Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku has no idea where he is. He’d been on a team mission with his guild party, but he’d looked away for just a second and they were gone. 

At first, he thought that maybe they were playing a joke on him. After all, they were an established party and he was the newest to join. But trying to contact them did nothing. 

Now, he has nothing to do but wander with no destination. It doesn’t take long until he can’t even pinpoint which direction he’d come from.

The dungeon isn’t incredibly dangerous, but Izuku is just a healer. He’d been brought along for support but what is he supposed to do when there’s no one for him to support? 

He pulls at his turquoise hair and sighs. Maybe it’s simply time for him to find a rock to sit on and give up? He has some food but it definitely won’t last him more than a few days.

But the last thing he wants to do is just give up! This was supposed to be his fresh start! He wanted to become a great healer and learn how to support people well. 

Also, dying because of starvation would be so boring.

Before he can hit the hay, he hears a grunt come from the distance. He sprints off in its direction and looks everywhere to try and find where it came from. However, there’s only silence on his path forward and no hint of the noise or what had made it. 

He enters a makeshift gateway between two enormous rocks that are both larger than him. Izuku doesn’t want to think about what would happen if they suddenly fell on him. 

Past them is a long tunnel that’s rippled along the bottom. The pathway is damp with small pools of water. As he hurries through, small drops of water fall onto his shoulders. Izuku just shakes it off and continues on.  

There’s another grunt and he tries to go faster. But speed has never been his strong suit. 

Yet, his efforts are not in vain as he does reach the source eventually. He finds a boy with light orange hair which is held back in a spiky ponytail. He’s dressed in barbarian attire. 

The boy is in battle and holding off a dragon with his long, flat sword. The dragon is around eight feet long and standing on its hind legs. It has two bright green crystals right below its eyes. The boy is laying on his back and the dragon's front talons are pressed against his blade.

Izuku is barely thinking when he runs in and steps in between the two of them. He’s done a lot of strength training so he manages to shove the dragon just a bit. It’s enough for him to pull the boy up and get him to a safe distance. However, Izuku is not left completely spared.

The dragon’s talon has scratched down his arm – it left a bloody mess of flesh and muscle. He doesn’t let it phase him and casts a few healing spells in a row. Then he looks at the boy he pulled out from there. He doesn’t look happy.

“You’re a healer but you don’t know how to properly support? Seems pretty useless to me,” he snarks.

“Hey,” Izuku snarks back, “I could have left you for that dragon back there, but I didn’t. Sorry I’m not ‘perfect,’ it isn’t like I’ve had a lot of time with this title,” he scowls.

The boy groans, “So you’re a total fucking greenhorn? Figures. No wonder you ran in like that.”

Izuku grits his teeth, “Is this really the time to be arguing about this? I’m gonna guess you’re a warrior? How about I cast some buffs on you, then you attack again. Even though I’m a healer, I can still support you in other ways.”

“Tch, doubt it. I don’t need your stupid fucking buffs, I can do this alone.”

“Yeah, and that’s why you’re three seconds away from keeling over,” Izuku mutters under his breath before casting a few healing spells on him as well as strength and speed buffs. With that, at least he’ll have a chance against the monster.

The guy barely recognizes what Izuku did before he takes off after the dragon, he leaves a cloud of dust in his wake and Izuku futilely tries to shoo it away so he can watch the fight.

He takes a few steps closer and gets the chance to clearly see what the boy had taken into the fight. Like most barbarians, he’s shirtless. But much of his skin is covered by the red cape swinging behind him. It’s a wonder that the dragon hasn’t used the cape to throw him against a wall. Along his belt, there’s a few pouches – of what, Izuku remains clueless about. 

The barbarian is running circles around the dragon, but has only landed one or two efficient hits. Even still, Izuku can tell that it won’t be enough at this rate. He may be new to healing, but he’s no stranger to battle. 

Izuku grabs a long dagger from his boot and heads closer to the battle. With his blade, he won’t be able to do much. But all he needs is to give the other guy an opening. Hopefully, he can distract the dragon for long enough.

With that resolve, he enters in while the dragon is facing away from him. When the barbarian takes note of him, he looks angry but Izuku doesn’t really care. It’s not like he has much to lose. He’s only been in his guild for a week and has yet to make any friends. He certainly doesn’t have a death wish, but he’s quite apathetic about his current situation.

His shoes barely make a sound as he slides over the dirt floors towards the dragon. The warrior is stuck using his sword as a makeshift shield once again – it’s the perfect time for Izuku to make for the dragon’s belly. 

He sidles up to the giant lizard and, about two feet below where its unmoving wings attach to its body, Izuku jabs in his blade. He barely makes it an inch past the scales but he’s proud to have made it even that far.

His plan was successful and the dragon rears its head in a roar before turning to snap at Izuku. Even with teeth coming, Izuku keeps his calm and backs up. His instincts easily take over. 

The dragon swipes at him and the warrior takes that as his chance to strike. When the dragon reaches out its front arm, the warrior goes under and positions his sword. A combination of the warrior’s strength and the dragon’s natural descent downwards has the blade sinking into its soft belly.

The whole body shudders and the dragon falls downwards. The barbarian shrugs off the weight and backs up. Izuku is lying on the ground at this point, clutching his scratched torso. They both watch as the dragon’s bright scales fade to a dull color as the temperature leaves its body quickly.

The scratch on his torso isn’t truly worth healing at all, but he goes through with it anyway before he sits up.

Meanwhile, the barbarian goes over to the body of the dragon and yanks out the green crystals beneath the eyes. Izuku expects him to take both of them for himself but instead he chucks one of them at Izuku. He fumbles with the crystal for a bit before it comes to a rest in his hands. Looking down at it, the power of the crystal becomes apparent.

The blonde wastes no time in absorbing the crystal into his chest, an orange glow coming from where it made contact with his skin. He knows barbarians don’t have easy access to magic – only able to get it from these magic crystals – so it’s a rare sight. It barely takes the man any time at all to position his sword and in a quick swing the sword turns a bright red. Orange lightning trickles up his arm for a second before disappearing. The sword stays hot. When he slices at the dragon’s corpse, it easily cuts through the scales and Izuku can smell the flesh burning.

That was pretty sick.

Wasting no time, he absorbs his own crystal and feels a boost of energy.

But other than that energy, he can’t notice any difference or feel out any possible abilities. Maybe he’ll just have to wait to notice them?

“I’m Ka- fuck, Kohaku,” he corrects himself, almost giving up his True Name.

Izuku smirks up at him, “Who’s the green horn now, Kacchan ?” he teases.

Kohaku looks like he wants to kill Izuku, “If you use that in front of anyone, I promise that I will kill you,” he threatens. Izuku finds he likes teasing Kohaku.

“Fine, fine. I get it,” he assures the other, “I’m Denshi, by the way.”

Kohaku scoffs, “You’re more like a Deku than anything, useless ,” he spits out.

Izuku grits his teeth but doesn’t let anything show on his face, “Whatever you say Kacchan, but don’t expect me to ever heal you again with that attitude.”

“Well don’t expect me to ever ask for it! You healers are all the same, dependent and needy.”

Soon after that, he decides that he should just leave. His party has vanished into the mist, probably dead, and he has no other reason to stay here. He’d leave the dragon corpse to Kohaku to reap the benefits and start over. A new, stronger, party would likely serve him better. Maybe he’d actually make a friend.

However, once he leaves, it isn’t long until he hears footsteps chasing after him. But when he looks back, Kohaku is walking at a steady pace, “Aren’t you gonna strip the dragon for parts?”

Kohaku shrugs, “I got a few, but scales are in low demand right now.” Izuku doesn’t necessarily keep track of stuff like that but figures Kohaku has no reason to lie to him. “And,” the blonde keeps talking, “it’d be pathetic if you died while leaving the dungeon.”

“Who’s the needy one now? I think I’ll be fine on my own,” Izuku says confidently and keeps walking. Kohaku has come to a stop behind him and Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if he got a bit emotional about this interaction but the barbarian catches up with not much emotion shown on his face.

Until, “Your blue hair is stupid,” is all Kohaku says.

Izuku whips his head around to stare at Kohaku, “I didn’t exactly pick it out myself? Jeez, you’re impossible.”

The rest of the walk out of the dungeon is relatively quiet up until they reach the last room. It’s a large hall with barely any light shining. Kohaku has his sword bright red to light the way but it doesn’t do much.

Izuku’s ears pick up something and his head shoots in its direction, “Did you hear that, Kacchan?”

“There’s nothing there. Maybe your big dumb elf ears are just being stupid.”

Izuku narrows his eyes and glares at Kohaku, “Is all you’re capable of being rude?” he barks at him. It was a mistake because out of nowhere a small monster comes up and latches onto Izuku’s arm, refusing to let go – attempting to get as much blood as possible. Izuku grabs its furry body and yanks it off. It leaves him with a long, deep gash from where the teeth pulled against his skin. He lets out a hiss from the pain but before he can cast a spell to heal it, there’s a flicker of green lightning around his whole body and the skin knits itself together.

“Damn, that could be a handy skill,” Kohaku admits and Izuku would agree if he couldn’t already heal himself.

He hadn’t heard of any skill like this before. Sure he was new as morning light, but a skill that worked automatically was nigh unknown. Even Kohaku, with his fiery sword skill, had to activate it by himself.

Automatic effects only ever came from equipment. He doesn’t think anyone would believe him if he told them this was a skill. Maybe joining a new party wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped.

“Deku, it’s about time,” Kohaku yells at him.

Izuku just hangs his head and walks over to the idiot he’s been doomed to work with, “Yeah, yeah. Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready, what took you so long anyway?”

Izuku wonders if he should tell the truth. He’s been gone from the town for around half a week with little warning, “I was on a trip visiting my mom,” he settles on. It’s not a lie. But he’s definitely leaving a bit out. Like about Toshinori…

“Oh,” Kohaku seems a bit subdued for a rare second, “Is she okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, she’s fine. I just hadn’t seen her in a while.”

“Are you close with your parents?” Izuku finds himself asking. Kohaku doesn’t strike him as that type of person. He seems like he grew up independent and like he’d leave the house the second he could. But Izuku hardly knows the guy so, who knows?

“Closer than I want to be. That surprise you or something?”

Izuku can’t hide the smile that comes on his face, “Only pleasantly.”

Kohaku’s face goes red and Izuku laughs, just a little bit. In seconds, Kohaku has tackled Izuku and puts him in a headlock. One of his hands is firmly grabbing Izuku’s ponytail and it almost tickles his scalp, “You little fucker, I’ll get you back one day.”

Izuku squirms out of Kohaku’s grip and puts his arms up as a surrender, “I give, I give. I promise, I think it’s sweet that you visit your parents, Kacchan. You’re just too cute sometimes,” he says lightheartedly. It’s true. When he manages to tease Kohaku, the barbarian’s hair sticks up in anger and he’s very quick to blush.

“You idiot. Ugh, are you ready or not? Let’s get this stupid fucking mission over with,” Kohaku grumbles while walking away.

Izuku quickly catches up to walk side by side with his unwilling partner, “Hey, at least there’s a good reward! How do you wanna split it, anyway?”

“You can take all the stupid elf shit and I’ll take the gold,” Kohaku barks with a grin.

He’s more fine with his deal than Kohaku likely expected. The ‘stupid elf shit’ is all stuff he can use to boost his magic but there’s also something to help him with strength and stealth, “Sounds good to me. Now, let’s kick this ogre’s butt!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Izuku yells in frustration.

Beneath him, Kohaku chuckles dryly, his voice comes out hoarse and there’s blood trickling from his chin, “Haven’t heard you say that before,” like he thinks it’s amusing.

“You idiot, I can’t believe you’re laughing right now. And why did you take that hit? It was coming towards me!” Izuku laments. At least he has an automatic healing factor. Kohaku doesn’t have anything like that. And now, Izuku bites his lower lip as he looks down at the damage. There’s a giant puncture wound in the lower right of his abdomen. It’s gruesome and hard to look at – it pushes Izuku to use more of his magic. As much as he can.

It isn’t working. At this rate, Kohaku will die.

They had gotten too cocky. Both of them had been rushing through quest after quest – pushing each other to their limits and never faltering in the face of monsters. Izuku had become something of a tank with how much he’d improved his healing factor (which of course was a result of getting hurt so much) and Katsuki’s blade could cut through anything and leave some nasty damage behind.

The two of them worked like a well oiled gear, picking up where the other lacked and always focusing on the goal. But then, of course, Kohaku had to go and fuck everything up. Izuku could have healed from this!

If there was just something more he could do…

“If you die on me, there’ll be no stopping me from hunting you down in your next life,” Izuku threatens. It doesn’t go over as he thought it would.

Kohaku just smiles and grabs at Izuku’s hand, “You better,” he grins.

Izuku gasps at the contact. He knows what to do. The magic surrounding his hands comes to life with green lightning even though he’s not injured. Kohaku’s hands light up similarly with orange sparks. The glow is reflected in Kohaku’s wide eyes, “What are you doing?”

Kohaku attempts to pull his hand away from Izuku but the elf’s grip is too tight, “I have no idea, but I sure hope it works,” is all he says before pushing his magic even harder. The sparks grow stronger and Izuku watches in amazement as the wound begins to close. However, the daggers Izuku keeps pinned all over his body are starting to heat up and burn him.

He doesn’t stop.

At this point, their two skills are so highly charged and wrapped around them that Izuku can almost sense that they are being pulled together. At the very least, it looks like Kacchan’s face is getting closer so maybe Izuku is the one moving towards his friend?

He presses his hands against where the puncture wound had been. Kohaku’s armor is still messed up so it’s easy to find. Otherwise, Izuku might not have been able to find it because the skin is completely sealed back together aside from a slight pucker of the skin.

“This is crazy. How do you feel, Kacchan?”

Kohaku lets out a laugh and it’s as strong as always, “I’m fine, you fucking maniac. I can’t believe you took out that Naga all by yourself.”

Izuku wants to cry but he refrains and snipes back at his friend, “It was easy once you were out of the way, Kacchan,” he jokes. But really, he barely remembers the experience. It had been mostly adrenaline and his regeneration that kept him going. There were a few close calls here and there but Kohaku had been the only thing on his mind. He couldn’t lose him here.

Kohaku wastes no time in sitting up and punching Izuku’s arm in a playful manner. However, Kohaku is strong enough that it makes Izuku sway with the force. The squat isn’t exactly his most stable of positions. Izuku is the first to stand up and he offers his hand to Kohaku.

The barbarian hesitates before putting his hand in Izuku’s. The elf pulls on his arm and Kohaku is finally standing up again. It seems nearly impossible that he actually recovered from that. Izuku supposes their skills are pretty special.

“Let’s get out of here,” Izuku says, and Kohaku leads the way out.

It’s late and the town is nearly empty. Most everyone – adventures and townspeople alike – have gone to bed. The only people who are up are at the pub. Izuku has no idea if Kohaku is there, but out of boredom he decides to go. Usually, Kohaku is an early sleeper but at the very least he could maybe find some interesting conversation with someone.

He enters the pub and his eyes immediately start looking for orange hair. There’s another elf sitting at the bar but no barbarians in sight. Izuku’s shoulders slump but he walks in anyway. You can always find out useful information at the pub. Maybe he could find a good next-quest for him and Kohaku.

He finds an empty table and sits himself down. With how crowded the pub is, it’s inevitable that someone will come to sit with him. Before that, however, Izuku orders a pint and tries to relax. Obviously, the alcohol doesn’t affect him, but it definitely helps him blend in.

Within minutes of getting his drink, a large orc comes to sit next to him, “You’re certainly a new face around here,” he says. His voice is gruff and it sounds like he desperately needs to clear his throat. Is he purposely making his voice lower? Izuku has to wonder.

“Haha, yeah, I guess I am,” Izuku says, “Do you come here often?”

The orc leans closer – he towers over Izuku – and huffs, “I’m here every night.”

For a second, Izuku is a little bit bewildered by the orc’s actions. Is he trying to hit on Izuku? If so, he’s being very clumsy at it. But that also means Izuku could potentially milk him for information, “Oh, really? So you must hear a lot of interesting things, huh?” Izuku asks, feigning interest and making his voice a bit higher.

Izuku doesn’t understand why adventurers ever try to get together, it never ends well. But, he supposes that being with Kohaku wouldn’t be the worst. Though they started out their partnership at each other’s throats, they’d grown into a fond rapport. And behind Kohaku’s prickly exterior, there might be someone as soft as his nickname implies.

The orc falls for his feigned interest hook, line, and sinker. “You wouldn’t believe half the shit I’ve heard,” the orc brags. Izuku leans in closer, his arms, resting on the table, “But groups of adventurers have been going missing in search of this sword. It’s guarded by a horde of goblins and a demon king called ‘All For One.’”

“Woah, that’s some pretty wild stuff. What’s so special about this sword anyway?”

“Other than how impossible it is to get?” The orc barks out a laugh, but Izuku doesn’t think it’s very funny, “They say it has some deep lore around it, you know how these adventurers get – they’ll jump at the slightest hint of any possible clues.”

Izuku laughs, high and airy, as if he isn’t one of those adventurers. He’ll definitely say that his interest has peaked, “Do you know where it is?”

“You aren’t thinking of going are you? A small thing like you would barely last a second against All For One,” the orc says.

Izuku shakes his head and waves his hands, “What, of course not. I’m just curious,” Izuku insists.

“It’s on Might Mountain, in a kind of hidden place but,”

“The fuck are you doing here, Deku,” Kohaku growls from behind him, seemingly coming from nowhere. His partner’s hand has slammed down on the table and he’s leaning over Izuku’s back. Kohaku’s necklace brushes against his neck.

“Ka- Kohaku, I thought you were asleep and I got bored,” Izuku says.

“Don’t assume stupid shit, you’re coming with me,” Kohaku snaps. He flips a coin onto the table to pay for Izuku’s drink before he yanks Izuku out of the chair and starts walking out of the pub.

The orc calls after them, probably complaining or saying something dumb, but Izuku isn’t focused on him. Instead, he’s looking at Kohaku’s determined face as they march out.

Kohaku keeps dragging him forward until they’re at the edge of the forest. Just far in enough that no one will hear or approach them, but not so far that any monsters will attack. “Since when do you go to the pub, Deku?” Kohaku demands to know.

Izuku just shrugs, “I dunno, I was bored and you’re usually asleep by now. Why do you even care? I got some pretty good information and could’ve gotten more had you not pulled me away!” Izuku says. Kohaku seems to have a talent for riling him up and it’s shining through now more than ever.

Kohaku sputters for words, “I care because-“ He looks into the forest and doesn’t continue. Izuku doesn’t know if he wants him to. “Fuck, it doesn’t matter. What were you and that damn ogre even talking about?”

“A secret quest! But apparently, everyone who takes it on ends up dying,” Izuku says, pursing his lips. It’d be tempting if he wasn’t so scared to lose Kohaku. Kohaku was his first friend here. He knew that the bond they had was one that couldn’t be replicated with anyone else.

“We should do it,” Kohaku asserts.

Izuku is bewildered. He knows Kohaku is bold and sure the quest sounds interesting, but they could lose each other as a consequence. And what then?

“Kacchan,” Izuku starts, his voice wobbles, “If we do it- I can’t lose you.”

“Then we’ll share our True Names. What can we lose then? Even if we die, though we’ll come back differently, I know I’ll be able to find you. No matter what,” Kohaku says. He’s leaning against a tree with Izuku trapped in the middle.

Izuku whines, low and needy, he’s embarrassed by the sound but he focuses on Kohaku’s eyes. They burn so strongly and he seems so confident, “I want to, but-“ he sighs. The first and last time he told someone his True Name, it didn’t go well. To say the least, they harassed him. “The chances of finding each other is so slim – some would say it’s impossible. It could take years.”

“Can you just trust me?”

Izuku’s lips stay shut. He’s been hurt so much, but what he has with Kohaku is new. He’s never felt this way before. It’s like something out of a fairy tale book. But he’d also thought that about the last person. 

“Let’s do the stupid quest, okay? And if things get hairy, we’ll tell each other.” Izuku promises.

“Then when should we do it? Cautious little fucker,” Kohaku mutters.

“Tomorrow. Because after that, I’ll be gone for a bit again.”

His nerves are making him shaky but he nods his head, determined. They can do it.

And if they can’t, he’ll just have to trust Kohaku to find him.

The dungeon is layered. There are rooms upon rooms leading to the final boss. Each room would close off the entrance the second they stepped foot in – essentially trapping them every step of the way.

He and Kohaku take their time. They make sure to catch their breath every time they finish a room and are meticulous about collecting all of the loot left behind. They don’t dare approach the dead bodies of past adventurers or strip them of their accessories. It is a surprisingly common (and awful) practice among adventurers.

The extra time they take also gives Izuku time to regenerate and heal Kohaku. Though the other adventurer often tries to resist the healing, telling Izuku to save his energy, the elf tends to worry a bit too much.

However, the whole time there is a slight tension hanging above them. Their True Names are on the line here. Izuku has felt Kohaku’s eyes on him the whole time as if he was making sure that Izuku wasn’t going anywhere. 

Now, more than ever, Izuku’s heart is beating faster in the company of his friend. And it isn’t just because of the never ending battles.

His hands are sweaty – making his daggers harder to hold – and his throat is dry – which makes it hard to call out to Kohaku during battle. Suffice to say, his feelings were making everything ten times more difficult.

It was fine to struggle with it on his own, but then Kohaku, of course, had to make a comment about it, “Is something up? You’re not nerding out over all this stupid shit. I’ve counted seven All Might references that you’ve barely glanced at.”

They’ve just finished their battle with Shigaraki Tomura. A battle so difficult they had to be nearing the end of the dungeon. It was also the first human villain they’d encountered in a dungeon before. He’d made a big deal out of making sure he prevented the rise of the next All Might (impossible, no one can match All Might).

“I guess I’m just worried about what’s to come,” he says. Izuku’s not sure if coming out with his true feelings would be wise, so he leaves it at, “I like what we have now, but I’m getting this bad feeling that the next battle is going to mess it all up.”

Kohaku stops his task of removing all the hands from Shigaraki’s corpse; he’s putting all of them into a large sack just in case they have loot inside of them. “Would that be so bad?” he snaps.

Izuku sighs, “No,” he says honestly, “But it still scares me.”

It seems that neither of them know what to say to that.

After a few seconds of silence, Kohaku makes a decision, “No matter what the fuck happens next, I’ll tell you my True Name by the time we’re done with this dungeon.”

“What?” Izuku half yells, “Kacchan, that’s,”

“I don’t give a shit. You’re too weak to ever use it against me. And if you try, I’ll just beat your nerd ass to the ground.”

Izuku giggles, “I guess Kacchan is pretty strong,” he jokes. Kohaku puffs up his chest as if Izuku needs any extra proof. Just by listening to Kohaku’s voice, it’s obvious how strong he is.

Kohaku grabs the rest of the grabable loot from Shigaraki and then ties the bag up. It’s swung over his shoulder but Izuku knows he’ll drop it when the second battle begins. “You ready, nerd? Or are you actually gonna do your usual inspection to make sure you didn’t miss any lore?”

The elf swallows down his anxiety and saddles up next to Kohaku, “I’m always ready!” he cheers. 

Kohaku scoffs at his mirth and they go to the exit. It’s a huge set of double doors. They each grab one of the handles and it glows green and orange at their contact. Pulling it open reveals a great hall – one that doesn’t seem architecturally possible. The space almost looks infinite. Is this caused by magic?

There’s a gust of wind that pushes them in and Izuku stumbles forward but doesn’t fall. Next to him, Kohaku has also managed to keep his balance. The doors slam closed behind them but they manage not to flinch at the force. The same wind that had urged them forward caresses Izuku’s face and encourages him to look up.

