Midoriya was the class scapegoat due to his lack of a quirk. In the world of quirks, not all men are created equal. When what's left of his dream is burnt away by his idol, Midoriya suddenly disappears and is presumed dead.
That is, until he's annou...
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Chapter 5: Meddling
Katsuki was in deep thought.
There were two options laid out for him.
Option one was was that he told his mother that his childhood friend had been alive all this time.
The pros of that outcome were that he didn't have to lie to anyone. His mother was the one who could inform Inko Midoriya of.. Kioku's.. whereabouts. He hadn't seen Inko since the day Izuku was confirmed dead. The woman never left her home anymore.
The cons would be that Izuku, now Kioku, would likely be thrown into a whole mess of government issues, and possibly face expulsion. He would only feel more guilt.
Option two was for him to keep it to himself, and forget about his childhood friend. He was a different person now, and regardless of him still being alive, Katsuki could just try and move past this mess.
The pros would be that Kioku wouldn't be threatened by any legal issues, and he would be able to continue in school without having to worry about his cover being blown.
The con was that Katsuki would be trapped with a heavy secret.
It was getting to be around the time that Katsuki planned to meet up with Kioku. It was likely that Kioku wouldn't show up, but something in Katsuki made him think that there was a possibility of him showing. One thing about Izuku was that he never lost his pride.
"Hag, I'm going out."
Mitsuki walked out of the kitchen, fully clad in cooking gear. "What? It's getting kind of late to go on a walk."
"I'm meeting up with a few classmates." lied Katsuki. It was difficult to get a lie past his mother, but under the current circumstances, Mitsuki let Katsuki do as he pleased. Mitsuki remembered the day where Izuku was confirmed missing, and then later deceased.
Katsuki didn't eat dinner for almost a week. He was almost never at home either, always at the park or just sitting on the front porch. The park was on the way to his school, so he tended to always stay and sit there for hours.
"Be back before 8." Mitsuki watched Katsuki leave the front door without a goodbye or a wave.
She had a different relationship with her son than most mothers did. Maybe they weren't as close knit of a family as the Midoriya family was. There was foul language commonly used between mother and son, with the father as the unsuccessful peacemaker. It was different now. Rather than yelling, there was just silence.
But Mitsuki knew that Katsuki didn't actually hate her. It was just uncomfortable for him to show normal affection. Probably why he'd never get a stable relationship with anyone.
"Deku. You showed up."
"Yeah, I suppose I did.." Katsuki noticed Kioku was out of breath. It was now completely dark out.
He arched one eyebrow, examining Kioku's condition some more. "Did you run all the way here?"
"Actually, I didn't even intend to show up. This was just on the way of my jogging route. What an unfortunate coincidence."
Even when out of breath, Katsuki noticed just how mean and angry Kioku looked and sounded, although he was still full of bull crap. How could it have been a coincidence?
"You're even a loser at arriving first. I walked and still got here before you." Perhaps a little more anger went into his words than he intended.
"I didn't come here to fight with you."
"So you did arrive here on purpose."
"What do you want, Kacchan? Are you just here to get on my nerves?"
Katsuki grit his teeth in a smile. "You still call me that damn childish nickname? After all I've done to you?" It almost felt like he was being mocked by a ghost. This person was not Izuku. They were just an empty shell of him.
"You call me Deku, don't you?"
Katsuki felt a metaphorical arrow drive itself right through his chest. It really was no different.
"Well, I'll be going now." Kioku started to walk away. This boy really wasn't Izuku Midoriya anymore. He even changed his name along with it.
"Why did you even come out here then? To tell me off, then run away before I can deliver it back? Huh, Deku?"
This Kioku guy was a total jerk. Definitely not the Deku he knew.
When Kioku turned the corner, he quickly felt the side of his shirt to make sure he wasn't still bleeding. Unfortunately, he had no where to stay the night. He had failed to consider that.
The place he went most often to sleep was the park. He had befriended a homeless woman after spending his a few weeks on the run. He did get taken eventually by the police.
He had been brought into a police station after being found out as a minor, and then later returned to his house when his father's friend showed up.
He hadn't used his name, and looked like a total wreck at the time. His hair was just starting to whiten at the time, and the dark circles under his eyes looked like that of a raccoon.
He was surprised he wan't suspected as an abuse victim, let alone a torture victim. It made him lose faith in the law system. Perhaps that fueled his motivation to continue to strive to be a pro hero.
With his white hair, he could now probably appear older. The fear of being surrounded by people questioning your life was very nerve-racking for Kioku, especially since Izuku Midoriya was supposedly dead.
When Kioku arrived at the public park, the sky had finally gone dark. It was approximately 7:30 PM. Rush hour was over, and the weather was relatively cold.
The benches in the park weren't close to comfortable, and Kioku found himself sleeping in the grass. The grass wasn't the most comfortable either.
This was his life ever since escaping.
"Deku...?"
But for now, there was always something bugging him. Whether it be his family, or a dumb blonde brat who made his school life miserable.
