#for all we know izuku hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet

[sleepydrabbles]

A random note for anyone who thinks Bakugo’s character growth is slower/less amazing than the rest of class 1A

It is. But our timeline so far is about 1-1.5 years (stay tuned for a potential correction, I forget how long it’s been since the war arc and I’m rereading the manga to set up a timeline for myself). He spent half the first year learning he wasn’t the shit— so he’s naturally at least half a year behind. The growth he’s going through now is growth class 1A had probably about 6-12 months ago.

And let’s be honest— any growth looks minuscule next to Izuku getting jacked, learning how to control a quirk and then like seven, developing emotionally to a point where he could act with courage in the face of villains, saving like five people from themselves, etc. like All might notes, we’re watching the initial sprint of growth with Izuku, where he learns a lot in an incredibly short amount of time because there is SO MUCH to learn.

His other classmates have relatively normal growth— a few new skills, some emotional strength boosts, a few saves under their belts. They already knew they weren’t the shit— they were there to learn to be heroes in the same way most kids enter technical high schools with the intent to reach a career path.

Bakugo is arrogant and aggressive and antagonistic. He’s belligerent. He doesn’t listen. As some of you have noted, what kind of learning can a student like him do? Almost none. That means his growth was stalled AT LEAST until internships, where he simply said he was there to figure out what he couldn’t do, acknowledging potential weakness and the need for a mentor at some level. He put himself behind. That was entirely his fault. Cause and effect then rolled into place: once you get that far behind, short of a miracle, you aren’t going to catch up. Ever.

I don’t think even he realized this until he went fucking nuclear.

When you talk about Bakugo’s growth, whether you believe it does or doesn’t exist, please factor in the overall time taken and his general personality, and then remember he’s a pubescent high schooler. Maybe you were amazing as a high schooler but I know I had a few times where I was so wrapped up in my amygdala I ignored very good advice (though I have to admit it was more about studying anatomy, strategizing ways to make money, etc— kind of hard to compare a homebody artist with a sweet tooth to a spice-loving adrenaline junkie with explosive hands and a horrible temper.)

These are all factors that affect the situation, whether we like it or not. And they’re factors we know about, not hidden factors we have to guess at. Horikoshi gives us regular time indicators and Bakugo’s birthday. It’s established that they’re at a high school. We watch him interact with his surroundings (and I gotta say, he’s not popular, even in his middle school scenes. I get the feeling people groaned mentally when he got started).

Age 14, 15, 16 also need to be considered equal across the board. You cannot analyze one character and say “he’s only 16” and then analyze another and say “he’s already 16”. Everyone deals with their own challenges and the cause and effect those create, and they deal with it differently based on age, personality, and life experience. Please remember that.

And if you just want to rant about hating a character, tag it as a rant and not a critique, please.

[izzy-writes-bnha]

Higeki and Kigeki Pt. 2

Summary: Izuku didn’t grow up an only child. He had an older sister, but she disappeared some years ago. After tragedy strikes the Midoriya family his sister has no choice but to return to Izuku.

Pairings: Shigaraki/OC  Izuku/Toga

Tags: Villain!OC, Villain!Deku, AUish I guess

Word Count: 1638

The walk back home was slow going. Kizumi kept them to the shadows as best as she could. Her face mask was taken off and stuffed into a pocket. Izuku passed out for most of the walk, slowing them down even more. Not that Kizumi could complain. Her brother had not had any food or proper sleep for nearly three days now. One of his arms was thrown over her shoulders while she kept an arm around his waist. It was a good thing izuku had not hit his growth spurt yet as she could more easily carry his body alongside her. 

A familiar house was soon in her sight. “Izu, wake up, we’re home.” She gently spoke. Izuku gave a grumble as he woke, eyes fluttering open slowly. Keeping one arm around his waist, Kizumi used the other to knock on the door. A rush of feet could be heard from inside before the door was all but thrown open. 

The two were greeted by the sight of a red eyed crying Inko. “Izuku my baby!” The woman gently held his face between her hands. 

“Mom…” Izuku’s weak voice called out to her, his own eyes starting to drip with tears. 

“My baby’s are back home!” Inko threw her arms around both of the sibling’s necks. 

“Hey mom, can we take this inside?”

