A five year old Izuku was staring at his mother with wide, green eyes filled with confusion.

"I don't understand. Isn't lying bad?"

His mother gave him a broken smile, barely reaching her eyes as she pulled him closer and replied. "Oh honey… of course lying is bad, but we just can't tell them. I'm so, so sorry."

"But why not?! What's wrong with my quirk?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just…" here his mom sighed deeply before looking at him, eyes filled with pity. "You have a very special quirk, Izuku. There hasn't been anything like it before. If people knew about it, then…"

"Then what?!" the boy huffed in frustration. It wasn't often he got upset with his mother, who was the kindest and bestest mom in the whole world as far as Izuku was concerned, but he had been so excited when his quirk first manifested! But now his mother was telling him he had to keep it a secret? The initial excitement Izuku had felt upon the discovery of his quirk was quickly disappearing, starting with the pure look of shock and disbelief on his mother's face when he first told her about it, instead of excitement and pride like he had been expecting.

"I don't know what will happen," his mother admitted, before suddenly bursting into tears much to Izuku's confusion and distress. He quickly pulled his mother into a hug of comfort as she continued to cry into his shoulder and did her best to get her next words out between gasps and sobs. "I don't know, but I just want you to be safe! I just want you safe and happy, Izuku!"

"But I am happy!" he assured her and tried his best to keep his own tears in. He couldn't start crying too, not when he needed to stay strong for his mother! "I finally got my quirk! Now I'll be able to become a hero and protect people, just like All Might!"

Another sob racked through his mother's body.

"I just don't understand…" Izuku whispered weakly, his voice barely heard over the choked sobs coming from his mother. "If my quirk isn't bad, then why are you so sad?"

Inko took a few seconds to wipe her tears on the sleeve of her green cardigan and took a few shuddering deep breaths until she had finally forced herself to calm down enough to answer her son.

"You have a very special power, Izuku" she began, voice cracking from her previous outburst. She took another deep breath to keep her voice steady before continuing. "You're different; different from everyone else. And some people… they won't be able to accept that."

Izuku blinked in confusion at his mother's words. "Why?"

His mother patted his fluffy bed of green curls affectionately in an attempt to reassure him and gave him a sad smile. "Many fear what they don't understand. It's human nature to want an explanation to everything. You're a curious child. You understand it more than anyone, don't you Izuku? But some things… just can't be explained."

"Like my quirk?" inquired a small Izuku.

"Exactly," Inko nodded at her son, a stray tear which she couldn't keep in rolling down her cheek. Her child looked contemplative for a second, face scrunching up cutely in thought as he took in his mother's words. "That's why we can't tell anyone. Can you promise me that, Izuku? Promise me that you won't tell anyone?"

"...okay," he answered hesitantly. After all, he could never say no to his mother; especially not when she was looking at him with such pleading eyes, filled with worry. "But…"

He hesitated, fidgeting nervously with his hands, unsure as to whether he really wanted the answer to his question or not. "Does that mean I have to tell people I'm quirkless?"

"Hm…" his mother looked thoughtful with a frown on her face, before it turned into just the smallest of smiles. "No. I have another idea."

"...you're wrong," muttered one Midoriya Izuku, now eleven years of age. Katsuki had cornered him after school in their classroom, making fun of Izuku's weak quirk (that's what he thinks, a voice echoed quietly in his skull) and dream to become a hero—as usual. At least he didn't have those lackeys of his hanging around him this time.

"What was that, Deku? You really think think you can become a hero with a weakass, shitty quirk like yours?" Katsuki let loose a few explosions in the palm of his hands, as if to demonstrate what wasn't considered 'a weakass, shitty quirk'.

"Sir Nighteye has foresight too, you know," answered Izuku defiantly, much to Bakugou Katsuki's annoyance.

"And clearly much better than useless ass quirk couldn't even forewarn you about this, now could it?" Katsuki said, before kicking at the other boy's legs to make his point, causing Izuku to fall over with a yelp. He groaned in pain as he pulled himself up from the floor.

