Chapter Text
You don’t know where you are
Pain. That’s the first thing Izuku’s mind registers. Everything hurts to some degree. He can’t move his arms or legs. Or maybe he can but they feel ten times heavier than they should. It’s like an elephant is sitting on top of him. That’d be weird. What is an elephant doing in his room? His mom won’t like it…
Sleep threatens to take Izuku back, but he fights it. He needs to take the elephant out. Their landlord may give them grief for it. Izuku is pretty sure elephants aren’t on the list of approved pets for their apartment complex. He doesn’t want to give his mom any trouble so he needs to wake up and get the elephant—
“Hey there, easy,” a gentle voice tells him. “Go back to sleep now.”
Izuku tries to open his mouth to argue about the elephant but his voice doesn’t come out. Shortly after, everything goes black once again.
***
The next time Izuku wakes up, he’s prompted by someone talking to him.
“... shitty dumbass nerd— …don’t you fucking dare— ... please, Izuku—”
The voice breaks, wavers. It’s hard to keep track of what it’s saying as Izuku’s conscience breaks and wavers just as much. But he can feel the pain and desperation in it. Someone is very sad and Izuku wants to reach out, to tell them it’s going to be alright. But he can’t. His voice still refuses to work and the elephant is still sitting on top of him.
Eventually, the darkness takes Izuku away one more time.
***
Izuku isn’t sure how many times he woke up or almost woke up, nor through what length of time this all happened. But, eventually, he wakes up feeling good enough to open his eyes.
What he sees makes him wonder if he’s still sleeping though.
He’s in a hospital. Not a regular clinic. No, he’s in a place he’s only seen before in movies and tv shows, where there are a bunch of machines connected to his bed and a tube on his arm. There’s also a mask on his face that makes it hard to turn his head around to have a good look.
Confusion floods Izuku. What is he doing here? What happened? How did he get hurt?
That’s the only thing Izuku can know for sure—he’s severely hurt. If the fact his whole body hurts wasn’t telling enough, there are also bandages wrapped around his limbs. It looks like Izuku got run over by a car.
Forcing his brain, Izuku tries to remember what happened to him.
He was in school, class had ended. Did he get run over when he was going back home? No… He doesn’t remember leaving the school…
Kacchan and his friends had cornered him. Kacchan said some things about Izuku not being allowed to try for UA, and then he threw Izuku’s notebook through the window. He was going to get the notebook back and—
No. It can’t be. He can’t—
Izuku hadn’t entertained the idea even for a second. He brushed Kacchan off the moment the words came out of the boy’s mouth. Never in his life had Izuku considered doing such a thing, no matter how bleak things looked. There’s absolutely no way.
And yet, it’d explain so much. It’d explain why he’s in a hospital, why he’s so hurt, why he can’t remember things clearly…
Before Izuku can spiral in his own head, the curtain around his bed is pulled over and a nurse walks in.
“Oh! You’re finally awake! That’s great!” she says with a gentle smile. “You gave us quite a scare this time.”
“I—”
Izuku wants to say he is sorry, but his throat hurts and the words don’t come out.
“Here,” the nurse helps him to drink some water.
The cool liquid eases the pain instantly, making Izuku realize how dry his mouth was.
“No need to rush, alright?” the nurse tells him. “Just relax and focus on recovering. I’m going to tell your doctor you’re awake.”
“M-mom,” Izuku says, hoping just one word would be enough for the nurse to understand he wants to know if his mom is around and if she’s worried.
It is.
“Your mom is in the waiting room. I’m going to tell her you’re awake,” the nurse says gently. “Now, drink a bit more and I’ll go talk to your doctor.”
As instructed, Izuku takes more of his water in small gulps. The nurse injects some medicine in the line hooked to his arm, writes something in his chart, and gets ready to leave, once again promising to fetch his doctor.
Just before she closes the curtain, Izuku gathers the strength to ask the question that plagues him.
“Did I jump?”
The nurse frowns confused, “What?”
