Chapter Text
Izuku sat curled up in a corner of the hallway as the voices in the office continued to rise in volume. The well-insulated walls made the shouting indistinct, which was likely a deliberate design choice considering this was Kacchan’s agency, but the fight had gone on for long enough that Izuku figured it was pretty bad. Part of him wanted to go and try to diffuse the situation- this had started because of him, after all- but the idea of facing down Kacchan’s temper again, and that of an older and stronger Kacchan to boot, made Izuku’s stomach twist itself into knots.
Izuku jumped as some kind of alarm went off. The voices abruptly stopped, and then Ground Zero screamed “Fucking hell!” loudly enough to be clear even through the walls. The door burst open and both heroes went sprinting down the hall, Ground Zero pulling on his gauntlets as he ran, then vanished into the stairway. Izuku rose and ran after them down the stairs.
As Izuku reached the source of the alarm, an emergency exit, he could hear Ground Zero letting out a blistering stream of curses outside. Izuku pushed through and immediately saw why: Kacchan was nowhere to be found.
“The damn fire door!” Ground Zero shouted. “Of fucking course he’d find the one hole-”
Midori groaned. “I knew something like this would happen if they found out. I should’ve been more careful.”
“Yeah, you should have,” Ground Zero snapped.
Izuku flinched, but Midori ignored the jibe and began to pace, muttering under his breath.
“He could be fucking anywhere by now!” Ground Zero shouted. “How the hell are we supposed to find one kid in this whole damn city?”
“He’s you,” Midori said. “Where would you go right now? Who would you want to approach you?”
Ground Zero let out a growl of frustration. “I doubt he wants to see any of-”
They all froze as a familiar boom echoed in the distance. Several more followed in quick succession, and then they stopped as abruptly as they’d started.
By the time the first boom had faded, both heroes were in motion. Midori exchanged a look with Ground Zero that was too quick for Izuku to decipher and then launched himself into the sky in a streak of green lightning. Izuku found himself being dragged backwards as Ground Zero gripped his arm and practically threw him back into the building.
“Stay!” he ordered, before turning and aiming an explosion downwards to launch himself after Midori. Izuku watched as Ground Zero propelled himself through the sky with several more explosions and disappeared behind another building.
Izuku stood in the doorway for several minutes, his curiosity and concern warring with his common sense. This whole mess had started because Kacchan had run outside without telling anyone, and Ground Zero had just told Izuku to stay put. He knew he should follow instructions and go back inside. But Kacchan was in danger, and the thought of sitting in some empty room while the heroes fought for his childhood friend’s life made him feel sick.
Mentally screaming at himself for being an idiot, Izuku set off running towards where the heroes had gone.
It wasn’t hard to find the location of the battle. Izuku just followed the shouts and booms until he came upon a large crowd of spectators, the action itself obscured by clouds of dust and smoke. Izuku pushed to the front of the crowd and gasped as the full scene became visible.
A huge piece of one of the buildings surrounding the street had given way and was tilting at an incredible angle. Police were set up on either side, keeping civilians from getting too close. Ground Zero flew from side to side underneath the leaning building, knocking what looked like a dozen different villains away from the center again and again.
Izuku looked closer and saw who Ground Zero was protecting. Midori was braced underneath the fallen building, shaking as he kept what must have been dozens if not hundreds of tons from crashing to the ground. There was a van lying on its side a few meters away from Midori, and Kacchan was half out of one of the doors, struggling against restraints that covered his hands and kept him chained to the vehicle.
Izuku’s thoughts raced as he took in the situation. As long as Kacchan was trapped below the building, Midori would be forced to hold it up, effectively removing him from the fight. Ground Zero was clearly a master of his craft, using his blasts to shoot from foe to foe with remarkable agility, but he was outnumbered and limited by the need to protect the others. If someone didn’t do something, the two heroes would tire, and the situation would quickly deteriorate. Izuku looked around, but the police were completely focused on keeping the crowd out of harm’s way, and Izuku could see no other heroes coming.
Izuku realized he was shaking. Any minute now, someone would come. They had to!
He paused as he saw an object lying on the ground. It was a fire axe, probably dropped by one of the rescue workers who had evacuated the building. An idea formed in his mind- a terrible, dangerous idea.
There was no way Izuku could do it. He’d just get in the way. He needed to wait for someone more qualified to arrive- for a hero to come.