"You're wrong," Izuku bit out, brushing the dust of his pants. He could feel the frustration building in him, like it did anytime someone made fun of his quirk. It just wasn't fair! How could they make fun of it when they didn't even know the truth?!

Izuku's body was shaking. It just wasn't fair!

It's because I'm different.

That's what everyone told Kacchan too, after his quirk manifested. His quirk, which he was free to show off and brag about as much as he liked. Just like every other kid could.

Everyone except me.

"You sound like a broken fucking record. I'm wrong? You telling me you knew I would kick you? Then why the fuck didn't you avoid it, huh? You some kind of masochist? Or are you just that fucking slow?"

"That's not what I meant, Kacchan."

Izuku was looking at Katsuki now. Or rather, he was glaring, the frustration within the usually timid preteen reaching it's boiling point. Katsuki almost flinched from the cold, steely determinating shining in those too green eyes, but just almost, because Bakugou Katsuki doesn't fucking flinch.

"The hell do you mean?" Katsuki growled, taking a step closer to the nerd, refusing to let the cold expression currently on the green haired boy's face affect him. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was curious as to just what the fuck Deku was talking about. Izuku stood his ground against his bully's advancing form.

"My quirk," he answered simply, even as his mind was screaming at him that this was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Terrible. He promised his mother didn't he? But his mouth just wouldn't stop moving. Before he realized it, the truth was already out. "It isn't foresight."

"The fuck?" Katsuki's red eyes narrowed dangerously upon hearing Izuku's words. The hell was Deku talking about? His quirk wasn't foresight? "Bullshit." Had Izuku been lying this whole time? To everyone? Had Deku been lying to him?

"I'll show you," Izuku said, reaching a hand out toward his childhood friend turned bully, palm open, waiting for Katsuki to take it. The blonde hesitated for a moment, glaring at the outstretched hand suspiciously.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Izuku said, voice soft but eyes hard. He wouldn't back out now. "Now come on. Let me show you."

Katsuki glared at him. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before finally grabbing the thin hand with one of his his own, much larger compared to the smaller boy.

"If this is a fucking prank, I'll blow this hand to fucking bits, got it?" he growled, squeezing the hand in question hard and baring his teeth in warning to show he was serious. Izuku swallowed nervously but smiled timidly at him. Fucker.

"Ah, one more thing!" the small boy exclaimed, turning his head and craning his neck, letting his eyes roam around the abandoned classroom before finally settling on the mounted watch on the wall. He pointed to it with his free hand.

"Look," was all he said, and Katsuki did. He looked, and he saw. He saw ticking hand of the clock counting down the seconds as they passed. He looked, and he watched. Watched as the seconds hand suddenly stopped counting forward. He watched, in both confusion and disbelief, because suddenly, the clock wasn't ticking forward anymore. It was going backwards.

"What the fuck?!" he yelled, ripping his hand out of Deku's grip, shifting his gaze frantically between the watch on the wall (which had started moving forward again) and Deku's calm, if somewhat nervous, expression. There's no way…

"There's no way," Katsuki repeated aloud. Deku just kept staring at him silently—patient. Waiting. "What the fuck did you just do?"

A sudden spike of anger flared through Katsuki and he yelled. "So it really was a fucking prank all along huh, Deku? I don't know how the fuck you pulled it off and I don't care, but if really think I'm gonna believe you just turned back fucking time then you are even more of a dumbass than I originally thought!"

"Do you need any more proof?" Izuku asked after quietly waiting for the blond to stop shouting—voice momentarily void of any distinguishable emotions as he observed the angry, ranting boy in front of him. It was somehow liberating finally being able to tell someone about his real quirk, even if that someone happen to be Katsuki.

"Yeah, how about this," Katsuki said as he stalked up to Izuku's desk and grabbed the latest Hero Notebook the boy was currently working on and viciously ripped it in half, the pages spreading everywhere as they slowly fluttered to the floor as if in slow motion. "Undo that."

Katsuki grinned cruelly and Izuku frowned at the pages upon pages of scribbled notes and sketches that now littered the floor. Of course, fixing the notebook would be no problem, but Izuku couldn't stop the painful tug at his heart upon watching something he'd spent so much time and effort on be viciously ripped to shreds like it was nothing.

