Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Katsuki was definitely out of breath. But not in the way he usually preferred it.

Thrown back hard enough to stop himself with a sharp kneel on the concrete, he winced at the impact, one eye closing as his hand moved to wipe the sweat forming at his forehead just beneath his sharp bangs.

Shoto turned instinctively, checking the blonde for any serious injuries. With a sharp call, he asked, “you okay?”

Katsuki replied with a nod. He was, for the most part.

Stumbling to stand, he took his time checking around for any breaches in their barrier while Shoto continued attacking with all his energy.

The demon they'd tracked down, ready to pummel into oblivion had started to prove more treacherous than Katsuki had implied. And for that fact, the blonde was more than sure he'd get a thorough lecture if they managed to get out in one piece.

His hand raised, clicking his jaw to place where the tentacles of their 3rd tier demon had contacted in hayway thrashes. 

Throwing his metallic bat to his other hand and repeating the curse in his mind, he glanced at the talismans burning brightly at the covered silver and immediately threw himself into close fire.

Between him and Shoto, he was much better with close range attacks, and the moment he realized the core they were searching for was directly at the base of the tentacles, Katsuki had formed a game plan before Shoto even got the chance to turn to him.

His knowing smirk seemed to make the half and half swallow in quiet relief 

Katsuki's spiritual technique was one nobody messed with, even demons of a higher class than the one they were currently fighting.

In an instant, his body moved faster than Shoto could keep up. And just when a heavy blow was directed at him, the strike of something heavy sliced the demon's noise with a sharp squeal of pain followed by the tentacle raised high above Shoto’s body falling limp at his side.

For a split moment of silence cracked under the death of an inanimate being, Shoto could feel the heat under his exhales that made him turn and check if the barrier was still active.

Watching as people continued on their way without as much as a passing glance, he sighed audibly then immediately turned to where Katsuki had disappeared to.

His feet stumbled forward, mouth already open. “Kats!”

The blonde erupted from the middle of the fallen demon with a loud shout of victory, covered head to toe in ichor that greyed his uniform down to black.

Shoto stopped dead in his tracks and grimaced.

“Shit!” He could feel the yells even before they reached them, “Mr Aizawa is going to murder us…”

||

“Fuuuuck!!!”

Shoto felt the panic sour further into his nerves with Katsuki's constant cursing. “I know!”

Katsuki was already running for the life of it. “Why didn't you tell me we were late?!!!”

Shoto tried to keep pace, a strange squeal of despair emanating from his throat. But even he didn't care. They were late, for one, and two, Katsuki Bakugo, the school’s current top student, was covered from head to toe in demon blood.

And he was supposed to be the one welcoming the new students!!!

Oh shit shit shit.

They still had the barrier around them, making them invisible to the population but that didn't mean they could stay like that for long.

Katsuki’s spiritual energy was strong, but after a killing blow to a tier 3, even his chi was bound to die off soon.

Shoto just kept praying it held off enough to get them to school.

The ring of their school bell was enough of a relief strike to his already aching heart. His hair was disheveled, his tie thrown somewhere between conjured spells and being obsessed with watching Katsuki, not to mention they'd discarded the demon body haphazardly outside the first temple they came into contact with. 

If the school board didn't ask too many questions on their star student’s lateness, Mr Aizawa would surely intervene in every inhumane way possible.

Together in frantic despair now, they both slid under the boom barrier with enough effort to break a couple of bones as they hightailed straight into the locker rooms, ignoring school shoe regulations outright.

Another reason Shoto winced about. 

They were now sailing in high crime. There literally was no turning back. 

The door fell in with force as Shoto darted to Katsuki's locker already punching the combination like a mad man. “-- 4..6.” he mumbled, unable to keep his calm.

Wretching the metallic door open, he started to throw the new clean pieces of clothing bit by bit at Katsuki's direction who in turn had stupidly resorted to tearing up his dirty uniform out of his body and jumped into the shower which took less than a fucking minute.

Shoto had successfully found a tie to replace the one he'd lost, changed his blazer twice into something with sleeves long enough to hide his incantation marks on his wrists and managed to comb down his frizzy hair into a perfect long mane that hung on his back lazily. And thankful to the spell that made sure his bright half parted hair just looked short and black to others, he stepped out right as Katsuki finished his own shit and they were down the hallways, rushing to another colossal nightmare.

“Oh shit, our Uwabaki’s Kat's!”

Katsuki turned to Shoto with hysterical eyes, “are you serious?! I'm late for the welcome speech and all you can think about is shoes!!!”

“School regulations!.”

Just when the half and half turned, a voice cut through their frantic tension like a knife, placing them all in a freeze frame of pure panic.

It was over. Genuinely fucking over.

“Shoto, Katsuki, my office, now!”

Aizawa’s tone was low and absolute. One they were sure was close enough to his activated command speech but retained by all the sanity he had left.

They'd be dumb if they joked about anything now.

Turning rigidly, they followed the tall man ahead of them who remained a visual tired shell of the actual powerhouse he was. 

Without a doubt, they were totally fucking dead. 

Chapter Text

Aizawa was quiet, but never this quiet. 

Clearing his throat to at least bring out a conversation, no matter how taxing, Katsuki watched their homeroom teacher enter scores for their former year into his computer as if the two didn't even exist.

Katsuki almost combusted where he stood. Did he really have to remind his teacher that he needed to be in the auditorium at the moment?

“Keep your damn glare off me Bakugo.”

Katsuki scoffed, rolling his eyes but following the order religiously. He was reckless, not dumb.

“Uh sir?”

Shoto’s concerned call was met with indifference as the teacher remained hooked to the glowing screen of his computer as if permanently attached to it. 

And if he wasn't trying to find a way out of this unscathed, Shoto was sure even he would've been glaring daggers at this man at the moment. 

Their silent feudal of unresponsive backs and fourth’s was suddenly interfered with by a knock on the door that shattered both boys to another jolt of panic.

“Shit.” Katsuki cursed for the millionth time today, already stepping to throw his face and his irritation at the poor being standing outside. Even Shoto, the sane of the two, didn't hold him back, he even wanted to join in shamelessly enough.