The building piece groaned, and Midori cried out as he adjusted his grip to keep it balanced. Kacchan stopped struggling and looked up at the building. Even from this distance, Izuku could see the terror written across his face.
Suddenly Izuku was moving, ducking underneath the police line and grabbing the fire axe as he sprinted towards Kacchan. The police behind him cried out for him to stop, but he just ran faster.
What was he doing? This was insane!
Izuku let out a half-crazed yell as he charged, and Kacchan looked over, his eyes widening in shock.
“Deku?”
Izuku swung the axe as hard as he could. The blade buried itself in the side of the van, a good ten centimeters away from the chain.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kacchan shrieked.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before!”
Izuku tugged at the axe, but it was stuck.
“Move!” Kacchan shouted.
Izuku jumped back as Kacchan kicked out with his foot, sending the axe spinning away.
“What are you waiting for, you idiot?” Kacchan yelled. “Go get it!”
Izuku started. “Right!”
He ran over and picked up the axe again. Letting out an adrenaline-fueled cry, Izuku brought the axe down directly onto the chain, severing it in two. He exchanged a look of half elation, half terror with Kacchan, before they both turned and sprinted away in different directions.
Izuku had gotten maybe a few meters away when he slammed into something and fell to the ground. He looked up to see the villain who had held him at knifepoint standing over him, blade raised to strike.
“Well what do you know,” the villain said. “Looks like we got one after all.”
The knife came down.
Izuku had just enough time to think, This is it. I’m going to die.
Something wrapped around Izuku’s middle and yanked him sharply to the side. He looked up to see Midori screaming with pain and exertion as he somehow held the building with one arm. The thing around Izuku’s waist- some kind of black tendril- extended from the hero’s other hand, which he moved sharply to haul Izuku sideways. With a final yell, Midori released the whip, sending Izuku flying and then rolling out of the crash radius of the building.
Izuku looked up just in time to see Ground Zero pull Kacchan out the rest of the way and the villains all scatter out from under the building. Midori released his hold and darted away in a streak of green light, and Izuku was thrown into the air by the ensuing crash as the building piece collapsed to the ground.
When the dust settled, the two heroes were standing back to back surrounded by the villains, both sides waiting for the other to make a move.
Ground Zero looked over his shoulder, and his face split into an adrenaline-fueled grin.
“About time you joined in,” he drawled.
Midori held his shoulder and winced- it was the one he’d used to hold up the building, Izuku realized- then grinned determinedly through the pain.
“You know me,” he panted back, “can never pass up the opportunity for weightlifting.”
Izuku watched with baited breath as the villains gave a collective battle cry and fell upon the two heroes. Even with Midori now able to fight, the villains outnumbered the heroes five to one. Midori was injured, Ground Zero was beginning to tire, and both heroes were limited by the crowd as any large attacks would risk hitting civilians or the surrounding buildings.
The villains never stood a chance.
The two heroes moved so quickly that Izuku could only follow the action through the flashes of light and lines of green energy. They darted fluidly around one another on the ground and through the air, covering each other’s weak points, firing off concentrated explosive blasts and shockwaves of air that seemed to miss each other by centimeters but which always hit their targets. They moved like people who had fought together for decades- like people who knew each other the way they knew themselves.
In no time at all, Midori and Ground Zero stood surrounded by the defeated forms of the villains. The other bystanders let out raucous cheers and surged forwards, cutting off Izuku’s view. The last thing he saw was the two heroes standing together before the crowd, their arms raised in victory.
Izuku spent the next few minutes getting chewed out by the police for being an idiot. Finally, a gloved hand fell onto his shoulder.
“I can handle it from here, officer,” Midori said. “Thank you.”
The policeman who had been yelling at Izuku went red and mumbled something indiscernible before turning and practically running back to the rest of the force.
“Must be a fan,” Midori said fondly. He was still favoring one shoulder, but otherwise seemed unharmed. “Wish I had time to talk. But we need to get you home.”
“Um,” Izuku said, “Thank you. For saving me. And Kacchan, of course, thank you for saving Kacchan!”
Midori turned and gave Izuku a bemused look.
“Now I know what it feels like from the outside.”
“What?”
“You really do have a death wish,” Midori said incredulously.
Shame twinged in Izuku’s gut. “I’m sorry.”
