ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ᴏʟᴅ | Izuku M. & Katsuki B.

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It's been five years since Katsuki died.

And Izuku sees him everywhere.

He sees him, his eyes specifically, in the crimson carnations sparkling with dew; he sees his hair in the dandelions he passes by on the streets. He sees him on the billboards today too. Since today is the anniversary of the war against the liberation army. Against All for One and his league of villains- of children- he'd picked up on the streets.

Today is cold and the clouds are casting shadows everywhere Izuku can see. He can tell soon the rains will start. Soon, the weather Katsuki used to dread will fill all of Japan as the world rejoices for those who defeated the anarchists. And despite the gloomy air, celebrations will be filling the streets with all kinds of decorations.

The war was won thanks to Dynamight's sacrifice against Tomura Shigaraki. Even if it was only a dent in his physique, it was enough disorientation for Izuku to plan the final blow; his death was enough motivation to go through with what Izuku deems the unthinkable.

And when Shigaraki died, All For One died too. The forces suddenly without a head to govern its next move made it a hundred times easier for the heroes to flip the tables and soon the light prevailed over all darkness.

However, the cost. The cost was too great in Izuku's eyes.

Losing the boy he admired since that day, when he hid behind a tree in fear, broke him. Shattered him.

Izuku puffs white air from his mouth in the frigid spring, watching how the pink petals of cherry blossoms dance in the wind and stick to everything thanks to the rain.

Katsuki would've been twenty two years and two weeks old today.

The thought burns his eyes and tears well along his waterline.

It seems, unlike the rest of Japan, Izuku's grief matches the crying skies.

And despite the days and weeks and months and years that followed Katsuki's death fluttering by like leaves in the wind, Izuku is still petrified on the battlefield. Petrified just as he saw ash blond hair streaked in blood, his suit tattered while his right arm was mangled, his right eye practically gray from damage, and his mouth parted with more crimson painting the grassy floor.

The worst thing he saw wasn't his body beaten and torn by the enemy. It was the bloodied All Might trading card beside his head.

The one Izuku asked All Might to sign the day he beat All For One to the ground. The one he burned with Katsuki's body so he could cherish it for all of eternity. Whatever eternity entailed after death.

He shoves one hand in his pocket, rubbing his thumb along the embossed writing of his trading card. The identical one he got that same day with Katsuki.

Katsuki would've been twenty two years and two weeks old today. And Izuku wishes he could've been the one to get the All Might's autograph instead.

With another puff of white, Izuku crosses the water laden concrete, not caring how the soles of his battered red sneakers slide with every step. He keeps his hood up, his gaze down, his curls out of view and his scars hidden in the black and orange hoodie he wears. The last thing he needs is a fan hovering in his space.

The last thing he needs is to smile on a dreaded day like this.

When he crosses another street, the lights blaring against the reflections on the floor, his phone buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out with a grumble, hoping the crowd of students holding signs with his face plastered on the cardboard don't notice his hands or the watch he wears at all times.