“Of course, or course. My babys!” Inko ushered the two of them inside quickly before closing the door behind them. 

“Do you have any soup?” Kizumi led Izuku into the kitchen with Inko following closely behind them.

“Soup?”

Kizumi gently sat her brother into one of the dining room chairs. “Izuku hasn’t eaten since he was taken. Soup would be the best thing for him right now.”

“Right, soup!” Inko quickly went to work making soup from what ingredients she had. Kizumi sat down in the chair beside Izuku. The sounds of Inko sifting through drawers and getting pans soon became a background noise to the two siblings. 

Izuku looked over to his sister. Kizumi was sitting in her chair sideways so she could watch the boy. Their eyes locking as a thought came to his mind. “Kizumi...your eyes are red.” 

“Hm?” Her head cocked in confusion at first. “Oh, right. They’re contacts. I didn’t want anybody to ever link me to you and mom.”

“Oh…” Izuku managed to mutter as he started to drift off into unconsciousness. His body leaned forward, head about to hit the table. Kizmi quickly caught him, pushing against his shoulder to sit back up straight in the chair. 

“Don’t sleep yet Izu. Get some food in your body then you can rest. Okay?”

“Yeah.” His voice was still so quiet and soft. Kizumi could only hope that her brother would bounce back from this. But deep down she was worried he would not. Izuki did watch her kill two men today and he has never even seen a body before. Kizumi never wanted her brother to see that side of her.

A bowl was soon placed in front of Izuku. “Here you go Izuku.” Inko sat down opposite of her son. The boy weakly raised an arm to pick up the spoon. Izuku managed to barely get it out of the bowl before it fell back down with a small splash. He went to pick it up again, only for the same thing to happen. “Izuku…” The woman went to stand, only to stop when Kizumi picked up the spoon herself. 

“I got you little brother.” Three sat in silence as Kizumi fed Izuku the soup. Inko took a look at her oldest child. It had been a couple of years since she last saw the older teen, but she could still easily recognize her daughter. Kizumi’s face looked more mature now and her hair had grown a few inches. Kizumi’s pale face bore a near identical set of freckles as Izuku’s. The suit vest she wore made the older teen look a bit older as well, though Inko tried to not look at the red splotches along the white coloured shirt. The woman had a feeling there were more spots of the red, but they were probably hidden among the blackness of the rest of her outfit. Inko did not know exactly what her daughter had been doing since she left home, though she had an idea of it.  Especially after what had happened the last time the girl had gone to school...

The bowl was soon empty. Their mother grabbed the now empty bowl and took it to the sink to wash it along with the other things she used to cook. Kizumi stood before going to help Izuku out of the chair. “Let’s get you to bed now.” 

“Thanks for the food mom.” The boy took one last look to his mom before Kizumi helped him to his room. 

“Of course sweety.” Inko turned her head to lock eyes with Izuku before the two siblings went out of sight. 

The two took the stairs a single step at a time. Kizumi’s arm back around Izuku’s waist.  She nudged his bedroom door open with her foot. Izuku was placed onto the side of his bed as Kizumi began taking off his shoes. He mindlessly stared at nothing in particular as his sister helped to undress him for bed. His current school outfit was dirtied and torn in places. With Kizumi’s aid he was able to get into his pajamas and into the bed. She placed a kiss onto his forehead and turned to leave.

Izuku weakly reached out, grabbing onto her wrist before she could get too far. Kizumi stopped, placing her other hand atop Izuku’s. “Izuku…” A small part of her regretted turning around then. The look Izuku was giving her nearly broke her heart. 

“I don’t want you to leave me. Not again.”

“I can’t stay around the two of you Izu. My life is dangerous.”

“Just till I fall asleep. Please?” 

Her mouth twisted upwards into the smallest of smiles. “Alright.” His hand fell from her wrist as she sat down, withdrawing back under the covers. At first neither of them said anything. Kizumi had her back to him as she glanced around his room, finding it to be the same as when she left if not with much more All Might merchandise. Izuku just stared up at the ceiling.

“Why did you leave back then?” Izuku’s question was quiet, barely louder than a whisper.

Kizumi glanced down at her gloved hands as they limply on her lap. “Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Life isn’t fair like that you know? I don’t want you to know the truth honestly. Part of me wants you to know, to understand. I don’t want you to think I’m like our Dad, just leaving like that.”