But Katsuki’s toddler taddle was met halfway by an order that clashed with the sound of papers being organized with a sharp rapt on the table. “Keep your angry mutt on a leash, Shoto.”

Katsuki turned with an irrediculous scoff. “What did you just call me?”

Mr Aizawa looked the blonde dead in the eye with his answer. “A fucking dog. You're Pomeranian attitude will fuck you up one day Katsuki.” And the man stood with a smug lift in his step that Katsuki honestly wanted to bite off. No pun intended. 

Their teacher leaned forward, past them unlocking the door and revealing two boys standing just outside.

Their high school was an all boys school with one of the highest grade scores in Japan. It showed mostly in how normal they acted. 

And Katsuki, unlike all these other extras, was the only one who was the best match yet the most irregular out of all the students. Like for one he never wore his grey blazer [unless it was an important day like today when he actually tried] and his hands were usually bandaged up to his elbows. They hid burn marks from the ofuda he usually stuck on the skin of his arms to boost his spiritual energy, but the other students just thought it was a statement.  The only thing that showed he even was a student there, were his grades. 

And yet, despite that clear assessment, these two new students just felt off.

Not Katsuki style off. Purely off.

The one with thick messy mop top hair didn't even look up, wide wire rimmed glasses visible under the mess while his hands wrapped protectively around the books close to his chest as if they'd run away. 

“They're cursed, of course they're gonna run.”

Katsuki took a hesitant step back.

Aizawa couldn't help but chuckle at the wide eyed blonde who rarely let himself loose around others. 

Shoto looked confused, eyes darting from Katsuki to the greenette at the door. “I'm sorry, what?”

The one accompanying the boy with glasses finally leaned in, right until he was visible to Shoto. Unlike the greenette, he seemed like a photocopy of Aizawa but with dark purple hair and a teenage working body. The boy shrugged, “Izuku means the books he's holding. They're cursed objects so they tend to_” he paused, tapping away at his chin until Aizawa finished his thought with a dreaded sigh.

“Roll away. “ Rubbing his nose bridge tiredly, he ushered the two boys in with a small wave of his hand, alarming both Shoto and Katsuki further.

Because in the past two years of attending there, they'd never come across anyone who could see the things they saw. 

Shoto gave an apprehensive wail, “do they know? Mr Aizawa?”

The black haired man waved dismissively over his shoulder, “yes, they've got the gift. The one with green hair is Izuku Midoriya. He's a Daruma doll expert. And the one with purple hair that he couldn't resist dyeing.” Aizawa paused, rubbing the skin at his temples for a split second. The tone he had used sounded too domestic. 

Shoto realized. 

So they were related. 

The boy with purple hair moved to shrug with a gentle eye roll of indifference. “They can't see it anyways.”

Aizawa opened his eyes sharply, “doesn't matter..” his hands pointed at himself harshly, “I can see it, so can my sister and my fucking husband.”

Katsuki’s anger had slowly died down to confused irritation. But his eyes thinned in an annoyed glare as he pointed back and forth. “Uh, what's going on here?”

The boy chuckled darkly, “Shinsou Hitoshi. Meet my uncle, Shota Aizawa.”

Katsuki immediately broke into a demented laugh, “uncle? You mean you're the son of his sister? Our homeroom teacher has a damn family!!” breathing, he wiped a stray tear, "who fucking knew?"

Aizawa was already feeling the stress weigh in on him with every snort that came from that damn blonde. “I swear all of you will be the death of me.”

In the chaos, Shoto managed to intervene with a gentle tap onto Aizawa’s desk. “What's his ability?”

Shota’s mouth moved in a small –oh– as he sat upright, forcing a smile. “He's a Tanuki.”

“Tanuki?”

“Shapeshifter. He stood in for your idiot partner’s ass during the welcoming ceremony.”

With those words there was an immediate pause in the atmosphere as both Shoto and Katsuki turned to each other and shared one simple look of relief. Katsuki had dared to get away with being a reckless demon killing machine once again.

It was majestic really. How luck always followed the blonde the same way curses did. 

Shoto turned to Hitoshi with a small bow. His appreciation sincere. “Thank you.”

Hitoshi seemed to thrive on casual shrugs because he offered another, this one more lazy than his last, “don't sweat it. I have to shapeshift anyway. It's part of my curse.” But then genuine compassion laced his expression the minute he turned to the boy forgotten in the middle.

But that's just it, to Shoto and Katsuki, the boy had disappeared completely, they couldn't sense his spiritual energy the same way they could tell both Hitoshi’s and Aizawa’s filled the room. It was terrifying at best.

Hitoshi rubbed the green locks with affection, "at least today I managed to help out. Izuku has a bad habit of not staying through opening ceremonies. His curse is much stronger than mine and calls for bad luck left right and centre. Shapeshifting activates my ability so he stayed rooted for the first time knowing he would be safe. So thanks as well.”

Both boys felt inclined to speak, to answer, but there was something about how the greenette looked when he smiled. The glimmer in those emerald hues hidden behind those large glasses, the simple little lip tilt. It made them stop and stare unaware of how much they'd lagged from real life conversation.

It took Aizawa’s sharp cough to snap them out of that abnormal haze and back into that claustrophobic excuse of an office.

“I was saying…” 

Katsuki turned when he felt a glare digging the side of his face only to find the source of the glare was none other than the little greenette. He immediately felt goosebumps sprout at every inch of his skin, exposed or not.

“...Izuku can read minds as well.”

And he felt it, the slow timid voice emerging inside his conscience like a ghost. “That wasn't a nice thing to say.”

What wasn't?

“Uncle Aizawa’s office is cute.”

Cute?!!!

Katsuki’s eyes widened. “Uncle..” his mumble made it even clearer, turning he shouted, “uncle?!!” Pointing accusingly at their homeroom teacher, Katsuki snapped, “Wait, you're his uncle too?”

Aizawa sighed tiredly, now seriously thinking of using his spiritual ability on this loud Pomeranian. “Izuku’s adopted. Me and Hizashi took him in after his mother died five years ago.”

Oh shit.

“Katsuki!!!”

The blonde managed to hear Shoto’s reprimanding call in the back of his thoughts as the most devastating feeling took over every inch of his functioning mind.

