16

Chapter 16: Time Does Not Heal All Wounds

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku stares at the door of the Bakugou household like he'd stare down any villain. They're locked in a stalemate, both waiting for the other to make a move. Which unfortunately falls to Izuku, since doors are inanimate and won't do anything on their own. He sighs and inches forward.

It would be nice if he could get Kacchan to talk to him. The time at school he spends with the blonde is still met with silence. He has no clue what to say to remedy that, doesn't know why he's here if he doesn't, all he knows is that he wants to talk.

Izuku sighs again and closes the last couple of meters to the door. He raises his knuckles to the wood and raps sharply three times.

And waits.

Is this a bad idea? Will he just make Kacchan angrier and destroy any hope of them being closer? But talking is something that has to be done to make things better, right? That's what his therapist always used to tell him. Yet...Kacchan isn't the best conversationalist and Izuku can count on his fingers the number of civil conversations he's had with said blonde. And how could Izuku keep up a conversation with such a person when he himself has no idea what he wants to say?

The door opens. Izuku's out of time.

"Izuku! Hey! I haven't seen you in forever!" The voice of Mitsuki-san greets him and Izuku is encircled in a tight hug. She pulls away from him and ruffles his hair in a way that closer resembles a noogie. Her eyes rake over his features and a soft expression settles over her face.

"What brings you here, kiddo?"

Izuku chuckles nervously, glad and disappointed it hadn't been Kacchan to answer the door. "I wanted to talk to Kacchan. Is he home?"

Mitsuki-san smiles. "Come inside! I think Katsuki isn't home right now, but he should be soon. Would you like some tea?"

And before Izuku can protest, or say anything for that matter, he's swept over the threshold and led into the kitchen with a firm hand to his back. Although it isn't as though he doesn't know her, it becomes extremely awkward for Izuku to make conversation with the mother of his once best friend/bully.

Mitsuki-san is blissfully unaware of the awkward atmosphere, however, so maybe Izuku's just imagining it. She moves about the kitchen to prepare tea while she peppers Izuku with questions. Things such as "How's school?", "How's Inko doing?", "Is Katsuki treating you well?"

Izuku answers her questions politely and wishes for the first time that it was Kacchan that greeted him. The awkwardness is too much for him to handle. He hides most of it behind the teacup when he sips the too-hot tea he's been given.

Please get home soon, Kacchan.

"You've grown so much since I last saw you! And look at those muscles! I bet you could even give Katsuki a run for his money!" Mitsuki-san praises. She slaps him on the back and Izuku fights not to spit out his tea. That would be rude after all. Instead he swallows the burning liquid and coughs violently. He feels his cheeks heat up and knows he must look like a tomato.

"...no." He informs her when he can. "Kacchan has always been stronger than me." He covers the comment up with a nervous laugh. What would Kacchan think, if he had heard his mother say that? He would've been furious. Kacchan hates being compared to people, Izuku least of all. And even though they're "rivals", Izuku feels as if he's still behind Kacchan in a lot of ways. He's only had his quirk for a short time, for one, and he hasn't made much progress.

...Except now that gap has closed some, huh? Izuku has more time to develop his quirk, courtesy of the time travel. He might even be able to fight Kacchan on equal terms, now that he's become stronger and Kacchan is younger and inexperienced. Izuku shakes his head. That feels like cheating, and it isn't like Izuku plans to fight Kacchan anyway.

"My Katsuki is really strong...even if he's a pain in the ass." Mitsuki-san mutters, but he can tell she does it fondly.

A silence passes between them, both of them wrapped up in their thoughts and memories of Kacchan. Izuku would never tell, but he wonders what Misuki-san would think, if she knew the way Kacchan treated people at school. Or maybe she already knew? Some of that behavior must leak back into homelife, right? Or maybe Kacchan is just very good at separating his attitudes between the two places.

"I'm sorry." Mitsuki-san says, catching Izuku off guard. "For what happened to you."

