#HELLO. happy koi6versary

[vuullets]

i'm here with you

READ ON AO3

Three years is a lot of time to be out of commission after blowing yourself up, especially if you're someone used to going as fast as possible. Koichi hopes that Number 6 will be okay with having lived through that experience.

“Hey! No quirk usage in the hallway!”

The words fall upon selectively deaf ears. Koichi zips throughout the hallways of the hospital, focused solely on one thing: his destination. He’d jumped off in the middle of patrol (with Chris’ permission, of course) to get here as fast as possible. Koichi refuses to miss a single second of the time he can spend with him.

The adrenaline rushing through his veins has a strong enough hold on his brain that he nearly slides past the right hall entirely. Only at the last minute does he stop, getting back up on his feet to read the room number of the door to his right. It reads “3c 21”, which is past the correct room.

Internally, Koichi curses himself for not stopping at the right spot. He hurries a few doors down to the proper room, “3c 17.” Grabbing onto the door handle, he pauses. Fear wells up in his gut, as the reality hits him.

Over the years, Koichi had done everything he could to know the most about that scarred man he couldn’t save. Much against his master’s extremely strong suggestions to not attempt to learn more, that was all he wanted. To understand who he lost. And the further he dug, the blade held against his heartstrings only grew sharper.

The version of that man he’s conjured in his head isn’t going to be the one lying behind this door. They aren’t going to have a sweet reunion. He had always wanted Koichi’s head on a stake in the first place. It must be the same now.

Koichi takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and enters the room, scared of the future to come.

“Number 6?” he calls out faintly, and opens his eyes. Sitting upright with confusion on the singular bed in the room is a familiar figure, golden eyes glaring back at him with a burning intensity.

In complete honesty, the former bioweapon is probably in the best condition Koichi’s ever seen him in. Aside from a bluish-black tail curling around his legs, he’s quite clearly human. Whatever surgeries he had gone under must have involved some form of brain or head trauma, given the lack of 6’s messy black hair. The hair that has started to grow back, short as it is, seems to be white instead. Koichi refrains from commenting on it, knowing that bringing up the other’s looks will make for a sore conversation starter.

Closing the door behind him, Koichi slowly approaches Number 6, but stops when the latter freezes up. 6 stares back with an empty gaze, his tail now thumping against the mattress. Hesitantly, Koichi takes a step backwards to try and cool down the situation, but it’s to no avail.

“Why do you look like me‽” the scarred man abruptly screams out.

Koichi pauses, unable to reply. He realizes that this is 6’s first time seeing him in years, and things have changed, including himself. Though the Skycrawler look has stayed pretty much the same since Koichi’s original draft, he acknowledges that a lot of the design came from 6’s hero costume. Perhaps too much of it, based on 6’s reactions. It was the best way Koichi figured he could remember 6 - to take inspiration from the villain’s creative choices. Unintentionally to the point of honoring 6 (not having realized until Kazuho pointed it out for him), his hair is also much longer now, going down slightly past his shoulders. He has it tied back in a bun - as usual while on the job - as opposed to a ponytail, but Number 6 is someone who will take the most minuscule details into account.

“You really decided to rip-off my costume, didn’t you?” 6 snarls in accusation. “Is ruining my future not enough already‽”

“I-”

“I get it,” 6 says with a pout. “I’m the bad guy. I don’t get jackshit.”

“That’s not true, 6,” Koichi says. “You’re not the bad guy. Especially not anymore.”

“...”

Number 6 has a blank expression, before looking towards the wall for answers that won’t come. One of his hands comes to rest on his thigh, and he begins to repeatedly tap his pointer finger against it.

Koichi comes closer, and finds no resistance given from the former villain. It’s only when he’s within a yard of 6 that the other looks at him.

“Y’know, I didn’t expect you to be enough of a bastard to gloat about your victory, Haimawari,” Number 6 growls. “Seems I read you wrong.”

“I’m here to make sure you’re okay,” Koichi replies. “That’s all I want.”

“I doubt that.”

“It’s true.”

“Maybe you think it’s true. But deep down, it isn’t.”

Koichi doesn’t know how to give Number 6 a proper response. There’s no way he’ll be believed.

“You’re not gonna have to see anymore of me once you’re better,” Koichi says, wanting to veer away from a potential fight. “You can go off to wherever you want, and I won’t follow.”

“You say this like they aren’t filling out the forms right now to lock me up until either nothing is left of my corpse or the planet explodes.”

“6, you don’t have to worry about that. Makoto’s taking care of that - if you know her. Uh, you wouldn’t know her,” stumbles the hero.

