Katsuki was bored for lack of a better word. He'd been roaming these streets aimlessly for more than a few hours. And although he appreciated the place of his hometown, he couldn't help but feel, now out in the beaming sun, a little lonely. But god forbid he ever say such a thing aloud. Katsuki Bakugo, the living embodiment of the term 'lone wolf' couldn't possibly be so.
It was strange. For three years he'd been living alone in a completely different continent, ever since his parents made the decision to move back to Japan. Katsuki however chose to stay away for many reasons and since he'd been old enough to be allowed to, he had. But it didn't stop him missing his old home, nor did it stop that lonely inclination. Because even after six years that place had never been home unlike Japan.
So, the young hero decided he was long overdue a break and came to revisit old memories. His boss allowed him quite a lengthy period, considering how important Bakugo's job was and how much he was needed. But all the days off Katsuki had been granted over the years as working as a pro he'd refused and rather spent that time eliminating the trouble on the streets. So of course they had all built up until finally after so much nagging from his mother, came back home intending to stay a little less than three months. What he would do in that period was beyond him.
He'd already visited his parents when they insisted on picking him up from the airport, but even after three days he couldn't possibly stand another minute with them. Seeing as he also literally disappeared from his frie—those extra's lives maybe it wouldn't be the best thing to just show up on their doorstep.
Even at twenty-two a few of Bakugo's old habits remained. It appeared he'd matured more in looks than personality. Yet even so, this young hero had progressed a lot from what he once was. He may still be an absolute dickhead at first glance but he'd payed attention to ever criticism he ever received.
"If you keep looking down on everyone else, you'll never be able to see your own weaknesses."
He scratched his chin, deep in thought as he scanned the local restaurants for something to eat, coming to a shop at a certain café. Mere minutes later his city was in danger and he froze as a mess of jade hair zoomed by.
"Deku..."
Stood now at the hospital ward, four hours later, staring into the glass window at the same boy under sheets strapped to all sorts of wires, Bakugo frowned. He absentmindedly ran a thumb over bandaged knuckles, watching the ever so frail and fragile rise of Midoriya's chest with every shallow breath. His eyes were closed, the pulse machine beside him regular, and yet a strange sort of feeling was blooming within Bakugo. Tension? Fear? Perhaps he was merely still feeling the rush of adrenaline after such a battle.
His hands trembled, knee bouncing as he sat opposite the ward. He felt agitated. Confused. Images of events not so long ago flashed before his eyes like a projector. Memories of sensations reflecting again as though he was still surrounded by the smoke, the towering flames, the blaring sirens, the screaming crowds, the blood, the ringing.
It reminded him of that time of his first job as a pro.
"Grab my hand!" He yelled over the roaring cacophony of the city basked in inferno.
The little girl's eyes widened, her own fear causing Katsuki's heart to beat faster. The apartment walls cackled and crumbled, the windows shattering, raining glass everywhere. The hero reached his arm out further, prevented from coming any closer by the showering debris.
"You're have to jump!" He instructed, knowing he was too far to be able to save her from where he remained. He stretched his hand out further, coughing and blinking smoke from his eyes so much so they watered. Like tears. Like the tears cascading down the young girl's face.
He was going to save her. Just a little closer. They were all going to make it. They were—
"Bakugo?!"
The blonde's head snapped up at the sound of his own name. He found himself shivering despite the warmth of the hospital, and quickly regained his composure before the person could pick up on anything. Much to his surprise, the owner of the voice was someone Bakugo thought he'd never see again.
"Shitty hair."
Kirishima blinked, unsure as to whether or not that his friend from high school was really sat in front of him or if it was a mere hallucination.
"You...What...Bakugo?" Was all the red head could muster, simply stunned and in evident shock. He pointed a finger toward the other, prodding his shoulder to almost check that he was real.
"You good?" Katsuki cocked an eyebrow at Kirishima's odd behaviour. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
"I might be," Kirishima frowned. "You're alive?"
The wobble in his voice did more than surprise Bakugo, and the question only brought more miscomprehension.
"Of course I am...you didn't think I died, did you?" He asked with a mocking grin that was only to mask his own shock.
It had never once occurred to him that they would think the reason for his disappearance was death. Honestly he didn't think what they could have believed the day he left. All he knew was that he had to get out of Japan.
"The whole school did. What the hell happened? It's been years, we had every right to believe that. No-one was telling us anything. Not even you..."
"That's because I had to, alright. Look I had no idea that's the conclusion you'd come to. You were supposed to fucking forget about me a long time ago."
"Well whatever stupid plan you had in mind didn't seem to work. Why'd you do it?"
"That's still none of your business, Kirishima."
The red head let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, well whatever happened, I'm just glad you're back for however long it is," he nodded, bumping the other on the shoulder who didn't fail to see the golden band on Eijiro's left hand.
"Whoa, when did that happen?"
Kirishima cracked a smile. "A couple months ago, actually."
"Pretty brave considering you're working as a pro hero now."