Why the fuck did he have to be the loud mouth.

Chapter Text

Katsuki was dead asleep.

First days usually didn't have the mental challenges he liked. Tough math equations, complicated English verbs, fun science experiments.

And since he was, well him, the teachers didn't mind his obvious sleep posture as they taught a ninety nine percent class of alert students.

Katsuki had managed to shock them time and time again with the grades he got so now they were in the territory of “don't touch the damn kid. He's in charge now.”

The bell for lunch break went off sending all the students in frenzied runs towards the cafeteria for the good stuff before it sold out. 

Katsuki on the other hand simply turned his head over his hands splayed on his desk, settling more comfortably into a much better sleeping position.

He was woken up minutes later through a kiss on the cheek. Without much thought, he smiled.

If there was one thing that was forever constant in his life was the fact that he had Shoto. They'd met in middle school after Katsuki got wrapped up in a fight with a tier 4 ghost that only he could see, until this boy with bright half parted hair ran to his rescue with weird words coming from his young mouth managing to destroy the thing.

They'd been connected ever since.

His eyes opened slowly as his head raised groggily from the unwavering exhaustion he felt. “What's for lunch today?”

Shoto pulled the seat in front of Katsuki's desk and sat down, raising his bag high and dropping the contents like a rager. With a shallow shrug, he smiled, “snacks.”

Katsuki raised a brow all sleep leaving his body as he reached for a meat bun. “What happened?” His teeth clamped down at the wrapper pulling it open. “Is Fuyumi doing okay?”

Shoto was already leaning into the pile, picking out anything he could eat without throwing up until he settled for a cinnamon roll, shaking his head. “Fuyumi’s fine. She just got stuck in traffic because Toya couldn't miss an opportunity to fight a tier 1 ghost demon. The civilians of course couldn't see them fighting but they could see the demolishing infrastructure around them. Including the road she was on.”

Katsuki let out a small chuckle, “let me guess. Fuyumi’s gone on a no cooking strike just to spite Toya?”

“Yeah.” Shoto whistled in agony, “Toya hasn't eaten for just a day but you can see it in his face. Pure torture. Keigo is having the time of his life."

They fell into a contained laugh, both their antics easy around the other. And same way did they slip to a calm silence that rested in any physical contact they kept. A.k.a Katsuki’s legs wrapped around Shoto’s left leg under the desk. 

A temporary courage granted by the fact Shoto had conjured up a spell to keep them isolated until lunch break was over which he, truth be told, wished was forever…

But eventually the nine telltale chimes of the bell that signalled the spell had done its job rang and it was time to leave. Picking up the wrappers discarded on Katsuki’s desk, he made to walk out before Katsuki pulled his arm, forcing him down low enough he could plant a gentle kiss back on his cheek. 

“I'll come over and cook for you and Toya.”

Shoto looked down with a raised brow. “Really? Keigo and Natsuo are at home too.”

Katsuki immediately rolled his eyes. “All those idiots and none of them can cook? What world do we fucking live in?!”

Shoto snorted, trying to hide his laugh. “Need I remind you Katsuki that there was a time we made eggs on Toya’s back?”

Katsuki quickly reclined in his seat, arms crossing over his chest angrily. “I remember. I still can't believe his spiritual energy grants him fire..” He drawled through clenched teeth shaking his head. “I'll still come and talk with Fuyumi. She likes me.”

Shoto smiled, leaning for one last steal. “Of course she does Kats.” and right on time the other students started filing in, none even looking at Shoto’s direction. His existence blocked by a barrier. 

There were perks to being cursed with a higher spirit value than normal people. Katsuki dipped his head into the scarf Shoto had wrapped around his neck complaining about a cold that didn't even exist. And in the rush of emotions stirring deep within.

He grinned. 

||

Their ethics class hadn't even passed 5 minutes before a loud crash sent Katsuki’s entire concentration outside. And when his head snapped to the window right next to where he sat and nobody else's did, he immediately knew this was a them problem now.

Chair scraping harshly on the floor as he moved to bolt, Katsuki paused, hand gripped tightly at his desk feeling all eyes turn to him.

But his concentration remained outside the window, where a sharp green blur had jumped out of window in the floor above them on building C, where all the C classes were, and right at the ghost demon furiously rampaging outside.

Then after a moment of stilled slow agonizing confusion, he saw a glint of reflection bouncing off the greenette's glasses.

Curses already halfway out his mouth he turned, ignoring fully the shouts from his teacher to sit down and running out of the door and into the hallway. 

Halfway towards building A he met up with Shoto who was panting, eyes blown wide. “Izuku–”

Katsuki nodded sharply, “I know.” His hand was already busy removing the bandage on his left hand and turning to Shoto for his bat which they always carried in a cursed bag.

With practiced ease he wrapped the ofuda filled bandages over the silver metal like clockwork.

“That's a Tier 1.” Shoto was already mumbling out quickly, “similar to the one Toya fought yesterday. He told me how it looked like.”

Katsuki sprang for the stairs, “do you think it separated itself once it formed?” 

They were now shouting, Katsuki in the process of putting up the barrier as Shoto replied. “I don't think so!”

The moment the barrier hit the ground, Katsuki aimed himself at the staircase windows, crashing through and directly into contact with one of the arms flailing at him.

He managed to grab on, turning back to see if Shoto was near. And just like routine, Shoto remained a sharp distance, already deep into incantations he spoke from the book he held. Katsuki smirked at that, climbing onto the hand that seemed to have stopped moving.

This thing was huge. 

Kaiju type huge that actually kind of slightly scared the living shit out of him. And more than that, it had attacked their school. The one place barriers sat in every inch like a demon ghost evil spirit repellant.

Katsuki ducked when a giant palm tried to squish him like a bug making him curse this time out loud. Stopping and looking around, he tried to find a head of green hair. 

It took him a minute before he spotted Izuku, at the ground waving frantically at him.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, looking up then back at Izuku. “WHAT?!!”

Izuku just kept moving his hands around, confusing Katsuki even further. He was too high up, he didn't even think Izuku could hear him.

“Yes I can, now get the fuck off that damn Kaiju!”

