Detective Midoriya

Chapter 16

Izuku felt his life flash before his eyes as Bakugou Katsuki rushed him, murder in those familiar crimson eyes as every expletive know to man poured from his mouth. This was it, this was how Izuku was going to die. 

His entire life had trained Izuku to fear this moment, to submit in hopes of coming out of this encounter alive. But he had never been good at listening to his common sense. Even though he was faced with the culmination of all of Kacchan's anger, Izuku found himself oddly calm. He knew Kacchan, and his fighting style. Izuku noticed immediately when he started pulling back his right arm before Kacchan was anywhere near his target. He had a killer right hook, but only if it connected. 

With a move he'd practiced again and again with Ojiro, milliseconds before Kacchan's fist connected, Izuku sidestepped and latched onto his arm, fingers digging in before judo-flipping him over his shoulder.

There was the smallest audible grunt when Kacchan's back hit the ground. It was this noise that brought Izuku to reality, confronting Izuku with the fact that Bakugou Katsuki was definitely going to kill him now. His mind had shut down his emotions and his body had simply reacted, thanks to Valiant's merciless drilling. 

Izuku scrambled away as Kacchan lunged to his feet, practically feeling the other boy breathing down his neck. His heart pounded in his chest - he didn't dare look back, he already knew that Kacchan loomed. A strangled cry forced its way out of him when he felt a hand grip the collar of his shirt, pulling back harshly. 

he raised his arms to shield the back of his head, hoping to at least lessen the injuries from the coming explosion. Izuku struggled to get away still, knowing how futile it was. U.A. would have just made Kacchan that more amazing, which meant-

Then the pull on his shirt was gone with a resounding smack! and Izuku collapsed on the ground, coughing from the sudden release of pressure on his windpipe. When he struggled to his feet, Izuku turned to find Ojiro standing between them, his normal smile strangely absent. There was a dangerous edge to his normally calm temperament, and Bakugou had stumbled back a few steps, wheezing.

"I don't know why you would attack Midoriya, but I would leave him alone," Ojiro said in a measured voice.

"I'll kill you if you ever attack me from behind like that again, Tail. Get out of the way, this is between me and Deku," Bakugou growled, his eyes never leaving Izuku. "What do you think you're doing here, you useless nerd? Think you're better than me? HUH?"

Izuku couldn't help but noticed how dazed Bakugou seemed, his red eyes hazy with pain. Against his better judgement, he pushed past Ojiro. "Are you okay, Kacchan? It seems like you've been training really hard, and those hits wouldn't be very good for you. I can go get my medical pack if-"

"SHUT UP! I DON'T NEED YOU OR YOUR STUPID HELP!"

The forest itself seemed silent as Bakugou grasped Izuku's shirt in both hands, the taller boy breathing heavily. When he spoke again, it was a low, deadly growl.

"You think you're so much better than me, Deku, just like you always have. Well YOU'RE NOT! I don't care that you just disappeared, or that you took down stain. You may have found some people that pity you enough to make you think you're good at something, but don't fool yourself. You're still the same useless, quirkless kid I grew up with. You're still Deku."

Izuku's heart dropped as Kacchan's hands began to smoke. He was well and truly frozen by fear now, trained by years of pain and torment, and those words. 

Useless. Quirkless.

Deku.

He visibly sank into himself - things really hadn't changed, just like Kacchan said. Without realizing, Izuku lowered his eyes and began muttering. "I don't think I'm better than you, Kacchan. I've always known I've never been-"