"Midoriya, my boy!" All Might exclaimed as Izuku entered the room. He'd been invited to UA a little after the whole faculty regained their memories so they had a safe and secure location for the quirk transfer. Izuku was happy to see his mentor again, knowing he remembered him, knowing he'd receive the quirk of his dreams once more. He was happy to have his father figure again, and not the superficial pro hero that smiled and told everyone it would be okay. Things weren't okay, and Izuku could no longer hide his pain behind a fake smile.

"All Might," Izuku breathed, tears welling up in his eyes as he crashed into the man. It felt like ages since he'd been able to hug his mentor like this. Last time- Last timeline, he wasn't the most mentally sound around him. He would be afraid to touch him, afraid to do or say something wrong. Those inhibitions seemed to have faded over the course of yet another decade, though. "Thank you. For entrusting me with One For All."

"Of course," All Might said, giving him a small smile as Izuku pulled his head back a little so he could see his idol's face. "You're my successor, my boy. That'll never change."

Those words were a relief, but Izuku didn't know whether he could trust them. Who knows how long they'll be going through this? Who knows how Jikan rigged this reality in their favor? Maybe there'll come a time when All Might decides enough is enough. A reality in which Izuku doesn't inherit the quirk, where he stays quirkless forever. Maybe that's what they needed to break this cycle? To get rid of All Might's successor..?

"But before we get to that," All Might sighed, ruffling Izuku's wild hair. "Tell me how you're doing."

"I'm... I'm fine," Izuku sniffled, quickly wiping away his tears as he let go of his mentor. "Really, I'm okay! It's just... It's good to see you again. To have you remember again."

"Are you sure?" he asked as he guided him to one of the lounge areas. He knew Izuku had the habit of saying everything was fine, even when it was not. He was selfless like that. It was a quality All Might both admired and hated. A part of him that reminded him of himself.

"Yeah, yes, I'm sure. I'm fine, I promise," Izuku nodded. "What happened in the last timeline...wasn't pretty. I... I froze up. Fighting Nomu, after what happened... I just couldn't do it. Not the same way I used to before. But I'm sure I can get over it! Given enough time, I'm sure I'll be-"

"Don't force yourself, young Midoriya," All Might interrupted him. "I know why it happened, I know you were overwhelmed. Come on, sit down."

Izuku did what he was asked, sitting down on the couch as All Might sat down in front of him.

"I'm glad you can look me in the eye again."

Izuku blinked at that. Right, there had been a time, not so long ago, where he couldn't look All Might in the eye. Not without remembering what he had done, what he'd been forced to do. He clenched his fists by his side, hoping his mentor hadn't seen the way his hands shook at the memory. No, that was behind them now. Izuku should look to the future, should be glad All Might was still here, that they were both still healthy and sane.

"I'm pretty sure I can stand to be around Aizawa sensei now, too," Izuku said with a small smile. "I've, uh, had some time to come to terms with everything. I'll be okay now."

"You don't have to be strong for me, my boy," All Might said. "It's totally fine if you-"

"No, it's okay," Izuku interrupted. "Really, I promise. You know I never blamed him for what happened and, well, I guess time heals all wounds? That's how the saying goes, right? I just... I'm okay now."

All Might hummed, still a little skeptic, but willing to change the subject. Izuku could tell by the way he looked at him, by the way his hands wrung together in his lap. All Might had his tells, just like he had his.

"...What about young Bakugou?"

"What about Kacchan?" Izuku asked.

"Is he doing okay? After...what happened?" All Might asked. "I'm sure it must've had a great impact on his mental wellbeing, definitely after what happened to the both of you before all that."

"What do you mean?" Izuku frowned. After what happened? Izuku knew things were bad after he died, but that was no reason for All Might to sound as concerned as he did. Besides, if he was worried about that, he wouldn't have asked about Kacchan specifically. Did something happen? Was Kacchan keeping something from him? Again? Izuku didn't know whether it was payback for all the times he stayed silent about his thoughts, or if it was simply Katsuki wanting to protect him. Now that he thought about it, Shoto had been weird about the past timeline when they first met, too. He'd also asked after Kacchan, hinting at something bad, something Izuku didn't know about.

"Has no one told you?" All Might asked, a little surprised. "Bakugou, he... I'm sure you remember the way you two were attached to each other. What did young Bakugou call it again..?"

"Being a bonded pair," Izuku answered, dread settling into his stomach. They were bonded as Nomu, couldn't be without each other, and that bond had stretched out into their next lives. Things got better on that front. Izuku still liked to be around Kacchan and they were together most of the time, but it wasn't as impulsive or desperate as before. But back then, back when Izuku was killed- "I died. I left him."