He sighed and forced down the tears that were already threatening to form in the corners of his eyes from the sight of his ruined notebook. Katsuki would just start teasing him even more if he notices Izuku was crying.

He stepped up to his desk to stand next to his childhood friend and placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder, before activating his quirk once more. They both watched silently in wonder as the ripped notebook pieced itself together as time moved in reverse and suddenly, just like that, it was whole again. Just like the last few seconds never happened. And to anyone other than Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki, they never did.

Katsuki was silent. It was actually quite eerie just how calm he seemed. Izuku was used to dealing with a Katsuki that screaming and yelling curses at him, but this calm quiet was something new entirely and the green haired boy wasn't quite sure how he felt about it.

"Kacchan…?" Izuku asked quietly, suddenly very nervous and afraid to raise his voice any higher in fear that Katsuki might suddenly return to his normal self and start flinging insults and explosions at him. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Was it still too late to turn back time and make him forget?

How many seconds have passed? If I rewind now, maybe I can still pretend it was all just a prank.

"Deku."

"Y-yes?!" he yelped, still on edge by just how… calm Katsuki seemed. He had expected this exchange to be more painful, and with a lot more angry curses words thrown in.

"All this time…" Katsuki slowly turned his head to look at him, and his usually fiery red eyes had never looked so cold as they did now. It made Izuku shudder and he couldn't stop from shrinking in on himself as those dangerous eyes bore holes into him. "All this time you've been lying. To me. To everyone."

Izuku gulped and clenched his fists hard in an attempt to will them into ceasing their mad shaking. His stomach was tying into knots and cold sweat had begun to form on the back of his neck. The voice that answered Katsuki's query was shaky and nervous. "Y-yeah… you're the only other person I've ever told, aside from my mom."

His mom, which he promised to never tell anyone the truth about his quirk. A promise which he had now broken. Guilt washed over him, but he couldn't find it in himself to regret what he did. Not even when Katsuki was looking at him with such cold, cold eyes. Sorry, mom.

The blond was still being uncharacteristically quiet. Suddenly he nodded, short and curt before speaking. "Good. Don't tell anyone else."

Izuku was taken aback by what Katsuki had just told him, big green eyes widening in surprise. The only response he could manage in this state of shock was a high pitched, surprised "Y-yes!" before Katsuki shouldered past him and made his way to the classroom's exit. The green haired young boy was standing stock still for a moment as his brain still fought to comprehend what had just happened. When it finally caught up he lunged for his childhood friend, latching onto a broad shoulder with one hand.

"Wait, that's all?" he asked, bewildered at the blonde's reaction, or lack thereof. "You're not gonna punch me? Yell at me? Nothing?"

"Do you want me to explode your face? Because I could, if you're that fucking eager," Katsuki growled, and Izuku almost let out a sigh of relief as his bully seemingly returned to his normal, explody self. He would have done it too, if it weren't for the fact that normal Katsuki was, well… Katsuki. The short tempered blonde shrugged of Izuku's hand before continuing out the door. "Deku, I just fucking saw you turn back time. I need some time to fucking think."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Izuku asked nervously, fidgeting with his hands for the few tense seconds he waited for Katsuki's answer.

"I won't. Sheesh, why the hell do you think I told you not to tell anyone else about this? Why the fuck do you think I would?" the blonde haired boy yelled irritably and suddenly Izuku found himself walking into a door that was abruptly slammed shut in his face as Katsuki exited the classroom before him. Izuku rubbed his sore nose, grumbling slightly at the sharp pain that shot through it.

"Well, that went… well?"

"Tell me about your quirk."

It was the day after Izuku had told Katsuki the truth. The two boys were both currently in Izuku's room, because Katsuki had asked—or rather demanded—that they'd both go to the smaller boy's house after school. Izuku had almost given himself a heart attack thinking about the possible reasons as to why his bully wanted the two of them to meet up. He found himself relaxing somewhat after hearing the question, now understanding the purpose of this meetup.