The ghost voice in his head that reminded him of the first time Izuku ever linked their minds together made him turn with a jolt, just managing to see both Aizawa and Hitoshi with bows and arrows from the archery club aimed at their ghost demon. 

His head snapped to Shoto without a second thought, noticing that the half and half was already knee deep in incantations to stop. His next fever thought was looking down and shouting, more in reality than in his head.

“Hey, catch me!”

And he jumped. Without much of a plan, just as both Hitoshi and Aizawa shot, taking the thing down with a dreaded blow that pushed Katsuki out of capture point and headfirst onto the wall of the building.

He forced his combat ability through, managing to change his body’s trajectory and turning sharply, making sure his back was the one that came into contact with solid concrete.

Feeling the bones fracture in disgusting snaps, he fell, like a piece of discarded paper, straight to the ground.

But just as he was awaiting impact, he felt himself being snatched just in time, his eyes turning to a nine tailed fox holding him hostage between sharp teeth.

He almost exploded. “Get the fuck off of me you freakish shapeshifter!”

Hitoshi put him down and clicked, “so much for a thanks, you ungrateful prick.”

Katsuki turned at his heel, all caution thrown to the wind as he jabbed a finger at the chest of the fox, once, twice then the third time at the chest of a human. Shinsou grabbed his hand before he could continue.

Katsuki, seething, snatched his hand away. “I had it covered.”

Shinsou let out a mocking laugh before Katsuki could even put distance between them and with a quiet tone of disdain, he asked, “did you now?”

Katsuki didn't need this, not now, not here. “Yes I did! We did. Me and Shoto have been doing this for four years, don't you think that's enough proof!”

“We've been hunters since we were kids, Katsuki…”

The blonde ticked his head to the side, a distraught greenette shrugging his shoulders similar to the purple haired brute in front of him.

Katsuki felt his anger simmer, so harshly the remaining bandages wrapped around his arm started to spark in small little blasts. 

“So what? Suddenly Shinjuku is your territory. Just cause you've been at this for more time than we have?”

Shoto appeared, running out the main entrance with a sharp gaze. His breath released the moment he saw Katsuki, and he ran to him. “Kats, are you okay?”

Katsuki snatched his hand away, forcing a wince inside. He was not, he definitely needed Sho's help. Turning to the half and half, he asked desperately, “what curse did you put on it?”

Shoto looked confused. 

Katsuki felt stupid, “the incantation Shoto! The one you were saying!!!”

“Oh those?” he slowly rubbed a hand through his hair. “They didn't work. The ghost demon was too strong for me.”

And there was his answer. Simply wrapped by the one person he loved more than life itself. He hated this – this feeling of helplessness. Of being weak. 

A sharp wave of dizziness made him stumble and fall onto Shoto suddenly, making all of them panic. But Katsuki stood up, brushing it off the same way he always did. And he made his way through them back to the school entry stairs where he fell with a rough thud.

Blood pooling from the back of his skull.

Chapter Text

Shoto was not in the hospital room when Katsuki woke up. And that hurt more than the fact that he's been out for two days straight.

Snatching the IV from where it entered his skin, he threw it away and picked up the crutches by his bed, managing to support himself to the door which slid easily under the weight of his push. 

The minute he stepped outside he found Izuku, crouched at the side of his door, startled to see him awake as much as Katsuki was startled to see him there.

The greenette stood hurriedly with a small bow. “I'm super sorry for coming here uninvited. I just…” his voice trailed off as his hand moved to the nape of his neck, a habit Katsuki had noticed by now, “Shinsou wasn't trying to be mean. You told me to catch you and I panicked so I asked him to save you. It was a quick moment of instability I swear. I just, I didn't want you to die.”

Katsuki paused for a moment watching as this boy in large glasses tried to cover up his mistake when it was Katsuki’s from the start.

And just like that the blonde had burst into laughter without much thought behind it. Leaning on one leg, he let his hand let go of a crutch and rub on those dark green locks that were surprisingly soft to the touch. “I can't die you idiot. Spiritual energy means you're immortal until your curse kills you or a demon does.” Katsuki moved back, supporting his weight on both crutches again. “And I don't think any of those are on their way to take my life any time soon.”

Izuku had turned silent at that moment, evoking a questioning one over from the blonde. “Yoo, hey brocolli, you doing alright?”

Slowly, Izuku stuttered, trying to raise his head, to keep eye contact but he failed, his lips forming a thin line as he swallowed thickly. 

About to turn and leave, he felt a hand root him to his spot, the same warm palm travelling to the base of his chin and pulling him up until they were face to face. Emerald coloured irises watching how crimson hues shone in a fire he didn't know how to tame. Instinctively, he swallowed again, this time trying to breath down the flush that rushed to his cheeks.

“You start a thought, you finish it. Right, Izuku?”

Izuku nodded sharply, stuttering again but this time, keeping at it until he asked. Voice lowered enough it passed off as timid. “Wh– What– what’s your curse?”

Izuku saw a quick flash of animosity pass through that fire that didn't seem to go out in his eyes before he shook his hands hurriedly, “no no, you don't have to tell me. I just like collecting information on hunters. You really don't have to tell me.”

“Hmmm”

Izuku had felt the rage in that split second after his question, but somehow the giddy pleasure that he felt from Katsuki now felt a thousand times more dangerous. 

“How about this? You tell me one specific thing about Hitoshi’s curse and I'll tell you everything about mine.” Katsuki grinned wide. A smile that just felt as taunting as his suggestions. “Fair deal, right? Pretty sweet even if you asked me.”

“No.” Izuku snapped. His aura suddenly a dark brutal cloud that hung around the both of them like a plague. Katsuki even looked up to try and locate it but he saw nothing, just the feeling seeping right into the fibers of his muscles. 

Oh how sharply the tables had turned. 

“Shinsou isn't worth any of you.” 

The greenette took a step back, his glare as harsh as his words. It left Katsuki reeling, watching the contrast like day and night.

It didn't shock him that Izuku had two sides, he'd seen this cold clinical side of the boy the first time he witnessed him jump without caution right into the face of danger like he owned it. But seeing it up close, Katsuki turned with a jolt back to his room and wined at the newfound reactions he was having.

Looking down hopelessly at his hospital gown, he was sure about one thing.

