Ashes, Ashes

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Quick Note:
   No art is mine, I didn't draw any of the art in the chapters, so credit to those artists because dam are they all talented. I'm responsible for the text on the art and any borders or edits, but the original art isn't mine!  The first couple chapters are gonna be short, and I'll post them on Sundays before I get to the longer ones, which will be posted on Thursdays– the change will be noticeable. This was started before Endgame was released, but I've been writing it for a while so the ending will follow the canon ending for the franchise.  I hope you guys enjoy this story, so please vote if you do! That being said, read on, soldiers.
~Rain

Katsuki Bakugo has figured out Izuku Midoriya's secret.

He's done it.  They fight, and Katsuki knows he can prove himself, he knows he has a chance at beating the once-Quirkless Deku he's known since childhood as he straddles the beaten boy after their fight.  All Might's prodigy, favorite, whatever the fuck their relationship is, wasn't able to fight past the sheer will of Bakugo's drive to be Number One.  This development leaves him torn between expressing his feelings as either a prideful smirk or a conflicted frown.  When he learns the whole story from a flustered All Might who appears soon after Midoriya's blatant defeat, Bakugo finds the fire of his competitive spirit stoked more than ever.  He proudly declares himself Midoriya's rival and future superior; he verbally claims the Number One Hero spot in Japan, but he knows his drive is more than enough to back up his claim.  And for once, Midoriya looks him straight in the eye and confirms his desires, while also refusing to go down without a fight.  With an issue of competition hanging in the air between them, Bakugo allows himself to relax, feeling the ever-wise gaze of the stringy man know as Toshinori Yagi on his back. Midoriya's slightly-more-confident-but-still-the-same nervous chatter is background noise at this point, and Bakugo responds to the green-haired boy on autopilot as he sinks into the comforting feeling of familiarity.

   All Might escorts the boys back to the dorms, and Katsuki feels pride in the understanding that passes between them. Don't misunderstand, Bakugo still hates the guts of his once-childhood friend, but he knows now; even with All Might's inherited Quirk backing his power, he is still beatable. Bakugo can still make it to Number One. This thought replays itself over and over in his head, as if on a repetitive track. The boy can't quite put a name to the loaded feeling building in his chest, but he knows that it's good and he's content to swim in it for a good long while.

   "Young Midoriya, what troubles you?"  All Might's voice eggs Bakugo to look over at Midoriya, who's stopped a few paces behind them.  Toshinori tilts his head, watching the boy in confusion as Katsuki frowns from a few feet away from the older man.  Midoriya lifts a trembling– why is he trembling so bad? Bakugo thinks– hand to his chest, where his fingers settle over the place where his heart beats strongly.  His fingers curl weakly around the fabric of his dirtied white t-shirt, an aftermath of the fierce battle the two boys had just fought.  His legs tremble, goosebumps breaking out across the flesh of the skin exposed below where his black trousers cut off.  Bakugo steps forward, glaring in annoyance (and a more-than-comfortable amount of confusion) at the boy.

   "Oi Deku, get a move on!  What's the matter with you, damn pushover?"  Bakugo wills his twitching hand to remain at his side, and then thinks fuck it as he reaches out when he sees a pained expression on Midoriya's face.  A few small sparks dance over his palm, as if Bakugo reflexively acts to startle the green-haired boy out of his stupor.  The normally over-expressive, joyful eyes of his classmate are both screaming and scarily dull at the same time. He doesn't react to the blond's hand, drawing ever closer to his figure.  Pain, confusion, panic, and fear swirl in those forest-green pools as Bakugo reaches out to graze the boy's hand with his fingertips.

   As if his fingers are like magic, Midoriya's face contorts in pain.

   Bakugo can only watch as the other boy's fingertips resting atop his heart turn brown, and then an ash grey, and then break apart to become particles that sink lightly to the ground.  The color and following destruction travel up his arms, and Bakugo can only watch in abstract horror as Midoriya stares at him, an immense look of sadness and loss on his face, before he loses his forest-green eyes, his pale skin turns grey, and his hair disintegrates.  Something incredibly soulful tugs at Bakugo's chest as he watches his classmate– no, his rival– rival-friend? (not your friend, a sick part of his mind reminds him), turn to dust before his eyes. He stares down at the pile of ash for a moment, undisturbed by the windless morning, disbelief curling in his mind. Katsuki's outstretched hand drops listlessly to his side, and he distantly notes the ugly feeling of something constructing his throat, completely opposite from his earlier euphoria. As if by some invisible trigger, the boy's eyes contort into the fiercest glare; he whirls in place, scanning the environment for a threat he won't find.

   "Wh-What the fuck was that, All Might?"  Bakugo hisses, his form vibrating with energy.  He remains vigilant, and when the energy building in his core translates to more small, explosive crackling along his palms, he begins to turn to and fro impatiently.  "Was it the creepy hand fuck?  How did he do it, the fucker!"  It is when Katsuki takes a moment to turn his furious gaze on the Pillar of Hope that the fight suddenly drains from him.  The older man's expression is lost, his eyes wide and his arm reaching toward the pile of ash at their feet.  It's clear he has no idea what's just happened, and it's that that scares Bakugo more than anything.  The crackling fireworks exploding against his palms cease, and the blond teenager glances back at the pile of ash that... is? his rival.

   And Katsuki Bakugo clenches his fists.  He feels his throat vibrate from the growl threatening to tear out of his mouth.  The boy doesn't know how to process the fire flaring in his gut- it's not his usual rage that he can channel into fighting, but if he had to give the building emotions names they would be feral anger, frustration, confusion.  They aren't emotions Bakugo can usually work with easily, and it makes him all the more angry at what the fuck just happened?

All he knows is that Izuku– shitty, useless Deku– has disappeared.