Once Again From Better Days

Katsuki looks at the expression on Izuku's face, and an uneasy feeling settles in his stomach. Unlike Izuku, he doesn't get notifications from the news stations on his phone and he doesn't usually bother checking until lunch or after school. Izuku usually tells him if something important has happened, anyway.

He shakes his head. "No, why?"

After fumbling for a moment, Izuku holds out his phone. At the top of the screen, he sees the headline, "Murder of a Young Girl." Below is a picture of Himura, that looks like it was taken from her middle school graduation. Katsuki only takes a moment to scan the article. The only person she lived with was her single mother who was constantly busy with work, and therefore not around much of the time. The murder was believed to have happened in the early morning–messy, bloody, but with no hints as to who it was.

Unlike the reporter, Katsuki thinks he knows exactly who did it. He straightens up when he's done reading. The uneasy feeling is stronger than it was before, and he doesn't have to look at Izuku's face to be able to tell that he's worried as well. Their commute to school is quieter than usual. In the absence of conversation, Katsuki doubts that Toga allowed herself to be killed, which means that the Himura in the newspaper is probably the real Himura. How that fits with Toga's actions and disappearance, he isn't sure.

"Is that what was bothering you?" Izuku asks, interrupting his train of thought. "Not the murder, I mean…the fact that someone in 1-A was pretending to be someone else."

"I…thought she was suspicious, but I wanted proof before I said anything. If I had told you–"

"I still would have gotten barricaded in the warehouse."

He returns Izuku's determined gaze until its power makes him look down. The edge of the white bandages is still visible over the rim of his collar. He was supposed to protect Izuku. Dammit, dammit. How many injuries has Izuku already had to heal? How many should he have been able to prevent? 

"Kacchan?"

He places his hand on top of Izuku's head. For a moment, he lets himself rest. Izuku is warm. Alive. When the moment is up, he pushes Izuku away, who draws back with a noise of complaint. 

The rest of the school day is thankfully uneventful–save for Kaminari somehow managing to short out his brain during lunch. When they leave the 1-A classroom, Togata waves at them from the end of the hall. As he follows Izuku, he hears a few of the other students about the third-year who is the closest to becoming number one. Sometimes it is easy to forget just how powerful Togata supposedly–Katsuki never witnessed him go all out in a fight either this time or last–is due to his ever-chipper personality.

"Are you two ready?" Togata asks once they're within earshot.

Izuku starts to look somewhat apprehensive. "We're just…going to see Sir Nighteye, right?"

"He always likes to test potential interns–well, he already knows what you're like, but Bakugou,"–he pats Katsuki on the shoulder–"is more of an unknown quantity. Sir probably wants to see how strong you are together, too."

Katsuki almost chokes. He knows the actual intended meaning of Togata's words, of course, but there's another way that together can be heard, too.

"We haven't fought as a team that many times," Izuku says. "But since it's Kacchan, I'm sure it'll be fine, we've known each other for a long time."

"Like Tamaki and me, right? I think childhood friends always have a special kind of bond."

Izuku nods, jerkily. His face is bright red, and he is pointedly not looking at Katsuki.

Togata changes the topic to hero work, and Katsuki is relieved to be able to breathe again. At this rate, he's not sure how long his brain will last before it combusts. Maybe he should have taken an internship somewhere else. Though, in that case, he would have constantly worried since they would be separated. F.u.c.k , why did he have to fall in love with Izuku in the first place? Sometimes he thinks it would be easier if he could just focus on keeping Izuku safe. But in the end, the axis his entire world rotates around is Izuku. Just like it always has been.