Chapter 25

Izuku was experiencing withdrawal symptoms; he hadn't been able to self-harm in over two weeks. Katsuki had discarded whatever thing he could use to purposely injure himself. Hell, he even filed the greenette's nails down to a point where he couldn't even dig his nails into his own skin. Imagine how frustrating it was to not be able to scratch an itchy spot.

The freckled boy knew that it was Katsuki's way of taking care of him, but he didn't know how much it was affecting Izuku. His anxiety had gone up to critical levels, he would experience sensory overload more times than not, and at times he even pulled some of his hair out in utter frustration. The greenette was so dependent on the razor that now that he didn't have it, he was slowly going insane.

He had to admit, his days had been so much better and much more joyful than they had been before. Just having his old friend back was enough to make him feel better. But even so, he couldn't quite let go of his addiction yet. How would he tell that to Katsuki?

The blond, of course, had noticed Izuku's silent desperation. He didn't like the fact that the nerd still had the urge to cut. Although Katsuki made his best to cheer his childhood friend up, it was still not enough to rid him of such dreadful thoughts. It put Katsuki on edge, making him feel utterly hopeless. If there was one thing that Katsuki absolutely despised, it was feeling hopeless.

He needed a new plan.

"Oi, nerd!" The blond yelled once he stepped foot in the common room. Izuku's head snapped up from where he had his nose stuck inside one of his notebooks. He was currently studying along with Todoroki, the heterochromatic raising a questioning eyebrow at Katsuki. "Let's fucking fight!"

Izuku and Todoroki shared a look, wondering just what the fuck had gotten into the blond. Izuku closed his notebook, placing it down on the coffee table and tilting his head at the approaching Katsuki. "But I haven't done anything to piss you off, have I?"

At that moment the greenette started going over everything they had done in the day. Katsuki had been laughing and teasing him, so what did he do? His actions indicated that he was having a good time, so it wasn't a surprise that Izuku was taken aback. It couldn't be that Katsuki regretted helping him, could it?! Was he tired of him already?!

"You're mumbling," Todoroki commented quietly, giving him a small tap on his knee to snap him out of it. Izuku blushed in the slightest, scratching the back of his neck. Katsuki finally reached them, crossing his arms in front of his chest and staring down at the greenette.

"Relax, idiot. Shitty hair is getting his hair braided by Racoon Eyes, and Pikachu is playing some dumb video game with Tape Dispenser. Since they're too busy to have a sparring match with me, I'm fighting your ass instead." Katsuki explained with a smirk.

"B-But why me?" Izuku asked curiously. Katsuki didn't offer him any explanation, simply grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him up from where he sat. The greenette looked over his shoulder to Todoroki, giving him an apologetic look.

"Do you have Aizawa's permission for that, Bakugo?" The heterochromatic asked, not wanting the blond to get his friend in trouble again.

"Shut up, Icy Hot, I know what to do," Katsuki grumbled, dragging Izuku behind him. The greenette waved at his friend, who shrugged his shoulders in response and went back to studying. At least he had Izuku's notes to use to his advantage.

Izuku let himself be dragged out of the dorm building, enjoying Katsuki's soft grip around his elbow. A comfortable silence washed over them, the soft autumn breeze complimenting the mood. On their way to gym gamma, the two teenagers ran into their teachers, causing Katsuki to stop and gain their attention.

"Deku and I will go train over at gym gamma," Katsuki stated instead of asking. Their tired teacher gave him a narrowed glare, looking between him and the greenette.

"No," Aizawa grumbled out, receiving a pat on the shoulder by All Might.

"Let them train, Shouta. I'm pretty sure they learned from their last fight," the retired pro hero chuckled. "I'll be there to supervise."

The teenagers looked at Aizawa expectantly, Katsuki's patience running thin. Their teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache forming. "Whatever, just don't break the damn building down or I'll chop off your heads."