"Well it was a risk we were willing to take. We're both pros so we'll be able to protect ourselves. There's no way I'm leaving when I have a partner waiting for me to come back, just like we promised."
Although such an act to Katsuki seemed only pure madness, he could still appreciate it. Pro heroes getting married was always scarce, but it made him happy that his somewhat best friend had found someone. Marriage to him in general was never appealing, much to his mother's dismay, but Katsuki was a lone soldier. And he'd stay that way.
"What happened to those other extras?"
Kirishima chuckled, "You haven't really changed have you? They're still at the city, taking care of the civilians and the damage that was caused. I just came by to see how Midoriya was doing, he took quite a hit."
Bakugo huffed in response, signalling that he couldn't care less about them or Deku. To prove a point he tore his gaze away from him, finding immense interest in the tiled ground.
"The doctor people said I had to stay here," he mumbled, finding some sort of need to have to come up with an explanation as to why he himself still remained. Because there wasn't any other obligation to really. He'd carried out his task by bringing him to the hospital and yet still found he was sat like a guard dog outside his ward. Guarding him from what exactly he couldn't say. But he stayed.
~
Izuku's head throbbed dully as he groaned. In such a groggy state, it was hard to tell how much of his body was damaged and in pain.
His ears rang and he felt dizzy as opened his eyes, disconcerted to be waking up to total darkness. And because of that he couldn't tell where exactly he was. That lack of knowledge caused a cloudy sense of unease to form until he felt a person at his side, speaking to him in a gentle voice.
"Good to see you're awake, Mr Deku." Her voice was soft and kind, bringing the worried hero some reassurance.
"Where am I?" Izuku spoke through dry lips, trying to crane his neck to see something, anything other than black.
"The hospital. You've been out for a good few hours now, you're colleagues have been waiting patiently this whole time...well most of them. I'm going to do a few check-ups on you, if that's okay, to make sure Recovery Girl managed to heal you as best she could."
"Thanks, but why is it so dark?"
"You had a nasty head injury and were exposed to high intensities of light. We believe it best for the room to be dark to prevent any more harm for now." She paused; Izuku heard metallic rattling beside him, before the doctor did all the assessments necessary. This whole procedure wasn't foreign to Midoriya. He was used to walking up and finding himself in hospitals, but more so during his time at high school when he had less control over his borrowed quirk.
"Okay, now can you tell me the last thing you remember?"
"Erm..." Izuku began, casting his mind back. "There was chaos in the city, people said that All for One returned. I tried to fight until he attacked and blinded me. Then I passed out. But what happened to the city afterwards, are the people safe?"
"Don't worry, there were no casualties involved, only minor injuries of a few civilians." He heard her pack away any equipment used; the scribble of a pen as she noted down his results. "Okay, well everything seems to be okay, no permanent damage. Recovery Girl's magic seems to be doing the trick. Now if you're up for it, we can allow the pros waiting outside to come in."
Izuku didn't hesitate. "Yes please."
The door creaked open, a flood of footsteps following and the boisterous sound of familiar voices.
"Midoriya!"
"Hey, Kiri," the greenette smiled in recognition, able to sense where his friend stood by the tap of his shoes.
"Oh my god, we got so worried!"
Uraraka's voice.
"Ochaco, I had no idea you were here."
"Yeah I got held up with something and then the next I know Musutafu is in flames again and you're at the centre of it!"
The edge of the bed sank down as the girl sat beside him, her voice laced with concern and fear.
"Ah, I'm sorry for troubling you guys." He nodded regretfully, rubbing the back of his neck that was still a little sore.
Izuku turned to his left, unable to even see as much as his friends' shadows in such emptiness. He wondered how on earth they could see him in return if the doctors had made the room dark. Was the room painted black and windowless? Strange as it was, he tried not to ponder on the subject too much.
"What happened at the city? Was All for One arrested?"
"Actually..." Kirishima began in a much more solemn tone that had Midoriya worried. "The villain that attacked wasn't actually All for One."
"What, what do you mean?" Izuku asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"The guy's got some sort of voice changing quirk. He used the smoke from the destruction to hide and uses support items to destroy pros. The police realised when they showed that All for One, the real one, is still in solitary confinement, but we still don't know the appearance nor the name of the pretender."
Voice changing quirk, huh? Izuku let his mind wander back to the battle, realising that even though he'd heard the villain's voice, he'd never seen his actual face. Even so, this guy was still dangerous. So much so he put Japan's number one hero in hospital.
Midoriya winced. The heavy burden of failure never seemed to stray.
"But hey, we got some good news," the red head continued with a hidden smile. "There's someone who wants to say hi!"
Somebody grunted softly at what Izuku could only imagine was a nudge from Red Riot.
"Shut up, I'm not saying anything to this loser!"
Ouch. Midoriya may not know nor never have met this stranger Kirishima wanted to introduce to him, but his words hurt. Midoriya couldn't fathom what he had done to cause the guest to have such a poor attitude toward him, but it almost reminded him someone he knew.
"Kirishima, who...who is this?"
