"They kidnapped my daughter! Why aren't you doing anything?!"

"Rest assured, my dear. My people are doing everything to track down this so-called Rabid Rabbit and bring our sweet little Eri back home," her father assured her. He couldn't help but feel this was his fault. That if he weren't the leader of today's yakuza, his daughter wouldn't have been robbed of her child. It had to be some sort of revenge plot, right? But who had he stabbed in the back recently? Who had the power and the guts to do something like this? And why hadn't they heard anything of this vigilante yet? They were getting paid by someone to do this, weren't they? Their employer must have some demands, something they want in exchange for his granddaughter.

"I don't feel safe in my own home anymore," she cried. "What if they come again? What if they take someone else? What if they take me?!"

"I won't let that happen," he stated, pulling her into a hug. "Your family is under my protection now, I won't let anything happen to you. And I swear upon the Shie Hassaikai name that we will retrieve your daughter and make that bastard pay."

The moment was disturbed by a knock on the door, followed by one of his subordinates entering the room. He had told them not to bother him while he was with his daughter! So why was this low ranking lackey shuffling into the room?!

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but-"

"This better be important," he grumbled, glaring at the newcomer. If not, he was going to have some serious words with some of the people around here. "Spit it out. What is it?"

"We have gathered new information regarding the vigilante's identity," they told him. A grin spread over his face at the news. They were finally getting somewhere! Good! Good! This was great news!

"Tell me everything."

//\\
\\//

"Let's make one thing very clear, alright? This ain't a date," Katsuki said as they sat down in the café of their choosing after ordering their drinks.

"It...isn't?" Izuku asked, confused. This felt very date-like to him, though.

"We're not getting back together," Kacchan continued, seeing Izuku's face fall. "I love you, but I don't trust you. So until you learn how to take care of yourself like the goddamn adult you are and fucking communicate to others when you need help, I'm not even thinking about it."

"That's...fair, I guess," Izuku mumbled. He'd really hoped everything would magically resolve itself. That after this, they'd be together again. That he could hold his hand and kiss his cheek and call him his boyfriend. Guess that had been wishful thinking on his part...

"We've taken a break before, right? And that worked out for us," Katsuki pointed out. Yeah, that was true. Although, back then, Kacchan had been the one with unhealthy coping mechanisms. Now their roles were reversed. "This is for the best, Izuku, trust me."

"If you say so," Izuku shrugged, looking up as their drinks arrived. They'd chosen a hero themed café, so of course he had to order the All Might Special. It was super delicious too. Kacchan had gone for something more neutral, not liking most super extravagant drinks. "I trust you."

"Good," Katsuki said, taking a sip from his drink before looking him in the eye. "So when are we meeting Eraserhead? I can throw a vigilante outfit together if it's needed."

"You? A vigilante?" Izuku snorted. The idea alone was ridiculous. Izuku could never see Kacchan become a vigilante, let alone disguise himself as one. "Come on Kacchan, you always abide by the law. If it can stain your record, you're always fussy about it."

"Yeah, well, my record isn't exactly permanent in this world, is it?" Katsuki huffed. "Linear time loops... Still can't believe you were right about that shit. That all of this is just one big illusion, a fake reality."

"Some parts are real," Izuku said quickly. "I mean, they have to be, right? Eri's quirk is working on a part of our world, it's just combined with other manipulation quirks."

"I guess," Kacchan mumbled, using his straw to swirl his drink around. "It's still some fucked up bullshit, though."

Izuku hummed. He couldn't exactly disagree with him on that. It was fucked up, no matter how you looked at it. It was about time they put an end to it, and so they made plans spoken in hushed whispers in the middle of a hero themed café. Just two kids ditching school, scheming amongst one another. They left soon enough though, making their way over to the park where they walked while talking about this and that. It was nice to take his thoughts off everything, to simply be a kid, to have Kacchan by his side- The real Kacchan.

"I needed this," Izuku sighed as they sat down on a bench, enjoying the midday sun.