“To—... get hurt. Did I jump?” Izuku tries again.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have the details of the villain fight that landed you here,” she answers simply. “I’m sure you’ll get a full report once you’re healthy enough.”
Izuku breathes in relief.
A villain fight. That makes much more sense. He got caught in a villain fight when walking home. That explains everything—the wounds, the foggy memory, why he’s in a hospital. Izuku is thankful that he didn’t end up here for his own doing. He doesn’t want to even think how much it’d have hurt his mom’s feelings.
Still, there’s a chance he ended up hurt because he got too enthralled watching the fight to seek shelter, and his mom will probably give him a long speech about that. But everything will be fine. The nurse didn’t look too worried. Now Izuku can only hope he won’t lose too much school while he’s in the hospital.
It doesn’t take long for a doctor to come. She’s a stern-looking woman, with hair in a tight bun and clacking high heel shoes.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” the doctor greets him, reaching for his chart to check what’s there.
“What—What happened?” Izuku asks, his voice still very rough.
“I don’t have a lot of information on the villains involved in the attack. Most of them were captured but there are still some on the loose,” she answers matter-of-factly. “In regards to your health, you had a severe concussion, several broken bones, cracked ribs, and some internal bleeding. We did our best with the tools available, healing quirks and technology, but the process took a toll on your body. That’s why you were sleeping for so long.”
She explains without looking at him. The doctor seems to be too busy checking his vitals and writing things on the chart. The fact she’s so focused and business-like should be a reassurance, but Izuku can’t help feeling a bit vulnerable and out of place. It’s almost like he should be apologizing for getting hurt.
“Everything seems to be fine. I believe we can transfer you to a room this afternoon,” she says when she finishes her assessment. “I’m sure all of Hero Deku’s friends and family are dying to see you. Our waiting room has been packed since you arrived.”
“Ah—Hero Deku?” Izuku asks, confused. “Is he the one who saved me? I—I never heard of him before—Maybe he’s from another part of the country? Or from overseas? Why—”
The doctor gives him a weird look and approaches the bed again. While Izuku keeps rambling awkwardly—he feels very guilty about not knowing the hero who saved him, he knows every hero!—she pulls a small flashlight and points straight into his eye, holding the eyelid open.
“What’s your name?” she asks incisively.
“Midoriya Izuku?” he answers, doubt blooming from her questions.
“What’s your parents' name?”
“Midoriya Inko and Midoriya Hisashi.”
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
The doctor puts her flashlight back in her pocket and takes a deep sigh before continuing.
“Mr. Midoriya, what’s the last thing you remember?”
“I—I was at school. Class just ended and I—I was thinking about going home, I guess…” he answers unsurely.
“I’m going to ask for a few more exams,” she says. “An MRI, a quirk-scan, and a PET. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll be allowed to go to a room before we get these results.”
“Oh… Alright… Can I—My mother…?”
“You’re in an intensive care unit. Visitation is very restricted here, but I’ll ask for your mother to be allowed in for a minute. When you’re in a room, you’ll be allowed to have visitation for longer,” she answers, showing kindness in a way she hadn’t before.
“Thank you.”
After the doctor leaves, Izuku doesn’t have a lot of time to rest. A flurry of other nurses, doctors, and health professionals he’s not sure of the title come and take him for several tests. He’s in and out of machines, and getting hooked to sensors for hours.
At one point, just like the doctor promised, his mom shows up. Also, as the doctor promised, they don’t get much time together. Izuku tries apologizing for getting caught in the villain fight, but she brushes him away, saying she’s just glad he’s awake and he should focus on getting better.
The encounter is fleeting, but it leaves a bad taste in Izuku’s mouth from how his mother looks. It’s like she aged years in the last few days. Her hair is turning white and she has deep bags under her eyes. Guilt fills Izuku up—he’s a bad son for putting his mother through such stress. He’ll make up to her as soon as he’s released from the hospital.
