BKDK: Wolf in the fire

[mightdoriya]

[Bakugou Katsuki had been missing for as long as Izuku could remember.

He was barely young enough to understand what it meant when someone went missing, namely someone he called his best friend growing up. They'd been very young, only four or so at the time, when Katsuki had suddenly vanished with seemingly no trace of him left. There had been search parties, and notices posted. He was on TV, and Inko had to carefully explain to her young son why. Heroes searched tirelessly for him to no avail. And after so much time had passed, it had been assumed the young child had either died of exposure or had been kidnapped. As of now, nearly twelve years later, no body had been found.

Izuku still thought about him sometimes, though he didn't know what to make of his disappearance. There had been a funeral for him and everything, so it felt like that was just...it. That he was gone, forever. Maybe one day they'd be able to find his remains and give his parents proper closure, but for the time being his case remained opened and cold. It had been a disgrace for the top heroes of the time, but there was nothing they could do but keep searching down leads even if they went nowhere.

It was around the anniversary of Katsuki's disappearance now, as the last cherry blossoms fell and school was in full swing. Izuku had been on his way that day, walking down the sidewalk towards his middleschool. They'd be graduating soon, and after that they'd be choosing what highschools to go to. Some chose UA, some Shinketsu. Izuku knew who he'd try out for, of course.

He just wished he weren't alone in doing it.]

Comments

[bakucchan]

Oh, wolf. Yeah, that's the word.

[It's been.. too long since he last learned any Japanese..

He notices, though, how Izuku's eyes are watering. How tears are welling up and slowly dripping down his cheeks and it gets a frown out of him, his ears pinning back to his head.]

Don't cry, stupid. You look like prey. Weak.

[It's annoying him.]

[mightdoriya]

B-but...

[He's telling him not to cry, yet Izuku is...already crying, there's no stopping it once he's started either.]

I thought...I t-thought you were...

[You know. Dead. For YEARS.]

[bakucchan]

I know. I did too, at first.

[Imagine being a five year old suddenly being dragged into the woods by the collar of his shirt... he feels bad that Izuku's been worried this entire time, though. If he were honest, he figured he'd been forgotten about. And after some time he.. forgot about Izuku, too. It was just in the back of his mind after the years of living with a different kind of family but now that he's here.. everything is flooding back.

Because Izuku's crying, and clearly in distress Katsuki leans close to him, and licks his cheek, tasting the saltiness of his tears against his soft tongue.]

....m'sorry, Izuku.

[mightdoriya]

[.......okay, that's weird. Izuku isn't sure what to make of being...licked, like that, but whatever. That doesn't matter right now, not when Katsuki is here, in the flesh. And it's not a dream he's having, for once.

So Katsuki will just have to put up with Izuku reaching out to hold him closer, burying his face against his shoulder with a shuddering sob.]

[bakucchan]

[Katsuki's honestly not that surprised when Izuku clings to him further-- from what he remembers, he's always been emotional like this. It's kind of funny to see him still being a crybaby years later, though.


...years later..]

...hey. How old are you?

[He just realized he. Doesn't know his own age.]

[mightdoriya]

[...give him a minute, he's kindof still blubbering here.]

F.....fifteen...

[bakucchan]

Fifteen?!

[There's obvious shock in Katsuki's voice when he says that,]

How old am I?! Fifteen? Then... how long has it been, Izuku?! Five years??!?

[he cant count]

[mightdoriya]

Ten...it's been ten.

[He corrects, since they were around four, fiveish when he was taken.

Izuku pulls Katsuki closer, even while he's probably panicking just a little. Just let him hold you for a fucking second like damn.]

[bakucchan]

Ten..

[Katsuki repeats that, and he slowly lifts his arms to wrap them around Izuku again. He's been missing for ten years? Has anyone looked for him? Did anyone really care..? How could he be gone for so long...

The emotions start to catch up with him as well as that realization sinks in, but rather than sobbing like Izuku has been doing, he does what's instinctual at this point for him.

He turns his head up to the sky and howls, and Izuku can hear a chorus howling in response not too far away.]

[mightdoriya]

[Izuku stiffens, his eyes widening and his crying momentarily tapering off to sniffles and hiccups as he looks up when Katsuki starts to howl...a haunting echo of howls in the distance answering him. They really shouldn't be doing this out here in the middle of the street, he's realizing...but fortunately it's early, and nobody is out right now.

It's not that people didn't care, either. They just...couldn't find him. And eventually, his family had to give up. It's been so long now that he could only be presumed dead with confidence. Izuku knows it must hurt, but he doesn't know of any other way to explain it as he drops his head against Katsuki's shoulder again, dragging him close even as he howls at the sky.]