"I know," Katsuki said, seemingly just as relaxed as he was. "This is nice... Wish we could take days off like this more often. Bet the school has already called our parents by now."

"Oh shit," Izuku said, his eyes widening. "Mom is gonna go insane."

"I bet," Katsuki snorted. "I mean, she would probably go crazy with worry if I hadn't left a voicemail on her phone earlier."

"Wait you- What?" Izuku gasped, his head whipping around to see the smug look on Kachan's face as he held up his phone.

"Got a phone now, dumbass," he said as if that wasn't obvious already. "So yeah, I called our folks before the school could and told them you were feeling really down and I was gonna take you on a playdate to the park today to cheer you up. Our grades are good enough to skip one day of school, don't you think?"

"When? I never saw you call anyone," Izuku asked, still so confused.

"Don't worry bout it," Katsuki said, making Izuku whine, which in turn made Kacchan laugh. Izuku couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I've missed that laugh."

He blinked, looking over at Kacchan, who was still chuckling. That... That was his voice, but his vestige wasn't here. Ghost Kacchan was still inside his mind, asleep for as far as Izuku could tell. Well, what ghosts can call sleeping, at least. He was dormant. But the voice... The voice was Kacchan- Oh. Oh. So that's how the whole mind reading thing worked, huh? It went both ways! That was good to know. Now that he thought about it, All For One had a similar connection to Shigaraki back in the original timeline.

"Guess One For All needed some more time to fully mature, or something like that," Katsuki shrugged. "Or maybe it just needed to sit with one holder for a couple of centuries?"

Centuries.

Izuku forgot how long they'd been here. Stuck within this looping hell. So many lifetimes, so many decades- Enough decades to mount up to centuries. God, it really was no wonder he'd gone insane.

"All those years and you're still the same fucking Deku you were when we were kids," Katsuki continued with a sigh.

"...What's that supposed to mean?" Izuku asked.

"Always worrying about everything and anything and putting your own needs last. That's why you went insane," he clarified. "And it's why I don't trust you to look after yourself or tell me when shit goes wrong. You're a 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' kinda person. Fucking selfless piece of shit."

"You being here and doing this is way more selfless than how I treated you in the past couple of timelines... I'm a selfish brat," Izuku grumbled, pulling one of his legs up on the bench so he could lean on his knee. "Can't believe I actually accused you of being selfish and messing up the timeline when-"

"Oh shut up, enough with the self-deprivation crap," Katsuki said, getting up so he could look down on Izuku. "Comfort food? They're selling waffles and ice cream at the gate over there."

He threw his thumb over his shoulder, not even looking in the direction of the little parlor on the other side of the park. They walked past it when they were strolling around before, so Izuku wasn't surprised Kacchan had somehow memorized its location.

"Or we can go play hero with those guys over there," Katsuki said, looking over Izuku's head to some other kids playing around in the park. They were younger than them, but then again, so was everyone else in this world. "I know we're not actually kids but it could be fun, right?"

Kacchan would never suggest something like that if it wasn't for the fact he knew Izuku would be up for playing hero no matter how old he got. He was being so kind and nice and here he was, sulking and being negative about everything. Come on, positive thinking! Izuku knew how to disable the rewind machine. He knew Jikan's patterns, their designs, their way of thinking, strategizing- everything. And he'd saved Eri. He'd started doing good in this reality, helping those who needed saving. Things were going well! And he deserved to be kind to himself, too.

"You really wanna play hero? Like when we were kids?" Izuku asked.

"We are kids," Katsuki deadpanned.

"Hmm... Only if I get to be All Might," Izuku grinned, getting up from the bench as well.

"Oi, you're always All Might!" Katsuki complained, yet there was a smile on his face.

"First one there gets dips!" Izuku called out, already breaking out in a sprint.

"Cheater!"

They laughed as Katsuki chased him, quickly mingling with the other kids and starting something akin to a playground war, dividing them up in two teams which tried to destroy one another with imaginary quirks and powers. They made up their own or mimicked the quirks of pro heroes, going around making wild hand motions and yelling out moves to hit their opponents. It was honestly kinda fun and also freeing to be able to let go like that. Izuku hadn't know how much he needed this until Kacchan had shown him what it felt like to finally let his guard down again.