"O-oh! Well, I still don't understand it one hundred percent, but uh… I guess I'll start by telling you the basics?" Izuku began, before going on one of his infamous mumble disquisitions as he explained his quirk in detail. "To start, I can only turn back time fifteen seconds at most. I can activate my quirk as many times as I want, but I can never use it to go any further than fifteen seconds into the past at any time."

"So you can turn back time, but only fifteen seconds?" Katsuki interrupted. "Figures. I'd expect nothing less from a Deku like you."

Izuku bristled slightly at the insult of his quirk. "A lot can happen in fifteen seconds, Kacchan."

"Whatever," muttered the blonde in response. After making sure that Katsuki had nothing more to add, Izuku continued.

"By default, my quirk doesn't affect myself for whatever reason. I have to concentrate hard if I want to reverse time on my own body, but it seems my mind remains unaffected no matter what I do, which I guess makes sense, since otherwise I would just forget reversing time in the first place, risking the creation an inescapable loop…" Izuku paused his mumbling for a moment at the confused look from his (surprisingly) attentive audience. "O-oh! I guess this can be a bit confusing. I know, why don't I just show you?"

"What do you—" Katsuki started, looking at Izuku standing a few feet in front of him from his position on the floor, when suddenly—

"The fuck?!" Katsuki cursed as two green eyes were suddenly right in front of him, staring into his face. Instinctively, his hand moved before him and to let loose an explosion right into his former friends face. A face which had been on the other side of the room just a moment ago. What the fuck?!

Izuku recoiled from suddenly having an explosion detonated in his face. He rubbed his slightly burnt skin tenderly with a pained expression and tears just starting to form in the corner of his eyes. "That hurt, Kacchan!"

"Does it look like I fucking care? It's your own damn fault for suddenly appearing in front of me!" Katsuki yelled, trying his best to calm the rapid beating of his heart. "The hell was that? Since when could you fucking teleport? The fuck does that have to do with time travel?!"

"It's not teleportation," Izuku informed, rubbing away the tears that had gathered in his eyes. "Well, not to me anyways. I just walked up to you normally, and then turned back time a few seconds. Since my quirk doesn't affect me unless I force it to, I remain in the same spot even when I turn back time. To you it looks like I just teleported."

Gears started to turn in Katsuki's head as he processed the words and realized…

"Wait, then how fucking far can you 'teleport'?!"

If Izuku wasn't affected by his own quirk, doesn't that mean that he can just keep turning back time as he walks to wherever he wants to appear? He would be able to walk from one side of the city to the other, if he had the stamina for it, without any time passing at all!

"A-ah, not that far," Izuku clarified, bringing Katsuki out of his reveries as he explained while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Depending on how I use it, my quirk can put a lot of pressure on me… If I try to go past fifteen meters when I 'teleport', my head starts to hurt and I get a nosebleed. I might even pass out if I walk to far… but it usually goes away if I wait for time to catch up. That's also the reason why I don't like turning back time on myself."

Yeah, speaking of which, that bring up Katsuki's second question—if Izuku can turn back time on himself too, he should have been able to undo getting his face exploded, so why didn't he?

"For some reason, it's really hard to turn back time on myself. I can only effectively do it two times before I pass out. The first time I do it I get a nosebleed and light headache. The second time and my head feels like it will split apart. That's why I almost never do it."

Katsuki was instantly reminded of all the nosebleeds Izuku used to get when they were younger. He always had them more often than other kids he knew, but they grew fewer as Izuku grew up; along with his predictions for the future. It was just another part Katsuki and his peers bullied him for. No one wanted to hang out with the kid who could start bleeding at any second.

"That's all? Or are there any more tricks to your quirk?" asked the blonde, ready to get this explanation over with so he can process it.

"Ah, no, there's one more thing!" Izuku perked up. It was very exciting to finally get to talk about his quirk to someone that wasn't his mother, even if that someone happened to be Kacchan. "Well, remember how I said my quirk doesn't affect me by default?"

"Duh," Katsuki scoffed. "You told me just a few fucking seconds ago."