Izuku watches her wide-eyed. Did she read his mind? Did she know...?

"It must've been hard to be kidnapped. We were all worried." She adds and Izuku sags in relief. For a second there he thought she was going to mention Kacchan's and his...interactions...at school. And he's not sure why, but he's glad that no one else knows.

"Thanks." Izuku responds with a smile. "But there's no need for you to apologise, it's not like you could've done anything."

"Perhaps." Mitsuki-san hums, taking a sip of her tea. "Katsuki certainly took it hard."

Izuku almost chokes on his tea again, but this time there is no external cause other than his own surprise.

"Kacchan did?" He wonders, the skepticism heavy in his tone.

Mitsuki-san seems surprised by his reaction. "Of course. He would go out to look for you. Being the last one to see you, I think he took it as his personal responsibility. Unfortunately, he is still being pissy about the whole thing; I thought that's what you came to talk about."

Izuku blinks. "Uh, yeah…"

He reels from the new information. Did Kacchan really look for him? Is that something Kacchan would do? Did Kacchan...care?

No. It must be like Mitsuki-san said. Kacchan looked for him because he felt some sort of twisted responsibility. Their relationship was nowhere near close enough in the past for Kacchan to look for him just because he wanted him back. Either way, for whatever reason Kacchan had, Izuku is touched by the thought.

"When you do talk to him, could you try to see if something's wrong?" Mitsuki-san asks, and she looks worried, wrinkles creasing her ever-youthful appearance. "I thought it was because of your disappearance, but something's still bothering him. I'm no good with things like that and Masaru isn't making any progress either. He might talk, if it's to a friend."

Guilt twists in Izuku's gut. He might not know what has Kacchan so irritated, but he'll bet money that it has something to do with him . That's not the only thing that makes him feel horrible, though. It seems Mitsuki-san still thinks that Kachan considers Izuku a friend . And that hurts, because Izuku has wished that for a long time, has given up on that possibility and then miraculously gotten it back...only to be reverted back to a time when it was still impossible.

"I'll try." Is what Izuku says, with a sad smile. He doesn't want to say anything that will worry her, and it's not as if Izuku will not help if there is something that bothers Kacchan.

"Thank you." Mitsuki-san tells him with a grateful smile on her face. A moment passes while they enjoy the silence. It's Mitsuki-san who breaks it again.

"Are you still planning to go to UA?"

She asks him in the same tone she has been using, as if it's normal.

Izuku smiles to himself. He feels a little warm. Here is another person who believes in him, despite the fact that he is still "quirkless". As if it's natural for someone like Izuku to want to be a hero.

"Yeah." Izuku answers softly. "I'm going to UA in the spring."

Mitsuki-san's smile widens. "That's the spirit!" She slaps him on the back again and Izuku winces. He wishes she'd stop doing that, but at least he didn't have tea in his mouth this time.

Izuku realizes his mistake though. He talked as if he was guaranteed a place in UA, before he took the entrance exam! Izuku shakes his head and hurries to correct himself.

"Um, well, that is...that is of course if I can, um, can even get in…" He stutters out, his tongue feeling utterly useless in his mouth.

"Uh uh uh. None of that." Mitsuki-san tuts. "You have to be more confident in yourself. Putting yourself down before you even take the entrance exam isn't gonna help anybody. You hear me?" She takes a leisurely sip of her tea that is poured straight from a fresh kettle without flinching. Izuku sweats.

"Y-yeah. Of course."

He wants to be more confident in himself, but there are so many of his classmates that are far more incredible than him. He bets that if any of them were given the opportunity to go back in time, they'd have more luck fixing things than Izuku is.

He shakes his head again. No. It's no good to think negatively. Whatever the outcome is, Izuku just needs to try his best. He clenches his fists.

The back door opens and Masaru-san steps in. He's wearing long-sleaved gardening clothes, and thick gloves caked in dirt. A sunhat rests on his head and he looks noticeably flushed.

