Catch Me If I Fall [BakuDeku]

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Katsuki was taken aback by Izuku's statement, staring intently into his jade eyes. What did he mean by that? He was the one strangling the greenette, for crying out loud! He was the cause for such horrible flashback...so how could he have helped Izuku?

A squeeze to his shoulder had him looking over at All Might, who gave them both a small smile. "Take a breather, you two. You did good, Young Midoriya. I'm proud of you."

Izuku took in a deep breath, tears welling up in his eyes. He did his best not to cry, for he didn't want to seem too emotional over the fact that All Might was proud of him. The greenette smiled brightly at the retired pro hero, earning a small smile in return from him. All Might then walked away, leaving the two teenagers to themselves.

The freckled boy turned to Katsuki, who was back to staring at him with a curious glint in his eyes. Izuku tilted his head in question, a crease forming between his brows as he looked at the blond. "Is everything alright, Kacchan?"

"What did you mean by that?" Katsuki asked, brows furrowed.

"I mean, you're just staring at me like that and I—"

"No, not that, you fucking idiot," Katsuki rolled his eyes. "How could I have possibly helped you get out of your trance? I was the one who was fucking choking you!"

Izuku thought about it for a bit, offering the blond a small smile. "I saw you, Kacchan. You were there when my father was choking me. You held me as I cried and wouldn't let me go. It was because you were there that I could forget about my father and snap out of it."

Admitting that out loud made him feel nervous and vulnerable. Even so, it was the truth. If it weren't for Katsuki and Mitsuki showing up, who knows what would've happened to him. For that, he was forever grateful.

Katsuki was too stunned to speak, not having expected those words. His heart was doing flips inside his chest as he stared at the greenette. He remembered it clearly. How he held the boy after what he had witnessed, blood boiling at the thought of Hisashi laying a hand on his childhood friend. He immediately felt hatred towards the man, wanting to blast his face off and rip him to shreds.

The blond nodded slowly, looking at the ground and running a hand through his spiky hair. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at Izuku and glared at him the way a predator would glare at his prey. "Don't you ever ask me to do something like that again."

Izuku tensed up, noticing the raw emotions behind Katsuki's eyes. His ruby red orbs held guilt, anger, and sorrow. It was obvious that he had hated doing what he did in order to trigger the memory. He had verbally expressed his denial to the idea, after all.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, Kacchan," Izuku apologized, lips tugging down in a frown. "I didn't think you'd hate it that much."

Katsuki bit the inside of his cheek, looking away before clicking his tongue. "I just don't want you to compare me to...him."

Izuku's eyes widened in astonishment, taken aback. "I have never and will never compare you to that man. You are nothing like him."

"I was worse," Katsuki frowned, looking everywhere but his eyes. It was a good thing that they were now alone in the building, not a single soul apart from them. He was vulnerable at the moment, and he would hate it if anyone were to witness it. At least anyone other than Izuku, whom he could no longer hide things from.

"So what if you were?" Izuku asked softly. "That's in the past, Kacchan. Although I don't know your reasons for having been that way, I never hated you for it."

"You should've hated me. I was a fucking coward who couldn't handle any judgment from other people," Katsuki sighed, stuffing his hands deep inside his pockets. Izuku was silent, trying to understand what the blond was saying. Katsuki was feeling anxious, the truth spilling out of his mouth unconsciously. He had held that information for too long.