The sun is already going down, dark orange light peeking through the windows, when a nurse rolls Izuku to a private room in a gurney. It felt weird the first time a nurse steered him around in a bed, like he was being lazy to not walk. But the nurses were pretty adamant about the importance of him staying down and letting them do their jobs, so he held his tongue to not give them trouble.
When Izuku gets to his room, there are people already waiting for him there—his doctor, his mother, and someone who could easily pass as Kacchan, but much older and bigger. He’s wearing regular clothes but the size of his muscles makes Izuku wonder if he’s the hero who saved him.
“Welcome, Mr. Midoriya,” the doctor greets him. “I hope the exams weren’t too bothersome.”
“Ah—Everyone was very kind,” he answers, letting everyone infer that yes, it was bothersome to go through the exams but the staff made it as comfortable as possible.
“Good to hear,” the doctor says. “However, I’m afraid I have some worrisome news.”
“Is there something wrong with me?” he asks, fear showing in his voice.
“Unfortunately, it looks like you’re suffering from a significative amnesia,” she says, straight to the point. “From what you told me during the examination, you lost 13 years of memories.”
All the air gets knocked out of Izuku’s lungs. Thirteen years?! That’s almost as much time as he’s alive! There’s no way—
He wants to protest, say she’s messing with him. But one look at his mother’s eyes and Izuku knows it to be true. She does look much older. A person doesn’t get so many long, white hairs from spending a couple of days in a hospital’s waiting room. And the man by her side—
“It’s alright, baby,” his mother shows up by his side, gently rubbing his back. “There’s no need to be nervous. The doctors are going to make everything better.”
“We have no reason to believe this condition is permanent,” the doctor offers. “There’s still some swelling in your brain that we need to monitor, but once that goes down, you should naturally start to recover your memories—if the cause of it is physical trauma.”
“Is—Is there another cause?” he mumbles in a small voice.
Izuku wants to hold on to the hope offered by the doctor, but she made a point of adding a big if to her answer.
“Yes,” she sighs. “I think I mentioned there are still some villains who haven’t been brought to justice. There’s the possibility your amnesia is the result of one of the villain’s quirk that we don’t know of. We couldn’t find any clear sign of it with a quirk scan, but it’s still a possibility.”
“Oh…”
He could stay like this forever. The villain may have taken his memories of half his life and he may never recover them. He can—
“If that’s the case, there’s also no need to worry,” his mother interrupts his spiraling thoughts once again. “There are some great heroes who will work hard to make sure every villain is apprehended. I trust them completely, and so do you.”
His mother’s eyes turn to the other man in the room. Now that he knows 13 years have passed, there’s no way that man is anyone other than…
“Kacchan?” he whispers.
“Hey, Deku,” Kacchan says, a half-smirk pulling on his lips as if he’s trying to reassure Izuku. “Aunty is right. If a shitty villain is the cause, we’re gonna get your memories back in no time.”
“You are a hero?” he asks, wonder clear in his voice.
Of course he’s always known Kacchan would be a hero, but to see him like that—so big and strong—is still staggering.
“You bet, nerd” Kacchan answers with pride. “I’m the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.”
“Wow…” Izuku whispers in awe.
“Which brings me to another important topic,” the doctor continues. “Be it physical trauma or a quirk, our best approach to getting your memories back is slowly inserting you into your regular life. There’s no need for you to force yourself to remember things, this will only bring you anxiety, but memory works in a holistic way. A smell, a sound, or a throwaway word can bring back memories. So it’s my professional recommendation that you go back to your regular life and explore your surroundings.”
“My regular life?” Izuku parrots, confused.
“Yes. Your home, your job, your friends and family. Don’t shy away from getting familiar with your routine. And feel free to ask questions whenever they arise,” the doctor explains.
“But—But I don’t know what’s my job,” he mumbles weakly.
“I can help you with that,” his mom offers kindly. “You’re Hero Deku! The hero that saves everyone with a smile!”
“And you’re my hero partner. We own an agency together,” Kacchan completes.
“Wh-What?! There’s no way! I’m—I’m—” Izuku stutters, too overwhelmed to say the word.