"Tch, whatever," Katsuki said rolling his eyes, though he engraved Aizawa's words in his mind. His teacher could be scary if he wanted to.

"Come on then," All Might grinned, turning on his heel and heading towards gym gamma. Katsuki tugged on Izuku's arm, continuing to drag the boy behind him. Izuku wanted to comment on it, but decided against it and just let the blond be. He was probably doing it unconsciously, anyway.

When they stepped inside the gym, All Might looked around to make sure nobody was within earshot. When he deemed it safe, he turned to the two boys and spoke in a low voice. "I'm going to take this opportunity since you're both going to be training."

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked, Katsuki finally letting go of his elbow.

"I want you guys to undergo a...special training," All Might continued, clearing his throat slightly.

"Get to the point, old man," Katsuki huffed, glaring up at the skelletical man. "What is it that you want us to do?"

"Young Midoriya still needs to get blackwhip under control. This might not be the best idea, but you must find a way to trigger a bad memory. I need you to work on controlling your quirk under those circumstances," All Might explained, cringing at his own idea.

Izuku did not like it one bit.

Neither did Katsuki.

"I know it sounds bad—!" The human skeleton defended before Katsuki could snap at him. "—but we never know when we might face All for One again. The sooner you get it under control, the better."

"And how the fuck do you expect us to do that?!" Katsuki growled out with an obvious scowl.

Izuku stared intently at the ground, focusing on it rather than the situation at hand. He was obviously not mentally prepared to recall his past, but Toshinori had a point. They could be facing off against his dad anytime now—the man broke out of jail and is now hiding. But...for how long?

"Alright," Izuku muttered after taking a deep breath, hesitatingly agreeing with All Might. And to think that he was silently looking forward to the sparring match. Now? Not so much.

Katsuki turned to him with furrowed brows, ready to express his denial, but Izuku's gaze stopped him from doing so. He was giving him that look that frustrated him to his core. The stupid determined yet afraid stern gaze he would do when he was set on doing something. That fucking idiot!

"We both know that this ain't a good idea, Deku," Katsuki grumbled, glaring at the greenette.

"But All Might is right, and you know it," Izuku sighed. "I-I know how we can trigger the memory."

Katsuki ran a hand through his spiky hair, pretty much knowing where the greenette was headed. All Might patted both their shoulders, offering them an uneasy encouraging smile. Yeah, because that will make them feel better. Toshinori really needed to work on his mentoring, because at the moment, he sucked.

"I will be watching you guys from the sidelines. You will be able to train for about an hour. After that, I will have to take you both back to the Heights Alliance," All Might said, giving them a thumbs up and walking a fair distance away. Katsuki bit the inside of his cheeks in irritation, doing his best not to blow up right there and then.

"Come on, Kacchan," Izuku spoke softly,  gaining the blond's attention. "I know that you hate what he did to me, but right now it's something that we need to do. I'm destined to defeat him—not the other way around. How will I do that if I don't get over what he did?"

Katsuki's hard gaze softened at his words, running a hand down his face and cursing under his breath. "Fine, nerd. What the fuck do you have in mind?"

After quickly telling him what he could do, Katsuki kissed his teeth but nodded nonetheless. They each positioned themselves in their fighting stances, preparing to initiate their brawl. All Might watched them closely from the sidelines, hoping that it all went well.

Katsuki charged at the greenette, making the first move and sending a blast his way. Izuku managed to read his movements and easily dodged—and so, their training went on.

After about twenty minutes, they were each starting to get out of breath. They were focused on the other's reactions, planning their next move carefully. Once Katsuki saw an opening, he used it to kick the greenette with full force. Izuku let out a grunt, air leaving his lungs in a painful wheeze as he was sent across the building and crashed against a wall.

Katsuki approached him at full speed, using his explosions as boosters. If he wanted the stupid plan to work, he had to act now. So, no matter how much he didn't want to, he caged Izuku between the wall and himself. Before the greenette could get a chance to process things, Katsuki wrapped his fingers around his throat. He had a firm grip—strong enough to trigger the godawful memory, but not too strong to actually cut his airway.