Floating high in the room is what must be the root of the problems. His face above his mouth is a deformed mass of skin and he has two horns sticking out from his head signifying that he’s a demon. There’s a wicked grin carved out of his mouth and he beckons them to approach.

The two adventures get into a fighting stance and prepare to charge. Yet, as the demon is so high up, they are stuck unable to make the first move. Izuku can already tell that it’ll be a precarious fight.

Kohaku moves forward closer to the demon and Izuku follows close behind – his daggers ready at his side.

When the demon makes his move, it’s a harsh and brutal attack.

Izuku understands why so many adventures fell to this demon with every attack. The demon has an arsenal of magic at his command and can use it flawlessly. Izuku tries to taunt the magic into coming towards him, with his regeneration there isn’t a lot that can truly hurt him. Meanwhile, Kohaku attacks every time their opponent strikes.

Halfway through the battle, Izuku can feel that they’re starting to make progress. It seems that the only magic the demon is lacking is healing magic, so every strike they land on him is there to stay. Izuku has also reconvened with Kohaku every so often to place a healing spell here and there.

Unfortunately, the demon has been taking note of that and stops directing his magic at Izuku. Instead, Kohaku is suddenly taking the brunt of the demon’s magic.

The two of them are separated when the demon takes his last stance – his last chance at success. He holds a broadsword high at his side and it’s aimed at Kohaku. There’s still quite a distance between them so Izuku takes off running at the same time and positions himself in front of his friend – his dagger in front of him.

The demon readjusts his stance at the sight of Izuku but the elf prepared for that as well. When the two collide, he manages to stick his dagger straight into the heart of the demon causing a fountain of that black blood to leak from his mouth.

But this collision is not his win. Because the demon’s broadsword has plunged straight into Izuku’s abdomen. Already, the elf can tell that the blade isn’t normal. He can feel an evil coursing through his body starting from where he was impaled.

The demon gives one last evil smile before falling backwards, pulling the sword with him to the ground. Izuku gets to watch the sword split in half before he falls backwards himself. Unlike the demon, he has someone to catch him.

Izuku ends up cradled in Kohaku’s arms. He looks up at the barbarian – the man’s orange hair is dirty and his face smudged with blood. But Izuku still thinks he’s beautiful. Izuku takes in the rest of his appearance and sees a gash of similar size to the blade in Kohaku’s stomach. Right, he had been behind Izuku. It makes sense that the elf wasn’t the only one affected.

The elf grabs hold of Kohaku’s wrist by instinct using the rest of his strength. His regeneration skill isn’t sparking at his own wound, but maybe he can use it on his friend, his partner.

“Deku, what the fuck are you doing. I’ll be fine,” Kohaku yells, trying to wrench his arm away to no avail. Izuku just mutters healing spells under his breath and watches as the green and orange lightning begins to surround the large gash on Kohaku.

His health is leaving him fast. Before he goes, he has to tell Kohaku his True Name. “Listen to me, you’re going to get out of here and then you can look for me, okay?” Kohaku is shaking his head frantically and cursing Izuku out all the while, Izuku pays them no mind, he knows how this will turn out. His skill wouldn’t work on him even if he tried. He can feel it, “But first, my name is I-“

“-zuku,” he says softly with no one to hear him. Because, on the screen, his character lays dead and a large ‘GAME OVER’ flashes on the screen. 

How is he supposed to find Kacchan now?

Chapter Text

“Izuku!” his mom yells at him from downstairs.

Izuku really should respond, but he’s stuck staring at his monitor where he freaking died before he could tell Kohaku his name. What the fuck? How cursed was he? Izuku could have sworn he had enough health to at least get out two more syllables. And now neither of them know each other’s names aside from the first syllable.

There’s the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs but Izuku doesn’t move out of his chair. Kohaku had been his first friend in so long and he completely ruined it! He should have told the other boy his name the second he was stabbed through.

In a few seconds, his mom knocks on his door before coming in, “Izuku, is everything alright?”

He spins around and looks at her, “I just died!” he cries out, actual tears starting to fall from his eyes.

His mom, who has sat through many of Izuku’s ramblings about his favorite game, shows him some sympathy when she comes closer and gives him a hug, “There, there, doesn’t that mean it’s just time to start again?”

“But I lost my friend, I lost Kacchan!”

She knew quite a bit about Kohaku as well; the barbarian had been a staple in his recent ramblings. How could Izuku not talk about him when Kohaku was just so amazing?

His mom rubs a comforting hand against his back, “You two were pretty close, huh? You didn’t give him any information about yourself, did you?” she asks, a bit worried. Despite how much he talked about Kohaku, his mom would likely always be worried about this game.

“You know I wouldn’t do that, mom,” he lies, ignoring how the second before he died he almost told Kacchan his name.

“Thank you, Izuku. Well, look, you’ve already got a new character!” his mom says and his eyes turn back to the screen. Sure enough, he’s respawned already. His first instinct is to check the map. But already, he can tell that he’s incredibly far from where Kohaku was.

The game is Re:Start. It had come around five years ago but kept its popularity all this time for all of its possibilities. You didn’t get to choose your character or make any customization besides where your experience points went and clothes you collected. However, when you die, you don’t simply get respawned as the same character, you instead become reincarnated into a whole new character.

When you’re reincarnated, you lose your friends list, your clothing is transformed into gold in your account, and even your class is reborn anew. Thankfully, you keep your level and experience points (to be redistributed according to your character type) so that grinding doesn’t feel useless, but it is still a total ‘restart.’

With how big the map is, it’s nigh impossible to find anyone you knew again.

“Well then, maybe it’s for the best. The thing about these games, Izuku, is that you have no idea who could be on the other side of them. We don’t want a repeat of that man again,” she scolds.

A shiver goes down Izuku’s shoulders at that memory. Two characters ago, he had a friend. In-game, his name was Stain. They hadn’t been as close as him and Kohaku, but Izuku had really trusted him. He’d trusted him enough to give away his real name and phone number. It completely backfired.

First, their messages between one another were inconspicuous enough. Izuku was glad to have a friend at all. High school wasn’t exactly the happiest place for him. But then the man became obsessed with Izuku to the point that his family had to move once the man found their address.

He still has a restraining order against him, but the irrational fear that the man would find him anytime he went outside stayed behind. After that, he never wanted to give out his name again. But Kohaku…

He sighs, “You’re probably right. Maybe I can find him again, that’s the nature of this game, right?” It’s funny how the game was working against him despite how he helped bring it about. What had started as a hypothetical conversation with his dad ended up becoming one of the most popular games out there. Yet, for the second time in his life, he found himself upset with it for causing him this pain.

“Anyway, are you packed yet?” his mom asks before looking around his room. She looks down at him with a stern expression, “Midoriya Izuku, is it possible you haven’t even begun? We’re going to be gone for two whole weeks this time!”

That sends a bit of panic through him, “I thought it was only one week! Wait, and we’re leaving in thirty minutes?”

“You better start packing Izuku, because we’re leaving no matter what,” she says in a stern voice before heading out.

Izuku slams his head down on his desk and groans. He was screwed. He looks longingly at his new character: a magicless elf with nothing special about him at all. He scrolls through the empty stats and equipment but his attention is peaked when he sees something he didn’t expect: there’s a broadsword in his inventory, or rather, half of one. He recognizes it as the one the demon king had just used against him.

Hmmm…

Maybe during this trip, he can needle out some lore about it from his dad!

Their second house has Wi-Fi, but they’re not allowed to use it unless there’s an emergency. It was a strict rule his mom set up when they first moved out. It was mostly because of his dad. The whole reason they came all the way out here was for him after all.

So going on these trips means no emails, no work, and no stress for his dad. It also means no games, no social media, and no friends (not that he has any) for Izuku. At least, that reigned true when they were in the house.

Taking the Wi-Fi away from the house does nothing when there is a library so close by. Sometimes, on their walks to town, he and his dad will make a quick detour to get any kind of news.

“Can we stop by the library really quickly?” Izuku asks.

His dad’s blue eyes look down on him for a second before a big smile comes on his face, “I thought you’d never ask.”

And so, even though their arms are loaded with DVDs from the local rental place, they head to the library with books the farthest thing from their mind.

“Actually, I hear back from U.A today. I thought about asking mom if that counted as an emergency, but I didn’t want to make her nervous,” Izuku says with a laugh.

“My boy, that’s quite the news,” his dad says but then goes silent, perhaps remembering the time Re:Start was nominated for the Global Award Japanese Product. She’d actually fainted, “But perhaps you are making a wise decision. We’ll have to break the news in a very subtle way,” he says sagely.

Izuku nearly giggles but instead nudges his dad on the side, “Don’t act like I’ve already gotten in! What if I get rejected?” Izuku demands.

“Then U.A. has clearly lost its credibility,” his dad huffs, “Plus, you’ve already gotten into Shiketsu, right? So there’s nothing to worry about,” he says. 

But Shiketsu isn’t Izuku’s first choice, not by a mile. U.A is .

He lets out a nervous whine before they step into the small library. They both awkwardly wave at the librarian, who knows exactly why they’re there, and make a B-line to the computers. Izuku logs into his email as fast as he can and his eyes scan all the unread messages before clicking on the one for U.A. 

Balloons and confetti flood the page. 

He doesn’t even read a single word before he jumps out of his chair and hugs his dad, “Ah! I made it!”

His dad, even though he’s not supposed to be doing anything strenuous, lifts Izuku off the ground and spins him around. When he sets Izuku down he coughs up a little bit of blood but blots it away with his handy handkerchief. “What did I tell you? They’d be fools to have turned you away,” he says, “Maybe we’ll have to break out that cake your mom made a bit early!”

Izuku looks over at his dad with a grin and hugs him again.

They spend a few more minutes at the library – his dad checking his email very quickly and Izuku grabs a book to excuse their library visit – before heading back home. They had news to break.

Campus is confusing and bustling. Izuku has been on two different tours but he’s still looking at the map to find his way around – and classes haven’t even started yet. Granted, he’s only been here two days, but he’s been going to all the events available as a desperate grasp to make friends. It’s kind of hard when the second he thinks about talking to someone his throat closes up and his heart goes crazy.

The most he’s interacted with anyone was when a girl saved him from tripping and when another guy yelled at him for muttering during the rally. U.A definitely has an interesting collection of characters.

But today, his roommate should be arriving. Hopefully. Possibly. Shinsou Hitoshi was who he’d been paired with but none of Izuku’s emails had been returned nor did the other have any locatable social media. What if his roommate didn’t even exist and Izuku was destined to be friendless? His more illogical brain screams as he waits in the room.

He’s holding a book and trying to read it, but his efforts are fruitless due to the overwhelming anticipation of waiting. If his roommate does exist, what if they don’t get along?

His thoughts are spiraling around that train of thought when there is a beep from the card reader at his door. He immediately stands up then sits right back down, remembering that he was supposed to be ‘distracted’ by his book. He pauses, looks at the door which is only slightly open – a foot wedged between it and the door frame – and then looks at his side of the room. Is it messy? Weird? He does have a lot of merch around the room but-

“Oh hi there!” a loud voice greets him. Izuku looks up, wide-eyed. There’s a man with bright blond hair that goes past his shoulders standing in the dorm room. He’s incredibly cheery looking while also donned in a black leather jacket and matching pants. Behind him is a purple haired teen lugging one enormous suitcase.

“I didn’t know suitcases came in that size,” Izuku mumbles in awe.

The teen lets go of the handle on the top and it falls to the ground with a loud bang (luckily there’s no dorm rooms below them), “Maybe because they shouldn’t come in this size,” he says plainly.

Izuku's face is split with a nervous smile and a flush comes over him.  Did he really say that out loud? At least his roommate has a sense of humor. Then the door is pushed open all the way once more. A man with black hair leans against the closet next to it and the door stays propped open. His red eyes seem to pierce into Izuku’s soul as he assesses him. Izuku hasn’t felt this pressured since he took the U.A test.

To his best knowledge, he thinks he passes whatever test he’d been put under because the black haired man ends up closing his eyes and tucking his head down. Is he about to sleep standing up? Is Izuku now trapped in the dorm room with his roommate’s family?

Before he’s dragged into conversation with them, a blond teen passes the door while yelling at his friend. Izuku’s heart jumps into his throat as he’s reminded of Kohaku. The thought doesn’t last long because soon enough he’s readily giving up every piece of personal information to the family. The blonde man is proving to be the most extroverted of them all.

Hopefully, he can survive the day.

Maybe, just maybe, arriving to his class this early wasn’t his smartest idea. But Izuku got so anxious that he would miss it. Add that to his roommate already having left for his own classes and Izuku had nothing to distract him. 

Being next to the classroom was enough to assuage his nerves. And(!) since he’d gotten there so early, he was able to camp out at a nearby picnic table.

With no homework to go over since it was the first day of school, he decided on pulling up Re:Start. The wifi on campus wasn’t the best but he had a few quick quests to finish for the current town. 

A major downside of restarting was that on top of losing all your friends (or Izuku’s one friend, Kohaku), your equipment is exchanged for a lesser-in-value sum of money. 

While he had been Denshi, he had eventually reached a point where he and Kohaku didn’t need to bother with every quest offered because money had given them freedom. 

But most of it went to Kohaku’s equipment and weapons. As an elf, Izuku used his fair share of daggers but didn’t need a lot in the way of armor. And as they spent most of their money preparing for their last quest, his pockets are pretty dry right now. 

His current character requires much more in the way of armor, especially as his skill isn’t working the same as it usually does. 

His situation is only made harder by his reluctance to join any parties.

The game takes a bit of time to load but he’s quickly sucked in. Though he and his dad came up with the overarching idea, there were countless teams that worked to add quests and characters to each village on the map. 

Every time he entered a new village, he was always amazed by what he found and how sometimes information from one place can connect to or contradict information from another. 

Here, people are rather friendly with the cave goblins. But when he’d been on the other side of the map, goblins were hunted at a very high price because the villages there had always been at odds with them. This is exactly why he wants to make games. There are so many stories you can tell from one alone. To have that as his job…

He sighs and tries to focus on the game. His concentration doesn’t last long because there comes a tap on his shoulder. 

Izuku turns around as fast as he can to see a bubbly looking brunette behind him. She has a messenger bag around her shoulder and two taller boys at her side. 

Izuku recognizes the girl as the one who helped him on the first day and one of the boys as the strict one from the rally.

He looks at them in fear. With his tragic history of not having any friends, he has no idea why they’re approaching him. Is college an incredibly wild place where strangers will just approach you?

He’s practically quaking where he sits.

“Is that Re:Start?” She asks with a smile. He looks back at his computer, horrified that his game playing has been perceived. What are they going to think about him?

He croaks out, “Yes,” and the boy with blue hair pushes up his glasses. Is he about to be scolded again?

“That’s awesome! We’re actually part of a party together in the game! We met IRL first, though,” the girl continues. 

“Really? I’ve never met anyone who plays the game in real life,” Izuku lies. Other than that, he's in awe. For as long as he’s been playing the game, he’d never seen anyone at his school play it nor played with someone in person, “I- that’s so cool! What happens if one of you dies though?”

The girl laughs a bit weakly, “It’s only happened once and ever since then we’ve been very ‘safe’ players, you could say.”

“Yes, trying to find each other once more was not an easy task,” the glasses wearer chimes in. He looks so unlike someone that would play a video game that his input somewhat shocks Izuku.

But his words also strike at Izuku’s heart and he bends over in despair, “I’m well aware,” Izuku says sadly.

“Oh no! Are you trying to find someone?”

He gives a weak nod and the silent third member of their group gives Izuku a weak pat on the shoulder. Izuku looks up at him to see his hair is half red and half white. He’s not too familiar with such contact but he doesn’t shy away from it. “You should join our party, then. We’re headed to the World Tree,” he says.

Izuku tilts his head to the side as the hand is retracted, “Why are you heading there?”

“Well, it’s the best place to find people – either as a meeting ground or for asking around. Because then, you can teleport to whatever region you want. You can even teleport as a group! Right now, we’re heading there because I managed to get my roommate to play the game,” the girl offers. Izuku looks back at his game then in their direction.

He’d certainly heard of the World Tree before and its teleportation uses, but he’d never considered using it that way. Plus, he heard it can be incredibly expensive to do.

Now, he still hasn’t saved up any huge amount of money. Especially with all of it going to his armor. 

He supposes there’s a whole other side of the game when you have friends to play with. “If you really wouldn’t mind me joining your party,” he trails off, not wanting to impose himself on them.

“Please join us! We’re super relaxed but it’s a whole new experience to play Re:Start when you’re in the same room as other players! We’ve been playing in the dorm lounge since they have some nice empty tables. Um, by the way, what’s your name?”

“Oh, Midoriya Izuku! And yours?”

They go around introducing themselves to him before sitting down at the picnic table with him. Coincidentally, they are all taking the same class as him. Thank the university for mandatory writing classes, he supposes. The girl’s name is Uraraka Ochako, the boy with glasses is Iida Tenya, and the one with the split hair is Todoroki Shouto.

Izuku ends up closing his laptop so he can talk and exchange contact information with all of them. They talk for around twenty minutes before heading into the lecture hall, all of them sitting together near the front. Maybe showing up so early hadn’t been a mistake after all.  

When Izuku gets back to the dormitory, all he wants to do is go to his room and fall face first into his bed. Unfortunately, he can’t do that. Somehow, he already has reading homework and he needs to eat dinner. He’s hoping he can go with Shinsou; but otherwise, he’s been invited to go with the group of friends he made from his first class.

Using his ID card, he walks into the dorm building and immediately has to dodge a group of people exiting. He clutches the straps of his backpacks and sprints up the stairs. His room is only on the second floor and he lucked out by not being too far down the hall and not being near the stairs. He unlocks his room and steps in, setting his backpack next to his closet. Somehow, Hitoshi hasn’t noticed that he entered.

He doesn’t sneak up on his roommate (at least not on purpose) but he does very casually walk behind him roommates desk to peak at his computer. He immediately recognizes what Hitoshi is doing. “You play Re:Start?” he asks, right into his roommates headphones.

Hitoshi jolts in his chair before removing one of his headphones and looking back. The game keeps moving even though Shinsou isn’t touching his computer. “Izuku, please don’t sneak up on me like that. Though I won’t say I’m not used to it from home… But no, this is a stream. I’m not big on playing games but I like watching them well enough. Mostly for the story.”

“The story?” Izuku frowns, “You mean like the worldbuilding and lore in the game?”

“Not quite,” Hitoshi says, “Right now I’m watching KingExplosionMurder. He’s a pretty popular streamer. And since he plays so often, the way he interacts with other players and the environment kinda makes a story. Currently, he’s looking for his friend who died. It was actually kinda tragic. He’s gathered some friends and whatever. There’s a whole fandom surrounding his character in the game and the different arcs he goes through.”

“Oh,” Izuku muses, he’s never really cared much about streamers. He’d much prefer to play the game himself. The one time he had tried to watch a streamer, he’d gotten too frustrated with all their choices. He’d been itching to take control himself. “That’s cool. I didn’t realize there were fandoms for these kinds of things.”

Hitoshi snorts, “Yeah, it gets pretty intense. Do you wanna watch?” Izuku nods and Shinsou reaches up to turn off his headphones.

Immediately, a familiar voice floods out of the speakers and Izuku looks closer at the screen. The streamer’s character is none other than Kohaku. “Oh my god,” he can’t help but mutter.

His roommate looks up at him in confusion, “What, do you recognize him or something?”

“Or something…” Izuku mutters, “Say, um, what’s the name of the friend he’s looking for?”

“Deku,” Hitoshi says plainly as if it doesn’t mean the whole world to Izuku – who suddenly feels very weak standing. He wavers before taking a few steps backwards and collapsing into his bed. “Hold on, are you Deku?”

At this point, Hitoshi has stood up from his desk and is standing over Izuku, “You are? Holy shit, tell me you are.”

Izuku nods his head, still smothering his face with his pillow. He turns around and looks up at Hitoshi, “Can we contact him through the chat or something?”

He shakes his head and Izuku’s hopes are squashed, “The chat’s on but he never looks at it. To stay ‘engaged’ with the game. And before you ask about any social media, that’s not possible either. He only uses it to announce streams but everyone’s pretty sure that it's run by a bot or something. He’s not very open about himself unless it comes through his character.”

Izuku lets out a groan, “Then how am I supposed to find him?” he asks. Hitoshi just gives him a dead loop and shrugs.

“Beats me, guess you’ll just have to find him in the game,” he suggests and Izuku closes his eyes. Guess all his free time this school year is going to Re:Start.

Chapter Text

When Izuku wakes up the next day, he’s covered in sweat. He’d had a nightmare. It’s been a while since he last had one but they were always about the same thing.

He pushes himself into a sitting position and lets his legs hang over the side of his bed.

As much as he wants to find Kacchan, the idea that the other is actively looking for him and has a net presence is a bit overwhelming. Izuku is just glad he’s only doing it in game, he supposes.

He didn’t want to be reminded of the past like this. But forgetting something like that would be nigh impossible. 

Hopefully, today isn’t as bad as his nightmare was. He tries to think positively as he works through his morning to get ready before heading to the cafeteria.

A new day means a whole truck-load of new classes. Despite this, he’s looking forward to it because he and his new group of friends all agreed to meet and play Re:Start. He didn’t tell them about knowing Kacchan because it felt a bit weird to bring up, but he’ll be able to watch the stream on his phone if the other happens to be streaming at that time.

Lost in thought, he crashes into another body. Except, this stranger is much taller and bigger than he is. Izuku looks up in fear to see a blonde with an angry expression on his face. “The fuck are you doing? Watch yourself!” he barks out.

Izuku’s arms have frozen in front of him and he wants to say something, but he’s stuck where he stands like a statue. The blond doesn’t wait for him to say anything as he just keeps walking on without a second glance, his hands in his pockets. Izuku does nothing but watch as he leaves the cafeteria.

That was so embarrassing! Izuku’s surprised he didn’t just keel over the second it happened. He really needs to up his guard. 

Thankfully, his food was untouched. He looks all around the cafeteria but doesn’t spot anyone he knows. He sighs and resigns himself to sitting at a long table by himself. It’s pretty crowded but he’s still sitting one chair away from the other students.

He doesn’t even get to eat one bite before he’s interrupted. A boy with red hair puts his tray of food at the setting right across from Izuku before sitting down. 

Izuku looks up, dumbly, at the boy, a spoonful of oatmeal being held steadily in front of his mouth, “Hello?”

“Hey, bro! I’m Kirishima Eijiro, nice to meet you!”

Izuku takes a quick bite while Kirishima is introducing himself and swallows. Miraculously, he doesn’t choke on it. “Oh, um, I’m Midoriya Izuku, it’s nice to meet you too?” he says, trying his best to not be taken off guard by this interaction.

“How are you feeling about the second day? I’m kinda nervous!” Kirishima says with a smile, looking exactly like a person who has never been nervous a day in his life.

“Really? I’m excited! I think. Though, I guess I’m nervous too. There’s so many people here and I want to make friends but I don’t know if I could really do that by myself. Because what if people think I’m weird for trying. We’re all here to study, after all. I don’t want to be annoying or anything but- oh, sorry, that’s a bad habit of mine,” he says, hanging his head.

“No worries, you’re a bit shy huh? My roommate is pretty shy too! That’s actually why I sat with you, if I’m being honest. You two had a bit of a collision and he was kind of rude, huh?” Kirishima says and Izuku shovels oatmeal into his mouth in an effort to pretend he’s not surprised that Kirishima would ever call someone like that shy . “I wanted to apologize for him, he’s really a great dude! I swear.”