“Your quirk showed up late,” Kacchan says, quickly. “I can tell you more about this story when we go home. The doctor here said I could bring you home in a couple of days when they’re sure your big brain is good to go.”
“Go home? With you?” Izuku repeats. “But mom—”
“Oh, you don’t live with me anymore, sweety,” his mom says with a chuckle. “You’re all grown up now, living your life with Katsuki-kun.”
“I’m roommates with Kacchan?!” Izuku says, still completely baffled.
He’s a hero?! And he and Kacchan are best friends again?! They must be if they own an agency together and are roommates! It’s absolutely unbelievable! Not even in Izuku’s wildest dreams, he dared to hope for so much! Maybe he actually died in the hero attack and this is heaven? But if he’s in heaven, why he’s still hurting so much and—
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” the doctor says, bringing Izuku’s attention back to the situation. “But Mr. Bakugou and Mrs. Midoriya will slowly fill you in on your life and routines in the next couple of days while you’re here. There’s no need to overwhelm yourself; anytime you feel like you need a break to process information, I strongly advise you to take it. Listen to your body and your feelings, Mr. Midoriya. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Easier said than done. Izuku understands where the doctor is coming from and why she’s giving that advice, but he feels utterly lost and wants to find out everything he forgot right now. How can he function when half his life is missing?
***
Painfully and awkwardly. That’s how Izuku functions after waking up in a body 13 years older.
The following days in the hospital all passed in a blur. There were still several exams to be made, health professionals going in and out of his room for all kinds of reasons, and most of what everyone told him was for him to focus on his recovery. Not that Izuku could focus on anything else—the fact his body was still beaten up and that he was in a hospital made it impossible for him to not focus on recovering. That explains the painful part.
What explains the awkward part is Kacchan’s presence in his room. Whenever his mom isn’t there, Kacchan is. Sometimes they’re both there at the same time, but Izuku quickly realized they were in contact to organize a time schedule for keeping Izuku company. And the weirdest part of all: it’s Kacchan’s time that they’re scheduling around. Whenever Kacchan had to go to work, his mom would keep him company. Kacchan would show up back at the hospital as soon as he was free, often still wearing his hero uniform.
Kacchan also seemed to be the one in charge of Izuku’s medical care. He’s the one that talks to doctors, checks in if the nurses gave Izuku all the right medication, and makes sure Izuku is doing all the exams and therapy needed. Kacchan took to Izuku’s care as he does with everything—with absolute dedication, striving for perfection.
It was a bit overwhelming and it made Izuku confused. He thought about asking his mother why was Kacchan so involved in his recovery, but just the idea of saying that out loud made Izuku feel terribly guilty. If he voiced that question to his mother, he’d at the same time be implying that his mother wasn’t doing enough and that he wasn’t thankful for what Kacchan was doing. Izuku could never do that.
Eventually, he settled in accepting that Kacchan probably has more experience in recovery from villain battles, and that’s why has taken the lead instead of his mother. Kacchan also is his hero partner and has a big investment in Izuku getting better as soon as possible to go back to work. Those must be the explanations for what’s happening and Izuku decided to take comfort in them. He’s lucky to have such a dedicated friend like Kacchan to help him through the process of getting better.
Still, no matter how thankful Izuku is for Kacchan’s help, he still feels off-kilter. This man looks like Kacchan, walks like Kacchan, and sounds like Kacchan but, at the same time, he’s as far from the Kacchan Izuku knows as possible.
This Kacchan doesn’t yell at him, only at the nurses who don’t fluff Izuku’s pillow enough. And he fluffs Izuku’s pillow himself whenever he arrives, no matter how much Izuku says he’s fine. He has a deep crease in his eyebrows that indicates he’s always annoyed with something, but somehow that annoyance never gets directed to Izuku. This Kacchan is coarse, rash, and angry, but treats Izuku with utmost gentleness. It may not be unwelcome, but it’s weird and it leaves Izuku feeling out of place.
