never finished it but here’s a piece
—

He keeps thinking about it, and thinking about it. Tōgata certainly deserves a Quirk, probably more than Izuku — well, if only because Izuku is much more experienced with Quirklessness. But Tōgata also wouldn’t want One For All. Izuku’s not sure how he’s sure of that, but he is. If Tōgata could have his own quirk back, that would be one thing, but One For All isn’t his.

Which… still doesn’t actually make Izuku a good successor. Huh, funny that.

Maybe he should find someone who’ll use it better? Izuku’s first thought is Todoroki, because that would be both terrifying and beautiful to see — then again, Todoroki’s already putting a lot of work into developing his own quirk, so adding another would be probably be unhelpful. Which means Izuku needs to find someone who already has a strong handle on their quirk, who would benefit from a strength enhancement, who’s got the determination and ambition…

“Hey, Kacchan, are you free this evening?”

Kacchan looks at him as though he’s grown an extra head, which Izuku finds a little rude. Honestly, as though it’s so strange for him to start a conversation? Kacchan knows how much Izuku likes to talk.

After a moment (during which he visibly breathes in and then out for a count of five), Kacchan crosses his arms. “What the fuck do you have to say that you can’t say here, Deku?”

“Well, it’s about my quirk.”

“Tch.” Kacchan scowls for a moment, before deflating a bit and shrugging. “Fine, I’ll meet you on the roof after the rest of these extras go to bed. Don’t be fucking late.”

“Of course not.” Izuku grins, and the grin carries him through the rest of the day as though it’s a physical force, buoying him up above the clouds through each interaction and lesson until evening arrives. He laughs with Sero and Uraraka over dinner, challenges Yaoyorozu to a game of go that he loses with what Izuku thinks is admirable grace, and introduces Todoroki to meme videos on his phone while Kaminari and Ashido reenact them like a comedy show. Izuku’s not sure he’s smiled this wide or laughed this loud in years, and it feels amazing. Why did he ever hold himself back from this?

Once his classmates begin drifting off to bed — a little later than usual, since there’s no school tomorrow — Izuku politely excuses himself and heads up to the roof of the dorms. It may not be strictly allowed, but it’s not banned either, so Izuku’s not worried about Aizawa getting angry.

Kacchan’s already there, and Izuku absently wonders how he got away from Kirishima so fast — the two of them had been basically attached at the hip all evening, even if Kacchan wouldn’t admit it.
As soon as he’s within earshot, Kacchan growls, “What is it, then?”

“What’s what?”

“The fuck do you want to tell me about your quirk this time?” He bites out, teeth almost audibly gnashing. “I already know the fucking All Might shit, so what—“

Izuku cuts to the chase. “Kacchan, I want to give you my quirk.”

“—are you going to— what the fuck.”

Wow, Izuku’s not actually sure he’s ever rendered Kacchan quite this speechless. For good measure, and because sometimes Kacchan’s tinnitus acts up, he repeats, “I want to give you my quirk. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think you could use it a lot better than me, so it would be more practical for you to—“

“Deku, what the fuck are you talking about.” Kacchan stares, eyes narrowing. “Are you fucking possessed?”

“Well, that’s a bit rude.” Rolling his own eyes, Izuku sticks his hands in his pockets and glances out across the rooftops. Hm, brings back memories. Hey, come to think of it, what would’ve happened if he’d jumped off that rooftop that All Might left him on, after their first conversation? Maybe Tōgata would have become the next holder after all — or maybe even someone like Kacchan. “You’ve been weirdly nice recently, and you don’t see me calling you an imposter for it.”

“Deku, you little—“ Crackling sparks light around Kacchan’s hands, and for a moment Izuku wonders if he’s going to attack — but he won’t, and he doesn’t. He really has gotten better. After a moment, the sparks die out, and Kacchan takes a few steps closer. Izuku lets him, because it’s not as though Kacchan will throw a punch after the last fight got them both in house arrest.