He was definitely hard. 

||

Fuyumi was the first to bash down the door to Katsuki’s room like a freight train. At first he was livid because he was in the middle of trying to sleep off the migraine that tortured him.

But the moment his eyes saw the simple smiling Fuyumi Todoroki, he sighed feeling the tense knots in his shoulders loosen even by a fraction. 

Shoto followed just a step behind, worry forming on every angle of his beautiful face; it made Katsuki's heart clench. Now he was feeling like shit for more reasons than one.

But he didn't have more room for thought when Toya and his boyfriend followed, Keigo Takami, a genius hunter who saw the demons artificially through glasses he made by himself. And finally Natsuo closed the number of visitors for today making Katsuki glad that he and his folks were rich enough to afford a room that could fit all of them.

He was happy to have the people he actually tolerated here to see him.

But as usual, his face was drawn in in a tough frown that showed he wanted all of them gone.

Toya was the first to point it out. “Hey dude, we did not want to come. Sho just came home wanting to get a few clothes for you and him since he didn't know when you'd wake up and Fuyumi didn't want to hear anything else.”

“Tossed all of us out of the house like rag dolls. You'd think she's the only daughter of the famous Todoroki family.” Natsuo added, his joke allowing all of them to share a moment of laughter that Fuyumi did not like.

Sending death glares at everyone except Shoto [her favourite through many sources, aka her own mouth] she reminded them why they'd even left the house in the first place.

“Curry.”

And to Katsuki’s delight, they all went silent.

Except for Keigo who tore himself from Toya’s hand and pushed through to Katsuki’s side. Keigo was also a model, so it made sense why he was dating a Todoroki in the first place. But he also had his attributes that Katsuki, despite himself, enjoyed very much. 

Like the power to make the great first born of the Todoroki family beg on his knees. 

He wondered how far he needed to go to get Shoto to do the same.

His eyes flickered to the half and half standing awkwardly at the side. There was a small tick to his gaze, it kept running around the room nervously that Katsuki immediately felt worried. 

Keigo just simply leaned in, and without much [another thing Katsuki loved about him] he just said, “You should probably kiss Shoto the moment we leave.”

Another thing he loved about Keigo. That damn man knew exactly how Katsuki worked, and made sure to play him right into Shoto’s heart without fail.

He nodded, watching as Keigo turned with a small smirk, ordering everyone out.

Now only Fuyumi and Shoto remained.

Fuyumi, given her couple of minutes due to the promise of food, smiled sadly at Katsuki. “I have a talent for seeing talent in future hunters, Katsuki. Our father didn't think that was enough despite the fact that he already had Toya and me. But I saw Toya for the raw talent that he was. He was a late bloomer, sure, but he's everything I ever said he'd be.” Her hand came to rest on his arm. “The moment I saw you I told you you and Toya are similar somehow. I wasn't wrong, Katsuki. You have more potential than him and I can see it.”

The blonde watched her turquoise eyes look around him, as if assessing his environment the way she did while tracking hunters. 

“It's like a fountain.” Eyes coming back to the boy in front of him, she shared one last smile and pointed at Shoto. “I made you your favourite by the way. I'll expect you both home tomorrow by 7pm.”

Shoto nodded awkwardly, “sure Fuyumi.”

Her sister leaned in for a small kiss on his forehead. “I love you Sho. Never forget that.”

“I won't.”

And she left. Now in the silence that only the two of them could manage. Shoto moved with slow precision towards the bed and he placed the food down on the side table before turning to Katsuki who had in turn forced himself to sit upright.

It pained him, made his migraine worse. But he adjusted the bandage rounding his forehead and pulled his legs in. 

“I'm sorry for yelling.”

Shoto’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I didn't …” his words faltered like a broken record. “Kats, I don't care. I'm sorry that I didn't use all my abilities. I could've taken it out without as much as a spare thought but I saw you frantically looking around and I thought that maybe I was hurting you. And then you jumped and I–”

His spiral was swallowed by the taste of Katsuki’s lips, soft and moist dragging over his own. It was nothing sensual at first, just lips brushing, slow and measured. 

Katsuki was being apprehensive. And Shoto could tell.

Hand moving to the blonde spikes he loved so much, Shoto parted Katsuki’s lips with his, still moving slowly, not ready to rush anything Katsuki didn't want. They were still kids, maybe for a couple more months so he wasn't sure exactly how far they'd even go.

But when Katsuki’s tongue slid into his mouth in an instant, it suddenly turned from slow deliberate kisses to a tug of war that left them breathless at every turn.

Katsuki's head still rang. Like a broken alarm clock telling him to wake up from whatever nightmare he was on. But this was heaven. The taste of Shoto’s lips felt like a forbidden fruit he'd been denied for so long. The half and half tasted like fire. It was an odd yet sweet burning sensation.

He felt hurt when it stopped, Shoto moving back with deep heavy inhales of air they'd both lost. Katsuki himself hadn't even realized how harshly his chest rose and fell, he just wanted to kiss Shoto again.

But the half and half placed a hand between them.

“You're still sick, Kats. I can wait and I bet so can you.”

Oh Katsuki Bakugo did not want to wait. But the dizziness made him nod in a state of almost delirium.

Shoto held his hand firmly and reminded before Katsuki fell back to sleep.

“I'm not leaving your side Katsuki. Not for a long while”

Chapter Text

Maybe if he replayed the battle enough he'd finally win…

Katsuki tossed and turned in bed before he eventually jolted upright, sweat coating his forehead like morbid reminders for his nightmares.

His chest rose quickly, up and down like clockwork. It was dark, so he let his hand roam, having forgotten where he was. But when his hand bumped into a familiar lump of heat beside him, he immediately sighed, holding onto Shoto’s displayed hand like it was a lifeline.

He squeezed, breathing in a rhythm he tried to control. 

Cursing once, twice, he dropped down on the futon they were on, staring at the ceiling for a minute before he turned, squeezing Shoto’s hand again. 

“Sho…”

This reminded him of the week after he found out he had active spiritual energy. The nightmares that came through, a constant battle that he never seemed to win. And Shoto together with another person he hadn't seen, till today, we're always the casualties.