Izuku's eyes widened, his scarred hand instinctively reaching up to grab the blond's wrist. It was his plan, yes, but he was still caught off guard. Katsuki's heart rate increased, hands shaking in the very slightest as he slowly applied more pressure.

"You might have to say some...things as well," Izuku had said to him. For fuck's sakes!

"You quirkless, useless bastard!" Katsuki hissed, breathing heavily. Izuku tugged at his wrist a bit desperately, feeling the blond's fingers digging deeper into his flesh. "You're a disgrace to your family!"

"N-No," Izuku wheezed out, his father's face flashing in his mind briefly. The furious glares and disgusted expressions he had shown him that day.

"Accept it, Deku!" Katsuki growled, somehow hating the nickname he had given his childhood friend at that moment. "Your dad was right, you shouldn't be considered his son. It's fucking disgusting! He had every reason to leave your sorry ass behind."

Izuku's jade orbs started brimming with tears, breathing getting labored and memories flooding in. His father's wild, white hair replacing Katsuki's spikes. He forgot how to breathe, PTSD kicking in like one hell of a bitch. His body started shaking on the spot, eyes glazed over as the memory took over.

Katsuki watched in regret, hating every second of it. It felt as if some invisible tendrils slithered their way into his system and wrapped around his heart, squeezing it painfully. All Might was approaching them now, jogging over to Katsuki's side in case he had to step in. The blond almost let go of Izuku's throat, but All Might placed a hand on his shoulder. The retired pro hero slowly shook his head, his eyes never leaving Izuku's trembling frame.

Soon enough, the greenette's quirk activated on its own. Blackwhip crawled over his pale arms, the black contrasting against his pale skin. His vision became blurry, pupils dilating as his mind replayed different sceneries. Just as the dark tendrils started making their way around his throat and over Katsuki's hand, he saw the door to his apartment bursting open.

Katsuki was starting to panic, eyes wide as he watched helplessly at Izuku's struggles. Come on, nerd! Snap out of it, hurry!

The blond's small, childish frame came through the door right after Mitsuki.

That's right, they were having dinner that evening. Mitsuki had brought some food to share with them. Katsuki was there too. He had held him after Mitsuki got his father off of him.

Katsuki...

Katsuki!

Suddenly, his vision became clear and he managed to take a large intake of breath. His grip on Katsuki's wrist tightened dangerously, catching the blond by surprise. Izuku felt the tendrils enclosing around his throat, and as if falling into realization, he stopped his quirk from choking him then twisted Katsuki's wrist rather painfully. Katsuki yelped, wincing as he was forced let go of the greenette.

Izuku, still shaken about what just happened, unconsciously punched the blond across the face and sent him stumbling a few feet backwards. "Get off of me!!"

"Young Midoriya!" All Might exclaimed, quickly stepping in front of him and holding his arms out. Izuku held a hand against his throat, eyes darting across the building as he tried to come down from the adrenaline. "Hey, it's okay! You're okay...breathe."

"A-All Might?" Izuku asked breathlessly after a moment, finally remembering where he was and who he was with. His eyes then snapped towards where Katsuki had landed, gasping when he realized what he did. "Kacchan!"

"I'm fine, nerd!" Katsuki hissed out, standing back up and wiping some dirt off his clothes. Even though he acted cool, he was internally screaming. That punch hurt like a fucking bitch!

"I-I'm so sorry!" Izuku immediately apologized.

"I said I'm fine," Katsuki said, preventing the nerd to go on a full-on rambling. The pain didn't matter at the moment, he was just happy that Izuku had managed to snap out of it on his own. He was curious, though.

"How were you able to snap out of it?" All Might asked in his behalf. Izuku thought about it for a moment, eyes meeting Katsuki's ruby red ones.

"I did it thanks to you, Kacchan."