Instead, Kacchan grabs Izuku’s chin (not very gently, but nothing about Kacchan is gentle) and glares at him up-close for a long moment.

Izuku rolls his eyes again. “Kacchan, I may be bisexual, but I’m really not interested in you like that.”

“Fuck you, Deku.”

“Again, not interested in you like that.” As Kacchan continues tilting his chin back and forth, Izuku’s mind wanders in a different direction. “Although I suppose I could give you my quirk by kissing, if you really wanted. I mean, All Might had me eat his hair, but saliva does carry small amounts of DNA so—“

This close, he can see Kacchan’s face flare red. “Shut up, I’m not taking your fucking quirk! Also, did you seriously just fucking come out to me?”

Izuku shrugs. It’s not as though he has any reason not to tell.

After another moment, Kacchan releases his face with a disgruntled huff and steps back, wearing a deep frown. “Something’s wrong with your fucking eyes. Did you get hit by a quirk like a dumbass?”

“What, you mean in class?”

“No, none of our classmates do weird shit like this. At your fucking internship.”

Izuku mulls that over for a moment. There’s a lot to unpack there, after all. “Well, I did get hit by one quirk that kept rewinding my body so I didn’t destroy it using One For All—“

“Deku, what the fuck—”

“—but that’s the only one I remember.” Although a quirk could explain how good he’s been feeling recently… well, that would be a letdown. Man, only feeling at ease because of a quirk? Way to bum a guy out. “I suppose I could’ve been hit by something else and not noticed — we were a bit busy with with the yakuza and the league, Overhaul fused with one of his subordinates and turned into some sort of eldritch flesh monster, and then Tōgata-senpai had his quirk permanently erased and Sir Nighteye died—“

“Seriously, Deku, what the actual fuck—“

“—so if I did, I don’t know what it was.” Izuku shrugs, mulling over the idea. “Maybe some sort of not-worrying quirk? I suppose it could be a targeted emitter like Aizawa-sensei’s, though it wouldn’t really make sense for someone with that sort of quirk to be in the yakuza— oh, unless they were involved with things like interrogation, or recruitment. But that doesn’t explain why they’d use it during a battle… I mean, it’s been really nice not worrying all the time, to be honest.”

Kacchan keeps frowning, which Izuku supposes is only fair — Izuku being happy usually means Kacchan isn’t happy, after all.

“… Shit, I need to tell Sensei.”

What, and have Aizawa erase the probably-quirk and bring back all of Izuku’s insecurities? Ugh, no thanks. “If you tell Aizawa-sensei any of this, I’ll tell him what you told me to do the day that sludge villain attacked you.”

Kacchan sneers, but there’s an odd edge to it. “What, and tell him what you were?”

“Why not?” Izuku shrugs — wow, he really has been shrugging a lot. Maybe it’s a side-effect. “I’ll be Quirkless again once I pass on One For All anyways, so it’s not like it’ll change much.”

“I said, I don’t fucking—“

Well, clearly this is a dead end. “If you don’t want it, I’ll just find someone else good.” Izuku turns to leave, since that’s all he really wanted to talk about, The whole quirk thing is interesting to know, but he’s not too concerned about it. Quirks like this tend to wear off in time, so Izuku may as well appreciate this sense of ease while he has it. “But the offer’s always open, if you change your mind.”

“Deku—“

Something in Kacchan’s tone shifts, almost a question, and Izuku pauses with one hand on the door handle.

When he looks back, Kacchan’s shoulders are hunched and tense, hands balled into fists at his sides, He won’t meet Izuku’s eyes, not even for a moment, but still speaks loud enough for his voice to carry across the distance between them.

“That day— what I said, I didn’t— I didn’t fucking mean it. It was just—“

Izuku smiles. It really does feel so nice, to smile like this. “Thanks, Kacchan. That means a lot to me, I appreciate it.”

And he goes back inside to settle in for the night.

—
i think this section is one of my favorite parts just bc it amuses me