“I know you love us too much to do that.” The edge of her mouth twisted upwards ever so slightly at his words. Izuku’s words slurred ever so much as his body slowly succumbed to exhaustion.

“Yeah, I really do. But you see, I’ve done things. Things worse than what you’ve seen today. I didn’t want you or Mom to be dragged into my mess.” Kizumi stood up from his bed. Izuku shifted his head to watch her leave. “Maybe one day I can tell you. Now get some sleep, little brother.” His eyes shut just as Kizumi reached his door. 

Kizumi quietly shut the door behind her before she made her way back down stairs. Inko stood at the bottom. “You’re going to leave again, aren’t you.” The woman knew her daughter was going to leave, though she hoped she would not.

“I can’t stay Mom.” The woman threw her arms around Kizumi’s neck. The girl responded in kind by wrapping her own arms around Inko’s midsection. 

“Can you blame a mom for hoping? I’m just so happy to see you again. Even with everything...you still look out for Izuku. Even when the two of you were younger you were always looking out for him.” Inko was crying again as her arms tightened slightly.

“What kind of big sister would I not be if I didn’t? Besides,” Kizumi pulled the woman off gently, though their hands still held onto each other. “I’ll always be around, even if the two of you don’t see me. I’m always looking out for both of you and I’ll keep doing so.” Kizumi started to move towards the door, causing Inko’s arms to fall back around her sides. “See you around, Mom.” Was the last thing Kizumi said before walking out of the house.

The older teen managed to get a little ways away before her phone started to ring in her pocket. Kizumi took a turn down an alleyway. She waited till her body was engulfed in the shadows before finally answering her phone. 

“You’ve been away too long.” A male’s raspy voice spoke through the speaker.

“I told you I had to take care of some business.” Kizumi giggled. “Besides, it’s not like you’re alone.”

“He isn’t you. I don’t want him, I want you.”

“Now now Tomu, you’re sounding like a child.” Kizumi could hear the sound of something scrapping near the phone. “I haven’t run off too far, no need to freak out. I better not have to attend to that neck of yours when I get back.” The scrapping stopped, making Kizumi smile; she knew him too well. 

“Just get here already, I’ll have Kurogiri send a portal.”

Kizumi let out a sigh. “Fine, if you’re that impatient I’ll send my location.” She heard the click as he hung up. Kizumi quickly sent the information over. A black mass of mist popped up not but seconds later. The girl stepped through, the mist disappearing behind her.

[First] [Next]

[mintchocolateleaves]

We’ve Only Just Begun (4/??)

Summary: The world comes to a halt, everything torn apart, All-Might left as dust, Deku the last hero left standing. In this world the villains win. In a fit of desperation, Midoriya Izuku turns the clocks back. In a fit of desperation, he rewrites everything. TimeTravel!AU

[Beginning]     [Previous Chapter]

Before

“They said they'll meet us in Tokyo, right?” Uraraka says, breathless, grief already lacing her voice. Izuku knows well enough that denial will be her coping mechanism.

He also knows from the way she refuses to let herself cry, that her denial will be enough to get them killed. It's how she's gotten the scar that runs down her stomach, a pink raw line that stretches against her leg. He's not going to let her refusal to accept their friends' deaths lead them into any traps.

Not again.

“Uraraka. They're not going to meet us there.”

Her resulting laugh is strained, laced with despair as she turns to face him. She stares – practically begging – for him to go along with the illusion she is attempting to weave.

“Of course they are,” Uraraka mumbles, and there is something akin to hysteria in her voice. It bubbles, rises from her throat, catching on the tip of her tongue. “They're not liars, Deku. They said-”

“They're not liars, no.” Izuku agrees, narrowing his eyes. He pockets the transmitter, bites the inside of his cheek and attempts to think a way around this revelation. It's impossible – there's only one outcome of those raids and they both know it. “They're dead.”

Uraraka recoils at the statement, trips over her feet. Banging her elbow on a piece of rubble she lets out a yelp, alarmed as the rock digs into her skin. The second she recovers from the shock, she scrambles to her feet, glaring through narrowed eyes.

It burns. “We don't know that.”

“Yes,” Izuku replies, “we do.”