[bakucchan]

[It's a few minutes, but pretty soon the howling dies down and is replaced with soft sniffles and whimpers. Katsuki slowly pulls himself back again to look Izuku over, really get a good look at what ten years had done to his best friend. He looks.. pretty much how Katsuki remembers, though he doesn't remember much beyond a boy with a big green bush of hair. Seeing him fills his mind with lots of small memories, though. Memories of the two of them pretending to be Heroes together, watching their favourite Hero fight on television together, having sleepovers and playing together... it's all things he had forgotten over time, but having Izuku in front of him and feeling the warmth from all of those memories was.. really nice.

He felt at home, more than ever before.]

...Izuku. What.. what do I do?

[He doesn't know what he should do now that he's home. He has a family in the wolves but his real family should be here still, too...]

[mightdoriya]

[Izuku wishes he had an answer for that. He really does. But to be asked it now, especially when Katsuki has come back into his life after being assumed dead for most of his own...it leaves him at a loss, feeling almost worse than he had when he thought Katsuki wasn't around.

Even worse still: his family. They all presume him to be dead as well, but with the way Katsuki is behaving now...could he so easily just go back? Izuku isn't sure what to do, or say.]

You...you live with wolves now?

[He asks instead of giving him an answer.]

[bakucchan]

[Wordlessly, Katsuki nods his head in reply. His ears pinned to the fluff of his blonde hair, his tail drooping between his legs.]

[mightdoriya]

[There's a pause. Izuku knows he can't just...stay here much longer without arousing suspicion, especially since he has to get to school.

But.]

Show me where.

[bakucchan]

....they'll eat you.

[mightdoriya]

I don't mean take me right into a wolves den. Just...show me where it is.

Please.

[bakucchan]

[Katsuki is quiet, mulling over the request. He's not sure why Izuku would want to see... but there's really no reason for him to refuse, is there?

His tail slowly wags as he thinks about it, feeling a little excited at the prospect of his friend seeing where he grew up. Even though it's... literally just a cave full of dangerous wild animals. But still-- exciting.]

...okay. Follow.

[He nods his head towards the area behind him, turning around and getting on all fours like a feral cryptid as he bounds towards his home.]

[mightdoriya]

[CREEPY...but unsure what else to do and having already committed to being late at this point, Izuku will follow and hope that he isn't going to regret this decision.]

[bakucchan]

[you're friends with a dog person now izuku, there's nothing more you can regret at this point

It doesn't take too long though, with Katsuki leading Izuku through the trees. He takes him up a hill about a mile north from their neighbourhood, stopping when the two of them are near the top to take a sniff in the air. It smells like no one's currently home, thankfully, but they were recently there so the two shouldn't hang around too long.]

It's here.

[He stands up straight again and walks past a few trees, until they reach a clearing in front of the entrance to a cave. There's blood stains on the rocks and dead carcasses laying about.. definitely looks like the place a pack of wolves would live.]

[mightdoriya]

[Cool!! Said the meta text, sarcastically.

It still strikes Izuku just how close to home Katsuki was this entire time. Just a mile into the forest, and none of them even knew. How did they not find him? Where did he go so far that he was overlooked?

It's all too much for him to ponder right now, so instead he focuses on what's happening now, looking out at the undeniable proof that Katsuki has indeed been living with wolves. Or...so it seems. He would have no reason to lie beyond being completely delusional, or something.]

You...really live here?

[bakucchan]

Yeah.

[It's definitely hard to swallow, and even Katsuki can understand that. It's wild just thinking about the fact that he almost entirely lost his humanity, and the fact that it was being brought out of him again the more he interacts with Izuku.]

There's puppies inside. Wanna see 'em, Izuku?

[The mother is out hunting, along with the rest of the pack so there probably wouldn't be any threat. Probably.]

[mightdoriya]

P...puppies?

[Like...wolf puppies? He's immediately intrigued, but also unsure for...obvious reasons, and it probably shows in the way he fidgets a bit in place.]

Is that okay?

[bakucchan]

Just don't touch 'em with your stinky mitts.

[Katsuki barks that at him, as he heads inside the little cave to where a litter lay. Some of them are sleeping, but there's two that are awake while one of them nibbles on his brother's ear, keeping him from sleeping.]

[mightdoriya]

[Izuku isn't so sure about coming up to a wolves' den when he's...you know, a Human Person, but he follows in spite of knowing better, staying quiet and as still as possible as he approaches the cave entrance. He doesn't dare come inside, moving no closer than the mouth of it as he looks at the puppies with quiet awe. He's seen litters of domesticated puppies before, but never wolves.]

Wow...they're so little...

[bakucchan]

Weaklings.

[Is what Katsuki calls them, but even he looks a little fond as he watches them play.]

They grow up faster than me.