Finally being a pro hero again felt like riding a bike. It had been years and he still got it, although a little out of shape, but with a few fights he was back at his previous height. That, and he went through some rigorous training under the Hero Commission. Still, it felt good to be back in action, jumping from roof to roof as the wind soared in his ears. It didn't stop him from hearing a scream from down below, seeing the front of a bank explode as a gang of villains fled to their car, ready to make a getaway.

It hadn't been called in, so the alarms probably weren't triggered. Huh, strange. Izuku presumed all banks had automated that system by now. Then again, the flow of time could be different from what he remembered, so he shouldn't make assumptions like that.

"Precise shot to the tires should do it," Nana spoke in his ear as Izuku jumped towards his target. "Wrap them up nicely once the vehicle loses control."

Izuku did as she said, using an AP-shot to hit one of the back tires and holding onto the car with Blackwhip afterwards to keep it from crashing into anything or anyone. Yeah, that's another thing that was new in this timeline, Izuku could use Kacchan's explosion quirk now. His spirit had accumulated enough energy for it to manifest.

"Don't let the fuckers get away, Deku," Katsuki told him as the villains tried to evacuate the vehicle.

"I'm on it, Kacchan," Izuku mumbled, already using the black tendrils to wrap them up and put the quirk erasure cuffs on them. The vestiges always talked to him during battle, when their quirks came out the most. Giving him advice or simply voicing Izuku's thoughts out loud. They were a part of him, after all, and their minds had become more attuned to each other as time went on. Perfectly in sync in mind and body. He called in the incident after the takedown, making sure to assess any possible civilian injuries and making sure the villains didn't get away before police arrived. The press arrived quickly after, too.

"Hero Deku! A statement regarding the new move you used just now!" one of the reporters shouted, pushing a microphone in his face as he tried to make them adhere to the police perimeter. "We've never seen you use such a precise energy blast before! How did you come up with it?"

"It looks an awful lot like King Explosion's AP-shot!" another reporter added on, seeing their chance to get answers out of Deku. "Do you know the new explosion hero? Is that where you got your inspiration from?"

"Ah, yes, actually," Izuku smiled, shutting them up in an instant as cameras flashed around him. "When I first saw King Explosion's AP-shot, I was like, wow, that guy is awesome, you know? And I wondered whether I'd be able to do something similar. So yeah, the moves may look similar, but the mechanics behind it are very different! Now if you'll excuse me-"

Izuku ignored their calls as he made his way to the officer in charge, giving him a rundown of what happened. He lied to those reporters just now, but that was something that came so natural to him now. Besides, what was he supposed to say? Oh yeah, the moves look alike because they're the same? Cause I actually have an explosion quirk too? That would cause quite the uproar, for sure. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them, right? And so Izuku continued on with his day, running into some minor villains along his patrol route before returning to his agency, where quite the ruckus was waiting for him.

Seems like King Explosion had decided to pay a visit after the interview he gave this morning...

God, Izuku hadn't seen Kacchan in his physical form in, what, years? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't actually seen him since they were kids. The Hero Commission kept him from the outside world for the most part, although Izuku had been able to watch the UA sportsfestival at times because of...educational purposes. Whatever excuse worked, to be honest. And he hadn't really missed him, either. No, because Kacchan was always with him, in a way. Always there, right by his side.

"Deku! Thank god you're back," the receptionist said. "King Explosion came here about an hour ago and swore up a storm demanding to see you. I eventually let him inside your office so he wouldn't hinder people at work so-"

"Thanks Nicole, I'll handle it from here," Izuku smiled as he walked past, using the elevator to go up to his floor. The agency he worked for was one of the larger agencies in this part of the country. Hawks was the main hero representing it, but Deku had quickly risen to the main stage himself. It wasn't surprising with their common background. That and the fact the Hero Commission technically controlled this agency, using its heroes for their dirty work whenever they pleased.

Kacchan was sitting in his office, like Nicole had said, fidgeting with one of the many little quirk toys Izuku kept around. Just small machines and components he used to train with when he was still a child. They were fun though, and Izuku tended to fidget with them when he was processing paperwork at the end of the day.

"You're here because I stole your move, right?"

His head shot up and their eyes met, and Izuku had to control the urge to walk up and kiss him. Kacchan put the toy down and got up, glaring him down while doing so. Oh, Izuku was in it now...

"Deku is a shitty hero name, you know that?"

Huh, not what he was expecting...

"Better than King Explosion," Izuku teased, smiling when Katsuki scowled. "Are you angry with me, Kacchan?"

"Don't fucking call me that!" Katsuki snapped, making Izuku freeze up. "You don't have the right to go all 'Kacchan' on me when you fucking disappeared out of nowhere! And suddenly you're back, just like that! With a fucking quirk and a hero license and- Fuck!"

Izuku flinched when he blew up one of the toys, the pieces flying everywhere as they scattered across the room. That was going to be a pain to clean up later.

"And you stole my damn move!"

"Sorry about that-"

"Sorry is not gonna fucking cut it, nerd!" Katsuki hissed, grabbing him by the helm of his shirt. "Where the hell did you run off to?"