He hated the fact that the other person dying beside Shoto in his nightmares was one he was actively trying to forget. 

He tried squeezing the hand again, tried to wake him up. 

But Shoto didn't stir, his body only moving as he breathed in and out in a near stasis, body turned to face Katsuki. Always to face Katsuki. 

He needed that sleep. Katsuki thought remotely, god knows how long he stayed awake by my side. 

Closing his eyes in a final attempt to calm himself, he spoke, deliberate but silent,

“Sho, I think I have a crush on Izuku Midoriya.”

||

The stares he got in school were anything but subtle.

Katsuki could feel them lingering like a second skin. Every whisper, every sideways glance. His blood boiled with the same question burning through his skull—what the hell did Aizawa tell them happened to me?

By the time he realized it, he was already outside his homeroom teacher's office, fists clenched, rage humming through his veins like static.

He paused then when he saw the blinds were drawn, listening. Nothing came. Just muffled silence and the faint outline of Aizawa’s tall, angular frame behind the curtain.

 A barrier. Katsuki regarded with an eye roll, Of course he’d put one up.

His knuckles eventually rapped against the mahogany door anyway, sharp and impatient.

Shota Aizawa. Deputy Headmaster.

The nameplate gleamed under the fluorescent light, and for some reason that made Katsuki’s skin crawl.

The door creaked open.

And there, standing in the doorway, was Izuku. Eyes swollen and rimmed red behind those huge glasses, face pale and hollow. Katsuki’s hand twitched, ready to reach out like an indefinite pull. But Izuku simply turned and started walking away, slow and deliberate, like the world behind him didn’t exist.

Katsuki froze waiting for a backward glance, whatever fury had driven him here just evaporated.

“Katsuki? You're back–?”

Ignoring Aizawa’s usual deadpan stare from behind the desk, he followed the greenette.

Izuku’s pace quickened, down block C, past classrooms, through the quiet corridor that led toward block A. 

Katsuki’s breath hitched as he ducked into a corner near the stairs, waiting.

A moment later, Izuku emerged again, this time with Shoto in tow. His hand was gripping Shoto’s wrist tight, dragging him down the hall. The air shimmered faintly around them; a barrier. No one looked. No one saw them rushing past.

Katsuki’s gut twisted into a knot so tight it hurt.

What the hell did Izuku want with Shoto?

||

Shoto’s leg bounced like there was no tomorrow. 

His agitation had started leaking through the seams like a plague and he did not like how it was so close to showing. He was supposed to meet with Katsuki sooner than later and Katsuki would know.

But would he know I heard him last night?

The half and half ran a shaky hand through his hair. Probably not. 

Another student approached him mid spiral, asking about a mathematics equation they'd been left for as extra work, he'd been used to it. There was a reason he was in A in the first place, but his expression felt breached. 

And it was the way the boy stared at him that proved it.

Bewildered and slightly amused. 

“I didn't know you felt things,Todoroki. You look–worried.”

That definitely should've been either a harsh kick at his ego or a compliment, but Shoto simply tried to force a smile that failed terribly and instead, shook his head moving to stand. “I'll show you how to do it later Gisa, excuse me for now.”

Always polite, always the sane one.

So why did it feel like he wanted to punch a hole through the wall?

Taking a step back and away from his classmate, Shoto paused with a jump the moment he saw Izuku enter his class. Shoto’s desk, being at the back left corner the same way all the desks for all the four intellects were in all four classes, he saw him, moving past faces that disregarded his existence entirely.

It didn't take him long to realize the kid was under a barrier. And that he was heading his way.

Shoto fucking panicked.

Does he know?

Did he know?

Oh crap, he knows. And he can read minds!!

Izuku finally reached him, stopping right at his heel, watching that spooked face with tired eyes. The gentle face behind the glasses had fundamentally withered in just two days so exponentially, Shoto immediately forgot his mental troubles and looked Izuku dead in the eye.

“Your spiritual energy?”

It was a question Izuku gave a small nod to. 

The day Izuku and Hitoshi appeared, Aizawa had kept Shoto behind in an attempt to ask for a favour. To use one of the Todoroki family incantations on Izuku to keep his spiritual energy on a mundane type level.

In short, a concealment curse.

Shoto was apprehensive the moment he heard it because that was the same curse once used on his mother, Natsuo and almost to Toya, and the first two times it did more damage than good. 

Now his mother had gone sick and Natsu had just gone normal when he should never have been normal in the first place.

Shoto sighed. He'd said no then, and he was sure he would've said no again, if it wasn't Izuku standing in front of him.

Because deep down, Shoto wanted to see just how much energy this timid green haired boy packed that made his life close to a living hell, so when Izuku took his hand roughly, shoving him outside his own class, Shoto didn't fight back, he simply followed until they were in the combat club's locker room, hidden behind tightly closed doors. 

A steady silence took over like a weighted blanket.

“I'm sorry I took you out of class so suddenly.” It was Izuku, placing his bag inside one of the lockers, preferably his or Hitoshi's, he wasn't sure, then turning to Shoto with a tired gaze.

Shoto noticed then how red his eyes were. Despite the tired dark eye bags, they were puffy.

His breath caught in his throat.

“Izuku, I…”

Izuku shook his head sharply, “I know the concealment curse needs physical contact, it's not the first time I've been through it, but at this moment, you're the only one I can confidently come to regardless of what Mr Aizawa told me.” His voice lowered as he shrugged, “I know you said no, and I know why.”

Shoto felt his chest tighten. Nobody knew about his mother. Natsu, yes, he was famous regardless of being the only non hunter in the entire Todoroki family, but nobody knew about Rei.

He swallowed harshly, “how do you–?” He corrected himself sharply, forcing a steadying inhale, “what are you talking about?”

“Rei Todoroki, she was a seer for the Hunters, a great one at that. She loved Rindou flowers, specific blue gentians that your father gave to her—and you.” There was a shift in tone there, a drag to the final words like speaking to the bereaved in a funeral ceremony, “Regardless of what your father told you, she loved you Shoto.”

Shoto’s eyes twitched in shock. 