Izuku’s first thought is to reject what Kirishima is saying, but he says it so convincingly. Plus, Kirishima seems like such a nice guy, Izuku doesn’t want to just ignore what he’s saying. 

“Yeah?” he asks, “Well, it was my fault anyway, I shouldn’t have bumped into him!” Izuku says.

Kirishima grins, showing off some seriously sharp canines, “Nah! We’re all just getting used to being on campus, don’t sweat it. Also, we should eat breakfast together from now on! And I’ll always be down to chill!”

“Really?” Izuku’s a little bit in awe that his peer is so confident and self-assured even in this situation. It’s also a bit surprising that he’s inviting Izuku to be his friend. Aren’t cool people supposed to avoid nerds or something? Maybe that just doesn’t apply in college despite how much he experienced it in high school, “I’d really enjoy that, thanks Kirishima!” he cheers.

He mentally pats himself on the back for making a friend that isn’t because of Re:Start. His mom will definitely be happy about that. After they spoke on the phone last night and Izuku revealed that all of his friends have some kind of connection to it, she urged him to branch out.

“No worries!” Kirishima says, “You seem like a cool guy,” he says and Izuku flushes.

He mutters out a “You too,” and considers it a success.

The rest of their breakfast is spent pleasantly exchanging typical small talk but Izuku enjoys every second of it. He can really see him and Kirishima becoming good friends. He hopes they can keep it up! He’s so distracted by the conversation that when he gets to his class, he’s only thirty minutes early.

A quick peek into his lecture shows that it’s completely empty. He looks around the hallway and decides to go in. The lecture hall is split into three sections of seats, kind of like a movie theater. Each section has about fifteen rows going towards the back of the classroom. Izuku picks a seat in the second row of the middle section and pulls out his laptop. He’s been looking through forums about Kacchan lately.

They haven’t turned up much. He’s kept a pretty tight lock on all of his personal information. It hurts Izuku to think about it. His privacy abilities meant that he wasn’t just being reckless when he wanted to tell Izuku his name. He had genuinely cared about Izuku – at least, that’s how Izuku is choosing to take it.

He regrets not saying it. He misses Kacchan every time he logs into the game. His partner's presence had made everything about it better. Even their bickering is something he’d do anything to get back.

Another person walks into the classroom and Izuku’s eyes immediately meet theirs. His back straightens and he gulps. It’s the blond from this morning and also Kirishima’s roommate.

To his credit, the other boy just glares at him before sidling into the same row just on the opposite side of Izuku. They sit in silence until a gradual stream of students enter the classroom once there’s about ten minutes until class actually starts.

For some reason, everyone who comes into the classroom sits behind him and Katsuki. This means that the second row has, for all intents and purposes, become the front row. Izuku didn’t want this much attention.

His hair bristles at the thought of everyone staring at him – even if it’s only the back of his head. Good thing he had closed the ‘Kacchan forums’ when more students started coming in. He’d traded it for staring at one of his assigned readings – despite how he wasn’t processing it at all.

The professor gets to the desk and introduces herself before setting up her computer. Izuku watches as she becomes increasingly frustrated when the computer isn’t projecting up to the screen. 

Before he can even stand to offer his help, she claps her hands together, “I’m going to call the technician in to help me, meanwhile, how about you all introduce yourselves to whoever is closest in your row. I was going to have you do this anyway, there’s an assignment already uploaded on the portal for you two to fill out together.”

Without another word, she brings her phone up to her ear and noise starts up from behind Izuku. He looks behind his shoulder to see that the whole class is already talking to each other.

Nervously, he spares a glance at Kirishima’s roommate. The boy already looks so angry. Izuku can’t believe this is his life right now. Either way, he picks up his backpack and laptop and makes the awkward walk down the row to where the blond is sitting. He puts his stuff down before bending over in a bow, “I’m so sorry for this morning! I really should have been paying more attention,” he announces before sitting down next to him.

Up close, he notices that he has bright red eyes. “Whatever, let’s just get this shit over with. I’m Bakugou Katsuki,” he says, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, right, I’m Midoriya Izuku! Um, what’s your major?” he asks, mentally cringing at the question. It’s all anyone asks but as repetitive as it is, he’s always genuinely curious. Especially when it comes to their general education classes, he’s learning about majors he didn’t even know existed.

“Hah, you’re not sick of that dumb ass question already?”

Izuku actually laughs at this, “I guess I kind of am, but I’m really interested, I swear! I’m a double major with Computer Science and Graphic Design,” he offers up.

Bakugou scowls at him but Izuku is beginning to understand that this is just his default expression. Maybe Kirishima was right and he is just shy… “So you’re just a gaming nerd?” he asks with a quirked eyebrow.

A blush comes over Izuku’s face, “Haha, I guess you could say that,” he doesn’t say any more because it would be weird for him to start a conversation with how his dad runs the company that owns Re:Start, right?

“Tch, I’m a Chemistry and Design major,” he finally offers up. Izuku is immediately hooked. That’s gotta be one of the strangest combinations he’s stumbled across.

“That means we’re in the same department! Wow, cool! What’s your emphasis?”

Bakugou looks away from Izuku and offers up, “Fashion.”

Izuku’s brain is lost thinking about how much work that would be. Fashion and chemistry? One of the things he struggles with most, especially when it comes to character design, is fashion. Kacchan would always make fun of his outfits in Re:Start, “You must be really smart!” he replies, “Fashion sounds really hard!”

Bakugou just grunts and the two of them fall into a silence. It’s even more noticeable because of the busy conversations happening behind them.

Bakugou doesn’t look like he wants to talk about his major anymore than that, so Izuku pulls up the assignment their teacher mentioned. It’s a pretty standard form but Izuku realizes that this means they’re going to be partners for the rest of the semester. He pales. What if Bakugou hates him too much to be his partner?

He’s simply incapable of bringing such a topic up so he starts filling out the form without a word. They have to exchange their schedules and phone numbers plus a few ‘fun facts.’ Those are without a doubt Izuku’s least favorite type of ice breaker. 

Not wanting Katsuki to think less of him he strays away from gaming throughout the entire conversation. They’ll have to cooperate throughout the rest of the quarter after all.

“Um, so what kind of hobbies do you have?” he asks, quoting the form.

“Working out, something a nerd like you probably knows nothing about,” Bakugou says a bit cruelly. Izuku takes in Bakugou’s form. He has particularly wide shoulders but his clothes are baggy so it’s hard to make out anything of his figure other than his sizable arms. Izuku drags his eyes away.

Izuku isn’t exactly the most active, but he’d like to consider himself pretty fit. Health has always been important to his dad so he often drags Izuku with him to the gym or on a hike. Izuku’s hoping he can keep up all of those things along with school. 

Maybe he could start tagging along with Bakugou? He makes eye contact and looks away. Actually, that would probably be unwise.

“Hey! I work out some. I like hiking a lot,” he adds weakly. It’s probably best not to mention the self-defense classes his mom made him do, right? Bakugou narrows his eyes like he doesn’t believe him. Izuku’s cheeks get warm at the thought of Bakugou checking out his figure like he’d done himself.

“And it seems like there are a few projects, what times would you be free to meet?” he reads off the page.

Bakugou looks over him critically, “You’re not some kind of slacker, are you? No way in fuck are we gonna be partners if you suck ass,” he says frankly.

Izuku huffs in indignation, “I think I should be the one worried about you, considering your poor attitude! Either way, I was valedictorian at my high school, so we’ll be more than fine even if you are the one holding us back,” he fires off with a newfound confidence. He hadn’t been too bothered when Bakugou was going after his physique, but Izuku had worked really hard to get good grades.

“Hah? Are you trying to make me angry? I’m the fucking best,” he snaps.

“Isn’t that the whole point of coming to U.A? We’re all the best here, whether you like it or not,” he says assuredly.

Bakugou looks like he wants to bark something else but forces himself to settle down, “Whatever the fuck,” he pulls out his phone, “Give me your number and we can exchange schedules or something.”

Is this… progress? Izuku is quick to rattle off the numbers he has memorized before pulling out his own phone. When Bakugou’s schedule comes onto his phone, he sends his back before saying out loud, “Oh yeah, but I’m planning on joining a volunteer club which means I’ll be taking some shifts for that at night.”

“I don’t care, I’m usually busy at night too,” Bakugou says with no elaboration on what he’ll be doing. Izuku decides not to pry.

They finish up the form in good time and by the time they’re done, the professor has gotten the projector set up and the slides are pulled up. He pulls out his tablet for note taking – the slides are already loaded on there. Meanwhile, Bakugou pulls out a classic notebook.

As the teacher goes over the syllabus and the beginning of their lecture content. Izuku can only hope his partnership with Bakugou isn’t a complete trainwreck.

After his literature class with Bakugou, Izuku has a long gap in his schedule where he has nothing to do. He works on his reading a bit and eats lunch with Shinsou. 

Then Shinsou manages to drag him into watching Kacchan’s stream. Izuku pulls the game up on his own computer. His first goal is to get to the town Uraraka and the rest were in.

Playing with the stream on is comforting. During the summer, he’d really thought he would never have the chance to hear Kacchan’s voice again. But now, he can play with Kacchan by his side again – even if it’s not in the same way. Izuku can only hope that they’re able to find each other one day and be together again.

It’s also nice to be able to see that Kohaku is still doing well. He’s already made a party of friends in the game. From the way they talk, Izuku wonders if they know each other in real life. Somehow, he feels a little bit jealous.

“He’s never played with this party before, actually,” Hitoshi’s voice cuts into his thoughts, “But one of them, Chargebolt, is another streamer. I don’t watch him as much but he’s had this party for a while without dying. I’m not surprised they were able to meet up though because that party was just at the World Tree.”

“So it really works? For finding people?” Izuku asks. He hadn’t had any time to do his own research after Uraraka told him about it. But if these people used it… Izuku can too.

“Yeah, but it’s super expensive unless you do the impossible quest leading up to it – and I’m not exaggerating, only a handful of the top players have ever completed that quest.”

“Wait, what? I didn’t hear about a quest,” Izuku mutters.

Hitoshi spares him a glance, “Aren’t you supposed to be the Re:Start nerd or something, not me?” he challenges with a quirked eyebrow.

“Hey! I can’t possibly know everything,” he shoots back. Which is a lie. If his dad would just let Izuku into the loop, he actually could know everything!

“Whatever, you don’t need to know about it because KEM is headed in that direction anyway.”

“Really? I met up with some other players and we’re going to head there too! I could totally meet up with him again if that happens!”

“Oh, watch out,” Hitoshi says without even a hint of urgency in his voice even as Izuku’s character is about to get pummeled.

Izuku screams and finishes up the battle. It’s the last one he needs for this quest. Then he’ll be able to take a horse drawn cart over to where Uraraka’s party is. It’s pretty lucky that they ended up so close to each other.

“I’m going to head out now,” Kacchan’s voice comes through the speakers of Hitoshi’s laptop. Izuku’s eyes dart over to see Kacchan’s character heading back to the inn. He checks the time and realizes that he should have left a while ago.

“Aww man, I need to go too! I can’t believe I haven’t left yet!”

Hitoshi gives him a skeptical look as Izuku is pulling on his hoodie. “Doesn’t your class start in thirty minutes? You’ll get there with plenty of time to spare,” he says plainly.

“Yeah, but I wanted to already be there! And our campus is so big. This way, I’m only going to be twenty minutes early!” he complains before shoving his tablet in his bag and pulling the strap over his shoulder.

“You’re kind of dramatic, Midoriya. I always aim to be right on time.”

Izuku shoots him a look, “But what about getting a good seat? For my bio class, if I hadn’t gotten there early I would have had an awful seat!”

Hitoshi smirks, “Get this, I sit in the back. On purpose,” he says in a taunting voice.

Izuku plays along and lets out a gasp, “How could you?” he says before devolving into laughter. He shoves his shoes on at the door to their room and waves goodbye. He opens the door, excited to go to his next class and steps outside.

For the second time that day, he bumps into Bakugou.

He glares down at Izuku with his red eyes and Izuku braces himself for the reaction, “The fuck are you doing here? Are you a stalker or something?" he accuses.

"What?” Izuku squeaks out, bracing himself had done nothing to prepare him for that, “How could you ask that? You’re so rude,” he says angrily. If Bakugou had called him anything else, he wouldn’t have been this angry. In fact, he can’t even remember the last time he was actually angry at anyone. Somehow, the blond is just extraordinary at getting on his last nerve.

He turns around and storms away, the door closing behind him. Bakugou is walking behind him. A quick glance at his phone lets him know where his next class is. It’s near his biology lecture hall so he already knows how to get there.

The only problem, Bakugou is following him. He turns back with a glare, “Who’s the stalker now?” he shoots, wishing that his words could make Bakugou feel just as bad as he’d felt.

“Tch, you’re an idiot. It wasn’t that deep,” he says. Izuku already knows that Bakugou will never understand.

“You’re the idiot here. Surprisingly, some people have lives outside of what you know about them. No matter how you think the world might revolve around you, people are more complex than you make them out to be,” he says, feeling a bit passionate.

“Somehow, I think you’ll get over it.”

Izuku hates that he’s right.

He keeps walking until he reaches the building. They both reach for the door handle. Izuku looks up at Bakugou. Could it really be his luck that he has two classes with him? Bakugou ends up being the one to open the door, but Izuku goes through it first.

Inside the building is a long hallway. The floor looks to be ten years out of date – a strange vinyl pattern that’s all too out of place in the mostly modern campus. They walk down the hallway and their footsteps echo throughout it. Izuku tries to keep his mind off everything by looking at the flyers posted up every so often. It helps and he feels himself calming down.

Yet again, they meet at the same door. This time, Izuku holds it open for Bakugou. He’s never been one to hold a grudge after all.

The inside of the classroom is empty and Bakugou takes a seat in the second row again. Izuku isn’t sure if it would be more or less awkward to sit with Bakugou. They did walk over here together after all – Izuku’s past anger or not.

He doesn’t bother asking to sit next to Bakugou before taking the next seat over. “Just don’t call me a stalker again and maybe these two classes won’t suck as bad.”

Bakugou gives him an appraising look, “Deal.”

In the back of his mind, Izuku wonders if he’s just made Bakugou his friend. He barely suppresses a giddy smile.

Chapter Text

Izuku looks around. The town is pretty normal. With only one exception: most of the townspeople have cat ears and tails to match. It’s quite the sight but just another quirk of the game. He marvels at all of them with the confidence that none of them will get angry about it, as long as he doesn’t look at any of the players like that.

Izuku’s put together that what species you are and their specialty leads to where you are reincarnated. When he was reincarnated after dying in that dungeon, he’d awoken in a village full of elves that weren’t capable of magic – just his luck. However, he wasn’t upset – he got the chance to learn their interesting backstory after all.

His class of elves tend to be warriors or craftsmen. Long ago, elve who were incapable of magic would be cast out by their peers. They eventually gathered together to create a village and lived prosperously – using their strengths to make up for where the majority of elves had seen them as failures.

As a warrior, he’s pretty strong. However, it seems that his skill had transferred over to make him stronger. Though if he uses it too long, his health can go down pretty fast. Another thing that had carried over from his death, oddly enough, was a sword. Really, it was more like half a sword. Even still the blade was pretty wide. The second he saw it in his inventory, he knew it had come from the dungeon.

Now, it’s strapped to his back, ready to be drawn at any moment.

Izuku takes in all the different shops around him before heading into the tavern. Inside, he spots Uraraka, Todoroki, and Iida sitting at a table. They look pretty different in game but he can spot them easily.

(Izuku looks over at Uraraka’s laptop to see the same table from a different perspective; sure enough, it’s them. Before turning his attention back to the game, he spares a glance towards Kacchan’s stream. Sure enough, he’s still on the opposite side of the map. Izuku hasn’t made much progress in the way of getting closer. Asui, who is their future party member, gives him a curious smile.)

“Hey! Come sit down, it’s so exciting that we’ll finally get to be a party together!” she exclaims.

“That’s a pretty cool sword, Midoriya,” Todoroki adds on.

“Ahh, thanks, you guys, I’m excited to be here too! It’s been a while since I’ve played with anyone,” he says. It’s the sad truth. Since he was reincarnated, he’d had some temporary partnerships, but nothing lasting. And of course, he’s essentially never played with people he actually knew until now.

It was weird to not have to set up the voice chat or have his headphones on. 

Also, some players refuse to talk about anything not related to the game while playing. Izuku had always been one of those people. Kacchan too. Which was why he didn’t mind working with him. Now, there’s no reason to uphold those rules because the spell has already been broken. After all, they’re all going to be working on their writing homework after this.

(“Hopefully, we’ll all get to play together soon,” Asui chimes in. Izuku nods along. She’s just starting out and it definitely wouldn’t hurt her to have friends to help.)

“I propose that we check out the guild first. That way we can properly add Midoriya to the party and find an appropriate quest,” Iida says. Izuku isn’t surprised that he takes the game so seriously. For the few days that he’s known the taller boy, Iida has demonstrated himself to be increasingly competent but also incredibly proper? If that’s even the right word. Iida is an astute student and a very, very responsible friend.

“I agree. But first, what is your class, Midoriya?” Todoroki asks, turning his attention to Izuku. Todoroki, too, doesn’t quite strike Izuku as a gamer. But he’s incredibly curious. At the same time, he’s blunt with his inquiries which don’t make for the most polite combination. 

From what Izuku understands, Todoroki got into the game because of his pro-gamer brother.

“Oh, I’m a warrior. This sword definitely isn’t for show. So I’m definitely more strength based. Luckily, my skill carried over to help with that so that’s the green lightning you might see when I fight,” he lets them know.

A soft ‘oooh’ goes around the table, “I can’t wait to see!” Uraraka cheers, “Also, how’d you get a skill?”

Izuku gets sheepish but tries his best to answer the question, “Well, you know how I’m looking for someone in game?” he asks, they all nod their heads, “We actually got matching skills when we first met by defeating this dragon. I got this sword during our last quest together, too.”

“I thought equipment doesn’t carry over when you die,” Todoroki replies.

He just shrugs in response, “I had thought so too. I think this sword has to be connected to the lore somehow, but I really have no idea. However, it’s a bit auspicious so I might switch it out when I get the chance,” he laments.

Todoroki’s eyes widen and Uraraka groans, “You’re into the lore, too?” Todoroki says passionately. It’s the most emotion Izuku has heard from him yet.

“Trust me, Izuku. No matter how much you’re into lore, it’s not like this weirdo does it. He has conspiracy boards ,” Uraraka says. Izuku’s lips together. Should he not tell them about his notebooks?

“Don’t be rude, Uraraka. Todoroki’s efforts may be a bit absurd at times, but he puts a lot of passion into it,” Iida defends Todoroki.

She glares at Iida, “Let’s see if you’re still saying that when he suggests your species spawns from man eating harpies!” she protests.

Izuku can’t help but snort. Maybe his and Todoroki’s investigations are slightly different. Though, is Todoroki really wrong about that? Uraraka is dressed in a pink frock that’s airy and made of a light fabric. Izuku can see soft brown feathers poking out from the edges of the frock around her neck and open shoulders. There are also a few feathers surrounding her face and tucking into her hair.

From what she explained, she has gravity magic that’s characteristic of her species. Izuku also notes the incredibly sharp canines.

“We should probably head to the guild before all the requests get taken,” he suggests. This town is pretty full after all. It’s big but getting stuck with no requests can make for a pretty boring day of play. Best case scenario, they go into the words and encounter a few monsters. Worst case, they decide to move to the next town.

As much as he loves Re:Start, moving from place to place can be pretty tedious. You need the right supplies and connections. Sometimes, it really all depends on luck. The good thing about being in a big party is that the luck can distribute easily.

Izuku and Kohaku always had pretty bad luck when it came to quests but they just had to power through anyway. With a big party, the quests assigned can be distributed and done together.

The girl behind the counter at the guild hands them a party permit and says with a smile, “And just like that, the Fall Quarter Writing Party has been formed!” she says

Izuku looks at Iida, already positive the name was his idea. He merely pushes up his glasses while Uraraka is laughing with no end in sight, “I thought straightforward might be best! It certainly gets the point across,” he says astutely.

Izuku sighs but doesn’t argue. He wouldn’t have been able to come up with anything better. His and Kohaku’s party was called ‘Temp Party’ because of how much they were at each other’s throats at the beginning. Neither of them thought it would last further than the minor benefits of staying together.

After that, they go to the bulletin board to randomly draw their quests. Each party member gets to draw one quest from each guild. They can only draw another quest from the same guild once they’ve completed the first one. However, if they move villages before then, it’s fair game.

Back when Kohaku and Izuku had really bad luck, they had had at least five long term quests stacked up on each other all at once. They’d had to make do with traveling.

Izuku ends up being the last to draw his quest but notices how the rest of them are all getting pretty standard ones. He’ll probably get the same. The standard ones typically mean that the unique ones (aka the ones with potentially long term quests mixed in) are all taken up for the day. With that in mind he pulls a quest and looks over it.

‘Deliver Rare Dragon Egg to Newly Awakened Dragon Kinsfolk!!!’ it reads and Izuku slams his head against the bulletin board. This is just his luck. The only way to really complete this task is to go to the starter village for the kinsfolk or somehow bump into one of them who hasn’t accepted an egg yet.

“Don’t worry Izuku! We’ll totally help you with that!” Uraraka chimes in after seeing his quest.

“Even if it’s in the complete opposite direction that we’re going,” Todoroki says, not so helpfully.

“Guys, this always happens to me,” he cries, “Maybe I just won’t do it. I don’t want to drag us all down!” he says, determined.

At this, Iida shakes his head with a sharp chop of his hand, “That won’t do at all, Midoriya. With rare quests like these, you can receive a penalty for not completing it in a timely manner!”

Uraraka nods along, “That’s actually how we lost Todoroki the last time our party was split up. He got a rare task like that and when he didn’t do it, the requester sought him out and killed him!”

Izuku pales, “That’s way too out of hand!” Why would anyone come up with that dumb idea! “Maybe I’ll just break off halfway to the tree and try to finish it up fast!”

(Tsuyu gives him a pitying look which he resents. He’s spent the last two months on this game alone, he can handle himself.)

“We can figure it out when we come to it. Until then, we can work on the rest of our quests until five o’clock,” Iida says, keeping them on track. They all agree.

Sure enough, Izuku follows them around helping with their quests until it’s time for them to study. By then, they have saved enough money to all go to the next village which will be where they split up. This will be just great, Izuku thinks sarcastically.

Izuku finds himself at the cafeteria during the off hours. This means that they aren’t serving any food but he is still free to help himself to the salad bar or the sandwich station – not mentioning the infinite amount of drinks and snacks he can have.

There aren’t a lot of students here right now but there is still a low buzzing of conversation surrounding him. Objectively, it’s not the best place to have a phone call, but that’s exactly what Izuku has found himself doing. On the other end of the call is his dad.

“How’s that mechanics club going?” his dad asks good naturedly. They’ve just finished talking about Toshinori’s latest medical treatment and he is calling Izuku from the library of the small town where their vacation cabin resides. According to him, the treatment had gone well but the doctor recommended going back to the slow life and fresh air compared to the city where the Midoriya’s usually reside.

It looks like Izuku will be going down there too for the next break. He had lamented over how long it would be until he got to see his parents again.

As for the mechanics club, “It’s going great! I’m going to start actually helping out next week after a few more review sessions. Somehow, I don’t know everything,” he jokes and his dad laughs over the line.

“That is such a surprise, Izuku,” his dad responds in a joking tone, “But I’m glad to hear that you’re actually learning something. What about your classes? Are they going well?”