"I thought auntie Mistuki would've told you," Izuku frowned. "I developed my quirk late and the Hero Commission thought-"

"You got into some special training program, yada yada, I know that shit," he said.

"Then why did you ask?" Izuku frowned.

"Cause I wanted to hear it from you, you idiot!" he yelled. "Because I didn't want to loose my best fucking friend out of fucking nowhere! Cause you're a little shit who abandoned me! What? Was I not good enough? Not even worth saying goodbye to?"

"That's not what happened, Kacchan," Izuku said, carefully prying his hand open so he could step back. "It's not that I didn't want to, it's just-"

"It's no use, he's made up his mind," Kacchan told him, manifesting in the corner of his eye. "He's not going to listen to reason, not without a fight."

"The hell?!" Katsuki shrieked, stepping back and releasing an explosion towards the vestige. Izuku's eyes widened, quickly pushing Kacchan back and holding down his arms so he couldn't destroy his office any further. "Oi! Let go of me! There's-"

"You could see him?" Izuku asked, which shut Kacchan up real quick.

"What do you mean, see him?" he asked, unsure about where this conversation was headed.

"We've been afraid of this," Yoichi sighed. "His connection has grown stronger than should've been possible in normal circumstances. It's possible Toshinori can see us too now."

"Don't panic," Izuku stated, to both Kacchan and the vestiges, as well as to himself. "I'm gonna let go now, and you're not gonna attack them, okay?"

"Who the fuck are they, Deku?" Katsuki whispered hissed as more ghosts formed around the room, as if they wouldn't be able to hear him if he quieted down.

"We're part of his quirk," Nana said, making the ash blonde turn around to face her.

"It's complicated," Izuku added. "Please don't tell- Ack!"

Izuku yelped, holding his head in pain as Kacchan tried to hit Nana. He, too, fell to the ground in pain, groaning as he pulled at his hair. Fuck. Was this another side effect? Was it impossible for Kacchan to come into contact with the vestiges without creating some sort of reaction? Then there was laughing. Kacchan was laughing. Why? It sounded more deranged as it went on, making Izuku worried on his behalf.

"Of course... Of fucking course!" he exclaimed, whipping his head around to face Izuku, tears shining in his eyes. "How could you, Izuku?"

"Ka-Kacch-" Izuku stammered, his eyes widening. The ash blonde had regained his memories, he was sure of it. But how? Did contact with the vestiges trigger it? Did the part of him that was connected to Izuku give him the push he needed without having to say those awful words again?

"Shut up!" Katsuki hissed, getting up from the ground, glaring at him, crying. "You abandoned me- Abandoned all of us, deceived us- Fuck, you played house with me for fucking years, Deku!"

"I was gathering information!" Izuku stated in his defense. "I was trying to figure out how everything works! And I got it! I know how to stop it now, I can release all of us-"

"I don't fucking recognize you anymore," Katsuki said, making Izuku shut up immediately. "After everything we went through- After all the shit we said and promised and- You pull this shit on me?! You've changed, Izuku. You're no longer the person I fell in love with..."

"What are you-?" Izuku asked, tears welling up in his eyes, too.

"This is over," Katsuki said. His voice was dangerously neutral, threatening in a way, like the calm before the storm. "You wanna do everything on your own? Be my guest. Just don't come crying to me when things don't work out the way you planned."

"Kacchan-" Izuku called out, trying to stop him from leaving as he walked past, only for the blonde to rip his arm away from him.

"Don't ever call me that ever again," he told him. "And if I see you use my quirk one more time, you're dead to me."

With that he left, slamming the door behind him. There was a small choked out sound before Izuku crumbled to the ground, before the tears burst loose and he was full on crying. He wanted to go after him, to chase him, to plead, to fight if necessary. Anything to get Kacchan to see his point of view, to get him back by his side. But the truth is that Izuku was the person who pushed him away in the first place, the person who started the beginning of the end. And now... Now they were nothing.

"Fucking do something! Don't let him walk away like that!" Katsuki yelled. "Don't let it fucking end like this! Don't-"

"It's already too late," Second sighed. WIth that, the vestiges vanished and Izuku was all along. Crying on the floor of his office in full hero costume. God, he was so damn pathetic. He pushed everyone away and now he lost everything! If only... If only he'd done what Momo said. If only he'd talked about his plans, if they'd done this together- Maybe he could've been saved from himself..? Maybe... Maybe Kacchan would've understood. Maybe he wouldn't have left him...

And maybe all of this was inevitable. Bound to happen to a person as selfish as he was. Selfish, because he knew the others wouldn't agree with him, knew the only way for him to do as he wanted was to blindside them completely. And he covered it all up behind selfless ideals. Not wanting them to suffer, only wanting what was best for his friends and family and the world in general. He just wanted to be a hero, you know? To stop Jikan, to end this time loop. He... He really had changed. He'd become a person he'd never want to be.

But maybe... Maybe he could change again?

Maybe he could make up for his mistakes?

He could try to, at the very least.