saying a word. Had he read this in a report or seen it in an article, hell, if he’d seen this on a television program he would have thought it a plot device, a twist in the story that was just too good to be true. The greatest hero gives his power to a young successor, only to discover that the successor was born with the same power as the man who had killed the hero’s mentor. It was convoluted, insane, unbelievable- “Hell, Toshi, are you saying what I think you’re saying? You think that kid is related to that monster Nana fought years ago?” “What other explanation is there? They have the same quirk,” Toshinori said, “And not much is known about his father. They must be related. Which… Which means that I…” He bowed his head again, pressing his clasped hands to his forehead, “I fucked up. I royally fucked up.” Naomasa didn’t agree, out loud anyway. Instead, he reached his hand out and clasped Toshinori on the shoulder. “Let me look into this. I’ll reopen the case. If the kid fought and bled today, I’ll find his blood and test it. I’ll look into his paternity. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There could be some other reason.” In the back of his mind, he suddenly remembered Hematess. He’d given her everything he had had on the splatter case and hadn’t heard anything from her since then. Maybe she’d made some headway. Maybe she had some answers for him. In either case, she would undoubtedly be willing to help him chase this lead down the rabbit hole it came from. “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Naomasa promised, “I swear it.” Toshinori gave him a grateful bob of the head but said nothing.           ===============================================================================         A ringing phone echoed in the lab. And rang. And rang. “Get your damn phone you piece of shit! Don’t you recognize your own ringtone when you hear it?” Haruka shouted from one side of the lab. Despite her shout, her hand was incredibly steady as she made a careful slice through her experimental material. “Sorry,” came the reply, snide and sharp. Tessa kicked off her desk, nose still buried in the report she was reading and rode her wheeled chair to another desk. She picked up her phone and without looking at the caller ID, answered it. “Hamilton speaking.” “You still working on that splatter case?” Naomasa’s voice was a touch strained, but Tessa still understood it. “I mean the one with the six-” “Yes,” She said. “You gave it to me, Tsukauchi. No take backs.” She shook the report in her hand, “I’ve found some very interesting stuff related to it! You should let me fully reopen the case.” “Fine,” Naomasa said, “But only partially. We have to be a lot more delicate with this one than we were before.” “Wait, what? Really?” Tessa lowered her papers. She pulled her phone from her ear but that only confirmed it was Naomasa. “What did you find out?” “...I can’t talk now. Can we meet up later this week? When do you have time?” “Thursday,” she said immediately. “I work half days. I’ll be done at two. Anytime after then is fine.” “Thursday at six then,” he said, “I’ll text  you the address for where. Excuse me, I need to go.” He hung up abruptly, not even letting Tessa overhear anything from the background. She stared at her phone a little bit more and then smiled. “I can hear you wasting my time, Tess,” Haruka said with her back still turned. “You can play with your special blood case later. Right now we’re busy with other work.” “Right. I’ll get right on that.” Tess put her phone down and rolled back across to her first desk. She didn’t stop smiling for several hours. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!