“Yeah! I’m excited. I think I’ve actually made some friends, too! And I’ve got a few projects in some of my classes but I don’t think it’ll be too bad?” he says, not really sure.

His dad hums, “Your mom and I have always really enjoyed seeing how your projects turn out. You’re always so creative,” he says and it makes Izuku feel a little bashful.

“Well, I think the design ones will be really fun – judging by the syllabus. I don’t know about literature, though. I’m working with one of my classmates and he’s a bit… brash. Our first project is due next week actually, I’m kind of nervous!”

“So soon? I guess the quarter system moves pretty quickly, huh?”

Before Izuku can respond to his dad, there’s a loud bang as someone’s hand slams down onto the table he’s sitting at. Izuku looks up to see none other than his own project partner barely being held back by a casually remorseful Kirishima who has an easy smile on his face even as he is clearly trying to keep Bakugou from doing anything violent.

“You couldn’t think of any better words than brash ? I’ll have you know I’m perfectly rational, nerd!” Bakugou yells in his face. Izuku looks down at his phone with a worried look on his face. Considering how loud Bakugou was, there’s no way his dad didn’t hear that.

However, when he brings the phone back up to his ear his dad doesn’t sound worried at all, “It sounds like you have an interesting partner, I’ll leave you to it and we can call at another time, Izuku. Have a nice day.”

Izuku can’t even get out a single protest or begin to try and use his dad as an excuse to get out of talking to Bakugou because he puts his phone down in shock. “Not brash?” he challenges with a smirk on his face, “Then what would you call what you did just now? A well-thought out confrontation?”

Bakugou lets out a sound showing out peeved he is and adds on, “You really fucking get on my nerves!”

Kirishima, at this point, has let go of Bakugou and sits down across from Izuku, “I’m really sorry about him. I didn’t even notice you sitting here until Baku-bro was charging your way,” he says good-naturedly.

“It’s no problem, Kirishima! I know you’re always doing your best,” he cheers on. He can’t imagine having such a difficult roommate. He and Hitoshi have gotten along pretty well and he never has to worry about Hitoshi running across the cafeteria to yell at someone. 

(However, he does have to worry about Hitoshi getting a bit too into the streams he watches and causing a slight ruckus during quiet hours).

Somehow, despite this odd confrontation, Bakugou ends up sitting down at the table as well, “Hah? Why are you acting like this is my fault? He’s the one who shouldn’t be bad-mouthing people he barely knows.”

‘Barely knows’ is one way to put it. As it’s Friday, they’ve already had four classes together. The first day they met, Bakugou had acted like a total dick and made Izuku feel awful. 

The next time they met he wasn’t awful but there seemed to be a disconnect between their personalities. Izuku thinks they just might not be compatible. Thankfully, they’re both diligent workers and were able to do the in-class worksheet together having both read the assigned reading.

Izuku decides then that in order to get through the semester, he should just treat Bakugou like an intelligent child. Izuku had volunteered with children during the summers before college. Some of them had personalities like Bakugou and if he simply didn’t rise to their taunts, they eventually stopped. He takes a deep breath and focuses himself, he can do this.

“Okay, so when do you want to work on our project together?” Izuku asks in response.

Bakugou narrows his eyes, there’s a slight crease behind his eyebrows making him look pretty angry, “Have you done the reading already?” Izuku nods in assent, “Let’s do it as soon as possible. That reading was batshit and I’d like to forget it as soon as fucking possible.”

“It was a little strange,” he tries to agree. He’d thought the symbolism had been important considering current political climates, but the way they offered it was pretty weird.

“It’s crazy how many projects you guys have for that class,” Kirishima chimes in, seemingly knowledgeable about their work load.

Izuku’s nice to have someone more normal than Bakugou nearby, “Yeah, I didn’t expect it to have more workload than our design class.”

“Wait, you two have two classes together? Baku-bro, why didn’t you tell me that?”

Bakugou’s scowl gets deeper, “Is there some reason you need to know everything about my schedule?”

Kirishima laughs and the conversation continues from there, with breaks as they get snacks and drinks. It’s surprisingly pleasant and Izuku can almost feel himself enjoying Bakugou’s presence and harsh quips. Though, he suspects it’s only because of Kirishima’s calming presence. 

Izuku privately wishes that Kirishima would spontaneously become a design major and switch into their shared classes to ease their tension. He seems to be a pretty good buffer against Bakugou’s unending unpleasantness.

Alas, Izuku knows the world would never make his life so easy. He didn’t previously have intentions to get along with Bakugou but Kirishima has proved to him that it is possible. So, he’ll just have to try his darndest.

Chapter Text

Izuku had heard that his classes would get smaller as the quarter went on, especially with online recordings being available, but looking at the completely empty classroom, he can’t help but feel that something is wrong. 

He was drafted into watching streams with Hitoshi during his short break which means he’s actually perfectly on time. However, there’s not a single person here.

While he’s considering whether he should sit down and wait or just leave, Bakugou enters the classroom.

The silence prevails for a few seconds before Bakugou asks, “Where the fuck is everyone?”

“I’m not sure, I just got here…” Izuku trails off. Despite their recent lunch together, it still feels awkward between them. But, maybe this can be a chance to try and befriend Bakugou. He ended up calling his dad back and he encouraged Izuku to try and form a relationship with his classmate, especially if they’re both in design.

Bakugou pulls out his phone and groans, “Fuck this, it's only the second week and we’ve already had a class get canceled?”

Izuku shuffles over to look at Bakugou's phone screen, sure enough there is an announcement on their course page. Izuku sighs, he was actually looking forward to today’s class and had a few questions for the teacher. It doesn’t help that this building is the farthest you can get from the dorms while being on campus.

“Can’t believe I came here for no fucking reason,” Bakugou says with a sour tone in his voice.

Izuku has an idea.

“Oh! Would you wanna grab a snack or drink together? There’s a few small places just across the street from here!”

“Hah? Why should I go with you?”

Izuku bites his lower lip and Bakugou's glare sharpens, “Well, since we’re the only ones who showed up, we could talk about the project. I actually was a bit stuck on some stuff but if you wouldn't be a good person to ask,” He stops, trying to give Bakugou a way out.

Somehow, Bakugou just gets more angry, “You trying to call me stupid? I bet I know the answer to every shitty question you have!”

“Awesome!” Izuku says genuinely, “Then where do you want to go?”

Bakugou stops for a second as if realizing he’s been duped before taking the lead, “I’ll choose and you can just follow,” He demands. Izuku happily acquiesces.

Surprisingly, he takes Izuku to a small ice cream parlor. Izuku doesn’t question his choice and just gets in line at the counter. Then, he watches in interest as Bakugou orders the Shichuan pepper ice cream. It actually looks quite pleasant with brown sugar added as one of the main ingredients but he’s never seen such a flavor. Though, when he takes a look, all of the flavors are pretty unique. He ends up getting a cinnamon basil ice cream and prays it won’t be bad.

They sit down at a shockingly clean table with their ice cream and Izuku decides to try to befriend Bakugou by treating him like a normal person.

“I know you don’t like basic questions, but why did you go into design?”

Bakugou looks to the side like the question is a waste of time, but surprisingly answers, “My old folks are in the industry. I didn’t care for it at all until I realized how shitty most of the clothes out there are. Especially yours though.”

“Haha, that’s valid. It’s good that you’re passionate though! I’m the same in that I wanted to go into design because of my dad! Of course, it wasn’t entirely him, but he’s definitely helped me see it as a possible future for myself!”

“What does he do?” Bakugou surprises Izuku by asking a question back.

Izuku doesn’t typically tell people exactly, but most people don’t ask beyond the basics, either, “He’s a game designer actually! Ah, but he’s mostly retired right now for health reasons,” Izuku adds on sadly, he hadn’t meant to get into that so he leaves it there.

“Shit, I’ve been there. I bet your old man will be fine.”

“You really think so?” Izuku asks with tears in his eyes. Though it’s true his dad has been more stable since it first kicked in, the thought of losing his dad is still a scary one. He quickly wipes his eyes, embarrassed that he ended up shedding tears in front of Bakugou of all people, “You’re more reasonable than I thought you were,” he says in a quiet voice before shoveling some ice cream into his mouth.

“Hey, now you’re really asking for it!” Bakugou shouts, slamming his empty ice cream cup down on the table and standing up slightly.

Izuku can’t help but laugh. It seems that Bakugou’s short fuse is something Izuku can always rely on. Oddly enough, it feels a bit familiar too.

Their conversation continues as they leave the ice cream parlor, and Izuku finds that he doesn’t mind Bakugou’s behavior as much as he thought he did.

Bakugou (DES/LIT)

Hey, this is Midoriya!

I know that, dipshit.

>:^(

read 3:58 pm

Should we schedule a time to meet for the project? :)

Let’s just meet in between our classes

This project shouldn’t take long

Unless you really are an idiot

Your rudeness just never ends, huh?

I’ve already picked out some good articles, I’ll forward the links :D

I think we lucked out with the topic!

read 9:12 am

so… do you have any fun hobbies?

read 2:54 pm

kirishima, shinsou and I are going to be studying in the common area, wanna come?

read 6:00 pm

our professor canceled his office hours btw!

fuck that guy

unreliable as hell

this is the fifth fucking time

Bakugou! Don’t say things like that about him

It’s frustrating… but he seems to be going through a lot

So why is he making it my problem?

You’re impossible

read 4:20 pm

going on a coffee run before class!

want anything?

It should be a crime for you to drink coffee

You’re hyper enough already

Get me a double shot

Will do!

read 8:40 am

my club is so boring today D:

send help

quit then

I can’t do that! ><

I like it when there’s actually stuff to do…

read 4:00 pm

can you see the assignment yet?

I can’t :(

The professor said it should be up in the next hour though

ugh annoying

have you already done the reading for design?

It was kind of…

Horrible? Yeah

Our prof managed to find the worst article out there

I’m going out for ice cream

Want any?

Gimme a sec

I’ll just come

:D

Waiting outside the dorm!

read 7:18 pm

Wanna work on our project tonight?

I can’t!

I’m substituting for someone tonight

For club

read 5:10

Izuku sighs, looking at his text messages. Bakugou certainly likes to leave him on ‘read’ a lot. But, on the other hand, if he didn’t have anything to say he might as well not reply. 

He puts his phone down and leans over the counter. It was another one of those quiet nights. There were no projects to work on and no one was coming for help.

Were there really no college students with computer problems right now? His club did computer repairs for much cheaper than most places. He’s learned a lot through studying under his senpais and is pretty confident in his repair skills now. They had been amateur at best before. Now, he can solve most problems that his peers are having.

He even helped Uraraka when her computer started literally smoking.

But he resents quiet nights like these with nothing to do. It makes him restless and keeps his eyes locked on the clock. A buzz comes from his phone and it shakes him out of his stupor. He checks his phone, hoping for a text from Bakugou, even though it’s been two hours since he was left on read, but instead it's from the head of the club.

Yoshida-senpai

If no one is coming, feel free to close up an hour early

We’re having a club dinner in case you want to join

Okay! Thanks. I might do that

It’s been pretty quiet all night :(

That should be a good thing haha

Let us know by 7:30 if you want to get sushi with us

Okay! I’ll probably miss out on this one though

Is that okay

Not a problem

Have a nice night

Izuku stretches out his arms and stands up, excited. He hops over the desk and opens the door just to make sure no one is coming to the room. As he expected, the hallway outside of their club room is completely empty. He smiles a little bit before he flips the switch on their homemade ‘Open’ sign and starts to close the door.

However, from out of nowhere comes, “Wait! I thought you fuckers weren’t supposed to close until 8pm!”

He immediately opens the door and peeks his head out. From around the corner comes Bakugou carrying a heavy-duty computer bag that Izuku has never seen him with, “Bakugou?”

“Fucking Broccoli Head? Wait, this is the club you always complain about? You decided to play hooky or something?”

“What? No! My senpai said that I could go if no one was coming. Did you have a computer problem?”

“Why else would I be here, damn nerd?” After that, Bakugou opens the door himself, forcing Izuku to let go, before the blond shoves his way into the club room.

Izuku helplessly follows him in, letting the door close behind him, and watches as Bakugou pulls out a high quality gaming computer. It’s one of those computers that costs thousands and gives the promise of always running well. It’s not the kind of computer most college students have. 

Izuku had no idea Bakugou was this serious about whatever he uses the computer for. He’s never seen it in class, so it can’t be for schoolwork.

“Whoa, is this a Benomu computer?”

“You bet your ass. It’s lasted me years, but the battery just gave out for no goddamn reason. I need it replaced ASAP.”

“Well, I can do that, no sweat! You’re lucky we have one of the right batteries on hand – it’s kind of pricey though, is that okay?”

“Tch, just do it, nerd.”

“Will do!” he says, nodding his head at Bakugou since his hands are too full before heading to the back of the workshop.

The battery replacement takes around an hour before he’s back out into the main room, yawning. Bakugou has himself situated on top of the counter, scrolling on his phone while he faces the door. Izuku can’t help but blush at how well he can see Bakugou’s back like this. He’s wearing a fairly tight black shirt and it shows how… how defined he is.

He sets the computer down on the counter and asks, “Did you bring the charger with you? Just have to check that it’s working,” he says cheerfully. 

Without delay, Bakugou plugs in the cord and they open up the computer. Though Izuku has done his fair share of battery replacements, he’s never felt so nervous for one before now.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long before the screen turns on. The first screen that shows up is a devastating one. Unfortunately, Izuku is quite familiar with it and he lets out a sympathetic sigh when he sees it, “That’s unfortunate. Nothing is worse than dying in Re:Start,” he comments before feeling a bit dumb for saying that – shouldn’t it be obvious?

When he looks over at the blond, his body is slightly rigid and his scowl is much deeper than before. “Ah, how long were you playing as that character?” he asks.

“Too fucking long I guess if the game had to nerf me. I kept that bastard alive for so long, god damn.”

The screen doesn’t last long as the computer quickly switches to rebooting itself.

“Well, since you have to restart as a new character, maybe we could play together tonight? I’ve actually been playing for a while too,” he says sheepishly.

“Tch, only because you stayed late to fix my damn computer. I don’t wanna owe you anything,” he says.

“The only thing you owe is the cost of the battery and a little extra for the club! But, I am kind of hungry now, since I missed dinner with my club and everything,” he says, not really as sad as he’s making it seem.

Bakugou makes a frustrated sound and Izuku feels like he won. “Let’s go play at the cafeteria then! Sounds good?” Despite his friend’s reluctance, Bakugou gives in. Izuku wishes dealing with him could always be this easy.

The cafeteria, despite the late hour, is bustling with people. There’s a lot of people working together in groups which makes sense considering how there are a lot of midterms coming up. Izuku and Bakugou lay claim to a comparably empty area. Because it’s behind the noodle bar, people don’t usually come here. Even better, there’re outlets galore.

Izuku only eats a quick meal, too excited about playing Re:Start with Bakugou to care about his stomach. The game opens and he’s looking at the entrance to the village where a majority of dragon kinsfolk live – as his quest had encouraged him to do.

Out of curiosity, he peeks over at Bakugou’s computer. His friend is loading the new character. Bakugou quickly clicks through the stats and character design so that he can enter the game faster. Then, miraculously, Izuku watches as his new character is dropped down into the game - right next to Izuku’s.

“No fucking way,” he can’t help but say, though he rarely swears.

Bakugou looks at him, almost dumbfounded, before Izuku points at his own screen, “This is so impossibly rare. How the hell did we end up in the same area?”

Bakugou looks between their two screens before a wicked grin comes over his face, “Guess we’re stuck together.”

The town itself is one of the more unique ones. It’s spread out despite how it’s not exactly a village full of people. The ‘village’ starts on the edge of a cliff with dragons and humans living in caves together. Rope ladders lead up the cliff to a petrified forest full of rope bridges and ‘treehouses’. The people here are very much a people of adventure, high stakes, and the air.

They also tend to travel a lot which is why not a lot of people live in the village. In Izuku’s time playing Re:Start, he’s seen quite a few of Dragon Kin despite never being to this village before. With Bakugou’s appearance, the Dragon Kin NPCs all came to welcome them, helping him get new clothing and equipment.

Unlike Izuku’s character, Bakugou barely has to spend a dime on any of it. The Dragon Kin community is very tight knit and accepting.

After he’s fully equipped with a grey-blue outfit, white boots, and some furs attached to a red cape – reminding Izuku too much of Kacchan, his last piece of equipment is a large baselard dagger in a brown leather holster.

As Izuku’s reward for delivering the egg to the village, they give him a small pouch of gold, a large broadsword, and a ring that stabilizes magic - skills included. The sword is lighter than the one that he got from his Denshi character and makes him that much faster. He figures using it wouldn’t hurt.  

Though, if he meets up with Kacchan, it’ll be interesting to see if he has the other half of the broadsword. Or rather, when he meets up with Kacchan.

He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to watch Kacchan’s stream because it seems their schedules always collide – he can’t exactly watch the stream while he’s volunteering, but he knows the other is still heading to the World Tree.

“So, Bakugou, since we’re stuck together, would you want to come with me to meet up with some of my school friends? We’re all heading to the World Tree,” he offers.

“World Tree?” Bakugou asks, he seems to think about it a bit, “I feel like anyone who’s friends with you but be a nerd,” he says in response.

“Just like you!” Izuku teases which gets him an in-game whack on the back of his head. (Izuku glares at Bakugou from across the table. Bakugou is completely unbothered.)

“You know, we could just fly there right now, since I have a dragon and all.”

A jolt of anticipation runs from Izuku’s chest and he’s incredibly tempted to take that offer. If he goes to the World Tree right now, he’d be that much closer to finding Kacchan. Of course, he wouldn’t have the money to actually use it, but surely he can farm for it around the area. Or he could attempt the ‘impossible quest' Hitoshi mentioned.

On the other hand, he’s really enjoyed hanging out with his friends.

“Well,” he starts, wanting to explain that he wants to travel with his friends.

Their conversation is cut off by a girl with long orange hair. She’s in an outfit with a similar design as Bakugou’s and her hair is tied up with a long blue ribbon. It’s clear she’s also a Dragon Kin from this alone, but because she’s starting a conversation with them he knows she’s not an NPC.

Even though she’s talking to them, neither of them have their headphones plugged in. He jumps a few times in game and rushes for his headphones with the plug and the mic. He offers a bud to Bakugou who doesn’t seem very interested so Izuku lets it hang down.

“Hi, sorry about that. What were you saying?” He asks.

“Ah, it’s no problem. Your friend is a new Dragon Kin, right? I was just going to offer some tips. I’ve been Dragon Kin for a year or so.”

He wordlessly pushes the earbud at Bakugou yet again and the blonde reluctantly takes it, “And what is it?”

The girl’s character moves a bit randomly for a second, perhaps in shock at Bakugou’s voice coming in so suddenly, “Oh, just about training your dragon after it hatches. You should take it to a place with elements you’d like to have an affinity with. I took mine to a waterfall before I knew that and it affected my fighting style.”

“Hah? It doesn’t just hatch on its own?”

The girl shakes her head, “No, and once it does hatch, it won’t be able to fly immediately. But you can still ride it on the ground. You and the dragon are meant to train together,” she explains.

Izuku can see Bakugou getting angrier and angrier. “What kinda bullshit? That’s a pain in the ass,” he says. Izuku wants to defend the game play because it actually sounds really interesting, but he knows that that kind of thing doesn’t exactly suit Bakugou’s play style.

“Ah, but I guess now you can join me and my friends! I bet it’ll be a fully trained dragon by the time we reach the World Tree!” Izuku tries to encourage. Bakugou still doesn’t look very happy about it.

“Oh, where are you trying to go? From the World Tree that is,” the girl asks.

For some reason, Izuku feels a bit shy telling her the truth in front of Bakugou, but answers nonetheless, “I’m trying to find someone, actually. I’ve heard the World Tree is good for that.”

“Oh, that’s actually for more than just the travel aspect. The World Tree has, essentially, become a huge billboard for finding people. Adventurers will post papers, usually with information about the person that only they would know, just a tip for when you get there! But unless you do the hidden quest, there’s a tight character limit.”

“That’s so helpful! Thank you so much! What was your name again?”

“It’s Kendo, and no problem. Good luck on your journey and I hope you find whoever you’re looking for,” she cheers.

Izuku waves as she walks away and Bakugou seems a bit dissatisfied with something, more than usual that is, “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“I’m also looking for someone,” he offers.

It surprises Izuku a little bit. He can’t really imagine Bakugou getting attached to anyone in-game.

“Oh,” he gets the sense that this person is someone Bakugou didn’t just lose. The way he spoke, it feels a bit deeper than that. For some reason, Izuku’s heart twists a little. He looks down and pulls at his thumb, “Well, here’s to hoping that we find them! For both of us,” he says with a smile, hoping to comfort Bakugou somehow.

“Whatever, let’s just catch up to your shitty friends. I’ll have to figure out this dragon stuff on the way.”

“Sounds good to me!”

Chapter Text

On the second floor of the library, there’s a nice set of couches with tables and outlets galore. For the entire semester, Izuku has been eyeing them with jealousy but has never had the right timing. They’re always taken.

But now, Izuku steals a seat on the empty couch. It’s only a two seater, but he feels a bit guilty for taking it for himself. It’s so much space, but his computer is happily charging and he’s so comfortable here.

He opens discord on his computer and looks over his contacts. He doesn’t know everyone’s schedule, of course, only a weirdo would know those things, but he has a vague idea of when everyone is free. Bakugou’s discord profile is sleek angles and simple colors.

Izuku opens their chat and asks, ‘ hey, do you want to work on our project rn? ’ He looks over the message one more time and then adds on his location.  

Bakugou’s discord doesn’t show him being online so Izuku opens a few tabs for their classes while he waits. They’re finally getting to design something for their class and there are so many steps they need to do in order to even begin.

With everything set up, he clicks on his bookmark for Kacchan’s channel. Izuku’s been way too busy lately, and whenever he is free, there’s no stream. He’s even started checking the channel when he’s in class and studying with Bakugou.

A small dot appears next to the discord symbol, and he clicks on it – hoping for a response. Instead, it’s a message from someone he’s not friends with. He squints at the profile pic, the discord symbol on a red background, before clicking on it. It seems they are in the same discord – a Re:Start discord that Izuku never uses.

‘Aren’t you lonely? ’

The message is strange. Izuku can’t help but wonder if it’s some new type of discord scam. Despite this, he finds himself typing a response.

‘sorry who is this? ’

‘Don’t apologize, Izuku. It’s been a while. ’

The stranger is still typing but Izuku already has his cursor on the block button before any other messages can be sent. His heart is racing inside his chest. But more than that, his breath is short as his chest moves in and out much faster than it should. He’s stuck staring at the conversation on his laptop and every second makes it worse.

There’s only one person it could be and… Izuku doesn’t want to think about it. He wants to shut down and pretend it didn’t just happen. But it did. His mind runs over everything he should do. Should he make a whole new discord? Would his friends mind? What if they do?

Worse, what if they ask ‘why?’ How is he supposed to explain this? Does he tell them about everything that happened or does he stay silent?

And then, is he supposed to tell his parents? He knows they’d be angry if he doesn’t, but they’ll get so worried if he does.

“Oi, Midoriya, are you doing okay?” a familiar voice asks and Izuku turns to see Bakugou standing right next to him, looking down. Even in his panic, he can see a look of concern in his eyes.

In between breaths, he tries to speak, “I’m fine,” but it comes out distorted. He doesn’t sound fine in the slightest. Izuku tries to focus on breathing slower, something he’d learned when he used to get panic attacks more often. It’s hard to work past the instinctual fear inside him.

