(The continuation of the god!Izuku AU I pulled literally out of nowhere)
—————

A hundred seventy-five years.

Katsuki roams the halls, face stoic and body rigid, jaw clenched in anger.

He'd learned how to control him and his little violent bursts soon after Izuku left, a hundred and seventy-five fucking years ago.

"Katsuki-"

"Our men?"

Kirishima's mouth snaps shut, set into a thin, displeased line, but he doesn't say a word. "Wounded. Most are healing- but.."

"But?" Katsuki slams open the doors to the armory with much more force than intended, shaking the walls that are barren of swords- except for one lying on the floor. The King grimaces- he'll have to make do.

"A lot of us.. they're dead, Katsuki. We're fighting a losing battle."

Katsuki briskly grabs the sword off the ground, shoving Kirishima to the side, who winces. He'd grown colder, once Izuku had taken his leave- jaded, as if all the anger inside him had been sucked out but had been replaced by something much more freezing and painful and the only way he coped with his loss was to shut himself off from the kingdom. He was still a good king, a leader-

But the fire within him had vanished, doing his duties as if they were akin to chores.

"Follow me into battle. I'm going to fight."

He'd stayed back to sort out the battle plans, met with contacts from other kingdoms- but they've been ravaged from disease and left so incredibly weakened, and by then, their help was gone. No use making a soldier fight when he could not lift his sword.

They're on their own now.

————-

Katsuki's wings tuck in as he goes for a dive, right into a mass of their opponent's soldiers, spreading last second to smack the shit out of anyone his wide wingspan hits, making their horses buck over and the soldiers fly.

The wind hisses in his ears as rage fills him at his own devastated army- most of his comrades lying dead with arrows plunged into their hearts, right where they lack scales, a deadly weakness in their actual dragon form.

Katsuki's eyes sting.

(It's just the wind, he tries to assure himself.)

Behind him, Kirishima bellows, fire erupting from his mouth as Katsuki forced himself to turn and slam his foot into one of their enemy's throat, the sickening crack left ignored as he growls and darts to another. Katsuki's shoes had ripped once he forced out a too-quick transformation, clawed feet digging into the ground as he steadies himself to release an explosion emanating fro his throat.

(It hurt to transform into dragons- with their bones cracking to support the changes, skin expanding as the flesh of their backs rip to desperately accommodate the large leathery wings bursting from their shoulder blades.)

Katsuki fought and fought and fought, vision blurring over and god, he was exhausted.

(He wanted nothing more than to collapse.)

The League's soldiers weren't skilled- but they beat Katsuki's army by twenty to one soldier, difference too big- and he barely deflects an arrow that whistles towards his forehead, making it thump on the soft dirt of the hill's earth instead.

Thoughts run through his head, body moving sluggishly now as tiredness makes itself known in his legs, arms aching from the heavy sword, ribs tightened up too much as sweat drips down his forehead and into his lashes.

His wings were too heavy, making him stumble on his own clawed feet-

And then a sharp pain makes him half-heartedly snap out of the haze as he glares behind him, finding some lucky bastard who buried their sword deep into the meat and back of Katsuki's right leg, adrenaline making it temporarily numb as he straight up clocks the man in the temple.

He heaves, lungs burning, and he feels a presence behind his back and he instinctually swings his blade-

Until a hand catches it and a familiar smile greets him.

"Kacchan."

No fucking way.

There- there was no- Izuku-?

"Izuku?" He mutters, sounding like a star struck child but he doesn't even care.

"Hi, Kacchan." He says it again, a shy little grin on his face, blush bright. He awkwardly hugs Katsuki, and Katsuki..

He bursts into tears.

"I'm tired," he chokes, tears running down his face as he all but wails, clawing at Izuku's back. "I'm so fucking tired!"

Years without Izuku's touch, his smile- the barren halls that used to be filled with peals of gentle laughter- late nights were they cuddle and Izuku whispers 'Kacchan' under his breath as he looks up at Katsuki with the most innocent eyes full of wonder and awe at his scales and wings-

It was too much.

Katsuki sinks to his knees, clinging onto Izuku. "Help them," he manages to gasp. "Help them, please, Izuku."

He could lay down his pride for once if it means saving what's left of his men- those men who had families, wives and children to go home to. Ashido, or Kirishima or Kaminari who were probably struggling in the battle field, because their king was so fucking weak.

He sees the brilliant smile on Izuku's face through the blur of tears.

"Rest easy, Kacchan."

(Katsuki, through his utter relief and whirl of emotions doesn't see the stony look in Izuku's eyes.)

—————

The sight of Izuku surprises Kirishima, who lay under a pile of dead men, their blood staining his face and teeth- and he tries not to think about it.

Then Izuku came, head tilted curiously- and hands grab Kirishima's shoulders and suddenly he can breathe.

"I-Izuku?" He coughs, wheezing as he clutched his ribs, lower half numb from being stuck under fucking corpses, unable to move because his body just won't follow up.

"Oh, fuck. Holy shit- it's- it's you-"

"I know." The boy's hand caresses his face gently. "Please save your breath, focus on breathing first."

His eyes are shadowed once he turns to the still raging battlefield, and another dragon drops, slamming onto the group with a painful boom, writhing in pain before it slumps over and shrinks, turning into a more human form minus the horns. An arrow is sticking out her heart, and she was dead before she even hit the ground.