And now, Izuku is expected to go live with this Kacchan.
“Hey, nerd. Are you ready?”
Even though Izuku knew Kacchan was just talking to his doctors one last time and would arrive any minute, he still jumps in surprise when he enters.
“Ye-yeah,” he stutters. “Didn’t—Didn’t have a lot to pack.”
Kacchan had brought Izuku a backpack with some underwear and a change of clothes for his stay in the hospital a couple of days ago. He also got Izuku a new notebook and a pen, saying he knew Izuku would want to make notes during his recovery. This gesture made Izuku feel all sorts of things from thankful to confused, and he has felt too overwhelmed to write during his hospital stay.
“All of your shit is back home,” Kacchan agrees. “You’ll be reunited with your merch soon enough.”
Izuku nods as he doesn’t know what else to say.
“Let’s go,” Kacchan grabs Izuku’s backpack and opens the door. “I parked just in front.”
“You have a car?” he can’t help asking.
“We do,” Kacchan answers unbothered. “We don’t need one every day as the agency is close to our place, so we share a car.”
“I have a car…” Izuku mumbles, surprised.
He never thought about owning a car before. His mother never had one; it was out of their budget. And since Izuku got used to using public transportation, it never crossed his mind it could be different when he was an adult.
“I don’t think you’ll be cleared to drive for now, though,” Kacchan says. “You’ll have to get your memories back before that.”
“Yeah…” Izuku agrees in a small voice. “I—I don’t know how to drive.”
“Of course you don’t. No one does at 14, no matter what some brats would like to think,” Kacchan brushes his worry off. “We got our licenses when we were 20.”
“We did it together?!” he exclaims surprised.
“Yeah,” Kacchan agrees. “We had to when we decided we could afford a car. None of us had ever driven before.”
“Amazing…” he whispers.
He and Kacchan truly are friends. Good friends. Friends that do things together, work together, live together, make plans together. It’s hard for Izuku to wrap his head around it, even more than it’s for him to accept he’s a hero who got hurt during a fight with a villain. But he supposes all of these developments come from the same inconceivable source: he got his quirk late.
During his stay in the hospital, Kacchan and his mom were adamant that Izuku shouldn’t try to use his quirk while he’s still recovering. Any other questions he had were also brushed off with the promise he’d be filled in everything once he was back home.
The car, as Kacchan had said, is parked right in front of the hospital. It looks new but it’s not very flashy. The little All Might charm hanging from the mirror sets Izuku slightly more at home despite how awkward and out of place he feels about everything else. The fact that Kacchan opened the door for him and helped Izuku in, even though he protested, saying he could do it on his own only adds to the weirdness of it all.
The ride is silent and tense. Kacchan makes some comments about the neighborhood they picked to live in and the reasons for that, but all this new information floats inside Izuku’s head without any reference to attach itself to. How good is it to know they picked a place near their agency and near a public park if Izuku doesn’t know where’s his agency or why he’d go to the park?
When they get to the building, Izuku is impressed yet again. It’s way fancier than where he and his mom live—lived. There’s an underground garage and Kacchan has to put a password for the elevator to open.
“I’ll leave a note or some shit,” Kacchan says once the elevator closes its door. “With the password and address and whatever you need. Any questions you have, you know you can shoot them at me. Don’t bottle shit in, ok?”
Izuku nods despite the fact he doesn’t think he understands enough to even have questions. And any question he does have feels too heavy to be said out loud. They weigh inside his stomach, making Izuku feel like every one of his steps is dragged.
The elevator stops and they step out. There’s only one door in the tiny hallway. Izuku can’t help looking around confused.
“One unit per floor,” Kacchan explains. “For security and privacy issues.”
“Oh… Right…”
Not right, though. Izuku can barely wrap his head around that. Are he and Kacchan rich? Izuku knows heroes usually have good salaries, but since he and Kacchan are roommates, he thought they weren’t there yet.
“Ready to meet your home?”
No. But Kacchan doesn’t give him time to answer before opening the door.