“Shit, fuck, what should I-“

Izuku holds up a hand to stop Bakugou from touching him. When it works and the blonde doesn’t make further attempts, Izuku starts focusing on trying to take deeper breaths. Not every one of his attempts is successful, but he manages to bring his panic to a simmer underneath his skin. 

He grabs onto the leg of his pants and feels the pull of his fingers against his skin. It helps, in a way. He closes the discord page before Bakugou can get a glimpse of it. He doesn’t want to think about that right now.

Izuku wants to brush the whole thing off with a laugh but he gets one look at Bakugou’s face and feels it wouldn’t be right. Not after he worried him like that. 

“Sorry about that. But I’m okay now.”

“Hah? That’s it? No explanation?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation Bakugou. I just, don’t worry about it right now, okay?”

Bakugou lets out a grunt and seats himself on the couch, “Guess you have a point,” he admits, but doesn’t seem too happy about it, “They happen often?”

Izuku shakes his head ‘no.’ They haven’t happened in a very long time. “I know enough about them though.”

They fall into a silence that’s uncomfortable yet suited to the library. 

“Well fine, I’m not gonna force you to talk or anything. I’m not a fucking dumbass.”

At least there’s that going for Bakugou. “Thanks,” he says. He still feels a bit awkward about it. Does he need to leave right now? He doesn’t really care that it’s the best seat in the library; he just feels like he needs to go. 

He shuffles around his computer a bit, the nerves picking up but Bakugou grabs his wrist. It’s more gentle than anything he would have expected from him, “Don’t leave, you idiot. Let’s just get our work done.”

Izuku bites his lips and just nods. They don’t get back to normal immediately, but his heart stops beating so loudly and he actually manages to forget about the discord message. 

After their study session, the next time he thinks about it, he puts it out of his mind. It probably wasn’t even him and he definitely doesn’t want to tell his parents about it. With his dad’s current condition, they already have enough worry on their plates right now. 

He doesn’t even know that it was him , so… Izuku will be fine. 

The volcano is hotter than most can withstand. Even Izuku’s own body is weak to these elements but his skill keeps him from overheating too much. Bakugou, on the other hand, trots forward with hardly a mention. His body is naturally used to these high temperatures.

Past the heat, they also have to watch every step. The volcano is active and there are magma trails coming down. Luckily, it’s too hot for any predators to live up here. 

It’s still a laborious and tiresome hike upwards. There’s not a lot to look at and they can’t go that fast. At one point, Izuku almost loses his footing but Bakugou is quick to turn around and catch him. He pulls him forward after that and slows his pace a bit. 

It’s more consideration than Izuku had expected from him. 

Bakugou has always appeared to him as a ‘my-pace’ kind of gamer. Even in their group projects, when they’re working together, he can see that personality come through at times. Kacchan was similar to him in that way - such that he’d often try to do everything himself only to hold back once in a while for Izuku. 

When they finally get to the top, the first thing Izuku does is look behind him. There’s the great decline of the volcano and faint traces of towns and in the very distance a slight gleam of what might be a city.

They are standing on a thick rim bordering a wide bubbling crater. Magma threatens to overflow and spill over near their very feet. Bakugou brings out his dragon egg, the very one Izuku had given to him. 

“If it’s gonna hatch anywhere, it’s gotta be here,” he says with confidence. 

Izuku stares at the egg in apprehension, “Why fire?” he has to ask, though he can already see how it flickers in Bakugou’s eyes. Even his fighting style screams of flickering embers and wide breaths of flame. 

“The person I’m looking for… If anyone understands, it’s going to be them.”

For a second, Izuku thinks of Kacchan. Their special skills that they received from the dragon they fought - fire and healing fit to their respective characters. Those skills will be crucial in finding each other once again. That’s not even mentioning the half-sword he was somehow able to keep after death. 

He has no doubt that Kacchan has to have one as well. 

But will they find each other?

Lately, it seems like every time he tries to find out more about Kacchan - by watching his streams or following the fandom, something gets in his way. 

Nowadays, it seems like everytime Kacchan streams, Izuku is busy playing with Bakugou or has a project going on. Even further, Kacchan’s streams have been getting far apart and few between. 

“Well, when we meet up with my friends, do you want to play with us irl?”

“Tch, might as well. Just don’t try to get me into any nerd shit,” he growls through the mic separating them. 

“Haha, I’ll do my best, Ba-“ he stops short, “Oops, what was your name on here again?”

“Tirol,” Bakugou says, not sounding too happy about it. 

It’s kind of… cute. Izuku lets out a chuckle under his breath, but it’s still loud enough to get through to Bakugou.

“Shut your mouth, M- dipshit,” Izuku’s heart only hitches for a moment at the hint of his last name. 

“Well, if you don’t want to call me names the whole time, my in-game name is Fenrir right now,” he says, “Or we could come up with some matching nicknames,” in a teasing tone. 

Bakugou isn’t very amused by this proposition, “I don’t do nicknames,” he says. 

“But you come up with such creative ones for other people,” Izuku says with a slight whine to his voice, “Are you saying you’ve seriously never had a nickname?”

“I never fucking said that, someone gave me a nickname once,” he says. Izuku can already tell that he’s going to be stubborn about it. 

“Must have been some very brave soul,” he remarks. 

Bakugou doesn’t respond because in his hands the egg has started cracking. It glows a shiny red and floats out of Bakugou’s hands. It only rises a few feet above their heads but they have to look up all the same. 

The cracks open up with bright beams of light shining down upon them. It really is beautiful - despite Bakugou’s lack of patience. 

Finally, the shell breaks apart and an orange-red medium sized dragon breaks out and flutters down to Bakugou. The head is a bright orange with small horns sticking out. The scales go down its body and fade to a darker red until the tail which is nearly all black. 

It’s beautiful - but also a little bit too cute to fit Bakugou’s personality. Regardless, when the dragon immediately cuddles up to Bakugou, hopping up on his broad shoulder and pushing its face onto Bakugou’s, the man doesn’t push it away. 

“So,” Izuku wonders, “Do you have a name for it yet?”

A completely ruthless grin comes over Bakugou’s face, “I have the best name for him: Lord Explosion!” he announces. 

Izuku’s laughter comes up bubbly and joyful. He had never expected such a wonderful response to come from his friend. It’s almost a bit childish, but it fits so well. 

“Hah? What’s so funny, weirdo? It’s a great name,” Bakugou huffs. 

“No! I love it, I really do,” Izuku says, wiping a small tear from the corner of his eye, “Sorry, I hope that wasn’t rude!”

Bakugou focuses back on his dragon, “Tch, it’s fine.”

Izuku smiles to himself. He never thought he’d learn so much about his groupmate from playing Re:Start with him. But he sure is glad he’s getting to. 

Iida and Todoroki are much more societally connected than he had expected. Maybe he should have connected their names to the ones he’s seen everywhere, but he hadn’t.

He pulls on the cuff of his suit - the one his mom insisted he bring ‘just in case.’ Turns out his mom is always right.

“Ah!” Ochako exclaims, “I’ve never been to anything this fancy before!” she says. 

“It’s pretty exciting!” Izuku chimes in. It’s not exactly his first time at a charity event like this, but he is looking forward to it!! He’s been to a few with his family. 

“It was very nice of Todoroki and Iida to get these tickets for us,” Tsuyu says, looking very nice in a green dress that sparkles in the light. Ochako’s dress is a poofy piece that’s covered in a layer of chiffon. 

They were all able to come because it was being hosted at the school ballrooms. Todoroki is being dragged around by his dad and Iida is happily conversing with his brother. 

Without their friends by their side, the three of them seem a bit out of place but none of them would have turned down the chance for free food and music. 

Izuku actually finished his essay early in preparation for this event. 

“Hi there!” a cheery person comes up to them with a camera. They have a big smile and bright neon green hair. “Can I take your picture for the event promotion? It’s nice to see some young folk here!”

Izuku is about to step away and decline but Ochako grabs him and Tsuyu’s arms, “Yes, please!” 

She seems so happy that he can’t bear to turn down the offer. She does let go of their arms so they can pose. They follow the camera person’s instructions and the picture looks really nice afterwards. Izuku’s glad he didn’t back out - especially when they’ll get to have the picture after. 

“Too bad Todoroki and Iida weren’t in it,” he says. 

Right after, his phone buzzes away in his pocket. He pulls it out and looks at his newest message. Ochako peeks over his shoulder and he can already hear her inner scheming, “Oh! Is that your friend Bakugou? Are you sure you don’t have a crush on him, Midoriya?” she asks, as if asking for the 8th time will change his mind. 

“I’m pretty sure, Ochako, but thank you for your curiosity,” he says as a joke. 

“Mhm, okay,” she says before taking his phone, “Well, let’s just let him know that you can’t play Re:Start with him because you’re having too much fun here!” she says happily. 

“Wait, what are you doing?” he asks, reaching for his phone. She holds him at bay with a hand, her other holding up his phone for a selfie. He’s always thought she looked very strong, it’s true.

Izuku buries his face in his hands while Tsuyu holds up a peace sign. He can’t imagine it’s a very good photo. Ochako sends it anyway before returning his phone. 

He glares down at the photo, it’s already been sent to Bakugou. All he gets in response is a “That suit looks awful on you.”

He rolls his eyes and turns off his phone. How could he have a crush on him ? Ochako is out of her mind. 

After the impromptu pictures, they have to split up for the meal part. Because their tickets were from different people, they’re at different tables. 

However, Izuku finds the situation at his table with the Todorokis a bit more than tense. 

The second he gets there, Shouto’s father is saying, “What useless sons I have who can’t even show up at one dinner!” He’s not exactly yelling, his voice contained, but he definitely sounds really angry. 

The woman next to him is calmly drinking her tea and Shouto… well, he’s never seen Shouto look so angry before. However, when he sees Izuku his face changes into one that’s a bit more tempered, “Midoriya,” he announces loudly, “Come sit down.”

On Izuku’s right is who must be Todoroki’s sister, a very sweet looking woman with stark white hair and glasses. 

On her right are two empty chairs with name tags on them and then Shouto’s father and mother. Izuku feels a bit worried that he just intruded somehow but Shouto seems grateful at least.

He buckles himself in for a long night and doesn’t even notice the texts he receives that night - from either sender. 

Izuku wakes up uncomfortable and itchy. His skin is damp against the collared shirt he fell asleep in and he sits up - groggy and unsatisfied by his short night of sleep and attire. He looks around his bed and finds his pants discarded on the ground beneath him. His jacket, at least, is placed carefully on his desk chair. 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Shinsou teases as if he has any ground to stand on. Izuku can already tell his hair is messed up, and a tentative hand finds marks on his face from the sheets. 

Izuku just groans in response and reaches for his phone. His notifications have been piling up. He finds himself clicking on Bakugou’s chat over his mom’s due to the large discrepancy in messages between them. 

Bakugou has sent him two messages since his complaint about Izuku’s suit. The first text is an inconspicuous, ‘This would look better on you.’

The second is a picture Izuku’s phone had to download. Izuku expects something like a garbage bag or the like. 

Instead, he gets a fully colored fashion drawing on a model that looks a little bit like him. The outfit is a broken up suit that’s designed a bit like his character from Re:Start - at least the colors are. 

The pants are a deep turquoise that are high waisted and put together with an orange fabric belt. The top is a cream color which is tucked into the pants. It’s all tied together with a green jacket draped around his shoulders in a way Izuku has only seen celebrities do. 

Best of all, Bakugou didn’t leave out Izuku’s constant red shoes. 

Izuku buries his phone under his pillow and presses his hands against his face in a more severe way than before. Is this really happening? Did Bakugou seriously design a whole suit just for Izuku? And it’s inspired by his game character?

Doesn’t he know that kind of thing is bad for Izuku’s heart?

He pulls out his phone once more to make sure the picture is actually there. Sure enough, it’s not a hallucination or some kind of prank. It’s real. 

What is he supposed to even say to that? A mere ‘thank you’ would fall flat. Is he supposed to offer up his first child like in Rumplestiltskin? Is that how this works?

He never could have imagined that Bakugou would do something so thoughtful for him. 

Izuku positions his thumbs to type something, but he freezes. He really feels stuck. 

He wants to be able to do something to that extent for Bakugou. What could he possibly do though? Suddenly, his own talents feel very lacking. Maybe he can come up with something with his mom. His mom is the best at presents. 

Izuku quickly types out a response and hopes it will suffice for now. 

‘ Thank you so much for the art, Bakugou! I’m definitely making this my lock screen! I love it so much <3. I guess I’ll just never have a suit that fits me until you become an ultra-famous fashion designer! ’

‘ Hah! As if you’d be able to afford me, ’ Bakugou is quick to respond. Izuku laughs a little bit before closing the chat. 

He’s quickly reminded of how many messages his mom had sent him. He’s trying to think of why he would be in trouble and nothing is coming to mind. 

Despite that, he braces himself when he opens the chat. After the euphoria he went through with Bakugou’s message, he’s not sure he’s ready for everything he’s about to read. 

As he reads through everything, it becomes very clear what is wrong. The picture he took with Ochako and Tsuyu was pretty quickly found by his mom. He really should have said no back then. 

Ever since his first year in high school, his mom has been super careful about his online presence. Because of that, all of his accounts (the few he has) are private and he doesn’t take photos with other people that much. 

Ochako loves taking photos with everyone. So it’s been a bit of a struggle to not get her to post anything of him online. 

Izuku thought the charity promotion picture would be fine though. It was a niche event and the photographer had been taking pictures of everyone. 

Reading through his mom’s messages, he’s getting a different grasp of the situation. They had been prepared to use their photo for tons of promotion and it was one of the few pictures that had been posted to every one of their socials. 

He feels a bit embarrassed that his mom reached out to get the photo taken down, but he knows she’s right to be cautious. Especially after he got that creepy text message recently. 

In the middle of writing an apology text of sorts to his mom, Shinsou peeks his head over his phone. Izuku can’t imagine he can really make heads or tails of the writing since he’s looking at it upside down, but his roommate still lets out a low whistle. 

“Oh, looks like you’re in trouble. Party too hard last night?” he asks. 

Shinsou definitely has a special type of humor, “It’s not really that, but I am kind of in trouble,” Izuku says, gnawing on his thumb nail. 

How can he make this up to her? 

He feels caught up in two problems now. And she had been his solution to the first one!

Maybe they need to schedule some sort of extra long phone call. 

“You also missed out on a huge KEM stream, you know?”

Izuku’s head shoots up and away from the texts, “Are you serious?” he questions. Izuku has been missing all the KEM streams for a while. 

Between homework and playing with his friends, it seems like KEM is always streaming when Izuku is busy. 

“Yeah, it’s been a long time coming though. Apparently, after he died, he’s been playing with a real life friend instead. I’ve been watching Charge Bolt’s stream instead, he’s pretty funny.”

Izuku glares at Shinsou, “But I thought you wanted to help me out! And what, he died? You didn’t tell me,” he complains. 

Shinsou just gives him an easy shrug, “Charge Bolt got me with the KEM grieving arc! But hey, he did mention that he’s heading to the World Tree, so at least there’s that. He also mentioned that he won’t be streaming until the end of the semester.”

Izuku is simply getting too much information all at once. Is Shinsou trying to overwhelm him or something? He buries his head in his hands once more that morning and groans.

Chapter Text

Campus has been getting hotter. Sweaters are falling out of season and Izuku had to hang up his favorite scarf, unable to wear it anymore. The heat and humidity is settling in much too fast for his enjoyment. 

A pro of this, however, is that campus AC is now blasting at full capacity. Every time Izuku enters a building, he feels the rush of cold air and wishes he could feel like that always. 

However, right now, he feels himself getting a bit too hot. The unfortunate thing is that he can’t quite tell if it’s because of a broken AC unit in the library or how close he is to Bakugou. They’re sitting together at a booth on the second floor, Izuku’s close to the wall so he can use the outlet and Bakugou is on his left. 

Granted, they’re sitting so close that their arms are touching and it’s so they can read the pdf copy their professor uploaded of the book they’re reading. Because it was copied two pages at a time, the words are way too small. It doesn’t help that their school website is so horrible they can’t zoom in. 

But with this heat, his efforts might amount to nothing. It’s like his reading speed has been halved because of how aware he is of Bakugou. 

Bakugou slightly moves and his breath hitches. Bakugou swallows and Izuku’s eyes are drawn away from the screen. Izuku just can’t stop paying attention to his every movement. It’s unbearable. 

He’s worrying that Ochako was right, maybe he is starting to have a crush on Bakugou. And wouldn’t that just be horrible?

Izuku is busy! He has too many things to worry about already: homework, Re:Start, Kacchan, homework, that horrible message he got on discord. He can’t possibly add Bakugou to that list. It’s already far too long. 

“Oi, let me use your book,” Bakugou says. Izuku looks to his right and is about to grab it, but Bakugou instead leans over Izuku’s space to grab it himself. 

He only takes a second or two, but for that moment, Izuku is near overwhelmed. Bakugou smells like brown sugar and coffee. It’s sweet and warm and makes him want more as it takes over his mind. 

His scent is a bit like walking by a bakery and being overcome with a heady want for whatever it is. From that moment, Izuku is hit and his defenses shot down. 

It doesn’t help that on top of the scent, Izuku has front rows seats to see how Bakugou’s muscles flex into front of him as they turn. 

“What’s the matter? We haven’t even been studying that long and you’re already out of it? Sure, the book is shit but it’s not a fucking lullaby.”

Izuku shakes out of it and is glad Bakugou didn’t understand his daze for what it really was. In his head he curses Ochako for ever putting this idea in his head. 

“‘S nothing,” he mumbles, resisting the urge to completely hide his face. 

He peeks back out to attempt reading the book on the computer as Bakugou makes reference notes on the other book. 

Lost in the lines, Bakugou nearly startles him out of his seat when he flips his head to look straight past Izuku, “Did you hear that?”

“Hm? Hear what?”

“Tch, probably just some idiot taking a selfie or something,” he shrugs it off. 

“Hmmm,” he responds. “Oh!” he says as he comes to a realization, “When you finally join the party, Ochako is one hundred percent going to make us take a selfie together. Please don’t be rude to her,” he warns. 

Bakugou glares at him and looks the opposite of happy about this new information. Then again, he never really looks overjoyed about anything. 

Before Bakugou can say anything mean about his friend, Izuku says something more, “If you upset Ochako, you won’t be able to join the party. And I know your dragon is fast on foot right now, but it would be so much easier if we could all travel together. None of us have a ton of free time, so splitting time getting money would be-”

“I get it,” Bakugou says a bit too loudly for the library, “I’ll be a fucking ray of sunshine,” he snaps. 

“Thanks! Now, let’s get this reference sheet done with!” he cheers them on. 

“That was brutal!” Ochako complains. She’s not wrong. 

After an hour and a half of sitting in those uncomfortable chairs filling out bubble after bubble and writing enough to fill up a whole blue book, Izuku has to agree. All he wants to do is go back to his dorm room and collapse. 

Instead, the group of them that are in the writing class are heading to the cafeteria to meet up with Shinsou and Tsuyu for a late lunch. 

“There were some tricky parts, but I believe we studied in an efficient manner and made the best use of our time,” Iida says, always careful about his words. 

“I don’t think I was built for college writing,” Todoroki adds on, sounding exhausted. 

Izuku pats him on the back, “There, there,” he says, calming Todoroki sometimes feels like talking to a strange horse, “I’m sure you did fine. You always end up at the top of the class.”

His own feelings lie with Iida’s. It was a tricky test, but there was nothing that was too surprising. The questions that blended topics together were a bit more complicated but he felt rather self-assured in his answers. 

“Midoriya, you’re mumbling again,” Todoroki lets him know and Izuku puts a hand to his mouth before an awkward smile takes over. 

“I think it's cute!” Ochako says cheerily, “But you’d probably never be able to sneak up on anyone,” she adds.

He’s not really sure why he would ever want to. 

“I like hearing what you have to say, Midoriya. I just wish you would say it louder,” Todoroki clarifies. It’s so sweet of him to say that. 

Izuku wishes he had feelings for Todoroki instead of Insensitive Weirdo #1.

“And speaking clearly is an important skill to have as an adult!” Iida says confidently. He thinks about the future a lot. Probably because his own is fairly clear. 

“I suppose so,” Izuku says. He doesn’t think his mumbling habit is going anywhere soon, but it might be good to think about. 

All four of them swipe into the cafeteria and go to the table Shinsou and Tsuyu have claimed for them. It’s not very crowded at this time but the food smells so good. He can’t wait. 

The four of them break up to get their own dishes before sitting back down. Izuku helped himself to a side of salad and some of his favorite comfort foods offered at the cafeteria. He deserves this. 

His friends are talking about the streamer Charge Bolt right now. Apparently he accidentally revealed that he goes to U.A and there’s been a big ruckus online trying to find him. 

“It’s a bit inappropriate for all these people trying to find him. I hope he can maintain some privacy,” Tsuyu says plainly. She’s a very just person with clear morals that she sticks to. 

Izuku finds her ideas refreshingly mature. Especially when so many of their own student body is trying to locate this streamer.

The idea of all that happening to anyone makes him feel nauseous. 

“You’ve been watching him, right Shinsou? Has he streamed since then?” Izuku asks, worried about the guy even if he’s never met him. 

“No need to worry, he’s doing fine. But he hasn’t been streaming.”

“Then how do you know?” Todoroki questions. 

Izuku groans, already able to tell that Todoroki has started getting weird ideas in his head. He wishes they weren’t about Shinsou though because Shinsou loves to egg him on. In response, he just gives a smirk. 

The gears turn faster in Todoroki’s nonsense brain. 

“Do any of you have other midterms left before finals week?” Iida asks, effectively changing the topic. 

Izuku’s incredibly jealous of half of the table who don’t have finals because, “Me and Bakugou have a midterm and a project left for English and Design. Our midterm is the week before finals. Seriously, who would ever think that’s a good idea?” he complains. 

His whining gets a conciliatory pat from Ochako on his side. 

“Speaking of Bakugou though, he’s a better player than I would have expected. He seems like more of the guy to go for overwhelming power and no strat,” she comments. 

Izuku can see where she’s coming from. Bakugou is the kind of guy who’ll blow up at the smallest things, but he gets so focused when he plays. It’s kind of cool.

“I agree. At this rate, there’s no doubt we will make it to the World Tree the next time we play,” Iida comments, pushing up his glasses. They glint in the light of the cafeteria. 

“You mean, if we ever get the chance to play. I think we’re all way too busy! Can these teachers give us a break?” Ochako says. 

“That’s life,” Tsuyu says. 

Todoroki, not eyeing Shinsou anymore, but always after information, turns to Izuku, “Both you and Bakugou are looking for other people, right?” 

Izuku confirms this with a nod and Shouto hums, “I wonder who Bakugou could be looking for.”

“He doesn't talk about them much, it’s someone who was close to him in the game though. Not an irl friend or anything like you guys.” 

Todoroki narrows his eyes, “You don’t talk about the person you’re looking for much either, you know.”

Izuku gives a nervous grin, “I don’t know what there is to say. It’s not that interesting.”

“Well, I have a theory,” Todoroki starts, “I think that it’s possible that you two could be looking for each other.”

“Mm-hmm, and what are the odds, exactly? So many people play Re:Start, I don’t think it’s very likely at all.”

“I think it would be cute!” Ochako takes Todoroki’s side, betraying Izuku in a flash. 

“That’s just because you want me to have a crush on Bakugou,” Izuku reminds her. 

“I would agree with that,” Tsuyu says. 

It’s nice to have her on his side. 

Before they can enter any sort of debate about if Bakugou could actually be the person Izuku’s looking for, Izuku’s phone goes off - a loud ding that echoes in their corner of the cafeteria.

