Zero - A Vigilante Deku Story

Chapter 7 - Not a good day, not for 9 years.

POV Katsuki

"Aizawa is right. There's something wrong with you today, Bakubro."

He gave Kiri a quick glance. "Maybe it's because I have a shitty headache thanks to the concussion."

Mina didn't take her eyes off him. "You've been beside yourself all day. Even before you got under the house. What's wrong, Kat? You can tell us."

"You've been in a bad mood all week, but it's especially bad today. What's wrong?" Kiri asked.

His best friend reached for Katsuki's uninjured hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You can talk to us. You know that, right?"

The blond hero-in-training sighed heavily. Maybe it was time to share this burden with someone. He hadn't spoken to his parents about the Midoriyas in years. Every time the subject came up, his mother became sad, as she too had lost her best friend. "Nine years ago today, Izuku disappeared."

"Who is Izuku?" Kiri asked. He exchanged a glance with Mina, as if to ask her if she had heard the name before. She shook her head gently.

"Our mothers were best friends. We grew up together. We were inseparable too ... At least until we were four or five. Then I pushed him away from me for a reason that wasn't even his fault. Today I know how stupid I was back then, how ignorant and discriminatory my environment, which influenced me too much, was. I was horrible to him for years, even though he kept trying to save our friendship.

This went on until 3rd grade. We were eight at the time. His mother called us one evening. She was totally upset because Izuku hadn't come home after school. Before my mother helped her friend look for him, she asked me if I hadn't gone home with him. I hadn't done that for years, but she didn't know anything about it. I didn't know what to tell her. I was secretly worried myself.

My mother didn't come back until the middle of the night, long after I was asleep. Izuku didn't come to school the next day. The last time I saw him was the day before, when I beat him up with my supposed friends after school.

He never came to school again after that.

My guilty conscience consumed me. The fact that the police stopped looking for him after just a few weeks didn't make it any better. Although they never found his body, they assumed he must be dead by now. Either by suicide or by his kidnappers, if there were any.

I still don't know what happened to him and I seem to be the only one who still thinks about him. I wish I had realized earlier how dysfunctional our environment was back then. I should have gone home with him. Maybe Izuku would still be here."

His friends had let him talk. They knew Katsuki well enough to know that he was quick to get defensive and shut down if he was asked too many personal questions at once.

"So it could be he's still alive?" Mina finally asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, Izuku was tough and stuck to his ideals no matter what the rest of us said. Since his death hasn't been confirmed yet, it's possible." Katsuki moistened his lips before continuing quietly, "I wish it more than anything."

"I'm sure he's still alive and you'll meet again one day." Mina smiled tentatively.

"That's right, bro, always stay positive." Kiri gave him his big shark grin.

Katsuki sighed and leaned back into the pillow. Everything still hurt. "You should go back to the dorms. I'm really tired and want to crash now."

The two of them stood up. "Okay, Kat, thanks again for pushing me aside. I'm really sorry about how it turned out for you." Mina bowed slightly.