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Hey, Deku... You remember?

When we pretended to be heroes as kids? We made up something similar to this, you remember, right?

Yeah...

Sometimes I wish we could go back.

Sometimes I wish this was all just a game and we were just some dumb kids with big dreams...

Don't you?

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"DEKU!!"

The ash blonde yelled out as soon as he reached ground zero — he was still almost five kilometers ahead of the Nomus who were too rushing for the same location.

The area itself had nothing in particular. No such thing that could prove to be dangerous or life threatening was present in his field of vision which only fueled him to be more conscious of his surroundings — especially his blind spots. Other than that, the place itself was almost a fifteen-storey building. No guards, no villains, no Nomus in sight. It was as quiet as a graveyard.

Katsuki took a few more glances around before walked inside. He took long and quick but quiet and careful steps. That feeling from earlier had lessened drastically, did that mean the green head was fine? Did he actually manage everything on his own? Why were the Nomus coming here then? There were a lot of questions to be asked but of course none of them were to be answered. Not soon anyways.

The ash blonde would admit, he never imagined the centre of all that havoc to be this... Serene. It was quiet, too quiet. The only sound reaching his ears was of his own footsteps and the occasional clanking of his huge gauntlets. It was dark accompanied by an eerie chill, as if someone had cut off the electricity.

'Guess All For One doesn't pay his bills.' He mentally scoffed, 'Is it for the aesthetic or something? What a loser.'

The ash blonde proceeded to look around in the dark with the help of a few rays of sunlight that managed to pass through the corners of sealed windows yet he didn't find any clue that could tell him where his friend was, where the villain was or why the Nomus were retreating to this very place. The place was practically vacant if it wasn't for the figures of different sized crates lined up here and there.

Just as Katsuki decided to move upstairs a quick, small flash of red light caught his attention before completely disappearing in the dark with a sound of 'beep'. It came and went quick enough to make the boy think that it might have been just his mind playing tricks with him. The ash blonde, however, didn't want to take any risks. So, Katsuki strode over to where he thought he saw the light from, a horrible feeling slowly building back up in the farthest pit of his stomach — he couldn't determine which was in his best interest; whether he should run away or run closer.

Katsuki was certain the 'beep' sounded again but it was quiet enough to be cancelled out by the blood rushing in his ears, he stopped dead in his tracks.

That feeling fastened up and Katsuki could feel something burning at the back of his throat... He gulped as a bead of sweat rolled down his face — he caught a glimpse of several red lights before they all faded out again. And the next few minutes went like a blizzard.

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I don't... Exactly remember what happened after that.

Dammit, my memory is still a little fuzzy.

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There were sounds of quick footsteps approaching him before his vision went out completely. He didn't have the time to comprehend what happened, or maybe he did and he did move to act but ended up forgetting it later. He vaguely remembered the ground rumbling, dust filling his vision and a distant cry of,

"Kacchan, move!!"

And then every last one of his senses went out. Had he passed out? Had he hit his head? What was the threat there? Where did that voice come from all of a sudden? Where was the villain? Were the Nomus still coming?
Was Deku unharmed?

~O~

He stirred, grunting as he gradually began to open his ruby red eyes. Slowly coming back to consciousness, he realized that the little bit of light that guided him before had now gone out completely. Great...

His throat felt dry and there was something trickling down his forehead and spreading all the way to his chin, blood probably. So, he did hit his head. The rest of his body felt uncharacteristically sore and numb, he couldn't exactly pinpoint the extent of his injuries thanks to the dark and the fact that he just regained his senses.

The ash blonde gave it a few minutes at most before he tried shifting again. There wasn't much room to move, he observed. The debris of the building surrounded him but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. The disordered structure around him didn't seem to be much unstable either. Though, Katsuki noticed, that his senses were still a bit slow. Given the great reaction time he had, it took him a while to figure out that he was sitting up next to a support conveniently made out of all the rubble.

Now, the amount of space he had to stretch his legs told him that there was no way that Izuku might have done this for him. Nobody took care of his injured self and propped him up against the wall, it was just a mere coincidence.

And that brought the main question back on the table; where was Izuku then?