He turns over his phone to look at the screen. It’s a picture sent from an unknown number. Izuku squints at the little icon on the screen before clicking on the message. 

There’s no text attached with the picture, just an empty chat history and no contact information. He clicks to download the image and it loads in no time at all. 

When he sees the picture, he doesn’t know what to feel. Izuku would even say that he feels nothing at first. 

The dread springs up in his throat like a fresh spring discovered in an old mine. He tries to swallow it down but it sinks into his stomach - an impossible weight to remove. 

One of the worst parts about dread is the panic and irrationality it leads to. Izuku grips his stomach and pushes down, trying to relieve the pressure on him. Or make it go away. Or link it to some physical condition. 

He doesn’t want to feel like this. He would rather go back to feeling nothing at all. 

The picture was taken at the library from in between two of the tall, dark stacks. The darkness gives way to a small clearing where a booth sits. At the front of the picture is Izuku, intently staring at the computer.

Behind him sits Bakugou who is holding the paperback book but looking at Izuku instead. He doesn’t look like he usually does - angry and peeved - he seems a bit calmer in this picture. 

But Izuku can’t bring himself to really care about any of that. Instead, he’s focused on where the picture had come from and who was sending it to him. 

Is it from the same person as the discord message? And was that…

Or could it be a new person altogether? Maybe a classmate that Izuku didn’t add to his contacts sent the picture as a joke. It doesn’t have to mean anything, right?

While he’s stuck in his rush of feelings, Ochako peeks at his phone and says, “Oh! This is such a cute picture of you and Bakugou! Who took it?”

Izuku feels his face pale but he puts a smile on, best he can, “No one! Or, I mean, a classmate. From English. I think they’re trying to prank me or something,” he laughs. None of this feels very funny though. 

He looks around the table to see what his friends think of what he just said. It doesn’t help, because now, all he can feel are their stares. 

“I think I need to go.” is all he says before grabbing his phone and his stuff. He disposes of his tray before leaving and hikes his backpack onto both shoulders. Before he can get out the door, Shinsou has put a hand on his shoulder. 

It startles Izuku into jumping but he doesn’t stop. 

Izuku keeps walking and Hitoshi easily keeps pace with him due to his stupid long legs. 

“Izuku,” he says, “Are you in trouble? Who really took that picture?”

“I’m fine, Hitoshi! I promise. There’s absolutely nothing wrong. And I don’t need to talk about it right now.”

His case is not helped by the tears that have started welling up in his eyes. 

Izuku stops walking, just for a second. He wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt and shakes his head. When Shinsou starts talking again, Izuku can’t bear to look back up at him. 

“I don’t think that’s true. You can talk to me about it, I might be able to help,” he offers. 

“No!” Izuku says harshly. 

That’s the last thing he wants. Because if Shinsou gets caught up in this and something happens…

“It’s just a stupid prank. It has to be. But, you know me Shinsou,” he says, voice heavy with emotion, “I’m not good with that kind of thing. I’m too sensitive.” he admits. 

“I don’t think that-”

“I’m going back to the dorm room first, tell everyone I’m sorry for leaving so fast,” he says before taking off. 

Chapter Text

A choice is in front of him. 

He can risk everything he has built for a chance to reach Kacchan, wherever he is. Or, he can continue with the party as they go to join with Tsuyu.

The whole reason he had wanted to make it to the World Tree was to find Kacchan. But if he risks it all, it might be ages before he can play with them again. Lest they come back to the World Tree or they have incredible luck. 

“Midoriya,” Iida starts out, sounding as solemn as his character looks, “If you choose to take the quest, and it goes wrong, we can come back for you. Or look for you in another way.”

“I know. It’s just, I’ve never had friends like you guys before. And even if it’s just a game, I want to keep playing with you.”

“But this could be your last chance to find your friend, even if he is Bakugou,” Todoroki adds on, unhelpfully.

“We won’t abandon you just because you take a risk, Midoriya! And we still have four more years to continue playing, this is just the beginning,” Ochako cheers him on. 

Izuku can already feel himself tearing up. Why do his friends have to be so genuine and sweet?

“Okay,” he says, his voice shaking, “I’m going to attempt the quest with Bakugou. And I’ll see you all on the other side!” he says, self assured. 

When he used to play with Kacchan, they would take every risky quest they could get their hands on, and it always paid off. Now, in order to find his friend again, he’s going to take one more. 

“Yeah!” Ochako cheers, “Let me take a peek at the secret bulletin once you defeat the quest though, I’m too curious! And I bet your friend has already left a message there if he’s as awesome as you say he is.”

Izuku doesn’t doubt that for a second. 

The World Tree is a container of messages. But with so many people, the messages gathered have to be very short in length and are nigh impossible to sort through. Supposedly, there’s a second bulletin board you can access after the quest where you can leave longer messages. 

This would be great for everyone but the quest has an incredibly low survival rate, hence why it’s rarely attempted, but Kacchan was always one of the strongest players Izuku knew. If anyone could take on this quest, it would be him. 

But still, he hopes he doesn’t miss his friends too much. He offers all of them hugs, a fun game mechanic and one of the ways you can interact with other players. There’s all kinds of reactions, including kissing for the more flirtatious player. 

He watches as they all make their offerings to the World Tree, money saved up from their numerous quests, and fade into streams of golden sunlight up through the branches. He goes to stand with Bakugou who had already been set on attempting the quest. 

“Are you ready to do this?” he asks. 

Bakugou looks nothing but - despite how he has to leave his dragon behind until they finish the quest. 

“I should be asking that to you, I’ve been ready,” he says assuredly. 

“Have you done the quest before?”

Bakugou looks away, “Remember when my computer fucking died?”

“Yeah, of course I do, wait, ohhh,” Izuku winces. If something like that happened to him, he wouldn’t be too overjoyed. “Well, I hope it doesn’t happen again. We’re actually a little bit backed up on requests right now so we wouldn’t have the parts and maybe not even the time. Of course I could help but we get most of our parts from a specific website that I can’t access on my own and you probably don’t even care,” Izuku explains unnecessarily, losing track of the main point easily.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t do things the easy way and I know my friend doesn’t either. So enough with the chatter.”

Bakugou’s conviction towards his friend makes Izuku all the more interested and convinced of the quest’s importance. 

The two of them step up to the entrance gate. Izuku takes a moment to take in just how large this tree is. 

The base of it is a rich brown. The trunk spans outwards the length of four cars and rises high above them as the bark fades into a more ashen brown. The leaves are a sparkling and blinding gold in the sunlight and they flutter above their heads. A slight tinkling noise accompanies their gentle movements. And not one leaf has fallen to the ground. 

From where they are standing, Izuku can barely make out the bridges and huts built along the branches - a small city just above them. They had spent the morning up there, selling materials and the like. 

It makes it a bit hard to imagine what the quest will be like. There’s no doubt the two of them will be entering the tree, but will they ascend to the city once more? Or will they be stuck in the darkness of the trunk?

Before they can enter, something tugs on the back of Izuku’s pants. 

The two of them turn around to see a child - another player by the looks of it. Startlingly, the child looks a bit like Izuku fit with curly green hair and big green eyes. It’s almost uncanny. 

“The hell do you want?” Bakugou snaps at the kid who was already looking on the verge of tears. 

“Can you two help me do the World Tree quest? I’m trying to find my parents,” the kid asks sweetly. 

“Hell nah. They should be coming to find you, like I said last time. Stop trying to waste our time.”

“Bakugou,” Izuku scolds, “How can you talk to a kid like that?” He bends down to look the kid in the eyes and asks, “Where are you trying to go? Do you know where they are?”

The kid nods, his head seeming a little bit too big for his body as he does so, “I need to get to the Kingdom of the Green Lion!” he says confidently. 

“Well, you can definitely come with us. Just make sure to stay safe at the back of the room when we’re fighting, okay?”

“Yay! Thank you so, so much!”

“Do you know what’s behind this door?” Izuku asks in trepidation. The quest had been going well up until this point. Izuku can understand why so many people failed it though. It held a lot of difficult monsters and felt a bit unending at times. 

However, he and Bakugou worked incredibly well together. They were able to get to a good pattern of when to attack and regroup. 

Izuku’s skill also was helping along to boost the power of every attack he makes. And the ring he received a bit ago suppresses the usual lightning around him. He considered bringing out his half-sword weapon for the battle but thought it might be weird to use when not with Kacchan. 

After all, he had only gotten the sword because he and Kacchan completed that quest together. 

Further, the kid that had tagged along with them did well to stay back and not interfere with the fight. Izuku doesn’t have a lot of experience with kids, but he never knew them to be so well behaved. 

The last room is separated by two giant gilded doors. They’re inlaid with intricate designs and large handles. 

“What do you think is behind this door?” Izuku asks. 

“I only got a glimpse of it last time. It was a golden golem of sorts - with a shit ton of health at that.” 

“Ah, well, it sounds like a promising fight at the very least.”

Bakugou barks out a laugh, “Yeah, maybe if you can keep up.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Izuku begs to know, “I’ve been more than keeping up, if you couldn’t tell.”

“Whatever you say, nerd.”

Izuku decides to just ignore Bakugou for a moment as they push open the door to reveal the room behind it. 

It’s a large cavern with glowing crystals sporadically lining the edges. There’s a thin mist in the air - almost like they are entering a different climate. On the ground, the water has pooled into thin puddles making the ground below uneven. 

In the middle is the golem Bakugou had mentioned. It’s a bright gold which stands out in the damp room. It’s more square than Izuku had imagined, with sharp edges around its torso and limbs. 

However, it isn’t just gold. There is a silver design on its chest. But Izuku doesn’t get the time to admire it because the golem is quick to charge them. 

Izuku is already dodging out of the way when he notices the kid step up to the golem right as its hammer is about to come crashing down. As fast as he can, Izuku moves forward and attempts to shield the kid from the blast. 

The blast that never comes, that is.

When Izuku looks back up, the golem has stopped an inch away from them and its gem-eyes have started to glow a faint green. It’s all too eerie. 

Izuku looks over at Bakugou to see if his friend is seeing the same thing. 

“Get the hell out of there, you idiot!” Bakugou just yells at him. 

Izuku picks up the kid and does just that, heading in Bakugou's direction as they watch the golem. It seems to be reprogramming somehow. Izuku doesn’t like the idea of that but also has no idea what could have triggered it. 

The kid squirms in his arms and Izuku lets him go. 

“It’s okay! He can take us to my parents,” the kid insists. 

At this point, Izuku is a bit confused. 

“Holy shit, the kid is an NPC,” Bakugou says out of nowhere. 

“What? But he had a white username-” Izuku starts to protest. But, upon taking another look at him, the name he had referenced has now turned to become a light green. And instead of a username, it now reads ‘Prince Izumi.’

Izuku is starting to think that the kid’s similar looks are not a coincidence at all. Is this a character his dad added? Why wouldn’t he have told Izuku?

Well, the answer to that second question is kind of obvious. 

“Then, I supposed we should follow him,” Izuku suggests. 

Bakugou doesn’t look happy about it, but follows the golem and young boy. The golem opens a hidden door in the cave to reveal a blinding light. Izuku shades his eyes for a second while he adjusts to the brightness. 

It’s coming from a city beneath them. 

They’re all far below the tree, but the city is bright with the light of more glowing rocks on the ceiling. It gives the appearance of day time even though it is already late into the night. 

Izuku has to wonder if they have night at all. Maybe the rocks stop glowing after a point?

The golem stomps one foot on the ground and a staircase unfurls from the cliffside. It must be at least a thousand steps long. 

“Let’s do it the fun way!” the kid begs. 

After another stomp, the stairs transform into an incredibly long slide. 

“This will take you to the palace. Enjoy.” It says in a completely monotone voice. 

The kid comes up to them and takes Izuku by the hand, pulling him forward to the slide. Despite being made of rock, it’s actually quite smooth. Izuku lets himself get pulled along until he’s sitting down and ready to go.

He spares one look towards Bakugou, who looks reluctant at best. “Are you coming?” he asks. 

Bakugou lets out a heavy groan before walking over to the slide. Izuku can’t help the smile on his face. So instead, he faces forward and lets the slide take him to wherever the palace may be. 

“This definitely can’t be a coincidence,” Izuku says, staring at the two people sitting in the throne room. 

The reason for his surprise is simple: the rulers look exactly like his own parents. And the NPC kid runs past the two adventurers to crawl up into the lap of the king. It’s a cute but all too familiar sight. 

“Ah, thank you, great adventurers for returning our beloved son to us!” the king says in a booming voice. It reminds Izuku of how his dad used to talk when they first met. 

Even though Bakugou has no idea of the connection, Izuku feels himself growing a bit embarrassed and his face turns red. He’s glad Bakugou can’t see his real face. 

“Yeah, yeah, who cares. Just give us the medallion already,” Bakugou says. 

Being NPCs, they make no real reaction to his brash comment. 

“We had been quite worried when we couldn’t find him! Silly Izumi is always getting into some kind of mischief,” the queen says. 

Izuku is mentally bashing his head against a wall. Over and over. He can hardly believe that his dad actually put this into the story. 

“To repay you, we would like to bestow upon you medallions which will allow you to visit our humble kingdom and our transport portal!” the king adds on. 

Two glowing medals float down in front of them. Izuku puts his hands out to catch the medallion and it lands softly in his hands. It doesn’t stay there for long as he is quick to put it into his inventory. 

“How does the transport work?” Izuku is allowed to ask by the system. 

They go on to explain that the World Tree has its roots everywhere, and people can transport through them. But, above ground, the price is hefty. However, their kingdom has access to the base root which extends all the way into their town square. 

Further, there is a bulletin board that can be used by civilians and adventurers alike. It’s all like Izuku has heard before.

Izuku wonders if Bakugou will leave a note for whoever he’s looking for. Secondly, he wonders if Kacchan has left a note for him. 

“Let’s head there first, then go to an inn or something.” Bakugou says. 

“Yeah, it’s a good time to log out,” Izuku agrees. 

The king and queen wave them away happily, with big smiles on their faces. It’s a bit nice to see considering how long it’s been since he’s seen his actual mom and dad. But also, still very embarrassing. 

The two of them spend a bit more time at the bulletin than Izuku had accounted for. Bakugou is a faster reader than him, so he went through each post faster and is already working on writing his own message. But Izuku takes his time. 

By the time Bakugou is putting his message up, Izuku is about to finish with the last note left on the board. It’s written on crisp white paper with a dark blue embossed outline. 

After reading so many notes and seeing none from Kacchan, he has low hopes about the whole situation. 

If you’re reading this, you might remember me from the love notes I left you and our chance meeting in the alleyway. I’ll never be able to forget you and I hope it’s the same for you. Soon, I believe our paths may cross once more. 

Forever yours, 

Stain

“Oi, nerd, are you coming?” Bakugou yells at him. 

Izuku turns away from the bulletin and runs over in his direction. He does his best to not say anything lest his voice betray him. He hurries out a goodbye before getting a bed at the inn for himself and logs out. 

He shuts his laptop harder than he should and shucks off his headphones. He stands up from his chair and stumbles away from the computer, his legs weak. 

Izuku’s heart pounds against his chest and his skin is paler than ever. He eventually finds himself sitting down on his bed, unable to think anything concrete past his feeling of dread.

Chapter Text

As much as he loves being with his family, they’re all in their country home with no wifi. So that means he can’t really talk to his friends or even watch Kacchan’s stream. He’d been looking forward to the latter since he hasn’t been able to since Kacchan stopped streaming. But even if he had been, Izuku was too busy with finals to really even think of watching something extracurricular. 

Instead of doing any of that, he’s sprawled out on their sofa with a book he’s half reading. It’s about to fall out of his hands when his dad comes up beside him. 

“Enjoying that?” he asks, in a placating voice. 

Izuku looks up, and then a bit higher until he can see his dad’s face. Izuku just lets out a muffled affirmation.

“I can tell. How about we go for a walk together,” he says, holding out a hand. Izuku happily grabs it and lets himself be pulled off of the sofa.

He’s tired from traveling but perhaps going out will be good for him. 

“So, did you make a lot of friends?”

Izuku fights back a yawn and nods along to the question, “Tons, actually.”

“What about that boy you called ‘brash,’ did you end up becoming friends?”

“You remember that? Ahhh, well, yeah. I think we did?”

“As it happens, you are the most interesting thing in my life. Of course, I remembered. And I’m glad to hear you moved past your first impressions.”

Izuku rolls his eyes and pushes into his dad just a little bit, “You and mom are plenty interesting,” he says. 

Izuku steps forward to open the fence gate and holds it open for his dad before closing it. He’s about to change the conversation when he’s reminded, “Though, maybe you think we’re a bit too interesting. I was playing Re:Start, actually, and I did the World Tree quest.”

“Oh, did you, now?” his dad says, sounding all too amused. 

“I did! With Bakugou, my class partner. And we ran into a kid who looked a bit too similar to me.”

“How interesting.”

“Dad, I know what you did,” he accuses. 

His dad is silent for a bit and looks over the view.

The road to their cottage is a winding hill. So every step brings a new view of the town. It’s always been a nice road to walk down, but his dad likes it more than a normal amount. 

Izuku takes a second to look at the view as well. The town is a small place but has always appealed to tourists for its old-timey stores and such. Their family actually first came here as tourists. 

There are a few houses along the road, each as small as the last. 

“I designed those characters soon after I met the two of you. Before that moment, I had been resigned to my condition. I honestly thought that even if I could get better, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Izuku puts a hand on his dad’s arm. His dad covers it with his own and smiles. 

It hurts a bit to know his dad had been in such a low place. It’s a hurt that rests in an uncomfortable manner prodding everywhere it can get its hands on. 

“Because of that, I was trying to design a world that had a definite end. The town below the World Tree was supposed to be a final paradise. For the game and for me. Nothing I designed made me happy anymore.”

“So then why did you put us in the game? You continued designing after that, so why not just make different characters?”

His dad laughs. It’s the kind of laugh that makes people look their way in restaurants and in public. But Izuku’s never known anyone to have a better laugh than his dad. 

They find a bench and sit down for a second, “Do you remember how we met, Izuku? You were quite small back then. Maybe three years old or so.”

Honestly, Izuku doesn’t remember it too well. He remembers being in a crowded place, a little bit scared, and finding this absolute giant of a man. At the time, he reminded Izuku a bit of his favorite superhero. 

“Not really.”

“Well, you came up to me because you were separated from Inko. Back then, I hadn’t interacted with many kids. But I was surprised by how easily you could trust. I had to bend down quite a bit but you took my hand and led me straight to your mom.”

“I wasn’t lost?”

“At the very least, you claimed to be lost. I think you were trying to play a bit of matchmaker.”

His dad laughs again and Izuku buries his face in his hands. He wishes he could remember more of this. He almost wants to defend his childhood self. Say something about how he was actually lost. But who really knows?

“It all worked out for the better. Because in the end, it was you who was helping me. And Inko and I are quite the match, are we not?”

“Even if you two are embarrassing sometimes, yes,” Izuku has to admit. “But, you put us in the game because we were just so awesome and cool?”

“I put you in the game as the guide to the World Tree because I figured that anyone who wouldn’t help you, wasn’t ready to be open to the entire game. At the core of it all, I want people to do good for the sake of doing good, not just for the sake of a quest. That’s why so many of the side quests are just helping village people and the like.”

“Oh, dad, you’re too good.”

“Only because of you.”

When they arrive back at the cabin, they’ve filled their stomachs with pastries from the local bakery and have a thin sheen of sweat covering their faces. 

Inko sees them walking up from the window and then she just as quickly disappears before running out with a towel which she wraps around Toshinori and two bottles of water. She then herds them inside. 

Izuku doesn’t question the towel because he would have done the same thing. Instead, he just lets himself be pushed through the door. Inko fusses over Toshinori before sending him to their room. Izuku instead follows her into the kitchen. 

He smells something good. 

By the time he’s leaning over her shoulder to look, she’s already pouring some hot chocolate into a mug for him. With it being summer, most people probably wouldn’t be drinking hot chocolate, but it’s still one of his favorite drinks nonetheless. 

He graciously accepts the mug and takes it over to the table. It’s a low, round table. As it’s crafted out of wood, he likes to run his fingers along the grain. 

“Ah, don’t forget a coaster,” his mom says, putting one down beside his cup before he sits next to him. 

“Sorry,” he says before sliding his cup onto it. It’s a crocheted coaster made of dark blues circling out from the center. His cup catches a little bit on a snag but he rights it without spilling anything. 

“These coasters are nice, they fit the table well.”

“Thank you, Izuku! I used leftover yarn from your scarf. Do you wear it often?”

He nods over a sip of his hot chocolate. It’s perfect. 

“I would wear it all the time!” Back in April, it had been the perfect accessory for the occasional winds. Now, it’s just a bit too hot and humid for it. 

His mom smiles big and takes a sip of her own. Outside, a bird chirps through the window. The two of them look over to the window. It’s practically glowing with the setting sun behind it. 

“In fact, one of my friends actually tried to steal it from me because they liked it so much!” he says, only slightly exaggerating. He really did think Uraraka was going to try and keep it forever. 

“I’m so glad you’ve made such good friends. It makes me feel better about you being so far away,” she admits. 

“Mom,” he whines a little bit, feeling her overprotectiveness come through a little bit. 

“I just want you to be safe, Izuku, especially after everything that happened. It was only two years ago!”

He purses his lips and looks out the window again. It’s hard to talk about this topic. No matter how much help he’s gotten from therapy, he still doesn’t like being reminded of it. 

And with the recent messages he’s gotten…

“I know, mom. I feel safe though, at Yuuei. Everyone there is really nice and helpful,” he says weakly, not really feeling the words strongly. 

He looks back at his mom to see her with a completely different expression, “Oh right,” she says with a slight smile, “Helpful… like your partner in class? Toshi told me a bit about him. Seems sweet.”

Izuku goes bright red, “Mom! Oh my gosh, it’s not like that!” He covers his face in embarrassment.

“Are you sure about that?” she asks him, seemingly not believing him.

“Of course I’m sure,” he protests.  

In all honesty, he’s really not. Bakugou has been such a strange influence in Izuku’s life. He calls Izuku weird names and has been rude from the beginning. By all attempts, Izuku should hate him right now. 

But that’s the opposite of what happened. They became friends and are closer than ever. Izuku loves playing Re:Start with Bakugou, the other boy brings out a competitiveness in him that Izuku feels like he had lost since playing with Kacchan. 

Bakugou makes him want to try new things and put himself on the line and really fight . 

Maybe it's because Bakugou’s own grit shines through so clearly. He tries his best at everything and demands to be number one in everything he does. Izuku wants to be someone who stands beside him and races him to the finish line. 

However, that isn’t everything he wants.

And if he does want something like that, how is he supposed to get it?

Izuku comes back to an empty dormitory. Most everyone is still at home, still enjoying their summer breaks or preparing to come back. In fact, Shinsou will be gone for another four days. He’s coming back a little bit late due to a family emergency. 

Izuku rolls over on his bed and checks his phone for the thousandth time. He’s so bored here. 

His only text is from his mom. Apparently, Toshinori’s doctor appointment is about to start. His mom had felt a bit bad about sending him back so early. But Toshinori visits a special doctor and Izuku’s school was actually on the way. They’re going to be up there for another week running tests and the like to make sure everything’s okay. 

Izuku’s not too bummed. He still just wishes there was someone he knew on campus. 

At the very least, the cafeteria is open at minimum capacity and is still making fresh cookies. 

Izuku rolls around a bit more on his bed before sitting up with finality. Outside his window is only the sound of wind blowing through the trees and the gleam of the road lights. The sun has completely set and he can barely make out the distinction between the bike lane and the sidewalk.

