Timeloop Trouble

Chapter 49 - Kohaku

Getting into contact with All Might was easier than Izuku thought it would be. Shouta simply asked Izuku about any memorable fights that were taking place around this time, trusting the fanboy to have them memorized even after all these years. Izuku didn't know what that said about him, but he did know about a couple of encounters that should take place in the upcoming month. Placing Izuku at the scene had been a mere formality after that.

Getting into contact with Kacchan, on the other hand...

The police were still heavily investigating Inko's murder and Izuku's disappearance, keeping an eye on possible places and people he could turn to now that he was classified as "on the run". Which meant the Bakugou household and his school were under high surveillance. Izuku had the feeling they'd only let go once they found something indicating his death, but since the yakuza hadn't claimed it and the police hadn't found a body... Izuku sighed. Faking his death was harder than he imagined it would be.

"I could talk to them, persuade them to drop the investigation," All Might suggested.

"That would only draw more suspicion," Shouta told him, and he was right. Izuku hated it, but he was right. There was no way for him to see Kacchan in person right now. Even the two pros would have a hard time doing so without standing out now that the authorities were watching.

"Or you can literally just tell them I'm standing over here, nerd," Katsuki grunted, standing behind Izuku. He was sitting on the couch, watching Eri draw as he listened in on the two pros brainstorming in the kitchen. "Shouldn't All Might at least feel it?"

"Don't know," Izuku shrugged. They hadn't really talked about the whole OFA connection thing. Not ever since Toshinori became so utterly emotional when he saw Nana in the crowd that day. It was the best way to draw his attention, or at least the fastest Izuku could think of at the time, and it might've caused quite the scene. Izuku was sure the public was still wondering what the hell actually happened. "Besides, I don't know if you're even real."

Which was true. Kacchan could technically invade Izuku's dreamscape, could intertwine with his essence even from a distance, but he had to be asleep to be able to do it. He didn't have a lot of control over that part of their connection and neither did Izuku. That and Kacchan's essence always acted like Kacchan, so could you really blame him for not being able to tell the difference right away? They felt and sounded the absolute same!

"I didn't take a nap in the middle of the fucking afternoon for you to tell me I'm a fake," Katsuki snapped, walking straight through the couch before sitting down next to Izuku. "Seems like Eri is adjusting well."

"I hate lying to her," Izuku confessed.

"It's for her own safety," Katsuki reminded him. "She'll like this life better than the other one, too, so don't feel so fucking guilty about it, Deku. I can sense your self-deprivation crap from here. Ugh, your emotions are always so damn loud when I do shit like this, shut the fuck up."

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. Yeah, maybe this was the real Kacchan after all.

"You're the one coming to me, you know? You don't get to complain," Izuku reminded him.

"Yeah, well, not like you can come to me," Katsuki grumbled, pausing for a moment. "You can't, right?"

"You don't have control over the vestiges, so I doubt I'd be able to appear to you," Izuku said. "Although I am technically your predecessor so it might not be totally unthinkable. That would mean All Might would be able to appear to me too, since he's my predecessor. But does that mean that, in theory, you can talk to him like this too? Since he's a vestige, and his essence is captured within One For All-"