Katsuki shifted again, he turned as much as he could ignoring the pain slowly rising up from his left leg, hissing slightly. Tiny pieces of debris fell down and collapsed at the ground at his moments. The sound of the stony materials falling might have reached someone because Katsuki swore he heard a groan that wasn't his own. On one hand, he wanted it to be Izuku. He wanted it to be him so he could know that the idiot was at least not out there wrecking himself for something stupid like dealings with all those Nomus alone. On the other hand... Well, he didn't really want the green head to be injured and unconscious. At all.

The ash blonde settled down once he heard something rather larger in size crashing down at a distance. It was still unstable, he couldn't move around like that again or else he'd be risking both his and his childhood friend's lives. Katsuki coughed, the dust was getting to his already dry throat. He took a few deep breaths with his gloved hands covering his mouth in an attempt to tone down the coughing.

"K-Kacchan...?"

The voice was sudden, weak and delivered as a squeak. But he recognized it immediately.

"Deku? You okay there?" The ash blonde asked, "Oi, what happened?"

"A-Are you hurt?"

"Shut up, I asked first. Wha—"

"Kacchan, please just..." There were a few pants. Izuku couldn't breath, "A-Are you hu-urt?"

Katsuki sighed, letting his head fall back on the debris' support, "A little maybe. You?"

"That's... That's good. That's good," the green haired boy's words took too long to come and it wasn't looking — or sounding quite well, "Sorry... Sorry for that... Couldn't take us... B-Both out in time... S-Sorry..." More panting was heard from his side. He couldn't breath. Izuku couldn't breath. He was in danger. He needed help.

"You didn't answer me, Deku." Katsuki almost gritted his teeth, "What happened? How bad is your condition?"

There was a pause. A deafening silence filled the atmosphere before something else could be heard to have crashed a far. Izuku took his time maintaining his breathing before he could speak again, "That, yeah um... That... Don't... Don't worry 'bout me, okay? I'll be fine... That and um, there was... All For One. He—!"

A coughing fit followed with huge gasps desperate for air.

"Hey, hey, don't talk if you can't breath, dumbass!" Katsuki bit down his urge to yell, "I fucking knew it was him. That bastard. Do you know why he called back the Nomus?"

"That... That was me..." Izuku took in a deep breath, he coughed before taking shakier huffs of air in, "I-I called 'em... Back..."

"... You knew the building would collapse." Katsuki thought out loud, "You trapped all of them in here and you couldn't move out in time because you were too injured to."

"Because you were there, Kacchan." Another coughing fit, "I-I told you... Not to come a-any closer and you still... I couldn't. S-Sorry... Was too slow..." Another cough. One that felt much deeper this time.

"Because there was barely enough time for you to run out, Deku! You idiot. Is this all you could think of doing with those mighty twenty braincells?" Katsuki only heard a faint chuckle in response. "What happened to All For One? Is he also trapped in here or...?"

"Well, um..." Izuku took a few breaths to prepare himself for the his next statement, "How to tell your childhood best friend and rival that you accidentally murdered someone in cold blood because they insulted them?"

"... Nezu is fucking stupid to call you smart. Round face is fucking stupid to call you innocent, you unhinged feral bastard."

A weak laugh erupted from the green head's direction. One that disturbed the ash blonde. Here he was, Izuku, who always had been a crybaby. Izuku, who fought the greatest villain of all times alone. Izuku, who'd pass out if Katsuki hugged him. Izuku, who fearlessly trapped hundreds of Nomus into a collapsing building. Izuku, who still screamed like a little girl when someone scared him from behind. Izuku, who was laughing in the face of his own death...

Katsuki wasn't surprised. His friend was quite the walking contradiction. But he was worried, yes. Because Izuku — brave, selfless, strategic but also shy, awkward and fidgety Izuku was currently dying and of course he was laughing (as much as he could manage to given how he couldn't breath normally) at Katsuki's word choice.

There was no exchange of words for the next few minutes. It was silent enough that Katsuki could hear his own heart besting rapidly. There were the occasional noises coming from the unstable debris falling onto each other and every sound made him fear the worst because any one of them could easily crush Izuku if he wasn't already bring crushed by a steel beam or something else of the sort. On top of that, the green haired boy still hadn't told him the extent of his injuries.