If he still wants food, he probably has to hurry. 

Snagging his ID card on the way out, he rushes down the hallway only to see Bakugou heading towards him from the other direction. 

“Bakugou!” he calls out. Izuku skips past the stairs and heads over to greet the blonde, “I didn’t know you were back already!”

“The old hag was driving me insane so I dipped. What are you doing here?”

“Long story,” Izuku says nervously, “Anyway, I was heading to the cafeteria to get cookies and maybe some cocoa. Do you want to come?”

“Well you better fucking hurry, it closes in five minutes,” Bakugou says. 

Izuku’s eyes widen and he’s quick to start back on his trip to the cafeteria, flying down the stairs without restraint. Surprisingly, Bakugou is on his tail. The second they’re out the door, Bakugou is pushing ahead and taking the lead.

Izuku does his best to keep pace, but it’s hard with how much he’s laughing at his friend’s antics. 

Against all odds, they arrive with just a minute to spare and Izuku takes first place. Bakugou is looking entirely unpleasant with the grass stain covering the right side of his pants and white shirt. 

Neither of them had expected that sheer slip of ice but only Izuku managed to stay upright. Bakugou was promptly left behind - having luckily fallen onto the grass on the side of the road. 

They just barely grab the sought after cookies, wrapping up three each in a napkin, before they’re shuffled out of the cafeteria by the student workers who definitely need more sleep. 

They sit on a bench outside and Izuku does his best to split up the cookies by flavor in the dim light. “Haha, I really can’t tell if this one is chocolate or raisin. Can you tell?”

He pushes the cookies closer to Bakugou. However, Bakugou has already leaned over to take a closer look. His warm shoulder presses against Izuku’s. It’s an incredible feeling in the cold of the night. 

With the warmth comes the smell of brown sugar and grass. The latter even overpowering the smell of the cookies. “This has got to be the raisins,” Bakugou says confidently before grabbing it and the two cookies Izuku already allocated for him. 

And just like that, Bakugou pulls away and Izuku is left wide eyed and feeling a little bit lonely. Bakugou is right there so the feeling is a bit strange. Is he really so needy that he needs Bakugou to be that much closer?

Is that normal?

He says nothing and instead focuses on his own cookies. For some reason, he doesn’t feel as hungry anymore. He picks a bit at the first cookie, taking small bites, and trying his best not to think anymore than he needs to. 

There’s a slight buzzing in his head. It makes it a bit hard to focus on the cookies in his hand aside from how warm they are. Izuku wishes he could always be so warm. 

“Hey, do you hear that?”

Izuku jolts to look at Bakugou. The blonde has already finished the three cookies and is looking around. 

“Hear what?” Izuku asks. 

“That buzzing, it sounds close or something.”

That’s when Izuku realizes the sound wasn’t just coming from his head. “Oh, you’re right.” he says, thinking about the sound more deeply. It kind of sounds familiar, “It’s almost like-”

Before he can finish, a flood of rain pours down on them. It’s cold and saps all the warmth from his hand - soaking his cookies and his clothes all the way through. 

“Sprinklers,” Izuku says dryly. 

The water trickles down his forehead and catches on his eyelashes. He opens his eyes, but it’s futile. After brushing the water off, he looks over to see Bakugou looking a bit like a soaked cat. 

Bakugou was turned towards Izuku which means he got more of the sprinkler in his face. 

His lips are pursed in an almost flat line. A slight frown pulls the corners of his lips down. 

His hair is completely pressed down on his forehead. Bakugou’s hair is always spiked up, so to see it like this is a rare sight. It kind of takes the sharpness of his character away. He looks a bit softer like this. 

Izuku can’t help the laughter that comes out but he’s quick to muffle it as Bakugou looks ready to explode at any moment. Instead, he reaches out and brushes his hair up and to the back. It reveals Bakugou’s blonde eyelashes. 

Dewdrops hang off of them and Izuku can’t stop staring. 

It’s only when Bakugou opens his red eyes does Izuku realize he left his hand resting on Bakugou’s forehead. 

“I’ve never noticed how long your eyelashes are,” Izuku blurts out. His own words send a flush across his cheeks and he pulls his hand away. Burying it in his own lap and covering it with his other. 

It almost feels like he committed an atrocious crime. 

Bakugou’s gaze doesn’t waver in the slightest. His red eyes keep looking at Izuku. 

Meanwhile, Izuku is all over the place. He looks everywhere he can, meeting Bakugou’s gaze every few seconds. 

“Sorry, was that weird?” he asks. 

“Tch, as if anything about you was ever normal,” Bakugou says in response. 

Maybe, when they first met, Izuku would have been hurt by that statement. Now, he notices the way Bakugou slightly turns to the side and his ears flush a bit. 

“Haha, I guess you’re right,” Izuku says with a relaxed laugh. 

“We should go back in before your weak ass catches a cold.”

“Oh really? Weak? I’m not the one who lost the race,” Izuku says, standing up. 

“Hah? You trying to say I’m the weak one? Fuck you, let’s go one more!” Bakugou demands. 

And with that, Izuku takes off running. Soon enough, he has the blonde on his tail shouting the whole way there.

Chapter Text

“Now that class is in session, when do you all want to meet up to play Re:Start?” Iida asks as they all head out from their writing class. “It would be better if we can get a good schedule figured out now, rather than putting it off.”

“How about tonight?” Uraraka chimes in. 

“That would work for me,” Todoroki says. 

“And me,” Tsuyu chimes in turn. 

“Ahhh, sorry guys. Shinsou is coming back today and I’m going out to dinner with him and his family,” he explains. 

“Is he doing alright?” Uraraka asks. 

Izuku hesitates a bit on that question. Apparently his grandfather passed away recently. With him living in Austria, Shinsou spent his summer break there cleaning up his house and all sorts of interesting things. 

His grandfather definitely seemed like an interesting guy but Shinsou never got to know him. 

“It’s complicated, you know? I think he’s okay, but…” Izuku shrugs, he’s not really sure how much he should share about the situation. 

“I understand,” Todoroki chimes in, “Family is weird,” is all he says. Despite the simple statement, Todoroki always seems so dignified when he speaks. Maybe it’s because of his strangely good posture and serene looking face. 

Uraraka looks at him a bit strangely but Iida nods along like Todoroki just said something groundbreaking. 

“Let’s go to lunch,” Tsuyu says plainly. 

“Oh, save me a seat! I’m going to put my bag away first!”

They wave him off and Izuku speedwalks towards his dorm. Outside the door, he sees Kirishima talking with some campus security workers. 

“Yeah! And he just ran off!” Izuku catches him saying. Izuku wonders if he should stop by and check in but sees the police officer holding a similar looking piece of red fabric. Izuku is positive that he’s seen something like it before. 

A jolt of anxiety stabs through his heart and he bursts through the doors to the dorm.

He runs up the stairs, clutching the straps to his backpack the whole way. When he gets to his door, he pulls on the handle. It doesn’t budge at all, meaning it’s been properly locked. He grabs his keycard and presses it against his door. 

When he enters his room, everything looks fine. His desk and bed look perfectly untouched and his drawers are all just how he remembers them last. 

Feeling relieved, he puts his backpack on the ground and rummages through for his key card and phone. Once he has them, he pockets them and proceeds to head towards the door once more. 

It’s only once he’s about to leave that he sees it. Right next to the door handle, pinned with tape, is an envelope tied together with red string. 

The envelope itself is clean, but inside is a letter that looks as if it was carried through a storm or something of the like. The pages are rippled and firm and the writing is smudged - the pen having bled just a bit down the page. 

Izuku, Izuku, Izuku. You will hardly be able to imagine how difficult the past years have been for me without your presence. 

When we first met, your voice alone brought me peace. I still think about the moment I heard it for the first time. You were so young back then, but you’ve grown so well. 

I hope you’ve missed me just as much. Because I would love to be able to talk with you again. Maybe soon, the chance will arise.

At that point, Izuku tosses the letter to the side and makes a bolt for the trash can by his desk. He hasn’t felt this sick in a long time. A second wave comes over him and Izuku loses himself to it. 

By the time he comes back to himself, he’s not alone. 

“Here, drink some water,” a kind voice says beside him, holding out an opened water bottle. Izuku barely registers the voice as one of Shinsou’s dads as he takes the bottle. It helps with the burning and bitterness of what was left in his mouth. 

Shinsou’s dad rubs his back in a comforting manner. Once he feels more alive, he looks around the room to see Shinsou crouched on the floor in front of him, a worried expression marring his face. 

In the far side of the room is Shinsou’s other dad reading the letter Izuku had thrown on the ground. 

“This seems pretty serious, Midoriya. I’m assuming this isn’t his first offense against you?”

Izuku shakes his head, “When I was… in high school, first year, he stalked me then, too. We moved and I’ve always been very careful with my online information ever since then, but… I don’t know how he found me again,” Izuku says, his throat feeling tight and his jaw stuck.

Everything he’s been trying to ignore has come to light. 

“Regardless, this isn’t your fault. So, how about we go fill out a police report together?”

“But I still have one more class today!” Izuku is quick to protest. 

“I think you’ll be fine, the world is a far more understanding place than you college students like to think it is.”

Izuku feels uneasy but he agrees, “Okay.”

Izuku gets helped up to his feet and Shinsou puts an arm around his shoulders to support him. 

“On the way there, how about you send a message to or call your parents? I’m sure they’d like to know what’s going on as well, especially if this is the same offender,” the blonde one says. 

“I don’t know about that,” he says, folding his arms around himself, “My mom has a lot of anxiety and my dad, he’s really really sick. If I told them they would just worry too much and…”

“Midoriya, I’m assuming right now that your parents care an awful lot about you. And right now, you need to let yourself be their kid and not their caretaker. As much as you might worry about them, you need them as much as they need you.”

And with those words, Izuku finally lets the tears start falling. It’s not going to be an easy call, but it's one he’ll have to make. 

The campus is small which means it's not very car accessible. As the four of them walk to the police station on campus, Izuku feels a bit like he’s surrounded by bodyguards. Hitoshi never really struck him as the bodyguard type, but then he stopped hunching over and Izuku realized how tall he was. 

With Izuku crying the whole way over, he’s sure they’ve been getting some strange looks, but he can’t really process them. Everything is so much right now. At least he has his friend here with him. Hitoshi has been managing where he walks with a gentle hand on his back. 

And Izuku has no problem relying on it. 

When they get into the police station, a small building on the outskirts of campus managed by both campus police and city police, Hitoshi’s dad takes care of everything - he says all the right things at the right times and prompts Izuku when needed. 

Izuku supposes that being a social worker would help one with that. 

Despite his coolheadedness, everything feels like a rush to Izuku. 

Has anyone touched the evidence? Just the two of us. And you said this happened before? Around three years ago. What is the perpetrators name? Izuku, do you remember? Akaguro Chizome. At what time did you find the letter? It was around 11:55. Do you remember the name of the detective you worked with the first time? Detective Tsukauchi. He’s a family friend. 

The questions kept going until a report had been filed. Izuku was instructed to have his friends by his side at all times - which wasn’t so unfamiliar to him - and given the number of the sheriff.

“We’ll be checking in with the detective you worked with in the past. Don’t be afraid to use that number even if you’re not positive he’s in the area and be careful out there.”

But the time the police officer says that and is leading them out the door, Izuku’s head is clearer and two hours have passed. He’s missed half of his class and doesn’t have the energy to even try to make the second half. 

That’s an email he’ll have to send. 

When he exits, he comes out to a head of blonde hair looking his way. Then in the next second, Bakugou is running up to him, “Oi, what the hell happened!”

Though Bakugou’s attitude is abrasive, the familiarity of it is enough to make Izuku start crying again and he makes his way forward until they’re not even a hair’s breadth apart and Izuku has his arms wrapped around Bakugou.

He doesn’t know how Bakugou found out he was here. And he doesn’t even worry about whether Bakugou had been waiting long. 

“It’s a long story,” Hitoshi says behind Izuku. 

“And since when have you been so tall, you freak?” Bakugou asks, quickly. 

Bakugou’s usual attitude makes Izuku laugh around the sobs and he finally pulls himself away, using the collar of his shirt to wipe away his tears. “I think he’s always been like that, isn’t it weird?” Izuku says in a watery voice. 

“Izuku, is this how you betray me?”

“Okay kids,” Hitoshi’s more animated dad says, “Let’s get this reunion back to the dorms, Midoriya still has a phone call to make.”

“Oh right,” Izuku says, his face feeling hot from crying. It’s going to be a phone call he can’t truly prepare himself for. “Um, Bakugou, thanks for checking in with me. It really means a lot. The situation is a bit complicated, but I want to explain it to you. Just, not right now,” he says.

“Tch, I’m not some nosy person. I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me, idiot,” he says in response. It’s much less harsh than his usual way of speaking. 

Izuku wipes his eyes of tears once more, “Thanks,” he says, it feels a bit weak, “I’ll stop by your dorm tonight, okay?”

“Yeah, you better.”

And with that, they go in separate directions.

Chapter Text

It turns out that for the next week having Bakugou on his side is his greatest asset. Izuku ends up telling his small group of friends what is going on, but Bakugou is the most forward about taking him to class or at least to where another one of his friends is waiting. 

He’s insistent that it’s because Izuku is so weak, but Izuku just thinks it means that Bakugou really does consider him one of his friends. 

He wonders if maybe the incident in high school wouldn’t have been so bad had he actually had a real friend he could count on. Back then, it really felt like he had no one aside from his parents. Izuku had been at his most vulnerable back then. 

Having all of his friends and Bakugou on his side fills him with a strength he didn’t know he had. 

And further, having Bakugou by his side so often is making him a lot more flustered than he used to be. For example, he’s dropped more things just this week than in the past two months because of Bakugou getting surprisingly close to him or doing something unexpectedly cool.

At this rate, he’s going to crack his phone in no time. 

“And somehow this teacher is ten times worse than last quarter. You thought having a teacher who never graded our assignments and uploaded everything late was bad? Try one who doesn’t even read emails and doesn’t know how to make assignments in the first place!” Bakugou complains loudly. 

They’re walking across the small field that lies in front of their dorm. Izuku makes a careful note of who’s around them. There’s the couple playing frisbee and the group of people kicking around a hackysack. It’s an awfully nice day today. 

Plenty of people are out and about, enjoying it. Izuku can tell that midterm season hasn’t started yet. 

“That does sound pretty rough. Thankfully, all of my teachers are pretty chill - and they all respond to their emails.”

“Yeah, yeah, way to rub it in. I guess you’re still salty I scored higher in our design class,” Bakugou says placatingly. 

He always knows how to rile Izuku up, “Are you serious? It was a tenth of a percentage, it doesn’t even count!” Izuku snaps back. However, he thinks it will likely always count to Bakugou. 

“Doesn’t make it any more insignificant. Stay mad,” Bakugou says. 

Then it comes out of nowhere, Bakugou pushes him to the side and stretches his arm in front of Izuku. He’s just in time to catch the frisbee that was hurtling their direction. He chucks it back with unrestrained violence and creatively puts four different swear words together in a beautiful use of hyphenage. 

“Maybe we should get off the field?” Izuku suggests. 

“They’re the ones who need to watch their asses before I come after them,” Bakugou is sure to say. 

“How about that shady area? It looks like there’s a bench,” Izuku notes. 

While it certainly is shady, and there is a bench, when the two of them sit on it, Bakugou is all but assaulted by a low hanging branch. He opts to lean against the tree instead. 

“Does eye-bags know we’re over here?” Bakugou asks, using his creative nickname for Hitoshi. 

Izuku first checks to see if Hitoshi is already in the area. As he scans for that familiar shade of purple, his eyes catch on a red he knows all too well. For the past week, every time he’s seen any red has sent him into an unwarranted panic. 

“Bakugou,” Izuku says, voice completely void of emotion, “I think we need to go right now.”

He follows the red as it gets closer. Just above it is a face he would never be able to forget. His hair is pitch black and raggedy around his face. His eyes are practically sunk into his face and his skin is pale. He stands out among all the students, but no one seems to pay him any mind except Izuku.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s here. Oh my god, he’s actually here,” Izuku stumbles off of the bench and walks backwards for a few steps, keeping the figure in his line of sight. 

“Fuck, seriously?” Bakugou asks, before coming out of the tree to see where Izuku’s looking.

The appearance of Bakugou seems to stop Akaguro in his tracks, as if he didn’t expect Bakugou to be there. Is that why he chose now to come after Izuku? He thought Izuku was alone. It’s just like last time. 

Akaguro doesn’t stop forever though. Somehow, after the initial shock, seeing Bakugou just spurs him to go faster. He dodges past students and bikers as he heads their way, staying focused on the two of them. 

Finally, Izuku turns around and starts to run. He won’t let himself be cornered like last time. As he runs, he pulls out his phone with shaky hands and sends his location to the sheriff’s number. He doesn’t add context but it will have to do. 

Bakugou catches up with him soon enough because Izuku is already losing pace. It’s hard to breathe and the way he keeps looking over his shoulder isn’t doing him any favors. 

“Fuck, how is he so fast?” Bakugou says. 

Izuku turns his head once more to see Akaguro closer than ever. As Bakugou said, fuck. He focuses forward just as the tip of his shoe catches on the pavement. The result is that he goes flying forward, landing on his palms and face. 

The brush of the pavement stings, red hot - a pain that shoots up his arms. Bakugou helps him up before pushing him back and stepping in the wrong direction. 

Akaguro managed to catch up in those few seconds. 

With no clouds in the sky, the glint of his knife is all the brighter. 

He charges towards them, knife forward. Akaguro makes a clean stab towards Bakugou, his body positioned in a professional looking way. He looks like a trained fighter of sorts. 

Luckily, Bakugou manages to dodge out of the way. Akaguro doesn’t even falter for a second, “You’re the one who’s been keeping him away from me! An unworthy teenager like you!” he screams.

He slashes and chases Bakugou around with the knife. 

Bakugou, on the other hand, is making easy work out of keeping away from the blade and also trailing Akaguro further away from Izuku. 

“The only unworthy fucker here, is you!” he shouts back. The next time he dodges out of the way, he keeps his footing and grabs Akaguro’s hand. In one fluid motion, he has the stalker flipped and pinned to the ground. His hand holding the knife pressed against his back with such force that his grip falters. 

The knife clatters to the ground right as Izuku lets out a gasp. 

Bakugou is quick to kick the blade out of the way. 

“Bakugou are you okay?” Izuku worries from a distance. 

“I’m fine, is anyone coming?” he asks.

Izuku checks his phone to see that the sheriff did reply with a quick, ‘We’re on our way.’ But looking around, he can’t see them anywhere. 

Already, there are college students gathering around the three of them, taking pictures with their phones and murmuring in loud whispers. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure that you’re okay. You came unarmed to a knife fight and I never let my victims off easy,” Akaguro says. 

“Shut your mouth,” Bakugou says. 

But Izuku sees in the next second what Akaguro meant. It kicks in all at once. Bakugou’s body goes lax and his grip loosens on Akaguro. He falls off of the stalker and barely manages to stay standing. Bakugou’s body is hunched over and Izuku can see his breaths coming in heavy. On his left shoulder, Izuku watches in horror as red bleeds into the sleeve of his shirt. 

Akaguro gets up from the ground and pulls his fist back to strike when-

“Hands where we can see them and get on the ground!” The police break through the surrounding students and swarm closer to Akaguro. 

Shockingly, he listens to them, putting his hands up and getting on his knees. Not a bit of him seems happy about it. Izuku takes that moment to run over to Bakugou. He felt so useless and now Bakugou is injured because of him. 

“Are you okay, Bakugou?”

“Fine,” he chokes out, voice stony and cold, “Can’t believe that asshole got one over me.”

 A police officer walks over to them and helps Izuku and Bakugou stand up, “A small bottle of paralyzing agent was found on his person, you should be right as rain in an hour at most. We’re getting a paramedic on scene soon, they’ll help you out.”

The three of them make their way to the stairs in front of a dorm building and sit Bakugou down. The police had already shooed away most of the students, but some of them are talking to the ones with their phones out. Izuku starts to think he won’t be making his next class. 

“I’m sorry, Bakugou,” he says in a low voice. Bakugou is completely leaning against Izuku, not really able to sit up himself, “I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. Now you’re injured because of me,” Izuku holds the towel he got from the officer against the wound. 

“Fuck that noise, I involved myself. You didn’t and couldn’t make me do shit. It’s that creep’s fault - whoever he is.”

Izuku is silent for a second before deciding to speak up, “You know, I didn’t play Re:Start at all during my second year of high school.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“The first year, I had no friends and no one liked me. I was awkward and nosey and people didn’t like the types of questions I asked. My only friend was on Re:Start, so we started talking outside of the game too. I never would have guessed that he wanted to hurt me,” Izuku explains. 

“Damn, I’m surprised you were able to keep playing again,” Bakugou says.

Izuku laughs a bit, “It means a lot to me, it’s kind of a long story. But maybe I’ll tell you after this,” he says. 

“Don’t waste your breath, I don’t need to know,” Bakugou says. 

“But maybe I want to tell you.”

Neither of them speak after that because the paramedic comes up to them and starts to help out Bakugou. The paramedic doesn’t ask Izuku to leave, which he’s grateful for. 

Because even though Akaguro didn’t get him with the knife, Izuku doesn’t think he would be able to stand on his own right now.

Chapter Text

Unfortunately, Izuku wasn’t able to prevent the write up in the campus newspaper. Luckily for him, no one even reads it so he didn’t get much recognition over the article. 

The campus instagram, on the other hand… Let’s just say he didn’t very much appreciate their ‘considerate shoutout.’

But after a month, most people had basically forgotten about the incident and people stopped coming up to him during his walks to class. 

It was nice that he always had a friend with him when it happened, they were much more equipped with dealing with nosy strangers than he was. 

After the incident, only a few things changed about his schedule: on-campus counseling, and what Shinsou called his ‘gym dates’. They weren’t really gym dates , as much as they felt that way sometimes, but he and Bakugou had certainly gotten closer than ever before because of them. 

Izuku throws on a random U.A shirt and some shorts and Shinsou knows exactly where he’s going, “Gym date again?”

“You know they’re not dates, Hitoshi,” Izuku says with a pout. He certainly wouldn’t complain if they were. 

“Are you just going to be watching Charge Bolt again?”

Hitoshi has a slight smile at Izuku’s question, “What else is there? Now that I know him, it’s only become more fun. Plus, I can see his stupid face whenever he messes up now that he streams with cams on.”

Izuku thinks he’s happy for another reason, but wisely decides not to comment on it. As much as Hitoshi comments on Izuku’s love life, he’s a bit close minded about his own. 

“And is KEM still not streaming?”

“Whatever he took a break for must be really serious,” Hitoshi shrugs, “But even before that, he was mostly playing with his real-life friend so his streams weren’t even that exciting.”

For a moment, a curl of jealousy twists through Izuku. If things had gone well, maybe he could have been that friend once upon a time. 

But, now, if he had a chance to redo his last meeting with Kacchan, he probably still wouldn’t have given out his real name. That had been different before, but his brush with Stain had reminded him of what he valued.

And honestly, he’s not even any better than Kacchan.  He hasn’t done much serious searching for his friend. All his playing is done with his friends and with Bakugou.

Bakugou and the feelings Izuku just can’t shake. 

“Well, whatever, I’m going to head out now. I hope tonight’s stream is fun,” Izuku says in a rush, slipping on his running shoe with a hook of his finger, and leaving out the door. 

“See ya,” is all Hitoshi says as the door closes. 

Izuku heads down the hall, past the stairs, before he gets to Bakugou’s door. 

