Katsuki hesitated to answer when he saw an incoming call from Deku on his phone. He was exhausted from his patrol, only being able to relax for a moment because Mirko had paperwork to take care of. After he answered, he still wasn't sure whether or not he'd made the best decision for his own sanity, because the first words that came out of Izuku's mouth were-
"Kacchan, I really messed up"
-and at that his world stopped spinning for a moment. Because that could only mean one thing, right? That the idiot exposed himself, used more of his quirk than he was supposed to, that someone saw- That someone probably being All Might's fucking mentor- and Katsuki forgot how to breath for a second. Izuku should've never gone on that damn internship to begin with, he should've pressed harder, tried to convince him more... But that's all too late now.
"What did you do?" Katsuki whispered, finding himself unable to raise his voice any higher.
"Short version? I fought the Hero Killer to protect Iida and stole his quirk and Todoroki saw and Gran Torino's teaching license is probably gonna get revoked so my internship is getting cut short" Izuku rambled.
"Endeavor is taking the credit, though, to avoid any other legal trouble"
Katsuki must've been silent for longer than he thought after that, because Izuku asked him if he was still there.
"Y-yeah, uhm, I'm still here" Katsuki sighed, still trying to wrap his head around what he just heard.
"Icyhot is gonna keep his mouth shut, right? Do you need me to threaten him with silence? Because I will-"
"Todoroki-kun promised not to tell anyone" Izuku quickly interrupted.
"He knows about my quirk now and what it does and also that you and Aizawa sensei know about it and he was actually assigned to find out if I have multiple quirks by his father-"
"Deku, hold up" Katsuki interrupted him, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.
"I'm gonna need you to tell me the long version, okay? Don't leave out a damn detail"
So Izuku started to explain and Katsuki listened. It was concerning to find out that All Might roped other heroes in his search for answers and even more worrisome that Endeavor was using his own son as a spy, but luckily for them it hadn't worked out that way. Katsuki had to snort when Deku explained that Gran Torino was losing his teaching license because, seriously? Did that old fart really think Deku was gonna stay on that damn train? Ha, what an idiot!
"Then there were those other villains that were attacking... It took a lot of pros to take them down, apparently. I'm sure it's gonna be all over the news in no time" Izuku sighed.
"They just... They didn't seem human to me, Kacchan. Something was off about them... I don't like it"
"What was so off about them, then? Not like you to still be wary after the villains have been taken down" Katsuki frowned.
"Oh, uhm, well, I didn't realise it at the time, you know? Because I was too busy looking for Iida to really focus on them, but-" Izuku muttered.
"But I think a least one of them had more than one quirk"
"WHAT?!" Katsuki yelled, not caring about the looks he got.
"I'm gonna ask dad about it, after I ask him about Stain" Izuku quickly added.
"Since I'm going home soon, I'll probably be able to talk to him tomorrow... I'll text you whatever I find out then, okay? I mean, you must be busy with your own internship right now and- Oh God, I hope I didn't keep you too long! If you need to go just-"
"It's fine nerd, I'm on my break" Katsuki interrupted.
"And you better fucking text me tomorrow, got it?"
"Of course!" Izuku exclaimed from the other side.
"A-and, uh, Kacchan..?"
"What?" he grunted.
"I'm glad you're talking to me again"
That's right, he was supposed to be pissed at Deku for being an absolute idiot!
"You were right, like always... I shouldn't have picked this internship...but I'm happy I got to save Iida though! That's... That's the only positive thing that's come from this mess"
"You did what you had to do" Katsuki sighed.
"So does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?" Izuku asked, a hopeful tone in his voice.
"I'm still kinda pissed off, but for different reasons now" Katsuki said.
"I'm gonna have a good talk with Todoroki once school starts up again, I can assure you"
"Please don't be too harsh on him Kacchan! He really helped me out" Izuku pleaded.
"We'll see" Katsuki muttered, seeing Mirko come out of her office.