The ash blonde had been there for him when he used to come back injured. He used to treat his wounds because Izuku would never do it himself neither he would tell anyone or ask for help. He had always been like that. Always suffering alone yet determined on helping others. So, Katsuki would look at his wounds. He would manhandle him to Recovery Girl's office. He would get All Might to give him an earful on taking better care of himself — which somehow always failed since the former Symbol of Peace apparently was never able to maintain an angry face in Izuku's presence for more than 42 seconds. And when that failed, the ash blonde would get Aizawa on the job or do it himself.

Of course nothing ever worked on him. That stubborn idiot.

But now? Now Katsuki couldn't see him. Katsuki couldn't get to him. Katsuki couldn't look at his wounds. Katsuki couldn't take him to Recovery Girl's office. Katsuki couldn't give him a lecture on self preservation. Katsuki couldn't provide him any sort of first aid.

Katsuki couldn't save him.

Had he failed that gut feeling? Had he been too slow? No. The gut feeling never led him here to protect Izuku. It was too late. It's always too late to protect Izuku because he was always so quick to jump into action, to deal with things that could be harmful to others. It was always too late to protect the man who always moved the fastest to protect others.

Katsuki was only led here to be with Izuku. To be with him when he was alone and dying in a dark place where he couldn't even move. Because no one should die alone. That's the worst kind of death. A death that the ash blonde didn't even wish upon his enemies. And Izuku of all people shouldn't die alone because he had always been there for everyone and Katsuki wouldn't let him die alone. He didn't want him to but he couldn't even reach him.

And Izuku hadn't said a word in a while. There hadn't been any chest rattling coughs or deep huffs for air and what if he's already de—

As if he heard his thoughts, Izuku coughed once again and Katsuki could practically feel the small and weak smile on his face.

"Hey, Kacchan..."

The ash blonde sucked in a breath. Izuku's voice was too weak, too fragile.

"You remember? When we used to play hero as kids...?"

"The hell do you take me for, huh, nerd?"

Of course, he did. He always did. How could he of all people forget it? And he could still picture that idiot's face. The only problem was that he had to picture it...

"Hm..." The emerald eyed boy's voice shook, "You remember one day when we were... When were playing i-in that forest... You and I-I were the heroes... We were fighting a dragon and... And..."

"And you didn't listen to me and jumped in front of me to take the hit like the lunatic you are?" Katsuki smirked.

"Yeah... Funny right? When you took the hit... They were always," Another cough, "They were always the fake ones... And when I-I tried to do it... I ended up getting injured for real... Heh..."

Katsuki mused, "And remember that day when you tried to save me and fell? You're knee started bleeding so much, I had to carry you home. You cried for three days straight."

"You've always been my hero, huh?" Izuku sighed wholeheartedly.

"Of course, who else is trusted enough to save your ass?"

"Thanks, Kacchan..."

"Yeah..."

The reminiscent and nostalgic mood didn't seem to last long as the silence appeared to be back. Quiet, deafening, unsettling. All that represented death was present in the atmosphere. Katsuki didn't like but he couldn't change it either. So, taking a sigh of his own, the ash blonde succumbed to dive deep into his mind's choice of memories. Almost every moment with the green head, he remembered clear as a day. Not all were good ones, sure but the ones that were of them just laughing and smiling and playing around; stealing cheetos — Katsuki cherished them the most. A lot of them were based on degrading, misunderstandings and jealousy, sure and Katsuki knew they couldn't be replaced. He knew he couldn't turn back time. But he knew that they could both move on, and they did.
And...

He hasn't yet apologized...

The ash blonde jolted, eyes wide open,"Deku? Shit. Deku, can you hear me?" Katsuki called, the urgency in his voice was sickeningly obvious. On the other side, there was a long pause before anything came from Izuku and when it did, it was nothing more than a strangled groan.

"Unghh..."

"Deku, oi listen. Listen, I know should have told you this sooner. I tried but you know how much of an asshole I am. And I just, I wanted to apolo—! Fuck. Fuck... I don't know how to, Deku. Oi, you're still listening, right?"