He knocks just once before the door opens. Inside, Bakugou already looks ready and Kirishima is sitting in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he tosses a baseball ball. 

“Ayyy, Midoriya, how’s it going?” Kirishima asks, hurtling up into a sitting position, just before the baseball comes crashing down onto the top of his head.

“Are you okay, Kirishima?” Izuku asks with a wince.

“The idiot is fine,” Bakugou says with a scowl, “Pretty sure his shitty hair absorbed the shock of it all.”

“Totally all good, Midoriya. Have fun at the gym! I’ll definitely join next time if it doesn’t interfere with practice!” he says enthusiastically. 

“Okay! See you around,” Izuku says before Bakugou is pushing him out and away from the door. 

“Let’s go already.” Bakugou says and the door closes behind them. 

Bakugou has no problems leading the way out of the dorms, almost looking a little bit pouty as he stomps away. 

“I’m guessing that Kirishima is never going to have time to join us, huh?” Izuku asks. 

“His baseball practice is never ending. Good riddance.”

Izuku hums, “I don’t know, it might be fun to go with him. 

“As fun as it would be to go with a needy dog,” Bakugou says unkindly. He looks at Izuku like he’s an idiot for suggesting such a thing. 

Izuku supposes that’s just the way Bakugou is. Despite all the mean things he says about Kirishima, Izuku didn’t miss the way he helped out with tutoring for him last quarter near finals week. 

“Anyway,” Izuku says, moving on, “I am really grateful for all your help with the gym stuff,” Izuku says. Most of his experience comes from helping out his dad with physical therapy. 

He didn’t know how much he didn’t know about the gym. And Bakugou knows almost too much. 

“It’s whatever, I’d be going anyway.”

Izuku can’t help but laugh just a little bit, “Whatever you say. By the way, are you free tomorrow night to play some Re:Start with the group? Todoroki reserved a room at the gaming lounge so we’ll get to play in comfort!” 

The gaming lounge had just opened in the basement of their entrance building. It is equipped with pool tables, gaming systems, and rooms made specifically for PC gaming in groups. Supposedly the wifi is legendary down there, which makes the lounge very high in demand.  

“I’m in,” he says, “What time is it?”

“We’ve got the room from 5-8! They have snacks and stuff down there too!” 

Bakugou just grunts and continues walking. Izuku stalls a bit before running forward to match Bakugou’s pace, “Actually, there is something I’ve been wondering about. Were you able to find your online friend at all? We’ve been playing a lot together but I guess you haven’t done much alone, huh?”

Bakugou just shrugs, “I had more important things going on. Couldn’t find him during the break and that was whatever. He’s the shitty idiot that died first so it’s on him, I guess.” Bakugou says. 

Izuku figures that’s not what he really means but decides to take him at face value this once.

“I don’t even know where to begin finding my old friend either, but I’ve been having fun playing with everyone here, so. If I get to meet him again it’d be great, but I imagine it’d be a rare circumstance.”

Bakugou grunts again, “He’s probably a shitty player, too.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Izuku says, wanting to stick up for Kacchan but not wanting to reveal too much. 

“Tch, whatever.”

“So, what are we doing at the gym today?” Izuku says, wanting to distract from what seems to be a (somehow) sore topic. 

Bakugou shoots him a wide grin, looking almost maniacal, “I sure hope your legs are ready. Cuz you just might not be standing tomorrow,” and with that he blasts open the door to the gym. 

Izuku is left in shock for a second and tries to hide any trace of his blush while he follows Bakugou in. Did he really have to say it like that?

The lounge room is just as cool as everyone made it sound. However, it’s a bit smaller than Izuku expected. There’s an incredible amount of plugs lining the floor around a sleek black table. Surrounding the table are four love seats. 

The walls are a dark blue and almost look like a cloth rather than plaster. 

Originally, Izuku took the love seat closest to the door. Todoroki was quick to sit on the left of him. 

That left three empty love seats. 

Iida took one across from Izuku and placed all the snacks they chipped in for on his left. 

Two empty love seats. 

Ochako and Tsu showed up a bit after Iida and took the love seat furthest from the door. 

The next time the door opens, Izuku perks up, expecting Bakugou. However, Hitoshi and his friend Denki, the streamer Chargebolt, show up and take the last love seat. 

Izuku starts wondering where Bakugou is going to sit. There’s a little bit of room on his right. But can Bakugou really fit there?

“Um, Todoroki,” Izuku whispers over to his friend, “Could you move onto the couch with Iida?”

“There are snacks there. I can’t sit there.”

“But, they’re just snacks. We can put them on the floor or table or something,” Izuku suggests. However, the table is already full of computers and the wires are covering the floor. 

“It will be fine, don’t worry,” Todoroki says. It doesn’t help.

By the time Izuku has successfully logged on, Bakugou bursts through the door. He looks around the room with a scowl on his face before focusing in on Izuku. 

He just takes a few steps before he’s standing in front of the sliver of space between Izuku and the arm rest before sitting down confidently. 

Somehow, he manages to fit, but the two of them are pressed all too close together. 

Todoroki is a very thin centimeter away from Izuku. He doesn’t seem bothered with how he’s pressed into the arm rest on his side.

Though it seems like a problem, Katsuki is still able to fit his computer onto the table, since Hitoshi is just here to watch, and when they start playing everything becomes more natural.

Despite this, Izuku is all too conscious of wherever their bodies touch. Bakugou is wearing regular gym wear which makes Izuku feel like they’re even closer. 

He does his best not to squirm around while they play but having Bakugou so close is making him antsy. 

They’re nearing the end of the quest when Bakugou puts his leg over Izuku’s, locking it in place, “Stop moving around so much,” he says as if he didn’t just make Izuku’s problem even worse. 

Surprisingly, though, it does help and Izuku becomes more still. But his mind is still rattling around inside his brain.

Despite all this havoc going on with his emotions, he and Todoroki are the first two to reach the final chamber. Oddly enough, there’s no boss anywhere to be seen. 

It’s a grand room with stained glass windows shining light down onto them. In the center of the room is a thick book. 

Todoroki leans over in real life, “Hey, Midoriya. Do you remember my theory?” he starts off in a whisper. 

Izuku leans in as much as he can, still pinned down by Bakugou and braces himself for a strange conspiracy, “Which one?”

“The one about you and Bakugou. I have some further proof. First of all, I noticed that you and Bakugou carry very similar blades,” he starts out. 

“Yeah? I’m pretty sure we just did the same quest in the past or something. I died from it but it wasn’t impossible or anything.”

“Yes, but Bakugou has had that blade since he started his new character, right? So that means it is a locked-in weapon - one that doesn’t disappear with restarts,” Todoroki explains, still keeping his voice low. 

“Okay, and?”

“And you both have skills! Yours makes you stronger right? And Bakugou’s is some weird explosion thing.”

“I guess, I still just think it's a coincidence. Skills are also rare but Bakugou is good enough to have done all these things.”

“I think that you and Bakugou have been looking for each other,” he says, using a hand gesture that Izuku can’t even connect to the phrase.

Izuku tries to think about it for a second but it just can’t compute in his brain. He supposes both Kacchan and Bakugou have similar behaviors and skills, but he had already found Kacchan in KEM. 

And while he hasn’t been able to watch KEM in ages, he can’t imagine that Kacchan could have died like how Bakugou did. 

“I don’t know, Todoroki. I just don’t think they’re the same person,” he says. 

 While it’s the first time Todoroki’s conspiracies have made sense to Izuku, coincidences happen and Izuku would never be that lucky. 

“Whoo! We finally made it!” Ochako cheers, “Wait, Todoroki and Midoriya, how did you get here so fast?”

“We took a shorter path,” Todoroki says simply. 

“But there’s nothing here except that book on the floor,” Izuku explains, “We were waiting for you before we opened it.”

Ochako tosses a piece of popcorn at his head, he catches it and pops it in his mouth - it’s caramel. “Yeah right, we all know you’re too big on lore to wait on your own volition,” Ochako says. 

“Let’s open this bitch!” Bakugou shouts before charging across the room. Everyone follows after and falls into silence as they read the page. 

Bakugou finishes reading what comes up on his screen by the time Izuku gets to the book.  

The text comes up, displayed on an old looking piece of paper. 

You, who have braved death and renewal

If you wish to fight for that which is right,

Head to where the gold is plentiful

Where it brushes at your ankles

And whispers in the wind

At that peak, where two swords meet as one

like two enemies who don’t understand the war.

True power will be awarded

and the untold path will be made real once more. 

Izuku looks over at Todoroki’s screen. It starts off differently but Izuku doesn’t get to read through it because he closes it too fast. 

Izuku works to do the same and as he exits, the words fly into his Quests folder. 

Around the table, people start stretching their backs and arms. Ochako even stands up so she can stretch even more, “Man, I’m pretty tired after that,” she says. 

Izuku is unconvinced. They’ve stayed up later doing raids where she was raring to do another one. To his further surprise, everyone starts agreeing with her. 

Even Hitoshi who says he’d rather take a nap in Denki’s dorm room.

This is where Izuku speaks up, “We haven’t really done much, you guys! And there’s still an hour left on the room,” he protests. 

If they don’t use it fully, then the room will just sit empty until the next group arrives. 

“Yeah, even I’m not tired, you losers,” Bakugou adds. 

He is really saying a lot because there have been many jokes made at his expense over how he acts like an old man with his early bedtimes. 

“Then perhaps you two should stay here, while we all go to bed,” Iida says in an unwavering voice. He even chops his arm down at them!

“Wha- but- we,” Izuku stutters out. He feels a bit like he’s in the twilight zone or something. 

“Have a nice night, Midoriya. Ask Bakugou about my theory,” Todoroki says before putting away his laptop. 

“I will not!” Izuku is quick to say. 

But no matter how much he protests it all, eventually everyone has packed up and left the room. Iida poured all the leftover snacks onto Izuku’s left - creating an unstable mountain of them all. 

Now, the room just feels so empty. 

With everyone gone, how close he and Bakugou are only becomes more apparent. At the very least, Bakugou’s leg isn’t completely covering Izuku’s, but they’re still making quite a bit of contact. 

“Um, Bakugou, should I move to a different couch?” he asks.

“No,” Bakugou says quickly, “Otherwise, I won’t be able to see your screen.”

“Oh, good point! Wait, so what are we doing right now?”

Bakugou strolls across the giant room to explode some rocks into oblivion with his hand. His doing so reveals a giant treasure chest. He opens it and gold that was meant for six gets split between the two of them. 

His dragon does a happy sounding growl as Bakugou chucks one in its direction. 

“I say we should hit the town,” he says with a grin. 

And with that, the two of them leave the dungeon for the surrounding town. The town, in this case, is a bustling place with a Bazaar, activities and games, restaurants for recovering mana and health, and even a towering overlook. 

“First, let’s go shopping,” Bakugou says, twirling a few golden coins in between his fingers. 

They put up his dragon at the local stable and head to the closest shop. Izuku’s not really looking for new armor, he’s kind of attached to his current stuff, but he wouldn’t mind some new clothes, at least for tonight. 

The two of them try on different outfits. Bakugou, naturally, has incredible taste. Every single outfit he picks out looks like it came from some high fantasy fashion magazine. Meanwhile, Izuku is on the struggle bus. 

Even when he tries to mimic Bakugou’s outfits, all it gets from him are laughs in return. Eventually, Bakugou leans over to Izuku’s computer and takes control, picking out an outfit that fits his character to a T.

“If you were any more useless picking out outfits, I wouldn’t want to be seen with you in public,” Bakugou says as they leave the clothing store.

It makes Izuku laugh. Maybe that’s the case, but Bakugou still helped Izuku pick out this great outfit and Izuku’s ‘poor fashion choices’ haven’t stopped Bakugou in the past, so he’s probably not doing too bad. 

“Let’s go do the minigames next! I may be bad at fashion but my name is on the high score board for Knights Among Us!”

“I think I can do without,” Bakugou says plainly, “The minigames are bullshit and full of cheaters.”

Izuku laughs at that. It’s kind of similar to what Kacchan used to say about them. Izuku was never able to get him to do the minigames with Izuku after their first attempt, “Aww, come on, just once?” Izuku pleads.

“Fine, but I get to choose which game we play!” he asserts. 

Izuku manages to get Bakugou to play three minigames in total. Each one is more devastating than the last, at least for Bakugou that is. 

Despite reportedly not liking the minigames, Bakugou gets really into them. Which makes his inevitable losses all the more disastrous. 

By the third one, Izuku just about thought Bakugou was ready to throw his computer against the wall. 

Seeing Bakugou’s reactions was just as fun as the actual minigames themselves. 

Izuku gifts Bakugou one of his prizes as consolation. 

“Is this supposed to make me happy?” Bakugou asks. 

“Maybe not, if you don’t like it. But it’s my thank you for indulging me in playing the minigames,” Izuku says, straightforwardly. 

The prize isn’t much. Minigame prizes never are. But it’s a cute little daisy crown that lasts for just a day of game time and he thought Bakugou’s character would look cute in it. 

“It doesn’t go with my outfit,” Bakugou complains. 

“Well, you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to,” Izuku lets him know, “I’ll take it back if you hate it,” he says. 

“Aw fuck off, I’ll wear the damn thing if you keep begging me to,” Bakugou says. 

Izuku doesn’t even consider challenging that statement, lest he push Bakugou too far. Bakugou’s character equips the small daisy crown and it fits perfectly on his hair. The rest of his outfit resonates with doom and gloom and though their combination might not be the most fashion forward, Izuku thinks nothing else would suit Bakugou more. 

“Now that minigame hell is over, we’ve only got like 15 minutes left in the lounge,” Bakugou says, “Let’s go check out the Overlook.”

And then he’s taking off in the direction of the tower. “Ah, Bakugou, wait up!” Izuku begs, when he doesn’t, he runs a little faster in Bakugou’s direction, “Were you just going to leave me behind?” Izuku asks, dramatically.

“You would have caught up, you always do,” is all Bakugou says. 

“But wouldn’t it be better if we were together the whole time?” Izuku asks. 

Bakugou doesn’t say anything to that, continuing towards the tower. 

The tower itself is narrow, only meant for looking out from, and looks fairly wobbly as it says just a bit in the breeze. “Is this supposed to be like, Re:Start’s Tower of Piza?” Izuku wonders. 

“I think it’s just a cheesy tourist place, but in game,” Bakugou responds. 

“Didn’t we just say the same thing?” Izuku jokes. 

Bakugou gives him a jab in the stomach for that joke but it doesn’t really hurt. 

The two of them decide to race up the stairs, going as fast as possible. But stairs, in game at least, have always been Izuku’s weak spot. His character glitches out like 3 times going up them and he ends up losing the race by a lot. 

But when he finally gets up to the top, it’s just Bakugou up there up against the sunset. Izuku takes a stand next to him and looks out over the town. They can even see the dungeon, an evil looking castle nestled behind a gloomy forest, from where they are. 

“Wow, everything rendered so well. I’d love to see a sunset like this in real life.”

“Well, that castle town is only a few stations away,” Bakugou says. 

“Ooh! Would you go with me? I’ve never been,” Izuku says. 

Within just a few moments, he realizes that it kind of sounds like a date. He doesn’t take the question back. 

“Maybe,” Bakugou says. 

“Sounds like a plan!” Izuku cheers. 

“Hey, I didn’t agree to shit yet!” Bakugou yells. 

But Izuku knows him better than that, “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

He’s about to suggest the two of them leave when a notification comes up on both of their computers, “Would you like to offer a kiss?”

Izuku’s face immediately goes red. He’d heard of special locations in the game where players would be able to ‘kiss’ or the like, but he’d never run into one like this. 

And now, Bakugou is right here, next to him!

They’re both silent, though there’s no way Bakugou didn’t notice it. 

Slowly, Izuku moves the cursor on his computer to yes. He looks over at Bakugou, a quick turn of his head, before looking back and clicking on the button. After he clicks it, he covers his face with his hands and looks back at Bakugou, trying to gauge his reaction. 

Bakugou, however, looks just as he always does. 

He turns to look at Izuku all the same, “Did you do that on purpose?” he asks, voice steady and eyes looking straight into Izuku’s. 

“I did,” Izuku says in a shaking voice. They say dogs can smell your fear. Izuku’s fairly certain that even a nose-blind dog would be able to see how nervous Izuku is. 

Bakugou looks once between the screen and then back at Izuku before he grabs Izuku’s wrists, “You stupid fucking nerd,” he says as he pulls them away from Izuku’s face and presses in. 

With Izuku’s hands held captive, Izuku is left, helpless, to the whims of Bakugou’s kiss. It’s forceful and Izuku gets pushed back onto the rest of the couch, the crinkling of snacks welcomes him down. 

Bakugou keeps Izuku’s arms motionless, as he inches his hands up until his hands are intertwined with Izuku’s. 

The first kiss is short and Bakugou says, “You should have just asked me in person, idiot,” before he initiates a second and a third and even more until Izuku is left breathless and half of the snacks have fallen to the floor.

It’s Izuku’s phone that ruins the moment as its alarm goes off - letting them know that the time limit for the lounge has just run out. 

Izuku fumbles to grab it and turn it off. Bakugou is still half over him all the while. 

“We should probably leave now, huh?”

“Guess so,” Bakugou says, but he makes no hint of movement. 

“You know, Hitoshi is probably still at Denki’s, so…”

They make quick work of cleaning up the room after themselves and grab everything they could leave behind before heading back to Izuku’s dorm room. 

Typical of summer nights, there are still a few people mulling about with ice creams or cold sweets. No one is dressed too heavily and the campus lights shine brightly down onto the sidewalk. 

The humidity makes it so that even having your arm too close to your torso means discomfort. But he and Bakugou stay close together. 

They don’t touch except for their hands which are pressed together, linked by their smallest fingers holding onto each other. Despite the small amount of contact, Izuku finds himself feeling giddy over it. 

After their kiss, they had decided that their castle visit would be more of a castle date. 

Izuku’s never been in a relationship before, but he never imagined it would feel so natural yet make him so happy at the same time. Is it only this way because it’s Bakugou?

When they get to the door, Izuku swipes them in and Bakugou opens the door, letting Izuku go in first. 

Just that simple act is enough to make Izuku’s face go red all over again. 

They climb up the stairs, still pinkie in pinkie, and head towards Izuku’s room. “I guess I’m always going to your room, huh? Have you ever seen mine?”

“Beats me,” Bakugou says, “But I bet I’ll be seeing more of it, eh?”

Izuku’s dorm is halfway down the hall. The door was recently decorated by him and Hitoshi at a dorm event where they made name tags. His name was creatively done in greens and whites. It only reads ‘ Izuku ’ because he didn’t realize how small the paper was. 

When they get to the door, Izuku is forced to undo their pinkies as he gets his key card ready again. Unlike the door key, his room mechanism is a bit more finicky and takes practice. 

“Huh, Deku?”

Izuku drops his key card in shock and turns back to Bakugou, “Eh?” he says, a bit too late considering the current hour, “Wait, Kacchan?”

The two of them get stuck in shock as they look at each other. 

“Hah? You’re Deku? I’ve been looking for you for months!” Bakugou says in a loud voice.

“You were the one who said it first! How did you know?  Either way, I've been looking for you too!” Izuku says. He looks at Bakugou once more, this is Kacchan he tells himself.  Then a realization comes over him, “Oh my god,  I can’t believe Todoroki was right. ”

“How did I know? I was just reading the name tag on the door. Who names their kid Deku?”

Izuku studies the name tags once more, looking over his own name and the kanji. He supposes, that if you read the first kanji normally, as in, its most common reading, it would be ‘Deku.’

However, that brings him two points, “First of all, I thought you were supposed to be smart. Obviously that’s not how you read that. Second of all, did you forget my first name? We were partners for a whole semester. It’s Izuku. I-zu-ku! You dummy!” Izuku half yells at him, trying to mind his volume as they’re still in the hallway. 

He finally opens his door and drags Bakugou inside with him. 

Bakugou goes silent before sounding it out, “Izuku,” he looks a bit stunned. 

When Izuku looks at him like this, he finally gets the chance to realize, once more, that Bakugou is his Kacchan. Kacchan who he’s wanted to meet again, at least in game, for almost half a year. Kacchan who he had been so close to, this whole time. 

“I know how to read your name, shitty Deku, or fuck, Izuku,” Kacchan scoffs, “And if I hadn’t read it like that, who knows how long it would have taken us?”

“I guess you’re a little bit right. It would have taken us quite a while,” Izuku says with a laugh, “But, you know, you can call me Deku if you want,” he says. 

“Don’t fucking want to. I finally know your name and I’m not letting go,” Kacchan says firmly. It’s such a romantic sentiment. He didn’t really know Kacchan had this side to him. 

He finds himself drawn to Kacchan, just one more step closer until they-

The door opens and their heads swivel to look at Hitoshi who has just walked in at the worst moment, “Oh! Did you finally figure out that Bakugou is also your Kacchan?” he asks. 

The two of them shout in unison, “You knew!?”

Chapter Text

Kacchan keeps his room too cold. It’s winter for heaven’s sake and even indoors Izuku’s fingers feel like they’re going to freeze off. The AC blowing directly on him is no help at all. 

It’s kind of bad because Izuku desperately needs his fingers right now. They’ve spent the past two quarters looking for this place - following the poem Izuku received all that time ago. 

It had taken them to the great plains in the west. There was an abundance of wheat in the spring - the season of renewal. They spent time there until they found a clue that pointed them in the direction of a rather unremarkable mountain in the east. 

Now, they have finally made it there. 

Neither of them have any idea where it will take them. 

The top of the mountain has been fastened with a wide deck. It’s covered in snow. The only features of note are the footprints they left behind. 

“So, how are we going about this?”

Izuku stares hard at the poem. It’s handwritten and pinned to the bulletin board by Kacchan’s bed. 

“Is it possible we just have to attack each other?” he surmises. 

Kacchan doesn’t seem very amused by that suggestion, “What’s the point of making us come all the way here to do that?”

“You don’t want to try it then?”

“I never fucking said that, nerd. Come at me with all you got!”

“Huh? Just like that?” Izuku asks, looking up at his boyfriend from over his computer. 

When Kacchan doesn’t respond, still looking at his screen, Izuku looks down to - sure enough - see Kacchan’s character charging directly at him. 

“Wah! Kacchan!” Izuku moves his freezing fingers as fast as he can imagine. He’s sure that the chat is going crazy on Kacchan’s end, not that the blond ever really checks it. 

While Izuku will probably never fully be on the stream, he likes to review the comments from time to time. Kacchan has some really funny fans, and Izuku supposes he has some of his own. 

It’s a weird feeling when he had hated the idea of being known online for so long - and actively feared it. It took a while for him to be okay with being on the stream at all. But with his case with Akaguro wrapping up quickly and his therapy progressing steadily, he was able to decide that he didn’t mind all that much. 

Izuku holds up his giant half-sword in defense and Kacchan’s half collides with a whorl of orange and red sparks. The swords react to each other and a bright, blinding light takes over the screen as it shoots into the distance. 

Springing off from the main light, a gold lightning wraps around the two halves of the swords bringing them together and diminishing when they reach Kacchan and Izuku’s arms. The gold lightning quite literally sparks something in them as their individual skills start to act up. 

Half mesmerized, Izuku reaches his hand out to touch the sword. He watches as Bakugou does the same. The lightning gets more serious until it shocks them. 

The sword splits back apart and collapses on the ground with an unsatisfying thud. 

Izuku peels his eyes away from the screen and looks at Bakugou.

His boyfriend gives him a wide grin, “Looks like we’ve got a long journey ahead of ourselves, Izuku.”

“But it’ll certainly be a fun one!”

And sure enough, the same can be said about everything ahead of them.