Midori sighed. “Don’t be. You made the difference we needed. Just... be careful, alright? You’re no good to others if you’re dead. It took me a while to learn that.”
“Oi, nerd!” Ground Zero called over from where a policeman was undoing Kacchan’s cuffs, “they want us to come down to the police station. We need to give an incident report.”
Midori groaned. “Fantastic.” He turned to Izuku.
“You might as well come with us. The police should have gotten some information out of Leaper by now. If anyone can figure out how to send you back, it’s her.”
When Katsuki, Ground Zero and both Dekus got to the station the police had them all wait in the same empty room, because of course they fucking did. A minute hadn’t gone by before Katsuki loudly announced he was going to the bathroom and stormed out and as far away within the precinct as he could get away with. He wasn’t stupid enough to run outside and get himself kidnapped for the third time in the same fucking day, but he’d rather claw his own eyes out than sit and watch that simpering idiot suck up to his arrogant bastard of an older self. Particularly since if he tried to confront Deku about what had happened (he had not needed to be rescued, he hadn’t, he’d have gotten out somehow without help...) then no doubt the bunny-eared bastard- or worse, Katsuki’s own pathetic excuse for an older self- would read him the riot act for it.
“You’d better get used to it.”
Katsuki turned and saw Ground Zero standing behind him. He’d shed his gauntlets and was leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Katsuki said.
“You’d better get used to Deku saving you,” Ground Zero said, and damn it all, why did he have to know exactly what Katsuki was thinking? “That idiot doesn’t know when to stop. He never has.”
Katsuki bristled. “I know Deku doesn’t fucking know when to stop. You should know how many times I’ve had to put him in his goddamn place! If you even remember what it’s like to be me, that is.”
Ground Zero’s face darkened.
“I remember,” he said. “I meant what I said before. You have no idea how much damage you’re doing.”
Katsuki scoffed. “To that dumbass nerd? Because he seems to be doing pretty fucking well.”
Ground Zero’s eyes were hard as flint. “To Deku. And to yourself.”
To... himself? How could he be hurting himself?
Deku’s face flashed through Katsuki’s mind, at once terrified and determined as he charged into an active battle. Katsuki had punched Deku in the face, gotten himself captured through his own stupidity, and yet Deku had run out armed with nothing but an axe to cut him free.
Had Deku been the strong one, all along?
No! No, he couldn’t believe that. Katsuki would have gotten himself out somehow. He was the best there was. Everyone knew that. They had to.
Katsuki balled his fists.
“Why do you even care about him?” he shouted. “I hate Deku! I’ve spent my whole life trying to get rid of him! And now you let him fight with you? Let him beat you?”
“I don’t let Deku do anything,” Ground Zero said. “You know by now that the damn nerd has a will stronger than anyone. It fucking terrifies you.”
“It doesn’t!” Katsuki said, his voice rising in pitch. “I’ll just be better off without that weakling holding me back!”
“You’re going to become stronger because of him,” Ground Zero said. He moved forward, his gaze drilling into Katsuki, who stubbornly held his ground. “You’ll push yourself harder than you ever thought possible, and it’ll make you a better hero. Right now you’ve been so busy playing king of your crappy little school that you wouldn’t know true competition if it bit you in the ass.”
A softer emotion flickered across Ground Zero’s face. “And you definitely don’t know what it’s like to have someone stand at your side.”
“But you lost!” Katsuki yelled. “How can you stand there and tell me you’re okay with this when fucking Deku is Number One!”
Ground Zero’s eyes flashed with defiance. “They rank heroes twice a year, brat. This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”
He showed his teeth. “It’s not a real fight if it’s easy.”
A few minutes after the Kacchans had left, Detective Tsukauchi came into the room carrying a stack of files. He paused and looked around. “Where is...”
“Ground Zero’s taking care of it,” Midori said, sounding utterly done.
The detective nodded, his expression faintly amused, and set the files on one of the room’s desks.
“We’ve spent some time further researching Leaper over the past few hours. We found records of several disappearances in our files that include eyewitness accounts of spheres of light matching the one Midoriya described. Some of the missing persons showed up years later, not appearing to have aged at all. Others reappeared not long after, with no memory of what had happened to them.”
“No memory?” Midori said, glancing at Izuku.
“Not that we can tell, no.”