“I know of her,” 6 muses. “Her leaving you guys eventually got me that job as the Narufest manager in the first place.”

“Everyone knows you’re a victim of All For One now. This wasn’t your fault. Plus, Japan is too busy dealing with like, five billion other things to worry about you, or me for that matter.”

“... I don’t think smuggling my unconscious body overseas to wherever we are passes as vigilantism, pest,” 6 states. A stupid grin proceeds to cross his face before he abruptly bursts out laughing, and points at his self-declared arch-nemesis. Koichi jolts backwards, surprised by the change of attitude.

“You’re gonna get arrested over me! Holy shit! Over me! You’re truly the stupidest person alive!” Number 6 exclaims after catching his breath.

“Actually, we’re kinda in America right now because I’d get arrested back home over you. For everything else,” Koichi corrects, his voice wavering. “Even getting a hero license hasn’t fixed any of that…”

He realizes too late that he’s made a huge mistake. 6 reaches behind him on the bed to grab onto and hold up an all too familiar hoodie, and looks at Koichi with simply an expression of distaste.

“I was figuring this was your first one,” 6 mutters. “Since it’s in… mediocre condition. Was surprised at the time you’d left it for me. Damn , you take better care of your All Might merch than you do Kazuho…”

“That’s not true!"

“Then where is she?” the villain asks, tossing the jacket towards Koichi. Koichi catches it with ease.

“In Japan,” Koichi states matter-of-factly.

“You left her?”

“Left her? She’s doing way better than me! From what I hear, everyone’s been okay since our fight, even to now. I mean, it’s been three years since that bee got in her head, and since then, she’s fully recovered and made a life. Got a girlfriend, started college, turns out Knuckleduster’s still around so they’re watching over Naruhata still, normal things! Or, uh, normal things for us, I guess,” stumbles the ex-vigilante.

Number 6 looks back in disbelief. Koichi wonders what claim he’ll call bullshit on - Kazuho getting with Miu, or Knuckleduster still being around.

“Rewind. It’s been how long?”

Fuck. This is going to be much harder to break to him than life updates on someone they both know.

“It’s currently June, so in about two months, it’ll have been three years since you…” Koichi cuts off, realizing that death is no longer a proper marker for the event.

“Three years.”

“Yup.”

"Three years since I was supposed to have died?”

“I’m sorry, I should have told you first thing.”

“What the fuck.”

The sudden silence between them worries Koichi. Any second now, he expects to find Number 6 going for his throat.

Instead, in opposition to everything Koichi’s ever learnt about him, 6 is visibly trying to hold back tears. He glares angrily at the floor, the tapping of his finger beginning once again, his tail thumping harder against the surface below it.

“Why didn’t I die‽”

The question is one Koichi wants answers to as well.

“I wanted to die!” 6 exclaims, looking back at Koichi. “But as you do, with every single thing ever conceived, you ruined it!”

“That’s not true. Why would you want to die? You had a chance to live, when I dragged you off that rooftop. What came over you?” Koichi pleads for answers.

“I had nothing to live for, since you haven’t been listening to anything I say! You took away everything I wanted, and I’d disobeyed orders anyway. Dying on my own terms was much more appealing than running the risk of my boss’ - or ex-boss, I guess - wrath.”

“He’s not going to hurt you anymore. He’s gone.”

“Is he really?”

“Yeah, this kid - Midoriya - he took care of it, along with one of A.F.O.’s other followers. Tomura is his name, I’m like 99% certain of that. Never met him like I did Midoriya, though.”

“... Shigaraki Tomura killed All For One?” 6 asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yup.”

Number 6 mutters something inaudible, before looking back at Koichi.

“No point in lying now. I left you alive to hurt him. If he wasn’t around, there’d be a lot more damage to you than just that scar on your face.”

“That’s not true.”

“You can’t say that shit! You’re not me! You know nothing!”

“I know that you were scared, and I know that you wanted help. And I know you refuse to believe that, but it’s true,” Koichi says.

Number 6 freezes like an NPC in a video game.

“6,” Koichi continues. “I’ve spent the past three years thinking about you every day. Whatever you felt for me, I guess I sorta understand it now.”

“...”

“You don’t really want to die, do you?” he asks. Number 6 looks back, uncertainty painted on his stolen face.

“Leave!” he exclaims. “Get outta here, pest!”

“... Alright.”

Without hesitation, Koichi turns around and slowly makes his way to the door, holding his old All Might hoodie tight to his chest. Part of him wonders if he should ask to make sure there’s higher security, in order to keep 6 from doing something stupid. The other part of him wants to leave things as they are. At the end of it all, he wants the other man to be happy, and maybe that’s impossible for him. Kazuho and Iwao had both made their points that this would end horribly. Koichi takes a moment to finally accept them.