"W-well, that doesn't only apply to me! I-I mean, that is to say, I can pull other people or objects into my time frame! All I need is to have physical contact and I can choose whether I want my quirk to affect what I'm holding or not. Just like I did with you yesterday Kacchan, when I showed you my quirk!" the young boy explained excitedly, green eyes sparkling. "Just think of all the possibilities! If I wanted to steal something it would be really easy. I could just put something in my pocket and then rewind time while I'm still touching it. To anyone else it would like like it just disappeared! I mean, not that I would steal anything of course! That eas just an example!"

Izuku panicked slightly as he reached the end of his explanation, waving his hands frantically in front of him. After a moment he calmed down so he could ask the lingering question on his mind, curious to hear the answer. "Um, that being said… why are you so interested in my quirk, Kacchan?"

Subconsciously, his mother's words from that day began replaying in his mind. You have a very special power, Izuku.

Was Katsuki evaluating him? Maybe he would finally change his mind about him after he'd seen Izuku's true quirk. Maybe he won't be 'Deku' any more!

Many fear what they don't understand.

Would Katsuki be scared of him? Izuku swallowed nervously. But no, this was Katsuki. There's no way he'd be scared of him. Katsuki was way too strong to ever be scared of anything! Especially Deku... right?

You're different… They won't be able to accept that.

But maybe… now that Katsuki had seen that Izuku wasn't so useless after all, would he still hate him? Hate his power?

"You're mumbling again, idiot," Katsuki said and whacked the side of Izuku's head. He yelped as he was suddenly, and painfully, brought back from his own mind.

Deku's asking stupid questions again. Of course Katsuki wants to know. He have to. Deku was a stupid nerd with a useless quirk, or at least that's how it should be. It's what he thought. What everyone though. But no, apparently that was just one, big lie. The nerd had somehow fooled them all into thinking that he was someone he was not.

The very thought of it was ridiculous.

A lie. That's what it was. Izuku; his quirk. Both lies. And as much as Katsuki hated to admit it—as much as he wanted to deny it—Izuku wasn't useless. Well, at least not his quirk, that's for damn sure.

Katsuki could have spent all day trying to convince himself otherwise. To convince himself that it wasn't a big deal. That Deku breaking the laws of physics and making it his bitch, or at least friends with benefits, wasn't a big deal.

But despite what some people might assume from his fiery personality and unusual stubbornness, Katsuki wasn't stupid. He knows. He knows that Izuku's power was different from his. Different from everyone else. It wasn't normal.

And Katsuki wasn't going to pretend otherwise. Denial was for pussies, and Bakugou Katsuki deals with his problems. He doesn't sweep them under the rug and pretend like they never existed in the first place.

So Katsuki asks. He asks so that he can understand: the limitations of Izuku's power. All so he could one day beat him—and stand on the top.

Midoriya Izuku wasn't invincible. His bruised face, still red and raw from the explosion from earlier, was proof of that. There were only so much he and his quirk could do, and undo. He explained so himself.

No, Midoriya Izuku wasn't invincible, even if he was damn close. Katsuki could take him. It wouldn't be easy, but he could. Izuku wasn't a fighter, not like him. Izuku was a coward. His quirk fit him well, almost as well as Katsuki's explosions fit himself. It was perfect for avoiding conflict—if only he would use it, that is.

But there was a nagging feeling in the back of Katsuki's mind. A part that wasn't entirely convinced. A part that made him hesitate.

Because Katsuki wasn't stupid. And despite all the stupid shit he did, neither was Deku. He's as much aware of his own weaknesses as Katsuki—more, even. The blonde doesn't doubt for one second that Izuku have already gone through hundreds of different ideas for how to make up for his quirk's weaknesses (not that all those ideas are necessarily good, but still).

And because neither of them were stupid, Katsuki was already running through his own ideas on how to counter whatever Izuku thought up. There was just a few problems, one being that Katsuki wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was supposed to counter against.

And because of this, Katsuki feels something he never thought he would associate with the dumb Deku: caution. After finding out that half of what he thought he knew about the stupid nerd he'd bullied for the past few years was a lie, he'd be stupid if he didn't. And again, Katsuki was not stupid.