Midori let out a breath. “Then we don’t know how they got back?”
“Not from the victims themselves,” the detective replied. “But Leaper has been claiming she can reverse the time jump. She wants to negotiate a reduced sentence.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Midori said. “With that many disappearances...”
“Trust me, we’re not taking any steps without the proper precautions,” the detective said. “We’ve dealt with situations like this before. I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out.”
“So I can go home?” Izuku said.
The detective smiled. “Yes, you can go home.”
Izuku stood awkwardly while Midori finished talking with Detective Tsukauchi and then started to read some of the files the detective had left. He breathed, silently gathering his courage.
“Please,” Izuku said, “I need to ask you something.”
Midori set down the folder and turned, his expression unreadable.
“Yes?”
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut as the words he’d been longing to say since they’d met finally burst out.
“Do you think I can be a hero?”
Izuku’s hands clenched into fists and his stomach twisted itself in knots, but he held firm. He needed to ask this.
“You’re amazing, and you saved my life, and- and I know I’m just a quirkless kid, but I want to save people too! So please, tell me... Could I ever hope to become someone like you?”
There was a moment of silence.
“You’re going to forget all of this in a few minutes,” Midori said. “Do you really want me to give you an answer, only for you to lose it right after?”
“I need to know,” Izuku said. “Even if I forget, I need to hear it from someone.”
Izuku heard Midori sigh.
“I know you do.”
Izuku waited, trembling.
“You asked about my hero name,” Midori said. “It’s Deku.”
Izuku’s eyes shot open.
“W-what?”
The expression on the hero’s face was hard to read. It seemed almost... wistful.
“It was meant to be an insult- a label given to me by someone else. But a friend helped me see it in a different light, and I chose to make it my own.”
He pulled back his hood to reveal a head of messy green hair.
Izuku suddenly couldn’t breathe.
Dark green hair. The same variance in color, the same curls that would never fall into place no matter how much Izuku tried to tame them. Those green eyes that had reminded Izuku so much of his mother. And with the mask off, Izuku could see that the hero’s cheeks were dusted with a familiar pattern of freckles.
“Hello, Izuku,” the adult version of himself said.
Izuku’s knees hit the ground.
He- Izuku- a hero- that smile, the way he fought- a hero-
Izuku shook, leaning forward onto his hands and knees. His breath came in quick gasps as sobs tore their way out of his throat.
How long had he waited for someone to tell him he could be a hero? How many times had he lain awake at night, desperately dreaming about a future that deep down he feared would always be out of reach? A future that was now literally standing before him?
A hand fell onto his shoulder. Izuku looked up to see Midori- to see Deku- kneeling in front of him and smiling gently. His green eyes were filled with compassion, and with something else, something more profound. An old pain. A deep understanding. This man knew how long Izuku had waited to be told he could be a hero, because he had lived it.
Because he was Izuku. Izuku, in the future.
“H-how?” Izuku sobbed, barely able to form words.
“I met someone,” Deku said. “Someone who believed in me like no one else had. He gave me the chance I needed.”
“B-b-but...” Izuku gasped out, “But how- your quirk-"
Deku self-consciously rubbed the back of his head.
“The story of this quirk isn’t really mine to tell, not in your time. But I wasn’t born with it; it was entrusted to me. This power, it’s something that I- that we- had to earn. Every inch of mastery I have over it was forged through my own pain and determination.”
That didn’t make any sense. How could someone- who would have-
Deku’s hand moved from Izuku’s shoulder to rest over his heart, and as Izuku looked down he saw that the fingers of the hero’s hand were gnarled and scarred.
“I know it’s hard to wrap your head around this right now,” Deku said, “but you’ll get there, Izuku. You’ll become stronger than you ever thought you could be. And not just because of a quirk. Because of what you’ll learn, from your teachers and from your friends. Because of what you’ll discover was inside of you all along.”
It was too much. Izuku crumpled into Deku’s chest, his tears soaking the man’s shirt as his stomach clenched from the force of his cries. Warm arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly. Izuku brought his own arms up and around Deku and buried his face against the hero’s good shoulder, breathing in the scent of sweat and dust and himself. They stayed like that until Izuku had finally cried himself out.
Izuku pulled away and rubbed at his eyes.
“Sorry,” he said.
Deku laughed. “I’m the last person you need to apologize to for crying. That’s something I never outgrew, no matter how many times All Might said I should!”