Disbelief. Uraraka doesn't look at him, but it's present on her face, pure refusal to believe anything other than the best. Shouldn't she know by now not to be so hopeful?

“They never came back for the transmitter,” he says, voice harsh, not the gentle tone he'd have used once. Maybe he's just tired, maybe he knows he can't be empathetic any more without tearing himself apart, piece by piece. When the silence stretches in on itself, he continues, “they didn't come back for it. And Kacchan's transmitter is offline too.”

“They-”

“They're either dead Uraraka,” Izuku says, firmly, “or as good as dead.”

He offers her a hand, the closest thing to comfort he can give without leaving himself vulnerable. “It's just us now. Let's not waste their information.”

Uraraka nods. Takes his hand before wrapping both arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. She's shorter than he is – has been ever since Izuku had hit that one growth spurt in their third year at U.A – but it's not just her height that makes her seem small. The news has hit, makes her shoulder curl inward.

“Tokyo then,” Uraraka whispers.

“Tokyo.” Izuku agrees.

After

The hero team wins.

Izuku deflates at the words. He feels them like a slap to the face, as if the sting is enough to bring him back to the present moment.

This is not a fight against villains, it's a fight against children. A strategy game intended to make them better at fighting, to turn them from amateurs into full blown heroes. It's not something to be proud of, even if Uraraka's lips lift upwards into a grin as she jumps up and down in excitement.

Heroes don't win, Izuku thinks, as he turns to Uraraka and feigns his own happiness. They always lose – because by the time they show up, something has been stolen, whether it be innocence, or valuables or... or life.

“The losing team is unscathed,” All-Might's voice blasts through the speakers of the training building, something that leaves Izuku's smile thinning into a sad smile, his eyes turning to the rubble around them. How long, he wonders, has it been since a battle has ended without severe injuries. “The winning team, however, seem to be out for the count.”

Izuku turns, glances over at Uraraka. She's on her knees, trying to deal with the queasiness that comes with using her quirk too much. Other than that though, she doesn't look injured. He turns then, glances at one of the surveillance cameras to where he knows All-Might must be watching.

“Oh no, Uraraka's just feeling a bit queasy, she's fine.” He sends a smile and gives the camera a thumbs up, before his expression falters. Then, he tilts his head, “...wait... did you mean me?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Iida stands up. The boy steps closer, a frown creasing his forehead as he makes his way towards Izuku. He stops in front of him, lips tight in a grimace as he narrows his eyes. Iida says, “of course All-Might is talking about you, you're... you're injured Midoriya!”

Izuku glances down at himself, at that is when it really clicks.

His suit has practically melted, he's severely burnt, and the thing that's been distracting him slightly, is his own pain as each neuron screams at the next, echoing the fact that he's in agony. Well... not so much agony, but Izuku definitely feels it, and has to lock his jaw to keep from reacting.

Izuku waits a moment, counts to five, and then lets out a small laugh. He says, “I'm okay, really. Nothing a bit of ice won't heal.”

The look he receives is nothing short of bafflement. Iida places both hands on Izuku's shoulder, hesitantly, as if to avoid causing any further pain, before saying, “ice reduces swelling, but not to this extent... Midoriya... you need to go to recovery girl.”

Izuku supposes he'll have to, but for now, he's going to help Uraraka up.

“Hey,” he says, offering her a hand, the skin feels raw, but it's doesn't hurt too much when he pulls her up, so he figures he should be fine. “we did great.”

Uraraka sends him a look filled with only doubt. But she is standing, and so is Izuku – and even better yet, the only person actually injured is him – so he decides to negate it. He offers her a grin, pulls her out to where Iida and Bakugou are stood, waiting for All-Might's grading verdict.

Last time, Iida had been the VIP of the match. Izuku doubts it'll turn out any differently.

“No seriously,” he babbles, as they meet with their two classmates, “we couldn't have won without your quirk Uraraka.”

Uraraka smiles, and the movement is shy. Izuku squeezes her hand, offers a smile, before they stop. He wonders how long they'll have to wait for All-Might's verdict, whether he'll be conscious enough after recovery girl uses her quirk on him to watch the other matches his classmates will carry out. Probably not, he's sort of... lacking energy today.