"Mitsuki I think we might need to get more fertilizer…" Masaru-san pauses when he catches sight of Izuku. He's shocked for just a moment, before he smiles. The crow's feet by his eyes crinkle.

"Ah Izuku! It's been a while."

He steps out of his work boots and sheds the gloves, careful to do so outside the house.

"It has." Izuku agrees, because he's not sure what else he's supposed to say.

"What brings you here?" Masaru-san asks, not impolitely, and walks into the kitchen. Upon closer inspection, Izuku can see that the redness around his cheeks and nose is more likely from cold than heat.

"He's here to see Katsuki, but I had him wait for a bit til he came home." Mitsuki-san answers for him, passing a mug of steaming tea to her husband wordlessly.

Masaru-san crinkles his face in confusion as he uses the beverage to warm his hands. "Katsuki shouldn't be home for a few hours though, remember? He does his training today."

Mitsuki-san slaps her hand to her face. "Oh shit. I can't believe I forgot. I'll just call him now."

Before she can dial her son though, Izuku leans forward and catches her hand. She looks surprised by his action, as is Izuku.

"No. It's alright. I can just come back another time." He tells her. She gives him an odd look.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Izuku says, fully aware of how things would go if Kacchan was called away from his training for Izuku of all people. He stands up and smiles at the Bakugou couple.

"Thanks for having me."

Mitsuki-san waves a hand through the air. "Anytime. You should come over more often, like you did when you were kids."

Izuku doesn't grace that with a response though, his chest is a little too tight for that. He nods instead, although there isn't much feeling behind it, and makes his way to the door.

Masaru-san is there to see him out. "Take care of yourself, Izuku." He says kindly.

"Don't get kidnapped again!" Is yelled from somewhere far behind him. Izuku smiles.

"Okay."

He leaves the Bakugou household and it gets a little easier to breathe. He honestly didn't expect that. Now though, he still has to talk to Kacchan.

He stares up at the residence and a swarm of nostalgia threatens to drown him. When was the last time he went to visit Kacchan at his own house, in either timeline? When was the last time he talked to Mitsuki-san or Masaru-san? Izuku doesn't know. Kacchan and him really haven't been close like that for a long time.

Before he's noticed, a tear escapes his eye. Izuku is a little shocked by it and quickly wipes at his eyes. Thankfully, no more threaten to fall. He feels a little silly. It's been awhile since he's cried because of Kacchan.

Izuku turns away from the Bakugou household and starts back towards his house. Should he visit again another time? Should he write a letter? Or should he just keep pestering him at school until Kacchan talks to him again? What made him so adamant on ignoring Izuku? Well...now that Izuku thinks about it, Kacchan's been ignoring everyone lately. He's no longer flanked by "extras" when he walks the halls and most of their classmates seem to avoid him. Is that what happened last time, or is Izuku finding issues where there are none? Damn, he should've paid more attention to his time in middle school the first time around.

Oh well, what really matters to him is UA. While repairing his broken relationship with Kacchan is something he'd like, the future proves that it will improve naturally with time. Kacchan can't avoid him forever when they're put in the same class in the hero course.

Izuku turns his casual stroll into a run and thinks about what comes next. The entrance exam is soon, Izuku's got to step up his training just like Kacchan is. His chance is just around the corner.

While he runs through the streets, he skids to a stop outside a shop selling hero merchandise. His eyes land on a plastic mask and a grin stretches across his face. He didn't think about getting another one, mainly because he expected his old one to last until UA at least, but it might be a good idea. Izuku buys it on impulse but can't bring himself to regret it. He needs to train, after all.

And when he arrives at his door, shopping bag in hand, Izuku has the perfect exercise in mind.

Notes:

Sorry for the wait, my update schedule may slow down a bit, but I'll try to keep up with fast updates. I absolutely love all the positive responses I've gotten to my story and I'm grateful for every kudo, bookmark and comment. I legit refresh the page multiple times a day when I post a new chapter just to see if anyone's commented. >.<

Love y'all so much, thanks for sticking with me on this ride!