Again.

Izuku left him alone again.

"He couldn't live without you," All Might said, casting his gaze down to the table, unable to look Izuku in the eye. "Young Bakugou, he... He took his own life shortly after the attack."

His veins turned to ice in an instant, his heart seemingly stopping. No. No, that... Kacchan wouldn't... He wouldn't-! But he would, wouldn't he? In that state- Back in the previous timeline, when they- Oh god... Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Izuku could do nothing but stare ahead into the distance as his mind ceased to function. As his breath hitched and his muscles tensed up.

He was alone.

Izuku left.

Izuku died.

And Kacchan wished he'd died, too... So he took matters into his own hands.

He needed to slap a hand over his mouth to keep himself from gagging as his body lurched forward. The thought of Kacchan taking his own life- Of him ending it all, and for what? For him? Izuku wasn't worth that! He'd never been worth that! His life- His life didn't mean anything as long as everyone he loved was safe. As long as Kacchan was safe. Izuku would give his life again and again if that meant Kacchan could live.

They were still bonded, always had been in a strange way. Their lives intertwined with one another no matter what. Izuku couldn't imagine a life without Kacchan, couldn't imagine never seeing that victorious grin ever again. Then it dawned on him that he would've done the same. That he, too, wouldn't be able to continue on living. Not if Kacchan had died back there, not in his state of mind. Could he really blame Kacchan for what he did..? Maybe not. But that didn't mean this wasn't serious, that Izuku wouldn't get to the bottom of it, that he wouldn't be there to support Kacchan no matter what.

Because holy shit, Kacchan killed himself.

That couldn't be healthy. That must've left scars. Mental scars. So many mental scars. Izuku couldn't start to imagine what it must've been like, to take your own life over the death of someone you love, only to be sent back to your ten year old self with them standing right in front of you. That's... That's what the sleepover was for, wasn't it? Kacchan couldn't be alone, couldn't be separated from Izuku... Now that he thought about it, Kacchan had clung to his side for a long time after that. Sure, he claimed they needed to fill out their notebook, but it had never been about that, had it?

But they were okay now, weren't they? They weren't constantly together, weren't as desperate to know where the other was at any given time. Izuku wasn't, at least. But maybe Kacchan... Maybe he was still struggling..? Maybe he was still suffering, unable to share his pain with Izuku without telling him what happened, what he put himself through. Izuku looked down at his bracelet, noticing he'd been subconsciously fiddling with the beads. Kacchan had given this to him, years ago by now. Was it a way to claim Izuku? To quiet his mind, to remind himself that Izuku would always be there, right by his side?

"I understand if this is a lot at once," All Might continued after a while. "We can transfer One For All another time-"

"No," Izuku said, his head snapping up in an instant. He must've looked desperate, or insane, or both. "No, I... I can take it. One For All. I can handle it."

He could handle it, his body was ready, he made sure of that. Izuku wasn't leaving without it, not even now that he was told that Kacchan... No, don't think about it, not now. He'll talk to Kacchan, he'll figure this out, help his boyfriend in every single way possible, but right now- Right now Izuku needed this. Needed the comfort of the vestiges, needed the knowledge they were there, with him, every step of the way. And it was selfish and maybe a little childish, but he needed it. Needed them. Now more than ever.

"You don't-"

"I want it, All Might," Izuku said, trying to control his tears, trying to keep his body from trembling, to keep his thoughts from running rampant. Trying to keep himself from running rampant, to keep himself from darting out of this room right now and trying to find Kacchan. "I need them, please."

All Might never had the heart to say no to his successor.

//\\
\\//

"Izuku-kun! I wasn't expecting you today," Mitsuki said, surprised to see the green head at her doorstep. "Katsuki is out with that Kirishima kid, so if you're here to see him then-"

"Can I wait for him here?" Izuku asked, interrupting her. "I... I have to talk to him. It's important."

He could tell auntie Mitsuki was taken aback by that. She was well aware of what kind of relationship he had with her son, so to hear those words spoken in such a serious tone, well... It gave certain implications. What she was thinking of probably wasn't the real reason why Izuku needed to talk to Kacchan though- How could it be? There was no world in which she knew about what happened in a reality that didn't exist anymore. Not unless Kacchan told her, and Izuku didn't see that happening any time soon.

"Oh, of course, come in," Mitsuki said, opening the door a little further. "I'll let him know you're waiting."