“I've come to my decision,” All-Might says, and his voice is a boom in their ears, too loud for their ear pieces to handle without leaving their ear drums buzzing afterwards. “The VIP from this match, is Uraraka!”

There's a small gasp of air from beside him, and maybe Izuku has deflated due to this match, but Uraraka has practically inflated. She lets out a small laugh, uncertain, before turning to Izuku and grabbing both of his hands. She gets a little too close for Izuku's liking, but her happiness makes it easier to bear, if only a little.

“I'm the VIP Deku,” she says, and Uraraka shakes him slightly in her excitement, “I can't believe it. Me!”

Izuku smiles.

It's not an unexpected result though, not if he thinks it over. Out of the two groups, only the Hero team had worked together. And Uraraka had adapted to each of Izuku's plans with little confusion. Unlike the first time they'd fought the match, she'd been on guard too – well, mostly – not getting distracted or letting the situation run away with her.

And well – she's unharmed too. If only a little sickly from the overuse of her quirk.

Her being the star of the match is only expected, but still, she glows.

Izuku thinks that maybe Uraraka hasn't won much before. It's almost sweet how much it makes her feel happy. Her expression is one that he wants to protect, the innocence, the pure giddiness she feels at being recognised by their teacher for having performed well in the fight.

Izuku can't let her lose that. Not again.

“Yeah,” he says, and he feels heavy on his feet, pain making his vision blurry, “you're deserve it, you know?”

He doesn't hear her reply.

Everything goes black, and he faintly recalls the feeling of unconscious grabbing hold of him, but mostly, it happens in the time it takes to blink – milliseconds, and he's gone.

He wakes to the sound of All-Might talking to Recovery girl.

They're talking about him, about how he's only been a student two days but has already been in the medical wing three times. Maybe it's inevitable, Izuku thinks, he's never been particularly good at escaping trouble without receiving at least one new injury.

He's tired though, absurdly so. It's a feeling that drags him down, makes it difficult for him to sort through his thoughts. It's almost like he's forcing himself to search through murky water for a penny, it's impossible.

Instead, he blinks until his eyes feel less heavy. Glances around the white medical room. His arm is linked to an IV, and it's itchy against his skin, but Izuku's isn’t stupid enough to rip it from his arm. He hardly wants to bleed out, and he doesn't have the energy to press against the hole in his arm until blood congeals and seals the puncture.

His arms don't feel so burnt any more.

Which is probably good, considering the sting he'd felt. A glance at his skin shows that it's slightly red – like a faint sunburn, but it's not as severe as he supposes it must have been to make his pass out. Damn... that means he must have missed the other fights.

And he'd almost been hoping he'd be able to watch them this time...

It doesn't matter, he supposes – after all, he already knows their fighting styles. Just not how much they've developed them so far. Maybe he should know, should remember, but frankly it's been so long and most things about UA come back to him in a haze.

“Midoriya, my boy!” All-Might seems to notice that he's regained consciousness, and he steps away from recovery girl – away from the scolding he'd been receiving for not teaching Izuku to use All-for-One without injuring himself – turning to his student. “You're awake.”

And Izuku, barely conscious, finds himself muttering. “All-Might... It's really you.”

All-Might coughs. He looks small too, when he's living his life as Toshinori Yagi, unable to stay in the inflated body his fans know him to wear. It's not a quiet small though, Izuku thinks, but rather a strong and determined small.

Izuku has missed it. Has missed being able to see his mentor without it being a memory he's conjured from his head to convince him to keep going.

“Of course it's me Midoriya,” All-Might responds. He looks confused for a moment, but it's not overly worried. “Who else would it be?”

Who else indeed.

“Sorry,” Izuku says, and he smiles sheepishly, “I think I'm still half asleep. And it's not until I fully wake up that I convince myself this isn't a dream.”

He's not even been here a day and already the pressure is loading itself onto his shoulders. Izuku will be able to deal with it, he's dealt with worse, but until then...

“It's not a dream, my boy,” All-Might says, “you're going to become a hero.”

Ah. Yes – he must be thinking that Izuku is excited about becoming a hero, that he thinks attending U.A high is just a dream. Which... well it was, once. Somewhere between then and now, it'd changed into something more desperate. The dream twisting into a nightmare until the only thing he'd desired was to survive.