"I have to go, don't forget to text me tomorrow, kay?"
He barely heard Deku's goodbye as the call ended, quickly putting his phone away and standing up to greet Mirko as she approached. She liked to be shown respect, something Katsuki could understand and was more than willing to give since she respected all her colleagues in return.
"Whatcha say about some sparring, Explodo!" she asked with a grin, slapping her hand on his back.
Ah yes, Explodo, the nickname she gave him after he explained that none of his hero names had been approved of. He thought he'd be irritated by the nickname, but he didn't actually care all that much to be honest.
"Hell yeah! I'm definitely gonna beat your ass this time! Just you watch!" Katsuki exclaimed, smashing his hands together, creating a small explosion.
"That's what I like to hear!" Mirko stated.
...
Aizawa simply sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. He couldn't even look at this problem child right now. What the hell had he been thinking?! That internship in itself had been a disastrous idea already, but the Hero Killer on top of that? And now Todoroki knew about everything too? And Endeavor really sent his son, one of his students, after one of his other students! He didn't have enough coffee to deal with this right now...
"How have you ever kept this hidden for so long..?" Shouta breathed. It was a serious question, one that he desperately wanted an answer to. Because whatever the fuck he was doing before must've worked and he obviously wasn't doing it right now.
"I wasn't around to fix his fucking mess this time" Katsuki scoffed, earning a frown from Izuku.
"Hey! It's not like I do this on purpose! I am perfectly capable of hiding my quirk on my own, thank you very much" Izuku pouted.
"Midoriya, I saw you take Stain's quirk with my own eyes" Todoroki stated, his voice void of any emotion like always. Even so, it made Katsuki snort and Izuku pout even further.
"And you say that the Hero Killer's quirk was given to him by your predecessor, correct?" Aizawa asked.
"Yes, I, uhm, I asked him about it since his quirk was very clear to me even before I took it" Izuku explained. They all knew he could somewhat detect quirks with All For One, so he didn't need to explain that part.
"Apparently it's because AFO once had that quirk so I'm also familiar with it..? It's weird, to be honest... I... I've never taken someone else's quirk before... A-and it's not like I did it on purpose or anything either"
"You lost control over your power?" Aizawa asked. Now that was concerning. If this kid didn't keep a handle on this quirk, things could go bad real fast.
"It's probably linked to my emotions, at least that's what my da-uhm, my uh, my predecessor told me" Midoriya said, stumbling over his words for a moment.
"I was angry and upset and I wanted him to be quiet and everything just got too much for a moment... That's... That's probably what triggered it"
"If stress is what caused that incident, I don't think allowing you to train with your peers is advisable" Aizawa sighed. If something like this happened during a training exercise, there would be nothing he could do to protect this kid...
"N-no! Please let me train with the class! I-I promise it won't happen again!" Izuku exclaimed.
"He's got a point Deku. Maybe you just need some time to chill out?" Katsuki suggested.
"I've been home for days already! My internship was cut short, remember?" Izuku frowned.
"Please Aizawa sensei, I promise I'm okay now! I won't try to take anyone's quirk, not even All Might's"
"Why would you want to take his quirk if you don't even want to be anywhere near him?" Todoroki asked, confused.
"Their quirks react to each other, it's complicated" Katsuki quickly explained.
"Oh... Is it the whole nemesis thing?" Todoroki asked, making Izuku groan.
"Yes, it's the nemesis thing!" he exclaimed before turning back to Eraserhead.
"Aizawa sensei, please! I-I need this!"
Tears were welling up in his eyes by now, threatening to spill over any second. Katsuki's eyes widened and he quickly pulled the boy into a hug to try and comfort him, only to be pushed away by the green head.
What the hell was happening? Why was Deku so upset all of the sudden? Just because he won't be allowed to train with the class for a few days..? No, that can't be it... Katsuki frowned, grabbing Izuku's arm again and forcing him to look him in the eye.