"Mhm..."

"Good... That's good— Just listen, okay? Can you...? Shit, Deku, can you even understand what I'm saying? Are you still there? Don't you fucking die on me until I'm finished. You got that?" Katsuki cringed at how messy his words came out, "H-Hey... Don't stay silent now. Please, Deku... Fuck. Fuck. Fuck it."

Something burnt in his eyes, was he allergic to dust? Noted.

Izuku, however, remained silent to the pleads. But there was the sound of small rocks and pebbles falling, crashing, moving and Katsuki couldn't comprehend — his head hurt too bad to realize what was happening. His heart was beating too fast, his eyes were pricking and he wanted to scream.

A beaten and battered hand rest on top of his own gloved one, giving it the lightest of squeeze.

"I forgave you..."

And the hand stayed there. Unmoving and limp. Bloody and dead. The ash blonde squeezed it but it had no power of it's own to return the same gesture... This was it... This was really it.

"Deku? Oi... Oi, what happened? Can you hear me? Hey..."

No replies came. Not any laughs or desperate breathes. The usual friendliness was gone, a strong flame had flickered out and it was dark and cold in a sense only a few could understand. Katsuki felt something that was not quite blood roll down his cheeks,

"I-Izuku..."

He fell unconscious.

~O~

The next time those ruby eyes opened, all there was to see was a white ceiling before the smell of medicines and chloroform tickled his nose. The lights were off and the room was only illuminated by a newly risen sun's rays — rays that had previously betrayed him.

And has it been a day already? How long was he unconscious for? How long did it took them to reach there? Where was Shoto? Did Izuku's stupid technique work? Were the Nomus gone? Where was Izuku?

"Young Bakugou?"

The ash blonde blinked before he turned his head to a side. He didn't hear the opening of his hospital room and certainly didn't expect All Might of all people to be here because dammit he should be in his successor's hospital room right now.

"I see you're awake. Gave us quite the scare back there, kid." The blonde man smiled softly at him, not one like his other smiles, this one was filled with too much emotion it was a miracle it stood as a fine curve on the man's lips. The retired hero sat in a chair next to Katsuki's bed and gently gave his wild hair a ruffle. All the while the ash blonde continued to stare at him, baffled.

"Where is he?" Katsuki bit out, "Where is Izuku?"

All Might only stood there, his closed eyes were hidden by the shadows. The large bony hand that rested on Katsuki's head remained there for a while before it was gradually and weakly lifted up. The retired hero opened his mouth to say something but no words seemed to form at his mouth, no words seemed to come together to form an answer to that question.

His hands trembled even though it was so blindingly obvious how much tensed up his body was. All Might took in a few breaths, seemingly preparing himself to say it but he couldn't. He could never bring those words on top of his tongue no matter how hard he tried. Katsuki could see the man was restraining himself because of him, a teenager who survived what his friend couldn't. But, at last, the man gave up as his emotions caught up to him. He let his hand cover his mouth as a tear escaped his eye. All Might's shoulders shook but all he could do was turn his head down.

And that answered all of Katsuki's questions.

This really was it...

Izuku really was gone...

Katsuki really failed to save him...

Katsuki failed to be his hero...

And, oh look, his allergies were acting up again. Why was there dust in a hospital though? Weird.

Or... Or maybe this was what Izuku had tried to tell him?

"You should open up more often."

Because Katsuki could feel something trickle down his face, there was something aching in his chest. There was suddenly something missing from his life and so was the case with the man in front of him.

But he couldn't name it. He couldn't name that liquid that fell down his face in which drops. He couldn't name that ache in his chest. He couldn't tell what part of him was suddenly gone. Maybe he should ask All Might. Maybe he knew. Maybe he could tell him what Izuku told him but he didn't listen. Because right now, he was here bandaged up in a hospital bed and Izuku was out there somewhere on a cold metal table waiting to be buried.

And he couldn't name what he was feeling.

Well, either way,

His heart oddly urged for sharing spicy cheetos.

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Hey, Deku, you know? You were my hero too... But I never listened when you tried to save me.

What an asshole I am.

What a hero you are.

The greatest hero.

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