“You know about…”

“Your mother? Yes.” Izuku nodded solemnly, “I know she committed suicide in her hospital room alone. And I know that she's dead. I also know she's the one that gave you that scar.” Izuku's head raised, watching as the half and half’s hand reached up to his face. Shoto tried to keep the emotions brewing steadily inside his chest, but they forced their way through, angrily, sharply.

Izuku saw the feelings surface with every jitter, every turning gaze. Fury, hate, regret, fear, love–like a broken movie reel dipped in water. 

They were heightened by the drab atmosphere of the locker room.

Shoto’s voice trembled when he finally spoke, “she died after Fuyumi told them I was the hunter my father wanted. A hybrid, a fire adorned powerhouse with seer abilities. That I could do incantations as well as burn the demons to dust.”

He paused, taking a seat, legs giving out beneath him. He never thought he'd ever hear about her again. Not after how she passed away anyways.

“I haven't used my father’s abilities since…” he slowly mumbled, the past now coming to mind.

Everyone who knew thought it was an attack, Shoto had come to accept that as well. But the truth once festered, and the desire to say they were wrong, that his father was actually a demented psychopath, had eventually dulled under his mask of apathy.

Katsuki knew, Katsuki was there when the weight was too much. Katsuki was there when she died. Katsuki was always there. But sometimes it just hurt.

“I can do stuff like that…” Izuku was speaking again, gratefully keeping a safe distance from Shoto, “ – but it's always in intervals of energy I can't control. Sometimes it’s clairvoyance, other times it's necromancy, other times it’s being a powerhouse, but never a seer. I can't dispel my own energy and I think that's just a curse on its own.”

Shoto was slowly regaining composure as Izuku talked. So, he thought placidly, Izuku couldn't read minds 24/7.

“Okay.” He eventually replied in a calm tone, feeling his control seep back to indifference.

His mother was past, this was happening now. Maybe Izuku knowing did help him breathe better around the greenette but there was still the matter at hand.

And as if trying to hurry up the agency of the problem, Izuku suddenly moved with a jolt, body falling in on itself as he retched, vomiting a heavy volume of blood.

A strong wave of energy surrounded him in that instant like a pulse that pulled Shoto back.

It was a lot.

And definitely too much to ignore now. 

Chapter Text

It was game night.

Well sort of. 

Toya had burned the monopoly board when he realized he was out of money, Keigo had eaten the gingerbread pieces when they tried making houses, Natsuo had accidentally swallowed a die when they played snakes and ladders and Katsuki had become too competitive when they tried charades. 

Now Fuyumi was feral, and Shoto was just trying to survive.

They'd all eventually settled to movie night after a while of bickering, letting Shoto choose a movie for them while they made snacks and made out. [Shoto was sure Keigo and Toya’s trip to the bathroom and bedroom at the same time meant something totally dirty]

He sighed as he continued to go through the channels they had access to. Which considering their status, was a lot. And thus, extremely overwhelming.

He groaned in despair.

Then a hand came up to his shoulder over the couch startling him. He turned to it, eyes wide before he saw Katsuki blink at him, his sour expression now neutral.

“Caramel or salted?”

Shoto exhaled slowly, chuckling before he said, “caramel please.”

Katsuki nodded before squeezing his shoulder again, this time his face scrunching up in worry, “you doing okay Sho? You've been quiet the entire time.”

Shoto shrugged, placing the remote aside, “I'm always quiet, Kats. It's kinda my thing.” And there was no sarcasm in that comment, just pure thoughts wrapped in the clueless words of Shoto Todoroki.

Katsuki would've laughed in any other circumstance. But he didn't, he just looked away before he said, “I saw you today. With Izuku. Is there–?” 

Shoto's eyes widened further at that, watching as Katsuki fought himself to continue.

“ –something I should know about?”

“No!...”

Their voices overlapped. Quiet question with a firm agitated response. It was weird how that moment showed how their roles could switch so easily. That Shoto wasn't always silence and mystery wrapped in a perfect half type personality. He could get angry too. He could scream, “I heard you!” And let all hell break loose too...

But that was just it, he wasn't mad or annoyed, just shocked. 

The words that followed out of his damn mouth were ones he knew he was going to regret for the rest of his life, “but we aren't dating anyways Katsuki.”

The hand on his shoulder stiffened like a bolt of lightning, so quick Shoto knew nothing he could say would ever fix this. But he still turned, hopelessly coming up with words, anything… “hey, I didn't mean it like that, Kats.”

Stone-faced Katsuki Bakugo simply took a short step back, hand waving slowly in front of himself. “It's fine,” he chuckled dryly, “I'm fine.”

Fuyumi called him right before Shoto could continue, leaving the half and half in a frenzied silence. There was static crackling everywhere, Katsuki’s reaction playing again and in his head even as the movie went on and the blonde stayed silent the whole time.

This was wrong. Everything was soo wrong.

Katsuki had kissed him not so long ago and he'd kissed back. With fucking passion. And he wanted to continue, but he refrained on Katsuki’s behalf. 

Oh god how long he wanted that, and he finally got it, despite the cheek kisses they chose to call affirmations, this was different, this was deeper.

And he'd just up and ruined it. 

It didn't matter that Katsuki felt something for someone else, this was his mistake, not Izuku’s.

The movie credits were the first thing he saw when he came back into focus. Shit, he thought angrily, he'd just gone through an entire movie daydreaming about how shitty of a character he'd been instead of thinking about something else that would've been so much better than this.

Katsuki’s hand reached out to him, making his heart suddenly hammer in his chest in a loud form of hope, but the moment the blonde pointed at the popcorn bowl, he knew this really was fucked.

He gave it out, watching as Katsuki made his way to the kitchen.

Shoto looked back at the TV, Natsu already deep into picking another movie they could watch despite the time. It was a Friday tho, so they were in the clear, but that wasn't the point!

Toya’s hand rested on Shoto’s thigh just when he thought he was about to combust.

Shoto turned to his older brother, sleepy turquoise eyes warm as they searched from him to the kitchen. “You're allowed to feel too, you know.” His voice was silent, enough to go above Natsu’s concentration and Fuyumi and Keigo asleep near them. 

It was a genuine kind gesture. One they'd finally learned to do the moment they realized they were more connected than they thought.