Right before he reaches the door, the sound of rushed footsteps behind him have Koichi turn around. Number 6 awkwardly darts towards him, and Koichi barely manages to close the distance fast enough to prevent him from falling to the floor.

Immediately, 6 leans down and buries his face into the crook of Koichi’s neck, and attempts to quietly sob. Unsure of what to do, Koichi wraps his arms around 6, who immediately repeats the action. The situation has occurred many times in Koichi’s dreams, albeit in a happier setting, but Number 6 holding on tight to him in reality feels like some kind of illusion.

“Don’t leave,” 6 pleads, all choked up. “Please don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone again.”

“It’s alright,” Koichi reassures him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” the bioweapon says in-between tears.

With a bit of fiddling, Koichi manages to drape his old hoodie onto 6’s back, which makes 6 draw away. Number 6 quickly puts the hoodie on properly, still unsteady on his feet. It’s small on him, but there’s no complaint. There’s only the look between the two of them, and the sudden recognition to Koichi that 6 trusts him.

“Do you need help getting back to bed?” Koichi asks. 6 looks away and back again, then slowly nods his head, as if ashamed to admit defeat in the realm of visibly loathing Koichi. Gently, Koichi picks 6 up and proceeds to return him to his rightful spot of being as comfortable as he can be.

“Wait,” 6 says before he’s set down. 

“Mmm?”

“Can you still… hold… me?” he asks meekly. Koichi can’t help but notice that Number 6 is blushing. The past few minutes have been a very unexpected turn of events.

“For as long as you want,” Koichi says with his signature dumb grin. He sits down on the bed, 6 still in his arms. A strange noise starts up, similar to a cat purring. It takes a bit for Koichi to recognize that the source of it is Number 6.

“Betcha wonderin’, what’s with the sudden change in attitude? Did the big, scary experiment Number 6 decide he liked the Crawler all of a sudden? Why, that’s so uncharacteristic of him,” 6 drawled on, clearly having fun with the speech.

“Or is it?” Koichi asks.

“Or is it?” 6 repeats, deciding to strum his hand through Koichi’s hair. “The answer is… I hate you again, because you’re right that I don’t hate you anymore. I mean, Kuin or Tomura would never come check on me if I was hurt. Nobody would, except for you. My enemy. ”

“Are you really as alone as you say you are?” Koichi asks. 6 looks back at him, and frowns.

“I’m about to take back being nice!” he exclaims, although it’s clearly in a comical sense. Number 6 continues to play with Koichi’s hair, stopping to grab onto the band currently holding it back.

“Oh shit, your hair’s long,” 6 says when it comes undone. He looks away, although it doesn’t take much for Koichi to figure out that the former villain is flustered. Koichi sets 6 down, which snaps 6’s attention back to him.

“It is, huh?” Koichi asks rhetorically.

“God, you’re stupid,” 6 states. “You’re right, though. I don’t wanna be dead. I don’t think anyone truly does. There’s just no future for me, and zero past to build on from.”

“You have the freedom to choose what to do,” Koichi says. “I think that’s a good future.”

“Hate you,” 6 mutters. “God, I’m so fucking soft when I’m with you…”

Koichi gently reaches out his hands to cup 6’s face, which has 6 visibly over the moon.

“I’ll support whatever you wanna do, 6,” Koichi says. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Jerking his head away from Koichi’s hold, 6 brings his hand up to the hero’s cheek, letting his thumb rest over the scar he caused. The cause of the mark proceeds to frown.

“Hey, it’s cool! I think it looks cool,” Koichi reassures him. 6 continues to trace over it, lost in thought.

“I’m not mad at you for the past,” Koichi says. “I never will be.”

Unexpectedly, Number 6 leans in to gently kiss Koichi’s scar - the final thing he’d left behind.

“I know you won’t,” 6 says, bringing his forehead to rest against Koichi’s. “You mean things to me, hero. You wouldn’t mean anything to me if you were against me.”

Hero. The only time 6 had ever called Koichi that before had been right before his supposed demise as a mockery. But now it’s said with genuine love and affection, something that Koichi knows that nobody besides him ever expected from Number 6.

“A lot of people are going to not accept you at first,” Koichi tells 6. It’s a painful truth, but one he must deliver.

“Oh, that’s fine. I mean, shit’s gonna be fine, ‘cuz you’re Haimawari Koichi and manage to fix things without even trying. I know everything will be okay,” Number 6 says softly. His hand takes hold of Koichi’s, and squeezes gently. “It’s all okay, pest. As long as I'm here with you.”