Spiraling back to You

Chapter 7 - I Miss You

Izuku was still stumbling and fumbling around, trying to wrap his mind around everything he learned the day before. He was a lot more comfortable asking questions and poking around now that he knew for sure Kacchan wouldn't mind. It was a nice change of pace, and Katsuki could feel himself relax a little more. Sure, they didn't know when this quirk was going to end, but at least he could make up to Izuku- this Izuku, the one he bullied and tormented. He could show him a better side of him, the side Katsuki had been afraid to show him back then.

It didn't last, though.

Of course it didn't. Change was inevitable with a quirk like this. And so one morning Katsuki woke up with a child running around the apartment, crying and screaming and running away to hide whenever he saw Katsuki approach. From what he'd been able to tell, Izuku was somewhere between 8 and 10 right now. Which... Fuck, it was really bad, wasn't it? Katsuki didn't want to think the worst, promised Izuku he'd live, that he wouldn't let him die. But now that he saw that child running around, crying and afraid, his heart broke all over again, making the worst thoughts surface in his mind.

"Izuku," Katsuki spoke, standing in the middle of the living room, staring at the little feet poking out from underneath the curtain. "I'm sure you're hungry. I made breakfast for you."

"Go away!" he yelled, his voice high squeaky, even more so than his middle school self.

"For the last time, it's me, Izuku. It's Katsuki," he said, taking a step closer, being careful to not make the floor creak under his weight. "You're in the future because of a quirk accident."

"You're lying!" Izuku called out, peeking out from behind the curtain. God, he looked so cute when he was angry pouting like that. Child Izuku was fucking adorable. "Kacchan never calls me by my name! And he doesn't look like you at all!"

So it was the scar, huh? Guess it must look pretty scary to a kid his age... In fact, Katsuki scared kids with his battered face all the time, definitely when he was out of his hero costume.

"What about this?" Katsuki asked, hunching down and holding up his palm. He let the sparks fly freely, like little firecrackers. It was nothing more than a party trick, but he remembered being so proud of it back then. Remembered how impressed all his friends were whenever he showed off his quirk to them. "It's my quirk, see? I can make explosions with my hands."

"That's Kacchan's quirk!" Izuku exclaimed, stepping out from beneath the curtain to get a closer look, making Katsuki smile.

"Come and eat some breakfast," Katsuki offered. "And after I'll call your mom so you can talk to her. Would you like that?"

"Mom?" Izuku repeated, as if he hadn't even thought of the idea. Maybe he'd been too wrapped in the fact he was in a new unknown environment, with a man he thought he didn't know. It was a lot of information for a child to swallow, after all.

"Yeah, I'll call her and she can explain everything to you," Katsuki smiled, getting up again and motioning towards the table. "Come on, sit down and I'll set everything up, okay?"

It didn't take long to set up a video call with Inko. Katsuki explained what happened, how old he thought Izuku was right now- He hadn't actually asked him how old he was, which he really should've before calling Inko, but whatever. She was able to convince Izuku of everything Katsuki had told him, explained some details he hadn't been able to point out yet, and generally comforted her son as he settled in in his new environment.

"Do you want me to stop by later?" Inko asked as Katsuki took the phone again, making sure Izuku was eating before wandering off into the hallway so the green head wouldn't hear him talk.

"I think we'll be okay," Katsuki sighed. "We might need to go shopping for some new clothes though... I've got nothing that fits the nerd right now, and this phase will probably last at least a week so..."