"Deku," he finally said, watching said green haired boy fidget nervously under his bully's scrutinizing gaze (and Katsuki would be lying if he said he doesn't at least somewhat enjoy the reaction of fear he had on the boy). He choose his next words carefully.

"Looks like you aren't as useless as I originally thought."

Izuku's ceased his fidgeting as his big, green eyes snapped to his—and they shone.

Well, it's as they say. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

"What the hell is he doing here?" came the words from one of Katsuki's lackeys, nicknamed Fingers. He was of course referring to the nervous boy with a head full of puffy green hair who was currently hiding behind an increasingly annoyed Katsuki.

"Yeah, what gives?" asked lackey number two, Wings.

"Because I fucking said so, that's why," Katsuki growled, letting a few explosions go off in the palm of his hands in irritation. "If you've got a problem with than you can fuck right off. I don't need some second rate losers like you following me if all you gonna do is bitch and whine."

"Aren't you at least gonna give us an explanation?" Fingers shouted accusingly with clenched fists. "I know you two were childhood friends, but that was years ago! You haven't let Deku tag along with us since we were eight!"

"I don't need a fucking explanation, but if you really wanna know, it just so fucking happened that Deku isn't as useless as I originally thought. Compared to you weaklings, anyways."

Both Fingers and Wings bristled at that, but Katsuki didn't care. He doesn't need some wannabe badasses like them following him. What the hell were they acting so high and mighty for anyways? They both want to be heroes just like everyone else, but Wings was too fat to even be able to lift himself of the ground for more than a few seconds anyways, and Fingers? Don't make me laugh.

What the hell kind of hero would he be anyways? A hero that helps little kids retrieve balloons stuck in tree branches? He scoffed at the thought. The only thing his quirk was good for was to elongate his fingers. That just means they're easier to break.

"You know what?" Fingers said, baring his teeth in what he probably thought was a threatening manner, but in reality just made him look stupid. "Fuck you. I don't even know why we even hang out with you in the first place. You're a fucking asshole, you know that?"

He turned around and gestured to Wings. "Come on. Who fucking needs Katsuki anyways." Wings hesitated for a moment, looking torn between staying with Katsuki and Izuku or to follow the other boy, but eventually settled for running after Fingers after a particular hard glare from the angry blonde. Izuku had watched the exchange in tense silence, and now that the other boys were gone, he looked to Katsuki with a gaze laced with concern.

"Are you alri—"

"Shut up, Deku," the blonde interrupted the smaller boy. "If I'm gonna be number one I don't have time to waste on weak trash like them."

Izuku was still uneasy after the fiery exchange, but he couldn't stop the small, guilty surge of happiness at what Katsuki just implied. Since the explosive blonde was still hanging out with him, then surely that meant he didn't think of Izuku as weak trash like he called the other two boys who just stormed off, right?

"Come on Deku," Katsuki gestured with his head for the other boy to follow him, and he complied excitedly. It had been years since he and Katsuki last hung out together! Even longer since it was just the two of them.

"Where are we going, Kacchan?"

"To experiment," Katsuki answered simply, to a confused Izuku. "Show me what your quirk can do."

AN: Aaaand, there we go! My first (published) fanfiction! I hope everything made sense. I had a hard time explaining Izuku's quirk, and it went through a lot of changes before I settled for this. But I hope you understood how it works. I also hope the beginning makes sense. I mean sure, Izuku may live in a universe where detonating explosions in your hands and spitting acid is normal, but manipulating time and space? Yeah, I'm not so sure.

Oh, and just as a fair warning, this might turn into BakuDeku (possibly one sided) in the future. Not sure. Tbh, I'm not sure where I'm going with this story. I just felt the need to write it because I really liked the concept of Izuku having a quirk that let's him reverse time for a few seconds. If you want to, you are free to use this concept to write your own fanfiction. I'd love to read it.

I actually debated whether to leave this as a one shot or not, but I think I might continue it.

I have also posted the story on my dA (tuwas1), Tumblr (snazzysnaz) and AO3 (also snazzysnaz).