Izuku nodded as he took off his shoes, watching as auntie Mitsuki stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door shut. He could hear her shouting only moments later, presumably to Kacchan over the phone. Izuku didn't bother telling her he was going to wait in Kacchan's room. This house was basically his second home by now so nobody would bat an eye as he moved around as he pleased.

Kacchan's room was nothing new to him. The dark yet warm colors, the few figurines that lined his wall, the neatly organized desk... Yeah, Izuku had seen it all before. Although that neat and organized desk was in a bit of disarray right now, which wasn't like Kacchan at all. Izuku started stacking the loose papers, if only to keep his mind off the absolute dread of this whole ordeal. That's when he noticed Kacchan's laptop. The screen wasn't fully shut, so he could tell the pc was still up and running. It wasn't like Kacchan to leave that on when he went out...

Maybe he left in a hurry? But that wasn't like him either, was it? If he went out with Eijirou like auntie Mitsuki said, he would've planned it. And Kacchan wasn't the kind of person to leave late for an appointment. Then again, did Izuku truly know Kacchan..? He didn't know what happened to him in the past- Couldn't understand it even if he wanted to. Because how does one go through what Katsuki had and come out unscathed? He was locked away like a monster for years! He told Izuku a life without him wasn't one worth living, even before he killed himself-

Oh. Oh, that should've been a red flag. A very big red flag. Izuku should've known, should've seen this coming- He should've known Kacchan would take drastic actions if he were to die, he should've known, he should've prevented it somehow- Izuku took a shaky breath, wiping away the stray tears that had made their way down his face. Don't... Don't think about it. Don't blame yourself, Izuku, come on. This isn't the time, this isn't about you. It's about Kacchan. He needed to be there for Kacchan, be his support. His walking stick, his cane.

With that he opened his laptop, intending on shutting it off, only for his eyes to lock onto the opened page on the screen. It was an app of some sort, showing a whole log of measurements with each their own timestamp. Locations, Izuku noticed. A lot of locations, travel distances, more timestamps... This was a tracking app. He hadn't meant to snoop around, it had only been seconds, but Izuku recognized it now. It was used to keep an eye on suspicious individuals or sometimes pro heroes used it to keep track of their own movements.

Similar data had been used in hero studies, Izuku remembered. Something about how many miles a regular pro hero walks a day. You could put in certain coordinates at certain locations as well, so hero agencies could keep track of their heroes and sidekicks and possible dangerous areas or buildings. It was also used in search and rescue operations to make sure people didn't cover the same ground twice. Yeah, this app was for all intents and purposes something only pro heroes would use. So what was Kacchan using it for..?

Was he keeping track of his daily runs this way or something? Izuku frowned, his eyes scanning the data. No, those locations and timestamps didn't make sense if that was the case. Besides, where would the tracker even be hiding? Izuku had never seen him wear one before. Following that thought, Izuku's eyes darted over to the current location, given on a map on the other side of the screen, his eyes trailing over the words lined alongside it.

Tracker: Active
Current location: Bakugou residence (personal location input)
Last location: UA High (personal location input)
Time between locations: 38 minutes 25 seconds

That was... Those were... Izuku's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed a hold of the mouse, looking for one specific icon on the bottom of the screen. The tracker was active, so it would beep if he clicked the right button. It was supposed to be a tracker tracker, to call it that. A hero agency could also use it to call back heroes or for emergency calls, if different signals were inputted. This one only had one signal, though. A beeping sound meant to locate the tracker if you'd lost it. And so he clicked.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Izuku's eyes widened in horror, realization dawning on him without having to look down at his wrist. He should've known. All the signs were there. Izuku should've known Kacchan couldn't live without him, that he would still be as clingy and desperate as they had been right after it happened... Kacchan didn't recover in the same way Izuku did, he never had. Izuku had simply assumed and now-

Beep! Beep! Beep!

He tore the bracelet off his wrist, still not looking at it, and threw it across the room.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Shut up. Izuku wanted it to shut up.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

It just kept beeping- kept reminding him that Kacchan-

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Shut up!" he yelled, slamming the laptop shut, effectively stopping the signal from being broadcasted.

"...Izuku?"

Izuku froze up, turning to face Kacchan as the ash blonde slowly walked through the door. He probably came running as soon as Mitsuki called him, and isn't that just sad? Doesn't that just show Izuku what he'd been denying up until now? That Kacchan wasn't over it at all, that he hadn't processed anything at all. He was crying, he knew, and when he saw Kacchan's eyes trail from him to his desk and back, he started crying even more.

"We need to talk, Kacchan."