“Yeah.” Izuku says, and he knows he should smile at this point, but he closes his eyes instead, tries not to grimace. “I'm going to be a hero, and I'm going to save everyone.”

All-Might doesn't respond. He probably thinks that Izuku's fallen asleep again. He doesn't sleep though, remains awake listening to his breathing until Recovery girl wakes him up and tells him class has come to an end.

He has to grab his bag to leave for the day, but Izuku doesn't think he'll be able to do so rather quickly. He pulls half heartedly at the bandages around his wrists, something just to ensure the burns that haven't fully healed yet won't grow agitated, but it doesn't offer any comfort.

Izuku's classmates, he knows, will be waiting for him.

Last time, they had offered him sympathy for losing his match against Kacchan. Kirishima has offered to spar with Izuku until he felt more confident in his fighting technique, but he'd never really taken him up on it. Had felt far too embarrassed about losing. Now, he's not sure whether he'd be able to actually say yes – not without letting them see the skills he's picked up.

Although... Izuku will need to reteach himself certain techniques, moves that had relied on instinct and quicker reaction times...

“Oh, it's Midoriya!” Kirishima is the one who drags his attention from his thoughts, as he opens the doors. He looks impressed, as he leans forward, glancing at the smaller boy. “You're fight was epic.”

Izuku offers him what he hopes looks like a shy smile. “...Yeah?”

“Definitely!” Ashido jumps in as he makes his way towards his desk, grabbing his bag. She fist pumps the air in excitement, offers a grin. “You dodge really well.”

“And those moments when he just went straight into the flames!” Tsuyu adds, joining the mini crowd around him.

“Oh yeah man,” Sato says, “I wouldn't have the balls to do that!”

They introduce themselves after that, which... would have been useful if he didn't already know them. Izuku rubs the back of his neck, and grins, feels awkward about the entire thing. He'd actually been trying to hold back... but had he still done too much?

“I grew up with Kacchan, that's all,” he says. “I know some of his tells.”

Some tells meaning, all of the tells he'd had as a teenager.

“But still!”

Izuku tunes the praise out, and he grabs his bag. He interacts when it's his turn to speak, but his mind is on other matters. Like Kacchan's who's probably leaving school already. And the home he's going to have to step inside when he leaves the school gates behind.

“I'm sorry,” he says, waving his hand in what he hopes looks like an apology, “but I need to go catch up with Kacchan before he leaves. Can we pick this up tomorrow?”

His classmates seem very understanding – Uraraka states that they'll have to work together another time, and Kirishima still asks if they could train together some time, and Izuku leaves the classroom behind feeling both happy and lonely at the same time.

First he needs to deal with Kacchan.

He finds him just outside of the school building. The other boy's shoulders are slumped slightly, and he kicks at a pebble as Izuku calls his name, trying to grab his attention. It works, but Kacchan doesn't turn to look at him. He stops walking though, and Izuku thinks maybe that's enough.

Now, he just needs to think of what to say.

His quirk – something about that, he supposes. He can't spend much time with Kacchan thinking he's been fooled for years, so he should say something about that. And then, he should also mention the fight in a way that doesn't sound boastful...

Ah, why is it difficult to deal with teenagers?

“Listen,” Izuku says, racing down the steps, nearing to Kacchan, “I can't tell you much, because it's not my secret to tell. But... I've not been lying to you – This quirk... It was given to me.”

Kacchan turns to face him. He glares.

Izuku thinks that it's prompt enough to keep going. He says, “I only won today because Uraraka and I worked together. I wouldn't have won against you by myself-” a lie, but Kacchan needs a little ego boost after a loss like this, “so... next time, let's fight just you and me. Okay?”

The glare deepens.

“Goddammit,” Kacchan growls, and if Izuku's right, there are tears in his eyes. He decides not to comment on them. “I don't understand what you're saying at all. Gifted power? Listen, I lost to you today, but next time... I won't lose to you again, got it Deku?”

Izuku nods, and Kacchan turns away, stomps down to the gates.

Now that he's dealt with Kacchan – one difficult task checked off the list – he thinks over what he's got to do next. The thought fills him with dread, the next task that he won't be able to put off. He has to go home for the day. And he'll have to pretend everything is fine.

He has to go home.

[Next Chapter]