Rather than hearing an answer from his friend as he expected, the stranger spoke up.
"Come on, it hasn't been that long. You seriously don't recognise me, shitty Deku?"
Izuku didn't know if it was the attitude in his tone or simply the vulgarity of his words but either one had to be the reason his blood was boiling right now as he lunged forward to pummel the other to the ground. He had no time to be taken aback or shocked by his sudden actions, everyone else feeling the same as the room erupted into chaos and Uraraka made a desperate attempt to hold the boy back.
"Izuku-kun, please calm down!"
But he didn't want to calm down. All he felt in the current situation was rage and hurt. Because how dare he? How dare the boy that Izuku had been searching for, for so long, just suddenly show up?
"Deku what the fuck is wrong with you?" Bakugo demanded aggressively, ready to strike back but Kirishima restrained him too.
"Six years!" Izuku screamed at him, fighting against Uraraka in the dark, only consumed by this raging hatred he'd buried for so long. "How could you? How could you do that to us? Do you have any idea how worried we were? We spent half our lives trying to find you, only for you to suddenly turn up all this time later without a care in the world?!"
"Well damn, what did you expect me to do, write you a note?" Katsuki seethed, losing himself for a moment. All his maturity went straight out the window and suddenly it was exactly like the day he left him. Back when they were sixteen and arguing and screaming at Ground Beta. Back to being two kids who hated each other's guts but neither could deny their admiration for the other. Even if Bakugo's way of admiration came out as a cacophony mad yelling.
"It wouldn't hurt to give an explanation, rather than disappearing from the face of the earth!"
"You're so overdramatic! Quit being such a baby all the time, what do you care anyway if I left!"
"I...!" Izuku breathed out heavily, shrugging out of Uraraka's grip who only let go once she believed Midoriya wouldn't try to pounce on Bakugo again. The green haired hero closed his eyes, leaning back in the hospital bed to recover from the wave of nausea that had hit him. He forgot he was supposed to be taking it easy. All rational thought always seemed to flee his mind when it came to Kacchan. That hadn't changed even now.
"What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" He mumbled, quieter than before.
"Held prisoner here after I saved your sorry ass by the way from whatever you thought you were doing."
"Hm, thanks." Izuku didn't want to fight with him anymore no matter how much he deserved it. He glanced around the darkness that had befell, hoping to move past their little disputation. "Where are Iida and Asui?"
"We're right here," a female voice informed.
"O-oh, sorry guys, I guess I didn't see you." He shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "Maybe you guys should go, it's getting late isn't it?"
A strange pause fell upon the room, one that Izuku couldn't place the reason for.
"Midoriya, what are you talking about, it's early morning now."
A frown tugged at his lips. "No, that can't be right. It's so dark in here, it has to be the middle of the night or something?"
"We get that the nurses had to avoid bright light to not damage your eyes but...can't you see the sunlight from the edge of the curtains?"
Okay, now things weren't making sense. A rising inclination of panic awoke within him, like a cold touch of fingers on his spine that started to feel more like the blade of a knife now. Pressing into his skin and numbing as it sliced over his lungs.
Izuku swallowed, unable to help himself from clutching his chest as he gripped the sheets beneath him. He felt himself falling even though he knew he wasn't going anywhere.
"Izuku-kun...how many fingers am I holding up?" Uraraka whispered to him, no doubt raising a hand in front of his face but Izuku saw only darkness. It was like there was a thick charcoal drape between him and them.
"I don't...I don't know."
"We opened the curtains, is it easier to see now?"
Only the reverberation of the metal coils sliding over a pole was the signification that the curtains had parted. Other than that, Izuku could only sit there, his vision indifferent to the alterations. He felt the beaming sun on his face, he could sense it, almost envision the image. But could not see it. His world didn't even become the slightest bit brighter. If anything it became darker. Colder and emptier as a terrifying possibility crossed his mind and suddenly he felt isolated.
It didn't matter that he felt Ochaco's hand in his own. It didn't matter that he heard her voice or the others. It didn't matter that they were probably not even six feet away from him. Because Izuku only felt trapped. There was an invisible glass plane between them and him and he wanted nothing more than to smash it down to smithereens.
This is a joke. No this had to be a trick. A prank, some sort of dirty hoax. This couldn't mean what Izuku feared.
His cheeks were damp he realised. Damp. Tears. Oh, oh he was crying. No he was sobbing. Choking. Gasping, because he was trying to breathe.
Oh god he couldn't breathe.
He couldn't feel anything either. Shit, he was losing his mind.
"Izuku, hey, Izuku. Hold my hand, you're okay. I promise you're okay, we're right here."
Uraraka's words didn't comfort him, because he couldn't hear them. His ears rang like blaring sirens. He was unaware of everything going on around him. Iida and Kirishima trying to get a doctor, Asui and Uraraka hoping to help, and Bakugo. Bakugo who could only stand there in shock. More than unsure of what the hell to do.
But there was one thing he did know. That Izuku knew too. As much as anyone was willing this to be a lie, it was far from it.
Izuku was blind.