"I let the hag know I'm dropping you off at home before going back home," Katsuki told him as they approached his apartment complex later in the afternoon. "She's surprisingly okay with all of this..."

"She knows you're very responsible for your age," Izuku told him, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth between them. It wasn't a romantic thing, just a safety measure. Two kids could easily be separated on a busy street, after all. Izuku wished it had been romantic, though.

"Ha, as if!" Katsuki barked out. "It's probably just cause she wants you to get home safe. You were always her favorite."

"You're her son," Izuku deadpanned as they entered the building. As if that fact was more than enough to debunk what Kacchan had just told him. It should've been, if Mitsuki Bakugou wasn't...well, a Bakugou.

"And you're her favorite," Katsuki repeated. "Can't exactly blame her for it. You're my favorite, too. Even if you act like a giant fucking asshole."

"Kacchan!"

They laughed and snickered as they ran up the stairs, Izuku chasing after the blonde this time around. They almost missed the right floor, only stopping when they stumbled against the wall as they ran into the hall. Katsuki instantly fell silent, Izuku following suit when he saw what he was looking at. His front door was standing open. Not by much, just a tiny crack. Most people wouldn't even notice if they walked by, but for two trained pro heroes, an unlocked door was something to be wary of. A possibility of danger, a trap, a hidden attacker, another person that could pose a threat.

"Mom never leaves the door open like that," Izuku mumbled, feeling his body tense up. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"I'll open the door and go in first," Katsuki said, slowly stalking towards the door, Izuku in tow. "If someone is in there and attacks me, you can surprise them. If it's just Auntie Inko, I'll greet her loud enough for you to hear, okay?"

He opened the door ever so slowly, too slow for Izuku's liking, and slipped inside as silently as possible. There was no sound for the couple of seconds Izuku waited in the hallway, hoping to hear Kacchan greet his mom like nothing was wrong. There were no signs of an attack or an ambush either, but Izuku couldn't just sit still and wait around for who knew how long when his mom could be in danger! And so he walked inside, almost bumping into Kacchan, who'd apparently only taken a few steps into the apartment.

"What is it?" Izuku asked, quietly, not wanting to alert anyone else. Kacchan didn't answer, didn't move, and for a moment, Izuku feared he was under the effect of some type of immobilization quirk. But then he... He saw. He looked past Kacchan and he saw and suddenly he couldn't breathe. Because there she was, his mom, a person he loved more than himself. Mangled, deformed. Her body distorted in a way that wasn't human, a way that could only be quirk induced. And the blood... God, there was so much blood. So much so, that whoever did this had used it to write on the living room wall.

Give Eri Back

Izuku felt Katsuki's arms around him before he realized his legs had given out beneath him. Eri... The Yakuza. Overhaul. Overhaul did this. Overhaul killed his mother. He-

"It isn't real," Katsuki said, trying to keep him from falling into a downward spiral. "It's not real, Izuku. Our reality is being manipulated by Jikan, we can't actually die, and neither can she. It's not real, she's not dead."

"She's not dead," Izuku repeated in a shaky tone.

"That's right," Katsuki nodded, guiding him so he couldn't see the mangled corpse of his mom. "Inko isn't dead."

"The consequences-"

"She's alright," Katsuki interrupted. "Do you understand that, Izuku? She's alive and well."

"I saved Eri and now-" Izuku sobbed, breaking off his own sentence as he hid in Kacchan's chest.

"You'll see her again," Katsuki promised. "But for now, we're gonna need to deal with this mess, okay? I need you to stay with me while I call Aizawa sensei. Can you do that for me?"

"We'll look after him."

A few of the vestiges manifested around them, Yoichi holding onto Izuku as Katsuki guided him to the floor, pushing him up against the kitchen counter.

"Don't let him look at her," he ordered before taking out his phone and closing the front door. "Really hope the damn geezer still has the same number..."