Izuku felt like he had been struck by lightning.
“All Might? We know All Might? WHEN?! HOW?! WHAT’S HE LIKE IN PERSON? DOES HE STILL HAVE-”
Deku’s face went bright red.
“Okay I think that’s enough talk for now let’s go find the others I think they went this way follow me!”
He bolted.
Somehow, they all ended up back in the right room. Katsuki saw that the older Deku’s face was uncovered, and the younger Deku was looking at him like he’d put the stars in the sky or some poetic shit like that. So he’d told him, then. As if Deku hadn’t looked down on Katsuki enough as it was. That was why Katsuki had pushed him away all these years, after all- that and the fact that he was useless.
You wouldn’t know true competition if it bit you in the ass. And you definitely don’t know what it’s like to have someone stand at your side.
He couldn’t get the image out of his head: Ground Zero and Deku, fighting as one, standing together in victory. They’d dreamed about that a lifetime ago, before Katsuki got his quirk and everything changed.
How did he and Deku go from the way things were now to the heroes he’d seen today? How did Deku go from a pebble in his path to someone who would overtake him- to someone he would trust with his life?
Deku noticed Katsuki staring and started over, opening his mouth to speak.
Katsuki held up a hand. “Just... leave me the fuck alone right now, okay?” he said tiredly.
Deku’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but for once he just nodded and backed off.
Detective Whats-His-Face came into the room, followed by two officers escorting Lightbulb Hair between them.
“Leaper has agreed to send these two home,” the detective said. “I’ve personally verified that she is telling the truth, and will send them to the same day from which they were taken.”
“Thank you, Detective,” the older Deku said. “Could we have a moment first?”
The detective inclined his head and stepped back, giving them all space.
Deku looked up at his older counterpart, his eyes wide and lip trembling. The older Deku knelt in front of him and met his gaze.
“Hang in there, okay? Things are going to get better very soon. You’re stronger than you know.”
Deku burst into tears and hugged his older self, throwing an arm around the hero’s good shoulder. After a moment he pulled back and wiped his face with one sleeve, and both Dekus shared a quiet smile.
"Thank you," Deku said. "For everything."
Ground Zero stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out and tentatively ruffled Deku’s hair.
Deku smiled shyly. “You really are amazing, Kacchan.”
Ground Zero huffed out a laugh. “You know it. Take care of yourself, Izuku.”
The older Deku looked over at Katsuki. He didn’t say anything, just smiled slightly and nodded in farewell. Katsuki looked away, not really knowing how to feel, and found his gaze meeting that of Ground Zero.
Katsuki lifted his chin and looked his older counterpart dead in the eye.
“I don’t care what your stupid listing says. I’m going to be the greatest hero if it kills me, and nothing-” he shot a look at the younger Deku, who for once returned it evenly- “is ever going to change that.”
Ground Zero grinned, a feral expression. “Good. Don’t ever stop aiming for the top, kid. I’ll see you in ten years.”
“Are you ready?” Detective Whats-His-Face said, and they all nodded.
Deku came over and tentatively held out his hand. Katsuki placed his own hand lightly around Deku’s wrist. Was this the first time in a decade he’d touched Deku without hostile intent?
Lightbulb Hair took Deku’s other hand. “You’re not going to remember what happened when you go back,” she said. “The timeline corrects itself. But if it goes right, the transition should be painless.”
The smirk she gave them was not at all comforting.
Deku swallowed and nodded, while Katsuki just glared at the woman. She’d better hope for her own sake it was fucking painless, the bastard.
As they watched, a small ball of light formed in Lightbulb Hair’s hand and started to grow. This time Katsuki knew what to expect, but he still felt himself tensing as the light reached him and his entire world went white.
Izuku opened his eyes and saw sky above him. Oddly, it appeared darker than he was expecting. And why had he decided to take a nap outside?
He sat up. He was sitting on the sidewalk, and his books and opened backpack were strewn across the ground nearby. Kacchan lay beside him, unmoving.
Izuku gripped Kacchan’s shoulders and shook him.
“Kacchan! Kacchan, are you okay?”
Kacchan jarred awake and scrambled backwards, his eyes wild.
“Don’t fucking touch me!”
Izuku held out his hands in a calming gesture. “It’s alright, it’s just me.”