The sight is bitter.

And yet Izuku stands. And with one more comforting grin, he turns his back on Kirishima and faces the the League's soldiers.

"It'll be over soon, Kiri." He hums, his quiet voice somehow echoing through the throws and shouts in battle, the horrific screams, the clash of swords.

And right before the redhead's eyes flutter close, he swears that the sky turned red as two jet black, thirty foot wings flickered into reality and onto Izuku's back.

——————

"I'm glad both of you are awake!"

Katsuki almost falls off the bed when Izuku pipes up from the doorway, carrying a metal tray filled with two giant slabs of meat, hanging off the edge as it's delicious, mouth-watering scent wafts through the air.

Kirishima openly gapes- and their reactions are ignored when Izuku hums, plopping the tray on the center of the wooden table in the infirmary, between the two separate beds the redhead and blond laid upon.

He acts as if.. as if he hadn't fucking vanished all those years ago-

"Izuku.."

The god bristles, as if someone had ruffled his feathers the wrong way before a forced smile makes itself known.

"Eat first," he says, hand resting on the oak wood doors he'd walked out from a whole century ago. "We'll talk once both of you regained your strength."

He adds something under his breath.

"Maybe we can catch up."

—————

Izuku never felt any remorse when he slaughtered those vile villains as he made fire rain from the sky, watching them set everything aflame.

This fire was vicious, and it didn't leave anything in it's path- a special weapon that Izuku had created once he stole it from those bastards up in heaven. It felt oddly relieving when he got to use it, seeing those terrible little monsters set on fire- and their pained screams were it only from their physical body burning up, but their souls being consumed until.. nothingness. Not only are they dead-

They never existed in the first place.

—————

Izuku enters an hour later, long after the meat is finished and Kirishima is snoring his ass off, knocked out from the war. Bakugou envies him, how he can sleep even after the death that had the King shaken to his core.

Meanwhile, Katsuki's fists shake.

It was close.

Too fucking close.

If Izuku hadn't been there..

And shit. That was another problem.

Izuku was there.

In the fucking flesh, saving Katsuki's ass as if he hadn't made him feel like an outsider, like a monster-

"Hey, Kacchan."

Izuku's greeting snaps him out of his spiraling inner panic.

He still looked like a fucking kid as he brushes the hair out of Katsuki's eyes, handing him a cup of water as he takes his seat right beside Katsuki's leg and god he was so close that Bakugou can feel his curious stare in his soul, the warmth of his arm that was draped on the blond's leg.

Bakugou scrambles to start a conversation.

".. Izuku.. Why were you here?"

Part of him hopes that maybe Izuku decided to come back- even after all these years but-

"I was traveling. I came here because your kingdom was on one of the places I had to pass through to get to some stream where I can find some rare herbs."

Katsuki raises a curious brow at that. "Herbs? The hell? You a healer now?"

"Oh no, I was doing a favor for this nice lady. She was quite sweet- a bit sad, since I looked too much like her dead son. We had the same green hair, apparently."

And oh, Izuku rambles on and on, hands gesturing and facial expressions priceless- and its as if they've never been apart from the first place.

"-and then.. wait. Kacchan?"

"Mm?" He hums noncommittally, red eyes focused only on Izuku's face, on cloud fucking nine because he was back.

"You're.. staring."

The pretty flush comes back, and Izuku is darting his eyes away, nibbling on his lower lip in an anxious habit.

"I know." Bakugou says, simple as he shifts on the covers, tensing his leg as he feels the dull throb of the wound earlier. He grimaces- he has to go to his soldiers- shit, their corpses because they deserve a proper fucking funeral-

"It's okay. Hey." Izuku nuzzles into his cheek.

And for once,

Katsuki doesn't pull away. He even brushes their cheeks together, like the old times- this gesture feeling much too intimate that it made Izuku's ears go light pink.

"I um, took care of everything. I.. collected their.. remains," Izuku's lips are set in a thin line as his poor wording. "And closed down all trade while we try and get back up to our feet. I helped with the reconstruction earlier, and maybe 75% of your kingdom will be improved and rebuilt in two months at the rate they're going."

".. How the hell did you get everyone to listen to you?"

Izuku shrugs casually. "Some of the elders recognize me. They confirmed to everyone that I was one of your close advisors- even if I had left years ago."

—————

It's been three weeks.

"You're not gonna fucking leave again, right?"

Maybe he was being too hopeful- and that thought proved to be right at the small, apologetic smile Izuku gives.

"I'll be back, Kacchan." Izuku cups his face, giving him a chaste kiss before pulling away. "You know that I do not go back on my word."

"Yeah. I do." Katsuki snatches his wrist before he could walk away though, surprising both of them.

"Just.. I'm.. I'm so sorry, Izuku. I'm sorry."

An incredibly late apology.

But, Izuku, bless his soul, laughs, a pitched happy tone as he pulls Katsuki in a hug.

"I've already forgiven you all those years ago." He affectionately nuzzles Katsuki's neck. "I love you, Kacchan."

".. I love you too. Just.. visit once in a while, okay fucker?"

"Mm.. once a week?"

Katsuki wrinkles his nose. "Three times, idiot."

And Izuku giggles again, before nodding, and it makes Katsuki's heart soar.

"Three times it is, Kacchan."