The illness of their mother had done one good thing in their lives as Todoroki children, it had forced Enji to bring back Shoto from where he was training at to see his mother.

But Fuyumi, grown now and earning her keep, had intervened, ready to sue the hell out of Enji if he tried to take Shoto away from them ever again. 

And the moment Toya found out his little brother was finally away from the hands of their father, he'd come running, ready to form the bond they never had. 

Only to meet this emotionless boy looking at him like he was non existent. It had taken them a while to loosen Shoto’s icy heart, but they had and now here they were, sharing a brotherly moment as if it was something they were already used to.

Shoto didn't have to force this smile. Tilting his head, he mouthed a simple thank you before standing and heading to the kitchen. 

||

“You know, when you're genuinely mad, it never shows.”

Katsuki jumped, startled at Shoto’s sudden intrusion that he clutched the fabric over his heart tightly. “Shoto, what the fuck?!”

“You also get scared easily when you don't know what you're dealing with.”

Katsuki eventually calmed down, turning back to the sink to close the tap he'd left running by accident, “oh yeah?” He sounded irrediculous, ”and do you think I'm scared?”

He was about to scoff when Shoto shook his head, long half parted hair sticking to his face where sweat had slicked during the heat of bodies when they watched the movie. He looked hot, and Katsuki could never deny that despite the alarms ringing in his mind. 

“No, but I am.”

Now that made him raise a brow, “what?!” The chuckle that followed was of pure disbelief, “you mean to tell me thee Shoto Todoroki, one of the greatest seers to ever exist is scared? Of what?”

Shoto's answer was simple, “yes I am.”

Katsuki’s silence just begged for more context which Shoto sighed and offered, “I don't want to be like my father, Kats. Indifferent even to the pain of my loved ones for the sake of something greater.” Shoto paused, choosing to swallow any emotion he felt peeling through, then apprehensively continued, “My father is strong, one of the greatest powerhouses to ever exist, but the goal of making me turned him into a bad person and I don't want to end up the same.”

When Shoto’s vulnerability was met with silence for a while, he started to reconsider going back to the couch and rotting in self hate forever.

But Katsuki moved, coming to a stop in front of the half and half. “You know Shoto, there was a time I thought your father was amazing. Not better than Toshinori but he was a beacon of resilience. He made me believe he was tougher than any type of demon that existed out there including S tiers. And that was before I knew even I had spiritual energy. Yes I could see shit, talk to some of them too, but I thought it was just a normal part of me.” Katsuki chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, “so imagine the shock when the moment I realize I have active spiritual energy, the one boy to save me is his son.”

Shoto smiled bitterly at the memory. “I was only back for a while, I didn't even stay long.”

“And yet,” Katsuki’s hand found Shoto’s, “here we are.”

Shoto's breathing nearly stopped with how many beats skipped his damn heart.

“I'm not saying your life was perfect, I choose to think I've had it better than most kids my age. But, you're here, now. And you've got them by your side.” Katsuki’s nice tone lowered before he got used to it, “however much these bastards annoy the living shit out of me. How the fuck do you not know how to mimic a bear? It's a 6 foot long hairy dog with sharp teeth. Fucking growl damnnit.”

Shoto burst into laughter at the subtle recurrence of their charades game and why it ended. Toya’s stupid excuse for a bear being the cause of the game coming to a sharp close when Katsuki almost jumped to murder him.

Though the feeling stuck like glue, refusing to leave. “But Kats..”

The blonde rolled his eyes, grabbing the half and half by his collar before pulling him close, extremely close that they were inches apart, breath mingling, heartbeats syncing. 

“I know you didn't mean it you selfish bastard. You're bad at feelings just like me. We're bonded like that.”

His crimson irises moved from grey and turquoise down to Shoto's lips which stayed a tad open still immersed in the shock of such close proximity. 

“So I wouldn't mind if you didn't talk for a while, yeah?”

Shoto nodded, almost absent mindedly as their lips crashed in a heated kiss. Unlike the first, this one didn't have any boundaries, they knew what they wanted and they chased it.

It was hot and fast and breathless. Katsuki fighting for dominance but failing the moment Shoto realized that he was in fact stronger and a tad bit taller. 

It took them a minute before someone cleared their throat a distance from them making them cut contact moving back sharply with startled wide gazes 

Toya was smirking like a mad man holding Keigo bridal style close to his chest. “Two gay couples in the house.” He gasped mockingly, “What's dad gonna think Sho?”

Shoto let his head lull as he groaned, loud and irritable, throwing a middle finger at his brother. “Fuck off you monster.”

“Damn cockblocker.”

Toya turned his grin to Katsuki, “Tut Tut, kids. You're not allowed to partake in sex just yet, so this is an act of charity Katsuki, I'm saving you from your primal urges.”

“Primal urges?! I'll show you fucking primal urges.”

Katsuki’s jump to try and get to Toya was stopped when both Toya's watch and Shoto's blinked in alarm. 

Shoto, holding Katsuki back, looked up at his brother wearily. “An S Tier, in Shinjuku.”

Toya sighed slowly, cracking his neck tiredly as he turned to check on Keigo who was still sound asleep in his arms. “I can deal with it, but I'll need assistance to butt in for Kei.”

Katsuki blurted out, “I'll g–”

But not before Shoto replied firmly, “I'm the strongest right now so I'll go.”

Toya nodded, proceeding down the hall to put Keigo to rest leaving the two alone in the kitchen, just staring at each other. 

Shoto shrugged, “I really am stronger than you…”

“I know that!” Katsuki was almost feral, “but an S Tier? That's just bad juju. You might actually die from this, and the fact that you're not used to your powerhouse side …”

“I'll be fine.” Shoto cut him off with a firm kiss. “I'll be fine, Kats. I'm with Toya, and he's an S rank hunter.”

“Yeah, but you're B at best even without the evaluation. Especially with just your Seer abilities.”

“I understand your concerns…”

“Shoto, let's go..”

Shoto turned to his brother, already equipped with gear, and he smiled regretfully at Katsuki. “If I told you to stay put, would you?”

Katsuki scoffed, “of course not!”

Shoto chuckled, “I knew it.”

And Katsuki fell, unconscious, Shoto's curse quick to send him to slumber and away from danger.