"What the fuck is up with you, Deku?"
Okay, maybe not the nicest way to go about asking your friend whether or not he's okay, but Katsuki doesn't do nice and Izuku knew that.
"L-let go of me Kacchan" Izuku forced out, trying to hide the fact he was crying by looking down at the ground.
"Not until you tell me what's gotten into you" Katsuki hissed, pulling him closer just to make a point.
"Why the hell are you freaking out over this? So what if you miss a few days of training? It's not like you're gonna fall behind with the facilities you've got back home so what's your goddamn deal?"
Izuku was trembling, biting his lip and forcing himself to look away. How could he explain how he felt to them? They didn't have this quirk... They didn't understand how it felt! His talk with his dad hadn't helped at all... No, he just told him that it would always be like this and he'd just have to learn how to deal with it. Izuku had always wondered why his dad had decided to become a villain... This feeling gave him a deeper understanding of what drove the man back then. People would turn to villainy for less.
"Midoriya" Aizawa called out, making his head snap up.
"Answer the question. Why should I let you train with your classmates when you're obviously distressed?"
"Because I want to feel like a hero again!" Izuku cried out. He couldn't take this anymore! He's been holding this in for days now!
Everyone at home was worried about him and showing him pity and it was so frustrating! Izuku tried telling them he was fine, but how could he convince them when he couldn't even convince himself?!
"I-I... It felt so damn good to take Stain's quirk... To take this one unique trait and claim it for myself, it... I can still feel it tingling under my skin and I hate it! I hate that I want to take more! I hate that I'm scared to touch people now! That I...that I feel like a villain!"
He took a shaky breath, giving in to the hug Kacchan was offering. Data from his quirk came rushing through him, All For One working in overdrive while Izuku wanted nothing more than to shut it down. Ignition quirk. Flammable liquid, naturally produced and secreted. He took a shaky breath, taking in the caramel scent of nitroglycerin. Izuku had come to associate the smell with Kacchan and it soothed his racing mind, if only a little bit.
"I just... I just want to forget...and move on... I want to be a hero again"
For a while, all that could be heard was Midoriya's sobbing as he clung to Bakugou. Katsuki was doing his best to be a good friend, but he'd never been great at this feelings crap.
"...You've always been a hero, haven't you?" Shoto spoke, earning Izuku's attention.
"W-what..?"
"You said you want to be a hero again, but you've always been one. At least in my eyes" Todoroki added.
"B-but Stain-"
"You did that to save Iida and Native" Shoto interrupted.
"Or am I wrong?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Shut up Deku, half-n-half's right" Katsuki said.
"And you know I wouldn't be saying something like that if it weren't true. So shut up and stop crying nerd. Lunch break is gonna be over before we get to eat anything at this rate"
Right, they came to talk to Aizawa sensei on their lunch break... Izuku almost forgot they still had to eat... His mind was this going a hundred miles an hour, All For One coursing through his veins as he tried to suppress it.
The itching feeling wasn't going away... The itch to take another quirk... How could it with such powerful and interesting quirks surrounding him.
"Midoriya, I understand how you feel, but I won't let you train with the others" Aizawa stated, stopping all his thoughts at once. Like a train shrieking to a sudden stop, the silence in his mind was as deafening as the high pitched sound that the brakes would make on the track.
"This display only confirmed it, you're just not ready to train with other people yet. See this as a punishment for your actions during your internship. Take a quirk, get benched at best, expelled at worst. Is that enough motivation to get things under control for you, problem child?"
"Y-yes, Aizawa sensei!" Izuku squeaked.
"As for the two of you-" the teacher continued, looking at the two other students.
"-keep Midoriya out of trouble. If anyone else finds out about his unique quirk, I will expel the one responsible for the leak. Is that clear?"
"Yes sensei" they answered, slightly out of sync.
"Good. Now get out. I'm missing out on nap time and you should eat" Aizawa grumbled, already taking out his sleeping bag and crawling inside.