Kacchan’s eyes darted around. “What the fuck is this? What did you do, Deku?”
“Me?” Izuku squeaked, “I didn’t do anything!”
Kacchan shook his head, his expression distant. “No, you... you did something. Something big. I can’t remember...”
He seemed to pull himself out of it and glared at Izuku. “Why else would we be on the fucking ground?”
“I don’t know!” Izuku said, starting to feel frantic himself. “The last thing I remember is walking home from school, and then... and then waking up here!”
Kacchan stood abruptly.
“Whatever, you’d better stay out of my goddamn way Deku!” His voice was shaky and for once had little bite to it.
Kacchan swiped his backpack off the ground and stalked off, nearly running in his haste to leave.
Izuku looked around. It looked like it was evening, which was strange since last he remembered it had been afternoon. Had he and Kacchan been hit with some sort of sleeping quirk? And no one had bothered to help them, or even to move them off the sidewalk?
Mom was going to be frantic. Izuku hurriedly began to gather his books and put them back in his backpack. The last notebook he picked up read Hero Analysis for the Future, No. 13.
Izuku paused for a moment, running a hand over the cover. Something felt different.
It was his certainty, Izuku realized. He’d always been self-conscious about his dream to become a hero, since no one truly believed he could. But in this moment he felt strangely confident, like it was something practically within his grasp. Come to think of it, he thought he might have a neat idea for a suit design.
Smiling to himself, Izuku placed the notebook in his backpack and began the walk home.
Midoriya Izuku, known to the world as the hero Deku, watched as the light dissipated, leaving no trace of the younger versions of him and Kacchan. He waited as the police escorted Leaper out of the room and mentally ran through his most important teenage memories: meeting All Might, starting at UA, his friends, all the fights with the League of Villains... At least as far as he could tell, they were unchanged.
Izuku looked over at Kacchan. “Anything feel different?”
Kacchan shook his head. “You?”
Izuku sighed. “Nothing. That’s a relief.”
Kacchan grunted. “Might as well get going. I’m going to be drowning in paperwork for this tomorrow. Knowing my staff they’ll write up a whole new form for time travel incidents, just to piss me off.”
“Yeah, I probably should get back too,” Izuku said.
Kacchan gave Izuku a severe look. “You’re not going anywhere until you get that shoulder checked out.”
Izuku’s hand went to his injured shoulder. “It’s nothing, I just pulled it.”
Kacchan glared and poked Izuku hard in the chest.
“You held up a goddamn building, idiot! Go to the doctor or I’ll drag you there myself!”
Izuku rubbed at his chest, annoyed. “Alright, fine.”
There was a moment of silence.
“I’m sorry,” Kacchan bit out.
Izuku blinked at him in shock. “What?”
“I said I’m fucking sorry!” Kacchan shouted. He paused and leveled his voice. “For, you know. How I treated you. Back then.”
“Is- is everything okay?” Izuku said. He started to inspect Kacchan with his good arm. “You’re not hurt somewhere and not telling me, are you?”
Kacchan slapped his hand away. “What? No, you idiot! I can fucking apologize if I want to! I’ve done it before, haven’t I?”
“Yeah, and you looked like you were about to have an aneurysm or something. I was legitimately worried about you.”
Kacchan growled something under his breath and looked away. After a moment he said, “I just- It was a lot, seeing it right in front of me. What I put you through. It was always my stupid problem, you didn’t deserve any of that shit.”
Izuku started to sniffle.
Kacchan gave him an exasperated look. “Stop crying, Deku.”
“I’m not,” Izuku said tearfully.
Kacchan huffed. “You’re hopeless.”
He turned to go. Izuku reached out and gently gripped Kacchan’s arm to pull him back, wincing as the movement aggravated his shoulder. Their eyes met.
“Kacchan, you know I forgave you a long time ago. But thank you.”
Kacchan’s gaze briefly softened into something vulnerable, before he covered it with a scowl and looked away.
“Yeah, well, don’t expect to hear it again.”
Izuku found himself smiling fondly. “No, of course not.”
He went to follow Kacchan out of the room but paused at the door, looking back to where the teenage versions of them had disappeared.
“They don’t have any idea what’s coming, do they?” Izuku said, feeling a strange sort of affection for his younger self.
“No,” Kacchan said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “They really don’t.”
They left together.